#and that TBB and whatever might be next

[heyclickadee]

Because I’ve decided to be somewhat annoyingly optimistic about Tech coming back eventually, I kind of wanted to explain the hypothetical framework through which I’ve been looking at the all of this wiiiiiiiiiith…

…a crappy diagram. (I’m sorry about my handwriting. I usually write in cursive, so it’s usually smaller and even worse).

Now, this is simplified, there are plenty more arcs, plots, and subplots than this, but I sort of picked out the main three that we seem to be dealing with from the beginning of The Clone Wars season seven onwards.

First we’ve got Rex’s arc, where after an endless string of losses and disappointments from previous seasons, he begins putting his foot down and trying to take something back and help his fellow clones, first within the GAR when he insists on rescuing Echo, and then later on in The Bad Batch as we see him gradually form a small band of clones and other allies (people like the Martez sisters and Riyo Chuchi) with the end goal of freeing as many clones as he can. This seems to be an ongoing plot, given that Rex’s work as well as the setup with the senate continues into season three of TBB but receives neither climax nor resolution as we narrow the focus towards Omega.

And, of course, alongside the Rex arc is what I’m calling the clone agency arc, introduced (or perhaps re-introduced) via Echo and his captivity by the Techno Union in the beginning of season seven of TCW, continuing through the end of TCW and into TBB with Order 66, Crosshair’s time under the chip and with the empire (his story far has given us a great look into the life of clones subject to order 66 and imperial service), the clone retirement bill, and the CXs. It, too, reaches neither climax nor conclusion and seems to be ongoing. Furthermore, Rex’s arc seems to be dependent on the clone agency arc (though you could argue it the other way), and many of the loose threads from the end of TBB tie into it as well.

Next, at the beginning of “Aftermath,” we’ve got the clone force 99 family arc as well as the individual bad batcher arcs, none of which reach a resolution. (The bad batch characters are all introduced in the bad batch arc of season seven, but I’d argue that with a few possible exceptions, they don’t really begin their arcs until the start of TBB. They’re not the focus in season seven and are there largely to facilitate Rex’s arc, so what we get for them is a lot of set up and establishing baselines).

I’ve argued before that each of the batcher’s character development goes only so far as it needs to go in order to facilitate Omega’s arc ending by the final episode; after that, they don’t conclude, they slow down, get put on the backburner, and come with period reminders of what those arcs were doing. Hunter gets very close to resolution in his development, since he’s the most tied at the hip to Omega’s arc and most of his character arc has to do with her, but the others are all completely open-ended. The family arc likewise remains open-ended—not necessarily because Tech’s not there and they remain separated, but because the separation and brokenness of the family is never dealt with and left wanting a conclusion despite the fact there was ample opportunity to reach it if necessary.

And last, we’ve got Omega’s childhood arc and the Hunter/Omega relationship arc. These, closely tied together, are the only major arcs that conclude by the end of TBB. And here’s the interesting thing; they’re not actually the first arcs introduced in the show.

Omega is the POV character, but she’s not actually introduced until the second act, I would argue she doesn’t become the POV character until the hyperspace scene at the end of “Aftermath,” and her arc proper doesn’t really begin until “Cut and Run” when we introduce the idea of Omega choosing where she wants to be and the, “You all have a purpose—so what’s hers?” “It doesn’t matter, she’s just a kid,” exchange. Other arcs including her start earlier—I would argue that Crosshair’s arc with her starts in the brig scene, for example—but her arc doesn’t quite kick off until a little later.

Basically, the way I’m looking at this is as a series of nested arcs. A storytelling nesting doll, basically, where the major arc that was introduced the latest and has the smallest scale is also the only one to reach a resolution by the end of TBB show while the others imply a larger, ongoing story.

It’s not that the two larger major arcs stop when the Omega arc is introduced, either. They keep being told alongside, largely through Omega’s point of view with occasional zoom-outs to a wider frame, and limited to what we need to see at present either for future set up or before zooming back in and, in the case of much of the third season of TBB (last four episodes in particular) focusing in on Omega’s arc and that resolution before, hypothetically, broadening to a larger focus again. It’s also not that Omega can’t show up now that her arc is concluded, either. She can! In fact, she should, for multiple reasons. She just wouldn’t be the focus anymore and would probably show up in a more limited capacity.

And it’s not that these nested arcs are even separate. They might start and conclude at different points, but they are told alongside each other because they’re tied together. They weave in and out of each other and push each other along. They’re relevant to one another and, I think, pieces of a larger clone story that’s not quite over.

Because here’s the thing: There’s a lot of stuff in both TCW season seven and TBB that we don’t really need unless it was there for setup. The only part of season seven that was entirely necessary for closing out the clone war and that part of Ahsoka’s story was the Siege of Mandalore arc with maybe, *maybe* one additional episode to explain what she’s been doing. I love the bad batch arc, but we didn’t need it…unless the purpose was to set up arcs for the batch and also tie the batch’s and Echo’s stories to Rex’s and the clone agency arc. We don’t need the Martez sisters episodes…unless we need to introduce the Martez sisters, who also meet the batch and are also working with Rex once we get to TBB (and are presumably still working with him from time to time, since we haven’t heard otherwise). Likewise, the list of things in TBB that aren’t strictly necessary from a storytelling perspective if all we were doing the whole time was telling Omega’s story is extensive…unless the larger story with those larger nested arcs isn’t done.

[shellshooked]

anyway, don’t be a stranger

[orangez3st]

Sitrep: Caffeinated

Sergeant Hunter × GN!Reader 

✧ Summary: It's really really late but you're still awake working, and Hunter isn't too pleased about it.

✧ Tags & Warnings: established relationship, fluff, why are you still awake fic, eepyfic (somewhat?), omg zest is writing tbb, no warnings! just hunter’s girldad concerns™

✧ Word Count: 1.0k

✧ A/N: OKAY idk what came over me to do Hunter for this one 🤔🤞🏼 this is based on my experience (again lol, and here's a similar one with Cody). I think it's only fair that I'm finally trying to write something about CF99, since I don't have the balls enough to write about the Omegas yet (trust me this was almost my sweetie baby Darman 😆). Anyway, enjoy this one! ❤️

Masterlist | Read on AO3 | Hunter divider by @snotbuggle

Hunter's startled awake to a cold side of the bed next to him.

Deep breath fills his lungs as he stretches, the pleasant buzz coursing from the top of his head down to the tip of his toes underneath the covers. Eyes still adjusting in the dark, he thrusts his hand forward again, to your side of the bed. He pats it just to make sure. Still cold. You're really not there.

Then almost on autopilot, he gathers his focus, or whatever 0300 consciousness can trust him with. He's not even trying, but he can feel your presence a little far from your shared bedroom. Your study. But you've padded the walls with soundproof mats so you wouldn't disturb his sleep when you work late into midnight while blasting your altpop playlist. Quite an effort, but still. Not that Hunter dislikes it, but it's 3 in the morning, for gods’ sake. You should've been asleep.

So he makes the effort, too; to pull on his sweatpants and make his way out of your bedroom, a little more than barely awake. The corridor's lights are off to minimize the electricity hum so Hunter could sleep. Barefooted and releasing a slow sigh that might come from slight disappointment, your boyfriend pads toward your study at the end of the corridor. And as expected, the door slides open.

What he doesn't expect, though, is how quiet it is. Well, not entirely. The steady machinery hum coming from your holocomputer is buzzing in his ears—he’s just awakened and his control isn't at 100% so pardon him, please—and yet among the softest of noises including your breath, there isn't any music blasting from your speakers.

“Sweetheart.”

You whip your head around so fast that Hunter develops a new fear of you accidentally breaking your neck right there on the spot. Okay, he won't do that again.

“Hunter.” For a split second it looks like you're about to smile, but realization washes over your face and turns your expression into worry. “Oh. Oh, gods. Did I wake you? It's so late, though—really late. Did one of these soundproof mats fall off or something?”

“It's really late,” Hunter presses on, almost interjecting you and his voice a little raspy from waking up so suddenly, his arms folded across his bare, half-inked chest. “Do you know what time it is?”

“Yep!” you cheerfully quip from your chair, looking around the room for the chrono—which is to your left and up on the wall—but you end up finding the one in your holocomputer instead. “Um. It says 0328 here.”

“Exactly,” he sighs, opting for a gentler approach. And well, there he approaches you, his nose alerting him of a smell of caf that just grows stronger each step he takes. Ah. No wonder you're really jittery. But it really wouldn't come as a total shock. You always surprise him but, sure; that's what makes your relationship so colorful and never boring.

But for the love of the divine cosmos, you can be so stubborn at times.

Standing in front of your seated form now, Hunter caresses your face softly to show just how much he's worried about you and your health, but your caffeinated self merely smiles so tightly at him, so innocently, your lips stretching end to end.

He sighs. “You're going to hurt… yourself one day.”

“It's just one caf.”

“One,” Hunter deadpans, his eyebrow arching at you pointedly. “Then why do I smell that you've had four already? You intending to sleep or not? For the next 48 hours?”

“It's just—” you resist a groan, swivelling between your work on the screen and your boyfriend's puppy dog eyes. “Okay, I've got deadlines. And my brain's at its full creativity capacity when it's past 2200 and I just don't wanna miss it by getting sleepy in that hour so I took caf.”

“I understand your problems. I really do.” Hunter gently takes your hands, and kneels in front of you between your legs. “But still. You didn't need to take that much, and you need your sleep.”

“I can always take afternoon naps.”

He shakes his head. “Day naps aren't always good for your circadian rhythm, sweetheart. Okay?” His hands are squeezing yours, adding to his level of affection and concern for you. “You take that too often, it's affecting your health too. You sleep too late too often; obviously it does, too.”

Mentally, you're trying to hold onto your ever-charged streams of ideas and paragraph openings and real excellent bridges, but accidentally waking up Hunter only makes you extra guilty. Your boyfriend needs all the peace and quiet to rest, and the last thing he needs is you and your pigheaded tendencies sprouting out even more concern that add to his current running list of anxieties.

“Okay,” you relent, reaching to brush a strand of his brown locks behind his ear. “Really sorry that I woke you up, though.”

A small smile of relief on his lips is such a welcomed sight—for a moment there, you feel lucky. Fortunate. Not every person out there would give so much concern for their significant other's wellbeing, but you've earned yourself Hunter—a leader whose job is to make sure everyone's in tip top condition. You wonder if this is similar to one of his duties, but then again, he is a soldier. And you love him for his insistence.

“It's fine,” your beloved says, leaning forward to give you a peck on the cheek, and another to the corner of your mouth. He eyes your empty water glass, and makes that the next to-do in his mental list. “Five minutes. That's all I can give you. Then you're gonna lie down with me.”

The idea of lying down next to Hunter and encased in his strong arms is enticing that the caf in your body is banished away almost immediately, and fatigue begins to take over. Your body would buzz uncomfortably and once you wake up complaining about it Hunter would put in the I told you so smug face the whole day. It's like magic. It's familiar, it's welcomed, and ironically what makes your relationship feels alive, despite the complaints and all. It's a certain kind of beauty.

A soft chuckle escapes you, and already, you're fighting a yawn. “Copy that, Sarge.”

Bottom divider by @/enchanthings

Author rant: As I was finishing this up it was 0329 and I actually took a sachet coffee at 2300 to work on my internship report with the necessary Writing Big Brain™ and oh sweet God it’s a heckin bad idea I need more sleep 🛌🏽

Taglist: @yoursrosie @hellfiresky @filamentlights @msmeredithrose @heidnspeak @lucyysthings @emmaw18 @leiopython-rat

A/N: You can request for x reader in my askbox! If you're interested in my clone x reader oneshots you can sign up as well to be tagged of future works. (Link provided ⬆️)

[vodika-vibes]

I'll Take Care Of You

Summary: You get sick, and Hunter finds out.

Pairing: TBB Hunter x F!Reader

Word Count: 892

Warnings: Reader is very sick, Hunter calls reader Sweetling

A/N: I'm still really sick, but I wanted to try writing something, which is how this was born. I'm sorry if it's not very good. Tagging @clonethirstingisreal because you love Hunter

Click HERE to be added to my taglist

 You feel like death warmed over.

Actually, that might be an understatement.

You have a fever, the chills and the sweating make that obvious. You can feel your cough deep in your chest, and you get winded walking from the bedroom to the kitchen even though it’s only a short walk away.

Bronchitis. Your tired mind offers you as you try to busy yourself deeper under your blankets, trying to ward off the chill that goes hand in hand with having a fever.

And, you could call the clinic and make an appointment and get some medicine, but you also know that the illness will run its course with or without treatment. And you’re just so tired.

Not to mention, the very idea of climbing on your speeder to drive to the clinic, only to have to drive back after your appointment makes you want to cry.

No, it’s fine.

You’ll just let the illness run its course.

Hunter will understand.

Your eyes drift shut as sleep threatens to claim you, though something is nudging at your tired mind. It is so hard to focus right now, but that niggling feeling at the back of your mind is really distracting.

Slowly you roll onto your back, your hand moving to your chest to try and rub the pain away while running through a list of important things.

The stove and oven are off, you haven’t used either in several days.

All of your bills have been paid, that was done before you got sick at the beginning of the month.

You’ve eaten and had water in the last hour.

You’ve showered, including washing your hair.

The shower has been turned off and isn’t running in the bathroom.

Your comm is charging next to the bed.

You’ve finished all of your work for the week.

You stare blankly at the ceiling for a moment and then roll back onto your side, so you’re facing the fan that’s helping you catch your breath, and start to drift off. Whatever it is, it can’t be that important.

When you wake up, it’s to the sound of your comm ringing, annoyingly, in your ear. Blindly, you reach for your comm, only for it to stop ringing. A heavy sigh falls from your lips, and you bury yourself back in your pillow, only for your comm to start ringing again.

You groan, miserably, but grab the comm and press it to your ear, “Yes?” Your voice is raspy and thick with sleep and illness, but you can’t bring yourself to care.

There’s silence on the other end of the line for a moment, “Cyare?” 

Oh. Hunter.

Right, that makes sense. No one else calls you.

“Hm?”

“Did you lose your comm, love? You didn’t answer until I called the third time?”

“Was sleeping.” You mumble.

“Still?”

“Hm?” Words are hard, you’re so tired.

“Baby, it’s nearing 3 pm.” Oh. “Have you been asleep all day?”

“Mm-hm.” You turn your head away from the comm to cough into your pillow, it wouldn’t be nice to cough in Hunter’s ear. Even over comm.

