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laura1633 · 5 months ago

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10. An Alpha discovers an Omega is faking their heat.

Could we have this with omega Max and alpha Charles? 🥰

Part four of the omegaverse prompt game. I am going to do another batch of these next week as I want to focus on a non-omegaverse one shot I am working on and get that posted and there are a couple other things I am working on that I want to get finished ❤️

Thanks for the request, I wasn't sure where this was going when I started writing 😂 I will add it to the collection on ao3 in a little bit.

TW: this focuses on Max having issues with his heats and sexual function.

Charles takes his time as he slowly kisses his way up Max’s neck. The alpha makes sure that the press of his lips against the warmth of the omega’s skin is light and gentle. In fact everything is soft and delicate, from the way he coos over how pretty Max is to the way he runs his hands up and over the curves of the omega’s body. Charles isn’t entirely sure how Max likes to be treated in his heat but he’s currently treating him like precious cargo.

“You like that?” Charles hums as he licks over Max’s scenting gland and hears the omega moan happily.

Max is brilliantly responsive to all of Charles’ touches. In fact Max is really present in the moment considering he is in his heat. Charles is used to omegas being rather out of control once their heat sweeps up through their body. Max is completely different, he is lucid and engaged.

“Feels good” Max’s eyes flutter open as he smiles up at Charles.

“This all still okay?” Charles asks he runs his nose up along the length of Max’s neck and takes in some more of the omegas’s sweet scent.

Max nods and lets out a long slow exhale as he shifts beneath Charles. After the omega’s initial reservations about spending a heat together he seems to be relaxing into things bit by bit.

“You look hot like this” Charles grins as he nips at Max’s earlobe and smiles to himself at the little squeak it elicits.

Charles had joked once that Max was like a musical instrument, it’s not far from the truth though, the omega makes a whole array of noises depending on where and how Charles touches him. From gentle purring right up to raucous squealing. Max has quite a range.

The alpha soothes his palms up over Max’s stomach and cups his hand against the omega’s chest as he brings his tongue down and around their nipple. The omega arches in response and pushes his body upwards towards Charles’ mouth.

The thing with Max, Charles has learnt, is that it takes him a while to get warmed up. He’s always a little skittish and nervous when they get into bed but a nice slow pace seems to work wonders. Except today everything feels a little off. Max is starting to melt against Charles’ touch but the omega’s body seems to be cooling down.

Which would be fine -

Except Charles is almost certain that ‘heats’ are named literally and that the warmth of Max’s skin shouldn’t be fading quite so quickly. He decides it’s best not to make comment seen as he is under the impression that Max has had to work up quite a lot of courage to spend his heat with someone.

“You think maybe you’d like me to use my tongue today?” Charles runs his fingers along the top of Max’s panties and imagines easing them down with his teeth before dipping his tongue inside the omega, “I can stop if you don’t like it”

“No tongue” Max suddenly tries to wiggle out from underneath Charles in a panic.

“Wait , it’s okay, I’m not gonna do something you doing want!” Charles reaches out to hold Max still but thinks better of it and lets the omega jump up to their feet, “Sweetie I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I know that” Max smiles. It’s fake though, Charles can tell instantly. Max’s eyes are dull and even though his lips are curling upwards the happiness doesn’t reach any other part of his expression, “Just give me two minutes and I’ll be back.”

Max dashes off to the bathroom before Charles can say anything more. Unfortunately this is not an unusual experience, they’ll just be getting into things and Max will disappear for a short time before returning back. Charles hasn’t quite been able to work out why and Max is more than a little reluctant to discuss it.

The alpha lies back on the bed and tries not to worry. He’s been with shy omegas before, omegas who get nervous around oral sex or just sex in general. Max is different somehow. Not that different is bad, it’s just that Charles would rather like to figure out what is going on in Max’s mind sometimes.

The alpha stretches out his arms and is just about to call through to see if everything is fine when he hears a clattering followed by a string of expletives, as he dashes through to the bathroom he gets a less than welcoming reception.

“Get out!!” Max whines as Charles stands in the doorway trying to work out what the fuck is going on. The omega has patches stuck to various parts of their body and there is lubricant and a bottle of scent enhancer leaking on the floor. Max looks like he is caught somewhere between fury and tears.

“What is going on?!” Charles surveys everything again and suddenly recognises the patches adorning Max’s body. Heat patches, the type he uses for aching muscles. It’s then that it hits him that the omega looks to be desperately trying to increase the temperature of their skin.

“Are you not in heat?”

“Charles, leave me alone!!” Max whines as he barges past Charles and darts right back into his nest so he can bury his body against the various sheets and cushions. As he peeks back out his eyes are watery.

“Tell me what is happening” Charles can’t work out if the weird feeling he has beneath his skin is anger or embarrassment. Most likely both. Anger that Max doesn’t trust him enough to be honest and embarrassed that he didn’t work out immediately that the omega was faking his heat.

In his defence it seems a ludicrous thing to do. He’s never heard of anyone even attempting to do such a thing.

“I’m so sorry” Max’s whines have quickly turned to sobs. Not the small sniffly kind either, full body wracking sobs.

Charles’ brain can’t catch up. He’d suggested helping Max through a heat but that was all it was - a suggestion. He would never have forced the issue. The fact that Max would even think he had to fake anything stings, especially when Charles would like to think he’s been incredibly patient over the the whole thing.

“Why did you lie to me?”

Max curls himself up tighter in the grey fleecy blanket he has wrapped around himself. Charles recognises it immediately as Max’s comfort blanket. It’s all torn and tatty and ripped up one side. Max carries it everywhere with him and right now he is gripping hold of it for dear life.

“I would never make you spend a heat with me. Is that what you think?” Charles tries really hard to keep his voice calm but he’s shaking underneath the surface. Nothing is making sense, “Or is it something else? You can talk to me.”

“I didn’t mean to lie” Max chokes out through sobs, the omegas eyes still peering out from behind his comfort blanket, “I didn’t want you to see me in heat. It’s awful.”

“Max..” Charles perches himself down on the edge of the nest. He’s known from the start that Max can sometimes get self conscious over his body. Charles hasn’t been able to figure out why because every inch of Max is perfect to him but then again Charles gets self-conscious too so he supposes it’s just human nature, “I think you would look beautiful in heat. I can imagine you all rosy faced.”

“No” Max shakes his head vigorously, “I really don’t look good.”

“Ask most alphas, they’ll tell you how pretty omegas in heat are. I know it might not feel like it when you are hot and uncomfortable - “

“And wet” Max interjects, “Really wet right?”

“Well hopefully” Charles laughs awkwardly, he certainly hopes he gets his omega wet, “I mean wet is always good no?”

Max makes another choked out little sound, “Does it feel different when an omega is really wet?”

“Yes” Charles smiles, he wasn’t planning on getting into a sort of semi-biology lesson but clearly Max is worried about how his body changes during heat and Charles knows that as a good alpha he should do whatever he can to make an omega feel better, “But in the best possible way. I love it, the messier the better.”

“That’s what I thought” Max pauses for the briefest of seconds and then starts sobbing uncontrollably.

“Max sweetie” Charles inches closer and rubs his hand down Max’s back over the top of the blanket that is still pulled tight around the omega’s body, “however you are in heat it will be fine by me.”

“My body is not normal” Max sniffs, “I do not have proper heats. I am not sexy. I get sick. My muscles ache. It’s horrible. The last thing I want is sex. I can barely move.” Max punches out each thought between sobs.

Charles feels his stomach flip, he’s never heard of an omega being anything other than horny during heat. He immediately thinks to how he has been going on about helping Max through it and knotting him and keeping him full and the whole time his mate seems to have been curled over in pain each time a heat hits, “Why didn’t you tell me? Oh my god, I could have been helping you all this time.”

“It is not how heats are meant to be” Max says sadly, “I didn’t want you to look at me the way everyone else has looked at me when they found out.” Max is still peeking out from within his blanket, tears dripping down off his face and soaking through the material.

“Someone said something to you?” Who said something to you?” Charles tries to suppress the growl that is vibrating up from his chest.

“It doesn’t matter now” Max sighs, “They were right. It is weird.”

Charles wraps his arms around the omega’s body and feels his heart clench when Max immediately leans right into him looking for comfort, “It’s not weird to me. I would have been there to ease you through it”

“I don’t get wet” Max chokes out.

“I didn’t mean ease you through it with sex” Charles slowly starts to peel the blanket away from Max so that he can hold the omega to his chest. Often skin to skin contact is just as comforting to the omega as the blanket and once again Max puts up no resistance to setting the fleece aside so he can press up against his alpha.

“I don’t mean like that” Max mumbles quietly where he has buried himself into the crook of Charles' neck, “I don’t ever get wet. I don’t produce slick”

“That’s not true, you’ve been wet when we - “

“No” Max shakes his head, “that was why I had to - , to the bathroom. Lubricant.”

Charles pauses as he thinks back to the last few times they’ve had sex. Max has definitely been wet. Except Charles can’t be sure that it was produced by the omega’s body because Max did in fact dash off to the bathroom midway through foreplay each time. Charles suddenly feels like the worst alpha of all time for not realising.

“Are you breaking up with me now?” Max sounds so quiet and cautious, “Please don’t leave me”

Charles clutches his arms tighter around Max and hugs him almost impossibly tight against his body, “I am not going to leave you. Oh my god why would you think that?”

“Just - , experience” Max shrugs like it’s what he was expecting to happen all along.

“Sweetheart I know you don’t want to talk about it now but I am going to need names” Charles tries to keep his tone light, “I think I need to have a few quiet words with some people.”

There are very few things that get Charles genuinely apocalyptic with rage but he has quickly learnt that top of his list is anyone hurting Max. Ever. Whether it’s past, present or future. Maybe it’s the alpha side of him but there is a protective instinct that vibrates through his body. Clearly Max has not had the experiences he should have been having with alphas.

“So it’s not over?”

“No it’s not over” Charles shuffles up against the headboard so he can coax Max right into his lap. The omega clambers on without asking and snuggles up against him, “I feel like you should be asking me that. I should have realised what was happening, I’m meant to be looking after you.”

