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lost-in-fiction-like-ur-mom · 3 months

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Could you do one where the reader had been in a relationship with Hunter before being taken with Omega on Tantiss. Now that they're reunited, Hunter realizes that he wants to marry the reader?

With a little bit of Wrecker and Crosshair friendly teasing Hunter.

Marry Me?

Hunter x Reader

Summary- After an insufferable separation from you, Hunter realizes his true feelings. That he never wants to be apart from you- that he wants to spend the rest of his life with you.

Part two right here!

A/N- SPOILERS FOR SEASON 3 OF THE BAD BATCH!!!! You have been warned! Thank you so much for requesting babes! Hope you like it! <3 <3

Word Count- 1,755

Beautiful Screen Shot by @isthereanechoinhere96

"Omega... It's- It's been months. We don't even know if they're still aliv-"

You felt shame rise up in your chest when you agreed with Crosshair. He was right, time had gone by slowly and there was no way of knowing if Hunter and Wrecker were alive. Your sweet sweet Hunter. The man who only showed he heart for the people he deeply loved. You were lucky to be one of them.

"They'll be there." Omega stated. She was so sure... but all you could think about were the doubts. Omega was always able to be more trusting and optimistic than you. Constant fear of losing your family limited you severely.

You swallowed deeply and looked down to Omega, pushing your anxieties down. "They will be." Were you trying to convince Crosshair or yourself?

The next few minutes of hyper-space felt like days. You were so eager. Everything was either going to get a million times worse, or a million times better.

Omega guided the ship to a remote planet you had never heard of, a deep blue over taking you.

Picking at your nails nervously, you stood- ready to depart. Crosshair noticed this and eyed you. He was nervous as well, but for different reasons.

You almost sobbed when you saw the Marauder in the distance. Hope bubbled in your chest, all thoughts of doubt escaped you.

The second the door lowered with a steam, Omega ran out of the ship. You followed her quickly behind.

She stopped at the mid-point between the ships. Wrecker slowly exited the Marauder, "Now there's a sight!"

You laughed, the tension dissipated. Omega ran to him and Wrecker picked her up, spinning around. "Wrecker!" She responded.

The sight made tears of joy fall. To see Omega so happy was enough for you.

"And I wasn't even sure your message was real!" Wrecker half-joked, still holding Omega up.

"Wrecker, I knew you'd show up!" Her words made your ears ring, did Hunter show up? Well, of course he did! That would be dumb for him to leave Wrecker... Unless, unless he wasn't alive to leave.

Your brain ran wild, why hadn't Hunter come out yet? It was almost as if Wrecker read your mind, he rested a hand on your shoulder after lowering Omega.

Just then, another set of footsteps came out. Hunter skipped steps to get to you and Omega.

Your hands shot up to cover your gasp, tears falling fast now. Omega got to Hunter first- you knew she needed it more.

He crouched down and hugged Omega deeply, his words drowned out. What you did make out was him saying your name, an arm stretched out for you and an arm holding Omega tightly.

You met him as fast as your feet would let you. "Hunter..." You whispered, face immediately meeting his neck as he pulled you close.

His arm pulled you in, crushing you against him in a pleasant way.

He pulled back to pepper your face with kisses, then a deep one on the lips. A few of your tears dripped onto his face, mixing with his own.

Omega giggled and pulled on your arm, you pulled back to let her back in on the hug. All three of you were lifted when Wreckers arms grasped around the bunch of you.

Wrecker pulled everyone up, making the embrace tighter. It was like your perfect little family was back again.

That night, after abandoning the empire's ship, was filled with more hugs, catching up, tears, and awkward conversations with Crosshair. You couldn't have wished for anything better. Your family, all in one place. Save for Echo, but you learnt he was safe with Rex- that made you smile.

You helped Omega settle into her room. You noticed too many yawns and drifting off, she was worn out emotionally and physically.

You spoke with her softly, reminding her everyone would still be here in the morning. Picking up Lula, her doll, and tucking it under her arm gave out the last yawn.

"Can I talk to Hunter?" She questioned with big eyes.

"Of course, baby. I'll be right back" You pet her hair back and left to go retrieve him.

You stopped when you saw him, Crosshair, and Wrecker whispering in the cock-pit.

"Ahaha! Be a man, just ask!" Wrecker said as he patted Hunters back harshly. Ask who? What would he have to 'be a man' about?

"If you say it any louder he won't have to..." Crosshair remarked.

"Oh! Sooorry." Wrecker dragged out.

"Both of you hush, I'll do it when I feel the time is right." Hunter spoke, his husky voice immediately filling you with warmth.

"You got this!" Wrecker exclaimed again, this time he earned a "Shhh!" from both Hunter and Crosshair.

You slowly entered the cock-pit, this time making your appearance known.

"Oh! Hello!" Wrecker greeted loudly, signalling to Hunter you were in the room. Hunter just sighed and shook his head.

You were curious about the conversation, but thought it might not be any of your business.

Smiling, you started, "Omega wants you to finish putting her to bed, Hunter." The way his face lit up had you star-struck. Almost like he couldn't believe she wanted him. "Thank you."

He nodded and headed her way, a hand cupping and maneuvering around your waist as he passed you. His subtle but frequent small touches warmed your heart.

You took a seat in the co-pilot chair, swiveling to look at Crosshair and Wrecker. Both looked down at you with crossed arms and smug looks.

"What?" You wondered if there was something on your face, or if you just took someones spot.

"Nooothing, we will be heading off to sleep now. RIGHT Crosshair?" Wrecker spoke in a suspicious voice, elbowing him in the side. Crosshiar grunted but agreed, leaving you alone.

Weird.

But then again, nothing was normal on this ship.

You took this time to lean back and take a few minutes of rest alone. It was nice being able to relax by yourself, knowing everyone was safe.

After a handful of minutes, Hunter made his way back from Omega. He took the seat next to yours, turning to face you.

"How are you doing?" You asked, sparking conversation.

"Fine, I'm just happy you guys are here... I keep thinking i'm going to blink and you'll both be gone..." His words shook at the end. You sat up, understanding the seriousness of the conversation.

"Hunter, Omega and I are alive and safe. We are here and we are not going anywhere." You rose and stood between his legs, hands cupping his face.

He looked up at you, tears filling his eyes slowly.

"What if I can't protect you two again?" He brought up a hand to rest at your hip, the other on his leg.

You rested your forehead against his, "That was a freak accident, baby. No one could have stopped that. Now we have Crosshair, Batcher, and we are ready for anything. We will keep Omega from the Empire. I promise."

He took a deep breath in, like he had just decided something.

He started by saying your name, "You always know just what to say. I wish I had that ability..." He closed his eyes and breathed you in for a moment, then he spoke again. "When... When we were apart I was so lost."

"I kno-"

"No, I don't think you understand. I couldn't think of anything but you and Omega. I was so broken without you." He repeated your name.

"I-I never want you to be away from me again." His voice got huskier as he spoke, and your legs felt like jello. You just looked at him deeply, nodding.

He started for a second time with a shaky breath, "No one can take you from me again. I will claw my way back to you every damn time." He nods his head up, brushing his nose to the side of your cheek with closed eyes.

You let him speak, even when your mind was flowing with your own comments, "It- The distance, made me realize. There is no one that can compare to you. No other woman I would ever want to be with."

Ah, so that is what they were talking about. You smiled big, awaiting the special phrase.

Tears filled your eyes with his words, he was speaking as raw as he was capable of.

"I can't promise you money or luxury, but I will spend every waking hour fighting to make you happy. Fighting to keep you safe." He pulls back, steadying you with both hands on your hips.

You take in a teary breath to speak, but he cuts you off. "Don't say anything yet, just- Wait here, just a second." He stands, reaching to Crosshair's old storage compartment.

He rushes back with a small box. You raise your hands to cup your own face, bright red. He lowered onto one knee, right in the middle of the cock-pit

"Please, for my own sanity and happiness, will you marry me?" He asks.

"Yes. Yes Hunter, there are no other words than yes." You fall down onto him, arms grasping around his neck.

He lets out a sigh of relief like you'd ever say 'no.'

"Thank you, oh thank you." He whispers into your neck, holding you tight. He only pulls back slightly to kiss you. A kiss so deep and full of emotions your head spun. You just held him, never wanting to let go.

It felt like time stopped, just for you two. Just for a clone trooper and a small girl...

"I never planned on you..." He broke the silence, head placed on top of yours. "But I- you were so damn perfect. Too perfect." You gave a small laugh, looking up to see his handsome face.

You rested a hand on his tattoo, thumbing it. "Hunter, if anyone is perfect it's you. You have so much love for me and Omega... How do you do it?"

"I manage." He smirked, leaning down to smell your hair. Something he used to do frequently when you snuggled in the past.

"Am I now Mrs. Hunter? Or is it Mrs. Trooper?" You joked, pulling back to sit fully on the ship floor. Your hands still filled with his much larger ones.

He smiled at you, another reminder on why he loved you so much. "We can figure out all the fine details later... Just let me kiss you again..."

So, you did.

A/N- Thank you so much for reading! I loved writing this one, I hope it turned out as good as I thought! Sorry It took me longer to post than usual, I was pretty busy this past week. As always, i'm open to constructive criticism!

Tags- (lmk if you want to be tagged as well!) @thethreeeyed-raven @knight-of-flowerss

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imaginesfordifferentfandoms · 1 month

Text

Step Into The Daylight

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Requested - @cc--2224 as part of @cloneficgiftexchange

Prompt - "Well, I’m sorry I fell in love with you, okay? But it happened and I can’t do anything about it.” “You... What?” & "I never wanted anyone to feel bad for me, especially not you"

The sun streaming through the windows did little to fight against the coldness he felt, he knew the room was warm, he knew the cold he felt deep in his bones wasn’t there and yet he couldn’t fight the shivers that wracked his body. It didn’t matter that he could see the small room his brother’s had shown him to once they landed on the planet, in his mind he was still there, still in that cold, small cell with no hope of escaping.

He’d been there for so long, long enough that he had lost track of the days. He could have planned an escape, could have made some attempt to leave their torture but what for? There was nothing waiting for him outside of his cell anymore.

Gone was his relationship with his brothers, gone was the easy back and forth banter with Wrecker, gone were the late night talks with Hunter, gone were the days him and Tech would sit together, his brother’s voice filling the silence without expecting anything back from Crosshair, gone was Echo’s steady presence, at his side whenever he needed it.

Gone were you.

Gone were the early mornings when the rest of his brothers were still asleep, only you and Crosshair awake in the cockpit holding a warm cup of caff and filling the space with softly spoken conversation. Gone were the days spent trying to stick by your side, gone were the stolen glances and lingering touches, gone was sneaking away after missions to explore together, gone were the chances he took to watch you smile, gone was the promise he’d tell you how he felt tomorrow.

Crosshair had run out of tomorrow’s a long time ago.

After all he had done, all the pain he had put his brothers through, the pain he had put you through, this was the least he deserved.

And so when the chance came to make his escape, to leave the pain and the torture behind he hesitated. The cell door was open, it would be so easy to leave and yet he hesitated.

If the kid hadn’t been there, if her life didn’t depend on him getting her out he knows he would have stayed where he was, he would have rotted in that cell for as long as they decided he was useful alive.

Now he was free and somehow he felt more confined than ever. It wasn’t just because Hunter wouldn’t take his eyes off him, it wasn’t because Wrecker hovered or the fact Omega had seemed to attach herself to him. It didn’t even have anything to do with the fact that you were here, stars above Crosshair couldn’t think of a time he would ever have ignored your presence and yet now he did everything to stay away from you, not able to face you yet.

No, it wasn’t because of you or his brothers that Crosshair felt confined. It was because he didn’t deserve this freedom, in his head he was still in the cold cell, destined to rot away.

Crosshair stood from the floor, unable to lay there any longer. The room had a bed tucked against the wall but Crosshair had only managed about ten minutes of tossing and turning on it before he gave the bed up for the floor, the bed too soft compared to what he had become used to.

Everyone else was still asleep as he made his way outside, no real destination in mind. His feet carried him through side streets until they grew sore and only then did he make his way back, stopping not too far away from where the others were to sit on the sand, the sun shining blindingly on the water.

He didn’t deserve to be here.

“I used to come here.” A voice interrupted him some time later, a voice he recognised all too well. “It’s quiet, no one ever comes here.”

Crosshair didn’t turn to look at you, he couldn’t bring himself to do it but when you sat next to him it was too much. He went to stand but your hand softly grabbing his stopped him.

“Please stop running away.” You pleaded softly and Crosshair didn’t have to look at you to know your eyes were teary but he did anyway, his heart aching for having made you this way.

“I can’t do this.” He told you quietly, forcing his gaze away from yours and looking back out at the water.

“I don’t know what happened to you,” You said after a moment's silence and Crosshair balled his hand into a fist, silently begging you to stop talking. “I don’t know what they did to you and you don’t have to tell me but-”

“But nothing.” He spat angrily, glaring at the sea and instantly hating himself for lashing out at you, so he tried again, softer this time. “But nothing. What they did to me was nothing less than I deserved.”

“Don’t say that.” You said, head shaking as you tried to compose yourself.

“It’s the truth, I tried to kill you, kill my brothers…I hurt you all and for what? For the Empire to throw my loyalty in my face.” Crosshair shrugged.

“For what it’s worth, I never gave up on you.” You told Crosshair, looking away from him as you spoke. “It didn’t matter what you did, how far you strayed from us, I never gave up on you.”

“You should have.” He muttered. “Everyone else did, Hunter doesn’t trust me, Wrecker wants to but he knows I’m nothing more than a lost cause.”

