#also crosshair is slowly becoming my favourite

[nymph1e]

The fucking despair permeating that episode. Crosshair deliberately ignoring the wrongness, desperately clinging to his bitterness like a child's blanket. The way he maybe thought he had companionship again, only for Cody's leaving to feed more into his abandonment complex. Trying to pretend he's not alone.

Cody tentatively feeling Crosshair out to see if he's on his side. His quiet disappointment and uncertainty when Crosshair shows he's firmly with the Empire. The way he builds companionship up with Crosshair in battle, only for it to turn cold right after. Cody trying to make it work but every time he remembers Obi-Wan, every time his beliefs are betrayed by this empire he now serves, his loneliness and utter helpless despair tries to swallow him whole.

This was the story about two clones who were completely and utterly alone, surrounded by others. One clone decides to leave the system of the empire to head into an uncertain future (will we ever see Cody again?), the other sinking himself deeper into a dark pit of his own making.

[huntershoe]

THE BAD BATCH PROMPT EVENT

A/N: I would like to thank @arctrooper69 for making this prompt and giving me a great idea. I am a little late tho because I only saw the post yesterday evening. I chose the NSFW prompt since I am trying to improve my smut writing abilities ;)

Summary: After intense past months, the tension between you and Hunter finally snaps.

Warning: NSFW (18+) minors DNI.

Word count: 2439

Thank you for reading!

It has been months since you, Hunter and Wrecker had any break, the fast pacing time and events simply wouldn't let you rest, even a good night sleep was rare. And with that of course came another few things to complain about. You and Hunter used to be so much more physically active together, and not just the flaming hot crazy sex, but also just small kisses here and there when no one was looking, the fleeting touches, just to reassure each other's presence.

It's not that you don't love him anymore, or the other way around, it's just that the stress from loosing Tech and Omega was too great, it wouldn't let you relax even for a second, knowing that Omega is still out there, suffering maker knows what.

So yes, you actually couldn't remember the last time you and Hunter managed to let out some steam and fuck and the only time you would get to kiss him was if you both managed get into your bunk at the same time to sleep and Wrecker took the watch.

The last few months consisted of constant deadly missions, doing the dirty work just to get some information, which usually ended up being useless but that didn't stop you and you kept on risking your life every day, to find Omega.

So once you got a mysterious transmission, sounding like Omega and telling you to meet at some backwater location, you didn't know what to believe. It simply sounded too good to be true. You could still remember the moment Omega ran down the ramp and into Wrecker's arms, it really was a sight to see, just like Wrecker said.

You were the second one Omega ran to, and you knelt down in front of her, squeezing her into a tight hug, until Omega spotted Hunter on top of the ramp, looking down at his two favourite girls with a small smile.

From then on, everything changed once Crosshair walked down the ramp to everyone's surprise.

Crosshair's arrival made Hunter a bit on edge, he didn't trust his brother as much as he wanted to. Who could blame him, Crosshair was the one hunting them just a little more than six months ago.

On top of that, with Crosshair now being around again, Hunter seemed more...pissy, it greatly bothered him that the sniper acted like nothing happened, like he didn't need to explain his actions.

With that, tension was all time high, because Hunter being pissy and on edge, made you pissy and on edge so you were constantly bickering. That's exactly why you were in the middle of a fight that was gradually becoming bigger and bigger, making Crosshair roll his eyes and go down to the beach with Batcher and Wrecker taking Omega fishing.

Not even realizing you two were now alone in the Marauder, yelling at each other about the most silly things until the topic somehow ended up on your failing relationship, or how it seemed that it was slowly failing.

And when Hunter tried to come up with a dumb excuse as to why he was pulling away, because he himself didn't actually know why but he just felt like he had to explain himself and when you called him on his bulshit he groaned, holding his head as he rolled his eyes and tried to walk away.

You weren't about to let him go, especially when you heard him mutter a quiet "Just go fuck yourself."

He couldn't help himself, it just escaped his lips and he knew he screwed up when you let out a loud scoff, crossing your arms in front of you and glared at his back. "Fuck me yourself, you coward."

That made him stop in his tracks and his breath hitched, not knowing if he heard you right and trying to decide how to respond back if he did indeed heard you right. Hunter turned around, his head moving before his body as he looked at you with raised brows. "What?"

You knew Hunter didn't mean it, he wasn't the type of man to insult someone and you knew very well that these past months weren't just bad for you but also for him. You knew it wasn't his fault that you two grew apart but still, you were frustrated. Frustrated that you can't have him like you used to, that you can't show him how deeply you actually love him, that even when you do, he barely acknowledges it. Frustrated with yourself that you were still thinking so selfishly. "You heard me, Hunter."

You rolled your eyes, still a little angry and tapping your feet against the ground. "I mean it's been months since you've last kissed me properly,"  You tried to justify your comeback, the last of your frustration fading away and embarrassment and self consciousness taking its place as you averted your eyes down to your fiddling fingers.

The embarrassment only intensified when Hunter stayed silent, just looking at you with his head tilted making you nervous in front of him for the first time since you've entered the relationship with him. "I...I know we hadn't had the time for us in these past months but I just miss us...I miss you Hunter." You started rambling, your voice getting quieter until you just barely whispered the last part but Hunter only stayed still, silently watching, making it worse.

The nerves finally got the best of you and you closed your eyes. "please say something." You whispered as tears started forming in your eyes. You let out one final breath waiting for him, to give you a sign, something, anything, to show you he still wants you and your relationship.

And when even after a few moments, he didn't let out a single sound, you turned away to hide your tears that finally spilled. Thinking that this was the end of it, you began walking away, trying to hide but you only managed to make a few steps before you felt someone grabbing your arm, stopping and spinning you.

Your eyes opened in shock as the world suddenly began spinning around you until your body came to a sudden halt and your chest was pressed against a solid and all to familiar armour. You didn't even get to look up at Hunter properly before his lips connected to yours and your body froze.

One of Hunter's hands sneaked around your waist, pulling you closer and securing you against his chest while his other hand moved up from your forearm to your cheek as he pressed a long and loving kiss against your lips. Butterflies exploded in your stomach and a warm feeling spread across your whole body. You slowly relaxed into his arms and your eyes closed as your own hands began sneaking up his armor plates and behind his neck. Hunter gently bit down on your lower lip, making you gasp in surprise. He took the chance, deepening the kiss, he slowly sneaked his tongue against yours, playing with it while exploring your mouth, trying to map every corner just like he used to.

This kiss was everything you wanted, everything you needed, everything...you missed these past months.

Your tongue danced around his, like two snakes, wrapping around each other as your hands moved higher up into his hair and he let out a quiet groan once you gently pulled on a strand of his hair.

None of you were even considering on pulling away, until your lungs began burning with the need for oxygen. Gently pulling away from his lips, you opened your eyes slowly. Your eyes locked with his as both of your chests heavied up and down, gasping for air.

His mesmerizing golden brown eyes were looking at you softly. Holding so many emotions, so much love for you, it made you feel bad about your latter outburst.

"Mesh'la" Shivers ran down your back at the Mandalorian nickname Hunter murmured while moving his hand from your cheek to a rogue strand of hair and tucked it behind your ear. "I'm sorry." Your eyes flickered from his right to left eye, until he closed them for a long moment and reopened them, watching you intensely.

"I never wanted to make you feel this way." His voice was laced with regret and he slowly moved his hand behind your neck, slowly pushing your head closer until your foreheads touched in keldabe kiss.

"Let me...us start this again."

Hope filled your chest and it almost felt like a giant stone rolled of off your heart. A smile grew over your lips and you moved your right hand on his tattooed cheek. Following the pattern of the black ink, your finger danced in small circles, until it stopped on his lips.

"Let's try this again."

You watched how his pupils slowly dilated, watching you with pure adoration.

"Good." Hunter rasped and then attacked your lips. It was like a switch in him flipped, letting out a man starving for you as his both hands moved down to your hips, pushing you against him while his tongue battled for dominance.

You felt dizzy, your eyes rolling back as they fell shut.

A breathy moan escaped past your lips as Hunter moved his hands lower to your ass, squeezing it hungrily and one of your leg automatically went up and locked around his hip.

You felt him pull back for a second to breathe, his chest violently moving up and down, just like yours.

"Good thing they left us alone."

Hunter murmured and a smirk spread across his lips as he kneaded your ass. You couldn't hold yourself back anymore and you kissed him again, pulling yourself as close to him as possible until Hunter gently tapped your ass, signaling you to jump and you did.

He caught you and you wrapped your legs around his waist, locking your ankles behind him. With your legs out of the way, Hunter began walking towards your shared bunk bed all while still managing to take your breath away.

He moved to sit down on the edge of the bed and with this newfound position, you could feel just how aroused he was, his hard-on poking through the gasps of his armor.

Moving your hands down his armored chest, you began taking off any piece of his armor that you could get your hands on. Helping you, Hunter took off his main chest plate, throwing it away mindlessly. With that, your hands found his cod piece and you began tugging it away, freeing his achingly hard cock.

Hunter let out a loud groan, his hands once again moving to your ass and pulling you closer and over his hard-on.

Moaning at how perfectly this position allowed you to grind your clit directly over his cock you began rolling your hips over and over.

Letting out a string of curses, Hunter broke the kiss and began planting open mouthed kisses all over your neck, starting at your jaw.

"Fuck mesh'la." Hunter groaned deeply before he started nibbling on that perfect spot just under your jaw.

After all these months of no physical contact like this, it made you so much more desperate to reach that perfect peak of ecstasy. Hunter could tell you were already close, with all those moans and gasps you were letting out. It was enchanting to watch you, so beautiful, sexy, mesmerizing. He couldn't take his eyes off of you as you neared your orgasm.

You felt amazing, in the arms of your lover and nearing your peak. Your eyes were rolling back and your breath hitched, just as you thought your orgasm would roll over Hunter stood up in a split second and gently threw you on the bed.

Gasping in surprise and then whining as that perfect peak subsided you opened your eyes wide, only to see him kneel in front of you and take off his black gloves.

"I want you coming all over my face and fingers." A quiet mewl escaped you, his voice was low, almost growling as he threw his gloves somewhere behind him and then grabbed your waist band, pulling it down quickly. A loud groan left him as he spotted a big wet spot on the crotch of your pants.

Hunter pulled both your pants and panties off in one go, throwing them over his shoulder just like he did with his gloves. Another growl escaped him as he grabbed your legs and threw them over his shoulder and pulled you up, closer to his face.

You watched his face, how his eyes looked at you hungrily and he wetted his lips, you saw his nostrils dilate as he breathed in your sweet scent. He looked downright sinful as you saw him close his eyes and lick a long stripe up across your folds, making you moan. Another loud groan echoed through the ship as Hunter began feasting on you.

Wrapping his lips around your clit he began sucking on it as if his life depends on it. His mouth felt amazing on you and you couldn't help but to grab onto his hair as you felt yourself quickly approaching that wonderful high again. A loud gasp left you when you felt his fingers prodding on your entrance. "Please Hunter, more." Feeling desperate enough you begged, rolling your hips into his face.