“You do look after me” Max mumbles, the tips of the omega’s ears turning pinker as he starts to blush, “I just wanted to be wet for you. You said it yourself, being wet is better.”

“I didn’t mean that, not really” Charles tries to backtrack on his earlier statement, “I think you are perfect just as you are. I want to make you feel good, not worry about things.”

“It does feel good” the blush has fully crept its way on to Max’s cheeks, “and I really did want you to .. you know… but I thought you might taste the lube and then I …you know it was just… I would like it though.”

“Oh” Charles doesn’t quite manages to hold back the rumbling noise he makes as he realises what Max means, “You want me to eat you out?”

Max blushes further.

“We can do that” Charles smiles and lets Max rest against him for a while as the omega’s sobs start to slowly subside, “I just need to ask one thing and you don’t have to answer, but have you been to see someone about this?”

Max blinks a few times as he looks back at Charles “I got checked out. I was embarrassed but I am of course not stupid. The wetness, it is not serious, it is what it is the doctor said.”

Charles runs his nose up Max’s neck and inhales the omega’s scent that also seems to be settling back into the familiar sweet notes ,“and your heats?”

“He said it is really rare and there is nothing they can do” Max frowns, “but I guess I am just special”

“You are special” Charles kisses the tip of Max’s nose and chuckles lightly at the way Max’s face scrunches up, “and your next heat, I would love to look after you. Make you food. Keep you comfortable”

“You are not disappointed?”

“No” Charles answers immediately but feels like a complete dick because he supposes there is a part of him that wanted to see what Max was like when he was in full heat and desperate and dripping for him. He’d rather die than tell Max that, he decides some lies are for the greater good. Besides, he’s now focused on how he is best going to care for Max in his heats. The omega is so tactile and gentle and Charles really would love nothing more than being able to return that type of energy when the omega needs it most, “I could never be disappointed with you, you're my special omega and I’m going to treat you like a princess.”

“Princess” Max huffs and laughs but snuggles in closer to Charles.

Charles closes his eyes and hugs Max close, he doesn’t need his omega to be wet and he doesn’t need him in some heat ravaged desperation, he just wants him to be happy and right now Max is purring contently against him which seems like a pretty good start.

#Lestappen fanfiction #Lestappen

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the-solar-system52 · 2 months ago

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Earthspark S3 synopsis spoilers!!

Rotten Tomatoes leaked the titles and synopsizes for episodes 2-7 of Season 3 and I have opinions.

First of all, I JINXED IT??? Yesterday I was literally writing a post complaining about how little info we got about S3 compared to the other seasons before their release. I was nearly done it but got lazy and I saved it as a draft to finish later, cue 1 AM at night when I decide to check again Rotten Tomatoes for any updates, AND THERE WERE NEW EPISODES?? I just manifested them into existence with the power of hyperfixation I guess. So, you're welcome guys. (Although it is pretty cool that I discovered it myself because that usually doesn't happen to me since I don't use Reddit or Discord, it also signifies that the mainstream Transformers fandom doesn't really seem to care about Earthspark that much anymore considering the fact they aren't interested on reporting on new leaks. And that sucks, but I can't exactly blame them.)

But also you're not welcome because wtf are these synopsizes. I'm trying my best to be positive and stuff, and I know we should probably wait for the episodes to come out before we judge too hard, but these descriptions are definitely raising some red flags. There only seems to be 7 episodes which is very disappointing and doesn't seem like enough time to wrap up all the plot points from S2, plus the new S3 plot points they are introducing. Not to mention that there seems to be one or two filler episodes, which doesn't seem like a lot for most shows but it matters when you have such limited time. Filler can be good when it is well-written, helps develop the characters, and doesn't take time away from the rest of the plot. S1 filler was enjoyable because it had these qualities, but S2 filler however....... I don't think so. Not only is the writing just plain bad, but the writers almost seem adverse to developing their characters because they don't want to break their 'good guys good/bad guys bad' formula and need everything to reset to the status quo by the end of the episode, rendering the filler basically pointless. (See, the end of Togetherness) So not only is the filler getting in the way of the plot, but I'm not entirely sure it'll even be enjoyable.

I don't know if we are going to be getting more episodes after this. Some say we are going to get more batches, some say we are going to get longer specials instead, and some say Earthspark is cancelled and won't be getting any continuation. I think we probably will get some sort of finale, but either way, now is not the time for the writers to start messing around. There are plenty plot points from S2 that need to be wrapped up (The Decepticons, Terrantronus, The Chaos Terrans, The Quintessions) and yet they are already adding some more plot points for S3. The descriptions don't really mention any of the S2 plot points, and obviously we should wait till the episodes actually release to see if they do, but I'm still a bit skeptical. But these S3 plot points do seem interesting so lets talk about them.

IZZY'S EVIL?? Or a shapeshifter Quintession thing?? I'm gonna be real I did not see that coming and I don't really know how to feel. It's more interesting than her just being a designated crush character but I'm still just not really invested enough in her and Robby's relationship to care. I wonder if she's actually a shapeshifting Quintession or just a human working for the Quintession's? (I'm sorta hoping for the first thing tbh since we don't need more human screentime) I also wonder if she'll just be pure evil or if she'll be redeemed by the power of straight people or something. Imagine if some random girl gets redeemed but not any of the Decepticons, that'd be really funny.

There's this new plot point called 'The Hate Plague' which seems to be some sort of disease that drives bots into a rage. It pops up after EP4, right after The Autobot Ship (probably containing Prowl) crash lands. My guess is that the disease stems from Prowl's ship, and also probably has something to do with the Quintession's big plan. That either means the ship had a Quintession stowaway or some other substance that the Quintession's planted there that somehow caused the disease. There is also the possibility that it has something to do with The Chaos Energy from the Chaos Terrans since they are associated with rage?? But we'll have to see. I think the plot will follow The Autobots slowly being taken over by the disease, making them dangerous to the Maltos, leaving them all by themself to find someway to reverse it's affects and bring them back while also fighting the enemy that wants to take Robby and Mo's power for their own- wait a sec HAVEN'T WE DONE THIS BEFORE?? Isn't just the GHOST mind control all over again??? Sure, the Hate Plague makes them more enraged whilst the Mind Control made them emotionless, but it will still lead to them fighting against the Maltos right? It just feels way too similar. And the lines "she (Twitch) realizes she may be the only one who can help" and "Prowl recruits Thrash and Robby to investigate the source of the mysterious Hate Plague" sort of implies The Terran's can't be infected? Which seems worse since it means the Terrans won't benefit by whatever potential character development the Hate Plague could bring. But I don't want to jump to conclusions. I think it would be more interesting if the 'Hate Plague' didn't just make the bots mindless enraged savages, but instead actually make them more hateful. The plague clouds their view and makes them see the negative in everything, but they still retain their cognitive abilities, specifically the ability to talk. This could lead to interesting character dynamics being challenged since everyone would be arguing with each other and their previously-hidden opinions would come to light. This would still install conflict in the Autobot base but it wouldn't make them just mindless enemies and could actually lead to really interesting dialogue and situations. Think of The Spell of Shattered Sight from Once Upon a Time. It would put the Autobots out of commission and they wouldn't be able to help the Terrans but it wouldn't lead to them mindlessly attacking them without a reason, so it wouldn't be too similar to the GHOST mind control. But I'm not sure if they'll go for this angle since the S2 writers don't seem to be a fan of 'complicated characters' and exposing some of the flaws of the Autobots via The Hate Plague would destroy their 'good guys good/bad guys bad' narrative. It's easier to just turn The Autobots into mindless monsters to fight the Terrans for awhile. It'll also probably lead to some "i know your still in there 🥺" fights, which may be good character development if they are written well but they will probably end up being really corny. Like I said, we've done this all before.

No mention of The Chaos Terrans guys. I'm not doing well. We don't have the synposis for EP1 which would be the one they are most likely to be mentioned in, but the fact that they are not even alluded to in the other descriptions has me worried. I don't care if they stay pure evil, I also don't care if they speedrun a poorly written redemption arc, I JUST WANT THEM TO BE ALIVE 😭😭 (istfg if they try to redeem Starscream after what he did......)

The episode I'm most excited for is probably EP4. The plot of going into the Decepticon base and "friendships being tested" might mean we'll be getting some character development between The Autobots and/or The Decepticons? I have a soft spot for snow day episodes, so I'll probably enjoy EP 5 as well. The description of EP6 sort of made it seem like they would go on a full on investigation, so I think it would be funny if it was styled like a Noir Dectective film lmao (idk Prowl's character that well, is that something he would do?)

Either way, I will stay cautiously optimistic and be on the lookout for anymore leaks!

#transformers #maccadam #transformers earthspark #tf earthspark #tf earthspark season 3 #earthspark leaks #tf earthspark chaos terrans #transformers earthspark leaks #tf earthspark leaks

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archivistofnerddom · 1 year ago

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The Bad Batch and Costco headcanons:

Because I have it in my head that they would be the family that needs to buy things in bulk. Once it was there, the headcanons followed.

Hunter

He’s usually the one responsible for their food purchases. The grocery list he takes is long, extensive, and heavily annotated with everyone’s preferences.

The most tired dad in Costco award goes to him. Trying to corral the rest of the Batch is a losing game, so he’s figured out how to divide and conquer, sending everyone out to pick up certain things. (They don’t always follow through with what they were supposed to get though, hence why he wins the most tired dad award.)

He’s willing to stop and try samples though. Hunter needs snacks to get through this gauntlet with the full family. Plus, focusing on food keeps him sane and his senses in line.

Even still, he’s always down to get a hot meal from Costco’s kitchen after check-out. It’s the only time that day the whole family agrees on anything and is in the same place in the store.

He’s usually in possession of one of the family’s membership cards and definitely has one of their debit cards. There will be few surprise purchases on his watch. (There are always surprise purchases on his watch.)

Crosshair

Disappears almost as soon as they walk in the door. He appears out of nowhere to deposit what he wants in one of their carts (because they have many) and disappears again. (Coffee and dark chocolate are pretty much the only consistent items he adds.)

