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TechPhee Weekend: Day 3
Title: She'll Take it
Rating: T
Summary:
TechPhee Weekend Day 3: Reunion
Phee had accepted that her daydreams about reuniting with Tech would go unfulfilled. Well, maybe not completely unfulfilled. Just a little different.
HERE WE ARE. HERE IT IS. ALMOST THREE WEEKS AFTER.
It’s a bit shorter, but I think it’s sweet.
Day 3: Reunion
Phee had daydreamed about how her reunion with Tech would go. If she was realistic, she’d probably have to chase him down. But it was nice to imagine that he’d come looking for her. Sometimes he’d be unhurt, sometimes he’d have an arm in a sling.
Phee would be casual, saying something like “There you are, Brown Eyes.”
Even in her fantasies he was awkward. “Yes.” He’d say. “I have returned.”
Then he’d give her one of his tiny smiles, smiles she’d learned were as precious as kyber.
“You gonna tell me where you went?” She’d ask.
He would cock his head.
“Of course.”
He would sit next to her, and give her a practical recounting of the mission. She’d enjoy it anyway.
She’d take his hand when he was done. He’d probably stare at their hands, confused.
“I’m glad you’re back, Brown Eyes.”
He’d look up, focusing on her with his gorgeous gaze.
“As am I.”
Sometimes she’d kiss him, sometimes they’d just sit and hold hands. But they were happy.
Then she’d gotten the news. Wrecker, tears in his eyes and voice rough, had told her. Cid, a traitor. Omega, captured. Tech-
Oh, Tech.
The reunion would never happen. The months passed, Phee’s time split between her own work and the dogged search for Omega. Then the brilliant girl got herself out. But before Phee could come see her, she was gone again. Sacrificed herself, just like he had. Phee had helped Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair as best she could. She’d given them the best chance to find their kid again.
Phee would forever regret taking a job after helping them. She had figured that she couldn’t help them and there was no way she could just sit around and wait.
But that meant she was halfway across the galaxy when she got the comm from Hunter.
“We’re on our way back. Couple hours out.” He’d told her. “Omega’s safe. But-”
Phee had caught her breath. Had Wrecker-
“We- found something. Someone.” Hunter had gone on. “He was one of them, but- after I-”
Phee had never heard Hunter sound so lost or shaky. When Omega had been taken the first time, he’d been dark and angry. The second, he had been determined and focused. Nothing like this.
“Start from the beginning.” She’d said, heart pounding.
So she listened, horrified, as Hunter described a dark monster, cruel and vitriolic. It had taken Crosshair’s hand, been the one to burn Pabu, and had tried very hard to keep Omega from them. Hunter had hurled an electrospear through its chest.
And then- and then, after Hemlock was dead, as they passed the body, it had called their names. Not even to get their attention, it had seemed. Just a reaction to seeing them. Against his better judgement, Hunter had approached. Taken its helmet off.
It had been Tech.
Hunter had paused there, waiting for Phee’s response.
“Is he still alive?” She had managed to demand.
“Yes.”
Phee had clapped a hand to her mouth, torn between sobbing and throwing up.
“He survived thanks to the cybernetics they’d given him. But- he’s acting more like himself now. Something- something to do with his injury.”
Silence for a moment, and then- “He’s asked for you.”
Phee’s breath had caught and her chest had ached.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She had whispered. “Thank you.”
She’d switched her comm off and then cried. She didn’t even really know why. Too many thoughts flooded her: he’s alive, he’s a monster, he was taken by them, he’s home.
Strangely, the thought that broke out of the haze was that she wouldn’t be there when he returned to Pabu.
Now she sent a message to her employer that explained that something had come up. If she tried to do anything now, she’d get herself killed. And then she set her course for home.
The following few days were agony. She paced, tried and failed to distract herself, and occasionally cried her heart out. MEL tried to comfort her, but Phee didn’t think she could settle until she saw Tech with her own eyes. Hunter contacted her every few hours, which was kind, but it wasn’t enough.
It was the middle of the night when she finally touched down in front of the Archium. To her surprise, Wrecker was waiting for her under the weeping maya. He looked exhausted when he came to greet her, but he still gave her a tight hug.
“Good to have you back, Phee.” He rumbled. “Come on, he’ll want to see you.”
Phee hesitated.
“I don’t want to bug him-” She started.
Wrecker gave a weak chuckle. He seemed so subdued.
