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levi-venn · 1 year ago

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The First Toothpick

Chapter Four: A Little Juicy Gossip

Gen Fic - Mentor/Protege

Summary: Cad Bane teaches Crosshair how to be a sniper. The kid picks up some other habits as a result.

Chapter Summary: Crosshair meets Todo 360 who does not know how to keep a secret.

Chapters: Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5 | Ch 6 | Ch7 | Ch8 | Ch9 |

Available also on AO3

“Great callouts, Hunter! You’re a natural leader. Wrecker, we’re gonna need stronger droids to handle your strength. Tech, you sliced those panels in record time! Now let's see," The lieutenant looked at his datapad, scrolling through the rest of the data.

Crosshair waited for his turn.

The lieutenant kept scrolling, frown deepening.

A brotherly hand squeezed Crosshair's shoulder. He pushed it away. He didn’t need comfort. He needed feedback.

“Alright, pack it up, soldiers,” the lieutenant said, tucking his datapad away. “The final test of the quarter is tomorrow.”

“Hey, wait,” Hunter said. “What about-”

Crosshair's elbow found Hunter's ribs, chasing the question away.

“Is there a problem, soldier?” The lieutenant asked, raising an imperious brow.

Hunter clutched his side. “No, sir.”

The lieutenant left.

Crosshair would have left too if not for his brothers surrounding him, blocking his escape.

“You did great , Crosshair,” Hunter insisted.

“You hit every single mark flawlessly,” Tech observed.

“Yeah! You’re wizard!” Wrecker shouted.

Molten anger heated Crosshair's cheeks. “It doesn’t matter what you think,” he hissed. “The lieutenant’s opinion is all that matters. They are going to retire me.”

“I won’t let that happen,” Hunter said.

“It’s not up to you, Hunter,” Crosshair said.

“Bugger this,” Hunter sighed and grabbed Crosshair’s wrist, tugging him towards a nearby ventilation grate. "Recon time. C’mon.”

Crosshair thought about kicking him, but...the recon may prove useful.

“Aww, recon?! I wanna come, too!” Wrecker whined.

“This mission requires more stealth than you are trained to handle, Wrecker” Tech indicated. “Also your size would break the air vent.”

“Hehe, yeah, I’m a real tank,” Wrecker grinned, proudly.

Hunter hoisted Crosshair up into the air ventilation tunnel before leaping up behind him. The tunnel ran in a dozen different directions like a many-armed rapthar, each path identical to the next. Hunter always knew instinctively where to go. It didn’t take long before they found the vent overlooking the lieutenant’s office.

There was another clone in the office with him.

No...not a clone...

“Is that Fett?” Hunter whispered. “Last time Fett was here, they took Radar away.”

“I know,” Crosshair snarled quietly.

“Oh yeah,” the Lieutenant snickered below, taking his seat at his desk. “He's the best in the facility.”

“Cut the sarcasm, Pynk,” Fett leaned against the wall, arms folded across his chest. “We need a sniper in this squad.”

“Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good sniper, but we train good snipers every day. This squad needs someone extraordinary and he isn’t. It’ll save a lot of time and energy to just retire him and pick up a normal sniper for the team.”

A normal sniper…

Crosshair had heard enough. He shoved Hunter down the tunnel and followed him, angrily wiping his blurry, wet eyes as they went.

“Are they gonna retire Crosshair?” Wrecker whispered loudly to Tech as Crosshair climbed out of the vent.

“They will have to retire me first,” Tech said, adjusting his goggles, not bothering to lower his voice. “I won’t let them take him.”

“Yeah,” Wrecker slammed his fists together, “me neither.”

He ignored them both. He made a point to ignore them both. They were all idiots, thinking they could change anything by just wishing it wouldn't happen.

And Crosshair was an idiot for daring to think he could be extraordinary.

The next day, Crosshair earned the nickname “Misfire.”

Not long after that the bounty hunter, Cad Bane, took him away.

***

Crosshair couldn’t sleep.

The room was too quiet without Wrecker’s chest-rattling snores, too dark without the faint glow of Tech coding on his datapad, and even though Hunter was practically a ghost at night even when awake, Crosshair missed him, too.

Facing the fact sleep wasn’t going to find him, Crosshair slung his rifle over his shoulder, tip-toed down the hall past Bane's room, slid down the bannister, avoiding the creaky stairs altogether, and slipped soundlessly out the front door. The weather-beaten porch was barely held together by whatever rusted nails poked out of the cracked wood. He kept his steps light, but each footfall he could feel the threat of a creak beneath his boots. He leapt over the stairs entirely and landed in the dark soil with little more than a quiet squelch.

The moon was a meager sliver in the sky that didn't do much to illuminate the wheat field, but the way it moved in the wind reminded Crosshair of the black waves of a rarely calm nighttime Kaminoan sea.

“Goin’ somewhere?”

Crosshair hadn't heard anyone approach. How was this possible? And yet, as he turned, he found that Bane had been sitting in a rocking chair in the darkest corner of the porch, only his red eyes, half-moons obscured by the brim of his hat, could be seen.

Crosshair refused to be rattled. He planted his feet firmly in the soil and and puffed up his narrow chest. “I’m going to scout the perimeter.”

“Got sensors for that, kid” Bane replied. “Ain’t a soul out there except for us n’ the Fabools.”

“Then I’ll go check on the Fabools.”

“You don’t gotta worry about them until tomorrow mornin’. Todo will show ya what to do.”

Crosshair had no response. Wrecker's clumsy question floated in his head.

Are they gonna retire Crosshair?”

He needed to do this. He needed to do...something.

Bane’s head tilted slightly. “What?”

Crosshair didn’t respond.

I don’t want to be retired. I want to live… at least long enough to fight a real battle with Tech.

Bane let out a strained growled, his spurs jingling as his boots landed heavily on the porch. In the darkness his scarlet eyes cast harsh shadows against his scarred face.

“You n’ me are gonna get along a lot better if ya stop bein’ so fuckin’ timid. You’re a soldier, right? You’re an elite sniper? You’re a tough guy? Then stop bein’ afraid of everything. I’m bein’ paid to train ya, but I may ask Jango for extra cuz I gotta go lookin' for yer spine first before I can teach ya anything.” Rows of sharp teeth gleamed in the dark. “Start talkin’.”

I want to live.

I-

“I…don’t want to be retired.”

The teeth vanished. The eyes dimmed. Bane leaned forward and into the meager moonlight, confusion etched into his scarred face. “What do ya mean ‘retired’?”

“If soldiers don’t meet their lieutenant’s expectations, they’re retired and their data gets erased. Radar and Pintsize were retired last year. No trace of them anywhere. Like they never existed.” Crosshair scrubbed his sweaty palms against his pant legs. He couldn’t stop talking if he wanted to, like trying to fight momentum down a steep hill. “Radar was redundant. Hunter’s tracking skills were sharper than his. Pintsize could barely hold a blaster with his tremors. The lieutenant said I’m not ‘extraordinary’ like the rest of my squad. I dropped my sniper rifle last test. They started calling me-”

The name seized in his mind. Tech’s magnified eyes glaring at him as if he was somehow holding onto the name.

“That’s not who you are.”

“Jango knows about this? These retirements?”

Crosshair blinked. “What?”

“The retirements. Are they his decision or not?”

“It’s the lieutenant’s decision.”

Bane rested his elbows on his knees, his unyielding glare boring into Crosshair. “Who’s this lieutenant? What’s his story?”

“A first generation clone. Lieutenant Pynk,” Crosshair thought about how to describe him. “He’s an asshole.”

Bane snorted. “Yeah, I gathered that much. So when you told me you’re the best in the facility that was his sarcasm I was hearing?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Well, fuck Pynk. We’ll show him what extraordinary looks like.” he extended his hand. “Gimme your rifle.”

Crosshair tightened the grip on his rifle strap. “Why?”

“Oh yer full of questions now, huh?” Bane sneered. “Official inspection, soldier. Give it here.”

With a small hiss of protest, Crosshair handed the rifle over.

Bane gave the rifle a little spin as if testing the weight. He looked through the scope. He ran his fingers over the stock and gave it a good shake.

“No wonder you can’t razzle and dazzle anyone,” Bane snickered. “This here’s a piece of bantha poodoo .”

“There’s nothing wrong with my rifle.” Crosshair said. “I clean it everyday. I calibrated it this morning. It’s fine.”

“Yeah?” Bane tossed the rifle back to Crosshair. “Prove it.”

Bane stood up, reminding Crosshair just how tall the Duros was compared to him. He was taller than Pynk and somehow that was comforting to know. In one swift movement, Bane hopped over the porch railing and with a crisp snap of his leather duster, he vanished around the side of the house.

Crosshair followed. At first it looked like Bane had simply disappeared, but upon a closer look, the side of the house was covered with a wide wooden trellis far too reinforced to withstand just the weight of creeper vines. He looked up and saw a brief glimpse of the brim of Bane's hat on the roof. Crosshair slung the rifle over his shoulder and climbed.

Some of the roof tiles were flatter and smoother than they appeared, leading to an ornamental bell tower half the size of Crosshair and far too small for Bane to fit. Still, Crosshair peeked into the bell tower and found...a short chute leading into a spy holodrama.

It was one part sniper tower, one part high-tech surveillance bowl filled with panels and devices similar to the simulation models Tech ran through to practice slicing communications and monitoring air traffic.

Bane sneered up at him. "C'mon in, kiddo."

“What is this?” Crosshair asked, hoisting himself into the chute and using the short ladder to climb down.

“Crow’s nest, watchtower, sniper tower, reinforced bunker, whatever we need it for. There are a couple of cots under the false floor if we get swarmed and have to lay low for a while.”

“Who would attack us?”

“The local authorities, mercs lookin' to even the score, raiders aimin' to steal the Fabools which can sell for a pretty credit on the black market.” Bane pressed a switch under his seat and the blank wall flipped over to reveal a pair of LL-30 blaster pistols and a 773 Firepuncher rifle, the kind Crosshair had only seen in firearms databanks Tech sliced in for him.

Bane grabbed the rifle, charged it up, and checked the scope. “Don’t have to worry about any of that tonight though. Tonight, we’re doin’ some target practice...”

He dialed something into the control panel. A long opening slid 280 degrees around the tower at Crosshair’s eye-level, no taller than his fist, yet a screen flickered around the opening to reveal a holographic image of the surrounding area.

“I can see everything,” he said.

“That’s the idea,” Bane replied. “Watch the field.”

He flicked another switch and a blue light shimmered over the wheat field as the security shield went down.

The grass started to quiver almost immediately.

“What’s out there?” Crosshair asked, sliding the barrel of his rifle through the opening and peering through the scope.

“Stalker lizards,” Bane said. “Lookin’ for a free meal inside that Fabool enclosure. Tell me what ya see.”

Crosshair toggled the heat sensor display on and off, watching the heat signatures from the lizards and the dark shadows of the landscape. “Lizards about a meter long coming from the southwest.” He scanned the enclosure next, remembering his training. Always check doors, corners, exits, and blindspots.

“We have blindspots.”

“Where’re the blindspots?” Bane asked, clearly a test.

“South and East walls of the enclosure.”

“Already covered. Look again.”

The heat signatures didn’t change. The landscape didn’t change much either. Crosshair lowered his scope and leaned over the edge of the bell tower as if it would help. “How-”

Bane grabbed his jumpsuit and pulled him back. “Stay in here.” He pushed some monoculars into Crosshair’s hands. “Your little toy scope doesn’t have a range finder, use these.”

“It’s not a toy.”

“It surely is. You wanna be an extraordinary sniper? You gotta grow up n’ use a real sniper rifle. Now quit givin’ me that death glare n’ look at coords 233.32, 33.4.”

Fuming, Crosshair looked through the monoculars. “Coords 233.32, 33.4.” He repeated.

Crosshair dialed in the coordinates and let the cursor on the display guide his movements.

There were several panels in various parts of the field. Each panel was painted with a shiny yellow number and embedded with silver reflective discs. “Are those mirrors?”

“Tell me which one to shoot.”

“What?”

“Can’t believe I’m sayin’ this, but yer askin’ too many questions. Just do it.”

