#why did cid die like he did

[chancellor-reno5]

These two have an ungodly hold on me

#cidolfus telamon #cidolfus #clive rosfield #clive and cid #final fantasy xvi #cid and clive are amazing #why did cid die like he did #devs need to apologise for the emotional pain

[kaminocasey]

Drift This Way

Summary: *SEASON 2 SPOILERS* Tech wins the pod race. You can't help but express your worries.

A/N: I was gonna wait to post this tomorrow but I was just too excited. ALSO, @space-girl-and-droids-art inspired the tattoos mentioned, with THIS art!!!! STILL OBSESSED!!!!! <3

Pairing: Tech x Reader

Warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI; None

WC: 1K

TAGLIST FORM

Gif Credit: @starqueensthings

Tech won the riot race. It was both thrilling and terrifying. After seeing what happened to Tay-0, you were horrified. If that happened to Tech… you don’t know what you would have done with yourself. It’s not like you could put Tech back together like you did with Tay-0, twice.

“You’ve never done this before.” You grab Tech before he starts to walk over to the pod. “What if you crash and die?”

“The odds of that happening are-” He starts but the announcer starts to tell everyone to make their way to their pods.

You tighten your grip on his hands. “If you die, I won’t forgive you.”

He smiles ever so slightly. “Do not worry.” 

Your worrying was surprisingly for nothing. He was actually a natural. Which shouldn’t surprise you at this point. 

When you get back to Cid’s ship, Omega starts to talk about how they should go to more riot races but you quickly shut that idea down. When Hunter finds out, he’s probably going to blow a fuse. 

“Are you alright?” Tech asks when you sit down in the co-pilot seat.

You nod. “I’m fine. You?”

“I’m fine as well. I was referring to your earlier comments about not forgiving me if I died, though.” He raises an eyebrow as he looks at you.

“Oh. That.” You feel yourself go warm in the face with an awkward chuckle.

“That.” He nods. 

You shrug. “I don’t know… I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re so good at pod racing.” 

“You shouldn’t.” He teases, lightly and you roll your eyes.

You both are quiet for a bit, listening to Wrecker and Omega ask Cid more questions about pod racing. Cid starts to tell her about the legendary pod races that they had on Tatooine and Omega asks if you can go see them next. 

“NO.” You and Tech say, simultaneously.

Looking at each other, you can’t help but laugh. 

“You know… I have to admit, seeing you be confident in your racing was something.” You tell Tech when you get back to Ord Mantell. 

“Always the tone of surprise.” He tuts. 

You grin up at him as he sits at the bar in Cid’s. 

“It was nice to see you confident, is all.” You shrug, taking a sip of your drink.

“Do you prefer it when I’m confident?” He asks, leaning on the bar so that he can look at you.

Is Tech flirting? With you? “I think I like any version of you.”

“Noted.” He nods, drinking his own drink.

Later that night, you pace quietly in front of Tech and Echo’s room above Cid’s multiple times before giving up and starting to walk back to your own. 

“Is that you pacing outside my door?” Tech peeks his head out.

You look over at him, nervously. “Uh, yeah… sorry.” 

He walks out in just his sleep pants, his bare chest showing his tattoos that he’s gotten over the years. You’re taken by surprise. You didn’t peg Tech as the tattooed type. Also, how have you never seen him shirtless before now?

Your mind goes slightly blank at the sight of him. “Um…” He steps toward you, letting his door slide shut behind him and you meet him halfway, as if you can’t help but gravitate toward him. You always do.

“I’m sorry if it seemed like I didn’t believe in you today. I should have been more supportive.” You lean against the wall in between your doors. 

“It’s alright. I understand you were just worried.” He nods. “Even if I still don’t fully understand why.”

“Do you not?” You want desperately to reach out and trace the markings on his skin, to touch him.

He shrugs. “I have a couple of guesses.”

“Tell me.” You step closer to him. 

His lips part slightly as he looks down at you with fidgeting hands, as if he wants to reach out and touch you as well.

“My first guess is that you’d be upset that you would be down a pilot if something happened to me.” He murmurs.

You chuckle. “I think Echo and Wrecker could manage piloting.”

“Have you ever flown with Wrecker?” He asks and you know he’s being serious but you can’t help but laugh.

“Guess again…” Your fingers brush against his.

“Well…” He fixes his glasses with his other hand. “My next guess, I suppose, would be… you would be emotionally compromised or have some sort of fondness for me…”

You roll your eyes, amused. “That’s one way to put it.”

“I… also have a fondness for you.” He glances down at your lips. 

Your heart skips a beat at the goggled genius’ confession. A confession you were sure you’d never hear. Tech feels about you the way that you do for him. 

“Really?” You ask, feeling brave enough to slide your hand up his warm chest, settling over the skull and 99 tattoos.

“Really.” He takes your hand and holds it there… over his heart. 

Reaching up on your toes, you brush your lips over his lightly and timidly. Tech slides his arm around your lower back, pulling you close to him, deepening the kiss. Being confident, you realize. He sighs softly into the kiss, as if he’d been waiting for this just as long as you had. 

You both hear a throat clear and quickly pull away from each other to look in time to see Echo walk into his and Tech’s room. With a roll of his eyes, Tech shakes his head at the intrusion.

But when he looks back at you, it’s full of adoration and kindness. “Maybe I ought to risk my life more often, if it incites a reaction out of you like that.”

“Very funny.” You pull him back to you so you can kiss him again. 

“Do you two mind?” Hunter’s voice is in the hallway next. 

“Maker…” You groan. 

“I’ve got an idea.” Tech smirks, walking back to his room to put on a shirt and then coming back out. “The Marauder is currently unoccupied.” 

“You’re a genius.” You kiss his shoulder as he leads you down the back steps that lead to the outside.

“Of course I am, darling.” He smirks.

TAGS: @twistedstitcher27 @rebel-finn @grievouus @madameminor @dumfanting @rain-on-kamino @corona-one @tecker @ladykatakuri @brynhildrmimi @the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond @zoeykallus @maulslittlemeowmeow @littlemousedroid @arctrooper69 @rexxdjarin @agenteliix @padawancat97 @hated-by-me @sleepingsun501 @crosshairmylove587 @idlenesses @redheadgirl @dnxgma @themcuwriter @ashotofspotchka @sunshinesdaydream @crosshairsimp73 @ariadnes-red-thread @rosmariner @heyitsaloy @starstofillmydream @high-ct5555 @echos-girlfriend @sleepywych @nekotaetae @justanothersadperson93 @brownstalebread @aconstructofamind @book-of-baba-fett @chopper-base @palliateclaws @501st-rexster @dead-poolz @greaser-wolf @moonstrider9904 @tubble-wubble

#tbb #tbb spoilers #tbb s2 #tbb s2 spoilers #tbb tech #tbb tech x reader #tbb tech x you #bad batch tech #tech bad batch

[melliejellybellybean]

A Match Made in a Classroom

Hunter/Fem!Reader

Word Count: 4.3k, whoops...

Warnings: none

It's parent teacher conference night for Omega!

Hunter hates it. While he usually dodges the responsibility, letting one of his brothers take his place, there is no one to save him this time.

You love parent teacher conferences. You love getting to meet the families who influence the children you spend your days with, and this time you just might meet someone special.

Omega has a plan. Her, her siblings, and Cid have devised a foolproof mission that she cannot wait to set in motion.

Hunter could endure all sorts of tortures. He had to, as a soldier, and with his heightened senses, a lot of mundane things could be considered torture. Yet, here he was, facing what was likely to be the death of him. There was no rescue waiting for him, no escape from the pain he’d experience in just a few short minutes. As he was led into the bleak building, he glanced at the sun for what would probably be the last time.

“Hunter, you have to stop being so dramatic.” Omega glared after Hunter sighed for the seventh time in the past two minutes. “My teacher is very nice. You’re not going to die in there.”

“Why couldn’t Tech do this?” Hunter grumbled, “Tech always comes to these things.”

“You already know the answer to that.” Omega reminded him.

He grimaced as he remembered Tech’s adamant claims that he could not separate from the Marauder for as much as two minutes for risk of “the ship exploding, leaving us stranded with no means of making an income, Hunter. With no income, we would have no way of replenishing our food supply or other needs. Is that what you want? Do you want to starve?”

Hunter had wanted to share a few choice words with Tech then, and even more now, but he settled for grumbling once more. “Stupid explosive power couplings.”

“It’ll be fun!” Omega tried for optimism, “You can finally see the super secret project I’ve been working on for the past two weeks!”

Hunter let up on his sulking a bit when he saw her bright smile. Ever since taking on Omega, he had felt wildly out of his depth. Good soldiers did not equate to good fathers, or father figures in his case. Even after a couple of years, Hunter continued to bumble through new situations and problems, making countless mistakes along the way. He had just started to feel like he had some sort of handle on raising her when Cid started this long chain of events that would lead to his current suffering.

…

“You’ve gotta enroll that kid in a school.” She shrugged one afternoon as she passed by Hunter.

“What?” Hunter suddenly twisted on the stool he’d been sitting on, nearly falling off.

Cid didn’t stop walking. “She’s gonna need to do basic math or something soon. The longer you wait, the more suspicious it gets.”

At the time, Hunter had shrugged it off. Cid was just being Cid: sticking her nose in places where it didn’t belong. However, it seemed she shared her unwanted opinion with more people than he had thought. A few days later, Echo casually slid into the seat across from Hunter in the booth where he’d been sitting.

“You know, I’ve been thinking and asking around. Apparently, there’s a pretty good school not too far from here. Walking distance.” Hunter raised one eyebrow, but Echo continued before he could interrupt. “Think about it. Every other kid Omega’s age is going to school right now. I don’t think it’s ‘low-profile’ for a kid to hang out in Cid’s parlor with a bunch of suspicious-looking men everyday. Not to mention, she’ll learn a lot.”

“She’s already learning a lot.” Hunter argued, “We’re teaching her. Some kids are homeschooled, that’s not completely rare.”

Echo wrinkled his nose, “I don’t think ship classes and modifications are standard curriculum.”

“Well, you can argue with Tech about that.” Hunter smirked, “Good luck getting him to admit that.”

“I actually agree with Echo.” Tech voice sounded from above. Hunter looked up to see his goggled brother peering over the side of the booth where he had evidently been eavesdropping. “Sending Omega to a primary school could be beneficial for both her and us.”

Tech took the stunned silence of his brothers as a chance to scramble out of his booth and shove himself next to Hunter. “Not only could a proper education lead to better opportunities for Omega in her future, but she could also gain social awareness from exposure to other adolescents.”

“Wish you’d gotten more of that.” Hunter muttered.

Tech adjusted his goggles, “The Kaminoans kept all of us separate from the regs in our early stages. It is hardly my fault my exceptional mind progressed at a rate faster than yours. I may have skipped past some social development, but we can all agree I’m better off for it.”

“Our point is,” Echo spoke up, “it could be better for Omega to be around other kids her age and learn from someone who is actually qualified to teach. We’re soldiers. We don’t know the first thing about teaching anything other than military strategy and maybe some basic math.”

Hunter sighed, “I get that, I do, but we can’t protect her there. What if she gets into some kind of trouble and we’re not there to help her?”

“What kind of trouble will she get into at school?” Echo argued, “Those kids are supervised, school isn’t a dangerous place.”

“Actually, there are significant statistics that indicate that violence in schools is more common than we would all like to think. It’s more likely to occur in larger cities on more populated planets, but Ord Mantell does not have a reputation as the safest location. In fact, a large movement has started in Coruscant protesting the lack of restrictions on–” Tech grunted when Echo kicked him under the table.

“Look,” Hunter relented, “I would love for Omega to have more friends her age, but it’s just not possible.”

“That’s not fair!” Wrecker’s booming voice made everyone jump. Somehow, the mountain of a man had snuck up on the group. “Omega deserves to have more friends. And she’s super smart! She’d love school! Aren’t we supposed to be giving her a normal life? You’re raising her like a Kaminoan!”

…

Somehow, Wrecker knew just what to say to make Hunter hurt. As much as he wanted to unkindly tell their brothers where they could stick their advice on his parenting style, his self-doubt combined with his resentment towards his own unfair upbringing caused his stubborn nature to crumble. Now, he stood next to Omega at her parent-teacher conference, trying to combat her contagious smile.

“Alright,” Hunter looked away to hide the grin that wanted to break on his face, “which one’s your classroom?”

Omega knew she had won. She grabbed her brother’s hand and all but ran to a classroom all the way at the end of the hall. The bulletin board outside the door was decorated to look like the inside of a generic classroom. A cartoonish cookie stood by the chalkboard and more, smaller cookies that had clearly been made by the students were scattered in the center. The top of the board read, “Come see how smart your cookies are!” Hunter smiled as he saw the googly-eyed cookie that had Omega’s name on it. It was a bit messy, but he thought it was the most perfect looking cookie in the galaxy.

