#cid’s just special like that I guess

[shiominato]

man from texas, real life

[justaparsec94]

Feeling

Summary: When you and Hunter are left alone on The Havoc Marauder the feelings the two of you have kept well hidden finally come to light...

Pairing: Hunter x Jedi!Reader

Word Count: 5,271

Author's Note: I really don’t know how Hunter’s senses work, especially since they seemed to forget about them as the seasons went on. I like the idea most of fandom subscribes to that all of his senses are heightened but I saw a post once comparing his electroreception to that of a platypus which absolutely kills me. I guess we’ll never know for sure but no matter what I love our dear platypus man LOL

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The Havoc Marauder was uncharacteristically silent as you sat in the cockpit. Most of The Bad Batch, minus Hunter who had stayed behind claiming headache, had left for a supply run earlier and likely wouldn’t be back for a few standard hours. Hunter had retreated to his bunk to sleep moments after the others had left, effectively leaving you alone.

Normally, the chance to explore a new place on a new planet would have thrilled you but like so many other things that had changed recently too. What had once brought excitement now brought fear. You had volunteered to stay with the ship as you didn’t want to risk being seen in a busy spaceport. Not that there were many left in the galaxy that would recognize you, but you just didn’t want to take any chances that might further endanger the squad. Having a former Jedi amongst your ranks was essentially a death sentence these days, and The Bad Batch already had enough heat on them as renegade clones. 

With a sigh, you sunk further into the copilot seat as you stared out the viewport. As much as you appreciated some peace and quiet, which admittedly was hard to come by with the squad, the silence left you with too much time to think. Somedays it was hard to wrap your head around all that had happened. The weight of the grief you felt threatened to drown you when you took a moment to stop and acknowledge it. Everything you had once known, had once believed in had been completely turned upside down. Your friends, your former master, all gone in a moment. 

As far as you knew you had gone from being one of thousands to one of only a few that remained and even then you had only just barely survived. You weren’t sure if your survival was the will of the force or simply just the result of being in the right place at the right time. In your more cynical moments, you believed it really had only been luck. If Jedi masters with far greater power than your own hadn’t survived you felt you really had no right still being alive. It was a thought that kept you up most nights, survivor's guilt. 

Having only been nighted a few rotations before the Clone Wars had started you had never been assigned your own battalion. Instead, throughout the war you had often completed recon and special ops missions that had the GAR assigning small squads of clones to you as needed, mostly commandos. It had been how you had met The Bad Batch in the first place. You’d been paired with the squad on several missions towards the end of the war. In the end, this use of your skills as a Jedi had likely been what had saved you. You hadn’t been near any clones when the order had come through, instead you had been klicks away from the nearest squad scouting. The clones had known you were on the planet though and the manhunt that had happened in the days that had followed Order-66 had nearly claimed your life multiple times. But despite everything that had been thrown your way you had still managed to escape off-world with a blaster wound burning in your side and a broken arm. 

Your first thought had been to simply disappear in the galaxy, to find some small backwater planet to live out the rest of your days but without enough fuel or credits to get you anywhere far, desperation had driven you to seek out Cid. You had used the Trandoshan as an informant many times throughout the war and while you still didn’t trust her it had turned out to be a good idea after all as it had led you directly back to The Batch. 

You’d been terrified at first, drawing your lightsaber on them the minute they had entered the bar, but it had become clear rather quickly that they were not following orders like the other clones had been. They’d explained everything, Order-66, Palpatine, the inhibitor chips, everything that had happened in the days following the end of the war. To hear the truth, that the men you had fought alongside for so many years, your friends, had been used like pawns in a game, treated in such a horrendous way by both The Republic and the new Empire had broken you more than anything else. It had been in that moment as you stared at the squad in front of you in Cid’s dingy bar that you had come to the realization that everything you had once believed in, everything you had fought for had amounted to nothing at all. All it had done was bring about the demise of nearly everyone you had cared for. You hadn’t been protecting the galaxy, you’d just been one part in bringing it to ruin. 

The thought continued to haunt you, even now, months after the end of the war. It had been hard to keep going afterward but being with the Batch and Omega had helped. You had always gotten along well with the squad during the war, in fact, they had become your favourite team to work with and despite not often working with Jedi they had seemed to accept and respect you. You’d always felt welcome amongst them. When they had suggested you stay on with them as they worked with Cid you had initially refused, not wanting to put them in any more danger than they were already in. Even if you had mostly shut yourself off from the force to better hide yourself you still didn’t want to take the chance of being detected. But Cid being Cid hadn’t really given you the option, if you wanted to get the credits you needed to disappear into the galaxy you were going to owe her, and running jobs with the Batch became the only way to do so. 

You sighed as you slid further down in the seat if only your master could see you now. Jedi Knight turned mercenary. Your eyes began to sting as you thought of your lost master. Master Antar Wei had been so very kind, wise, and caring. He’d been a true keeper of the peace, a gentle soul with the strength of a warrior. He had taught you so very much, without his teachings you would not have been the person you are today. He had been as close to a father as you had ever had and his loss was nearly unbearable. Tech had been able to get access to some of the Empire’s files and when Master Wei’s name hadn’t appeared on any of the wanted lists you knew he had likely succumbed to the same fate that nearly all of the Jedi had. 

You startled slightly as the door to the cockpit opened, so lost in your own thoughts you hadn’t heard the approaching footsteps. You swivelled the chair around to turn and look at Hunter as he entered, trying your best to school your features into an expression that would best hide your inner turmoil.

From the look on Hunter’s face, you hadn’t done the best job. His warm brown eyes were filled with concern, the lines of his face taught as he hovered hesitantly just inside the doorway. He shifted from one foot to the other as his eyes briefly swept the cockpit, as though searching for signs of danger, before they settled back on you.  

“Are you… alright?” He asked stiffly, as though he found it uncomfortable to ask you such a thing. His long hair was ruffled, likely from his sleep, making him even more ruggedly handsome than usual. You felt momentarily guilty for disturbing him before you noticed the air of tension that usually surrounded him when he had one of his migraines was no longer present. Only the same unease that had been clinging to him for the past few weeks was there.

Of all the members of The Batch, you had always gotten along best with the Sergeant. You admired his intelligence, his straightforward manner, the sly sense of humour that he let escape every once and a while, and the way he was fully devoted to his brothers. He was one of the most honourable men you had ever met and watching him go from stoic soldier to caring older brother to Omega had been a joy to witness. 

Truthfully you had been wrestling with feelings for the gruff clone that were decidedly not Jedi-like since the very first mission you had been on together. There had always just been something about him that had drawn you to him. His signature always seemed brighter to you in the force, and like a moth to a flame, you had struggled to maintain your professionalism around him. Attachment was forbidden after all and some days when you looked at the ridiculously handsome man you knew your feelings were treading into dangerous territory. That had been before though, you reminded yourself, the Jedi were gone and with it, you supposed the rules you had once lived by were as well. 

At one point you had been certain that your feelings were not just one-sided, Hunter kept his emotions very closely in check, but there had been looks, touches, conversations, and jokes just between the two of you that had set your heart pounding. But that also had been before. It seemed that whatever had been there was now long gone. In the last few weeks, all you had been able to sense from him was tension. He had done almost a complete 180. He no longer talked to you directly unless absolutely necessary, whenever you entered a room he left as soon as he was able to, even on The Marauder he always retreated to the space furthest away from you. A part of you wondered if you were just overreacting but the other knew that you weren’t, something had changed in him and you had no idea what had caused it. Hunter’s cooling towards you had just been another knife in your already fragile heart. You had lost so much and watching him slip away too, even though he’d never been yours in the first place, had only added to your pain. 

You realized suddenly that you had been quiet for longer than what was considered polite you finally spoke, shaking yourself fully from your melancholy thoughts, “I'm fine,” Your voice was soft as you nodded at him. You did your best to plaster a gentle smile on your face in an effort to ease his obvious discomfort.

“Your heart rate was elevated,” Hunter said, answering the question that had been at the forefront of your mind. Though you thought with amusement that you should have known, Hunter’s heightened senses meant there was very little on The Marauder that could be kept secret, “I thought something had happened…” 

“No,” You replied with a soft sigh, shaking your head sadly as you continued, “I just got a bit lost in my thoughts. I'm ok.”  

His warm brown eyes were still intense but some of the worry had drained out of them as he looked at you for another long moment, “Are you…sure?” He asked hesitantly, looking somewhat like he’d rather be anywhere else. 

“I’m sure, thank you, Hunter,” You replied with another nod, hoping to reassure him even though internally your heart was aching at the distance between the two of you. 

“Ok, I’ll uh - leave you to it then…” While Omega’s presence had forced him to get better at dealing with emotions he still had the tendency to avoid emotional confrontations like a plague. But this complete avoidance was new, in the past you might not have talked about it but he had still always seemed to know when you were feeling down or conflicted. You’d spent many hours and missions together sitting side by side, usually, no words were needed as you had always just found comfort in his solid and warm presence, sometimes he would distract you with stories about missions the squad had been on, but often it was just his silent company that he offered. Those moments together had always been your favourite. You still didn’t know where things between the two of you had gone so wrong. 

You watched as he went to turn around and suddenly you found yourself moving from your seat.  Silently and quickly you closed the gap between the two of you, your hand reaching out to grasp his wrist, pulling him to a stop before you could really even consider what you were doing. You were so tired of everything but especially this unspoken conflict the two of you seemed to be in, “Hunter, wait…” 

He turned to look at you with wide eyes before his gaze darted between your face and where your hand was on his wrist. You let go of him, trying your best to ignore the way your palm was tingling from touching him. He’d always had that effect on you but whereas it had been comforting before it now only brought a sense of sadness, a sense of loss.  

“I’m sorry if I’ve done something wrong, or something to upset you in any way…” You said softly, the words suddenly flowing out of you without really thinking. Your heart was beating painfully in your chest and your stomach rolled with anxiety. You couldn’t bring yourself to meet his gaze as you continued to speak, too afraid of what you might find in the depths of his eyes if you did, “It was not my intention and if there is anything I can do to fix it I will. Or if my presence isn’t wanted here I understand. I know I’m putting you all in danger by simply existing.”

Finally, you looked back up at him just in time to see Hunter’s expression morph into one of confusion and shock, “What? What do you mean? You haven’t done anything wrong. Why would you think that?” He shook his head, “And no, that’s not - you’re part of this squad and we don’t abandon our own.”

“Then what is it?” You asked, suddenly nervous about confronting him. You’d faced down thousands of droids, beasts, criminals, and other adversaries in your life but staring in the face of your friend as you prepared yourself for rejection was almost more terrifying than going into battle, “You can’t seem to stand being in the same room as me. You always seem to leave as quickly as you can, you only talk to me when absolutely necessary, and even then it’s usually through someone else rather than directly. So, I felt the only reasonable conclusion was that I’ve done something wrong, that I’ve upset you in some way. But I can’t change if you don’t talk to me about it.”

Hunter seemed shell-shocked as he stood in front of you, his mouth opened and closed a few times. You could feel the rush of emotions from him without even really trying, but it was so jumbled you couldn’t make sense of any of them. Even in the dim light of the cockpit, you could see his face flushing, which was something entirely new. You had never seen Hunter this nervous before. He was quiet for so long that you were beginning to think he wasn’t going to answer. 

“I don’t - I’m not angry at you. I’ve never been more relieved than that day you showed up at Cid’s. I - I thought you had died but then you came back to us, to m-, and you’re a part of this squad. You haven’t done anything wrong…” Hunter finally spoke, his voice deep and rumbling in his chest, “I’m not upset…” 

The way he trailed off left you with more questions than answers, so you simply stayed quiet, hoping he would continue. 

He took a breath, as though he was steadying himself prior to battle, “You’re…You’re not the problem,” he said finally, “I am.”

You waited another long moment for him to elaborate, but when it seemed like that was all the explanation he was going to give you took a few steps towards him, closing the gap between you.

“What do you mean?” You asked. He seemed to tense at your proximity and at this distance, you could see the way his pupils dilated, the way his nostrils flared momentarily, the slightest flush of red on his cheeks. Your own heart was suddenly pounding in your chest at the intensity of his gaze.  

“I just…I…” He started then stopped, redness was beginning to creep its way up his neck and you were surprised to hear he sounded… embarrassed.

“I can…” He tried again, his voice suddenly lower and rougher than you had ever heard it before, “I just feel you more than anyone else. I always have.” 

Suddenly everything seemed to click into place, the feeling that had always been there between the two of you, the looks, the touches, the soft way he had always spoken to you, his sudden running away, the emotions he tried so hard to dampen around you. You couldn’t believe you hadn’t figured it out before, that his sudden avoidance was not a rejection of you. It was fear.   

You took another step closer, watching his face closely as you grasped his wrist gently once more. His eyes widened at your touch and his entire body seemed to stiffen but he didn’t pull away from you. 

“What do you feel Hunter?” You asked softly, your voice steady despite the fact that you were thrumming with nervous energy. You couldn’t stop the question from flowing out of you. Maybe it was wrong to ask, maybe it went against everything you had been taught, but you found that in that moment, as you stared up at him you didn’t care anymore. 

He let out a shuttering sigh before his head dipped just slightly to meet your gaze. His eyes were molten and so intense that you felt as if suddenly every nerve ending in your body were alight. You had kept your connection to the force limited in the past few months but you let your hold on it loosen in that moment, letting it surround the two of you. You listened to it sing, just as it had done every time the two of you had been together in the past. 

“Everything. I can hear your voice in a crowd of a hundred, I can smell you even when you’re not around, and I can feel your heartbeat in a different room. When you’re near me I can’t take my eyes off of you and even when you’re gone I can’t stop thinking about you,” Hunter’s voice was a husky whisper, “It-it’s not appropriate but I can’t seem to control myself. So it’s just better if I leave you alone.” 

You were quiet for a long moment, considering before you spoke softly again, “Better for who?” 

His eyes widened, as though he couldn’t quite believe what you had just asked. Before you could have enough time to second guess yourself you reached out gently to place your hand over his heart. Even without your own heightened senses, you would have been able to feel the way it was pounding in his chest. You had never been so close to him before in such a way and the sensation was thrilling. It was as if the air itself between the two of you was humming with energy. 

The brown of his irises had been almost completely engulfed by the black of his pupils as you looked back up at him, “I feel you too Hunter. I have from the moment we first met. The force feels different around you too, like you’re calling to me.” 

You closed your eyes as his hand reached up to cup your jaw ever so tentatively as if he were afraid that his touch would shatter you. Your skin thrummed under his touch and you pressed further into his hand, revelling in the sensation of finally being so close to him. For so long you had been so worried that his feelings for you had shifted. To have the truth finally out in the open felt as though the weight of the galaxy had suddenly lifted off of your shoulders. 

“But you’re a Jedi,” Hunter said softly, hesitantly, causing your eyes to pop open once more, “It’s not allowed.” 

“Attachment,” You replied as a wave of sadness washed through you. The words the Masters had once preached echoed through your head, “You’re right, it is forbidden. Or it was. I’ve spent so many days and nights thinking about the Jedi Order, about all that has been lost. And I still don’t know the answers to the questions I have, I don’t know that I ever will. But I can’t help but think that our ways only led to our downfall. Perhaps if we had done things differently if we hadn’t been so blinded by our own morality…” 

“I suppose we’ll never know. But the one thing I do know is that I want whatever this is between us. I’m not sure how something that feels so right, something that seems to be part of the force itself, can be considered wrong. I don’t know how many days are left to me, I am no longer a Jedi but I will live the rest of my life in danger. I do not wish to live the way I was before. I want you Hunter, I have since the moment I met you.” 

As you had spoken Hunter’s head had slowly lowered down towards yours until you were nearly touching. At your final words, his forehead had pressed against your own. His gaze was still intense as ever so slowly the hand on your jaw tipped your face up towards his own. His voice was so low when he spoke again that you felt it more than heard it, “I’m yours.” 

His words were all the encouragement you needed to close the final gap between the two of you, capturing his lips with your own in a desperate kiss. He was warm and wonderful and everything you had ever dreamed of. The hand you still had resting over his heart curled in the fabric of his blacks, pulling yourself closer to him as he deepened the kiss. His free hand came up to press against the small of your back, the heat of it searing into your skin as you gently nipped at his lower lip. You’d had dalliances with others before, that hadn’t been forbidden , but you had never experienced anything quite like this. The force seemed to come alive as the two of you melted into one another, thrumming in the air around you. Everything else seemed to fade away into nothing , there was only Hunter. 

