#havoc squadron | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

vivaislenska · 9 months

Text

Seatbelt Situation / hurt!Tech & comforting!Wrecker

Relationship: Tech & Wrecker mostly (Omega, Echo, and Hunter are there to help, too)

Basis: Missing scene from TBB 2x2. While they're fleeing Serenno, Tech's injury gets the better of him. Wrecker shows his love.

Word count: 3,295

Warning: mildly graphic description of injury

This was originally written to show the reactions of the other brothers when they learn of Tech's broken leg. Then, Tech get the love and comfort he deserves that wasn’t shown in the episode. Also, I ended up lightheartedly grumbling about a small dialogue detail on Tech's behalf.

It's also posted on AO3. Feedback, corrections, and more ideas are welcome! Reblogs are appreciated :]

The final, trailing TIE fighter goes up in flames when it gets a punch from Havoc Marauder's aft laser cannon. It sails like a comet in the night sky and careens into the cliffside, lighting up the ridge and treeline in a brief flash of vivid luminosity. Immediately after, Wrecker feels Hunter guide the Marauder downward to the wide, flat clearing to make their pickup.

Debarking the gunner’s mount, Wrecker waives his habitual tidying of the bedroll and pillows on the deck to transform the small compartment back into Omega's bedroom. They may no longer have an Imperial tail, but there's likely more on the way, and they're not out of danger yet.

He descends the ladder to the main deck with one sweeping, practiced backward lunge. He’s on his way to the cockpit to help Hunter anyway, so he stops by the open side port to hurry his wayward siblings inside.

He hasn’t heard much from any of them since they agreed on the necessary radio silence, so it’s an immense relief to see Echo, Tech, and Omega all in one piece and all standing there, poised to board. There’s a fourth person too; an elderly gentleman who might be a Serennian local. He’s sure Tech will fill him in about every single detail, but they really need to get out of here. He motions them in with a smirk but nothing else, so as not to compromise his façade of silent, menacing, muscle-bound sentinel in front of the Serennian stranger.

Echo is the first to climb the ramp, and as soon as he does, he scampers into the cockpit to join Hunter. Good, because he’s better at copiloting than Wrecker anyway, and Wrecker wants to be by the ramp in case of any unwanted trouble near the open hatch. He maintains his post directly across the hold from the open side port, watching, waiting.

Ugh, what’s taking them?

Omega is next to come up the ramp, aided by Tech to hop onto the first rung at the bottom. She's holding something small in her hands when she steps aboard, but only has eyes for Wrecker when she makes her way into the cabin. Now that Echo and Omega are home, a large chunk of Wrecker’s tension has eased, but it won’t do so any further until he sees Tech come jogging up.

“What’s taking him?” Wrecker grouses verbally this time, his eyes not leaving the clearing below as Omega gives him a quick hug and takes a seat.

“He’s coming!” Omega reports. “He’s just saying 'bye to Romar.”

That was probably the last thing Wrecker anticipated Omega would say. Who the hell is this Romar? And Tech is… saying goodbye to him? As if this mission couldn’t have gone any more sideways than it already has. But these are concerns to be addressed once they’re all safely well away from Serenno, and not a moment sooner. Tech knows they’re in a hurry here, so why’s he wasting precious time?

Wrecker’s about to voice as much when he finally sees his younger brother come bounding up the ramp. It’s about time, too. They’ve blown their cover so hard on this “covert” mission that more squadrons of TIE fighters are definitely in hot pursuit of them. Not wanting to waste another moment, Wrecker's hand hovers over the control for the ramp to close.

But Tech, likely to make up for those seconds spent saying his goodbyes, engages the mechanism remotely and beats him to it. The side port's hydraulics hiss obediently as Tech ascends the ramp. Any moment now, Tech will come trotting into the hold and zoom past Wrecker in a hurry to get to the cockpit and help with piloting. At least that’s what Wrecker’s expecting.

What he isn’t expecting is for Tech to come tumbling down the last stretch of the ramp as it nestles into the bulkhead.

But that’s exactly what does happen. In a graceless, stumbling mockery of the agile somersaults that he’s actually capable of, Tech comes sliding down the top of the upended gangway to land in a sprawled heap, on his ass, on the deck of the Marauder.

Wrecker, having just put a hand on Omega’s safety harness, snaps his head over to witness Tech’s ridiculous entrance and can only stare, mouth agape, at his younger brother in silent bewilderment.

“Tech? What the-!?”

Tech, having landed in a seated position with his legs sprawled out in front of him doesn’t reply. He only looks up at Wrecker, blinks his giant, goggled eyes once, twice, and then starts to sway.

“Tech!” Wrecker yells in alarm, wondering what the kriff happened in those split seconds between when Tech was standing there, conversing with a local, bounding up the ladder with haste, and then now. As much as he wants to rush to Tech’s aid, he finishes securing Omega’s safety harness first. Once it clicks into place and endures one or two of his aggressive, tentative tugs, he’s hurrying to Tech’s side and bellowing his younger brother’s name again.

“Tech!”

“It could be from his leg,” Omega says from her seat, her voice rife with fear and concern. “He said he broke his femur! The left one!”

Whatever the reason, Tech now has collapsed fully on the deck, and Wrecker is careful to sidestep said leg as he makes his way over to him and gathers him in his arms. He removes Tech’s pack and slams it up against the only magnetic storage mechanism he can reach from this angle. His little brother is breathing steadily but out cold.