“Nah, he’s been getting plenty of rest.” He said. “He specifically said to wake him up when you got here.”
“How is he, Wrecker?” Phee asked as they walked. “How is he really?”
Wrecker’s shoulders slumped.
“I dunno, Phee.” He said. “He’s hurt bad. He feels terrible ‘bout what he did; he can barely even look at Cross. But he’s here.”
Phee nodded. She didn’t know what to say. She felt she was still in a bit of shock.
They made their way to the small clinic that was Pabu’s closest thing to a medcenter.
“Where are you all staying?” Phee asked, realizing with a jolt that their ship, their home, was gone.
“Omega’s staying with Lyana and Shep.” Wrecker said. “Us- well, we had to stay here for a day or two, and we’ve slept in worse places than the chairs they got.”
“Nope.” Phee said. “I get having someone with Tech, but I’m not having you boys sleep on chairs after all you’ve been through. I’ve got a couch back at my place, and I can sleep on my ship so my bed will be free.”
Wrecker paused at the door to the clinic, looking back at her.
“Thanks, Phee.” He said in a thick voice. “It’s- it’s been a rough coupla days.”
Phee patted him on the arm and he smiled.
The clinic's lights were dimmed, but one of the island’s two nurses, a middle aged Devaronian man who smiled at them when they came in, was sitting at the front desk. Phee noted that Crosshair was curled on one of the chairs, face buried in his arms. She also noticed the bandaged nub at the end of his right arm.
“Hey, Raiz.” She said, making herself not stare. “You’re here late.”
Raiz shrugged. “Got a lot of patients right now.” He said. “Your Tech’s in room three.”
Her Tech.
Phee moved as if in a dream. She didn’t quite remember getting to the door. It opened at her touch. Hunter’s back blocked her view of the bed. He looked back at her and gave a vague, tired smile. He got up and slipped out of the room.
Leaving Phee alone with Tech.
He was asleep, like she expected. He had deep shadows under his eyes, reminding her of Echo. His chest was wrapped in bacta, cybernetics glinted from his arms and sides, and he’d lost weight. His face was streaked with unfamiliar scars.
It didn’t seem like him. It was just a husk with his face.
Phee took a trembling step to his bedside. She reached out an equally shaking hand to touch his shoulder.
His eyes opened. He focused on her after a moment of confusion.
Phee let out a breath.
“There you are, Browneyes.”
“Phee.” He croaked.
His voice was weak, trembling. She'd never heard it like this.
“I'm here.” Phee said.
She slipped her hand against his. She didn’t know what to say. She held back from holding him, which she desperately wanted to do.
“I-” He whispered. Phee leaned closer. “I did not run off with any pirates or smugglers.”
It was then that Phee noticed that his pupils were blown wide, a clear sign that he was drugged to high heaven. A laugh she couldn't help burst from Phee. Tech's brow furrowed.
“You were concerned I would.” He said. “During our last conversation, you specifically told me not to do so.”
Phee felt tears fill her eyes even as she smiled.
“I did.” She said. She leaned forward, brushing her forehead against his and running her hand through his hair. “Thank you.”
To her surprise, he hesitantly pressed his forehead forward to meet hers. They stayed like that for a moment.
“I- must tell you something.” He finally said. His breathing changed, becoming ragged. “Phee- I was the one to invade Pabu.”
Phee took his hand.
“I know.”
“I do not think you understand, as you are still being affectionate.” His voice was strained. “I ordered the burning of Pabu, the destruction of-”
“I know.” Phee said.
She stopped stroking his head and instead pulled him closer.
“Then why are you still holding me?” He asked.
“Do you want me to stop?” Phee asked.
“No.” He was quick to reply. “But you should be disgusted and horrified by what I have done.”
Phee's heart broke at his tone of voice. It was clear to see that he was the one disgusted and horrified.
“I am.” Phee said. “But by what the Empire has done, what they did to you.”
He was quiet, stiff in her arms.
“I do not deserve this.”
Phee pulled him closer.
“I don’t really care if you do or not.”
Tech began to shake and he turned his head to press into Phee’s shoulder. She felt warm tears soak into her shirt, though Tech made no noise. She rocked him back and forth.
“It’s all right.” She murmured. “You’re safe. You’re home. We’re here.”
Not quite the reunion she had dreamed of, but she would take it.
Honestly, not much to say here. Pretty straightforward. I did try a little bit of a different writing style thanks to a fantastic book I read recently.