Before Omega could knock on the door, it opened and a little Zabrak boy came out followed by his parents. “Alright Mr. and Mrs. Vint, thank you so much for coming. Your son has been such a pleasure to have in class. I’ll see you on Monday, Pev, have a nice weekend!”

Whatever response the family had, Hunter didn’t hear it. He was busy looking at what must’ve been the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Omega’s teacher stood in perfect poise, a small, patient smile on her lips. Her eyes were bright and full of energy and kindness. Hunter swore that the longer he looked into them he had more and more hope for the galaxy. Maybe if eyes that looked like that existed, there was good after all.

“Mr. Fett?” A voice broke Hunter’s trance. Blinking, he noticed that the smile on her face had slipped slightly in concern. How long had she been talking?

“I’m so sorry,” Hunter stammered, “what were you saying?”

Omega snorted, but her teacher just giggled. It was adorable, and it took all of Hunter’s discipline to pay attention to the words that came out of her gorgeous mouth, “I said it’s nice to finally meet you. Omega talks about her brothers all the time, but I think I hear of you most often.”

Slightly touched, Hunter glanced down at Omega. She met his soft gaze with a shrug and a weirdly mischievous grin. She was up to something. Immediately, the soft fuzzy feeling was replaced by suspicion, but before he could do more than narrow his eyes at his sister, the goddess of a woman spoke up again.

“Should we go in? I’m sure you’d love to see Omega’s progress.”

…

In your, admittedly not very long, teaching career, you have never experienced a parent-teacher conference quite like the first one that you had with Mr. Fett and Omega. He paid an almost scary amount of attention to every word you spoke and every move you made while Omega bounced her gaze between the two of you like she was watching a very intense dejarik match. However, you were a professional, so you took it in stride. Omega was an amazing student, always respectful and responsible so you didn’t have to worry about having any awkward conversations with parents who were convinced their “perfect angel” couldn’t possibly have hit that little girl with a textbook. He did, by the way, not that they believed you.

The only time you were able to break the weird tension away from whatever was going on with the Fett family was when you brought up Omega’s project. She had been practically vibrating in her chair as you started talking about it, and when you asked her to grab it from her desk, she shot out of her seat like a blaster charge. Before you or Mr. Fett could caution her from literally sprinting in the classroom, she tripped over the leg of a chair, falling hard to the ground.

“Omega!” Mr. Fett was out of his chair just as fast as her. You rushed just behind him, kneeling by Omega who was clutching at her knee.

“I’m sorry!” Omega sniffled, tears in her eyes, “I shouldn’t have run.”

Mr. Fett blinked, slightly shocked, but you cut in before he could say anything.

“It’s not your fault, Omega.” You soothed the girl, “It’s Mr. Chair’s fault. Between you and me, Mr. Chair is a bitter old man, he trips me almost once a week!”

Omega giggled through the tears that built in her eyes, “Really?”

“Really.” You nodded sagely before fixing your attention to her knee, “Let’s take a look at that.”

You coaxed her into showing you her badly scraped and bleeding knee. “Stars, Mr. Chair, look what you did to Omega!” You glared at the chair, then gasped dramatically, “How dare you say that! Apologize right now!” Smiling sheepishly at Omega, as if you were embarrassed for the chair, you whispered, “He said sorry.”

“That’s okay, Mr. Chair, I’m sure it was an accident.” Omega was a smart kid, so it meant the world to you that she played along with your ridiculous fantasy.

Mr. Fett finally spoke up, “That looks pretty nasty, kid, maybe we should go get it checked out.” When his eyes moved from Omega to you, your mouth suddenly went dry and your brain decided to cease functioning. His eyes were full of intense passion and care, for Omega you assumed, and despite his hard demeanor, you could see his gaze soften. It took an embarrassing amount of time to realize he was hinting at their departure from the conference, and by extension, you.

“Oh, right.” You stammered, trying desperately to regain your professionalism after ogling at Omega’s brother, “I think the nurse has left by now, but maybe I could call her and see if she’s not too far? Wait no, that’s not fair for her, I could probably track down a janitor to open the office. I think Ward is still here, he owes me a favor. If not, I’m pretty handy with a hairpin, the lock can’t be that hard to pick, right? I should not have said that!”

Mr. Fett chuckled and even more of your brain activity packed up its bags to leave the scene. “That’s alright, you couldn’t possibly be the worst influence on her life.”

You laughed. Way too loud. “I need to keep bandages in here.” You blurted again, unable to stop this trainwreck of an interaction.

“For when Mr. Chair is mean again.” He joked. The weird tension was back. Mr. Fett kept your gaze under lock and key and Omega, while still clearly in pain, looked like a kid on Life Day.

This time, he broke it, glancing down at Omega awkwardly. “We should probably get you to Tech so he can bandage that.”

“Yes!” You rushed to the door, opening it for them. “Not that I want you to leave, but that’s probably for the best. Because of Omega’s knee, not because I don’t like you or anything. Not that I don’t like you! Omega’s great and I’m sure you are too–”

“We understand.” Mr. Fett saved you from yourself with a smirk, before leaving out the door. Omega sent you one last big grin as she passed you.

You sighed against the doorway, watching the two figures walk down the hallway until they turned the corner and left your field of vision. Breaking out of your trance, you noticed Mrs. Tenfrir raising a judging eyebrow at you. Your face burned as you quickly retreated into the safety of your classroom. The whole PTA was going to hear about this now.

Three weeks after the eventful parent-teacher conference night, you stood at the school gates greeting the children coming to school for the day. Frowning, you looked at your watch. It’s not like Omega to be late. Everyday, or at least everyday for the past three weeks, Omega arrives at school exactly 15 minutes before the day starts. Everyday, or at least everyday for the past three weeks, she gives you a slightly mischievous smile as she runs past you into the building. Everyday, or at least everyday for the past three weeks, you look up to see the oldest Mr. Fett already staring at you before catching himself and walking back in the direction he came from. He thought he hid his blush, but you could always see it. It was a surprise, but not an unwelcome one, to see that Omega’s oldest brother had started bringing her to school. In the past, it had always been either Tech or Echo, both of which would always greet you warmly. However, their brother seemed to be content to admire you from a distance.

You weren’t stupid. As a younger teacher, there were plenty of single parents who flirted with you or, on some occasions, even boldly asked you out, but you always maintained a professional relationship with them. Yet, something was different about Mr. Fett. Maybe it was his dark and broody persona or the softness that he tried and failed to keep from showing through said persona, but you felt yourself looking forward to catching a glimpse of him every morning, exactly 15 minutes before the day started.

…

“Omega, we need to get going, you’re going to be late.” Hunter reminded his younger sister for the fifth time this morning.

Omega didn’t even pull her head out of the bush she was buried in, “I know, but I promise, this is the last one. Aha!”

Triumphantly, she held up a flower she had just wrestled from the ground, adding it to the growing bouquet in her other hand. Although it significantly slowed them down, Hunter found her determination to choose only “the most perfectly perfect-looking flowers for this mission” endearing.

“The only mission you should be focusing on is getting to school on time.” Hunter scolded, “If you’re late, you’re explaining yourself to your teacher.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to explain to her?” Omega teased, “Instead of just staring at her like normal?”

Hunter almost tripped over a rock. “I do not stare.”

“Do too.” Omega chided.

“Do not.”

“Do too.”

“I’m watching to make sure you get in alright.” Hunter tried to maintain his dignity, but it was hard when he was arguing with a 13-year-old. Looking ahead, he was relieved to see that they were approaching the school gates.

Omega looked like she was going to continue arguing, but she cut herself off when she noticed you standing at the gates looking almost worried. Omega ran off, and upon seeing her, you smiled wide and called out. You were really pretty when you smiled. You were always pretty, in Hunter’s opinion, but whenever you smiled or laughed or joked with Omega, Hunter felt his heart skip several beats. He watched as Omega held out the flowers to you, presenting them in such a grand way, but then she whispered something in your ear and your eyebrows shot up. You looked at Hunter, a small blush spreading across your face as you took them, and Hunter felt his stomach drop. Sending Omega one last smile, you ushered her inside before approaching Hunter.

“Good morning, Mr. Fett,” you greeted him politely, “Thank you for the flowers.”

Hunter opened his eloquent mouth, “What?”

You giggled, raising an eyebrow, “Omega tells me that you picked these flowers for me?”

“Um, yes,” Hunter stammered, Omega’s antics finally making sense, “They just looked so beautiful, and so do you today, I mean, you look good most days–all days! You look nice all days, but today I just happened to be walking past all these flowers and I decided to get them… for you?”

“Well, thank you, again.” You started to turn away.

Don’t let her go! Hunter’s mind screamed at him. A voice blurted, “Would you want to get dinner sometime?” It took Hunter a second to realize that the voice was his own.

You froze, “Dinner?”

Hunter’s heart was pounding, “Yes.”

“With you?”

“Yes.”

“And no one else?”

“Yes.”

“Like a date?”

Hunter paused. He was too far deep now. If you hated him after this, he could always let his brothers handle all of Omega’s school events again. They’d probably be better at it anyways. “Yes?”

Silence fell between you both. Hunter’s eyes never left yours, but yours shifted around. He watched you ponder every angle of the decision you were about to make and, what felt like an eternity later, you locked your eyes back on his. “Yes.”

Hunter was sure he was dreaming. “Yes?”

“Yes.” You nodded, completely certain in your choice, “Does tomorrow night work? You could pick me up here around 6?”

“Yes.”

“Can you say anything other than ‘yes’?”

“Yes.” Hunter answered before he could think about it.

You laughed, “Well, I’ll see you then, Mr. Fett.”

“Please, call me Hunter.” He had meant to make it sound like a request, but it came out in a desperate beg.

“I have to go do my job, Hunter.” You teasingly chided and began to back away again, maintaining eye contact as long as you could. His name rolled off of your tongue like it was always meant to. Hunter never saw any particular beauty in his name, but the way it sounded coming from you made it seem like the most poetic word to be created.

For the next day and a half, Hunter was a mess. He tripped and fell down the ramp of the Marauder, he accidentally put salt in his coffee instead of sugar, he even mistook Gonky for a trash bin at some point. However, he wasn’t the only one acting odd. He caught Echo smirking to himself on more than one occasion. Tech kept bouncing between whispering to Omega and whispering to Cid, and Wrecker was being entirely too quiet.But none of that was on Hunter’s mind when he found himself sitting across from you at a restaurant. It was smaller, nice and quiet. He had heard Cid talking to AZI about it the other night, and it just turned out to be the perfect setting for this date.

“You clean up very nicely.” You broke the semi-awkward silence that had fallen since the two of you had been seated.

Hunter thought about how he had spent the better half of the day in the refresher preparing himself mentally and physically to meet you. He decided not to mention that. “You do too. I didn’t think you could have looked even more stunning, but I was wrong.” He practiced that line for almost 15 minutes.

You looked down at the table to hide your blush. Hunter could still see it, but he thought the gesture was cute. “Oh!” You snapped your head, eyes bright, “I almost forgot. I brought Omega’s project.”

“The one from the conference?” Hunter watched you root around in your bag until you pulled out a rolled up sheet of flimsy that looked like multiple smaller sheets hastily glued together.

“Yeah,” You started to unroll it, “The assignment was to make a family tree. Most kids just put mom, dad, brother, sister, maybe a tooka if they had one, but Omega was very determined to put every single one of her brothers.”

The paper was a mess. The family tree was less tree than it was a very, very long line, but it was filled, in Omega’s messy handwriting, of clone names. He saw Rex, Gregor, Cut and his family, and even some clones that she had only ever heard of like Fives, Wolffe, Waxer and Boil. There were even clones that Hunter had never met. And right in the middle, written the biggest, were five names: Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, Echo, and Crosshair. Hunter felt a lump begin to form in his throat. Omega had never known the Crosshair that the rest of them did. She only ever knew the man who ruthlessly chased them across the galaxy, trying to kill them, but she still thought of him as a brother. Enough to write his name on a family tree for a school assignment that would one day get lost, thrown away, or left behind. It was something so simple and insignificant, and it was going to make Hunter cry.

“She gave up her recess for three days straight to finish this project.” You spoke barely louder than a whisper. “I wanted to make sure you saw it since you couldn’t at the conference.”

Memories of the conference flooded Hunter’s mind. Admittedly, he hadn’t listened to what you were saying all that much, having been too focused on making sure he wasn’t actively drooling over you, but he recalled the way you soothed Omega.

“You’re really good with her.” Hunter cleared his throat to himself, “Sometimes I feel so out of my depth. Like I’m making a million and one mistakes and I can’t stop myself, but you do everything right with her.”

You blushed, just now realizing how closely he had actually watched you interact with his sister. “She’s an amazing kid, kind and selfless. I don’t think you realize how good of a job you’re actually doing with her. She couldn’t have a better brother.”