Crosshair rolled his eyes and shifted his scope from mirror to mirror until the caught the reflection of a stalker lizard climbing up the fabric wall of the enclosure.

“Panel two, center.”

A blaster shot rang out, it ricochet off the mirror and the low-power stun blast knocked the lizard off the enclosure, driving it back to the treeline.

“Again.”

Crosshair aligned his vision. Another panel. “Panel three, top left.”

The blaster bolt fired, ricocheted, and hit its target.

“Keep callin’ ‘em,” Cad said. "Faster."

“Six, low right. Four, center. Two, top center. Two, top left, no wait-”

“Two, middle left,” Cad corrected and took the shot.

“How do you see them without the monoculars?”

Bane snatched Crosshair’s monoculars and shoved the Firepuncher into his hands. “Built-in rangefinder in the scope. Give it a try.”

Bane’s rifle was heavier than his, but it also felt sturdier and a lot more powerful. He did a quick procedural check of the power cell, the scope angle, and acclimated himself to the weight before sliding the barrel through the opening. The scope was alive with readings. Rangefinder, coordinates scale, the crosshairs shifted as it looked for moving targets and returned to center when there was nothing.

“This is cheating,” Crosshair grumbled.

Bane snorted. “No such thing in this business. Besides, you can spend all the fancy credits in the galaxy and it don't make you the best. Yer greatest mod is yer eyes n' yer instincts. Now shut up n’ start firin’. Lizards are startin’ to swarm.”

The heat signatures doubled and Crosshair took shot after shot, chasing the lizards away.

“Good.” Bane said.

Good, but not extraordinary, Crosshair thought.

Two lizards scaled the corner of the enclosure. Crosshair hit the leader and it landed on its follower, scaring both away.

He waited for Bane to praise him. It was an impressive shot.

Bane remained silent.

Another lizard leapt from a panel onto the enclosure wall. He shot one mirror and it ricocheted off another mirror and hit the lizard between the eyes, sending it sprawling backwards before scurrying off.

That was impressive too. He waited for the Lieutenant...no...he waited for Bane to comment.

Bane said nothing.

“He’s a good sniper…This squad needs someone extraordinary.”

He took another shot. The blaster bolt bounced off the mirror and hit the tail of the lizard. It kept climbing.

He took another shot. The lizard dropped.

“Sloppy,” Bane said.

Crosshair’s bolt hit the edge of the enclosure, wool sizzled. The Fabools inside bleeted and honked irritably.

“Shit shot.”

“Are they gonna retire Crosshair?” Wrecker asked, eyes wet with tears.

Another miss.

“Worse,” Cad said.

And another.

“Shittier.”

He shot a mirror, it ricocheted into the night.

“Now yer takin’ yer failure out on the mirrors, huh?” Cad snickered. “Try again.”

The rifle felt heavier. Like the hands of a dozen laughing cadets and one unimpressed lieutenant was pushing it down.

“Look out, here comes Misfire.”

The heat signatures began to multiply through the scope.

“What’re you doing?” Bane asked. “I said try again.”

Shit shot…worse…failure…

The trigger refused to move.

“Misfire…Misfire…Misfire…”

“Dank farrick,” Bane swore and grabbed the rifle, firing five shots in quick succession. Blaster bolts soared and ricocheted off the mirrors, scaring away the rest of the lizards. He punched the control panel and the blue shimmering shield spread across the wheat field again. “What was that about? You forget how to shoot?”

Crosshair's hand twitched. He didn't move. He stared at the rifle.

“What the hell, kid?”

Crosshair couldn’t feel his fingers.

Hands shaking, he managed to hoist himself out of the bell tower. By the time he got to the bottom of the trellis he realized he had left his own rifle behind.

Tears blurring his eyes, he raced back to the front of the house, crashing through the door and stomping up the stairs.

He hid under the covers.

In a bed that wasn’t his.

Without the rifle that he didn’t deserve anyway.

***

The next morning, the house seemed empty. Bane wasn’t downstairs, but breakfast was waiting for Crosshair. A plate of bacon and eggs on a warming plate.

He ate quickly and guzzled the apple juice, politely pushing away the black caf and wondering if it was only there because he knew Fett was never far from a cup of caf.

He wandered outside to the sun sprinkling the wheat field with golden light. It made him squint. Climbing up the trellis, he poked his head in the bell tower. Neither rifle nor Bane was there.

His heart dropped. He felt sick. If Bane confiscated his rifle, then Crosshair was probably heading back home today. He hoped he’d be able to say bye to his brothers before they retired him. Then again, he didn’t get to say bye to Pintsize and Radar.

Climbing back down the trellis, he walked to the Fabool enclosure punching in the code he watched Bane use the day before. The gate swung open and before he could fall into a cuddle pile of Fabools, a stout droid flew directly at him, nearly slamming him against the gate.

“Who are you?!” The droid asked, round, unblinking yellow eyes flashing with suspicion, his thrusters hissing angrily as he floated in front of Crosshair’s face.

Crosshair pushed himself off the gate. “Bane told me to take care of the Fabools with Todo this morning.”

“I am Todo 360,” the droid declared, spindly arms flailing. “Did Mr. Bane order you to spy on me?”

“No. If I was going to spy on you,” Crosshair said, dryly. “You’d never know it.”

The droid’s three-fingered hand touched his non-existent chin thoughtfully. “Oh. Hmm. That’s…a valid point. Fine, you may stay, but I am in charge here and you will tell Mr. Bane that I am doing a perfectly good job and I don’t need any help.”

“Fine by me.”

“We’ll start with feeding practices!” Todo announced, shooing away the Fabools who seemed to hate the sound of his thrusters. They rolled towards Crosshair and away from the noisy droid. It was hard to worry about retirement when there were a dozen soft, bouncing balloons begging for his attention, and Crosshair decided to enjoy the moment, taking time to pet each one while Todo did all the work.

“Well, you’re already proving yourself to be an adequate assistant," Todo said, cleaning the water trough. "It takes me three times longer to fill their troughs when they try to bully me into their cuddle piles.” Todo floated towards the hose and dragged it across the enclosure, straining between words. “Your...reaction...to them...is...far…different…from…Mr. Bane’s…first…interaction.”

“What do you mean?” Crosshair asked.

“Oh, Mr. Bane was terrified of the Fabools when Fett brought him here. Practically climbed up on the fence to get away from them. He was scared of a lot of things back then though.”

Crosshair’s jaw dropped into his lap. “Bane? Cad Bane?”

“Well he wasn’t Mr. Bane back then. Just Cad. He hadn’t chosen a surname. Some Duros culture thing. I never understood it.”

“How long have you known Bane?”

“Many, many years.”

Crosshair cupped a Fabool chick in his hands and pressed it against his cheek. It snuffled at him, inquisitively. “Why was he afraid of the Fabools?”

“He full of paranoia when we met him,” Todo said, lightly. “Just distrustful of everything, in general.”

"But..." Crosshair stared dumbfounded at Todo. “How did he get so…”

“...so very 'Bane' ?” Todo asked.

“Yes.”

Todo held up an authoritative finger. “By eating his vegetables, little boy,” Todo hummed and floated towards the food sacks.

Crosshair rolled his eyes. “What else do you know about Bane?”

“Oh, I know lots about him. I’ve known him for a very long time. I’m his most trusted confidant. I am sworn to secrecy though so I couldn't possibly share anything with you.”

Considering how much Crosshair learned about Bane in the thirty seconds he knew Todo he decided to just nod. “Okay.”

“But…” Todo floated forward, hands rubbing together conspiratorially. “...I do have a few juicy tidbits I could share if you’re interested.”

Crosshair made a mental note to never tell Todo 360 anything about himself. “Sure.”

“Oh goodie! It’s so rare I find someone to gossip with that aren’t Fabools. Bossk and Aurra tell Mr. Bane everything .”

Crosshair scooted forward, setting the chick down on the ground only to have two fabools bounce into his lap and a third bounce against his back. Somehow all of the Fabools reminded him of Wrecker, only cuter and less annoying. “What else do you know?”

“Hmm…oh! Here's something. He didn’t know how to use a blaster when he met Mr. Fett. Mr. Fett taught him everything he knew about being a mercenary.”

“I figured that much.”

“But did you know that Mr. Fett and Mr. Bane engaged in a bar fight before Mr. Fett left for his secret project?”

“Why?”

“Is it not obvious? Mr. Bane idolized Mr. Fett, followed him around like a fabool chick bounces after a feed bag. When Mr. Fett left mercenary work, he left Mr. Bane behind. Mr. Bane took it very personally, but I think it was the best thing that ever happened to him.”

“Why?” Crosshair pressed.

“Because that is when Mr. Bane found that cool confidence in himself. Mr. Fett was always there to lift him up, reward his victories, and tutor his failings. Mr. Bane had to figure out how to exist without Mr. Fett and it was then I noticed that confidence grow like a hmm…like a cactus blossom! He went from Mr. Fett’s shadow to being quite the opposing figure himself.”

Crosshair sat quietly, absorbing this fact. It was hard to imagine the Bane today cowering from Fabools or needing help from anyone.

Or starving for someone else's approval.

When he thought of Bane, he thought of the easy stance, arms relaxed and thumbs hanging over his belt buckle, a toothpick casually moving between his teeth, round eyes behind hooded lids that could see through a person with more accuracy than a scope. That nonchalant drawl, the cheeky turn of phrase, unrattled, and prickly.

All the things Crosshair wanted to be.

“Has Bane ever had an apprentice before?”

“Not to my knowledge. Mr. Fett’s request is unusual, but Bane would do anything for-”

“Kid, get up.”

Crosshair startled, whipping his head back to find Bane leaning against the wall, arms folded, toothpick rolling lazily in his teeth. How long had he been in the enclosure? A Fabool snuffled at his boot, lost interest than bounce against Crosshair's head.

“Come with me.” Bane left the enclosure without another word.

Crosshair didn’t move at first. Not because he was covered in Fabools, but because he knew this was the end.

Retirement…

He’d finally find out what happened to Pintsize and Radar.

“Nice to meet you, Todo,” he said, standing up and gently rolling the fabools away who happily bounded towards the droid.

“Oh! Well nice to meet you too, um… ‘Kid’.”

“Sit down,” Bane said, pointing to the rocking chair on the porch before going into the house.

Crosshair sank onto the flower-patterned cushioned seat, trying and failing to rest his boots on the railing. It was too far away. He sighed and drew his legs up, hugging his knees. He watched the skies for a ship to come and pick him up.

Bane came out a few minutes later and sat in the other rocking chair, boots landing with a jingle of his spurs on the railing. Crosshair’s rifle was in his hands. It took all of Crosshair’s self-control not to lunge for it, hug it, and promise he would never abandon it again.

He hugged his knees tighter.

“Doesn’t take a genius to know why you ran out last night,” Bane began, tilting his hat up to look Crosshair in the eyes. “You crave praise like a dying man thirstin’ of jocola . I don’t reckon you get a lot of positive reinforcement at the facility n’ ya know what? Tough shit. The sooner ya realize the galaxy ain’t gonna give ya validation is the day ya actually become the extraordinary sniper I know ya can be.

“This is the last and only time I’m gonna say this," Bane continued. "Yer real fuckin’ good, and yer gonna be the best. I ain't ever wrong about shit like this. Now...you hold onto that praise because after this conversation, I ain’t gonna be nice to ya anymore. Yer gonna get pushed n' pushed hard, yer gonna get shaken, and I’m gonna do everythin’ I can to get ya past this bullshit worry about what everyone else thinks. Maybe you’ll hate me, hell ya might even shoot me in the back, but it’ll be worth it because it’s gonna send ya past that kraytshit extraordinary standard Pynk’s got for ya.”

Bane offered the rifle back to Crosshair. “I promise, by the time ya get back home, yer gonna be tougher than a reek’s horn n’ twice as deadly.”

The moment Crosshair’s fingers touched his rifle, he knew it was augmented. It felt like a Firepunch. Better scope, heavier stock, a weapon for a real sniper. He peered through the scope.

“Whoa,” Crosshair murmured, scanning the field with his scope, toggling between more scanners than he knew existed. “Wizard.”