But I did it! I did the weekend, if not a little late. I’m looking forward to the next TechPhee event!
Thanks for reading!
Executive Cucumber's Thoughts on The Bad Batch 03×12!
Spoilers under the cut
Let start out by saying holy heck that was the cool down episode I needed. My sister watched it before me and was able to tell me that Tech/CX-2 wasn't in it for a significant amount, so I was able to get past my disappointment and not be stressed out during the episode. Yes, I'm still on the 'Tech is CX-2 Bandwagon.' I do think they should have revealed him to the audience earlier, because I have to actively avoid Bad Batch social media (*cough*reddit*cough*) for my own mental health because of the negativity around the idea. It's really draining.
Anyway, on to the actual episode!
Today I realized that I might be triggered by Omega being trapped at Tantiss because of some past experiences. (And yes, if you've read my fics you know that I've done it to her too, but I have control over that and I think the problem is the lack of control I have)
Hi Tech! I love you! Please be un brainwashed soon!
I want to murder Hemlock. I don't know if I've ever hated a Star Wars villain like this before. It feels so personal.
It devastates me that they're going to take Omega's clothes away. Clothes that were given to her by people who love her. Ow.
Also you're playing a dangerous game, not keeping those binders on her, Hemlock.
'Is everything all right, Dr. Karr?' 'No, the Jango parent gene got awakened in me and that does not go away'
Why does Emerie think she HAS to do this?
I'm a little disappointed we didn't see Hunter find out about Omega. He's probably just in 'go' mode, honestly. Adrenaline and all that.
Crosshair is so proud of Omega oh my gosh.
PHEE MY QUEEEEEEEEEN
Oh my gosh Tech told Phee about Crosshair. That implies that had more time than we saw. That makes me so happy and sad.
Phee talks about Tech with such fondness. You can tell how much she cared about him. I feel like I'm watching a widow who's processed her grief but still talks about her husband because she loved him.
Also, looking at Phee, she doesn't really have any implied make up on. She's very natural. Good for her.
...Rampart looks kinda good with a beard.
Okay Tech would find the stunt Phee pulled extremely attractive.
This is the closest we've gotten to the original Batch we've gotten in a very long time. It feels good to see them go mission mode with Crosshair.
This is reminding me of Eriadu and I don't like it.
Crosshair asking Wrecker if he remembered whatever plan and then patiently waiting for him to remember lives rent free in my head he's so sweet.
WRECKER'S THEME IS BACK BABY
Also, Crosshair's theme is played in this really fun way?
Crosshair should be allowed to kick Rampart in the balls. As a treat.
Rampart you snake. Crosshair should have shot him in the leg instead of stunning him.
My sister pointed out that the juggernaut represents how the Batch is right now. You cannot stop them.
Man, it's nice to not to be as conflicted when the TK troopers die, as opposed to when clones were sent against them. Quick thought though, does Wolffe have all the remaining clones?
Man these guys get BRUTALIZED.
Them throwing around passed out Rampart is amazing and should continue to happen.
Okay Wrecker has his knife out HE IS READY TO TORTURE A MAN.
Frick you Rampart. He is the worst replacement for Omega.
Aww they probably didn't bring Batcher on the mission to protect her. (Plus she a half trained dog and it was a stealth mission)
And then the boys spent the next hour arguing over who has to call Echo and tell him.
Hemlock you FOULE you're giving Omega ALLIES. Also why are you telling her all this. She will use it against you.
Gall, I hate Hemlock.
Again, I really needed this cool down episode. Though I'm afraid the final three episodes are going to hurt. THIS IS MY FAVORITE SHOW WHY IS IT STRESSING ME OUT SO MUCH. ALSO WAITING A WEEK FOR EPISODES ALSO SUCKS. A LOT.
Executive Cucumber's (sorta) thoughts about the Bad Batch 03×10 & 03x11!
Spoilers under the cut
All right guys, I'm not doing my full list of thoughts. These episodes were really, really emotional for me for many reasons and I do not have the emotional energy to do my usual dives. I'm stepping away from the fandom in general for this week. Honestly, for my mental health, I just do not need to be around Fandom discourse right now. I've already left the pertinent subreddits and hopefully I'll survive.
But my brief thoughts!
So, I majored in the Humanities in college. I saw and read a lot of amazing art. But there was a category of art that I like to call, 'this was beautiful and poignant and life changing, but I never want to consume it again.'