Wanting to fulfill your every wish, Hunter entered two fingers in you, groaning when your pussy clenched around them immediately. He expertly hit that spongy spot, managing to pump his fingers in and out only a few times before your eyes rolled back and your lips opened in O shape, letting out a long moan as your orgasm hit you.

Your body shook and Hunter had to hold onto you to keep you from moving too much as he kept on sucking on your juices. After a few more moments of pure ecstasy you began feeling overstimulated and you had to actually pull Hunter off of you by his hair. He looked wild, licking his lips and his eyes black as night, he was panting when he finally pulled away a little more just to suck on his fingers full of your juices. "One of these days I'm gonna take my time with you and won't stop for hours." Hunter growled, looking down, directly at your pussy.

You looked at him, your face completely flushed and you grinned at him. "Come here soldier." And you pulled him closer, connecting your lips with him.

Maybe this will be even better than before.

[melissa-kenobi]

Hiiiiiiii, i love your writing and was wonderig if you could do a fluff fic where reader is trying to teach Wrecker how to dance cause lets face it.....this big guy is TERRIBLE at it, but he just wants to spend time doing something reader loves, and the other Batchers just snicker as they watch this please😂

Dancing [Wrecker x Reader]

A/N: ahhhhh this idea is so adorable!! I love it sm! I hope I did it justice Anon!! Also it's kinda short, I'm so sorry!!! xx

Summary: Wrecker wants to spend more time with his lover.

Word Count:

"Mesh'la..."

Wrecker's usually loud tone was a meek and shy one as he approached you, cuddling you from behind as he lay his head on your shoulder. His lips softly kissing the side of your neck as he nuzzled into his favourite spot.

"Mhh, yes sweetie? What's up?" You asked gently, turning in his arms to face his adorable shy smile.

"You know how- er how you're good at dancing?" You nodded in response, gently urging him to continue. "I er- can you teach me?"

Your eyes widening in shock as your heart warmed with love for him, you grabbed him and hugged him tightly. "Really? You want to learn?"

Wrecker nodded shyly. "Of course. Let's practice now!" His tone now eager and ready to learn, as he gripped your hand and rushed outside to an open space.

"Alright, so what do we first?" Wrecker asked, his eyes eager with joy as he practically bounced around. Although what Wrecker hadn't noticed was that his brothers were slowly making their way back. Crosshair had already spotted the two of you from miles away, making his brothers speed up so he could see what it was you guys were doing. The entire batch knew how much Wrecker adored you, the guy was in bits when he almost lost you and then proceeded to snuggle you for the next two weeks, not letting you out of his sight.

"Hold on Wreck! You haven't told me what type of dancing you wanted to do!" You asked, grinning largely at his enthusiasm.

"I-i er- something that needs both of us?" He asked, tone questionable as he gave you a shy smile. Rolling your eyes playfully, you pulled him towards you, holding his hands.

"You sure about that sweetie?" Wrecker nodded, face now red and blushing. "Ok, so I'll teach you how to do the Waltz."

"The Waltz?"

"Mmh... it's very simple sweetie. It con-

"The Waltz is a simple 3 step box dance, it's uses the basic 3 count, slow slow quick and is repeated throughout the entire dance. The timing of the dance works out with a 1,2,3 - 1,2,3 and is consistent throughout. So it should be fairly easy for Y/N to teach you." Tech blurted out without thinking, his eyes had fallen upon you while you stood there watching in shock watching the boys gather round.

Wrecker let out a loud groan "Why are you guys back so early?!"

Crosshair let out a small chuckle, or it was rather a sinister one almost as if he had a plan up his sleeve. "Why are you trying to dance?"

"Crosshair..." Hunter warned, eyeing the look that was etched onto his face.

He gave you a small smile before turning to his bigger brother. "It's true. Wrecker can't dance for shit. He's only doing it so he can spend time with Y/N. That's why he stayed back on this mission."

"Did not!" Wrecker quickly intercepted, getting slightly angry and annoyed now. "You didn't need me and- Y/N was going to be lonely on the ship so i-

"So you thought you'd show off with your non-existent dance skills?" Crosshair retorted making Wrecker become angry.

"You're just jealous because I found someone who isn't my brother that actually likes me." Wrecker firmly spoke, Crosshair's taunting becoming too much before he stormed off, purposely bumping into Crosshair who only snarled at him.

"Ah- well it would appear Wrecker is right, but-

"Tech. Not right now." You finally spoke up, eyes wide with both their confessions. "Echo?"

"Yeah?" Echo replied absentmindedly, eyes following Wrecker, making sure his vod was okay.

"Go get the boys cleaned up. I'll go after Wrecker." You told him, giving a hint that he needed to get Crosshair to aplogise and you would do the same.

"Will do Y/N!" Echo smiled giving you a friendly smile.

"Thank you."

***

Finding Wrecker wasn't that hard. He was sat on his bunk, Lula in his arms as he watched you walk in, eyes wide with shock that you had followed him after what had been said.

"Wrecker.." You began but the large man quickly cut you off, aplogising for everything.

"Y/N, I didn't- I er-

"Wrecker. Stop." You smiled holding his hands softly. "You know- you don't have to stay behind just to spend time with me?"

"Really?"

Kissing his hands you gently dropped them as you cupped his face. "Wrecker, I would gladly spend every single second with you. You don't have to enjoy what I like to do just to impress me, you've already shown me you. And I like that you, you don't have dance and do the things I like just because I like them. I like you just as you are Wrecker."

"You do?" You nodded before Wrecker pulled you into a deep kiss, his heart pounding deeply as he was ready to announce something he had never done before.

"I- er- I love you Y/N. More than I can say." Wrecker shyly spoke, holding your face as his thumbs caressed your cheek. Your heart clenched with love and adoration for this man as you spilled your feelings for him too.

"I love you too Wrecker."

***

Main Taglist: @tobitofunction @pinkiemme @lysawayne @shadowfoxey @starwarsworld @theeicedamericano @darthmama1618 @justanothersadperson93 @liadamerondjarin @captain-rexs-girlfriend

Bad Batch Taglist:@ahsoka1 @wildrosewolf

[rebelwriter99]

Bad Batch Week-Day 2-Favourite Dynamic

This is technically the batch as a group, but is really about Hunter and Crosshair. The two of them in episode 1, especially boarding the marauder, is kind of what I based this on. It’s also heavily inspired by @transformersluna ‘s amazing art! (Still in awe-still can’t draw!) Especially the clone cadets series and the illustrations for Stick Together. I think I may also have borrowed from the early chapters of Coriolis Effect by @uponrightful.

This is unfinished-but it’s being posted as a work in progress because otherwise it would gather digital dust! It was written nearly all in one go as I watched it happen in my head. I know what happens next, I just can’t quite get past where I’ve stopped. I will attempt to finish it eventually!

Toils of Training

Crosshair counted his steps. 47, 48, 49, turn right, 1, 2, 3… Part of him barely even registered he was doing it, it had been so many years spent navigating the featureless white walls of Kamino and this route he was particularly familiar with. From the specialised range he was trained at back to his squads barracks. What never became familiar was how he had to navigate it. Alone.

After hours spent frozen in place, gaze never shifting from his scope, vision shaded by his helmet visor, his eyes could never quite adjust not only to the bright light but the ever shifting focus as he walked. With no landmarks to navigate by, and nobody else in his squad to follow, the first few individual training sessions he completed he had become hopelessly lost until his eyes readjusted. The first sessions he had been able to walk back from anyway.

Every clone on Kamino knew their training was tough, designed to be a physical and mental challenge to rival the warfare they were created for, but Crosshair knew his squad was different. As defects, mutants or science experiments (so many Kaminoans had differing views on them), the expectations around them were as altered as their DNA. The strangely mixed language underlied their training experience. What they were expected to achieve had to be greater, to justify their ‘enhanced’ mutations, to have the experiment be a success, to prove their difference from the regs as valuable. But the methods used to achieve that? They were Kaminoan property, defects, not fit for republic ownership and standardised training, so what did it matter?

114, 115, 116, 117, he reached out a hand, his blurred vision found the control panel and opened the door to the barracks allocated to clone force 99. Staggering to his bunk, he sat down, rubbing his eyes. Even half blind he could tell the room was empty of his brothers. He was the first back.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He had no idea how long he’d been at his own training session, stock still in silence in the dark, so he had no idea when his brothers might be back. It was what each of them hated most about training individually-the very fact they were not together, as a unit. He knew it bothered Hunter more than perhaps any of them, but it bothered him almost as much. He just showed it differently. Hunter was the shield Tech and Wrecker relied on, pitting his enhanced senses and strategic wits against the odds to lead them all to survive. Crosshair was the knife in the dark. His job was to hide, and without any enemy ever knowing he was there, destroy the things trying to kill his brothers. Crosshair was good at hiding. Sometimes, Hunter would say to him under his breath, almost too good.

As if thinking about him had summoned him, it was Hunter’s turn to stagger through the door. As it slid shut, Crosshair caught a glimpse of a Kaminioan who must’ve been escorting his brother. That was never a good sign.

Blinking away the last patches of adjusting vision, Crosshair strode across to his brother. Hunter had fallen to his knees and stayed there, head bowed. Crosshair dropped slowly to one knee in front of him, hissing at the stiffness in his legs, and rested a hand on Hunters shoulder. He looked up.

‘Crosshair?’ He asked, his voice strangely quiet ‘You’re not normally…’ he shook his head, long hair shifting as he rearranged his thoughts ‘where are the others?’

‘Still gone’ Crosshair answered, his own voice hushed from disuse ‘I got back just before you. I was hoping you would know’

Hunter shook his head, running a thumb and forefinger over his brow.

‘I don’t even know how long I’ve been gone’

‘Me neither’

‘Are you alright? What did they make you do?’

‘Capture, interrogation, escape. You?’

‘Interrogation! Crosshair what’

Their conversation was cut short by wrecker limping in. It was painfully obvious he’d been hit badly on his left side. He carried his arm awkwardly, and a black eye was just starting to bloom on his face. For once he wasn’t smiling. Instead he offered a small wave with his right hand.

‘Hi!’ Wrecker’s loud voice only sounded the slightest bit tired ‘Boy am I glad to see you! Hey where’s’

‘Shut it Wrecker’ Crosshair drawled ‘Or at the very least turn the volume down’ He jerked his head towards Hunter, who was clutching his in both hands

‘Oh’ Wrecker shuffled over to his bunk ‘Sorry Hunter’ he offered, considerably quieter ‘I forget training hurts your head’

‘It’s alright Wrecker’ Hunter sighed, turning to face him ‘I know you-‘

In an instant Hunter’s entire demeanour changed. Crosshair watched half horrified half in awe, as the sight of Wrecker limping to his bunk turned Hunter from broken cadet, to Sargent in command.

‘Wrecker what the kriffing maker happened to you?’ Hunter’s question was more of an order for information than anything else as he strode across the room, concern and fury in every line of him as he came to kneel beside his brother and started to help him remove his armour. Crosshair eased himself off the floor considerably more slowly and half-sat on the edge of the table, waiting.

