#post tbb s2

[waywardsou2]

Crosshair Brain Rot

Guys I cannot get over this...I have been on the Crosshair brain rot for a week straight and I just need to word vomit about this.

@miss-musings said it best but I want to say it again.

Crosshair was abandoned by his brothers. NOW BEFORE YOU GET MAD HEAR ME OUT!

This is not me shitting on the rest of the batch, this is not me saying "teehee I'm a Crosshair girly aha 😍" (I can't believe I just wrote that) This is me explaining my point of view about what happened with Crosshair and his little excursion with the Empire.

First things first. Yes - Crosshair was gunning for them, Yes - Crosshair was trying to get them to join the Empire. Was he a bad guy? For a while, yeah. If you don't acknowledge that then there is no point in defending him at all. He was a bag guy, accept that. But then he did better.

But let's get to the bulk of it. The rest of the Batch never went back for him, sure they told him to "come back to them" whenever they did meet up, but they never actively went looking for him like they did with Omega and Hunter. They never went to find him, to save him and knock some sense into him.

They just went "he made his choice...oh well"

Crosshair actively sought them out several times. I wasn't just when he was ordered to. If they were ever hinted about - he offered to take the mission, if they bumped into each other (like on Ryloth) he tried to talk to them. Sure, he was asking them to join the wrong side. But he still wanted them to be together.

He wanted them back, he felt abandoned.

Yeah he made the wrong choice siding with the Empire but I get the feeling that that was to do with the fact that he was afraid of losing his purpose. He saw what was happening to the Clones and he knew that he had to continue to be loyal and useful if he wanted a purpose as a soldier.

I think the idea of being useless frightened him. Which is why he stayed with the Empire.

Eventually, when he was joined on Tantis by Omega I can assume that she ended up visiting him almost every day (based on the way they talked inside and after Tantis) He was quite mean to her considering she was just trying to seek comfort and stick to the only person she could trust in that place (that is another can of worms I don't have time to open). He constantly was mean to her, rude, saying horrible stuff to drive her away.

Why?

Because after all he had done he didn't believe he was worth her time or the risk. He didn't think that after all he had done trying to kidnap her and gun for his brothers that he deserved her kindness.

But Omega is just that awesome that she clung to Crosshair anyway, she knew he was worth it despite everything.

No, not even despite it. She loved him anyway because he was her brother, and she knew what he must've been through to get to where he was now. (Omega is a queen)

But again, this actually shows how much he cares about his family because he's like "I made a mistake, I miss my family, but I don't expect them to ever want me back" (which falls in line with his argument with Hunter later down the line)

There are several other things he did to show that he cares about them

Getting ready to defend Omega whilst she was gambling with that officer

Despite her giving him all the money he still went and followed her to where Batcher had been taken

He made sure that no matter what she got back to Hunter and Wrecker.

When CX-2 followed them to Rex's secret base and they were running through the woods he made sure that she was keeping up, had her gear on her and was prepared.

Like it's obvious how big his capcity to care is.

Then after his fight with Hunter he says this

Crosshair: Hunter? I... I thought I knew what I was getting into with the Empire. I thought I was being a good soldier. Hunter: Nobody really understood what was happening back then. Crosshair: I've done things. I've made mistakes. Hunter: I have regrets too, Crosshair. All we can do is keep trying to be better. And who knows? There just might be hope for us yet.

HE ACTIVELY ADMITS HIS MISTAKE!!! Yeah, he was an idiot choosing the Empire, even despite what I said about him being scared, he chose the Empire. BUT HE KNOWS WHAT HE DID, HE ACKNOWLEDGES IT AND HE APOLOGISES.

This is more of a head canon than anything else but I still think it has some truth to it. Crosshair struggles to convey his emotions and he doesn't know how to directly say what he means. So things get lost between his brain and his mouth and it come out in frustration and his brothers take it as anger or an attack.

Him saying this was a huge step considering he's never said anything in such a sincere manner before.

Anyway I've rambled on long enough but I needed to say this because its been on my mind for ages.

Wayward out!

[kybercrystals94]

I Won’t Hate You

By KyberCrystals94

Read here on Ao3!

Whumptober 2023|Day 8|Prompt 8: “I’ve got soul, but I’m not a soldier.”

Rating: G

Words: 667

Summary: Crosshair finds out his siblings did not heed his warning.

Crosshair wakes in a cell. Not in a lab. Not strapped to a medical cot. The relief he feels is stunted and aching. He wishes they would just kill him, but he can’t quite stamp down the primal need to survive. So, he releases a shaky breath and tries to sit up.

