erin8411

[erin8411]

VERSUS... PART 1

Let's get some PVP in here, yeah? Let's start a Bad Batch Arena.

Our first contestants are Hunter and Hunter and Hunter, Echo and Echo and Echo, and Crosshair and Crosshair and Crosshair.

Tech, Wrecker and potentially more, will come at a later time.

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!

HUNTER vs HUNTER vs HUNTER

TBB Hunter is set up to be the stoic, quiet leader type of the Bad Batch, the one who is meant to do the right thing and keep people safe in hard situations, as well as being brother to his squad and father to Omega...

Actually Portrayed TBB Hunter, is a stick in the mud (or stick up his ass, take your pick) single-minded bit of a control freak with hypocritical values, has no emotions beyond "worry about Omega", "the Mission", "yell at family members for reasons", "Paranoia", "Overly Dramatic Looks of Stoicism" with a dash of "Cardboard Cutout Writer's Hang-On"; and not only has zero communication skills as a character, but also has zero communications skills in his scripting, with no other reason beyond "He's got to be Our version Hero Guy at all costs and the Hero guy rescues the Star Kid... but only when its the most dramatic" (Effectively making him even bad at the thing he's written to be). I'm pretty certain the only reason he has never been written to be confronted (by anyone except the "bad" guys and the bad guys) for any of his actions, reasonings (or hell, even had a plain ordinary conversation), is because the moment he is, the spell will be broken and he will revert to a rock with a bandana and googly eyes glued on, and will forever after, have to be pulled along on missions by a tied on string. TBB Hunter has to make a lot of idiotic, semi-obessive and non-confrontational choices for any TBB story to work as it does now, to the point where he comes off as a paper puppet on an ice cream stick, than a character that is capable of basic conversation and meaningful communication with other characters, and has values and backstory. As it were, he si regulated to "Father figure" to Omega, and as I've pointed out in one post, he's not even good at that without coming off as being absolutely terrible.

TCWs Hunter is a mix between compulsively sarcastic, deadly thrill seeker, and anxious sensitive guy. He can either brush off all situations and conflicts with snark, or he will utterly shut down from the stress of it all, coming off as a Sergeant in-name only (Probably only promoted to such, because in comparison to his brothers, he is the quiet one that doesn't cause trouble and someone had to Officially lead the Troublemakers in the paperwork). This goes out the window the moment he has a chance to do something that gets his blood up--such as skydiving without a parachute. This is contrasted immediately by the fact that he hates enclosed spaces, or going into traps. (Though he will never say it up front) He does not talk about himself if he can avoid it, but will promote and snark at his brothers from here to back, though obviously nobody takes his snark seriously (and he is, in fact, seriously proud of his brothers--and won't take lip from anyone against them, even if Crosshair stirs up shit, Hunter will step in to defend him first). His attempts to be dramatic come off as cringe fail (cos bet you credits he's secretly a dork), as any kind of authentic emotions towards strangers is an awkward affair. [ See his bad, but successful, attempt to invite Echo onto the team ] This Hunter is far more playful, and far more willing to play around; and most of his attitude implies that, behind closed doors with the rest of CF99, he's literally just one of the guys, and is just as hurt and lost as the rest of CF99 when it comes to dealing with regular clones--and only acts as a leader to avoid Regs coming over and yelling at them.

( Unfortunately for the fandom writers, all three Hunters seem to totally lack the enhancement / mutation TCWs Tech claims he has, as even in TBB, there is never a point where it gets explored or even used in any meaningful way )

Overall, TBB Hunter comes off as a character who only shallowly is related to TCWs Hunter, as their attitudes couldn't be more different. If I had to make a observation as to why, its because they kept trying to turn TBB Hunter into Early Season TCWs Rex, and then had to be repeatedly reminded that they weren't, in fact, writing Captain Rex.

TBB Hunter and TCWs Hunter are not only different characters, they're not even in the same space ball park with each other. TBB Hunter can't even follow the setup that TBB Hunter is meant to have, some how turning the concept, the written and the past version into three entirely different characters who at no point ever connect with one another. THe only way they're even seemingly related is because they look like each other and are voiced by the same guy, but we have an entire Clone Army of nothing but that, so I don't honestly know how the writers could've fucked this character up so badly.

ECHO VS ECHO VS ECHO

TBB Echo is set up to be the connection between TCWs and TBB, and finally, be a main character beyond a familiar audience surrogate for clones. He has gotten a good TBB redesign (with OG Trilogy reference), and post-episode 1, has the set to be the lancer to Hunter's hero, when he's not paired up with Tech as the two smart guys.

Actual TBB Echo is a bitchy side-piece no nonsense tough guy, who doesn't do anything much meaningful (that isn't about the donut steel OC), and has been regulated to the guy everyone tells to shut up. Episodes that would be perfect to explore Echo as a grown and changed character, with years of history and fandom meaning, often bypass Echo entirely in favor of the shallow mission of the week. Moments that would serve to explore Echo as both main character and former TCWs character, are mere one sentence mentioned that get little more emotional impact than asking about the local weather. His only significant contribution is magically leaving at the end of one episode for Reasons that are never explored before, beyond his typical tough guy whining (and even then, it wouldn't be called a conversation, let alone communication with character or audience), and having magical off screen adventures with the group of clones we would've been better off watching instead. Only to be copy and pasted back into the series when the writers realize that they really have fucked up trying to portray the the BBs as anything but failed characters, and really need a badass to do something, and came up with the excuse that absence means a character went from level 15 to level 100 in Skyrim game logic. This Echo is just a series of STar Wars references wrapped in a poorly made breakfast burrito with only vague hints of character brushed up on and then vanishing into the wind to never been seen from again. There were attempts to lighly explore both his disabilities, his new abilities and the implied PTSD he suffers, but these are dropped in favor of giving him the "I must go my planet needs me" treatment, dropping any potential conflict or character nuance or new character challenge, and completely forgetting that he's supposed to be a main character anyway.

TCWs Echo is a guy who tends to repeat orders (hence the name, Echo) that other people already know, makes puns and has humor during stressful situations (like being in the process of being shot at), has no problems jumping command as a cadet to personally request transfer (the lion, the witch, and the audacity of this bitch)... and Yet reads the GAR regulations as a pass time (though all his prior actions show that this probably less to do with being a rules follower, and more akin to being a rules lawyer in order to see what he can arguably get away with ). He's a strategist as claimed, as there are plenty of instances in his portrayal where he does contribute strategically [ see the Rishi Moon Base episode and Battle of Kamino ] He has an military officer like composure, but he's not afraid to fight a bitch (and in fact will probably be the first one who throws a punch). In the midst of deadly situations, he'll be the one with a sense of humor. His use of humor and his anxious need to repeat orders, suggests an underlying high strung nature (that is even explained a bit in in the uncut and original Bad Batch episodes, as he's the kind of guy who can't let things lie). He'll state things firmly, but not aggressively, and he isn't one to have a temper, even when all doubt has been placed on him. Never mistake his composure for ease. TCWs Echo has had several years as a character, experiencing episodes as both main character and b-plot character, with plenty of implied unseen adventures (such surviving the second campaign of geonosis), who has a strong subtle care for brothers both living and lost (his first episode after Rishi and Cadets shows that he stuck a sticker of Hevy's, his late squademate, favorite weapon on his armor).

Over all, the Portrayed TBB Echo and TCWs Echo are total opposites as characters, as TCWs Echo doesn't bitch and doesn't lose his cool and would have definitely marched up and decked someone in the face if he disagreed with them. Only now he has a drill for an arm, and its drill baby drill time!

And would have definitely, fucking definitely, had Done Something, Portrayed Something, Painted Something, on his armor, to remember Fives.

Over all TBB Echo is a failure to make him a main character, even to his own series, as he fails to have any significant character progression or exploration, and is forever regulated to either side-piece or the mystical super secret sixth green power ranger only to be brought out for filler movies.

The only saving grace I'd take outta TBB ECho is that his armor is fucking cool, and I have to admit that's one of the few aspects from TBB I am extremely fond of.

CROSSHAIR VS CROSSHAIR VS CROSSHAIR

TBB Crosshair is portrayed to be the jerk and the fallen brother, the one who follows the bad guys and believes in their values, to the cost of the rest of his squad, and this continues as a conflict throughout his character.

And actually Portrayed TBB Crosshair is pretty good at following that set up all the way through. From fall, to misery to redemption, TBB Crosshair pretty much fuses his set up and his portrayal as a well rounded character who achieves what he is written to do, and would arguably be one of TBB's writing successes. ... Unfortunately, it comes at the cost of TCWs written plotlines and general world-build nuances, like the DM forgot half the Lore two years into the campaign, and the writing only works if you drop those nuances without any exploration or thought, making it seem like his character arc would've been better if he hadn't been written as a clone in the first place... but if that ended up being the case, it would've just been another rehash of Darth Vader. When placed against his other brothers, the squadmates and characters he has betrayed, he comes off as the most 3D character dealing with 2D carboard cutouts, but even he is weak to resist the power of the super duper donut steel mary sue, and "accepts" that all the things he did when he was drugged must be clearly his fault and not the fault of the Imperialists who spiked his drink and starved him.