‘Oh nothing much really’ Wrecker’s ever cheerful voice didn’t match Hunters at all ‘Explosives test-wanted me to blow up some tanks. You know-usual sort of thing’

Since Hunter was having a fierce battle with an armour clip that seemed so badly warped it no longer wanted to work, Crosshair asked his next question for him.

‘then how’ he made sure to keep his usual sarcasm to a minimum for wreckers benefit ‘did you end up like that?’

Wrecker suddenly seemed a little sheepish, his right hand coming up to rub the back of his neck

‘Oh that. Well…’ there was a moment of silence as his brothers watched him ‘I keep getting in trouble see’ he eventually restarted ‘the Long necks say I get a bit over enthusiastic about the amount of detonators I use’

Hunter and Crosshair shared a glance as he finally got the armour plate loose

‘So?’ Crosshair asked

‘So they told me to catch the tank’

They both shot to their feet. Hunter visibly shocked.

‘They what?! Wrecker explain yourself!’

‘It’s a test see’ Wrecker rambled on, ever unconcerned ‘I blow up the tank with enough explosive to make it go flying and then catch it and throw it away, and then do the next one. It’s actually kinda fun! You should try it some time’

‘I’ll pass thanks Wrecker’ Hunter managed to reign in his temper ‘especially since it seems like it can go wrong’ He gestured to his brothers limp limbs

‘Yeah’ Wrecker looked sheepish again ‘I got carried away. Used too many detonators. I couldn’t catch the tank in time so it kind of-landed on me’

‘It landed on you!’ Hunter’s horrified disbelief was back in full force ‘You must’ve dislocated or broken half your body! Why aren’t you in the med bay?!’

‘They wouldn’t let you’ Crosshair’s voice was deathly quiet ‘would they?’

Wrecker shook his head and winced groaning, grabbing his left shoulder ‘They said I’d learn not to get carried away next time’

As Hunter eased off the plastoid supposedly there to protect Wreckers hand and wrist, he seemed to shrink ‘aooow’ he moaned, unusually quiet ‘that hurt’

‘Sorry Wrecker’ Hunter’s face twisted in sympathy ‘But if the med bay isn’t an option, I need to take a look’

‘Oh alright’

As Hunter peeled off plastoid and blacks, Crosshair walked to Hunters bunk. He pulled open the drawer underneath where Hunters head would be, and then pulled it out. Flipping it upside down he saw exactly what he’d expected to find. A medpack, fully stocked and taped to the underside of the drawer. Hidden from anyone who dared search his things. Even from the rest of them. Except Crosshair. Crosshair saw everything.

Crosshair replaced the drawer and walked back over to his brothers. Hunter had managed to get Wrecker out of the top half of his armour and blacks. Crosshair almost wished he hadn’t. Deep purple bruises covered the whole of Wreckers left side, spreading across a third of his torso like a poorly arranged blanket. His wrist, now clearly visible, was unmistakably misshapen; bent and swollen it hung awkwardly in Hunter’s hands as he winced in sympathy.

Tearing his eyes away, Crosshair offered Hunter the medpack. He took it without thought, having Wrecker cradle his wrist as he opened it, then realised what he was holding. Eyes wide he stepped away from Wrecker, pulling Crosshair with him.

‘Crosshair how did you find this? Besides it’s for emergencies we can’t-‘

‘If this isn’t an emergency’ Crosshairs drawl cut through his Sergeants whispered panic ‘I don’t know what is’

Hunter sighed ‘I know Cross, but I meant for it to be,” his face crumpled, his head was in his hands again “I thought-‘

‘They won’t leave him to die Hunter’

He looked up then. Facing Cross directly, who was still looking at him side on.

‘That’s what they show you isn’t it, Tech and Wrecker injured or dying somewhere on a mission gone wrong. But this isn’t a mission, it’s training. They need us alive. They’re punishing Wrecker, not trying to kill him. You know we have to help him now Hunter-not in some imaginary future’

Hunter seemed to pause for a moment. He looked over at Wrecker, sat on his bunk, head leant back against dura steel, for once silent and still.

‘You’re right’ he admitted quietly ‘that wrist needs to be set in bacta at the very least’ He glanced at Crosshair ‘You mind being an extra pair of hands?’

‘Not at all Sargent’

Hunter huffed a single burst of laughter, shaking his head. A thought seemed to strike him, and he turned to face Crosshair again, placing a hand on his shoulder to return his brothers typical method of showing affection

‘You should know’ He spoke softly, but firmly, leaving no room for doubt or argument ‘I see you just as much as the others Crosshair. You’re my brothers-all of you. Don’t forget that’

And with that, he squeezed Crosshair’s shoulder, and walked back over to Wrecker. Wordlessly, a part of him still reeling, Crosshair followed. Kneeling down beside his brother, who once again had Wreckers wrist in his hands, deaf to the larger cadets protests that he was fine, he began handing him med-kit equipment, one piece at a time.

And there they stayed for a while, working in easy silence as Wrecker sat half-conscious or half-asleep on his bunk, Lula held tightly in his right arm. As they finished off, tying Wreckers wrist in a sling to stop him from aggravating it and settling him under his blanket on his bunk, Crosshair handed Hunter the painkilling stim in the bottom of the med pack.

At the sight of it, Hunter froze, and pushed Crosshair’s hand back into the pack.

‘Hunter’ Crosshair hissed ‘he needs it’

Hunter shook his head, and whispered ‘wait for Tech’

‘Why does that make any difference?’

‘You’ll see’

He froze, tilted his head toward the wall bordering the corridor.

‘Crosshair hide it! Now!’

Crosshair bolted for the drawer, throwing all of its contents and the med kit inside and replacing it. Hunter tucked the blanket tightly around Wrecker, hiding his bandages and praying to the Maker he didn’t wake up.

The door slid open, and Tech was dropped in a heap on the floor, utterly lifeless.

Crosshair saw red, his face contorting in a snarl of rage as he marched up to the Kaminioan overseeing the two soldiers who’d been ordered to drag Tech back to his barracks.

‘What did you do?’ His voice, usually lethally quiet, was beginning to rise ‘What did you do to my brother?’

The Kaminioan’s eyes widened slightly, and turned to a person Crosshair hadn’t seen, standing out of sight around the door. A bounty hunter. Who laughed.

‘That’s not for the likes of you to know Cadet’ a cruel smile crept across his face ‘besides what would you do if I told you-shoot me?’

‘Is that a confession or a request?’

Faster than Crosshair could move, the bounty hunter struck him. Hard. Gasping for breath and clutching his stomach he doubled over, falling to his knees. He looked up, fury still fueling him, only to see the bounty hunter raising his fist to hit him again. And then Hunter leapt in front of him.

‘Stop!’

The bounty hunter paused, eyes goggled and jaw dropped, before his face contorted in rage again.

‘Are you giving me an order Cadet?’

‘Cadet Sargent’ Hunter corrected quietly ‘These cadets are my unit. I take full responsibility for their actions. They have had a full days training and the exhaustion is leading them to make rash and inappropriate decisions. I can assure you it won’t happen again’

‘Very well’ the measured voice of the Kaminioan answered ‘but if an incident such as this does reoccur Sargent-there will be consequences’

‘Understood Ma’am.’

The Kaminioan waved the others away, and the door slid shut.

‘Hunter’ Crosshair started ‘You shouldn’t-‘

‘Later’ he said, eyes already focused behind Crosshair ‘Can you help me with Tech? It’s normally me and Wrecker but-‘

Crosshair was already on his feet.

‘What do you mean normally?’ His voice had returned to its dangerous near silent drawl

Hunter sighed

‘You’re usually last back, and I’m the only one still awake by then, right?’

Crosshair nodded as they both knelt beside Tech

‘Admittedly it’s never normally this bad but-this isn’t unusual for Tech’

The hand Crosshair had placed on Tech’s shoulder gripped tightly. Tech flinched. Crosshair let go as though he’d been burned, his wide eyes met Hunter’s-filled with worry.

‘Tell me what to do’ Crosshair said flatly

Hunter nodded once, and reached for Tech. Ever so gently he took hold of one of his arms. The muscle twitched, and Tech groaned.

‘How are we going to move him if’

‘Quickly’ Hunter said ‘We haven’t got a choice’

He took hold of Tech’s arm again, and waited for Crosshair to do the same.

‘On three’ Hunter gave his quiet order ‘one, two-‘

They moved. Tech crying out as they lifted him by the arms and, as quickly and gently as they could, got him to his bunk, and laid him down, Hunter turning him on his side.

Crosshair frowned

‘He can’t lie on his back’ Hunter whispered ‘it makes it worse’

‘Makes what worse?’ Crosshair’s voice was laced with fury again

Hunter reached for the collar of Tech’s tunic, and, as softly as he could, pulled it downwards to reveal his neck.

Crosshair took a step beck-and then went straight for the med pack.

Unlike Wrecker, the marks on Tech didn’t cover his skin completely. In fact, if you didn’t know what you were looking at, it would be difficult to know what they were. Spidery red lines spread around his neck, meeting at the base of his skull and travelling downwards along his spine, disappearing under the fabric of his tunic. Crosshair only recognised them from his own training on interrogation tables. Shock marks. Though in Tech’s case, from a collar.

Crosshair handed the pack to Hunter, averting his eyes as his brother exposed more marks on Tech’s wrists, and small burns on his ankles.

‘They ground the charge at his feet to make sure it travels through his whole-‘

‘I know how it works’ Crosshair growled, stalking to his bunk to find his winter blanket. Shocks, he knew, left you cold. As bad as Tech was-and only in a tunic rather than blacks-he would be freezing.

After a few moments rummaging, he found it, and walked back over, misstepping as he stood when his legs tensed awkwardly.

Hunters head whipped round to face him. Crosshair tried not to notice.

‘Here’ he handed the blanket to Hunter, and turned to walk away

‘Crosshair wait’ His brother called quietly after him ‘Are you sure you don’t need it?’

‘Need what?’

‘The blanket, or anything in the med pack’

Crosshair turned away again. ‘Help Tech’ he said flatly walked back to his bunk. He felt Hunter’s eyes on him the whole way, just about managing to sit down before his stiff legs gave out.

As he began the painstakingly slow process of removing his armour with stiff, sometimes trembling fingers, he watched Hunter tend to Tech.

It was appallingly obvious how well practiced he was, easily finding a spot on Tech’s upper arm that was unmarked to inject the hypo rather than on his neck; he held it gently as he did so, accounting for Tech’s involuntary flinch. Crosshair didn’t even want to think about how brutal and prolonged Tech’s shocks would have had to be for him to be this bad. He didn’t know how long he himself had been restrained and questioned, at the time it had felt like an age. Now, watching Hunter apply bacta gel to his smallest brother’s burns, it felt like a matter of moments.

He turned to take off the armour on his right arm and hand, but his left hand was trembling just enough to make it difficult. He tried to pin the plastoid piece against his leg to keep it still, but that seemed to be shaking too. Crosshair was dimly aware of the fact he’d probably been running on adrenaline-and it was starting to wear off.