“Here,” a child’s voice says, and small hands latch around his arm, futilely attempting to help him upright.

Crosshair reacts violently, scrambling from the sudden presence, tearing his arm away from their grip. His spine presses into the wall, and he stares into the startled expression of the clone girl.

“What are you doing here?” he rasps, trying to recover what little dignity he can gather. It isn’t much, and he can see by the pity in her empathetic eyes that she realizes she terrified him.

“Sorry,” Omega says, “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Crosshair almost denies it, but there’s no point. Not while his body is trembling with adrenaline, not while his lungs are ejecting shallow, shaky gasps.

Omega picks up a canteen, holding it out to him. “Here,” she says gently.

Crosshair takes it but does not drink. He grips the container in his hands, focusing on the cool metal against his clammy palms. He can’t look Omega in the eye. “You didn’t answer my question,” he growls.

“Hmm?” Omega tips her head.

“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. What. Are. You. Doing. Here.”

Omega glares at him. “I was captured.”

“Did they not get my message?” Crosshair asks, venom still dripping from his tone.

“We did,” Omega replies, pointedly changing the pronoun to include herself. “But we decided to try and save you.”

Crosshair ignores the sharp, unnamed emotion that twists in his gut. “And how did that work out?”

“How do you think?” Omega bites back.

Crosshair sneers, “They must’ve lost their touch…to let you get captured so easily.”

Omega does not rise to the bait, regarding him shrewdly. “I know what you’re trying to do, and it won’t work. I won’t hate you, Crosshair.”

Crosshair is stunned for a moment, staring down at the blond girl who stares back steadily with familiar, copper brown eyes. Eyes he has seen a million times, but only a few times that mattered. Hers matches those of the few, able to meet his hard gaze without flickering away. Hers are curious like Tech’s, kind like Wrecker’s, wise like Echo’s, and soft like Hunter’s. Perhaps sharp, like his. And then there’s something of her own, a gentle hope that hasn’t been stained by the cruelty of the galaxy.

Crosshair sees all of this, but turns away, moving to focus on the cold floor of the cell. “You should,” he says, but the venom has leaked out.

“Why?” Omega asks.

“You know why,” Crosshair mutters, gripping the canteen. He wants to throw it, just to expel some of the tension building in his aching muscles. But he doesn’t. He doesn’t want to scare her. Doesn’t want her to think he’s mad at her.

Out the corner of his eye, he sees Omega moving to climb up on the cot next to him, sitting against the same cold wall, her shoulder brushing his arm. Crosshair stiffens but doesn’t move away. “I know,” Omega says, her voice soft with the lilting of her accent, “that it wasn’t your fault. I know you are still our brother. I know that you tried to warn us. I know you tried.” Omega slowly lets her head rest against his shoulder, giving him a moment to react. He doesn’t, so she leans her weight against him. “I know our brothers love you and miss you.”

The nameless emotion snakes around his heart. “Are they coming for us?” Crosshair whispers.

“Of course, they are,” Omega says with guileless confidence.

“And then what?”

Omega is quiet for a moment, and Crosshair wonders if she’ll answer him. Then her voice comes, hushed words. “We’ll go home,” she says.

END

Tag List: @isthereanechoinhere96 @followthepurrgil

✨Let me know if you’d like to be added to the Tag List✨

[ilcuoreardendo-fic]

"It's unanimous. Even killjoy over here agreed."

The Bad Batch, Season 2, Episode 1 "Spoils of War"

Echo has some of the best expressions.

[jedi-lothwolf]

Merry Whumpmas Day 4: Chills

Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch

Summary: As Crosshair reunites with his family he notices that someone is not there.

Seeing his brothers again was a lot for Crosshair. He thought he had told them not to come, to leave him behind like they had before. Even if understood why now, it still hurt. The scar was still a scab.

But then he noticed, Tech was missing. His body shook with a chilling realization. It felt like his whole body went cold and he almost froze in place. It was the only reason he wouldn't be there. Tech had to be dead.

Fear gripped his heart and squeezed. It was almost painful. But maybe he was wrong. Maybe Crosshair was wrong. It wouldn't be the first time.

He wanted to ask but the fear and uncertainty left him speechless. Instead he put one foot in front of the other. He followed the rest of his family outside of this awful place that had broken him. They led him to the light he had long forgotten.

Hope.

Still, Crosshair couldn't be happy. As they walked he realized there was no way Tech could be with them. Was he hurt? Could he be with the Marauder? Why did they look so, nervous.

