#tbb pre-season 3

[fritoley]

Febuwhump 2024 - Day 19: “Please Don’t”

Fandom: The Bad Batch (Star Wars) Characters: Jaye N'Cante, Hunter Word Count: 761 Content Warning: None Previous // Next Febuwhump 2024 Masterlist

Summary: Jaye tries to start anew, much to Hunter’s opposition.

Jaye brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, sighing deeply. It had been twelve days since the events of Eriadu, twelve days since Tech and Omega had gone. The Marauder was a complete mess. She had joined Hunter and Wrecker in tearing apart the galaxy trying to find Omega, but now she was more concerned about tearing herself apart in the process. As the two clones sat in the cockpit, Jaye stood in the cargo hold cleaning the ship from top to bottom. She had cleared out the cargo racks that doubled as bunks, completed an inventory, and organized ammunitions before finally sitting down and taking a break. 

She ran her fingers through her hair, sighing again. Her eyes drifted across the room to the gunner’s mount where Lula lay limp. A light layer of dust began to gather on the plush, an ear falling to the side. Omega… Jaye sighed, turning to the goggles on the racks.

Tech.

The frame was broken and bent, the audio device sitting on the right side marred and useless. Orange-tinted shards clung to the frame, dirt and grime smudging the lens. Jaye stared at the goggles, grief welling up in her chest. Those goggles were a constant reminder of the hell she and the Batch had endured, of the fate the Empire had condemned them to; Tech’s death, Omega’s kidnapping, and Hunter and Wrecker’s despair.

Damn it, Ashla…

Jaye pinched her wrist, repenting for her curse. Now wasn’t the time to be angry at ancestors, or the Empire for that matter. It was time to act. Jaye stood and took the goggles, opening the nearest crate. She looked down at the lens once more, her face twisted in anguish before moving to lay the goggles out of sight.

“What are you doing?!”

Jaye whipped around to see Hunter in the doorway. His eyes darted between her and the goggles in her hand, a mortified look written on his face. Jaye glanced down at the goggles, saying, “I was just — I didn’t want us to spend all day ruminating over the past. Not when we still have to find Omega.”

Hunter started forward, staring at Jaye. “Are — Are you kidding me?” He reached out, trying to snatch the goggles out of Jaye’s hand. “You just want to move on? You wanna just — just forget about Tech?!”

“Of course not!” Jaye exclaimed, pulling away. “But if we keep sitting around doing nothing we’ll never find Omega!”

Hunter grabbed Jaye’s wrist and pulled her toward him, grabbing the goggles and wrenching them out of her hand. “What makes you think you have the right to take his things and act like he was never here?” Hunter shouted, waving the goggles in front of Jaye. “He left because he didn’t have a choice, unlike you, who left without a word!”

Jaye stopped struggling against Hunter’s grip and glared at him. “Excuse me?” she scoffed.

“You heard me. It took you months to come back to us after ‘grieving’ for your own squad, and now you’re telling us we have to put Tech behind us not two weeks after we lost him?!”

Hunter thrust Jaye’s wrist away to emphasize his point. She stared at Hunter, watched his hands ball into fists around the goggles. Anger and grief clawed at her chest. “Believe me, Hunter,” she choked out, her hand resting on her chest. “I loved Tech as much as you did. He was like a brother to me, too! He was the closest thing I had to having Colell back—”

“Please, don’t compare my brother to yours,” Hunter spat, his body shaking with rage. “You never saw Tech; you only saw Colell.”

Something snapped within Jaye. She stared at Hunter as his brows furrowed, his words registering for the both of them. Tears streamed down Jaye’s face as she whispered, “You don’t mean that.”

Hunter said nothing. His eyes flickered, averting his gaze for a fraction of a second, but he met her gaze once more, too prideful and angry to apologize. Jaye gritted her teeth and stormed past Hunter, slamming the controls to lower the ramp as she raced out of the ship. Hunter stared at the opposite side of the room for a moment, sighing deeply. Why did he say that? He turned toward the cockpit to see the ramp open and Wrecker gazing out the window. He turned and looked at Hunter with confusion written all over his face. Hunter closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

Why did he say that?

Previous // Next Febuwhump 2024 Masterlist Ultimate Masterlist

[waywardsou2]

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ General Bad Batch Head Canons ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Hunter

He was secretly always jealous of Cut getting to settle down, have a life, a family, getting away from all the war and bloodshed. Hunter had wanted that but never thought it was possible

Hunter cried, fully cried to himself the night after Crosshair, despite everything that had just happened on Kamino, had still chosen the Empire over his brothers. Despite all he had seen on the battlefield all of the people he had failed to save, nothing hurt more than losing his brother.

When he was young, and ever since then Hunter has only ever let his brothers trim his hair. And he helps them cut theirs too. Hunter is very particular about his hair being a certain length and usually only trims his hair a few inches at best.

Hunter's face tattoo is actually to cover a birthmark. His other brothers (not the batch) used to tease him about it when they were cadets. He eventually got the tattoo to cover it up. These days he regrets it and doesn't understand why he folded to their teasing but he's still happy with it anyway. He doesn't regret the tattoo perse more the reason he felt the need to get it in the first place

Wrecker

Wrecker got Lula from a kid he helped on Ryloth when the Separatists were attempting to invade the planet, he loved it and was very attached to the toy. But he knew how important it was to the kid and he kept it with him for years until he gave it to Omega. He thought it made sense to give it to her, a young kid he had helped gave it to him and now he had passed it on to the next kid who needed it

Wrecker used to place fake bombs or stink bombs under his brother's bunks as pranks. He was always so obvious whenever he was doing this because he would be over-eager and giggle to himself, but he did manage to jump his brothers a few times with the prank

When Wrecker was caught in a bombing accident that messed up his eye and scared his face, he had a hard time adjusting to the way he looked, he didn't recognize part of himself now. And he especially hated when his hair didn't grow back the same way, and because of that he decided to shave it all off and continue to keep his head bald

In addition to that I think that when Wrecker was younger, he had hair a similar length to Hunter, and he liked it, despite the Kaminoans telling him to cut it several times. He does miss his hair at times, but he does like it better without hair hindering him.

Tech

Techs goggles function the same as prescription glasses, he's actually far sighted, this is why his helmet was built to fit around his goggles because he basically cannot see without them

(less of a head canon more of a canon fact with my personal twist) Tech is the youngest of his brothers but he was the quickest to mature and grow, which he likes reminding them about constantly.

(this one is gonna hurt, sorry in advance) When he fell off of the rail car into the ravine below, he didn't instantly but have some very fatal wounds and wasn't far off, Hemlock and his men found him and Hemlock took his goggles from off of his dying body and left. Leaving his men to dispose of him (I don't know what my mind was thinking when I wrote this, I guess I just love angst too much)

Tech had feelings for Phee but he never knew if she was being polite or flirting with him. He never said anything about it to her or his brothers because he figured that there was never going to be a time for him to ever act on those feelings so he never did anything about them.

Echo

(keep in mind I haven't seen any pre Bad Batch content of Echo so some of this stuff might conflict with his canon)

When Echo got blown up and had to have his face reconstructed he was awake for most of the procedure because if he slept or if they induced him it wasn't likely that he would wake up again, especially considering all of the damage done to his body and brain.