And then two hands took hold of his left, and deftly unclipped his armour, setting it in the neat stack beside him. Crosshair jumped. Hunter smiled.

“Couldn’t let you sit there all night” He said through his small grin “could hear the plastoid clicking together from all the way over there”

Crosshair replied with a non-commital noise of dissatisfaction, refusing to meet Hunters gaze

“Don’t need your help” he grumbled-so quietly that only Hunter could possibly make it out

“Like hell you don’t” the Sargent replied, his voice kind as his hands kept working to remove all the pieces of armour Crosshair couldn’t “Kriffing interrogation Cross? What did they do to you?”

“I don’t-“

“Crosshair” Hunter’s voice dropped into the register that brokered no argument, and then he sighed “Brother-please”

And then Crosshair looked at him. Only for a moment, but he looked all the same.

And very quietly he began to talk, his usual sarcastic overtones strangely muted

“It’s a drill. They make me do it a lot. I’m more likely to be captured than any of you are.”

“Because you’re alone-away from us?” Hunter filled the silence for him. Crosshair nodded.

“They simulate everything. Being captured by droids, imprisoned, and-“ he hesitated. This time Hunter just waited. Crosshair let out one his grumbling sighs “they torture me for information. They use separatist equipment. Suspension restraints. Everything. And then I have to escape”

“On your own?” Hunters face was unreadable, seemingly haunted by something

“No a magic Jedi comes to save me-of course on my own.” Crosshair grumbled “the faster I escape, the better.”

Hunter frowned.

“I get shocked less Hunter-that’s why it’s better”

“No!” Hunter corrected “I mean yes of course that’s better-but it’s wrong”

“I think that’s a summary of our day Sargent”

“No!” Hunter was exasperated now, pointedly ignoring Crosshair’s blatant sarcasm “it’s wrong because it’s not an accurate simulation”

“You know that how exactly?”

“Because we’d come and get you!”

Crosshair froze. Staring at him. For a good 30 seconds there was silence as the two brothers gazed at each other.

Hunter spoke first

“So you finished earlier than usual today because you escaped quickly”

Crosshair nodded. Hunter let out a breath in profound relief.

“That’s good” he thought for a moment “But they still-“

“Tortured me? Yes. Before you ask I don’t know how long for”

Hunter nodded “They shocked you-like they do with Tech?”

“Similar. Shock travels over me, not through me. Fewer burns”

Hunter nodded again-committing everything that had happened to his brother to memory

“Fewer-not none?”

Crosshair was frozen in silence

“Cross-show me”

[thicctails]

Summer of Whump Day 12 [Death/Rebirth]

A direct continuation of the last one!

Ω

 The room was quiet when Tech entered, the only sound being his and Omega’s breathing. He slowly inched forward, trying his best not to look at the glaringly obvious wound on Omega’s back. He took a seat, folding his arms and resting his head on them. Today had been a complete mess, and he was still processing it. Their chips weren’t supposed to activate! Crosshair was suppose to be the exception, not just a warning of what was to come! Thank the Maker for Rex, he wasn’t sure what they would have done without his help.

 A shudder runs through him at the thought of Wrecker’s chip activating while they were on the ship or on a mission. Hell, he could have easily ended their lives in their sleep at any point. Apparently, they had all been one blow to the head away from becoming killing machines. Today had proved that the chips truly took away any semblance of control, because Wrecker would never have hurt Omega if he could have helped it.

 ‘But,’ Tech thought sadly, ‘he still did.’

 Wrecker had hurt Omega, and it wasn’t just a little injury. Her neck was purple with bruises, and he could still couldn’t bring himself to look at her back. He knew he’d have to, she’d need to have bandages applied soon, if the bacta did its job, but he wanted to avoid it for as long as possible. He’d hurt her, and Tech wasn’t sure how to feel. He wanted to feel angry at Wrecker, wanted to have someone close by who he could take his anger out on, but he knew it wasn’t his brother’s fault. It was the Empire who had put those chips in their heads, in all of their brothers’ heads.

 He settled on feeling mad at everything.

 Omega shifted slightly, her face scrunching up in disgruntlement. Tech frowned, unsure of how to help. Was she having a nightmare? Was she in pain? He couldn’t tell.

 “What’s going on in your head, little one?” He asked softly, taking one of Omega’s hands. Her hands were so small compared to his own, and he was once again reminded of how young she really was.

   Omega blinked, finding herself in familiar darkness. Waves of purple and blue rippled around her, ebbing through the void. She tries to move, and discovers that, unlike before, when she had felt grounded and normal, she now feels much lighter.

 ‘I wonder if this is how clouds feel.’ She thought, smiling as she floated around.

 “That’s an interesting thought, young one.”

 The voice surprises Omega, and she spins around to see a man standing before her. He was dressed in long, brown robes that hung loosely off of him. He had long hair that flowed over his shoulders and his eyes were a kind blue. An aura of blue light seemed to emanate from him.

 “Who are you?” Omega asked.

 “A friend. Would you like some company?” The man asked, not quite answering her question.

 Omega shrugs. “Sure. Not like there’s much to do here.”

 The man chuckles a bit and sits down, crossing his legs. “Yes, I suppose this place isn’t the most entertaining for a child.”

 Omega sat down as well. “Yeah, you’d think a dream would be more interesting.” She frowns. “Wait, if I’m dreaming, why are you here? I don’t know you.”

 The man’s smile turns a bit sad. “This is no dream, young one. You are in the Between.”

 “The… what?” Omega was confused.

 “The Between is the place that exists on the line between life and death. You haven’t passed on yet, but you are close enough to that point that you can exist here.” The man explained, gesturing to the void around them.

 Omega looked at her hands, then back up at the man. “So, I’m dying? Isn’t there anything I can do? Are you dying?”

 The man shook his head. “I passed on years ago. The best thing you can do is find peace and wait to see what the Force wills.”

 “Peace? How can you tell me to find peace?! I’m dying!” Omega yelped. “That’s not something you feel peaceful about!’

 “You are strong in the Force. Your body might be gone, but your soul will remain. There is nothing to fear.” The man said, trying to calm her down.

 “Easy for you to say, you’re dead! Look, maybe you were okay with dying, but I’m not.” She huffed, getting to her feet.

 “Where are you going?” The man asked, sounding somewhat amused.

 “I’m gonna find a way out of here. I need to tell Wrecker that what happened wasn’t his fault!” Omega said, looking back over her shoulder as she picked a direction and started walking.

    She did not find a way out.

 Omega groaned and flopped down when, for the third time, she ended up back where she started. The man was still there, looking over at her as she visibly deflated.

 “This sucks.” She muttered.

 “Giving up?” The man asked.

 “Well I don’t really have a choice. There’s no way out, so I guess I just have to wait and see if I die.” Omega sighed, tears starting to form as she felt frustration build in her chest.

 “If you give up, you almost certainly will. You must have faith in yourself and in the Force.” The man said, patting the space beside him. “Come, I’ll show you how to meditate. Connecting with the Force isn’t a bad way to pass some time.”

Omega looked uncertain, but moved to sit next to the man.

 “So, are you going to tell me your name, or am I going to have to call you “dead bearded dude” forever?” Omega asked, not afraid to sass a ghost.

 The man actually laughed at that. “You remind me a great deal of my padawan. He always had a quick remark ready on his tongue. My name is Qui-Gon Jinn, but you may call me Jinn.”

 “Your padawan? You’re a Jedi?” Omega questioned.

 “I was. I died before… well, before everything went wrong. I wish I had been able to stay around longer. I had never wanted to leave my padawan alone like I did. I’m not sure he ever found peace after my passing.” Jinn said, sounding remorseful.

 “I’m sure he misses you. I don’t think I would get over the death of someone I cared about very easily, if at all.” Omega said, staring out into the shifting darkness.

 “Jedi aren’t supposed to mourn. We believe that there is no real death, just your life returning to the Force.” Jinn responded.

 “Wow. That sounds…” Omega frowned, her brow wrinkling, “really awful. No wonder the Force is mad at you guys.”

 “What?” Jinn reeled back a bit, not at all expecting Omega’s statement.

 “Yeah. It said that the Jedi ruined someone named Anakin. I think he was the Force’s favourite.” She said.

 Jinn blinked. “How do you know about my grandpadawan?”

 “The Force told me. I was created to be Force-Sensitive, so I have an unnaturally strong connection.” Omega explained.

 The ghost’s eyes widened.

 “Oh Maker, that- that is not good.” He whispered. “How the hell did they manage to piss of the Force?!”

 “Maybe by teaching this Anakin guy your terrible ideas on life?” She deadpanned. “Did you tell him to not mourn and also to just be at peace with dying?”

 “Something like that…” Jinn said, putting a hand on his face.

 “Jedi suck.” Omega said simply.

 “They can.” Jinn agreed. “But not all of them are bad. My padawan tried to help Anakin, but he didn’t understand how bad things were until it was too late. The guilt he feels from his failure is so great, I feel it even as we speak.”

 “What happened to them?” Omega asked. “Your padawan and Anakin?”

 “Anakin has fallen to the Dark side, and he now acts as the Empire’s attack dog. My padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, now resides on Tatooine. He watches over Anakin’s son.” Jinn said. “If you would like, I could ask him to train you. I could tell right away that you were strong in the Force, even before you told me to what extent. I’m sure you and him would get along extremely well.”

 “I don’t think I’ll be doing any training for a while.” Omega said. “I- I got really hurt today.”

 “I know. The Force felt your pain, and we could feel its alarm.” Jinn said sympathetically. “What happened?”

 “I’ve been travelling around with a group of clones who’s chips didn’t activate right away. Today, one of theirs did, and he ended up chasing me down into the bottom of a Jedi cruiser. There was lots of steam and really hot metal, and, and…” Omega shuddered at the memory, phantom pain rippling through her.

 Wait, was that phantom pain?

 “It seems as though the Force doesn’t wish for you to join us yet.” Jinn said, pointing to Omega’s hands. They were becoming more and more transparent as the seconds passed.

 “What’s happening?” Omega cringed as she felt another wave of pain hit her, a couple of tears dripping down her cheeks.

 “Don’t be afraid. You’re waking up.” Jinn said quickly. “Consider my offer, little one. Reach out to me when you have healed.”

 Omega tried to respond, but found herself unable to. She felt heavy, and she started to fall into the void. She blinked, and the world went white.

    Wrecker hovered by the doorway, unwilling to go in. When he’d woken up, his memory had been fuzzy for a moment. His head had ached a bit, but nothing like it had before. He’d been shocked to see the muzzle of a blaster pointed at his face, and even more surprised to see that it was Rex who was holding it. He’d held up his hands instinctively, shrinking back in shock. He must have done the right thing, because Rex’s face had softened and he had moved the blaster away. Once he’d gotten over his surprise, he’d asked why Rex had been pointing a blaster at him.

 His stomach had dropped when he got his answer.

 He’d been standing just outside the door for a while now, needing to see for himself that Omega was alive, but also not being able to bring himself to face her after what he had done.