When they did get to the Marauder, Rex was waiting. Warm blood was replaced with ice water. He was gone. That's why they were nervous; why Omega hadn't said anything when he asked about them. She didn't know how to tell him.

The water froze him. He stood still, staring at the Marauder. He thought about every memory that he had with Tech in it. There was no way he was gone. Not without saying goodbye right?

But hadn't they already? Was their last encounter supposed to give him closer? Was he supposed to be okay? Could he move? Did moving mean excepting?

Hunter put a hand on Crosshair's shoulder and tried to move him along. "We need to go."

"He's not there, is he?"

An icicle plunged into the man's heart. "No. Tech's not there."

Crosshair wanted to cry. The only thing that stood in his way was dehydration.

"We have to go Crosshair" Hunter shook. He put slight pressure on his brother's back, trying to move forward.

Slowly Crosshair moved, Hunter's hand generating enough heat to move his frozen body forward. He was finally home.

Home was different than he remembered. First of all there was room for Omega. Then Tech's bunk had been left untouched. His blanket was still folded over.

Crosshair looked at his own. It had been made. He knew he hadn't made it. He moved the blanket to find a small letter. A chill went up his spine as he grabbed it.

It was from Tech. He gently opened it with shaky hands. He pulled the letter out of the envelope and unfolded it.

It read, "Dear Crosshair, I didn't know what would happen. In truth I didn't expect the mission to go well. But I knew we had to go. If not for anything, to make up for the damage we had done to you. That is not to say you didn't hurt us as well. I hope I will retrieve this letter once I am on the ship. If not, I was told it is best to not leave words unsaid. You were a good brother Crosshair. I was grateful to have you."

Crosshair held the letter to his chest. That was the most affection Tech had ever shown to him. He laid on his bed and let out a sigh. This was going to be hard.

[heirtotheempire]

The Bad Batch season 3 has been interesting thus far. I really liked episodes 1-7 and I've nothing particularly bad to say about any of those episodes. But honestly episode 8, and after today, episode 9, it's once again gotten to be a bit of a pain to get through. Maybe I'm just too much of a Crosshair guy, idk. Today's episode especially irked me but last time I discussed the topics it delves into I got some pissy people in my notes and I'd rather avoid that this time around.

[krimsonwings]

I tripped headfirst over the cooling path of the Bad Batch bandwagon I missed and absolutely caught the feels for their receding silhouettes.

So now I’m slowly watching the series, reading all the fics, and collecting all the merch I still can while telling myself to practice drawing humans again cause I have a lot of fanart ideas.

I also have thoughts and headcanons based on what I know of the series (of course I’ve spoiled myself) and the fics I’ve read, but imma wait til I finish actually watching the series to lays those out.

[paperfrog1987]

Tech (as drawn by my 10 year old brother who can draw much better than me)

[stardustandash]

Through Darkness Unknown - The Bad Batch

Omega and Crosshair are just trying to survive Dr. Hemlock when it's revealed that their brother may not be as dead as initially thought.

Meanwhile Hunter, Wrecker, and Echo evaluate the cost of avoiding a war, and the lengths they will go to in order to get their own back.

Tags: Post s2, hurt/comfort, whump, medical procedures

Chapter 1 - Ground Rules (ao3 link)

“Omega?” the thin voice from behind her broke the spell that kept Omega staring at the other female clone.

Omega turned to the bed. Crosshair was still held down by several black restraints but his eyes were open and locked on her. Omega grabbed for his shoulders, both trying to offer and take comfort. Her brother was here, he recognized her.

“Omega, what are you doing here,” hissed Crosshair.

She didn’t know how to answer him. Instead her eyes drifted down towards the restraints.

“Tech’s gone,” was what she came up with, though it wasn’t the answer either of them were looking for.

“What?” said Crosshair. His eyes went wide. “What did you say?”

Emotions bubbled up in Omega’s chest. Everything from the last day was starting to sink in, from the infiltration attempt, to Tech’s sacrifice, to her capture. She didn’t know where the others had ended up, she could only hope AZ got to Echo in time to warn him. With several swallows around the thick lump in her throat Omega managed to keep the emotions from overwhelming her.

“Omega. It’s time to go,” said the other clone.

“Wait! Let me talk to him,” cried Omega. “I want to stay with Crosshair.”

The woman stepped closer, trapping Omega between herself and the exam bed Crosshair was strapped to. A hand clamped around Omega’s shoulder. The clone woman, while looking far daintier, had the strength of their brothers in her grip. Omega tried twisting herself out of the grip but stopped when her leg gave a sharp twinge of protest.