These episodes fall under this category. They were art, and they were excruciating.
I also am still firmly in camp 'CX-2 is Tech.' Because it actively makes The Point of No Return less tragic if it is not him. Part of the reason I was sobbing during it was that it was TECH who was being so cruel, destroying the home he'd nearly had, destroying HIS ship, nearly killing his brothers.
And it's Tech, who gave Omega her first comm, who loves her, who would die to keep her safe, who takes her comm and takes her back to Tantiss.
Plus, who the heck else says 'domicile?'
(On the plus side, he gets his revenge on Cid)
My heart is broken for Omega. I hate that she has to make this choice. I KNEW she was going to sacrifice herself. If anyone says 'the Empire did nothing wrong' to me, even as a joke, they're losing a finger.
I dread how the rest of the Batch are going to confront each other about this. Crosshair was also the only one who would let her do this. In a positive way.
...I loved seeing Phee.
I wish I had more to say about Identity Crisis, but I spent that episode trying to overcome my disappointment that it wasn't about Tech. It was still an exceptional episode, regardless of my expectations.
But I do want to say, Cad Bane takes a lot of kid jobs. What's up with that? Weirdo.
Anyway, happy birthday to me! I get: Omega getting taken and Tech destroying everything he loves. Yaaaaaaaaaaaay.
An excellent analysis on CX-2 and how his identity affects the narrative. It helps that it's very funny.
Executive Cucumber's Thoughts on the Bad Batch 03x09!
Spoilers under the cut
Apologies for this being late, I worked overtime and then immediately went to rescue my sister and her kids from a car breakdown. I got overwhelmed pretty quick.
I really liked this episode, but as I was in a not great mood when I watched it, I didn't absorb as much as I normally do. (My mood really affects how much I enjoy something, regardless of quality. I was in a foul mood when I first watched Faster and was fairly critical of it. I was wrong.)
This is really the first time we've seen not beautiful weather on Pabu and that's terrifying.
CROSSHAIR IS PART OF A COMMUNITY!!! Have yall considered that he's never been a part of a community before? Like yes, he's has his family, but a community?
'Does it matter? We're not giving her up.' This man. I love this man. If Tech did not already reign Supreme in my heart, I think Crosshair would be my favorite character in Star Wars.
ASAJJ VENTRESS MY QUEEEEEEEEEN
Oh Omega, that story fell apart faster than Hunter's resistance to adopting you.
They leave a space for Tech 💔
Apparently those blood tester things that Qui Gon had were Jedi issue only.
YOU CAN DO IT OMEGA!!! Wrecker, honey, if Omega CAN do it, that means her life gets WAY harder.
They one hundred percent sent Crosshair to look at Tech's data because Hunter and Wrecker can barely do it.
'Go get a flower kid, I gotta beat up your dads'
Okay, I honestly think Hunter doesn't have the time for romance and could honestly see him as asexual, but-
HIS WAIST IS SO SLUTTY. HOW IS IT SO SLUTTY.
I don't think we've seen such well choreographed hand to hand fighting in animated Star Wars. Except maybe that time that Rex absolutely destroyed those Zygerrians. But I might be biased about that.
'SHE'S A WAR CRIMINAL OMEGA' Okay now I need to know what defines war crimes in this universe. Did they have space Geneva?
You know, good thing Echo's not here. He'd probably be WAY more pissed than these three.
'You're naive' says the man who was changed by the child saying people can change.
I love Crosshair's 'oh shoot she's right' face.
Wrecker's little gasp when Ventress looks at them is AMAZING.
I love it when Star Wars is using the Force to connect with animals.
I'm sorry, Hunter girlies, I guess we getting wet hair everyone except Hunter. (Though Ventress looks SO GOOD)
VENTRESS YOU QUEEN I LOVE YOU YOU'VE COME SO FAR (I haven't read dark disciple but my sister has, and she informed me that Vos' Dark Side training by Ventress culminated in him summoning a water monster and killing it. This is such a beautiful parallel that she calms it.)
Crosshair helping Omega on is my everything.
I really love that Crosshair has decided to give Ventress a chance, because he was given a chance. (And also I lowkey ship them in a one night stand kinda way. Crossajj is such a good ship name too)
DAD DUO.