 He’d been assured that no one blamed him for what had happened, that it was the chip’s fault. But it hadn’t been a piece of metal in his brain that had grabbed Omega by her little throat and slammed her against that burning hot steel. That had been him. How did you even begin to apologize for something like that? Could you even apologize for that? Or had he just irreversibly shattered his relationship with Omega?

 “Wrecker.”

 Rex’s voice brought him out of his own head. The blonde was standing on the opposite side of the doorway, looking at Wrecker expectantly.

 “Aren’t you going to go in?” He knew that Echo was sleeping in the room, so he kept his voice low.

 “No, uh, I don’t think so.” Wrecker murmured. “I think I’ll stay out here.”

 “For how long?”

 “Forever.”

 Rex sighed. “Wrecker, you can’t keep avoiding them.”

 “But what if they all hate me? I wouldn’t even want to be around me after what I did.” He said, crossing his arms as he looked away.

 “No one hates you, Wrecker. You were a victim, too.” Rex said.

 Wrecker didn’t respond, still looking down at the floor as Rex laid a comforting hand on his arm.

 “Just remember, Omega is going to need all of her buirs while she recovers.” Rex said, smiling as Wrecker startled at the title.

 The burly man turned the word over in his head. He’d only ever been a vod before, and he’d never even once consider that he might someday be something more. The idea wasn’t an unpleasant one; he actually liked the idea of being seen as a parental figure, but how could Rex even think that Omega would still think of him as such, if she ever had before.

 Suddenly, he heard a familiar yelp, followed by a thud. Instinctively, he jolted into the room, eyes wide with fear when he saw Omega on the ground. Tech, who seemed to have been dozing off, had startled awake, knocking over the chair with how fast he stood up.

 “Omega!” He gasped, stepping forward to help her up.

 Tech beat him to it, the younger clone easing Omega into his arms with extreme care. Omega instantly buried her face in his chest, shivering as she whined in pain.

 Hunter and Echo practically materialized beside Tech at the sound, and Wrecker didn’t miss the way Hunter’s hands twitched upwards, like he wanted to take Omega from Tech and hold her himself.

 Perhaps Rex hadn’t been too far off when he’d called them her buirs.

 “What happened?” He asked, shuffling a bit closer.

 Tech’s eyes flickered up towards him, and he silent exhaled in relief when he saw no traces of the hatred he had been expecting to see.

 “I don’t know. She was sleeping just fine, and then she suddenly woke up and fell off the cot. I think she’s feeling her injuries.” He said, quickly looking towards Rex. “Where is the sedatives? We need to give her a low dose so we can reapply the bacta.”

 “It’s in the cabinets. Wrecker, grab a sedative from that cabinet there!” Rex barked, rushing over to a different cabinet. Wrecker obeyed without question, retrieving a pack of needles with a green liquid within them.

 He gives the sedatives to Tech as he set Omega down. The girl wasn’t too happy about having to release Tech, and she clung to him as she cried. Tech looked at Hunter for help, needing to administer the sedative but not wanting to make Omega even more upset. The man instantly brought Omega into a hug, holding her while Tech opened a needle. He whispered reassurances as Omega tucked her face into his neck, shivering all the while.

 Finally, Tech managed to get the sedative ready and he stuck it into Omega’s neck, grimacing when she squeaked in pain. After a few tense minutes had passed, Omega relaxed, still breathing hard as the sedative kicked in. Rex came over soon after with some more bacta, and they quickly applied the healing substance. Omega pulled her face away from Hunter’s neck and looked around the room, her eyes wet and still a bit wild looking. Her eyes met Wrecker’s, and the enhanced clone realized that he was now in the very room he had just been trying to avoid.

 “Hey Wr-wrecker,” She said, her voice still shaky, “how’s y-y-your head?”

 To his complete and utter surprise, she smiled at him as best she could. It was a little bit wobbly, and it looked like it was hard to keep it there, but he could tell she wasn’t forcing it.

 “It’s- it’s good. I’m okay now.” He said, rubbing the back of his head.

 “Oh, g-good! I was w-worried ‘bout you.” Omega said, leaning against Hunter’s chest as she shakes.

 “Me? You shouldn’t worry about me, Omega. I’m not worth worrying over.” He said, shaking his head. Omega frowned, her eyes becoming misty.

 “N-no! It’s not your fault! You weren’t in control!” She argued, trying to sit up. She hissed when her back muscles were moved, and she was quickly eased back down as Echo gently pushed on her arm. “Please don’t blame yourself.”

 She sniffed, and Wrecker quickly put his hands up. “Okay, okay you’re right! I won’t blame myself! Please don’t cry…”

 He moved closer to her, kneeling down in front of the cot. She reached a hand out, and Wrecker slowly took it gently. She squeezed his hand, blinking away tears. She breathed, struggling a bit from her throat muscles being deeply bruised.

 “I-I,” He started, looking down as he tried to think about what to say, “I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am, Omega. I tried to control it, tried to stop, but I just-”

 “Couldn’t.” Omega finished. “I know Wrecker. It’s okay, I forgive you.”

 “Don’t.” He said instantly. “Don’t forgive me, at least not yet. I gotta earn that.”

 Omega huffed but nodded. “Okay Wrecker, if you say so.”

 Wrecker nodded, more to himself than to Omega. He kept holding her hand as Echo applied bandaged, the clone trying to avoid touching Omega’s skin as much as possible. After around half an hour had passed, Omega’s eyes began to droop. She yawned and, upon deciding that Hunter would make a good pillow, leaned into him and settled down to sleep. Hunter didn’t dare move, lest he disturb Omega. Even when she fell into a far more peaceful sleep, she kept a sturdy hold on Wrecker’s hand.

     Pillow sniffed the air, trying to figure out where Warm One had gone. Blue Stripes, a new human that had apparently joined their group, had led Warm One’s pack into this large, broken metal den, and they had yet to come back out. He’d brought her doll, just in case they were staying here for a while. Pillow hauled his way up into a vent, wiggling through the cold metal space. He could hear something moving around up ahead, so he followed it, eventually ending up above an open room. He poked his head down, cocking his head in confusion.

 There was a human standing in the room, staring at something in his hand. He wore the same colours as the other members of Warm One’s pack, and he smelled extremely similar to them, but he didn’t recognize him.

 ‘Must be a lost clutchmate.’ He thought sadly. ‘Poor human. Don’t worry, I’ll bring you back to your pack!’

 He dropped down, sitting on his haunches. He honked a greeting as the human whirled around, his weapon raised. Ah, he must not understand that he was here to help. Humans had practically useless noses, after all. They needed to use their eyes to identify each other.

 Pillow dropped the doll, nudging it towards the human. He pauses, then picks up the doll, turning it over and examining it.

 ‘See? I know where your family is!’ He thought.

The human stares at the doll, then at Pillow.

 “Where did you get this?” He asked, and Pillow thinks that his voice is a bit… cold.

 Ignoring that, he sniffs the air again. It takes a moment, but he eventually picks up the scent of blood and tears and familiarity. He honked, now worried. Was Warm One hurt? Was that why she hadn’t come back?

 ‘Hold on, Warm One. I’m coming!’ He thought, taking off down the hallway. The new human was quick to follow.

[contrispos]

Episode 11 - Devil’s Deal

[Star Wars: The Bad Batch]

I am angry right now, this was the least good episode of the show. I have to scream.

—

What planet is this?

There are colors

Conclusion: Aliens.

Twi’leks: Ryloth. HECK YEAH

Crosshair my dear boy

We meet again

RAMPASS

I WILL KICK YOUR ASS RAMPASS

THAT is general Syndulla

Who is that clone?

I need the name of that clone right now

He has no right to look that good

And THAT is Hera’s mom

WAIT ARE WE GONNA GET BB HERA????

OKAY THAT CLONE JUST GOT EVEN HOTTER SHUT THE FRONT DOOR

he has no right

FINALLY another reg who isn’t a mindless machine:)

Damn general that was a good speech

BUT THAT FUCKING CLONE DOESNT HAVE THE FUCKING RIGHT TO BE THAT HANDSOME

CROSSHAIR MAH MAN

okay but now they can’t not have Hera in this ep

OH MY GOD ITS CHOPPER!!!!!!!!!

oh and Hera

BUT ITS CHOPPER

MY BABY

chopper is ✨bwah bwah✨

is his name Chan, Chad, or Chav???

THERE IS THAT FUCKING CLONE AGAIN

Is it Cham?

Is this my new favourite clone? maybe, he might become it if he continues TO BE THAT FUCKING HOT

Houser?? Hozer?? Hold on lemme check the subtitles

Okay 1: His name is Cham.

2: The clone’s name is Howzer

HOWZER FUCK OFF STOP BEING HOT

It is… …unacceptable

WHERE IS THE BATCH HUH???? THEY WERE IN THE THUMBNAIL!!!!! THIS IS CLICKBAITING!!!!!

OKAY CROSSHAIR IS TAKING OFF HIS HELMET

ARE THERE SCARS????

WHERE IS HIS HAIR???????

is that a cybernetic eye?

DOES HE HAVE A CYBERNETIC EYE??????

okay no, he has his eyes

phew

BUT DAMN THE SIDE OF HIS HEAD THO

THAT LOOKS NASTY AF

OOOOOFFFFFF

ahhh i almost don’t wanna look at it, i feel bad for my toothpick son

also: i noticed something, crosshair’s imperial armor is really bulky compared to his tbb armor

okay don’t get me wrong i love Hera and her family but I just really want to see my sons and their daughter

What was it Rampass had to do? what was on the datapad???

okay it felt like imp!crosshair did his flip-and-aim thing very slowly, i’m just saying that tbb!crosshair woukd have done that in a heartbeat

okay but please can they meet the batch?? i miss them

IIIIIITS THE BAD BATCH

YES

MY SONS

AND MY DAUGHTER

I HAVE MISSED YOU SO

OMEGA YOU ARE STILL FUCKING ADORABLE

I LOVE YOU

TECH MY DARLING

I LOVE YOU

I love how Hunter just looks at Hera, he knows his little girl is badass

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

“Hunter, can she come aboard?” *nod*

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Omega knows her shit, I bet Tech taught her

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

“Tech won’t let me train until I can recite the ship’s specifications from memory”

TECH IS TEACHING HER HOW A SHIP WORKS

I REPEAT

TECH IS TEACHING OMEGA ABOUT HOW THE MARAUDER WORKS

AND HE IS BEING A DAD ABOUT IT

I WOULD SCREAM A BIT MORE BUT SPAMMING THE BUTTON IS ANNOYING

IS HER FAVOURITE PART OF THE SHIP HER ROOM???

oh my god that is so wholesome

Dave, does Wrecker know that Omega’s favourite part is the room he fixed for her?

OH MY GOD OMEGA IS SO SMALL

“Make a new friend?” AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

YES OMEGA TELL EM YOU ARE READY TO FLY

“What… feeling?” Tech, yes you. YOU THERE!!! you are adorable, did you know that???

this can’t be the only thing we see of the batch in this episode

if it is I will kill myself

Aaaaand there is Crosshair again committing murder

maybe not but like almost

i mean yeah i’d love to move in if you just let me remove your chip first:))

yes Howzer tell em

Omg Howzer actually has a brain

is he fighting the chip or is it broken?

does he not have one???