A soft moan escaped him as you pressed further up into him, the sound rumbling in his chest and sending a shiver down your spine. You lifted your free hand to the back of his neck, fingers threading through his surprisingly soft hair. You’d always wondered what it would have been like to run your fingers through it and reality was proving to be better than expectation. He seemed to shiver at your touch, the hand at the small of your back flexing just slightly as he pulled your hips flush against his own. You could still feel his heart racing beneath where your other hand was still fisted in his shirt as his tongue pressed against your lower lip. You parted your lips, giving him access and gasping at the new sensation as his tongue explored your mouth. It was dizzying finally being so close to him, to be this connected. 

After what could have been simply minutes or hours Hunter pulled away from you, his chest heaving as he caught his breath. Your own pulse was still racing as he tipped his forehead back down to rest against your own. His eyes were closed as he pressed further into you, nose just brushing against your own as he held you close. 

You were both silent for a long time, simply basking in the warmth and feeling of being in each other's arms. But finally, Hunter spoke, his voice low and rough, “I’m sorry that I’ve been avoiding you, that I made you feel as though you’d done something wrong,” 

Your eyes opened, gazing up into his face that was suddenly filled with sorrow. You let the hand at the back of his neck slowly move until it cupped his jaw, mimicking his own hold on you, “It’s ok Hunter, everything has been so complicated lately. And I understand how conflicted you must have felt, I’ve felt that way too.” 

Hunter let out a soft sigh and with it you felt all of the tension he had been holding dissipate, his muscles relaxing beneath your hand as he seemed to melt further into you. He closed his eyes as his thumb gently stroked along your jawline, the sensation of it was electric and you wanted nothing more than just stay there and bask in his presence forever. 

His breath was warm against your face as each inhale brought you closer together. He tipped his head just slightly, his lips gently brushing against your own in the barest hint of a kiss, once, twice, before you pressed deeper into him. You shivered as your lips melted into his, tongue sliding over his full bottom lip before giving it the gentlest nip that made his chest rumble with another groan. 

The two of you came slowly together and apart, gasps and gentle moans escaping you both and you discovered this new part of one another. Your heart was racing in your chest, your skin tingling with each soft touch of his lips to your own, your skin flaming beneath his hands. The feeling is intoxicating and you have just enough wherewithal to briefly wonder if this is exactly why attachment was forbidden, because truthfully now that you have him you never wish to let him go. 

Eventually, you do pull away, instantly missing the contact but forcing yourself to look up at him as he moves both arms to wrap around your waist. You take a moment to simply look at him as your breath begins to even out once more, eyes tracing the lines of his face, the dark shadow of his tattoo. You’ve always appreciated how handsome he was but being so close is something special. You get lost in him for a moment as you notice the flecks of green in his warm brown eyes, the freckles across the bridge of his nose that are so faint they barely stand out against his deeply tanned skin, the dimple that appears only on the left side of his face as his mouth lifts into a soft smile as he gazes right back at you. 

You blink once, twice, trying to clear your mind of the distraction that he is and focus on the thought that had originally pulled you away from him. 

“How is your headache?” You asked gently, a small wave of guilt for having woken him in the first place rushing through you. It had been the reason he had stayed behind after all, and it wasn’t very often he had the chance to get any extra rest with the lifestyle you all led. 

His mouth curled into a smile and he let out a small huff of laughter, his hair flopping over the top of his bandana as he shook his head, “It’s fine. Forgotten actually,” He replied as he moved his hand to cradle your face once more, his touch feather-light. 

“Good,” You answered before you turned your head just slightly to press a soft kiss to the palm of his hand, “But you should still get some rest. It’s not easy to come by these days.” 

He hummed thoughtfully, his gaze still intense as he moved his hand away from your face, both trailing down slowly until he had your hands grasped in his own, “Only if you join me though.”

You felt your face flush at his suggestion, you wanted to, desperately, but another worry suddenly entered your head at the idea, “The others might be back soon, though…” This was still new and while part of you didn’t care if his brothers and sister saw the two of you together the other part wanted to keep this budding thing between you secret for just a little bit longer, if only for his sake as you knew how intensely private Hunter was. 

Hunter’s mouth ticked up into a smirk again, his brown eyes dancing with amusement as he answered, “Tech has been calculating the odds of us getting together since our very first mission and Omega has some Mantell mix riding on it.” 

You couldn’t stop the soft laugh that burst out of you at that, a bright smile overtaking your face, “Well, we wouldn’t want to let them down, now would we?” 

His eyes were warm and there was the barest hint of a smile on his face before he lifted your hand closer to his mouth, pressing a soft and quick kiss to your palm. Your smile brightened at his replication of your earlier gesture, the skin beneath his lips tingling from the contact. 

You let him lead you back towards the bunks, your pulse racing beneath your skin as he climbed up into the middle first before holding a hand back out to you to steady you as you found your own footing. It was a tight squeeze, but after some mild shifting you finally settled, your head resting against his chest as he laid on his back, his arms coming up to wrap around you and hold you closer to him as you let your leg rest over top of his own. Being so close to him every feeling you had ever sensed from him was amplified and it was easy to just get lost in the sensation of him as you listened to the steady sound of his heartbeat. Neither of you said a word, for there really weren’t any words to be said. Nothing had ever felt so right before and there was no way you were ever going to let that go, ever let him go again. 

It didn’t take long for your eyes to slip shut or for his own breathing to even out, his grip on you never lessening though even as he slept. The trauma of the past few years still haunted you as you lay with him but the thoughts were easier to push away as you focused on the force and the way it moved around the two of you, calming, gentle, right. You knew that nothing could ever truly repair the damage left by your losses but for the first time in a very long time, there was a glimmer of hope brewing in your chest. With Hunter, there was a chance at a future, something you hadn’t been able to even consider since Order-66 had been issued. 

You weren’t sure what that future would hold, for any of you, but right now, wrapped up gently in Hunter’s arms you felt safer than you ever had and there was nowhere else in the galaxy you would rather be. 

[oceansssblue]

100 CELEBRATION — PROMPT 15. ARRANGED MARRIAGE / FAKE DATING

CROSSHAIR/F READER 💖

WARNINGS: past friendship breakup, fluff fluff fluff.

Note: I originally had a different idea planed for Crosshair with this prompt (a proper arranged marriage oneshot), but it was becoming extremely long so I decided to park that one out for the future and came up with this little idea instead. I hope you like it! We ony have two more prompts left (servant!rex & demon!echo); for which I've planned a longer story, so I might just acept requests to give you all a little something while I write that. I'll let you know when I decide that. Xx, Blue.

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As soon as the words come out of your mouth, you know it's a big, ugly mistake. The eyes of your ex-best friend and sister widens; the surprise and incredulity so raw and visible in their expresions it hurts. Yes, your luck in love has been sparse; but it shouldn't be that much of a shock to hear things are working out for you for once.

"What? Since when?"

At least your sister is on the good side of surprised. On the confused but genuine one. The girl you used to consider like a second sister, however, –Mara–, almost sneers at the –admitedly, very false– news.

"More importantly" she waves of your sisters questions impertinently and asks "With who?"

You blurt out the first name that comes to your mind.

"Crosshair".

That's the second, big, ugly mistake. You don't even know if you could consider him a friend. He's no stranger –you've seen each other fair enough in both the market and Cid's Salon–; but words are few and far between the two of you. You know more about him by his brother's and Omega's stories than by the man himself. He's incredibly reserved.

Ana seems to recognise the name.

"Isn't he one of Wrecker's brothers?"

You nod in silence under Mara's watchful eyes. Your sister Ana has a stand of sweets in the market; Wrecker is a regular there.

The Batch is a curious bunch. They're hard to forget.

"Well" Mara all but looks you up and down and you have to clench your teeth to not hiss a few ill-intended words at her. "I'm glad you're having fun even if it's with a worthless fling".

"Mara..." Ana intervenes, calling her out with a frown on her face.

Your sister is the sweet, quiet type of girl; but she's protective as well. She's probably suspicious of this, of not having heard of it from you before; but she'll stay quiet for your sake until she has the oportunity to interrogate you in private. She knows you and Mara have history.

Mara shrugs and grins; and your smile is just as fake. She has developed an uncanny ability to make your blood boil.

"I wouldn't call an engamement that" you casually reply, if only just to shut her mouth and swipe her smile off of her face.

Mara's satisfied expression drastically shiftes. Oh, it tastes so sweet... It almost makes you forget that everything you've said is a sequence of lies. Almost.

"Look at you... It's been ages since you had something remotely serious" Mara comments in an humiliating chirp. "He must be special. Why don't you bring him along next friday? We're having a small get together at home with a few old friends. I'd love to meet him".

Panick fires up in your veins; and some must be reflected on your face, because Mara smiles wide like a lothcat.

Anger burns through you; once again remembering all the pain this woman has put you through.

You arrange a small, relaxed expresion for her.

"I'll try to convince him" you accept, swallowing down all the anxiousness and doubts. "I guess you'll send me the details?"

At first, Mara looks surprised; but she quickly falls back to her irritatingly sweet condescendance, smiling politely.

"Of course. I still have your com number. I'll let you know".

Mara nods at your sister; then bristly turns around without bothering on sending a goodbye to you as well.

You watch her retreating form with a mix of relief and wariness. Ana bumps her shoulder with yours.

"Hey" she calls you, quietly worried. "You okay?"

You sigh, tension melting away from your shoulders momentarily.

"Yeah" you glance back at her. "I just have to find the way to convince Crosshair to act as my soon-to-be husband. Should be easy, right?"

Ana chuckles at your sarcasm, inmediately catching up on your lie.

"You digged that hole down yourself" she reminds you, good-heartedly. "It would have been easier if you've thought of Wrecker or Hunter. Or even Tech".

You sigh tiredly. Crosshair agreeing to act as if he were in love with you?

"Yeah, right".

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"Cross!" Wrecker's voice echoes in the cockpit of the Marauder. "Gun-girl is here to see you!"

You try not to wince at the volume –nor the pet name–; waiting patiently and praying the man won't interpret the visit as an invasion of his privacy. This ship is their home, after all. And like you pointed out before, he's very private.

Slow, carefull footsetps anounce his presence. Seconds later, a fully armoured Crosshair –minus the helmet– is staring at you with a mix of calculated wariness and confusion. He's probably wondering what the hell are you doing here.

"Hello, Crosshair" you greet him nervously. "Can I talk to you for a bit?"

He continues to stare at you in that way of his you find both nerve-wracking and intriguing; then glances at his smiling brother, and gestures you to come in.

You take a deep, centering breath and step up on the ramp of the Marauder, firmly walking towards the cockpit. You've been inside the ship only once before; when you delivered some supplies for the guys' weapon stock. Crosshair follows you; Wrecker stays outside. The Marauder is otherwise empty; which means that at least only a maximum of two persons will hear how stupid you are.

"So?" Crosshair asks, sprawling down on the pilot chair and prompting you to take the other one.

You bite your lip anxiously before you start.

"So... I need your help" he arches an eyebrow –how can that look so elegant?– and you start to explain yourself. "I... May have told someone I despise I was engaged to you, and she might have invited us to her house next Friday. I was wondering if you'd... agree to play the part?"

It sounds even more ridiculous out loud; as if you were pulling a silly prank. Crosshair's neutral reaction doesn't help either. Far from showing surprise or irritation, he stays painfully normal.

He tilts his head; long fingers taking a toothpick of his pack and placing it between his lips. A sort of endearing habit of his.

"Sounds like unnecesary trouble for me" he points out, not necessarily cold but brutally honest.

You search your brain for an answer that could please him. Perhaps if you give him something in return for this favor...

"I have a new sniper scope model arriving soon. I'll let you try it out first. I'll give you a discount too".

The offer seems to catch his attention; for he hums thoughtfully while never taking his eyes off of you.

"And who is this person you despise?" He asks –dare you say– curiously.

Your answer is acompanied by a long tired sigh.

"An old friend. She tried to humiliate me pointing out my lack of love life and I... Had to swipe her smile off of her face".

You're ashamed of admiting it to him. He always looks so controlled... You know this whole thing is inmature and futile. You don't want him to see you like a kid.

"What happened between the two of you?"

You're surprised by the ammount of personal questions Crosshair is asking. You would have thought he would have inmediately shut down your idea; or perhaps agreed but without wanting to get into the emotions and story behind it. Perhaps you don't know him as well as you thought.

"She gave me some very good memories back when we were younger" you admit. "But I then realized she's the kind of person who wants to see you doing good; but never better than herself. She tried to sabotage me when that ocasionally happened. Stole a boyfriend, a job, or two".

You hadn't intended to go that deep; but you mean every single word, and your vulnerability is exposed to Crosshair for the first time ever. For all he's a private person, you are too. You'd hate for others to consider you weak.

Crosshair observes you for what feels like an eternity, taking the information in. You force yourself not to hide from his perceptive eyes.

"Mm" he finally hums, thoughtful. "There's something I still don't understand. Why was I the first name that came to your mind?"

You blink back at him, stunned, cheeks blushing upon the implication of the question. You hadn't really thought about it either. You had somehow always paid more attention to Crosshair than the rest of your clients; but you had never realised it might mean you were simply into him. Are you?

"Well" you take a bit too long to answer, trying to sound casual and firm. "You are, as far as I know, single, and no-one really knows you in Ord Mantell. It seemed the most logical option".

Crosshair looks skeptical, but he lets you get away with it.

"Right..." he drawls, searching for something in your still warm face. Then, to your surprise, he smirks and says "I'll check your stand for that new scope on thursday. You can update me on our love story then".

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

At first you were dissapointed, then irritated, and now worried. Crosshair had agreed to meet you outside of Mara's house at eight; but no matter how long you waited for him, he hadn't appeared. You had had no other option than to knock on Mara's door on your own; and her grin upon seing you arriving alone had been another level of irritating. You had set up an excuse for him, trying not to make your hurt visible. After a few minutes of interiorising it, you had grown angry; Crosshair could have just refused to help you instead of backing off at last minute without a warning. Halfway through the dinner, though, you had received a message on your coms; and all those negative emotions had switched to genuine worry.

An hour later, in the quietness of the kitchen, you carefully read the text again.

"Mission off-world, things got out of hand. Just arrived. I'll be there shortly –Crosshair."

You're aware that the Batch often work as bounty hunters for Cid; and how the boys sometimes help with small missions for the Rebellion. You've never asked into it –you understand how dangerous the fact that you know they're on the run from the Empire and helping the Rebellion already is–; but you know it's usually dangerous, specially the second sort. You wonder just how out of hand things got. Did someone got hurt? Did he?

You're a nervous wreck throughout the rest of the night; and Mara and his friends –pretty polite and nice for a bitch like her, you have to say– can't help but notice and finally question it.

"Sweetheart, is everything okay?" One of the girls ask, genuine concern on her eyes.

You force a small smile on your face.

"Yeah. Just... Crosshair commed me telling me he had some trouble on his way back to Ord Mantell, so I'm just a bit worried" you tell them, all but Mara's face showing various degrees of sincere understanding. "I'll be fine once he gets here".

"If he manages to arrive at all, that is" Mara halfway sneers, then plasters a big smile on her caked face. "Shall we move outside for a drink?"

Your mind is so focused on Crosshair that you don't even feel the need to assesinate her this time.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

When you're well onto your third glass of wine, you feel a hand carefully grazing the skin of your spine. Lips brush across the crown of your hair; the combination bringing pleasant goosebumps to your body. Far from tensing at the unexpected contact, you melt upon hearing his voice.

"Hello, darling" his low tone is a sin. Then, he turns to look at the rest. "Forgive me for arriving this late".

You hear a chorus of acceptance from Mara's friends; but you turn towards him and your attention is solely fixed on Crosshair. You frown at the scratches on one side of his face; an angry red against his skin. Your fingers involuntarily travel upwards to his cheek, carefully tracing the contour of them.

"You're hurt" you whisper, ignorant to how Mara is quietly observing the interaction between the two of you.

Crosshair hums and takes your hand in his, squeezing softly while he takes a seat besides you at the table. He doesn't let you go; and you don't make the effort either.

"I'm okay" he assures you, voice calm. "Did I miss something interesting?"

To your luck –because you're suddenly enthraced by him, by the way the moonlight makes his grey hair look almost white and his dark brown eyes lighten up– someone answers for you.

"Just a lot of embarassing stories about our youth" there's a general laugh, and Crosshair conjures a tiny tiny smile.

Your heart swoons upon noticing it.

His gaze turns back to you. You're painfully aware of how he's still craddling your hand in his; of how gentle he is.

It's a whole new side of him you didn't even know it existed. You feel honoured to experience it.

"You'll have to tell me yours later" he tells you, and you force yourself to come back to the present with a chuckle.