(Idk why but this one is super random but just feels right to me) Echo really likes butterflies, he likes the delicacy and beauty that comes from the creature's existence, the first time he saw one he was taken aback and had stopped to admire it. His Commander scolded him for getting left behind at the time

Echo used to pick at his head implants, they made him really uncomfortable and self-conscious, and his brothers used to have to stop him from damaging them and endangering himself. It was a really big issue of his for a while.

Crosshair

Crosshair's tattoo is also a cover-up for a scar, it's the right side of the crosshair that touches his nose. That line is actually a healed over scar underneath. He thought considering his nickname that the tattoo wasn't a bad idea. He was also secretly just copying his big brother Hunter, not that he would ever admit that

This guy can nap anywhere, and I mean anywhere. He doesn't sleep so he naps when he can. In trees, standing up, in the cockpit literally any where.

Adding onto the head canon from before I think Crosshair would have insomnia. But as he would do he never told the Kaminoans because he didn't want them to "fix him"

Crosshair has a nervous/general tick where he chews on his lip, he used to chew it so often that he often had cuts all over them. In place of cutting up his lips he decided to try and alternative - toothpicks. This was a good way to hide it but to still be able to tick when he needed to, plus the toothpicks were easy to access because he could collect them from the mess hall on Kamino

I realised at the end that I hadn't written any for Omega. How dare I? I promise I'll upload some soon

Hope you enjoyed these! Tell me your head canons below!

[adh-d2]

So at this point, if we get him back, we're not getting him back whole, are we?

There's no way the same writers who've spent an entire season lingering on Crosshair's PTSD would just give Tech a factory reset with a bump on the noggin'. And there's no longer time to give him a healing journey. The best we can hope for is open-ended optimism. The possibility that he might be himself again someday, in a future we'll never see.

It's starting to feel like a Faustian fucking bargain at this point.

[am3mb3r123]

watching Omega save Crosshair and then Crosshair saves Omega and then two seasons later Omega saves Crosshair...

if Crosshair doesn't save Omega this week i'll riot

[madpencil]

Febuwhump 2024

Day 2: Solitary Confinement

Words: 597

Characters: Crosshair, other mentioned clones (The Bad Batch)

Description: Crosshair got put in solitary confinement on Tantiss. It goes about as well as you could guess.

At the least the walls weren't bleach white like Kamino. Crosshair thinks they would've hurt his eyes if they were. Instead, the walls were a bleak grey. The same bleak grey he'd seen everywhere around this dreadful place.

However, unlike everywhere else, Crosshair was truly alone here.

Solitary confinement. He had landed himself in solitary confinement. It wasn't a long, complicated story really. He had tried to figure out where exactly they held Omega. She had told him a general area during a vent visit, but hadn't been able to find her before being caught. If only there was a vent down here she could climb through.

It was lonely, to say the least. He slouched with his legs over the end of a metal cot. At least Cross could deny his loneliness when there were people around. Using his own logic, it was hard to be lonely with useless chatter around him it was flawed logic and he knew it, but it helped a little. With a lack of people there was no useless chatter. There was nothing to distract himself with so he could hide from his loneliness. There was nowhere to hide from anything really.

No sound except for his own breathing. Nothing but four cold walls, a cold metal cot, and a cold ex-imperial. He started to figit with his hands, the slight shake of them becoming apparent. How could he shoot if his hands shook? He was a sniper, without steady hands he was useless.

He shouldn't let his mind wander. If he did he'd loose it in here. Abruptly, Crosshair stood up and began to pace. They hadn't told him how long he'd be in for.

"One, two, three, four..." The man started to count. To him it was idiotic, but it was also the only way he could think of keeping his mind from wandering. He kept pacing throughout the small room, counting aloud to himself.

"Forty-six, forty-seven , forty-eight..." Plan forty-seven was a plan Crosshair and Hunter had created. It's purpose was to surround a group and either capture or eliminate them. It didn't matter now, did it? Keep counting.

"Eighty, eighty-one, eighty-two..." Eighty-two was "the shockwave." It was one of Wrecker's personal favorites.

"Eighty-seven, eighty-eight..." He started to slow and shake at eighty-eight. The seeker. The last plan he called on their old comm channel. Whatever. It's fine.

"Ninety-eight-" The man didn't want to say it. Why had he decided to count?

"Nine... nighty-nine..." Plan ninety-nine. A plan involving the member who called it to sacrifice themselves for the good of their brothers. The plan that Tech had carried out. The one that killed him.

"One.. one.. oh whatever! What's the point?!" Crosshair stopped in the middle of the room with a huff. He tried to breathe.

Tech was dead, Mayday was dead, both Omega and him were trapped, and he had no idea if anyone was coming for them. There was nowhere to hide from this. No war, no missions, no useless chatter, and no one could save him from finally confronting the truth. He wasn't ready.

Cross lowered to the floor gently. His breath catching in his throat as the beginning of tears stung his eyes. Soft sobs panged off the walls of the room. He brought a knee up and slid to the closest wall. Once upon a time the cool metal on his back would've brought a sense of comfort, but there was no comfort here. There was only a prison with four grey walls, a metal cot, and a brother with an aching heart

--------------------------------------------------

@febuwhump

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

"The Bad Batch" S3 Review- Spoilers

Alright guys, we made it. After 3 years of this lovely show, it has finally come to an end. I definitely plan on doing a review of the entire show and see where it fits with the other big animated shows. However, that will come after my Crosshair Character Study. For now, let's focus on S3. Like Season 2, I'd definitely say it's a solid 8.5/10 for me. Although, S2 might still be my favorite. I honestly think Rebels might be the only show that has a 9/10 final season for me. Look, I loved CW and Siege of Mandalore is phenomenal, but that Ahsoka arc was not it. The final season of TBB has so much I absolutely loved and so much I wished it handled better. So, let's jump right into it!

This season felt so different for me and I definitely know why. The story is much more plot driven than the first two. In the first two seasons, the Batch were more worried about survival and kinda just went on adventures all around the galaxy. The Empire really didn't know where they were so the stakes weren't as high. Crosshair himself was stuck in the Empire meaning he didn't focus on the Batch as much until they crossed paths with him.

S3, however, sees the Batch and Omega specifically being hunted relentlessly. They need to figure out what's going on or else they will never be free. This shift from the Batch galavanting around the galaxy to a more plot driven narrative does change things up. Looking back, I think the creative team just needed more time. S3 has so much going for it and there just isn't time to flesh out the ideas to their fullest potential. That being said, I am overall satisfied with everything they pulled off, especially Crosshair. This show has solidified him as one of my top 3 favorite SW characters and fave clone. He's so well-written and I adore him.

What I loved:

The atmosphere this season was so dark and I loved it. There was a maturity to the ideas and threat level that I honestly really appreciated. Just like Andor, TBB really demonstrates just how monstrous the Empire is. There is nothing that Palpatine won't do in order to achieve total domination and subjugation of the entire galaxy for all eternity. And Hemlock is right there beside him. That man's passion for his craft knows no bounds; it doesn't matter who's strapped to his table. It's so horrifying to think how Tantiss is probably just one of the many, many inhumane and monstrous things the Empire has running. TBB, like Andor, is peak Empire imo. If there was any doubt that this monstrosity could last as long as it did, these two shows erase it.

