#since we're writing ships for our omega boys

[ikemenomegas]

After seeing that rb about sakura and ino 👀. it's a guilt free way to make sure they don't end up alone when all the boys end up with alphas who actually honor their backstories. but consider also! it just works! evidence:

friends to enemies to lovers. a 10/10 trope and make it yuri? yes please we need more fun tropey girl couples

sakura is a girl failure. no i will not be taking criticism. yes, she is highly successful. So, technically, according to my girlfriend is succession's siobhan (be proud of me for spelling that without looking it up) rather successful or at least born to success. still a girlfailure. ino. gives girlwife. enough said

canon flowershop au. ino runs the family flower shop. bouquets subtly telling sakura what she thinks of her? also 10/10

kishimoto doesn't know how to write women. ino and sakura's natural competitiveness? is something that makes them very compatible. It would turns Ino on except she hates that it seems needlessly turned on her (she's great at reflecting the energy she's getting). also, sakura just riles her in a way no one else seems to do. when that tension turns more sensual 😏, well it's probably got something to do with sakura's poor impulse control and ino's suddenly realizing they're standing way too close for just their usual spat

in an omegaverse au? i haven't pinned down their designations (mostly because they could all be compelling options) but - alpha!sakura x omega!ino where ino is the one showing sakura the value of more than command in the shinobi arsenal, and helping her feel comfortable in her own skin and designation! sakura gets embrace her protective instincts and realize being an alpha doesn't have to define some of her behaviors. also omega ino carrying alpha sakura is my new favorite thing - alpha!sakura x beta!ino where suddenly ino has the best sex in her life to look forward to and sakura appreciates ino's community building beta instinct - beta!sakura x omega!ino where ino doesn't have to ever be worried about giving her independence up to an alpha and sakura gets to really know what it means for the full force of an omega's love to be hers - omega!sakura x beta!ino where ino teaches sakura not to be scare or ashamed of her omega instincts, unwinding some of that internalized prejudice, and sakura has someone who appreciates her intelligence and the things that are not "typical" for her designation. ino also gets to experience how an omega's instincts are valuable. I get this idea she might be sort of jealous of sakura for being an omega, especially since so many of the eligible bachelors around her were omegas. ino loves understanding others and reaching out to them is part of how she shows romantic interest as well, but she felt there was a wall where she didn't understand alpha/omega dynamics beyond the textbook. and she's both surprised by how intense it can be but also loves being someone omega!sakura can rely on while relying on her in turn. - omega!sakura x alpha!ino where they work through ino's protectiveness and need to pamper sakura, who feels that enjoying these things show an omega-typical weakness that she never wanted to see in herself. especially not when her two omega team mates and her omega sensei seem so bent on pretending they get along fine without such things. and alpha!ino gets to feel that this socially deemed "unfeminine" part of her actually can be whatever she wants it to be, and that a relationship between her and sakura can still be a relationship between two women. - and finally alpha for alpha and omega for omega pairings where they both work through the territorial energy sakura puts off and realize that actually? maybe losing out their mutual middle school crush is a really dumb thing to keep fighting over and masks their individual insecurities and they get to pick each other this way. also rut for rut or heat for heat intimacy? is just their brand of intense and mesy

that was a long one 😩 but it could work in literally any configuration just relying on their og series and shippuden personalities! aka op for this post was right

it also just really bleh when the only way women in a series interact is by fighting over the same man (what happened to every naruto woman's obsession with hinata's figure! they should have fought naruto for her!) or by just... fighting in general

sakura and ino are both proud kunoichi. they have very different skillsets (also how cute would is the motifs of sakura the doctor and ino the gardener? they both bring life and liveliness from their own hands) but this doesn't make one of them better than the other. having them compete to always be the best doesn't mean they can't truly appreciate how each other shine! competitive couples who love and respect each other are the cutest.

having said that they should absolutely go on a hiking date with an overnight cabin stay at the end. this isn't evidence. it's just a good idea.

i'm tired now so we'll stop here. it's a good ship though. goodnight all 😴

[photogirl894]

"Sun and Rain Part 2: Age of the Empire"

Chapter 33

"Ryloth"

A "Bad Batch" fanfic!

Pairing: Hunter x fem OC, Echo (more best friend pairing)

A/N: Here we are, back again, my lovelies! I know I said recently that I've been lacking motivation to write this story, but I'm not gonna stop anytime soon. Though, all of a sudden, I was just hit with motivation like a ton of bricks and wrote most of this in the last 2 days!

We're heading to Ryloth, my friends!! This covers episode 11 and most of episode 12 of TBB season 1 and I kinda skip through a couple parts, so hopefully it's not too rushed. Enjoy y'all!!