“Cyare, are you sick?”

“M’okay. Just tired.” Why is it so cold? You can’t stop shivering. You tug your blanket a little higher up your body, “M’tired, Hunter.”

“Hey, I’m coming over, cyare. Will you stay on the comm with me?” His voice sounds weird.

You sigh deeply, “Just wanna sleep, Hunter.”

“I know. I know you do, sweetling. But I need you to stay on the comm with me, alright? Can you do that for me?”

“Mm…” But, despite your agreement, you drift back to sleep with Hunter’s worried voice in your ear.

The next thing you know, you’re being woken up by Hunter rubbing his knuckles against your sternum. It hurts, and you whine as you try to wiggle away from the sensation.

“There you are,” Hunter’s hair is pulled into a tail at the back of his head, and he’s not wearing his headband for once.

You blink at him, slightly bewildered. “What—?”

“You passed out while on the comm with me, sweetling,” Hunter replies, somehow able to decipher your barely audible word, “You’re burning up.”

You blink at him, twice, “You're gonna get sick.”

“Nah, I don’t get sick.” Hunter’s hands are cool to the touch as he helps you sit up, “Up you get, sweetling. We’re going to the hospital.”

You whine in the back of your throat, you don’t want to go to the hospital. But you couldn’t keep Hunter from moving you how he likes on a good day, and this is definitely not a good day.

“I know, I know.” Hunter carefully guides you to a sitting position, and tugs your sweat-soaked pajamas off of your overheated body, reaching for a pile of clothes sitting on the side of the bed, “It’s okay, sweetling, I’ll take care of you.”

Slowly, you drop your pounding head to his shoulder, “Love you.” There are so many other things that you want to say to him. Like thank you, and I’m sorry, and probably a million other things.

But words are so hard right now.

And, in any event, he seems to know what you’re trying to say anyway, as he presses a light kiss to your temple and then tugs your tank top over your head. “Love you more, sweetling.”

@imabeautifulbutterfly

@n0vqni

@kimiheartblade

@yoitsjay

@liz-stat

@bb8-99

@falconfeather23435

@dukeoftheblackstar

@continous-mistakes

@0revna0

@trixie2023

@mira-loves-star-wars

@adriennelenoir

@rebell-ious

@silly-starfish

@heidnspeak

@maniacalbooper

@padawancat97

@justiceandwar98

@cdblake1565

@cc--2224

@wax-birds

@tiredbi-peach

@sweater-sloot

@etod

@lonewolflupe

@bad4amficideas

@kiss-anon

[inkybyl]

The Bad Batch x Fem!Pregnant!Reader

18+, suggestive themes! Minors DNI

Part 2 is here!:

A/N: So I’ve been on nothing but a Bad Batch binge - I finally got around to watching it a couple months ago and rewatched it the other day! Since then I’ve been (shamefully) reading nothing but Bad Batch/Clone Wars Fics 🫣 I’m absolutely in love with the community and can’t help but kick myself for waiting so long to watch it.

I couldn’t help but write something to get it out of my head. I’ve already written part of a Bounty Hunter Reader x TBB and sent it to my friend 😔 🫣 This, however… I don’t think I can send to people IRL lmfao. I’ve also remembered that people can post whatever they want to their own accounts and I thought, ‘why the hell not?’ I think the last time I ever posted a fic anywhere was back in the golden days of Wattpad many, many years ago. (This’ll be the first fic I’d of ever posted on Tumblr 🫣)

Word Count: 3.7k

Content Warnings:

Wrote this on my phone with zero plot about it!! (Copy & pasted directly from Notes so the paragraph spacing might be weird)!

I lowkey just wanted to write a cute dynamic between the boys + reader… 🫣

Not Proofread, rushed ending!

Reader’s Relationship with Omega is PLATONIC!

Fem!Reader, Pregnant!Reader, POLY!BadBatch (the Reader is in an established relationship with the boys), (I didn’t write as much as I would’ve liked about the pregnancy because I got super embarrassed and self conscious with myself), Suggestive Themes - mentions/thoughts of oral! Mainly fluff, wholesome and domestic dynamics with the Batch + Omega. Slight Spoilers for TBB Ending, not really, but just in case!

(Set post-TBB ending + Tech is alive for the sake of this fic!)

“Wrecker! Can you come and help me out, pleeease~?”

You called out from your bed, snuggling into the covers further. Wrecker had heard your voice from his seat in the dining room amongst his brothers, immediately scraping it backwards and nearly toppling over. He rushed from his unsteady position towards the room, unbeknownst to him that his brothers had followed with the same urgency.

“Mesh’la! Are you alright?!” He hurried, skidding into the bedroom and kneeling by the bed, his hand capturing yours as the boys stood by the door.

With a giggle, your other hand came to his cheek, “Of course, my beloved.” He breathed a sigh of relief, as did the rest of them, leaning into your touch while placing a delicate kiss to your wrist. “Then… what-uh.. what’d you need help with, Sarad?” He asked gently, looking into your eyes.

You smiled, eyes flicking to the rest of the batch, knowing that they hoped you couldn’t see them - but you had been a member of their squad for too long, been their partner for too long to know exactly when they were looking out for you. It warmed your core as you brought your hand to your enlarged belly underneath the covers, placing a gentle kiss onto Wrecker’s nose.

“Could you get me something sweet? I’m not sure what we’ve got left in the kitchen apart from the fish you and Crosshair had caught.” You hummed, a mischievous grin playing on your face as you heard Crosshair click his tongue. Wrecker laughed loudly, “Of course, Mesh’la! But is that all ya’ wanted? I can always get you more than that!” He grinned, not realising Tech had walked into the room to kneel down next to his larger brother, eyes and fingers engrossed in his data pad, “I have to interject, cyar’ika. Too many sweet treats may affect you and, or the baby.”

“Awh, don’t worry, Tech! I haven’t had that many!”

“This will be your fifth of the day.”

Wrecker laughed at his brother’s quip, Hunter and Crosshair walking into the room this time, the Sergeant sitting by your feet whilst the Sniper sat behind your back. “Are you surprised? Our Riduur is carrying Wrecker’s baby.” Crosshair said to Tech, earning a playful scoff coming from the largest of the group. Wrecker turned to look at Hunter with you, both of you attempting your best pouts, “Pleeease?” You asked sweetly, earning a sigh from the tired leader.

You had always tried to sway Hunter to have him wrapped around your finger, usually it always worked in your favour, but since you fell pregnant he’s been able to put his foot down a lot more than before. “You heard Tech, Cyar’ika. Why don’t we get you something different this time?” He offered with a small smile, his hand rubbing up and down your calf over the covers. “We can comm Echo, he should still be at the market with Omega.”

With a soft hum, your finger patted your chin. You really wanted something sweet but you knew your boys were looking out for you, albeit they might go over the top, but it was all you could ever ask for.

You smiled softly at him, “Okay, Hunter.” You grinned, laughing at the visible tension leaving his shoulders at your agreement.

Crosshair’s bionic hand had slowly made its way to your shoulder - the skinnier brother of the group had always struggled to show his affection for you in front of anyone else, but with recent events, he found himself ignoring any teasing that he thought would come his way. “Why don’t we meet them halfway?” He murmured, “You haven’t had any fresh air today.” He told you simply, raising an eyebrow when you whined, “But I’ve had the window open all day!”

“An open window does not give you the same benefits of going outside for a walk, cyare. The benefits that would bode well for you would be the exercise, additionally the—“, “Yeah, yeah, Tech, she knows!” Wrecker interrupted with a gentle nudge to his shoulder. Wrecker turned his face back to yours, leaning his cheek on the mattress to brush his nose with yours, “C’mon, Mesh’la. Cross’s right, let’s get you outside for a li’l bit.” He spoke with his softer tone that he knew you loved and could never say no to.

Your eyebrows furrowed as you attempted to look as though you were physically fighting off your partner’s cuteness, dramatically letting out an exasperated breath, “Fine, I suppose I should.” You sighed, hiding your smile when you could see them relax slightly. “And don’t worry, Mesh’la, I’ll carry you up the hill if your feet get sore!” Wrecker grinned, his hands coming underneath your arms to gently pull you out of bed and to your feet. You hummed in appreciation as his hands drifted to your belly, his eyes softening at the bump beneath your dress.

Crosshair and Hunter stood from the bed while Tech stood from his previously knelt position next to Wrecker, his hand gingerly coming to yours. “If you require assistance walking down the steeper parts of the way, you may hold onto me. I-If you require.” Tech offered, the rim of his goggles hiding majority of his awkward blush. However, just like how Crosshair’s would, the tips of his ears were brighter than anything and had earned a chuckle from the Sniper, “Smooth, Vod.”

You placed a kiss to the tip of Tech’s nose like you had with Wrecker, gently squeezing his hand in appreciation and looking between them, “Thank you both, and you’re right Wrecker, I might need a hand coming back up. And I’ll take you up on that offer, Tech.” You smiled kindly, addressing both of their offers before stretching, walking past Hunter and towards the refresher. “But first, I need to get freshened up, are you okay to wait for me at the door?” You asked, fluttering your eyes at the group, innocently connecting your hands behind your back. With a subtle blush from each of them, they nodded, hastily leaving the room to you for you to get ready.

You were quicker than you were expecting, walking into the dining room to see Hunter on his comm talking to Echo. “Yeah, we’ll be leaving soon - are you and Omega okay to wait up for us?” You smiled as you heard Omega’s excited chatter from the small device, grabbing your bag and slipping on your sandals. Wrecker had taken notice of you when you slipped your shoes on, walking over to you and gently taking the bags from your hands, “Wrecker, don’t be silly - I can carry bags at least.”

“Don’t you worry, Mesh’la. You leave all the work to us.” He beamed, placing a kiss to your lips with a soft squeeze on your shoulder.

You both walked over to the rest of the batch, Tech walking over to your side while Hunter and Crosshair stood by the door, adjusting their bags and taking one last look around your house to make sure they hadn’t forgotten anything. Tech slid his hand into yours, and with a gentle squeeze began walking with you out of the door. “Now, cyare. Is there anything else that is calling to your cravings?” He asked, “Apart from anything highly concentrated with sugar for the time being.”

You giggled, looking behind at the group, “That depends… who’s cooking tonight?” The boys looked amongst one another until Crosshair spoke up with a tone of boredom, “Echo.”

“Wait, but isn’t it—“

“Echo.”

You laughed at his adamance, “Does Echo know that? Didn’t he cook last night?”

Crosshair shrugged, placing a toothpick between his lips as you all began your descend to the market stalls. “If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll know it’s his turn to cook.”

Wrecker let out a boisterous laugh, nudging Crosshair’s shoulder, “You can admit ya like Echo’s cooking ya’ know, Cross!” Hunter gently shook his head as the Sniper grunted in protest. “As long as we’re not eating rations again, I don’t mind cooking.” The leader offered, catching up to you and Tech to talk about what you could eat, or rather, what Tech thought was best for you to eat.

It wasn’t long before you reached the bustling stalls of the island, many locals nodding and greeting you all politely, some even asking you how you were getting along. You looked along the crowd, searching for Omega and Echo until you looked up to one of the lamp posts in the distance, “Ah, there’s Omega!” You cheered, pointing and waving at the young girl.

Omega had climbed the foundation of the lamp to get a better look over the crowd, and once she had caught eyes on you with her brothers, she began to wave excitedly, looking down to probably alert Echo. She leapt down and you could only imagine she was running towards you all.

As soon as you saw a flash of her white hair in the crowd you ran ahead of the boys, all of their breaths hitching as they shouted after you to slow down. With an excited giggle you opened your arms for a hug from Omega, spinning her around and squeezed her closer to you. “Ahh, I missed you so much Omega!” You chirped, giving her cheek a gentle peck before ruffling her hair affectionately, “Hey!” She giggled, swatting your hand away, “You saw me this morning!” She said to you with a big smile as you sighed, “I know, and I’ve been stuck with your brothers since then!” You joked as they caught up to you both, Wrecker panting with a worried expression. Omega grinned at Wrecker, giggling a little at his concern before giving your belly a cute kiss and gave you another tight squeeze before running over to her brothers, hugging them all the same. Wrecker walked over to you, his expression still one of concern, “Mesh’la… you scared me, what if you tripped? What.. what if you’d fallen…?” He whispered, his hand coming down to your belly. Your eyebrow raised as you tilted your head, still smiling at him as you didn’t want to undermine his concern for you. “Oh, love… I understand that you— you’re all concerned for me, but don’t forget I was a soldier too. I can handle myself.” You told him, your hand coming to meet his on your bump.

His brows furrowed in thought, knowing that you were more than capable of protecting yourself and his little one - even before the batch had met you, but it didn’t mean he didn’t worry. The first time you had gotten intimate with the boys they had spent, what felt like, hours kissing the scars you’d received in your battles alongside the 501st. You were more than capable of handling yourself.

And that was exactly what worried them.

Your mind still lingered around the days that you were a field medic, a skilled one at that. You knew your way around a blaster and had certainly gotten familiar with the trigger of one. You could patch up a whole squad alongside Kix whilst fighting off any enemies that came your way, a protectiveness in your eyes, and actions, that Clone Force 99 got to witness firsthand when you were assigned on your first mission with them.

You knew that sometimes they would long for the battlefield, and they knew you longed for it, too. It was in their nature to long for it, they knew nothing else, they were made for it - however you chose to sign up with the republic, you had chosen to train to help the clones and Jedi with their battles across the galaxy.

They thanked the Maker that you were assigned to their squad just that one time.

You never left them.

They saw firsthand how much you cared for them, how you refused to see them as, “expendable”. They would shower you with affection alongside your markings, but you would show theirs far more delicate care, ‘A woman’s touch…’ You had told them, disguising your affections with small tales and fibs.

At the time, you hadn’t the words to convey to them how much you cared about them, how their mistreatment angered you, despite of all of their successful missions.

But having been with them for as long as you had now, you made it a daily goal to remind each of these boys how much they had meant to you, especially now you were carrying a child within you. You’d be damned if any of them died on you now.

Wrecker knocked himself back into the present when your hand graced his cheek, “Cyare?” Your voice broke through to him.

He managed a breathless chuckle, his small reminisce on the old days had brought a smile to his face, kissing your palm with a fondness he knew you’d pick up on, “… I know you can handle yourself… that’s what worries me.” He joked, earning a loud laugh from you, gaining curious glances from the rest of the squad. You hadn’t realised that Echo was behind you during Wrecker’s space-out, gently tapping his scomp into your side, “You’re not running around and causing trouble, are you, Mesh’la?” He asked.

