momoftortoise

[momoftortoise]

i hate cryptic tweets

#i hate it #im so stressed #if they don't have a happy ending i swear to god #i should probably sleep #i want crosshair to have a happy ending #that's all im asking #please #bad batch #crosshair #tbb season 3

[momoftortoise]

On Frozen Wings - Ch 7

Pairing: Crosshair x Hunter

Rating: 18+ only, Explicit

The Empire invades Pabu, and Omega is taken.

AO3

Hunter raced up the steps, taking them two at a time. His lungs burned, his thigh muscles ached, and he was still dripping seawater, but he pushed himself to his limit to keep up with the hound.

He relied on her to guide him, his own senses muted under his helmet. He couldn’t catch a good scent through the filters, and it was difficult to get a lock on Crosshair’s electromagnetic signature on an island full of people, especially ones stressed and frightened.

Hunter would have found him eventually, but he didn’t want to waste a moment, and the hound was eager to help. She ran along one of the curving paths midway up the island peak, and when she skittered to a halt, Hunter stopped beside her, following the direction of her stare.

They found him.

But something was… wrong. Crosshair didn’t look up, even though they were standing in the middle of the path and were impossible to miss. His helmet was donned so Hunter couldn’t see his expression, but he didn’t move from where he leaned against the seawall, a hand curled around his stomach.

For a heart-stopping moment, Hunter thought he’d been shot. Batcher’s uncertain whine added to his fear, but he didn’t see a wound, and Crosshair was still standing.

Hunter patted the hound and gave her a quiet, “Stay.” She sat on her haunches obediently, though she let out another soft whimper. Hunter understood.

He began his approach, slow and careful, eyes darting to the corners and higher platforms where they could be fired upon, but he didn’t sense a trap. In fact, the stormtroopers seemed to be pulling out.

Which was why he hadn’t stopped to catch his breath after nearly drowning. Hunter knew what their departure meant.

“Crosshair?”

No response. He didn’t seem to breathe.

Hunter continued to circle around until he stood right in front of his brother. If Crosshair was aware of his presence, he didn’t acknowledge it. At least he was alive, and able to stay on his feet, but beyond that, Hunter didn’t know his status.

Taking off his helmet in the middle of an active battle zone was a stupid way to get shot, but Hunter still did it, carefully setting his helmet on the ground next to their feet.

Crosshair neglected to move. He continued to not move as Hunter reached up and gingerly removed his helmet. Only then did shift—a slight wince, a hunch inward, but he had nowhere to retreat, back to the wall.

He wouldn’t meet Hunter’s eye, and he kept his hand curled against his stomach. It was the same hand that often shook, and it trembled now. It didn’t stop.

“Crosshair?” Hunter tried again. “What happened?”

Crosshair’s lips tried to form words, but nothing came out. Hunter waited patiently, conscious of the distant sound of gunships still patrolling, and he kept Crosshair’s helmet tucked under his arm in case he needed to slam it down on his head in a hurry.

“I…”

His voice was so quiet that even Hunter had to move closer to catch it.

“…missed.”

Hunter frowned.

“You missed?”

Crosshair winced at the word, as if Hunter had physically struck him.

“The kid,” he said, his voice as ragged as his features. “I… They were burning the houses. She wanted to turn herself over to them. Stop the violence. I was supposed to… tag the ship.”

Crosshair drew another strained breath.

“I missed.”

Ah.

Hunter thought for a moment, always aware of the gunships and how close they crept. Most likely the patrols were doing one last sweep to pick up their troopers before moving out. They weren’t clear yet.

“We need to get moving,” Hunter finally said. “Take shelter until the Empire’s pulled back all troops. Then we can—”

“Didn’t you hear me?”

Hunter’s mouth closed shut. Crosshair’s eyes were wide, almost vicious, but his voice shook too much for pure anger.

“Omega is gone!”

Crosshair panted, as if each word cost him a great deal. His hand shook worse, and he trapped it against his stomach with a frustrated noise. Hunter kept his response neutral.

“I heard you.”

“Then why aren’t you—” Crosshair cut himself off before trying again. “Why aren’t you pissed? At… me?”

Hunter frowned further.