Taglist: @the-sad-batch , @nimata-beroya , @intrepidmare , @legolkenxbi , @tech-aficionado

@ladykatakuri , @d1n0-dan , @sammi9498 , @darthzero22 , @scarlettrose9901

@thebadbatchscyare , @chxpsi , @ilikemymendarkandfictional , @4pplecider , @locitapurplepink

@l-lend , @nekotaetae , @eternalwaffle , @merkitty49 , @avathebestx

@idoubleswearimawriter , @techs-stitches , @fantasyproductions , @totallyunidentified , @dreamsandrosies

《 Chapter 32

》 Chapter 34

All chapters (Part 2) (Part 1)

Explanation: The Bad Batch meet a young Twi'lek girl named Hera who later enlists their help to save her parents on Ryloth.

A couple months went by and both the Bad Batch and the Koriena Force were being kept busy with all sorts of jobs from Cid. It kept the two squads apart for days, sometimes weeks at a time and their time together was brief, which was a little disheartening for Wrecker and Rina as well as Echo and Lex. Tech and Irys would act indifferent, but everyone else could tell that even they kinda missed each other, too, during those long periods of time apart. Despite all that, they all at least were making money, which was helping them with their survival. It wasn’t the most ideal situation, but it was keeping them busy. 

At one point, the Bad Batch were sent off to do a weapons drop with some Twi’leks from Ryloth. From what they’d heard, things on that planet were a bit rough at the moment due to an increased Imperial presence there. They’d heard about more of that happening on other planets since Raxus and wondered if it was another potential Imperial occupation to add to the list. It seemed the group they were delivering weapons to were a couple of freedom fighters who were intent on opposing the Empire, which the Clones warned them would be dangerous.

When they’d met with the Twi’leks on one of Ryloth’s moons, they were surprised to see a young girl with the freedom fighters. One perhaps a year or two older than Omega, with green skin and green eyes bright with wonder upon seeing the Marauder. She went over to Omega asking if she could see inside and, with Hunter’s permission, Omega took her inside the ship. 

Kimber stuck around with the boys to make sure the weapons were sufficient enough for Gobi, the client, before letting them know she was gonna check on the girls and let them know things were finishing up. When she walked in, the two of them were near the back of the ship and Omega was telling the other girl about her room. 

“Well, technically, it’s our gunner’s mount,” Omega told her new friend, “but when we’re not getting chased or shot at, it’s my room.”

“Who’s chasing you? Are you in some kind of trouble?” the young Twi’lek asked.

“I thought you were in trouble. Isn’t that why we’re here?” Omega asked back.

It was then Kimber walked forward, removed her helmet and spoke up, saying as though she hadn’t heard anything, “What are you girls up to?”

The two of them turned to look at her and Omega responded, “I was just showing off my room.”

Kimber looked at the Twi’lek girl, whom she realized was also a few inches taller than Omega, and inquired, “What’s your name, dear?”

“I’m Hera,” the girl answered.

Omega took the lead and introduced Kimber, saying, “This is Kimber. She’s not a Clone, but she’s been part of the squad for a long time.” Then she smirked and added, “She’s also Hunter’s sweetheart and they’re so cute together.”

Kimber’s cheeks went slightly pink at Omega talking about her and Hunter as the two girls giggled. “Thanks, Omega,” she said a bit shyly. She turned back to Hera and commented, “You seemed pretty amazed by our ship when you came over.”

“Oh, I love learning about new ships. They fascinate me. I want to be a pilot one day,” Hera informed her with a big smile.

“A worthy ambition,” Kimber commented. “Well, girls, we’re just about finished outside if you want to wrap things up in here.”

“Okay,” said Omega.

With that, Kimber put her helmet back on and returned to the others outside. A few seconds later, the girls emerged from the ship, both smiling brightly at each other as they waved goodbye and Hera walked away with the other Twi’leks.

“Make a new friend?” Hunter inquired of Omega.

“She’s kind of strange. I like her,” she answered.

“She seemed very sweet,” Kimber added.

Holding up a finger, Omega stated as a matter of factly as she walked back to the ship, “Did you know flying’s about a feeling?”

The boys and Kimber all watched her curiously as she walked away and Tech asked aloud, “What feeling?”

No one really answered as the rest of them followed after Omega back to the ship. 

“She didn’t do anything to my ship, did she?” Tech asked as they boarded.

“Of course not,” Omega answered, smirking and shaking her head. “I kept my eye on her.”

Then Hunter said, looking at Tech, “Excuse me…your ship?”

“Yes. I am the primary pilot of this vessel, so therefore, it is my ship,” Tech responded.