“Listen kid, in this galaxy there’ll be plenty of people tryin’ to put you down, break your spirit, break your bones. Only person you gotta trust is yourself. Yer all ya need, you understand me?”

Crosshair realized it was a lesson Bane had to learn when Jango left for Kamino. It would be a lesson Crosshair would carry with him the rest of his life.

Even if Bane was hired to train him, to be this mentor, it meant something to Crosshair. "Understood."

“Go clean up. Food’s in an hour. Beef stew minus the carrots. After that you start yer real trainin’. Deal?”

Crosshair hopped up, slinging his rifle over his shoulder. “Deal.”

“One more thing, kid.”

“Yeah?”

“What did you and Todo talk about this morning?”

Crosshair didn’t bother lying. “You.”

Bane growled quietly. “That gossiping little shit. What did he say?”

Though Crosshair didn’t intend to lie, he also didn’t feel like ratting Todo out. So he was honest about the thing that mattered most.

“He said you’re better off without Fett around.”

The words seemed to splash cold water on Bane’s face. The mercenary looked away, out to the golden field, too bright in the noonday sun.

“Is it true?” Crosshair asked.

Bane’s glare didn’t skewer Crosshair as sharply as he expected. In fact, it looked like he may even answer.

“Target practice starts at dusk. Bring your A-game, kid. Not holding back on you. Now get outta here.”

And with that Bane sank into his rocking chair tilted his hat forward over his eyes.

The conversation was over.

Crosshair was happy he asked.

#tbb crosshair #bad batch crosshair #crosshair #the bad batch #tbb #star wars the clone wars #cad bane #tbb hunter #bad batch hunter #The First Toothpick

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thecrossoverwriter15 · 8 days ago

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Tales of the Underworld Was Amazing…

Remember when I said I would love it no matter what?

Well I do!

I cried, I pondered and I even laughed at a few moments! Ventress was great - enjoyed her story! I’ve never read Dark Disciple, but I wish they could make a prequel series of that to explains why Ventress is dead set on Quinlan Vos! You have the story, just put it to picture! Lyco, he was okay! Just another annoying young kid with little manners and somehow gains Ventress’ respect. Like, throw him off the camel, Ventress…whyyy.

We know who the star of the show is though…

Tales of the Underworld Episodes 4-6 brought us what I think is the most unique story we’ve ever gotten. A 3 act structure following Cad Bane’s fall to villainy that felt like a classic spaghetti western series with an unfleshed out intimacy that could have definitely been shown more if this was a Bane series, but it’s okay! His relationship with Niro was great, his….

HIS….

Yeah…maybe figure it out when you see it. Pay attention to Bane’s friend in episode 5, how she’s holding herself when walking into the door. I noticed that immediately. This also ties into the ending!

The story is great! I was a little lost by the narrative, but rewatched it and now understand the purpose! It may not have the time to explain everything, it does a great job with keeping you engaged! Corey Burton is great once again as our gunslinging anti-hero. There’s another hat-welder in this series who serves as a Lee Vanth Cleef that inspires Cad. I always wondered if Cad watched The Good, The Bad and The Ugly as a child, saw Lee and said, “Hey mum! Find me a hat, will ye? I’m growin’ up in style.”

While this both added new details, actually copied the exact last frame of Part 3 of my series - which is clever! It fades out before it stops, almost showing that “hey! His journey isn’t over yet!” and unfortunately messed some things up, it was still a fantastic watch! Now I need to figure out whether or not I should stick to what I built or use Tales! The goals of being a writer, am I right??👍

Once again, this inspired me to write! So, thank you Lucasfilm and May the Forth Be With Everyone here on Tumblr!

#cad bane #sw totu #tales of the underworld #cad bane x oc #star wars #may the forth be with you #star wars day

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sinisterexaggerator · 2 years ago

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20 questions for fic writers

Tagged by @ashcroft-writes. Figure hey, why not. Feel free to do this, but no pressure @downrightembarassing @dukeoftheblackstar @my-sun-m00n-and-stars @pickleprickle

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 27 total. I should have MORE.

2. What's your total A03 word count? 551,012 words.

3. What fandoms do you write for? The only fandoms I have written for as far as fanfiction goes is Grand Theft Auto 5 and Star Wars, though back in the day I used to RP all kinds of stuff with my friends in the good ole' AOL chatrooms. Pretty sure I also used to post to RP forums.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

All the Wrong Places | Trevor Philips (GTA V)

Once you figure out one, the rest are easy. (Series of Cad Bane oneshots)

Stars Above! | Cad Bane (Cad Bane x OC)

Handcuff Marks and Stubble Burn (Trikey / GTA V)

The Interrogation (Cad Bane x Reader )

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Yessss.

It may not be super longwinded or elaborate because I may not know what to say, but I always try to return a comment with a thank you at least, because they are very much appreciated.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Oh, I can't tell you because it isn't finished yet. >D In fact, I am a slut for angst. You can just go ahead and expect terrible things to happen if I'm writing it.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Hm, probably something with Shriv Suurgav, actually. He's a total sweetheart, and if I am in the mood for fluff, he is usually my go to. Better than Candy was always one of my favorites. You get what you want and Shriv gets a blowjob. ;D

8. Do you get hate on fics? Nope. So weird to see it happen to others. Like, what?

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Are you kiddddding? LOL That is basically all I write besides PWP - which is pretty much the same thing - angst/hurt, and sometimes a little comfort fic here and there. Though I am not sure what you mean by what "kind." I am all over the place.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? No. Not into it, really. AU's are a little different, but I like to still be as canon compliant as possible without deviating too far from the original characterization. Maybe they're more like silly little "Crack" scenarios.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? I don't think so.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Not to my knowledge.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Not exactly, though I brainstorm and talk about Cad Bane and Hondo with my internet BBF like every fucking day nonstop ( we're obsessed ).

14. What's your all-time favourite ship? BANAKA! I will scream it from the rooftops, preach it from the pulpit, rub it in your faces (not really), and force you to see the perfect relationship that is Cad Bane x Hondo Ohnaka if it is the last thing I do. I also really like Cad Bane x Jango Fett, and Shriv Suurgav x Cad Bane, and even Shriv Suurgav x Poe Dameron. >D

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I want to finish all of them, but sometimes I wonder if I will get around to finishing "Handcuff Marks and Stubbleburn." I haven't been in a GTA V mood lately, but I really DO wanna finish All the wrong places. I can't just let it go at chapter 94. AHHHH.

16. What are your writing strengths? Characterization and descriptive language. Also not too shabby with dialogue and plot. I sort of just come up with shit as I go along by the seat of my pants. Sometimes, I will take a few notes down or make a rough outline, but that's about it.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Perfectionist. Being a little verbose on occasion, but honestly IDAGAF and write what I want.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I won't do it unless it is a "fake" language, such as Huttese or Durese. I am not above making up words and using context clues to figure out what a character is saying, such as Jabba the Hutt. They basically did that in the first three Star Wars movies. If we can deal with Chewie making his Wookiee sounds and using Han as a translator, I feel like it's fine to do it in a fic.

I think I tried to write ONE line in French to be funny, as Trevor Philips is French-Canadian, but I won't do so otherwise, and especially not in a serious context. Google translate isn't the most accurate, I hear.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Probably Hercules the Legendary Journey's or The Vampire Chronicles back in middle school.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written? Hmm.

I really liked writing Trigger Happy, which Cad Bane masturbates aboard his ship alone in the darkness of deep space, thinking about a warm, mammalian reader who is lightyears away...

I also really loved writing Better than Candy. I love writing for Shriv and his self-deprecating, jaded sense of humor. I wanted him to get a little "treat," and was quite happy with the results. I had the idea on the way home from work; I was sucking on a lollipop in traffic. >D

#writer asks #fanfiction #writing #thanks for the tag!#no pressure #fandom #star wars #grand theft auto #20 questions #NPT

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tobiasdrake · 1 year ago

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Honestly, I'm looking forward to Ahsoka season two. Mainly because, now that the obligatory plot on loan from a different show is done, maybe the show will finally do something.

The entire first season feels like simultaneous cleanup work and setup work. Cleanup for Rebels and setup for the big Thrawn crossover event that they've been hyping for years.

Like. The reason the show exists is fairly obvious. Rebels promised a story to bring Ezra and Thrawn back from "Wherever they fucking went". Which is the sort of thing that has enough substance to fuel a season premiere of the cartoon but not nearly enough substance for eight hour-long episodes of a miniseries. But that was the only idea they had so they had to stre-e-e-e-etch it.

So we have Star Wars's favorite idea: A treasure hunt to find the ancient lost secret map to Wherever Thrawn Went, which is a thing that exists for some reason. Makes as much sense as the Secret Map to Wherever Luke Went or the Puzzle Quest to Wherever Palpatine Is. Star Wars creatives play a lot of video games.

We have Ahsoka training Sabine which is a cool idea, but before that we have both of them being distant and pissy over absolutely nothing. They have no grudge between them; During Sabine's training, Ahsoka abruptly decided apropos of nothing that she wanted to drive a wedge between them for drama. Both of them already want to reconcile from the moment we meet them because there is no conflict here; Just vague gesturing at what interpersonal conflict looks like. But we gotta pad the runtime so they're going to be obstinate about it for a while.

We have your typical "New Republic is obstructive because Star Wars hates democracy only slightly less than it hates fascism" stuff. As usually, this allows the heroes to be rogue actors sticking it to the man even when "the man" in question is supposed to be the good guys that we've been trying to establish this whole time.

We have Ahsoka inexplicably teleporting into the Timey-Wimey Realm so she can have the version of her confrontation with Anakin that Filoni probably would have liked to have written if the movies' Official Vader Plot hadn't forbidden him from doing so. One where she finally surpasses Anakin, defeats him, and transcends into being her own master.

(Which is honestly a lot cooler than "Anakin killed her but then Ezra time-traveled her back to life". But, much like the Boba Fett and Cad Bane showdown in Book of Boba Fett, it feels weirdly out-of-place to be doing this here and now, and winds up feeling awkwardly forced in.)

And we have the most incredibly nobody villains in Star Wars history. Like. Who the fuck are Baylan and Shin? Baylan is Something Something Ex-Jedi and Shin is some rando Baylan started training. There's a point where Baylan's fighting Ashoka and he starts talking about "Anakin told me this and that" and I'm like, "Okay? WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?"

The answer to which seems to be a commercial for next season. Baylan signed on because he wanted to go to the other galaxy because he can feel through the Force that the plot for season two is there, and also he separates from Shin because he only brought her along to put her where season two will need her to be: Separate from him and doing a different Villain Thing entirely.

Even the answer to where Ezra and Thrawn ended up is "Dathomir Zero. Yeah, there's just more Original Star Wars Galaxy stuff in the New Star Wars Galaxy. It's exactly the same. But hey, at least I unwrote the shortsighted genocide of the Nightsisters so Star Wars can have Dark Side witches again."

I appreciate that. Dark Side witches are a cool idea and their extermination made the universe smaller. But it's still a demonstration of how few ideas this season had beyond "Finally do the thing."

But now The Thing is done. They actually have to do something else now. So maybe season two will be better? I don't know.

#star wars #ahsoka series

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kalza · 2 years ago

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Hey love ur stuff love ur art! Im a big General grievous and cad bane Lover so glad to see someone with some taste here >:], also ur star wars oc is adorable

D'aaaww, thank you so much! I'm honestly touched by this! ☺️

Glad to see another Cad Bane fan. He's so cool, and I cannot help but love this blue badass.

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andy-solo1 · 2 years ago

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You Get Hurt - The Bounty Hunters

Featuring: Cad Bane, Bossk, Embo

Warnings: violence, brief mentions of death, injury, blood

Notes: Italics is Embo speaking in Kyuzo

- - - - - -

𝕮𝖆𝖉 𝕭𝖆𝖓𝖊

Working as a senator was not without its perils and people who wanted nothing more than to paint a target onto your back.

So when one day Bane was sitting at your desk waiting for you, you knew you shouldn’t have been surprised to see a bounty puck for yourself sitting on the desk in front of him. It was a high price to see you dead.

“You here to kill me?” You asked softly, raising your brow as you watched him. Bane scoffed.