I also really loved the character relationships, particularly Omega and Crosshair. Their bond is so beautiful and reminiscent of ones I see in my own life. There's nothing Crosshair wouldn't do for her and it fits really neatly with who he is as a person. Omega brings out the best in him, just as she does all her brothers. This season really emphasized how much Omega's brothers have influenced her. Their lessons really come into play by the end of the season. To see her grow from a naive young girl into a mature (but still childish) teenager/pre-teen was beautiful.

Crosshair this season was everything to me. I could be here for hours talking about him. I was beyond thrilled with how they handled him. He has changed so much and this season highlights that growth in every way. Crosshair remains to be the best written character and nothing about him felt OOC. I loved his dynamics with the Batch and Omega. (The hugs were perfect)! I loved how his struggle was something he worked on the entire season; it wasn't just one and done. I love how the themes of trust were woven so perfectly into his story. Crosshair was perfect (I'll touch on the hand thing later). I couldn't have asked for more (except just give me more Crosshair. I will never be tired of him. I could watch a whole show of just him doing stuff).

I don't have a burning desire to punch Hunter anymore. Yay! But in all seriousness, I have developed a soft spot for him. As much as he got on my nerves in S1, I really do appreciate him a lot more. He does care deeply and has a lot he's struggling with.

Echo showing us why he's the ARC Trooper. Seriously, those scenes of him will always live rent free in my head.

Emerie! Really great character and very interesting.

*hides in a corner* Rampart.

The music and animation were phenomenal. Honestly, both were flawless. The music in particular moved me to tears several times. Props to the animators and Kiners because this is some of their finest work yet. That one shot of Crosshair catching CX-2's knife was outstanding.

I also loved the action, seeing the boys fight together, and final shot of the Batch + the epilogue. There is so much I adored in those moments and the rush of emotions I got each time. The epilogue was so personal and I might do a separate write up on it.

The themes of family and hope were also front and center and I loved every second of it. If anyone asks why I love TBB, it's because this is show about family more than anything. The Batch are a family and seeing them learn to be one is so beautiful. It means so much that Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair got to settle down together and raise Omega. It's just beautiful.

What I didn't like:

I wanted more deep convos. Whether it was because of a preference for action or time constraints, the writers just needed to have more deep character emotions and let them sink in. It's why "The Outpost" and Tech's convo with Omega are so well loved; they let us really be with the characters. I wish S3 had more of those moments because they make this show that much better. I just wanted more. And I know this show is capable of that. It sucks knowing what it could've been. So many moments could've hit more had they been given time to breathe or worked in a bit differently.

The way Tech was handled. Hats off for actually keeping him dead. I just wish we got proper closure on that 😐. Although Tech's death looms largely over the Batch, it feels like the writers brushed it off. Why didn't we get a scene of Crosshair learning what happened? I know the time skip implies they all processed Tech's death, but it still felt like something was missing. It felt like the writers expected us to also process it like the Batch and move on. Except, we're not the Batch. We don't know what went on in their heads because they're fictional. The audience relies on the writers to show us that grieving process and we don't get it. It also didn't help that it felt like they were baiting us with CX-2 at times.

Some of the plot lines being dropped for plot/time reasons. Look, I know that it's about the Batch and their journey on becoming a family. However, it felt like more was being set up and it might go no where. One thing I love about TBB in general is how it showed us how the Empire began to change the galaxy the moment Palpatine got what he wanted: total dominance. Clones began to take a stand. Talks of rebellion were already being whispered. I just hope that these storylines revolving around Rex, Riyo, and Echo don't wither away because TBB has ended. Or the Ventress thing. I know they said she'll be back but who knows when that'll happen. I also wanted to know more about the CX Program. That’s what fanfics are for, am I right?

The pacing was brutally fast. This ties into my points about the narrative being more plot driven and lack of time to fully flesh out ideas. It felt like there was almost no room to breathe at times because we jumped from plot point to plot point as each episode progressed. Don't get me wrong, TBB handled this way better than Ahsoka, but I just needed like two more episodes of the boys and Omega running around, ok?

Overall, this season just needed time.

What I am neutral on:

Scorch. Man was done dirty, but I didn't know who he was til this season. Sorry guys. Including him and not giving him anything wasn't a good idea imo though.

Crosshair's hand. I get both sides of the argument, I really do. First off, I'm a sucker for whump. I can't help it. Also, you can say that him losing his hand connects to him severing himself from Tantiss and the pain he went through. But at the same time, Crosshair's trauma isn't going to magically vanish by just chopping off his hand. If anything, it'll just add to the trauma. I applaud the writers for dealing with such a sensitive topic, but from a certain POV the hand chop is a quick fix to a storyline that could've had more substance with another season. I'm neutral on it because again, I see both sides of the argument. I think if we got more of a reaction from Cross, the situation would've been more clear (he was doing some crazy compartmentalization during the back half of the finale, let's be honest here).

Anyways, that's my review of S3 of TBB. Despite it's flaws, this little show still went out on a high note and I am very pleased with it. I love TBB with all my heart and I will hold it cherish it forever. Until next time everyone. I will still be talking about Crosshair and this show, don't worry. No matter what, I will never tire of this beautiful family ❤️

[im-no-jedi]

yo have y’all seen this yet????

this was in response to a thread highlighting “mama bear” moments between Omega and TBB. someone said they hope we’ll see more of those moments in season 3, and Joel made this comment. I’m mainly seeing two predictions for this now. we see more of TBB on Pabu pre Plan 99 before fast forwarding to “current” times or (the most popular theory rn) we get a flashback of TBB as babies/cadets on Kamino with Omega watching/taking care of them. either way, I’ll be VERY happy about it!!! \o/

[super-turtlephant]

Alright people, I’m going to start compiling a list of Tech-lives tbb fixits! Please send any you see my way by either reblogging this post, replying in the chat function, or sending me an ask! I’m especially looking for post season 3 fics, but feel free to send me any tech-lives fics. I’ll include a pre-season 3 section in the list!

BRING ON THE FIX-ITS!

Tech lives on in our hearts and in the amazing fics that members of our fandom so generously share. Let’s gather them up!

[keef-a-corn]

Hey,

for the wips tag game. If you don't mind, could you elaborate on TBB Fic 17 some more? I haven't really been into Star Wars for years now, but that sounds as if stuff is about to go down/just went down and I'm definitely interested in that.

If you don't want to, that's fine, too. Don't feel pressured.

Ah yes, fic 17

Also recognised as ‘the trafficking fic’

Where Tech gets trafficked :3

Here’s a snippet!!

It had been a simple objective. Lift up the box, take a maximum of 7 steps outside, place the box down, then walk back inside, and return to datapad and ice-pack. But nooooo. No. That’s too easy. Too simple. Though what was he expecting? This was not Pabu. They were not protected by the Republic. And this was not an innocent civilian. Tech sighed softly, resting his head to the side. At least the floor was cool. His hands and feet were bound together, goggles having long been ripped from his face- though judging from the occasional clink and slide, they were somewhere in the back, the glass shattered and the whole thing out of his reach. The tape over his mouth clung tight against his skin, while the knot of the blindfold dug into the back of his head.

He tried shifting, only to receive a whack from, what he assumed to be, a cane. It was certainly a curious choice of weapon for a kidnapper, but this was turning out to be a quite successful operation, so who was he to judge?