“Don’t let my other brothers hear that.” Hunter joked, trying to deflect the praise, “I would never have been able to calm her down like you did at the conference.”

“My mom used to do that.” You looked down at your lap, “Like Omega, I tended to think that I was responsible for things that were out of my control, and that’s how she helped me get past that. I always thought it was the funniest thing ever. Sometimes, I would purposefully hurt myself on things just to hear her scold them. She definitely knew when I did it on purpose, but I think it makes it all the more special that she would indulge me.”

You were pulled out of your memories by the sensation of something brushing your hand. Looking up, you saw that his hand had traveled across the table, his pinky brushing yours silently asking for permission. You turned your hand up, interlocking his fingers with yours.

Hunter opened his mouth, almost having to force the words out, “Can I kiss you?”

Your throat closed up, so all you could do was give a shy nod. The Kaminoans used to say that it took a team to raise an army. Hunter always felt that saying was a load of bantha droppings. What did they know about raising people with real thoughts and feelings? Now he realized they were sort of right. It took a team to raise a person, but most importantly, it took the right team. Not a team of the smartest doctors, most celebrated engineers, and ruthless bounty hunters, but a team of people who truly loved each other and worked together for each other’s benefit. As he started to lean into you and you to him, Hunter realized that maybe he wasn’t the wrong person to be raising Omega. Maybe he just wasn’t the only right person. Maybe he needed his brothers, and just maybe, he needed you. Hunter’s lips met yours and nothing had ever felt more right for him. And nothing would ever feel right again without you by his side. …

Omega came sprinting into Cid’s parlor. It was late, the only occupants of the room being Cid, her brothers, and AZI. They all looked at her in anticipation, waiting for her to relay information gathered from her stealth operation.

Beaming, she revealed the Mantell Mix she had been hiding behind her back. “Mission accomplished.”

A stunned silence fell for a beat, everyone processing that their work had paid off. Then the room erupted into cheers.

This fic is a gift for @miseries-mistress as a part of @cloneficgiftexchange‘s... clone fic gift exchange... (that sentence went a lot better in my head). Your dialogue prompt just screamed Hunter to me. I headcanon that he'd fall in love with someone after seeing them interact with Omega or Omega would love them before he did. I'm super excited to be able to post this for you to read, and I really hope you like it!

It was a lot of fun to participate in this fic exchange and write this. I have been looking for an excuse to start writing for the longest time and this exchange was the perfect opportunity! I am in love with the idea of Omega in a primary or elementary school, I think she'd be the best student to have. I also love the idea of Omega matchmaking all of her brothers. So, with those two ideas in mind, this fic was born! What was meant to be 800 words of Hunter being absolutely smitten with his daughter figure's teacher turned into 4k+ words of character analysis on him and Omega. Whoops. I hope yall enjoyed it!

#CFGE23 #hunter x reader #tbb hunter x reader #tbb hunter x f!reader #tbb hunter x fem!reader #tbb hunter x you #tbb hunter #the bad batch hunter #the bad batch #omegas a matchmaker #LET OMEGA GO TO SCHOOL AND MAKE FRIENDS JENNIFER

[niobiumao3]

.

'TechPhee is rushed'

Nothing has been rushed because literally nothing has happened! The closest they've come is an awkward not-goodbye after an episode clearly showing them circling one another. What's there to have been rushed??? Phee attempting to express interest and Tech completely missing it? How do you rush the ground level, absolute first step of a romantic interaction?

'Phee needs more characterization'

Definitely! And yet somehow that's not a reason to not ship her with Fennec, whom she's never even met (that we know of), or Cid, who she's been on screen with for about 1/10 as much time as Tech. Those are the 'better' canon options for her despite little to no interaction with them. How does that make more sense than Tech??

'She was neurotypical at Tech in their last scene. '

As we all know, neurotypical people are immediately aware of how to interact with ND/autistic people, they're all taught from an early age about the differences, how to spot them, etc. <sage nod>

I'll come clean; what I saw in this scene was two people misunderstanding one another. That the reason is Phee is probably neurotypical was likely the root cause, but an autistic person in her position probably would have ALSO been frustrated, they'd simply have expressed it differently. Are you going to tell me any two autistic people are automatically better at communicating because, do I have news for you...

Phee is mildly concerned they're running off in the night, prods at Tech a little. Tech doesn't know what she wants/expects, so he offers her a briefing, which to him makes perfect sense. That's how you tell someone what your mission is about! But to Phee, it comes across as a distancing, a pushing away, which is why she reacts so negatively IMO. They've been there for, what, probably a month or more, helping rebuild after the tsunami, integrating into the community, and there's no goodbyes or anything, just a 'briefing'. So it upsets her, this cutting off that she perceives. Which is of course not at all what it is, just the entire Batch has literally no experience with telling friends/non-combatants 'going on a risky mission with little chance of returning, wish us luck!', and definitely Tech doesn't if his body language is any indication. (And yet he was standing outside the ship...)

And she tries to get through to him in the way she knows how, which obviously fails--you can practically SEE him thinking 'what does that MEAN' when she talks about not running off. What she means is, 'come back to us, to ME, in one piece'. But hey, she has her own reasons for being careful and not putting herself too out there, it's just Tech has zero context for her wording.

At which point she seems to realize there's still a long way to go in getting to know one another, in coming to an understanding about the differences in how they experience life and express themselves. So she stops, lets it go. They can discuss how friends--good ones, at least--do not go on do or die missions without at least an 'I hope I can come back' once they return. (*cough*)

I don't know how this scene could have gone differently without an implication of a lot of interactions happening which addressed some of their differences. Which would be the 'rushing' people are accusing the ship of--and it literally isn't implied! At all!! If anything this scene plays right into need to slow roll things. It's like the writing can't win; either it's rushed, in which case omg lazy writing, or Phee is being horrible to Tech for not knowing how to interact with him in more personal moments despite them still determining where they stand.

The expectation that Phee handle Tech 'more carefully' in this scene is both racist in its assumptions about her and infantalizing to Tech. Sure, she could have done better, but she didn't exactly do him some sort of irreparable harm, any more than Hunter did when saying Tech can talk for hours on a subject. But Phee is a black woman and suddenly the expectation she perform this interaction perfectly as acceptable by every fan (NT/allistic or not) is the only way for the ship to be even moderately acceptable.

No one says you have to like the ship or be remotely interested in it, but attributing characteristics to it that it clearly doesn't have reveals a need to negate it, to declare you're correct in not liking it.

You can just not like it. But claiming things with no actual basis in the writing or canon looks really suspicious.

#this is just salt and ranting #reading the rest of the internet is such a mistake #but I wanted to write this down before I forgot

[eriexplosion]

Echo just left and I already miss them :c onto watching Omega have an emotional breakdown in The Crossing!

The way Omega looks immediately miserable coming out of the Marauder. Honey :C

Hunter sensing the storm and trying to determine what direction its moving: Reasonable Hunter for some reason needing to touch dirt about it: WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?

Did the dirt tell you what the storm's direction is?

All this time we thought Hunter's enhancement was his enhanced senses turns out that it's actually just talking to the dirt.

Hunter literally refuses to adjust for being a man down, Tech and Wrecker are trying to act like they ARE DOWN SOMEONE SURE but it's fine they'll deal, and Omega is just So Deep in her teenage depressions

"What's with you?" WRECKER WHAT DO YOU THINK? And just telling her she'll get used to not having Echo around. Wrecker IS the most emotionally intelligent of the batch, but it's a bit like being the tallest at the gnome convention isn't it?

This mineral is highly unstable and destructive. We need the child to drill for it.

Omega is pulling out the sass for this and I do love it, it's the first time she's let it out on anyone but Cid. She's TIRED, she MISSES ECHO, everyone is acting like it's NO BIG DEAL, let her be angry and pissy actually.

Hunter sensing someone stealing the Marauder like Lassie

Tell me Wrecker :) How exactly did you miss our ship being compromised :)

The way that Tech and Omega have the same external reaction to stress and it is turning the sass up 3000 times. Their processing may be different but good god are they similar in some ways.

Tech knowing Echo disabled their communication device because presumably he tried to call too, this is fine, I'm fine.

LITERALLY LION KING BEHAVIOR I STILL REMEMBER THE VAGUE MEME FOR THIS. THEY PUT DYNAMITE ON SIMBA.

"You must protect the ipsium case!" "WELL WHAT ABOUT PROTECTING ME :C"

I will protect you Wrecker don't worry

"Why don't you carry it?" "FINE!"

I'm sorry their dynamic is so funny when Tech gets extra spicy

And lest it be thought he's only being casual with Wrecker's safety his reaction to being saved instead of the ipsium is literally THE CASE!!!!!!

"So, now we are trapped. AND we have lost all of our ipsium. >:T"

Tech must be a NIGHTMARE to vacation with if even one thing goes off the itinerary

Nightmare Family Trip To Space Arizona

I'm just. Echo is gone for five minutes and their HOUSE gets stolen. THEIR WHOLE HOUSE. WITH THE FAMILY DOG INSIDE.

Tech looked at his dialogue options and literally it was like

[Persuasion] Assure Omega that while things are changing it will be alright and she will adapt *Rolls a nat 1* THIS SQUAD EXISTED BEFORE ECHO WAS A PART OF IT, AND IT WILL EXIST AFTER. WHAT IS YOUR ISSUE?

Everyone looking at Tech like WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

Tech is so sincere when saying "She... said she wanted to be alone?" he genuinely does not process like this and the thought that she'd say she wanted to be alone if she didn't fully mean it DOES NOT OCCUR TO HIM.

Just slap those extremely volatile tubes into the satchel to roll around it's fine nothing to worry about.

THE WAY THAT TECH JUMPS AFTER HER IMMEDIATELY STILL GETS ME BUT ESPECIALLY THAT SHE DISAPPEARS INTO FOG WHICH HE JUMPS THROUGH WITHOUT HESITATION. He doesn't know what's down there and it doesn't matter, he is GOING AFTER HER.

(Plus parallels to the season finale again, and another example of just how much they can survive.)

Hunter sensing that something, somewhere is wrong. Because their day hasn't been hard enough already.

I love the small details like Tech having to shake water out of his goggles.

Just crawl down into this dark tunnel, carrying the extremely explosive material, throw yourself into the raging rapids, and get thrown into our cavern. Also if the vials touch each other too hard you die <3

Wrecker has the right assessment, this planet sucks

GODDDD THIS SCENE BETWEEN OMEGA AND TECH. Tech having to take a long moment to try to think about his replies, trying so hard to make sure that he's completely understood, because it's important that this in particular get through. Explaining how he feels the losses, intensely, but that he focuses on adapting to the change. I'm WEAK.

And god Omega's little "We're more than that. We're a family. Aren't we?" gets to me every time too but especially since I saw someone suggest the final two lines that sum everything up might be "We're more than that. We're a family." stated with utmost confidence, and like, I would absolutely shatter, I would BREAK INTO A MILLION PIECES, I would CRY like an INFANT.

Following up this wonderful soft moment with [WRECKER SCREAMING]

As we know, the fact that they hid Hunter's wet hair from us is a fucking crime.

Setting up that Tech is good at making precision shots in preparation for the finale. I see you writers, and I hate it.

This conversation with Cid is SO fucking funny like it's awful she's completely unhelpful, but also I feel like the Empire is definitely there, because this is the start of her entire vibe towards them Changing.

#the bad batch rewatch

[emeraldspiral]

So I finally finished watching a Let's Play of FFVII Rebirth, shockingly without The Algorithm recommending me anything that spoils the ending, and in the spirit of that I'm putting my thoughts on the ending below a cut.

So going into it my thought was that Aerith's death is such an iconic moment in video game history and so integral to the plot it'd be insane to have her survive just for the sake of fan wish fulfillment. But it begs the question of what the point was of introducing the idea of defying fate and changing the story if you can't change the one thing everyone spent decades trying to avoid or undo. I think early on my thought was that the best course of action that would respect the integrity of the original story would be to have Aerith still die, but then change the ending of the final game so she comes back after it's all over. That way you still get your dark middle chapter/second act setback, and you don't undermine the original story, but you're still actually doing something with the concept of defying fate and pleasing the fans who always wanted to save Aerith. In a way it's even better to have Aerith come back in the end because it fits with the elements of Christian mythology present in the story. If Aerith is the Jesus to Sephiroth's anti-Christ and Jenova's Devil, then why shouldn't the one thing that changes about this story be her getting resurrected in the end?