He can usually be found hanging near the check-out lanes with a mountain of coolers and boxes at the ready for when they’re checking out.

It’s an unspoken rule in their local Costco that no one tries to filch any of the cardboard boxes from his horde. Legend has it he will throw hands to defend his stash. Few dare to test that assumption.

The one responsible for ordering food so that it’s ready to eat once the rest of the family is through the check-out line. Don’t ask how he always times it perfectly. It’s a mystery not even Tech could solve.

Unsurprisingly, he usually garners a following of moody teenagers who just don’t want to be there. He gives off the same energy most of the time, even if he’s just trying to catch a nap. It’s a crapshot if Crosshair actually likes that the moody punk kids want to hang with him. They’re just afraid enough of him to ask.

Tech

Tech can be found in the auto section and the electronics section. He knows precisely what they meet and has already shopped the best deals.

He needs several texts and alarms so that he doesn’t get lost in conversation. (Hunter isn’t above sending Wrecker to go re-claim Tech, if he doesn’t show up after a timely fashion.)

Like Crosshair, he’ll just drop whatever non-electronic items he wants (such as snacks and what have you) into the cart after he’s finished his assigned tasks before he disappears. He usually winds up hanging with Crosshair to wait for the rest of the family.

Tech is only sometimes in charge of the family Costco membership card and debit car. He can’t be left fully unattended though, if only because he’ll go overboard with purchases.

Can be used to distract the moody punk kids who want to vibe with Crosshair, while also having Crosshair use his shoulder as a pillow.

Wrecker

He has to go with Hunter, if only because he’s usually on cart duty. (Wrecker also needs to be supervised, or else he’ll grab all the snacks.) Being on cart duty doesn’t stop him from having a great time. He’s that guy who can push the most improbably packed cart with true expertise.

Guess who will still sneak in special treats and surprises for Omega into the cart? This guy.

Wrecker gets geared up for the post-Costco run family meal. He’ll eat an entire pizza all by himself, if left unattended and unsupervised. (Crosshair buys extra for him because of that.)

He’s the most enthusiastic about trying samples and will always encourage Hunter to stop and try. Wrecker knows when his brother needs a break from the chaos.

Wrecker and the Costco employees who run the sample stations always get along. He’s so nice to them and complimentary to them. This is the guy who will always wind up getting extra samples handed to him.

Echo

He’s usually on Omega duty, if only to make sure she doesn’t sneak off on them.

Echo also is usually responsible for stocking up their pharmacy needs and buying some clothes in bulk for the family. With how hard their lives are, getting clothes in bulk is necessary.

He’s always in charge of one of their membership cards and a debit card. Echo is the most responsible one on that front.

That doesn’t stop him from conspiring with Omega to find some fun things for the cart. It’s always something random, but will brighten up their chaotic lives.

Echo is most likely to pass out once he eats though. He’s happy to get off his feet and to have a chance to relax. Walking around Costco takes effort sometimes, especially with his prosthetics.

Omega

Like Wrecker, she makes friends with everyone who gives out samples. She’s the reason why Echo stays fed before they check-out.

Omega would walk out with so many large squishy toys, if she could get away with it. That’s why she and Wrecker can’t be in Costco together and unsupervised. They’d have so many comfy squishy toys and hammocks if they were.

Somehow, she gets covered in stickers and starts sharing them with her brothers. It doesn’t matter where she got them. Omega has stickers books and she shares them. Little kids love her because she inevitably turns into the feral sticker fairy of Costco. (Who knows how the parents to said little kids feel about that.)

Omega is very serious about making sure her brothers all walk away from each Costco trip with a surprise in the cart. She gets sneaky about getting them past Echo and Hunter. (Wrecker provides distractions as appropriate.)

Remember those moody punk kids who were hanging around Crosshair (and inevitably Tech)? Well, Omega chats all of them up. She’s the best person to embarrass the crap out of her brothers with stories. Omega makes her brothers look either way cooler or significantly less cool when she shares stories with the punk kids.

#the bad batch headcanons #them being in Costco together makes me so happy #they would divide and conquer and be chaotic together #star wars #the bad batch #tbb hunter #tbb crosshair #tbb tech #tbb wrecker #tbb echo #tbb omega

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vertumnanaturalis · 7 months ago

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While this particular sheet isn't fully finished & public yet, I did wanna post these publicly while I was thinking about it - My headcanon calendar, approximate dates for when IWATEX takes place, and characters indivudual birthdays on both the Vertumnan Calendar and the traditional Gregorian Calendar! I get a bit rambly with this so the explaination behind my reasonings for things is below the cut:

The Vertumnan calendar is simple: 12 months of 30 days between the four normal seasons (Quiet, Pollen, Dust, and Wet), followed by a slightly shorter 28 day month for the already uniquely short Glow season, for a total of 388 days on an average year. Leap years with a single extra day would still occur just much less often than on Earth, only needed once every 17 years (aka 16 average years followed by 1 leap year), with that final extra day being added onto the end of Glow. This also matches with the years on Earth "laping" the years on Vertumna every 16/17 years; A character's 16th birthday on Vertumna would've been their 17th on Earth, their 32nd Vertumnan birthday would've been their 34th Earthern one, ect ect.

This also goes by several key things that aren't against canon information but contridictory to what was in early forms of the design document; the first is that days on Vertumna are nearly identical in length to days on Earth, still following a day divided into 24 hours of 60 minutes with each minute being composed of 60 seconds; the second is that weeks are assembled into batches of 7 days and (currently) follow the modern naming scheme for Sunday through Saturday.

The reason for keeping the day such a near identical length is that in practice it is actually incredibly hard to permanantly readjust the average humans sleep cycle to something longer (or shorter!) than their natural circadian rhythm. Even just an hour longer would have a cumulative effect on people's sleep cycles, getting more and more tired an hour "earlier" than the day before. This only stop becoming a problem if the days were almost perfectly twice as long as one on Earth, but having days that long - especially on a planet with two suns - would likely cook the planet to deadly temperatures during the day, while leaving the far side to drop insanely low each night. And yeah, sure, this one could be waved away by having each of the characters genetically modified to have a circadian rhythem that matches the length of their new day, but that requires both reader/writer and all characters to start adapting to a whole new lingustic system for describing units of time, which is also my entire reasoning for keeping the modern week setup. In theory, building up a whole new system of hours and names for week days is a lot of fun! And it can be, I've done it before, I'm halfway doing it again!

Which is how I learned that actually using said system casually and naturally is a WHOLE different beast, and not one I particularly want to explore in this fandom worldbuilding exercise. I think that in-universe the days of the week would be renamed over time, the same way that I think each given month would eventually have a more unique (and easier to use/identify) name than "Early Pollen" or "Mid Wet". Another headcanon of mine is that the founders actually did attempt to rename them before launch Onesday Twosday Threesday ect ect... But that between the adults deeply ingrained existing habit of calling things by their current names & the younger Earthborn colonists + spaceborn kids having secondhand exposure to the concept through media brought from Earth, it never actually caught on (except for Twosday taking over Tuesday, despite it being the third day of the week).

On another point entirely; The Gregorian calendar dates seen here are all founded on the age 11/year 2 Valentines day event. I ended up settling on that day being February 14th, 2204. Theres a few reasons for picking that year in particular; when I first started toying with the idea, it would've put their landing date during 2203, and I thought that it was a nice pun on the then-current-year 2023 (and, now having hammered it out further, having the landing year be 2202 is a nice nod to the game being released in 2022); One of the early humanties class events has a reference to space travel being "a passtime of billionaires in a previous century", and the standard english usage where I'm from would have this imply that more than a century had passed since that point, but it doesn't automatically mean it that either (think about using that phrasing to talk about something today; if you were talking about things that happend between 1900 and 1999, would you say that they happened in the previous century or a previous century?); the third reason is that its a shout out to one of my other favorite games, Stellaris (a space exploration/empire management sim), which always has the starting year of 2200.

Again, a lot of this is conjecture & opinions, just headcanoning pure and simple, but I've put a lot of thought into this over the past year. I'll eventually have a public copy of a calendar covering all 10 years of the canon game & update the npc sheet to have their local and Earth birthdays (as yes, I have gone and given them all specific birthdates, though I haven't finished calculating the Gregorian dates for the unimportant characters yet), but I'm in the middle of a frustrating medication adjustment & dealing with other personal issues that make it fall lower on my priority list rn.

If you have any questions or thoughts on any of this I absolutely wanna hear them, and as always all of this stuff is free for people to use-as-is or remix or takes part of to incorperate into their own headcanon system freely, and if you ever make anything based on or inspired by or referencing any of this stuff I very much would like to see it.

#i was a teenage exocolonist #iwatex #my docs #rambling #not exactly finished docs but its close enough while still being rambling #also I should get around to making a pinned post because its too easy to lose track of my indivudual posts linking each sheet #but I have never once made one of those and have 0 idea what to put there #oh well. I'll get to it eventually

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moodymisty · 2 years ago

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Hi! So I may or may not be the anon that requested the helmet kink ask not too long ago and I couldn’t get it out of my head! 🙈🤍 you’re writing is just so dang good!!

I was wondering if you had anything in the works for the best big boy, Wrecker? I feel like there just isn’t enough love out there for that big ol’ softie and he deserves to be smothered in kisses all over that hunk of a man

Welcome back hun! I'm glad you like my stuff! And I'm so happy you liked that last thing I wrote, it makes me 'uwu'

I do not actually, I just finished up the last thing I posted for Wrecker a little bit back but I wasn't that happy with it, and I've been currently working on drafting chapters for my Tech fic I want to do.

But... I love my big boy (and incredible genius like this man can rig a bomb out of TRASH like how in the galaxy-) Wrecker so I want to give him some fluff. You give me the perfect escape ramp to do so LOL

I am so sorry to all the people sitting in my inbox while I work on their stuff and I do this one in a day the stars just aligned here while I'm stuck in a hotel for a sporting event

Relationships: Wrecker/Fem!Reader

Warnings: None really, just some overwhelming fluff and irritating Echo(poor baby)

“So...”