Tech couldn’t do much but quietly listen to surrounding sounds from where he was, though he wasn’t Hunter. He couldn't just pinpoint his exact coordinates. However, he was able to pick up on the sound of a nasally vendor that they always had to walk by to get to the marauder- from the way his voice disappeared behind him, Tech could give a rough estimate to where he was. Though how long that estimate would last, greatly depended on how his circumstances changed.

As much as Tech despised being rescued, the feeling of being a burden on others made him want to hurl, he would do anything for someone to get him out of this situation- especially as the uneasy anxiety in his stomach continued to bubble. To the best of his ability, he tried to curl up, imaging he was anywhere but there.

But then for a moment, he could’ve sworn up and down he heard someone call out his name. Though this was only for a moment, which dissipated as the sound of the engine engulfed his senses, and the feeling of lift off left the planet, and his hope of rescue, behind.

———————

Later on there features my first clone OCs

Tripwire, Range, Quarter and Axel (these are older sketches)

Tripwire was named by @clownery-and-fuckery

It’s more me exploring darker themes in fanfiction using one of my favourite boys, while also exploring the rat’s relationship without Tech (this was started pre-season 3 and now I ignore season 3)

[masterjedilenawrites]

Friendly reminder: this blog is remaining spoiler-free during the entirety of TBB season 3. Please do not comment or reblog with any spoilers on this post. Thank you!

[faceofpoe]

Poe’s Chaos Guide to Andor Star Wars Fic

(because ao3 sorting isn't specific enough, I want my own chaos sorting system and here it is)

The Bad Batch:

Canon compliant:

Missed a Lot (feat: Crosshair & Tech (yes, I said canon compliant) and people getting to experience some damn grief ffs set between s3e9-post-finale) (if you're looking for closure for these two, this one's for you)

Mayday (feat: Hunter & Crosshair, end of s3e4 - end of e5 scene filler)

Decryption (feat: Echo, Rex, Crosshair, end of s2 - end of s3e5 expansion/filler)

Along the Way (feat: Crosshair & Omega, post-finale)

Shadow (Crosshair & Hunter, see tags and author note, dark themes)

Almost Canon compliant:

Something than Nothing (feat: Hunter & Crosshair post s3e5)

Unyielding (post s3e4 speculation on what came after the reunion that actually held up impressively well)

The Point Where CX-Tech Thoughts Started to Creep In (pass the salt)

Landed (stream of consciousness'ish Tech post s2-s3e7)

Breathe (CX-Tech post-series AU feat: Tech & Crosshair recovery)

Primary Mission Objective (CX-Tech back half of season 3 rewrite; Tech, Crosshair, Emerie POVs)

Speculation stuff that started compliant and diverged:

Plans Change (feat: Rampart & Crosshair post s3e12 and gave Rampart too much credit lol)

A Hit or a Miss (feat: Tech & Phee s2e13 and Crosshair & Phee post s3e11)

53% (feat: Echo & Crosshair set post s3e5)

The Feral Energy episode 3 gave me fun times with Omega & Crosshair:

Plan 72 (feat: Hunter & Wrecker approaching what's probably a trap)

Plan 99 (feat: Crosshair wondering wtf to do now)

Plan 100 (feat: an extra dramatic recovery operation)

32 Rotations (Crosshair & Omega post-ep4 AU in which eps 2&3 occurred concurrently and Hunter & Wrecker missed the rendezvous)

And for a complete change of pace:

Atmospheric Interference (series; cloneship, Tech/Crosshair, pre-TCW to post-TBB AU, dark themes, see tags)

Andor:

Breaking Cassian Andor for fun and profit:

Pre-series: The Thing Itself (feat: all those little things Luthen knows about Cassian + creative use of Fest backstory + all the other little indulgent tie-ins I worked into this fic)

   Sub-category Brasso my Beloved: Pull Together

                                                                  Spark

Post-series:

Sub-category Melshi my Beloved: Mirror

                                                              Mask

Breaking Everyone Else for Fun and Profit:

Tether (Bix & Melshi, Bix/Melshi) (WIP)

Sunrise (Mon & Luthen)

Remember (Kleya & Draven)

Chandrilan Hospitality (Mon)

The Random Factor (K-2SO)

    Sub-category Putting Them Back Together in the End: Stone and Sky (Kleya & Ferrix crew)

Light(er)-hearted Spy’ish Romps:

Yearn (Luthen & Kleya)

Inside (feat: Draven)

Clarity of Purpose (feat: Melshi, Draven, K-2SO, Luthen, and where Axis & Fulcrum collide)

Double (Melshi)

Spectacle (Draven)

All In (Kleya & Cassian)

Poe’s obsession with the next 5 minutes after the screen goes to black

Everything (feat: a scenic detour)

Pyre (feat: Kleya really wants to shoot Cassian Andor, okay?)

      Sub-category Poe’s obsession with the missing Sky Kyber: Something More

That Thing the final scene of the show did to Poe’s brain and she makes no apologies:

(Or to quote tag: Handling and Manhandling)

Yield (Cassian's unsanctioned foray into sexpionage)

Escape (the one that's fucked up, but like, soft about it)

Floodgate (feat: water-type Cassian Andor)

(Or to quote tag: Being dysfunctional with one another to the point of self-destruction)

Ghosts (some of those Fondor trips are actually for the art, right?)

Equation (the one that's just fucked up, but Dr Gorst gets what's coming to him (offscreen) so it's okay in the end)

[fritoley]

Febuwhump 2024 - Day 13: “You Weren’t Supposed to Get Hurt”

Fandom: The Bad Batch (Star Wars) Characters: Jaye N'Cante, Wrecker, Hunter Word Count: 426 Content Warning: None Previous // Next Febuwhump 2024 Masterlist

Summary: Jaye’s frustrations come to a boiling point when a lead to find Omega goes cold.

“Come on!” Wrecker shouted, racing up the ramp to the Marauder as a flurry of blaster bolts raced past his head. Hunter and Jaye followed him in, turning back and shooting as many troopers as they could before the ramp closed shut. Hunter took the controls of the ship and flew the trio to safety. Jaye removed her helmet and chucked it across the ship, shouting in frustration as it narrowly missed Wrecker, who was descending the ladder from the gunner’s mount.

“We almost had her!” Jaye screamed, pulling at her hair in complete rage. “We almost had her, and we blew it!”

“Jaye, there was no sign of Omega on that entire planet, how did we almost have her?!” Hunter shot back, forcing the ship into hyperspace and spinning his chair around to face her. Jaye glared at him, jabbing a finger into his chest as he stood.

“You said she was in that facility.”

“I said that there was information about her in that facility, not Omega herself,” Hunter shot back.

“There’s only one person in the entire galaxy who could be labeled as a ‘female clone,’ what more information do you need?!” Jaye shouted, gripping the air in a chokehold.

“Hey, if you had disabled the security system like I asked, we would’ve been one step closer to finding Omega. You weren’t supposed to get hurt and blow our cover!” Hunter’s hands balled into fists at his sides, as if he were just itching to strike Jaye.

