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Tech Bad Batch - Blog Posts
Guys this is really important. I know this show is so important to so many of us, but if it is causing you lingering and very real distress, you should please do something to help with that! I care very deeply about a lot of people in this fandom and you deserve to enjoy this finale. My dms and ask inbox are definitely open if anyone needs a big sister to talk to
Hello, hi, fandom big sister here
Finale’s are always a rollercoaster, series finales especially. They can be fun, devastating, sad, exhilarating, disappointing, everything we dreamed, or all of the above or none of those at all. Emotions run high, and it’s hard to say goodbye.
I’m here to offer that if the idea of The Bad Batch finale is making you physically sick, is genuinely impacting your day to day, or is impacting your mental health, I encourage you to do one or some of the following:
1. Reach out to someone in the fandom who you’re close to or feel comfortable reaching out to 2. Go outside in whatever capacity you’re able to whether that’s a walk or just sitting in a doorway or even being by an open window. Take in some fresh air 3. Take a break from chat forums or Reddit or tumblr where I’ve noticed an alarming uptick in anxiety induced posts about the finale
I’m saying this as someone who understands attachment to stories and characters. My body is a canvas of tattoos inspired by characters, Star Wars in particular. In fact, clones in particular. I’m excited and nervous to see what is in store for our Batch; however, fandom and media should not be a source for literal physical and mental discomfort to the point of affecting your base functions, and in the last few days, I’ve become worried over most of the posts I’ve seen. If this is happening to you, please reach out, please take a breath, and please make some space for you.
This goes for after the finale too. Consume, enjoy, process, discuss, engage, all of the beautiful fandom things. But please take the above steps if the same is happening to you post finale. We are a community, and I want this to always be a community of safety and comfort
He said the GremlinGlasses were quite disorienting, and I didn’t much like how his goggles pinched my ears, so we traded back
He’s just a lil’ guy
“Come now, baby sister. Aren’t you curious in the least about your role in all this? The Kaminoans had a very special plan for you…”
For this, the month of spooks and frights, have some Imperial Tech on Mt. Tantiss horror. Happy Halloween and sweet dreams >:)
Peaches!!!
I imagine, when they can, the Batch lands on planets where they can forage for supplies, and Tech teaches Omega all about what they can and can’t eat
Tech is a Giant Schnauzer
This is a breed I didn’t know about before my discord friends suggested it. They’re very loving and playful. They don’t adapt to change terribly well, but they are very smart and trainable, since they are a working breed. It’s like these good doggos were made for Tech!!
He is a retired service dog, but you would never know it for how poorly-behaved he can be. He has a flagrant disregard for house rules such as no dogs on the furniture, and no being under the table during mealtimes. Tech knows how to open the cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms, and the fridge door too! So Crosshair has had to childproof everything. For some reason Tech especially likes to steal strings. He doesn’t do anything with them, just hoardes them in his dog bed. He will take shoelaces off shoes if you’re not careful!
The reason Tech had to retire is because he has late onset PRA, and has been going blind for the last few years. He doesn’t let it get in his way, though! He relies more heavily on his hearing and smell, and he’s just as curious and excited to explore and cause trouble as he ever was.
@skellymom I hope you like him <333
This was mean! How am I supposed to do homework when I'm crying??
well that fucking hurts
Can anyone help me?
I am looking for a Bad Batch fic I read on AO3 which focuses on Crosshair, Tech and Omega while they are captured on Mt. Tantiss. The fic opens with Hemlock breaking Crosshair’s and the Omega’s pinky fingers as a show of his power and cruelty to discourage either from rebelling. It later goes on to show Hemlock forcing Omega to operate on Tech in order to save his life, and Omega willingly subjecting herself to experimentation to ensure that the three are kept together.
I believe I got to this fic through a tumblr post, as I recall that I read it as a guest. If anybody knows what I’m talking about, I’d appreciate it if you could provide a link. It’s a really good fic and I wanted to go back and leave some comments!