I don't think Ventress is lying when she says Omega isn't Force sensitive. Omega doesn't show ANYTHING in this episode that implies that she's sensitive. Yes, she uses Batcher, but she'd trained Batcher with normal friend methods. I think that Ventress stops the testing prematurely before she can be more sure, because she sees the possibly unhealthy attachment the Batch have. It might also be to protect Omega to not know for sure. My personal theory is that Omega is slightly more sensitive than the average clone, but not to any natural talent degree.
Oh gosh, I'm so scared for the next few episodes. Ventress gives them such a clear warning. This episode did such a good job of getting the tension tight again.
I know some people call this episode redundant, but the characters NEED this in order to catch up. We as an audience knew that M Counts meant midichlorians. But the Batch had no idea. Sometimes, we need to let the main characters catch up with us.
(This is also why Tech as CX-2 works on a reveal level because the mystery isn't for us, it's for the characters)
But yeah, a great episode! I'm terrified for everything and everyone!
A quick note- I've seen people say that it's too late in the season for Tech to return. I'd like to remind you that it took exactly two episodes in season 2 to get us behind Crosshair's redemption. They can do a lot in a few episodes.
Executive Cucumber's thoughts on the Bad Batch episode 3×08 (spoilers after the cut)
Forgive me if these thoughts are less coherent than usually, I'm pretty freaking tired atm. Thoughts are as much in order as I can manage.
Firstly, this episode was a much needed, lower emotionally charged break from the last...seven episodes of the season. The thing about stories is that they can't be running at warp 9 the entire time. It will burn your audience out. Heck, I'm at a lower energy, transitiatory part of my long fic. So yeah, this episode didn't cause the emotional damage and stress that the last 7 did, but that's a good thing.
Omega has the neurodivergent ✨️leg jiggle✨️
Poor dear needs a hug and for someone to free the Tantiss clones.
PHEE MY QUEEN
Crosshair's face when Omega says 'liberator of ancient wonders' I love him.
Okay, I know that a lot of people are upset about Phee not being more emotional about Tech. I've got a few thoughts on that. My expectations going into the scene with her was that she wasn't going to be mentioning Tech. So when she did, I was really happy. She doesn't need to bring him up in the conversation, but she does.
So let's dive a little deeper into this. There are only two people who have brought up Tech without any prompting so far: Echo and Phee. Omega only mentions him when it's a direct answer to Crosshair's question. Hunter, Crosshair, and Wrecker have not mentioned him once by name. Now, I think this is because Echo and Phee have both known loss and know better how to handle it. The rest of the Batch hasn't, before Tech. We have watched practically all of Echo's loss, but not Phee's. However, we know that Pabu is a place for refugees, which Phee likely is. She's lost at least a home, if not family and friends. Add on top of that Phee is just in general a world wide person, and I think we can assume that she's someone who's got a more healthy way of processing grief than our emotionally stunted soldiers.
Something that you do with people that you've loved and lost is remember them. That's what I see Phee doing here. She's managed to process her grief in the last 4 months, and she's keeping the memory of someone she cared about alive by mentioning him in conversation.
So yeah. I liked that scene and it warmed my Tech/Phee loving heart.
Anyways,
Oooooh Fennec!!!
I love Crosshair not knowing anything but it also makes me sad.
Hunter: try to get Crosshair to get his hand looked at
Omega: what do you mean 'try'
Thoughts on Crosshair and Omega scenes:
What did my poor boy go through????
Poor man is probably resisting the idea that it's in his head because he already HAD a thing in his head that ruined his life
Omega: you don't like anything
Crosshair: true
Your honor I would die for them. Also I find his 'true' to be a little sad (and adorable)
OMG THEY'RE MEDITATING (and they have somehow stolen YET ANOTHER thing from my fic, this time before I've even gotten past the concept stage)
Omega: you missed a lot
Crosshair: I know
He's thinking of Tech in that moment.
Oh my gosh her hand on his and how he lets her move his hand THEY ARE TRYING TO KILL ME.
The Bad Batch says take care of your mental
Thoughts about Space Everglades:
I really loved Wrecker this episode. He really got to shine. He has the most banter with Fennec, he gets to do his demo thing, he freaking curb stomps space alligators, and he's the MVP in getting the bug man. It was really nice. Also, 'YOU HEARD ME!!!!' Let Wrecker go feral.
Bro, I really liked the bar music. I like seeing more of the music that plays in universe.
Wrecker and Hunter are definitely having flashbacks to Cid this entire episode. Except Fennec gives them more intel.