“I gotcha, buddy,” says Wrecker nesting Tech’s smaller frame in front of his own, then scooting backward to get them both safely into a crash seat. “Sorry if this hurts, but we’re about to make the jump outta here.”

Carefully but swiftly, Wrecker drags Tech up from the deck, wincing a little as he doesn’t have the time to make sure that no weight (however much diminished by his very capable maneuvering) is placed on Tech’s reportedly broken leg. But broken leg or not, it won’t be helpful for anyone if neither Wrecker nor Tech is strapped into a crash seat when they depart Serenno’s atmosphere. So Wrecker makes the executive decision to prioritize flight safety.

Tech makes no objection to the abrupt maneuvers anyway and remains completely out of it. His helmeted head bumps inertly against Wrecker's cuirass as the larger clone pulls them both into the same seat and under the same crash harness.

“You all strapped in back there?” calls Echo urgently from the cockpit. “We’ve got heat!”

“We’re good!” Wrecker yells back, not pausing to tell them that no, they aren’t officially strapped in yet and that they might be testing the limits of said safety mechanism if Wrecker can actually get it locked around the both of them. “Go!”

Wrecker can feel the Marauder humming with urgency as she's primed to flee them to safety, and he knows he only has mere seconds to make this seatbelt situation work.

“Alright, buddy, suck it in!” he tells his unconscious brother as he reaches up with one hand to pull on the harness while keeping his other arm protectively coiled across Tech’s chest.

Tech does not, in fact, suck it in, as he’s still mercifully unconscious, but Wrecker does as he hugs his little brother's frame as tightly to him as he can possibly get. Though he’s very lean and a good six inches shorter than Wrecker, Tech is still fully armored and laden with tools and gadgets. Combined with Wrecker’s own massive and armored frame, it's going to be a tight squeeze…

The crash harness screeches in complaint as Wrecker jerks it into place in front of them and forces the locking mechanism to engage. And just in time too, because the Marauder makes a few evasive twists and turns before lurching onto a predetermined hyperlight trajectory.

Despite the safety harness having been successfully muscled into doing double duty, Wrecker still holds onto Tech fiercely. He takes care to grapple his legs and arms around Tech’s own, pinning Tech’s limbs safely in place and (hopefully) preventing further aggravation of whatever injuries they’re working with here. Worried about what Tech’s wounds specifically entail, Wrecker hugs him all the tighter, resolved to keep this carbonite-like lock on him until they can safely unbuckle and assess what Tech got himself into this time.

Finally, the automated alert chimes, informing Marauder’s crew that it’s safe to move about the shuttle. Omega undoes her harness at once, leaping down to her feet and hastening to Wrecker’s (and Tech’s) seat. She finds Tech’s pulse, lifts his helmet off, then crouches down in front of them, likely to try to make some sort of initial medical assessment.

“Oi! A little help back here!” Wrecker bellows to the lads upfront, knowing that the urgency in his voice will have Echo and Hunter both rushing aft in an instant.

And they don’t disappoint. Both brothers come hurrying out of the cockpit, eyes alight with concern that only swells when they land on Tech, slumped unconscious in Wrecker’s lap.

“What happened?” Hunter demands, running to the crash seat and helping Wrecker unlatch and lift the safety harness into the up position. “Careful now. Let’s get him on a rack.”

As they work to shift their youngest brother onto one of the racks, Echo produces one of their sturdy trauma kits and slides into his role as assistant medic.

“He broke his left leg,” Echo says sadly, flicking a medical scanner to life and running it along Tech’s form. “And he’s been running around on it now for hours.”

“He... broke his leg!?” Hunter repeats, devastated. “When?”

“When we crashlanded that cargo container,” Omega supplies. “A heavy crate fell on top of him.”

“How heavy?” Hunter asks, eyeing the medical scanner’s red flashes of warning over Echo’s shoulder, undoubtedly dreading the prospect of a dire report.

“He said—Wrecker, get his tool belt off, will you?—” Echo says, recounting the events as he delegates the tasks that he’s less suited to and gathers supplies from the medical kit. “He said his ‘left femur’ was fractured by ‘150 kilograms of pressure.’ Something to that effect. And the med scanner agrees. It’s closed, but he’s got a pretty nasty oblique fracture. Diaphyseal. And fighting on it didn’t do him any favors.”

“It’s that bad?” Hunter asks sadly. “You think he needs a specialist?”

“It is,” Echo says morosely. “And I do. His leg's already swollen to twice its normal size, and the fracture's been harmfully manipulated.”

“Oh yeah, he does,” Wrecker agrees, empathizing greatly with the misery that accompanies a broken long bone. “Better go find an med center and plug it in now, Sarge. Sheesh, he musta been in a lot of pain.”

“Adrenaline masked most of it, I reckon,” Echo says, planting a small torch between his own lips, then gently sliding Tech’s goggles up to check his pupillary light reflex.

As Wrecker watches Echo conduct the test, something dawns on him.

“No,” Wrecker decides. “No-no, he was really hurting.”

“That’s not what it looked like to us,” Echo says, stowing the light, consulting Tech’s stats further, and searching through their supplies for something they can use as a splint. “He was handling it.”

“It’s just… 150 kilograms… of pressure? He said that?” Wrecker asks, lending a hand in the rummaging. “Tech said that… just like that?”