The way things played out in Rebirth, I still think this is likely the case. Being the dark middle chapter, of course it had to start us off thinking that because Team Avalanche scored that victory against the Whispers in the first act, things could turn out different. But the point of the second act is to take you down from the high note the first act left us on, which it does by showing us that maybe you can't fight fate after all. First we found out the Whispers were still around. Then we found out definitively that Wedge was killed after seemingly escaping his original fate. You get Cid and the Tiny Bronco under totally different circumstances, yet the plane still crashes and becomes a boat. Cait Sith leaves the party after betraying the group rather than blackmailing his way into staying with them, but he still ends up sacrificing himself at the Temple of the Ancients anyway. Near the end in the Zack timeline, it seems like there's a split where he either chooses to get medicine for Cloud over saving Biggs, or goes to save Biggs, only for Biggs to still die anyway in both timelines. If you were asking what the point was of saying you could defy fate in the first game if the second game was just going to say you can't after all, it was to get your hopes up on purpose so that when Aerith ultimately ends up dying again, it feels just as fresh and shocking as it did the first time around rather than something players are simply resigned to as an inevitability.

As for the ambiguity about the situation, I've seen some people suggest that the Aerith we see at the end is Jenova in disguise, a figment of Cloud's imagination, a ghost that only he can see, or a version of her from another timeline where she didn't die. I haven't heard anything quite like the theory I'm starting to formulate though.

So my hot take is that whatever's going on with Sephiroth is also going on with Aerith. We know Sephiroth already fell into the lifestream once, with Jenova's head, and that his whole plan was to get in there again so he could become a god, but when Aerith died she ended up there and used her magic to stop meteor. We know that Sephiroth did still worm his way in there though, because it was his tainting of the lifestream that caused the geostigma in Advent Children, which Aerith purified after he was defeated again.

So I think to some extent Sephiroth and Aerith both ascended to a kind of godhood by becoming one with the lifestream, and it's because of this that they were able to transcend the barriers between worlds and see through time. That's why they both had foreknowledge of future events. In Rebirth, we learn that Sephiroth exists as the same being simultaneously across different worlds via the final boss battle. In other words, he is omniscient and omnipresent. I believe Aerith was as well in the beginning of Remake, but by the end, she was separated from the rest of the omniscient Aerith collective, and lost her foreknowledge of the future and awareness of alternate timelines. Near the end of Rebirth however, she starts to reconnect with her other selves from developing her Cetra powers and Sephiroth creating tears in the fabric of reality. Regaining her foreknowledge of future events allowed her to accept the inevitability of her death and try to ease Cloud's guilt over it, and at the moment she was meant to die, she became fully absorbed back into her omnipresent self. Maybe there's still a version of her who did survive after all, who's separated from the others since her death was what led to her entering the lifestream and ascending to godhood. But that's not the Aerith who fights with Cloud and sees him off at the end. Whenever we see Aerith after her death, that's the omnipresent goddess Aerith. The reason only Cloud can see her is because Aerith touched his face as she lay dying, passing on some of her omniscient awareness to him, just as she did with Marlene.

The reason why in the original FFVII Aerith stayed dead was because Sephiroth wasn't fully defeated yet. But now that his omnipresent self has gone back in time to try to change his fate she has an opportunity to wipe him out of existence from every reality. Only when he's completely eradicated will her business with him finally be done, and she can be free to return from the lifestream.

#ffvii #final fantasy vii #final fantasy vii rebirth #ffvii rebirth

[soft--dragon]

Bomb Disarming

I adore Wrecker and Omega's dynamic so I had to write something for them!! :D Hope you enjoy! <3

THIS IS ALL PLATONIC, GET AWAY YA NASTY SHIPPERS

Word Count: 2,388

Warnings: None

This is a SFW tickle fic, if you don’t like that then don’t read :)

Travelling to new planet systems always seemed to take longer than wanted, and this one was especially bad. It was going to take so long in fact, that Tech had ended up switching the ship to autopilot and left the cockpit to tinker with a new project. Hunter and Echo were somewhere in the Havoc Marauder, either discussing new jobs from Cid or talking plans about ration stockage and fuel supplies.

Those types of serious conversations were something Wrecker would rather leave to the two leaders of the team, it was way too boring to force himself to be interested in those topics. Though, he was almost considering going to see what they were talking about just to save himself from going stir crazy. He was in the cockpit with Omega, sat back in the comfy chairs and desperately wishing something interesting would just happen already. He’d even take being knocked out of hyperspace by a Purrgil or something.  

Another minute passed before Wrecker decided it was official; he was going to die of boredom. Bam. Straight on the floor, flatlined with a sheet thrown over his corpse. Murdered by boredom instead of on the battlefield, what a sad way to go. 

By the looks of things, Omega wasn’t far off either. The kid was turning aimlessly in her chair, trying to twirl one of Tech’s tools between her fingers like Hunter did with his knives. She was getting pretty accurate with the timing of the spins, but they weren’t very smooth, the pattern of switching the tool to each finger was stilted. Though she didn’t seem to care about the tacky display, instead staring at the streaks of blue and white outside the glass of the ship with a glazed look in her brown eyes.

Two death counts from boredom in one day. Truly a pity. 

Wrecker groaned, sitting up and rolling his shoulders back, causing them to click loudly. Omega didn’t even spare him a glance at the movements, her focus still the shifting blue hues outside. Damn, she was zoned out. 

The larger clone hummed deeply, foot tapping the floor in thought as he tried to come up with a way to entertain the pair of them. They still had over an hour of travel left and Wrecker wanted to bash a few more heads in before he took his trip to the afterlife, thank you very much, so the boredom would have to go. His gaze flicked to the tool Omega was still spinning slowly, it was a smaller set of clipping shears Tech used on finicky wires in the more delicate parts of his projects, and quite similar to what they used to cut wires of bombs.

Wrecker’s eyebrows shot up as an idea hit him faster than a bullet train.

“Hey kid!” He exclaimed, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees to be at Omega’s height level.

Omega gave a start at the sudden burst of noise which caused the tool in her hand to clatter to the floor. She ripped her gaze from the window and stared up at her brother in alarm. “What? What is it?” She asked, her accented voice filled with concern.

Wrecker grinned at her, scooping the discarded clipping shears on the ground and holding them up clearly. “Why don’t we go through bomb disarming again? We haven’t done it in a bit!”

Omega blinked owlishly, eyes flicking between the tool and his face in bewilderment. “On the ship?” Her question was a mix of slight levity and confusion. “I don’t think Hunter would like that very much.”

Wrecker’s excitement deflated slightly. She did have a pretty valid point. They were running low on smoke bombs as is, and the idea of the ship filling with the thick fog with no way to filter it out probably wasn’t a smart idea. 

“Ah,” he grunted, lowering the shears slightly. “I guess that’s true.”

Omega nodded quietly and went to look back out the window, her knees drawing to her chest and arms wrapping around them. She looked smaller than usual in that position, and her childish features just looked so sad. Wrecker frowned. He didn’t like Omega being sad. 

“We don’t have to use an actual bomb,” he said slowly, his brain trying to come up with an alternative quickly.

“Mm?” Hummed Omega to show she was listening, half lidded eyes drifting over the hyperspace streaks.

“...We could use my hand instead?”

Omega lifted her head, eyebrows furrowing as she stared straight forwards. She then turned to look at him slowly, one eyebrow quirked in puzzlement. “...You want me to use those shears on your fingers?” 

Wrecker barked a laugh, shaking his head and tossing the shears to the side which caused them to clatter noisily on the dashboard. “No no, the idea was that you’ll use your fingers like shears to ‘cut’ my fingers which will be the wires. The palm of my hand will be the actual bomb, and your goal is to cut the right wires to stop it from detonating. Make sense?”

Omega’s gaze dropped to his hand that was being held up to be a demonstration alongside Wrecker’s explanation. Slowly, her legs unfurled from her chest and she sat forward on her chair. 

“...Okay, that sounds like it could be good practice.”

“Atta girl,” Wrecker praised, ruffling her curls and smiling when she leant up into his large palm. “Do you need reminding of which wires are which?”

“I think I remember… provided you’ve got them in the same order as a smoke bomb and you’re not gonna pull anything?”

“Course not, kid. Now, you’ve got a time limit of ten seconds before it explodes, ya ready?”

Omega leant forward more, using her index and middle fingers to make a pair of scissors on her right hand and studying Wrecker’s ‘bomb’. “Ready.”

Wrecker had spread his fingers with his palm facing upwards, trying to make it easy for Omega to remember the correct method. “Alright. Beep!” 

With Wrecker’s noise indicating the ‘bomb’s’ activation, Omega quickly set to work, half listening to his countdown. “The conductor feeds the coil expander… this connects to the transmitter… the detonator links to…” 

As she mumbled, she used her finger shears to cut at Wrecker’s fingers, the older clone folding the digits inwards to show the break. She’d ‘cut’ three of Wrecker’s fingers, and was now stalling between his middle and ring fingers, face pinching as she tried to recall the last step. 

“I- I don’t know which one to do-”

“Better hurry, kid! Five… four…”

Omega bit her lip anxiously, then on impulse, pinched Wrecker’s ring finger between her shears. 

“BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.”

Kriff. Wrong one. 

“KABOOM!” Wrecker yelled, sweeping Omega off her chair into his arms, wiggling his fingers into her sides quickly. 

Omega squealed loudly, kicking out on instinct and breaking into fits of laughter. “AHA! W-Wrehehecker!” 

“You failed to disarm the worst kind of bomb there is, Omega, now you’re suffering the consequences!”

Still giggling, Omega pressed out, “Smoke bohombs arehen’t the wohorst!”

“Oh no, this was very different from a regular ol smoke bomb, kiddo,” Wrecker chuckled, “it was a tickle bomb!” 

He blew a raspberry into Omega’s cheek, fingers worming against her stomach to produce high pitched, childish laughter. 

“YOHOU LIHIAR!” Omega gasped, squirming in Wrecker’s unrelenting hold. “Yohou shahid ihit wahas aha smohoke bohomb!” 

Far too smug about his ploy, Wrecker chuckled evilly. “Oh I didn’t lie, I said the wires were in the same order as a smoke bomb, I never said it was one.” He lay Omega over his lap and raised his hands above her, wiggling his fingers tauntingly. The effect was immediate. 

Omega tried to curl up in the limited space, giggling more at the ‘threat’ before her. “W-Wrehehecker!” she squeaked.

“Yeah? That’s my name, Omega.” He held them for a moment longer to build suspense, then suddenly dropped them to just ghost over Omega’s torso, delighting in the squeal that burst from the blonde clone. Her eyes had clamped shut in preparation for the onslaught, only for Wrecker to raise his hands in the air again, still wiggling.

Cracking an eye open, Omega whined at falling for the fake-out. “Wrehehehecker!”

“Still my name. You sure we shouldn’t call you Echo, now?”

Once more, Wrecker’s hands plunged down towards Omega, another shriek bursting from the kid that was followed by bright giggles. The sensations of wiggling fingers never touched down, and Omega didn’t even need to open her eyes this time to know she’d been tricked again.

“Nohot fahair!”

“Not fair? Oh, I’ll show you ‘not fair’, kid.”

Wrecker snaked an arm under her back to tickle her right side and used the other to poke along her left ribs quickly, leaving her no escape route from the gentle attack. Omega squealed and shrieked, her hands smacking at Wrecker’s to try and deter him, but the bigger clone was secure in his path.

These tactics were ones he often used on his brothers’, and he was pleased to see it was just as effective on his sister too. Omega was a bundle of bright giggles and a smile close to literal sunshine, the child was just as ticklish as the rest it would seem.

“Wrecker, I hope you don’t plan on killing Omega, do you?”

The slightly nasally voice made Wrecker look at the doorway where Tech was standing, discreetly putting away a holo-pad that no doubt was filled to the storage limit with photos now. 

“Nah, she disarmed a bomb incorrectly and it exploded,” he explained, grinning up at his younger brother. “She’s facing the aftermath.”

“Ah, I see.” Tech’s lips twitched subtly and he cleared his throat. “I’m looking for my clipping shears, have you seen them?” 

“Dashboard.”

“Thank you.”

“T-Tehehech hehehelp!” Omega squeaked, reaching out for the bespeckled clone, only to shriek and throw her head back in new bouts of laughter as Wrecker had quickly swept his fingers into the new weak spots. She clamped her arms down to try and stop the wiggling digits, but it only served to trap them in the sensitive hollows, leaving her spluttering and giggling hysterically. 

“I’m afraid I cannot help you, Omega,” Tech answered, amusement evident in his voice as he shifted towards the dashboard to retrieve his tool, pocketing it for the time being. “I am not one to stand in the way of a lesson, especially one as important as bomb disarmament.” 

“Trahahitor!” 

“Now now, there’s no need for insults. You’ll get the right wires next time, I’m sure.” Tech ruffled Omega’s hair in passing, a smile on his face that was a mix of fond and mischievous. He then glanced at the bigger clone with an equally fond smile. “Though Wrecker, remember that her stamina is not the same as ours, you may want to ease up soon.”