Placing a kiss to Wrecker’s cheek, you turned your face over your shoulder to see the ARC trooper grinning at you, dressed in comfortable slacks as his arm wrapped around your waist, his forearm taking some of the weight off of your belly that let you sigh in relief, “Thank you, Echo… And of course not! Who do you think I am?!” You jested, motioning to yourself as both men stared at you unimpressed.

“Our troublesome medic.”

They answered for you, Wrecker leaning in to your right, and Echo leaning in for your left cheek, leaving their kisses on your soft skin with a shy squeal from you. “Hey, we still need to grab some things for our dinner tonight!” You protested, playfully swatting the men away, your arm resting atop your stomach as Wrecker placed his arm around your shoulder affectionately.

“Ah, I already grabbed some things, I thought we could have either this for our dinner or—“ Echo started, showing you a bag full of goodies you hadn’t noticed until now, listing the many dinner options you all could have thanks to the mother-trooper of the group.

Wrecker and you had exchanged a glance before giggling softly, not wanting to make Echo think he’d said something wrong, “What’s up with you two?”

“Nothing, Echo.” You grinned, holding his hand, “We’re laughing because on the way here, we were joking about who was going to make the dinner-“

“Crosshair wanted it to be you!”

“But Hunter’s offered to make it, if you don’t want to.” You explained, smiling softly at your massive partner interrupting you from excitement, grinning at Echo’s stunned face.

He glanced at his shopping bag before looking over at the leader of the group, “Oi, Hunter,” he called, gaining his attention, “Catch.” He said simply, skilfully throwing the bag in his Vod’s direction and smiling once Hunter had caught it, “Figure out what you can make with that.” He teased, his arm wrapping around your back alongside Wrecker’s, “I haven’t been able to spend any time with our lovely Cyar’ika since this morning.” Echo explained, staring down at you with an expression full of endearment.

Leaning into the men’s warmth, your little group continued to walk around the stalls, Hunter looking rather pensive as he began to take his duty as cook seriously, looking for herbs and spices to go with whatever he had planned. Omega would chip in with throwing in random ingredients, charming Hunter with her innocent smile as he would look to Tech to fact check what she had thrown in.

Crosshair, trying his best to remain as enigmatic as he could, kept a close eye on what was going to be involved in your dinner, whispering to Tech and double checking if you would be okay eating certain things. The thought behind his actions warmed your heart, but you knew that you wanted to relax - and you wanted the boys to feel the same. “Cross, we’re not going to get poisoned any time soon.” You joked, looking at him with a raised brow as your arms were still interlocked with Echo and Wrecker, enjoying the time you were able to spend with them on this walk.

Crosshair scoffed, acting as though he wasn’t looking out for you, “Who knows what Hunter’s grabbing? Might make the dinner taste like osik.” He huffed, his ears tinging with a soft blush much like Tech’s would. Hunter whipped around to glare at his brother with a growl, deciding against arguing with his youngest in public before rolling his eyes. You giggled, softly sliding out of Echo and Wrecker’s arms with a soft kiss to each of their cheeks, walking over to the leader of the squad, your hand gracing his shoulder comfortingly, “Don’t worry, Sergeant. The dinners you make are always lovely,” you complimented, sending a playful glare towards Crosshair.

The meals that Hunter would make would always end up being on the blander side, none of you the heart to break it to him that his portioning of herbs and spices did nothing for your own tastes. He could pick up on the faintest of seasonings and at times he’d forgotten it wasn’t the same for you all. It wasn’t until Crosshair used it against him in one of their arguments that Hunter’s world dawned on him.

“For the last time, you need to stop antagonising anyone who comes near us! It nearly cost us missions in the past, and now you’re pissing off the neighbours! Guess who has to apologise, because it’s sure as hell never you?!”

“Yeah, well maybe I wouldn’t be so pissed off all time if it wasn’t for your shit cooking. Your cooking tastes like shit, Hunter. It’s shit.”

When Crosshair had said to Hunter what you’d all essentially been thinking for months, the Sergeant’s posture stiffened and his cheeks had dusted with embarrassment, the only one able to stick up for him without stuttering being Omega. You all lectured Crosshair until he apologised to the eldest brother in his signature fashion - thankfully now it was a joke that was shared between them both.

Now every time he would create a meal he would ask for someone to be there to taste along the way, knowing that just because his enhanced senses lead him towards picking up on every grain of flavour he would add, he didn’t want that to stop everyone else from having a decent meal.

His intentions were met with praise, knowing it wasn’t his intention to feed you all the bare minimum, so he would over compensate with portion sizes, you were a massive family as it was, he didn’t have to feel like he had to feed you all three times over. Wrecker wouldn’t complain, the more he could eat, the happier he was.

Hunter had blushed at your compliment, your use of his rank always making his hairs stand on end, it would always remind him of the intimate moments you would spend with him. Whether it were moments spent with his brothers or just himself, his rank slipping from your lips always excited him in ways he knew he should never have indulged - but with the war for them over, he found himself leaning into his enjoyments a lot more than usual.

But with you all in public, with Omega of all people, he had to bring himself almost to attention, his eyes looking away from yours, “… Thank you, Cyar’ika…” He mumbled, his blush darkening when you had kissed his cheek, grinning at him with adoration. He smiled at your soft giggle, placing a kiss on your temple before turning back to the stalls, Echo deciding to join him and Tech in looking for ingredients.

Crosshair snuck up behind you, his hand lightly tracing your waist as he looked down at your form, “You don’t need to lie to him.” He joked with a straight face, earning a laugh from you. “You can always tell me if you’re sad Cross, I know Echo’s not making the dinner tonight but-“

Your arms came around to hold his jaw, loving the feeling of his chuckle against your back, “Never, ram’ser.” You smiled, leaning up to place a kiss on his chin.

Your attentions turned towards the group, Wrecker now holding Omega on his shoulder, snacking on some of the crackers Echo had bought before you got here whilst getting scolded that they might fill themselves up.

“Y’know… we could sneak back to house without anyone noticing,” Crosshair whispered in your ear, his arms coming underneath your stomach and alleviating some weight, “I could rub your legs… your back,” he began to list, lips coming to kiss the shell of your ear. His voice sent tingles through your thighs and to your core, a pleasant shiver rolling down your back, “And after I’ve given you a massage I could help you relax…” he purred, his fingers comfortably rubbing circles along your belly.

You wanted nothing more than to see Crosshair looking up at you from between your legs, to feel his hands over your body once again.

Since becoming pregnant, all your boys made sure to treat you like the most delicate gems, looking out for your every need no matter what the situation. In the fleeting moments of intimacy you shared with them, they were all incredibly gentle and soft, showering you with constant compliments and praises, paying close attention to your changing body - especially Wrecker.

The thoughts enveloped your thinking entirely, biting your lip with a cheeky smirk, looking at Crosshair from your peripheral. “We’ve probably got… 2 minutes before they realise I’m missing.” You grinned, the sniper matching your mischievous glint, “Well then we better not waste them.” You covered your mouth when a giggle fell from your lips, Crosshair kissing at your neck as he began to direct you back in the direction of your shared house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for reading!

Sorry for the incredibly rushed ending - like mentioned at the top, this had zero plot when going into it, it was very much writing as the ideas come into fruition 🤣

I’ve never posted a fic to Tumblr before so if you enjoyed, woohoo! 💕

[starwarsbundle]

TBB Headcannons they probably deserve.

Did you know that a headcannon means something you (YOU) think is cannon about a character?

WELL I DID NOT. Until a couple of days ago.

Also I started binging the Bad Batch; so now I have thoughts.

Hunter is probably most of those thoughts, so he’ll go first.

He absolutely listens to Hozier’s “Too Sweet”. And Britany Spears’ “Gimme More”. No I will not elaborate.

He looks like he should know how to braid hair but DOESN’T. He’d let Omega braid his hair though. Or Tech, but only those two. Again, I will not explain the specifics.

His Fett(tm) Dad(tm) instincts immediately emerged the minute he saw Omega. Unfortunately poor guy makes up parenting as he goes along.

He has reactions to certain sounds/scents/textures, due to his enhanced senses. And by reactions I mean cat-bristle-pine-tail-standing-up-on-end reactions.

Awkward hugger. Doesn’t know how to hug/be hugged. This guy hasn’t figured out how to properly express affection. He’s getting there.

LIKES hugs though. Just doesn’t know what to do about it.

Would definitely throw random sh$t at his batchmates if he was annoyed. Like, whatever is to hand - tools, Lula, socks (sometimes his own boots).

Can and will sleep sitting up with his helmet on if too overstimulated. Will be cranky the next day though from an aching back.

Sleep migrates. As in, went to sleep in his bunk, woke up in someone else’s. With them. The Batch is used to it. Wrecker gives him hugs if he finds him. Crosshair complains but will snuggle closer to Hunter if he wakes up first. Echo pretends he doesn’t notice. Tech gets annoyed because Hunter sleep-steals his blankets. Doesn’t shoo him away though.

Mends his own socks. Can’t mend anything else for the life of him, however.

Spinning his Knife(tm) is a form of stress relief. It definitely intimidates strangers who don’t know the poor guy is just stressed.

Surprisingly is NOT food fussy, despite his enhanced senses. It is an ongoing mystery for Tech.

I might make more of these. We’ll see.

[eriexplosion]

"The Emperor should be pleased we accomplished a successful transfer."

"Not when the M-count was severely diminished in the process. If we do not match or exceed the specimens' original count, it is a failure."

This is interesting to me and not something I've seen pointed out much - Project Necromancer did make some progress before Omega's candidacy was determined. They successfully performed a midichlorian transfer, but just one.

We know that the kids are the donors, but these experiments are being performed on clones with the expectation of being able to successfully transfer force sensitivity into a clone, so the recipient of this would have to also be a clone. It's not Crosshair, so who is it?

Well, we never find out. There's no mention past this of a successful transfer or force sensitivity among any of the rescued clones. But, I do think it's not a throwaway line - because Project Necromancer is still going past TBB. All of Hemlock's data is destroyed, but in The Mandalorian we find out Brendol Hux has been put in charge of it.

So what's the connecting thread? It might be this single successful transfer on an unknown clone. Even just a sample of blood from him might be enough for Palpatine to scrape Project Necromancer back together from nothing.

Which leads to the follow up question, who the hell is this? It doesn't seem to be any of our rescued clones from the finale.

For me, the most likely candidate is CX-2, both because of the focus he gets and his sheer durability beyond what should be normal for a clone. Man got crushed, blown up, AND drowned in the same two parter and kept coming.

Which leads into my theory that the impalement hindered him but didn't kill him, and that Palpatine collected him when no other data was recoverable. (Whether this means CX-2 is still a possibility for Tech or not is up to you, I know I enjoy the theory.)

But one way or another, I think whatever comes next has to tell us who the hell received the m-count transfer and where they are now, because this is the one possibility for any of Hemlock's research to carry forward with him and Nala Se both dead and his data gone.

[stars-n-spice]

Questions TBB Better Fucking Answer Soon:

Where the FUCK is Tech??? Stop fucking giving us hope that he might be C2-X or whatever the fuck. Fucking show us his dead body or give him back to us!

Where the FUCK is Cody?? Huh??? Where did he go??? Only acceptable answer? He's on his way to Tatooine to be with Obi-Wan. You reveal that and all will be forgiven. I promise. Maybe.

WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED WITH WOLFFE FOR LETTING REX AND THE GANG GET AWAY HUH??? I'M SURE THERE WERE CONSEQUENCES!! WHEN THE FUCK ARE WE GOING TO GET HIM BACK???

What the fuck is up with Omega. Straight up. What. How. and Why? Same with Emerie. How the fuck did they come to be? Are they trans? yes. next question.

Also why does Emerie get a last name and nobody else does, hm? Why is she Emerie Karr, is that like,, did she choose that or like?? Ok dumb question sure but like,, EXPLAIN HOW AND WHY OR JUST CONFIRM SHE'S TRANS OR SOMETHING C'MON NOW.

SHOW US WHAT THE FUCK IS IN THOSE FUCKING TUBES!

I'm sorry, I'm yelling but I've spent most of this season fucking confused and frustrated.

Where the fuck did the zillo beast go? And when is it going to eat Hemlock and Palpatine?

So...Senator Chuchi and Clone Revolution when?

And like...Cid is just...she's just going to be able to get away with what she did? We're just gonna forget about her? I mean sure, but I really thought they'd bring her back or something.

What the fuck happened to Crosshair on Tatniss? Wait, nevermind, don't tell me, I don't want to know, it'll only make me sad-

WAIT SO LIKE,, DID CROSSHAIR EVER ACTUALLY GET HIS FUCKING CHIP REMOVED OR NOT???

Explain again Hunter's enhanced senses and why the fuck he seems to have lost them in this season.

Also answer why Wrecker is the most perfect man ever? Why did they craft the most wonderful man to exist and then make him not real? You trying to kill me or what?

Feel free to add on because there are only the ones on the top of my head.

[oceansssblue]

Can I request a Hunter x reader fic where they have a knife throwing contest? (You can choose who wins)

cool request! I'm down!

Decided to do a little flirty thing between a badass female reader and our sexy sargent. Note for everyone that requests me something; if you want speficically a female male or neutral reader do tell me! If not I'll jump to whatever I feel.

Hope you like it!

Xx,

Sky.

"A SHARP SMILE"

TBB REQUESTS –HUNTER/F READER 📩💖🔥

WARNINGS: PUBLIC KNIFE THROWING CONTEST, SEXUAL TENSION&SUGESTIVE (BUT NO SMUT), FLEETING MENTIONS OF ALCOHOL AND A SINGLE FLEETING REFERENCE TO PROSTITUTION.

Hunter carefully watched another round of the knife throwing contest develop in front of his eyes. Cid's Salon had been experiencing a drop in it's sales for quite a few weeks now; and after Tech's comment on how announcing special shows or activities could be an adecuate solution to such a problem, the Trandoshan had oficially inaugurated "Friday's Knife night". Tech had pointed out he had been alluding more to a special drink's discount or karaoke night; but Cid had waved an impatient hand at that, and claimed Ord Mantell didn't catter to the same "Coruscant's sweethearts". Hunter could only agree. The idea of the citizens in Ord Mantell singing a ballad was... Something.