“That’s not true. Hunter’s just being Hunter, he needs time to adjust, needs time to figure things out in his head and then he’ll want to talk to you. Yeah you’re both gonna throw out words you don’t mean, maybe a punch or two but after that…it’s Hunter, he’s glad you’re back. As for Wrecker he wants to come to you, you know that as much as I do but he’s scared, he doesn’t want to spook you so he’s waiting for you to make the first move.” You explained, keeping your voice soft, not turning to face Crosshair as he turned to look at you.

“What about you?” He finally asked, voice barely above a whisper.

“I was with Wrecker. I kept my distance and waited to see what your move was. Turns out your move was to avoid everyone.” You laughed and Crosshair felt himself relax a little, the sound one he hadn't heard in so long and it somehow managed to push out some of the cold he felt. “I feel for you, Cross, I do. Stars only know what the Empire did to you but you’re free now, don’t let them win, don’t shut us out.”

“I never wanted anyone to feel bad for me, especially not you.” Crosshair said after a long pause of silence and you laughed again.

“We all feel bad for you, despite everything you’re one of us.” You told him so sincerely that Crosshair felt like he’d been punched in the stomach at the speed his breath was stolen from him.

You turned to face him, a small smile on your face and you hesitated for only a moment before you reached out and took his hand in yours, entwining your fingers together.

“I don’t deserve any of this,” Crosshair forced out and you smiled at him softly. “I don’t deserve you, you should be running away from me, leave me behind and move on.”

“Well, I’m sorry but I fell in love with you, okay?” You told him, watching as his eyes widened in complete disbelief. “It happened and I can’t do anything about it.”

“You…what?” Crosshair choked, for so long he had dreamed of you and him, of a life where you could possibly want him but it was such a far off dream, something that would never become a reality and now you were saying the words he had longed to hear for years.

“You’re stuck with me, Cross, I’m not going anywhere, I’m not running away. You’re it for me, always have been.” You said, laughing as a tear or two managed to slip down your cheek and Crosshair only second guessed himself for a moment before his hand cupped your cheek and he softly brushed the tears away, his thumb caressing your cheek bone.

“I don’t deserve you.” He repeated and you smiled brightly at him. “But I will spend the rest of my life trying.”

“I love you.” You told him again, watching as his eyes became watery and he rested his forehead against yours.

“I love you too, so much.” He choked out and you couldn’t stop yourself from closing the small distance between the two of you, Crosshair not hesitating to meet you in the middle.

Crosshair’s hand on your cheek moved to your hair, pulling you impossibly closer as he kissed you, savouring every second of the feeling, something he had longed for and convinced himself he could never have.

Eventually the two of you needed to pull apart for air, breathing heavily but not going far from each other, foreheads together as you both smiled at the other.

For the first time in so long Crosshair didn’t feel a single bit of cold, his body was warm, his heart racing as he held you close. For the first time in a long time Crosshair didn’t feel numb, he didn’t feel pain or fear.

It felt like he was finally off that awful planet, it felt like he had finally left his cold cell behind and stepped into the daylight, able to feel the sun of Pabu for the first time and it was because of you, you were the source of this warmth, this love, this joy, this overwhelming relief that things would be better.

For the first time in a very long time Crosshair felt like things would be okay, he had you, he swore he’d make amends with his brothers, spend the rest of his life making up for everything, spend the rest of his life proving he was worthy of yours and his brother’s love. It felt easier, it felt doable with you at his side once again.

----

Thank you so much for reading!

Crosshair Taglist /

@ughhhhfoff, @callsign-jinx, @venuskywaker, @bobaprint, @solstraalaa, @narcissa-of-kaas, @waytoooldforthis78, @the1sunshine1girl

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starrylothcat · 4 months

Text

Dawn of Us

Pairing: Crosshair x Gen!Reader

Summary: Crosshair feels bad about being cold to you and struggles with his ~feelings.

WC: 2100

Warnings: None. Kissing, fluff, some angst (c’mon, it’s Crosshair). Mentions of nightmares. Happy ending. TBB AU in which Crosshair is rescued and with his brothers.

A/N: This is based off of an ask from @banthasworld ! This took an incredibly embarassing amount of time, I am so sorry. It is based on the sunshine x grumpy trope, with Crosshair being…well Crosshair. Reader is always nice to him, and he struggles with that of course. Reader isn’t super described, since this is more from Crosshair’s point of view. But he sees reader as a ray of light, his sunshine, so it kind of works? ANYWAY, I hope you like!

Crosshair furiously chewed his toothpick, watching with feigned disgust as your shoulders shook with mirth, laughing as you placed a delicate ring of flowers atop Wrecker’s head.

Omega let out a giggle, handing Echo a crown of flowers of his own.

Tech was already adorned with one, and Hunter was adjusting his flowers around his bandana.

Everyone had a smile on their face, and Crosshair couldn’t help but retreat to the back of The Marauder to clean his rifle, hoping it would distract him from the merriment happening in the cockpit.

Earlier that day, Tech guided the ship down on a grassy planet for re-supply. They had agreed to pick up a shipment for Shep to bring back to Pabu.

While you were waiting, you and Omega found a lovely patch of flowers not too far from the ship, the fields blooming with color.

You were reminded of your childhood, sitting in meadows and making flower crowns with your friends. You showed a wide-eyed Omega how to make one for herself, which in turn inspired her to make one for all of her brothers.

Crosshair had been back with his brothers for some time now, and while he had mostly gained their trust back and things were somewhat back to normal, he couldn’t help but still keep himself at arm's length.

Crosshair looked up from his rifle once more, connecting his narrow-eyed gaze with your bright eyes.

He felt his stomach flip, something that he noticed was happening more often, something that he was desperately trying to ignore.

You were there when they rescued Crosshair from the Empire’s grasp. You had been kind to him from the start, even knowing everything that he had done, at least whatever his brothers told you about him.

You were laughing now, Wrecker telling a story of a mission Crosshair didn’t remember. It must have been a mission they went on while he was gone.

Crosshair scowled, retreating even further into himself as he flung what was left of his toothpick to the ground.

He glowered at his Firepuncher, waiting to be distracted from the sound of your voice, the beautiful glimmer in your eyes, the sneaking thought of wishing he could make you laugh as joyously as Wrecker…

He snapped out of his thoughts when your shadow changed the lighting around him, realizing you were standing right in front of him.

“Here.” You smiled, holding out a flower crown to him. “This one’s for you.”

Crosshair frowned, not making a move to take it, looking back at his rifle. He couldn’t bear to make eye contact with you. His heart thudded, hoping you’d just walk away.

“Tell the kid thanks, but no thanks.” He muttered.

“Omega didn’t make this for you.” You paused for a moment.

“I did.”

Crosshair’s eyes snapped to yours. You made it for him?

You hesitantly placed the ring of flowers down next to him.

“You don’t have to be back here by yourself, you know.” Your voice was soft, a kindly cadence that Crosshair couldn’t get out of his head at night, no matter how much he tossed and turned.

Crosshair bit down on a fresh toothpick, glancing at the intricately made ring of flowers next to his thigh.

“Who says I want company?”

He knew he was being an asshole, but it was the only way to get you away from him.

Every second you were close to him, every time you glanced his way, brought him a cup of caf, or asked him how he was doing, it was making it harder and harder for him to not take your face in his hands and kiss you.

He wanted to hear your warm words in his ear, feel your lips on his, finally let his guard down for once, and bathe in your light that outshone his darkness.

He couldn’t, though. Why would you want him?

The severe and unyielding traitor who broke his family’s trust? Something he was still gaining back, and may never truly get back.

He was broken. You deserve someone better.

These were the intrusive thoughts that kept him away from you, the nagging voice in the back of his mind that he just couldn’t keep quiet, no matter how hard he tried.

“I can sit with you if you want.” You asked, still standing in front of him, a glimmer of hope in your eyes.

Ask them to sit with you, you idiot.

Crosshair huffed. “I want to be left alone.”

Why am I like this?

You bit your lip, nodding and turning away from him, respecting his space.

Crosshair’s eyes didn’t miss a thing, watching as your shoulders slumped in such a subtle way that you may have done it subconsciously.

You looked over your shoulder at him, your lips parting like you wanted to say something, but continued to walk to the front of the ship, where his brothers and Omega had started some sort of card game.

Crosshair furrowed his brows, trying to focus on cleaning his rifle again.

This was normalcy he thought he’d never have, and it was right in front of him, waiting for him.

And yet he was still choosing to be alone.

Guilt, something he had never really felt before he came back to his brothers, sat like a stone in his stomach. He felt bad for being cold to you. You didn’t deserve this.

He watched as you sat, overseeing the card game, a smile back on your face. You glanced at him quickly, before being dealt in.

✼　 ҉　 ҉　 ҉　 ҉　✼ ✼　 ҉　 ҉　 ҉　 ҉　✼ ✼　

The Marauder was quiet, except for Wrecker’s soft snores reverberating on the durasteel walls.

Crosshair lay in his bunk, gently turning the crown of flowers in his hands, holding it above him.

It was made with extreme care, his fingers grazing against the delicate petals, observing how thoughtfully you crafted it, the vines and stems intertwining with one another without being broken.

Could that be him? Could he be entwined with something beautiful without breaking it?

Crosshair laid the flowers on his chest, slinging one arm over his eyes. He replayed earlier in the evening in his head, except this time, he invited you to sit with him.

You watch as he demonstrates how to take apart his rifle, explaining each part, and showing you how to put it back together. He imagined your face close to his, paying close attention, feeling your breath on the side of his face. Laughing at something he says, a cheery smile just because you’re near him…

A tidal wave of unfamiliar warmth engulfed him, a peculiar fuzziness spreading in his chest.

Crosshair held on to that feeling, this time not trying to push it away, letting it spread and take hold of his heart. The sensation was strange, but comforting. He fell asleep with the ghost of your lips on his, your soft hands embracing him.

✼　 ҉　 ҉　 ҉　 ҉　✼ ✼　 ҉　 ҉　 ҉　 ҉　✼ ✼　

Crosshair awoke early the next morning, something he still did out of habit. He was a light sleeper, and ever since he decided to leave his brothers, his sleep was interrupted by nightmares from his choices, and what was done to him while he was captured.

This morning, though, he realized the usual terrors that plague his mind did not make a visit. Instead, his dreams were filled with you, with flowers, with feelings he could only describe as…peace?

Crosshair sat up, realizing he was still holding the crown of flowers from last night. His head was spinning with emotion, with the realization of how much you meant to him, how much he needed you.

Crosshair didn’t expect anything in return from you, especially after how he’s treated you. But at the very least, you deserved an apology and a thank you for the gift.

Everyone was still asleep, except for you. Your bunk was empty, made up neatly. You were an early riser too, Crosshair often catching you staring at the sunrise on Pabu down at the beach by yourself. He never joined you, assuming you wanted your space.

Crosshair knew you’d be right outside the ship, waiting for the sun to cast its glow over you.

Crosshair silently slipped out of the ship, the ramp cracked just enough for him to slip through without waking anyone else.

The sun was just beginning to rise, casting soft pink and orange glows over the dewy fields, the flowers still closed up for the night, waiting to wake with the rays of the sun.

Crosshair saw you sitting alone in a small clearing, staring toward the horizon.

Crosshair didn’t realize he was holding his breath as he approached you, his heart pounding in his chest.

He cleared his throat, not wanting to scare you.

You turned immediately, your eyes lighting up the second you realized it was him.

“Crosshair! I hope I didn’t wake you?”

Crosshair shook his head. “No, I was already awake.”

He stood awkwardly, not knowing if he should ask to sit with you or not. He wanted to give you the chance to tell him to buzz off, like he told you the night before.

“Would you like to join me?” You asked, your voice quiet, a hopeful spark in your eye.

Crosshair didn’t say anything, taking a seat next to you in the damp grass. The horizon was beginning to turn a kaleidoscope of color as the sun began peeking above the grass on the horizon.

There were a few moments of silence, and then you spoke.

“I’m sorry.” You said, your voice almost inaudible.

Crosshair’s head snapped toward you.

Why the hell were you apologizing to him? He was supposed to be apologizing to you!

“For what?” Crosshair’s brows were knit, wondering what the kriff you were trying to apologize for.

You fiddled with some of the grass under your fingers.

“I know I can be too much sometimes, when I know you just want to be left alone…” your voice trailed off.

“I’m sorry if I’ve been too pushy, especially last night. I realize I’m making you uncomfortable. I will back off.”

Crosshair’s heart sank to his feet. This is not how this was supposed to go. He felt even guiltier than before. You and your big heart, assuming it was all your fault.

Crosshair shook his head. “You’re wrong.”

You looked at him, confused.

“You have nothing to apologize for.” Crosshair took a breath. “You don’t deserve how I’ve treated you. I…appreciate everything you do for me. I’m sorry I don’t return it. I have no excuse.”

Crosshair felt something on his hand. It was yours, barely touching his. Rays of sunlight were reflecting in the dew of the grass, spreading across the plains. Petals stirred, beginning to open toward the light.

“Crosshair…” You whispered his name, your fingers threading together. “I care about you, a lot.”

“I know.” Crosshair’s voice cracked, barely above a whisper. “I’m not a good man, you shouldn’t…

Here I go again, pushing them away.

Crosshair wanted to yell, to take you up in his arms, say how much he cares, how much he wants you, how much he needs you…

You must have seen the battle in his eyes, and your lips were on his cheek before he could continue.

Crosshair froze at first, his body going into overdrive of a million different emotions.

You’re kissing him? You’re touching him? Was this a dream, one that he has secretly wanted for so long?

Your lips were softer than any fantasy as they pressed softly, pulling away as quick as they were on him.

Crosshair’s body erupted in sensations he’d never experienced, goosebumps spreading throughout his body as you kissed him. As fast as it happened, you pulled away.