"No thanks. I'd like to remain engaged tomorrow morning" you joke, and everyone laughs.

Even Mara seems reluctantly enchanted with Crosshair at the end of the night.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"Well, that went surprisingly well" you comment once you've parked your speedcar next to the Marauder, having offered Crosshair a drive back. "You're a great actor, by the way".

Crosshair shrugs, body now turned towards you while you both remain sitting in the privacy of your car.

"It's not like it was a difficult task" he answers, eyes flickering over your face before slowly adding. "You know what I thought we'd had to do, and we haven't yet done?"

He gives you a few seconds to process his words, his intentions; before one of his hands slowly take hold on your chin and tugs you forwards to join your lips together in a surprisingly soft, unhurried kiss. Warmth bursts inside of you, heart speeding inside of your chest; surrendering to the kiss with a pleased sigh. When you part from each other, you see an unusual vulnerability in Crosshair's face.

"Well, it would have been impossible not to sell it, with a kiss like that" you try to rest tension to the scene.

Crosshair's following words shake up your world; make you look at things with a different perspective.

"It's easy to sell something when not all of it is built upon lies".

The meaning behind it swirls in your mind. He's admiting there's something between the two of you besides the mess you've put both of you through. His half-conceiled confession leaves you too shocked to react; and you can only stare at him while he gets out of your car.

"Night, gun-girl" he smirks through your window, and then casually walks away towards the Marauder.

Perhaps you'll see him tomorrow in the market, and perhaps you'll go on an actual first date with your fake soon-to-be husband.

You drive back home with thoughts of Crosshair swimming in your head. You're sure you'll dream of that kiss tonight as well.

THE END.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

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[bullet-prooflove]

What's In A Name: Endeavour Morse x Reader (NSFW)

Tagging: @kmc1989 @caffeinatedwoman @lieutenantcrosby @to-grow-in-and-to-love @gwyn73

Companion piece to:

Next Time - Morse doesn't expect to meet his soulmate on the lawn at Oxford.

La Petit Mort - Morse and you share your first kiss in the rain.

California Dreaming - Morse turns up at your classroom to discuss the night you spent together.

The Detective & The Professor - You and Morse turn heads at a university event.

Morse won’t tell you his real name. It becomes a game between the two of you, you trying to guess and him rewarding each wrong answer with a little nip on the underside of your throat, in that special place that makes your hips arch and your breath hitch.

“Everett, Emmanuel, Egerton…” You guess as his mouth moves lower and he smiles against your flushed skin as you tip your head back and moan, losing track of your list.

He manages to keep it up for a month until you decide you’ve had enough. Things are starting to change, become more serious, at least they are for you. For him, you really can’t tell.

“I’m not crying out Morse when I’m fucking you.” You inform him, your fingers entwined with his as you pin his hands to the mattress. He whines, his breathing stilted, an apricot blush chasing across his cheeks. “If you want to come you have to be a good boy and tell me what it is.”

You tighten around him, gripping him so hard that he can taste nirvana on his tongue as he hangs there at the pinnacle of release.

“Endeavour.” He bites out through ground teeth. “It’s Endeavour! Please I just need…”

You start to move then, fast, hard and Morse, he loses his bloody mind, bellowing out your name so loudly that the neighbours in the flat next door start banging on the wall because they can’t hear the TV over the sound of your love making.

“My mother chose it.” He tells you in the aftermath, his lips brushing over your forehead. “She was a Quaker and she believed she saw that in me, she thought I was going to achieve something…”

He trails off because he’s never lived up to his name. He flunked out of Oxford before taking his exams, he left the Signal Corps before being promoted, his only achievement is his foray into CID and even that’s on thin ice.

“The Oxford lads used to call me Pagan because I told them I didn’t have a Christian name. Endeavour doesn’t have good connotations for me, it makes me feel…” He searches for the words as he stares up at the ceiling. “... Inadequate.”

“Well...” You drawl shifting between his legs so that you can prop your chin up on his chest. The weight of your body comes to rests against his, something he finds both intimate and reassuring. “We both know you are the furthest thing from inadequate on this God given earth so why don’t we come up with a compromise, something just between the two of us.”

“So you’re still adverse to calling me Morse in bed.” He sighs, tucking an arrant strand of hair back behind your ear. “I don’t see what the issue is. Everyone else has.”

And that he realises is exactly the problem. You aren’t everybody else. The relationship between the two of you, it’s not like anything he’s experienced. It’s playful, it’s fun and above everything else it’s tender. When you look into his eyes, he sees how much you care about him, he feels it in the depths of his soul.

“Look.” You say, your lips brushing over the Orion’s belt of freckles just underneath his collarbone. “If you want an impersonal rough fucking, I’ll use Morse. If you want to make love it needs to be more…”

This, he thinks, this is your line in the sand. The division between the physical and emotional. If he wants something with longevity he has to give you a little something in return, a part of himself that no one else has . He understands in that moment that you’re starting to fall in love with him, that his answer now is the difference between spending the night with you or watching you walk out the door when you’ve finished with him.

“Alright.” He murmurs, this thumb ghosting over the apple of your cheek. “A compromise, when we’re together I’m not Morse, I’m…” He fumbles, seeking out the right term of endearment. Everything feels too used, too cloying. When he’s with you, he wants to belong to you and usually that comes with a name.

“How about Ed?” You say finally and the edges of his mouth tip up into a smile as he imagines you riding his cock, head thrown back in the heat of passion, the word tearing from your throat.

“Ed.” He echoes as he leans forward, his mouth ghosting over yours once more. “Let’s go with Ed.”

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Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[talesfrommedinastation]

My redneck neighbor Doug's interpretations on various 'Bad Batch' characters: Side Character Edition!

I'm chuffed that everyone thinks my neighbor Doug is funny: he really is a gem. I had no idea we'd bond over Star Wars and crappy weather, but here we are.

Naturally, I had to bother him about other characters that showed up on The Bad Batch, so, here we go!

Phee Genoa: Ah-ha, that there’s Church Lady. You know her, she’s got a big square in her pocketbook and you don’t know if it’s pound cake or a brick, because the Lord saves but He can’t help you in the alley when you’re in Treme and the streetlights just turned on. She has two ex-husbands who are both preachers and they turned to Jesus because they are so scared of Church Lady in court. 

(So I guess he’s saying Phee has raw WHO DAT energy, for my Saints fans out there)

Cid: Looking at this fat lizard bitch makes me hungry. I call that one Houma-BBQ because I’m guessing we could feed a whole parish fire station based on the size of her tail. I wish she’d shut up, she reminds me of my mother-in-law. 

Cad Bane: Homeboy looks like a Sesame Street character who teaches Big Bird about concealed carry laws. I call him Gun Safety Muppet. I don’t like him because he shot my Wife and I’s Boyfriend on the other show and his robot needs to be tossed into a wood chipper. 

(“I’m not gay, but Jenny and I…well, we would make an exception to that man. You ever see ‘Deadwood’? Man is fine. I’m not GAY.”)

Fennec Shand: That’s The Chick that’s in Everything. She was on ER and Boba Fett and I think a Marvel show too? I like her. Hope she kills Gun Safety Muppet and hurls his blue ass into a dumpster. 

Howzer: That’s my niece’s boyfriend, Jorge. We all love Jorge, nice guy, owns an auto repair shop and always remembers plates and napkins for the cookouts after church.

Gregor: Jorge’s cousin, Manny. Met him once at Christmas in Miami, nice guy, only drinks brown liquor and insists everyone arm wrestle him. But he’s got a good job as a PE teacher, we respect education, come on now. 

The Martez Sisters: Aw, man, it’s Jorge’s Unemployed Sisters. I hate it when they show up for Christmas and get into fights with my momma. 

(“Doug, you know they’re not related to the clones at all, right?” “Says who?” “The PLOT?” “Eh, they’ll change it, just watch.”)

Mayday: Aw, I liked this guy so much! That’s Sassy Park Ranger, he’s the type that gives you your camping permits, warns you about the bears, and then is all disappointed when you don’t properly stow your food and the bears destroy the campsite. I need to go back to Little River Canyon, that place was pretty. 

Lt. Nolan: THAT STUPID BLOND JACKASS. (Doug was so enraged by the guy he had nothing else to add. Damn.)

Senator Chuchi: Why does this lady make me want a blue slushie? I’ll call her the Sonic Special. They need more Sonics here in the north, they really do. 

Cody: That’s Obi-Wan’s Boyfriend, he’s sad all the time. We know why. (Confirmed that Doug is a Codywan shipper and I don’t know what to do about that)

Royce Hemlock: Is that Jimmy Neutron after he grew up and became one of those guys that’s on the internet all the time writing creepy things? It’s Jimmy-the-Scientist. He looks like the type of person dogs get weird around.

Rex: That's Rex. He's a king. Respect him.

[moonmoon-ren]

REUNION

Part 5: an End and a Beginning

*yawwwnnnn* uhhww good morning Sequoia.

Good morning Ren. How do you feel ?

I feel alright, apart from a slight headache. Damn those two .... eheheh. Where are they anyway ?

Oh they were up early already and wanted to go outside for some running and training. A good thing they do that, otherwise they get too excited during the day later.

Ahhh.

You seem still to be absolutely not a morning viera, gahahaha!

Uhhh, not at all. But I guess we have something to discuss ?

Yes.

So what's the plan?

Sequoia sipped from his tea and placed the cup back on the plate.

I want to send Koori and Kaen on a mission. The last one.

Oh? What mission would that be ?

Well, Dorian and Faunus went to Thavnair. Ash and Akane went to Hingashi. Dawn, your mom and sisters are somewhere near the Range still. We all had to leave home bc of the war with the Empire. I want to bring them all back and live here with you in Eorzea. I know i said i want to disband the Treehouse Club. Now, our friendships are forever, but we also should have a proper life for ourselves. Our tribe doesnt exist anymore. The only tribe we have is our friends. I want to see us all together just one more time.

That would be nice, to see my friends again, and my family. But i have one question. How will the twins travel and find them?

They know the way back.

You know Sequoia... those lands are not really near...

I know.

Maybe i can help in some way. There is someone I know who can take the twins with him and make the trip much more efficient.

Oh? How do you mean? Sequoia asked this with great interest and looked at Ren.

During my time here in Eorzea I took part in many travels, and many adventures. Some of those took me to places that are not reachable by foot, nor by any transport overland. In every major Eorzean city there is a special bay for airships.

Airships?

Airships. Vessels that float in the sky, and can travel at greater speed and reach destinations much more faster then any horse or carriage. I know this guy, Cid who has one of those airships and might help me with taking the twins on their journey. If he agrees then their journey will be much more easier and very short.

That actually sounds like a goo-!

Sequoia and Ren's conversation suddenly got interrupted by the door swinging open and loud laughter.

Kaeeeeeennnnnn!

Kooriiii, you are the loser! nah nah naaaaahh!

Oh you two are also awake yet ?

As the twins catched their breath and saw Ren and Sequoia standing there they walked slowly towards them.

What are you two talking aboouutttt ?

Ren was explaining to me a possible route for your mission.

Sequoia stepped closer to Ren and placed his hand on Ren's left side. This made Ren startle a little bit. While it was the touch of Sequoia he wasn't used to this kind of touches. It gave him a very nice feeling however. Like he was warming up. He felt also that his cheeks started to warm up... blushing! The twins noticed this and looked at each other with a surprised and excited expression.

Sequoia motivated Ren to explain the rest of the journey to the twins, and their mission.

Yes Sequoiaaaaaa, all good and well but is this safe and can we trust this Cid ?

If Ren trusts him, the I do.

We also will need to travel a little bit to New Gridania from here. Cid will await us there. Or rather you two, Koori and Kaen.

Wait!? You're not going with us ?

No.

We stay in Eorzea. I want to stay with Ren in this new land for a while.

OOOoooowwwww.

What's that supposed to mean?

Nothing Sequoia, nothing. The twins answered in unison. When do we leave? It's a beautiful morning.

Hm, maybe we should enjoy the advantage of that and travel to the Castrum right away ?

I suggest that you, Ren, and the twins prepare to leave. I clean up the cabin here and make sure there are no visible traces of our presence here.

Mere moments later the group was ready to leave and set out to Castrum Oriens. The walk there was nice. They exchanged some stories about their adventures. But one thing that was very noticeable was the fact that Sequoia could not keep his eyes off Ren and he seemed to walk very close to Ren. This detail did not go unnoticed for the twins.

Noooo ???? Haahahagha!

Yes Sequoia, this is something that really happened.

I want to see these fluffy Moogles for sure. They seem very funny.

We will see it all Sequoia. Followed by a giggle from both Vieras

Pssst, Koori! whispered Kaen.

Kaen ?

Do you see what I see ?

Hmhmhm.

If those two are not madly in love with each other then no one is.

Heh, i wonder how long they will keep dancing around each other before they dare to admit that to one another.

Me too. They have been like that back in the Range too.

The group entered Castrum Oriens, and with that they were about to leave The Fringed behind them.

We need a map first.

There is a big table with maps! That's for meeeee Koorriiii! Kaen bolted away from the group towards the map table.

Kaen!

Koorrrrriiiiiiiii, everyone knows i'm the better navigator here.

EEEHHHH??? EVERYONE knows that you even can't read a map! Come give me that map!

Boys!

Koori, Kaen... calm down please. We don't need a map here. I know the way to Gridania.

Ren tried to explain to the twins that they would make use of Chocobo's to travel through the Black Shroud and reach the city of New Gridania. Soon the four Vieras left this area for good and traveled to New Gridania. Overal their journey was uneventfull as they used the main roads. Kaen and Koori had a few bickerish fights during their trip, as was to be expected from the twins. They also complained a lot about things they were not used to. Sequoia and Ren mostly ignored them and talked about home, adventure, Eorzea, every now and then a little innocent flirt. Occasionally the group stopped to rest or eat or take in the sights. One thing was sure: Ren was so happy and excited with the future prospect of travelling with Sequoia alone.

The four Vieras arrived at the city of New Gridania. After getting a little bit aquainted with the city and the area they made for The Roost where they enjoyed some refreshments and a hearthy dinner. Cid would soon arrive at the airshipbay.

Greetings Ren! shouted someone with a familiar voice,

Hah Cid! How are you doing these days ?

I'm well enough, can't complain. Ironworks keeps me busy, or improving the Enterprise. You know. So what is this cargo you mentioned?

The twins there.

Twins?!

Hello! said Koori and Kaen in unison again.

You never mentioned I had to transport twins, Vieras ... when you said "precious cargo" i expected something more ... material?

Hahaha, well these two are VERY precious to me.

Alright... you seem serious about it. What's the destination?

Sequoia you want to do the honor ?

So ehhh, mister Cid. These are Koori and Kaen. They are very close friends of me and Ren. I tasked them with visiting old friends of us and bringing them here to Eorzea.

Sounds easy enough.

Two destinations are sure: Thavnair and Hingashi. They will provide you with more details soon as you depart. There will be a third destination but I don't know where that is. It depends. I suspect Akane will know more.

I hope the laddies are not afraid of some manual labour ?

Eeeehhh ???

I will need help on the way there, those are not very close-by destinations. And we will need to make some stops for resources and food. But yes, i can take them there and i assume bring them back too ?

Yes please, in ONE piece hahaahah.

Koori an Kaen, for the first time in their life were silent and seemed to have a rather difficult moment.

S... Sequoia ?

R ... Ren ?

Can we get a hug ?

Right, I linkpearl Biggs and Wedge to prepare the Enterprise for departure.

Ofcourse you can get hugs!

Ren ... i'm afraid.

Don't be Kaen. Don't be. I would trust no one else other the Cid with this task. He will get you there safe and you will be back in no time again. And when you do, we have a grand party to celebrate.

Hehehe, I trust you Ren.

Take care of Koori please, be kind to Cid and help when he asks it.

I hope you take care of Sequoia too ... When Kaen said this he couldn't help but give Ren a meaningful smirk and a wink.

What do you mean Kaen ? I always take care of my friends.

Friends ... yeah yeah ... Ren Ren Ren ... are you sure you are just friends ? Koori! come on we need to go!

Sequoiaaa, i will ... *sobs* ... will ... miss you.

Oh Koori come on, its only a few weeks. You'll be back in no time.

Koorriiii!!! come onnnn!

Yesss!

Sequoia, can i just whisper something to you?

Hm ?

The Sun needs the Moon as much as the Moon needs the Sun. Both need each other to shine and have a purpose. I hope that in our absence you do the right thing.

Koori ? what do ...

Byeeeee, take care you two and we meet again soon!