I KNEW IT

CROSSHAIR WAS GOING TO COMMIT LE MURDER

okay i had my hopes that “rescue on ryloth” as next weeks ep meant they were rescuing cross, but know I realise that was fakse hope and they are rescuing the Syndulla family.

I am still angry about the lack of my sons…

[jessiebanethedragon]

Your crosshair writings give me life 🥺❤ Could you do something about crosshair and his fem s/o being intimate, but she is nervous and unsure because she is curvy and not slim like him. Please and thank you!

I love this ask! i did my best because i don’t really write NSFW stuff so i kind just hinted at it... so warning suggestiveness (???)  i really hope you like it!

You don't understand how the girls on coruscant can enjoy shopping so much,  they spend entire days waltzing around trying on anything and everything and marvelling how anything they pick up will not only fit on their bodies, but look amazing. But not everyone wears the smallest size, and are graced with whatever maker decided was the perfect proportions. 

And that's what sucks. You can do magic with makeup, and have all the fashion sense in the world, but it's never the curvy girls you see on the Holo-posters around the city. 

So of course when you’re getting out the refresher one night, tired as hell and looking  like the warzone you just cleared, those insecurities seem to be screaming at you. 

Every push and pull or poke you make doesn't seem to have any effect, curves are curves and they're not going anywhere no matter how hard you try. 

“Whatcha lookin’ at beautiful?” His voice flows like lava over rocks, slow steady (and way  too hot) but that doesn't stop you from jumping back and hitting the counter as you whirl around to your boyfriend. 

“Crosshair what the Kriff, get out i’m not dressed!” You exclaim clutching the towel even tighter. Why did he have to be here now, of all times? 

“That's kind of the idea.” He smirks walking over to you, and your cheeks start warming. What are you supposed to tell him, how do you explain that you have a full body and curves you wish didn't exist? You feel his hands ghost up the sides of your arms, and you shiver and step back on instinct. 

“Cyar'ika?” He also takes a step back, “did I overstep?” he looks worried, concerned even. 

“No Cross, it’s fine, I'm fine, I just need to get dressed.” You say, looking at the floor and praying he leaves. 

“Talk to me Cyare, tell me what's wrong and how I can help.” You hate how well he reads you, Crosshair knows, he always knows. You bite your lip. 

“Nothing it’s nothing, I just, you know, it’s one of those days, and well I'm not like you…” you’re rambling, a bad habit really, but you swore the thoughts made sense in your heads. His hands find your arms again and his thumbs move in calming circles, precise as ever. 

“Like i’m not asking to be a size two or anything but god like would it kill them to be a bit more inclusive and like theres these beautiful women and their so slim and you’re so slim and perfect i’m so well you know, and maker it’s so frustrating and for once i wish i could just be…” 

“Wait a minute.” Crosshair interrupts, a finger pulling your lip away from your teeth. - another bad habit. “You better not be saying what i think you’re saying,” you scrunch your face, praying to squish the tears back. 

“I just wanna be pretty.” You mumble, as he pulls you into his chest. 

“If you’re about to suggest that your curves are a bad thing, well, I don't know what I would do.” you pull back. He looks surprised and none you're extra confused. 

“I don’t get it.” You say 

“It’s my favourite thing about you,” his answer is so quick it can’t not be the truth. “You look like you're molded from pantoran pottery. Every curve sinfully designed just to make my life heaven and hell at  the same time.” his head ducks down to lay kisses on the side of your face and neck. 

“But you haven't even seen me.” you gasp as his kisses get more bold and he pulls you flush against him. 

“I don’t have to see you bare to know I'm going to love what's underneath the clothes.” he says looking into your eyes, searching for the sadness he’s determined to destroy.  You blink back at him. 

“Drop the towel.” He grits out, demeanour shifting a full one eighty. Slowly, your arms begin to loosen, you’re hesitant and he can see  that so every inch of skin that gets exposed to him receives praise and a kiss. And as the towel gets closer to the floor the more intense he becomes. 

“Crosshair…” you manage to squeak out, trying your best to remain calm. 

“Perfection.” he states, kissing your hips as he dips to his knees. “I think i know just how to convince you.” He chuckles, that godforsaken smirk on his lips. “But before i do, i need to know that you believe me, that you know how beautiful you are.” You nod, but its not enough. 

“Say it. He says, trailing kisses up your tummy. “Say ‘i’m beautiful, more so than anyone else in the whole galaxy.” 

“Cross-” you start, but you don’t get to finish your objection. 

“Say it cyare, please. For me?” He looks at you with all the love in the universe. 

“I’m beautiful, more so that anyone else.” you stutter out

“In the whole galaxy.” He adds. 

“In the whole galaxy .” You echo, he’s standing in front you you again and he presses a loving kiss to your lips, drawing hums and gasps from you both, 

“Don’t you ever forget that.” he whispers to you. And you nod, forehead touching his, and you feel his smile grow. “Perfect, now i do believe i did promise to convince you though.” he says kneeling down again. And your eyes widen as  he just smirks at you once again.

[transformershitposts]

So apparently cogman broke crosshairs’ finger once and all i can think about is

Crosshairs: who’s the short lil’ runt who joined us?

Cogman: you know IF THERE’S ONE THING THAT REALLY TICKS ME OFF

[kilyra]

Who the F@&$ Throws Rocks?

Matt Murdock with Benjamin Poindexter (Daredevil) One-Shot from prompt list

A/N: I received a request from @suitsofwo3 for a mix of prompts from list A and B: 31 - "I just can’t seem to shake you”, 85 - “That look in your eyes? It terrified me. You terrified me”, and 73 -  “It’s always been you. It will always be you” with the additional prompt of it being either Matt/Reader or Dex/Reader with the other person is also involved somehow.

I chose Matt/Reader with Dex cameo where Reader is proficient with weapons and works with Daredevil. They cross paths with our favourite agent, Dex! This is one of the few times I do actually have a follow-up in the wings, so there will be a Part 2 💗

Warning: Spoiler-free but there is an effbomb.

“Matt, get out of the way!” Shouting, you stayed poised with the dagger by your ear, ready to hurl it at your target.

Your target. A nice way of saying the scum of the earth human trafficker unconscious on the ground behind Matt.

"No, Y/n! We got him. He's unconscious and the FBI will be here any minute." Matt held his hand out towards you as he spoke like he was trying to reach you as he attempted to make you see it his way.

“Exactly! They'll be here any minute, so let me finish this now!” Tightening your grip around the handle, you tried to keep your anger contained. This bastard had taken how many people off the streets? How many women and children were condemned to unspeakable horrors because of him? Handing him over to the authorities was far more mercy than he deserved.

Narrowing your eyes, you judged the space between Matt's spread feet.

Crouching down, he instinctively seemed to know what you were considering and blocked that small opening. “I'm not going to let you do this, Y/n. He's going to answer for his crimes, he's going to pay.”

Not good enough.

“Move! I don’t want to hurt you.” Shifting your weight, you quietly started side stepping, attempting to get an angle.

“You won’t. We got the information we needed from him, but the FBI will get even more. They can trace his movements and get some of the people back. But none of that will happen if you kill him right now. No one has a chance at being rescued if he's dead.”

Your nose flared as you choked back everything you wanted to say. Rather, wanted to scream. Sure, you understood his reasoning and even agreed, but you still wanted him dead. Or at least closer to death than just happily unconscious.

“Let's take him then. Let's take him and we get more information. Everything the FBI would. He doesn’t deserve a cushy cell and you know it!”

Running his tongue over his lips, he tilted his head as he listened for something you couldn't hear. Not that you could hear much over your racing heart. “We have to go. Now. They’re here.”

Rushing towards you, Matt's arms were out like he was ready to push you into action. His dark suit made his motions hard to track. You still couldn't take the shot.

Asshole.

Growling, you shoved the knife back in the sheath on your thigh. Already turning, you felt Matt’s hand at your back as you ran.

“FBI, freeze! What…the hell?” A voice called from below.

Ignoring it, you leapt between the storage containers. There was gunfire.

No, wait…not gunfire, but something hitting the metal containers. You hesitated.

“Who are you?”

The question caught you off guard and you paused to look down at the agent. He was alone but his gun was aimed right at your chest. You stopped and as you raised your hands, you smoothly grabbed a small blade from your hip. It was hopefully too dark for him to see you held anything.

Behind you, you heard Matt stop. He was out of view of the agent, but he quietly cursed under his breath.

“I think the question is, who are you? Here all by yourself? That seems awfully sketchy.” Adding a purr to your voice, you tried to sound as flirty and in control as you could.

The agent tilted his head, but his neatly kept blond hair stayed perfectly in place. There was no hint of a smile as his perfectly chiselled jaw flexed.

Was it sketchy? Your heart sank. “Your trafficking piece of shit is just beside that container. And I swear if he doesn’t get taken into custody-”

“Don’t tell me how to do my job you vigilante freak. You’re coming in too,” he snarled.

“What are you doing?” Matt hissed behind you, sounding closer behind you. How close could he actually creep before the agent saw him?

“Agent Poindexter?” A new voice called from farther away in the storage yard.

He flinched. Which was all you needed.

With a swift flick, you threw the dagger with all your strength. Hitting your mark, his gun went flying, and he started swearing. Matt grabbed your arm, tugging you back and you started running again.

Until you heard a crack and everything went black.

Pain. Throbbing pain was all you felt as you regained consciousness. Until a wave of dizziness hit.

“Whoa, Y/n. You’re ok. I’ve got you.” Matt’s voice gently came to you, giving you something to float towards. Slowly, you started to wake until your eyes finally fluttered open.

You were back at Matt’s apartment. He was leaning over you, his eyes erratically scanning over your face. Grunting, you put your hand on his shoulder as you attempting to sit up. Leaning down, he wrapped his arm around your back and shifted you onto the pillows.

“Guess I didn’t die this time,” you groaned as you forced yourself to relax.

Matt’s eyebrows were still pulled together with concern, but a soft smile started. “Nope. I just can’t seem to shake you.”

Pressing your hand against your forehead, you tried to contain the headache. The pain was radiating from the back and you were almost nervous to check that out. “What happened?”

Forcing a sigh through his nose, Matt sat straighter as his eyes drifted towards the ceiling. “You attacked an FBI agent after you threatened him.”

Scoffing, you finally brought your hand towards the back of your skull. The goose egg wasn’t a surprise. “No, I mean…”

“Well…he threw a rock.”

“A rock? Who throws rocks?” The disbelief in your tone matched Matt’s.

Shaking his head as he let out a chuckle, he finally shrugged. "Agent Poindexter apparently. I think that's what we heard when he got you to stop in his crosshairs too."

“Huh. And what was a rock-throwing agent doing there alone anyhow? Did he just run ahead of everyone or…?”

His smile slowly dropped as he turned his head towards the window as though he were staring off. “I’m not sure.”

“Yeah, well, we need watch this. I don’t trust him, Matt. Something’s off and if that trafficking bastard ends up on the street again...I...”

Taking a deep breath, you finished firmly. “You won’t be able to stop me.”