The contestants were good for normal everyday people standards. Most of the knifes always ended up properly stuck to the wood board; though only a few of the participants were skilled enough to hit the borders of the –one round human, another round twi'lek, and so on– black siluete. He could tell who tried just for fun and who had had to use knifes before to defend themselves. None were good enough to match Hunter's seasoned abilities, though; which was the reason why he had comformed himself to remain a silent spectator instead of an active participant.

Almost an hour later, Cid announced the last contest of the night. Hunter studied everyone who payed the fee and wrote their names –and identifications– down on the list; wondering if he should just play in this last chance. There was nothing that ruled him out. He could inscribe himself and win the price; Omega could do with a new set of clothes, as she was outgrowing her current one quite fast. Hunter gulped down the leftover of his drink and patted Echo's shoulder; making his way towards the line.

Upon seing him, Cid rolled her eyes.

"Gonna double that bet, Broody?" she tempted him.

Hunter nodded with a shrug.

"That way I might be able to pay the exagerated fee you'll probably request from us next time" he smiled falsely sweetly, signing his name and turning to walk away towards the wood board.

Cid glanced at you waiting patiently on the line and smirked. Oh, was Broody in for a surprise.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

You silently studied your competition. You needed to repair your bike and you were confident on winning that price. The bet was higher than the rounds before as well; the first place just had your name written on it. Plus, half of the participants were already embriagated at this point of the night. It wouldn't be too difficult, or so you hoped.

There were some new faces and some regulars. Your mind quickly divided the participants into three groups; real competition, like Raak –a duros you have had the bad luck to fight against with more than once in the past–, complete drunk disasters, and strangers you weren't really sure were to place that could be a potencial surprise. Like the male human clad up with heavy looking armour as if he was ready to jump on on an open battlefield anytime now; your eyes quickly detecting a vibroblade hidding in a compartment on his thigh. The guy certainly cut an intimidating figure; broad shoulders and trained muscles moving under his armour. His long hair –pushed back and away from his tattood face with a red bandanna across his forehead– didn't sweeten his looks; he still looked... A spicy kind of dangerous.

The corner of your lips inevitably tugged upwards. You've always had a nick for this kind of men; men who could ruin you but who you quickly put into place.

Right then and there, his eyes flickered over the room; quickly landing on yours, almost as if he could feel your stare.

You arched an eyebrow in half surprise, half amusement, and half defiance. Well, wasn't he some kind of well trained soldier or mercenary perfectly aware of his surroundings... You almost wished he could make you a run for your money; give the night some exciting real competition.

Your perspective on such a handsome attractive man would forever be tainted if he just made a dissapointing mess of his knife throws. Just in case he didn't, you threw him a quiet side smile.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Hunter's eyes couldn't help but bore into the female stranger; watching without missing a beat how the woman carefully picked up a knife from the table of possibilities offered by Cid. She slowly examined the weapon, turning it around in her hand patiently; studying it's shape and weight while ignoring the muttering and impatient calls from the crowd around them.

She seemed to nod to herself and he took in the way she positioned herself in front of the wood board; stance impecable with her body slightly turned to the right side, fingers gripping the shiny end with just the needed amount of strength. With just that and the way she concentrated on the siluete –not her hand–, and how she retracted her right arm back before quickly throwing her knife forward, Hunter already knew she had done an good job. Still, he couldn't help but feel surprised at the precision with which the knife got stuck to the center of the chest markings on the twi'lek black siluete; and how she swiftly and calmly abandoned her stance as if it was nothing.

For the second time that night, the pretty woman catched his eye and arched her eyebrow towards him; as if she were asking him a silent "there, that's my shot. What about yours?".

Hunter's hand confidently grabbed a sturdier knife from the table and got into position. He was... Intrigued, for now; but he'd show her how it was done.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

You couldn't help but feel a tingle of excitement and arousal at such a sight. The man –you have discovered his name was Hunter, appropiate for the way he moved and watched– is definitely not a dissapointment of any kind. Round after round, he had matched you outstandingly well; all of his knifes hitting the exact center of the targets, not letting you stand ahead of him for a single point. He glances at you each time he finishes a throw now too; indulging in your little game and warming up the blood in your veins. It has been a while since you felt this attracted to someone; more so with him being a total stranger.

When it's the other participants time to throw –Raak following the two of you closely behind– he casually stops besides you; his eyes never leaving the contest in front of you.

"How' you learnt to throw like that?"

His voice is deep and slightly husky. Oh, this couldn't get any better.

You keep your wits together regardless of your thoughts and reply just as nochalant.

"Life has a strange way of throwing shit at you" you answer, arms crossed in front of your chest, eyes on the board. "I prefer to throw my shit back at her".

He glances down at you, and you can't help but smirk quietly. You know it's vague, but you're not about to spill all your secrets. He'll have to work with that.

"What about you?" You ask back, this time letting your eyes drive up to his dark amber ones. "You gonna tell me you know your way around a knife like that just by being a model Ord Mantell citizen?"

He hums non-comitally, eyes boring into yours. You have to force yourself not to fidget at such intensity. He really is something.

"Thought my outfit gave it a way" he humours you.

It pulls a smile on your face. Yeah, he's not giving away unnecessary information to potencially dangerous strangers either. Well, at least he's smart and has a sense of humour; you'll give him that.

"Last round, handsome" you push your luck and teasingly move your very fingertips along his shoulder and down to his arm. He squints his eyes at you and you grin up to him innocently. "Better not get distracted".

Hunter hums and moves to pick up his last knife.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The man has, once more, impecably hit all of his knifes on each center of the human siluete target. You only have to repeat the same and you'll both split the price; it's not ideal, but you'll have just enough to fix your bike with the savings you've been keeping this past month.

After picking your knife up, you glance at him one last time. Maybe as a way of saying goodbye. If he's a sore looser, or if he simply doesn't want anything else to do with you, this would probably be your last time of enjoying the sight of such a specimen.

You don't expect to see him with his... Daugther, though. It's obvious the way they're related with how the blonde kid looks up at him; chatting up excitedly and the love and admiration she holds for him bright in her wide eyes. He chuckles quietly, slightly bent down towards her, and pats her shoulder affectionately. Behind the girl, three other men have approached the scene too; perhaps equally interested in watching the final wrap up. Perhaps to support Hunter. They're all wearing the same kind of armour; minor alterations, but it's obvious they're a squad of some sort. A family. And they all look at the kid exactly the same way.

You glance at her, and then down at the knife in your hand, a million thoughts speeding through your head. You haven't had the easiest of childhoods. War is all you remember for a big part of your life; your teens spent running away. You had been forced to adapt to the cruel ways of the galaxy very quickly; and with the options being either becoming a prostitute or an assassin, you had made the choice that finished moulding the person you are today. You're not proud; but you're not exactly regretful either. There are a few deaths you always carry in your conscience; but you mostly only accepted the requests you hand-picked yourself, so you've kinda done your part wiping your corner of the galaxy from scum. Not the prettiest of jobs, and certainly not one you would go proudly announcing around; but life's life. You'd like this kid to have an easier one; and by the way her family are head to toes covered in armour, ready to fight ay any given second, you're guessing it hasn't been going exactly that way til this point in time.

You catch Hunter's eyes staring at you. Your heart beats faster inside your chest. Your hand tingles.

You turn towards the target. You calmly position yourself. You take a deep breath; and then, your last knife flies to the target.

Laughs and cheers errupt around you. The blonde kid smiles.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Here you go, Broody" grumbles Cid, reluctantly pushing the pile of credits into Hunter's opened hands.

Hunter smirks.

"Bet all against me, huh?" he asks, inevitably happy.

Cid gives him the side eye.

"Well, my pockets would be full if my girl there didn't succumb to your supposedly good looks" she quotes with her hands, then roles her eyes. "I never quite understood the hype for humans anyway".

The Trandoshan walks away, still muttering a hundred of insults and dissapointed comments. Hunter doesn't feel a tad of guiltyness; Cid might not have won the bet, but she had definitely made good money on Tech's idea. The salon had been to the brim, drinks flowing around constantly. She really can't complain.

Hunter leaves the earned credits with his brothers and then turns to scan the lingering crowd. He quickly finds you talking to another participant near the entrance of the Salon. He excuses himself from his family and walks towards you.

You quickly wrap up your conversation with Raak with a forced smile, and once the Duros has reluctantly walked away, you turn to the approaching figure with a honest one.

"Ah, the man of the night" you chirp, roaming your eyes ever him quickly. "Got all those credits in a safe place?

Hunter glances back at Wrecker.

"Don't think anyone's gonna try to steal from him" he answers in good humour, and you nod in agreement.

You've never seen a human that big.

Hunter studies you quietly for a pair of seconds; then tilts his head.

"I admit the knife in the crotch was a good dramatic ending" he comments, then asks genuinely "Why did you let me win?".

You hum and take a look back at his family.

"Kid's cute. She yours?" You directly ask in return.

Hunter smiles.

"Sister" he explains. "More like an adopted daugther, now, though".

You can see the love he holds for her as well in the way he speaks and his features soften.

"Well, I've done some bad things in the past, but I still got a heart" you explain, trying to sound casual. Vulnerability is not often showed in planets like this. "You probably need those credits more than me".

Hunter is surprised; both by your reasoning and the fact that you're admiting it out loud to him. People aren't usually that honest and... considerate here. Or in the majority of places in the galaxy. This... Doesn't really match the idea of this dangerous –though sexy– woman he has in his head. This suddenly makes you more... human.

"What were you going to do with the price?" He asks, curiously.

You shrug.

"Repair my bike. I can usually do it myself, but I can't seem to find the problem this time".

Hunter hums. He doesn't take his eyes off of you.

"One of my brothers knows his way around mechanics pretty well. Maybe he could take a look at it, no need for extra payment."

That's sweet. You nod and smile up at him.

"I'd appreciate it".

You fill yourself with courage and take a tempting step towards him; right hand gently travelling upwards to rest in his chest plate.

"Now, why don't you follow me home for the night, mm? We can take a look at my bike tomorrow. Whatcha say?".

Hunter's turned on just by the fact you have been the one to ask. He has certainly had his fair number of situationships in the past; but he usually always have to be the one to make the first move. This time, however, he seemed to have catched your eye since the start; and you're decided to see this attraction through. He likes that, a woman that is self-assured and knows what she wants. He's happy it's him for this night.

He exchanges a glance with one of his brother's –the one with the headseat and the scomp– and then makes a polite gesture with his hand. He smirks playfully. You already know you'll be having a good time.

"Lead the way, mesh'la".

THE END.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Wohooo! This spicy little one was so much FUN to write! I hope you all liked it as well, specially the user that requested it.

I'll publish a Tech Mermay long oneshot TODAY AS WELL; and the next one planned will be a Wolffe one.

Stay tunned!

Xx,

Sky.

Back to my main masterlist here:

[photogirl894]

"Sun and Rain Part 2: Age of the Empire"

Chapter 42

"Taken"

A "Bad Batch" fanfic!

Pairing: Hunter x fem OC, Echo (more best friend pairing)

A/N: Hey y'all! I'm back!!

Sheesh, I don't know why, but this chapter really kicked my butt these last couple months!! 😝 It was brutal getting this done and this isn't even the most difficult thing I've had to write!

But strap in, everyone! We're about to head on a rollercoaster y'all aren't prepared for as we reach the conclusion of Part 2 😜 There are still a couple chapters to go, but it's gonna be crazy! This one has a major connection to a future TBB season, specifically season 3. Let's see who all remembers well enough to catch it 😜

Love you all!

Taglist: @the-sad-batch , @nimata-beroya , @intrepidmare , @legolkenxbi , @tech-aficionado ,

@ladykatakuri , @sammi9498 , @darthzero22 , @scarlettrose9901 , @thebadbatchscyare ,

@chxpsi , @ilikemymendarkandfictional , @4pplecider , @locitapurplepink , @l-lend ,

@nekotaetae , @eternalwaffle , @merkitty49 , @avathebestx , @idoubleswearimawriter ,

@techs-stitches , @fantasyproductions , @totallyunidentified , @theknightofivanhoe , @dreamsandrosies ,

@seaofsunberries

《 Chapter 41

》 Chapter 43

All parts (Part 2) (Part 1)

Explanation: The Bad Batch and the Koriena Force find themselves back on Pantora to aid Kida's family in a crisis.

“Remind me again: why are we going back to Pantora?” Wrecker asked.

Rina answered him, “Kida got a family call while we were on our last job and had to bolt pretty quick. It seemed urgent.”

Then Irys added, “We told her we would rendezvous with her back on Pantora after we completed the job and brought the cargo back to Cid. Whatever’s going on, she might need our help.”

Kimber then asked, “Should we contact Rex?”

“No, she wouldn't want us to,” said Lex. “Whatever it is, we can handle it without bothering the good Captain.”

“But it's Kida. If she's in any trouble, he'll want to help,” Omega insisted. 

“He's a fugitive as much as we are,” said Hunter. “We're already taking a big risk going back to Pantora ourselves, given everything that happened last time.”

Then Irys chimed in, “The only reason I felt confident in returning is because we're flying a ship that belonged to Kida’s family.”

With a skeptical glance, Tech commented, “You mean the ship you stole from Kida’s family.”

“Semantics,” replied Irys with a dismissive wave of her hand. “The point is, the Firestar family should recognize the ship and grant us entry. Hopefully, that should help us avoid any run-ins with law enforcement.”

“Here’s hoping,” said Echo. “Otherwise, this venture will be for nothing.”

There was then a beeping sound over the ship’s speaker system, which caused Irys to remark, “Sounds like we’re coming up on Pantora. Should be reaching evening time there. I’ll head to the cockpit and begin our approach.”

“Would you care for some assistance?” Tech inquired.

“Sure, why not?” Irys answered, motioning for him to follow her as the two of them made their way in the direction of the cockpit. 

Over the next few minutes, the Koriena Force and the Bad Batch entered into Pantora’s atmosphere. They waited anxiously for a moment, hoping they wouldn't be intercepted by any of the Pantoran police.

Over the ship's comms, they all heard Irys say, “I've informed Kida that we've made it and her family is sending an escort to take us to the Firestar estate.”

Minutes passed before everyone felt the ship going down for a landing and they made their way to the back of the ship to disembark once they landed. Soon, the ramp lowered and, once Tech and Irys joined back up with them, they all walked off, seeing they were now in a hangar they didn't recognize. Coming towards them was a silver protocol Droid.

“Are you the Koriena Force and Clone Force 99?” the Droid asked them with a male-sounding voice.

“We are,” answered Hunter, who was at the head of the group. 

“Excellent,” replied the Droid. “I am T1-M, the butler protocol Droid for the Firestar family.”