“Well I’m sorry I’m not as tech savvy as—”

All the fight left Jaye’s body. She stared at Hunter as she realized what she was about to say. Tech. She wasn’t as tech savvy as… Tech. Wrecker let out a soft, “Oh, boy…”

“Jaye…” Hunter’s voice trailed off. His body deflated as the memories of Eriadu came rushing back. The air was thick with tension. Jaye averted her gaze, shuffling her feet as if she didn’t know whether to stay or leave.

“You… you get my point,” she finally said, crossing her arms. Hunter nodded, swallowed hard, and stiffly turned back to the navicomputer. Jaye took that signal and trudged to the other side of the ship. Wrecker started after her, but decided otherwise. It would be best to let her cool down.

He turned to the sergeant. “Hunter…” Wrecker mumbled. Hunter said nothing, slumping back into the pilot’s seat with a deep sigh. He leaned forward and pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head in defeat.

Maybe it was best to leave Hunter alone, too.

Previous // Next Febuwhump 2024 Masterlist Ultimate Masterlist

[questforgalas]

Sibling moments in the Bad Batch that live rent free in my head

S1E11 "Devil's Deal" and S1E12 "Rescue on Ryloth"

The batch are literally in Devil's Deal for 2 minutes so we be doing a joint watch babes. Special recognition to the introduction of the greatest hair in the GAR, Captain Howzer, and a lot of screen time for my favorite babes who I wish would stop committing war crimes for the Empire

Devil's Deal

Nothing says family bonding like black market weapon runs

"Tech won't let me train until I can recite all the ship's specifications from memory" IS THE MOST SIBLING THING TO EVER SIBLING LIKE NO YOU CAN'T PLAY WITH MY TOY UNTIL YOU CAN TELL ME EVERY FACT ABOUT IT GOOD LUCK IT'S GOING TO TAKE YOU YEARS

You can't tell me Omega doesn't know all the things she's showing Hera because she's 10000% sat in the copilot chair while Tech flew and asked "what's this? and what's this? and what's this?" repeatedly for days and it was probably the best days of Tech's life

"Did you know flying's about a feeling?" and Tech's immediately concerned "What feeling?" while giving concerned eyes at Hunter

Rescue on Ryloth angsty siblings 👏 angsty siblings 👏 angsty siblings 👏

Crosshair babe please stop hunting down children

Hunter's immediate appearance as soon as he hears sparks and a mini explosion happening

Gonky is the best side character of TBB

"You gave her our comm channel?" oh no big bro is exasperated

Hunter getting absolutely owned by the optimism and rose colored glasses of a pre-teen girl

His face is so "god dam it I'm really proud of you right now but I also wish you'd take a break for just one second"

Tech and Wrecker glance Tech and Wrecker glance

After Hera says "I don't have anyone else to ask", Echo mirrors Omega's same facial expressions and head movements behind her, the little empathetic babes

The grumbles after Omega points out Crosshair's there 😂😂

Here's why I'm putting that as a sibling moment - we've seen this squad face down entire cities worth of troopers at this point (Raxus was just 2 episodes ago, and we've seen them take on 3 ships worth of clones too) without even batting an eye. But one sighting of Crosshair and they're all grumbling and that's what throws them in the "we can't pull this off mentality" and I interpret that as coming from the continuing theme of the Batch being so proud of each other's skills and enhancements, they're so in awe of each other, and the only thing that could ever give them a challenge is one of them. He may be their enemy right now, but they still believe in Crosshair's skillset so much that just him makes them decide to abandon the mission

Wrecker's smile at Echo when Hunter drops down on the probe droid

Crosshair seeing a from-above POV scan of the Batch and knowing exactly where they would've been staking out

"She's trying to save her family, Hunter. I'd do the same for you" BOOM OMEGA COMING IN WITH THE FAMILY FEELS ARROW RIGHT IN THE CHEST

Oh no, this one really hurts after season 2

"We have a battalion of troopers right outside." immediately countered by Crosshair's "That's not enough!" emphasized so much he's jabbing his finger into Rampart's desk. They may be enemies but god these bros are all up in the proud feels

Shout out to Howzer for standing down immediately when Crosshair started glaring at him. Smart guy knows a battle he won't win

"Because he's my brother." this is such a cute Omega episode

Omega's coaching Hera about coming up with a plan is 100% Hunter teachings

"Wh-that was my plan!" sibling 101: never let them have credit

Wrecker and Echo glance Wrecker and Echo glance

the surprised "Really?"s when Hunter gives the ok on the plan like they can't believe their hairbrained scheme actually worked on big bro

Tech's fun smirk when Omega says "Do some damage Wrecker" and Wrecker starts laughing in the gunner seat

Crosshair figuring out the true plan like god dam it they were all so in synch I need a Bad Batch curing the clone wars show immediately I will literally fund it with the $10 in my bank account

The Hunter and Crosshair cut scene stares

Wrecker's high five with Omega on Ord Mantell 😂 he's so proud of his little war criminal sister

Nothing like sibling bonding via showing how to scramble a ship's signature

Tech and Wrecker's smiles at Omega they're so proud of her for making a friend

[seaofsunberries]

"Flock Together"

Chapter 1

"Theft"

Warnings: hints and references of homelessness, abuse, prison, clowns, violence, theft, jaded views of life, deception, financial struggle, struggle to obtain necessities, angst

A/N: Welcome to my Bad Batch fic! This fic will be a long, multi-parter fic featuring the batch pre-Echo and an OC of mine. This story will run before TCW season 7 and into TBB season 3. The main pairing is a surprise that will be revealed later, but will have bits of TechPhee in it too (which will come in much later ^^;). I hope you all will enjoy!

Chapter 2 (coming soon!)

Before she had even reached double digits in age, she learned that there are five key components to survival: looks, charisma, intelligence, trickery, and selfishness. The former two give a boost in chances, the latter three are essential – especially selfishness. If you didn’t have that, your life might as well be forfeit from the beginning. She was lucky enough to possess all five components. If she hadn’t, she probably would have died long before she reached her teenage years, let alone be in her twenties.

It probably helped that her name changed at least once a week: Robin, Raven, Canary, Crow, Wren. “Sparrow” was her current one as she wandered through Naboo, but between the looks of familiarity of the denizens of the planet and the fact that she was starting to know her way around, it was time to shed that name and move off world. It was easy to do, with money or a ship.

Sparrow had neither.

She hummed against her smile, eyes scanning for her best bet. People passed by her, oblivious to her twitching hands that she had to hold back from darting into certain pockets, and none the wiser when they actually did. They continued on their merry way as she felt the credits in her hands and pockets. She felt against each one, mind crunching numbers as her fingers separated and ran across the metal. Her smile didn’t falter at the answer she reached. Not enough. Not enough for a shuttle, not enough for a bribe, not enough time to get what she needed, not enough ways to travel around the planet within one day to hit as many people to get what she needed, and if she didn’t figure it out, there wouldn’t be enough luck in the world to unscrew her from the mess she’d be in.

That’s when she saw it: a military ship.

Her smile grew wider as her heart thudded harder and faster, her legs carrying her closer to it. It was definitely a republic ship, more reason to keep up her pace. Her brain ran through several thoughts and played back memories of the ships she had stolen once, but none of them had a remotely similar shape to her target’s. Granted, it was a military ship and even if it wasn’t, any event where she piloted a ship with a gun is no longer in any spot of her head. 

