#I might still skip her after Rishi

[keldae]

We are now 5/8 for getting SWTOR classes to Command Rank 300! The long grind has started for Bounty Hunter (Rav, Sorand and Shara’s adopted daughter) and Warrior (Maglion, Reanden’s half-brother and the biggest asshole to ever set foot on Dromund Kaas. Like he almost makes Vitiate look charming and friendly.

Almost.)

Rav I’m still working through class story after using a Master’s Datacron on her, so after she ran CZ and Dantooine, she’s now sitting around Rank 65-ish. She’s the priority for levelling, although Maglion (rank 45) decided to poke me and go “So since I am the edgiest of edgelords and you can skip me right ahead to Ossus without feeling too much guilt since I pick ALL the Dark Side options by default and you really don’t want to watch Jace die on Iokath and simply can’t pick the DS option to kill Theron, I can level faster than the BH whelp.... which means I want new armour and a new mount and...”

On the one hand, he’s my asshole alt that I never play and am not keen to spend credits on.

On the other hand, he does present a valid argument. For once. >.>

[theeasternempress]

A Little Red Handprint

Summary - Echo is still learning how to adapt to having a child on board and struggles with deciding to treat her like a soldier or like a child. With a simple question from Omega, Echo finally makes his decision. 

Word count - 2.7k

AO3

Echo had spent his entire life being trained to become the perfect soldier for the Republic. He could use every weapon imaginable, formulate a battle plan on the spot, follow orders to a T, and take down a droid with a single perfectly-aimed shot. He was proud to say that with time, he had learned to be exactly the type of soldier that the Republic wanted. 

But if there was one thing he was never taught, it was how to handle a child. 

Echo was completely clueless with how to care for Omega. Despite constantly watching Hunter, Wrecker, and Tech from the sidelines as they interacted with Omega, he was unsure of how to interact with her even after a few days.  

At most, he’d dealt with a couple of cadets as an ARC trooper, but he treated them as soldiers instead of the children they truly were. He regretted his past actions the moment he saw Omega’s eyes flood with awe the first time she went into hyperspace as he learned how children appreciate the little things. There was a time and place for being a soldier but for now, Omega deserved to have the childhood no other clone could have.

Echo was fighting a constant but silent battle in his head over this matter. He wanted her to learn how to protect herself as a soldier could, especially after the events of Pantora, but he also didn’t want her to be in constant fear for her life. Echo was sure that their team would do everything in their power to keep her safe, but a thousand “what ifs?” still circled around in his mind. 

He was so lost in thought that he didn’t hear Omega’s soft footsteps approaching. She could tell he was deep in thought and almost hesitated to interrupt him, but she eventually spoke, “Echo, can you help me with something?”

It was only thanks to years of training that Echo didn’t jump out of his skin at Omega’s sudden presence. He’d always had a bad habit of getting lost in his thoughts, something Fives loved to relentlessly tease him for. 

Burying his surprise, Echo turned to meet Omega’s soft brown eyes and replied, “Sure kiddo, what do you need help with?” 

“My trooper’s head is loose, and I don’t know how to fix it,” Omega said, revealing her trooper doll from behind her back and holding it up to Echo. 

It still made Echo’s heart skip a beat to see that Omega had painted her doll to match the Bad Batch’s armor. Even though it was clearly the work of a child, he could tell that she put her entire heart into her work. 

Taking the doll from Omega’s outstretched hand, Echo set the doll in his palm to get a good look at it. It was clear to him that the head had just been unscrewed from the neck a few times so with a couple twists, the head was back on as normal. 

It was an easy fix, so easy that he was sure Omega would have known how to do it herself. Tech had been teaching her how to make all different kinds of repairs and she clearly had background knowledge as well. There had to be some other reason why she asked for his help. 

Just as Echo was about to question Omega, she hesitantly spoke, “Echo, I’ve been meaning to ask, why do you wear leather armor on your belt when no one else does?” 

Echo smiled softly as he realized that Omega just wanted an excuse to talk to him for a bit. The thought warmed his heart as he replied, “It’s called a kama, it’s a piece of armor I got after I became an ARC trooper. My captain used to say that it acted as extra protection, but my brother Fives always said it was just to make us look cool.” 