“I am the Sergeant and leader of this squad, so it’s actually my ship,” Hunter retaliated, the faintest hint of a smirk on his face. 

“I fail to see how rank has anything to do with it when I'm the one who flies it almost every time,” stated Tech.

Echo cried out, “Hey, I pilot the ship, too!”

Kimber stepped in and replied, “The key phrase from what Tech said is ‘almost every time’. Except for Omega and myself, you all fly the ship at times; therefore, it is our ship. Got it?”

Wrecker, who had just been listening to the conversation, butted in with, “She's got a point.”

Begrudgingly, Tech responded as he sat in the pilot's seat, “Oh, very well.” Then he started powering up the Marauder to leave.

As everyone moved about the ship, Hunter came over to Kimber. “You're quite the mediator sometimes,” he commented. 

With a shrug, she grinned and said, “I've learned how to handle you boys.”

He nodded, but then leaned in closer and whispered, “Though, we both know this is, in fact, my ship.”

She scoffed, grinned even more and shook her head. Sometimes, her Sergeant was unbelievable. She simply gave him a pat on the arm and relented, saying, “Of course, darling.”

The next day, the squad was just meandering through space, not really in a hurry to get back to Cid on Ord Mantell. Mostly everyone was keeping to themselves for the time except for Omega, who was attempting to fix Gonky's prime power source, and Kimber and Tech, who were sitting in the front of the cockpit in the middle of an important discussion...involving music playing on Kimber's music player.

A lively, upbeat tune was playing and Tech's eyebrows furrowed. “This was the music you listened to on Tatooine?” he inquired, seemingly unimpressed. 

“Some of it, yes,” she answered. “It's Max Rebo! He's quite a famous musician, especially on Tatooine. Don't tell me you've never heard of him.”

Nonchalantly, he simply said, “We were raised and trained as soldiers in wartime. We never exactly had the luxury of lounging around and listening to music.”

“Fair, but surely you had to have heard his music playing in 79's or other cantinas you've been to?” she said back.

“It's possible, but I don't have enough data to verify if we have.” 

“Then keep listening and see if it sounds familiar. Maybe you might like it, too.”

“I am uncertain if this particular tune is to my taste. It is rather--”

Just then, the screen in front of Tech started beeping and a box popped up. Kimber quickly switched off the music box and got up from her seat, moving over by Tech to see what was going on. 

Tech observed what was on the screen and stated aloud as Echo and Wrecker also came over, “We're receiving a recorded transmission.”

Turning over her shoulder, Kimber called for Hunter, who was currently with Omega in the back. When he walked in, she informed him, “We've got a recorded transmission coming in.”

Then Tech added, “However, I do not recognize this frequency.”

“Patch it through,” Hunter told him, taking a seat nearest the entryway. 

Tech pressed a button on the console and a hologram appeared in the middle of the area...revealing the familiar young Twi'lek girl they had met the day previous, crouching down and looking around in fear.

"Omega, it's Hera. You have to come back to Ryloth.”

Kimber gasped just as Wrecker asked, “Isn't she the kid from the weapons drop?”

“Hera?” they heard Omega ask aloud, having heard her friend's voice and dashing into the cockpit. 

The message continued on, Hera's voice hushed and anxious, “The Empire's taken my parents and they're after me now, too. I'm sending coordinates. Please hurry. I need your help.”

The recording ended and Hunter questioned Omega giving Hera their comm channel, to which Omega answered that it was for emergencies and Hera's message sounded urgent before insisting they answer her call.

Tech, however, wasn't fully convinced. “Perhaps the situation is not as dire as described. Children often overreact,” he said.

“No, we don't!” Omega argued, frustrated and offended. 

“That's quite the cynical take, Tech,” Kimber commented. She then directed her attention to Hunter. “Omega’s right. Hera sounded like she was in trouble. We need to go back to Ryloth.”

Hunter opened his mouth to respond, but Omega cut in saying, “You heard her and Hera. She needs us.”

Putting his hand on her shoulder, Hunter responded, “Omega, it’s a big galaxy. We can’t put ourselves on the line every time someone’s in trouble.

“Why not? Isn’t that what soldiers do?” Omega asked in reply.

Her response seemed to strike something within Hunter as he was left unable to say anything back and he got a defeated look on his face. Kimber couldn’t help but grin to herself. Like her, Omega knew how to win Hunter over easily. 

With that, they were headed back to Ryloth. 