Stepping forward, Wrecker asked, “What does a butler Droid do?”

Looking at him, T1 simply said, “I buttle, sir.”

That explanation only confused Wrecker even more and Rina and Kimber couldn't help but giggle quietly at his puzzled look.

T1 went on to say, “You are currently in the Firestar private hangar for your own safety, at Lady Kida’s request. I was sent to retrieve all of you and escort you to the estate.”

Rina elbowed Kimber lightly in the arm and when she leaned over, said to her in a soft voice, “Wow, ‘Lady Kida? Makes her sound so high and mighty.”

“It is a little strange to hear,” Kimber agreed.

“Lead the way, then, T1,” then said Echo to the Droid.

With a bow of his head, the Droid turned around and started walking, the others following close behind. T1 led them through a door in the hangar which led into a corridor. Once they reached the end of the corridor, another set of doors opened up and revealed a lift, which they all climbed inside. 

After pressing a button on the console, T1 stated, “This will bring us right up to the mansion. Lady Kida is awaiting you in the drawing room.” 

The lift went up and a few seconds later, the doors opened up to an interior only familiar to the ladies, minus Omega. T1 gestured in the direction the drawing room was and led them down a hall to another door. With a smooth swish, the door opened and they all saw Kida, still in her leather combat suit, sitting inside a well-decorated room with multiple sets of furniture and shelves with numerous holo-portraits. She stood up immediately upon seeing her friends.

“Thank goodness, you're all here,” she greeted them. Then she turned to the Droid. “Thank you, T1, for bringing them here. That'll be all.”

Bowing to her, T1 replied, “Always at your service, my lady.” Then he turned and exited the room.

Once the door closed, Kimber went to Kida, put her hands on her friend’s arms and asked, “Kida, is everything all right?”

With a sorrowful sigh, Kida answered, “I'm afraid not. My family would never call me back here unless it was an absolute dire emergency…which unfortunately, it is.”

“What's going on?” then asked Hunter. 

“It's my brother. His daughter has been taken,” she said.

Omega gasped in shock, her hands coming up over her mouth.

“I didn't even know you had a brother,” said Lex.

“Or a niece,” added Irys.

Then Omega asked, looking up at Kimber with a confused face, “What’s a niece?”

“It’s what someone would call their brother or sister’s daughters. If one of your brothers were to have kids, their daughters would be your nieces and their sons would be called your nephews,” Kimber answered her.

“So when you and Hunter have kids one day, that’s what I’ll call them,” replied Omega with a smile.

Kimber blushed and Hunter couldn’t help but grin along with everyone else.

Kida then addressed the group, “I know I've kept a lot of things quiet about myself. Mostly for mine and my family's protection. We've frequently been targets of political attacks before, so I thought it best to not say anything for the time being.”

Tech came forward and, as he adjusted his goggles once again, he stated for her in conclusion, “You believe this kidnapping was yet another political attack against your family.”

“Precisely,” Kida said back.

With a melancholic voice, Omega asked aloud, “Who would want to kidnap a helpless little girl?”

“Who would stand to gain from doing such a thing?” then asked Echo.

“More importantly: what standing does your family have that would make you targets?” added Hunter.

Sighing again, Kida said, “Well, I suppose it's time you all knew.” She wrung her hands together briefly before declaring, “My father, D’van Firestar, is a member of the Pantoran Assembly. In other words: a high-ranking member of our planet's government.”

Rina scoffed lightly in amusement. “Huh…and here I thought you just came from a loaded family,” she said.

“That certainly would leave no shortage of enemies. Political figures tend to be hated by many,” said Irys aloud. 

Then Kimber piggybacked off that and asked Kida, “Do you know of anyone specific who would do something like this?”

“Unfortunately, I do,” replied Kida. “More than likely, it's the same person who forced me into hiding.”

There was a hum from Rina. “Now, we're finally getting some backstory on Miss Rich Girl here,” she said as she went over and flopped on one of the soft chairs, her short legs dangling over one of the arms.

Kida went back to where she had been sitting before and everyone else followed suit. Kimber and Hunter sat on either side of Kida, Echo and Lex sat on another couch, Tech and Irys remained standing and Wrecker sat himself next to the chair Rina was in. They all were watching Kida intently, patiently waiting for her explanation.

After releasing a shaky breath, she went on to tell them, “Being an Assemblyman’s daughter, my actions tended to be closely watched. While my parents didn't entirely approve of my…provocative activities, I was told just to be as discreet about them as possible. However, I shared a night with someone and didn't realize who they were until later. His name was Jovad Cho…the son of our late Prime Minister and Supreme Ruler of Pantora, Chi Cho.”

“Oh…I can already see where this is going,” commented Lex.

Kida gave her a sad nod. “I'm sure you can,” she said. Then she went on, “He grew obsessed with me, especially when he realized I was a politician's daughter and he saw me at certain government functions. However, I did not return his affection at all.” Then she muttered, “He wasn't even that good in bed, if I'm being honest.”

“Ouch. Strike one for Chairman’s boy,” said Rina.

“He was arrogant, much like his father, and full of himself, believing he was entitled to whatever his heart desired simply because he was the Chairman’s son,” Kida continued. “It wasn't long before he proposed marriage to me and I refused. Clearly, that had been the first time he'd ever been told ‘no’ because he was furious and was determined to make my life a living hell. He spread vicious rumors to slander me; that I seduced him and led him on so I could attempt to murder him. Then he started making threats towards my family and even acted on a few of them. My family eventually told me I needed to leave Pantora for my own safety so he could never find me. Since then, I've only returned home for the birth of my child and now.”

“You believe Jovad is the one responsible for your niece's kidnapping?” asked Kimber. 

“It's possible,” said Kida. “Maybe he thought making an attack against my family would draw me back to Pantora and back into his web.”

Tech, looking up from his datapad, then stated, “I see one flaw in that logic. The late Chairman Cho died in battle during the Clone Wars on Orto Plutonia and technically, the succession of Chairman is determined by election and not family ties, as it is now held by Chairman Papanoida. Would Jovad still hold any sort of power after his father's passing?”

“Unfortunately, he still does,” said Kida. “His father may no longer be Chairman, but his name still holds great standing amongst Pantoran dignitaries…and his money can buy whatever mercenaries are willing to take it.”

“That's how a lot of things in this galaxy work: you can have all the power you want if ya got the money,” said Rina.

Then Irys put in, “All of this is still conjecture, as there doesn't seem to be any solid proof that Jovad was behind the kidnapping.”

“She's right. We need to focus on the bigger picture. What can you tell us about your brother's daughter?” inquired Echo.

Kida explained, “Her name is Sami. She's around seven years of age, she has white hair and her Pantoran marks are gold squares that go across her cheeks. She’s been missing for a week now. She was last seen playing in my brother, Keiran’s, home when someone broke in and snatched her. Keiran was away, but his wife was home and she was unable to stop them. Needless to say, she's devastated.” Her eyes started tearing up and her voice trembled as she said, “I don't know why anyone would take such a sweet, innocent child like her.”

Kimber wrapped an arm around Kida’s shoulders in an attempt to comfort her and Omega took hold of one of her hands.

After brushing a tear from her eye, Kida then said, calmer this time, “My brother and his wife came here after everything happened. Everyone is in my dad's study right now with our local law enforcement.” Then she stood up and motioned for everyone to follow her out of the room.

“Is that all they have handling the matter?” Lex asked as they all walked after Kida. “What if Sami was taken off planet? Local law enforcement won't be able to do a thing about it.”

“I know, but my family is convinced that's all they need,” Kida responded. “I, however, am not, which is why I wanted all of you here. If this goes beyond what the Pantoran police can do, then I'm hoping all of us can do something.”

“Absolutely. We've got plenty of resources at our disposal,” stated Kimber.

Then Omega piped up, asking Kida, “By the way, where's Kori?”

“He's sleeping in the nursery right now,” Kida answered.

They continued on through a series of hallways until they came to a much larger set of doors that opened to a giant room with a long holotable in the middle and large, twlight-lit windows on the right. On the far end of the room was a larger chair and on the sides of the table were smaller seats. On the left side of the table sat three regally dressed Pantorans, a young man and two women. On the right were two Pantoran officers and in the larger chair at the end was an older-looking Pantoran man also dressed in fine attire.

“I'm sorry to interrupt, Father, but my friends have arrived,” Kida announced as they walked in the room.

The older woman on the left responded, examining everyone intently, “Yes, we can see that. I see you brought those women from last time back with you…along with some new faces.”

“Kida, dear, I thought we told you we already have the situation under control?” the man at the end of the table asked in reply. 

Putting a hand on her hip, she said back, “You know me, Dad: I never listen anyway. Besides, my friends can help in ways the police can't.”

Taking that as their cue to leave, the police officers stood up and told Kida’s father that they would be in contact as soon as possible. Then they exited the room, casting some suspicious glances at the others before leaving. 

Once they were gone, Kida said to her friends, gesturing to each person as she named them, “My friends, this is my family. My father, D’van Firestar; the head of the Firestar estate and member of the Pantoran Assembly. Then my mother, Marri; my younger brother, Keiran, and his wife, Ellin.”

D’van Firestar, the head of the family, was an older-looking Pantoran gentleman whose face was etched with a few wrinkles of age, yet there was wisdom in his eyes. He was dressed in deep red robes trimmed with gold, his hair and closely trimmed beard were both silver in color and he had yellow Pantoran markings going up his cheekbones and across his forehead. His eyes were the same dull gold as Kida’s. He, at first, appeared irritated at his daughter’s interference in the kidnapping matter, but as she was introducing everyone, his face softened momentarily. 

Then Kida’s mother, Marri, was a refined woman; not as older-looking as her husband yet still showing light signs of age. She very much looked like an older version of Kida. Her thick magenta hair, the same shade as her daughter’s, was pulled up in a fancy bun-like updo on top of her head with two sets of braids inlaid with gold threads crisscrossing just over her brow. Her Pantoran markings curved up her cheeks and her lips were painted dark blue. The dress she wore was dark purple with one single long and flowing sleeve. Her bare arm on the other side sported a gold band spiraling down her upper arm with a single diamond teardrop hanging from a chain at the bottom just above her elbow. There was calm on her face yet a certain sternness in her bright gold eyes that everyone could see.

The young man at the table; Kida’s brother, Keiran, looked different from his sister. He was young and handsome with a square jawline, sharp cheekbones and hair that was such a deep blue, it almost appeared black. It was shaved on the sides and his hair was thick and combed back on the top. His Pantoran markings were a single gold diamond in the center of his forehead and then two rows of triangular shapes across his cheeks. He was clothed in a dark jacket and gray formal attire, giving him a rather edgy appearance. He shared the same dull gold eyes as his sister and his father; however, they appeared tired and weary, no doubt from the hardship of losing his young daughter.

His wife, Ellin, appeared roughly around the same age as Keiran. Her skin was a paler blue than the rest of them, which made her markings and makeup stand out more. Her gold markings were angled lines that ran down both sides of her forehead, past her eyes and down to her cheeks. She had a light dusting of makeup over her eyelids and rouge-colored paint over her lips. Her stark white hair was pulled back in a tight bun on the upper part of her head with metal hair ornaments along the top. Her fancy dress had a high collar, billowing sleeves and was blue and purple in color lined with gold. She, too, looked just as fraught with worry as her husband.

After introducing her family to her friends, Kida went ahead and introduced the Clones and Kimber all by name, each of them all bowing their heads in turn as their name was said. 

“What can your friends possibly do that the police cannot?” asked D’van. 

“Tech and Irys can look into the security systems and track the kidnappers' trail if they left the planet; Hunter also can track Sami once we get a lead, Rina can use the Force and the rest of us have extensive combat training and enhanced skills,” said Kida in response.

Raising a skeptical eyebrow, D’van inquired, “Even the little blonde girl?”

Omega scowled at him, but Kimber came up behind her, laid a hand on her shoulder and answered, defending her, “She may be young, but she’s perhaps one of the best shots in this room.”

He hummed in response, still unsure.

“My friends and I can easily find and take down whoever took Sami,” Kida went on.

Marri simply scoffed. “This band of rabble-rousers and wanted criminals, you mean? Be serious, Kidarra.”

“Kidarra?” Lex repeated, her and the others looking to Kida.

With a roll of her eyes, Kida muttered, “It’s my birth name, but I absolutely hate it and have refused to use it for years.” Then she stared her mother down and said firmly, “Of course, you’d be cynical. I trust them, Mom. Is that not enough?” 

Her mother said nothing in return. 

Ellin, her voice light yet sorrowful, turned to her husband and pleaded, “At this point, we should take whatever chance we have, Keiran.”

He took his wife’s hand, but then turned to the others and stated, “Unfortunately, the kidnappers took out our security system back home. There won’t be anything to see.”

Tech stepped up and informed him, “Actually, when last we were here, Irys and I were able to hack into the central security network. We can trace back to the day your daughter was taken and track their movements through the city.”

“An elementary tactic that I’m surprised you all hadn’t already thought of,” then added Irys bluntly.

D’van and Marri didn’t appear particularly pleased at Irys’s comment.

“This is ridiculous,” Marri declared, slamming her hands down on the table and standing up. “The Pantoran police already have this in hand. We don’t need any assistance from these miscreants. You always did keep arguable company, Kidarra.”

Clenching her hands into fists, Kida whirled around to her mother and retaliated, “Now is hardly the time to be questioning my moral character or choice in friends, Mother, and for the last time, stop calling me Kidarra!”

“Enough!” cried out Keiran, standing up. After casting a glare at Marri, he walked over to Kida and the group. “Please, whatever you can do…we’ll take what help we can get,” he said, his voice teetering on desperation. He glanced back at D’van for a moment. “Father believes Sami is being held somewhere on Pantora by our political enemies, but I think otherwise.” He turned back to Kida. “I don’t know what it is, but I just feel the situation is worse than what it seems.”

Then Rina chimed in, looking up at Kida, “Hate to admit it, but I agree with your brother. I have a bad feeling about this.”

Hearing that from Rina gave Kida all the indication she needed. She trusted Rina’s connection with the Force and if she had a bad feeling, then there was definitely more going on than they suspected somehow.

“I honestly still believe Jovad is behind this. I don't know why and I don't have any solid evidence, but I don't see any other of our enemies going this far to hurt us,” said Kida.

“I don't know what to think. I just want my daughter back,” said Keiran, squeezing his eyes shut tightly to keep from getting emotional.