TCWs Crosshair is a quiet, cuttingly sarcastic and very prideful man, who strives to press the buttons of those he doesn't like--and he tends to not like someone on sight. But unlike typical assholes, when he presses a button, its usually a button that is actually there and beholds some inherent (if harsh and bitter) truth to the character or situation he's observing, though often this is pressed as insultingly as possible. He mostly goes after tough "Reg" characters (whom he definitely detests on sight), but will avoid antagonizing those people who do prove that they care through action (such as the medic Kix, or Commander Cody). When he presses on a character with his cold keen observations, he's often backed up by the rest of the Bad Batch, suggesting that when he does these things--the rest of them do agree with him, even if they don't voice it or press on like he does. A few scenes of this suggest that Crosshair is, in fact, implied to be the second in command of the Bad Batch and probably would've been the Leader, through keen observation, confidence and his attitude of being constantly in control of situations-- if it wasn't for the fact that he's a real asshole to everyone but his squad. Unlike the rest of the Bad Batch, Crosshair is, in fact, shown to have an empathy streak in ironic contrast to his normal cold-hearted (and very face-punchable) demeanor. He's the first to inform that Commander Cody still cannot be moved after having an entire ship land on him like the wicked witch, and is the first to physically assure (and even watch over) a recently rescued Echo right after Captain Rex. Inspite of this empathy streak, Crosshair seems incapable of saying anything outright positive, as a contrast to TCWs Hunter who will praise his team and teammates over himself; though Crosshair is the only one that Hunter will absolutely not snark at (Probably both out of respect and likely because nobody wins sarcasm against Crosshair--the man is a marathon runner of the sarcastic streak) ( Out of the whole of the Batch, in their series of contrasts and parallels, Crosshair was probably trusting of Echo's intentions versus Hunter and Tech's distrust... This is just speculation however ) Crosshair, akin to Hunter, does have a playful streak in that he keeps a count of his droid kills in competition to Wrecker's, with snarky teasing.

The major difference between TBB Crosshair and TCWs Crosshair, is that TCWs Crosshair isn't an unobservant idiot.

Yes, that's a damn shame to call TBB Crosshair, who has the best written story of TBB, but any conversation with TBB Crosshair comes off as talking to a brick wall. He is asked intelligent questions and given intelligent observations, but the writing is determined to keep TBB Crosshair as the bad guy or redeemed from evil inspite of the fact that it also keeps trying to have the world build nuance of being drugged and brainwashed into a intergalactic all powerful empire with magic powers and super technology, and this makes his story rather oddly liminal.

Meanwhile, TCWs Crosshair is so full of intelligent and keen observations, even though he's such a dick about it, that he could've probably out-observed his own chip.

Which makes me truely believe that the only reason that TBB Crosshair was written to be controlled by his chip, and then to be victim blamed by the narrative to accept the consequences of being mind controlled and brainwashed into evil action--was that TBB was punishing the character concept of Crosshair for being written as a dick, and as any children's show will tell you, the jerks must always be evil.

TCWs Crosshair, bottom line, is a guy who never believed in loyalty to the cause, because by his proven empathy streak, he was always loyal to people first--and he criticized those who put the cause above other people.

Meanwhile, TBB Crosshair was the kind of guy who only believed in the caused, and has to be kicked around to believe in people.

Like Echo, TCWs Crosshair and TBB Crosshair are total opposites by their values, though they share similar attitudes, and are total opposites by their capacity for observation (TCWs Crosshair observed and learned quick, where TBB Crosshair had to have several people dead before he realized something was up--a trait that TCWs Crosshair would've never needed).

ROUND ONE, OVER!

[erin8411]

Mortis Gods of Weyland: WIP

Arla Fett, aged twelve and a half years old and also known as Arlie Junior to her friends, Little Arlie to her daddy, and Omega to pretty much everyone else, suddenly began thrashing around in bed late one September night. Whether or not she was dealing with another nightmare wasn't so clear to her three younger brothers, all of whom slept just down the hall, and so were able to hear everything thanks to her bedroom door always staying open just a crack. What they could be sure of, though, even if they were still just kids or not, was that their daddy--either Mister Hunter Jango Fett or just plain Hunter--would always be the first one in to straighten things out, especially during the rarest times of trouble.

After all, there was never any time to waste when one of 'Meg's visions showed up.

"Daddy. Hey! Daddy, wake up!" "Huh...? What's goin' on, boys?"

"It's Arlie. I think she's about to get another vision!" Hunter Fett, on the other hand, had a way of keeping everybody else calm while he dealt with the more...difficult moments between different members of the family. For example, when a few of Arlie's uncles had gotten wind of her dreaming up a rockslide several weeks ago, it had been gruff old Uncle Crosshair who took one look at her and suggested "she wasn't getting enough attention at home". For all that anybody knew at the time, she had supposedly started making things up to get a rise out of the household, if not also gain a little attention back that she might have otherwise lost after Stak came along.

"Okay, Deke, take it easy. Breathe..." On the other hand, once Uncles Echo and Tech had narrowly escaped that same rockslide later that same week, and up at Hemlock Gap during a family visit, no less...it had been Daddy Hunter himself who suggested to the rest of 'em, and not too loudly because Tech still had a little sensitive hearing, that maybe they all had better be a little more civil around their niece on account of her inheriting the Sight.

"Daddy, what if she doesn't wake up this time?" After all, their own daddy--also known as the late Mister 99, and a respected figure in the community--had inherited the Sight before her.

His gift had kept a lot of extended family members safe during wartime, and even if it had skipped a generation, Arlie surely had to deal with it now.

"Then we'll do exactly like we planned it, and go get Depa. Now c'mon..." And on this fateful evening, be he half awake or not, Hunter and all three of Omega's younger brothers--Deke, Mox, and Stak in that order--didn't once think twice about gathering 'round her bedside just in case.

In a place like Weyland, sometimes family spelled out the difference between life and death.

"H...hwm-m-m..."

"Should she be moving like that?"

"Is it a bad one, Daddy...?"

"Nah. I would have sensed somethin' by now, so it's got to be normal."

That wouldn't happen tonight, though, for this wasn't about to be anything bad...at least, not where Arlie was concerned. For one thing, Hunter already had a lot of experience dealing with monsters under the bed; monsters scraping at the windows, and all other sorts of nasty things that were known to bother children. Those things kinda had a way of disappearing when you turned the lights back on...so of course, once the boys got a little light shining on this subject, it wouldn't be so scary any more.

"All we have to do is take another deep breath, wait it out, and either she's gonna go back to sleep, or she gets a nightmare and wakes up on her own."

"Yeah, but...what if somethin' else happens?"

"Then we'll do what we always do, okay? We'll go get help."

How am I doing...?? Please leave a quick vote below, so I can better edit this before submission time. Thank you.

[erin8411]

Full Plot of the Cancelled Kashyyyk arc from Star Wars The Clone Wars: Season 7

Planet Kashyyyk is still neutral at this point in the war. Yoda travels to Kashyyyk, and his personal battalion is there waiting for him (they had been sent a couple of days earlier before the arrival of Master Yoda himself) and they inform Yoda that the Trandoshans have been doing deforestation in order to drive the Wookiees away to establish Separatists bases there.

The other reason is to intimidate the Wookiees into joining the Separatists or die off. Yoda senses Count Dooku behind this attack. It was the Wookiees themselves who called on the Republic for help, but being a neutral system – only Yoda and Clone Force 99 alongside Yoda’s personal battalion were sent there, with no additional clone reinforcements. Yodas battalion consists of 41st Scout Troopers and regular white clones with Yoda’s face slapped on their helmet.

As far as Chewbacca's role in this arc, we would have been shown his wife and family. Otherwise, the main Wookie Character is Tarfful. Other Wookies such as different tribes, elders, and children would have been shown as well.

Yoda wants to help the Wookiees so they get in contact with the few remaining villages that still live near a part of the forest which hasn’t been destroyed yet but that is about to be destroyed. Yoda advises them to leave their homes, but the Wookiees don’t want to. 

The Trandoshans come with a massive force and they drive the Wookiees out forcibly alongside Yoda, who are thus forced to retreat deeper into the forest and up a river which leads them to a water stream. Yoda and the clones then suggest to bait the enemies following them into an area of the forest so they can drive them away from the Wookiee villages.

Echo, new to Clone Force 99, would have become a sort of super-soldier due to all of his bionic enhancements. He would fit right in with the Bad Batch, and his demeanor changed, since he was now more cold-blooded and composed, as opposed to the indecisiveness that he showed in previous seasons. He serves as a foreshadowing of what Anakin would become.