“Please, Doctor Hemlock has asked me to treat your wounds. You may have the chance to see Crosshair again later, if both of you behave,” said the clone. The words were a hollow promise and Omega didn’t believe them for a second.  

“Wounds? What did you do to her?” growled Crosshair.

“Try and rest, Crosshair, you’re recovering yourself,” replied the woman.

The hand on Omega’s shoulder forced her to move away. She tried to look back at Crosshair as she was guided away but couldn’t quite get her head to rotate that far without her neck seizing. She could hear him though. Growling and grunting and cursing as he struggled against the restraints.

Omega was silent while she was treated. The clone woman had taken her away from the large room holding Crosshair and the other clones to a smaller lab room and sat her up on an exam table. The room was bright, but the dark walls were a far cry from the bland white of the labs in Tipoca city. There were questions at first, but as it became apparent Omega wasn’t going to answer any of them the clone had stopped asking, instead only speaking to direct Omega. The red lenses of the clone’s glasses hid her eyes, and despite her revealing to Omega that they were sisters the clone’s actions could not be more clinical. The kindest thing she’d done so far was offer Omega a damp cloth to wipe the dirt from her face.

“This may hurt,” said the clone in a clipped tone as she pulled a large machine closer to the bed.

Omega recognized the machine as a bone knitter. She’d used the one on Kamino. It had been used on her, too. She’d cried then, though Nala Se had told her that she was being silly. She set her jaw as the clone brought the bone knitter over her leg where AZ had splinted it at Cid’s and prepared for the sensation of her bones being forced to grow back together.

The sensation was worse than Omega remembered. The bone was vibrating beneath her skin, and she could feel it slowly growing and fusing back together like a thousand needles stabbing her muscles from the inside out. She ground her teeth but refused to cry out. Her brothers wouldn’t cry if they were in her position and neither would she. It felt like it took forever, the stabbing sensations ceaseless as they healed her. By the time it did end, what felt like rotations later, Omega was panting through her nose and her fingernails had dug bloody crescents into her palms.

The clone woman sighed as she saw Omega’s hands and grabbed a couple bacta patches from a cupboard and placed them over the new cuts.

“There’s no need to hurt yourself, Omega.”

Omega glared in response.

“Fine. This is the last thing before you can go rest,” said the clone. She was holding up an injector half-full of a clear substance.

Omega’s breath hitched. Up until this point it had been simple reflex tests, bacta, bandages, and the bone knitter. Her mind conjured up moments in Nala Se’s private laboratory where new types of medicines and painkillers needed their first human test subject. Some of them had been harmless, working as intended. Some of them had not.

Omega scrambled backwards on the table until her back hit the wall. What would Hunter do? He’d look for a weapon first, then an escape. Omega scanned the small lab for anything that could be of use. Her eyes landed on a tray of tools left on the counter. The light glittered off something sharp, a scalpel blade. Perfect. Omega sprang forward, knocking the clone off balance and sending the injector clattering to the ground. Her fingers closed around the handle of the scalpel and she launched herself at the door. Thankfully the other clone hadn’t thought to lock it behind her.

Omega burst into the hallway and scanned left and right. Clear. She took the path to the right, trying to remember the path from the large room they were holding Crosshair to the smaller lab. She moved as her brothers had taught her: keeping low and favouring stealth over speed. She was small enough that she could tuck herself into the dark corners created by the metal halls and doors when a company of troopers marched by. Omega counted ten seconds after they passed before moving out of her hiding spot and continuing on.

She was almost back at the big lab. She could feel it. Omega’s heart hammered in her chest as she moved and she had to adjust her grip on the scalpel and wipe the sweat from her palm on her pants. Maybe she could grab Crosshair and find her way to the communications room she could get a message out to Echo, Wrecker, and Hunter, or even Rex. Someone.

The moment her attention to her surroundings lapsed was the moment it was over. She rounded a corner nearly straight into a squad of troopers.

“Hey! Stop right there!” One cried as they all raised their blasters.

Omega startled, but quickly refocussed. She tried to recall every single moment of the very few lessons Hunter had given her with his knife. Be sure of the grip, blade away from her body, pick the softest target. Simple observation of trooper armour, whether clone or these new storm troopers, had very noticeable gaps in the joints. So Omega raised her knife like she’d seen Hunter do a hundred times, and launched herself at the closest trooper. Her scalpel dug into the soft spot between pauldron and chest plate, right beneath the shoulder into the armpit. She knew it was a good spot to aim for, close to the lungs, and if the blade was long enough, potentially the heart.