“Why would I be?” He didn’t really get it, not until Crosshair scoffed and then looked away, guilt bleeding through the cracks before he could hide them. Hunter softened in opposition to those hard lines. “Crosshair… it’s not your fault.”

His brother tensed further, his body one entire tight ball of stress.

“Look at me, Cross.”

His jaw flexed, and Hunter thought he might not listen, but then Crosshair turned his gaze on him, looking more like a prey animal about to flee before a predator.

Hunter didn’t know how to approach this, not with Crosshair. He knew how to comfort Omega when she blamed herself, but she was easy to soothe. Crosshair was not.

He thought of Tech in that moment. Though he sometimes overlooked emotion as a factor in people’s reactions, he also understood how to get to the root of the problem once he did. He would have tried to assuage Crosshair’s guilt, not with comforting gestures, but with logic and facts.

“We… were never getting off this island with Omega,” Hunter started slowly. “We were trapped. No exit plan or strategy. No extraction. No escape craft. My plan would have, at best, warned Echo of what was happening. But Rex wouldn’t have had the men to break through the blockage. We were always on borrowed time.”

Hunter watched him. Crosshair was listening, but he didn’t seem entirely convinced yet.

“Fact is, this was the best-case scenario.”

“Best-case?” Crosshair repeated in disbelief.

“We’re alive,” Hunter pointed out. “Omega was taken, yes, but she’s valuable to Hemlock. Which means he would want her taken unharmed. And Wrecker—”

Hunter tilted his head, and then pushed Crosshair further into the shadows. Batcher squeezed in tight around their legs as a gunship soared overhead, slow and unhurried. Hunter waited until it passed, but he kept close, not moving away even though he crowded Crosshair’s space. Crosshair didn’t complain, and instead watched him with an expression that wasn’t as heavy as before. That was good.

“And Wrecker,” Hunter smiled a little, “is awake. I stopped to check him first. He’s going to meet us at the rendezvous.”

Crosshair relaxed, if only a little. Their fallback point if they ever got separated was the Archeum, and Hunter only hoped Wrecker was able to make it inside unseen. He probably did, otherwise they would have heard a lot more explosions and screaming.

Hunter chewed on the inside of his lip, a habit he thought he’d quit as a cadet. He wanted to touch Crosshair, reach out to him, but he was still too hunched, too much like a cornered animal that would bite even when the extended hand meant to help.

In the end, he stared down at Crosshair’s helmet for a moment before stepping back and holding it out to him. Crosshair took it with careful fingers, and Hunted noted they were steadier.

Once Crosshair put on his helmet, Hunter picked his off the ground and donned it. Not wanting to leave it at that, he reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. Crosshair paused, but he didn’t stiffen or pull away. Hunter was encouraged.

“We’ll get her back,” Hunter said, and there wasn’t a shadow of doubt in the words.

Crosshair nodded, but he remained silent, and Hunter’s hand traveled to the nape of his neck, as it had a mind of its own. It felt natural to put it there, as it did to pull his brother forward, touching their armored foreheads together.

Crosshair didn’t move, but Hunter heard the quiet intake of a surprised breath. He pretended not to notice, and that the gesture didn’t send a heavy warmth through his abdomen.

Hunter finally let go, glad his helmet was on so Crosshair couldn’t later tease him about the warm flush on his cheeks.

“You good to move?” he asked.

Crosshair nodded. He grabbed his rifle from where it leaned against the wall and followed Hunter up the spiraling steps, Batcher close at their heels. They didn’t slow or stop unless it was to avoid lingering patrols, and they made it to the peak’s plaza without being spotted.

Hunter paused under the colored tarps and awnings, left abandoned after the festival had been cut short by the invading force. The Archeum stood alone, the door closed and left unharassed by stormtroopers as far as he could see.

“You should be clear,” Hunter said over his shoulder where Crosshair crouched behind him.

“You’re not coming with me?”

The words were sharp, but that was how Crosshair always sounded when he was worried. Hunter smiled a little, though his brother couldn’t see it.

“I left Lyana with her neighbors, and I want to make sure Shep finds her. Make sure the last of those troopers leave too,” he added, eyeing a patrol that passed overhead.

Hunter moved back further into the shadows, already planning his route for how he would leave the plaza unseen, but when Crosshair gained his feet, he didn’t move.