His lobot-attachment would have been used for communications since he has a communicator close to his forehead, which shows him interfaces that were directly projected into his mind, so he would see them with his eyes but no one else around him would see them.

As for The Bad Batch, they were more accustomed to relating with the Wookiees than the regs. Hunter suggests bold strategies throughout the arc which the other clones weren’t really ok with since the followed more strict protocol. The Bad Batch also had their own hover boat, with their "clone force 99" symbol on it.

In Season 8, it was planned for The Bad Batch to execute Order 66, and they would have been treated as cold blooded assassins, a bane to Jedi. Though it likely wouldn’t have been shown on-screen. However, this arc is mostly to show the Bad Batch working with Yoda and the Wookies.

The clones suggest to burn all the trees down in that area of the forest in order to trap the enemy into their own nest. The Wookiees are against it but they then reluctantly agree that this is the best course of action and their only chance at success. They ask for forgiveness from the trees before doing this, and they then give the clones permission to do so.

Similar to the Bad Batch episode in Season 2, there are Kinrath and Maylyas deeper in the forest, and the elements of Wookies being one with nature is similar to how Yoda, a Jedi, believes in the force. The Bad Batch don't understand it, but they go along with it.

As for the Trandoshans, their leader, Babwa Venomor, was working with the Separatists, for Count Dooku. Some Trandoshans would have had night-vision goggles and snail tanks that they could use to tear through the forest.

The fires manage to slow the Trandoshans down for a bit, but it turns out not to be a definitive solution. After escaping the enemy, Yoda and the Wookiees prepare for war. The Wookiees ask for the help of tree spirits. They venture deep into the jungle in order to go warn the other Wookiee clans that the Trandoshans are coming and to sway them not to join the Separatists.

They use what happened to the Wookiees following Yoda as a motivating factor to tell the others that if the Trandoshans were not stopped, they would soon be coming for them too. In the meantime, the Trandoshans are preparing for battle and they are shown to be very tribal with trophies of dead Wookiee heads nailed to the walls. 

In the fourth episode, an all out war rages near the river because the Wookiees wanted to get far away from the trees in order not to harm their environment any further; and the battle ends up on a shore similar the one displayed in Revenge of the Sith.

Separatist craft land with Droid reinforcements, but the Trandoshans are the main enemy forces. One of the Wookies would have ripped off a Trandoshan's arms. Commander Gree and his forces would join the action with Yoda and the Bad Batch.

At the end of the battle, Babwa Venomor gets decapitated by Yoda in the same way Yoda kills Gree in ROTS, and he falls into the river along with his tank. When the battle is over, Kashyyyk agrees to allow the Republic to establish clone bases there, and became an ally of the Wookies, as they foresee a larger Droid Invasion coming in the future.

[erin8411]

DAY 10 of making a clone OC picrew

1.1 update!

Play HERE

New items:

heterochromia tab

Tooth gap and braces in mouths tab

Two new tattoos: crown of stars and Fives

Sideburns

French braids and carrot orange, pink colors for hair

Electric burn scar

Two new clothing bases: greys and ponchos (in full color range)

Three new armor colors: mint, pink and brown

Three new armor paints: Echo, bubbles and skeleton

Clone force 99/Bad Batch pauldron

Crosshair chest strap

4 new accessories: Echo’s headpiece, rose in mouth, toothpick and snow/sand goggles

Pride pins tab: gay, lesbian, bi, pan, trans, nonbinary, ace, aro and aroace

What you can do now:

List for 2.2 update: gauze, stitches. Graying streaks, commando armor, makeup, lipstick

[erin8411]

Reference

[erin8411]

Clone picrew 1.1 update

Day 8 of making clone picrew

Adding people’s ideas

Grays, same color range as armor base

Two new patterns: bubbles and Echo

5 other eye colors, with heterochromia or both eyes: red, blue, green, brown and white

Besides I added:

Facial hair: sideburns

Scar: electrical burns

Mouths with visible teeth: tooth gap and retainers

Carrot orange color for hair

Accessories: Echo’s headpiece, Crosshair’s toothpick, rose between teeth

One more day to give me ideas

[erin8411]

Disability Tropes: The Perfect Prosthetic

[ID: A screenshot from the movie Nimona, showing Nimona, a small white girl with red hair, grabbing the right prosthetic arm of Ballister, a knight in black armour with black hair and light brown skin. He is holding a broken bottle in his prosthetic hand while Nimona admires his arm. Overlaid on the screenshot is white text that reads "Disability Tropes: The Perfect Prosthetic" /End ID]

In a lot of media, prosthetic limbs are portrayed as these devices that act as a near-perfect replacement for a character who has lost, or was born without a limb. So much so that in a lot of cases, the use of a prosthetic has basically no impact on the character beyond a superficial level or their appearance, or it's portrayed as something that's even better than the old meat-limb it's replacing. This trope shows up most often in Sci-fi, but it shows up in all kinds of stories outside of that, even otherwise very grounded ones!

If a story isn't depicting the loss of a limb as the be-all-end-all worst thing that can happen to a person, they almost always default to a perfect prosthetic, functionally curing the amputation with it. But the reality is that prosthetics are FAR from perfect, and as someone who has used them for their entire life I don't think they ever will be. Limb difference is still and always will be a disability, regardless of the prosthetics available, and this really isn't a bad thing.

Why is this trope so common?

I meant it when I said this is a really, really a common trope, so much so that the majority of the media I've seen with amputees and characters with limb differences that released in the last decade or end up using it. Even stories where becoming an amputee is treated like a fate worse than death, ironically, aren't excluded from this. I have a few theories as to why this has happened: The pessimistic answer is that it's easy. You get to have a disabled character and claim you have disability representation, without really having to do much extra work or research because most of your audience won't notice if you aren't accurate - in fact they kind of expect it. You also, for the most part, dodge the backlash other kinds of disability representation (or really any minority representation) usually get. The more optimistic reason is that, for a long time, amputees and people with limb differences (as well as a lot of other disabled people) were predominantly shown in media as sad, depressed and unable to do anything, very much falling into the "sad disabled person" trope. As a kid, this was really the only way I saw people like me on screen or in books. And so, the limb difference community pushed back against that portrayal and were pretty successful in changing the narrative in the public's eye. A little too successful. A lot of creatives were genuinely trying to do right by our community, listen and do better, but many simply overcorrected and instead ended up creating stories where prosthetics were essentially cures instead of the mobility aids they are. I also think the public's general lack of understanding about disability plays a roll in all this. There are a lot of people who, in my experience, believe that the more visible a disability is, the worse it is. Limb differences and amputations are very visible, but prosthetics, even those that aren't trying to be discreet, make them less so. While using a prosthetic is very, very different to a biological limb, you won't necessarily see how in a casual interaction with, say a co-worker or neighbor, especially because there is a very real stigma applied to people with limb differences to keep those things hidden from the public. There are other reasons too, such as the fact that a lot of creatives don't even consider the connection to real amputees when creating characters with robotic limbs in genres like sci-fi and some fantasy, so they never stop to consider that these tropes could be impacting real people. Amputees are also very frequently used in "inspiration porn" content that uses the angle that disabilities can be "overcome" with a good attitude, downplaying the way those disabilities actually impact us. The prosthetics industry - specifically the component manufacturers, often also push the idea of prosthetics being the only way to return to a "normal" life, both to the wider public and to people with limb differences and amputations (which can add to that sense of shame I mentioned when it doesn't play out that way for them). On top of that, I also think the recent increase in popularity of concepts like trans-humanism contributes to it as well. these movements often talk about robotic or bionic body parts being enhancements and "the way of the future", and I think people get a bit too caught up on what may be potentially possible in the future with the real, current experiences of people with "robotic limbs" aka prosthetics, now. There are also inherently disabling things that come with removing and replacing parts of your body, things that will not just go away with some fancier tech.

So How do you actually avoid the trope?

So, we have some ideas about why it happens, but how do you actually avoid the "perfect prosthetic" trope from appearing in your work? The most important thing is to remember that this is still a disability. The loss of a limb, even with the best prosthetic technology or magical item in the world, will always have some inherently disabling aspects to it - and this is not a bad thing. The key is to not over-do it, lest you risk falling into the old "sad disabled person" trope. So let's go over some of the ways you can show how your character's disability impacts them. You don't have to use all of these recommendations, just choose the ones that would best fit your character, their circumstances and your setting.