Her blade was not very long, and while the trooper screamed and stumbled back, he was not knocked off his feet. Rough hands grabbed at Omega, pinning her arms back and lifting her off her feet. Her shoulders, already sore from the train crash, ached in protest though she hardly spared it a thought as she kicked out for all she was worth.

“This one is feisty,” one of the troopers said.

“What do we do with her? Take her to one of the cells or one of Doctor Hemlock’s rooms?” asked another.

Omega did not want to go to either place and managed to finally make contact with the armoured leg of the trooper that was holding her. The crack that echoed off the metal walls and the way her whole foot went numb made Omega think that she might have to re-evaluate kicking things as a strategy in hand to hand with anyone in armour.

“Troopers, thank you for catching Omega,” called a voice Omega had hoped she’d left behind.

The trooper holding Omega turned so she could see the other female clone coming down the hallway, looking perfectly unruffled. She nodded her thanks to the trooper.

“If you don’t mind, please escort Omega and I to Doctor Hemlock’s office,” said the clone before pointing at another two members of the squad. “And you two, fetch CT-9904, the Doctor would like both of them present.”

“Yes, Doctor Karr,” responded the troopers before marching off.

The trip through the base was long and seemed to take a disorganized path, going up a lift here, down a lift there, snaking left and right though hallways. Omega couldn’t help but think that perhaps the other clone, this Dr. Karr, was leading them on a purposefully confusing route to ensure what just happened wouldn’t happen again.

The small group landed at an unmarked door that seemed no different from the many that had preceded it. Dr. Karr raised her hand and rapped two short knocks. The door slid open with a soft whoosh and Omega was pushed inside by the trooper still holding her arm.

Omega hadn’t seen much of Dr. Hemlock on the flight from Ord Mantell. That had been due to the fact that she had been unconscious for most of it from the stun bolt and kept shackled to a jump seat in the back of the transport away from everyone else, but in the little interaction she’d had with him he had made her skin crawl with uneasiness. It was no different now as she was frog marched into his office and shoved into a waiting chair. Dr. Hemlock regarded her with a face that said disinterest and too-blue eyes that said otherwise. He was seated at a desk that was empty aside from a small stack of data pads and a thin, economical lamp. In fact, as Omega took in the room, the whole thing seemed very stark. There was nothing on the walls or shelves to indicate anything of the character of the man who spent his time in it. Just a simple set up of desk, shelves with nothing but a few flimsy books, and two chairs facing the desk. Turning her attention back to Dr. Hemlock Omega shivered to find his eyes still studying her like she was the most fascinating thing to ever walk through the doors of his lair.

The stare was only broken when the door whooshed again and Crosshair was shoved into the chair beside Omega. She glanced over at him, but he was glaring straight ahead at Dr. Hemlock. Omega slowly turned back as well, dread pooling in her stomach.

For a moment Dr. Hemlock made them stew in the silence. His gaze passed between the two of them as he absently rubbed at his glove covered hand. He took a deep breath in and out, lacing his hands together and placing them on the desk in front of him.

“I must say, I am very disappointed in you, Omega. I asked that you be taken care of here in this facility, your hurts healed, and you turned around and attacked my men. I can see the similarities between you and your brother,” began Dr. Hemlock in a voice that was soft as the falling of twilight.

Omega said nothing. The look on the doctor’s face had left her mouth dry and her palms began to sweat again. She resisted the temptation to wipe them on her pants again.

“I didn’t think we would need to set rules in place so early, but you have forced my hand.”

One of the troopers that had brought in Crosshair stepped up beside him and gripped his arm. Crosshair struggled, but the other pinned him against the chair.

“When you defy me, and the rules of my facility, the consequences you face are not just yours, Omega. Know that if you try what you did again, if you attack anyone in this facility, if you resist tests, this will pale in comparison to what is in store,” said Dr. Hemlock, voice unwavering from its smooth cadence.

He raised a finger at the trooper holding Crosshair’s arm. The trooper nodded and in a flash of movement and crunch of bone broke Crosshair’s pinky finger. Crosshair let out a choked hiss.

“No!” yelled Omega.

“I am afraid that there are consequences to your actions. The sooner you learn this, the better things will be, for everyone.”

“You bastard,” growled Crosshair. The trooper released his arm and he drew it up to his chest protectively.

“That reminds me, Crosshair. Your little escapade does not need to be repeated, and I think we can really drive that lesson home now, don’t you think?”

“Don’t you dare!”

Omega had only half a second to realize what was about to happen before it did. The trooper behind her chair had a bruising hold on her arm and wrapped his hand around her pinky finger. Omega felt the bone snap in a flare of sharp fire. She couldn’t hold back the undignified yelp that tore from her throat, nor the tears that sprang to her eyes. She folded herself over her injured hand, the other coming up to tenderly probe the break. Her finger rested at an odd angle and Omega knew it would need to be set before it could begin healing.