EDIT: I found the fic!!! It’s called Through Darkness Unknown by StardustAndAsh on AO3. It was just a bit further back in my history than I thought XD it is a completed work, for those of you who only like reading finished products, and it’s so freaking well-written! Seriously. Go check it out!!
As an irl emotional support human who also suffers from severe anxiety, I can confirm that adventures are what I was built for! It’s less scary when you have to do scary things with people who know what they’re doing, and it can make you braver in the moment because secretly, somewhere deep inside you, you know that you can do the scary thing! And working alongside people who also know you can do it, and encourage and depend upon you to do it will help you overcome your fear! Now as far as the emotional supporting, I’ve only ever done it platonically, so I can’t speak to how important the more private aspect can be. But I do know that providing people with support in the form of help with household work, external opinions on their schoolwork, company during a time when they just need someone in the room with them, a play partner to solve puzzles or strategize against, an organizational aide, good and thoughtful conversation, and someone simply to share a meal with can go miles in terms of helping their mental health. And yours too! If you are a person who enjoys doing these things for your people, then this role in their lives is as beneficial to you as it is to them. So don’t discount yourself as an emotional support human just because you suffer from crippling anxiety. I’ll bet if you examined your life, you’d find yourself already doing these things in perilous situations <333
Among the Bad Batch, we see a lot of the members actually fulfilling some of this role for each other: Crosshair and Echo running interference between Tech and Wrecker, Echo caring about the cleanliness of their shared living space, Hunter quietly keeping track of the medals the Batch has won together, Wrecker helping to regulate and vent emotions at the loss of Crosshair and Tech’s accidental apathy, Tech praising Omega for small victories, Omega’s ever-ready forgiveness especially when someone lets her down, Crosshair being physically present to Echo when the battle turned bad for them on Voss. All of this is emotional support human behavior.
I do think they could absolutely benefit from having a dedicated non-combatant who is the Emotional Support Human who wears the reflective vest and whose job it is to lay their head in their laps and help them through whatever rough stuff is going on this time. They have a lot of destructive behaviors that the Batch really aren’t equipped to handle for one-another. Like Hunter’s personality-shifting confrontation anxiety (I suspect Crosshair may have actually helped him with this one), Omega’s inappropriate selflessness, and Echo’s survivors’ guilt. There’s definitely still a place for us timid, anxious beans who just wanna give our favorite fictional characters some care and attention <333
Every time i think how fun it would be to go on adventurers with the batch my real life anxeity humbles me real quick. Like gurl your hands start to tremble everytime you have to drive somewhere unknown on your own, good luck on fighting with Gulags
Happy MerMay everyone!!
(The discord shenanigans are getting out of control)
A lot of folks said Crosshair looks reluctant or like he’s “just tolerating” his bros here, but I would like to point out that he is actually smiling a teeeeeeny tiny bit :3
(And you have no idea how long it took to get this to look like he was smiling. I spent twenty minutes trying different angles and shapes to get it subtle enough)
Bad Batch recently off Kamino, and Tech has never seen this species before :O
Tech bought Omega some puzzles for long hyperspace trips! They’ve got the boarder done and are now working on a tree together.
Omega: picks up a piece and wanders thoughtfully around the table
Hmmm… I think this piece goes… right here! puts the puzzle piece in its spot as she slides into Tech’s lap
Tech: surprised, but puts his arms around her and tickles her a little
Oh does it, now?
Omega: giggles
He starts staring at his datapad the moment he wakes up
The Kiners made that one post about the Bad Batch playing cards and it's been living in my head rent-free since, so...
Details:
We're going to pretend that Tech and Wrecker don't have sharper lineart than the other two, because I don't know how to fix it without redoing the lines completely and I do NOT have the energy for that
Wrecker's winning! Crosshair is helping. Mostly.
I didn't know what cards look like in the GFFA, so I made them blue, because, well, everything else is.