The prosthetic itself is just different

Probably the most important thing to address and acknowledge for prosthetic-using characters, is the actual ways in which the prosthetic itself is different from a biological limb, and the drawbacks and changes that come with that. For the sake of simplicity, I'm mainly going to focus on modern prosthetics here, but it's worth considering how to apply this your own, more advanced/fantastical prosthetics too. One major thing that most people writing amputees fail to acknowledge is that prosthetic limbs are not fleshy-limbs with a different coat of paint. They do the same basic thing their meat-counterparts do, but how they do it is often drastically different, which changes how they are used. A really good example of this is in prosthetic feet. There are dozens of joints in a biological foot, but most prosthetic feet have no joints or moving parts at all. Instead of having dozens of artificial joints to mimic the real bone structure of a foot, which are more prone to failure, require power and make the prosthetic much, much heavier for very little gain, prosthetic feet are often constructed from flexible carbon fiber sheets inside a flexible rubber foot-shaped shell. This allows the bend and flex those bones provide, without all the drawbacks that come from trying to directly mimic it. Making the sheets into different shapes makes them more ideal for different activities. E.g. feet made for general use, like walking around the city, are simple and light, shaped to encourage the most energy-efficient steps, while still allowing their users to do things like wear normal shoes. Feet made for rough terrain often have a split down the middle of the foot to allow the carbon fiber sheets to bend better over rocks when there is no ankle, and some newer designs also include a kind of suspension using pressurized air pulled from the prosthetic socket to allow some additional padding. Running feet have large "blades" made of these carbon fiber sheets to absorb more pressure when the foot hits the ground, and redirect the force that creates to propel their user forward as quickly as possible.

[ID: A photo of 4 prosthetic feet. On the left, the foot is covered with a black shoe, the one to it's right consists of a small, carbon fiber blade, split down the middle, in roughly the same shape and size as the previous foot. Next to the right is an even simpler and smaller carbon fiber foot with no split, and finally is a very short foot that is vaguely rectangular in shape. /End ID]

These are some of my own prosthetic feet I've had over the years. The two on the right are designed to be used by someone who is less mobile, and the ones on the left are made for someone who is more active. As my needs changed over the years, I've used different designs and styles, and keep the old ones since my needs do tend to fluctuate.

There are also robotic feet available that are designed as a kind of "all-purpose" foot that use an electronic ankle which more closely mimics a biological foot, but they are not very popular as the mechanism adds a lot of extra weight and it requires a battery and power to work, with many amputees feeling the jointless carbon fiber feet do a better job at meeting their needs. The same goes for arms and hands. "Robotic" hands that mimic a meat hand exist, but they aren't really that popular, even in places like Australia where the prohibitively expensive price tag isn't as much of an issue due to government programs that pay for the device for you. Instead, most arm amputees who use prosthetics that I know prefer simpler devices that do specific tasks, and just swap between them as needed, rather than something that tries to do it all. A big part of this is because the all-purpose hands can be clunky. they often require manual adjustment using the other hand to do simple things like going from holding a deck of cards to putting them down and picking up a glass of water, for example. The few that don't require that, I've been told, are often temperamental and don't actually work for every person with a limb difference.

Altered Proprioception

Loosing a limb is a big deal and this is always going to have an impact on the body in some way that won't be solved with a fancy piece of tech. One such example is how limb loss effects your sense of proprioception. This is your sense of where your body parts are in space. It's how you (mostly) know where your foot is going to land when you're walking, or how you're able to do things like lift up a glass of water without needing to actually watch your hand do it. Your brain does this by creating a mental map of your body, but this map doesn't get adjusted if you loose a limb. If that map doesn't accurately reflect your real body, you're not going to have an accurate sense of proprioception. This might look like a leg amputee being a bit less stable on their feet, or like an arm amputee needing to look at their arm or hand to be able to grab something with it. Those born without their limbs who take to using prosthetics often have a lot of trouble adapting, as their brains aren't used to having that limb in the first place, whereas an amputee's brain can sometimes be tricked into using their outdated body map to help them adjust to the prosthetic (though its impossible to line it up perfectly). Prosthetics that directly integrate with the nervous system, while rare, do exist, and even this direct connection doesn't completely erase this issue for reasons doctors aren't quite sure about. This is something that does become less of a problem with time. Eventually, someone proficient with their prosthetic will learn to compensate, but their sense of proprioception will never be 100% perfect. At the end of the day, no matter how it attaches, a prosthetic is still not a natural part of the body, and that will always cause some issues. It also means if they aren't practicing it all the time, they may have to relearn how to compensate for it.

Extra weight

You also have to remember that a prosthetic is not a natural part of the body, like we already talked about, and so no matter how good it is, your brain will most likely always interpret the weight of the prosthetic as something attached to you, not part of you. This means that, even though prosthetics are actually a lot lighter than biological limbs, they feel so much heavier. This is because, while a meat limb is heavier, a lot of that weight is from muscles which are actively contributing to the limb working, so it doesn't really feel like its that heavy. When you have less of your meat-limb though, you have even less muscle to work with to move this big thing strapped to it, so it feels heavier. The more of the limb you've lost, or just didn't have, the heavier the prosthetic has to be, and the less muscle you have left to move it. It's for this reason that a lot of amputees and people with limb differences get tired faster when using prosthetics. Some of us are fit enough where you almost wouldn't notice the extra effort they need to put in, but once again, just because you can't see it from the outside, doesn't mean it's not an issue.

Avoiding Water

Most prosthetics also aren't waterproof, and so prosthetic users have to be very careful about when and how they come into contact with it. For amputees with electric components, contact with water at all will likely damage the device. This can even include especially heavy rain, something I was told to avoid when I got my electronic knee prosthetic and something I assume would also apply to arm amputees with complex, electronic hands. For those with non-electronic prosthetics, water can be hazardous for different reasons. If the prosthetic has metal components, water may cause them to rust, especially if it's salty water. Other prosthetics have foam covers to give the illusion of a limb with the general shape of muscles and fat, but these covers do not come off, and if they get wet enough that water seeps all the way through, it is very hard to dry it and they may become moldy. Finally, cheaper modern prosthetics may also float. Many are made of very light-weight materials and some have pockets of air trapped inside them. For leg prosthetics in particular, this means a user might, at best, struggle to swim with them on, but at worst, may get flipped upside down and become trapped underwater - something that happened to me as a very young child. On the flip-side, older prosthetics were usually made of heavy materials like wood or steel, and so had the opposite problem, acting like a weight and pulling a person down if they were to wear them in the water. Water-safe prosthetics do exist, I had a pair of prosthetic legs as a teenager that were hollow, and designed especially for me to swim with fins on when swimming in the ocean, and Nadya Vessey, a double leg amputee in New Zealand even got a mermaid-tail prosthetic made especially for use in the water. Most amputees though just swim without any prosthetics at all, and in 99% of cases, this is the easiest and safest way to go.

Prosthetic-Related Pressure Sores and Pain

Many people with limb differences also experience pressure sores from their prosthetics. Modern prosthetics typically attach to the body using a socket made of carbon fiber or fiberglass, held on either by pressure, using a vacuum seal or through a mechanical locking system built into the socket. No matter the specifics though, the socket has to be very tight in order to stay on, and this means that extended periods of use can lead to rub-spots, blisters and pressure sores. Many socket prosthetics also use silicone liners to add extra padding, but this means wounds caused by the pressure can't breathe, and bacteria in sweat has nowhere to go, meaning if the person doesn't rest when one of these wounds occur, it can very easily and quickly turn into a serious infection. In a properly fitting prosthetic, used by someone who has fully adjusted to them, this doesn't happen often, but it is something most amputees and people with limb differences have to at least be mindful of. Some new prosthetics use a different method of attachment, called Osteointegration - where the prosthetic attaches to a clip, surgically implanted into the person's bones. While Osteointegration avoids many of the issues like pressure sores that come from a socket, they have their own issues: mainly that they are incredibly expensive, and as of right now, have a pretty high failure rate due to the implant getting infected. Because the implants are directly connected to the bone, these infections become very serious very quickly. Many people with Osteointegration limbs have to be on very strong medication to keep these infections at bay, and they are generally considered unsuitable for anyone who is going to regularly come into contact with "unclean" environments.

Maintenance

[ID: A screenshot of Winrey, from Full Metal alchemist Brotherhood, a white woman with blond hair handing out the sides of a green hat. She is measuring a piece of metal from a prosthetic she is making while Ed, the prosthetic's owner, gives her a thumbs up in the background. /End ID]

Finally, prosthetics also require maintenance from a specialist called a prosthetist, and they don't last forever. Some parts, like a foot or hand, can be reused over an over, but the sockets of a prosthetic need to be completely remade any time your body changes shape, including if you gain/loose weight, you start experiencing swelling, or you're just a child who is growing. Children in particular need new prosthetics every few months because they grow so fast, and as such, their prosthetics have to be made with this growth in mind. If they go too long without adjustment or an entirely new prosthetic, it can seriously impact the child and their growth but even small adjustments can be costly, depending on where you live. While prosthetics are built to be sturdy and reliable, they need a lot of work to stay that way. The more complex the prosthetic, the more work is needed. Complicated electronic components may need to have regular maintenance done by your prosthetist or even the specific component's manufacturer, and depending on where you live, this might mean having to send your prosthetic limb away for this to be done. While my prosthetist technically has the skills and knowledge to do the maintenance on my electronic knee, for example, the manufacturer forbids anyone not from their company to provide this service, meaning my leg needs to be shipped off to Germany once every few years if I want to keep the warranty. This has the unfortunate side effect of sometimes your limbs getting lost in postage (shout-out to Australia Post, who lost mine twice), meaning it can be months before you get it back or get a replacement. Usually, you'll be given a replacement in the meantime if you need it, but walking on a leg that isn't yours, even when its correctly fitted, always feels a bit weird (maybe that's just me though).