Ever-curious, Omega propped herself up to mimic his position and asked, “So the reason you’re the only one who wears a kama is because you’re the only ARC trooper?”

“Yes, but the Mandalorians wore them before ARC troopers did. Once Jango Fett introduced kamas to the clones, ARC troopers began wearing them too,” he answered, preparing himself for more questions from the small girl. 

Echo continued to answer her never-ending questions with a never-ending amount of patience. He told her countless stories about Fives and Domino Squad, a fond yet nostalgic smile on his lips the entire time. 

Even without being told, Omega seemed to understand that the members of his previous squad were all dead and didn’t ask a single question about how they died. Instead, she asked questions about things like their favorite colors and Echo’s favorite memories with them. 

Just when Echo thought Omega was running out of steam, she asked, “Can I try on your kama, please?”

Her question surprised both Echo and Omega, the shocked look on Omega’s face showing that the question had just slipped from her mouth.

Without hesitation, Echo reached behind him to unclip the kama and let it slip into his hands. Omega, seeming to understand what he was doing, broke out into one of her bright smiles and stepped forward to allow Echo to tie the kama around her waist. Even on the tightest setting it was too big on Omega, but she didn’t seem to care as she ran her fingertips over the rough leather. 

Echo contently watched as Omega jumped around, giggling when the kama whacked against her legs. Even though she had to hold the kama in place with one hand, she seemed to be enjoying herself. 

Seeing Omega so happy to be wearing a piece of his armor, Echo decided he would let her try on all of his gear. Echo was never more grateful for the prosthetic hand Tech had built him than when he was removing his armor. He was able to remove his armor and leave himself in his blacks in record time, Omega too distracted with Echo’s kama to notice what he was doing. 

Echo called Omega over to him with a quick call of her name. She strolled to his side, still smiling about the way the kama was flapping against her legs. 

Echo held his helmet up with one hand and asked, “Can’t let you just wear the kama, soldier. How about we get you into full gear?”

Omega gasped as her face lit up, nodding furiously. Echo returned the smile and helped her get his helmet over her head. The helmet was so big on her that she could spin it all the way around her head, which led to heavy laughter from them both. 

The rest of his armor was also far too big on the small girl, but he managed to at least fasten it enough so it wouldn’t fall off of her petite frame. 

Echo could hear her giggles echoing in his helmet and couldn’t help but laugh along with her. If his armor was big on her, he could only imagine how easily she would be swallowed up by Wrecker’s gear. 

Omega quickly cleared her throat and stood at attention like she’d seen him do countless times. Even though Omega mimicked Hunter the most, it always brought warmth to Echo’s heart to see the small girl copying his actions. 

Echo stood at attention as well, giving the girl a firm salute and smiling as she returned it with a little more force than needed and whacked her hand against his helmet. 

“Hi soldier, I’m Echo and I’m an ARC trooper,” Omega’s voice rang out, clearly trying to copy the authoritative tone she’d heard from commanding officers. A quick laugh escaped from Echo as Omega dropped her voice several octaves to try to sound more like him.  

Echo heard a quiet snort come from Omega before she said, “What are you laughing at, soldier? Drop and give me twenty!”

Echo replied with a quick, “Sir, yes, sir!” before getting to the ground to begin doing push ups. He felt Omega crawl on his back to sit on him just as she sat on Wrecker when he did his daily push ups. The armor dug uncomfortably into his cybernetics, but he kept his complaint to himself.

Omega jumped off his back after a minute and said, “I’m gonna go show everyone what I look like in your armor!” 

Echo didn’t even have time to respond as she marched to the cockpit to greet Tech, armor clanging together as she moved. Echo slowly followed behind her, walking in just in time to hear Omega say, “Look Tech, I’m Echo!”

Tech looked up from the small project in his hands to see Omega with her arms spread wide and a smile undoubtedly spread across her face under Echo’s helmet. Echo didn’t miss the twitch of Tech’s lips as he fought back a smile at the sight of the young girl swallowed in Echo’s armor. 

Omega put on her Echo-voice again and said, “Tech, did you finish your work on repairing the communications system? Hunter wanted that done by the end of the day.” 