“Sir, I think-“ began Dr. Karr.

“I know what you think, Emerie,” said Dr. Hemlock. “Don’t treat those injuries. Let them have the pain as a reminder. You may put them together in cell 6855 for now. But know if there continues to be trouble, you will be separated.”

Dr. Hemlock looked down in a clear dismissal. He reached for a data pad and powered it up, no longer paying any attention to what was happening in front of him. Omega and Crosshair were both shoved to their feet and marched out of the office. The door whooshed closed behind them, and for the first time since leaving Kamino with her brothers Omega felt the crushing weight of helplessness settle over her shoulders.

Next Chapter 

[sadiecoocoo]

There’s honestly so many opportunities in s1 for Wrecker whump

It makes me giggle whenever there’s a scene that I could make so much angstier

[gun-roswell]

Chapters: 3/3 Fandom: Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Cartoon), Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types, Star Wars - All Media Types Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: CT-9904 | Crosshair/Clone Commander Mayday, CT-9904 | Crosshair & Clone Commander Mayday Characters: Crosshair (Star Wars: The Bad Batch), Clone Commander Mayday (Star Wars), CT-21-0408 | CT-1409 | Echo, Hunter (Star Wars: The Bad Batch), Tech (Star Wars: The Bad Batch), Wrecker (Star Wars: The Bad Batch), Omega (Star Wars: The Bad Batch) Additional Tags: Soft Crosshair (Star Wars: The Bad Batch), Crosshair does laugh, Some Fluff, Family time, Pabu Island (Star Wars), Fix-It, POST TBB S2, Family Feels, Clone Troopers Deserve Better (Star Wars), Developing Relationship, Shipping Series: Part 7 of Crosshair/Mayday Summary:

Set somewhere in Star Wars the Bad Batch and the Clone Wars galaxy, in the Multiverse of Star Wars Fan Fiction by Yours Truly.

Crosshair does have laugh lines. 
Yes, you heard me right! The sniper does or rather did laugh. At least in the past.

After being rescued together with Commander Mayday, the duo has taken residence with the rest of the squad with several other rescued clones on the island of Pabu.

And then something unexpected happens, surprising the rest of the team.

Part of Crosshair/Mayday Series


[ilcuoreardendo-fic]

The Fall (A ficlet)

The odds are heavily against his survival.

But with one variable removed, the odds of his family’s survival improve greatly.

It’s not even something he has to calculate. The answer was obvious as soon as the car began to tear from the track.

He hears the desperation in Hunter’s voice. “Wrecker, get him on board.” 

He hears the fear in Wrecker’s. “Don’t you do it, Tech.”

An order Tech cannot - will not - follow.

The shot is easy. He’s done it repeatedly, in simulations, on the battlefield.

The break is clean. The car falls. He falls with it.

He watches Wrecker watching him until the clouds obscure his vision.

Almost without thinking, Tech snaps the emergency releases on his pack, watches it float away above him. He unclasps his utility belt. Lightening his weight as much as he can.

The advantage is small.

The train car bears down on him. Tech curls his body, uses his legs to push himself away from the car.

He has no idea what’s below him. The clouds had obscured the terrain. But if his calculations are correct - and they are - he should be getting close.

His mouth is dry. His heart beat is the only thing he can hear over the rush of wind. His face is wet. Condensation? Tears? His neck his hot. His breathing is labored.

He hits trees - the branches smacking and piercing his armor - and loses consciousness.

 The air is cool and damp and full of the smell of blood and antiseptic. His mind is clouded. There is pain, deep down, beneath the haze of anesthetics.

Tech opens his eyes.

_________

Originally written/posted May 2023. I wanted to repost it "illustrated."

[omaano]

SW Hades AU February Update

Some links and previous updates: May - June - July - August - September - October/November - December - January - everything else in this AU

I was honestly worried that I won't have anything to share as a February update (and wouldn't that be a new low for me, wow) because even despite the very generous help from @queenjiru I still cannot wrangle Sabine into a proper sketch. But then the new Hades 2 update came out ! And the art to go with it - Ares looming over Melinoe with his bloody hand staining her shoulder like that just took a hold of me body and soul, and so I have something to present to you all:

A redraw of that image with pre-Sarlacc Boba and a smol and angy Omega!