“If I wanted ya dead, you’da been dead before knowing I was here.” He drawled. “I’m taking ya away from here for a while, until I can, deal, with this whole bounty business on yer head.”

“That really makes it sound like you want to kill me.” You replied, even as you relaxed. You didn’t actually think Bane would harm you, but it was fun to tease him. He gave you a withering look.

“Just pack yer things and let’s get going before anyone shows up.”

______________________________

𝕭𝖔𝖘𝖘𝖐

You and Bossk were working on a bounty mission when things turned sour. More guards showed up to defend the target than you’d thought would show up. Your back was turned and you didn’t see the guard coming up behind you. Bossk yelled your name just before the sound of a blaster going off reached your ears as pain exploded through your back. You fell to the ground and even as things began to go dark you heard Bossk yell out in fury.

The next time you opened your eyes to the world the white sterilised walls of a medical clinic were the first thing you saw. The next thing you saw as you turned your head was Bossk shoving past the doctors in his hurry to get to you.

“What happened?” You croaked out, struggling to sit yourself up. Bossk helped you sit up slowly.

“You got sssshot.” He hissed. “One of basstardss sssnuck up behind you. I tried to warn you but it wasss too late.” You could hear the guilt in his voice and placed a hand against the side of his face.

“Hey, I’m alive. It’s okay.”

“You nearly died.”

“But I didn’t, and I’m okay now. Did we at least get the bounty?” You asked, making him chuckle.

“No, I wasss more concerned with getting you medical help.”

“Well then, at least when we go after him again we know what to expect this time.” You said, your mind already on the job again. Bossk seemed to relax a bit, you knew he was still worried about you but he was also glad to know you were okay.

“That’sss the ssspirit. Next time he’sss not getting a chance to esscape. ”

_______________________________

𝕰𝖒𝖇𝖔

Working as a bar tender in a Cantina wasn’t a safe job in any way. Dealing with drunk patrons who would get in brawls with one another on a daily basis was always hazardous, especially when they were bounty hunters. Though having your boyfriend Embo around usually helped because if you flashed him a look he’d deal with the brawlers for you.

Right now though, Embo wasn’t at the bar, and you had two bounty hunters moments away from a fight. You didn’t need the broken tables coming out of your paycheck when the hunters would fail to pay.

Making your way out from the back of the bar you storm over to the two about fight. “If you’re going to fight, then get out.” You snapped at them, gesturing towards the front door.

“This is none of your business.” Hissed the one hunter.

“Get lost.” Snapped the other.

“Get out. Now.” You hissed back at the two. They both rose from their seats and you thought you’d won when suddenly one of them punched you, hard, in the face. You fell easily and the two hunters began to fight each other.

You moved a hand up to your face, feeling blood running down from your nose and were about to get up to try and break the fight up when a familiar shadow fell over you.

You looked up to see Embo standing behind you. He silently helped you up to your feet before leading Marrok over towards the two fighting hunters.

Marrok jumped the one hunter, knocking him down to his back on the ground while Embo grabbed the other one and dragged him to the door, tossing him out before coming back and snapping for Marrok. The annuba responded, letting go of the hunter as he went to sit back down next to his master.

‘If you are smart you’ll make your own way out’ Embo told the remaining hunter. The man wasted no time scrambling to his feet and heading outside, grumbling the whole way.

Embo turned his attention back to you, leading you off into the back of the cantina before fetching the med kit once you informed him where it was.

“Thank you for helping me.” You told him as he handed you a rag to wipe the blood away from your face with.

‘You are welcome. Nobody gets away with hurting you. Now, I need to reset your nose since they broke it. This will hurt.’ He told you and you nodded. Embo made sure to reset your nose properly and stuck around until the end of your shift to make sure nobody else hurt you.

#cad bane #cad bane x reader #bossk #bossk x reader #embo #embo x reader #x reader #reader insert #headcannons #the bounty hunters #star wars

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coruscantguard · 2 years ago

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The Truth Lies (In An Unmarked Grave)

Chapter Two

(Ao3 Link)

In which Anakin wakes up in the past, and things, rather predictably, start going to shit.

[[MORE]]

Anakin wakes up to banging on his door.

And that alone is weird, because last he checked, they were in tents. Last he checked, he didn’t have a door.

Last he checked, he was–

Anakin jolts up, eyes wide. He wasn’t in his bed moments ago. Why is he in his bed now? Why was he asleep? Last he remembers, he was up, he was walking around the camp–

And suddenly, he feels that there’s distress in the Force, a heavy panic that abruptly switches to grief, then mingles with elation. It’s overpowering– the emotion is strong enough that Anakin can feel it through his shields, from what feels like several rooms away. The feelings barrel him over with their intensity, and Anakin finds himself forced completely awake in seconds.

Another knock on his door. “General Skywalker!”

Shit. Maybe this is related to the distress in the Force. Anakin swings his legs over the side of his bed, pushes himself upwards. “Coming!” he calls back, and reattaches his hand as quickly as possible, before shrugging on his robes. He crosses his room in two large steps, and hits the button to open the door with his elbow. “Hey, what’s…”

He finds himself trailing off. Because this isn’t one of the troopers who should be here. No, his eyes have to be playing a trick on him– this can’t be real. “Denal?”

“General Skywalker, sir!” not-Denal says, and he’s in full armor, but that doesn’t mean much. The clones can suit up quicker than Obi-Wan can lose his robes. “Trooper Kix sent me to get you. There’s something… wrong in the barracks.”

Anakin narrows his eyes. That tracks with the distress in the Force, if you ignore the fact that he’s talking to a trooper he knows is dead. It tracks, if you ignore the fact that Anakin is certain he’s not meant to be on the Resolute right now. “What do you mean there’s something wrong?”

Not-Denal doesn’t change visibly, but in the Force, Anakin can feel him wilt slightly, and Anakin frowns. That’s… weird. “I– I’m not sure exactly what, sir, Captain Rex had me get Kix, and Kix sent me to get you.”

And that just raises more questions. What could happen to make Rex feel like he needed to get Kix? Why didn’t he order not-Denal to just get Anakin instead? Is it an injury? Why the fuck is a Denal lookalike here in the first place? Why is he responding to the name Denal? Why is he wearing Denal’s armor?

… And the original question is still there– why is he on the Resolute?

Considering what happened after Denal’s death, the fact that the trooper in front of him is wearing Denal’s armor is more than a little concerning. It’s the fact that Denal’s armor was stolen and used by Cad Bane to escape that permanently etched it into Anakin’s memory in the first place– seeing it now, standing outside his door, when Denal is most definitely dead, is incredibly suspicious.

Well, if this is a trap, he might as well spring it. And what kind of Jedi would he be if he ignored that much distress in the Force? Anakin reaches over to grab his lightsaber off his desk, then turns back to not-Denal, gestures to the hallway.

“Lead the way, Trooper.”

-----

“General Skywalker,” Rex says as he steps in. And– Rex looks… young. Not that Rex had been looking old, because he hadn’t, but… there’s a difference there, a difference that Anakin didn’t notice until now. He looks like he did years ago, at the beginning of the war, and that’s notably different.

“Rex,” Anakin says, as his befuddlement just grows. Is this something like Mortis? Or has Anakin been trapped in his own mind, in his own memories? He doesn’t remember this happening, but… the monotony of the days spent in hyperspace isn’t exactly memorable. But also, this is a break from the monotony of hyperspace, so he feels like he should remember it. “What’s going on?”

Rex’s surprise at his presence is practically palpable in the Force, despite the overwhelming distress. Thankfully, the distress does not seem to be coming from Rex. “Why are you here, sir?” he asks instead, narrowing his eyes.

“I had Denal get him,” Kix cuts in, and what the kark. Rex looks younger, and so does Kix, but more than that, Kix just looks different. It’s staggering, how much he’s changed from the earlier days of the war. Anakin finds himself forcing his jaw shut after noting that it dropped open.

“Kix–” Rex hisses.

“You asked for my opinion, and my opinion is that this is probably weird Force shit, sir.”

“What, exactly, is weird Force shit?” Anakin presses, moving forward. The barracks are nearly empty, except for Rex, Kix, him, and–

Oh. Oh. There’s the source of the grief, the elation, the panic.

It’s Fives, or a Fives lookalike, because Fives is dead. But either way, maybe-Fives is there and he’s crying and he’s clinging to Echo like he’s going to disappear at any moment, and the emotions are rolling off him in waves. Anakin almost feels awkward standing there, watching the open display of emotion, but more than that, he feels– raw. Like he’s been flayed and left in the desert sun to die. Like he’s not quite real anymore, like he’s trapped in a nightmare, or a dream.

It’s not difficult to skim Fives’ thoughts– he’s projecting them so loudly that it would honestly be harder to avoid them. And– that’s the Citadel, there, right next to the memory of Fives’ death in that warehouse, and– oh.

Anakin swallows hard. It really feels like Fives. Fuck. He feels like he’s been punched in the gut. If this is a trick, Anakin is going to be kriffing pissed.

But… he feels like it might not be a trick. He feels like he’s slowly getting a theory of what this might be, and it half terrifies, half thrills him.

“Rex,” he asks slowly, “could you check something on your comm?”

“Sir?” Rex asks, but he’s already getting out his comm as he asks it. Of course he is. It’s Rex.

“What year does your comm say it is?”

“Sir, it’s 7958–” Rex starts, and Anakin deflates at his theory being proven wrong, before Rex abruptly cuts himself off as he looks down at his comm, makes a sound of shock. “Wait. What? This can’t be right.”

And if he’s saying that– oh. Anakin looks at Rex, studies him. That– that would make sense, maybe. He remembers seeing Rex right before everything started swirling, before it all went dark.

“It’s 7955, isn’t it,” Anakin says, and Rex looks back up at him, shock evident on his face.

“Yeah,” he says, sounding a little bit faint. “Yeah, it’s 7955.”

Anakin stands, feels himself slightly sway. He catches himself on the frame of one of the bunks, readjusts his stance. “Well, kark.”

Rex blinks, stares at his comm. Looks up at Anakin, and then back down at his comm. It hits Anakin again, just how much Rex has changed, how odd present-Rex’s expressions look on past-Rex’s face. “That just about sums it up, sir.”

#anakin skywalker #captain rex #clone trooper denal #clone trooper kix #clone medic kix #arc trooper fives #501st #tcw fanfic #tcw #the clone wars #swtcw #my writing #the truth lies (in an unmarked grave)

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thimbil · 4 years ago

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Having some thoughts about the references and inspirations used for the Bad Batch’s designs.

So Boba Fett is my absolute favorite character and Temeura Morrison was perfect casting. I went to see the 2008 TCW movie in theaters because I was so excited to see him again, even if he was animated. You can imagine my disappointment. Whoever was on screen was not Temeura Morrison. You could sort of see a resemblance if you squinted and didn’t think too hard about it. They replaced Temeura with Racially Ambiguous G.I. Joe. If I didn’t know better and someone told me the animated clones are space Italians from the moon of New Jersey I would buy it. One Million Brothers Pizzeria and Italian Bistro. Not that there’s something wrong with being space Italian, I just don’t think it’s the right choice for the Fetts. The design got slightly improved by season 7 but it still bugs the hell out of me.

I did eventually get into the show later and (of course) got invested in the clones. Unfortunately, they were largely sidelined by the Jedi storylines. Out of the two new main characters created for TCW, Ahsoka definitely got more development and focus than Rex. When they announced The Bad Batch, I was excited to see a show specifically devoted to the clones… at least that’s what it said on the tin. We have all seen what lurks beneath those stylish helmets.

Jango Fett, you are NOT the father.

So who is?

Based on interviews with Filoni, it sounds like the Bad Batch was a George Lucas idea. And like all his ideas, it’s super derivative. The original trilogy directly lifted elements from sci fi serials, westerns, and samurai movies, more specifically Kurosawa films like The Hidden Fortress. For The Bad Batch character designs, the influence is obviously American action and adventure movies.

Now let’s get specific. Bad Batch, who’s your daddy?