This time Tech allowed himself to smile at the child and responded, “Yes, communications are up and running, though I doubt we’ll need to use them. Everything else is as it should be.”  

Echo quietly stood off to the side, doing his best to give the two of them some space as they no doubt spoke of the projects Tech was currently working on. Tech always enjoyed getting to speak to someone about his various interests, and Echo didn’t miss how Omega was eager to soak up every bit of information he gave. 

A moment later, Omega sped past him and made a beeline for Hunter’s bunk. Before Echo could leave to go after her, Tech spoke, “We’ll be landing in precisely 30 minutes. You might want to get your armor back in that time.”

Echo nodded and ran off to catch up with Omega. Just as she was about to poke Hunter awake, Echo grabbed her wrist and softly said, “Sorry kiddo, but Tech says we’re landing soon and I’ll need my armor back.” 

Echo could sense that she was pouting, but nonetheless let Echo lead her away from a snoring Hunter to a quiet area on the ship. Omega lifted her arms out and let Echo unclasp his armor from around her frame. 

As Echo was helping Omega take off his armor, his thoughts drifted to Rex and Fives. Even though the events on the Rishi moon cost him three of his beloved brothers, it strengthened his bond with Fives and introduced him to Rex. Their armor tied them together and while he wasn’t wearing 501st colors anymore, his armor would always remind him of his brothers. 

An idea popped into Echo’s head as he removed the final piece of armor from Omega and began, “You know Omega, there’s something from my armor that’s been missing for a long time. I used to have a handprint from my Captain on the chest plate of my old armor. Since I’m part of a new team, I’ve been thinking of getting a new handprint too.”

Omega tilted her head in confusion, so Echo continued, “Would you put your handprint on my kama for me?”

Omega beamed from ear to ear and exclaimed, “Of course! I’ll go grab the paint!” 

While Omega ran off to grab the spare paint they kept on board, Echo began putting on his armor, leaving his kama to the side. 

The pitter patter of Omega’s quick footsteps alerted Echo to her presence as she returned with a canister of red paint and a paintbrush in her hand.

“I thought the red paint would look best on it, but I can get black if you want!” Omega said, clearly happy to be doing this with Echo. 

“I think red is perfect. You ready?” Echo asked as he plucked the paintbrush from between Omega’s small fingers. In response, Omega stuck out her left hand and smiled brightly.

Echo kneeled to the ground, bringing Omega down with him, and brought the paint and his kama to his side. Echo plopped a splat of paint against Omega’s hand, which led her into a fit of giggles as she said, “That’s cold!” 

Echo smiled at her laughter and began brushing the paint across her hand, which led to even more giggles as she exclaimed, “Now it’s cold and it tickles!” Echo laughed as she squirmed about, but continued applying an even coat of paint against Omega’s small palm. 

When he was finished, Echo set the paintbrush down and lifted the kama in front of Omega. He didn’t have a preference for where she put the handprint and knew she was smart enough to pick the best place for it. 

“I’ll let you pick a good spot, just make sure to keep your hand steady,” Echo instructed. Omega nodded, her eyes flicking over Echo’s kama. Eventually, she lifted her palm up on the left flap of his kama, just above his knee. It was about an inch or so on either side of the red border, and Echo thought it would look perfect.

As Omega pulled her hand back to reveal the mark she’d made, Echo felt tears flood his eyes. Even if the handprint belonged to someone else, it would always remind him of Rex. Echo was more than happy to be part of this team, but he couldn’t deny that there were some nights when he longed for the company of his brothers in the 501st. His happiest memories were with them and after all he’d been through, he still craved the simple joy that came from something as trivial as a pillow fight or deep conversations over a cup of caf. 

Sensing his sadness, Omega silently laid her unpainted hand over one of Echo’s. Tears began to pour down Echo’s cheeks, but Omega stayed silent and kept her warm hand over Echo’s. He hadn’t cried like this in ages, and he felt years of suppressed moments bubbling up. 

(Rex would love Omega, wouldn’t he? And by the Maker, he just knew Fives would be able to make Omega laugh for hours.)

Echo smiled at the thought, squeezing Omega’s hand before using his sleeve to dry his tears. Echo finished cleaning himself up just as Hunter emerged from his bunk with sleep in his eyes and a fond smile on his face at the sight of Echo and Omega. 