Wrecker sent a grin towards his brother. “Yeh, that’s a good point,” he agreed and slid his hands out from underneath Omega’s tightly pressed arms. A giggly squeal slipped from the girl and melted both of the hearts of the male clones instantly. 

She brought her arms down to protect her torso, grinning up at Wrecker with mirthful anticipation, giggles still tumbling from her mouth. Wrecker chuckled at her flighty behaviour, raising his hands in what would be a peaceful action though it only caused Omega to giggle harder and curl in on herself. 

“N-Nohoho nohot thahat agahain!” she whined, eyeing Wrecker’s fingers through squinted eyes. 

“Used the ‘hang and drop’ tactic on her too, I see?” Tech observed, his smile softer than Wrecker had ever seen it. “You really wanted to make her learn the importance of bomb disarming.”

“Of course, we don’t want a lack of bomb knowledge to cause her to be partially blind in one eye, right? That position is already filled.”  

Tech flicked his gaze from Omega to Wrecker, eyes trailing over the scarring running over the left side of Wrecker’s face. He softened a bit more, reaching over to gently rest a hand on his shoulder. “You’re being a good teacher,” he said quietly. “She’ll be a natural in no time.” 

Wrecker smiled up at him warmly, giving a one shouldered shrug to lean up into the palm. “Thanks Tech.”

“Of course.” Tech removed his hand, making for the door only to pause in front of it. “Omega, I expect you to drink some water after your lesson, you’ll be dehydrated from all your laughing.”

Omega grinned and gave a small salute from where she was still lying on her back on Wrecker’s legs. “Sir, yes, sir,” she chirped, the lingering titters fading out.

Tech gave a nod, giving a smile in return and then stepped from the room, the doors sliding closed behind him. The silence hung in the air for a moment, interrupted occasionally by Omega’s small giggles that crept back into her chest. It was only when she had calmed down fully that Wrecker leant over to the storage cabinet by the piloting chair to pluck out a bottle of water. He handed it to Omega who sat up in his lap to take a swig, humming appreciatively of the cooling effect. 

Wrecker let her rest for another minute or two before gently nudging his chin against her hair. “You up to trying again?” He asked.

Omega blinked up at him in surprise, cocking her head slightly. “Oh, I can do the  disarmament again?” 

“Of course, the only way to get it right is practice.” Carefully, Wrecker picked her up again and set Omega back on her chair. He cracked his knuckles then held a hand upright, fingers splayed. “You got your clipping shears ready?”

Omega sat forward and propped her hand up to have her index and middle fingers positioned again. “Yup,” she said, then suspiciously leant back. “...If I get this wrong again…”

“You already know what’ll happen,” Wrecker chuckled. “Gotta have some consequence right? Otherwise it’ll be pretty ineffective to help you learn.”

Omega rolled her eyes, smiling up at her brother. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. It…it is kinda fun.”

Wrecker visibly brightened at her words. “Good! Cause we still have forty minutes to kill, kid.”

Cracking her knuckles, Omega grinned, a flame of determination flaring up inside her. “Bring it.”

#my fanfic #lee!omega #ler!wrecker #bad batch tickle #the bad batch #tickle fic #fanfic #star wars tickle #star wars #wrecker is a massive sweetheart #it is 3am rn #dear lord my life has been taken over by a hyperfixation again #tech shows up but he's just there to be a menace /affectionate

[luxroyalty]

Final Fantasy XV: Regis is the Chosen King AU.

It took me a while to think about this one:

Regis is nine when Bahamut drags him into the realm of dreams and speaks to him of destiny. He tells him that Regis will die for his country and the world. At that age, Regis didn’t realise there was another other option.

Mors did not think Regis was the chosen king. He would have only believed it if Bahamut told him directly - while Bahamut never deigned to talk to him.

Because Mors never believed and was a little controlling/protective, he never let Regis move out of the Heir suite in the Citadel. It was almost directly below the Crystal chamber. Regis soaked in the power every night while he slept - the pain caused by hundreds of years of magic in his body was dismissed by the doctors until it started crystallising inside of him. They put it down to him being inefficient with his spells and causing a build up.

Cor was the first person to believe Regis was telling the truth about being the Chosen King from the get go. He looked at Regis and accepted Regis would cause problems like this. This was why Cor got treats from the shop and Cid did not.

It took three Astrals for Clarus to realise that he didn’t want Regis to die for the world but he was going to watch it happen anyway. He never said anything to Regis about it.

Noctis was born anyway. The Astrals almost took him away because Regis was meant to be the last, but Regis told them if they did that he would let the world die. He meant it.

#ffxv #ffxv fics #ask games #my asks

[cew644]

My personal interpretation of the FF16 ending

Back on my FF16 BS again since I've been replaying NG+. I haven't changed my mind much about the ending, but I think there could be two possible routes.

Major spoilers for the ending below:

So, for the people who haven't done the late-game side quests, there are quite a few narrative elements that could point towards Clive's survival.

In Jill's quest, there is a bit where she wishes to Metia (the red star) that Clive come back to her. Since Clive is like her treasure and her dawn. In the ending credits, we see Metia fade away, and Jill begins crying. She runs away to mourn but looks up and sees the dawn rising once again, and she smiles. This, alongside the lyrics of "My Star", have people speculating that Clive lives. I can get behind the Metia symbolism, but not the lyrics. The song closes with the lyrics: "And though our night is over you shall always remain, forever, my treasure, my star." That just seems like accepting and mourning the loss of a loved one, but that's just me.

The next most clear one is in the Hypocrates quest with Dion. After reuniting the two, Hypocrates thanks Clive and gives him a quill to document his journey after the fight. The bonus after-credits scene then has a book written by Joshua Rosfield. This, along with Clive seemingly narrating the book's intro and conclusion, could mean he lives.

So this is where I start to differ in my opinion on the ending. I've seen a lot of people say that this is just Clive taking his brother's name to write the book since "the phoenix's power can't bring back the dead."

There is no ending in my mind where Joshua dies. Clive did everything he could to try and help his brother. Joshua surviving Pheonix Gate and coming back is almost like a second chance to protect his family once again. Joshua dying again would go against this sort of second chance that Clive now has. So, Joshua clearly dies from Ultima, but Clive also absorbs Ultima's power of creation. I think you can pretty safely say he can use both Ultima and the Pheonix to bring Joshua back.

So with all this preamble out of the way, here are my two possible endings:

Clive lives: So in this one, all 3 of them live. We take all the sidequests as narrative foreshadowing. Clive still succumbs to the Cystals curse but lives long enough on the beach for Jill to find him. Her wish to Metia once again, came true. His hands are no longer functional, so rather than write the novel himself, he has his brother write down his story. This is why Clive is narrating the game, and Joshua's name is on the book. And if the brothers get to live, so does Dion. I abide by the film-making rules where if you do not see a dead body, they are not dead. The man is a dragoon. He can fall from crazy heights. The medicine girl and Terence can find him or something idk. This, plus his promise to Hyprocates to go and retrieve the Wyvern's Tail, could also point to his survival. This would be the best possible ending for the trio.

Clive dies: In this one, Clive is consumed by the curse completely. Joshua lives, and Dion is probably dead. Joshua, Jill and all the people in the hideaway write down a chronicle of Clive's adventure. As discussed in the sidequests, Gav takes up Cid's name and works with all the hideaway members to try and help the people learn to live without magic. All the people that Clive helps can still work to try and live in this new magicless world that Clive died to make. A world that Clive chose how he would live and die for. It's very true to the "a world where people choose how they live and die" that Cid and he vowed to make together. And for that reason, even though it's much more sombre, I prefer this interpretation. It also makes more sense to me because it's very clear that they didn't want Jill in the final boss cause they couldn't kill her and Joshua and make the healing scene make any sense. The theme is also about brotherhood. It's just an eldest sibling thing to do lol. Edit: Grammar.

#ff16 spoilers #ffxvi spoilers #ffxvi #ffxvi ending #ff16 ending #final fantasy 16 spoilers #clive rosfield #joshua rosfield #dion lesage #jill warrick #really wish jill had more to do in the endings #she got done so dirty #ff16

[secondflame]

continued from here ft. @thunderingoutlaw

He didn’t have time to call Clive’s name, all his body’s effort devoted to movement. Braced roughly on mossy stone, Cid reached for the other’s outstretched hand. No thought was spared for the risk of dislocated shoulders or the possibility of missing - he would catch Clive. And he did. Cid nearly slumped into a sigh when his hand closed and held around Clive’s wrist, but only permitted himself a huff before a deeper breath as he began hauling the other man up.Once they were both on solid ground again, Cid kept his hold on Clive for a moment or two longer, giving the latter a once-over for any injuries. Patting the man’s upper arm, he then leaned back on gloved palms to ease his breathing. “You tryin’ to make my heart give out?”There wasn’t any real venom in the chiding, with just a mix of concern and relief in his glance toward Clive.

There was little on his mind these days besides his immediate objectives. He was going through the motions, feeling numb, a sense of guilt permeating his entire being. It choked him, but also caused him to jump on any request, anything that would distract him from the painful truth.

He was Ifrit.

The reason for his brother's death. The Dominant of Ifrit, who was no longer an abstract concept, no longer a faceless murderer, a monster he could hunt and bring to justice. There would be no salvation in it. Not like he had hoped. He's asked himself every night since realizing this, what the point was of going on. Why he would not find himself a cliff to to jump off of, give himself the end Cid has denied him. He had begged him for it even, a pathetic sight he must have made, naked and screaming like a child, devastated by a truth that had been staring him in the face all along. He was the monster. He was the source of all the nightmares that plagued him for thirteen years, that plagued him still, but different now that he was aware, that he was awakened.

Clive worked his jaw, a phantom ache, a recent memory, resurfacing. 'Since you're still breathing, you might as well make yourself useful.' And so he did. Despite his apathy He fought like a man possessed, seeking battles even where there were none. He knew others noticed, although he wasn't sure if Cid did, too, or if someone else told him to keep an eye on him. But then again, who would?

Still, it was why Cid was here, Clive thought as he stared at the back of his head as they walked , to keep him from doing anything that would get him killed at last.

Clive wished he had the courage to end it himself, could spare himself the constant agony that accompanied his every waking moment and in turn could spare Cid this farce of pretending that he needed him on this mission, or any mission, that he was not just dragging Clive along because he probably thought he needed to babysit him lest he do something stupid.

If so, Cid wasn't wrong.

Imagine Clive's surprise then, when despite all of this, instead of feeling relief wash over him as the floor gives way beneath him, it is icy panic, fear biting at his conscious causing him to flail his arms, trying to grasp for purchase, gripping nothing but air.

He would die here. He thought. It was over.

But then-- a painful jolt went through his shoulder when Cid caught him by the wrist, his shoulder straining under the pull of his own weight trying to drag him down into the abyss below. Clive could do nothing but stare up at Cid, blue eyes wide and round. Scared, helpless. Before the reality hit him proper like a punch to the gut and he was able to breathe again, his own hand gripping around Cid's wrist in turn.

By the time Cid hoisted him back up onto the ledge, Clive regained just enough strength to actually keep standing, legs trembling, steps a little unsteady, adrenaline flooding his veins still as Cid dragged him a few more feet back to bring some distance between them and the edge.

Cid's words reached him as if through water, blood still rushing in his ears. Clive turned to look at him a long moment later, more composed, but still looking pale. "It's not--" He cleared his throat, fighting the evident tremble in his voice. "It's not like I did that on purpose." There was little bite to his statement, although he tried to sound firm, his gaze dragged back to the ledge.

Founder, that was close.

#thunderingoutlaw thread 01 #thunderingoutlaw #tw: suicidal thoughts #//clive is not in a great place after that whole awakening business #//its gotten kinda long :'D sry about that #[without the faintest glimmer of hope].verse:pre-timeskip

[phantom-of-the-501st]

TBB Finale Thoughts

Spoilers for TBB Season 2

I feel ill

Well... thoughts I guess...

Yeee they're gonna go and get Crosshair!!!

Echo's got contacts 😌

TECH IS SO AWKWARD I FUCKING LOVE HIM

Phee telling him not to run off with any pirates 😭

Of course this meeting is full of old white men.

AAWWW WE HAVEN'T HAD TECH AND ECHO IN THE COCKPIT TOGETHER IN SO LONG!!!

Just saying, last time they parked the Marauder out of view it got stolen. 😐

I got way too excited over cable cars.

Tech, pls get off the high thing. It's stressing me out. 😬

I would be Wrecker in this situation. Except I'd be doing worse.

At least everyone else has two hands to hold on with, Echo just has his scomp wedged under a pipe. 😭

Hemlock going for the "if I just make all my responses really vague then I won't actually have to answer anything" approach.

EXCUSE ME TARKIN, YOU BITCH! ECHO BLEW UP TO SAVE YOU! GIVE THE CLONES SOME DAMN RESPECT!!!