Luckily, they hadn’t gotten terribly far from Ryloth, so it didn’t take too long to get back. Tech had put in the coordinates Hera had sent to their frequency, which took them into a deep canyon. He carefully maneuvered the Marauder through the canyon until they came to a large cave in one of the walls; one big enough to fit their ship. The Clones and Kimber disembarked from the Marauder into the cave that was lit by a few lanterns and with a few crates spread about. Otherwise, there wasn’t much there. They found themselves greeted by a chirping orange and tan Droid waving his mechanical arms at them; Kimber recognized it as a C1 unit. It was followed by Hera, who told them she didn’t think they would come. After Hunter asked why the Empire was after her, she revealed that she was the daughter of Cham Syndulla, a freedom fighter and leader of a large rebellion on Ryloth, and that the Empire was capturing anyone loyal to him. The cave they were in was his old command outpost and she’d been hiding there to avoid the Empire. 

“What do you want us to do?” Echo asked her.

“Free my parents from the Capitol. That’s where they’re being held,” Hera answered. 

The Clones were all silent and exchanged unsure glances with each other. 

“Boys, why are we even questioning this?” Kimber asked them in disbelief. Why were they being so hesitant to help? This wasn’t like them. 

Hera tried even harder to convince them by begging, “They can pay you if you get them out. Please…I don’t have anyone else to ask.”

Kimber looked to the others and they still said nothing. She wasn’t going to stand for this, not when a child and her family’s lives were at stake. She walked over to Hera, followed by Omega, and laid a hand on her shoulder, saying, “Of course, we’ll help, Hera.” Then she looked back at the others. “Right, lads?” she asked, prompting them to go along with it with a hard look in her eyes.

Hunter released a sigh and replied, glancing down at Hera, “Let’s see what we’re up against first, but no guarantees.”

It wasn’t quite the answer Kimber was hoping for from him, but it was better than “no”. With that, Hera led them through a tunnel system in the canyon and they made their way up into the rocky hills outside the Capitol area. Once they spotted the Capitol, they all got down flat on the ground and took out their binoculars to observe the situation. There was a large crowd of Twi’leks gathered in the square, looking up to the balconies of one of the towers, and multiple Imperial troopers were stationed around the crowd. The C1 Droid--whom Hera had said was named Chopper--using an audio relay, was able to capture the speech being given by an Imperial officer at the moment. 

“Citizens of Ryloth, the shocking attack on your beloved senator has left you shaken, but Orn Free Taa's condition continues to improve, and he will make a full recovery. But the perpetrators of this heinous assassination attempt have been captured.”

“Assassination attempt?” Hunter repeated, glancing suspiciously over at Hera.

“That’s not what happened,” she insisted as the speech continued. 

Right after that, Omega said aloud, “Hunter...Crosshair’s here.”

Hearing that, Kimber immediately started looking for him with her binoculars and, sure enough, there he was, standing in front of the crowd with his rifle at the ready. Her entire body tensed up at seeing him there; her grip on her binoculars tightened and her teeth clenched, remembering their last encounter on Bracca. 

“Great…just what we need,” she groaned, now just angry at knowing their traitorous brother was there on Ryloth along with them.

Hunter signaled to everyone with his hand to regroup away from the edge and to huddle up. Everyone got to their feet and moved back a few feet, out of view from the gathering below. 

“The plasma bridge into the city’s been deactivated,” Hunter stated as they all crouched down and huddled up.

“Well, I say we fly in and blow our way out,” Wrecker suggested.

“The Capitol sensors would detect our ship,” Echo countered.

Glancing back over her shoulder at the crowd below and the Imperial soldiers surrounding them, Kimber commented, “I don’t like the look of this. There are a lot more Imperials here than I expected.”

“Indeed. The troop presence here is similar to that of Raxus. This is a military occupation,” Tech stated.

Echo replied that Ryloth wasn’t a Separatist planet like Raxus and as the two started debating, Hunter suddenly glanced over his shoulder up the mountain behind him before telling everyone to wait where they were and running off. They weren’t sure what he was doing, but about a minute later, there was a sudden metallic crashing sound above them. They all looked up and saw a broken, black Droid-like form fall in front of them, followed by Hunter landing on his feet. It was a probe Droid, its primary eye having been destroyed by Hunter’s vibroblade that he promptly removed from its sparking and smoking remains.

“Oh good…a probe Droid,” Tech sarcastically remarked.

“The Empire will know we’re here,” said Echo.

Tightening her hands into fists at her sides, Kimber added, “And so will Crosshair.”

Hunter gave the order for them to move and they quickly made their way back to the command outpost where their ship was docked. Tech and Chopper went inside the ship to check the Imperial comm channels and see if the probe Droid and sent out any information on their presence on Ryloth.

While they waited, Hera anxiously paced around, hugging her arms. “All my father wanted was peace on Ryloth. Why is this happening?” she asked, downtrodden.

Echo answered calmly, “He’s a voice the people stand behind. That makes him a threat to the Empire.”