Fennec is a delight as always.
My prediction to who she's selling them out to? Ventress. And I don't think Ventress' intentions are bad.
So yeah, a solid episode! I'm honestly probably going to leave a lot of the star wars subreddits just to avoid everyone and their dog complaining about filler. Which this was NOT.
And as the next episode is called the Harbinger, I feel like this might be one of our last breaths before the plunge and everything goes sideways.
Oh, and in case you forgot. Tech lives ❤️
A thought or two about our current Fandom discussion
*spoilers under the cut*
I have been a Tech lives believer since about an hour after I saw him fall. I also very strongly believe that Tech is CX-2 (I am aware of what Jennifer Corbett said today about CX-2 being a new character, but Tech being presented as CX-2 can be considered as a new character)
I've seen people say they don't want him to be Tech because they don't want to see Tech like that. Totally valid. Not everyone wants to bathe in angst like I do.
But I believe that Tech being CX-2 is going to create the most compelling story and create the most conflict.
I could go on about the reasons, and maybe I will one day. But I want to share the most devastating one that came to me today.
If Tech is CX-2, that means Echo left his brother behind, left for dead, to be tortured and used against their brothers.
Just like he was.
A fantastic video going over the connections between Tech and CX-2. Prepare for sarcasm.
Executive Cucumber's thoughts on the Bad Batch: Season 3x06 and 3x07 (I'm pretty sure I'm formatting this differently every time. Oh well)
Okay, there's a subject I'm going to have to postpone until the end of the post because I want all my thoughts on that to be together: the main operative clone. And the rest might be slightly out of order. I'm also doing this before I see anyone else's thoughts, just so we get the pure version.
Let's go!
I honestly thought that Senator Singh and Riyo were dead meat. But no, they're fine because REX IS COOLER THAN ANYONE. Ugh that man. Freaking throwing the grenade back at him.
Clones are beautiful. That is all.
THAT'S THAT ONE PLACE FROM THE OG CLONE WARS MOVIE!!! TETH!!!
Howzer I love you but if you touch Crosshair we will be having words.
I am actually really proud of Crosshair and his restraint this episode. He could have been really cutting to Howzer.
OMEGA WITH THE TOOTHPIIIIICKS and Hunter is jealouuuus
EDIT: ECHO AND THE CROSSBOW HE'S SO SWEET
WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU CROSSHAIR
It's really nice to see normal clones being normal again. (Too bad it doesn't last)
There's something up with Omega. I'm not going to lie, I think that she and Rex are going to plan to get her captured in order to track her back to Tantiss.
HOWZER STOP DISTRUSTING CROSSHAIR THIS MOMENT
I appreciate that Hunter doesn't seem to distrust Crosshair during this point.
...they really shouldn't have brought that operative back.
Rex is considering stealing Omega, I swear. I love that he gets down to her level.
WOOOOOOOOOOOLFFE (Plo would be so disappointed in you)
It's...odd to see these normal troopers with him.
It's also strange that he cannot comprehend that the clones could be traitors at first.
STOP DYING YOU BEAUTIFUL REGS
'She only bites half the time' I'm pretty sure Omega is lying here but I don't care.
CROSSHAIR IS SUCH A WORRIED DAD HOLY CRAP. 'Oh, I'm much worse' I LOVE YOU
And this just gives such a little insight into how the Batch was when they were together. I have a feeling that Crosshair was a fusser and a nagger.
And I love how Howzer's natural and correct conclusion is: 'no one evil could love that child.' (Unless you're Nala Se)
Hey, actual candor from Crosshair. I keep saying this is who he always was under it all, but I do think he's healed somewhat, at least towards regs. The healing power of Omega.
'Too bad' I LOVE THIS MAN
STOP DYING REGS
Rex talking down Wolffe reminded me so much of him trying to talk Jesse down. So ow.
Okay, what ROCK have they shoved Wolffe under for the last YEAR??? YES THE EMPIRE WOULD GET RID OF THE CLONES YOU DOG BRAINED IDIOT
(Plo would be proud that you let them go)
...they just killed all of Rex's clones, except Howzer and Gregor. And I have a bad feeling about Howzer. STOP TAKING THINGS FROM REX HASN'T HE LOST ENOUGH???
Okay here we are, at the big topic. Hold onto your pants.
That operative clone. Is. Tech. Because if he is not, they are purposefully using the narrative to deceive us.