“Yeah, I think so,” says Echo glancing at Omega and receiving a confirmatory nod from their sister.

“That’s what bugs me,” Wrecker tells them apprehensively.

“Why?” Hunter asks, still looking stricken at the discovery of his brother’s injury. “That’s a typical Tech report. Even if it’s to do with his own kriffing bones.”

“But that’s not quite right, is it?” Wrecker tells them, as the sheer amount of pain that Tech must have really been in from the injury finally dawns on him. He reaches over and gently cups the side of Tech’s face, wishing there was any possible way that he could take away some of the pain Tech had endured and was still going to have to endure for a while longer because of this. “Well, kilograms ain’t… a unit of pressure, is it?”

“What?” Echo asks, his tone supplementing Hunter and Omega’s visible confusion.

“Kilograms ain’t… well, you know… used as a unit of pressure. It’s a… unit of mass,” Wrecker says carefully, his tongue feeling cumbersome in his mouth as he repeats the information that Tech, himself, had helped him learn. “I’m just saying, he musta been really kriffed if he said that is all, and I hope we got something strong in that kit to give him when he comes ‘round.”

Hunter and Echo blink in surprise at him for a moment before a shared look passes between them, and they grasp the gravity of Wrecker’s remark.

“I’ll get in touch with some friendlies,” Hunter says, somehow sounding even more resolved than he’d been moments ago and making for the cockpit, “I’ll find us an orthopedic specialist we can trust. Let me know when he wakes.”

“You got it,” Echo says, now searching for a stronger hypo to administer to Tech.

It’s only a few moments later, as Wrecker is easing off the last of his younger brother’s armor and gear that Tech begins to stir.

“Tech? Tech, hey,” Echo says encouragingly, “you with us?”

Intermittently, Tech becomes aware of voices and all the ambient noises of his beloved ship in flight. Though… the sounds are all muddled and greet him as though they’ve been hurtling through time and space to chase and catch up to him. The voices are talking quietly over him. Which is fairly unusual.

Ah. Serenno. He must have succumbed to his injuries on Serenno and lost consciousness. Again.

The previous time it happened, it had been Romar who roused him from his ill-timed syncopation. This time, however… he isn’t quite sure. He summons all of his strength and forces himself to wake up.

Just as he’s blinking his heavy eyelids open, pain lances through his left leg like a bolt of lightning, and he sucks in a breath through his clenched teeth. Instinctively he tries to curl forward and reach for the limb, which is now ablaze with a pain that he’s seldom (if ever) experienced quite like this before now.

Gentle hands grasp him firmly, forcing him to lay back down with his arms securely, benignly at his sides. Yes, his left femur, he recalls. Fractured substantially and now with an accompaniment of soft tissue damage and further injury from rigorous use of the limb immediately after the precipitating event. He starts to hyperventilate at the memory of it and the implication of how said injury will impact his effectiveness to his team... to his family...

“Easy, Tech,” says a gentle, deep baritone voice directly above him. Echo. “We gotcha. You’re okay.”

Tech cracks his eyes open but is only met with a blur of indistinct colors and shapes. He can’t help but gasp in alarm. His goggles hadn’t been compromised, had they? He really didn’t suspect they had and would be distressed beyond measure if that were the case.

“They're right here,” says Omega’s voice, a small shape bobbing around the periphery of his bleary view. Small hands gently lift and slide his goggles from his forehead down onto his face so that his corrective lenses are seated properly in front of each eye. He sighs in immense relief when his surroundings come into sharp focus to reveal that he’s supine in the main hold of the Havoc Marauder with Echo, Omega, and Wrecker, all either directly next to him or nearby.

“Hunter?” is Tech’s first thought, and the question is on his tongue before he can even think through and catalog the probable answers. They all need to be together. It’s a priority.

“In the cockpit,” Echo assures him. “Finding us a safe place to get you looked after.”

“Oh,” Tech says. “Am I the only one injured?”

“You are,” Echo confirms. “But enough so for the lot of us, Tech. I’m just glad you waited until you got to Marauder before passing out.”

“I did so in the forest as well,” Tech reports pragmatically. “Romar located and assisted me.”

“Oh, so when you ate it on the ramp coming back, that was round two?” Wrecker chimes in, sounding indecently impressed.

“I did not ‘eat it’ coming back aboard Marauder,” Tech huffs, though he reasonably can’t recall what exactly happened that lead him to the predicament he’s in currently.

“Did too,” Wrecker insists, radiating his perplexing approval for when any one of them pushes through an injury severe enough to ultimately render them unconscious. “Omega and I both saw it.”

“Yeah, sorry, Tech, you kinda did,” Omega admits. “Wrecker and I were scared.”

“Apologies for that… entrance,” Tech says with a sigh. “That sounds somewhat more dramatic than what I had intended.”

“S’alright!” Wrecker says, as Omega makes for the cockpit, likely to update Hunter. “You made it, and that’s all that matters!”

“How’s your pain?” Echo asks soberly. “I can cut it. Keep you comfortable for the ride, at least.”

“It is tolerable,” Tech reports, cringing at the idea of their ever-dwindling medical supplies being expended on him.

“Nah, I’ll cut it,” Echo decides for him instead.

“I suspect I do not have any say in the matter?” Tech hedges.