As the twins shared a very meaningful hug with their dear friends Sequoia and Ren, they also tried to push in a sublte way, Ren and Sequoia a bit in a certain direction. The dance was about to end ? Ren and Sequoia waved the twins goodbye, bid them safe travels and returned to the waiting hall.

***

EPILOGUE

What now Sequoia ?

Hm ?

Yes, what now, what will we do ? where will we go ?

Oh! Sequoia let out a giggle.

Ren, you saw Eorzea already. You also told me about your adventures, and how you became the Warrior of Light. It's so cool and fascinating! But -

Sequoiiaaaaaaa, pleaseee. Warrior of Light or not ... please ... i'm just Ren.

Sorry. I know you asked to not-

Its okay. Ren only could smile and think that Sequoia looked so damn attractive when he went all cute on him.

Say, Ren, in your travels, did you found this place where you had the feeling of being somewhere in absolute peace and tranquility, where it feels like you are in a paradise, where you feel like all your sorrows go away, where you feel its just you and nature ?

Ren felt like being engulfed by Ifrits infernal flames.

I ... I ...

You, you ?

Eheheeh! Yes, as a matter in fact i know such a place.

Where is it ?

We need to go to another city for that first.

OH DEAR!

What's the matter?

The next and last airship to Limsa Lominsa is about to leave in a minute!

Limsomonsa ???

Limsa!

What is there ?

Tell you on the way! Come on!

Last one on board is a rotten egg!

And with that Sequoia and Ren set off to Limsa Lominsa where one story found its end and another was about to start.

[p-artsypants]

I Do...I Guess? (13) Home

Ao3 | FF.net

“Hey hey, Boychik. It’s time to be rising and shining!” 

Tidus felt like he was experiencing Deja vu. He could have sworn that was how he was awakened the day before. 

“Yeah lazy bones,” Wakka echoed. “Can’t you hear the wedding bells?” 

Tidus perked up at that, suddenly awake and surprised. “I’m getting married—again!” 

“And some people get divorced in between.” Wakka chuckled. 

Tidus leapt from the bed and put on the rest of his clothes. “You’re just jealous.” 

Wakka rested his hands on his hips. “Honestly, I’m really not. I love Yuna, and I know you two are happy with your decision. But I don’t envy what’s to come for you.” 

As Tidus tied his shoes, he gave Wakka a withering glance. “Let’s not talk about that today, huh?” 

“You got it, bud.” 

Tidus was whisked away to get fitted for some wedding attire. The seamstresses basically just cleaned him up and made him look presentable. They took away his yellow jacket, and removed his gloves and armor. Then they unzipped the longer leg of his overalls to make him look symmetrical. Finally, they undid one of the straps on his uniform and tucked it away, while covering the other side with a white sash that went over the shoulder and around the waist. 

The look was a distinguished acolyte instead of star blitz player. 

“I look ridiculous,” Tidus grouched, adjusting the sash. 

“You looked ridiculous to begin with.” The seamstress sassed back, not knowing he mostly understood her. 

He met up with the rest of the party, sans Yuna, in the event room. Finishing touches were going up. The tables had navy blue tablecloths, and pots with white and light pink flowers. The rest of the room felt very tropical as the corners were filled with all sorts of plants. In short, enough decoration to feel like a party, without using up any supplies. 

“C’mere!” Wakka grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to where the party was waiting, over by the bar. Auron was pouring out shots. 

“Really? It’s ten in the morning.” 

“Special occasion.” 

He made up one for each of them, then held his own out. “Tomorrow, we head for Bevelle. There’s no telling where Yuna’s journey will go from there. But today, we’re going to make it special for her, so that when she gets to Zanarkand, she won’t have any regrets. Let’s make her story a good one.” 

They clinked their glasses together and downed the drinks, though Tidus hesitated. Something about Bevelle made him anxious. He hoped that explaining to Mika would be enough, but he dreaded what would happen. 

Yuna knew what she was getting into becoming a Summoner, and she was prepared in her heart for that ending, even if he wasn’t. 

It wouldn't be fair if she didn’t even get that far. 

Filled with a new determination to see Yuna through to the end, whatever that was, Tidus took the shot and slammed the glass on the counter. “Let’s do this!” 

—-

Now this felt like a wedding. Standing at the front of a collection of Al Bhed, who were all seated in rows of chairs that formed an aisle. Wearing clothes that were at least sort of formal, while the musicians from the woods played soft, romantic music. Wakka and Cid were just behind him, looking cleaned up and presentable. 

The rest of the party sat in the front row, calm, collected, but pleasantly happy. 

Except for Rikku, she was bouncing in her seat with glee. 

He had asked earlier if anyone was going to be groomsmen or bridesmaids, but no one seemed to understand what he was talking about. Perhaps that was a tradition that had died over the years. 

So, besides Wakka and Cid, he was alone at the altar, and growing more and more anxious by the second. 

Did he want to back out? No. But it felt different this time. The first wedding was so quick and impromptu, it felt more like a contract being agreed to. More like a formal ceremony for him to be a guardian. ‘Husband’ felt like a title just above guardian. Like super ultra guardian. 

And their journey thus far hadn’t felt like a marriage, given all the trials and tragedies that had occurred. 

There had been moments that felt like dates, like their dance on the Moonflow, or their first night together at Djose. But given the time they had been separated by someone or other, and the whole ordeal with Seymour, these last few days felt less like a Honeymoon and more like a trial of worthiness. 

Tidus’ tumultuous thoughts came to a screeching halt as the doors on the other side of the room opened, and Yuna, his bride, appeared. 

Festooned in white satin, lace, and pearls, the summoner walked gracefully and delicately down the aisle. Her dress was mid calf length, and flared out. She had a large bow at her back, fashioned in the same manner as her obi. A fine veil draped over her lightly curled hair, and was pinned in place by the diadem he had given her the night before. 

“Uh oh,” he whispered. 

“Uh oh what?” Wakka inquired, concerned.

“Uh oh, there goes my heart.” Tidus laughed helplessly. 

Wakka hummed and patted him on the back. 

Yuna arrived before him entirely too soon. He hadn’t regained his composure. 

“Hi,” she smiled. 

“Huh,” he returned, the sound almost like the honking of a goose. 

She giggled, holding a hand over her face. 

“I lied last night,” he blurted. “This is the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.” 

The color on her cheeks only enhanced her unearthly beauty. “You’re looking very handsome yourself.” 

He snorted and held his hands out, allowing her to take them. 

Wakka cleared his throat, and spoke in a rehearsed, formal tone that Tidus hadn’t expected of him. “We are gathered here this afternoon to unite Summoner Yuna and her Guardian, Tidus, in wedded bliss.” Then he paused to allow Cid to translate. 

Tidus, the only one of the party, besides Rikku, to be tangentially fluent in Al Bhed, was the only one to notice that Cid’s translation was…creative. 

“Thanks for coming! My Niece is gettin’ hitched, properly, to her guardian, Tidus. If you want to party, you have to sit through the whole ceremony! It means a lot to me!” 

Rikku very subtly hid her face behind her hand.

“Marriage is a sacred and serious union, with a foundation built on trust, honesty, commitment, and above all else, love.” 

Tidus felt his face flush again.

“These two young people come here today to do just that, to embark on a journey of discovery between man and woman.”

Thankfully, Cid decided to stop ad libbing and translate more or less exactly. 

“Yuna is a summoner, with a grave task ahead of her. In that regard, Tidus also has a grave task. To marry a summoner is to volunteer for a lifetime of heartache. But for the time that comes before, those moments are more precious than any gold or diamonds.” 

Yuna’s hands tightened around his own, her eyes downcast.

“But this life isn’t all that there is. In a blink of an eye, the Farplane will embrace you, and you’ll be together, forever. So while the looming task is daunting, today is a celebration, for eternal friendship and ultimate sacrifice.

“Yuna, do you promise to cherish and care for your husband, honoring him in this life and the next?”

“I do,” she said, earnesty pouring from her. 

“Tidus,” Wakka addressed him. “Do you promise to protect your wife, upholding your vow as a guardian, as well as honoring and loving her until death?” The look that he gave was severe, and almost threatening. 

“I promise,” Tidus said, meeting the look with one of his own. 

Wakka nodded, pleased. “Then, in Al Bhed tradition, you are now united as husband and wife. You may kiss your bride!” 

The Al Bhed audience started chanting, ‘kiss, kiss, kiss’ after Cid translated what Wakka had said. 

Tidus gently lifted Yuna’s veil and draped it back. 

“A Zanarkand kiss?” she asked, softly. 

He nodded emphatically and wrapped an arm around her waist. 

The teasing turned into cheers and wolf whistles as Tidus dipped her, and kissed her deeply. 

She seemed just as breathless as the first time he did it. But nonetheless smiling brightly. 

Before anything else could be said, Brother jumped up on his chair and yelled, “party! Yaaahh! Ya Ya! Party! Yaaahh!” 

Music started playing, and Tidus took Yuna back down the aisle before they could get swept up in the chaos. 

“We did it!” Yuna sang triumphantly. 

“Yeah. Pretty painless, huh?” 

She giggled. 

Wakka joined up with them. “Well, it certainly didn’t take them long to switch into party mode! All that work yesterday, and it’s over in a few minutes.” 

“It’s about what I expected.” Yuna chuckled. 

“So, how did I do?” 

“You did a great job, Wakka.” 

“Yeah, real great,” Tidus scoffed. “I liked the part where you were like ‘hey, Yuna’s gonna die, so this marriage is gonna be short.’” 

“Hey!” Wakka defended. “I watched a ton of Al Bhed ceremonies, and the officiant always emphasized that this was a ‘lifelong bond’ and ‘these two are committed to being married until death’. It’s like a big thing for them!” 

“Because they all live so close together,” Yuna said. “It would be painful for everyone if the marriage ended prematurely. Still, I think you did a wonderful job, Wakka.” 

He beamed, hands on his hips in pride. 

Soon after, the rest of the party joined them. 

“You surprised me,” said Lulu to Wakka. “I didn’t know you had it in you to be so serious.” 

“What can I say? It was for Yuna, it had to be perfect.” 

“Aww, ya big softie.” Rikku elbowed him.

“Less talking! More dancing!” Brother swept into the group and shoved Lulu into Wakka, Yuna into Tidus, and Rikku into Kimahri. 

Tidus held onto Yuna’s waist as she steadied herself, giggling. 

Wakka and Lulu shuffled away from each other, avoiding eye contact like a couple of pre-teens.

Rikku just rolled with the chaos. She took Kimahri’s paws and shuffled back and forth. “What do ya say, Big Guy? Wanna dance?” 

Kimahri huffed, then said, “Kimahri not know how to dance.” 

“It’s not hard, I’ll show you!” And she dragged him to where all the other celebrants were dancing. 

Tidus looked to Auron, only to find him gone. He spotted him over at the bar, behind the counter helping the Al Bhed bartender pour drinks. 

“Looks like everyone is having fun,” Yuna mentioned. “Would you like to dance?” 

“Sure!” his voice cracked. 

The Al Bhed music wasn’t really…slow dance material. There was a lot of electric guitars and yodeling. Al Bhed dancing was even stranger, mostly flinging limbs in unpredictable ways. This resulted in gratuitous amounts of slaps and smacks that everyone seemed to play off rather well. 

As the night went on, the guests got drunker and more rowdy. Tidus and Yuna were asked to dance with all different guests, drunk or sober. 

There was no formal dinner. Just a buffet open to pick through when guests were too tired to dance. 

Yuna sat at a table by the altar, designated for her and her guardians. “I don’t think I’ve ever danced that much before.” She chuckled lamely, rubbing her foot. 

“Cid was not kidding,” Tidus huffed as he sat beside her, putting two plates down, and then an arm around her shoulder. “These people are party animals!” His gaze moved over to a group at the bar that were chanting ‘chug chug’ in Al Bhed, a man in the center holding a large wine bottle up to his lips. Auron was near the group, an almost devious smile on his lips. “Does this at least feel more like a wedding for you?” 

“Oh yes!” she agreed a little breathlessly. “To see so many people having fun, letting loose for a little while…it’s nice. That was…what Seymour was trying to convince me with back then. But now, I’m happy too, and I don’t have to pretend.” 

Tidus gave her a soft smile. 

Rikku plopped down in the chair next to Yuna with her own plate of food. She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a loud siren sounding. 

“What is that?!” Yuna sat up quickly. 

A guard’s voice shouted over the speakers. “Fiends!” 

The most sober guests ran for the stairs and lifts, ready for action. 

“Welp,” said Rikku. “Party’s over.” 

Something about those two little words filled Yuna with a sense of discontent. She stood. “Not if I can help it.” 

“Yuna?” Tidus stood as well. He was ready to join the fight with her, follow wherever she went. 

It looked like the other guardians shared the sentiment as the other guardians started towards her. 

Yuna smiled at her husband. “It’s alright. I won’t get close.” Instead of going to the lifts, she headed over to the large domed windows, where there was a door leading to a small maintenance balcony. She grabbed a broom along the way, and carefully went outside, followed by Tidus and Lulu. 

The hot wind was powerful this high up, and they braced against the window. Yuna carefully shuffled over to have plenty of room. 

Here in the dying light of day, they saw the several waves of angry fiends cresting the dunes towards home. Enough to cause a problem and overwhelm the guns of the guards. 

“Why are there so many?” Tidus exclaimed. 

“It’s hard to say,” explained Lulu. “Perhaps they are seeking revenge for the fiends Kimahri hunted, or maybe they are drawn by the festivities.” 

“The Al Bhed have been so kind,” said Yuna. “I’ve been trying to find a way to express my appreciation for all they have done. This is the least I can do.” She raised the broom over her head, and Tidus realized she was using it as a makeshift staff, so she wouldn’t have to waste time retrieving hers. 

She raised it high, and then slammed the end down onto the balcony. A new glyph appeared on the window behind her, a deep ocean blue. 

“What?” Lulu wondered, just loud enough to be heard.

“What what?” Tidus asked. 

“I don’t know what temple that’s from.” 

Then the ground started shaking. A massive, crushing rumble that caused everyone else to brace for impact. 

Bursting through the sand dune came a gargantuan serpent, roaring with fiercity as it wriggled up to the sky. It was no Sin, but it could rival the beast. It might have even been bigger than Seymour’s Aeon. 

From inside, Tidus could hear Wakka cheering and hollering, while Rikku frantically called to the other Al Bhed, “cease fire! That’s an aeon!” 

But most of what else was going on went unnoticed as he stood in awe of this fantastic beast. It arched, diving back into the sand where the mass of the fiends still gathered, sending up a plume of Pyreflies. Then it surfaced again, and sprayed a blast of water at the remaining fiends. 

Then the battle was over. Just like that, the aeon had cleaned up, and not a single Al Bhed had made it to battle. 

Cheers rang out from Home, wolf whistles and chants of, “Yuna! Yuna!” 

The aeon turned and approached her, now appearing gentle, almost dainty. It lowered its head so Yuna could pet its snout. 

“I promised you, didn’t I?” she said softly. “And you got to protect your home. Your people.” 

The aeon huffed, a cool ocean breeze wafting over the balcony. Then it looked to the sky, and faded away into Pyreflies. 

“Wh-wh-what was that?!” Tidus shouted. 

“Where did you find that Aeon?” Lulu added, less hysterical. 

Yuna shyly twirled a lock of hair with her finger. “While we were separated yesterday, Gippal showed me a long buried temple they had uncovered. The Fayth was still intact, so I communed with her.” 

“That’s awesome!” Tidus exclaimed enthusiastically. “And you never would have found her if we hadn’t come here! Come on, we should tell the others!” He reached out and took her hand. 

As they came inside, there was more cheering as the Al Bhed swept Yuna up with a chair and carried her to the head table. 

Tidus watched with pride as she was paraded around the room, some of the Al Bhed even doing the Yevon bow. 

And Yuna was beaming. She was shy, of course, half covering her face in embarrassment as the praise kept rolling, but her smile was huge and joyful. 

Then, it clicked for Tidus. 

Yuna had been happy and smiling all day. But a content, soft smile. What was giving her real joy, was seeing how happy everyone was now. Not necessarily happy for her, but happy they were safe. 

Of course, he knew that Yuna wanted everyone to be safe from Sin, or else she wouldn’t be doing this pilgrimage. But seeing it in action changed his perspective. 

Being a Blitzball star had been his father’s legacy, and while he loved the sport, there had always been this expectation to be like him, or better than him. Tidus assumed, up until now, it was the same for Yuna. 

But her joy was clear. Bringing the Calm was her true desire. And so it was time to stop trying to convince her to quit, and time to figure out how to get her through Bevelle, defeat Sin, and live to see the Calm after. 