“I could… go with you.”

His stance was uncertain, his words lacking their usual self-assured confidence, and to Hunter he seemed… lost. Hunter wanted to pull him into his arms so badly it hurt, but there wasn’t time for it, and he wasn’t sure Crosshair would react well to the treatment.

“You could,” he agreed, “but I’d feel better if someone was with Wrecker. AZI said he would need to be watched the first rotation after he woke up.”

Crosshair remained quiet, so Hunter took a step back towards him.

“I’ll be quick. And I won’t be alone.” Hunter snapped his fingers, and the hound was at his side in an instant. He patted the top of her head crest. “I’ve got Batcher.”

She leaned against his leg and gave a happy huff, tongue lulling out of her mouth. Crosshair folded his arms over his chest, helmet tilted down at her as if in a scowl.

“You like him better now?”

Batcher let out a chuff, practically ready to roll over as Hunter scratched her side.

“Traitor,” Crosshair muttered, but there was affection masked underneath. “Better take care of him, seeing as you’ve traded me in.”

She let out a quiet bark of acknowledgement.

“We’ll be back soon,” Hunter assured him.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Hunter warmed at the stubborn insistence there, and the promise that if he didn’t come back, Crosshair would go after him. And Maker help whoever got in his way.

[momoftortoise]

so i have an twitter account but it's private and i use it for years now, i want to use it openly to annoy anti cloneshippers but i don't know. i guess I'll create a new account for it. cause i started to see so many people who get attacked by antis and i feel bad, we should be able to enjoy things, that's why the fandoms exists.

#cloneshipping #crosshair #hunter #bad batch #crosshunt

[momoftortoise]

I saw the ask you answered from another anon about cloneshipping, and I balled my eyes out. I'm a closet cloneshipper too. I came into the fandom about a year ago and ended up with the antis before I even knew what that meant.

I've started to secretly follow cloneship blogs, but I'm a decently popular fanfic writer in the anti group, and I really don't want to lose my readers by coming out 😭

I've never written a cloneship fic, and I mostly write x reader, which I know is a whole different topic for another day, but I love the content you all put out!

I put a short, non-aggresive blurb on my blog that I don't cloneship to appease the masses, and several cloneship blogs blocked me. It's sad, but I don't blame them. I've seen the hate spewed out by antis, and it's just disgusting.

Well, thanks for that list of friendly cloneship blogs, and thanks for being so nice to us in the shadows ❤️

👤 Incognito Anon

i'm really glad that post was able to help you in some way, friend. i'm gonna be honest, i had no idea it was so common for people to feel trapped in anti circles, and it makes me so sad. we should all be having fun - that's what it boils down to.

being a writer myself, i understand the fear of losing your reader base. i only have one non-shipping work, but i have at times wished it could be separated from my cloneship writing because i'm really proud of it and i know that shrinks the amount of people who will interact with it. however, i'm proud of ALL of my work. all of it brings me joy - and not just that, but it brings other people joy. it's meaningful to them.

all that to say.. i think sharing my work with a small group of people who cherish it feels better than having a larger audience. but i know that's just me personally.

if i may, i'd like to encourage you to make a side blog where you can interact with fandom in a way that brings you joy, and an alternate ao3 if you ever want to dabble in cloneshipping fic. maybe you’ll always stay in both places separately, maybe you’ll find that one feels better than the other and make the leap eventually. regardless, the option is there, and we'd love to have you.

[momoftortoise]

my roommate is trying to seduce maul on ai chat and she is so good at it, and maul is so aggressive like he keeps asking to fight but also agrees on to date??? its so funny lol

#darth maul #why is he so blood thirsty

[momoftortoise]

i got a few things to say but I'll wait till my exams are finished

:| :)

[momoftortoise]

✨️ calling all Star Wars fans ✨️

Hello there tumblr!

While we Star Wars fans are anxiously waiting for the bad batch finale, I could use your help! In fact...

I am currently in the process of writing my master's thesis. My research is about age & Star Wars characters. The research is trying to investigate whether there is a difference in fans of different ages liking or disliking certain characters that appear throughout Episodes 1-9. The survey takes about 5-10 minutes to complete, is completely anonymous, and you must be 18+ to participate.