And some progress details and ramblings under the cut, as it is tradition for these update posts ->

First things first and for the sake of transparency the original image here:

You can see that it is very much just a redraw. I felt very exhausted this month, and all I wanted was something simple and straightforward. Plus the original composition was so perfect, it was a huge reason why I wanted to redraw it so bad. I'm not even going to try to deny that Ares is one of my favourites (I've never truly grown out of that edgy teen I had been way too many years ago), and the fact that in my Hades (the first) game based AU project Boba is cast for Ares - if you really want to categorize the Star Wars characters in some manner - it really was just perfect.

Ares just looked too perfect, and I'd been itching to redraw Boba in this style in another version of him, and I really just had to!

At first blush I wasn't 100% sure how I wanted to go about this redraw, so I sketched out the initial composition, and Omega with her energy bow. I wanted both Boba and Omega to be different from their original first designs, and since Omega leaned more into her teenage TBB s3 self, I wanted to draw her more like she was in s2. Season 1 Omega would have been too tiny, oh god.

And Boba... well. You might find a note in the mess above that I want to do something with his hair to make him look at least a little less like Ares (because even their face structure could match up, ohmygod I'm in distress!) but uh. It didn't really pass muster. I just love this hairstyle for a younger, pre-Sarlacc Boba too much TT^TT So I had to swallow my pride and accept that this will indeed be very much a simple redraw, nothing fancy to see or do here...

I also didn't like how hunched and balled up Omega's pose was in the initial sketch. It made her look too scared and way too vulnerable - so I had to swallow some more of that pride and non-existent ambition yet again, and accept that the way through was to stick a lot closer with Melinoe's original pose.

And because I somehow still proved to be a far more prideful person than previously thought I still made a few alternate sketches with different weapons for Omega. If it was a game, she would likely have all of them, but for the "cover" she was still stuck with Din's spear. I'm pretty sure I even copy-pasted the updated spear from Din's character art so that the head is the right size and shape and all.

The only one I don't like all that much from this collection is the middle one where Omega is holding Crosshair's rifle. I quite like most of the others, but ultimately the spear won out. The original was too good of a composition, what can I say?

Yes, I also draw little red hearts in the corners of the winning thumbnails :P

I also like the landscape format of this composition. I couldn't make up my mind about whose hand I would want it to be to loom over them though so I didn't even try to push working out that concept.

And for the very end a wip closeup of Omega. She is small and lonely and angry (and she's just ran into the worst of her brothers, and the one that's least likely to help her, what will she do?) . She's got massive vambraces with a communicator, Hunter's knife strapped to her thigh, a short kama with pockets and CF 99's skull motifs on her. And the jewel she had on her forehead in season 1 around her neck.

I really love this drawing, but for the time being I have no idea how to move on from here. I very very badly wanted to show it off though (that's why I've been writing this post for a solid 2 weeks if not more lmao) so please enjoy! <3

Taglist of anyone who wants to be pinged once a month for these updates <3 If you want to be added to the list send me a message, or just reply to this post (a 👀 would do, nothing fancy required ;))

@elwinged @yeehawgeek @velsayshi @lionsaint @hastalavistabyebye

If you want to be taken off the list just message me and I’ll take you off, no hard feelings :)

[squidsponge]

Dredging this up for Bad Batch Eve.

Okay, okay, hear me out:

[miss-musings]

I know we all love to conjecture about “What if Crosshair had gone with the Bad Batch in the S1 finale?” or “What if the gang had heeded Crosshair’s warning and stayed on Pabu?”…

But here’s the thing…

Tantiss and Hemlock would always be a looming threat.

Tantiss was introduced back during the Season 1 finale, when we see Nala Se arrive there after Kamino is destroyed.

Hemlock was gonna take over operations there independent of anything the Batch did in S1 or S2, and he would still need leverage over Nala Se to get her to cooperate.

So, the Empire would be searching for Omega about a year post-“Aftermath” regardless of almost anything the Batch might’ve done.

And, especially in the case of “What if the Batch never went to Eriadu?” the Empire probably still would’ve found Omega the same way they did in S3.

Cid would probably still betray them by giving the Empire whatever information she had — mainly Phee. And getting information from Phee puts the Empire on Pabu.

Yes, Tech would still be alive in that scenario, but now when the Empire shows up on Pabu, the Batch would be even less prepared than they were in S3. Something just as bad, if not worse, could’ve happened.

Maybe Omega still would’ve been captured and taken to Tantiss, but in a “Crosshair joins them in 1.16 timeline,” now she doesn’t have anyone to help her escape or to give her hope.