How? He was still stuck on the first part. He knew next to nothing about the tenets of Yevon. What about the whole truth would get them into trouble? To them, Seymour was in the wrong, and everything was his fault. 

But what about the Fayth? Could Yevon revoke Shiva’s power because of what she did? Was that possible? Would they really do that? What if a replacement was demanded? What if Yuna was forced to take Shiva’s place as punishment? 

Tidus shook his head. No, they couldn’t possibly go that far. It wasn’t practical. In all likelihood, Mika would forbid her from finishing her pilgrimage, at which point, they would have to find a way to get her to Zanarkand anyway. 

“Here,” Auron set down a glass of wine in front of him. “You look like you’re thinking of something unpleasant. I know what, but it’s your wedding day. Leave that line of thinking to the rest of us.” 

Tidus swirled the wine, before asking, “Will the Fayth that helped us get into trouble?” 

Auron’s eyebrows raised. “The one in Macalania? No. She doesn’t exist on this plane. The worst they could do is shatter her statue, at which point she’d be free to go to the Farplane, and Spira would be down an Aeon. Not a good look for Yevon.” 

“And they wouldn’t make Yuna take her place as punishment?” 

“You really have been thinking a lot, haven’t you?” He smirked. “A Fayth has to be completely willing, or it won’t work. Yevon has never forced someone to become a Fayth because of that. They’ve strongly encouraged and tried to manipulate people into doing it, but never outright forced. Does that ease your mind?” 

“About 50 percent.” 

“We’re going to get Yuna to Zanarkand, with or without Yevon’s blessing.” 

“I guess that’s the other 50 percent then,” Tidus chuckled humorlessly. 

Auron hummed, patted his shoulder, and went back to the bar. 

—-

Hours later, while the party was still raging, Rikku escorted Tidus and Yuna to their room. It had been several early mornings and full days. The exhaustion was apparent on both of their faces. 

“Here we are! The Honeymoon suite!” 

It was a little room, nothing special about it. A large bed and a circular window on the wall. 

“The communal showers are at the end of the hall. Lulu and I will be in my room, three doors to the left, if you need anything.” 

“Thanks Rikku.” Yuna smiled. 

Rikku grinned before singing, “have fun!” And skipping off. 

Tidus shook his head at her antics. “Yuna, don’t feel pressured to do anything you don’t wanna. I want you to feel safe and comfortable with me. So we don’t gotta like…y’know.” He was so confident when he started, and then got embarrassed halfway through. 

“Thank you.” Yuna gave a little sigh. “It’s nothing against you, I’m just…still getting used to kissing.” 

“I understand.” 

“But…I don’t know when we’ll have another chance…” 

He shook his head. “Don’t force yourself. We’ll find time when you’re ready.” 

She didn’t seem so sure. 

Tidus noticed the pajamas left on the bed. A white silk nightie, and a black silk robe. “Here, wanna get changed out of that dress?” He held the nightie out to her. 

“I’d like to take a shower…if you could help me out of this?” 

“Gladly!” 

Carefully, he set the diadem and veil on the dresser, untied her obi, and undid the several buttons down her back. “There we go.” 

“Thank you, I’ll be back in a minute.” 

“I’ll go down with you, I’m kind of sweaty from all that dancing.” 

“Okay.” 

Tidus draped the robe over his arm and walked with her down the hall. She seemed shy again, and he wondered if it was because he brought up the topic of intimacy. Well, Rikku actually had. He could blame this on her. 

Tidus finished first and returned to the room to wait. As he returned, he noticed their belongings had been placed in the corner of the room. Her staff leaned against the wall, with his sword crossing over it. 

He laid on the bed, relaxing in the quiet and enjoying the cool air from the duct above. After a while, he could hear the party faintly from upstairs. Not enough to bother them if they fell asleep, though. 

Yuna returned a few minutes later, timidly knocking on the door. 

“Come in!” 

The nightie looked way too good on her. The skirt was high on her thigh, and the neckline and back both scooped deliciously low. Her hair was damp, but towel-tussled. 

“Wow,” he blurted. 

“What?” 

“Uh I just…haven’t seen so much of your legs before.” 

She looked down at herself, and then up at him. “Do you like my legs?” 

“Yes! They’re uh, very nice!”

She chuckled, and gave a snort, which made Tidus chuckle. “Don’t make fun of me.” 

“I’m not! I think it’s cute.” He scooted over on the bed and patted the space next to him. 

“Oh! Um, just a minute…” she went over to her bag and fetched a brush. Thankfully, there was a small mirror on the dresser, and she got to work untangling her hair. As she worked, she hummed softly. 

“What song is that?” 

“What? Oh hmm nothing really.” 

“Did you come up with it? You wanted to be an entertainer if you weren’t a summoner, right?” 

She gaped at him. “You remembered that?” 

“Sure! It was one of the first things I learned about you. So…?” 

“Yes, it’s my own tune,” she admitted, shyly. 

“Can you sing it?” 

“No, it’s not ready. I have some idea of what I want to do with it, but it needs work.” 

“Ah. Well, I’m no musician, but I’m willing to help.” 

She giggled. “That’s alright. It doesn’t ever need to be completed.” 

He didn’t seem willing to let this go. “What’s it about? A love song?” He waggled his eyebrows. 

“I suppose…it could be. The lyrics are a little ambiguous. More or less, it’s about how exhausting all the fighting in Spira is. We have Sin to worry about, and yet…people can’t help but find a reason to be upset with their neighbors. The Al Bhed and Yevon, other summoners, even the Blitzball teams have more animosity than friendly competition.” 

He couldn’t argue with that. 

“It’s written like a quarrel between lovers, and in a way, it’s like I’m quarreling with the world I love. I have one line I’m certain about, that goes…” she took a sharp breath and sang, “let’s not fight, I’m tired, can we just sleep?” 

Tidus’ pulse quickened at the beautiful sound of her singing voice. Just a little taste, and he was hooked. “Wow!”

“I know. It’s very heavy subject matter—“ 

“No no, I meant, wow, your voice is beautiful!” 

She blushed and turned back to the mirror. “It’s not that special.” 

“I think it’s really amazing.” 

“…thank you.” 

“So it’s settled. We’re getting you to Zanarkand, you’ll defeat Sin and survive, and then go on tour as a performer and High Summoner.” 

She balked at him. “What?! I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself.” 

“On the contrary!” He popped up on his knees. “If we plan for the future, then we have something to look forward to!” 

She sat at the end of the bed. “Yes, it’s a very nice thought, but…the final summon…” 

“Is supposed to kill you, yeah yeah I know, but I’m working on it. There’s gotta be a loophole.” 

Then she smiled at him. A sad smile, but one still full of gratitude. “I appreciate the sentiment all the same. I always did. Even before you knew what would happen. You would say things like, ‘after we defeat Sin, we’ll go and do this.’ It made me really happy. Imagining the ‘what if’s.’ I love Wakka and Lulu, but they get so caught up in the seriousness of it all, the mourning period…it hurts.” 

“I’m sure it does.” 

“It’s like…what if I was sick instead? What if I only had a few months to live? I would want those months to be full of fun and adventure and laughter and meaning…not grieving.” 

“I am serious though, Yuna. I’m gonna find a way to save you. I’m not just saying that.” 

“I know. You never ‘just say’ anything. You declare intentions, and then you follow through. It’s very admirable.” 

“Auron would say it’s foolish.” 

“Auron just wishes he could be so confident.” 

“He’d call it impulsive.” 

“I call it assertive.” 

He smiled at her. “Well, thanks.” 

Her smile was brighter this time. Eyes alight with mirth. Her previous shyness had seemed to wither, now that she grew comfortable with him again. 

“So…” 

“So…?” She tilted her head, interested in what he had to say. 

“What’s next? What’s the plan for Bevelle?” 

She looked down to her lap, thinking. 

“I mean, I’m sure tomorrow Auron, Wakka, and Lulu will argue about a plan that consists of ‘leave it to us’ but I wanna know what you want to do, Yuna. What do you think?” 

“I…have been thinking about it. But I don’t know if it’s a good idea.” 

“I want to hear it anyway,” he persisted. 

“Well…what if just you and I were to go, and the rest of the guardians wait behind? I could throw myself at Mika’s mercy, and appear as non-threatening as possible. We give the others a time limit, so that if we don’t return in a few days, they need to come and…I don’t know, break us out of the dungeon or whatever punishment Mika sees fit.” 

Tidus crossed his arms, mulling it over. “What would you say?” 

“The truth. That Seymour murdered his father, and that we went to confront him about it, and he summoned an Aeon against us. We didn’t even have the chance to fight back before the Fayth became enraged by his actions and destroyed her temple, killing him in the process.” 

“And why we hid after?” 

“The fear of retaliation, even if we were innocent.” 

He nodded. “And why did we feel the need to confront Seymour?” 

“In Guadosalam, I went to the Farplane to visit my parents. While there, Lord Jyscal appeared to me of his own accord. He looked unwell, even from the Farplane. He told me where to find evidence of Seymour’s treachery.” 

“Do you still have it?” 

“Rikku does. I’ll get it from her tomorrow.” 

“And I still have his signet ring,” he added. “Which was the indicator that he was murdered. And, I wonder if we could find that other Guado that was in the background of Jyscal’s sphere, the one that put it behind the portrait?” 

“It’s likely he is in hiding. If Seymour hasn’t already killed him too. I am unsure how deep this runs.” 

“Welp,” he flopped onto his back. “Looks like another couple of busy days coming. We better get some rest.” 

Yuna hesitated a moment, and then laid down beside him. She hummed as she stretched out on the mattress. “This is nice.” 

“Yeah.” He turned to face her and gave her a little kiss to the lips. “Good night.”

She stared at him, eyes glistening. 

“Yuna?” 

“Thank you, for everything.” 

“Oh, sure thing.” He gave a confused smile. 

“Do you mind if I…?” 

“What?” 

She shuffled closer, and manually moved his arm out of the way so she could rest against his chest. “I just…wanted to be close.” 

He hummed, the sound vibrating in his chest next to her ear. He wrapped his arm around her. “I’d like to be close to you too.” 

[larmalot]

who else has conflicted feelings on the Bad Batch finale

Maybe it was the budget but something just felt off to me -- I don't know that I can put it into words but it was there. I am whelmed.

The runtime was so short! And for a show typically heavy on nuanced emotions, it felt rushed and pointedly lacking on emotional impact. 

We absolutely should have heard more from the rescued clone prisoners! And we barely got anything from Crosshair even though he got dismembered!! Emerie's betrayal for the sake of the children and finally her choosing her OWN path -- that deserved *way* more time.

Nala Se honestly deserved to kill Hemlock herself, but killing Rampart was actually pretty good consolation. I enjoyed that scene even though I was surprised the dialogue didn't reference Rampart destroying Kamino directly.

But so many plot things went unaddressed. The clone special operative set up as a mirror rival for Crosshair (i only recently learned his name was CX-2) i think died when Hunter hit him with a spear, but i'm not even sure it was him bc those agents were so anonymized in part from the canon of having their identities erased. But definitely it should have been Crosshair who killed him!!

I was also a bit disappointed that Hemlock didn't go off the rails more. Even Anakin lost it at the end and became super aggressive and violent, and i was expecting was at least some growling and rough handling from Hemlock -- especially directed at Omega, whom he views as imperial property. But I guess this is a kids' show. Part of me was also hoping to find out the reason behind his excellent gloved hand tic, but nada. I'm just saying he spent two seasons priming that hand to strangle someone and then never did. *shrugs*

The appearance of those CX(?) agents emerging from their tanks with new special weapons we'd never seen before -- well it wasn't unfathable, but it was a bit random and almost too much (i was reminded of those helicopter lightsabers from the season 2 Rebels finale). With how they seemed to be designed to hold off the Batch with varying weapons and body types, i could easily buy them as orginially designed as mirror antagonists for an aborted season 4.

(The whole fan theory that Tech is alive but Hemlock made him an evil brainwashed clone would have been interesting, but i'm glad they left the sacrifice of his death intact.)

Rex never arriving with a calvary of reinforcements was the real surprise of this finale. As much as I like the title, I don't think it suited the episode at all or fit well with the context of these last episodes. It's a line said by Wrecker when the Batch debuted in TCW, but in this episode the Batch retired???! Plus they arrived on Tantiss in the episode before this one and were captured as soon as they entered the hangar. Not really the mighty calvary... Maybe it's that they arrived on Pabu (to stay). Idk.

And!!! the massive giant hanging plotline of the offscreen clone rebellion is so odd. The same guy does all these voices!!! It's a lot less forgivable than the way they've been writing around the Pabu characters -- which, by the way, got old FAST. This season it was worse than ever and since all the Pabu characters are POC, there is definitely another race insensitivity case to be made here. I know it ultimately boils down to budget, but how many times can an established character be mentioned or seen in a non-speaking role before it becomes a massive disservice?

I wasn't exactly expecting it but I'm also surprised they never wrapped up Cid's character. Another reason I'm thinking The Bad Batch was meant to run for at least 4 seasons, bc she also kinda deserved a farewell or a chance to make amends. And Emerie deserved more development!! Her joining the clone rebellion is just one small step of a whole new life, making her own decisions and learning to value herself!

I know I should be happy with the ending but it all felt so sanitized and disneyfied. Everyone chilling around Pabu in their Tantiss clothes was just too much for me. I'm convinced there was a budget issue that affected those decisions. And the finale scene -- even though I *liked* it, it felt like a neatly wrapped up means to funnel a grown up Omega directly into a Rebellion era show/movie as a guaranteed fan favorite character. That cheapened things for me, a lot.

Anyway, I'm glad people got what they wanted -- wet Batch boys in the rain, salt and pepper daddy Hunter, and the Zillo Beast going off into the sunset to live happy and free in the jungle. I didn't hate it, I'm just surprisingly unenthused. I'm holding out for bonus content to drop on May 4 (but i doubt it lmao).

[lightwise]

WIP Wednesday

Thanks for the tags @sunshinesdaydream and @ladyzirkonia 🤗

So I have been working on a long fic since the middle of TBB season 2 releasing. I have not posted the first chapter yet bc life and other things keep getting in the way 🫠 (but honestly I think some of those things like writing other fics/one-shots and having a lot of time to process the story I’m wanting to tell is only going to make it better!). I’ll leave in depth descriptions for when I officially publish, but when we got the two-part midpoint of TBB season 2, and Echo left the Batch to return to Rex, and Chuchi and the politics around the clone’s retirement, crazy assassins, etc all got dropped into our laps, I was like WELL, guess I’m writing the behind the scenes of what the show doesn’t show us 🤓

I’m following Rex and Echo on their adventures, mostly from Rex’s POV and a little from Echo’s. As the season progressed I realized that the rest of the Batch, Chuchi, and other characters would also make appearances. Currently this is not necessarily a fix it fic, but I am letting myself follow the story and see where it takes me. I do have some fun surprises up my sleeve for later on :).

Without further ado, here is a snippet from the first chapter:

Echo traced an invisible line on the concrete pad with the tip of his boot. “We were uhh…well. We were delivering nerf nuggets. 50 pounds of them.” He finally looked up and met Rex’s eyes, squaring his shoulders as if daring his former Captain to laugh. They stared at each other for a moment, until Rex couldn’t keep himself from cracking a grin. Things devolved from there until both of them were almost howling with laughter at the thought of two elite soldiers of the former GAR posing as food delivery boys.

“Please tell me that Hunter was as upset as I’m imagining the whole time.” Rex managed to gasp out as he tried to catch his breath again.

Echo shook his head as he also tried to compose himself. “Oh it was bad. I think he set himself a new record of how many groans of frustration he could let out in one evening.”

Rex smirked. “I’m sure you did too, vod.”

Echo smiled back knowingly. “What? Me? Look frustrated? Never.” He grinned even wider.

After giving one roll of his eyes, Rex shook his head affectionately. “Not just look frustrated–exude frustration from every cell in your body in the hopes that someone will actually do things to regulation standards for once.”

Echo’s shoulders shook slightly as he tried not to laugh again. “You know me too well. I’d say Hunter and I were sharing the title of thoroughly unimpressed. We were able to make jokes about it by the end of the day though. And once Tech commed me with how frustrated he was at Cid dragging them to Safa Toma to play bodyguard, I was glad to be elsewhere. Wish I had seen the looks on everyone’s faces when he won that race though.”

“I believe it. That must have been incredible to watch. I never doubt that Tech can do anything he puts his mind to.”

“Yeah, his brain is an amazing thing to behold. He’s pretty special.”