Echo hasn't been sidelined which is good. 🥰

It's "let's send the child off into a dangerous situation by themselves" time!

Swinging the crane around and knocking everything over seems like something Fives would do.

Or Hardcase. But Hardcase wouldn't do it intentionally.

SAW GERRERA???

Saw, mate. Pls don't blow it up. I don't need to be more stressed about the Batch not making it. 😭

These fight sequences are great!

Oh great. Now they're stuck. 🥲

Remember in 2x1 when it ended with the crate falling out of the sky? Yeah... this feels like that.

And that didn't end well for Tech so now I'm stressed that someone is going to get hurt. 😭

Everything is grey. Why does everything have to be grey? Grey ≠ good.

WHY DOES HUNTER LOOK SO SAD IN THE NEXT EPISODE SCREENSHOT?!

TECH STOP CLIMBING ON THINGS ISTFG!

This has me all levels of stressed out. 🫠

Oh fuck. Now we have ships involved.

Oh fuck fuck fuckety fuck fuck fuck

THIS SITUATION CAN'T GET ANY WORSE

NEVERMIND I STAND CORRECTED

THE CARRIAGES ARE FALLING OFF THE RAIL

TECH NO SHIT HANG ON AAAHHHH

WRECKER GO AND GET HIM OMG 😭

Tech...

Tech what're you doing...

Tech no...

THAT'S PLAN 99

FUCK OFF THAT'S PLAN 99?!

TECH

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

Months ago I said that Tech was the most likely of them to die

THAT DIDN'T MEAN THAT I FUCKING WANTED IT

I feel sick

That might be the sleep deprivation tbf

But omg I actually feel ill

I'm sobbing

Help

I hate this

Why

FUCK

Wrecker calling Tech's name is so much like Fives calling Echo's

Everything hurts

Oh great! This entire sequence is like when Hunter got shot! 😭

CAN'T WE HAVE HAPPINESS FOR 2 FUCKING SECONDS?!

It stresses me out that we haven't seen Crosshair yet 😐

Hey, AZI. Nice to see a friendly face. 🥲

Awww they were so worried about her 😭

Help me

Goddammit, Tech. I didn't need this. 😭

But we haven't seen a body, right? THAT MEANS HE COULD BE OKAY, RIGHT??? NO BODY MEANS THAT HE MIGHT NOT BE DEAD, RIGHT?!

Wrecker has a neck brace. 🥲

OH FUCK

SAD WRECKER

DON'T DO THIS TO ME

"Yeah. Me too."

This entire episode makes me feel like I'm gonna throw up

NO FUCK

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

NOT ECHO SAD

I CAN'T DEAL WITH THIS

FUCK FUCK FUCK

NOPE

HE'S ALREADY LOST HIS ENTIRE SQUAD DON'T DO THIS TO HIM 😭

I'm in so much pain rn

I'm suffering

CID YOU FUCKING BITCH!

I HATE YOU

I HATE YOU SO FUCKING MUCH RIGHT NOW

Don't look all sad and regretful

You know what you did

Fuck you 🤬

"Who knew clones were so paternal" 😭

NOT THE GOGGLES

NOT THE GOGGLES

FUCK

I hate this I hate this I hate this

But that means they found him, right???

I refuse to believe that he's dead.

I refuse to believe it.

Maybe they took him.

I mean, that's not good but at least it means he's not fucking dead.

PLEASE TELL ME HE'S NOT FUCKING DEAD

Oh shit now they have Wrecker and Hunter. 😭

ECHO TO THE RESCUE!!!

Oh piss off Hemlock, you slimy git

(I actually really enjoy watching him as a villain though)

(It's a love hate relationship)

(Mainly hate)

Echo and AZI teaming up is making me think of Fives and AZI and now I'm somehow even more sad... ☹️

ECHO IN A WALKER!!!

THAT'S OUR MAN RIGHT THERE!!! 🔥

Scorch, you put Omega down right now!

THEY ALL LOOK SO SAD I CAN'T DO THIS 😭😭😭

Oh Nala Sé can piss off as well. 😒

CROSSHAIR

ALL THIS AND WE GET 5 SECONDS OF UNCONSCIOUS CROSSHAIR?!

And there was us thinking that they were gonna rescue him. 🤡

Well we were right about one thing... they got Omega. 🥲

I DO NOT LIKE THOSE TUBES IN THE BACKGROUND

I VERY MUCH DO NOT LIKE THEM

So Emerie is a clone!

Oh, we've ended on grey. Of course. How else would it end.

I just... what do I say? I don't know what to do. I'm in pain. I feel sick. This episode broke me in every way possible. I don't know what to do.

Me if someone tries to tell me that Tech is actually dead 👇

... at least this means season 3, right? 🥲

@phis-writing @saturn-sends-hugs @eriexplosion @heyclickadee @snarkyfina So, besties... how are we doing? 😃

#more thoughts later #maybe #i don't know what to say #i'm just broken #help #WHY DO THEY DO THIS TO US #now i see why DBB said that he had to be very concerned #i was a complete mess #there was a lot of sobbing #how am i supposed to concentrate on mando after this??? #star wars #the bad batch #the bad batch spoilers #tech #echo #wrecker #hunter #omega #crosshair #tbb spoilers #the bad batch season 2 spoilers

[itsgeecheebitch]

Until Darkness Descends

Chapter: 42/?

Fandom: Final Fantasy XV

Rating: Explicit

Series: The Fall Part 1 of 4

Main Pair: Ardyn Izunia x Reader

Sec Pair: Gladiolus Amicitia x Reader

    A few days passed when the team finally located the regalia. Turns out  the empire had it all along just as Gladiolus had suspected. With the car back in your possession, and your plans for Cape Caem falling into place, you and the boys made your way to Lestallum. None of you had any intention of leaving Iris and the others in the city while you sailed east to Altissia. 

      Cid had informed you of a safe house he built near the lighthouse in Caem. Quiet, spacious, remote, a perfect hiding place from the empire. Iris, Talcott, and Jared would be safe there unlike in Lestallum. While Iris and the others were currently living amongst refugees from the capital, strength in numbers didn't mean much when they had a close connection to the five most wanted ‘fugitives’ Nilfheim was after. 

       Leaning your head back, the sun beamed down on your face, turning the inside of your eyelids red as you closed them. You hoped they would agree to go. While Cape Caem wasn't as exciting as a bustling city, it was safer and they would be surrounded by guards who would protect them. The deep rumbling of an engine disturbed your musings, alerting you to something huge flying overhead.

        Opening your eyes, you saw a massive platform soar through the sky. The insignia for the empire stared back at you from the platform’s edge. A dizzying bout of unease rushed through your system. It was flying in the direction of the city. Lestallum had remained a free city state for so long, but something told you it would be the empire’s next destination…and soon. So soon it made the back of your neck prickle with raised hair. You needed to get the three of them out of the city before that could happen.

       The sounds and smells of the city greeted the five of you as you arrived. The fetid stench of sulfur from the factories curled around your nose, nearly burying the savory scent from the food stalls that dotted the industrial landscape. Parking the car, you and the boys made your way to the Leville. 

         The sun was on your back, heating your skin till it glistened with sweat. Once you arrived at the hotel, you found Iris standing in the lobby alone. Her cheeks puffy and her eyes rimmed red. Dread froze your stomach solid. You knew something terrible had happened even before she said it. 

       “Oh Gladdy…”, she whimpered.

       Muscles tensed, Noctis approached her. “What's wrong?”

      “It's Jared…something happened!” Iris cried. Without another word, the boys escorted her to one of the rooms you had pre-booked, your gut in knots as she revealed everything that had happened. A few days ago Niflheim soldiers had stormed the Leville, looking for you and the boys after you had regained the regalia. Enraged that you weren’t there, they slaughtered Jared in your stead. 

       Ice spread over your chest like a tumor till all you could feel was guilt. You knew Jared for as long as you knew your boyfriend and his sister. Although he had alway maintained a certain level of decorum, as dictated by his profession, he was always warm. Kind. He didn't deserve to die when he did nothing wrong. A tear slid down your face before you realized it had fallen. 

      You wondered who it was that ordered the manhunt. Was it Ardyn? Was that why he allowed you and your friends to drive off with the regalia? A shudder rushed across your body. You knew they would retaliate for what you did to their base, but you didn’t think it would result in one of your own paying the price for it.

      The door hinges keened as it was forced open. Your heart broke in two when you saw it was Talcott standing in the doorway. Rising from his chair, Noctis knelt in front of him, opening and closing his mouth while he tried to find the words to say.  “It's not right, we should've been here.” He said.

     “I…I couldn't stop them!” Talcott cried.

      A part of you wanted to comfort the boy too. Pull him into your arms and promise that everything would be okay, but you knew it wouldn't be. At the end of the day he would still be left without his grandfather, the only family he had left. It was probably Ardyn's fault that he was orphaned a second time.

      You missed the rest of the exchange and watched as the little boy walked away. The ghost of his tears haunted you and made your chest swell with unshed tears.

      “I'm taking Talcott and we're going somewhere else.” Iris said, wiping her eyes with the backside of her hand. “Lestallum isn't safe anymore. We can't just stay here and wait for them to come back!”

      Gladiolus knelt down beside her and placed his hand over hers. “We actually came here to make arrangements for you and Talcott to go to Caem. We'll make sure you guys get there safely so you don't have to worry.”

       “Who's taking us?” She asked. 

       “Monica more than likely. she seemed on board when we last called.”

       “Okay...are we leaving together?”

       “Unfortunately, no.” You whipped your head around to Ignis who was leaning against the wall. A frown was on his face as he delivered his next words. “It'll take Monica a little over two days to reach here from where she is currently stationed. We cannot risk delaying our arrival.”

      A shadow of disappointment darkened her crestfallen face. It didn't seem fair to leave Iris and Talcott all alone after what happened. They already spent so many days alone with their grief only to be told they had to do it a second time. But it couldn't be helped. Noctis needed to get to Altissia as soon as possible. During their encounter with Gentiana, the group found out Lunafreya planned to awaken the water goddess.

      You guys had no way of knowing when she planned to do it, which was why you had to get there as soon as possible. But still, this situation didn't feel right. 

       Your boyfriend seemed to agree since he said, “don't worry I'm not going anywhere.” Then he turned to address the rest of you. “I'll hitch a ride with Monica and keep Iris company.”

      “No, I'll stay back.” You said before you could stop yourself. “Noctis needs his shield, he can't risk losing you while the empire is on our trail. In fact, if any of us is going to stay back then Iris may as well ride with you guys. there'll be room in the back and I'll just hitch a ride with Monica and Talcott.”

       Gladiolus stood up from his position on the floor and folded his arms over his chest. “Nah, it'll be too dangerous.”

       “So is leaving her with Monica as her only defense.” You reasoned. “The empire knows our faces, they may even know that Iris is an Amicitia. if the empire wants to strike someone close to the crown, then they would do it whether or not she is with you. Iris would be more protected riding with the four of you than with Monica.”

        The room fell silent with everyone contemplating your words. Ignis was the first to break the ice, rubbing his chin in that way of his that let you know he was thinking. “You make a rather compelling argument.”

      “I say we take her with us, it might be fun.” Prompto said.

       Noctis turned to you. “You sure you're okay with staying behind?”

      “Yeah.” You replied. “It's the least I could do.” It took some convincing but Gladiolus agreed eventually. When that was settled, Iris went back to her room, leaving the boys to discuss their frustrations over Jared. Prompto proposed getting revenge on the empire and Noctis remembered the flying Niflheim base they rode passed on the way here.

        It was a unanimous decision once the suggestion was made and the boys took off in search of the base, leaving you to watch over a heartbroken Iris and tearful Talcott. You tried to cheer them up as best as you could for the rest of the day, rented movies from the hotel’s cinema library, played cards, and strolled through the building.

       But at night with the kids tucked in bed, it was you who was swamped with thoughts. The room was dark with only a thin stream of silver light to illuminate the four walls of the room. Noctis and the others weren't back yet and would more than likely not return till tomorrow. It was in that moment that your mind began to play, haunting you like a tune echoing through an abandoned opera house. 

       Memories you hadn't thought about in a while floated into your head like notes of sweet perfume, making your chest twinge with bittersweet nostalgia. You remembered the first time you met Jared. It was on a cool evening. The desert wind was cruel as it whipped your face and brushed the ring of inflamed flesh that was around your neck.

      You were eleven at the time. Ardyn hadn't visited you in over three weeks and your parents were becoming crueler by the day. Thoughts of running away were what propelled your legs despite the burning in your chest. Pins and needles danced on your face, freezing the tears rushing down your cheeks. You turned a corner and bumped into something solid and warm before crashing onto the ground. 

      When you looked up you saw wisps of white hair and a face weathered by years of hard work. Panic bubbled in your throat at the first trace of recognition. You’ve seen this man a few times before. At a distance and occasionally accompanying the Amicitia family heir. He worked for them. If he worked for a powerful noble family then that meant he more than likely knew who you were. 