“I don’t care about any of that. I just want my parents back,” the Twi’lek girl said in return.

Kimber truly felt sorry for the worried young girl and wanted to say something to comfort her, but in that moment, they heard Chopper chirping and warbling as he and Tech came walking out of the ship.

Still looking at his datapad for a second before looking to the others, Tech informed them all, “We’re all over the Imperial comm channels. They’ve increased patrols within the city.”

Hearing that news, Hunter immediately assumed that Crosshair would be expecting an attack and that they’d lost the element of surprise, deeming this mission an automatic failure and that there wasn’t anything they could do. Once again, Kimber was shocked at how quickly Hunter was to give up on helping Hera and she couldn’t help but feel frustrated at him. Why would he not help her? What was stopping him? Hera insisted they couldn’t leave, but Hunter wouldn’t budge, even when she desperately offered to pay them double.

“All the money in the galaxy won’t matter if we’re dead. What you’re asking us to do, it’s not worth the risk,” he told her sternly.

Angrily, Hera spat back, “Not to you,” and she stormed away, Chopper chirping in frustration at them before following her.

Omega scolded Hunter as the others went back into the ship, “You shouldn’t have said that.” Then she started to go after Hera.

“Being strategic means knowing your limitations, Omega,” he told her back.

She stopped in place, whipped around and replied, “She’s trying to save her family, Hunter. I’d do the same for you.” Without waiting for anything else, she turned back and ran after Hera.

That left Kimber and Hunter alone outside the ship.

“What is wrong with you?” Kimber asked him right away. “Hera is a child and her parents’ lives are in jeopardy. Why would you refuse to help her?”

“You saw the Capitol. There’s no way we’d be able to infiltrate it,” he said back. “It’s too heavily fortified.”

“And…? We’ve dealt with worse odds than that and still succeeded,” she stated. “You’re telling Omega to ‘know her limitations’, but that’s never stopped us before.” She folded her arms across her chest. “I know you, Hunter, and this isn’t like you. What's really going on? Why are you so reluctant to help Hera?”

He looked away and sighed, frustrated. 

Looking at him, she tried to place what could possibly be holding him back. He'd seemed hesitant when they first got there, but was at least willing to give the situation a once-over. Since coming back from scouting the Capitol, he was completely against it. Something had changed his mind somewhere between then and now. This wasn't anything they hadn't dealt with before and couldn't handle. 

Except for…

“It's Crosshair, isn't it?” she guessed aloud. 

His gaze found hers and he didn’t even try to hide in his face that she had guessed correctly. “After everything he did on Bracca...there’s no telling what he might do anymore,” he said. “I won’t have him find us or come after us again. I don’t trust him.”

“Neither do I, but that doesn’t mean we should let the Syndullas suffer,” she replied. “There must be another way.”

“If you have any other ideas, please enlighten me,” he slightly snapped.

“Oh, don’t be like that,” she chided him.

Conflicted, he just shook his head and looked to the ground.

Then she thought of something that would potentially change his mind. She fished out the credit necklace from underneath her armor and held it up in her fingers. “Have you already forgotten your promise?”

He looked up, confused at what she was getting at, but then he saw the credit.

She continued, “You told me you made a promise the day you got this credit to fight for the innocents of this galaxy…a promise I, too, took upon myself when you gave this to me.” She let go of the necklace, letting it hit her armor with a small metallic clink, the look in her eyes imploring her beloved Sergeant to see reason. “If we turn our backs on Hera, then we’re forgoing the promise we both made...and this goes beyond just helping the Syndullas. We fight to make the galaxy better for us and for everyone. If we run and hide, then we’re abandoning those we swore to protect. One day, we’ll have to face reality and if we find the galaxy isn’t better, then we will have failed as soldiers. Would you be able to live with yourself if that happened, Hunter? Because I certainly couldn’t.”

Kimber’s seemingly endless conviction even in the face of uncertain odds never ceased to amaze Hunter. He loved and admired that about her so much. He released a breath, calming himself, stepped closer to her and laid his hands on her arms. “I understand what you’re saying, my love,” he said collectedly, “but this is more complicated than that. The Empire knows we’re here and by extent, Crosshair most likely knows. The chances of us getting captured are higher; more than anything we’ve had to deal with before and we’re no good to Hera or her parents if we end up as prisoners, too.”

Even though she knew there was some truth to his words, Kimber was certain there had to be some other way to help; something else they could do. “Maybe the girls will be able to think of something,” she submitted. “Omega is very clever and Hera has already proven to be quite resourceful. Perhaps, if they work together, they might be able to hatch a plan.”

“Hera would have to really know the inner workings of the Capitol in order to pull off any sort of plan,” he stated. 