She reached out and put her hands on her brother’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, Keiran. We’ll figure this out,” she assured him. “We’ll do everything we can to find Sami and bring her home, I promise.”

However, in that moment, Hunter sensed something out of the ordinary: a presence coming from outside one of the windows. He quickly moved through the group and walked over to the window, looking outside.

“What is it, Hunter?” Tech asked him. 

Hunter peered through the glass carefully, trying to see anything on the grounds. The sun was setting and it was getting darker, but there was nothing moving nor anything that appeared out of the ordinary from what he could see. Whatever his senses had picked up was now gone, but there was still a feeling of uneasiness in his gut. Something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t put his finger on what exactly. 

“I’m not sure…but I get the feeling someone was listening in on us,” he said aloud, turning back around.

“Nonsense,” refuted D’van. “If there was an intruder on the grounds, our security system would’ve sounded the alarm.”

“Not unless they’re an expert in stealth,” Lex responded. 

Hunter then ordered, “Tech, Echo, do a sweep of the grounds. Check for anything or anyone suspicious.”

Both Tech and Echo gave him a nod and went to leave, but they halted as Marri cried out, “Excuse me, this is our family home. You do not get to give orders here.”

Seizing the opportunity, Kida then declared, “Fine then. Since I’m part of the family: Tech, Echo, do what Hunter says.”

After taking an inhale of sweetblossom from her vape mod, Rina gave a shrug and commented to Marri, “She’s got ya there.”

Without waiting for anymore intervention, Echo and Tech darted from the room. 

A few albeit slightly uncomfortable minutes later, Hunter’s comm chirped and everyone heard Echo’s voice inform them, “Hunter, we’ve done our sweep of the estate. No signs of anything unusual out here.”

“You see? You were wrong,” snapped Marri at Hunter.

Kimber stepped forward, eyeing Marri down as she boldly said back, “Security systems can be wrong…but Hunter never is.”

Following her friend’s lead, Rina added, “She’s right. If the Sarge feels something is off, then you can bet something’s off.”

Marri just scoffed back.

Standing up from the end of the table, D’van spoke, “This bickering is pointless. Sami is missing and none of this is helping her. Let's all just retire for the night and return to this in the morning with clearer heads.” 

“Your friends will have to return to their ship in the hangar. We have no room for them here,” Marri proclaimed, looking at Kida.

“That's a lie and you know it. There's plenty of room for them,” Kida snapped back, appalled.

However, Hunter went up to her and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Let it go, Kida,” he told her. “There's no point in fighting this. We'll go back to the Aurora.” After that, he signaled everyone with his head to leave the room and they all followed him outside, leaving Kida alone.

Whipping back around to her mother, Kida said sternly, “You've got a lot of nerve treating my friends like that.”

Getting up and moving around the table towards her, Marri replied, “The only reason I allowed them here before was because I was more concerned about the birth of my grandson and ensuring everything went well...but those women are all wanted criminals.”

“For reasons beyond their control that weren't any fault of theirs,” Kida clarified. 

“And what about those Clones?” her mother went on. “All of their kind are soldiers of the Empire now.”

“Not these ones,” said Kida. “They're defective Clones who have rebelled against the Empire several times.” Then she straightened up a little more and stated, “The same also applies to Kori’s father.”

Everyone's eyes widened at this revelation. 

“Kori’s father is a Clone?” asked Ellin.

“Yes. He's out somewhere in the galaxy right now gathering together other Clones who are turning against the Empire. He's building a network to help bring the Empire down,” Kida explained. “That's what all of us are doing, including the Koriena Force. The girls may have some shady pasts, but we're all collectively working to be better and fight against the bigger evil in the galaxy, which is the Empire.”

Marri, seemingly unfazed by what her daughter was saying, simply replied, “You've always been naive, my daughter. People like your so-called ‘friends’ don't know true loyalty. They'll turn on you one day.”

“Mom, enough!” cried Keiran.

Kida’s fists tightened and her teeth clenched so hard, she almost thought they'd crack. How dare her mother say such things! “My friends have been helping me raise my son since the day he was born! They take care of him and they make sure that I am taken care of, too. If I haven't had sleep in a while or if I need a break, they willingly watch him while I get some rest. They have done far more for me than I have ever asked of them and their only motive for doing so is because they care about me and Kori. If Sami’s life wasn't at stake, then I would've rescinded our offer to help by now and left with them because I won't tolerate you being prejudiced towards my friends, who are like family to me.”

“Do not slander the notion of ‘family’ by associating it with those women. We are your family, Kidarra, not them,” spat Marri.

Finally, Keiran put himself between his mother and sister and said firmly, “Stop it, Mother. You've said enough.”

“I couldn't agree more,” said Kida, glaring at her mother. 

Her father came up behind her mother and declared, “I would advise we stop this quarreling and retire for the night like I suggested. Kida, we welcome whatever aid your friends can provide to help find Sami. We're just glad you're back home, even if the circumstances are worrisome. Why don't you go get some rest?”

“Thanks, Dad,” she said, mustering a small smile for him. It was nice to see that, even after all this time, he still supported her and held a soft spot for her like he always had. Then she steeled her gaze at her mother and stated, “I'm going to bed and I'm staying in the nursery with my son.” Without waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and stormed away in the direction of the nursery.

The nerve of her mother…Kida always knew her mother was obstinate, but this was taking it to a whole new level. Daring to imply that her friends would one day betray her simply based on their past, when for over a year now, they had all been living together and striving to move away from their past lives. It was just like her mother to make such a biased judgement of others based on one negative thing about them. Though, she wasn't going to let that stop her. Despite Marri’s remarks, the Koriena Force and the Bad Batch were still going to help find Sami, no matter what.

She was greeted by T1 just outside the nursery doors, who asked her, “Are you in need of any assistance, Lady Kida?” 

“Actually, there is one thing you can do: keep your security protocols on high alert tonight,” Kida replied. “I have reason to believe someone was on the grounds earlier.”

“I was not notified of any security breach,” commented T1.

“I know, but even still, I want you on high alert as a precaution,” Kida told him. 

Bowing his head, his robotic neck creaking as he did so, the butler Droid responded, “As you wish, my lady.”

With that now taken care of, Kida entered into the nursery and closed the door behind her. Then she walked over the crib where her sweet little boy lay on his back, sleeping peacefully. She smiled and ran a hand ever so lightly over his blonde hair, thankful to be ending the day with him after everything that had happened with her family.

Hopefully, with a good night's rest, things would be better tomorrow. 

The Bad Batch and the Koriena Force were awoken suddenly in the middle of the night by the blaring sound of alarms going off from outside the ship. Tech and Irys were the first to wake up, the both of them having fallen asleep in the computer room looking at security footage to aid in the search for Sami.

“What's happening?” Tech asked urgently. 

Irys started tapping keys on the console in front of her and the screens came online. “I'm checking. The Aurora should still have a connection to the Firestar’s security systems,” she stated. Then as the screen started flashing with red Aurebesh letters, she declared, “It's an intruder alert.”

Without waiting for Tech, Irys burst up from her seat and ran towards the main area of the ship. Tech followed right behind her and the two of them were met with the rest of their squads, all with bewildered looks on their faces. 

“What's going on?” Hunter asked.

With her hands covering her ears, Omega added, “Why are there alarms going off?”

“Intruder alert. The estate perimeter has been breached,” Tech informed everyone. 

“Kida and Kori are still inside the house. We gotta go,” stated Rina. 

Immediately, everyone sprinted out of the ship, but were shocked to see the doors to the hangar were blocked off by heavy blast doors.

“Karabast! We're trapped in here!” exclaimed Lex.

“Not for long. I'll override the controls,” said Echo, already making a break for the doors.

Everyone else pulled out their weapons and held them at the ready as Echo scomped in to the control panel on the wall by the doors, the blaring of the alarms still ringing in their ears.

“Looks like your senses might've been on the money before, Sarge,” Rina commented to Hunter.

“So it would seem,” he replied. 

Then Kimber asked, “Rina, shouldn't you have been able to sense something, too, through the Force?”

With a sigh, Rina said back, “Hate to break it to ya, but my connection to the Force isn't as strong as you think. I utilize it more for physical reasons; to boost my attacks or throw people.”

“Well, whoever caused this, I'm ready to give ‘em a beat down for interrupting my sleep,” said Wrecker.

“You and me both,” Kimber agreed. 

Finally, the doors opened and Echo removed his scomp arm from the console as Hunter called out, “Get to the lift! Go!”

They all darted off as quickly as they could down the corridor to the lift that went up to the manor. As they ran, the alarms stopped ringing, which was even more concerning. However, once again, the doors to the lift were disabled, so Echo had to override the controls once again. Luckily, this only took a few seconds and they all rode the lift up to the house. The doors slid open and Hunter was the first out, his blaster pointed and ready, followed by the others who held their weapons up in front of them. To their surprise, the front of the house was empty and there weren't any signs of movement nor a struggle. The house was dark and still.

“You picking up anything?” Kimber asked Hunter.

He shook his head. “No…which doesn't feel right.” Then he realized there was the sound of shorting electricity close by. When he looked up the stairwell, he noticed there was something lying on the middle landing of the stairs. Carefully, he went up the stairs, the others behind him, to investigate. There on the landing, they found the butler protocol Droid with a blaster shot through the center of its chest, its wiring inside sparking and shorting out. 

“T1,” Omega said sadly as she saw the downed Droid. “This looks bad.”

“Someone was definitely here,” stated Irys.

Just then, they heard footsteps coming from another corridor and just then, Keiran and Ellin came from around the corner, both of them pulling robes on over their night clothes. Everyone lowered their weapons upon seeing them and started back down the stairs.

“You're all here. What's going on?” asked Keiran.

“We were hoping you'd know,” said Kimber.

Then Ellin answered, “We didn't know what was happening, so we stayed in our room, thinking we'd be safer there. Once the alarms turned off, we came out here.”

Suddenly, there was an awful, bloodcurdling shriek from upstairs that nearly made everyone's hearts jump up into their throats; the scream of a voice they all recognized that filled them with dread. 

“Kida!” yelled Keiran as he bolted for the stairs.

However, as everyone else moved to follow, Kida burst out of the nursery and practically threw herself against the railing up on the balcony above them, sobs ripping from her throat as she spotted her brother, sister-in-law and friends. 

They were not prepared for what she said next.

“He's gone!” Kida cried out in despair. “They took him…my son! They took Kori!”

[dangraccoon]

Character Master List 1 (2)

Taglist Form! Read on AO3! Main Masterlist!

Key: ⛈️ = Angst/Whump 🧸 = Fluff 🩹 = Hurt/Comfort ❤️‍🔥 = Smut [NSFW 18+ ONLY] 🪭 = Suggestive [18+ ONLY]

Note: Fics are listed for all characters who play a prominent role in the fic. Fics with a * next to them indicate that the character is not the main focus of the story

🩹 Glory Cody & Commander Batch

⛈️ Awake Now Cody x Obi-Wan Kenobi, Cody & Fox

🩹 A Good Run* Rex & Echo, Rex & Cody

⛈️ To Rest* Obi-Wan Kenobi x Cody

🪭 A Hunch Cody x Obi-Wan Kenobi

🩹 Foolish Cody x Obi-Wan Kenobi

⛈️ Conspiracies* Echo & Fox, Echo & Rex

⛈️ Just Fine Cody & Rex, Cody x Obi-Wan Kenobi

❤️‍🔥 Alluring Crosshair x OFC Mina Menall

🩹 Nightmare Crosshair x GN!Reader

❤️‍🔥 Target Practice Crosshair x M!Reader

⛈️ Someday I Might Crosshair & Omega

🩹 I Won't Leave You Crosshair & Hunter

⛈️ Like I Should Have* Hunter & Crosshair

⛈️ Not To Think Crosshair & Echo

⛈️ Still Remember* CX-Tech & Crosshair

🩹 I Feel Cold* Omega & Crosshair

🩹 Let's Live Crosshair & Wrecker

❤️‍🔥 Desirable Echo x OFC Mina Menall

🧸 Just Borrowing Echo x GN!Reader

🩹 I'm Different Echo x GN!Reader

❤️‍🔥 I'm Ready Echo x M!Reader

⛈️ Anything Echo & Fives, Echo & Rex

⛈️ Ara'vod* Fives

⛈️ Not To Think* Crosshair & Echo

🩹 Not Good* Tech & Echo

⛈️ You Promised* Omega & Hunter, Rex & Echo

🩹 Lost and Found Echo x F!Reader

🩹 A Good Run* Rex & Echo, Rex & Cody

🪭 Warm Echo x GN! Reader, GN!Reader & Domino Squad

⛈️ Conspiracies Echo & Fox, Echo & Rex

⛈️ So Close Fives & Rex

⛈️ Ara'vod Fives & Echo

⛈️ Don't Forget Fives & Rex

🪭 Warm* Echo x GN! Reader, GN!Reader & Domino Squad

⛈️ Awake Now* Cody x Obi-Wan Kenobi, Cody & Fox

⛈️ Ending It Fox & Palpatine, Fox & Bail Organa, Fox x Riyo Chuchi

⛈️ Conspiracies* Echo & Fox, Echo & Rex

❤️‍🔥 Aphrodisiac Hunter x OFC Mina Menall

🧸 Preoccupied Hunter x GN!Reader

❤️‍🔥 Taking the Edge Off Hunter x M!Reader

🧸 Double Agent Hunter x GN!Reader

🩹 I Won't Leave You* Crosshair & Hunter

⛈️ Like I Should Have Hunter & Crosshair

⛈️ Roast Hunter x GN!Reader

⛈️ Let Them Go* Wrecker & TBB

⛈️ You Promised* Omega & Hunter, Rex & Echo

⛈️ You Let Them Hunter & Tech, Hunter & Omega

⛈️ I Will Never Hunter & Bugg (OC)