Cross has scratches on his face because he's a little menace that gets himself into fights before Hunter can stop him
I want to squish Wrecker's cheeks
Tech is eyeballing Cross because they had an argument about whether something was in the rules (spoiler alert: it probably wasn't)
This took me about 15 hours, I'm going to go and sleep, enjoy
Taglist (click here to be added): @donut1642 @padawancat97 @oh-three @inquisitorius-sin-bin @lil-kyloben
Tech’s Alive, Part Five: I am aware that I am a clown but also! Short Term Possibilities and Long Term Narrative Questions:
So…I’m going to say something that’s probably going to be a bit unpopular. “Killing” Tech off is, or could prove to be, the correct narrative choice—in the short term. And I want to emphasize “in the short term” here. In the long term, or making it permanent, has the potential to break the entire show, and I’ll talk about why in the second half of this post. In the first half, though, I want to talk about how fake-killing Tech could potentially push both the story and the characters forward.
Hunter, Wrecker, and Echo:
From a practical standpoint, they’re going to have to make up for yet another missing skill set in their team after having never actually quite made up for the others. Tech’s the pilot, technician, and analyst, and on paper, those are all things Hunter, Wrecker, and Echo can do. Hunter isn’t as skilled a pilot as Tech, but he’s pretty competent; Wrecker doesn’t have Tech’s focus, but he is a skilled mechanic; and Echo’s excellent with technology (for reasons) as well as a brilliant strategist—a much better strategist than Tech really ever tried to be. On paper, the three of them do have the overlapping skills to make up for Tech’s absence. The thing is, they’re used to Tech being the one to do a lot of that, almost all of the time, and now they’re going to play his role as well as the roles they already have and the role they were already trying to make up for. And on top of that…Tech’s the one with the right combination of levelheadedness and total batshit insanity to get the team out of a tight spot and has, over and over and over again. That’s a thing that Wrecker, Echo, and Hunter don’t really have.
And this isn’t to say that missing Tech is going to be any harder than missing anyone else on the team. We’ve seen clone force 99 struggle for two seasons without Crosshair, and saw them struggle even harder being two men down without Echo. It’d be a struggle without any single one of them. It’s more that they’re going to have to adjust, once again, to not having someone on their team when they could actually really use him, and unlike with Echo, who they expected to get back, or with Crosshair, whose skill set wasn’t made up for by Omega’s presence and her own sharpshooting skills, but who did have someone who began to fill a similar role, Hunter, Wrecker, and Echo are expecting the gap Tech left behind to be permanent. And adjusting is going to be really hard for them.
And then, of course, there’s the way that this is going to push the three of them on a personal level. Echo has lost a lot—a lot—of brothers, so this isn’t necessarily new to him. It’s an old pain that’s just part of the background of his life. But that doesn’t mean it’s not going to hurt. It’s not necessarily going to be like losing Fives, but Tech and Echo were close. Tech was in the room when Rex pulled Echo out of that stasis chamber, Tech helped get Echo unplugged, he carried Echo out, was one of the people there helping Echo adjust after the most difficult time in his life, and for all their bickering, they were still pretty in sync with each other. They understood each other pretty well. It’s still going to be hard for Echo. And then Wrecker and Hunter—they’ve never lost a someone like this, that we know of. Maybe 99, but if they knew 99 personally, I suspect their relationship with him had a little more distance to it than their relationships with each other have. And, yes, they lost Crosshair, but with Crosshair they were missing someone who was very much alive and who (as far as they know) made the choice to leave and had the potential to come back at any time. Losing Tech is a bit more permanent—from their point of view, at least. And it has the potential to bring out a side of them we haven’t really seen before.