“This is her home, after all. She could surprise us. You need to have a little more faith in them,” she responded. She rested a hand on the tattooed side of his face. “I know you’re trying to keep us all safe and you have every reason to, but this isn’t about us. This is about a family who needs our help; an influential family, no less, who can help the people here.” She dropped her hand and took a step back. “You and the boys might want to give up, but I won’t. I refuse to. I couldn’t save my own parents…but I can help save Hera’s.”

With that, she turned on her heel and walked away in the direction the girls had gone, ignoring Hunter saying her name behind her. It hadn’t fully dawned on her why she had felt so determined to help Hera until the last sentence had left her mouth. A young girl was trying to save her parents and a sense of guilt seemed to eat away at Kimber for being unable to save her own parents from the Tuskens what felt like so long ago. She couldn’t bear the thought of another girl suffering the same fate. Not when she could possibly do something about it.

It didn’t take her long for her to find the girls and Chopper and the two of them were sitting on the ground, deep in conversation. It didn’t seem like just a casual conversation, however. This seemed more intense and important.

“You girls okay?” Kimber asked them as she approached. 

They both turned their attention to her and Omega answered. “More than okay. I think Hera and I have a plan to rescue her parents.”

Kimber smirked, seeing now that she was right to have faith in the girls’ ability to strategize. Hopefully, their plan was one that could possibly work. “You do, huh?” she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

“You don’t believe this can be done either, do you?” Hera asked skeptically.

“On the contrary. I believe you two are very smart and had a feeling you’d be able to think of something if you worked together,” Kimber refuted.

Hera’s eyes widened in surprise and next to her, Chopper let out three low warbles that, to Kimber’s slight shock, sounded a lot like he was saying, “I told you.”

“We can tell Kimber our idea. She might be able to help us,” Omega then told Hera.

“So what’s the plan, you two?” Kimber asked, crouching down next to them.

Getting a look of reassurance from Omega, Hera informed Kimber, “I had the thought of us attacking the Imperial refinery that’s on the outskirts of the city. I’ve been watching it for a while and I know what goes on there enough to plan an attack.”

“Why attack the refinery?” Kimber asked. She wasn’t asking necessarily because she didn’t understand, but more because she wanted to see if Hera understood her own plan.

“It’s been the Empire’s big project here and therefore, very important. If it gets attacked, that should divert all Imperial forces there and out of the Capitol,” said Hera.

Then Omega interjected, “That should give us an opening to get inside and rescue Hera’s parents.”

Kimber bobbed her head, impressed. They knew exactly what they were doing, which she believed they would. “Most refineries are heavily armed for protection. Do you have a way to deal with that?”

“Yes,” Hera responded determinedly. “There are five unmanned perimeter cannons that Chopper can disable. He can easily sneak in and do it.”

Chopper chirped gleefully and flexed his mechanical arms with confidence, making Kimber snicker at him. 

Then she said out loud, more to herself, “If we attack the refinery and take out the cannons, the Imperial reinforcements should definitely get redirected there. Our squad can scale the walls and find a way inside the Capitol. Getting out may possibly be a different issue, but we can handle that.” She smiled at both Hera and Omega. “I’m impressed. You girls know your stuff.”

“See? I knew this was a good idea!” Omega exclaimed to Hera.

Even though she had a smile at Kimber’s compliment, it quickly faded as Hera proceeded to ask, “But will it be enough to convince Hunter and the others? Do you think they’ll get on board with our plan?”

“A sound, strategic plan to infiltrate an Imperial-occupied stronghold and mess things up for the Empire?” Kimber rhetorically asked. She let out a proud scoff. “There isn’t a doubt in my mind that they’ll get on board.”

After Kimber, Omega, Hera and Chopper returned to the ship, the two girls immediately pitched their plan to the Clones, complete with hologram projections of the refinery from Chopper to help better visualize what they wanted to do. Kimber watched them with pride as they confidently answered every question the Clones asked with already thought out detail. In the end, it was enough to convince them to take action. Hunter told the girls to be Chopper’s backup, but to stay at a distance. Then he ordered Tech and Wrecker to wait until the cannons were disabled and then move in on the refinery while he, Echo and Kimber scaled the Capitol wall to get in and free Hera’s parents. They’d wait until dark to enact their plan so as to have the most cover as best they could.

As the team all split up to get into their positions, Hunter commented to Kimber, “I guess you were right to have faith in the kids.”

She grinned. “I know I was,” she replied, half serious and half joking. “You really should have more faith, too.”

“If this plan succeeds, then I will,” he said back.