“You don’t,” Echo confirms in a tone that is patronizing and infuriating and, indeed, meant to be both. Adding to the infuriating aspect. “The med scanner doesn’t lie.”

“That is because it has been properly calibrated. Are we—agh!” Tech’s next question is interrupted by a sharp stab to his jugular vein, chased by a burning, cold sensation. He flinches involuntarily at the abrupt contact but doesn’t begrudge the relief that follows. The intense pain in his leg ebbs and morphs into innocent numbness very rapidly, and he'll now be able to focus more adequately on all pertinent tasks. But still, “that gesture warrants warning to the patient,” he grumbles at Echo.

“He never does that,” Wrecker gripes, commiserating with Tech likely because of the injury sustained when they first fled Kamino, pursued by...

Crosshair. Tech's heart aches with a pain that doesn't even touch the pain that was caused by his broken femur. No, it's too much to think about right now. He has to focus on their next move. What they need to make ends meet and keep them safe.

“I know what the module says to do,” Echo tells them regarding his proclivity to employ surprise hypo attacks, “and I know what Kix says to do.”

“Oh, so they are mutually exclusive concepts,” Tech complains, “and you practice the latter.”

“Ehh, the lessons intersect here and there,” Echo says with a smirk, gathering what he’ll need to perform the application of traction, depending on how long their voyage to get medical help will be.

“Well, that is very comforting to know,” Tech says drily. “And do Kix’s teachings dictate that I be allowed my datapad to distract me during any impending procedures?”

“They do,” says Echo lightly, grabbing Tech’s coveted datapad from where his gear has been piled and placing it in Tech’s lap. Wrecker grabs something soft and carefully helps Tech prop his head up enough to read.

Tech gladly accepts the help and the offered datapad. He toggles it to life and settles in. He has a lot of work to do, and he can’t let something like an inconvenient femur fracture deter him from providing for his family.

And... just maybe… eventually recovering their lost brother too.

Thank you so much for reading! I really hope you enjoyed this little fic. The kg of pressure idea isn’t meant to be wELL aCtuALlY, but I’ve never seen pressure expressed in kg and it doesn’t make sense to me 😅. I think Tech really was jacked up by that wretched crate, and that’s why he said that. They showcased his resilience (among other qualities!) in this episode and it was fantastic

I plan to post my fics to Tumblr, make recs, and share the fics of others from AO3. I'm also experimenting with making some dividers/banners (thank you so much, @freesia-writes)! I got some serious undergrad EE course vibes when recreating Tech's technical doodles lol.

109 notes · View notes

warsamongthestars · 2 months

Text

Okay, time to confront the thing.

There are No Character Relationships in the Bad Batch of the Bad Batch Show... Besides Omega.

Now this comes from 2 things on my end.

The Clone Wars Show ( Which led into the Bad Batch, thus, is the original show and the TBBshow is the sequel)

Fanfiction (Because nothing shows love more than fans interacting and creating. )

Now you might be wondering, why would I think that? Clearly the characters interact with each other, with talking and typing quirks and witty one-liners--all very expected.

They emote and they have fanciful animations, very much in the spirit of animation everywhere.

Easy.

One question question: Why didn't they have the character of Crosshair's Back?

Not, why didn't they go back. But, Why didn't they Have his back?

According to the Clone Wars, Clone Troopers are very important to other Clone Troopers. You never (purposely with intent) leave someone behind. They emphasize this throughout the Clone Wars.

So let's start with Episode 1 of the Bad Batch.

SERGEANT HUNTER sees CROSSHAIR attack A JEDI CHILD. Sergeant Hunter is established in this moment that he cares about children. He covers the child's escape.

AS A CLONE SQUADRON, established by TCWshow, they are very close with their Squadmates.

So, why didn't Sergeant Hunter confront Crosshair when it was safest to do so?

Such as, on the ship THE HAVOC MARAUDER, during its trip in Hyperspace. The planet of KAMINO is established to be on the edge of the galaxy (By the Very Films Themselves), there would be enough time for any uncomfortable conversation.

TECH, the local omni-technician and the SMART GUY TROPE of the troopers, claims several times that the "REGS" (Regular Clone Troopers) may have had programming that caused them to turn against the Jedi. The group has already noticed that Crosshair has had off behavior.

Where was Tech's confrontation of Crosshair, with the possiblity that there was Programming involved? Or since TCWs Tech was establsihed to not like confrontation, why didn't TBB Tech talk to Hunter about Crosshair's behavior? Or create mitigation himself, if assuming it was "Obvious".

The TBBshow has establish that its Wrecker is not nearly as observant as TCWshow Wrecker, thus we cannot consider Wrecker under the TBBshow...

... But TCWshow Wrecker would've surely lifted Crosshair up by the naps of the Neck, as TCWshow Wrecker proved time and time again that if someone is doing something bad--he steps in and physically moves them.

ECHO would've surely confronted not only Crosshair, but the entire Bad Batch, and in fact, even other Clone Troopers for their behavior. TCWshow Echo was a go-getter when it came to regulations, and there are strict regulations for slaughtering your Commanders and attempting to murder children.

The Lack of Confrontation shows that the Characters did not Notice the Obviously Bad Thing--They did not notice to a point where even if you were that dense, you would be ALARMED, because PEOPLE ARE DEA NOW and CHILDREN ARE BEING ATTACKED.