You quickly took your hand out of his, seeing as he wasn’t responding to your bold move.

“I’m sorry, I-“

“Quit apologizing.” Crosshair muttered before capturing your lips with his in a needy kiss, wrapping one arm around you to bring you close, cradling your head with the other.

Crosshair never, ever wanted to let go of this moment. Feeling your body relax against his, your own arms wrapping around him. He held onto you for dear life, wanting to say so much more, to keep apologizing, to warn you that his darkness may never be cured. Your lips didn’t stop moving together, expressing everything that words could not.

Finally, you both pulled away for a much needed breath, the sun’s rays now fully shining down on you.

“The flowers…” Crosshair uttered against your lips. “Thank you.”

You smiled, tucking your head against his chest as he held you. Momentarily, Crosshair forgot everything as you embraced. It was just you and him, and the hope of the new day, both of you bathed in its light.

Maybe, just maybe, it was time to let himself be cared for. Maybe, just maybe, things would be okay.

As long as he had you, he knew it would be.

Ze Taglist:@crosshairlovebot @sev-on-kamino @kimiheartblade @wizardofrozz @clonemedickix @sunshinesdaydream @kashasenpai @freesia-writes @multi-fan-dom-madness @aconstructofamind @dreamie411 @dystopicjumpsuit @wings-and-beskar @starqueensthings @idontgetanysleep @secretthegriffin @anxiouspineapple99 @sinfulsalutations @secondaryrealm @littlemissmanga @maybethatfanfictionwriter @pb-jellybeans @wanderer-six @king-chaos-world @wolffegirlsunite @dukeoftheblackstar @523rdrebel @lune-de-miel-au-paradis @sleepingsun501 @coraex @cw80831 @dangraccoon @mythical-illustrator @eternal-transcience @the-cantina @nahoney22 @moonlightwarriorqueen

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#crosshair x reader #crosshair x you #crosshair x gen!reader #crosshair x gender neutral reader #crosshair tbb #tbb crosshair #the bad batch #the bad batch fanfiction #tbb fanfiction #tbb #x reader #starrycatwrites #star wars fanfiction #the clone wars #crosshair fanfiction

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clu-ven · 23 days

Text

The Bad Batch discovering you stayed loyal to Empire HCs

2.7k words !

The jungle is coloured in hues of silver, the overhead canopy filtering in just enough moonlight to see. Despite hearing the Marauder flying above, he can’t see the ship yet and thus, the chase is still on.

Branches crack under his heavy boots. Vines sway as he sprints past them. He can feel his lungs burn but he ignores it, urging his body onwards.

He knows you're closing in. Well, he doesn’t know you are… whenever he manages to glance behind as he runs, all the clone sees is the new assassin sent by the Empire gaining on him.

He follows the instructions that are hurriedly given through his comm. “Just another few metres and there’s a clearing, we’ll get you there!” his brother’s voice assures him. It doesn’t seem like a difficult task but as he stumbles out onto the clearing and realises it’s a cliff edge, things become interesting.

You know better than to run straight out after him and instead opt to stay close to the tree line. As the Marauder hovers closer to him, a sigh escapes your lips.

Maybe you won’t be able to capture him this time but as he looks back at you, you decide to take off your helmet and show him exactly who this new assassin is...

HUNTER

Hunter thought the Empire couldn’t hurt him anymore. But here you are. He presumed he lost you a long time ago but now you’re standing in front of him, a slight scowl darkening your face as you stand your ground.

For a moment, Hunter forgets that he’s just a few feet away from escaping this close encounter. All of his thoughts are consumed by you. How are you still alive? And why are you working for the Empire?!

He says your name in a mere whisper, the engines of the ship behind him easily drowning out his words. But you don’t need to hear his words to know how Hunter feels.

There is a look of misery and regret in Hunter’s eyes, a sad acceptance of things that could have gone a different way.

You know this is your chance. He’s completely vulnerable, shock distracting him from his hypervigilant senses. If you wanted to take the shot, this was your chance… but you don’t. Instead you simply stare, a feeling you thought you long buried rising within you.

If this happened when the Batch first strayed from the Empire, before they truly knew the cruel dictatorship they were up against, Hunter would have offered you his hand and tried his best to convince you to come with them.

But now? This far into the tyranny of the Empire? It’s a painful realisation but Hunter knows you’ve already chosen a side. He’s already been through the turmoil of this with Crosshair, he can’t go through that again just for you to reject his help.

Hunter knows that leaving the Empire has to be a decision you make. Not him.

And so Hunter makes his escape, grabbing onto the rope Wrecker has thrown down for him. He knows this won’t be the last time you two meet, and he knows you’re letting him go on purpose.

Hunter knows you too well and he knows that you could have fought harder if you wanted to.

Slowly watching as you turn back and retreat into the darkness of the jungle, Hunter sighs, hoping that maybe the you he knows and lov-… *ahem*, the you he knows is still in there somewhere, deep deep down.

WRECKER

Wrecker smiles when he spots you but that quickly turns to shock and sadness. Looking back at the others on the ship, Wrecker gives them a confused look that reads ‘are you seeing what I’m seeing?!’. Wrecker is every emotion.

After all this time apart, you’re right in front of him and yet you’re not. Wrecker’s smile slowly dims, his initial joy slowly fading as he comes to the realisation that it was you chasing him through the jungle so ferociously.

Wrecker’s face grows sullen. How has it come to this? He doesn’t understand but he knows this isn’t you. It can’t be! You must’ve gone through the same treatment as Crosshair or maybe they have something they’re using against you.

He refuses to believe you’re doing this because you want to and so against his better judgement, Wrecker ignores the shouts of his brothers to retreat and heads straight for you.

With renewed determination, Wrecker manages to dodge a few of your attacks. He tries to disarm you without actually hurting you.

He can’t just leave you here, not when you’re like this and in the Empire’s grasp. Wrecker would never forgive himself if he leaves without you.

Despite having trained with you in the past, this is a completely different experience. This isn’t sparring. This is a fight. You slash your blade through the air each time he nears you, Wrecker moving as swiftly as he can. You’re like a wild animal being cornered, your eyes darting around as you try to maintain the upper hand.

The Marauder lowers to the ground as Hunter and Crosshair jump out, ready to help their brother (and to also make sure Wrecker doesn’t get himself killed).

With their help, Wrecker manages to disarm you... and he may have accidentally knocked you unconscious too. He swears he didn’t mean to put you in a headlock that tight! But honestly, it’s probably a happy accident that’ll make this a lot easier.

Even though the others are dubious about having you on the ship, Wrecker is adamant that they have to help you and make you see what the Empire truly is. You would have done the same for any of them and so it’s only right that they help you now.

With AZI scanning you for any serious injuries (or microchips), Wrecker sits beside you and patiently waits for you to awake, his head hanging low as he tries to come to terms with this new revelation.

ECHO

Seeing you again is like defeating impossible odds and it makes Echo come to a sudden realisation. The moment is an unexpected one, yet somehow deeply familiar.

Echo wonders if this is how Rex felt when he realised Echo was still alive and on Skako Minor.

He wants to reach out to you, to offer you his hand... but he doesn’t. Instead, Echo hesitates. The powerful urge to act on his impulse lingers for a moment before rational thinking catches up to his heart and he stops himself.

He can’t help it as his concern grows for you. The unfortunate thing is, Echo knows that you might not even want his help. Maybe it’s too late and Echo wouldn’t be able to sway you from your stance in all of this.

Echo is still plagued by how he was forced to help the Separatist forces during the war and so much of the concern he feels for you stems from his dreary past.

Slowly taking a few steps in your direction, Echo approaches you with caution. He’s careful to maintain a constant vigilance over your hands and movements, being aware of how quickly this could go wrong. He tries to ask why you’re with the Empire, if you’re aware of what they’re doing to the clones.

Echo knows that you care about the clones, or that at least you did at some point. Even if your beliefs have changed, he’s confident you would never stand for what the Empire is doing to his brothers. If he can just get you to hear him out, then he’s certain you can both get to some sort of an understanding.

The last thing Echo wants to do is argue, especially with how high tensions are. Echo knows you. Of course he does. You two have been through so much. And so he knows that all he needs to do is fill you in on the mistreatment of the clones and you’ll turn your back on the Empire… right?

Despite the fact that you were just chasing him, Echo doesn't want this to be a “you vs him” sort of thing. If you listen to him and open your eyes to what the Empire truly is, then Echo can assure you that with some time, you can be brought into the fold of the rebellion. This isn’t the end and he assures you that any trust that may have faltered can be restored.

Of course Echo wants you to join them immediately, hence why he initially went to offer you his hand. But for that to actually happen, he needs to see some sort of cooperation from you, whether that be a plea for help, you lowering your weapons to the ground or simply engaging in conversation when he informs you about the clones.

If you choose to go with them, Echo would call for some back up from the ship, reassuring you as Hunter and Wrecker join him. It’s only a precaution in case some kind of sleeper agent training activates. It’s going to take a while for them to trust you again so be prepared for a lot of “precautions”.

But if you choose to stay with the Empire? Well, at least Echo knows he tried.

TECH

Tech should have seen this coming. The Empire’s latest play of deploying assassins to hunt them down has resulted in an essential need for stealth.

Not only is that one of your strong suits but your great track record and prior relationship with the Batch makes you the perfect candidate to locate and eliminate them. In hindsight, Tech feels as though you were the obvious choice.

Tech contemplates holding his ground against you but with the Marauder so close, he realises that retreating is the most logical option. He is mindful of his movements, slowly taking steps backwards as to not startle you or trigger you into action.

After hearing about how the Empire’s harsh ways of conditioning people, Tech is aware that whatever they may have subjected you to may have drastically changed you. The likelihood that you might not be the you Tech once knew is unfortunately high.

Tech's mindset is one of caution and pragmatism, balancing the risks and benefits of each option. So while he would ideally want you to lay down your weapons and come with them peacefully, he needs to think about his brother’s and Omega’s safety; something that could be jeopardised further if you joined them.

Not only would you joining them cause potential problems for them, but Tech is conscious of how that would endanger you too.

What if you’re chipped with a tracker? Would the Empire be able to track you down easily, and thus them too? He refuses to make such an impulsive decision and ask you to come with them.

In an ideal world, this would never happen. You would never be with the Empire. But here you are, and this is something Tech isn’t going to dismiss simply because he thought you were a close ally back in the day.

Once Tech is sure he’s close enough to the ship, he swiftly boards the platform. You watch the ship slowly rise higher and higher, the look on your face one that Tech is unable to read.

Before he loses sight of you, Tech gives you a simple nod. It’s not a nod of respect - how can it be when you’re doing the Empire’s dirty work?! - but it is one of recognition. Recognition of what was once between you both as well as the familiarity of an old pawn of the Republic seeing a new pawn of the Empire.

He needs to think, to analyse this new development. Tech remains calm as the Marauder soars away from you and through hyperspace. The others all speak over each other at this new development but Tech is quiet.

Right now, his main concern is to come up with potential ways of meeting you again in hopefully less hostile circumstances and to find out what exactly is going on.

CROSSHAIR

Crosshair wishes this was a surprise to him. But honestly? You and him were always close, having a deeper understanding of each other than most. And so if the Empire was able to keep him for so long then he unfortunately sees how they’ve been able to keep their grasp on you too.

He takes a moment to analyse your stillness. You’re simply standing there, watching; as if you’re waiting for him to make the first move.

Despite the scowl on your face, Crosshair acknowledges that you haven’t moved for your blaster yet. Perhaps you’re conflicted?

You took off your helmet for a reason. You wanted him to know that it’s you. For Crosshair, that’s enough to deduce that maybe you’re doubting the Empire and the mission they’ve given you.

If there’s anyone who can sympathise with your predicament, it’s Crosshair. And while he doesn’t know all the facts or why you’re here, he knows first hand how the Empire has basically drilled it into people’s heads that they’re the good guys and so he can’t blame you for carrying those beliefs.

Crosshair has heard this plea before. He’s heard it countless times but that was when his brothers were the ones trying to convince him to abandon the Empire. But now he’s on the opposite side and trying to persuade you to leave the Empire.

He opens his hands, almost as if surrendering but in reality he just wants to show you he’s not reaching for a weapon either. All he wants to do is talk and to make sure you’re aware that just because you’re on opposite sides doesn’t mean you’re necessarily enemies.

Unfortunately this is the part that Crosshair is bad at. Talking. Reasoning. Not being sarcastic or saying a snide comment. He isn’t as compassionate as Hunter, nor can he find the right words like Echo usually can in situations like this.

“I thought you were too smart to fall for the Empire’s lies,” Crosshair can practically hear Omega sigh in the Marauder at his choice of words but it’s how he’s always talked to you. Neither of you have ever minced your words before. Clearing his throat, he tries again, keeping his words genuine and making sure you know he wants to help.

Even if you’re receptive to his truce, Crosshair is hesitant to bring you with them. Not because you may be conditioned to bend to the Empire’s every whim but because he fears what they may do to you if they realise you've went AWOL. Crosshair knows exactly what it’s like to get on the bad side of the Empire and it’s something he would never wish on you.

Whatever your decision is, Crosshair respects it. He won’t pester you to change your mind.

Crosshair still believes in you and whatever it is you decide to do, he’ll trust. Whether you’re on opposite sides of the galaxy, a war, or a game of Dejarik, Crosshair will always have trust in you.

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letsquestjess · 4 months

Text

The Bad Batch and Watching a Sunset (TBB x GN!Reader)

Summary: Sunsets can be pretty romantic and the Batch enjoy watching them with you.

Warnings: None. All fluff!