Bowing his head, he sighed again. “I can’t let you. You can’t-”

“If the system isn’t going to stop him, I will. He doesn’t deserve anything better.” Your head rushed as you cut him off. Laying back, you tried to get more comfortable but the lump made it awkward.

“It’s not about that, it’s…” He stopped and forcefully exhaled as he pressed his lips together. Taking a deep breath, he darted his tongue out before trying again. “That look in your eyes? It terrified me. You terrified me.”

“Okay, but since you’re blind…?”

His intensity did not let up at your comment, he simply nodded. “Exactly, and even I could see it. See, it’s not about him, Y/n. I want him off the streets too. But killing him? That becomes about you.”

His words stung, almost as much as his defeated look. Chewing your lip, you looked away. “If I see him again, I truly don’t know if I can stop myself.”

Turning towards you, his gaze settled on your face. His hand slid down from the back of the couch to tightly clasp his fingers over yours. “I know you can. You’re angry, get that, but you’re a good person. That’s you. It’s always been you. It will always be you.”

The passion in his voice made you want to believe him. But doubts still crept into your heart. The world was full of horror and it seems impossible to stand against it unchanged.

Swallowing heavily, you squeezed your eyes closed and tried to stop your emotions from rising to the surface. Getting upset would only make your head hurt worse.

As if reading your mind, Matt leaned over and gingerly kissed your forehead. “I’m going to grab you some tea. And aspirin.”

Weakly smiling, you watched him gracefully rise from the couch as his words continued to repeat in your mind. Wincing, you tried to breathe through the pain from the slight jostling of Matt standing.

Who the fuck throws rocks anyhow?

[entergamingxp]

Valorant review – exacting, infuriating, sublime • Eurogamer.net

At its best, there are few games that can get close to Valorant. This is a game made with impeccable clarity of focus and purpose, a dream team assembled from every competitive player’s wishlist of ideas. It feels, more often than not, quite wonderful to play, smooth and severe and millisecond precise. It can also feel like a nightmare, trapping you in mazy, winding corridors of pristine white and silent beige, the silence only punctuated by other players’ rage or deafening bursts of gunfire. The result is a game that leaves you oscillating wildly between love and hate, depending on the outcome of a round, the result of a match or just the makeup of your team, and that’s also how it gets you – or at least how it gets me. Play enough and you’ll push through the barrier of marvelling at purposeful design, or shaking your fist at its blandness, to find a kind of lovable monster, a white whale, designed not just to feel good and accurate and fair, but to be something you’ll be desperate to chase, and obsessed with trying to conquer and tame.

Valorant review

Developer: Riot Games

Publisher: Riot Games

Platform: Reviewed on PC

Availability: Out now on PC

We’re well after release now, which means Valorant is a known entity to most people, but here are the basics: it’s Counter Strike with abilities. Two teams of five face off in rounds, with the first to 13 winning the match. There are four maps, one team attacks, the other defends, you swap after 12 rounds – half-way, if it’s evenly split – and the goal is to either plant a bomb (“spike”) and protect it until it explodes, or stop the other team from planting it and defuse it if they do. Or, you could just kill everyone on the opposite team. At the beginning of each round you buy your weapons, shields and abilities with currency earned from your previous round’s feats. Adding different characters (there are 11 at launch) each with four abilities (three plus an ultimate, naturally) makes the whole thing a simple, brilliant, and cohesive concept – which is almost inevitable, because its ideas, while they are fantastic, are also overtly borrowed from elsewhere, and so the question becomes almost entirely one of execution.

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Valorant knows this, clearly, because execution is its brand, and one it wears with pride. If you’ve even glanced in the game’s direction you’ll have overheard its boasts of unprecedented server tick rates, unparalleled performance on decade-old laptops, magical lag reduction and lowered pings worldwide. There are so many small things this game does right that in a way I don’t know where to start. One – a personal favourite – is its art style, which is something that happens to be emblematic of so much of what the game itself is about, too. Valorant’s art is function, function, function. It’s ordered hierarchically, for instance, in terms of what visual information you need to process first: your equipped weapon or ability is the clearest and brightest, sparkling clean in the foreground. Then its other characters, with “distinct shapes, colour palettes, colour zones” as director Joe Ziegler put it to us recently, designed to stand out both from the background and one another with as much immediacy as possible, but not as much as your weapon. Behind them lies the immediate environment, which is purposefully sparse and, by virtue of that, irrefutably bland. Anywhere that an in-game character can stand is clear, muted, and uncomplex – un-busy – so your eye can skip straight to the movement, straight to the prey. Above that imaginary play-space line: freedom, for more fun, more world-building, more story hints and teases of lore – if you ever find yourself looking that way.

There are two results: gameplay, however you define it, is visual perfection. I know when shots land, where bullets hit, where people are, what everyone’s doing, and the synthetic, watercolour brush-stroke approach means it’s all still oddly pleasing to look at, at a sort of desktop background surface level. The other is the game is oddly stifling – suffocating, in fact – the maps feeling small and walled-in, regardless of where they’re pretending to be in Valorant’s world, giving the feel of skipping about the playgrounds of a dead civilization, acting out life under Stephen King’s dome. The little flourishes, above the line of blandness, become the little shrubs that grow through brutalist concrete, more beautiful because they’re sad.

Sometimes teammates make the game a wonderful experience. Other times, they just want to play with the closeable doors.

That’s added to by Valorant’s sound design – which is very similar to its visual design, by which I mean it is brilliant and haunting all in one. Valorant is a stealth game, in my opinion, at least as much as it’s anything else. Rounds are silent. Really silent, which implies every audible peep must be there for a reason. Footsteps are the obvious one, with ‘Shifting’ – walking slowly by holding down Shift, muting your footsteps completely – a simple but essential and hard-to-master skill, borrowed again from Counter Strike. But there are also specific callouts from characters, some map-wide, some local, and the sounds of abilities, teleporters, different surfaces when run across, landed on and shot. Pick a sound and you can pour over it for designer’s intent: Cypher’s Trapwhire – a near-invisible tripwire, basically – can be heard just before it’s visible, giving you a split second to stop before triggering it but not quite long enough if you’re running. My personal favourite, being a main with another vision-focused character in Sova, is how his scouting drone can travel through a teleporter without triggering the teleporter’s map-wide sound. So I can clear the area at one side of the map on Bind, safely guide my drone through the teleporter to the other side, and spot a good half of the enemy team by surprise.

Then, just like the art style, there’s the ways in which this leaks out into affecting the game as a whole. Gunshots rival PUBG for jump-scare volume, while lobby music is subdued, underplayed, tiptoe quiet, even after some settings-tinkering with the mix. You sneak your way through this game, creeping around corners, up corridors, through the rounds. Even as you lobby up and, if you’re like me, do your best to dodge the perils of voice chat. You’ll get a long way with gun skills, further still with proper mechanical mastery of everything, but you won’t really master this game, at any level, without mastery of stealth.

I’ve talked, at length, about this game’s toxicity before, which disproportionately affects people of marginalised backgrounds. It’s no better after launch, despite some good new measures like this, and Riot being caught on the back foot, despite decades of warnings and lessons delivered through inspirational games like CS:GO and Overwatch, as well as their own in League of Legends, remains indefensible.

Pair the sights and sounds together, meanwhile, and the result is a kind of hyper-thin layer of impression, stretched over all the tactical and mechanical engineering that’s going on underneath. Valorant often reminds me of the old-school, classic match engine for Football Manager, just a top-down rectangle with 22 dots nudging a smaller, 23rd one back and forth. A beautiful, nuanced game boiled down and distilled to its purest essence. There’s a kind of closeness – immediacy, or maybe intimacy – between you and Valorant as a game, mirrored in the responsiveness of its tick rates and frame rates and pings, entrancing you in direct experience like some inverse of The Matrix: the game shows you colours and sounds and all you see is running screens of numbers, call-outs, crosshairs on heads.

The tactics of this game are where it really sings. I’ve barely scratched the surface, because I am terrible and also abnormally uncreative, but the few miniscule things I’ve tried to cook up myself (the drone-through-teleporter thing was genuinely my idea, but I’m also absolutely certain someone else did it first, and probably a while ago) are more than satisfying enough as it is, even without the exotic plays of professionals you can find on Twitch. Valorant has an exceptional range of practise tools – of course it does – including timed shooting ranges and the ability to freely roam around maps with zero-cooldown skills, sandbox-style. This means freedom to test and experiment to your heart’s content, and already there are specific plays people are learning and repeating from their favourite pros. Sticking to Sova, because I know him, I’ve researched exact, inch-perfect locations to stand with exact pixel-perfect reference points to aim at for firing ambitious recon arrows into certain locations. Stand there, aim at that, use this much charge, success.

One of many precise line-ups for landing the perfect Sova arrow.

This is where Riot properly shines, because then we get that bit of intra-teammate magic where the perfectly targeted scouting arrow combines with an ultimate like Phoenix’s, where he can send a doppelganger through a teleporter to the far corner you’ve just unveiled, wreak some havoc and return, at no risk to himself. In Valorant, the football match purity you get from Counter Strike’s flat format of ten, identical gunslingers facing off is gone, its equality replaced with equity in ten different, complementary (or clashing) agents. And so yes, it’s a game about scouting, breaching, containing at its most fundamental – maybe with some economy management and communication thrown in, sure – but the ways in which you can perform the same few basic actions of a tactical shooter have ballooned outwards, the shackles blown off. This is Riot’s thing: taking a game that’s beautiful through its simplicity and throwing the simplicity out the window – while somehow keeping the beauty. It’s a philosophy that almost always fails, flying in the face of the received wisdom that simple concepts always win, but the studio has a knack for making it work.

A limitation, which is probably a necessary one, is that Valorant’s characters are less distinct than you might originally hope. The eleven available at launch have some significant overlap – I count five different agents with an ability that fires a large orb or cylinder of smoke to obscure vision on a location, for instance, and three with arena-slicing walls of fire, toxins, ice – but this, inevitably, comes back to that slavish dedication to competition. Ziegler, again, has talked about this. It’s about covering “the basics of the functions of the known tactical space in creative and interesting ways… vision blocking, breaching, flushing and distracting” because, say it again with me, competitive integrity comes first. There’s promise of more varied agents, with abilities that affect different parts of tactical play, to come in the future – although of course for now that’s just a promise.

That’s also just Valorant. Playing it, I’m starting to realise, is far from the joyous, vibrant experience you’ll find with competitive shooters elsewhere. Joy and colour is explicitly sacrificed – in fact it’s often dour, especially with a silent or vicious team on your side. Its world is quiet and eerie, and its language, through weapon skins and end-of-round finishers and maybe a little yippee from your agent when landing a headshot, is an unnervingly celebratory one in its obsession with death. But that’s the thrill. It’s the exhilaration of the hunt, for kills yes but more so for progress, for skill and mastery and cold efficiency. By design Valorant is a severe, soulless and uncompromising experience. That’s often to its detriment, but it’s more often to its success.

