Well Said, And I'd Like To Add Something.

Well said, and I'd like to add something.

Their reunion will be, to put it squarely, strained. The last time they saw each other Crosshair wanted to squad back for what they used to be “You just don't get who we are, do you?”

And this time, (as you've put wonderfully,) they've both changed as individuals drastically, nobody is the same. Which, I think, leads them to build something new entirely. Not what they were, that's gone, what they are now.

That could be a good thing, or a bad thing, but I guess we’ll see how it shakes out in the end.

They Don’t Know: Where Our Characters Are at Going into TBB Season 3

Something I want us all to remember, partly in response to the leaked scene for TBB, and partly something I’ve been thinking about:

We, as the audience, know the full story (out of what they’ve chosen to show us so far) of what each of these characters has been through since season 1: Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, Echo, Omega, and Crosshair. We’ve seen them together, we’ve seen them separated into pairs, we’ve seen Omega’s times of being captured, parts of Echo’s stint with Rex, and we’ve seen Crosshair’s time and journey with the Empire.

The last time these characters all saw each other in the same space at the same time, was Kamino Lost. The end of season 1. The platform.

There is an entire season worth of character growth, experiences gained, lessons learned, and hardships endured, that each of our Batchers has gone through—that the others don’t know about.

And especially related to Crosshair—all the other Batchers know, is that he potentially did something that gained him the ire of the Empire and put him in Hemlock’s possession. And that he sent them a warning message on an old comm line that could or could not even have been him. That’s it. That’s all they know. They don’t know what he did, or what has been done to him. They don’t know about the 32 rotations (I don’t think). They don’t know about his mission with Cody. They don’t know what his thought processes have been. They don’t know he’s been tortured. They don’t know that he helped and tried to avenge a reg. They don’t know the physically and mentally weakened state he is in.

Hunter, in particular, doesn’t know what’s happened to his brother, where he is at, how he looks or how he’s feeling right now. He doesn’t know. He’s been trying to hold his family together in a changing galaxy like sand slipping through a clenched fist, and the last grains are threatening to fall through. All he knows is that every last one of his efforts to keep his family safe have ended with the opposite effect.

And Crosshair doesn’t know about Tech. He doesn’t know how badly his brothers have missed him, even if they don’t talk about it. He doesn’t know about Cid or what’s happened with her. He doesn’t know how the rest have been trying to survive this whole time. He doesn’t know the hard choices that have been made, the questions that have been pondered, the decisions that Hunter has stood between, the potential lives that had opened up for them that were brutally snatched away the second they landed on Eriadu. He doesn’t know they tried to save him, that they were (finally) coming back for him. He doesn’t know how much Omega has learned, and grown, the relationships she’s forged, the smarts she has. All he knows is that he gave his last efforts of love and care toward a family that he thinks abandoned him, one last-ditch effort to keep them safe, and it backfired. The very thing he was trying to protect Omega from is the very situation she ends up in.

He doesn’t know (Crosshair). He doesn’t know (Hunter). They don’t know.

And it will be a shock and a turning point when they finally see each other again, see how worn down and battle-weary and utterly traumatized they all are individually, how much has been lost, how much has been broken, how much things have changed in their second time period apart. And what they choose to do with the broken pieces of who they each are now, will determine how they can heal together, going forward.

We know. But they don’t, yet. Let’s give them grace as they each learn who each other is again. And hope they can give that grace to themselves and each other, as well.

Deeming how Tech only barely shows any semblance of a crush on Phee, I’d be more hilarious if they reacted like:

Crosshair: o-o Why didn’t you mention THIS?! Hunter:I didn’t know about THIS either!

I need a scene after Crosshair meets Phee for the first time, he leans over to Wrecker and Hunter and is like, Tech got her!? in complete disbelief.

And they just nod proudly

One of Those Days

(Bad Batch Pirate AU)

Also posted on Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/53673571

—————————————————————————————————

Hunter emerged from below deck sweaty, as usual, but today was hot, like sunburn in 2 hours hot—and that's saying something for a Fett. Yeah… it was one of those days.

The Maurader was small by battleship standards, big enough to do some damage but still manageable by a crew of 5. The Marauder lived up to its name, and that's all the Bad Batch really needed.

Hunter let the Seawind blow his hair majestically for a blink before the winds receded. He glanced up at the Crowsnest unsurprised to find it empty, no matter how much Crosshair likes that thing, nobody wants to be closer to the sun on these days, Hunter thought. He looked back down to see Crosshair under the gangway getting sprayed by seawater periodically, nice spot. Hunter had gone below to raid the water barrel, and rations only to find the barrel nearly empty and all his meilooruns gone. He'd still spent some time looking around but found no trace of the treats.

“What's the crow doin’ out of his nest?” Hunter teased

Crosshair growled softly but remained unmoved.

Hunter smiled slightly running his hand through his gorgeous but sweaty hair and looked around once again. The others were splayed around the deck similarly, Wrecker sittin’ shirtless in the biggest slice of shade around next to a bucket, (probably for a bucket bath), Tech seated closer to the bow (for Seawind?) wearin' only loose pants and his crimson vest he’s so fond of, and Echo placed in between Wrecker and Tech’s spots—but still wearin’ his worn 501st blue coat, he must be dyin’ in that thing.