Hunter

Hunter has convinced himself he isn’t much of a romantic, but you know different. Whenever the team finds a safe planet for a few days, he never misses a chance to watch the sunset by your side. With the sun gradually descending, he’ll prepare a dinner outdoors and chat with you, sharing jokes and opinions on trivial topics. Once you’re finished, he will lovingly cradle you in his lap as you watch the day depart.

During one memorable trip, Tech enthused all day about a rare sky phenomenon that graced the planet during sunset once every hundred cycles. Eager to share the experience with you, Hunter set out cushions by the ship, and invited you to join him. With his legs on either side of your hips and his arms tightly wrapped around your middle, you settled to watch the display. The sun set in a blaze of lilac and jade hues, and as the last arc of sunlight slipped below the horizon, the sky burst into a kaleidoscope of colours, translucent waves fluttering like a celestial blanket. In a moment of heightened awareness, Hunter told you to watch and pointed out a cluster of birds just before they emerged from the trees. You jokingly called him a show-off, but you wouldn’t trade being by his side for anything else in the galaxy.

Echo

Echo gets a little fussy when you both watch a sunset, but only because he wants you to be comfortable and most places outside lack suitable seating. When you nestle your head on his shoulder and draw nearer, he eases a bit and relishes the tranquillity of your shared time. You rarely get time to stop and enjoy some peace, so when you do, he savours every moment.

While watching one sunset, Echo recounted what they were like on Kamino. When the rain ceased and the clouds dispersed enough to make out the horizon, it was like watching a ruby drop into the water. Tiny and unimportant to most, but he found solace in it. No matter what happened, suns would always rise and fall and rise again. Rather like him. His peaceful expression captivated you, the lines near his eyes barely creased and the calm in his hazel eyes holding you spellbound. It was a rare sight, and you made a conscious effort to soak in every aspect. When you asked him to tell you more, he vividly recalled the strange weather he had witnessed and the funny situations it had caused, often involving lost brothers and their antics. Cuddling him again, you listened to his tales, the sun long gone and the stars lingering to listen too.

Wrecker

Wrecker is an expert at savouring sunsets and turns them into memorable evenings. He plans everything thoroughly, carefully selecting your favourite snacks and drinks, and arranging a cosy nest of blankets and pillows for the two of you. His primary goal is to lavish you not only with a picturesque scene but also with immense love and adoration that those quiet moments are perfect for.

One evening after an early dinner, Wrecker placed a blindfold over your eyes and carefully led you into the sparse copse close to where you landed. When he removed the fabric, a wave of awe washed over you. Dimmed lanterns gently swung between the boughs. As you approached the bank of the lake, you noticed a delightful arrangement of blankets and cushions, and a food hamper. He had even scattered vibrant petals around the area too. He gently grasped your hand and settled you down, pulling you close as the sun started to descend, all the while whispering words of love in your ear. You both spent the night there, sleeping in each other’s embrace until daylight broke again.

Crosshair

The first time you and Crosshair experienced a sunset together, it happened spontaneously. While hauling supply crates into the ship, you paused for a moment to witness the sky change. Noticing you’d stopped, Crosshair asked what you’d seen, thinking there was danger, but he relaxed a little once you explained you were merely fascinated by the way the sunlight cut through the trees. He couldn’t comprehend why some were so captivated by it, but you seemed to relish it, so he watched a little longer. The sunsets after that, you would sit in solitude, taking in the impressive sight. Eventually Crosshair joined you, secretly revelling in the way his surroundings grew calm. There were no loud noises or screams, or frightful sprints back to the ship. Everything was perfectly quiet.

Seated in a shaded spot and watching the bright star dip one peaceful evening, he began to talk. He knew you were curious about certain parts of his past, and he assured you that you were free to ask whatever you wanted. He’d answer honestly, no detail spared or horror held back. You caught the vulnerability in his voice and didn’t want to pry, but when you glanced up at him, you could see he wanted to tell you; he just needed a bit of prompting. So you asked him everything you had ever wondered, every brief allusion he had ever made to the dark patches in his past. True to his word, he opened up. With each sunset you witnessed together, he would divulge more, disclosing personal details that even his brothers didn’t know about and dismantling the emotional fortress he had built around himself.

Tech

When it comes to Tech, observing a sunset is initially approached as a scientific study. Every planet he visits, he positions himself at the best vantage point, datapad in hand as he records the angle of the descent, the trajectory, the variation in hues, and cross-references it with data from other planets. He will talk while he observes, explaining exactly what he’s doing to fill the silence between you. Your one-sided conversations often end with him rambling for some time, not that you mind. You can see the joy radiating from him as he indulges in it. But there’s a small part of you that wants nothing more than to nestle into his arms and watch it together. Over time, he notices small subtle cues that you aren’t enjoying the sunsets as much as he is, and after confiding in Wrecker, he realises why.

The next sunset was one you wouldn’t forget soon. You joined Tech as usual, plonking yourself down on the makeshift bench as the twin suns chased each other towards the eastern horizon. Fiery hues blended in the middle and the sky and began to burn gold, clouds and birds fleeing the impending night. For the first time since you can remember, Tech was not engrossed in the streams of information filtering through his datapad. In fact, you couldn’t see it anywhere on his person. He encircled his arms around your shoulders and brought you close to him. Instead of offering facts, he commented on the breathtaking beauty of the sunset and how he cherished the opportunity to experience it with you.

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r-2-peepoo · 1 month

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The Bad Batch 3x12 spoilers:

Hunter not getting mad at Crosshair is everything. I’m never letting anyone gaslight me into doubting him again. He has never been this hyper-masculine, toxic, overly aggressive person some of you want him to be so badly. He’s always been reasonable.

The fact that no one really got mad at all is so important because it shows the growth they’ve had as a team. Wrecker was the only one to express disbelief in what Crosshair did, and I’m so glad they gave him that moment, but Hunter not saying it shows the trust Crosshair has been able to rebuild with him.

Obviously he isn’t happy Omega is gone, but he doesn’t take it out on Crosshair, especially when he knows how awful it is when you feel like you were the one who lost her. There was a time when he wouldn’t have let Omega be left alone with him because no one could trust him (probably around the time Crosshair said “aim for the kid” lmao) and now he trusts him enough to allow her to make her own choices and go along with them. It also shows the faith they both have in Omega.

I don’t think it’s foreshadowing anything. Maybe it is, but I think it’s more important that it isn’t. This moment serves to show how far these two men have come with each other from the first season. Hunter is the leader for a reason, so the fact he is willing to just listen to Crosshair and go along with his ideas without question says so much about their progress because I think some of us are forgetting that this show has primarily been about Crosshair’s journey and redemption.

Redemption and trust have to be earned and I think this episode is the ultimate proof that he is doing it as perfectly as anyone could. Their relationship as a group is not the same as it was before Crosshair left, it’s much stronger now. I think this was the perfect way to handle this scene.

#the bad batch #tbb #the bad batch s3 #tbb s3 spoilers #tbb hunter #tbb crosshair #tbb omega #tbb wrecker #star wars #sw

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photogirl894 · 2 months

Note

Hello my beautiful, kind friend! Congratulations on 1,300 INSANE! 🤩 🎉

Please may I request some Hunter fluff with a female reader with the prompt:

“A life without you isn’t one I want to live.”

Perhaps Hunter accidentally confesses his true feelings to reader & then follows up with that cute line? Up to you if you’d want to do of course but I feel like you’d love to write for your Clone Hubby! Love you so much 🥰🩵

Thank you so much, Alanah!! Your friendship and support all these years has meant the world to me! 💜

Ohhhh you are far too kind with this request, my dear! 🥰🥰

**Putting a spoiler warning in case, but spoilers for Bad Batch s3 ep7**

"Chasing Waterfalls"

4. "A life without you isn't one I want to live."

Pairing: Hunter x fem reader

***

The escape from the Empire on Teth hadn't been easy for you and all the Clones, but you'd all managed to get away nonetheless. It definitely hadn't been without its challenges.

Not only had the Empire managed to find everyone there and blow up the Clones' secret base, but they'd tracked you through the jungle and there had been an assassin on your trail. You had told everyone that you and Crosshair would draw his fire while everyone got to the rendezvous point to meet with Echo and you both pursued the assassin. However, he had attacked the both of you and, to protect Crosshair, you had tackled the assailant over a cliff's edge into a swiftly flowing river, which connected to a series of large waterfalls. You'd gone over one and fell into a rocky landing where the assassin tried going for you again. With a vibroblade drawn, he'd attacked you, but luckily, Hunter had trained you not only in hand-to-hand combat, but with a blade, as well. How to use it and how to fight against an opponent with one. You'd held your own, but only barely. The assassin was strong and highly-trained. Eventually, he'd forced your head under the water and you found your breath being driven quickly from your body. Lucky for you, Crosshair had caught up with you and stunned the assassin, which made him fall into the river and be taken with the next waterfall. Crosshair and also Howzer had been quick to grab you before you could fall over, as well, and saved your life. Hunter soon followed and you could tell, even with his helmet on, that he was worried about you. You figured you falling over the cliff had frightened him and he was trying to reassure himself that you were okay.

After that, you had been stopped at the rendezvous point by a battalion of Clones, but Rex knew their Commander; Commander Wolffe, and he had been willing to let you all go. Once all of you boarded Echo's ship, you were safe for the time being.

The entire ride back to Pabu, Hunter said nothing to you, which was very unlike him. The two of you were very close and talked all the time. He knew you better than you even knew yourself and the same could be said for you about him. What was wrong? Was he worried about Omega, since the Empire had nearly caught them? Was he reconsidering their options?

Or...was he angry at you for what you had done?

It wasn't until you got to Pabu that finally you decided to break the longstanding silence between you two.

While the others returned to the Marauder, you pulled Hunter aside by the big tree on the collanade. "Hunter...what's wrong? You didn't talk to me the whole trek back. That's not like you."

He turned away, his brow furrowed with conflicted emotions. You could tell he wanted to say something, but was fighting against it.

"If you're mad at me for what I did on Teth, I'm sorry. I was just trying to--"

"Don't ever do that again."

He had interrupted you so abruptly that it almost made you choke on the remainder of your words.

Then he looked back at you, his brown eyes radiating with pain, but not of physical nature. He kept going, his voice firm yet nearly shaking, "Do you have any idea what it did to me to see you disappear over the cliff and the waterfall like that? Do you know how terrified I was thinking that you had been killed and that I'd lost you forever?"

"Hunter...."

His hands came up to your arms, clutching you tightly. "I never want you to do anything like that again! Do you hear me? I can't lose you, (Y/N)! You mean everything to me and I care too much for you to even dare imagine my days without you!"

You blinked in surprise. This wasn't anything you were expecting to hear from him. While you had suspected for some time that he harbored feelings for you, just as you did for him, you hadn't expected him to say anything like this nor did you think his feelings ran that deep.

As you struggled to find the words to respond, he lifted his hands to your face and brought his forehead to yours, his eyes squeezing shut to try and hold himself together. "A life without you isn't one I want to live," he then said to you, now a more present trembling in his voice.

The fear in his words was unmistakable and it made you realize how reckless your actions on Teth had been. Not only just in regards to your own life, but to the lives of your squad; to Hunter's life. You had been thinking of their safety, but hadn't considered how your possible demise would affect them, especially Hunter. It was never your intention to frighten him and hearing how scared he sounded broke your heart. It had apparently scared him so much that it caused him to confess to you, which you hadn't anticipated.

You reached up and took one of his hands on your cheek, leaning into his gentle touch. "I'm so sorry," you whispered. "I...I never meant to scare you like that. I was only thinking of keeping you and the others safe."

"You can keep us safe, but please...not at the cost of your life," he replied. "I would never survive if you were no longer at my side. I need you. I...I love you."

As soon as those three words left his mouth, his hands grasped the back of your head and his lips came upon yours, kissing you softly but with evident yearning. Your heart soared within you as you kissed him in return, knowing now that your life was no longer your own to trifle with.

Your life was his and his life was yours...and neither of you would ever live without the other.

Photogirl894's Fluff/Romance prompts

Photogirl894's 1,3000 Celebration fics

#star wars the bad batch #the bad batch #bad batch hunter #sergeant hunter #my sergeant #bad batch prompts #hunter x reader #photogirl894 1300 followers

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eriexplosion · 2 months

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Tech Lives: An Ungodly Long Essay

(AKA: Turns out that my Tech Lives compilation post comment was actually a threat.)

There have been hundreds if not thousands of posts since Plan 99 aired wondering if Tech might have made it after his fall - it's probably been brought up more than any other hanging plot point, even after season 2 scooped up Omega and left us on a massive cliffhanger. Now that season 3 has started, though, Omega and Crosshair are home (for now) but we have received an almost aggressive lack of Tech info. So, I've gathered up some of the stronger Evidence for why Tech might be fashionably late but still on his way back from The Void!

THE LEAD UP

So to start, let's go back to what came before the whole Incident. This will focus mostly on season 2, seeing as that was definitely Tech's season to shine, but with bits about plotlines in season 1. Which brings us to our first bit, that's not really evidence so much as some gentle push-back on a common argument.

Doomed By Character Development?

We've all seen this particular situation before - a character is slated for a tragic death, so just before it happens the writers gives them a little extra relevance to the plot to make sure the audience really feels it when the time comes. The Clone Wars was especially good at this, giving characters like Fives an arc of his own that ended in his tragic death. Season 7 gave us a better look at Jesse, first in the Bad Batch's intro arc and then again through the Siege of Mandalore, all to bring us to the chip activation that led to his ultimate death.

When season 2 started off with one of the two intro episodes spotlighting Tech and our first breather episode of the season also spotlighting him, people started to get worried. So is it fair to say that his spotlight in season 2 was setting him up for a permadeath?