She paused. This is a military ship.

Stealing from the military wasn’t the worst thing she has done, but it is the most reluctant task she has brought upon herself by far. Between conditioning that soldiers go through and their dedication to their cause, twirling her hair and batting her eyes would be the same as dawning white face paint, a rainbow wig, and a bright red nose.

She’s a homeless, fugitive Pantoran – not a clown. 

Even if she were to try the big, honking shoes, searching for memories of laughter yield dust and stale air. You’re already socially dead just by being several children’s nightmares posing as comedy, but being a clown with no gun and still attempting to steal from the military? If she wanted to be shot, she would have had it done in a way where she didn’t go out a fool. Digressing from that, Sparrow is not begging for anyone to put a gun to her head yet. She likes having a heartbeat, thank you very much.

 With that aside, it’s still a military ship and the galaxy is still in a war. Morality is nonexistent in the law of survival – mostly – but she probably should have some forms of standards. Who was she to possibly jeopardize a military operation? How many people would she doom by doing this? Maybe she could just ask to be dropped off somewhere in exchange for something. What would military soldiers want anyways? If they’re clones, they would probably want money. She might as well turn herself in if she was coming across a Jedi. Anyone else-

The gray coloring of the ship is interrupted by colorful nose art of Senator Amidala. Her thoughts stop briefly, and she revitalizes her brisk walk.

These soldiers are creeps. They’re probably messing around and getting drunk all the time. These types of men are the type to catcall and leer women, expecting interest and affection just for existing. She’s seen it all before. This is no longer a theft, this is saving a military ship from the grubby hands of perverted, imbecilic people. In order to succeed, she can’t be a homeless, fugitive Pantoran. She smiles brightly, adding a skip to her step as she zips herself up into a new skin. She is now a peppy, friendly denizen of Naboo, ready to greet newcomers with a big smile.

She sees them before they see her, but her steps almost falter as she takes them in. She expected clones, but they’re not. One of them – the shortest – wore a red bandana with long brown hair. The other man to his left wore goggles and probably had scoliosis. The soldier on the right was huge, taller than any of them. The last one had a crosshair tattoo on his right eye and silver hair that she isn’t sure if it was natural or this soldier was succumbing to the weight of the war. Maybe he was actually old and the only thing that gave away his true age was his hair. Their armor was adorned with the colors red, gray, and white. Most – if not all – Republic soldiers were clones. Maybe they were exceptions, which would probably explain the nose art: clones were supposed to have some class and respect. 

Soldiers or not, Sparrow already had confirmed they were creeps, so stealing their ship was not going to weigh on her already questionable conscience. If she steals it, they get reprimanded and retrained. She could return it to some clone soldiers later, so the Republic still gets its ship back. She gets offworld, slimy men get chastised and disciplined, and the Republic doesn’t lose any ships. Everyone wins in the long run.

She inhales deeply, taking off one of her wristbands to tie around her long, purple hair. She pats down the pink dress she ripped off a clothingline and smoothes out any wrinkles. She exhales and broadens her smile, taking jolly steps forward as she calls out a greeting with a wave. The men turn to her, no hint of suspicion or aggression – just surprise.

“I’ve never seen you guys here before,” She grins, tilting her head in the manner of a confused, naive person. “Are you guys new?”

“Not really,” the one with the bandana chuckles, turning his body to face her directly. “We’ve been here before, but we’re not planning on staying for long. We’re just finishing a few repairs before we head offworld.”

“The repairs are finished,” the soldier with goggles looked back down at his datapad, “we will need to restock on parts as we head back.”

“Why not just restock now?” Sparrow tilts her head, letting purple locks of hair shift slightly. “I work at a shop that has a lot of ship parts. I think our sale for Republic fighters is still going on.”

“That includes clones?” The one with silver hair speaks up, his voice much scratchier than she expected. Additionally, it confirmed these men were clones, just . . . abnormal ones.

“Why not?” She smiles, never skipping a beat, “clones or not, you’re all risking your lives out there for us. If you ask me, it’s the least we can do.”

The other clones open their mouth, but it’s cut off by the big guy’s celebratory shout.

***

Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, and Crosshair – those are their names. To the boys, her name is Dove, because if she ever has to come back here and has to fall back into an old role, it’s best that Sparrow has some sanctity to her name.

“I do not see any offers for sales to Republic soldiers,” Tech pipes up.

“We’re a small business,” Dove waves him off with her hand, “even if you looked us up, you probably wouldn’t find us. The boss is big on growing his business “the proper way” and tends to use outdated tactics to advertise.”

“And he expects his business to grow that way?” Hunter’s incredulous voice screams disbelief.

“He’s a stubborn guy,” she shrugs, “just a warning, he gets irate when you question him, so don’t ask him about it . . . or look into it, really. He has a sixth sense for people investigating his past or business, and he’ll probably force you to leave and fire me on the spot.”

“Charming,” Crosshair scoffs.

She spins around, stopping them in their tracks with narrowed eyes, “I mean it: I’d rather be able to pay my bills, so no funny business.”

After a “yes ma’am” and a smile from Dove, their trip is finished with comfortable silence as she leads them through the doors of the store. It’s empty, like it usually would be at this time of day, considering it’s the employees break time. The boss is likely still in the back, eating by now, which gives her at most an hour before they’re alerted that something else is up.

“Feel free to wander around the store,” she points to the back, “I have to let my boss know that we have some customers during our break and that I’ll be ringing you guys up.”

Hunter frowns, “you brought us here on your break? Does your boss even allow this?”

“It’s lunch break and I don't normally work today,” she shrugs again, “but I know the systems, so it should be fine. You guys need to restock, and I thought it would be safer for you guys to just have the parts you need now in case something happened. You never know in war,” she hums thoughtfully, “but you’re right. I should check with him. Don’t wait for me – the most that will happen is that he refuses to pay me for these five minutes – and five minutes extra won’t kill me.”

She waves them off again before they can get another word in, heading into the back and locking it behind her. Her feet carry her to the backdoor with barely disguised haste. The second she’s out, before the door even closes behind her, she sprints. She doesn’t stop even when her legs beg her to and she refuses to waste a single second on tripping over herself. When their ship comes into view, she runs faster, tumbling into the door they left open and making her way to the cockpit. She gazes over the buttons and dashboard, lost before her hands start touching everything. Suddenly, the ship rises, and she’s steering and speeding it into the sky. Another button closes the door, and she fumbles with the hyperdrive. There’s another button that’s beeping and blinking – that one she decidedly ignores – and another button has her thrown back into the chair as the stars blur around her. The familiar beauty of hyperspace greets her eyes once she opens them.

She relaxes, back sliding against the chair as she melts into the floor. Her heartbeat slowly calms from its rapid speed induced by her panicked escape. 

Her escape will probably have her on a wanted list very soon. “Dove” is a name that will have to be retired immediately, and she’ll need to find money to make a new bribe. This was all for nothing if she got stuck somewhere and got caught. Prison is not a place she would survive. She knows her short stature might as well be a neon sign screaming “beat me! I’m vulnerable!”

She had a taste of that already – she’s not going back.