        The bubble in your throat popped, flooding your body with searing adrenaline. What if he asked where your parents were? What if he took you back? Your mind raced, competing with the thrashing of your beating heart. But instead of one of your nightmare scenarios coming to life he knelt down on the ground, dropping his bags of groceries as he did. 

      He asked if you were alright. When you didn’t answer you saw his eyes zero in on the angry welts wrapped around your neck. You slapped your hand over the marks and quickly healed then. Much to your surprise, he didn't ask about them and instead offered to buy you tea and a warm meal, which you accepted after a brief moment of hesitation. Since then, Jared had become something of a grandfather to you. He was aware of what most people pretended to not notice. He helped you befriend the Amicitia children so you could have a home away from home whenever you needed an escape.

        You released the balloon building in your chest and sobbed into your pillow. He was a good man. He didn't deserve to die. Never again would you be able to see his warm smile, or taste his pancakes, or even talk to him. A sharp pain cleaved a chunk of your heart. You just keep losing the people you care about left and right. You lost your circus family and now you lost Jared…and it could've been Ardyn's fault.

       The door groaned and you sat up. Wiping away your tears, you expected to see Talcott or Iris when the clawing scent of citrus hit your nose. Your eyes hardened at the towering shadow moving through the dark. A blade of silver light peeled the shadows from his face, revealing his brilliant amber eyes.

      You turned away. “What do you want?”

       “I came to check on you, my dear. I know my...affection must've troubled you.” Ardyn said. Warmth leeched down your legs at the memory his words had inspired.But you choked it down quickly before it could reveal itself on your face.

        “That kiss is the farthest thing from my mind right now” You mumbled. Your glare cut through the darkness till you found his gaze. “Did you send them? The soldiers that came here, did you order them to kill someone close to the prince?”

         The floorboards creaked the closer he came to your bed. “No, but I was aware of it nonetheless. It was Lieutenant Fleuret who orchestrated the ambush. I advised against it, but it seems he heeded none of it. I truly feel sorry for your loss, my dear.”

          You felt your animosity, as fragile as it was, crumble to dust and float away on the wind. An all encompassing despair took its place, slamming into you like violent waves against a rocky cliff. The bed dipped. His hand wrapped around the back of your head and guided you down to his chest. Your fingers curled into his coat as you sobbed.

          You breathed him in, soaking up that tropical scent that accompanied him wherever he went. It flooded your lungs, warming the melancholy that trapped your insides in a block of ice. Then you remembered yourself. “You need to go.” You pulled away but Ardyn refused to let you go. “You can’t be here.”

       “I come as a friend and nothing more, you have my word.” It was a weak argument but it was enough to shatter the last of your defenses. You didn't fight him as he guided you back into his arms. You knew this was anything but platonic. There was love in the way he rubbed your back. His lips were a feather light touch on the top of your head. Now that his affections were made clear as day, you couldn't read his touch as anything else than what it truly was. 

       Instead of turning it away, you invited it with open arms. You cried into his chest, knowing it wasn't right to find comfort in the arms of another man. You just made a promise to yourself that you would be a better girlfriend for Gladiolus, all it took to discard that promise was one little visit from the man you never truly stopped wanting. 

       You were foul in every sense of the word but at this moment you didn't care. Gladiolus was miles away and left you to face your grief on your own. You weren't strong enough to stand under the full weight of it by yourself. Nor were you strong enough to withstand the full depth of your failure. Twice had you failed the people who needed you most. You weren't there when king Regis fell to his enemies and you weren't there when Jared met his demise. 

       Glittery green light swirled around your fingers like fireflies, as if reminding you of the power that coursed through your veins. You sighed and the light faded away from your hand. What was the point of having the ability to undo death if you couldn't use it to save the people you cared about? 

       Your face lit up with an idea. You looked up at Ardyn with a face damped with tears. “What did they do to his body? to Jared's?” You said. Hope rode hard on your lungs, making your breaths come out in thin gasps. Maybe there was a way to bring Jared back. Ardyn was a prominent politician in the empire, one with enough power to bring you Jared’s remains unquestioned. 

       Sympathy flitted across his face and your hopes died on a whimper. “There is nothing left to salvage of his remains, I'm afraid.” His arms tightened around you. “Even if I could scrap up what is left, it would not be enough to revive him, I'm sorry.”

       Ardyn rocked you, silencing your anguish with gentle shushes and feather light caresses. He tucked you in once your tears finally stopped. Without a word, he rose from the bed and approached the door. Only stopping when you whimpered, “don't go…”

       The shadows masked the way his shoulders tensed and he came back to the bed. Your side warmed as he laid down beside you and pulled you back into his arms. 

      It was about an hour or so ago when you fell asleep, but Ardyn remained. The moon shone brightly against your face, illuminating every lash that laid against your cheeks. His finger whispered across your jaw, so softly, barely touching, as though you were a freshly painted portrait he didn't want to disturb. 

       Almost two weeks had passed since he began to wonder who you really were. The more he looked at you, the more that crushing agony devoured his chest. He had longed for you for so long. Longed to touch you, to kiss you, to talk to you, now that he had you he was about to lose you all over again. 

        This time by his own hand. Over the past two weeks he agonized over his options, combing through every scenario in the hopes that one would leave you alive. He considered just killing Noctis. But just like you he was under the gods’ protection. He wouldn't die until he became the chosen king and fulfilled his role.

      Ardyn considered stealing you away ahead of time. Hide you within the heart of the empire and kill Noctis when the time comes. But just as the prophecy dictated, if he allowed himself to be happy with you, to fully embrace his love for you, his powers would weaken and he would succumb to his brother’s descendent.

      No matter the scenario the end result remained the same. Unless he was willing to forsake his revenge he had no choice but to hurt you. Ardyn held you tighter against him. There was another option he considered, but only briefly. He could spend his final days with you before offering himself up to the slaughter. It was the only option that would leave you happy and live, the only one where he would be able to enjoy his wife before losing you forever. But it was an option he could not take.

       He had come too far to let it all go to waste now. No matter how much he cared about you it would never be enough to quench his need for revenge. If that was the path he chose then he did not deserve to be with you. He did not deserve to hold you in his arms and bask in the temporary peace it gave him. Peeling away from you, he rose from the bed and conjured a piece of paper from thin air. 

       Scribbling a quick note, he left his number at the bottom of the page and left the note for you on the nightstand. His heart was heavy as he reached for the door. He knew he shouldn’t have but he looked back at you one final time. You didn’t deserve what he was about to do to you. But Ardyn was no longer the selfless healer you fell in love with 2,000 years ago. He was a hardened monster that could only deliver pain and the only thing you would ever receive from him was pain. Opening the door, he walked away with his heart breaking off piece by piece.  

#fanfiction #fanfic #a03 fanfic #ardyn lucis caelum #ffxv ardyn #ardyn izunia #final fantasy xv #ardyn izunia x reader #ardyn x reader #final fantasy x reader #ff15 #ffxv fanfic #final fantasy #final fantasy 15 #prompto argentum #chocobros #gladiolus amicitia #gladiolus x reader #ffxv gladiolus #prompto #gladiolus amiticia #noctis #ffxv ignis #ignis scientia #afab reader #female reader #x reader #reader insert #character x reader #minors do not interact

[rainydaydream-gal18]

Hello! Do you think you could write some more y/n x Tech fluff, please? Like, Cid has been having the Batch team up with a former bounty hunter on a lot of jobs and Tech is just out of his mind in love with her? Thank you, I love you're work!

   (The Bad Batch) Tech x Reader:  Think I’m in Love

Author’s note:  It’s five minutes before midnight, so happy early Tech Tuesday!  Requests aren’t officially open, but I’ve gotten a few lately, and they’re pretty adorbs, so here we are!  Thank you for dropping this in my inbox.

Word Count: 1,337

Warnings: FLUFF

   "Hey! Clones!" Cid snapped, catching the group's attention from across the parlor. Hunter released a sigh as he exchanged looks with his squad. Wrecker and Omega both looked up from their board game, Echo rolled his eyes, but Tech looked to the trandoshan with piqued curiosity as he adjusted his goggles. "C’mere. I need to see you in my office."

   "Think she's got another job for us?" Wrecker asked while he shut down the game.

   Tech picked his helmet up off the countertop. "That would be a logical conclusion."

   Omega lowered her voice as if she were uttering something forbidden. "Is it just me, or does she get a little bossy?"

   "A little?" Echo muttered.

   Nonetheless, the squad made their way to the back where Cid's office was. They could complain all they wanted, but the fact of the matter was they relied heavily on the arrangement they had with the former jedi informant. They hadn't said "no" to a job since their arrival.

Tech tucked his helmet under one arm as he followed Hunter to the office. His mind ran through a million and one scenarios of the kind of job Cid would brief them on. It could be anything from a complicated rescue mission to a simple delivery.  The variety of tasks kept things interesting. Tech noted how their current job as mercenaries was reminiscent of the squad's soldier days.

   Old habits die hard, I suppose, he thought.

   Upon entering Cid’s office, Tech noted the familiar figure that already stood on the opposite side of the desk, with her back facing the squad.  It was rather amazing how just the back of her head sent his heart into overdrive.  His previous deduction (and admittedly hope) was more than likely to be confirmed.  The evidence was stacked in his favor.

   “Oh, here we go,” Echo muttered under his breath, though he was close enough for Tech to pick up on the sly amusement in the Reg’s tone.  Tech knew the comment was aimed at him.  His admiration of ________ was not the best-kept secret. 

   “__________!” Wrecker exclaimed her name in pleasant surprise, walking right up and giving her an affectionate nudge in the arm.  “Are we teaming up again?”

   “Woah, there,” Cid shook her head before ________ could utter a response.  “You’re getting ahead of yourself there, Muscles.  I haven’t even started the briefing yet!”

   Tech clamped his mouth shut as well.  As much as he wanted to put in his two cents, he’d learned from experience dealing with Cid that it was best to just wait.

   “Now that we’re all here, let’s begin.”  Cid leaned forward to reach across her desk and activate a holomap.  “There are two phases to this mission, so listen carefully...”

   Of course, Tech kept one ear on the briefing.  He took mental notes and even recorded vital bits with his gear.  On the other hand, his eyes kept flickering back to ________.  Wrecker was most likely accurate in his assumption that she would be accompanying the Bad Batch on the latest mission.  They’d already teamed up several times since striking up the deal with Cid.  Tech wasn’t sure why it came to be.  All he knew was that the Batch’s success rates significantly improved when you were accompanying them.  

   He remembered first meeting you.  It was actually right there in Cid’s office.  He’d never seen you around the parlor before, and your arrival was still a mystery to him.  The Batch had been summoned for a mission, much like they were currently.  But of course Tech did some research on her initially.  The Republic database told him that you were a former bounty hunter- not widely known, but widely enough to end up in the database.  Still, it didn’t quite satisfy the desire to learn more about her.  It didn’t come close at all, really.

   So Tech made up his mind to learn what he could by engaging in conversation.

   He learned quite a bit:  how she liked her drinks, where she was from, why she became a bounty hunter in the first place, and why she quit.  He learned that she was quite intelligent and capable in a fight.  He found out that she was strong and had a kind heart.  He discovered that she despised the Empire and had a secret love of his piloting style.

   His conclusion?

   He was in love with her.

   Oh, and she was currently talking standing in front of him.  Speaking to him, no less.  The others were clearing out of the office.

. . . 

   You tilted your head, brows furrowing as your concern for your friend increased.  He had been unusually quiet during the briefing.  Normally, he’d throw in a comment or two despite Cid’s scolding.

   “You okay?”

   Tech blinked.  His mind seemed to be reeling.  “Yes.”

   “Good,” Cid interrupted.  “Because the briefing’s over.”  She nodded her head in the direction of the door, and you followed Tech out.  Once you were out of earshot from the trandoshan, you gave Tech a gentle nudge.

   “Are you sure you’re okay?  You were pretty quiet in there.”

  “I was simply considering the data Cid provided us with for the mission.  She has a habit of leaving out significant details.”

   You chuckled, lifting the helmet tucked under your arm.  You clipped it onto your belt as you walked.  “That’s true.  Makes me wonder what helpful information she decided to leave out of the briefing this time.”

   Tech’s eyes flickered to yours in a knowing look which you returned.  “Indeed.”  The shared gaze nearly made you shudder.  Little did you know that you had the same effect on the soldier.

   “Well, at least we got this assignment together,” you pointed out, brushing it off.  “That way, we can watch each other’s backs.”  As a former bounty hunter, you were used to completing jobs on your own.  You preferred this- having a squad.  Watching their banter and interactions in the parlor, it was plain to see that it was a family.  

   It was a family that you were starting to feel a part of.