Since the show did not take steps as to why our characters would be so distracted, such as an attachment to the Order of Things--which the TCWshow Bad Batch proved they are absolutely Not--or a general disregard for any Jedi --which Echo is Not, having sacrificed his life to attempt to ensure the safety of Anakin Skywalker, Obiwan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, and a Captive Piell--

Then we must blame the fact that the Writers and Directors, thus the storytellers, said "They did not pay attention because we did not want them to. We wanted Crosshair to be the Bad Guy. Its like this because we said so."

The closest we get to the confrontation, is immediately interrupted by a scene change to the super special awesome totally original character Donut STeel--I mean Omega.

Omega is a cute character. She's a good character... but it comes at the cost of every other character--thus I cannot accept her as a Good Written Character. I have to assume 2000s Fanfic Logic--and call her a Mary Sue, because her good writing comes at the cost of everyone's writing and any reasonable set up.

Your Brother attempting to Kill Children and Kill People Randomly, should never be ignored for a random kid several thousand lightyears away. Omega is imaginary in comparison to the immediacy that is Crosshair, who is right next to you.

( As one scene proves, the Bad Batch have been active with each other since the begining of the Clone Wars--so 3-4 years back. )

( Therefore, even if they didn't grow up with each other, they have a RELATIONSHIP. And it has to be a working, functional relationship, or THEY WOULD BE DEAD BY THIS POINT. Because they lived together on a tiny ship, in each other's space, and they were in a War. )

( If they didn't have a functional communicative relationship, either the enemy would've killed them--or they would've fucking murdered each other. )

( The most basic children's show knows what a sleepover is like, or what its like having to share a room with your siblings. Sitcoms knows what its like to share a room with another person. If you want the military perspective--just look as MASH, or ask any Vet. )

And that's just Episode 1.

What about afterwards?

Oh someone asks about Crosshair, and the only answer is "Its complicated". Nothing else. No "He shot at us so we left him", No "He was acting off and we weren't safe", None of the "Everyone is acting weird and Crosshair was acting weird and it forced us to leave him", not even a "He was trying to kill a Kid and we Have a Kid Now".

And after that? Hunter went "Oh we gotta find a planet to hid out", and no further conversation about the BATCHMATE, who you WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE YEARS OF RELATIONSHIP WITH.

A character whom all your plans hedge on, because he was an intimate part of it. A character whom was reliable, for the above stated reasons of War, Death and Living in Small Spaces with Quirky People.

Not from Tech, who figured about the so called Obvious Programming, and did Nothing.

Not from Echo, who had his whole world ripped away Again. Who had living brothers (as far as he knew), but never once mentioned them. Who had dead brothers, he definitely knows one in particular, and says nothing about "having to move on for now because of the mission / job at hand"...

Wrecker has one "I miss him" and it goes no where. No conversation resulted from it, no actions were changed, not even an opinion was given.

We don't get mourning faces, or emotional outlet.

Like a Someone Falling off a Cliff in a TV Show, if you didn't portray it infront of the Audience, it didn't happen. It is only real when you show us, the Audience, its Real.

So I have to assume that... when Crosshair was left behind, the Bad Batch just, fully left him there. No consideration, none of the interwoven characters from the TCWshow Bad Batch... just, He's Dead to Us Now and We've Moved On Post-Haste.

Confrontation of a Character when their Behavior is randomly off, and performing unacceptable actions to Audience or even empirical evidence, shows that the Characters did not have this Character's Back--or the truth is, the Writers' didn't bother with it.

Refusal to return to a Character, whom by empirical evidence you had Years of Relationship with, shows an unnatural lack of concern.

Let's take it another step.

Echo leaves the Bad Batch.

Was there build up to the leaving? No. I cannot cite an episode where he says "I'm going to leave to do this thing." and someone said "But wait we need you--".

Was there any conversation about attachment between Echo an the Bad Batch? No. It was a pat on the back and a good luck. Was there any conversation afterwards about Echo? Fond memories? Memorable missions?

Wasn't Echo an asset to Hunter in missions?

Didn't Wrecker have some sort of attachment to Echo? Wrecker is a very emotional character, surely he would've had a reaction. He had the most reaction to Crosshair's absence than any of them.

( Omega had feelings about it. But she's a super special awesome original character, Donut Steel, and if I wanted a Donut Steel and a Donut Steel reaction, I would look up Fanfiction. There are plenty of donut steels in fanfiction. Nobody should have to pay for Donut Steels when fanfiction gives them for Free. )

The one confrontation about it, was between Tech... and the Donut Steel. And thus cannot be counted for OC interference.

No steps were taken for this big decision to remove a major character from a group of characters, and no solid sustainable reaction beyond an OC was given.

Echo reappeared three episodes later... like it didn't happen. No impact what's so ever was received or given to the various characters, whom he gave up the 501st (and 5 real world years of TCWshow) for.

And because no steps were given the first time for his character removal, his character impact is now forfeit. His relationships mean little. His attitude to anything is meaningless, because he will simply "vanish" by next episode. His character has become incorporeal... existing only in the imagination from which he originated from.

The characters show that Echo is now not a character, but a tool to be given and removed. Little more than a stage hand. Because when you watch a play, clearly it must be for stage hands.

( You have to take steps to make imaginary things impactful in writing. Because it is just fiction at the end of the day, and fiction isn't real. When you rob the impact, you have robbed everything. )

Yes, we all love Echo... but the Show doesn't, or it would've taken the maintenance and steps required to ensure his impact on the show remains impactful.