It would be ✨️ wizard ✨️ if you could share it with your friends, parents, siblings, or any other Star Wars fans you might know! Or even just reblogging this post for others to discover here on Tumblr 😊

It would mean the world (or galaxy hehe) if you would fill it out. If you did THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU, ALWAYS! ✨️✨️✨️

[momoftortoise]

i want to edit cross hunter and omega with back to black but I'm so bad at editing and I'm sure someone already did it

#bad batch #crosshair #hunter #crosshunt #tbb omega

[momoftortoise]

This is gonna be one of those nice moments we get in the epilogue, right?

[momoftortoise]

TBB spoilers

i couldn't stop myself so I'm here again. i said it before, I'm saying again. going to the tantiss is STUPID AS HELL. okay? that wouldn't help the prisoners or the kids, that only can cause worse things. things that i don't want to say. so yeah, it's stupid when hunter wants to go to the tantiss, or crosshair, or anyone. cause they are fighting (or just trying to fight) against an enemy that strong and cruel. think about the things happened to crosshair. he shouldn't go back to there. cause they don't have back up and they don't have the power against the empire. i wish it was different, but it's the truth. i don't want to be pessimistic but the empire has an army, also clones they brainwashed to kill everyone who is on their way. so I'm worried for my boys but at the same time I'm kinda mad at them. especially hunter. cause he didn't try to go back for crosshair in the season 1. cause he had no one and as a leader he wanted to protect his squad, i get it. but now he is going to there for omega. and risking his squad.

#bad batch #crosshair #hunter #tbb season 3 #tbb spoilers #the bad batch spoilers

[momoftortoise]

SAY IT LOUDER 📢📢📢

everyone's willing to fuck a clone of themselves

but when the clone troopers fuck each other thats a problem huh

#cloneshipping #crosshunt

[momoftortoise]

i hate having my period cause half an hour ago i was thinking about how to unalive myself, now im so joyful and thinking about how beautiful life is. birds are singing, the sun is shining up there etc. like bro, can't you be stable at least for a couple of hours? im trying to work here

#my posts #i hate working #or maybe i love it #cause it makes me think less

[momoftortoise]

as soon as this season ends, i have sooo many things to do. too many ideas to draw. i don't want to leave behind crosshair and my boys, i love them and I'll carry them in my heart always ❤️😭

#bad batch #crosshair #hunter #tbb wrecker #tbb tech #tbb echo #i love them

[momoftortoise]

Hunter found Crosshair. Hunter found Crosshair over a vast distance, through a lethal jungle, and he did it fast.

And Crosshair knew he would find him. Because Hunter will always find him. I'm

[momoftortoise]

beautiful and realistic. love him.

"not just her. we're here for all the prisoners you've been experimenting on"

no thoughts just Echo pulling this face

[momoftortoise]

TBB SPOILERS

i watched the episode and if i speak my truth, i might be rude. but it's stupid.

rampart is pathetic. so pathetic that i love seeing boys being rude with him, pushing him around, making him shit on his pants.

i freaked out when wrecker got hit by the monster, i don't know what to feel.

emerie recognized echo, it was beautiful cause yeah, omega talked about his brothers with emerie too much that she can recognize them easily. that was sweet.

and i can understand crosshair, he feels like he owes omega help, i really understand but it's stupid. you are just four clones (i don't think they will get back up from rex or anyone who can stand against the empire, and for god's sake who can stand against the empire) how the fuck can you fight against them? this is a blind way. i mean, i want them to survive and save the kids and all the imprisoned clones. of course i want that but how can you fight against the empire and survive? i really can't stand this. i don't know, I'm kinda pissed off.

I'm just thankful that they survived this week too, i hope we will have a happy ending. i don't want them to die. especially crosshair. i can't stand even the thought of it. after everything he went through, he deserves to be happy with his brothers (and of course with hunter).

#bad batch #tbb season 3 #tbb spoilers #the bad batch spoilers #crosshair #hunter #tbb echo #tbb wrecker #tbb emerie

[momoftortoise]

i want to kiss his eyes 🥺🥺

just wanted to share this stunning shot of Crosshair's eyes. that is all.

#crosshair #bad batch