   “Hey _______!” Omega hurried up to you, her eyes wide with excitement about the mission.  “I want to show you something!  Tech, you’re part of this too.  Come on!”

   You stole a curious look, to which Tech responded with a shrug and adjusting of his goggles.  Oh, you knew that look.  That was his attempt to look casual, indifferent.  He and Omega were definitely up to something.

   “What’s all this about?”  Omega took hold of your hand and gave it a tug.  “Alright, alright.”  You laughed.  “I’m coming.”

   She proceeded to pull you the whole way out of the parlor until you boarded the Havoc Marauder, with Tech in tow.

   “Since you’ve been on so many missions with us, Tech made sure that you had a space to call your own!”

   You looked at the top storage rack incredulously.  The last few times, you’d taken to finding a decent place on the floor in the back or perched in one of the passenger seats simply because space was so limited aboard the Marauder.  This was definitely an upgrade.  You looked between the enthusiastic child and the once again unusually-quiet, goggled genius.  “How’d you manage this?”

   “This was previously my rack, though it has been noted that I tend to sleep in the cockpit anyway.”

   Your gaze softened.  “You didn’t have to do that.”

   “Correct, but I wanted to.  Like I said, I prefer to sleep up front.  The space should not go to waste.”

   “Well, thank you, Tech.  Really.”

. . .

   Tech watched with a small smile on his face as you set your gear on the rack, listening to Omega talk excitedly about the mission.  You’d appreciated the gesture, as he’d hoped.  

   Just seeing the way your features softened in genuine gratitude and how you smiled at being welcomed in an unofficial way as part of the squad...it was worth it.  

   Tech came to realize that he’d do whatever it took to see that smile.

#the bad batch #tech x reader #the bad batch x reader #the bad batch reader insert #bad batch tech x reader #the bad batch tech x reader #bad batch tech #tech reader insert #bad batch reader insert

[cacneo]

I’m gonna throw all my initial thoughts about rebirth here while the ending is fresh:

1) Myrna is adorable, 10/10 no notes

2) I literally gasped aloud when Zack touched Cloud and ended up fighting along side him

3) I feel like square is fucking with us at this point with all the stamp variations

4) I’m still very hopeful for an ending where Zack is fully back. It’s interesting that they are using the white room again like in AC, I’m wondering what connection that has to the livestream and who ends up rejoining vs being in the room and what that means

5) I really need a list of everything that was changed or expanded upon vs the original

6) I’m a little conflicted with the styling of the Gi and the sort of characterization of them as a group of people. I’d be less conflicted if square hadn’t royally made asses of themselves in FF16, but they lost a lot of benefit of the doubt there recently. But having a group that is styled to look like (to my eyes anyway) African tribesmen, positioning them as outside invaders, and having them say that the cetra’s exclusion of them is why they poured all their hate into a world-ending material is uh…….not great, and it’s even worse when positioned in a narrative about the corrupting power of anger and the need for letting things go. It comes off as a “oh but slavery/colonization/etc. was so long ago, why are you still hung up on it, you’re being divisive by not just moving on.” Left a really bad taste in my mouth after that section, hopefully they just leave it there instead of digging a bigger hole in pt 3

7) I’m putting my money on part 3 coming out in 2027 for the 30th anniversary

8) after them bringing Weiss and Nero back in intergrade, and after reminding myself of them showing up at the end of crisis core, I’m guessing they will show up again when the party goes to midgar in pt 3

9) I’m going to have to find a way to replay dirge of Cerberus

10) still not sure what’s going on with them trying to say that cloud thought Zack drowned??? Presumably it’s sephiroth fuckery

11) I really need context for a) why they added roche as a character and b) why he would have volunteered for a hojo experiment

12) maybe ever crisis has / will do some of this, but I really want some context for like, what fuckery happens in SOLDIER post crisis core and pre main game with their whole chain of command fucked

13) the level design and environment people did a phenomenal job

14) Zack’s new voice actor did waaaayy better this time, whether through practice or better voice direction or both. It actually sounded more like him

15) sad to see the banora posters around but no mention of angeal and genesis (unless you count the loveless production being version G as a genesis mention)

16) square really decided to punish me for not using magic most of the game with that elemental barrier at the end

17) I ship clerith way more than I used to. Remake/rebirth have given her so much more character

18) same for yuffie, I’m glad she got intergrade and with the wutai war being a bigger deal I’m looking forward to better characterization for her too

19) curious what the plan is for cid since they’ve brought him in differently

20) and still a little heartbroken that cid/vincent aren’t full party members

21) I guess wedge appearing in the loveless scene with Jesse/biggs means he did die at the shinra building when the whispers pushed him

22) it’s neat that your weapon changes in scenes based on what you have equipped, but it does really ruin a lot of the cinematic parallels with Zack if you don’t keep the buster sword equipped all game

#39.5 hours #now to go back and do side quests #rebirth spoilers #ff7 #ffvii #ffvii rebirth

[poisonheart]

It’s been several days since I finished FFXVI and I gave myself time to process those emotions, but I still don’t like the ending. The more I watch people play through that conclusion, the clearer my reasons become. To me, Clive was never free.

He was his mother's disappointment (and treated like a bastard just because he failed to "awaken"), his brother's shield (I loved their bond but it was still a big responsibility for a child), a slave assassin to a foreign kingdom, Cid's replacement, the person people placed their faith on in the absence of a savior while being wanted/hunted as a vessel by a selfish god who only cared about self-preservation.

In the end, after having so much taken from him and giving so much of himself, he had to lose everything to birth a new, better world.

And I get it. Intellectually, I understand and can even see the "beauty" in the tragedy of it all. I know what had to be done and I know he was always that kind of guy—willing to give himself up for a better cause.

Emotionally, I disliked it. I always do. In the end, he didn't escape the whole "being Child of Fate" thing.

Joshua shouldn't have died.

Dion shouldn't have died.

Clive shouldn't have felt like he needed to die to bring happiness to everyone but himself.

I know it's implied he survived despite seemingly calcifying at the end. He was given a quill and suggested to abandon the sword for that quill—to become a writer when it was all over. And you see a book after the credits written by "Joshua Rosfield."

Again, taking up someone else's name, having their legacy live on. I get it was a cute, meaningful gesture—if it was Clive who wrote it because Joshua didn't survive, but he could never just be "Clive." He was always someone else, something else. Not just Clive. I wanted him to live as Clive Rosfield.

I know the ending was ambiguous to leave the door open for DLC's. I mean, Clive "healed" Joshua after consuming the powers of god with all the creation magic that came with it. We can assume, if we want, that Joshua does make it too. Maybe he's the one who becomes the writer because Clive was too busy being a farmer or something.

Maybe Dion survived too.

Maybe when Clive "healed" and "birthed" this new world, or whatever actually happened there, those people in the vicinity were restored.

[And maybe none of them lived and DLCs are about the past of the characters in those 13 years after the intro... or they'll give Jill a little Clive baby who is also tasked with living up to his father's legacy...]

Don't get me started on how Dion deserved better. Especially if you do the quests before the finale—that shit hurts. Clive was given time and a support system to overcome his guilt over "killing Joshua" but Dion never had that. He was only allowed to find absolution in death. He should have lived a long life—repairing his kingdom, raising that little girl who saved his life with his boyfriend, and being happy.

Maybe on the other side we didn't see, in some DLC, they did live happily ever after.

But it wouldn't change how punishing the finale felt.

Jill said Clive always wanted to save everyone, but never thought to save himself, and even at the very end he didn’t.

He could never rid himself of his fate as some divine plot device. 

I get that it is heroic and noble to give up oneself for those you love and the world they'll be left in. That undoing the horrible suffering we saw was indeed an act of love, but I personally dislike this trope.

It's a personal bias of mine when a hero needs to die to achieve a greater good, leaving behind people who want them to live because they too deserve a slice of the happiness pie.

Clive spent his life juggling duty, guilt, promises, dreams while being stalked by a god hell-bent on destroying his life to break down his will and take over his body (Ultima, you had tits too, so why?) and yet he was still chained to his fate of becoming a sacrificial lamb.

The only difference was the outcome.

One option ensured everyone/the world perished.

The other option ensured the everyone/the world didn't perish.

He just couldn't escape being bitch slapped no matter what.

I know that it's poetic to show how different he is from Ultima who didn't care about anyone, hijacked a planet because his was dead, and created people for the sole purpose of saving himself through them someday.

Clive had to be the opposite.

Had to be willing to die for a better world.

Prove to Ultima who was floating in the lifestream that selfless love was better than self-love.

I get it. I get the themes, but I don't have to enjoy them.

This was also my problem in FFXIV with the Warrior of Light's ties to a past that chased them all the way to their reincarnation(s), but that's another story.

I felt the story punished Clive for existing.

I didn't feel liberated by the ending.

The vagueness of it didn't satisfy me.

He had a miserable fate from beginning to end.

Even if Clive is alive, happy, and free in some future DLC chapter, that hint of disappointment will stay with me. Because they said the ending was meant to stand on its own.

I know that a story isn't good because it has a happy ending, but I can't think of a cast of characters who deserved a sappy end more than this one, especially a protagonist who was seemingly born under the worst possible star (fate).

I didn't want the conclusion to be left up to interpretation.

Overall, I still liked the journey, I enjoyed playing it, loved the cast, and especially enjoyed the combat—which I wasn't expecting—but I can understand why so many people turned to fanfics.

It's the only way to cope now.

#ffxvi #ffxvi spoilers #clive rosfield

[grandmofftarkinsuggestions]

my thoughts on the bad batch after finishing it all (so far, seasons 1 and 2.) this isn't really exhaustive, just some overall thoughts on the series. overall, i liked it :)

the good:

- tarkin :) he's such a fitting character to pair with the batch and i kinda wish he was in more of it, but i'm obviously biased!

- animation. i love the blocky, shapely art style of the clone wars, and how it was replicated here. they have a much higher budget, expectations, and quality technology now, so it arguably looks even better/smoother.

- the political intrigue was on-par with many of the darker plotlines of the clone wars, which i typically really like. it's deep and philosophical without being too lofty or pretentious. i love the commentary on eugenics and genetic mutations in general and how they were incorporated in the plot, especially during season 1.

- the relationships amongst the bad batch (including omega) are all really good and fun. definitely pulls at the old heart strings to watch these soldiers tackle child-rearing.

- i liked basically every new character (with phee, hemlock, and omega being highlights) introduced in the series, despite my gripes with cid being an antisemitic caricature, which bothers me immensely as a jew myself.

(i will be getting into spoilers under the cut while talking about my problems with the series, so BE WARNED.)

the bad:

- i feel like season two did not feel as connective as season one, plotwise. it didn't feel like it was leading to some grand finale or greater thing, which is kinda the point with the batch wanting to settle on pabu, but it started to feel anticlimactic towards the mid-way point. it picked back up the pace during the last two episodes, at least.

- i absolutely detest that cid betrayed the batch. sure, it makes 'sense' enough given the way they set it up and sprinkled in hints of her being worse than she lets on, but it felt like such a cop-out, (and an antisemitic one at that, which i'll get to in the 'dirty' section,) especially after she literally said she's changed for the better as a person since when she was allies with grini 🙃. she will hopefully try to help the batch in season 3 but i hated that the writers did her wrong like that. i don't care that they made her seem guilty; it still wasn't enough for me. maybe don't make all your aliens racist, xenophobic, and antisemitic caricatures and i'll like the way you write them more.

the dirty:

- the whitewashing of the bad batch + omega. stop it. making the genetically 'superior' clones much paler than the rest is literally white supremacy.

- the whitewashing of caleb dume, aka kanan jarrus, which i don't hear as many people calling out, likely simply because they don't know that caleb and kanan are the same person. it would cost zero dollars and effort to unwhitewash these characters. do it, now.

- cid being an antisemitic caricature of a powerful, untrustworthy, criminal, money-hungry, penny-pinching lizard. what the fuck!

- this is definitely a lighter note, but is still very ageist and. hm.. kinda ableist in my opinion. the way they aged up tarkin to an extreme degree in this series to make it make 'more sense' for him to look 'so old' in anh.

peter cushing looked 'like that' because he was very sickly in real life at the time of anh, and tarkin, in theory, had nothing like that in his canon life, so why not try to justify it by saying that tarkin just aged really quickly between the end of clone wars and a new hope? but like. no. literally no. stop. there is enough canon evidence of tarkin having a chronic illness to justify him suddenly looking much older in anh. you didn't have to do him dirty like this.

i hate how they only die on the hill of making tarkin look and sound exactly like peter when it's unnecessary to do so (like in rogue one, and i liked cgi tarkin! it was just so unnecessary.) this is animation, so they could've easily made him look like peter when peter was 40-something instead of super aged up, but no. and i really liked how he looked in the clone wars! we could've had it all.

#sw #wilhuff tarkin #tbb #the bad batch #the bad batch spoilers