Not every difference is Inherently Negative

We've talked about some of the negatives that come from having a prosthetic, but not every difference is negative or even really that big of a deal. In fact, often times, it's these little moments in the depiction of a disability that go the furthest and make it feel the most genuine. My amputations effect me from the moment I wake up, to the moment I go to bed, but that doesn't mean every single way it impacts me is always inherently bad or negative. For example, back when I was working a normal job and going to university, I would often come home, throw my legs off at the door with the shoes still attached and get into my wheelchair, the same way you might throw your shoes off after work and replace them with comfy socks and other comfy clothing. This is something I've only ever seen on screen once, with Eda from the Owl House (and she wasn't even an amputee yet, her limbs were just detachable)

[ID: an screenshot of Eda from the owl house, a very pale woman, laying on the couch in a bathrobe, her hair in a towel. She has taken her actual legs off, throwing them to the other side of the seat. /End ID]

After that, my day mostly looked the same as most other people working a 9 to 5, I'd make myself dinner, watch some TV or play some games, maybe do some extra work at my desk or chat with friends. The only difference is that it would all be from a wheelchair, mainly because my prosthetics were heavy and it was just easier to use the chair around the house. The fact my afternoon and evening routine was done from a wheelchair wasn't a bad thing, it was just different. Likewise, I also don't sleep or shower with my prosthetics on, for the same reasons most other people wouldn't take a shower or sleep in thigh-high, steel-capped boots. In your own stories, this might look like giving your characters similar alterations to how they go about their day. Let them take their arm or leg off when they're resting or relaxing, show them taking a few minutes longer to get ready because they have to put it back on, show them doing some things without it. Arm amputees in particular tend to get very good at going about their days without their arm prosthetics, and leg amputees often either learn to get around more relaxed spaces like their homes using a different mobility aids like wheelchairs or crutches, or just through hopping if that's something they're physically able to do. Even when everything is going well and working as intended, your limb-different character won't wear their prosthetic 24/7, no matter how much they love it. There doesn't have to be something wrong with it or painful about it to not want it glued to them at all times, just like you can love a pair of big heavy boots but not want them on when you're trying to sleep. For more action-focused stories, being an amputee, also changes things like how you fight. The specifics will vary from person to person, but for example, when I did Hap Ki Do, a Korean Martial art, my instructor heavily modified when I learned what techniques. Beginner-level kicks and most leg attacks were impractical for me, as the force from the kicking motion would usually cause one of my legs to fly off. I also couldn't jump very well, due to some complications with my original amputation that made my stumps too sensitive to withstand the force of landing again. So I ended up learning a lot more upper-body attacks much earlier than it is typically taught. By the time I got my green belt, I was practicing upper-body techniques usually saved for black belts - including weapons training that I could use my secondary mobility aids for, like crutches and my cane in a bad situation. Many holds that rely on creating tension in your target are also less effective on amputees, because either the anatomy that causes those holds to be painful just simply isn't there, or the body part in question can just be removed to escape. Whether we're talking about the negative things, or just neutral differences that come with using prosthetics, you don't want to go too far with any one example. The key is to strike a balance. Of course, the old writing advice of "show don't tell" also applies here. It's one thing to tell us all of this stuff, but unless we actually see it play out, it won't mean much.

How NOT to avoid the trope

Before we move on, let's focus for a moment on some common things I've seen that you SHOULDN'T do as a way to get away from the trope.

The Enhanced Prosthetic

A lot of sci-fi in particular will take prosthetic limbs, make them function exactly the same as a biological limb, but add something extra to it. This does change the way the prosthetic functions and is used, but it usually still ignores the actual disabling parts of having a prosthetic. A really good example of this can be seen in pretty much any futuristic setting, but personally, I think Fizzeroli, from Helluva Boss is the best one to demonstrate what I mean. Fizz is a quadrilateral, above knee/above elbow amputee with highly advanced prosthetics that function, more or less exactly like the limbs he lost, but with the added benefit of being super-stretchy. Fizz is an acrobat and a clown in service, at least initially, to Mammon, one of the Seven Deadly Sins. These prosthetics help him perform and we even do see how they change little things like how he walks and just goes about his day, but the show still treats them like natural arms and legs, but better. 

[ID: A screenshot of Fizzeroli from Helluva Boss, a white-skinned imp with 4 black, prosthetic limbs, dressed in teal a nightgown as he lays in bed, reading from a list /End ID]

We see that he never takes them off, even when sleeping, and when he needs to use them as regular arms and legs, they do everything he needs, perfectly fine - at least when they're working correctly. The only time he ever even takes them off or has any issues with them, is when they break in season 2. The word amputee is never used to describe him, as far as I remember, and the fact he is one never really comes up at all, except for when they break or when the story focuses on how he lost them. Which brings me to my next point.

The Glitchy/Broken Prosthetic

One way I see people try to avoid the perfect prosthetic trope, is to take the prosthetic and break it or otherwise make it unreliable by having it malfunction, but not really changing anything else. This approach is heading in the right direction but still kind of misses the point of the criticism a lot of limb different folks have with the depictions of prosthetics in the media. Yeah, prosthetics do break down and some do require extra maintenance, but if your character's prosthetic is still exactly the same as a biological limb (or even better, in the case of the "enhanced prosthetic") when it's not broken, and the only time their disability is treated like a disability, is when it breaks, you're not really addressing the issue. Real prosthetics, like we discussed, even when functioning at 100%, exactly as the manufacturer intended, don't function the same as a meat-limb. They are fundamentally different, and the glitchy/unreliable prosthetic completely ignores all of that. Once again, Fizz is a really good example of this - the only time his prosthetics are not perfect, is when they break or are malfunctioning (despite the criticism, I do genuinely love Fizz as a character, but he unfortunately does fall into a lot of disability tropes).

[ID: Another screenshot of Fizzeroli, this time in a torn up jester outfit, looking down, panicked, at his prosthetic arms which are fully extended and laying motionless on the ground, with his left arm visibly short-circuiting with electricity around it. /End ID]

Now this isn't to say you can't have your character's prosthetics break down or malfunction at all. just that this shouldn't be the only way you differentiate the prosthetic from a biological limb. You should also be mindful of how or why they're breaking. A typical prosthetic isn't going to break down randomly from normal use unless something is very, very wrong or your character just has a terrible prosthetist (which unfortunately, does happen). You might experience issues if you try to make the prosthetic do something it just wasn't designed to do, or expose it to something it wasn't designed to deal with though (e.g. submerging an electronic prosthetic in water and trying to use it to swim).

Just add Phantom Pain

Another common pitfall I see when people are trying to avoid the perfect prosthetic trope, is to just give the character in question phantom pain - which is a side-effect of amputation where your brain's mental map of the body doesn't acknowledged you lost a limb. Your brain tries to fill in the gaps, since there is no signals coming from that part of the body anymore, and assumes either something must be wrong and so you should be in pain, even when you actually aren't. Alternatively, it can also happen when your brain was so used to feeling pain from that area before, in the case of people who had chronic conditions before they lost their limb, that it just keeps remaking those old signals itself. Like the broken/glitchy prosthetic approach, this also doesn't really address the issue with the perfect prosthetic trope, because it has nothing to do with the prosthetic itself. Phantom pain doesn't come from the prosthetic, nor does it effect how they're used, and so including it doesn't really address the issue of the prosthetic being functionally the same as the original, biological limb. This isn't to say that you shouldn't include phantom limb sensation or pain as something your character experiences, but just keep in mind that, when used on it's own, it doesn't counter the trope. Also, just be sure to do your research, everyone's experience with phantom pain is different and it's not something everyone with a limb difference even experiences.

Why is this trope even a problem?

Alright, so we know what the trope is, we know why it became so prevalent, ways to avoid it and also how not to avoid it. All good information, but why is this trope even bad? Why should you try to avoid it? Outside of just wanting to portray a real disability that effects real people more accurately in your creations, the prevalence of this trope actually contributes to a lot of real-world issues, especially when it's as overused as it currently is. I've talked before about "the jaws effect" - where the depiction of something in the media, especially something that the public is widely uneducated on, influences how people see it in real life. The Jaws effect specifically referred to how the popularity of creature-feature movies featuring sharks, like Jaws, caused the belief that sharks were monstrous killing machines to become much more wide-spread, even going so far as to influence decisions about laws and policy surrounding real-life shark preservation and culling in some parts of the world. But sharks aren't the only thing this has happened to.