Looking at it, I don't think so, for multiple reasons. For one, Tech didn't just get a spotlight episode, his development dominated a good chunk of the whole damned season, often taking priority over the other characters that wouldn't be dropped into the mists. While giving a little bit of character development to a doomed character can be a good move, giving ALL your development to a doomed character ends up feeling like a good portion of your season was actively pointless.

The Bad Batch is not an open ended show. It seems to have been planned for the three seasons it got, and they would have gone into it knowing they had a set amount of time to work with. Dedicating so much time to developing Tech in preparation for a character death takes away all of their opportunity to develop, well, anything else.

But, along with the amount of time that was dedicated to Tech as a character through season 2, they also didn't develop him in the ways that most often get used for a doomed character. Namely...

That Sure Is A Lot Of Open Plot Lines

And not one of them got tied up. Currently, Tech has two open plot lines to himself, both started in season 2, as well as a key place in the overall show narrative arc. As the overall show narrative arc takes precedence, we'll start with that.

The Bad Batch sets up a few different narrative arcs very early. One is if clones can be more than soldiers - this is the central thing that we see them struggling against from the start, they've been created to be soldiers and don't know much else about how to function in the world. Theoretically this arc can be fulfilled with one or two of them still dying as soldiers, as long as a few of them make it to find a new life for themselves.

The arc that can't be fulfilled without everyone though is the ongoing thread of reuniting the batch. Much of the show is geared towards making the viewer want this specific end result, as soon as they talk about Crosshair, Omega says they'll just have to get him back and complete their family. The end of season 1 teases us with this only to pull it away at the last moment, then season 2 teases us with it again only to yet again pull it away, this time seemingly permanently.

Ending one of your key narrative threads you've been using to draw audiences in only 2/3rds of the way into the show and without ever resolving it... well it would be a choice. If Tech is gone for good then the last time we saw everyone together would be the end of season 1. Rewatches would lack impact because something that was made to seem so vital ended up going nowhere, and the series finale would never quite reach the height that hearing the full batch theme kick in over the team fighting droids together did. It absolutely destroys the central narrative to leave him gone without ever having reunited the family.

And then there's his personal plots.

Let's start with the obvious one. Tech got a whole potential love interest this season and they absolutely did not resolve a damn thing about it.

Again, this takes a trope that we all know - the young army man that's going to go home and finally marry his girl, who has his whole life ahead of him, but dies tragically in his final mission - and seemingly intentionally subverts the beats. Because what makes the trope work is that the plot line is resolved as soon as that young man decides how he's going to move forward. He can't die uncertain of if he's going to marry his girl, he has to make a decision, and the longer we spend on the relationship to his girl the stronger the decision has to be to consider the narrative line resolved and free him up for some tragedy.

Tech/Phee is a tentative little 'will they or won't they' romance. They're flirting, they're feeling each other out, they're seeing if they're compatible. To tie up this narrative line we would have to find out if they are or not, get a yes or a no on the question. Will they or won't they? We simply don't know because the writers didn't put a resolution in.

We do get the traditional pre-mission scene with them, which would normally be when we get the first kiss or perhaps the promise of a date, either of which would have had me digging Tech's grave for him to fall into from the second it happened. Or even a 'we can't do this right now, but maybe some day it will be the right time' which would have been a kind of lukewarm resolution but would have at least represented a decision.

Instead we get a scene that almost aggressively refuses to resolve anything. They have an awkward interaction, but not one that says they won't get together, no promises are made for the future, no decision point is reached, and the plot line is still dangling wide open when Tech falls to his supposed death. If we truly leave it off here, well, what was the Tech/Phee subplot for? Why did we spend precious time on it when it could have been spent on something else, if it was meant to make Tech's death hit harder why did it not go further?

A second subplot with Tech is that he certainly made the most progress on seeing options outside of the Empire - it starts early on in Ruins of War when he meets Romar and gets his eyes opened to the idea of cultures that existed unconnected to the war. Serenno existed before the war and before the separatists, and Romar introduces Tech to that idea of an ongoing culture. He gets a taste of racing in front of a cheering crowd, leans further into his teaching of Omega and gets new insights from her regarding their lives as soldiers, his relationship with Phee picks up right when he finds out that she is interested in the preservation of cultures. It's a quiet little subplot, but Tech was seeing the full scope of what the galaxy contained beyond being a soldier in a war.

But, like the Tech/Phee, it never resolves. He never decides to settle down, he never chooses to stop being a soldier or even openly discusses the idea of what life will look like after. Rescuing Crosshair isn't positioned as a final mission that they have to complete in order to give up their lives as soldiers. Without that decision point being reached, the plot stays open, we never find out what he Would Have Done so we don't get a sense of the future that he would lose by dying, which is what the purpose of these types of plots is for a planned permadeath.

The Kaminoans don't create without purpose and writers working on a three season timeline don't typically write without it either. So if we spent the time on Tech/Phee but Tech is dead before it ever went anywhere, if we spent time on Tech's relationship with being something other than a soldier but he never really pursues it, what is the payoff?

Too Much of a Survivor To Die?

There's also the matter of how they chose to build Tech's character this season. Namely they beefed that man's skills up incredibly high making it intensely unbelievable that he's dead without seeing some sort of concrete proof. Things we know about Tech as of the end of season 2 include:

Incredible pain tolerance - Tech fractures his femur in Ruins of War and seems shockingly unbothered by it. The femur is frequently listed as one of the most painful bones to break. This is not a broken toe the man is hobbling around on, he fractured the strongest bone in the body and kept going through the woods. He physically fought and killed a man with that busted femur.

Lightning fast mental processing - this is of course on display nowhere so much as Faster where he's put up against droids and wins by taking calculated risks that no one else is willing to try.

A cool head in stressful circumstances - this one is hilarious because he outright says it, but Tech does demonstrate time and time again that when it comes down to it, he's able to keep calm no matter the circumstances.

Essentially, we spend the entirety of season 2 setting up why Tech is the perfect person to drop out of the sky and have him survive. He has the ability to keep calm and come up with a plan in seconds and he has the grit to keep moving even if he's grievously injured once he hits the ground. When you set a character up like this, you can still kill them, but you have to work harder to do it convincingly. Leaving Tech not at the moment of death but with probably at least a minute to act in and then not showing us the body is the exact opposite.

We have a moment in The Crossing showing us Tech's precise aim, and it comes up again to brutal effect when he shoots out the connection on the rail car. If moments through the season were used to set up that particular instant of the finale, then we can't discount the numerous scenes demonstrating his survival skills as being irrelevant to his chances.

Plus, looking back at Ruins of War - one of the big moments in the episode is towards the end, where Romar tells Tech, "I'm a survivor. Remember?" The camera then lingers on Tech for a long moment. It's not the kind of action that demonstrates his capabilities as above, but it works to associate the words with Tech in the viewers mind. Romar is a survivor, and Tech is a survivor too. And when you intend to kill someone off, it's kind of an odd choice to spend that whole season setting them up as a survivor.

THE FALL

Which brings us to the scene itself. Plan 99, implied to be one of the last ditch plans that they have. It's absolutely a heartbreaking scene, and one that can be tough to analyze when it's so well done, because it's rough to watch repeatedly. But, it's worth doing, because the scene itself is FULL of questions, some structural others more based in the visual presentation.

What is Plan 99?

Well, that's just it, we don't actually know.

We know what it's implied to be, a self sacrifice plan where one of the batch gives their life for the others to get away. But in show it's never actually defined, leaving the full meaning of Plan 99 up to interpretation. It could be as simple as what it's implied to be, but that brings up questions like 'why not provide any lead up or foreshadowing for it?' and 'does killing yourself actually count as a plan?'

Removing the assumptions from it gives us room to speculate. Is the plan actually that they leave him behind, dead or alive? Hunter ordered them to do so without a plan number in season 1, but he is the sergeant, so plan 99 could easily be something that bypasses his authority - if a batcher calls a plan 99, you go and you don't question his decision. It's certainly closer to a plan if there's something they are supposed to be doing from their end rather than just an announcement of intent.

It's not strictly evidence one way or another, but it is something of note when Tech's entire sacrifice is based around a plan that we're not privy to the details of. TBB has hidden its twists in ambiguity before, so it would not be the first time that it let us assume something only to pull the rug out later. But ambiguity is not the only thing that makes this scene stand out in the raising questions department.

Pacing Goes Out The Window

Generally speaking, a self sacrifice is the climax of an episode. Think Kanan, Hardcase, Gregor, Hevy, etc - Even a minor character sacrificing their life tends to make up the most climactic portion of any given episode, let alone one of the characters from the title squad. It gets to be the big central moment, the big rush of music and feeling, the pinnacle of the viewers attention.

Tech's sacrifice is not. It happens around 5 minutes into the episode, is rapidly moved past with barely a moment to think, and then the actual climax is Omega's capture on Ord Mantell. They even repeat the music when Omega is captured, except much stronger this time, making it clear that this is the emotional crux of the episode, this is the scene that is supposed to stick with you.

The opportunity to make it the climax of an episode was certainly there. The storyline could have been adjusted to put Tech's fall at the end of The Summit, allowing more time in Plan 99 for processing his loss and making it feel final. The pacing choice is one that doesn't allow the viewer to process the loss, only giving us maybe a couple minutes of time with actual emotional reactions before we're barreling off to the next plot point. Why was Tech's death de-emphasized within the episode if it is indeed our last moment with this central character?

Tarkin, Eriadu, & Saw Gerrera

A lot goes into the set-up for Plan 99. We have Tarkin's base on Eriadu as the setting they're working within, going up against Tarkin for the first time since early season 1. This is the big leagues, and something that's come up in multiple interviews is that when going into the den of one of the franchise's big bads we have to have consequences, something to demonstrate that Tarkin is not to be trifled with.

Sounds reasonable enough. Except Tarkin doesn't actually do anything in either of these episodes. The thing that actually threw them off was Saw's planning mixing in with their own.

All Tarkin does upon finding out that the batch is stuck on the rail is order an air strike and ignore that this would kill many of his own men. This is certainly evil, but it's standard Imperial evil. Rampart would have given that order. Hemlock would have given that order. The guy in Tipping Point that we know for 5 minutes before he fried himself would have given that order.

So if the point of this finale was to demonstrate Tarkin's power, then bringing Saw in both complicates the plot and devalues what they're claiming they are trying to show. So is the point to get them to Tantiss? No, because they fail in that. They don't plant the tracker, they're no closer to finding Crosshair than they were before.

By all accounts the point of the whole endeavor is in fact just to drop Tech off a sky rail for reasons unknown and injure Omega to force them to go back to Ord Mantell. These two things could have happened anywhere in any way of course, so why choose Eriadu and why choose to complicate the plot by introducing Saw rather than letting Tarkin handle the job?

They're questions we don't have answers to yet, but they're very hard to get answers to if Tech is dead and completely out of the picture. Having a dead body on Eriadu is fairly useless to the plot, having a living Tech on Eriadu though? That has potential to move them huge leaps forward in a very short amount of time once we bring him back in. Especially given his conversation with Saw prior to everything going downhill - Tech was in favor of gathering intel from the facility rather than destroying it.

And what about Saw, anyway? If he was genuinely there to cause problems and fly away, again, that's a plot wrinkle that isn't needed and took time away from everything else. If he's there because they needed someone to pick Tech up though? There's potential there.

Did Tech's Sacrifice Mean Anything?

In universe, Tech's sacrifice means everything, of course. It's a decision made in the moment to risk everything to save his family. It's a noble deed and one he does without hesitation. But pulling away from that narrow scope of an in universe perspective, what did we accomplish narratively with his fall?

Well... not much actually! They got over the bump in the road that they encountered all of five seconds ago and promptly crashed headfirst into another, different bump in the road. Tech's dramatic sacrifice didn't allow them to escape unharmed, it didn't allow them to find Crosshair, it just allowed them to move a few steps forward, after which Omega is almost killed and then captured, which is a fairly weak reason to sacrifice a whole major character.

But not every character death is exclusively about narrative, sometimes it's about the character arc itself. So does this close out anything for Tech's character development? Again, not really. Tech has always been completely loyal to the squad and would have risked anything for his family. He never had a choice not to fall, it was either just him or the whole team, and he is an endlessly logical actor. The action would have played out the same had it happened in the series premier or the season 1 finale, or any other time in the show. If anything it's a backtrack on his character by putting him solidly back into the soldier box that the show is trying to let the clones grow out of.

Maybe it's not about Tech's character though, maybe it's about everyone else's! Does his death change anyone's trajectory? Again... no, not really. We'll get into season 3's lack of mentioning Tech later, but in the immediate aftermath of his fall, no one's course or actions is majorly changed because of his loss. Hunter wants to go back to Pabu where it's safe, the same thing he wanted to do before they ever left for this mission. Omega puts herself in danger to save her brothers, which has been one of her defining traits since season one. Wrecker is following Hunter's lead, same as he always did. (We get very little of what Echo hopes to do, but the opening of season 3 reveals that they went back to work with Rex, exactly like they were doing before.)

So narratively nothing required him to die, the character's arc isn't completed, and the other characters aren't motivated to change. If Tech dies here, it's the picture of a shock value death. It doesn't complete or inform his character, it doesn't need to narratively happen in order to put Omega on the path to being captured, and thematically it exists just to give the viewer an unnecessary gut-punch when just the failure to rescue Crosshair and the loss of Omega would have been enough.

Framing is Everything

In a death scene there's nothing more powerful than our final shot of a character. The very last we'll ever see of them, the image that will linger in our minds when we think of that character from then on. This is especially important in animation where everything has to go through several iterations before deciding on what that final look will be. You want it to be impactful, you want the audience to have one final connection to the character before they're gone for good.

So why does Tech die with his helmet on?