Hunter

Sylvester Stallone as Rambo in First Blood 1982. That bandana has become an integral part of the iconic action hero look. You see a character wearing one and it’s a visual shorthand for either “this character is a tough guy” like Billy played by Sonny Landham in Predator 1987, or “this character thinks he is/wants to be a tough guy” like Brand played by Josh Brolin in The Goonies 1985 or Edward Frog played by Corey Feldman in The Lost Boys 1987.

Hunter’s model is closest to the original clone base. If you look closely you will see the eyebrows are straighter with a much lower angle to the arch. His nose is also not the same shape as a standard clone like Rex, including a narrower bridge. It’s certainly not Temeura Morrison’s nose. Remember what I said about space Italians? It didn’t take much to push the existing clone design to resemble an specific Italian man instead of a specific Māori man. The 23&Me came back, and Hunter inherited more than the bandana from Sylvester.

Crosshair

The long narrow nose, the sharp cheekbones, the scowl. That’s no clone, that’s just animated Clint Eastwood. Not even Young and Hot Clint Eastwood from Rawhide 1959-1965. With that hair, I’m talking Gran Torino 2008. The man of few words schtick and family friendly toothpick in lieu of cigar are pure Eastwood as The Man With No Name from Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns A Fist Full of Dollars 1964, For a Few Dollars More 1965, and The Good the Bad and the Ugly 1966.

In a way, this is full circle because the actor Jeremy Bulloch took inspiration from Clint Eastwood for his performance as Boba Fett in ESB.

Wrecker

In an interview Filoni lists the Hulk as an (obvious) inspiration for Wrecker. Ever seen the old Hulk tv show from 1978? Well take a look at the actor who played him, Lou Ferrigno. Would you look at that. Even has his papa’s nose.

You could make the argument that Wrecker was influenced by The Rock, an appropriately buff ‘n bald Polynesian (Samoan, not Maori) man. But look at him next his Fast and Furious costar Vin Diesel and tell me which one resembles Wrecker’s character model more.

Tech

Tech is a little trickier for me to place. If he has a more direct inspiration it must be something I haven’t seen. That said, his hairline is very Bruce Willis as John McClane in Die Hard 1988. His quippiness and large glasses remind me of Shane Black as Hawkins from Predator 1987. In terms of his face, he looks a but like the result of McClane and Hawkins deciding to settle down and start a family. Although, Tech’s biggest contributors are probably just everyone on TV Trope’s list for Smart People Wear Glasses.

And finally,

Echo

Oh Echo. Considering he wasn’t created for the Bad Batch, he probably wasn’t based on a particular character or movie. But if I had to guess, his situation and appearance remind me a lot of Alex Murphy played by Peter Weller in Robocop 1987. However, Robocop explored the Man or Machine Identity Crisis with more nuance, depth, and dignity. Yikes.

The exact tropes and references used in The Bad Batch have been done successfully with characters who aren’t even human. Gizmo from Gremlins 2: The New Batch 1990 had a brief stint with the Rambo bandana. I could have picked any number of characters for Defining Feature Is Glasses but here is the most cursed version of Simon of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Suffer as I have. Marc Antony with his beloved Pussyfoot from Looney Tunes has the same tough guy with a soft center vibe as Wrecker and his Lula (also a kind of cat). Hell, in the same show we have Cad Bane sharing Cowboy Clint Eastwood with Crosshair. I actually think Bane makes a better Eastwood which is wild considering Crosshair has Eastwood’s entire face and Bane is blue.

So we’ve established you don’t need your characters to look exactly like their inspirations to match their vibe. So why go through the trouble and cost of creating completely new character designs instead of recycling and altering assets they already had on hand? Just slap on a bandana, toothpick, goggles, and make Wrecker bigger than the others while he does a Hulk pose and you’re done. Based on the general reaction to Howzer it would have been a low effort slam dunk crowd pleaser.

But they didn’t do that.

So here’s the thing. I like the tropes used in The Bad Batch. I am a fan of action adventure movies from the 80s-90s, the sillier the better. I am part of the Bad Batch’s target audience. Considering what I know about Disney and Lucasfilm, I went in with low expectations. I genuinely don’t hate the idea of seeing references to these actors and media in The Bad Batch. I don’t think basing these characters on tropes was a bad idea. If anything it’s a solid starting point for building the characters.

The trouble is nothing got built on the foundation. The plot is directionless, the pacing is wacky, and the characters have nearly no emotional depth or defining character arcs. They just sort of exist without reacting much while the story happens around them. But I can excuse all of that. You don’t stay a fan of Star Wars as long as I have not being able to cherrypick and fill in the gaps. This show has a deeper issue that shouldn’t be ignored.

Why do the animated clones bear at best only a passing resemblance to their live action actor? In interviews, Filoni wouldn’t shut up but the technological advancements in the animation for season 7. So if they are updating things, why not try to make the clones a closer match to their source material? Why did they have to look like completely different people in The Bad Batch to be “unique”? Looking like Temeura Morrison would have no bearing on their special abilities and TCW proved you can have identical looking characters and still have them be distinct. In fact, that’s a powerful theme and the source of tragedy for the clones’ narrative overall.

Here’s Filoni’s early concept art of Crosshair, Wrecker, Tech, and Hunter. (Interesting but irrelevant: Wrecker seems to have a cog tattoo similar to Jesse’s instead of a scar. Wouldn’t it have been funny if they kept that so when they met in season 7 one if them could say something like “Hey we’re twins!” That’s a little clone humor. Just for you guys 😘)

None of these drawings look like the clones in TCW, much less Temeura Morrison. Let’s be generous. Maybe Filoni struggles with drawing a real person’s likeness, as many people do. But he had to hand this off to other artists down the line whose job specifically involves making a stylized character resemble their actor. Yet the final designs missed the mark almost as much as this initial concept. Starting to seem as if the clones looking more like Temeura Morrison was never even on the table. It wasn’t a lack of creativity, skill or technical limitations on the part of the creative team. I don’t think there is an innocent explanation. They went out of their way to make the final product exactly how we got it.

This goes beyond homage. They could have made the same pop culture references and character tropes without completely stripping Temeura Morrison from the role he originated. It was a very purposeful choice to replace him with more immediately familiar actors from established franchises and films. It wouldn’t shock me if Filoni, Lucas, and anyone else calling the shots didn’t even think hard or care enough about the decision to immediately recognize a problem. And I don’t think they believed anyone else would either. At least no one whose opinion they cared about. Those faces are comfortingly familiar and proven bankable. They are what we’re all used to seeing after all. They’re white.

Lack of imagination, bad intentions, or simple ignorance doesn’t really matter in the end. The result is the same. Call it what it is. They replaced a man of color with a bunch of white guys. That’s by the book garden variety run of the mill whitewashing. There’s no debate worth having about it. For a fanbase that loves to nitpick things like whether or not it’s in character for Han to shoot first or Jeans Guy in the Mandalorian, we sure are quick to find excuses for clones who look nothing like their template. Why is that? If you don’t see the problem, congratulations. Your ass is showing. Pull your jeans up.

#star wars #the bad batch #unwhitewashtbb #wrecker #crosshair #tech #hunter #echo

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itsagrimm · 3 years ago

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The Spider's Web

For this year's Bounty Hunter Week i had the honour of working with the amazing @heumilch. We brainstormed together and she supplied incredible ideas and artwork while I researched and wrote little companion pieces to her art.

See the full picture of todays art piece here.

Not sure about the referenced tattoo art? More information here.

CN Gambling, Prison

It was a hot and dusty day. Cad Bane shouldn’t have been too surprised by that weather - it was tatooine after all. And yet an odd calm was over Jabba's palace. With the suppressing mid rotation heat everyone found a way to either cool down, sleep through or otherwise survive the hottest time this side of the hemisphere.

The Duro’s took a tiny sip from his cup. Water was expensive and he did not want to blow all his just earned credits on plain water after a successful hunt.

“Junk?”

It was Sugi, sitting across from him at the sabacc table.

He growled and put down his cards to “junk” them. Bad luck this time.

Bane leaned back and watched as Sugi, Embo, Greedo and Latts Razzi continued playing this round of Sabacc. Sabacc was a simple game. Players tried to get a sabacc, meaning as close to zero with their card value as possible, by discarding or drawing cards.

It was also a lazy game.

No running.

Not too much thinking.

Nothing that could add to the overwhelming heat.

The shady bar corner in Jabba's throne room nearly passed as a cantina, had it not been for the grand throne above the dais. With Jabba gone, Bane nealy enjoyed sitting in the cool shadowy room. It felt, dare he say, relaxing.

“Bane, your turn to deal the cards.” It was Greedo, sitting next to him.

The Duro’s took up the deck of cards and started shuffling them for a new round.

“Hey there, didn’t you forget something?” Latts Razzi teased with a playful tone.

The others nodded.

“Whaddaya mean?” Bane growled lazily.

“It’s Sabacc, the cheaters game.” Sugi chimed in. “Would you mind taking off your coat so that we can see your lower arms in case you have hidden cards there?”

“Are ya sayin’ ya suspect me of cheatin’, young lady?” He growled.

Sugi grinned gleefully.

“With a reputation such as yours, it would feel borderline impolite to not at least consider you possibly cheating.”

Bane considered the words before shaking off his coat and starting to roll up his sleeves to his elbows.

“Fair point, ya happy now?”

Sugi stared down at his revealed arm, looking onto the spider's web on his left elbow. The black ink contrasted harshly with his blue skin.

“You are full of surprises, Bane.” Latts Razzi commented. “ That’s a nice piece. Would not have considered you as one sporting a tattoo.”

“It’s not a pretty decoration.” Bane hissed while shuffling cards and passing out two for each player. “It’s an earned thing. Ya’ in?”

Everyone shuffled to set their bets or junking their cards.

“How is it earned?” Sugi asked while discarding and drawing a new card.

“If ya’ have to ask ya’ haven’t earned one yet yourself.”

It was true. Bane had gotten it in a shithole of a prison cell back when he was still a dark blue boy from Duro. The memory now felt near sweet, but back then he had felt nothing but despair for sitting in the cell for days and days on end. On a particularly low day his cellmate, an older human, had told him of the spider's web. How it showed what it was like to be caught and in prison. How oppressively slow yet inevitably fast time in prison moved, slipping through and violently wasting life, all while young Bane had to sit around, collect dust and even spiders started spinning their nets on the forcibly fixed.

No, prison was torturous. The pain and the image of the tattoo, of something he had decided to have in a place where he had little autonomy, continued to feel like a triumph over the monotony of everyday prison life. Inside and outside a cell.

Embo grumbled something and junked his cards. So did Sugi. Only Greedo and Latts Razzi continued, staring at each other with their most expressionless sabacc face before revealing their cards.

Greedo minus one.

Latts Razzi zero.

She smiled triumphantly.

Bane passed the deck of cards to Greedo for him to deal out this round.

Before Greedo even touched the cards, he started pulling up his sleeves, revealing a similar spider’s net on his elbow.

He snickered.

“We all started somewhere.”

Bane nodded, impressed by the size of the tattoo on Greedos arms.

“Where were ya? Looks like you had latsof’ time.”

“I had. Grew up on Rodia, they are strict there.”

“So I’ve heard.” Bane growled.

Embo shuffled next to him and the Duro turned his head.

The Kyozo bounty hunter lifted up his sleeve to show another spider’s web, white lines contrasting harshly with the Kyozos skin.

“Looks like we don’t just share a taste for hatssss and armor.” Bane commented with a nearly approving smile.

Embo made a sound which could pass as a laugh.

“What is this?” Sugi tried again. “Is it the old men only tattoo?”

Bane turned to Suki.

“I hope for ya, it is.”

@bountyhunterweek

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ikahnik-gaming · 2 years ago

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Hey There, I'm Jace with Ikahnik Studio. As you probably know, Star wars Jedi: Survivor is coming out in just about two months, and I can't wait to get my hands on it. I think the previous game is one of the best Star Wars games we've ever seen in recent years. Few Star wars games captured the feel of a Jedi like Fallen Order did. And for that reason, I'm very much looking forward to play Star wars Jedi: Survivor. While we're waiting for the release, here's a short list of things that I would love to see in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

Less linearity I know this is a long shot, but I would love to see a more opened world. Now we don't have to go full GTA5 or anything like that, but less linearity would be a welcomed change. I remember so many parts of the last game was moving from one small area to the next. And some of these areas were just dark corridors. I understand that Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was strongly inspired by the Dark Souls series, but even those moved away, very successfully I might add, from linearity, like we saw in Elden Ring. Which brings us to the next topic on the list.