🪭 Whatever You’ll Let Me Hunter x F!Reader

⛈️ Awake Now* Cody x Obi-Wan Kenobi, Cody & Fox

⛈️ To Rest Obi-Wan Kenobi x Cody

🪭 A Hunch* Cody x Obi-Wan Kenobi

🩹 Foolish* Cody x Obi-Wan Kenobi

🧸 Sweet Like Candy* Wrecker x GN!Reader

🧸 Double Agent* Hunter x GN!Reader

⛈️ Someday I Might* Crosshair & Omega

🩹 I Feel Cold Omega & Crosshair

⛈️ You Promised Omega & Hunter, Rex & Echo

⛈️ You Let Them* Hunter & Tech, Hunter & Omega

🪭 Whatever You’ll Let Me* Hunter x F!Reader

⛈️ Priorities Rex x GN!Reader

⛈️ Anything* Echo & Fives, Echo & Rex

⛈️ So Close* Fives & Rex

⛈️ You Promised* Rex & Echo, Rex & Omega

🩹 A Good Run Rex & Echo, Rex & Cody

⛈️ Don't Forget* Fives & Rex

⛈️ Who is in Control? Rex & Anakin Skywalker

⛈️ Conspiracies* Echo & Fox, Echo & Rex

⛈️ Just Fine* Cody & Rex, Cody x Obi-Wan Kenobi

🧸 Sweet Like Candy* Wrecker x GN!Reader

❤️‍🔥 Improper Tech x OFC Mina Menall

🧸 Reminders Tech x GN!Reader

❤️‍🔥 Resourceful Tech x M!Reader

🩹 What I Said Tech x GN!Reader

🪭 Evidence and Luck Tech x Phee

🪭 Eventually Tech x Phee

⛈️ Look Around Tech & TBB

⛈️ Still Remember CX-Tech & Crosshair

🩹 Not Good Tech & Echo

⛈️ Enough Time Tech & TBB, Tech x Phee

🩹 A Life for a Life* Wrecker & Tech

⛈️ How Do I Save You? Tech x Phee

⛈️ You Let Them* Hunter & Tech, Hunter & Omega

🩹 It's Still You Tech x Phee

🧸 Sweet Like Candy Wrecker x GN!Reader

❤️‍🔥 Intimate Wrecker x OCF Mina Menall

🧸 Dogwood Flowers Wrecker x GN!Reader

🧸 Sharing is Caring Wrecker x M!Reader

❤️‍🔥 You're On Wrecker x M!Reader

⛈️ Catching Up Wrecker & Tech

⛈️ Let Them Go Wrecker & TBB

🩹 A Life for a Life Wrecker & Tech

⛈️ I Don't Know Anymore Wrecker

🩹 Let's Live* Crosshair & Wrecker

🧸 Frightful Wrecker x GN!Reader

[universitysunflowers]

So how are we feeling right now? (TBB Spoilers)

Episodes 10 & 11 may be some of the darkest we've seen this season. We all knew the storm was coming but wow that was such a dramatic shift. I definitely had some thoughts and realizations after watching the latest release.

Okay first off lets talk about the elephant in the room: Tech. A lot of people thought that Identity Crisis would be about Tech and his struggle with having been made into the shadow clone CX-2, but it was actually about Emerie (I'll get back to her in a bit). Even though we don't know exactly who that shadow clone is yet, I do think it could still be Tech. In episode 11 (plus 6 and 7) we saw a lot of hints towards Tech as we knew him in seasons 1 and 2; things like the way he spoke, his leg getting crushed, his flying, and his use of Cid and Phee to get to the others on Pabu. One thing that really stood out to me when he was on Phee's ship is the way he put his hands on the flight controls while downloading her data, almost like it was second nature to him, something familiar he did without thinking (I know this is a stretch but it really jumped out at me as a parallel to the countless scenes of Tech flying the Marauder, it just felt like him again). However there is a dark side to all of this. If CX-2 is Tech that means that:

Tech destroyed the Marauder; the ship that was a home and refuge for CF 99, both during the war and after the Empire took over. It was the one real constant they had in their lives and he would be the reason it's gone.

Tech destroyed peace on Pabu; a place where he and the others felt safe and grounded for the first time since Kamino. It also means he would be at least partly responsible for destroying the lives of everyone who helped and supported them in season 2 (CX-2 was ruthless in ep 11, they made that very clear).

Tech used Phee to accomplish all of this; a friend who trusted and cared about him and rest of the batch.

Tech would be the one who hunted down and eventually captured Omega, whatever that may mean in the future.

There are a lot of people who think that bringing Tech back would make his death meaningless, which I completely understand. Some characters should die and stay dead as a way of furthering the story and development of other characters. However, in this case I do think that revealing CX-2 to be a brainwashed Tech would have huge implications for the narrative. It would mean that one of their own was responsible for so much of the destruction we have seen this season, and that just because Crosshair resisted imperial experiments, does not mean that the others have similar abilities/plot protection. It would also bring immense emotional conflict into the rest of the season (however they might do it) and could be a deciding factor in the rest of the batch's fate; would they realize what he's done and treat him as the enemy, or would they see him and hesitate, possibly losing even more than they already have. Revealing Tech as the shadow clone would be incredibly dark, especially after all of the cruel and deliberate things he has done this season that contrast to the mild tempered and caring persona we previously knew (even if he didn't always show his feelings outright). While I do think there is a possibility that he is dead and not coming back, I definitely would not put it past the writers to do something so drastic as a way of adding to the season's narrative value with a conflicting and completely jarring revelation that would have so many significant implications for so many main characters. I did not mean for this post to be so long but let's keep going anyway.

Some other more general realizations I had:

As of right now, Hunter and Wrecker don't know that Omega was taken again. That said, we might not see them finding out and the next episode could definitely jump ahead like they have done with other significant moments like Crosshair's return.

Crosshair could be blamed for letting Omega give herself up and missing the shot to put a tracker on the ship, especially if they never see her again (but I'm choosing to believe that won't happen). There is no way Hunter wouldn't have something to say about that, even after they have mostly patched things up over the last few episodes. This also contributed to the tone of the episode 11 ending; he missed the shot, meaning they have no way of tracking her and are no closer to finding Tantiss. It was a very bleak note to end on in general, not at all like some hopeful purpose driven endings we have seen previously.

Just because Omega gave herself up does not mean that the Empire is going to leave Pabu intact. She distracted CX-2 by letting him take her back to Tantiss but the other troopers were still there, and I doubt they will just pack up and leave without a fight now that Omega is back in their control.

There are only 4 episodes left; what if they don't reveal CX-2's identity at all, and just leave us guessing (I still think there could be merit to the possibility of it being Cody or a Crosshair clone but that gets less likely every time we see him). Or worse, what if they keep hinting at it to make sure we know who he is, but never give us proof; instead just leaving us with the knowledge of what happened to Tech, and what he has done, without any other closure.

Ok let's talk about Emerie. I was definitely not expecting her to be the focus of Identity Crisis, but I thought that was a really interesting twist. We haven't seen her in a while so it was nice to get her perspective, and to get a better idea of what project Necromancer is all about (though I am still not totally sure where they are going with that so I'm reserving my judgments until later). As the title implies, she is definitely starting to question her place with Hemlock and the Empire, and I am also wondering how she is going to react to Omega being captured again, especially knowing what she knows now. I definitely think Emerie will be more sympathetic towards Omega's independence and desire to help the other clones. We might even see the two of them working together on a future escape attempt? Overall I enjoyed episode 10 and I am glad Emerie is finally getting her moment to contribute to the plot, especially after her importance was so obiously revealed in Crosshair's escape attempt during season 2.

I'm sorry this got so depressing but unfortunately I think that is what we can expect for the rest of the season unless something really unexpected happens. Also if you read that entire novel then thank you I swear I didn't think this post would be so long when I was writing down my thoughts earlier but here we are.

[yeehawgeek]

liveblogging my reaction to tbb s3 ep 4

“i can see that” so sassy i love her

oh that’s the scene from the trailer

OFC omega wants to go back and free the other prisoners

nala se is like “whhaaatttt the escaped? damn that crazy”

yk what i wouldn’t be mad if they killed nala se off tbh

is crosshair wearing a straight up baseball cap

“i can take out at least half before they know what’s happening” glad to see that omegas confidence from last episode is rubbing off on cross

is omega going to gamble again

omg she is

ofc theres a crowd

fuck off imps

omg omega kick his ass in whatever you’re playing

HE CALLED CROSSHAIR HER DAD

hell yeah baby girl

oh shit they found the ship

“gambling is illegal in these parts” motherfucker YOU were gambling, you’re just salty that a 13 year old kicked your ass

NO WHERES THE PUPPY

ofc the imp snatched her

looks like cross might be infected with morals

he’s so upset about it lmao

aw poor batcher

is there a space elephant there? cause i hear an elephant

fuck off with your fines

OH NO HE KNOWS

oh there are so many critters

that’s beautiful

baby’s second stolen imperial ship

FUCK OFF HEMLOCK

“im headed to a remote location” honey please don’t go to pabu

“it’s been months, we dont know if they’re still ali-“ “they’ll be there”

OMG REUNION

i love big brother wrecker so much

HUNTER

YOU BETTER HUG HER

YEAHHHHHHHHHHH

omg how long has it been since they had cross on their side

oh no hunter looks angry

THATS IT

we better have like a huge argument between wrecker/hunter and crosshair next episode

[vodika-vibes]

The Sentinel

Summary: After surviving the Purge, you fled to Takodana to rest and recover. And after Maz kicked you out of your depression (literally) you ending up working for a Trandoshan named Cid for Maz. And through her you met what used to be Clone Force 99.

Pairing: TBB Hunter x Jedi!Reader

Word Count: 2807

Warnings: Mentions of Suicidal ideation (Reader was a sentinel who was at the temple when the Purge happened and she blames herself for what happened)

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni

A/N: So I had an idea, and I wanted/needed to put it down. I'm not sure if I have Hunter's personality down, but I hope I didn't butcher him too badly. So if anyone has any comments as to that, it would be greatly appreciated.

Hunter is staring at you.

Again.

You know it. You can feel the way his gaze is drilling into the back of your head.

Honestly, the fact that he’s walking behind you, rather than in front of you, is something of a miracle in and of itself. Maybe that’s why he’s glaring at the back of your head.

Whatever, you’re not a jedi, it’s not like you’re able to read his mind to know what’s bothering him.

(You are. You were. When you think too hard you can remember the scent of blood filling the halls of the temple, and the burning, searing, unending pain that is Anakin Kriffing Skywalker cutting your arm off-)

“Hunter, will you stop glaring at me and just get up here, please?” You ask, cutting off the blood stained memories with an ease that would have worried you, if you thought about it for too long.

“You seemed more than happy to lead,” Hunter replies, his voice low and annoyed, as he steps next to you.

“I was happy to lead because I didn’t want to hear you bitching at me.” You counter with a roll of your eyes.

“Bitch-” He sputters and glares at you fully, “I wasn’t bitching at you. I was reminding you that you needed to pack an extra battery pack for your blaster-”

“Yes, because I’m an actual child and would have forgotten something so important.” You interrupt.

“You know, I’m starting to understand why you and Cid get along so well.” Hunter says through gritted teeth.

“It’s because we have such magnetic personalities.” You snip.

“It’s because you’re both massive-” He cuts himself off before he can finish the insult, “We shouldn’t be far from the rendezvous point,” Hunter says instead, “It’s probably best that the contact thinks that you’re in charge.”

“Thinks?”

He leans into your personal space, and if you hadn’t been a sentinel once upon a time, you might have been intimidated. “Thinks.” He repeats, and then he leans back, and motions for you to take the lead, “After you.”

You grind your teeth, and spin to continue down the man made path. Sometimes you wonder how Hunter would react to hearing that you were a Jedi. That you had survived the purge.

And then you remember that the men you’re traveling with are Clones, and you get a chill. You don’t trust them to not shoot you on sight if they knew. Even Cid isn’t aware of your former affiliations, since you don’t trust her to not sell you out to the first bounty hunter who threatens her.

“Relax. This is no different than any other mission,” Hunter says, his voice closer than you thought. And your skin prickles as anxiety blooms in your chest.

You glance at him over your shoulder, and arch a brow, sending a prayer to whatever entity listens to the prayers of a former jedi that he thinks your anxiety is about the mission and nothing more. 

“You’re tense, and anxious.” Hunter says, “Relax, or the contact will think something is wrong.”

Oh, he’s so much more annoying than Master Drallig ever was. And you used to wish death on your former master when he was at his most annoying.

You regret that now. You’d sell your left arm (not flesh one, not the metal one) to hear his annoyed drawl one more time.

You purse your lips, “Thank you, mother.” You say instead, “Any other pearls of wisdom?”

He smiles, it’s a nice smile, “Sometimes I want to throw you off a cliff.”

“Yeah, well. Sometimes I want to throw myself off a cliff, so you’re not special.” You counter, perhaps a bit too honestly based on how his expression falters.

“You-”

“We’re going to be late,” You interrupt, as you start walking faster, “Keep up, Hunter.”

He falls into step slightly behind you, and you can feel his stare on the back of your head again. At least he’s not glaring anymore, you suppose.

“I don’t actually want to throw you off a cliff,” Hunter says suddenly, as the pair of you slow to approach the clearing where you’re supposed to meet your contact, “Maybe push you into a lake, but I don’t actually want to hurt you.”

“Not to worry, I’m sure I can get you to change your mind on that.” You pause just outside the clearing and change the subject, “You have the information for the trade, right?”

Hunter stares at you for a moment, but he accepts the topic change gracefully, “Of course I do.” He tilts his head, “I don’t hear anyone in the clearing though.”

“We are a little early,” You reply thoughtfully as you glance at the chrono embedded in your prosthetic. “By about half an hour.”

“We are,” Hunter agrees, his gaze flickers around the clearing, and then he focuses on you, “Which means we just have to wait.”

You hum to acknowledge his words. Something feels…wrong.

After the Purge, you tried to cut yourself off from the force. It just hurt too much, all the pain, all the darkness, all the death…but even as you did it, you knew that it was a fool’s hope.

The Force can’t be cut off anymore that you could cut off your eyes.

And ignoring a warning from the force is just cutting off your nose to spite your face.

You don’t sense any immediate danger, just a massive feeling of be cautious that you would be foolish to ignore. So, slowly you head into clearing, your gaze scanning from one side to the other.

There’s nothing.

Even Hunter, who’s the most cautious of the clones you’ve ever worked with, doesn’t seem to be terribly concerned. So, you push your concerns aside as paranoia.

45 minutes later, your contact finally arrives.

He’s a rather squirrely looking Rodian. He speaks quickly, and his hands flutter anxiously, as though he’s afraid that if he stays still for too long something terrible will happen. 

The deal happens smoothly, with you taking the lead on gathering the information that Cid needed, and trading your information. And your contact flees from the clearing as quickly as he arrived.

“He was certainly nervous,” Hunter says slowly, his nose scrunched as though he smelled something disgusting. 