She pulls herself off the ground, resting her hand on the back of the chair to balance herself while she takes in her surroundings. Wires and projects are everywhere, weapons are on the floor, dirt and dust and dirty laundry are scattered all over the place, and the smell-

She scrunches up her nose, closes her eyes, and exhales deeply. When the smell infiltrates her nose again, she immediately tells herself that it’s not and she actually doesn’t smell anything at all. She forces her thoughts on the weapons, tools, and explosives. She pulls out each one, examining and doing the mental math in her head.

It’ll be enough, enough to last her a while.

Within a few hours, she has one pile and one mountain set up. The mountain is loaded to the top with valuables that she’ll trade for means of getting hair dye, makeup, new clothes, food, and water. The pile is made up of smoke grenades, a blaster, some scrap metal, rations, and two clean, black shirts. She spreads out the smaller one, ripping, tearing, and cutting into the fabric until it can no longer be recognized as a shirt. Carefully, she places the rest of the pile on top of it, and then ties the former article of clothing into a bag.

She leans back against the wall, ignoring the honking of a strange droid that she was sure those clones could probably track to wherever she landed. She knows a place where she could quickly sell everything and leave – all she needed to do was plug in the coordinates and toss it over to the man running the market. Worries of how to get food and water and how much she should get in a day won’t plague her head for what she hopes to be a while. Stability is rare, but she’ll cherish it while it lasts. She could possibly gain more if she sold the ship too, but that would be too risky. It might not sell for much anyways, with its worn down appearance. The Senator Amidala nose art isn’t doing the poor thing any favors either. Wherever the ship ends up after she leaves it, the art piece of the senator won’t be on there. Maybe a pink smiling face would do better instead. The man who runs the market has a daughter, she would probably like that.

She sighs, pulling herself from the wall and making one last round of the ship. Her eyes double checking shadows and narrowing in on other items. She lifts the items she deemed worthless to her eyes and scrutinizes them, her mind going over the possible value over and over again. When she turns to go back to the cockpit, confirming that she got everything she could, her foot brushes up something soft and smooth. Blinking, she kneels down and gently lifts a black and red object from the ground.

It’s a tooka toy, she realizes as she absently runs her fingers across it. She can see the wear in it, but any tears that existed have been sown back into shape. She has to narrow her eyes and lean forward to see the stitch marks. It’s clean, only having tiny hints of the stench that plagues the entire ship. It’s soft – so soft – with little, red, round eyes and downwards mouth. Gravity has its limbs and heads flopping back innocently, at least in the way she’s holding it. If she were to move it around, she could probably pretend it talks in a high pitch voice.

Something inside her feels soft, and there’s pressure and burning in her eyes that she didn’t feel before. An inhale becomes a sniffle, and she wraps her body around the doll, shielding it from something she can’t see. A small whisper tells her that the doll should be shielded from her, and she doesn’t think she can disagree. An inner knife stabs her when she doesn’t let it go. 

***

The ship reaches its destination several hours later, early into the next day. The owner of the market tosses her some paint and tells her to cover up the nose art before his daughter wakes up, and then he’ll pay. She doesn’t know what to make, so she dumps some purple paint over it and watches it all drip to the floor. She stares at the splatter for a few minutes, before she paints a few strawberries and a teddy bear on it. It’s when she finishes the last eye of the toy that the owner calls her.

“Here, Finch,” he pushes a bag into her hands, “for everything you sold me. I dunno what I’ll do with the ship, but I’ll figure it out long before the Republic finds it.”

She gives him the same smile that is always on her face with a nod, feeling the weight of the bag in her hands. She places a few of the credits inside into her pockets before storing the rest into the makeshift bag she made yesterday. The fact that it’s weight makes the pouch sag a little more makes her smile widen. It’s enough.

“How much for the toy?”

She turns her head quickly to the owner, bringing the Tooka doll closer to her chest. Her smile never fades, but her tone becomes sharp and firm.

“Not for sale.”

***

Hunter likes to believe he is a patient, rational man, but he might have to pass that title over to Tech.

Granted, Tech is frozen into a rigid statue, so maybe he isn’t keeping his composure either. He had given one “this is not ideal” before falling silent. His disbelief and anger are probably manifesting in a way that none of the brothers have ever seen before. Tech has always been one to be ruled by logic and facts, not emotions.

But this? This takes the cake and eats it too.

The Marauder has almost been stripped clean on the inside, the only remains of what had been were a few wires, some clothes, the smell, and the parts of the ship you just couldn’t move in general – like the bunks and seats. Gonky waddles past them, tracking purple paint back into the ship. By the fourth step, Hunter hears Crosshair’s toothpick snap in half between his teeth – never a good sign.

Hunter turns around, just in time to see his brother fail to put another toothpick in his mouth because he snapped it in between his fingers before he could even get it close to his mouth, “Did we manage to get anything back? Anything about that woman?”

“Not enough,” Crosshair growls, managing to get the third toothpick into his mouth and rolling it. “All he said was that her name was “Finch,” and Wrecker can’t find-”

“She took my Lula!”

The sound of Wrecker’s devastation causes Crosshair to snap his third toothpick while Tech breaks free from his statue to turn towards them. Hunter inhales deeply – he’s the leader. He is a rational man.

He looks inside the Marauder, purple paint spreading everywhere. He looks outside their ship, the nose covered in the same paint with strawberries, sparkles and a large teddy bear on top. He looks at Wrecker’s tearful face, Crosshair’s pinched expression, and Tech’s tight grip on his datapad.

“We,” Hunter growls, “are going to track her down.”

Of course, they couldn’t devote the time needed to track the Pantoran woman down, but her actions made the batch declare her as their personal public enemy number one.

[am3mb3r123]

4/28 TBB Rewatch Notes

✨ i'm trying to rewatch all of The Bad Batch, including the four Clone Wars episodes, before the finale airs. wish me luck!! ✨

Episodes watched: 11

Today's runtime watched: 351 mins

Total runtime left: 1,099 mins (nice)

Can I finish it? maybe, i'm optimistic! though depending on tomorrow's numbers i might cut back to the end of season 2

rambling below the cut

Anakin: hold on, we can talk to them! Hunter: WHY

there are ice crystals on Echo's skin how have i never noticed that before??

also the eye contact and the expressions of the clones are on point this season, Jesse and Kix sharing a moment of "what the fuck have we gotten ourselves into", Rex searching for something in Echo he lost, i'm physically deceased

i was trying to remember if we've seen Echo's ears since the Citadel and so far we have not. his ears in the last episode had me kicking my feet like a lovesick kid

update: we see his ears in season 7, ep. 4. still kicking my feet

"was there ever any doubt" Echo i love you

DBB doesn't do Crosshair's voice as raspy in the Clone Wars episodes and it's kind of messing with me cause i can't tell who's who by just their voices and my eyes aren't glued to the screen

Rex trying to make Echo more comfortable with the idea of going with CF99 is so soft

hearing adult Kanan's voice coming out of young Caleb's body makes me laugh out loud every time

i still can't believe i had to watch Order 66 being carried out on Depa and Caleb

her screams?? Rebels era me is quaking in their boots

god the lighting in tbb proper's animation is so good, i can't get over it

i'm struck by the fact that we've still never gotten confirmation on why Crosshair's chip activated so suddenly

rip to Soup Clone, you would have loved Gregor's cooking

"kid's aren't our area of expertise" CROSSHAIR YES THEY ARE YOU ARE THE DADBATCH

Wrecker diffusing tense situations my heart 💕

i don't think i've ever noticed how panicked Hunter is when they take Crosshair out of the cell