Wrecker’s been pretty easy going so far. Apart from the whole “Wrecker’s chip is activating” saga of the first half of season one, he hasn’t exactly had much in the way of character development. Not that there hasn’t been any, but he is probably the character with the least so far, and I think that’s because he hasn’t really had too much of an inner conflict. Oh, the Republic’s the Empire now? Well, sucks about the Jedi, but hey! Look at the armory! Ooooh, we’re going to grab this kid and we’re defecting now? Great! He gets to visit Cut, Suu, and the kids. We’re working as mercenaries for this shady Trandoshan grandma? Cool, let’s be mercenaries. Super secret mission from Rex to find information and blow open an imperial conspiracy? Awesome. Awakening the ancient horrors? All in. Retiring to Pabu? Cool, he’s going to become a pillar of the community, eat sushi, catch fish, and live his best life. This isn’t to say that he’s never bothered, because you just have to check out The Crossing and Retrieval for that. It’s more that he takes things in stride and is probably the best out of all of the boys at adjusting to new situations.
I…don’t think he’s going to adjust to this very well. He’s just lost family. He thinks it’s permanent. And you can’t tell me he’s not going to blame himself. Because, yes, Tech’s the one who shot the connection hinge through, but Wrecker’s going to see himself as the one who couldn’t get Tech up fast enough. He couldn’t hang on to Tech’s side of the rail car. I rewatched the scene (because I hate myself, I guess), and I don’t think Wrecker moves an inch after watching Tech fall. He’s frozen in that moment. You can’t tell me he’s not going to have nightmares about it. And that’s an inner conflict. That misplaced guilt is going to give him something to overcome and it could be really interesting to watch(1).
And then, of course, Hunter’s going to blame himself, too, because blaming himself for every little thing that goes wrong has been part of Hunter’s modus operandi since day one. It’s what he does. More importantly, though, this whole situation is Hunter’s nightmare scenario. They’ve lost every lead to get Crosshair back, Tech’s “dead,” and the most evil man in the galaxy has his daughter. This is everything Hunter’s been afraid of for two solid seasons. This is exactly why he was so hesitant to go back for Crosshair or come into direct conflict with the Empire and help Rex in the first place. And now that that shoe has dropped, I think we might be done seeing Hunter hesitate and take the back seat. And more than that, losing Tech specifically might be something that pushes Hunter into seeing that he and the regs have always been in the same boat, the same way Crosshair’s experience with the Empire did that for him. Now, I don’t think Hunter had quite the same defensive superiority complex about other clones that Crosshair did(2), but I do think he had or has a bit of a chip on his shoulder (probably mostly on his brothers’ behalf), and he doesn’t seem to think of other clones as brothers the same way that, say, Echo and Rex do. There’s a distance there. Losing a brother the way other clones do all the gosh darn time could be something that gets him to empathize more and see himself and his squad as part of them in a way I’m not sure he’s been able to do before(3). Is it a sort of awful way to gain that empathy? Yes, it kind of is. But it is still a way.
But, anyway, you know who else is living their nightmare scenario right now?
Omega and Crosshair:
Omega’s spent two seasons trying to have a family, getting closer to her brothers, and being terrified of ending up an experiment in a tube. And, due to the crazy series of events set off by Tech’s “death”, she’s just been ripped away from her family, lost a brother permanently, and is very much in a situation where there’s only Hemlock’s need to keep Nala Se happy keeping her from becoming an experiment in a tube. She’s dealing with a massive amount of loss and change and the only person she really knows in the whole facility is Nala Se, who I think does care about Omega in her own way, but probably isn’t going to be much help. This poor kid is not going to be okay.
And, frankly, neither is Crosshair. I mean, Crosshair’s whole deal over the course of this entire show is just him waking up thinking that maybe, just maybe, today might not be the worst day of his life, and somehow managing to be wrong every single time. He’s going to wake up again, see Omega next to him, which was exactly the thing he was trying to avoid and just got tortured over. Omega’s probably going to tell him that Tech died while they were on a mission to save him, which is exactly what he didn’t want, and given what we know now about how much Crosshair loves his family I think it’s safe to say this is all going to wreck him.