After he cracks the silence you glance up at Wrecker, noticing the way he only looks at you in the eyes for a second, before glancing away to the side.

You’re sitting sideways on his lap, leaned back against the arm of the co-pilot’s seat while the main seat sits empty. All the while the Marauder coasts through hyperspace, stars streaking past the viewports. Wrecker’s left hand sits against your hip and he adjusts it, and by extension you, shifting your body slighting closer to him while he speaks.

“What was Kamino like before we got back? After Order 66 and all that.”

You purse your lips for a moment, trying to find a way to describe it.

“Like normal, at first. Just more hectic.” Wrecker’s brow furrows as he looks down at you. You remember not entirely knowing what had happened, only that the war had ended; Until little pieces had begun to fall into place.

“Granted, I didn’t spend that much time there before I hitched a ride with you guys.” You feel his other hand on the small of your back, his fingers twitching.

“Why you ask?” Wrecker’s head perks, looking down at you before away with a bit of an abashed expression. It’s, incredibly obvious he’s trying to lie.

“What? I was just curious…”

All you have to do is stare at him for a moment with a slightly suspicious expression before he cracks in half.

“Ok! Ok ok geez…” He swallows harshly and clenches his teeth for a moment, trying to find the words. And when he does, they come out quieter than you had expected.

“Do ya, regret coming with us?”

You look up at him, having a decent idea what brought this on. So he’s still thinking about earlier.

A little while ago Tech had been surfing open Imperial channels for any unencrypted chatter, and had came across all of the Batch’s bounty postings; Though much to their surprise, you were included with them. They had you marked as a co-conspirator, and with that had effectively ruined any chance of you trying to live a normal life.

Needless to say, you’d taken it far better than the Batch had.

You’d been avoiding talking about it at all around Wrecker, knowing how he was probably taking it. But it seemed he’d been still thinking and stewing about it since Tech had first shown them all.

“No, I don’t.”

You attempt to lean up and give him a kiss, but given the height difference with you sitting on his lap, it’s a struggle. You wrap a hand around the back of his neck, and tug downwards.

“Come down here. I can’t reach you up there.”

He gives a wide and excited smile knowing what you’re trying to do, and eagerly dives in for a kiss. You can feel him almost groan happily as your soft lips press against his own, and your hand stays on the back of his neck. Wrecker doesn’t think there will ever be a day where he’ll get over how small and cute you are compared to him. Once you pull back, you smile at him.

“I wasn’t going to work for the Empire. So I was going to end up on a bounty board either way, honestly. I’m incapable of keeping my mouth shut.” Needless to say that makes Wrecker laugh, feeling the way your hands grab at the seams of his armor to keep him close. As if he was going to pull away anyways.

“Besides; I can’t think of a better place than being here with you.” He smiles again, you can feel it against your lips as you kiss the corner of his mouth.

“Even if it is in this smelly ship.”

Wrecker can’t exactly deny that, even if he’s long since lost the ability to smell it.

“Well, you’re stuck with us now!” The hand on your thigh moves to cradle your cheek, effectively smushing your face against his own as he kisses your cheek. It makes you laugh, even as you attempt to shush him. As much as you’re glad you managed to cheer him up, or at least divert his attention away from thinking about your bounty, his voice tends to echo in the around the compact ship.

“Hey! People are trying to sleep big guy, we can’t yell!”

It’s absolutely not the first time you’ve told him to be quiet, but Wrecker seems largely incapable of doing so. Even his whispering is loud; Much like his personality.

Though it’s not like you mind; It’s just the four others sleeping, or at least attempting to, in the back of the Marauder might not have the same opinion.

Speaking of...

It seems like it’s time for a shift change; As Echo comes into the cockpit looking at something in his hand, before going down the one step and noticing the two of you snuggling in the co-pilot’s seat. His shoulders drop and he sighs, letting out a crestfallen:

“Really?”

Echo always looks tired, but now he looks extremely so. Or disappointed, more like.

“What?” Wrecker stares him down. “Got a problem?” Echo thrusts out his good hand, the datapad in it pointing at the two of you.

“Yes! That’s my seat!”

“Well, we sure weren’t going to take Tech’s.”

You’re attempting not to smile at him, before awkwardly shuffling outward to try and get off of Wrecker’s lap and onto the ground. It takes a moment, before your boots finally touch the floor. Wrecker vacates the seat as well and Echo takes his claim back, flopping down datapad still in his hand.

But there really isn’t any other places in the cramped living space of the Marauder to go, so you just end up back at Wrecker’s bunk, both sitting on it limbs tangled together. Wrecker leans against the wall one leg dangling off the edge of the bunk, and you lay back against his chest. It’s moments before he’s complaining again.

“At least Kamino wasn’t this boring.”

You can feel the way he groans, head thumping against the wall before he suddenly speaks up.

“Want to play Sabacc?”

You jolt forward, about to speak; Though Tech interjects before you have the chance. He’s sitting in his bunk like he had planned to sleep, and either gave up, or an idea struck. Either way his head perks up from the project in his lap, looking over at the two of you.

“Oh, are you going to play? I would like to t-” You quickly cut him off, before anyone else gets any ideas.

“No! We are not playing Sabacc. Not after the last time.” Tech goes back to working on his current project.

“We will be back on Ord Mantell in two standard rotations. We will not have to keep ourselves occupied in hyperspace for much longer.” You can feel Wrecker’s hand against the side of your leg; Wanting to rest on your thigh but resisting the urge to. You would’ve slapped it away if he had, as you’d made him promise to keep affection to a bare minimum while on the Marauder.

“Because he’s so bored…” Wrecker sounds like he’s rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, because he has a project. When Tech actually gets bored he starts digging into the walls.” You can see Tech’s eyes glance over at you for a moment, but he can’t exactly refute your claim. Specially since you’ve seen him literally digging for wires in the walls of the old Kamino barracks before.

After a moment passes however, your hand drifts down to subtly touch his own that’s laying beside your thigh. It lingers, hidden, wrapping your fingers around his own with a soft but noticeable touch. Wrecker’s looking down at you curiously when you glance back.

“How about once we land, we get something to eat?”

Wrecker is all for that, and instantly starts thinking about food that isn’t in a pre-made ration packet. Once you turn around and give him ‘a look’ however, he realizes you might not be entirely talking about food. Then Wrecker becomes much more quiet, looking down at you with a nervous but eager smile.

You’ve been stuck in this ship for a bit, and it’s been awhile since the two of you have actually been alone. As in actually alone, without risk of someone storming in. Your hand dares to trail up to his wrist for a bit,

“Y-Yeah, sounds good to me.”

#the MCU (misty cinematic universe) continues to expand it's lore with another mention of the forbidden sabacc game #mywriting #wrecker x reader #Wrecker/Reader #tbb x reader #the bad batch x reader

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betterthantheywerebefore · 1 year ago

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Whilst my hands hurt too much to do fine motor control tasks, I DID still take the time to make myself a painting station.

It's made entirely of scrap and leftovers from things at my last job, so aside from fixings I already had it cost me nothing at all. The base of it is a perfectly good piece of MDF that was part of a pallet that had just been thrown in the trash. The idea that individual people are the ones creating the most waste in this world when businesses throw away the insane amount of resources they do is an insultingly stupid one, but I digress

This has allowed me to paint in the living room, where my monkey-lizard brain is less likely to be distracted by the computer, now that it is out of sight.

I've spent a good amount of time painting the first batch of models that I did already show you - I wasn't remotely happy with them when I posted them, but at the time I just wanted to have finished something. Well, I've gone back at them with techniques I was too amateurish to consider trying before (shading, edge highlights, being conscious of varnish texture, etc) and now I can say I'm pretty happy with them. Comparison pictures will be coming at some point soon!

#misc #40k

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bleachbleachbleach · 1 year ago

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10/2 - 10/8/2023

Welp, I've lost track of my dash entirely. I was looking at B3's Activity and thinking, "Man, people are liking really old reblogs?" but it turned out they just felt like old posts because our queue was posting a batch of things I happened to write the tags for, and so had initially encountered several months ago, LOL.

Last week's update, I was like "I'm going to try not to be bitter" and then immediately went off to be VERY BITTER so I made a new rule that if I have already worked 12 hours and it is before 10pm, then I am going to fuckkkkk ittttttt and write my damn fanfic, no matter what's not done. I am now in a much better mood!! And I am finally actually almost done with Renji's chapter. Like, finish-an-earlier-drafted-scene almost done.

In this week's scenes, Renji and Akon finally finishing talking about movies and Nemu and futsal; Renji talks about bones; Rukia expresses her desire that he stop talking about bones; I discovered that just because I cut 1500 words of bugs out of Matsumoto's chapter does not mean I will not then write (different) bugs into Renji's; and that inasmuch as my private subtitled for this chapter is "Renji Opens His Big Mouth," Matsumoto's chapter is still longer, and therefore "Matsumoto Opens Her Big Mouth Bigger."

Overall, the writing time was very enjoyable, though "enjoyable" and "good" are regrettably not mutually inclusive categories. The three top issues are, I think:

I don't think some of the descriptions of action and/or lore are actually coherent enough to be follow-able

The order information appears--or more specifically, the point at which it appears--will need to be re-worked. The perils of writing non-linearly.

As usual, I feel like I got a little magpie-brained with the THEMES and MEANINGS and got the narrative thrust muddled because I a) got carried away with a new, absurd extended metaphor I thought was cool and b) have not actually pinned down ~what I make of it all.

I'm pretty sure I said all of these things after I finished Kensei's chapter, which is the one that chronologically follows this Renji one, so I guess after I finish, it will be time to return to the Kensei trenches and see if I know what to do about the messes I left there.

I think finishing my one scene and revising Kensei's chapter feels doable for next week, though I also have a LOT of fanfic reading I want to catch up on, and am sorely overdue on!

#stories for the sea

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maybeimamuppet · 11 months ago

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2, 5, 9, 11, 16 for the fic asks?

hello darling friend tysm for the ask!!