NPT: @freesia-writes @drafthorsemath

[symphonicsoul]

these are my favorite memes to submit omg. brace yourself this will be long. and probably a bit incoherent. i tried to keep the blocks spaced out i hope it works

1 cloud: he's handled very VERY well as a "muse of power". he's balanced and still flawed but he's trying his best. he really covers the full complexity of being alive. i literally love him so much. he is the truest blorbo by proxy that there ever was and i am rotating him in my brain near constantly

cid: insert lovegrip emoji. he's so great. he's sweet and weird and i love him. he brings me joy and happiness.

usva: i live and breathe for "what do you mean child of white? wtf. he's just my dumbass little brother. look at him. he'll be whining and crying that he can't sleep later. he isn't special. he's just pilv'"

aurinko: goddddd he is SO. god there's so much there where do i start. i love papa sun. i think that if "trying to do the right thing but it accidentally ends up being collossally fucked up by the end" were a genetic trait then kumo got it from him

kuu: if she were real i would ask her to adopt me. she's so sweet. she loves her kids. k bye

taivas: we don't see him much but the amount of "tired" he feels is just. palpable

punaista: idk much about her yet but we love a friend we can chat with over tea!!!

safiirin: takes no bullshit. also she looks so friendshaped but she could so totally kick someone's ass. do not fuck with safiirin. befriend her so you get 😊 instead of 😠

sinfonia: tragic irony. kills me every time. RIP sinfonia

vuorovesi: she was so close to understanding the point! alas. she did not understand The Point.

liekki: green misterican turned medical person? we love to see it. fight the stereotypes ✨

sumu: i fucking loathe him as a person but FUCK is he such a good villain. he's smart and that's a problem.

kultaa + kupari: perfect "evil henchmen" . part of me loathes them and part of me feels bad that they probably got manipulated into this somehow

ok now buckle up because now we get into

✨ them ✨

palo: she's so fucking funny. i adore her. she's not the comic relief but at the same time she's definitely comic relief you know? palo is the queen of part-time work

sydän: she's just vibing. she's soft and friendly and very nice. i would be her friend. we would be besties i think. (until she finds out what i have done to her brother and then she would End Me but ANYWAY)

aamunkoitto: listen. listen to me very carefully when i say this. i am telling you that aamun is one of my favorite characters in the entire history of the universe. and it's only partially because he is also a visually-impaired military kid just like me fr. he has so many layers underneath all the grump and 😠 . love is stored in the hopefulness brought by the dawn. and to think i didn't like him as much as valo initially... god. where was my brain. not in the vicinity i guess.

valo: magical history man who got caught in the trap of "it's just chronic pain, no one needs to be bothered by it, i'm fine" and then lying about his feelings. i want him to get some catharsis someday. he deserves it. holds him in my arms. love is also stored in the valo but the valo needs to be loved too.

revon: if i were gonna ask someone to adopt me i changed my mind. i'd ask revon. sparkle dad is so . he. i love him ok. he's such a good person but he doesn't see it and it KILLS me in like the best way ever. also i always have an affinity for muses who just go "oh. oh i have suddenly acquired four children." he deserves a blanket and some nice insoles. and maybe a trip to like a cat cafe or something. somewhere he can be surrounded by creatures full of no thoughts just love. let him experience inner peace and let him hug all his kids.

Favorite Detail || Accepting

I'm not crying. You're crying.

Theo this is so sweet and quite frankly I needed this. I am so happy you see all of this in them. I am so happy they're alive for you and you see the differences in each and every one of them. I feel seen. They feel seen. I'm so glad the differences in all of them are shining through and I just have never really had OCs before this (not to this depth and extent) so to have someone tell me that one of them is their favorite character ever (Aamun my baby I adore you) is just so special to me.

Like I am over the moon that you love one cloud and that he has a spare room he can rent in your brain (for when he needs to hide from storms and cuddle his radio man)

but the fact you love my OCs just squishes my heart with a hug I cannot describe. I was so ready to have no one give a FUCK about them but me and be okay with that but here you are holding them all so close whenever you can. Sun Papa, Moon Momma, Sparkle Dad and all the rest.

God Theo. I love you and I appreciate this so much.

[dumbfinntales]

After a little over two weeks of play I’m done with Final Fantasy XVI. It was one hell of a ride. I have a lot to say about this game, both good and bad. There’ll also be story spoilers below so if you haven’t beaten the game don’t click read more. Seriously, experience the story for yourself. It’s a journey unlike any other.

Final Fantasy XVI is an action RPG set in a fantastical world of magic, beasts and oppression. Loads of oppression, death and misery. But also joy and love. The game is more action than RPG, in fact the RPG elements in this game are very shallow. You have “levels” but stat ups are automatic and the little gear you can get only boost up numbers. So it’s more Devil May Cry than Final Fantasy. But this didn’t bother me because the gameplay is fucking awesome.

The combat is without a doubt the highlight of this game. The combination of different Eikon powers and Clives basic moveset make for very satisfying action. If you don’t use those assist accessories (and I don’t know why you would, the game plays itself with those on) you have a lot to keep track of and sometimes the combat feels like your fingers start cramping because you wanna keep the damage going. Although the combat is flashy and cool the game isn’t very challenging. I only died on optional hunts and died once to a story boss. But even then the game is generous, re-filling your potions and the boss doesn’t even start with full health. But the main point is that the combat was fun and I never bored of fighting small mobs or bigger monsters.

The bosses in this game were amazing. Not particularly super difficult, but they made up with cool presentation and memorable set pieces. Some of the bosses reach the ridiculous levels of Platinum Games’ bosses, especially during Eikon fights like Titan and Bahamut. I honestly wasn’t expecting these kinds of bosses, but I was happy to see them. The final boss was also perfect. I was slightly disappointed by Barnabas, while he was a fun fight in a DMC kind of way, I was expecting Platinum Games’ levels of ridiculous, but the final boss delivered in spades. It truly felt final and each phase could have been a final phase.

Another thing that I ended up loving way more than I expected was the story. Not just the story, but the characters and the world itself. The story of FFXVI is without a doubt my favorite video game story of all time. It is the only story out of many story heavy games where I actually cared. I cared about the characters, the world and their struggles. The story was very dark at places with tragedy and death behind every corner. And the oppression of the bearers was especially brutally depicted. But also there were good times and triumphs. I honestly don’t know what this game did different, but I cared so much for almost all the charactes and I talked to them not just to exhaust dialogue, but because I cared what they had to say about current events.

I admit that due to this I got emotional a few times during the story, and I felt a special kind of euphoria to see Clives journey to the end and that he realized his and Cids dream. A world without magic, and we even get to see this world they worked so hard for towards the end. One thing I did find odd however. The mother figure we see at the end says that Eikons and magic are just a fairy tale from a book, but that makes no sense. Even if magic is gone, magic used to be a thing for hundreds of years. Clive ridding the world of magic doesn’t erase the entire history of the world where people wrote books and shared stories. Magic would be a thing of the past that people would talk about, but not something they’d deny as a fairy tale. I dunno, I guess that line was there to show off Clives success. I’m still glad their stories lived on.

The world of Valisthea is honestly amazing, but the ending felt very final with magic being gone. I don’t know how they’d be able to make DLC or continue this world in any way. Either they have to explore the past, or we see a resurfacing of magic. Although I hope not. If magic came back it would kinda invalidate Clives journey.

I’ve sung the games praises, but it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. I had some problems with the game. Some major problems. Let’s start with the pacing of the story. Yes, the story was amazing, but it wasn’t all the time. The game had a very strange pace where you’d first experience the most thrilling amazing action and story twists of your life, and then everything comes to a screeching halt as you have to walk around talking with people for an hour. I said I enjoyed the characters, but not all of them, and they didn’t always have interesting things to say. Coming from an amazing boss fight to doing fetch quests where you talk to a bunch of people is jarring, and not very exciting.

Not to mention if you’re like me who feels the need to complete all side content. Holy shit the side quests in this game were ass. They wary so much in quality, some of them I admit are interesting and they build up the world and characters wonderfully. Without side quests you would never find out the backstories of many supporting characters like Charon, Blackthorne, Gav etc... And there were some really interesting ones (and dark) like the one where some noble man and his son send bearers to their death for fun, or a little girl whose lost pet was a bearer. Really highlighting how fucking dark this world was.

However, most side quests were just uninteresting. Go here and talk to this person, hunt down this monster or could you find my missing friend? At some point I just sort of stopped caring about the side quests and started spacing out during the excessive amount of dialogue they had, but I did do all of them in the end.

The game was also very cut-scene and dialogue heavy, but that didn’t really bother me as I did care about the story. Most of the time at least. I do feel like sometimes things dragged on for too long, or some things were too cinematic. Like the first “phase” of the final boss was literally just an interactive cut-scene where you get to press buttons sometimes. Like I said, the pacing of the story was just all over the place and there was a lot of fluff.

I’m not gonna say that FFXVI is a masterpiece 10/10, but it was one of the most enjoyable triple A games I’ve played in a long time. It’s a game that’ll divide people, you either really hate it or really love it for what it is. Some people expected a more RPG oriented game. And some are fine with the game being a medieval Devil May Cry with Dragonball Z boss battles. I might not be replaying this game any time soon, but this experience will stay with me for a long time.

[somnus-lucis-caelum]

Aerith seemed less than enthusiastic about the plans ahead. Somnus… did not understand why. He glanced to her at his side for a moment. Why was she so upset about this?

Practice and training made perfect. And they would have to rely on each other’s soldiers as much as they would have to know them and their powers by heart.

The fight on their way here did not fully count in his own mind. That was… too much chaos in the night. But what she thought was his to guess.

Roran was enthusiastic, though. And it pulled a smile from Somnus – that was until the mention of noble introductions fell. Something that made his smile freeze over. He knew how to keep it and how to gloss over this. He would not utter a word or lose the look on his face for even a second. But it was there, in his eyes, in the way his fingers tightened around the fork he held. The memory of his own ‘introduction’ a few years ago. Everyone on this table had been present then, because it had been Aerith’s, too. But other than her, he had never stood in the centre of attention there.

Somnus was in his own mind and memories over this. So much so, he was torn out of it with Aerith’s question and blinked at her in quiet surprise for a moment. As if she had spoken another language he didn’t know.

“I… oh, yes. It all was impressive…”, it had been delicious, no doubt, but Somnus knew that answer was too bare.

“The little boar cubes… and the salad. And no doubt the soldiers will lick their bowls clean and ask for more of that stew.”

Especially one of them. He’d probably get his head stuck in one of the pots…

Surely the promised rhubarb tarte would have been quite the treat for the soldiers, too. But Somnus doubted Cid had made any that would last beyond those present at the table.

“Really. I feel like home already with these dishes. This is a special dinner, I know. But I do not think I have to worry about any future meals at all.”

Another perfect answer. Somnus knew he was playing a role – and Aerith could probably pick it out. She was good at that – though Somnus hoped she would simply let him. Just for now. Just as long as this dinner took. Afterwards she could ask away. Shoot holes into his behaviour.

Luckily Cid’s promised treat was brought and had the potential to distract anyone.

The bread roll was immediately split open and lathered with fresh butter. If she weren't thinking about the third course she would have absolutely buttered a second one. Honestly, Aerith could eat that alone and consider it a good meal but she made sure to pile her plate with a few pieces of roasted vegetables and of course some of the field salad.

"Seriously?" Aerith complained, in a comparison that was night and day with Somnus. He was obliging and polite. She on the other hand sounded upset.

She wasn't complaining for the sake of complaining. If it were just the adults she would have spoken her mind more freely, but doing so in front of Roran would make it blatantly obvious that something had happened on their journey. Her healing wasn't frivolous in any sense of the word. It was a deep drain on her magic and somehow she was expected to put on a show like a pony after most of the Lucian soldiers who travelled with them already saw her 'important' power in action already!

But she said none of that. Instead she shoved her bread roll into her mouth and looked to her plate as well.

Roran was the one who waved his little arms excited. "Pick me, pick me! I can show off with Somnus! I want to see the arm-ge.. armg... armiger too!"

Ifalna uttered a tone of amusement. "You know what my dear, I will actually consider it." she promised, pulling a cheer from Roran. Her head tipped towards her husband. "He is nearing the age where we will present him to royal and noble families. Why not get in a little practice, I'm sure the soldiers have better reflexes and senses of humour if a spell gets away from him."

"It won't!" Roran promised.

Aerith turned her attention to Somnus. Well, his plate of food. She leaned to him with a softer tone. "Bit nicer than rations, but have we impressed you with anything new yet?"

[asoulofatlantis]

After I failed tremendously with some change of pace Game and couldn't finish Sonic Frontiers myself I am back with Daybreak. And I am really torn. At this point, I just really want to finish this game as quickly as possible and then play Metaphor. So not doing any more unnecessary quests seems the best cause of Action. Doing that also helped my tremendously with finishing my rerun of Trails in the Sky FC. On the other hand tho, I really wish all the hard work until now wouldn't go to waste now. After all, so far I have done ALL sidequests and I could get the AAA-Rank if I continue with it. But I really don't feel it anymore. And aside from one or two Quests that I didn't do because I was tired of this game I did in fact do them almost all in my first run. So... *sfz* Well I guess I will end it here and live with my failure ^^'

On a totally different note: Seeing Hamilton here leaves a bad taste in my mouth after everything we've been through in Kai...

Alvis is that one guy that for some reason shows up almost everywhere you go XD (Or at least it feels like it...)

A-Arron! She might be a ditz, but trust me her IQ is a lot higher than it seems like. She is not one of the disciples of one of Epsteins deciples for nothing - not that you know any of that yet. However... I do kind of... like her. She is a bit... uh... special, but she is a nice and caring character and as we all know... people with Laptcoats are not to be trusted so easily in these games, so I think her earning our respect AND trust, means a lot XD

You would hit everything that has tits and is legal, asshole!

And now I miss my Tita XD Its so weird tho, thinking of the Sky-Arc that my little girl is 18 now. She is an adult. It feels like yesterday that she was that pipsqueak that everyone (including me) loved so much... and now she is old enough to get married - and she should, her man is hitting his mid thirties soon XD *achem* Got distracted ^^'

But seriously... I would prefer to be anywhere but here. Calvard and the ASO just... do not hit the right spot with me ^^' And I hate it, because there is nothing wrong with the ASO and the game itself isn't bad either and I only hate Calvard because its... well... "the enemy" as I am an Erebonian-Bitch through and through ^^'

The pacing really slowed down too. Basel was the moment I hit the "I am kind of bored of this game" - Moment too ^^'

Wrong moment to bring up my Girls company but... Reinford didn't cut out the foundation because they weren't stupid enough to do it. Even in Irias glorys business-owner egoismen, she was very much aware that working with other Tech-Companies can be beneficial and you do not cut out something that is beneficial to you. The only reason Verne can afford doing it, is because Calvard now has Marduk to back them up.

Also... somehow it doesn't make any sense that Calvard of all people cuts out the foundation. Hamilton is one of Epsteins disciples after all. How does it make sense that Tio and Altina work for the Epstein foundation and Hamiltons people do work for Verne? O.o

I feel like I've been missing a piece of the puzzle here anyway...

Not just that Renne now is the Character that has appeared in EVERY part of the Trails Saga so far (beating Olivert who not just had a much smaller role in Crossbell but also never appeared in Calvard so far - much to my disappointment, I may add...) she is also literally having a connection to EVERYONE. The bracers in (or from) Liberl, the Special Support Section in Crossbell, Class7 AND the Royal Family from Erebonia and now she has connections to the ASO, the Bracers and somewhat even the CID (although they are wary of them) in Calvard. And to boot, she has somewhat connections not just to ZCF and the Foundation do to Tita and Tio, she also knows Alisa from Reinford and now (or soonisch) Quatre who has been working with Verne. Oh... and by extension, she even somehow has connections to Marduk. If we ever want to gather them all... she is the person we should go to ^^'

His voice is far too nice for such an asshole... idiot... whatever you wanna call that coldhearted and egoistic bastard of a Professor. Also... he is with the wrong Deciple of Epstein, his character would fit Professor Schmidt much better XD (Then again, some issues with his Gnome-related students aside... most of his disciples are of a rather kind nature, funny enough. I mean, Franz was almost like a son to him and we know that before his Black Alberich Days he had been a good, loving and caring man. Makarov is a bit rough around the edges, but I can not remember him not being nice or good. George had his fair share of unforgivable misshaps, BUT here too, when he wasn't directly working for and with the Gnomes, he was a relatively nice guy and the way he tries to make up for his mistakes now is kinda good too. Tita of course is an absolut angel and that she is able to put up with this old grumpy man is beyond me. And despite Schmidts being what how he is, he even somewhat put up with Mint and her... way of... you know... being her XD I guess for some reason he prefers to use Deciples that are the opposite of him? Makes one wonder what kind of Person Epstein was, especially now that we know that there has been a Loop where a certain Professor we know from Ouroboros has been his only Deciple.