Omega ran over to Hunter with her painted palm held out and exclaimed, “Hunter, look! Echo let me put my handprint on his kama!”

Hunter chuckled, ruffling her hair and replying, “It looks great, kiddo. You’ve got some skills as an artist. Let’s get you cleaned up now, okay?”

She nodded in response, but ran back to Echo to throw her arms around him first. Still kneeling on the ground, Echo was almost knocked over by the force of the small girl’s hug. Echo returned the hug, placing one hand on her back and threading his fingers through her hair with the other. 

She contently sighed against him before mumbling, “Thank you, Echo.”

Echo hugged her tighter and replied, “No Omega, it should be me thanking you. You have no idea how much this means to me.” 

Omega stayed latched onto Echo, only releasing him from her hold when Hunter cleared his throat. She pulled away from him and stepped over to Hunter, but not before giving Echo one of her smiles that could rival the brightness of the sun. He smiled in return, watching as Hunter guided her to the refresher. 

Staring fondly at the little red handprint adorning his kama, Echo knew that Omega may not be a soldier like them, but she was definitely a member of their team and he’d protect her just as he’d protect any of his brothers. The hole in his heart left by the parting of Rex and death of Fives may never be filled, but he had a feeling that their newest member would be bringing a new kind of joy to his heart.

-- Dedicated to my wonderful friend @eternalqueenofthemyscira --

[drkineildwicks]

OH YES

*Kronk voice* Oh yeah, it’s all coming together XD

Tadashi would probably introduce her to Juniper too like I feel like you two would vibe

Olivia and Fred gabbing about cute animal comics gives Juniper new reading material :D

Obake has limits

And now I’m thinking the Supersonics and High Voltage team up at one point and Tadashi is just like WHY???

Juniper and Stu are just like it seemed like a good idea and Barb and Sue are like oh honey you’re sweet but you don’t tell us what to do XD

IDK maybe???  We definitely need more info on the various characters and this feels like the perfect way to poke around with that XD

If SFIT survives Hiro and Rishi Granville will just declare it a job well done and take like a three-year vacation XD

Someone from the group offers to take a teaching position and her NO can be heard three counties over XD

Ey don’t feel bad toot your own horn! :D

Also mood about getting to a particular part you’re looking forward to in your fic

I mean you can always skip ahead and write it out but then there’s the whole waiting to get to where you can POST it that’s its whole special agony

I have felt that so many times and then staring at my inbox waiting for the screams X’D

Yes this AU is the Max Chaos AU and from my own experiences with group chats that just cranks the chaos up to 11 (but oh man writing group chat sections in fics is fuuuuun! :D)

The nerd gang refuses to play Among Us with the Aken-Hamadas anymore

Also the Halloween episode, since the general plot gets nixed:

Everyone always dresses up, Obake and Cass dress up as Loki and Thor, complete with helmets

Occasionally Obake will wear the Loki-jacket out of season he likes the vibes it gives him

It took Hiro until he was like seven to realize that Obake wasn’t really Loki

Tadashi still thinks so tho

Ever since Ragnarok Cass has insisted on doing “Get help” with Obake

Obake objects, mostly because he plays Loki then

He might be taller but his sisters have always been compact muscle yes Cass could totally yeet Obake if she wanted to

And the events of “Food Fight” come from Obake’s suggestions since he heard about this from Momakase

And because Cass won’t let him bump off Grammercy she has limits

He’s very proud of his sister’s knife collection :D

Her and Momakase’s fight goes off more good-natured than canon but still has the dirty fighting because just because we’re friends doesn’t mean I’m going easy on you

Cass, throwing the net at her at the end: the feeling’s mutual

They meet up later after Obake breaks her out of prison, Momakase takes pictures of the knife collection and shares it on Insta with a very truncated story on how it came to be

Someone on there comments with this has the same energy as that girl who stabbed the guy in the kitchen

Momakase: I am happy to inform you that it is in fact the same girl

Been thinking and….