I might miss a few things, but that's because I'm up past my bedtime and I've been up too late the last few days.
1. The falling and water parallels. This clone falls a LOT during this episode and dives into a lot of water. He even falls into mist. This time it's to kill and capture his siblings instead of save them.
2. The injury. This clone is hobbling around a lot after his injury, which was immediately reminiscent of Tech's broken leg at the beginning of season 2. Both of them are forcing themselves past their limit to achieve a mission. Specifically with injured legs.
3. General attitude and demeanor. In combination with the stealth and injury, this clone has a more hunched posture. His speech patterns are more formal, though we haven't really heard a lot of other clone operatives talk with their helmets on. But he's also apparently allergic to orders. I first thought that he'd be out of the chain of command, but they would have told Wolffe that he wasn't in charge of the operative if that were the case. Or the operative would have straight up told him 'I don't take orders from you' instead of staring awkwardly at him. Instead he runs off and does his own thing. While injured. Not to mention the buttons on his gauntlet. The other clone operatives don't have those.
4. The cybernetic legs. Now we don't know for sure if Tech would have cybernetic legs, but it seems likely for a severely injured trooper. And when Crosshair is looking at the heat signature, you can see that his legs are blue instead of yellow or red. No heat. Not organic.
5. What he says to Crosshair. 'You could have been one of us.' 'You chose the wrong side.' Yes, he's talking about Crosshair resisting the re-education. But flip it on its head real quick. 'You could have been one of us. One of the Bad Batch.' 'You chose the wrong side. The Empire.' Those lines very easily have double meanings.
6. An interesting one is when he starts moving rocks after the explosion. Why would he do that? Why not immediately go find another way in? He's moving only the smaller rocks. There's a large one in the way that he couldn't move himself. And he doesn't get the rest of the troopers to come move it when they arrive. He almost seems confused.
Like he's somewhere else after an explosion, having to move rocks. Like in the Crossing.
I know that this hardly seem like iron clad evidence. But in the language of story telling, it's practically screaming in our faces.
And I'm so glad he's back. I missed him. He won't be himself for a while, but I legitimately believe we'll get one last fight with the Batch all together. Because brain washing is a heck of a lot easier to fix than being dead.
My sister is doing the good work and creating a tik token about it, and I'll probably share it here when she's finished.
(We're getting the episode 'Identity Crisis ON MY BIRTHDAY and so help me if that's about Tech)
Honestly I thought I'd be more excited, but I spent the entire two episodes forcing myself into not having expectations and also I might be in shock.
Anyone else completely normal about the scene with Omega and Tech in The Crossing and Omega says 'we're a family, aren't we?' and the writers could have 100 percent could have had Tech say 'technically, we do not fall under the traditional family structure' or something like that and we would have been mildly disappointed but unsurprised but instead they had him acknowledge that they are a family and even saying 'of course' they're a family which just was such a beautiful moment in which he breaks autism stereotypes and is just a beautiful person that I love?
I love Phee so much that I named my cat after her! I was so afraid that they were just going to leave her out of season 3 and I'm SO HYPE to see her working with the Batch! (Please my angst loving heart needs to see her reacting to Tech's 'death.')
ok but why is no one talking about phee being in the damn trailer
i almost had a seizure for fucks sake
THATS MY FAVOURITE CHARACTER PUT SOME DAMN LOVE ON HER
i got so exited it made me nauseous
Oh, is it time for the pre-season 'the season is terrible' dreams? I had at least 3 before season 2. One was that the season was actually a board game.
I dreamed the first trailer for The Bad Batch s3 dropped and we found out they recast Dee Bradley Baker. Each bad batch member had a different voice actor and the characters sounded NOTHING like the previous seasons. It was so bad. I was genuinely so upset I considered not watching the last season. I was like "really you're gonna let us down THIS HARD on THE LAST SEASON"
Nav info page!!
Nav is the son of Tech and Phee, who’s basically a carbon copy of his father, with his mother’s love for adventure, and joins the rebellion with his Aunt Omega and three younger cousins!!
i FINALLY had enough time to actually work on my ocs now that im not in exams every two minutes
More info under cut!!