Npc Quests The last game had few interactions with NPCs. They were almost all instrumental to the story. It felt like the player was travelling from barren world to barren world with little or no interactions with in-world NPCs. Even in Dark Souls series, the small worlds occasionally had non-story related NPCs that can be interacted with. Some even gave quests. And the NPCs made those gloomy Dark Souls worlds feel more alive than Star Wars the Last Jedi. I think interactions with NPCs can make a world of difference in terms of not just narrative but in making the world come alive. So I'm really hoping that we see some NPCs that can give us some quests for optional loot. Which takes us to the next topic.

More Cosmetics There was nothing wrong with the way Cal looked, but something about him felt too fixed. Not only was he already a well defined character, but there were also very few ways to "really" give him that personal touch. Everything you changed seemed inconsequential, and Cal appeared the same nonetheless. So I am really looking forward to more customization options. I hope I can dress him up like Boba Fett or Cad Bane if want to. Those might be going a little too far, but the point is that I want more options than a simple re-color for a pouch or lightsaber.

Dismemberment The next thing I want to see is some decapitation on trooper or humanoid characters. In the last game, we saw Cal use the lightsaber to cut down giant fleshy animals and metallic robots. It was baffling that we never saw any trooper lose a limb. I kind of understand, after all the game was rated "T" for teen by the ESRB. Because Star wars is such a family friendly brand now, the upcoming Jedi Survivor game might also get a teen rating. The only hope I have for seeing dismemberment is that the game, just like Cal, is supposed to be more mature and darker. So, here's hoping that maturity comes with a side of blood. Speaking of bloody, terrible things...

Dark Side I'd love to see Cal flirt with the dark side. We're talking about the Star Wars universe where there's always a struggle between the light and dark side. I want to see Cal walk the line between good and bad. Which would work well if there was a choice and consequences system. A system that players would have to deal with depending on actions taken. Now, considering how linear the last game was, this one might be wishful thinking. But still. It would be awesome. Recently Harry potter came out and the most popular house has been Slithering. Which means people love to role play the bad guy too sometimes, not that Slithering house is inherently bad, but you get the idea. So having a choice to follow in Anakin's foot steps wouldn't be such a bad idea at all.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by and let me know if you're as excited as I am for this game.

Here's a link to the Video on YouTube

#star wars #star wars jedi: survivor #video games

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ooops-i-arted · 3 years ago

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Filoni and Favreau don't understand how to write Luke and it's infuriating. I couldn't get over how empty and bland his depiction felt and how he's all like "Oh hey there's your dad leaving, anyways back to training! Here's a remote you need to dodge or you'll get stung"? Luke would never. Haven't we dealt with enough damage from the sequel trilogy? Also that Ahsoka cameo 🙄

Oh my GOD I KNOWWWWW my sister and I blew a gasket over that episode. Afaik my neighbor didn't hear us yelling "Fuck off, you smug-ass orange bitch" at least lmao. But yeah, why was she there? She wasn't needed. That whole conversation could have - and SHOULD have - happened between Luke and Grogu, as Grogu's two primary caretakers at the present time.

Because Din confronting himself about "are you doing this for him, or for you?" could've been a really good character moment. But we don't get any self-reflection from Din, just Ahsoka basically ordering him to stay away, and apparently not even telling Luke that the chainmail was a gift freely given and that Din just wanted to check on Grogu, not take him back.

(Also, side note, y'all know I hate Ahsoka's guts but for those of you who don't... weren't you disappointed by her cameo? This is Anakin's Super Special Awesome And Most Beloved Darling Apprentice meeting his son. And we don't see them like, talk about Anakin at all? Bond over knowing Anakin? Luke finally getting answers to questions about his father he's had since he was very young? Shouldn't this have been an extremely significant moment (albeit in the wrong show)? To be fair, Filoni probably already has had the whole thing written for ten years in his diary and is just waiting for the Ahsoka show.)

Oh man don't even get me started on what they did to Luke. I thought the sequel trilogy was over. I thought we didn't have to see that Luke anymore.

I don't even know what to say except you're right, that was so ooc for Luke. Just bland and empty.

Shit, the whole episode was bland and empty. Because what Filoni knows how to do is those Leonardo DiCaprio Pointing Meme moments, and shock value moments, and he forgets you have to have something in between to make them mean something.* Omg it's Cobb Vanth! Omg it's Din! Omg it's Luke! Omg it's Grogu! Omg it's a laser ball from ANH! Omg they're doing the backpack thing from ESB! Omg it's Ahsoka! Omg it's Artoo! Omg it's Boba Fett in his own show! Omg Yoda's lightsaber! Omg it's Cad Bane! I love a good Easter egg as much as the next person, but it gets boring after a while, even more so when it serves no purpose. For example, what was the point of the Order 66 flashback? We already knew Grogu escaped Order 66. It didn't show us anything new, how he got out or who helped him or how this trauma is still affecting him. Luke barely even discusses it with Grogu so it's not even a bonding moment for the characters. It was just a Leonardo DiCaprio Pointing Meme moment with no purpose beyond being a Leonardo DiCaprio Pointing Meme moment.

*I don't know what happened with Rebels. How was Rebels so good? Different writing team I guess. Like with George Lucas, I believe Filoni has a lot to offer in ideas, but he needs a team to execute them well.

#now that i've cooled enough to write more coherently than i did on wednesday this was cathartic thank you #bobf critical #filoni critical #asks #anon #anti ahsoka #anti ahsoka tano

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darthzero22 · 4 years ago

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A necessary talk

Hunter x Neutral Reader

Although a week had passed, you were still affected by what happened in Bracca: the shot of a bounty hunter calls Cad Bane to Hunter and the kidnapping of Omega. Although everything had returned to normal, since you were able to save Omega and Hunter seemed to be much better from his wound, you were still worried about him.

You were the only one aboard the Marauder, you were checking the ship's systems to kill boredom. The others were away on Ord Mantell and the reason you didn't want to join them... you didn't know. Since a week ago you weren't the same, you didn't feel the same, and maybe that being fugitives and hiding from the Empire you weren't handling it very well, but you were hiding it. The shot Hunter received made you realize that, even though he was an elite soldier, he was not immortal and you almost lost him. You also almost lost Omega, you had grown very fond of her in a short time, and all of that certainly wasn't something you can recover from so quickly.

Usually Tech and Echo took care of the ship's systems, but while they were away, you decided to take care of it yourself. As usual the ship was in perfect condition, so you simply checked the systems overhead, not caring much about how long you would be sitting in that chair. Although you didn't know how much time you spent alone, your loneliness ended when you hear your communicator, and so you turn it on.

"Hey, Y/N. Can you open the door?" Hunter asked you.

"I don't know. Who are you? I am forbidden by my sergeant to let strangers on the ship" you joked.

“Well, your sergeant surely is proud that you listen to him” he follows your joke. “But I am a man who loves you"

You laugh and with a push of a button you make the ship's hatch open. You look up from your chair and see that only Hunter is the one who boards the ship, he was alone.

“And the others?”

“They are in Cid's bar. For now there is no mission. But they wonder, as I do, why you are not with us and prefer to be alone here on the ship”

“Nothing special. You know that if a mission comes up, I'll go there right away. In the meantime I wanted to... take a look at the ship, systems and stuff”

“Hmmm. You've been like this for days now, always wanting to check the ship's systems after Tech and Echo already did. Before you hid well what is happening to you, but not now. The others are worried, Omega is worried” he sighs. “I am worried”

“I'm glad you guys are worried about me, but I'm fine, really”

Before he could say anything to you, you stand up and approach him, carefully resting one hand on his chest.

“How is your injury?”

“Much better, but not completely healed yet”

Seeing your face and feeling the way you touched his chest, Hunter knew what was finally wrong with you. Hunter rests his hand on top of yours that was on his chest.

“Cyare… Why didn't you tell me before?”

You bring your other hand up and touch the area of the head where the chip had previously been.

“So many things in such a short time in Bracca... Wrecker's chip activation, Crosshair's appearance, Omega's kidnapping. I saw you lying on the floor with a shot in your chest…” you lower your hand and now caress his face. “I almost lost you twice... It was horrible”

You walk away from him, going to the table where you had your weapons. Hunter brings his hand to his neck, remembering what happened in Bracca, and after lowering his arm he goes with you. He was about to say something, but you put two fingers on his lips preventing him from speaking. You smile to tell him not to worry, but he was worried anyway.

“But honestly I won't get anywhere thinking about it over and over again” you lower your hand.

“You don't have to be tough, not with me. You know that I am always there for you, whatever you need, and nothing will take me away from you”

“Thank you, Hunter. I'm relieved to hear you say that. But... right now I'm worried about your wound more than anything else. Can you show it to me?”

“My wound is fine, really”

“Come on, Hunter”

You guide Hunter to your room and once inside you give him a hand gesture, one that he understands. He sighs and takes off his armor, the top part. Then he takes off the top of his other clothes as well, leaving only his pants on. Thanks to that you could see Hunter's wound on his chest, although he now had a medium-sized bandage, and you carefully check with your fingers if the bandage was clean.

“Does it still hurt?”

“No. Luckily I can now put on my armor without it hurting”

You carefully remove his bandage, as it was time to change it, and observe the bullet wound that was healing properly. You didn't want to touch it, but you caress the area around it, like his pecs. You feel him flinch a little, perhaps because your fingers were cold and the first contact with his skin made him shiver.

“Sorry, sorry! I didn't realize my hands were cold”

“No, no. You don't have to apologize for that, cyare. It's just...” he runs his hand over the back of his neck. “Are you sure you don't want to talk about what happened in Bracca?”

“I am sure of it. What matters now is paying Cid's debt and protecting Omega”

“I know. But that doesn't mean I don't care about you too”

“And I care a lot about you”

You start to put a new bandage on Hunter's wound and he closes his eyes tightly for a moment, because even though he said he was fine, it still hurt when it was touched.

“You told me it didn't hurt. Good thing I didn't believe you” you smile.

“Yeah. Well, it must be because you know me, even more than I do”

“After so much time together, of course I know you. And you know me better than I know myself” you go to his back. “Raise your right arm”

Hunter listens to you and raises his right arm for you to pass the bandage underneath.

“As you said, after so much time together, I know you very well. Although I don't recognize myself sometimes”

“What do you mean, Hunter?”

“Think about it, Y/N, all I knew was to be a soldier, to be a sergeant and not a...”

“Mercenary? It's the same for all of us, don't worry. You are not the only one”

“Everything changed so fast that I can barely process it, even though it's been months. Crosshair, the chips, working for money, the Empire.... Omega”

“That makes two of us, handsome. But for what it's worth, I really like seeing you with a fatherly attitude with Omega. You look adorable”

“Do you think? Because I still don't know how to treat a kid properly, Y/N. It's more... difficult than I imagined”

“Because I do? I'm no expert either. But what did Cut tell you? ‘Battling droids was easy compared to raising a child’. He was right"

“Honestly I would have appreciated a better warning. I would be lost if it weren't for you”

You finish tying his bandage, give him a caress on his back and rest your cheek between his shoulder blades, feeling and listening to his heart.

“I don't know what would become of me without you, Hunter”

“And you'll never know, cyare”

You give him a kiss on his shoulder and gently pat him on the back. Then you went to your table to leave the rest of the unused bandage there.

“And don't worry about me. You were able to convince me not to stay on the ship anymore" you said.

You feel his arms around your waist from behind and then his lips on your neck, kissing you there. You smile and caress one of his arms.

“Are you sure you're okay?” he asked you.

“With you, yes"

You turn around to face Hunter and without wasting any more time, as you could tell you couldn't stand it, you finally kiss. You kiss for a few moments, as always, and after the kiss you feel Hunter move his mouth against your neck. His breathing and his lips against your skin relax you, as does the feel of his arms around you and the beating of his heart. You caress his back with your hands, feeling his bare skin.

Suddenly you hear someone boarding the ship and then you hear Omega's voice. You separate from the hug and you caress Hunter's face.