Kimber, Hunter and Echo, after making sure the girls were in position via their comms, they made their way to the outer city wall. Once they reached it, they prepped their climbing magnets.

“Race you to the top?” Echo challenged Kimber. 

“Last one up buys Mantell Mix,” she said in return. 

With that, the three of them began climbing carefully up the wall. As they got closer to the top, they heard the chatter of comms above them as well as footsteps, signifying the nightly patrol. Hunter held up his hand, signaling Echo and Kimber to wait. However, as Hunter kept climbing, the white helmet of an Imperial looked over the edge down at them.

“A little help?” Echo sarcastically asked.

They heard Hunter’s voice and then suddenly the trooper disappeared from view as they heard the thud of a punch hitting armor. Hunter then reached down and pulled Echo up followed by Kimber.

“Ha! Looks like you owe me Mantell Mix, Kim,” Echo snarkily remarked.

“Oh, stow it,” she begrudgingly replied. “You don’t even eat it.”

She heard Echo lightly chuckle as the three of them continued on down the wall and made their way towards the square. 

“Hera said the prison should be underneath that tower,” Hunter informed the other two, pointing to the furthest tower in the square.

“You two head for the prison and break out the Syndullas. I’ll get into the opposite tower and keep a lookout to make sure the Imperial reinforcements head for the refinery,” stated Kimber.

With a bow of the head, Hunter responded, “Understood. Be careful and stay on comms.”

“I will,” she said. 

While Hunter and Echo went one way, Kimber went the opposite, heading for the tower on the other side of the square. She snuck through the edge of the common area to where the large door was. After activating, she lifted her rifle, ready to fight, but luckily the area was empty. So far, so good. She continued on up into the tower, carefully coming around each corner in case there was an enemy nearby, but the tower was seemingly empty, which made things easier. She heard Tech over her helmet comm ask Omega if Chopper had disabled the cannons yet, to which she replied that she and Hera were working on it…and to not shoot down their shuttle.

“That’s something I wasn’t expecting to hear,” she whispered to herself upon hearing that response before continuing up the tower.

Finally, she reached the uppermost office, which was also empty, and she moved across the room, the door to the outer balcony opening up and closing behind her.

“I’m in position, Hunter,” she said over her comm, crouching down and setting her rifle on the railing. 

A few seconds later, she heard an explosion in the distance and couldn’t help but snicker to herself. It seemed the girls had to improvise and she couldn’t be prouder.

“Omega, I am registering multiple explosions near the refinery,” she heard Tech state over the comm.

Then Omega’s voice responded, “That was us. Cannons are down. Do some damage, Wrecker.”

After hearing the sounds of more distant explosions, Kimber pressed the side of her helmet to activate her comm and said, “Hunter, Echo, the refinery has been hit. Reinforcements should be on the move any minute.”

“Copy that,” she heard Echo respond. 

Just as she looked back through the scope on her rifle, she caught sight of the top office doors opening and a trooper walked through, spotting her across the way immediately. Instinctively, she stood up and took up her rifle, ready to shoot, but the trooper, astonishingly, held up his hands by his head. In the dim light, she noticed his armor had blue or possibly teal-colored accents and had a winged pauldron on his right shoulder. It was Clone armor; a Clone Captain’s armor, no less. Seeing him not reaching for his weapon made her hesitate and her rifle lowered slightly, but she kept her eye on him through the scope. Then the unknown trooper surprised her even more by holding up a finger to the lower part of his helmet where his mouth would be and then signaled for her to get down. 

She was about to question why, but in that moment, the door at the base of his tower opened and she saw Imperial soldiers running out towards the shuttles that were docked in the square. Swiftly, she fell back to her knees behind the railing and out of sight. When she carefully peeked back over, the troopers were all powering up the shuttles and climbing inside. Then the shuttles started lifting off the ground and flying away…except for one.

In the headlight of the one remaining shuttle, she saw a lone soldier looking back towards the other tower. She lifted up her rifle and looked through the scope to see who it was and what was going on. She saw the back of a bald head, but a set of black armor and a rifle in his hand that looked familiar. Then his head turned and she realized it was Crosshair, who was now giving an order to his squad that had gotten on the shuttle. She saw one of the soldiers come out and tap something on a datapad while Crosshair gestured to a couple others and then to the tower on the other side. Right after that, all of the troopers on the shuttle started filing out and prepping their weapons.

“Blast it…he’s figured us out,” she groaned out loud. She got back down and spoke quietly into her helmet comm, “Hunter, Echo, we’ve been compromised. I think Crosshair has figured out our plan and is stationing a squad just outside. You’re walking into a trap and need to find another way out.”

She waited a couple seconds, but there was no response.

“Hunter, Echo, do you read me? Crosshair knows. It’s a trap!”