Full name is Navarlan ‘Nav’ Aelius Genoa, but him and Tech tell EVERYONE that Nav is short for Navigator
Aelius: Greek word for sun/sunshine, because Nav is very much a walking ray of sunshine (even though he doesn’t know it)
Is literally so oblivious to people liking him (just like his dad!!) and needs to be straight up TOLD “i love you”, because he doesn’t understand any body language signals, and will just pass it off as the person being friendly
Has the same hairstyle/bandana as Phee, and takes after her by wearing gold charms in his hair all the time
Has a cat called Maya that he found malnourished on Pabu, and took back home (Maya is inspired by my cat Willow)
Maya is named Maya after the Weeping Maya tree on Pabu (Willow is named after Willow trees, so Maya is named after the Weeping Maya tree)
He has her even though Lula is deathly allergic to cats (which causes a lot of arguments), but Maya is everyones baby
Makes lightsabers for his favourite little cousin who’s an absolute menace <3
Only learnt how to build and repair things to make lightsabers for Zay, because she always manages to break them, and lose parts of them
going to crawl back into my hole of embarrassment now okay bye
Something that my grandparents said that I thought was very much Tech and Phee
Tech: See, if I put the cling film over the plate when I unwrap the sandwich the plate doesn’t get dirty! Would you look at that!
Phee: Ah, okay. *very concerned*
My Grandad was very proud of his little idea, my Nan was not amused at all.
I can’t help but be drawn to the clone assassin. Why? Easy. He reminds me of Tech. There were tons of parallels in episode 7. I can’t help but wonder… I’m trying not to get my hopes up, but it’s impossible.
I distinctly remember the first time I watched "Spoils of War/Ruins of War" (the day the episodes aired) and we got to this scene:
... and my first thought literally was a surprised "Huh, wonder why they focused on Tech here. I'd have thought they'd linger on Romar. 🤔🤷♀️" It just seemed like such an odd choice at the time.
Fast forward to now, post-"Plan 99," and this scene is one of the top reasons why I firmly believe the writers always intended to bring Tech back (even if they didn't end up doing so in this show).
I mean, really, why else would the directors/writers make the conscious decision to have Romar matter-of-factly talk about survival and then keep the focus on Tech here, instead of Romar?? It's not like, in-universe, Tech needed to learn that he's also a survivor like Romar - Tech is already self-confident enough to know that about himself already; and if the point of the scene is that Tech has discovered more common ground with Romar, that just reiterates that Tech already knows he's a survivor. So obviously the message was for us as the audience. The fact that this comes after two episodes of the show proving beyond any doubt that Tech is a WARRIOR, not "just" the brains of the team, and has him fight through and survive insane situations while injured, hammers home the link for us between "Tech" and "surviving."
But what about "subversion of expectations," you may ask? What if the point of this scene (not to mention the events of "Faster" and "The Crossing," just to name a few others) was to build up the expectation that Tech IS indeed a survivor against all odds, all for the sake of highlighting the bitter irony that Tech is the one who ultimately doesn't survive?
To that I say: "subversion of expectations" really only works well if the expectation is proven completely wrong. So long as there is any room for doubt as to a given outcome, the subversion can't stick. If the writers intended for the "survivor" angle to ultimately just be a misdirect and a cruel irony, they needed to follow through and prove well beyond ANY reasonable doubt that Tech actually died. (That means things like a body or a reliable witness (not a villain with ulterior motives); not to mention things like not having even the villain "witness" be deliberately vague about the issue, and not using the supposedly dead character as one potential red herring for the identity of a new unknown character.) And since the writers very much did NOT take the time to irrefutably confirm Tech's death, I cannot read the above scene as subversive foreshadowing. Rather, I still read it as a major hint that the writers wanted Tech to survive - or, bare minimum, wanted to leave the potential open for his return.
So, whenever I need a bit of hope that Tech is still alive out there somewhere, I just revisit this scene and remember that Tech, too, is a survivor ❤️❤️❤️
I'm still in denial about Tech's fate, so here he is on Pabu next to his memorial lol
Phee was taking this picture, and Hunter was very annoyed at it later XD
Not Strong Enough
Written for Angstpril 2024: Alt Prompt #2 - Not Strong Enough
Fandom: The Bad Batch
Character Focus: CX-2, Tech, Crosshair, minor Hunter, Wrecker and Omega
Summary: ‘Not strong enough’ was an unfamiliar phrase for CX-2. Mentally, he was exceptionally strong. His mind was sharper than a knifes edge, his strategy sound, and his fortitude indominable. When that had begun to crack and crumble, he could not fathom. It harkened the return of ‘the other one’, and that was something he could not allow.