Disabled people are so thoroughly misunderstood by wider society, that when tropes like this one become popular, people can and often do start to believe the misinformation they spread - in this case, believing that our prosthetics are a perfect replacement for a biological limb, and that getting a prosthetic means you're not disabled any more. While this can be annoying and cause small scale issues for some of us, like people giving us a hard time for using disability accommodations we very much need, it can also impact us in systemic ways too. If the wrong people believe these tropes, it can and does have a very real impact on the lives of disabled people through things like changes to policies to make it harder for amputees and people with limb differences to access financial assistance for other things outside of our prosthetics we may need assistance with.

Conclusion

Despite the very real harm tropes like this can do when it's overused, I don't think it should go away entirely. Some of my favourite pieces of media even use the perfect prosthetic trope and there are even some kinds of media where I even think it's somewhat unavoidable. Characters with perfect prosthetics in kids media in particular, especially when talking about side characters, can help to correct some of the other stereotypes kids may have seen elsewhere - such as prosthetics being "creepy" or "scary" - in a way that is casual and easy for them to understand. The problem with the trope, in my eyes, is it's excessive overuse. It's the fact that it seems to be the only representation amputees and people with limb differences are getting now. Not every story with a limb-different character can or even should delve into the reality of what using prosthetics is actually like, but we need at least some stories that do, without it being this majorly depressing thing.

[erin8411]

Please y'all I need help finding a story. I can't recall all the details at the front but it is Crosshair Rejoins the Batch before S3, maybe after Kamino can't recall, and I think is actually chipless (unsure) but is having trouble integrating back into the batch. The one part I remember real well is they go on a mission to a pretty planet what Crosshair is like "This is a good place to die" and then during the mission something blows up and he gets internal injuries but doesn't realize. They return to the ship and he says he is fine then take a nap and wakes up to vomit blood in the fresher and the door has to be broken down by Hunter because internal bleeding is bad.

Please help I need it

[erin8411]

[erin8411]

I go with the assumption that his legs end mid-tights. From what I observed when Echo was freed by Rex and Tech, he still seemed to have part of his upper legs left.

It would also be interesting to know if, if he still has part of his upper legs that is, he had internal organ damage that resulted in him requiring (temporarily) a stoma (ileum/colon and/or uro).

Also, does he takes his protheses off for sleeping? Maybe the legs. But is the scomp detachable?

[erin8411]

Thank you for making this awesome picrew! I had a blast recreating Captain Rex and the Bad Batch. (The white hair color is good hidden, it’s the first red color button.)

Had to give Crosshair a bit more hair volume, he looks so cool with this new haircut.

If you’re looking for further ideas, how about accessories for the mouth, e.g. toothpicks, bubblegum, blade of grass or a rose?

Other head accessories could be a headpiece (like Echo‘s) or pen drawings because some used the timing while they were asleep.

Well, on day 7 of creating my own clone oc picrew I am happy to announce that!!!

The picrew is officially out!

CLICK HERE TO PLAY

For anyone new, for the last week I’ve been creating a clone oc picrew for anyone to use and have fun with

It includes:

7 piercing and 5 earrings types,

18 tattoos,

7 facial haircuts,

18 haircuts, all in 13 colors and with highlights,

9 scars,

9 armor colors,

16 armor patterns in 9 colors,

Items specific for a commander, arc, captain and a pilot,

9 fun accessories

All to create your dream copy paste man pfp or reference!

If I get enough requests or ideas the picrew will be updated in the future <3

[erin8411]

Honestly? I think he loves them all and will find fun stuff to do in each season.

In spring he will admire how nature comes back to life with all those colors.

Summer is the time of ice cream, swimming and sand castles.

In autumn he would play with the leaves and enjoy warm pumpkin meals. He would make a bet with Crosshair who creates the most original or scary costume.

In winter, there would be snow angels, snow peoples, snow Lula and snowball fights. Most likely participants are Crosshair, Omega and Wrecker himself. After a successful battle in the cold they would enjoy hot chocolate and cookies.

There are so many more activities he could come up with. For the poll‘s sake I chose winter. Because I want to see them enjoy the snow instead of running away from giant snow worms.

Another week, another poll. Please elaborate in the replies! It's all about building headcanons for our big guy!

With the understanding we are talking places that have all four seasons (we do not here where I live)

[erin8411]

That One Annoying Sibling

@summer-of-bad-batch

Main Prompt: "Stop touching me!" // "I’m not touching you!" (Week 13)

Alt. Prompt: Lula (Week 8)

Crosshair: Stop touching me, Wrecker!

Wrecker: I‘m not touching you, Lula is!

In TBB S1E1 Wrecker whacked Lula several times in Crosshair‘s face and I‘m sure it wasn’t for the first time. So here is cadet Wrecker, grating Crosshair by touching him with stuffie Lula. The latter tells his older brother to stop -- not a chance! And technically, it’s only Lula who touches Cross.

It‘s been such a long time since I’ve last drawn something. And when I looked at Summer of Bad Batch prompts, I was internally debating, if I should try it.

Me: Hey, look at all those entries! So many awesome ideas. Why not draw something too? It looks fun.

Also me: Maybe later. I‘m not feeling up to it.

And it only took me the whole summer and early September to finally grab my pencil and become active for a turn. Played with a filter afterwards so that the colors appear more washed out like on one of those old instant photos.

It’s simple and I like it. And it feels good to draw something without pressuring myself to make an outstanding creation. Self-pressure often kills that little motivation I have.

(Funny fact, this is the first time I created some fanart for TBB series.)

Inspiration

I got inspired by @locitapurplepink's

and the last two seconds from High Ground Animation‘s "CLONES - The Clone Wars Fan Animation Compilation". That eye-roll is so good.

(Seriously, when I first watched the clip, I didn’t realized it was fan-made. I thought, I can‘t remember that particular cutout, where in the TCW series is it?)

Aaand that wraps it up. Thank you for dropping by.

[erin8411]

Wrecker simp rambles

People be praising Hunter for being a dad and Crosshair for being a big brother while forgetting Wrecker was Omegas biggest supporter from day one. He saw this kid throw food at another clone for their sake and didn't hesitate to get up behind her all protective and later on threw hands for her (also because he likes it but he wasn't let someone intimidate a kid)

And even more important he was the first and only one being like this is a kid: she needs a place to sleep and some privacy. Like he not only provided her own private place on an already limited ship, no he made sure everything was soft and padded and made it cozy with fairy lights. He was the only one like yeah a kid shouldn't be sleeping in a pilot chair or bare ass none padded shuttle bunks. He also was like I'm sure this is a lot for her. Let me give her my emotional support plushie, since she'll need it more right now.

Also like when they crash landed in that moon. And he actively forced himself to stop outwardly panicking cuz yeah maybe don't tell the kid that they gonna die.

Through the whole show Wrecker was the one providing constant positive physical touch (hugs, shoulder rides etc), feedback (little high five during meeting cid) and little routines like getting mantel mix . Like sure it kinda is played off like a joke cuz haha wrecker likes food but broskies. Omega is a kid and a clone and at least on screen no one went out of their way to treat omega like well a child to that extent early on and give her some amount of actual normality.

Also like when Cad Bane kidnapped her Wrecker immediately was there to comfort her or tell Tech to watch it after the Zillo incident. Like hands down if someone deserves parent of the year it's Wrecker

[erin8411]

Peekaboo!

Reblog to put a smile on someone’s face ♥️

Taglist: @padawancat97 @pb-jellybeans @littlefeatherr @the-bad-batch-baroness @antoinettesb @neyswxrld @elephantwoman4 @goblininawig @sevdidntdie @proteatook

[erin8411]

Oh, I like Crosshair’s short trail of thought that Hunter and the regs could have been replaced with clawdites and then quickly shot it down again.

The Hunted Batch (Ch. 1)

Summary: What if Hunter's inhibitor's chip activated instead of Crosshair's?

Word count: 3,540

Characters: Hunter, Crosshair, Wrecker, Tech, Echo and Omega.

Tags & Warnings: Canon divergent, No romantic relationships, Inhibitor chips, Angst with a happy ending. (If I miss one please notify me)

You can also read it on AO3:

“Hey Kid, you ready for this? We move fast.” “Good, that’s the only way I know.”

It all seemed good at first. A mission like many others they had had all up to that point. Droids did not stand a chance against their combined tactics, after all they were “The Clone force 99”, one of the best special forces the GAR had to spare. 