2, will you participate in any fandom exchanges or fic challenges, etc?

if i’m asked to absolutely!! i think they seem so fun but being in smaller fandoms i think they’re a lot harder to figure out. i’ve actually considered forming a few of my own for like halloween or the holidays and stuff but i’m kind of the only cadnis writer still somewhat consistently active and everyone else who writes for mean girls is into very different things (which is great we love to see it but it makes group stuff hard lol) and matilda i haven’t checked up on in so long i have no idea what’s going on in that little corner anymore whoops

5, which wip is first on your list to complete this year? will you post a snippet?

we are continuing my beloved series of ‘someone has to write all the cliche fics for this ship and by golly it might as well be me”! from the looks of things the first one to be finished will be a college au (professor/student) that i’m honestly really proud of. i’ve been hammering away at it for a while lol. but we also have a few more like that and obviously plenty more that aren’t that i’m not gonna spoil just yet but i’m very excited for them :)))

“As long as I’m your professor, this can’t happen, no matter how badly I want it to,” Cady says with a sniffle. She gently presses a kiss to the corner of Janis’ lips before she pulls away and takes a couple steps back. “I’m so sorry, Janis.”

Janis watches her go for a minute, barely feeling the frigid rain slamming against her face. Cady hunches in on herself and clicks off. “What about when you’re not my professor anymore?!”

Cady freezes and turns to look at her. “What?”

“Once I graduate,” Janis begs. “Can we be together then?”

“…Technically, yes, we could,” Cady says. “But-”

“Wait for me,” Janis says. “Please.”

Cady bites her lip, but she nods after a second. “Okay.”

“You will?” Janis asks, finally feeling hopeful enough to smile for the first time in what feels like years.

“I’ll wait,” Cady agrees. “If you’re willing to do the same. Come to me once you graduate, and… we’ll see what happens. Okay?”

“Okay,” Janis says, smiling around a sob. Cady does the same before she continues walking away.

unproofread snippet brought to you by maybeimamuppet :)

9, short term goals… what do you hope to complete this week or in january?

i’m really hoping to have that and the next chapter of pt done by the end of the month!! my third writing birthday is at the beginning of march and i’m really hoping to have a batch of fics ready to crank out by then :)) matilda is kind of wonky for the time being bc i have very few wips and i need time to sort through which requests i can actually do/want to do so they might be a while but focusing on my meanies for a while will be a nice change i think!

11, would you like to try any new fanfic genres or tropes this year?

i don’t think i do!! at least not in fics lol i’m good with my romance and family fluff sorta genres i’m in but i am trying to write a few publishable like real actual books that are a little different so we’ll see how that goes!

16, do you have one fanfic that you wrote a ton for, ages ago, but never posted? will this be the year come hell or high water that it WILL get finished and posted?

UHHHH honestly most of my wips are kinda like that lol. i hyper focus on one and then get bored with it and move on to a new one and herein lies the cycle of Big Issues. so i have a lot of like half-done oneshots (including requests i literally got in 2021 and am sobbing trying to get done i feel so bad). i do have an entire folder of ‘unpublishable fics’ that will never see the light of day. they’re mostly just writing exercises but some of them are just really embarrassing so most of them stay there lol. and i have a multi-chapter The Good Place au i started years ago and couldn’t figure out other than the title but i only wrote a couple scenes for it but that probably also won’t ever see the light of day. ce la vie ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#thank you friend!!!#entropy with ezzy #ezzy gets an ask

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measuringbliss · 10 months ago

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Spider-Man Read-Through 051: Never Let The Black Cat Cross Your Path (ASM 194-195)

MASTERPOST

In this post, we meet the Black Cat!

It's a fun one, but it's also frustrating.

Our story begins with us following Black Cat as she steals a document from the police headquarters and swiftly gets herself a lackey.

And while the director of the care facility where May lives is still being threatened by Uncle Ben's killer, Betty and Ned have it out. Jameson's not happy to learn that Peter's been playing for the other team.

By which I mean, he's photographing for the Globe now. Good for him! And the Globe treats him infinitely better than J.J. ever did.

Spidey visits Jonah, but they each have a surprise for each other and neither of them ends up saying it. Peter's convinced Jonah's seen his face under his mask when he was unconscious, but it's pretty clear that's not the case.

Spidey notices Black Cat and follows her to a meeting with a weapon dealer. He interrupts them, and there's a chase between him and Black Cat, who says "she's not slouch either" and I feel like I've read that expression dozens of times in Wolfman's run.

Meow.

Attagirl! It turns she wasn't lying about the scrapbook later...

And she actually kisses him! Oh, I'm into that. I'm very into that. Naturally, she gets away too. At her lair, Black Cat says she needed henchmen to free someone from prison. I figure it's her dad, from what little I know of her.

The next day...

The Peter/Ned conflict is not advancing, and the following scene was a classic Peter moment. Ok!

Well, everything's tied now!

Peter rushes to leave the Globe, but not without encountering April Maye, a blonde (one more!) girl who's basically Gwen Stacy #4. She had a clone, then we met #3 in the last Spectacular batch, and now this one. Could "April Maye" be an alias? Because it certainly seems a bit too ridiculous, Felicia.

Spidey goes to interrogate papa Hardy in his cell, but Black Cat's here too, and with her henchmen who promptly blow up his cell.

In #195, we get greeted with this cover:

Damn okay alright Marv, calm down! (This isn't actually a particularly exciting cover...)

Black Cat, her dad (shh!) and goons escape. Spidey too, albeit with a dislocated arm.

The goons are barely sent off that someone says that now, they'll work for him instead. Oooh, mystery! And we won't know until the next issue... it's probably Uncle Ben's killer.

So at ESU, Peter's arm is giving him trouble.

But I don't care, because it's much worse to see that everyone's characterization AND face is awful. Why is Harry laughing, he who's never done that before? Even Flash's behavior seems pretty juvenile. Are they back in middle school? Because Harry was never a bully in his screentime.

And then you've got Ned who looks like a 50 year old smoker, and Betty who, unsurprisingly, changes face every issue. What gives? Even Peter's just... ugh. And Betty and Ned are both infuriating in this last panel, like come on.

Ned grabs Peter's arm and asks him if he'll break up their marriage, as if it wasn't already dead and buried. Peter is an ass, both on purpose but also because he's pissed off. Betty slaps him, then...

Oh my goooosh, stop being dumbasses, all of you! And please look your age again. Ross, where are you? I miss you, babe.

Zzzz.

At the Hardy house, Felicia reveals herself to her dad, who's horrified because he never wanted his daughter to do the same thing as him.

As Felicia leaves her house after telling her mom about the news, she's surprised by Spidey, who figured out who she is.

To be fair, I'm entirely on Felicia's side here. First off, a thief? He was probably stealing the rich, so I don't care. And he's dying? Felicia wants him to finish his life next to his family, and I completely understand. Spidey is an ass. Not the first time.

Felicia ends up faking her death (most probably), just as her dad dies for real, away from his daughter.

Depressed, Peter goes home and finds a letter.

Well, Uncle Ben's killer's gonna suffer in an upcoming issue, I'm sure of it.

In the letters:

I don't know, I'm not convinced by Wolfman's tenure in Tomb of Dracula either.

YES. I FEEL THIS SO MUCH.

PREACH.

Anyway, see you next time!

#peter parker #spider-man #comics #comic books #black cat

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morethansky · 7 months ago

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I'm sorry this post turned into an essay from hell because I had to scream about Echo for 3k in the first part. I've been trying to stay off Tumblr so I can write down my undistilled thoughts before being influenced by anyone else, but I couldn't resist taking a peek, and wow. I spent so much of the airtime of this show being frustrated by it, and of course the one time I feel surprisingly happy about the writing, everyone else is suffering.

So here, have some more unusually positive screaming, plus, of course, ecstatic sobbing over Crosshair and Hunter:

The Training Room

• Can you believe Hemlock specifically threatens Hunter with Crosshair being taken away from him. Can you believe the soft worried expression on Hunter's face at the thought of Crosshair becoming one of the Clone X's and essentially dying. CAN YOU BELIEVE

• Hemlock saying, "If you all survive," and then "no shortage to clones to test on next" and Hunter saying, "We'll survive," not between those statements but afterward makes me want to believe he's referring to all the clones. Please, I need it, this growth as been so inexplicit and I'm starving.

• Still not over how stupid Crosshair's "Being defective is in my nature" was lmao; now that we know it's some fucked-up ECT, a better explanation for why he wasn't able to get reconditioned would have been the chip enhancement that Rampart put him through making him less susceptible to more alterations to his brain.

• The number of clone prisoners who poured into the room because they were willing to help Echo without question made me tear up. This is what I've been hungering for this entire show! Heroics are so important!!!

• I like the return of the poison gas from "Tipping Point," and its clever setup—Echo being able to last longer in the battle because of the stormtrooper helmet he stole last episode! You know I love it when things have dual plot purposes.

• Also is there anything hotter than Echo continuing to fight with a fucking vibroblade in his back? At least part of his spine has a cybernetic prosthesis! It must've hurt like hell! Also the CX specifically got the jump on him because Echo was worried about a clone who was coughing from the gas ;_; Gosh, he's just so well characterized in this episode, I love it. We also haven't seen much of Echo's hand-to-hand combat before, so it was particularly fun to see him get to do some of that.

• It's a little thing, but I like the blocking of how Omega frees the Forest Trio. Using the console, she undoes Wrecker's restraints first, and because of Wrecker causing chaos—a great payoff for "he's the strongest soldier I know" after he spent most of the episode weakened, and it also emphasizes Omega's strategic mind, which they've specifically called out this ep—Crosshair is released by the flying debris. And then also because of the debris, Omega is thrown near Hunter, and is able to manually undo his restraints. Just some clever directing that keeps things moving and not repetitive, and ensures that Omega isn't too OP while also showing that she's able to improvise, which is always the Main Clone Characters' vibe and something they've repeatedly emphasized for the Batch.

• And Wrecker is so crucial! Finally! He allows Echo to get the jump on the CX's who have incapacitated him, and then he saves Echo's life, and Echo saves his. And he finishes off two of the CX's???? Holy shit, Wrecker! And then Vik, which is apparently the name for who I've been calling the "clone in front" lol, saves Echo's life and finishes another one of them off, too! Potential cast member of a new show??? I love him already.