In a way, though, we have the perfect set up for Omega and Crosshair forming an actual relationship. They think of each other as brother and sister, and they care about each other, but they don’t really know one another. They’ve only interacted a handful of times, and Crosshair was unwillingly trying to kill Omega during two of them. But now they’re stuck in the same place with shared circumstances and a shared grief. Or—here’s some speculation—maybe even some wild shared hope that Tech somehow made it. Omega never had a chance to get past, “He’s not gone, he can’t be!” with Tech, and Crosshair’s going to be hearing about it secondhand; with him having known Tech longer than Omega did, did it’s possible he’d latch onto the idea that Tech could have thought his way out of it, or that it might not feel real to him unless he sees proof. Either way, it gives Omega and Crosshair something besides their current circumstances to bond over, and something they both understand, and which they can help each other through. This is actually one of the reasons why I’m actually kind of hoping that Tech isn’t in Mount Tantiss. Having Omega without the other brothers she already really knows and with just Crosshair gives her a chance to develop an actual relationship with just Crosshair, regardless of whatever shenanigans Emerie is trying to pull. Seeing Omega and Crosshair’s relationship develop is something I’ve been so wanting to see since episode one(4).
Tech:
If this is indeed a fake-out and a way for the writers to put Tech somewhere else for a while, there’s the potential for us to see Tech really struggle in a way we haven’t before. There’s the possibility that he’s going to be physically disabled after this, but whether he is or not, and whatever his circumstances, it’s something he’s going to have to deal with alone. At least, that he might have to do alone. I suspect that we’re going to find out Tech is a live well before any of the other characters do, if we find it out at all, and that they might not have a chance to reunite or even know about it until the end of next season or possibly even later, if there’s more seasons after that. And having Tech alone could be really interesting, because I’m not sure Tech handles “alone” much better than Echo does—though for very different reasons.
Clones weren’t built for solitude. And the other members of Clone Force 99, or most of them, were some of the only consistent presences in Tech’s life. A little like how I suspect Crosshair never really thought of himself as his own person, or even as a person at all for a little while, I’m not sure Tech really thinks of himself as his own man. He’s one piece of a uniquely mismatched set, and after this season, and especially after how badly he handled Echo leaving, I think it’s safe to say that Tech wouldn’t happily leave that set for an extended period of time under pretty much literally any other circumstances than the one in which he found himself in Plan 99. He’s dedicated to this family. Yes, the batchers all have vastly different personalities and strengths, but they’ve always been there, he understands them and knows how to be around them. I suspect that even in the happy version of this season where Crosshair is easily rescued, they all just stay on Pabu forever, and Tech and Phee get space married, Tech probably wouldn’t just run off with Phee and never be involved his siblings’ lives again. He’d still get up to shenanigans with Echo, bicker banter with Wrecker, be giving Omega flying lessons, etc. They’re his people, and he needs them.
Part of Tech’s arc in season two was learning about and exploring the galaxy in ways that weren’t defined by The War, and leaning into parts of himself that aren’t just a soldier(5). A fake-out death leaving Tech on his own for a little while could allow that to continue, but with the training wheels off, because he’s not going to have his people. Would he be trying to get back to his family the whole time? Oh definitely, yes. But it would be a long, hard road of discovery getting there.
So, in summary, a fake-out has the potential to shake up the status quo own push the characters and/or drive them to develop connections we haven’t seen before. Making it permanent, however, has every potential to break the show, and here’s how:
Narrative Questions:
Some of the best writing advice I ever got was to think of a story as an answer to a question. It doesn’t have to be a complicated question, but the story does have to answer it, and answer it in a satisfying way, in order to have a satisfying ending.
So, what are some narrative questions in Star Wars? Well, the narrative questions of the original trilogy seem to be: one, can this farm boy become a jedi; two, can the rebel alliance defeat the evil galactic empire; and three, can the dark side be defeated? And the answer to all three are, “Yes, and here’s how.” Or Rebels, which has pretty similar narrative questions: Can this street rat become a Jedi, how does the Rebel Alliance Form, and can this little family successfully fight the empire? Once again, the answers are a resounding, “Yes, and here’s how”(6).