Now they were running through the snow of Kaller, chasing after the remaining separatist forces alongside a young Padawan named Caleb Dume. The cold of the winter could still be felt as they ran, even with their armors on, but neither Crosshair nor his companions seemed to care about it. The promise of the war ending soon had everyone filled with a rush of energy, there would be time to rest later. For now they pushed forward, ready to successfully finish another mission. 

However the sound of distant blasters behind them caught Crosshair’s attention. Were they being attacked from behind? His Squad stopped dead in their tracks as they saw the padawan rush back towards the trenches they just left. The heat of a battle had lifted a soft cloud of mist that prevented Crosshair from seeing clearly what was going on, but the light of a blue lightsaber deflecting blaster fire was recognizable. 

General Billaba, the Jedi in charge of this front, was in danger. 

Hunter and Crossair exchanged looks for a second before rushing back towards the battle, ready to assist their allies against a surprise droid attack. 

As they ran, Crosshair lowered his rangefinder to get a better view of the enemy and start his attack from afar, after all he was the sharpshooter of the squad, however what he saw shocked him to his core and froze him in place.

Those were not droids attacking General Billaba, those were clones. 

Confusion took over Crosshair at the fight he was witnessing, it was so bizarre, so unthinkable that he did not know how to react.

Before he could relay this information to his brothers, a blood curdling scream tore through the air, a sinking realization  settled heavily on Crosshair’s gut. They were too late. 

Hunter stopped when he saw the young Padawan running back towards them, tears streaming down his eyes. Were the regs going to attack him too?

“What happened?” Hunter asked, just as freaked out as he felt out of the confusion of the situation. He didn’t see what Crosshair had seen, how could he? Hunter did not possess his enhanced eyesight. 

“Stay away from me!” Commander Caleb swung his lightsaber at them, forcing the team of clones to keep their distance before he took off into the woods.

The squad stood frozen for a couple of seconds as they tried to process what had just happened. Just moments ago everything was fine and now an eerie sensation of peril took over the scene before them.

“Wha- What just happened?”  Echo’s shocked voice brought Crosshair back to reality, as he blinked to see his fellow teammate.

“The com channel is repeating one directive: “Execute order 66''.'' Tech said, his eyes glued on his data pad, as if trying to translate a phrase that was spoken in another, unrecognizable language. 

Those words however caused a strange stir inside Crosshair, a dreadful sensation of something important he should know but had been long forgotten. It didn’t matter how much he tried to “remember” it just didn’t make sense to him. He had never heard that order before. 

Was it a reg thing?

As he looked over at his brothers he could tell they were all as confused as he was, even Echo, who knew more of the “Reg manuals” than they did. 

Whenever there was doubt, the squad would always turn to Hunter. 

He had a natural skill for rational thinking and staying calm even in the most daring situations, which he used to guide his team towards victory or safety countless times. This would not be different, Crosshair thought.

At that moment, Hunter had his eyes glued to the forest, barely taking them away from the path the Padawan had left behind. 

‘He is probably worried about the kid’ Crosshair thought to himself, after all Hunter always had a soft spot for children. One that proved annoying for the sniper.

“Echo, Tech, talk to the Reg Captain, see what proceeds.” Hunter began telling his orders, directing his companions to move back to the trenches. 

“Crosshair, you and I will track down the Padawan and bring him back.”  Crosshair nodded in agreement.

“Wrecker, you contact me if anyone else tries to follow us.” Hunter told the tallest of his brothers before he began to run into the forest, giving Crosshair a signal to follow him close behind. 

They trotted down hill, knees deep into the snow, but keeping a determined pace. 

Crosshair and Hunter didn’t always see eye to eye, but there was not denying that the sniper trusted Hunter with his life. 

Crosshair had to admit that he admired and envied just how easily Hunter could stay calm in the worst of situations. Knowing that the sergeant was staying cool and composed  gave him a sense of security.  Everything will be fine as long as Hunter can lead us.

They ran through the thick evergreen branches, barely feeling the cold in the air as they kept their chase. 

Hunter would stop for a few seconds to read some tracks and check the air for signals of the kid before continuing down a path. He was focused like a hound chasing a target. 

Crosshair took the opportunity to find a large boulder, perfect for a perch and got in position, climbing to high ground with quick graceful moves. He scoped the area carefully, getting a better view of the terrain. 

His and Hunter’s abilities complimented each other perfectly for this kind of operations, with his keen eyesight catching the slightest details on the horizon, and hunter’s senses scanning for trails, there were very few things that could hide from them. 

Crosshair was about to move down from the boulder when Hunter’s voice was heard from his spot below.

“He is close…” Hunter whispered, raising a fist, signaling Crosshair to stop in his place. 

As he looked around at the trees, Crosshair noticed Caleb perched on one of the high branches, huddled with his robes in an attempt to camouflage himself and pass unnoticed. Sadly said disguise could not fool the sharpshooter’s eye. 

“There he is.” Crosshair pointed to Hunter with a slight gesture of his head, lowering his rifle and waiting for the sergeant to make the next move. 

Hunter has always been the face and voice of the group, being the only member of the batch that actually had decent social skills, along with natural charisma and good looks. He was skilled in making up for their antics with just his words, and people seemed to like Hunter better than they liked the loud Wrecker, the Introvert Tech or the broody Crosshair.

So it was no brainer that Crosshair would step aside so Hunter could try and calm the kid down. After all, that’s what Hunter was good at. He would walk up to the kid, speaking softly and calmly, asking him to come back down so they can take him safely back to camp.

Crosshair even moved his rifle’s barrel upwards to seem as less threatening as possible.

However, he did not expect what happened next.

Hunter doesn’t move from his place, he doesn’t get closer to the kid, he doesn’t even try to talk. Instead he draws his blaster from its holster and shoots at the kid. The blaster fire passing right next to Crosshair’s shoulder, startling him.

Caleb reflects the blast away with his lightsaber and runs away jumping through the treetops, getting lost in the snow for a moment. 

But Crosshair was not caring about that now, instead he was staring at Hunter in shock. 

“What are you doing?!” Crosshair asked the sergeant with a hiss as he leaped down the boulder, marching closer to Hunter.

“We need to finish the mission.” Hunter said sternly, hostling the gun back in place and starting to move back into tracking the kid when Crosshair grabbed him by the shoulder, forcing Hunter to look at him.

“What mission? This was not in our report to begin with!”  He was trying to read Hunter’s expression through the visor of his mask, but it was nearly impossible.  “Shouldn’t we stand down until we know what’s going on?”

Crosshair has never been fond of children, he had always found them annoying and a nuisance. And he had always had a problem with authority, finding Jedi to be pretentious, only a handful being able to gain his respect. But killing Caleb? A Jedi Commander? Let alone a Kid!? That was way out of line, especially for Hunter and it made Crosshair suspicious. 

Before he could respond, however, Hunter began to clutch his head, as if a sudden migraine had taken over him, bending over slightly, facing the white snowy floor of the forest.

“Good soldiers follow orders…” he whispered eerily. 

“What was that?” Crosshair leaned a bit closer to see if he could catch what Hunter was saying, but Hunter did not repeat his strange whisper. 

The comlink activates again with a beep and Wrecker’s voice could be heard.

“Hunter, you’ve got Regs inbound.” 

This seemed to snap Hunter out of his trance, as he stood up back straight and talked back into his comlink.

“Copy that.” He relies before looking at Crosshair as if nothing had happened. “Come on, let's keep moving.” He urges, running after the trail of fallen snow the kid left behind. 

Crosshair cannot help but stare at Hunter’s back as he runs, a sinking feeling of dread taking over his chest and the pit of his stomach. Something was wrong, very wrong.

Regardless, he follows the sergeant in the chase. 

“Hunter, we got a situation.” Tech’s voice cracked through the comlink.

“Talk to me Tech.” Hunter demanded as he kept running, seemingly undeterred as he searched around for the kid. 

“It appears the Regs have been ordered to execute all the Jedi, they are saying they committed treason.” Tech says, shocking Crosshair to the core. 

“Right, that explains a lot.” Hunter said coldly, prompting Crosshair to snap slightly at his words.

“How does that explain anything?”

He was beyond confused. The clones suddenly turning on the Jedi made no sense, it almost felt like a trap, a separatist ploy. How could Hunter just accept the situation with no skepticism? The Bad Batch had always been a rebellious group compared to the more disciplined soldiers of the GAR, they had broken many rules, among other things. They never just charged into battle in a straight line, following instructions to the T. Their success came from their ability to improvise and think outside the box. 

Every problem had a solution, they just needed to find it. Unofficial motto. So why was Hunter just accepting this as if nothing weird was going on?

It appeared Crosshair was not the only one feeling confusion over Hunter’s words as Tech stuttered a bit before continuing. 

“I… suggest you get back here.”

“Not until I’ve found the kid.” Hunter says firmly, determinedly, and terrifyingly cold as he shut the transmission with Tech and looked around. He was a soldier on a mission and it was well known of their squad that they did not stop until the mission was completed. 