If there's one thing TBB is good at, it's their expression work, and a death scene is a perfect place to show off their full range, which is why most deaths meant to have a heavy impact occur with faces unobscured. Crosshair loses his helmet and takes Mayday's off so we can see both of their faces as Mayday dies, Slip, Cade, even Clone X and Wilco, all die helmetless. Looking into older series you have Kanan dying without his mask, Fives, Hardcase, Waxer all dying helmetless with one last good look at their faces and expressions.

And while Tech's helmet gives us a good look at his eyes, the rest of his face goes unseen, and Wrecker's face as he watches this happen is completely obscured. We're denied a look at a lot of their expressions as the decision is made and Plan 99 is executed, rendering it less personal than it otherwise could have been. Tech could have lost his helmet in the blast that knocked him from the rail, Wrecker could have had his helmet knocked off at some point to give us a good look at his expression. TBB isn't known for pulling its punches, so why leave our final look at Tech's face back in The Summit and not here?

Then there's the framing choices. We get some absolutely amazing shots of Tech during the fall, from taking the shot to falling backwards towards the cloudy cover - but here's where some interesting choices are made. Rather than letting our last shot of him be a face up shot that keeps eye contact with the camera as he falls, they make the choice to have him flip over, and we hold the shot as the rail car goes down after him, partially obscuring him.

Which means instead of our last glimpse of Tech being something like this.

We end up with something closer to this.

Which, while we all love those Tech crotch shots is somewhat less impactful emotionally. These frames go through multiple departments and get multiple eyes on them before going through final animation, and no one thought that leaving him face up and unobscured until he disappears into the fog would stick more firmly in the viewer's memory?

The Flip Might be Intentional

And I don't just mean out of universe, as every detail of animation is often intentional, but in universe as well. If you look closely at Tech as he falls, he seems to roll his shoulders back in order to begin flipping over. It was a specific enough detail to send me searching for a reason and I found it in instructions on how to survive a long fall - the first thing that you're supposed to do? Get into the arch position like a skydiver to slow and control your fall.

The flip was important enough to not only include but to include the small detail of Tech intentionally flipping himself over into said position. It's not a confirmation but it's an interesting detail, and one that has very few other reasons to exist.

THE AFTERMATH

Image chosen because even thinking he's alive I didn't want to pull from Omega reacting to the fall on Ord Mantell. Looking at her makes me Sad. So the fall has happened, the rail car has rushed forward and crashed, and Omega fades in and out of consciousness until finally waking up on Ord Mantell to the bad news.

"What if he's hurt?"

Omega is our POV character for the show. We may sometimes see things she doesn't, but emotionally she remains the center of the narrative, the character that the target audience will see themselves in. Her ultimate thoughts on a situation are the closest we have to a clear indicator of our intended takeaway.

So it's interesting that the first thing we hear out of her, having heard that Tech 'didn't make it,' is a firm denial. He can't be gone, he might be hurt, he needs them and they need to go back for him. And, despite Hunter continuing to talk with her about it for a bit, we never actually hear Omega explicitly take it back or verbally acknowledge Tech as dead. The closest we get is 'lost' which she also uses for Echo in The Crossing.

Now, here's where the interpretation between the adult and child audience will likely differ. From an adult perspective, this is a reasonable reaction for a child her age. It comes off as very natural that she doesn't want to accept it and that she doesn't have time to really process that it's true before the scene moves on. It makes sense from an in universe perspective.

However, the main audience is still children who actually are Omega's age and who are being presented with her as their window into this world. And their takeaway, seeing that same scene, is likely to be that Omega is correct. They don't know that Tech's dead, just because an adult says it doesn't make it true and just because Hemlock says it DEFINITELY doesn't mean it's true, they have to go back and check.

If they wanted the main audience to think that Tech is dead for sure, they could have had Omega be the one to say that he's gone, with Hunter simply confirming it for her. Alternatively, Omega accepting it when Hunter tells her would also function in the same way - ultimately, as the POV character, if Omega doesn't accept it there's a strong possibility much of the audience won't accept it either, especially without other evidence.

No Body?

And, as we all know, we simply don't have other concrete evidence. Not only are the batch given no time to look for Tech's body or any confirmation that he died, but we get a whole scene with Hemlock and the goggles where he also confirms verbally that he doesn't have a body either. There's very little reason to have him say this outside of putting a bug in the viewer's ear that he might not be gone for good.

Not only do we have that verbal confirmation, but we have multiple places where a body could have been included or implied without adding much to the runtime.

Easiest place would probably be when Omega passes out - there's a trooper's corpse right there in front of her, and it would have been very easy to make that identifiable as Tech. Have one of the boys check his pulse like Crosshair did with Mayday and then be forced to leave after confirming he's dead. Would it require a little bit of fudging the details of how he landed so close to them, sure, but it would have been narratively streamlined and easy.

Have Hemlock bring his helmet rather than his goggles (and damage it in a way clearly incompatible with survival) or confirm that he did find a body but has no use for the goggles.

Put the body in Hemlock's lab when Omega is brought there at the end of the episode. Have a sheet covering him even if you want and just one of his hands hanging out, especially the one with the distinctive light on the back of it. Give us her reaction to that.

These are just the ones that don't involve adding scenes or making major changes - instead, in a franchise known for bringing back everyone and their grandmother especially if there's no body, they chose to leave it extremely vague.

Reused Score

The soundtrack for Tech's sacrifice is fantastic, I don't think anyone can argue that. In fact it's so good that it's used occasionally used as a reason for why he's dead for real. If it's a fakeout, why go so hard on the music?

It almost sounds like a reasonable argument, except that the music isn't even unique to Tech's fall. We get the same motif later in the episode with Omega's capture, and it actually comes in even harder and more impactful there than it did with Tech falling.

Reusing bits of the music has two results. It lessens the impact of hearing it with Tech if it is in fact his Death music, because it makes it clear that he is not the central feeling of the episode but rather, Omega's capture is. As mentioned before, deaths are usually the climax of their own episodes partially to avoid them being upstaged by any other plot points, but here Omega's capture is fully prioritized over the loss of one of our central characters.

The second result is that it changes the meaning of the music. It's no longer meant specifically to underscore a tragic death, but rather a more general one of loss and separation. And if it's simply about that separation, then it no longer requires Tech to be dead to have that same impact. They're apart from each other, and that's painful enough.

SEASON 3 SO FAR

Which of course finally brings us to season 3! We're five episodes in as of the posting of this, so a full 1/3rd of the season down, which gives us a good idea of how they're handling the whole grief aspect of this scenario.

They Aren't!

That's right, we simply have not directly acknowledged or dealt with the whole 'watching your squadmate fall to a presumed horrible death' thing even once in five episodes. Tech has been mentioned by name twice, we've seen his goggles once, and Wrecker makes one sideways reference to him having not made it back.

In universe, there is a several month timeskip and it seems to be implied that the majority of the grief milestones happened in that gap. For example, we don't see Crosshair finding out from Omega, we don't see Omega grieving her brother, we don't see Phee finding out (more on her in a bit) despite her fledgling romance. Months of grieving and processing skipped over and what comes out the other side is single line mentions that go by in seconds.

This is especially apparent after episode 5, where we got something to compare it to. Crosshair has a long, painful moment of grieving with Mayday's helmet when they return to Barton IV. It's deep, personal, and intimate and we take a minute with him gathering up the helmets of Mayday and his men to set them up on the crates the same way that Mayday had honored them.

Mayday is a one episode character that was important to only a single character, Crosshair - Tech is a core member of the team present through two full seasons and shown as close to every member of the squad. Yet the single scene grieving Mayday is longer and more emotionally gripping than every short mention of Tech so far in season 3.

Narrative Grief

Seeing characters grieve their loved ones onscreen is about more than just the characters themselves. It's also part of the viewer experience - through the characters' grief, we're able to process our own grief at the loss. It makes it feel real, it makes it feel personal, and the amount of grieving needs to be proportionate to the character's importance in the story.

This is especially true in a show written for children like The Bad Batch. Kids don't typically have the same experience with death as adults, and a well written main character death within a children's show will need more time and energy spent towards making the loss feel real. We see this with deaths like Kanan's; it wasn't Jedi Night that told the viewer that Kanan was really, truly dead, it was Dume, where the characters mourned him and dealt with the aftermath.

Currently, with Tech, we do see holes in the team that make us miss Tech but they remain completely unaddressed by the characters. We see Tech's goggles, but Hunter isn't looking at them, he's looking at Lula. Omega mentions Tech having taught her all the plans, but without any real sadness on her or Crosshair's part. The closest we get to actually bringing it up are Wrecker saying 'not everyone came back' and Echo mentioning the datapad would be difficult without Tech, and both of those are only seconds long before moving on. They don't serve as any kind of catharsis for the viewer, relying more on gut punch impact and keeping the wound open rather than allowing it to heal. The difference between the treatment of Tech's death and Mayday's just makes it more stark.

How Do You Like Yearning?

Interestingly, though, it strongly resembles the writing team's handling of another situation: Crosshair's departure from the team in season 1 vs Echo's in season 2. The show even drew a lot of flack for the lack of discussion on Crosshair's betrayal, as outside of a couple conversations the matter often went unremarked on. Echo leaving, on the other hand, got a whole episode dedicated to processing the loss immediately after it happened.

So what was the difference? Crosshair's departure is part of a long term plot point. We're supposed to want him back, we're supposed to want the team to talk about him, anything that would ease the tension. The writers on the other hand want that tension to remain until it's time to actually resolve the plot. So we get those slow drips in between bigger encounters, we get opportunities for Crosshair to come home that he doesn't take, and we don't get the catharsis of the team actually talking about any of it. We're left to want and imagine it, using the yearning to keep it on people's minds more than anything.

If Crosshair had been discussed on screen long enough for the characters to actually come to terms with his absence, though, that would have made the plot feel more settled and resolved early on. It might be conversations we want to see, but it doesn't keep the viewer on edge and craving a resolution. Best case scenario we're just not as desperate for Crosshair to come home - worst case scenario we accept that he won't be returning and find the fact that he eventually does to be unrealistic.

Echo on the other hand gets their absence processed immediately, because their absence from the team is not meant to be a huge plot point. It's something the team has to deal with, yes, and the viewer wants to see them again just like Omega does, but Echo returning isn't meant to be a maybe, and it's not supposed to keep the viewer wondering and worrying. It's a when, not an if.

Similarly to Crosshair, Tech has never felt like a resolved plot point. We don't get confirmation on his death, we don't get any long term grieving, and we get drip fed acknowledgements that pry the wound back open. If we actually see the team discuss and come to terms with their grief and loss, the plot point closes, the wound closes and we begin to fully accept a team without Tech in it, which makes it harder to reinsert him into the storyline if he is in fact alive.

If he's truly gone for good, what is the point of denying closure to the audience? We know that they are capable of writing an intense mourning moment that feels completely in character for otherwise emotionally repressed men such as Crosshair, so why not give us that with the team mourning for Tech? A memorial, an intimate moment with the goggles, a short scene of Crosshair finding out about the loss, or anything at all really? Once again it's something that makes sense if he's alive and we're simply not being shown yet, but makes very little sense to not capitalize on if he's dead.

What's to Come

We have ten episodes of season 3 to go, and a lot to cover. Reviews have indicated that Tech is not explicitly brought up in the first eight, so the earliest we could possibly have a survival reveal is in episode 9. Will it actually happen? Maybe, maybe not. Though interestingly episode 9, The Harbinger, is almost exactly one year after Plan 99, just like The Return aired almost one year after The Outpost. Could mean nothing, but they do enjoy their anniversary dates.

One thing we do know for sure is coming up is Phee's inclusion - she's seen in the official trailer, as well as briefly in a recent twitter spot. This is interesting as Phee is, of course, Tech's teased love interest, and her connection to Tech has been emphasized multiple times, including on her Databank entry and the official 'what you need to know about season 3' guide. When she comes onto the scene, it's very likely that more information about Tech will too.

MARKETING, INTERVIEWS, & SOCIAL MEDIA

I wanted to keep this mostly focused on what can be seen within the show itself, but it's impossible to talk about whether or not Tech is alive without pointing to the absolutely bizarre messaging from the cast and crew, as well as the marketing choices surrounding his sacrifice. (Example: the Instagram Mourning Filter they layered over him in the official trailer, as seen above) I won't get quite as detailed here as in the above, but it does have to be mentioned.

Constant Focus

In between the end of season 2 and the posting of the season 3 trailer in late January, there were several posts on various official Star Wars media. The majority of them were about Tech and Plan 99. In fact, I don't think I ever saw anything mentioning the giant 'Omega's been captured' cliffhanger, just Tech. Over and over again.

Once a character is dead, marketing generally stops caring about them. They're forward focused after all, they want you coming back for what's to come not lingering on what won't be relevant again. So why the constant focus on Tech?

And it wasn't just the social media either - a huge portion of the trailers and reels included old footage of him too. For the most part this was from Plan 99 and bringing up his fall again to rip open those old wounds, but in one case they included action footage from The Summit. This was an interesting case, because the majority of people watching wouldn't have recognized it immediately. Fittingly, the entire comment section was full of nothing but 'Was that Tech?' style comments, which they would have known was going to be the case to start with.

So why are we so focused on a man that's supposedly dead? If he's genuinely never going to show up again why keep putting him in? Everything? While not even bringing him up all that often in the show? If he's dead, this is a truly bizarre marketing decision.

Never Say Die

In interviews or in official material. For several months the word 'dead' was never used for Tech anywhere, not in interviews, not in official material, nowhere. It took until January 23rd for all of the databank entries to be updated, and among all of the main cast he's only referred to as 'killed' once, and it's on Hunter's page not even his own. Then, the Friday before the premier, an interview came out referring to him as dead - on the part of the interviewer, not the creators themselves.