• As annoying as the capture/rescue cycle is, I do really like that Echo enters Tantiss to rescue the regs; along the way, he also ends up needing to rescue his squad. Then, at the end of Echo's battle in this episode, he's rescued by Wrecker, a member of his squad, twice, and then a reg as well. You know I love them mirrors!!

• I love how in this third act, they show how tired everyone is on both sides. And as the CX's get more tired, their clone features start to show! The little sliver of neck, the helmet falling off, the helmet being put on. And gosh, the pain of briefly seeing the clone faces beneath the helmet, sobbing. And I'm at least hoping the clone prisoners who were knocked out by the gas were just briefly unconscious, since Crosshair lived through his exposure?

• Me: I don't often thirst after the clones because I'm rarely attracted to men My caveman brain: ECHO PANTING GOOD

Crosshunt wins

• My god, the culmination of Crosshair and Hunter's story FED ME. I love it so much!!! If CX-2 is supposed to be the representation of Crosshair's trauma and guilt, as that waterfall scene showed (and which finally explains the boggling question as to why he's specifically a really good sniper), then Crosshair preventing him from killing Hunter is extra beautiful and a lovely way to lead to the close of their story! Crosshair—who in the first season kept going after Hunter; kept half trying to kill him, half trying to capture him—saves Hunter from being killed by CX-2, and by extension, saves Hunter from being killed by himself, thus experiencing catharsis from that guilt!!! ("It's what I deserve." / "I've done things. I've made mistakes.")

• And then also importantly, Hunter is the one to actually kill CX-2!!! Do you see what I'm saying here. Because Crosshair saves Hunter's life, Hunter is able to exorcise Crosshair's ghost for him!!! And it's what Crosshair failed to do in "Extraction" and then again in "Point of No Return"! What better symbol of devotion, of forgiveness, of the importance of their bond, of their growing closer and closer again and healing over the course of this season could there be??? This unequivocally says that only with Hunter can Crosshair fight his demons, and before they were reunited, he wasn't able to, because he was alone. This is one of the themes I built into "i should live in salt for leaving you"!!!

• This is also emphasized when we see Hemlock's getaway ship being accurately shot down and find out it's Hunter and Crosshair, together. This is a very overt mirror of the end of "Point of No Return," in which Crosshair fails to tag this exact same ship!!! They even go to the trouble of showing Hemlock taking the key fob off CX-2 so that we know it's the same one! With Hunter at his side, Crosshair doesn't hesitate, doesn't doubt himself. He nails the shot. Sobbing forever!!!

• Also, Hunter is specifically shown to be very out of it when he first awakens and unable to use his senses, AND YET the moment Crosshair gives him an opening, Hunter reacts instinctively and hits the target dead on. Not a single word needed to be exchanged. They're so in sync!!! The battle couple is real.

• I love Crosshair saying in the first act of this episode, "You two, head to the communications array and try to contact Rex. I'll infiltrate the base myself," and Hunter responding, "Not happening." And then in the third act of this episode, Hunter saying (so gently!!), "I'll find Omega. You should stay here," and Crosshair responding, "Not a chance."

• As I mentioned before, the messaging about Crosshair's hand is godawful. Unbelievably so. Like...how was this concept allowed to proceed through all the rounds of approval LFL does??? Literally all the same story beats could have been done without it. This climax doesn't actually depend on him not having that hand; it depends on the doubts that are still there regardless?? Like wasn't the whole point of the conversations with AZI-3 and the meditation that it's not physical, it's psychosomatic?? Just...why?? I feel like because the characters were going to survive, they wanted to ensure that there had been some cost, some consequence, but it's not really necessary, given that they've already illustrated that Crosshair is traumatized, and that is a permanent consequence.

• I love this climax so much though!!! Omega still having the scalpel is great; more dual uses for plot devices! (Where tf has this writing been this whole time??) Hunter FINALLY after all this time trusting Omega to take care of herself instead of being overprotective and treating her like a baby, which wraps up his arc with her in the show (and foreshadows the epilogue). Crosshair admitting aloud that he didn't just come to rescue Omega because he owed her, like he said in the forest—that he doesn't want to harm her ("Aim for the kid."), which wraps up his arc with her this season.

• The scene that straight up got me into Crosshunt was when in the pilot, Crosshair leans his elbow on Hunter's shoulder and teases him, speaking to this closeness between them that's still there despite the Crosshair's chip already being activated (and him already sending in a report about Hunter letting Caleb go), so the amount of emotions I have about Crosshair leaning his blaster on Hunter's shoulder here, my god!! A character-driven homage to Crosshair leaning his Firepuncher on Tech's shoulder! And the way the two of them make silent eye contact when they're trying to figure out what to do, gosh ;_;

• AND THEN... Hunter asking for Crosshair's help ("You're angry because she escaped with my help, not yours.")!! Crosshair meeting that vulnerability with an admittance of his own!! And in such a soft, miserable voice! Crosshair stuttering, just like when he was panicking over Mayday! Hunter assuaging Crosshair's doubts and letting him know he has complete faith in him!!! HUNTER'S FAITH IN CROSSHAIR GIVING CROSSHAIR FAITH IN HIMSELF!!! HUNTER'S LOVE DESPITE EVERYTHING GIVING CROSSHAIR THE STRENGTH TO DO WHAT HE NEEDED TO DO!!! Has there ever been anything more romantic in the world????

• Also—"Shoot the binders." / "Wait for her, then take the shot." / "Depends on who's giving them." Headcanons about sub!Crosshair aside, I do think that intrinsic to Crosshair's struggle this whole show has been the way he flocks to authority. What's fascinating is that he never seeks to usurp that authority, like you might expect. Instead, a core characteristic of his is that he needs people telling him what to do, and he needs to be trusted by someone telling him what to do. A lot of his being lost after Order 66 comes from not having Hunter in that role anymore, and he continually tries to find others to serve as Hunter substitutes. Mayday is the closest he finds, which is why he is so key to his turn.

• This is why "Depends on who's giving them" is so insane—it's Crosshair recognizing that he only wants to take orders from Hunter. And it's no wonder, if this is what Hunter can do for him. Crosshair doubts himself, so thoroughly that he, famously tight lipped, confesses it, and even knowing about his tremor, knowing about his injury, Hunter doesn't worry about Crosshair's capabilities for a single moment. And thus enables Crosshair to believe in himself. And succeed! No wonder Crosshair sought to replace that authority when he lost it. It's so fundamental to who he is and what pushes him to reach his greatest potential.

• Remember all the times that I said that since "The Return," Hunter and Crosshair have been getting progressively closer in physical distance with every episode? I joked that at this rate, they would have to be hugging or kissing in the finale. I can't believe it came true in not one but TWO ways??? Now I'm pretty sure that was intentional this whole time??? The climax for both of their characters ends up taking place as they literally have their arms around each other to support each other. And then they lean on each other in a crucial moment. And as if that's not enough, they literally put their arms around each other in a hug AFTERWARD.

• Holding each other up is essentially the soldiers' hug. The ultimate sign of support and love on the battlefield. Helping each other to keep standing and keep fighting. Earlier in this ep, we see the clone prisoners doing this for one another after they've been broken out. Then, hugging each other with Omega is the squad hug—the family hug, the civilian hug. Remember this? Crosshair did the former with Mayday, and did the latter with Hunter and Wrecker. The first "hug" here demonstrates Hunter's and Crosshair's past wounds being healed. The second hug speaks to how their future together will be.

• Also just HUNTER'S ARM AROUND CROSSHAIR IN THE HUG AND CROSSHAIR LEANING INTO IT!!! Never in a thousand years did I think I was going to get this! And I swear to god, the moment Crosshair closes his eyes is the moment Hunter wraps his arm around him!!!

• And hey, look! More character-driven action moments!!! Also, the rain here mirroring the rain in the pilot and S1 finale, both key moments in the Hunter-Crosshair arc, as well as the Crosshair-Omega arc, is a nice touch. I also like Crosshair's farsightedness actually being a problem here.

• Also me this entire episode: Those poor commandos!!! God did they do Scorch dirty. Can't believe he was straight up just an easter egg this whole time and we never even found out why the commandos remained obedient for so long. I'm sad I was right about what the commandos being on the space station meant for all of them. Maybe…they'll be in another show??? This is the delulu hill I will continue to die on.

Ending

• Clone sanctuary!!! Thank god!!! I will accept this consolation prize. Seeing the liberated clones made me cry. And the Vault kids hanging out with the cadets and Lyana is very cute. And Emerie going with Echo is such a win for me! Sacrificing the chance for peace to atone and do the right thing!!!

• I know it's just the mechanic to allow Hunter and Omega to talk, but Crosshair and Wrecker chatting with the liberated clones and saying goodbye to Echo is so cute to me!

• "REX AND I ARE WORKING ON IT" OH MY GOD IT REALLY HAPPENED HE'S FINALLY DOING SOMETHING FOR PEOPLE NOT IN HIS CIRCLE THIS EPISODE GAVE ME SO MUCH

• Lmao not Rex starting the clone resistance, recruiting a senator who ends up becoming part of Bail Organa's network, and probably also starting the Hidden Path now—the love of my life is so incredibly competent!!

• I know I'm entering conspiracy board territory here, but when Echo gives the Clone Nod™ goodbye to Hunter and Omega, the motif that plays is one we've never heard before. And right after it, the clone theme plays over Hunter and Omega, which is particularly cool because you'd expect the Batch theme here instead, but they've given the battle fanfare up (for now; it does play again when Omega leaves), so it's about the grander brotherhood of the clones and how Hunter and Omega have now cemented their part in it now. So this scene is clearly very symbolic musically, thus i have a real hard time believing they just scored some random new motif for Echo there, especially because they very consistently and lovingly scored him in this ep. So what if that motif, which is only like three notes, is the intro/logo theme for a new show where he’s the main character???