Now that we've jumped through time and space.

Let's go the S1 Finale Arc.

Give me one reason why Crosshair could be talked down. Name something that happened prior to the TBBshow that could be named, in order to get Crosshair back to the Bad Batch.

Was there comfortable blankets? Good food? A safe ship? A memory of being bullied by regs and defended by brothers? Did Hunter bite, rip and tear at a trainer for kicking Crosshair? Did Wrecker deck a Kaminonian because they were looking at his squad wrong? Did they run into a bout of geonosis worms that Tech was simultaneous fascinated and horrified by and thus knew the stages of mind control upon the brain? Didn't Echo and Crosshair have snark to snark battles, and maybe an understanding that what Crosshair doesn't actually like about Regs is their Regular Attitude, and the long history of neglect and bullying?

... Now that you have an answer for any of the above questions, or have made one yourself...

Did the Show portray it?

Because if there was a Character Relationship at all, even in the midst of Betrayed Feelings, there would've been History between the Characters.

History would've easily convinced Crosshair back, or set a reaction for Hunter or Wrecker or Tech or Echo to take that wasn't just bitching in the middle of the fucking Ocean.

( When you live in small spaces and survive against enviroments in war, you can't afford to lose your nuts in a sinking ocean base surrounded by adversaries and hungry monsters. )

But History, and Character Relationships, imply there was Character writing at all.

And these? Are just Reactions, with Typing Quirks and a Job attached.

Because if there was anything Solid, anything at all, any Conversation on the matter, any discussion of History, and long missions and long hours, and shared experiences...

... Crosshair could've easily been talked back. He could've been talked back, by Episode 1.

Hunter, being the Rogue, could've easily infiltrated a ship and stolen him. Tech, being the Hacker and Pilot, could've been Mission Control. Wrecker, being the strongman and demolitions, could've brlown the ship up or caused a distraction. Echo, being the stradegist could've planned and directed and even hacked the cameras to watch.

Or if they needed supplies... why not just rob Cid? They're a special secret forces team, they could rob Cid, the nearby stores, most of Ord Mantell, picked a fight with mercenaries and gutted their ships.

Because Character relationships Make History, and History has your Back--because it is Your Back. Its your Back Story. It is You.

Character who share your Backstory, who have comfortably lived in your Space, and faced battles with you and for you, and vice reversa, would be Characters you have a Relationship With.

But.

There are no Character Relationships in the Bad Batch, in the Bad Batch Show.

Because there are no Back Stories. And because there are no Backstories, there are no Characters. These are just props for the current writer's Donut Steel.

And if there was, we'd have a much different show.

( Its the worst aspects of Ahsoka Tano's introduction to Star Wars, without any of the build up or steps it took to make her the beloved character she became in the end. )

#star wars #the bad batch #the clone wars #star wars the bad batch #star wars the clone wars #bad batch hunter #bad batch tech #bad batch wrecker #bad batch crosshair #bad batch echo #clone wars echo #character analysis #analysis #critical analysis

31 notes · View notes

usafphantom2 · 16 days

Text

May 1944

A U.S. Army Air Forces Douglas A-20J Havoc of the 671st Bombardment Squadron, 416th Bomb Group, after being hit by flak over Beauvoir, France.

@WW2today via X

#a 20 havoc #aircraft #ww2

20 notes · View notes

thunderbirds-showdown · 4 months

Text

Which Thunderbirds Are Go episode is better?

Vote on which episode you think is better. Episode synopses below the cut.

Chaos Part 1: The Hood's newly formed Chaos Crew are creating chaos across the globe and International Rescue have their hands full. After one such rescue, the GDF begin testing a squadron of automated machines - known as R.O.BOTS - to assist with low priority rescues. Virgil and Gordon test the bot out in a frigid Arctic rescue while Kayo and newly assigned GDF agent Captain Rigby go after Havoc.

Runaway: A high-speed test train on a Japanese Maglev line suddenly goes out of control, and is in danger of running into the back of a passenger train. Only Brains can stop it, so he sets out with Scott on Thunderbird 1 to board the train. But in doing so, he discovers the train is under the control of an Artificial Intelligence program, which John determines is playing a game. Scott and Brains must find a way of stopping it before it crashes into a station terminal.

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderfam #tumblr polls #polls showdown #tournament poll #tumblr showdown

16 notes · View notes

psychotic4ghost · 23 days

Text

Strength Together

TW: Guns, violence, strong language, injury, blood WC: 2.4k

Masterlist Chapter 3 // Chapter 5

Ophelia was not too keen on the idea of her being so close to the action. Price insisted she stay at the safe house they would have set up a few clicks from the action.

“How ya feeling, Lia?” Gaz had asked, nearly yelling into the mic attached to the headset he wore. The helicopter was loud, even with their headphones on and Ophelia wasn’t enjoying her time at all. She had ridden on helios before but they were usually just above a city and for a brief moment while she tended to a patient. But here she had to sit patiently and wait as they flew over empty lands where the wind was much harsher.

“I’ve been in better situations.” She answered as she cupped her hands around the headphones, hoping to drown out as much noise as possible.

“You’ll get used to it.” Price added, they were all on the same channel, meaning everyone in the helio could hear their conversation, including Ghost, who of course, added nothing to it.