THERE'S A CLOSEUP OF CROSS'S HAND ON THE VERY FIRST TIME THEY INTENSIFY HIS PROGRAMING THE DRAMA THE FORESHADOWING I'M DEAD

is 0219 Omega's number? or just a prisoner number

DUST FLEW OFF THE CORRIES HELMET WHEN WRECKER PUNCHED HIM god the animation is good

Cross stripped his armor?? i have watched this episode at LEAST 6 times how am i still noticing new things

i did cry when omega went through hyperspace for the first time, thank you for asking

just reworked my math and i have to get part way through s1e6 to stay on track what have i done

wrecker and tech not knowing how to bribe someone is fucking hilarious bc who did they have do that before? this cannot be the first time the batch's needed to bribe someone to not scan in their ship

getting a "go to bed" notification during this thing was hilarious

gotta love Echo's droid outfit. it's loving Echo hours over here

things we were robbed of: more Rafa and Hunter interactions

i'm always surprised at how soon we see evidence of Wrecker's chip activating

hunter helping trace get omega is giving Barbie Rapunzel iykyk

sobbing at Rex's shoulders under the cloak

[madpencil]

Febuwhump 2024

Day 1: Helpless

Words: 1,285

Characters: Omega, Hunter, mentioned rest of batch, mentioned Phee (The Bad Batch)

Description: Omega pretty much lives the quote "how do you process grief? By running from it until finds me in the middle of sunny street on a beautiful day."

Omega hadn't had a good day in what felt for forever. She sat crisscrossed on the warm sand of Pabu. The sun embraced her with it's warmth as she stared out at the waves. It felt like this should be the day to break the pattern. So bright and sunny with a sky so blue it was perfect. It was too perfect. That was the problem.

The girl shifted uncomfortably in the sand, opting to pull her legs up to her chest. There was this nagging feeling in her heart that wouldn't go away. She sighed and tried to direct her attention elsewhere. There were a few birds flying around. Four songbirds, a blue jay, and a dove. They mixed together like they'd known each other their whole lives. They flew and almost seemed to play above the water.

Omega took a closer look. They reminded her a little of the batch. The blue jay could be their reg, echo. After all, he did come from the 501st. The four songbirds were Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, and her. That makes Tech... that made Tech the dove. Of course he would be the dove. It was a mourning dove. The feeling returned, and she swiftly jerked her head away from the group. It wasn't something Omega could place. This feeling she had. All she knew was it was terrible.

She looked back at the homes in Pabu instead. In each one was sone version of a family. An elderly couple that had fled Ryloth at the beginning of the war. A married couple and their three kids that Phee had invited when she heard their hone burned down. The young man and his dog on second street that escaped the lower levels of Courasant. They made up a family, and together they all made up Pabu. The batch included. All of them.

Could it really be all of the without Tech?

Omega jumped up out of the sand, refusing to entertain the thought any longer. She started to pace a little. The feeling wouldn't go away. It was better to just go back to the Marauder and forget about it. She'd come down on her own so their was no reason to stay. Besides, the sun would be setting when she got back and she didn't want anyone to worry about where she'd gone.

It was something of a long walk. The ship was perched at the top of the mountain on the landing pad. It wasn't a big deal as she enjoyed walking around Pabu. Not only was Pabu pretty, but she could always smell the salt water. Omega had to pay attention to notice it after bring around it for so long. It reminded her so much of Kamino.

The cities are underneath the water now. You almost drowned.

She shuddered and picked up her pace, trying desperately to shake off the thought. Her chest tightened again. She took a deep breath and turned a corner. Omega paused and stood for a moment. Why did she have to think about all of this now? It was such a perfect day to be outside and to enjoy herself. It was too perfect.

Omega started up with a brisk walk. She just wanted to get back to the Marauder. She just wanted to go to her room and lay down a while; maybe cuddle to to Lula if Crosshair didn't have her. She figured he needed her more after everything he'd been through. The girl picked up her pace a little more again, attempting to outrun the idea of Mt. Tantiss.

"Where are you off to in such a rush kiddo?"

Omega froze in her tracks. The man behind her sounded eerily like Hemlock. So much so it hurt. She spun to see a man and his dog. A young man and his shepard. Hemlock couldn't be here. He couldn't be there for so many reasons.

"Just, headed home sir." Her voice shook a little. The blinde didn't wait around for an answer before nearly sprinting away.

Why was she acting like this? How had her behavior changed so much in just a few months. She didn't like it. She hated it. Omega practically ran the rest of the way to the ship.

She sprung up onto the platform and darted towards the Marauder. It was nestled near the tree on that grew on the platform. She hopped over a large root and hurried her way around another one.

She did not get so lucky as to miss the third. The girl's foot caught and she fell towards the platform. She put a hand out to try and catch herself. It proved unsuccessful and she tumbed down next to the tree. Omega hissed and looked at her right palm. Then was a little blood from where she scraped it against wood trying to lessen her fall. Her knees stung and her ankle hurt.

Defeated, she just pulled in closer to the tree. Tears stung her eyes as she rested her back on the trunk.

"This is helpless" She broke down into sobs. Every wound before this felt as though it was reopening, and the scabs that hadn't healed had been picked at by her thoughts until they bled again.

"I am helpless" she thought. She hadn't been able to help her brother's duing the war, she'd been helpless when Tipoca city fell, helpless when Tech did, helpless to Crosshair and helpless against Hemlock. Even before all that Omega had started to think she'd burdened her brothers with her presence. Tears rolled down her face as she repeated those thoughts over a d over in her head. Anything she'd done or tried to do would be helpless. She tried so hard to be helpful, but she couldn't be when it really mattered.

"I'm helpless." She muttered as tears rolled down her cheeks. She didn't hear Hunter when he came up next to her. However, at some point in the past minute he'd gotten close enough to hear her. When he spoke, he was already sitting down near her.

"You're not helpless Omega. What's going on?" He looked tired and concerned. It was a common look for the past little while.

"I just- I'm sorry." Omega leaned into Hunter's chest and cried. She cried for a long time. The only words were occasional words and phrases Hunter hoped would comfort his little girl. She looked up at his with red eyes.

"Everything is just so much, and I can't do anything to stop it or to help or‐" Her tone indicated she'd spiral if Hunter didn't intervene, so he interrupted.

"Omega. You've done so much for us. It's okay. We can take care of everything right now. Just, focus on you awhile, okay?"

"I wanna help." Hunter sighed gently.

"If you wanna help up, then you can start by trying to get better, okay?"

Omega nodded and leaned back into Hunter. He wordlessly lifted her up into his arms to take her to the ship. She didn't reject him, so he walked up to the ramp and in the Havoc Marauder.

The squad leader mapped out what he'd do in his head. He'd take her to his bed and lay her down. He'd tuck her in and retrieve Lula (and tell Omega Crosshair didn't have her) and wait until she fell asleep. It was easy enough.

He did just that. Hunter took great care in making sure she was comfortable and asleep before he shifted towards Tech's old bed. The helpless feeling Omega felt was scarily relatable. If you asked Hunter, he'd say he failed Tech. He took a glance towards Omega.

"I won't fail you too."