However, the idea that the mission was hunting down a kid sent shivers down Crosshair’s spine.

As Crosshair scans the area he notices the kid again, perched on a tree branch once more, and he freezes.

He should tell Hunter, but he hesitates, this did not feel right with him but he also did not know how to proceed.

Before he can react, however, Hunter’s senses catch on to the Kid’s rapid breathing and he quickly turns around, drawing his blaster and shooting towards him. The branch Caleb is perched on snaps and he falls down into the snow below.

There is a moment of silence as the mist caused by the stirring of the snow settles and Caleb turns on his lightsaber, glaring at both clones before rushing towards them. Ready to fight for his life like a cornered animal. 

Hunter immediately reacts, trying to shoot back at the kid as he gets closer and closer with each hurried step. 

Crosshair freezes as he stares at the scene unfolding in front of him. What should he do? Should he shoot the kid or try to stop Hunter? His hands fumble with the safety of his rifle, his eyes darting from the gun in his hands to the battle. 

He can almost see it in slow motion, reading each movement before it happens, and it is then that he sees how Caleb lifts his lightsaber, ready to strike Hunter down. Crosshair can almost see it cutting his brother in half and a panicked “no!” slips out of his lips as he points his rifle at the padawan. 

This seemed to make Caleb react, as in the last second he contorted his body to kick Hunter in the chest, sending him tumbling towards a tree and making him hit his head, knocking him out cold. 

Caleb then turns towards Crosshair, glare blazing hot as the saber in his hands. Ready to lunge at him, however, Crosshair has his rifle pointed at him, waiting for him to make the first move. One false movement and it could be the end of either of them both.

“I do not want to hurt you…” Crosshair growls, ‘but I will if I must.’ He thinks.

Caleb doesn’t take his chances, instead he runs away back into the forest. 

Crosshair hesitates for a second, looking at Hunter carefully. The sergeant is still breathing, but still out cold, Crosshair instead decides to rush after the kid, following his tracks right towards a Waterfall. 

He can notice how Caleb moves anxiously in his place, looking around, desperate to find a way out when he senses the presence of the sharpshooter behind him, immediately drawing his lightsaber to confront Crosshair.

“Stay back!” Caleb was frantic, waving his lightsaber erratically, trying to keep Crosshair away.

The clone stopped and stayed still. He needed to make sure the kid was ok. 

He slowly raised his hands and dropped his rifle to the side. 

“Listen, I’m trying to help kid.” He says, his voice sounded more like a growl to which Crosshair mentally kicked himself. 

“No! You killed her! you traitors killed her!” There were tears streaming down the kid’s cheeks, and he backed away. 

Crosshair knew that if he did not do anything the kid wouldn't stand a chance on his own. He could be many things, but he was not a heartless man. He had to try and do something, even if he had no idea of what. What would Hunter do?

“The regs did” Crosshair tried, really tried, to soften his voice. But he was not made for that. “I’m not like them.”

Caleb seems to doubt for a second, but he is still looking around frantically. 

“I…I can help you get out of here alive.” Crosshair offers in a hurry. 

Frankly, Crosshair had no idea how he would do that. Planning was not his forte, but he trusted, partially,  he could figure something out quickly before Hunter came to or before the regs found him. 

The kid seems to calm down at his words and for a second Crosshair feels relief. He managed to convince the kid. However the damned voices of the regs in the distance caught both their attention. Caleb was not going to get himself captured, he glares at Crosshair for a moment before he takes the chance and jumps across the ravine.

Crosshair almost dreads he won’t make it. but the force has allowed Caleb to land safely on the other side. Once there, Caleb does not waste time running into the forest until he is lost from Crosshair’s sight. 

The sniper sighs, maybe it was for the best. The regs would not be able to chase him like this. However there was one clone who still might.

Crosshair took a piece of thick wood from the snowy forest floor along with his rifle and threw his target up into the air before the ravine, aiming at it and shooting.

It made a sound that he knew Hunter would recognize. The sound of a bullet hitting “something”.

He could not do much to help the kid now, but he hoped to at least fool Hunter enough to lose his trail.

Crosshair can hear footsteps running towards him, just a pair, which tells him that his brother has returned. So he keeps his eyesight on the misty falls below, begging to the force that Hunter won’t be able to see the footprints on the other side of the ledge. 

When Hunter reaches Crosshair he immediately kneels to inspect the tracks at his feet.

Would he notice the kid jumped? Of course he would, this was Hunter...

But would he notice his trick?

“Where is the Jedi?” He almost growls, like a dog anxious to catch its prey. 

“He tried to jump” Crosshair said, keeping his sight down “... So I shot him mid air, He fell into the waterfall.”

Without looking at Hunter, Crosshair turns on his heels and marches away. 

He can feel that Hunter is not convinced. He can tell that his brother is probably trying to regain his trail. But he also knows Hunter won’t be able to sniff out the trail in the mist of the waterfall.

The trip back home to Kamino was long, however Crosshair spent most of the time napping. 

It wasn’t unusual for him to nap as the Marauder cruised through hyperspace; The inside of the ship, surrounded by his brothers, was one of the two places Crosshair felt the safest and where he could sleep soundly, truly rest, without feeling on edge. 

“We are coming up on Kamino.” Tech’s voice  brought him out of his slumber, slowly waking him up. Crosshair  sighed and stretched slightly in his chair. He could hear his brothers talking in the cockpit, something about how long they had been away from home. 

However what caught Crosshair’s attention was the eerie feeling of being watched. 

Hunter had been staring at him, his eyes unreadable under his helmet.  Crosshair could not tell if he had just now laid his eyes on him or if Hunter had been staring at him for a longer time while he slept. 

Still Cross tries to remain calm as he just growled back at Hunter. “What now?” He asked, acting annoyed at Hunter’s stare. 

“Are you sure you shot the padawan dead Crosshair?” Hunter asked, his tone cold under the helmet, causing an involuntary shiver to run down Crosshair’s back.

“I never miss my shots Hunter”  He reminded him, trying to sound as convinced as he would usually be. 

“Well, I could’ve sworn I still heard his heartbeat at the ridge.” Hunter says, keeping his stare on crosshair, reading his expressions. Crosshair thanked the maker that he knew how to keep his own heartbeat stable, or else Hunter would know he was lying. 

“When you don’t shoot the heart, it usually still beats until you bleed out. Besides, if the shot didn’t kill him the fall did, or the rapids." Crosshair said. “Either case, the kid is dead.” He lies, standing up and walking towards the rest, feeling safer by their side as Hunter’s glare was still burning at the nape of his neck.

Hunter didn’t chase after him, but the dreadful feeling that something was wrong kept eating at Crosshair’s mind. 

Hunter was not acting as his usual self, he was angry and aggressive and for once Crosshair was not sure what caused his attitude to change. Usually when he got upset it was because of something they had done or something that had gone wrong during the mission. He was 90% sure he and his brothers didn’t do anything wrong this time so he ruled that one out. 

Was Hunter upset that they couldn’t save the jedi general? No, if that was the case he wouldn’t have tried to kill the kid. 

Did he think the kid had done it?

Crosshair remembered that only he saw the regs attacking the Jedi master, maybe Hunter had the wrong idea of what happened? Then again, Caleb had run back when they started hearing the blasters, Hunter must have noticed that too.

As he kept replaying the events of the mission in his head, he felt more and more confused.

It almost felt like someone or something had replaced Hunter and the Regs all of the sudden.

He remembered that one time they had a mission involving clawdites and a shiver ran down his spine. What if--

No, it couldn’t have happened, Hunter never left his side before he started to act weird, so Crosshair could rule out that he was actually replaced.

But then… Why was everyone acting so strange all of the sudden?

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ᴰᶦᵛᶦᵈᵉʳ ᵇʸ @stars-n-spice

[erin8411]

I think about this a lot...

Crosshair, Mr. "We don't usually work with Regs", Mr. "I would have left him for dead too, he is just another Reg", Sees this mangled mess of a clone fight for a couple of minutes and decides to place his hand on his shoulder when the battle is over.

It almost feels like he is worried Echo will tumble over the edge and fall, even tho we don't see Echo loosing his balance once. But, it also feels like a congratulation, like he recognizes just how good of a soldier Echo actually is. You don't see it in the Gif, but he even gives him a little head nod of acknowledgment!

Do you think he realized why they took so much risk for just one "Reg"? He came to understand why Echo was so important and Rex made such a big fuss about it?

Do you think he came to accept that Echo was "not bad for a reg?"

Cause if he did, he would have been the first of The Bad Batch to do so. Since in the next episode we have both Hunter and Tech distrusting Echo and his ideas, worried he might have some ulterior motives.

I think... Mr. "I hate regs" is actually a big softie and accepted Echo as a brother way before the others did.