AU where Cass and Obake are siblings

So just picture her raising her nephews with occasional chaotic input from their ‘weird uncle Bob’

Whom she doesn’t DARE let babysit anymore because 1) he never says no and 2) he also happily enables the chaos

And totally lets the boys play with the chainsaw

Forget the fact that she doesn’t know WHERE it came from, for some reason they have one now

Also Obake keeps letting Hiro go on ‘supervised visits’ to Good Luck Alley

And of all his ‘friends’ Felony Carl is honestly the only one she trusts to take care of kids despite being called ‘Felony’ Carl

Felony Carl is forever the mom friend no matter what situation I’m sorry I don’t make the rules

Basically Obake and Cass have the same sibling dynamic that Jon and Evvie do in The Mummy

“You lied to me!”

“So? I lie to everyone!”

“I’m your sister!”

“That just makes you more gullible!”

They take the mickey out of each other Cass never lets him forget about that time he blew up his college and Obake never lets her forget the time she stabbed a dude

“It was an ACCIDENT”

And yet they’re also ride-or-die and would totally help each other hide the body

The boys’ mom was the responsible one so basically it’s two feral gremlins trying to raise two feral gremlins

Hiro declares revenge on someone and Obake helps him brainstorm

Hiro graduates at thirteen and everyone in the school system is glad to see the back end of him AND his uncle

Tadashi graduated early too you don’t have a supergenius for a relative AND bad math grades

Hiro just graduated earlier because he vibes more with Obake

Obake and Cass are both aware of the family resemblance and have concerns

Cass more than Obake, Obake is more like Mushu on our little baby’s all grown up and destroying people

Tadashi is AGGRESSIVELY nice and responsible in an attempt to counterbalance his uncle

Who likes to say that SFIT wasn’t the same since he left

Cass: that’s what being reduced to rubble generally does, yes

Obake: do you MIND???

Yes she’s aware her brother is a supervillain but she’d like to keep the boys from knowing

So basically Tadashi and Hiro are like the youngest members of a crime syndicate without being aware of it

They secretly suspect

So do Tadashi’s friends

Wait what do you mean your weird uncle is a scary crime boss?

Also Cass has informed Obake that he has to give her at least twenty-four hours’ notice before he does anything catastrophic

Obake: define catastrophic

Cass: blowing up the city, reversing street signs, stealing people’s left shoes…basically stop and ask yourself ‘will this cause Cass to punch me’ and if the answer’s ‘yes’ don’t do it

Obake: if I asked myself that I’d never get anything done

Basically I want chaos sibs who are suddenly responsible for small humans and have no idea how to go about that

If we can’t call her Cass Hamada y’all’d best be prepared for the consequences

[robronotics]

Post Ep Ponderings March 13

Ohhh, Pierce is good. He’s really got Rhona away from Vanessa now. That’s how assholes like that work. They slowly try to take you away from the people that care about you so that you feel like they’re the only person you’ve got. I just wish Rhona would remember her initial issues with Pierce. She won’t, not for awhile. She’s already convinced herself so thoroughly that her gut reaction was wrong that she just can’t see it now. Vanessa is going to have to come up with a better strategy because Rhona has shut down. Maybe she can get Paddy on side and they can take down Pierce together.

I haven’t decided, like I think a few people in the fandom have, whether I think Liv is in love with Gabby or if she’s just so lonely and angry that she doesn’t want anyone to take her only friend away from her. Though, she does seem to be getting along a bit with Noah now and the way she went after Jacob tonight I think she could at least be coming around to him as a friend. Honestly, I kind of want her to be bi so she can bond with Robert a bit more. As for Gabby, I think something bad might happen when she skips tomorrow. Just a gut feeling.

I feel so bad for Laurel. I really hope the writers have something nice planned for her once all this is over. She went from her problem with alcohol right into this. Poor woman hasn’t had a break in forever. And how sad, that Ashley was giving Maggie biscuits because he thought she wasn’t being fed. It’s him while not exactly being him. I just have to say, they are still slaying this episode.

I’m still a bit curious to know why it seems to be Rakesh that is going to help Jai through his grieving of Holly. It’s so rare that I find either of them interesting that I just felt I had to mention this.

Finally, poor Rishi! Lydia thinks his family is too crazy? Because Jai got drunk? Honestly, I kind of want them to make Lydia a permanent character. That would be so great.