I don't know what to think of this man. He doesn't give me bad vibes, but he DOES work with Hamilton. I wonder how much about the deep end of what she did or rather HOW she did it actually is on his radar tho. So I don't really want to judge him just for supporting her. Otherwise I would have to jduge a lot more people ^^'

Fios voice is not cute enough! Can you do nothing right NIS?

I totally and absolutly fully agree with Agnes here XD

Looking at that scene I am surprised that Quatre didn't fall in love with Van much earlier than Kai ^^' Tho I guess it is a nice change of pace. With both Lloyd and Rean the girls in their "little" Harems fell for them almost immedeatly every time, and even in Joshuas case (Estelle aside) most Girls didn't take long to fall for him. So its anice change for once that it took Van 3 games to get Quatres heart to beat faster XD (I am not joking by the way...)

This games powerscaling is just ridicioulus I tell you. How can this guy be the same rank as Estelle and Joshua? They helped save the world 3 times at this point. Plus what they did for Crossbell. But their stupid father has a freaking S-Rank for always showing up last minute and taking all the flory after doing practically nothing. ALSO... can we please all agree that Elaine was just promoted A-Rank because they wanted to beat Erebonia for having a strong A-Rank? Not to say Elaine isn't strong and cool but is she REALLY in the same league as the freaking purple Lightning? I highly doubt that.

I love it when my blond angels take the words right out of my mouth XD I LOVE FIO and XEROS. Best sidekick "pets" ever in a Trails-Game. (Sorry Celine ^^')

I accidentally ran into that sidequest like an idiot and since Children were involved I couldn't say no... so... here we are... doing a Toy-Car-Race...

That mission was so overblown for something that should have been nothing more than a joke.

Anyway... I end it here. Yes. Already.

[thedeliveryservicefanfic]

The Delivery Service, Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE: Friday is the day

Fenrir pulled into the driveway smoothly, as it had done so many times before. The driver pulled off his goggles, lowered the kickstand, and swung his muscular leg over the bike. The blonde ruffled his hair, grabbed his keys and walked towards the side door of the cottage-style house. 

Cloud was greeted by Shera before he could even knock. A huge smile was on her face. “Cloud! You’re a little early. We weren’t expecting you until tomorrow.” Her voice was warm and deep, and reminded him a bit of his own mother. 

“Yeah, so leave!” Cid called from his work studio, where he was busy tinkering with his new toy.

“Come on in, dear.” Shera stepped aside, allowing Cloud to come into the home. He looked around the kitchen, with its big windows letting in the sunlight, and smelled Shera’s delicious home cooking. “Sit down. Are you hungry?”

Cloud shook his head. “No, Shera, I’m fine. Cid said he had something to tell me.”

Shera nodded, looking a little exasperated by her husband. “No idea what it’s about. The big lug is in his studio. Go ahead.”

Cloud took off down the hallway towards the open door he saw. The familiar smell of grease, fire and cigarettes greeted him as he walked into the room. Cid, expert mechanic and friend, was hunched over the spear end of a new lance. 

“Check it out! Added a fucking taser at the end. Shock the damn beasts into submission, this thing will.” Cid said, connecting two wires together. “Got a bit of a hair trigger, but I’ll get it to work.”

“Nice. You had news for me?” Cloud said, taking an empty chair and sitting down. 

“Yeah. Hold on.” Cid said, his voice a little hollow now. Cloud knew something was wrong immediately - the mechanic never sounded this somber.

Cid fiddled with his new weapon for another moment before turning around and wiping his hands on his shirt. Cloud knew that everything around Cid was covered in some sort of grease- he was surprised that his wife wasn’t. Cid sat down in a chair opposite Cloud.

“Heard a funny story, and thought you should check it out. Seems like someone is taking young girls without their permission, and making them work for their money, if you know what I mean.”

“Sex trafficking?” Cloud grimaced, anger boiling under his skin already. It was one thing to sell your body willingly, that he could understand and had no problem with. To each their own. But to be forced into it… “Any idea where?”

“It moves. But listen to this. Sometimes a girl disappears, never to be heard from again. No sign of struggle, no note left behind. They just leave, like they never existed.”

“Yuffie.”

“Damn right. So I poked around, found out who is in charge of this operation. Got a name.” Cid reached across his work table and grabbed a piece of paper, reading from it. “Don Corneo.”

“Thought he was dead.” Cloud remembered the old balding man, who was short and smelled harshly of cheap whiskey. “Guess no one truly stays in the grave.”

“No one who is important, at least.” Cid took a drag of his cigarette and shook his head in disapproval. “If I were you, I would look around Costa del Sol. It’s tourist season there.”

“I will. I’ll see if I can contact Vincent as well, if he answers his phone.” Cloud stood up, ready to go. “See you Friday.”

“Later, Cloud. See if you can find our girl.” Cid took another puff and waved his friend off.

____________

Wednesday dawned bright and beautiful. Fenrir was rolling along the coast of Costa del Sol, the driver looking around for a place to park. Cloud picked a shady spot and left his motorcycle behind, taking his sword with him as he left.

As soon as he showed up in this beach town, he asked a drunken man where he might be able to find some fun. He feigned that he was anxious and ready to let off pressure, and the man was all too happy to help.

“Good looking guy like you? You’d get any girl you want at the bar! But if you are looking for something special, you should find Leon. He’s the guy you need.” The drunk adjusted his wide brimmed straw hat and took a sip of his fruity cocktail. 

Cloud thanked the man and went in search of this Leon character. After asking a few tourists, putting a word out there in the local bar scene, and exchanging a few gil here and there, he finally found the place he had been looking for. On the off chance that Vincent might be nearby and help him raid the brothel, Cloud left him a voicemail message.

Surprisingly, Cloud saw the crimson-cloaked man leaning against a tree outside of the address he had been given. 

“Cloud.”

“Vincent.” Cloud approached his friend. “We’re looking for a man named Leon. He works under Don Corneo. Suppose to be some sort of salesman.”

“Let’s go.” Vincent joined Cloud and the two walked side by side.

There was silence for a while, yet it was not an uncomfortable silence. The two men knew when the need to talk was, and when there was a need for silence.

“I have had no luck locating Miss Kisaragi.” Vincent said solemnly, keeping his attention on the path in front of him.

Cloud sighed. Thinking of Yuffie always pained him. “Neither have I. This is the best lead I’ve had in over two months.”

“Let's see if she is here. If anything, we can help liberate the women who were taken captive.”

Cloud bowed his head and the two came upon a door.

“Should we be polite and knock first?” Vincent asked, turning his attention to his friend.

There was a fumbling behind the door; a loud gasp, and urgent words sounded. “Shit! It’s Strife. Get the boss outta here.”

“Nah.” Cloud lifted his leg and gave the door a powerful kick.

The door splintered and began hanging on its hinges, shards of wood flying through the air. Two men fell backwards from the force, cursing as they landed hard on their backsides. Cloud stepped into the hallway, looking down at the two men. Vincent calmly followed behind.

“May I speak to your boss?” Cloud asked politely, while Vincent silently pulled a firearm out of a holster and pointed it at the men.

_________

The room was full of bright oranges, reds and yellows. Garish decorations such as lanterns, silk hangings and pictures of half-naked women cluttered the small space. Cloud curled his lips as he saw a particularly lewd picture of two women together on a horse and fought to keep his lunch down.

“Well. Long time no see, Miss.” Don Corneo’s greasy voice sounded from behind the desk.

Cloud stared at the back of an office chair, rich with red velvet and with gold tassels hanging off the sides. Suddenly, the chair twisted around, and the paunchy face of Don Corneo came into view. Another man stood behind the Don, his arms crossed, giving off the air that he was a bodyguard that you shouldn't mess with. Cloud wanted to laugh, but then the older man gave them a twisted smile and motioned for his two visitors to sit down. They refused by standing still and glaring down at the man.

“May I ask why there is a sudden intrusion in my business?” Don Corneo asked, pulling a cigar out of a velvet lined box sitting on his desk. He placed it in his mouth. “You don’t seem to be the type to purchase companionship.”

Vincent reached into a pocket and stepped forward, holding out a picture of Yuffie. “We are looking for this girl.”

“And any other woman you might have stolen from their homes, as well.” Cloud added, mimicking the bodyguard behind Corneo, smirking humorously at the man as he crossed his arms over his chest. “It seems like you are still running your business with some not-so-great ethics.”

Vincent lowered the picture and his red eyes stared at the disgusting man with cold anger. 

Corneo, who had not even glanced at the picture, leaned back in his gaudy throne-like chair. “Never seen her. All my girls willingly came into my employ.” Corneo lit a match and puffed away at his cigar, the end slowly burning an orange glow.

Cloud scowled when he smelled the pungent cigar. He stepped forward. “I bet if I asked around, I’d get a different answer.”

The man behind Corneo snorted. Cloud assumed this was the famous Leon- he was a tall, lanky man with a pock-marked face and stringy blonde hair. His teeth looked like they had not been cleaned in years.

“If you can even find them.”

Cloud grinned at him. “You’re a handsome fellow.”

The Don held up his hand to silence the two. “My ladies know to only come forward when called for.”

Vincent turned to Cloud. “It seems like talking to this man will get us nowhere.”

“Seems like.”

Suddenly, Vincent reared back his leg and kicked the heavy oak desk, sending it and the Don flying to the floor. Vincent’s hands clenched, his energy rising. Cloud knew what was about to happen and simply stood back to give the man some room. The air around the man crackled, a wind started rising up around him. His body morphed and snapped and broke into that of the form, Galian Beast.

The gigantic beast lifted its horned head and stretched its mighty arms. Behind him, Don Corneo and Leon gaped in horror.

“Oh shit.” Leon muttered as he watched the monster in front of him turn towards the two men.

“I give you fair warning. No one can control him when he’s like this. Tell me where the girls are.” Cloud said, approaching the Don.

Corneo still had enough courage to spit in the warrior’s face. Cloud roughly grabbed the front of the man’s shirt and pulled him towards himself, teeth gritting in anger.

“NOW.”

Vincent reached out with a claw and swiped at Leon, who miraculously leapt out of the way. Vincent let out a mighty roar, which caused Don Corneo to convulse in fear and Cloud felt a strange warmness run down his front.

“Did you just piss on me?” Cloud sneered, never breaking eye contact with the man.

The Don looked at him in fear. Down the hall to the left. Under the lantern. Push the wall.”

Cloud threw the man to the ground, feeling disgusted. The blonde mercenary walked towards the door. 

“Call your beast off! I gave you the right information!” Don Corneo cried as Vincent loomed over him and Leon. Leon’s hands were shaking as he tried to load a shotgun, but he could not get a good enough grip on the shells.

“I already told you. He’s out of control.” Cloud said, continuing his journey out into the hall, ignoring the screams of agony as he turned left and headed for the lone red lantern in the hallway. 

He felt the wall underneath the red lantern. He knocked on the wall and heard hollowness. Cloud looked over at the end of the hallway, where silence was now settling in. He decided to wait for his partner to come, knowing that Vincent would not be in ‘beast mode’ for long.

A few minutes later, Vincent stepped into the hallway, in his normal human form. He stood up rigidly for one more moment before making his way over to Cloud.

“Are they alive?”

“They will recover.” Vincent looked down at Cloud’s clothes. “He urinated on you.”

“Please!” Cloud squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his forehead. “Let’s keep that a secret.” He pushed on the wall and felt the boards give. 

The secret entrance showed them a big room, filled with beds and couches. Women quickly got up from their places and lined up against a wall, obviously trained to do so. Cloud looked at all their smiling faces, seeing the strain and fear behind the shining eyes.

“Relax, ladies. We’re here to set you free.” Cloud said, yet the ladies stayed in place. They were terrified. Cloud shifted from one foot to the other, suddenly unsure of what to do to convince them of this truth. 

“Have you ladies seen a young Wutain woman named Yuffie?” Vincent asked, lowering his shoulders and speaking more gently, trying to make the Don’s Ladies more comfortable. 

A young dark haired woman looked up suddenly, her almond shaped eyes widening in shock. “Yuffie? Yuffie Kisaragi?”

Cloud walked over to her, only stopping a few feet in front of her. “Do you know Yuffie? We’re looking for her.”

“I… I grew up in Wutai, with her. We used to study together.”

“Have you seen her around lately?”

The Wutain woman shook her head. “I haven’t seen her in a few years.”

Cloud sighed and backed away from the young woman. He looked at Vincent, whose usually stoic face showed a hint of dismay. “We’ll find her. Let’s get everyone out of here.” 

“How are we to transport these ladies back home?” Vincent asked.

Cloud pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll call Cid, he’ll send a ship over.”

“Cid? From Rocket Town?” A red head perked up. One by one, the ladies started relaxing around Vincent and Cid. If they knew people that were familiar to them, then maybe the men were serious about helping them.

“Yeah.” Cloud nodded, giving her a smile. He dialed Cid’s number and held the phone to his ear. When it clicked, Cloud spoke into the receiver. “Cid? We need transportation.”

___________

Tifa placed the crate of dirty cups by the sink, then took a moment to take a deep breath and feel the exhaustion settle in. It was a Thursday night, a fairly busy night. It was the day most workers were paid and could afford a night out. Tifa could always count on a few customers on pay day, but tonight was crazy. Tifa never got the chance to sit down between orders, never got the time to stop and eat a quick dinner, didn’t even get a chance to chat with the regulars that came in to get a drink. She was so glad when it was closing time; now it was time to finish up the cleaning and take a shower before bed.

The door in the front of the building opened, then closed softly. Boots walked across the floor.

“Damn, I thought I locked that door.” Tifa grumbled, leaning against the crate and sighing. She closed her eyes to try to block out her frustration. “We’re closed!” She called out.

“Damn. I was hoping to get to my bed.”

Tifa smiled and turned around, glad to see her best friend. It had been almost three weeks since he left on his deliveries and she had missed him.

“Hey.” She greeted, sounding tired even to herself. “Long time no see.”

Cloud gave her a smile- a true smile, a smile he only used around her. He opened up his arms, and Tifa gladly stepped into them and gave him the hug he requested.

“You must have had a rough time.” Tifa commented, letting the man go and motioning for him to take a seat at the small table she shoved in the corner of their kitchen. 

Cloud sat down and rested his elbows on the table, sighing as he rested his head in his open palms. “I had a tip on Yuffie. She wasn’t there.”

Tifa, who was pulling some leftover chicken out of the refrigerator, paused at the name. Tears threatened to fall, she had to shake her head to clear it and continued pulling out leftover food for Cloud.

“I’m sorry.” Tifa placed the food on the table, but Cloud just looked at it and didn’t respond. “Cloud…” Tifa reached out and gently lifted his chin so he would look at her. “Don’t think that. She is not lost forever.”

Cloud simply sighed. Tifa ruffled his hair a little bit, pushing it back out of his face. He reached up, took her hand into his own and simply held it. Tifa stepped a little closer to him and let him wrap his arms around her middle. The blonde rested his head against her chest and simply breathed in her scent.

This was a familiar thing to happen to Tifa. When Cloud was starting to feel overwhelmed, or immensely guilty over things he could not control, he turned to Tifa for comfort and to ground himself. Usually when they were alone Cloud would simply envelope Tifa in a hug and just let his mind turn off, not thinking about anything, if only for a few minutes.

Tifa wasn’t worried. When he came back, he came back. He stood up on his own two feet and continued on. It was wonderful progress for him- she felt like Cloud was finally coming to terms with himself, and not the scared child who turned away from everyone in anger.

Cloud lifted his head and smiled up at his friend, his mako blue eyes shining. “Hey.”

Tifa smiled. “Hi.”

Cloud stood up, still holding her in his arms. “I missed you.”

“Then stop being away for so long.” Tifa wrapped her arms around his shoulders and began pulling him close. “You are allowed to take some time off.”

Cloud rested his chin on her shoulder, breathing in the scent of her shampoo. “I know.” He gave her one last squeeze and let go, almost reluctantly. 

Tifa, still smiling, dropped her arms and turned back to the food. “Hungry?”

“Yeah.” He said, noting that the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. The desire to hold her again was overwhelming him, but he stopped himself. They weren’t like that. They were friends, roommates… nothing more. He could not give her any more than that. He wished he could.