Okay, so, what about some Star Wars that had a tragic ending? Because a story doesn’t have to have a happy ending to be satisfying. The narrative questions at the heart of both the Prequel Trilogy and The Clone Wars are, “How does Anakin Skywalker become Darth Vader?” And “How does the Galactic Republic become the Galactic Empire?” The three movies and seven seasons of television we got are pretty satisfying answers to those questions. Maybe a little clumsy in the case of the Prequel Trilogy, but it still gets there. Or Rogue One? That’s a movie with a tragic ending if there ever was one. But its narrative question had nothing to do with whether or not Jyn or Cassian or Baze or any one individual character would be okay; it was all about how there could ever be hope in the fight against an evil like the Empire, and what it would cost those people to bring that hope to the galaxy. And, of course, answering the question of how Leia got her hands on the Death Star plans in the first place. (And honestly, there are probably other narrative questions in these movies, but I am three-thousand words into this and it’s getting out of hand, so moving on)
With this in mind, let’s try to look at what questions The Bad Batch is trying to answer. As far as I can tell, there are four of them. And, in order of importance from least to most important, those are:
1. How and why does the empire go from using clone troopers to storm troopers?
2. Can this group of clones ever chose their own purpose, or are they stuck with the purpose with which they were made (can these characters ever choose to live the lives they want and be anything but soldiers/lab experiments made to fight and die)?
3. What does, “We don’t leave our own behind,” mean, and does it mean anything?
4. Can Omega’s family ever be complete?
Now, the first question is one that I think is operating a little bit like “How was the Rebel Alliance formed?” did for Rebels. It’s an important driver of the story, it connects to the larger Star Wars story, it’s a really important subplot, it’s almost definitely leading towards that clone rebellion we keep thinking is about to happen, but in the same way that Rebels was ultimately not about the Rebel Alliance and was instead about a young indigenous boy and his family liberating his home planet from a colonial power, this whole sub-plot in The Bad Batch is super important, but not ultimately the entire point. If it was, we’d be watching a show about Rex and his crew right now. It’s also the only one of these four questions that can have a satisfying answer if the writers leave Tech dead, because you don’t really need him for it. In fact, you don’t need ANY of the bad batch characters alive or otherwise to answer that question in any real way.
The other three, though? You really need Tech alive.
And not just because the answers to the other three would be, “No, they can’t,” “Apparently it doesn’t,” and, “NOPE,” without him. You can answer a narrative question in the negative or have a tragic ending and still have a satisfying answer. It’s just that in order to have a dynamic story you kind of need the apparent answers to those questions to change from the beginning of the story to the end, and the answers to those other three questions have always been negative from the very first moment of the show.
Can these characters every be anything but what they were designed to be? Anything but soldiers and lab rats, designed to fight and die? Can they ever be free? At the beginning of the series, the answer is no. The batchers, as well as the rest of the clones, begin the series as literal enslaved soldiers. They defect, they run, apart from Crosshair, who’s mentally enslaved by the chip at first, and they try to be free, but they spend the entirety of season one still being soldiers—just soldiers without an army or a cause. In season two, they start leaning away from it, and actually have a chance at peace. Crosshair rebels and does everything in the little power he has to put the soldier down for good. Echo’s not letting go of the soldier part, but he’s at least choosing what he wants to fight for, and that matters. Omega has a chance to just be a kid. And then, by the end of the season, Hunter, Wrecker, and Echo are back to the soldier thing and Crosshair and Omega are stuck as lab experiments. The answer is still no. And leaving Tech dead, especially since he would have died as a soldier after almost having the chance to be a bunch of other things, on a mission he pushed for, in a series of events that ultimately drives his family back into the lives they’ve been trying to escape? That means the answer will always be no; or, at least, a lukewarm, “Maybe, if they’re allowed to be.” And that’s as good as a “no” anyway.