“Next time, love” you smile.

“I'll take your word, cyare” he smile.

You leave your room, leaving Hunter inside who started to put on his clothes and then his armor. Omega, upon seeing you, approaches you with hurried steps, a smile on her face.

“Omega, good to see you. What's up?”

"Hey, Y/N! I figured you wanted to be alone, but I wanted to give you this”

You notice that the girl pulls out from behind her back a carton of Mantell.

“Wow. Really?”

"Yes! It puts me in a good mood to eat these. I ordered extra mantell for you and kept Wrecker from eating them by telling him they were just for you" she said proudly.

“Oh, I really appreciate it. And preventing Wrecker from eating this is an impossible task. Well done, and thank you!" you grab the carton of Mantell.

“It was nothing! I know I shouldn't ask for too much mantell for the debt, but don't tell Hunter! He... Oh, oh!”

She falls silent when she sees Hunter come out of your room, his arms crossed and a serious face.

“Oh! Hey, Hunter!” she smiles nervously.

“Omega, what did I tell you about buying more Mantell?”

“Buy no more than one carton?”

“Right. So what am I seeing?”

Omega smiles again, nervously.

“Hunter, Omega wanted to cheer me up so she brought me something to eat” you said.

He couldn't say anything against that, so he sighs and lowers his arms.

“Fine. I can let it pass, but at least I want a small part of it" he said.

You smile and hand him a bunch of your snacks.

“Is it enough for you?” you asked.

“Yes, it is” he said and he begins to eat.

“Well, now you know how to convince Hunter, Omega. When he's hungry, take advantage of that"

Hunter gives you a little nudge.

“That's exactly what I plan to do!" Omega said, smiling.

“Ha! Good luck with that, kid” he said.

“Oh, I don't need luck, Hunter. I have Y/N"

“She has a good point” you smile.

“Right. Two against one, that's fair" he said with sarcasm.

Both Omega and you laugh.

#hunter x reader #tbb hunter x reader #tbb hunter x you #hunter x you #the bad batch #hunter the bad batch #hunter bad batch #star wars the bad batch #wrecker the bad batch #omega tbb #omega the bad batch #the bad batch omega #omega bad batch #hunter x y/n #tbb hunter x y/n #the bad batch hunter #the bad batch hunter x reader #the bad batch hunter x you

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subbing-for-clones · 4 years ago

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The Alpha and The Omega Part 3

Alpha Maul x Omega Reader

Word Count: 5k

WARNINGS: Mentions of murder, talk of slavery, mentions of guns and other various bounty hunting shenanigans

PREVIOUS NEXT MASTERLIST

Maul didn’t know what to expect when he entered your ship; he had tried not to have any expectations. The main entrance opened up to the cargo bay that took up the whole footprint of the ship. He could see the cryo-freezer and storage in one corner and made a mental note to look into getting one for his own ship; he may not mind the smell of the bodies he collected but he preferred the idea of handing in quarries that weren’t decomposing by the time he turned them in. Labeled crates of food supplies and ammunition lined the walls along with a surprisingly high amount of medical equipment. The center was left open, for training purposes he guessed. He had thought that this layout was fairly standard for a high-ranking hunter and despite his best efforts not to assume what he would find on the upper level he was astonished.

You obviously lived here full time on the ship you had fondly referred to as the Wolf, the hatch opened up into a hallway from where he could see the door to your cabin left open. He fought the urge to look inside out of respect and followed you through the common area toward the cockpit. He did allow himself to stay a few steps behind you so he could glance around.

The kitchen had been expanded from a small standard kitchenette to a more comfortable cooking space with a large pantry. A quality wooden table sat off to the side with some kind of potted green fern in its center, rather than a flimsy durasteel counter. Plush rugs of different colors had been scattered along the floor and a doorless closet imbedded in the wall showed massive amounts of folded blankets and extra pillows along with other soft looking comfort items. Post cards from countless planets littered the walls surrounding the space. You had even managed to fit a sofa and bookshelf in one of the corners without making it seem over crowded.

He didn’t say a word as he sat in the co-pilot’s chair beside you, setting his worn bag on the floor next to him. You had even managed to decorate this space; warm blankets hung over the backs of the chairs and photos of you with other hunters hung on the walls that lacked control panels. Some of the photos were located in bars, others looked like more traditional hunting parties; friends with their arms around each other in front of massive beasts that lay slain. In one, he recognized the Mandalorian he had met on Tatooine pissing into a Sarlacc pit with you laughing boisterously in the side of the frame with your head thrown back. Something in his hindbrain whispered to him.

Omega makes it home.

He blinked his attention back to you when he realized you had said something.

“You alright Maul?” you asked him again when the fog left his eyes.

“Yes, my apologies, I have just never seen a ship like this before.”

“Yeah, I move around a lot so over the years I made it more comfortable. Easier than having a home base like some of the others try to keep, cheaper too,” Maul nodded in understanding before turning back to you once you had broken through the atmosphere and started tapping away at the nav computer.

“Where are we going for the first quarry?”

“We’ve got a runaway wife of some rich wannabe crime lord. Need to bring her back alive for the whole sum or dead for only twenty five percent. Last seen on Anaxes, guess she liked tinkering with the ships back home, probably hiding out as a mechanic or something there. I want the whole purse. I know you like bringing them back cold but I’m not settling for a fraction of the price.”

“Runaway wife should be easy,” he folded his arms as he studied the hologram the puck projected.

“Should be, I’m not worried about her. She’s young and pretty, I’d be shocked if she didn’t have at least a few guys keeping an eye on her; but them we can kill,” you pulled back a lever and the stars stretched around the Wolf throwing the two of you through hyperspace. You leaned back in the chair and kicked your feet up.

“Listen, I’m not one to beat around the bush. I picked her to grab first because I doubt we’re going to run into a situation with her where my life will depend on you not fucking me over,” you turned your head to meet his eyes that were already on you, “I know you’re a dark force wielder and I know you can feel that I am a force user too.”

Maul’s top lip pulled up in a snarl and his eyes narrowed, “are you a Jedi then? Have you orchestrated this to trap me?!” the hilt of his saber flew out of his pack and into his hand but he hesitated to ignite it when fear pheromones seeped out of you.

Your scent gave you away but your posture didn’t waver, “I used to be, years ago. I was kicked out of the order when my gene presented,” you chuckled, “my master found me naked and writhing on the floor of my room,” your chuckle had grown to full-fledged laughter, your shoulders shook at the memory all but forgetting the pissed off Alpha at your side.

“I- I still remember the look on his face. Fucking horrified when I had my first heat,” you took a breath and wiped a tear from your eye, “they told me I had to leave before I could even face the trials for my knighthood,” your expression turned slightly solemn, Maul had relaxed in the seat next to you. He didn’t think they would throw out one of their own simply because of a biological mutation.

“I’m not doing this to trap you or anything like that Maul,” you turned again to face him, “Bane helped me out after I lost everything I ever knew. I heard a rumor that you didn’t know you were an Alpha until recently either. I’m just trying to return a favor paid to me.”

Maul turned to watch the stars as they flashed by, dropping his saber back into his pack. He hated the Jedi, he had even hunted a few who had left the order or were kicked out after breaking their precious code; but you were different. Cast out because you didn’t fit into their mold, not unlike him.

“Don’t get me wrong,” you caught his attention again, “I don’t dislike all of them. It’s been years since I’ve seen any of them but I don’t plan on burning the temples to the ground. If you want help with a bounty or need some underworld information I’m your girl; if you wanna fuck with the Jedi you’re on your own. You and Cad are the only ones who know about that past and I plan on keeping it that way.”

“I understand.”

You stood and nodded to the door, “come on I’ll show you where to put your gear.”

He followed you out of the cockpit and into the common area where you pointed to an empty cabinet, “so, Sith are back huh?”

He went rigid as he put his pack with all its contents still inside on the shelf, “why do you assume I am Sith and not just someone who dabbles in the dark side of the force?”

You leaned against the wall and crossed your arms, “I lived my whole life at the temple. I never saw or heard of you or anyone who looked remotely like you there so I know you’re not a fallen Jedi. You have a light saber so you’re also not some self-taught back water force sensitive individual. That only leaves one option.”

“I’m not a Sith anymore, my master thinks I’m dead and much like your own desire to keep your past private; I’d like to keep it that way as well,” his eyes narrowed again. He was equally annoyed and impressed by your deductions and his hind brain spoke again.

Omega is smart.

He was already tired of this intrusive voice in his head. Perhaps it was a mistake to come with you after all. His scent had turned abrasive in your nose and his signature was wavering.

“Hey, calm down there, Alpha I’m not here to mess up what you’ve got going for yourself. I’m just trying to make sure you’re not going to slice my head off of my shoulders with that pretty red blade of yours.”

“No, I’m not going to kill you. I just want to make a life for myself.”

“Good,” you turned to another cabinet and pulled out a few extra blankets and a pillow and made up the sofa for him, “you can sleep here, it’s more comfortable than it looks, I promise,” with that you turned away from him and made you way to the cabin.

“Oh, ‘freshers the last door down this hall. Won’t be long until we arrive, rest up if you can,” with that the door hissed behind you and locked, leaving him standing alone in front of the sofa with much to ponder. Even out of your immediate presence, your scent permeated the air around him and wafted out of everything in the room. It was difficult to think, surly not all unmated Omegas were so intoxicating. He shook his head and softly walked down the hall and stepped into the fresher.

He almost smiled, almost. Why had he expected a standard washroom? Of course you had a full sized -sanistream shower and a deep tub instead of a sonic. Another plush carpet lay underfoot with soft towels hanging on a bar. Various perfumy bath oils and soaps sat on the counter top in a decorative array along with a few candles. He was starting to wonder if you really were the renowned bounty hunter, ‘Meg, he had heard about or an imposter living a lie. He would soon find out. He splashed some cold water on his face before wandering back to the sofa you had made up for him.

He removed his cloak and kicked off his boots, setting them both to the side before laying down and pulling the blanket over himself. It was soft and warm, more so than anything his master had provided for him. It smelled like you too, he tried not to think about the fact that it gave him incredible comfort and eased both his worry and his tensed muscles. Wrapped in your scent he fell asleep faster than he ever had before in his life.

You did not find sleep on the way to Anaxes. Despite sinking into your soft bed, despite surrounding yourself with all of your favorite pillows and blankets and even trying to meditate, you could not ease your thrumming heart. Why had this Alpha’s scent been so strong? It made your mouth water and your thighs clench. He had released a new wave of soothing pheromones when he fell asleep and yet they did nothing to calm you. You ached to crawl onto the sofa with him and wrap yourself in his arms, to burry your face into his scent gland and bare your throat for him to… Maker what the fuck? You were disgusted with yourself. An ex-Sith and an ex-Jedi? Gods the trouble that would cause, such wonderful, inebriating trouble.. no.

You wanted to comm someone to ask them about it. You couldn’t call Zeni or Coth, they had been trying to set you up with a mate for years, they would tell you to just get it over with. Couldn’t call Fett, it had been awkward to say the least since you gently turned down his offer for courtship. You looked over at the hat that you had just hung from your bed post. Maybe Bane could tell you what this was all about? He had had a mate before and wouldn’t give you the same answer as Zeni. You sighed heavily, missing Master Plo’s wise words and wished to hear his voice again. Would it be a terrible idea to make a stop on Coruscant and try to visit when you had fulfilled your current obligation?

Probably. Maybe not? You huffed frustratedly and buried your face into one of the pillows for the tenth time. Bane, you’d comm Bane when you had a chance after picking up your privately commissioned bounty. Just as you attempted to close your eyes again a quiet beeping rang out from the vambrace you had discarded on your side table. You groaned unabashedly and smacked the button to turn it off. You still had some time and your stomach was grumbling so you didn’t bother to change out of the long shirt and baggy pants you wore. Pride be damned.

Still, you tried to be quiet when you left your room to put the caf on. Your eyes immediately fell on him. Chest rising and falling steadily, wrapped up in the blanket you had given it, he was clutching it to his nose. The crease in his brow and frown on his lips gone; lost in his slumber. He was handsome when he wasn’t irritated, hell he was handsome when he was too. You watched him for a moment a voice in the back of your mind whispering.