No response except for static feedback in her ears. That sound only meant one thing: their communications were being jammed. Neither Hunter nor Echo would hear her warning about the squad outside. They’d walk right into Crosshair’s trap and their whole plan would fail. She had to get to them quickly and warn them. Since the tower had been empty upon entering, she figured she could easily sneak back out, especially since Crosshair’s squad all had their backs to her. She’d get out and make her way to one of the side entrances that would take her to the other tower. 

She stood up, ready to take off, but stole one last look across the way. The mysterious Clone soldier that had been there was gone...and when she looked down, so was Crosshair.

Immediately, she stiffened. Where had he gone? He wasn’t anywhere to be seen down below. That was a worse sign and an even bigger indicator that she had to get out and fast. She ran through the balcony doors and back into the office, knowing she had to get to Hunter and Echo as soon as possible.

Kimber activated the doors to the office, ready to run…and instead, found herself face to face with Crosshair.

[honeymouthedtales]

sometimes in abo fics someone will hate their presentation and it's this huge character development plot where it (unfortunately, usually) comes from the bond or relationship with the other person in the ship. i've never, not once, taken it to heart (not even hm dh considering he did express a bit of relief and hope surrounding his situation).

but wow nothing makes me emo like iotol dh presenting as an omega. it's lost him a sister, a friend, his pride and dignity on some occasions. ugh, it's awful 😔

and i hope this doesn't come off as slutshaming (sorry if it does, not my intention) but i hate that he sleeps around. it doesn't come off as him just liking sex and casual participation in hookup culture, but rather a means so that his body doesn't punish him for not getting a knot. like wtf! and then you explained that he can't even find a regular heat partner because he runs the risk of getting his omega attached to a possible asshat who probably wouldn't introduce him to their parents and would probably use his love and attachments as tool.

like when is my boy gonna relax around someone and be dependent on them with all of himself without it being a risky move? but also i wonder, with how his life has played out since presenting, does he love/accept himself regardless of his struggles?

I'm not sure you're the first to raise this specific point but you definitely caught the root of the problem. What Donghyuck is doing is not healthy, and not because sleeping around is unhealthy, but because of his attitude towards it. Even if he convinces himself that he's doing nothing wrong, deep down he's punishing himself. Donghyuck was born in a very loving family and he definitely wants someone who cherishes him and treats him well, but he's afraid he won't ever be someone's first choice and so he doesn't even try. And sleeping around helps him physically but not mentally, mentally he feels like shit about it. He just wants to date and cuddle all the time.

As for accepting himself, I'll tell you what I told the little blossom two asks ago. Rationally, he wants to accept himself. When he talks about himself and what he does he's always very defensive, saying things like "I'm not doing anything wrong" because like I said he was raised in a family that loved him a lot and they taught him to respect himself. But sometimes he just slips and reveals that subconsciously he has very negative feelings towards himself.

His relationship with Mark is not the root of these issues, but since he lost it during a very traumatic moment it's like he couldn't find his strongest pillar when he most needed it. In the same way, Mark cannot heal him with his presence only, but he can definitely support him because he still needs it.

His sister is a problem too, because like I say his family always supported him, but his sister is also family so the way she shuns him is just a further confirmation of the negative thoughts he has. It doesn't really matter that rationally he doesn't want to be influenced by her, he still is.

When writing this fic, I just wanted to explore... idk, how sometimes things that normally wouldn't shake us, just because they happen at the wrong moment, right when we're feeling bad, they can become as heavy as boulders and change our entire personality. If you think about it rationally, getting a second gender is not such a pivotal moment, everyone has to go through it, right? At the same time fighting with your family or your best friend is also not such a defining moment in life. It's something that can happen many times. But why did they become a pivotal moment in dh's life? Everything happened at once and he felt that there was a fracture between now and before. And he couldn't go back. I think I took inspiration from things that happened in my life and caused me to change a lot, because when I think back I rationally realize none of those things were an insurmountable obstacle, but for me they became one.

I think the answer became a little too heavy, but this is why I get a little sad when people in the past dh was overreacting, because as someone who had depression I know everything becomes too hard when you feel that bad, and even if I never acknowledged it before the dh who was writing those emails to mk in ch 2-3-4 does talk like someone who is a bit depressed, so for me his actions make total sense. And to go back to the sleeping around part, it is definitely unhealthy, but this is the way he has found to cope and trick himself into thinking everything is alright. Sleeping around gives him control. He doesn't like it, but he can control it. And he can control his body as well through it. So even if it makes him feel shitty it helps him trick his thoughts into being less shitty, if it makes sense?

I'm sorry, this went too deep. I just want him to get better as well ;;