What does “We don’t leave our own behind,” mean? Does it mean anything? Again, at the beginning of the series, it’s not clear it is anything but a broken promise. The boys didn’t know about Omega, but she was still left behind. They had to leave Crosshair behind because he was trying to kill them, and they had to leave him behind a second time, because he refused to go. Then Echo left them behind, sort of, because his definition of “our own”(8) is bigger than the batch’s definition, but with every intention of coming back. And then they had to leave Tech behind, because he made the choice for them. And it’s still just a broken promise at the end of season two. If Tech stays dead, after killing him on a mission where he invoked, “We don’t leave our own behind,” during which he forced them to leave him behind, and after which they had to leave Crosshair behind AGAIN after losing their only lead, it would remain a broken promise.
Can Omega’s family every be complete? At the beginning of the series, we find it never has been, not even before Order 66. Omega finds that family picture back in the bad batch’s bachelor pad, and it’s got all five adult batchers, but it’s not a complete family picture because Omega’s not in it. And then in the very brief times we have all six batchers in the same room at the very beginning and end of season one, the family is still very much broken. Then the show is pretty pointed about the absences on both sides in season two—Hunter and crew need Crosshair, Crosshair needs them. Echo leaves, and they fall apart. And by the end of the season? The answer is still no. Emphatically no; Echo’s back, they still don’t have Crosshair, Omega’s gone, Tech’s “dead,” and it looks hopeless. Leave Tech dead, after a mission he pushed for, and which was meant to finally reunite the whole family, and the answer will always be no, even once they get Omega and Crosshair back. They answer will not have changed from the beginning of the show(7).
And the thing is, the show is acutely aware that those last three questions are driving most of the tension, because the tension of whether or not those answers will ever change has been at the heart of the both season finales. And the characters almost succeed at changing one or more of those answers every time! They almost have a full family by the end of season one—but the timing isn’t right, everyone’s too angry and embittered, and they have to leave Crosshair behind and be incomplete again. They’re so close to free at the end of season two! Hunter can almost just be a dad! Wrecker can almost just live his best life! Echo can be a freedom fighter! Tech can be whatever the hell he wants! Omega can just be a kid! Crosshair’s rejected the Empire! They’re going to go get him! They don’t leave their own behind! It’s actually going to happen this time! And then—Plan 99.
Right now, just as at the beginning of the series, the answer to all three of those last questions is negative. Everything and yet nothing has really changed for our characters; they’re still soldiers, still enslaved, in a way, still experiments, still leaving their own behind, and still incomplete. And that’s fine for now—we’re only part of the way through the story. But the very end can’t leave them the same and still be satisfying.
And that’s the other thing—I trust this team of writers to give us a satisfying ending at this point. Just like the end of last season was actually kind of frustrating to watch in real time, but ended up incredible in retrospect because of how it lead into season two, I expect a similar thing to happen here. So, here’s to hoping!
(1): I know we’re all looking forward to Hunter entering his John Wick era, but I think we might be discounting how terrifying Wrecker grieving two brothers (Tech gone for good, Crosshair maybe alive but for how long) and out-of-his-mind desperate to find his baby sister has the potential to be. We only thought Wrecker was scary with a chip. Dude is gonna crack some stormtrooper heads.
(2): Or did he? I actually genuinely wonder about this. I’ve come to the conclusion that Crosshair’s superiority complex was more defensive posturing than anything else—more of a way to keep people at a distance than anything he genuinely thought, something he tried to convince himself of, because his words and his actions absolutely don’t match up. That doesn’t make it okay, just kind of layered and interesting. But it’s worth noting that the worst of what Crosshair says about other clones is framed as part of the galaxy’s worst sales pitch in “Return to Kamino”, and a sales pitch to Hunter more than to anyone else. It’s possible that Crosshair was calibrating his, “We’re not like the regs, we’re superior,” bullshit to appeal to Hunter, specifically. Now, the fact that this absolutely didn’t work on Hunter even a little bit tells us something. But so does the possibility that Crosshair thought this was a reasonable thing to say, and so does, “When did you start caring about regs?” I don’t really think Hunter had a superiority complex, but I do think he had something of a chip on his shoulder that Crosshair maybe blew out of proportion.