Everything else seems to use a variety of euphemisms. His sacrifice, his absence, his loss, he 'plummeted out of sight', he 'fell from a tram car', he did absolutely anything it's possible to do except outright die apparently.

It's an odd choice when there's known controversy over if he's dead or not. The standard operating protocol of course, in a planned comeback, is to refer to them as dead anyway and allow fandom to fuel its own speculation, but with a fandom as devastated as TBB's was, it's quite possible that the odd behavior had to be introduced just to keep speculation going. The only interviews that sound remotely final came out right before the episodes started coming out - if they had done that from the beginning, the chances of people outright refusing to come back to the show likely would have been higher.

Much like the marketing, this is not necessarily proof of anything - but in combination with the multiple odd things in the show itself, it's certainly suspicious. Speaking of suspicious...

What an Odd Thing to Say

The cast and crew themselves have not been skimping on making strange comments when it comes to the Tech situation.

There is of course the well known Joel Aron (lighting director for the series) tweet that came out the day of the Celebrations panel (AKA when the Tech trauma was at an all time high) and in direct reply to a fan that was having a hard time with Tech's death. It's hard to take it as anything but a reference to Tech given the timing, and it was certainly taken as being about Tech in the quote tweets. If it's not about Tech, why tease the fandom with it? And the specification for it being a mid s3 episode as well...

Also from the day of Celebrations, and from the panel itself, we have Michelle Ang saying in front of God and everybody, that Tech "doesn't come back... in this episode, at least." At the time there was a possibility she didn't know and was just leaving it open, but with that only being ten months ago and the extremely long timeframe of animation, it's almost certain that she would have been done with all primary recording by that point. If you know he's not coming back, how do you accidentally imply that he is with no one correcting it?

Dee Bradley Baker, when asked for a farewell message from Tech at a con, came out with "the life of a soldier is fulfilled by fulfilling his mission and supporting his brothers. And this was the end of mine. And that's a good thing." Which was a perfectly serviceable goodbye right up until he said that the end of Tech's (life? soldier's life? mission?) was a good thing.

During an instagram interview we have Deana Kiner, one of the composers, in response to the interviewer talking about the final episode containing a major loss, saying, "It's kind of a loss... It's complicated." The claim on twitter was that this was about Omega, because everyone knows that when someone mentions the major loss in Plan 99 they're definitely talking about Omega.

So is Tech alive? Is Tech dead? We still don't know. But while one or two of the above might be a coincidence, having all of them at once coalesce around this single character death is a lot to chew over. The Bad Batch team has shown willingness to address grief and loss prior, as well as a willingness to show us death onscreen and front and center. So why, with such an important character, sidestep it all in order to keep it vague? Why keep it from sounding final for so long, if the intent the entire time was for him to be dead for good?

We won't know until he either shows back up or the show ends. If Tech's alive, all of the above starts to make sense. If he's dead... well a lot of things will just never quite add up. I feel that this team has shown enough willingness to follow up on their trailing plotlines that they've earned my trust. Fingers crossed for a satisfying resolution for all of us, and for our boy Tech, whatever that resolution may be.

#the bad batch #tbb #tbb tech #the bad batch spoilers #tbb spoilers #the bad batch speculation #this thing is some 7500 words i might have an obsession problem

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vodika-vibes · 3 months

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Can you please do Blue Daisy and Anemone for Crosshair with a Bounty Hunter Reader? I really love your stories, you're doing amazing!

For The Love Of A Sniper

Summary: You're a Bounty Hunter and Crosshair is your partner in every way. And when your family threatens you, Crosshair offers to deal with it.

Pairing: TBB Crosshair x F!Reader

Word Count: 1234

Warnings: Crosshair is soft

Prompts: Blue Daisy - Long Term Loyalty, Anemone - Undying Love

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni @imabeautifulbutterfly

A/N: I hope this is close to what you wanted, I was going to make this a sequel to my recent Crosshair series, but I had a better idea!

When you were a little girl, your parents planned your life almost to the minute. You were ferried from school to dance lessons or music lessons or voice lessons or language lessons. Every second of free time had to be accounted for.

You didn’t have time for friends, and barely had time for family.

Your parents also planned your outfits, frilly dresses in pastel colors and your hair meticulously curled every morning, and then styled with bows and ribbons. And shoes that were so uncomfortable that, on more than one occasion, you considered cutting your toes off so it would hurt less.

Even your schools were devoted to making you the best daughter. High end boarding schools with even more high end finishing classes, with the end goal of sending you to Naboo to attend Theeds Law School.

Perfection was the expectation.

And you were never perfect.

The day that your parents dropped you off at Law School, you dropped out. You managed to get the school to send the refund, nearly 3 million credits total, to your personal bank account, and then you spent a massive chunk of money cutting and dying your hair, and then buying a new wardrobe.

Within a week of your parents dropping you off on Naboo, you were gone.

That was four years ago. And over the last four years, you’ve made something of a name for yourself as a bounty hunter. You have your own ship, painted vibrant purple and named Spoiler, and you often bounce between cargo delivery and Bounty Hunting, based on what is the most profitable at the time.

Sometimes you do both at the same time, just for funsies.

And you know, because you’ve seen it, your name is plastered on missing persons lists and on bounty boards. Too bad that you don’t look anything like the cherub looking girl on the posters anymore.

In fact, the only person who might recognize you as the girl in the poster is your boyfriend. And even then, only because you told him.

Speaking of said boyfriend-

You hang your body armor on the rack in the cargo hold, and climb the stairs to the main part of the ship. You slide open the door to the bedroom, and grin at the man stretched out on the bed. “You ever planning on getting up, handsome?”

Crosshair seems to stretch out even more, and he tucks his arms under his head, his dark eyes locked on your face, “I thought I’d be lazy today,” He drawls, “You could join me.”

You lean against the doorframe, a small smile on your lips. He really is too handsome. Especially lounging in your bed wearing nothing but the dark sweatpants that you bought him. He looks healthy, finally, having put some weight on now that he’s no longer with the Empire.

“See something you like, doll?”

You grin at him, lazy and slow, “I see something that’s mine.” You tease.

Crosshair chuckles and shifts to free one arm, “Come here, princess.” He almost purrs. And, really, how are you expected to deny that request?

You kick your boots off and climb on the bed to drape yourself across his chest. You take a moment to press a light kiss just over his heart, before you slide up to tuck your head against his neck. “Did you sleep well?”

“Mm, I did.” He wraps an arm around your shoulder and presses a light kiss to the top of your head, “And then I got an alert-” He uses his free hand to grab the datapad on the side of the bed, “Someone put a flag on all accounts attached to your old name.”

“Another one?” You roll slightly so you’re able to see the screen, and then you sigh, “This is, what, number five? Six?”

“Eight in the last six months.” Crosshair corrects.

“Well, following the money is step one in the ‘how to find someone who doesn’t want to be found’ handbook, I suppose.” You mutter under your breath as you roll again and fold your arms on his chest.

“You would know, wouldn’t you, princess.”

“It’s fine. It’s not like those accounts are attached to my name anymore.” You reply as you look down at his face, “Which is a shame, there’s nearly 3 million credits in that account.”

Crosshair reaches up and slides his fingers across your cheek, “Those credits have so many strings attached, you might as well be a puppet.”

“Mm, don’t I know it.” You lean in and kiss him gently, “Luckily, they won’t find me. And 3 million credits is a lot less than I would pay to never be their perfect little doll ever again.”

His eyes glitter, “Even if they did, if you think I’m giving you up without a fight-”

A soft laugh falls from your lips, “Aww, I knew you loved me.”

His lips curl up into an amused smile, “You’re alright, I suppose.” In spite of his light, teasing, words his hand tightly clutches at your hip.

You shift and press feather light kisses across his face, “I’m not going anywhere. Not willingly.” You whisper to him.

His grip loosens slightly, “Of course not. You’d never find anyone as good as I am.” His hand slithers up your side to grip the collar of your shirt between two strong fingers, and he pulls you down to crash your lips against his. “We do, however,” He murmurs after a moment, “have to deal with this.”

“Can’t we ignore it?” You whine.

“You know we can’t.” He finally moves his other arm from under his head, and he wraps it tightly around you, “Let me handle it.”

You nervously bite your lower lip, “I don’t know-”

“I’m not going to hand you in,” Crosshair murmurs, as gentle with your anxieties regarding your family as you are with his anxiety about you leaving, “My loyalty is to you. Now and forever.”

You sigh, “I know. I just don’t like you going off on your own.” You kiss him quickly, and then press a longer, slower, kiss against his lips, “I never wanted to demand your loyalty.”

“You never had to.” There’s something soft and vulnerable in his gaze, and you think you love him a little more for it, “You didn’t expect my loyalty like my brothers.” He kisses you just under your eyes, “And you never demanded it like the Empire.” He drags his lips across the bridge of your nose, “You were loyal to me, so I became loyal to you.”

“That might be the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me.” You say warmly.

He rolls his eyes, “Then how’s this? I love you. Forever. Until there’s no more breath in my lungs. Until my heart beats it last.”

You press your forehead against his, “You’re going to make me cry and mess up my make-up.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll never say anything so gross ever again.” He jokes. “What do you say, Princess? Trust me to handle this?”

“Deal. You can handle it, and I’ll just…hang out in the ship for you.”

“Deal.” He pulls you back into a deep kiss, “Later though. For now you’re on top of me and won’t stop squirming-” You release a bubbly laugh as he flips the pair of you and pins you to the bed, “Really, you brought this on yourself, princess.”

#star wars #tbb #vodika-vibes follower celebration #tbb crosshair x reader #crosshair x reader #star wars fanfiction #x reader fanfiction #f!reader fic #answered asks

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mandos-mind-trick · 7 months

Text

Kinktober Day 17 - Fivesome

Summary: You’re there for their pleasure. Who’s to say it’s not pleasurable for you too?

Pairing: Bad Batch x reader (no clonecest)

Warnings: NSFW, 18+, unprotected sex, group sex, blowjobs, bondage, brief degradation, no foreplay, creampies galore, sloppy seconds, and thirds, and fourths, pre-Echo, reader is a sort of barrack bunny for CF99, light aftercare.

A/N: This is a sequel to A Lesson In Obedience, though it can be read as a standalone.

MASTERLIST

Your eyes widen as the door slides open, but you’re unable to do anything but stare. Even Crosshair pauses, hand tangled in your hair. His cock is pressing against the back of your tongue, drool sliding down your chin from being forced open for so long. You hold your breath in an attempt not to gag, hands grasping Crosshair’s thigh plates as you kneel in front of him. Your breasts are on full display, your shirt gone and your breastband down around your waist.

“Got started without us?” Wrecker complains, stepping down into the barracks.

“She started it.” Crosshair says, pulling you off his cock. You take a deep breath in, filling your lungs. “Could hardly keep her off me.”

Crosshair lets go of your hair as Hunter grips your jaw, forcing your mouth open. “I don’t doubt that.” He says, stuffing two of his fingers into your mouth. His gloves taste like metal and blaster residue. “Needy little thing.”

You close your lips around Hunter’s fingers, swirling your tongue around the digits.

“What do you think?” He asks, turning to Tech.

Tech looks up from his datapad, watching you suck on Hunter’s fingers. “Plan 33 would suit best in this situation.”

You pause again, looking up between Hunter and Tech.

“I like Plan 33.” Wrecker says.

“You like every plan.” Crosshair says.

“Plan 33 it is.” Hunter says, pulling his fingers free of your mouth. He lifts you up off your knees, turning you and bending you over the table.

Tech is already there waiting, grabbing your wrists with one hand and tugging them towards the other side of the table, forcing you flat against it. He makes quick work with the rope, securing your wrists together before securing it under the table, keeping your arms outstretched. He slips a finger under the rope around your wrists, ensuring it’s not too tight before disappearing behind you.

The cool air of the barracks hits your damp pussy as your pants are tugged off and tossed somewhere off to the side. Hands grip your ass cheeks, pulling them apart to reveal your slick folds to the room.

“Already so wet and we haven’t even touched you yet.” Hunter says. “Our little whore.”

You let out a quiet whimper, shifting on your feet at the sound of codpieces hitting the floor.

“You’ve been a good girl lately.” Hunter says, dragging his fingers through your folds. “You can choose who goes first.”

You rest your cheek against the cool table, thinking. Wrecker is an immediate no. You’ve taken him first before, and though it’s bearable, you’d prefer some prep first. Crosshair would finish the fastest since you had already worked him up, but he’s the roughest. Hunter is your usual first choice in these situations.

“Tech.” You say, tugging lightly at the ropes. “I want Tech first.”

It’s quiet as bodies shift behind you. Long fingers grip your ass, thumbs pulling your lips apart. It’s Tech alright, you can tell by his touch. You could tell them apart with your eyes closed, by touch or by dick, hell even by lips.

The head of a cock drags through your pussy, gathering some of your wetness. You let out a quiet sound, body tingling in anticipation. You’ve been wet since Crosshair glanced your way, knowing what was coming. You had arrived not long ago, and had yet to celebrate your brief shore leave and another set of successful missions.

Your pussy burns a bit as Tech presses his cock into you, your body fighting the intrusion after getting no warm up, not even a finger. You breathe deeply, relaxing your body as he presses into your tight hole. His hands hold your hips, steadying you and himself as he sinks further into you, your body slowly opening to him.

He begins slowly rocking his hips, sinking his cock completely into you. Small moans leave your lips as he uses you, his grip tight on your hips. You can do nothing but lay there as he fucks you, taking what he wants from your body. The position offers you no relief, your hips just far enough from the table you can’t even get any pressure against your clit as Tech thrusts into you.

They did that on purpose.

The sound of his hips smacking against your ass is loud as he fucks you, his groans mixing with your moans like some symphony of pleasure. You squeeze around him, doing what little you can to help him along, and to also attempt to get yourself off. This isn’t about your pleasure, you know that. You’ll cum when they want you to. Anything other than that is a bonus for you.