• "We've all fought enough battles for one lifetime" THE "WE" HERE IS SO IMPORTANT!!! Hunter finally referring to himself and the regs as one, god, I've waited so long for this, I cry.

• The way Hunter lights up when he sees Crosshair and Wrecker though?? And he holds eye contact with Crosshair, sob.

• And regarding the epilogue... I AM A PROPHET. I've been telling you, they're in my drafts!!! From the first chapter of "Another Way Back," which I posted in Feb:

Omega as a pilot, leading missions on the Marauder or flying with Blade Squadron

Omega had been on that mercy mission. Hunter had said it was too dangerous, but she had gone anyway, alongside her friend the junior senator from Alderaan and an impressive showing of rebel ships. He’d heard later that Omega’s skilled piloting had saved many members of the fleet during the long battle.

• If you've been paying attention, then you know how thrilled I am that they added this bit!!! If I didn't get the Batch all joining the Rebellion, at least I got this! Every non-complacent character is a massive victory for me!!

• ALSO, the fact that time has passed but Omega says to keep an eye only on Wrecker and Crosshair means Echo is most likely still out there doing good!!! And this episode has cemented the fact that Omega's desire to do good is something Echo reinforced in her, that there's a special bond between the two of them in this regard, so it wouldn't be surprising if Echo was the one to recruit her!! That makes me so happy!!!

Conclusion

• Opening Tumblr, I thought it was funny how a strange reversal has happened. So much of my time spent watching this show has been reckoning with how much I hate and/or am mystified by the writing and the narrative journeys and the character arcs and oftentimes the characters themselves while seeing everyone effusively love them. And I loathe the previous two finales; even just thinking about them gets me so worked up.

• But of course this episode that I genuinely adored is the one a ton of people seem to hate lmao. Maybe my expectations have just been so low that literally none of the plot holes surprise me. Maybe it's because I finally got the themes I've been begging for, so it was able to win me over despite everything else. Maybe it also just helps that I'm too cynical and couldn't really ever manage to convince myself fully that Tech was still alive because I didn't have faith in the writers pulling something that cool off. (I talk about that here.) Or maybe it's just that to me, this episode finally felt closer to the show I've been wishing TBB was this whole time, and for the people who've really enjoyed everything that came before, that could feel like a letdown.

• I've seen a bunch of people hating on the action scenes, and I actually feel the complete opposite! I love every single action scene in this episode so much because every one of them is character driven. For the majority of the show, the action scenes have just been cool action pieces that don't divulge anything about the characters or do anything for the larger plot. But in this episode every beat is saying something! And you actually get the sense from them that the characters genuinely care for each other! My gripe is, wtf, were they capable of writing like this whole time? What gives?? Had the showrunners been undercaffeinated up until now???

• I do quite like the idea of CX-2 being Crosshair's demon, and it makes sense given that he's been the focus of this season, but again, I just don't think they had the writing chops to pull it off. I really like how the CX's visually mirror the OG Batch, which we see through their weapons, but I wish they had gone further with that concept and shown more of them throughout the season. They could've been specters who reflected the fears of each of them, things that would prevent them from retiring in peace, and given them something to overcome together. They themselves could have been allowed to suffer, even, and to have an emotional arc, even if it didn't lead to redemption. Instead, they're used, and then they're killed.

• It's extremely silly that the midi-chlorian plot was just yet another way for them to waste time, doing generic missions and hamfisted plot vehicles for cameos. That has been the modus operandi of this show from the start, so I guess it's not super surprising. Honestly, the M-count thing was treated with greater weight than the fucking inhibitor chips, which it felt like the writers just wanted to pretend didn't exist the whole time even though the chip themes fit perfectly into this show's themes about self-determination??? Ugh. Anyway, if Nala Se had just told Omega why she was important at the start of the season, all of those episodes could have been eliminated. There was no character work in them, anyway. And if they were required to include some cameos, they could have just given Bane's role to Fennec, or vice versa, and put Ventress in the same episode.

• Really praying that this isn't the end of the clones' story. I think it was right to keep the scope of this finale narrower, given that there was already so much that needed to happen, and involving the other supporting characters would've likely necessitated eliminating much of the excellent character work. Instead, it gave Echo the showcase he's been missing pretty much since the start, both in screen time and thematically, and also gave him and Omega the room and opportunity to be particularly badass.

• But this show introduced a bunch of things that are too cool yet open ended to just call it a day on. Characters like Cody and Wolffe showing up in one episode and then their fates being ambiguous afterward; Rex's conspicuous absence here; Rex working with Trace and Rafa to the point of being in touch with them and using their garage, which invokes Ahsoka; Rex clearly still working hard even though his cell was demolished, since he didn't come with Echo; the fact that Howzer survived and got that bit of emotional healing in "Infiltration" and "Extraction" and is presumably also still working hard; Gregor only showing up so briefly in those eps; the namedrop of Riyo and Pantora in regards to where Echo is going; the scene where Rex was escorting Singh, the senator of the Separatist capital, so that Riyo could recruit new systems to the burgeoning Rebellion... There are so many pieces on the board that haven't been put into play yet!

• If there really is another clone show in the future, then I'll be able to forgive TBB for even more of its blunders and shortcomings. For the time being, though, I'm just happy that despite everything else, they gave me this.

***TBB FINALE SPOILERS***

"The Cavalry Has Arrived" aka MY OTP IS CANON NOW

A truly absurd amount of meta and thoughts and screaming under the cut:

Overall

• I...loved it????? This is the biggest plot twist of all for me. Like I've said incessantly, I've had so many issues with the writing choices for this show, and I'm so grateful the brainrot set in so I could start watching it through a fandom lens and have way more fun with it than through a media critic lens and being a hater. But like...that was actually really satisfying to me within the parameters of where the show had led to in the last four episodes??

• As everyone on the planet probably knows by now, I would've been much happier if this show had led to the Batch choosing to do the right thing and joining the clone resistance, and if we never get another clone series, I will continue to be unbearable and salty about the lost potential of telling that story. But after Echo left and we stopped following his story, I gave that hope up. And ofc nothing about my criticism of this season is invalidated. But given the pieces on the board, I'd pretty wholeheartedly give the finale my stamp of approval!

• I'm ultimately glad that this show ended on a "We don't leave our own behind" note, because that's the clone energy and general Star Wars energy I'm looking for, and they did a great job of applying that theme to every non-villain in this episode, minor and unnamed characters included—but it's still so darkly funny for them to have continued to push this idea even though the first season is literally about them leaving their own behind and moving on. And then Crosshair calls them out on it. And then he just...leaves himself behind. Even in their first appearance in TCW, the Batch's entire vibe is that they keep trying to convince Rex to leave his own behind lmao. I just feel like the show wanted this adage to tie everything together, but then forgot to keep applying it somewhere along the way. But hurrah for this abundant use of it!

• My overall biggest criticism was that even within this one episode we got back on the rescue/captured/rescue/captured treadmill. It's the biggest plot crutch of the show. It's so goofy that Omega and Echo rescued both the children and the imprisoned clones by themselves. The setup made it so that by going to rescue Omega, Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair actually put her in more danger. And because they were there, more clones died, wtf!! But I do like the narrative flip—Echo and Omega were both saved by the Batch in their introductions in this era, and here are they are being the ones to save them in return. Omega and Echo also are the characters in the main cast who deserve the rescuer plotline the most, since they have been consistently portrayed as helping those in need no matter what.

• Hilariously, one of the most pivotal roles that the Forest Trio plays in regards to the GFFA at large is that they were essentially Rampart's rideshare drivers, thus enabling him to be there and force Nala Se not to hesitate to destroy Project Necromancer.

Rampart and Nala Se

• Hemlock saying his work makes him indispensable is fantastic dialogue; it just seems like some dickish thing he would say to shit on Rampart, but it ends up giving Rampart the idea to try to leverage his work to become indispensable himself, and in saying that line, Hemlock ushers his own ruin!!! This is the kind of script work I've been begging for.

• Also I was so right about Rampart being like a Kallus foil! That infamous shot of him in his sad, sterile room after Bahryn is mirrored here with Rampart sitting in pretty much the same position, except his path is the opposite from Kallus's.

• They did an EXCELLENT job with Rampart's fate. I was worried they were neutering him these last couple eps, even if the comedy was gold, but this was very well done. Everything that happens leading up to his death makes complete sense for his character, and it accomplishes the very key plot point of destroying Tantiss. At the start of the season I couldn't figure out how and why the Batch was going to end up delaying Project Necromancer for like thirty years, so I feel validated that they pretty much don't. Very typical of this show to not have the protagonists do the heroic work, but fuck it, I like this instance.

• The humanizing of Nala Se in this show has always been a bit of an interesting choice given that this is feels like such a direct successor to TCW and she was so clearly a villain there. But although they don't quite redeem her, her motivations and her fate were also artfully executed here. Her conversation with Omega pretty much takes into account every Nala Se scene in this show, which is a great way to wrap her character up. And I really like the mirror of Nala Se giving Omega her datapad in the season premiere, and Omega giving Nala Se a datapad here. Both times, Nala Se is determined to set Omega free.

• And I'm so glad there was a follow-up to the destruction of Kamino as well! Nala Se getting a bit of revenge against one of the beings responsible for the genocide of her people and destruction of her homeworld is not something I expected at all, and I love it. And the setup of Nala Se picking up the detonator and Rampart picking up the blaster is just fantastic, because you know from just those two shots that Rampart is willing to kill to gain Palpatine's favor for himself, and Nala Se is willing to die to make sure the being she loves will be free.

Echo and Omega supremacy

• Give me an Echo-led rebel show where he convinces all sorts of people in the Empire and the underworld to defect/help them, please!!! He's so good at it, completing Emerie's turn so efficiently! We have to assume Rex is also good at it given his cell and that he has clone spies and even undercover agents, but every time he sees Hunter he has tried and failed to recruit him lmao. Also REX'S NAMEDROP but him not showing up surely means...we'll see a continuation of his story soon after this...right??? Also this means Howzer still lives, oh, thank god.