“Run the plan by me one more time?” Ophelia asked, trying to distract herself from the height of the helio as well as the growing pit in her stomach.

“You’ll be set up at the base camp, heavily guarded by some elite men of our team. Ghost, Gaz, and myself along a small squadron will be infiltrating their base. Makarov is in custody but that doesn’t stop his men from wreaking havoc. Our goal is to simply clear them out. Easy work.” Price informed her in a nonchalant way, as if taking the lives of these men, murders or not, was nothing to him. And it was nothing to him. Of course he’d never kill an innocent person, she could see none of them would do that. But the thought of taking a life never sat well with her.

Ophelia had been in the medical field for awhile, dealing with intense cases many times before. She’s seen death, unable to save her patient at times. Although her fatality rate couldn’t even come close to the men before her. They probably stopped keeping count. It’s probably better that way.

She trusted these men. She didn’t at first, of course, men who kill like they do couldn’t be trusted right off the bat. That would be foolish. She did her research, finding the files of each member of the force, even Soaps. The one thing that made her warry was Ghost’s lack of a photo in his file. There wasn’t even one of him with the mask, it was just empty where the photo should have been. But she knew better than to ask anyone about it, Ghost would give her a cold shoulder, probably be upset that she read his file in the first place. Gaz probably wouldn’t know much about it and Price would give her some joking answer.

Their ride was coming to an end as the small, broken down house came into view out the side door of the helio. Her new home for the next two days. She hoped it wouldn’t take any longer than that. Price had told her that they usually had some sort of estimate on the time but it could end earlier or end up taking a week extra. There was no telling, not really.

“I know it’s not cozy, but it’s safe and at least has a bed and running water. We had it cleared earlier this week so we could use it at our safe house. We have two more safe houses in locations that will be marked on your tac map.” Price handed her a small GPS handheld that had a screen with a map as well as a paper map that matched the handheld.

“Why two maps?” Ophelia asked as she examined the two, and noticed they were identical.

“The handheld can track our exact locations, we all have trackers that will show as little white dots on your handheld. If the light goes out, we died. It’s attached to a heart monitor we always wear. Helps identify the living. If you tap the white light, it’ll show our call sign so you can see exactly who is where.”

“The paper map?”

“If we get DDoSed.”

“DDoSed?” Ophelia cocked her head to the side, there were terms she was still learning as her time continued on the base.

“Distributed Denial of Service. Means they have a little device that wipes out of electronics. It’s not common but it has happened. And with your paper map, you’ll at least be able to find the next safe house if this one gets overrun.” Price continued to explain the things he handed her as he noticed her expression become worried. “Listen kid, it almost never happens. It’s just an extra safety measure. All of the soldiers with you know what to do if we do get DDoSed or attacked and they already know the exact locations of the safe houses even without a map. You’ll be perfectly safe here.”

Ophelia nodded her head, unable to speak due to the nerves that were building in her chest. Gaz took notice, giving her a side hug as he reassured her of how successful their missions usually are. Ghost eyed her as usual, not saying anything. She could tell his eyes did soften just the slightest as if he did feel for her.

Ophelia continued to study both maps in her hands, making sure they truly were identical, again. Anything to keep herself distracted as the men around her began suiting up. Armored plate carriers strapped to their chests, extra clips for their guns were slotted into their assigned spots on their chests. Ophelia had never been so close to things that could kill her in the blink of an eye, the c4 she watched Gaz place in their spots on his person gave her an uncomfortable chill.

“They don’t go off until we want them to.” Ghost said in his usual deep voice as he watched Ophelia eye the explosives that all three had on them.

“Still has to be at least a little nerve-wracking to have explosives that close to your person.” Ophelia asked all three men, expecting them to agree at least a little bit. But Price and Gaz grinned while Ghost said nothing.

They only stuck around for a few more minutes before setting out in vehicles. Ophelia had no idea how long they would actually be gone but for her own sanity she hoped it would be only the two days Price had said it would take.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

The sun had gone down by now. Price and his team pushed onward as they cleared out the small building of the village they knew some of the remaining Konni to be in. This was the third village they had cleared out. From what Ophelia had been briefed on, there was a man named Andrei Nolan who was Makarov’s right hand man. Someone who still had teams left and was using them to kill whoever crosses their path.

Originally, the Konni Group’s goal was to restore Russia to a state of global power and influence. But since the capture of Vladimir Makarov as he fled the scene after killing one of their own, Andrei seems to have derailed their original plans and has gone on a senseless killing spree.

“One click east. They have snipers on the second floors of the first four buildings. Hold your fire.” Price spoke directly into his coms, receiving confirmations from the team.

Ghost was head of the stealth, sneaking into the buildings on foot with a small team of three other men. “First floor of the first two buildings, clear.”

Price watched from his binoculars from his hiding spot. He watched as Ghost stealthily came up from behind one of the snipers, stabbing him in the neck as he gripped over his mouth. One of the men on Ghost’s team did the same to the man next to him.

This repeated until all seven of the buildings were clear. “No sign of Nolan, sir.” Ghost informed through the coms.

“Keep looking. Our intel says he’s here. Check for any basements that could have been hidden from the building plans.” Price pulled the building plans out from his pocket, examining them for anything they might have missed. “I’m sending Gaz and his team in. We need to find Nolan.”