Heck, even in a timeline where Hunter or one of the other brothers’ chips had activated instead of Crosshair’s … or any other alternate timeline you can imagine from “Aftermath” onward …

The immutable truth is that, if the Empire ever wants Nala Se to work on Project Necromancer, they’re gonna need Omega as leverage.

I’m not saying Omega ends up on Tantiss in every scenario. Maybe the Batch hangs out on some remote planet (other than Pabu) for years and Hemlock’s people never find them.

But I’m saying that Hemlock/the Empire looking for Omega is going to be a “fixed point” in almost every “what if” TBB scenario.

(PS - the only scenarios I can imagine where Hemlock wouldn’t be looking for Omega are: 1) Lama Su doesn’t know about Nala Se’s strong attachment to Omega or at least doesn’t tell Hemlock OR 2) Nala Se is never arrested by the Empire to be exploited for her expertise.)

[winterdaphne2]

winterdaphne2's Meta Masterpost

Here's a list of the various BBC Sherlock metas and meta-ish posts that I have on tumblr so far. Some of these are short, some are long, some are original posts, and some are additions that I made onto other people's posts. I'll continue to edit this list in the future as I write more stuff! And if you decide to check any of these out, then thanks so much for reading!

Plot Points / The Narrative of Sherlock and John's Love Story:

When did Sherlock and John each fall in love?

Heartbreak and the timeline of S2 (written in response to a meta about the timeline in ASIB and THOB)

Sherlock looks much older in S3 than he did in S1-S2

Sherlock thinks John is more interesting than "the most perfect locked-room mystery"

John knew he was making a mistake at the wedding

When did John realize Sherlock was in love with him?

Casablanca (1942) and Sherlock S3

S4 and storytelling in Sherlock (written in response to a meta about the writing in S4 and why it's so frustrating to write meta about it)

Comparing ACD Canon and BBC Sherlock:

TRF and TEH are based in part on "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor," with Sherlock and John mirroring a married couple

John trying to get to Sherlock's body in TRF and The Valley of Fear

Johnlock and Moftisson’s use of dialogue from ACD canon

No Sussex retirement in BBC Sherlock?

Additional Character Analysis:

Two scenes from ASIP and TBB and Sherlock's and John's differing levels of comfort with homosexuality in S1

Sholto and subtext in TSOT (written in response to a meta about how TRF is based in part on the Oscar Wilde trials)

Mary's character and why her moral philosophy is so different from Sherlock and John's (written in response to an existing meta)

John doesn't really have close friends besides Sherlock (written in response to a meta about what we know about John from his blog)

Differences between pre-S3 and post-S3 fics, with an emphasis on Sherlock's characterization

The morgue, S4 writing, and seeing abuse for what it is (written in response to an existing meta)

Gay Easter Eggs:

Gay Easter Eggs in BBC Sherlock (I might post a new version of this in the future, but I have slightly mixed feelings about it. I think the line between an Easter egg and subtext is blurry, and the queer subtext is the whole show!)

(updated May 21, 2025)

[corellianhounds]

WIP Tag Game

Tagged by: @autumnwoodsdreamer (BIG thank you because I love getting the chance to talk about WIPs 💕)

Rules: In a new post, list the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

These aren’t all of the WIPs I have (because a lot of them are rewrites of episodes or seasons) but these are the most interesting and self-contained that I don’t have to give you three pages of context for lol

Flashpoint AU

Clone Action Movie Pitch

Role Swap AU

RSAU: Sanctuary

RSAU alternate: Lando and Boba

RSAU: Daredevil hallway fic

Tatooine Sandstorm

Murder Mystery at Jabba’s Palace

Body Swap: Jedi/Commander

My Brother’s Keeper

Aay’han: Revision/Ch. 2

Chakaar - OC Graves

The Outpost AU

TBB: Shore Leave/Greenhorns

[REDACTED] as a dad

Crystal Caverns - CX-2

Accountability - Jedi/Commander

Mayday/OC

Season 2 Finale Rewrite

Grogu’s regard of Boba

Toro Calican Lives AU

Temporal Chalice AU

[REDACTED] on Corvus

The Godfather

Reunion Tour

The Lion and the Mouse

TBB WWF: Disguises on a Shoestring Budget

Rewritten S2 Jedi episode

Sibling Rivalry

Chef Kai

Sins of the Father

Cassian and Luke

Prospect Crossover

Kaa’va and the Dragon

All right listen, I do not have near this many people I can tag, but I’ll tag the ones who come to mind (no pressure!): @fallen-knight, @jedi-valjean, @archivewriter1ont, @oloreaa, @storytellingdreamer, @annonymus07, @desertbeskar

Feel free to join in!