• "Because it's exactly what I would do." Strategist Echo comeback yessss!! A nice little callback to the Techno Union arc that kicked this story off as well. And HELL YEAH Omega's relationship with Echo is my favorite out of all of her connections, and I'm living for their spotlight together this ep. I'm extremely invested in found family stories not relying on nuclear family narratives, and I love that you see throughout the show that Echo doesn't "raise" Omega like a kid—he trains her like a cadet. Like someone who he intends to be his equal, which is a nice and very appreciated contrast to others treating her like a precious sheltered baby.

• Their goodbye scene in "Truth and Consequences" is one of my favorites in the show, and I just adore that when Omega is upset, Echo doesn't coddle her—he reminds her of her duty to watch over the others, giving her a purpose and a reason to stand tall. When he conveys that he was worried about her and thinking of her while she was captured, he gifts her a weapon he designed and made for her during that time, so that she won't have to be defenseless after being defenseless for so long in captivity. It's so clone trooper, and I love it and the glimpses these details give us about clone culture and how the older clones cared for the shinies and the cadets and showed their love for each other.

• I also liked that Omega couldn't have escaped without Tech's training, since slicing was so vital. And all her stealthy stabbing is of course reminiscent of Hunter. And finally some emotional payoff for the ongoing bit about Wrecker being afraid of heights! I'm weak for inspirational Star Wars quotes, and this show hasn't had many, but "Just stay focused on what's ahead, not what's below," is a lovely one.

Forest conversations, my beloved

• The Kiners scored the fuck out of this episode!!! So many clever, thoughtful reprises. This is the first reappearance of Crosshair's theme that's played on the synths since he began healing! And then it segues into a soft violin tremolo version that makes me cry, and then it intertwines with "The Sacrifice" from Tech's death, ouchhhh. I have a lot of meta I need to write out about the tracks "The Reunion" and "They Always Work It Out" and how they say so much about Hunter and Crosshair, but I can't believe how well my analysis paid off in the cues in this scene! More on that in another post.

• Gosh, Wrecker's injury scared the shit out of me. But I love him so much and I'm glad he got at least a little moment, even if he didn't really have a story arc here. Or you know, in the entire damn show. And I ultimately liked that the purpose of it wasn't just to freak us out but to give them a plausible disadvantage and to give Crosshair someone to fuss over the whole time and act more recklessly because of it, thus reiterating this key character trait of his.

• I love Crosshair being worried about Wrecker and Hunter and them being worried about Crosshair. That's the squad content I crave and have been missing!! Unfortunate that it specifically has been happening when Omega is out of the picture. Writers, I swear to you, you can do both.

• Can't believe it took another half season for someone to say something about Tech's death, and it was Crosshair, who wasn't even there?? Cool line and sentiment, but man, so frustrating. I like this callback to his conversation with Rampart, though. "Depends on who's giving them" and in this first act he keeps trying to give those orders himself. Thinking of Rex on Umbara: "We're not programmed. You have to learn to make your own decisions."

• God the forest conversations in this ep and the previous one fed me so much. Hunter saying, "And so do those clones" had me literally jumping out of my seat and cheering. Baby boy, it took you so goddamn long, but thank you for finally actually giving a shit before the conclusion of your story. And "It's what I deserve," hnghhh that's the good shit, and it hearkens back perfectly to "I belong in here." And Hunter immediately telling Crosshair hell no made me very happy. And then later Hunter saying "Crosshair—" when he's worried Crosshair is still going to sacrifice himself, but Crosshair reassures him that he'll be right behind them... My heart! What a Crosshunt feast we got in this ep!!!

• Can't believe we also got so many Crosswrecker moments from the get-go and they kept coming! And my three precious little Techwrecker crumbs: the way Crosshair specifically chooses Wrecker to say the cutting remark about Tech to; the way Wrecker bows his head because that was right on target; and Wrecker being the one to watch Tech fall and to scream, "Don't do it, Tech!" in "Plan 99" yet the one to say with such conviction here, "We've always known the risks. And so did Tech." That's just so...finally accepting your beloved is gone ;_; Not really deserved by the text, which kept all but a total of like maybe one total minute of mourning off screen for some fucking reason, but.

Clone X, more like Clone Sexy

• There aren't nearly as many Clone X dudes as I expected?? I guess Crosshair's situation wasn't that rare after all? Or do they just run through them super quickly because Rex's team keeps taking them down?? Regardless, god, THEY ARE ALL SO SEXY. The way they animated their movements was so creepy and hot. And them not speaking was so eerie, I loved it. And then the moment that CX-2 did was so effective and terrifying!!! But remembering that those were clones in there is so, so heartbreaking.

• I really like that Echo really felt like both a clone trooper AND the resistance agent he is now this whole episode, and Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair actually briefly got to feel like commandos. The slick stealth and silent communication was also very sexy.

• MY GOD, I loved these action scenes. They were lit and choreographed so cool, they were super intense and had real consequences and close brushes with death, and the logic of the fight flow was really good, too. A character being incapacitated because they went to try to help an ally is always a wonderful driving force for action and gives it that crucial character-driven element that raises the stakes, and is great for making sure the main characters aren't too OP, and there was a ton of that here.

• Hunter and Wrecker getting shot by laser cannons and Hunter pushing Wrecker away from the blast made me shriek in terror AND THEN CROSSHAIR SHOOTING THE PILOT DEAD ON NO HESITATION NO ANXIETY NO TREMOR BECAUSE HOW DARE YOU HURT MY HUSBAND I'M FUCKING LIVINGGG. And then Wrecker stumbling over to Hunter and lifting the debris like he does in TCW. Boom, three pivotal character-driven action scenes in a row that divulge a key characteristic of each character! Excellently written and directed.

• Also I am SO SO SO HAPPY that we're getting to see this protective Crosshair come out in full force!!! This is the Crosshair who risked his life to try to save Mayday, who shouted hysterically when Hunter fell into the ice and was so desperate to get him out, who worried over Omega on Teth. I also really like this contrast with how he was about Echo—"Echo's on it." He knows Echo will get the job done and be safe and that's despite his former prejudice against regs. He's worried about Hunter and Wrecker and that's despite previously spending time trying to hunt them down. And when he suffers consequences, it's because of him worrying about them, and that's so delicious.

• Finally got to hear Crosshair screaming! And Hunter was already the screamer in this show, but goddamn does he get to scream in this episode. Thank you, directors, for this whump material! My man Steward Lee never lets me down.

• THE WAY THAT WHEN CROSSHAIR IS TRYING TO SAVE WRECKER HE REACHES FOR A DC-17 OMG!!!! I feel so validated! And just like with Mayday, he's incapacitated afterward...

• God the way CX-2 waits to be tossed the vibrosword and then leans down with it while Crosshair is already incapacitated is SO brutal, like this is not a battle injury. It's straight up what Anakin fucking Skywalker does to Count Dooku just before he becomes a Sith Lord, like holy shit, dude. This scene is so cool and I've watched it 10,000 times over the past 24 hours, but also why did he do that lol, is he just supposed to be particularly cruel?? Obsessed with tormenting Crosshair for some reason?? Also, these vibroswords are exactly how I've pictured Ahsoka's being in A Future for Us :D

• At this point I was like, uhhh, the messaging of Crosshair struggling with this psychomatic hand tremor since the first episode of the season and then the symptom literally being taken out of his........hands sure is a Choice, especially coupled with how they've treated Echo (or you know, not). When they showed him still with the symptoms later, I was very relieved, AND THEN HUNTER LITERALLY CURES CROSSHAIR THROUGH THE POWER OF THE LOVE AND FAITH AND TRUST HE HAS FOR HIM IS THERE ANYTHING MORE BEAUTIFUL IN THE WORLD???? But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Echo is the GOAT

• "You were helping us, Dr. Karr?" / "I am." I love this subtle line and how Emerie acknowledges that she wasn't sure of her loyalties before but is certain now. And I love that she says such a clone trooper thing, "You have my word," and then doing the clone shoulder pat, especially in direct contrast to the natborn kids hugging Omega just before.

• "Hey, kids. ...And other kids." is just so fucking 501st, I can't explain it. I'm just so ecstatic that they did Echo such justice in the end, giving a nod to everything about his character, even his dorkass cadet personality. And it wasn't just so he could die, thank god!!!

• Like Echo even got a DARTH VADER homage??? That's his mass-murdering general (affectionate).

• Also is there anything more Big Dick Energy in the world than Echo eviscerating Rampart—who either the clones would recognize as a former vice admiral or at least see his captain rank plaque—with what may not be a theme this show really earned but is ABSOLUTELY a theme that Echo deserves and has shouldered for over two seasons...and then just straight up shoving him out of the way so that he can talk to his brothers???? And with his stormtrooper helmet—which is like Echo refusing to dirty his hands (including his new, long-awaited one) by touching Rampart oh my god??? Sexiest man alive.

• So the answer is no, there isn't. Fives is hollering from the afterlife. Half those clones immediately developed a crush on him in that moment. That one clone later placing a blaster in Echo's arms so gently confirmed this for me (remember the symbolism of Echo making the energy crossbow for Omega? He even gives her his borrowed blaster in this scene), but it's so sad that he died because of it, whyyy.

• Also I love the "Clones don't leave our brothers behind" riff on the "We don't leave our own behind" adage. It's very fitting that Hunter would put it that way because he only means his squad (+/-1), whereas Echo would see it as meaning his people.

• And I love how when Rampart first shoves Echo, the clone in front that Echo's been talking to prickles and makes brief eye contact with him, to be like, "Should we take him? I've got your back." I felt that girls (gender neutral) in the bathroom energy so hard.

• The clones helping each other out of their cells made me so emotional. And it's the same way that Hunter and Crosshair do later...

• Echo asking for volunteers, just like Rex did on Umbara..................

• I think this post is breaking and I'm still only two-thirds of the way through my rewatch, oops. And yesterday I stayed up until 8 a.m. after I put it on again after watching it for the first time... I'm so normal about this show. More tomorrow!

#the bad batch spoilers #star wars #the bad batch #crosshunt #i think that was another 3k oops #now back to our regularly scheduled programming #amph talks #tbb finale

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