Tech cums with a groan as you squeeze tight around him, spurting his release inside you. You groan at the feeling of his cock twitching inside you, tugging at your restraints but there’s no give to them.

Tech pulls out of you, stepping back. The others groan as his release begins to drip from your pussy, the warm seed sliding down your slit.

“Who’s next?” Crosshair asks.

“Hunter.” You say, shifting on your feet to try and alleviate the ache starting to blossom in your stomach where the edge of the table digs in.

You go still as the head of a cock drags through your messy folds, brushing over your neglected clit. Your eyes roll back as he sinks into you, still a stretch even after taking Tech’s cock. Hunter slides a hand down your back, fingers trailing your spine. Goosebumps form on your skin as he grips the back of your neck, bracing his other hand on the table at your side.

He draws his hips back just slightly before snapping them back against yours. You let out a yelp at the force of it, rougher than he usually is. He snaps his hips against yours repeatedly, your body jerking against the table with every movement. Your eyes roll back as he hits that spot deep within you with every thrust, your pussy clenching tight around him.

Your first orgasm hits you like a ton of bricks, a high pitched cry leaving your lips as you spasm around him. Hunter groans as he spills into you, his own orgasm washing over him. You moan at the sensation of being filled again, pussy clenching as he pulls himself free of you. The spasms from the aftershock of your orgasm forces his cum out of you, mixing it with Tech’s.

“Crosshair.” You gasp, pussy clenching in an attempt to hold it in.

You yelp as a hand smacks against your ass cheek, the sound cracking through the room. That’s going to hurt later. Crosshair maneuvers your body, propping one leg up on the table, spreading you open further for him. It forces you up onto your toes on the other leg, muscles already trembling.

He wastes no time slipping into you, pushing himself in to the hilt. You let out a groan, hands tugging at the restraints but they don’t give. His hands fall to your hips, gripping them so tightly you’ll likely have bruises there tomorrow. He sets a brutal pace, picking up where Hunter left off. His thrusts are short and sharp, forcing your body against the table as he uses you.

Despite his roughness you can already feel another orgasm building, the new angle allowing your clit to press against the edge of the table with every thrust. You shake as you get closer and closer to the edge, drawing him closer with every spasm of your walls. He was already worked up, his cock twitching inside you as he chases the high he was denied thanks to the arrival of the others.

He cums with a groan, hands squeezing your sides almost painfully as he spills into you. You tremble, close to your own orgasm but you’re denied it as he stops moving, yanking himself free as soon as he’s spent.

You gulp in anticipation, pussy throbbing as you wait for the inevitable. You’re well prepared, slick from your own juices and the releases of the others. You’ve been stretched open at least a little, prepared as much as you can be in this situation.

A big hand lowers your leg back onto the floor, taking the stress off the other. You’re still shaking and sore, but nowhere near where you’ll be once he’s finished. His fingers drag through your folds, collecting the cum seeping out of you before pressing it back into your pussy. You moan as his fingers stretch you open, pussy clenching around them in anticipation.

His hand is gentle on your back as he pulls his fingers free, the wide head of his cock pressing against your hole. You relax your body, breathing deeply as he presses inside, stretching you open. It still burns, even after taking three cocks before him.

Wrecker pushes his way into your pussy, forcing your body to stretch to accommodate his large size. You’re whining and moaning by the time he’s seated inside you, pussy already fluttering around him. He reaches so deep inside you, hitting every spot on the way. Your hands clench into fists as he rocks into you, movements slow and shallow as he fights your body’s attempts to clench around him.

You’re sweating, face sticking to the table as Wrecker fucks you, wrists getting sore from being held in such an awkward position for so long. You won’t last much longer, and you know Wrecker won’t either. He’s usually the fastest to cum, be it from your tight pussy or just from any stimulation.

His grip is gentle on you, always afraid of hurting you. He could crush your bones easily, but he holds you so delicately, even as he practically spears you open on his cock.

There’s no helping that.

You let out a high pitched cry as your orgasm suddenly hits you like a speeder, your legs shaking as you spasm around him. Wrecker groans, loud and deep, thrown into his own orgasm thanks to yours. He cums inside you, adding to the mess leaking out around his cock. You feel messy, full of their cum and coated in sweat.

You wouldn’t have it any other way.

Tech is suddenly there, releasing your wrists with a couple tugs of rope. Wrecker catches you from sliding off the table, lifting you into his arms easily. You’re shaking and trembling and leaking cum still as he holds you.

“Good girl.” Hunter says, stroking your damp hair from your forehead. “Always so good for us. How about a shower, huh? That sound good.”

You nod, a smile tugging at your lips. They never fail to take care of you, even after using you for their pleasure.

Ragu list:

@kaminocasey @rosechi @mxkyrie @bobaprint @star-trekker-0013 @padawancat97 @bamfahsoka @rain-on-kamino @thrawnspetgoose @lune-de-miel-au-paradis @wolffegirlsunite @dukeoftheblackstar @starrylothcat @sev-on-kamino @freesia-writes @anxiouspineapple99 @wings-and-beskar @dystopicjumpsuit @littlemissmanga @madameminor @eris-k @clio3kantarella @moonlightwarriorqueen @sleepingsun501 @originalcollectionartistry @maddiedrmr @idontgetanysleep @sinfulsalutations @clonemedickix @523rdrebel @deejadabbles @starqueensthings @multi-fan-dom-madness @wizardofrozz @mythical-illustrator @sunshinesdaydream @mooncommlink @lickylickylicky @sweetheartsnips @commanderblood @crosshairlovebot @ghostperson69 @captain_rexs_cyare @mssbridgerton @jediknightjana @jedi-hawkins @dalu-grantkylo @cw80831

#star wars #star wars fic #the bad batch #the bad batch fic #poly bad batch #bad batch x reader #clone force 99 x reader #x reader #clone thirsting #kinktober 2023

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cyarikasmoon · 13 days

Text

Rest Now

Bad Batch Hunter x reader

Summary: Hunter returns home after saying goodbye to Omega. *Set just after the Season 3 epilogue scene*

Pairing: Bad Batch Hunter x f!reader

Word Count: 1,539

Warnings: Bad Batch Season 3 spoilers, married Hunter, older hunter, fluff, comfort, cuddles, HUNTER DESERVES LOTS OF CUDDLES AND KISSES

Divider by @freesie-writes & @snotbuggle

A/N: I truly adore this show and just wanted to write a little piece for Hunter. He did so well and is such a good father figure for Omega. That epilogue meant everything to me. I wish we saw older Crosshair and Wrecker, but I'm also quite glad it was a final moment between those two. It was always meant to be them. I will love and cherish them forever.

I hope you all like this. It's a little rough and rushed, and it's just raw emotions being processed onto a page after the finale, but I still wanted to post! Enjoy! x

It’s almost sunrise when you wake up. You sleepily reach out, cold underneath the sheets, and you realise the familiar warmth of your husband is gone. Your eyes blink open with a frown as you pat the bed, almost to make sure he is actually gone. Sitting up in the bed, you blink blearily, taking in the room. It’s dark, but your eyes adjust quickly, the faint lighting of a new day approaching helping you see the dimly lit room. You roll over the bed gently, and you see his boots are gone, and his overshirt that he had left hanging over the edge of the bed last night.

The entire house is quiet, which almost makes you confident that Batcher is gone as well. You let out a soft whistle, a quick two-tone note. Nothing like the loud army shrill your husband does to call the lurker hound. When there is no distant sound of barking, no heavy pads of paws on the ground, you sigh softly.

Gently getting out of bed, you move to pull on your trousers and the quickest shirt being one of his thick, long sleeved ones. As you slip it on, you breathe in the smell of him and let your shoulders sag. It wasn’t normal for him to be gone this early. His side of the bed had been cold when you had felt it. He had been gone for hours. At least Batcher would be with him. You hope, anyway.

Pulling on a quick small pair of boots, she moves towards the door but pauses by the window as she hears voices outside. As she peers out, she sees Wrecker and Crosshair standing talking. Crosshair is almost silent with his words, speech always raspy and quiet but sharp. Wrecker, thinking he was being quiet, was still quite loud. But the early morning rays indicated it wasn't long till the residents of Pabu would awaken.

Crosshair strokes his chin gently, fingers brushing over the soft wisps of grey turning white hair. His hair finally growing back in revealed it to now finally be more silver white than the original grey it used to be back in the days of the Republic. Wrecker still stands tall, and the body is still accumulating so much muscle, but he looks softer, rounder. Years of enjoying and actually living life and eating good food. His lips are drawn into a tight line from where you can see, his jaw covered in a soft wiry fuzz of scruff - the start of a beard that is accentuated with fine white hairs now amidst the dark ones.

The flurry of quick hand movements between the two have you frowning before you all hear a distant bark. You glance through the window to the right. Coming up over the hill, the rising sun casts light across the path as the old lurker hound ambles up the street. Batcher picks up speed slightly as she spots Crosshair and Wrecker, forever excited to see them. It’s then you see your husband, not too far behind Batcher. He walks slowly, his head down slightly, but he looks up as he spots his brothers.

He seems to stand up straighter then as he notices them, almost instinctively falling back into the roll of Seagerant after so long. Crosshair gets up slowly from where he had knelt down to stroke Batcher, leaving his prosthetic hand to rest on the back of her neck as he faces Hunter. Wrecker’s eyes are full of apprehension as if he knows what Hunter is to tell them, but he desperately doesn't want it to be the case.

When Hunter reaches them, you watch as he simply nods his head and says a few words. The three brothers stand in silence for a moment. Whatever news he had just shared, it brings a sombre moment, but then Wrecker’s smiling. He makes a comment, followed by a booming laugh. Crosshair's face twists up into an amused smirk, and he replies with his own comment. Your husband says something else, and they fall silent for a moment. It’s then Crosshair takes a step forward and rests his hand on Hunter’s shoulder, and they share a look. Before anything can be said, Wrecker envelopes them into his arms, a signature crushing hug from the big man that has them all smiling and reminiscing.

Wrecker puts them down, and they all share a final smile. It’s then the old girl barks, and Crosshair rolls his eyes fondly, the hound sticks to his side, ready for her breakfast. They all seemed to nod and head off in their own separate ways. A new day is beginning after all. As Hunter turns towards your home, you move and gently open the door and lean in the doorway and smile at him.

He glances at you and pauses for a moment, a fond smile on his face before he continues to walk forward to you. Like second instinct, you hold your arms open and let him hold you close and tight against him.

“Hi.” You whisper to him.

“Hey.” He responds softly. His voice reserved slightly, like when he’s lost in thought.

“Hey, come back to me.” You whisper softly, leaning back to cup his tattooed side of his face, fingers brushing over his dark beard.

His eyes tell you everything. They’re tired from being up so early. They’re full of love and adoration for you. They reflect peace. They show sadness. You smile sadly then, as you realise. This is the look of a father who has just had to let go and say goodbye. No matter how much he doesn’t wish for it to be the case.

“Omega?” You ask softly, stepping back, so you both gravitate back into your home.

He nods then. A small smile plays on his lips, his eyes softening.

“She left first thing in the early hours of the morning. Thought she could sneak away.” He chuckles, a gruff noise in his throat.

“She spoke about the Rebellion so often. It was only a matter of time before she would want to go help.” You stroke his cheek as you watch his melancholic expression.

“I know…” He breaks away so he can sit and take his boots off, and you do the same. You both leave them by the door, and he rises to stand in front of you again.

You hold your hand to him, and he instantly takes it.

“You’re a wonderful father, Hunter. I know it. Your brothers know it, and Omega knows it.” You whisper to him, taking both of his hands.

His thumbs stroke along your knuckles in a soothing motion for himself and for you. His left thumb focuses on running across your ring. He raises his eyes to look into yours.

“You’ve raised her wonderfully. She is such a bright, beautiful young woman now, and the Rebellion is lucky to have her.” You say and then grin. “You practically prepared her for this.”

He huffs and rolls his eyes fondly at you, lips quirked up into a small smile.

“I was once told battle droids were easier to handle compared to raising a kid.” He muses. “They weren't wrong.”

“Hunter, love, she’ll be fine. She knows you’ll come if you need her.”

“I’d be there in a heartbeat.” He promises, and his voice is so strong and earnest. You could never not believe him. The sergeant shines through in that moment.

You lean forward and kiss him softly, and his hands move to hold you close. Your foreheads then meet in a keldabe kiss, and you smile at him.

“C’mon old man, let's go back to bed for a bit.” You tease him with a grin.

“Who are you calling old man? The days are just starting.” He rolls his eyes and tries to hide his smile.

“And you’ve hardly slept.” You argue back, nudging your forehead against his. “C’mon, a little nap won’t hurt anyone.”

You lead him to the bedroom and smile as you help him take his overshirt off and drape it back over the edge of the bed. Laying down, he holds you close in his arms and still keeps his eyes open and watching you.

“You’ve done so good, love.” You whisper and lean forward, pressing gentle kisses across his face. “It’s okay to miss her. It’s normal. We all will miss her. But she’ll be okay. She’ll come back one day. Now you can rest.”

HIs eyes close as he embraces your touch. His breathing relaxes.

“Rest love, I’ve got you.” You whisper as you watch him drift off. “We’ve got you. You can rest now.”

You press a final kiss to his brow, right below his bandana, before you lay your head on the pillow next to him. The sun has risen now. You can hear the residents of Pabu begin their day. Birds in the distance. You swear even without enhanced senses like Hunter, you can hear the ocean. You look at him one final time before your eyes drift close. It’s a new day. They're here and alive. How exciting it is to live. To live and to love. To do whatever they want.

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