So instead they chatted as Cloud ate, talking about the upcoming weekend.

___________

“Move over, Spikey. I got the aisle seat.”

“Why?”

“‘Cause I got to give these roses to Marlene at curtain call and I need to get out of the seat quickly. Move.”

“Why?”

“Don’t start, you two.”

“Tell him to move then, Teef!” 

“I just don’t understand why I can’t give the roses to Marlene.”

“WHAT.”

“What’s going on down there?”

“Not now, Nanaki. We’re having a tiff.”

“Shut it, Reeve. Cloud, move over. Barret, sit down. The play is about to start.”

A few moments of shuffling and curses later, all seven of them - Barret, Cloud, Tifa, Reeve, Nanaki, Cid and Shera- had settled in just in time for the curtain to rise. Soon Marlene and two other children arrived on stage, ready to start the performance.

Tifa smiled, waving at the young girl, then realized she was not the only one. The rest of the gang was waving too, eyes riveted on the little girl.

The family was here. Then Tifa felt sad. She looked up and down the row, knowing that there should be two more people here; two people that were missing.

It’s alright. Tifa thought. We’ll be whole again. We will.

<Previous Chapter Next Chapter>

[hollowingearth]

Oh I'm really glad you liked my ask! And I'm glad we have a closer interpretation of the song now. Yes, I can see why you interpreted Aerith meeting her friends again as them all joining the lifestream, that's kinda what the OG game's ending (when Cloud says he can meet her there) hints at to me. :) But wow, I totally missed that interpretation for the song itself! Yes, I like to think it isn't quite as bleak as meeting everyone in the "afterlife" so to speak but we just have to see what Pt. 3 has in store. Maybe Aerith will get lucky and be allowed to live in one timeline, like how she wants to in the song...

And thank you for elaborating on your interpretation of what the game tries to say about being a hero! Yes, I can see better where you're coming from now. I think I'm still hung up on whether Cloud defeating Sephiroth was bad or not, because Cloud stops him for 5 years and it's possible Sephiroth would've done a lot of bad things if Cloud hadn't done anything. But on the OTHER hand he enters the lifestream and starts taking command of the Sephiroth Clones so...that's REALLY not good... >.< I guess you're arguing that more bad than good was done and I can see that, but I'm still conflicted.

I agree though on the game at least subverting the idea about what becoming a hero means, and your explanation of your thoughts was excellent! Thank you for sharing.

Yeah I think maybe my initial interpretation of the song is a bit too dark haha thinking back on it the R Trilogy has been consistently a lot more hopeful than that. I feel like specially with Aerith and Sephiroth still in the picture the way they are in the compilation we sort of forget how final death tm is despite all of the lifestream shenaningans. Thinking back on it, when Aerith says that the future Sephiroth wants in Remake (of his eternal existence and of course complete control over the lifestream) is extremely lonely isn't she speaking a bit from her own experience too? Because honestly, in Lifestream White and Lifestream Black that's basically what's happening already. Honestly imagine being stuck on a river occasionally going past the asshole who murdered you and trying your best to stay away from him because whenever you get too close he starts taunting and chasing you lol

Aw I'm glad you liked my explanation! Tbf I just have a general aversion to traditional heroes lmao my least favorite trope is the chosen one so like my own bias of course is colloring my perspective. For example I'm currently playing 16 right and the amount of times I just rolled my eyes with the whole duty thing in regards to Clive you have no idea. (I just finished the Benedickta section and when Cid comes around after the fight and says that Clive won against her because he was fighting for something he believed in.... bro I wanted to punch his ass like belief in what??? revenge????? desperation??????? you lost to her while using ramuh does that mean you werent fighting for something you believed in????? I thought that was such an inane thing to say lol for all the praise I've seen of FF16 it's honestly mostly just pissing me off)

[sazzujazzu]

All of this, perfect summary of how I feel as well.

("perfect summary", they say, and proceed to write a small novel's worth of needless stuff 😂 I hope my word vomit will make some sense, sometimes trying to write and keep up with my thoughts simultaneously is very difficult)

I watched this series with my mom, and she isn't the biggest Star Wars fan, and the only connection she has to the Bad Batch fandom is through me (and I try to keep my special interests in check, thanks to not-so-kind feedback over the years, so she hasn't heard every theory I've heard/cooked up myself).

I want to mention this, because about a week after we had finished season 2, out of absolutely nowhere, she just casually said "there's no way Tech is actually dead, that man's coming back". I'm talking about in the middle of baking damn cinnamon buns, this elderly lady just drops a "Tech lives" into our conversation 😂 So I don't think it was a very well written death, if even as casual of a watcher as my mom is, says "yeah he's alive", something went wrong somewhere.

And then season 3 happened, and then it ended, and as we watched the credits roll on the last episode, mom was like "... wait, that's it? What do you mean that was the series finale??" She was just as confused as many of us at how much was just dropped (like, where the hell did Phee disappear after her criminally small amount of screen time? Cid? CX-2 because clearly he was someone? none of that apparently mattered?) (she was also very salty that Tech didn't come back, though we agreed that he did, he was just recording bugs or charming Phee by simply existing, just right off-screen)

She might not be a superfan, but she clearly has our spirit. Just yesterday, she wondered out loud "no, seriously, what the hell was that last episode?" Good question, mom. What is it with you and baking cinnamon buns that make you ponder this show so much?

Sorry for extra long nonsense ramble, but I guess I just wanted to point out that if somebody as outside of fandom spaces as my mom felt like Tech was coming back the entire season (and I like to hope it was not just her being all "yes yes of course, dear, if it makes you shut up then sure" towards me), it really wasn't just heartbroken denial of Tech girlies™(gn).

I feel really torn with the way the series ended. I'm of course happy that everybody else got their happy ending, I guess, but am very bitter by how Tech and his death was handled. How, like mentioned, everybody he cared for and died for seemingly only missed his skills, and not... him. I really needed him there with the others, sitting under that tree at the end.

Tech deserved better.

My five cents on Tech’s fate in TBB

It’s been over three weeks since the show ended and I’ve been writing this in my head ever since, mostly to have it summed up in one post for posterity lol. I considered letting it go at this point but I know it’ll drive me crazy if I don’t get it out of my system so might as well.

So here we go, some of my rambly post-finale thoughts on Tech’s death (and a few other issues) under the cut!

Disclaimer: while this post is in critical spirit (because that’s how my brain works), I want to make clear that I have nothing but respect and gratitude towards everyone who’s worked on the show. My criticisms are of the final story as a whole as I interpret it (art is art, everything is subjective, you know the drill), but one never knows what goes into the process of making it behind the scenes, so I’m not holding anything against the creative team. I love this show dearly and am in awe of how good it is at its best, despite certain things I wish they did differently.

To begin, if I had to sum up the biggest problem that TBB writing suffers from, it would be lack of closure, and too many red herrings. Not just for Tech, but many things. Major plot threads as well as little character moments are cultivated or thrown in just to never culminate in anything or to be immediately discarded after serving the plot, some of them incredibly misleading. Some of the top examples:

- Crosshair’s chip. We never get an exploration of how the trauma of his chip activating and being left behind not only affected his motivation and choice to stay with the Empire, but his relationship with his brothers. While it was made fairly obvious, if subtly, that Crosshair became free of the chip’s influence after getting hit by the ion engine on Bracca, the narrative treated this change as if it didn’t matter at that point, while it obviously mattered a lot within the context of Crosshair’s character. Add to that all these little details with him clutching his head in s1 finale, Omega expressing her disappointment in him, and Tech’s comment on how “it is just his nature” (as if it matters!!! See what I mean about the narrative treating Cross’s chip as if it didn’t play the key part in his trajectory? They throw in this line, like we are supposed to take away that it’s simply Crosshair being Crosshair and not like, the results of brainwashing and abandonment), Wrecker blaming Crosshair for not going back to them, all while we as the audience have been shown and told repeatedly how these chips work (and so were the Batch), we ended up with an incredibly confusing situation with lots of mixed signals from the writers. And once Crosshair makes his choice to stay with the Empire in s1 finale, his chip and the confusion it brought to his relationship with his brothers is never brought up again, because the plot simply moves on.

- Cid’s betrayal. After her being a major character for two seasons with a continuous relationship build-up with Omega in particular, she is discarded as soon as her betrayal serves the plot, with all that character development getting thrown out of the window. You can be mad at Cid all you want, but to me it’s incredibly weird and wasteful to end two seasons worth of build up on that note without it having any closure for the characters, especially Omega whose whole theme is trusting people and bringing out the best in them. It’s fine if they decided to make Cid exactly what she appeared on the surface (untrustworthy and self-serving) after playing around with her potentially growing through her fondness of Omega, but then at the very least the betrayal should’ve had an impact on the characters, Omega most of all. Even just one casual line from Omega in s3 about how Cid’s betrayal impacted her emotionally, however minimally, would have solved that problem. And no, CX-2 mentioning how he extracted info on Phee from her off screen absolutely doesn’t count as closure, because I’m talking about emotional closure for the main pov characters as well as the audience. Cid had a presence for two seasons, then as soon as she executed her role as a traitor to further the plot, she was discarded like she was a random extra.

- Emerie’s relationship with Hemlock. We are led to believe that he basically raised her, instilling in her the idea that she had no chance without him and owed her purpose and “safety” to him. You can’t tell me that this didn’t deeply affect her struggle and eventual decision to break away from all that and choose to help the kids, basically betraying Hemlock. I get that the show only had so much screen time and Emerie is a supporting character in season 3 at best, but common, she has more tension with Dr. Scalder than Hemlock while the potential for this rich deep conflict between them is right there.

I can probably list more smaller examples but this is getting long and I don’t want to go on any more tangents, so, finally, the biggest example of lack of closure and tendency of TBB writing to display foreshadowing that leads nowhere:

Tech’s death.

First of all, I’ll die on the hill that it wasn’t denial or delusion that led to such a big portion of the audience to believe that Tech didn’t really die in s2. If we look at the facts:

- there was no body

- it’s the finale of season 2 out of 3, pretty early for one of the main titular characters to get killed off

- the only/last character to allegedly see Tech after his fall is a villainous scientist who is known to experiment on clones specifically

- not a fact but: the whole scene with Hemlock presenting Tech’s goggles to Hunter was incredibly suspicious. In hindsight, I think the whole purpose of it was so that the Batch got Tech’s goggles back in their possession as a memento (and to show how evil Hemlock is to rub it into Hunter’s face like that) but it was executed in a way that read as something much more. It read as if Hemlock was going out of his way to convince us/Hunter of Tech’s death, but with us knowing who Hemlock is, his background in experimenting on clones, everything screams at us to not trust a word he says. Is it really so surprising that so many of the viewers immediately jumped at the conclusion that something more was going on there?

- Hunter’s (lack of) reaction/immediate narrative fall-out. More on that later as I address lack of emotional impact of Tech’s death in s3.

- it’s Star Wars. And there was no body.

So yeah, to me, it is completely justified that so many people read that whole thing as open to speculation at the very least, foreshadowing Tech’s survival at most.

Personally, I was 70% sure Tech was truly dead prior to s3, but not because the text told me so, but because at that point I was used to the show’s writing regularly sending out mixed signals, and a part of me was resigned to Tech’s death becoming another example of the writer’s intent clashing with their accidental empty foreshadowing.

As season 3 aired and the whole CX-2 plot was unfolding alongside continued lack of closure for Tech’s fate, my hope for Tech Lives reveal grew and grew, but in the end my initial doubt was proven right, unfortunately.

Oh, CX-2.. what a mess. You can’t tell me the creators went over all of these scenes, all of these lines, looked at the whole picture and *didn’t* see how it was incredibly easy to interpret CX-2 as potentially being Tech with all these little potential parallels. “Domicile” alone.

If they didn’t want us to entertain the idea that it could be Tech, they could’ve done it differently, but for some reason, they chose to leave that space for speculation. My question is, why?

If they truly wanted us to believe Plan 99 was it, Tech’s Noble End that we were supposed to take as this dramatic super emotional ultimate sacrifice and all that, then why would they not make it clear that CX-2 couldn’t be Tech? Why breed confusion? And breed confusion they did. It’s hard for me to believe they didn’t foresee the “ohh is it Tech?” speculation.

When so many members of the audience immediately and individually jump at a theory or have the same take away from the story they are being told, yet the authors say it wasn’t meant to be taken that way, something went seriously wrong with the writing.

I don’t like to speculate on such things because we will probably never know for certain, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they had at some point considered CX-2 being Tech or at least something more for the whole CX plot thread, but changed and reshuffled things at the last minute for whatever reasons.

Which is fine and understandable. But it brings me to the heart of my biggest issue with how Tech’s fate was handled:

lack of impact and closure.

Let’s disregard all the Tech Lives theories for a moment and focus on what we did get: Tech, one of the main characters, getting killed off at the end of s2 out of 3, for stakes and consequences and NOTHING else. When I say nothing, I mean nothing.

Imagine, for a moment, he survived and stayed with the Batch. Nothing would have changed, in the grand scheme of things. Nothing. We wouldn’t have had a few obligatory “Tech mention, everyone feel sad now” throwaway lines/goggle shots and whatnot, sure, but that’s it.

Tech dying didn’t change the trajectory of the plot in any way, nor did it affect any of the other characters in a way that changed their trajectory. And anything less is simply not enough to justify killing one of your main characters. Stakes and consequences ain’t it.

Consider Mayday, for example: a supporting character, but his death in s2 affected Crosshair in such a way it completely redirected his journey, AND in s3 we got an episode that cemented the impact Mayday had on Crosshair and provided emotional closure for them. That’s a narratively meaningful death.

Tech’s death was not meaningful to the narrative beyond removing him from it. That’s why so many Tech fans insist he deserved better treatment: not only was he not present in one third of the show physically, but he lacked any sort of presence even in death. His absence was never processed or grieved by any of the main characters and so by extension by the audience.

And before anyone starts with the whole ‘they are soldiers/they had no time to grieve/etc’ arguments, it is the responsibility of the writers to provide the space for all of that emotional impact. It they don’t, there is no impact.

A few reactions here and there, moments of missing Tech as a person and a brother, not an asset, anything would have made this whole thing easier to accept.

The lines that we did get, from Omega mentioning the stuff Tech taught her to Echo commenting on how decryption would be easier if Tech was with them to “Clone Force 99 died with Tech” from Crosshair - each and every single one of those lines linked to Tech’s functions as part of the squad, his usefulness, but we didn’t get a single line in remembrance of him as a person of his own, no one missed or remembered him for himself or his personal impact on them.

Just one line from Omega about how he taught her about change being a constant part of life or whatever, or Wrecker making a comment on how Tech used to info dump about stuff, anything would have instantly provided that much needed sense of “he was here, he was a person and is still a part of us”. Instead, Tech was killed off to show that messing with the Empire is dangerous and risks are real, I guess, and immediately lost any and all presence within the story.

We never even got to see Crosshair’s or Phee’s reactions to losing him.

Speaking of Crosshair, that’s a whole other example of complete lack of closure: they never closed the loop on the family being reunited again after initially leaving Crosshair behind, and with Tech dead, it’ll forever stay broken.

They could’ve given this a bittersweet yet meaningful spin if they developed the angle of Tech dying on a mission to bring Crosshair home, making a sacrifice so Crosshair had a chance.

Instead, the moment Tech dies, we get Hunter (and through him, the narrative) immediately abandon the idea/plot thread of going to rescue Cross all while saying “let’s not waste Tech’s sacrifice”. Sacrifice for what? Clearly Hunter doesn’t see it as a sacrifice for Crosshair’s sake, so, what, to make sure the rest of them makes it from the mission? The mission to save Crosshair. That mission. Right.

I see people talking about Tech’s noble sacrifice that ensured his family got to live and eventually have their happy ending, but all I can think about is how the creators chose to have him die on a mission that was immediately abandoned and the only take away from that whole sub plot was Tech’s own demise.

And after Crosshair is back with the Batch, his reaction to Tech’s death is never explored at all.

So yes, to me Tech deserved so much better. If you are going to kill off a major character, it must be necessary to be compelling. The way I see it, Tech’s death was not necessary at all because it didn’t change anything. And if it was meant to, the creators failed to communicate that by choosing not to explore the emotional impact of it and not structuring certain story beats in a more precise manner.

To wrap this up, if the way Tech’s death was handled was satisfying for you, that’s valid and I’m glad for you. For me, unfortunately, it’s completely the opposite and will forever remain the biggest and most unfortunate low point in the story.

And while I welcome anyone to share their own perspective if they wish, please don’t take this post as an invitation for debate, since there is no one right or wrong way to interpret or be affected by art.