Both Gaz and Ghost gave confirmation before Gaz and two other men made their way across the dark field down to the village. Gaz entered one of the buildings and began his search for any hatches that may be hidden under rugs or doors behind bookshelves, anything that could indicate a hiding space.

“Nothing in the first building, si-” Gaz was cut short as two strong arms wrapped around his neck and mouth, startling Gaz. “You bastards think you can take the Konni out that easily? Take me down that easily? Poshel na khuy ty i tvoya komanda!” It was Nolan and he could be heard clearly through Gaz’s coms.

“Fuck. Ghost, get to Gaz now!” Price shouted as he quickly pushed up from the ground and began sprinting towards the village.

“The rest of your men are dead and the others won’t make it to you in time. Move!” Nolan pushed Gaz out of the building so they could be seen better by Ghost and Price.

“Fuck fuck fuck! Ghost get. To. Him. Now!” Panic filled Price’s voice as he pushed as much as he could to make it there in time. He’d be damned if he lost another one of his boys.

“Let him go.” Ghost demanded as he came into view of Nolan and Gaz. He held his sniper to the side, using the offset sights as he locked in on Nolan’s head.

Unfortunately, it was a tough situation as Nolan held the barrel of a pistol to Gaz’s head. “I’m tired of you sick fucks tracking and killing my men. First you take Makarov, now this? You’re stupid to have not killed Makarov either.” His thick Australian accent rang loudly in Gaz’s ear as he struggled against him, his shorter height being just the right kind of disadvantage.

“I know you’re there, captain.” Nolan’s eyes glanced quickly to Price’s location, running their chance of surprise

“Are you implying that your men are planning another bust to free Makarov?” Priced asked as he steadied his aim on Nolan from the shadows.

“Who’s to say? I certainly wouldn’t tell you if we were. Now back off or I’m taking this one down with me.”

All three men tightened their grips on their weapons, none of them backing down. The stand off felt like it took hours but it was merely seconds before Ghost noticed Nolan’s finger twitch on the trigger. He was going to pull it.

“Wait.” Ghost shouted as he lowered his weapon. He gave Price a hand movement to lower his as well. Price was hesitant but trusted Ghost’s judgements, lowering his as well.

Ghost took a few measured steps towards Nolan and Gaz, placing his gun on the ground as he moved before putting his hands in the air. Price placed his weapon on the ground too, unsure of Ghost’s plans.

“We’ll surrender, stop hunting your men. Just let ours go.” Ghost bargained with the man who was clearly past rational thought.

Nolan’s hand tightened on his gun again, though this time it was in contemplation, something Ghost knew he could take advantage of. Within a single breath, Ghost lunged for the two men, knocking Nolan off balance. Unfortunately for them all, Nolan released a shot, where it hit was unknown.

Nolan was quick with his movements.

Too quick.

Time stood frozen. Ghost had pushed himself on top of Nolan, pinning him to the ground. His first rained down into Nolan’s jaw, cheek, ear, throat, anywhere Ghost could land a punch.

Price rushed to Gaz who was also on the ground next to them. “Gaz? Gaz?!” Price shouted as he pulled the man towards him.

“Captain. Fuck. I don’t know who he shot, but it wasn’t me and there’s blood.” Gaz said as he sat up, blood smeared the front of his vest.

“Ghost.” Worried filled Price. He was clearly alive as he was still wailing into Nolan. Price moved to his feet quickly, pulling Ghost off of the bloody and bruised man below him.

Price pushed into Ghost’s chest to move him away from Nolan as Gaz quickly cuffed the broken man on the ground. He was almost unrecognizable at this point with how Ghost beat into him. Blood and teeth covered the ground around his head.

“Fuck. Oh fuck.” Price’s hand was covered in blood as he pulled it from Ghost’s chest. “Gaz, chain him to the fence and get a vehicle, Now! Go!”

Gaz didn’t hesitate, knowing not to ask questions, this wasn’t the time. He took off for the hills, getting to the nearest vehicle as fast as he could.

“Where did he hit you?! Simon! Where?!” Price wasn’t thinking straight as he searched Ghost’s body. He groaned with every pat from Price as he surveyed his body.

“N-neck.” Ghost grunted, he was slipping. If Gaz didn’t get to them soon, Ghost wouldn’t make it. He was tough and it took almost a whole army to take this man down but he wasn’t invincible to bullets, especially that close in range.

“Sir.” Gaz had arrived with the truck. He must have ran as fast as his legs would let him as he was there and back in record timing.

“We need to get him to Burns as fast as we can. Help me lift him.”

Gaz and Price lifted Ghost by his legs and shoulders and lugged him into the vehicle. “I’ll take him back. Stay with Nolan and I’ll send a team the moment I get to the safe house.” Price ordered. “You’ll be too late. That little girl will be a treat for my men. And without her. He will die.” Nolan garbled as his mouth was full with blood and missing teeth. Price and Gaz looked at each other quickly before Price took off in the truck, breaking light speed to get back to the safe house as quickly as he could.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

<- Chapter 3 // Chapter 5 -> Story Masterlist // Main masterlist

#Dr. Ophelia J. Burns #Ophelia Burns #OC #OC by p4g #Simon Riley #Ghost x OC #MW3 #COD #COD MW3 #Strength Together #Simon Riley x Ophelia Burns #Simon Riley Smut #MW3 Smut #COD Smut

11 notes · View notes