Alpha looks warm

Alpha looks safe

Oh fuck no. You grimaced at your Omega brain that rarely reared her head. You turned and started rummaging around the pantry, working by the light that poured out of the door to your room so you wouldn’t wake him.

When Maul did wake, it was to the smell of hot caf and cooking meat. He sat up slowly and looked around before he saw you leaning forward over the counter, face lit by a data-pad, sipping out of a steaming mug. Your eyes flashed up and met his, “Caf?” you offered.

He grunted and nodded his response before standing and making his way behind you, looking through cabinets. You smirked down at your data-pad and without turning to him, held out an empty mug you had gotten for him. He took it with a quiet thank you and filled it. His smokey spice filling your nose in this proximity and without your knowledge, your sweet earthy smell filling his.

He peered over your shoulder at the data-pad you were reading from. With a sigh you pressed a button to it projected the hologram, desperate for a little space you sidestepped slightly. It showed the blue prints for the assembly yard you suspected she had run off to hide in.

“It’s going to be highly populated,” he stated simply.

“We’re not grabbing her from the assembly line. She may have a price on her head but I’m not keen on the idea of explaining that to everyone and their supervisor.”

“Follow her home after her shift then?” he took a long drink of the caf and plated the both of you some of the meat before sitting at the table. At least he has manners.

“Precisely. Boss said she took a bunch of cash with her so I’m guessing she’s got an apartment outside the complex instead of sleeping in the employee housing. I got an idea where she might be working within the facility…”

For the next hour the two of you ate as you pointed out where they worked on the simpler components. Based off of her limited knowledge she was most likely working with less complicated, smaller parts of the ships. You had pointed out the where those were and when he asked how you learned this you showed him how to find and read the blue prints and get the shift change schedules. All tools of the trade so to speak.

You had taken a shower and after landing outside the city, started to gear up in the cargo bay. He watched with a confused look in his eye as you strapped dual blasters into your shoulder holsters and a large knife onto your hip. Pulling on your mid-thigh length coat, you filled one of the pockets on your utility belt with a few darts of different colors and a blow gun on the opposite side.

“Why not just bring your saber?” you must have looked at him like that was the dumbest question he could’ve asked, and it was.

“You’re kidding, right? You are not bringing yours,” you held up your hand and started counting each finger as you spoke, “for one, it’s a highly populated area and we are both in hiding. Two, we’re bringing her in alive and as unharmed as possible. Three, even if we were bringing her in dead, in a low pop area there’s always the chance someone could see and word travels fast. If you’re going to thrive in this line of work, you’re going to have to branch out,” you rummaged through the large locking cabinet before handing him a mid-sized blaster. “It’s set to stun for now,” you pointed to show him how he can set it to kill and got him a knife.

He took them with a growl, “I am quite familiar with other forms of weaponry thank you very much.” You just raised your palms up in mock defeat with a scoff.

Two days. It took you two days of staking out the assembly facility before you found her. Two days of distracting heavy breathes. Laying so close to him, peering through scopes at entrances during shift changes from rocky terrain had you irritable to say the least. At least he was quiet, kept that damn sultry voice to himself. If he was as affected as you, he had the common sense not to let it show. Little did you know; he was. He kept the sights glued to his face so you couldn’t see how blown his pupils were. You let out and audible sigh of relief when you finally did spot the pretty blonde woman. Her hair tied back and a much too large jumpsuit billowing off of her form. You watched as she mounted a speeder bike and took off away from the complex. You had rented one in town when you first arrived claiming to be in the market for a ship.

You turned to Maul already at the controls, he simply nodded his head for you to climb on behind him. He didn’t miss how you jumped at the silent command, despite trying to touch him as little as possible. You kept your eyes on her through the electrobinoculars while he navigated from a safe distance behind her. Your free hand was grasping the loose fabric of his tunic at his lower back. Your touch felt electric to him.

You watched her dismount and silently followed her through the apartment complex, it was run down and had a rusty smell that wafted off the walls. Just before the door could hiss closed behind her your boot caught it, the fail-safe caused it to whoosh open again. As you rushed into the home with Maul on your heels you withdrew your knife and before she could even blink her shock you had spun her around with the blade pressed to her throat.

“Well, you are a pretty little thing, aren’t you? Now why would a woman such as yourself be running from your doting husband?” you taunted her. You weren’t usually so hostile to unaggressive quarries but you were still bristling at the effect that Maul had on you. Some should-be-dead instinct telling you to show him you were strong. She whimpered as Maul smirked and handed you his set of binders before doing a perimeter scan of the apartment.

“P-please don’t take me back to him. I can’t go back. You must understand. I… I know you do!” Your brow creased at her statement before it hit you. Maul was in the back room so his scent wasn’t fogging your mind and with your nose so close to her scent gland there was no mistake. You bound her hands behind her back and pressed your leg to the back of her knees; forcing her down into a kneeling position on the floor.

“Shit,” Maul reentered the room in a hurry at your curse, eyes searching for some kind of trouble. You watched it hit him as hard as it you. Your eyes locked on him as he sniffed the air and pull his top lip back in a snarl. She was another Omega but, she hadn’t been marked. No Alpha’s scent had mixed with her own and you looked at her as confused as Maul did before she turned her attention to him.

“P-please Alpha. Help me, don’t send me back to that- that monster. Please Alpha…” she was trying to shuffle over to where he stood on her knees. Maul had expected her scent to be as strong as yours was to him. Before this woman, you had been the only unmated Omega he had met but she was nowhere near as intoxicating as you had been, as you are. She was annoying, a nuisance, weak. Nothing worth protecting. You reached down and dragged her by her bound hands back to where you had put her and kneeled in front of her.

“What the fuck are you doing married to a beta?” your finger jabbing her sternum in an accusatory manner.

“I’m not his wife! Fucker bought me!” you cringed at the term. Bane had warned you about Omegas being bought and sold but you had yet to run into any of them.

Maul wanted nothing to do with the woman before him, he saw her as a feeble and overly fragile but a fleeting thought of you being taken by slavers and sold to someone else fluttered through his mind.

No one takes Omega

He growled his disgust at the idea. You thought for a moment, weighing your options.

“Where were you taken, before you were sold?” your eyes held her gaze unblinkingly in the dimmed room, Maul had moved to stand closely behind you.

“Trandoshans, they came and took me from a cantina on Tatooine.”

You rolled your eyes at her so hard you risked giving yourself a headache.

“What in the absolute fuck were you doing on Tatooine without an Alpha to protect you?” you stood and paced around the room, “Fucking stupid ‘mega,” you cursed under your breath but loud enough that she could hear you. “You don’t have to be a hunter to know the whole planet is a slaving capital!”

“I know… I know!” she had dissolved to tears and sobbed her lamentations, “please, please don’t take me back to him!”

“Oh shut up!” you returned and slammed your balled fist into her chin, knocking her unconscious. Maul watched with a pleased grin gracing his face, you pointed your finger in his direction still fuming, “don’t you start with me too. Take her on your bike back to the ship. I’ll take her bike. I have to think about this.”

He growled but kept the smirk while he hoisted her up onto his shoulder. He paused just before passing you utterly amused and whispered, “Ah yes, let the anger fuel you,” before he left. You shook your head and pinched the bridge of your nose.

You didn’t want to admit it but he was right. These years of faring on your own had been on one hand, great, incredibly fun even. Living outside the code was unrestricting but, on the other hand, you had wondered if your soul had darkened along with everything else. Times were not always good. You honestly wished you cared. You wanted to care so badly but, in all honesty, you didn’t. At this point in your life the force power you carried was just another blaster in your arsenal. Another set of binoculars in your pack. You didn’t, couldn’t let it guide you like it once had.

To your relief, he had followed your instructions; he had left with her. You took her bike and made your way, a little slowly. Enjoying the fact that you could barely smell him from your current position. You had hoped that you would get used to it but you still hadn’t. ‘The Bitch’ you like to refer to your Omega brain as, her voice just continued to pop up with intrusive thoughts. More so than after being around any other Alpha. You wondered if the woman he carried at the moment had a similar experience.

The hull was open and Maul had loaded the woman and the bike into the cargo bay. She was starting to stir as you brought the bike up next to his. The fear in her eyes returned as her consciousness did and she started to shriek causing both you and Maul to wince. You grabbed a rag and shoved it into her mouth to stifle her sobs. Once again you knelt down next to her, “Maul, tell her to be quiet so that I can explain something to her.”

“Why would she listen to me?” you rolled your eyes.

“Because you’re an Alpha, a particularly… pungent one as well, I’m assuming she lies on the more subservient spectrum as far as Omegas go, she will obey,” you turned your attention back to the woman, tears streaming down her face. As you had guessed she immediately silenced at his command.

“Now then, listen closely. Nod if you understand me,” the woman nodded still wide eyed at you, “good. I have to take you back. If I don’t the bounty will remain open and someone else will come to collect. You can’t just run off again either. Well, you could, but odds are your ‘husband’ would just rehire me to come pick you up and he pays well so I would take it. You have two options. One, return and play the good wife and deal with whatever comes with it. Two,” you reached into your pack and took out two differently colored capped darts, “I slip these into your bra, you let me freeze you like a good little girl and return you home to collect my pay. After he unfreezes you, you stab him with the green one to knock him out; anywhere in his body. Then inject the black one into his neck to kill him. Once he’s dead you can escape and no one will bother to come looking for you because there will be no one to put a bounty on you.”

She weighed your words heavily and you practiced your patience, truly sympathetic to the woman. You were an exception, Omegas were strong yes but, most were incredibly subservient; even without an Alpha. She mumbled something behind the gag and you scoffed before removing the rag and she gasped.

“I want the darts,” her conviction was steadfast and you breathed a sigh of relief, “put me in the freezer with them and I’ll take care of the rest.”

You reached your hand into her shirt with a slightly apologetic look while you nestled each dart under an individual breast, she nodded her thanks after you reminded her which was which and helped her to her feet. You gave her one last look before taking the binders off. Maul watched you hesitantly as you guided her into the freezing chamber. She gave you a sad yet thankful smile, it was slight but as you pressed the buttons and activated the gasses it froze on her face. Soon, she’d be free. You guided the block into the freezer storage and locked the door behind her before allowing yourself to ungraciously slide down the wall until your rump hit the floor with a soft thud.

Almost forgetting you weren’t alone you tossed your hat to the side somewhere and ran your fingers through your hair and rubbed one of your eyes, exhausted from her emotional affliction.

Maul could smell your distress, his instincts told him to comfort you, to hold you and tell you that everything would be alright. That he’d protect you, that he’d never let anyone lay a finger on you. That your fate would never become hers. Instead, he settled for sitting beside you with his legs crossed, without looking at you he spoke, staring down at his feet, “you gave her a way to take her own freedom.”

You hummed, just acknowledging that you heard him and sat next to him in silence for a few minutes. His pheromones were comforting, his presence was soothing and for the first time you didn’t fight the effect they had on you.

Alpha will protect me.

Once again you shook ‘the bitch’ away and made your way to the cockpit. You flew closer to the shop you rented the bike from and opted to keep the other Omega’s for yourself. While Maul was returning the bike, you pressed a few buttons on your vambrace, calling Bane. Within a few moments the side of his face appeared in the hologram. Blaster fire whizzing by his head.

“You alright ‘Meg?” that raspy voice you loved sounded frustrated with whatever mess he was currently in.

“Yeah I’m fine, listen I got a question for you when you’re not busy.” He took a second to face you head on with a smirk, “What makes you think I’m busy?” as if on que a bolt took the hat right off his head and he cursed. You laughed and shook your head.

“Just contact me soon, don’t die out there old man.” He grunted in response and the hologram dissipated right as Maul was sitting down in the copilot’s chair.

“One down, where to next?” he eyed the comm that Bane had appeared from warily.

“Smuggler fucked over Jabba, a Talz. Last seen heading towards Hoth; no doubt to escape the heat literally and figuratively and hide amongst the Wampa. Can you take us up? I’m starving.” He nodded and took your seat while you headed back to the common area. You doubled over and clutched your stomach, “shit,” the pain all too familiar but coming much too early.

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