“Well, information broking isn’t exactly legal in this day and age,” You offer as an explanation, “I mean, it wasn’t legal in the time of the Republic either-”

“Well, whatever the reason, I’m glad he’s gone. He smelled awful.” Hunter grumbles as he rubs his nose, “Ugh, so bad. I don’t suppose you have any of your perfume on you, at least that smells good.”

You shoot him an odd look, “I don’t wear perfume. I don’t wear scented anything since I’m working with you.”

He pauses, and it must be a trick of the light, because you swear his face darkens slightly, “That’s…kind of you.”

“Not wanting to send you into sensory overload isn’t kind, Hunter. It’s literally the least I can do.” You fold your arms over your chest, the feeling of danger was still there.

“Well, I appreciate it all the same.” Hunter says, “You don’t seem like the type who would care.”

“Rude-” You stop mid-sentence as the force screams a warning, and you move, lunging forward and tackling Hunter out of harm's way, just as a gunship riddles the clearing with gunfire.

The pair of you tumble behind a large rock, and duck down for cover as the gunfire continues.

“Kriff,” Hunter ducks his head, “Who the hell is shooting at us?” He glances at you, and his expression sours when he sees you pulling a pastel pink compact out of one of your many pockets, “Seriously?”

“Shut up, it has a mirror.” You flick it open and lift it slightly, angling the mirror so you’re able to see the reflection, “And no one thinks twice about women carrying make-up.” You adjust the way your holding the compact slightly, “Karking hell,” You swear, “It’s Imperial.”

“What?” Hunter snatched the mirror from your hand, ignoring your indignant noise, and he lifts it to look for himself. “...kriff.”

“I told you,” You grouse, as you take the compact back and shove it back into your pocket.

“Now is not the time.” Hunter replies irritably, he looks around, “We can’t outrun them. Not with them in a gunship.”

You lean your head back against the boulder, “We can jump.”

“What?”

You point to the side, “You said you wanted to throw me off a cliff, right?” 

“I didn’t mean it!” He snaps, “That will kill us as surely as the gunship.”

“No,” You sigh, “Hunter, there’s a river at the bottom, fast moving, but that works out in our favor.”

“Right, except we’ll either be killed by the gunship before we can jump, or hitting the water will kill us.” Hunter counters.

“It won’t.” You say, quietly, firmly.

He stares at you, silently. 

You’re calm, deadly calm. You were a sentinel once. You protected people for a living. You failed last time. You won’t fail this time. “I need you to trust me…and not shoot me in the back.”

“Why would I shoot you in the-” He stops, his gaze dropping to your hands, where a slender metal tube rests innocently, “You’re a Jedi.”

“Like I said, please don’t shoot me in the back, and I’ll get us out of this alive.” You say.

Hunter says nothing for a moment, the clearing filled with nothing but the sound of blaster fire, and then he nods slowly, “What do you need me to do?”

“So long as they’re not using ballistic rounds, I can get you to the edge, you just need to jump and trust me.” You say.

He glances at the saber again, “Alright. You give the word.”

You exhale slowly and twirl your saber between confident fingers. Your master’s words echo in your mind as you adjust your weight. You are a sentinel. You are the last line of defense between those who would hurt and those who would be hurt. You will not falter. You will not hesitate. Trust in the force, and all will be well.

And you move.

A yellow blade crackles to life, and you spin it expertly.

Hunter ducks out behind you, and you cover him as he runs the short distance to the cliff. You’re aware of him jumping, and you jump after him, twisting the force around you both in a protective shell just before you hit the water.

Hunter drags you up so your head is above the water, which you’ll be grateful for when you’re not distracted keeping the part of you from getting battered to pieces by the rocks in the water.

The pair of you remain in the water for 30 minutes, until you manage to use the force to propel you both onto the shore, near a small cave. Hunter has to half carry you to the cave, you were far more careful with his well-being than you were with your own, and you painfully sink onto a rock as he starts a fire using some sticks and grass he found near the river.

“Are you hurt?” Hunter asks, as he crouches in front of you.

“Bruised and battered, but I wasn’t shot,” You reply.

He looks surprised, and then annoyed, as if he’s just realizing why he wasn’t hurt, “I wasn’t battered at all.”

“Yeah, you’re welcome.”

He pauses, and then sighs, “Thank you. For saving us and for keeping me from getting hurt.”

You smile at him weakly and lean against the wall, “Well, it definitely went better than the last time I used my saber, that’s for sure.”

Hunter doesn’t say anything for a moment, “Can I ask-?”

“I was a Sentinel.” You answer his unasked question, “My job was to guard the temple. I did a bang up job, as I’m sure you can tell.” Your smile is slightly bitter as you tap your metal arm.

“The Purge wasn’t your fault.” Hunter offers, though there’s something in his tone that suggests that he knows that his words aren’t much comfort. “There was nothing you could have done.”

“Oh, I know.”

“But you don’t believe it?”

“Would you?” Your smile becomes something bitter, “I spent the first couple of weeks after the Purge on Takodana healing and trying to cut myself off from the force. And Maz…well, she shoved a boot up my backside, and hired me.”

Hunter sits across from you, “Suddenly so much about your personality makes sense. You must have been terrified to learn that you were working with clones.”

“A bit. I figured if you didn’t think I was a jedi, I would be safe.” You sigh, “I didn’t expect Maz to just let Cid have me for as long as she did.”

Hunter leans back against the wall as well, “If you want, I’ll tell Cid that we can’t work together. You’ll never have to see us again, if you don’t want.”

“Don’t worry about it. I actually like you and your brothers.”

Hunter lifts his head and smirks at you, “Yeah?”

“Don’t let it go to your head.” You say wryly.

“Too late.” He lifts one knee and drapes an arm across it, “So, a follow up. If you want, you can join the crew of the Marauder. It’s only a matter of time before it comes out, you being a jedi. And Omega adores you.”

“What, just Omega?” You ask wryly, “Mister you like the way I smell.”

“Right, I was hoping you forgot about that.” Hunter mutters under his breath.

“Nope.”

“Fine. You smell amazing. It’s soothing. I also like the way you look, and I really like how pouty your lips are, especially when you’re wearing that bright red lipstick.”

“...you spend a lot of time looking at me.”

“Yes, yes I do.” He doesn’t sound the least bit ashamed about it either. “A lot more than you probably realize.” You stare at him, and he grins, “I like walking behind you. You have very nice…hips.”

“Right, I’m sure it’s my hips you admire.”

His grin widens, “You think it’s safe for the Marauder to come and get us now?”

You narrow your eyes at him, “Yeah, probably.”

“Great. I’ll call them,” Hunter pulls out his comm and connects to the Marauder, and you hear Tech answer. You’re vaguely aware of Hunter giving Tech his coordinates, and giving a very brief rundown on what happened, but you’re not totally listening.

Instead you dig into one of your pockets, and pull your waterproof makeup kit out, pulling your lipstick out to apply more.

You hear Hunter stumble over his words for a moment as you apply the vibrant red lip paint, and you glance at him, and see that his gaze is locked on your lips. 

You don’t bother to hide your slightly smug grin, as you put your make-up away, and then you walk over to him to peek at his comm. Voice only, probably so his brothers don’t worry when they see him looking like a drowned tooka.

Hunter glances at you, and then to your lips, and then he focuses his attention on the comm again, “So, do you have our coordinates?” He asks the comm.

“I am looking, you appear to be in a ravine of some sort.” Tech says, his voice tinny over the comm.

“Yeah, well, you’re not wrong. Can you find us, or do we need to get higher?”

“Hm…a higher elevation would make this easier.” Tech says, but Hunter’s not listening, on account of the fact that you’ve just pulled him down into a kiss. He drops his comm as he presses his hand against the back of your neck, and you quickly catch it before it hits the ground. “Hunter? Hunter, are you still there?”

“I…uh…” Hunter blinks at you, a little hazy, and you smile up at him innocently as you press his comm back into his hands, “Yes. Yes, I’m here.”

“What happened? Did you hear what I said?”

“I…yeah. Yeah, I heard you. You need us to get higher.”

“Yes. Do that and then call back and I should be able to find you.”

“Right. Thanks Tech.” Hunter hangs up the comm, without taking his eyes off of you. “You’re trouble.”

You flash a downright angelic smile, “I thought you liked trouble?”

“Oh, I like this kind of trouble.” Hunter breathes out.

You hum, and lightly tap his lips with your finger, “Oh, good.” You stand on your toes so your lips are hovering just over his, “We should get climbing, Hunter. So Tech can find us.”

He groans, “You’re such a tease.”

You throw a grin over your shoulder, “I thought you liked it.”

“Doesn’t mean I’m not going to complain.”

[cadybear420]

For this game, for Evie, Alan and Samara (or pick whoever you want cuz ik this might be a lot lol)

3, 11, 13, 17

Answers below the cut!

3. What did your muse's family look like? Parents, grandparents? Big or small? Who was around the house when your muse was a kid?

I feel like most of Evie's family lives in different countries, so they generally weren't around the house much, but she does have strong connections with them. Evie's bio mom Rani would sometimes visit and is more of an Auntie figure to Evie, but she wouldn't visit very often cause it's awkward for both her and Scott, being unable to be a couple due to different life plans but otherwise still having attraction for each other.

I'm still figuring out a lot of Alan's family. Same with Samara.

11. What expectations were placed on your muse as a child? Who had those expectations for your muse? How did your muse feel about them?

I feel like for all of them, Scott would have placed basic child expectations on them? Scott in canon is a very chill guy lol, so I don't really see him having any unique expectations on his kid.

Other than that, I haven't really figured out yet what expectations they'd each have.

13. What did your muse want to be when they grew up? Did they have any childhood dreams, and have they achieved them?

Evie initially wanted to be an engineer like Scott. That changed around late middle school/early high school, she wasn't fully sure what she really wanted to be but she was leaning more towards professional athlete and author. She definitely achieves author as she grows up, but I might have sports become more of a hobby for her rather than a profession. I'm still deciding.

Alan has always wanted to do dance, gymnastics, and cheer, and I think he'd definitely be pursuing those when he's an adult.

I haven't figured out Samara's childhood dreams yet. But as an adult, I like the headcanon that she and Caleb start a family bakery business after they get married. For now I'm calling it like "Al Hakim Baked Goods" (Caleb takes Samara's last name when they marry) but later on I might come up with something more catchy or appealing.

17. How is your muse with kids now? Do they want kids of their own? What lessons from their childhood would they pass on to the next generation?

Evie would be very fun and playful with kids, kids would love her. She would love to have kids of her own, as long as she doesn't have to get pregnant. I haven't really developed them yet, but I think she and Aiden would have about 4 kids. At least one of them is adopted (they adopt the baby from TBB, her name will be Luna); for the rest, I'm probably gonna pretend womb transplants for people without wombs exist and have been perfected by that time.

Evie would 10000% be the parent who's very hardcore about unteaching gender biases and encouraging the kids to be whatever they like. And I mean like, almost zero filter. Eg:

Evie: "It's okay if you want to play with dolls" Evie and Aiden's son: "But mommy, a kid at school said boys shouldn't play with dolls because they're for girls!" Evie: "Well then that kid is a fucking idiot" Aiden: *gasp* Evie!

I haven't really figured out yet if Alan and Samara would want kids of their own, but I feel like both of them be pretty good with kids.

[inkstainedhandswithrings]

TBB s3 ep 14

Only one more to go after this, we ready!? (no, pls help)

Yes Hunter, how IS Echo gonna get off the ship?

Oh I see we’re just gonna let him wing it and do it on his own?

Like don’t get me wrong I have full faith in Echo I just don’t like how Hunter is so focused on Omega he doesn’t even try to find a way to help out Echo

He also doesn’t listen to Crosshair’s remark about the Jungle being dangerous

Love how Omega is like “oh base on high security alert? Multiple explosions? it’s my brothers!!”

I swear Rampart and is constant bitching is so tiring

HAHAHAHAHHAH THE BITCH SCREAMS LIKE A CHILD

Gaaaahh Cross talking about his first time on Tantiss

His hand tremor acting up

Poor baby I love him give him a hug

“…but Omega didn’t leave me behind when she could have. I owe her.”

Bro just say you love your baby sisters like it’s not that big a deal we already knew

The utter fucking relief I felt when Echo made it off that ship unharmed

Jesus, I am so scared that we might,,,

Okay I don’t wanna jinx it so I’m just gonna say “scared that the writers pull another Tech”

Aaaaaaand Rampart’s bitchiness got them a) attacked by a giant beast and b) discovered by imperial troops

I hate him so much

Emerie not only recognising Echo but immediately volunteering to help?

She’s growing on me tbh

Is Omega gonna free the Zillo? To get out? Like as a distraction?

Idk that seems kinda dangerous girly

wait wtf that’s it???

That was already 20mins?

I wasn’t ready for the end there I though we were gonna get more😪

Tbh, I think it felt so short because they had to fit three storylines into twenty minutes. I really wish they were allowed 40 minute episodes, then they could’ve really done a deep dive into all three moving parts of this episode. Like at this point it’s not the writers or show runners fault, it’s just that they probably didn’t get the budget to make their episodes that long, which rlly sucks but like,,, ya can’t be mad.

But! I honestly still don’t understand how ALL OF THIS is gonna get wrapped up in 1 more episode. Like how? Genuinely, how?

On the one hand, that makes me worry that the last episode is gonna be super rushed and feel unfinished or whatever but on the other hand it gives me hope that we’re gonna get another show. Because we still don’t know how Gregor, Rex and Wolffe ended up on Silos (?) alone, what happened to their rebellion, where the entirety of the batch went, what the hell Echo Base on Hoth is all about, who tf CX-2 is and Hemlock and Rampart are still alive also?? Which seems like an oversight.

AND all the clones still need to be busted out of Tantiss and relocated and why am I getting the feeling that Tantiss is just gonna blow up with everyone still there and that’s the reason why Rex gives up SHIT FUCK DAMNNIT

Anyway, point being!! This can’t end well any way you slice it. Lovely.

I will say that all in all I did like this episode!! Rampart getting panic attack after panic attack was rlly fun, we got a heart to heart between Wrecker and Crosshair (brief as it was), Echo again proofed why he is an ARC Trooper and why, after the apocalypse and the explosion of the galaxy he will still be standing, and Omega showed us once again that she is a far cry from that scared kid in season 1 and has instead turned into a sharp, competent, mini soldier (lets not talk about the fact that she’s essentially been turned into a child soldier out of pure necessity)

Anyway!! Good stuff, I am terrified of the finale!! Hope y’all enjoyed!! Thanks for reading!! See you next week when I try not to have a breakdown!!