Hunter brisked over to Echo’s spot.

“Ahoy,” Hunter said

“Ahoy,” Echo responded

He was positively drenched in sweat and his face was a slight red.

“What brings ya here?” Echo asked

“Ya can't be wearin’ that coat in this heat, it's hotter than Mustafar’s seas out here.”

Echo’s face instantly turned from relaxed to cold. Hunter couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that, what's up with him?

He hasn't taken off the coat since he got it from Rex, but he can't be wearin’ it in this heat.

“Aye,” Echo said cooly

They both paused staring. Echo made no effort to move.

“Echo…” Hunter said “You’ll get heat stroke in that, just take it off and you can have it back later”

Echo’s face then laced with sorrow, and he faced away staring at the deck. Hunter stood there for a moment waiting for him. Why’s this coat got him in such a ruffle?

Echo silently shrugged off the coat, then clenched it in his good hand. He wore a long-sleeve wool shirt underneath, Hunter raised another eyebrow to that.

Echo sighed pulled out a canteen from one of the pockets and reluctantly handed Hunter the coat. He lurched slightly from the weight of it. Wait a minute…

He padded the coat pockets.

“It was you!” Hunter accused

“What?” Echo said defensively

“You took all my meilooruns and hid them in your coat!”

Echo shrugged and smirked slightly.

“Is that why you refused to take it off?”

Echo’s barely playful manner evaporated again, and he scowled and turned to look at the sea.

“Take them, there were only 2 left,” Echo said bitterly “Wrecker ate the rest”

Hunter eyed him carefully, this was strange, even for Echo.

Even so, Hunter turned and walked over to the barracks coat in hand. Which was barely a few meters away, the Maurader was small and saw the others eyeing him from their spots on the boat. Wrecker was the first to approach him.

“Hey Cap’n, What's up with Echo?” Wrecker asked glancing at Echo

Hunter shrugged, “I can't say, it's got somethin’ to do with this coat though”

“Aye,” Wrecker agreed softly “Do you know why he’s wearin’ that thing in this heat?”

“Don't know that either, but it's drenched in sweat” Hunter commented “he also took my last meilooruns, but I don't think that's the reason”

“Maybe we should dunk him in the sea to cool him down”

“Actually that could drown him,” Tech declared walking over “his metal legs would haul him down and though I have developed countermeasures for said disaster, I would not recommend testing it”

“And I don't reckon he’s in the mood for such antics at the moment” Hunter added

The others nodded glancing at Echo.

“Do you reckon a bucket would work?” Wrecker asked mischievously

Hunter chuckled at that, “If you do try such a thing, be sure to do it smartly, or he might actually shoot you this time”

The others smiled at that memory, good times.

“I'm serious lads, you should leave him be”

With that Hunter spun and entered the barracks, a dark and smelly place, but that's a privateer’s life.

Though Crosshair was given the gift of impeccable eyesight, Hunter had been blessed with fabulous hair and the ability to see in the dark so he walked effortlessly to Echo’s hammock.

Since Echo had joined they'd worked to make a space for him, and anyway, Echo wanted to be further away from them for his reasons. Echo’s hammock was in the far corner next to his personal storage chest.

Echo would probably stab Hunter with one of his own knives if Hunter ever tried to learn the 501st pocket space trick—Hunter once saw Echo pull three pistols, a canteen of water, a dictionary, a whole meiloorun, and an entire toolbox out of his coat while the thing looked completely normal. But Hunter’d still like to know what stirred Echo so much. It was a pretty regular coat, worn, with patches and stitches here and there, but other than that, well cared for. He studied it a moment longer flipping open the collar—that’s strange— a single number, 5, was embroidered in it. Maybe it's a worn-out rendition of 501st? Hunter shrugged pulling out one of the meilooruns and tossing the coat onto Echo’s hammock making his way back on deck.

Hunted walks back up the stairs, and immediately gets dunked by a whole bucket of water. He yelps,

“Wrecker!!!” Hunter exclaims

To which Wrecker responded with roaring laughter. Okay, that was actually pretty refreshing, plus now the sweat is out of his hair. But that won't stop him from getting Wrecker back somehow.

His eyes seem darker in the dark or when he’s looking at Crosshair, but lighter when he looks at Omega?? Or the sun? I don’t know.

Am I stupid or are hunters eyes a different(?) lighter(?) color this episode??

MAJOR TBB SEASON 3 EP 11 SPOILERS

So we don't know how TBB are going to get Omega back but in these photos here:

Well, Hunter went emo, but other than that in the last photo on the right we can kinda see a mountain like Tantiss. Obviously, they're not in the Maurader because it blew up so that checks out and they're using the same tactic they've been using since season 1, leech onto a bigger ship to get onto the planet.

It's probably not Tantiss since they do fake-outs all the time, but it will be interesting to see why Hunter lost his paint.