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/06/valorant-review-exacting-infuriating-sublime-%e2%80%a2-eurogamer-net/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=valorant-review-exacting-infuriating-sublime-%25e2%2580%25a2-eurogamer-net

[jessiebanethedragon]

Scuttle (5/?)

takes place after the reader and crosshair have their first kiss because i thought it would be cool/different to write it like this (i have a plant dw) also i’ve left her trauma kind of ambiguous hinting rather than stating bc i don’t feel like it’s my place to say how a reader would react idk. 

also also reader sometimes goes by Yona instead of y/n just because it means rain and i thought it would be kinda cute

Tech finds your fascination with hyperspace fascinating but a little worrying. You seem to spend hours sitting by whichever window you have chosen for that moment, watching the universe whizz by. Sometimes he sits with you, and you both talk about your theories for explaining the galaxy. He learns that your parents never left your homeworld once you were born and nicknamed you Yona after the rain that poured down so often. He mentions it offhand to Crosshair and catches him whispering it to himself later that day. Tech himself sticks to calling you Fairywren, while Wrecker has committed to little bird, Hunter goes with Fairywren like Tech but Crosshair has decided on not using your name or any of the many nicknames the bad batch have for you. 

Infact, he’s starting avoiding you all together. 

You flit around the ship like a plague according to him, Hunter and Tech can’t figure out why the sniper has such a disdain for everything you do but it’s getting out of hand.

“When do we drop out of hyperspace?” He asks one day while you’re perched in the cockpit staring out the window, away from the current conversation. 

“Soon.” Hunter states his focus on his holopad, receiving instructions from Cody about laying low. 

“How soon?” Crosshair presses, keeping an eye on the door that separates you from hearing him. 

“Doesn’t matter.” Hunter says, getting slightly annoyed with his brother, not to be dramatic but you’re literally a joy to have around. All the batchers love you to bits and Hunter is frustrated that Crosshair is being a spoilsport. 

“It matters to me.” 

“Yeah we get it. You can't stand Fairywren, because she’s the problem and you can't wait to get rid of her.” Hunter snaps, putting his holopad down.  “Just days ago you were all over her, what happened to ‘we aren't leaving her’?” He’s staring at Crosshair, enhanced senses burning into his soul.   

“Just a little leftover Hutt goo.”  You’d said to him, not that he’d heard, his face was on fire, burned from where you had touched it. And he is surprised he didn't flinch away from your touch, had he become that accustomed to you already? Was Crosshair so entranced by you in such a short amount of time that he was already missing your touch? No. He doesn't know you. You don't know him. He’s memorized every part of your face, but you don’t matter to him. His heart seems to beat for every smile you give him. But you have no effect on the sniper. Every shot he takes is one to protect you from anymore trauma. But he doesn't give a damn about your feelings. Love at first sight doesn't exist, soulmates are fake. And even if they did Crosshair doesn't want it. 

Kamino broke him, being defected, trained and thrown away for your one purpose does that to person. He tells himself to hate you for putting him back together.

“Nothing changed.  But we aint a charity.” He tells his sergeant, who absolutely knows he is lying. But because he doesn't know why he’s lying, Hunter lets the conversation drop, but mostly because he can hear you get up from the co-pilot's seat and head towards the door. 

“Wrecker says we’re dropping out of hyperspace soon.” You report, popping your head out of the door. “Says it'll look cool.” You add with a blush. Hunter chuckles a tad and says something about going to let Tech know. Leaving you to stare at Crosshair. 

“Ram'ser” you say all of a sudden, slow and precise, testing out the word and being very careful of  your pronunciation. 

“What?” Crosshair spits, more surprised than malicious. Since when did you speak mando’a? You visibly flinch at his words. 

“Tech likes to talk to me in phrases of mando’a  and have me guess what they mean.” you explain slowly. “He uses that word when he talks about you.” 

“Yeah? Good for him.” Crosshair is glaring at his reflection in the table. He hates this, he wants to hate you. He can’t stand the way the words come out of his mouth, but his head reminds him that you will be safest far away from the war. And that means he can't catch feelings and any that have slipped through must be thrown away. He hears the door slip closed as you retreat to watch the stars again. Tech and Hunter follow moments later, Hunter looking down at his vod with a sigh. Stupid enhanced hearing. He heard every word. 

You land on a desert planet you already can't remember the name of, but apparently it’s a neutral system and a good place to lay low. The sand dunes make you frown because they go as far as the eye can see, and Tech makes you take a spare pair of goggles and a makeshift hooded cape that was fashioned out of a lightweight tarp from the hold. That combined with your clean (albeit mud stained) pants and an oversized shirt you fit right in with the mess of inhabitants on the planet. 

“You’ll get itchy.” Hunter tells you when he sees that you’ve sat yourself in the sand and are now in the process of burying your legs in the strange stuff. 

“Sorry, I’ve just never really seen this stuff.” You apologize but Hunter waves it off with a smile. 

“It’s okay, just a heads up. Stuff gets everywhere.” You reluctantly pull yourself out of the sand, joining everyone by the edge of the sand dune, looking over at the nearby city in the distance. 

“So what haven't you guys seen?” You ask as you struggle to walk down the intense slope. 

“We don’t see a lot of water usually.” Tech says, “but only because not many species can survive underwater.” 

“If you could go anywhere, where would you go?” The bad batch is used to your barrage of questions. It’s one of the things they like most about having you around, from favourite colours to wild would you rather questions, your brain is always humming with things that take you away from where you are. it’s also beginning to worry Tech.

“Somewhere small and quiet.” Hunter says quickly, the light, heat and everything else already giving him a headache. 

“Coruscant.” Tech answers, the complete opposite of his brother. “Libraries and Jedi temple.” He explains further. 

“Kamino.” Wrecker says, surprising you. You had assumed they all hated it there. “Home is home.” He explains with a smile. Crosshair doesn't say anything, but he can feel the eyes on him. 

“What?” He says to the four faces looking at him. 

“Cross would go to Hoth, because it’s cold.” Wrecker sasses him with a slight push. 

“Shut up Wrecker.” he snaps, in a very bad mood today. 

“Or anywhere his cyare is.” Wrecker adds without thinking. Making Hunter, you and Tech very confused. That's a word you haven't heard from Tech before and both him and Hunter are trying to figure out who Wrecker is talking about while Crosshair looks like he’s actually going to explode. 

“What did you just say?” He says each word is its own sentence. 

“Cross has a cyare?” Tech is now thinking out loud (another habit of his) “no way Cross has a cyare we would know if he did. I mean we are with him all the time so it’s not like we wouldn’t  know them or have met them…” His rambling fades into the background when Wrecker speaks up again. 

“Wait Tech, Sarge? You two seriously didn't notice?” He asks, shocked that his clever brothers hadn't picked it up. 

“Wrecker, shut your trap.” Crosshair orders, and a very tense silence falls over the group, and you’re only a third of the way to the city. You decide to ask Tech what the word means later.  And the now very awkward walk continues, that is until a speeding starts  to approach you from the town. 

“Bad batch! Defensive positions!” Hunter calls to them, and within seconds they have their helmets on. except for Cross whose helmet is still in the bottom of that lake, but has a new one waiting for him at base. But either way they’re all ready for combat in record time, leaving you to shake awkwardly in the middle of them, closing your eyes. repeating the things Tech told you during a window sitting sessions  

“not my fault not my fault not my fault.” 

“Civi’s!” Tech calls, having analyzed the people within the speeder, it’s a Twi’lek woman with a young child. She does, however, raise a blaster before addressing  the group.

“Saw the ship land. Thought someone or something might need help.” She says, eying the group. “Clones eh?” She adds. “Can't be here. Neutral system.”  She lowers the blaster. 

“We just need a few days.” Hunter says, taking his helmet off. 

“Perhaps you didn't hear me.” She’s more aggressive now. “You can’t be here. One day or a hundred, we don't care. Get gone.” You step forward. 

“Hunter we should go.” You whisper, looking at the mother and her young one. 

“Kriff,” The twi’lek sighs when she sees you. “Huxx has already got a bounty on her.” She looks at you with pity. 

“Thought you said this was a neutral planet.” Crosshair snaps. 

“Bounty is a bounty, no matter who’s side it’s for.” She says shaking her head. She pauses thinking for a minute. “All i can offer you is the fact that any planets around here will have been given the same information.” 

“What if I had credits?” You ask, it’s dangerous. But you know if one person saw the ship more must know by now. 

“You’d need a lot of credits and a really stupid person to let you camp out here. Especially with clones” she says, beginning to bargain. 

“What about credits, a nice person, and no clones?” You counter taking a pouch out of your pants pockets. 

“That might work. For a couple days that is.” She agrees. 

“Absolutely not.” Hunter interrupts. “We aren't leaving you.” Ignoring someone with a sniper rifle mumbling ‘hypocrite’ under his breath. 

“The name’s Leeya” she tells you, ignoring Hunter. 

“Yona.” You reply, moving to hop in the speeder, but stopped by Hunter's hand. 

“This isn't happening.” He says firmly. 

“Get in the speeder and tell your very angry friends to find something to wear other than armour.” Leeya smiles softly at you.

“We’ll be back soon.” Tech speaks up, very nervous, just as the rest of his batch. 

“I know,” You tease, “who else is gunna listen to you if i’m not around?” He laughs a little, and you hug him goodbye, before wrapping your arms around Hunter and Wrecker in turn. Crosshair doesn't move. 

“See ya around.” He says, turning away, and there’s a crack forming in your heart. You know he’s been different recently, you know he’s just putting up with you. But you thought there was something there. The present evidence seems to prove you wrong. Wrecker’s looking between you and Crosshair in disbelief. He sees you begin to inwardly collapse, hands around your middle, head down, just like the time he dropped the Gonk droid and scared the living daylights out of you.

“Wrecker!” Crosshair all but screams as he’s lifted into the  air by his brother. Of course he heard him stomp up behind him but he definitely wasn't expecting to be snatched from where he stood. 

“She’s your kriffing cyare!” He booms, before unceremoniously shoving Crosshair down into the sand in front of you. It would be funny if you weren't so shocked by Wreckers actions. Crosshair pulls himself up and whips around, arm cocked ready to throw a punch. The hardest  glare you’ve ever seen on his face. But it falls when you gently take hold of his arm. 

He’s taken back to the night he kissed you, and you begged him to keep the nightmares at bay.  He blinks and he’s taken back to the morning he woke with you in his arms. All at once  he remembers and forgets why he was pushing you away.

“Crosshair…” You start, but he pulls you into a crushingly tight hug before you finish. Nose to your hair, and your hands around his neck. Like they were made to be there. 

“I-I” he starts what would be an apology that he knows won't be enough. 

“It’s okay,” you interrupt. “Just be back soon.” and in a haze he watches you pull away from him and get into the speeder. 

“But I promised…” He whispers to himself. “I promised not to leave you…” you’re becoming a speck on the horizon, and he should be happy, he doesn't have to torture himself by refusing to love you anymore. 

Except part of him knows, as he feels his heart get torn from his chest, the real torture has just begun.

tags: @mangoberry43 @imalovernotahater @professionaltrashcompactor @vesperstalksclones @haloangel391