(3): Just to clarify: I’m not saying that Hunter’s a terrible person or anything here. I’m just saying that clone force 99 was ostracized and excluded from clone culture for a variety of reasons (resentment due to perceived special treatment, distrust due to perceived “defectiveness”/actual difference in a monoculture because, listen, the clones are by and large good people, but they are still PEOPLE and even good people have blind spots and being different even through no fault of your own in a monoculture even when that monoculture isn’t an extreme example literally made of clones and subject to the whims of a whole other society that actively practices eugenics on it is the social and sometimes literal equivalent of a death sentence), and that Hunter probably had a reaction to that. An understandable reaction, and one a lot less toxic than Crosshair’s, but one he probably still needs to get over.
(4): CROSSDADCROSSDADCROSSDADCROSSDADCROSSDAD
(5): Wacky thought, but here you go: I think Tech’s alive. I think he’s coming back. I think he’s absolutely still going to be himself when he does. I also think that Tech the soldier is what’s going to die on Eriadu. That’s something I don’t think we’re going to see again, not in the same way.
(6): I’ve always found it kind of weird that Rebels has this reputation for having a horribly sad downer ending when, at the end of the day, our rebels in question win. It has a note of bittersweet melancholy to it because Kanan dies and Ezra’s gone, but that’s not the only note there. They liberate Lothal without the help of the Rebel Alliance before the galactic civil war even starts, Ezra jedis so hard he’s a gosh darn Jedi knight by the end I don’t even care no one was there to knight him, and we see glimpses of Zeb and Hera living full, happy lives, and Sabine is off to bring Ezra home. There’s so much triumph and hope in that ending, and it always confuses me when people say it’s just horribly, tragically sad.
(7): The only way I can see the answers to these last two questions working if Tech remains dead is if they whole batch (besides Omega) dies and the series ends with a time skip and a much, much older Omega passing away, with a glimpse of the six of them being reunited in death somehow. And while I personally love the idea of some kind of clone afterlife, I don’t think my heart could take young teenage Omega being left on her own without her family for the entire rest of her life.
(8): I think, or I hope, anyway, that the batch’s definition of “our own” is also going to expand over the course of the rest of the series, and that it might not necessarily just mean “other clones, too.”
I recolored Tech with his bug friend, since everyone likes him so much.
Here is the link to the pdf without a background for y’all so you can have your own tiny shiny Tech for Discord <3
Bad Batch recently off Kamino, and Tech has never seen this species before :O
Wrecker has also found wormie fren :)
My big sis did this to the back of our car on a road trip once. I was an unwitting accomplice. Our parents were SO MAD 😂
TECH THEORY SEASON 2
SO HOW IS EVERYONE DOING AFTER EPISODE 13!!!???
I am so happy with this episode <3 It was so wholesome
I just wanted to ramble about why Phee works well as Tech's love interest in the Bad Batch!
The creators were waving it under our nose this entire episode!
*Tech has a new perspective of artifacts from different cultures because of his experience in Serenno (w/ Romar). Phee repeatedly mentioned that she was the "liberator of ancient wonders" and no matter the monetary value of said artifact- nothing matters more than the culture itself.
At one point, he stayed around with Phee (for a bit) to ensure that the artifact would be placed somewhere safely on Pabu.
I can COMPLETELY see Phee and Tech going to different planets to try and restore lost artifacts. Tech would most likely want to learn more about the culture itself while Phee would seek the adventure.
This entire episode was about domestic bliss, and that was only brought by her.
Tech was aware that Omega was enjoying herself with someone her age. He most likely would want to stay on Pabu for her as well. *If Phee and tech were to become a thing, then the girls could be family 👀 *
Also - I gotta love the brotherly teasing from Wrecker (and Hunter).
ALSO- Tech's reaction to "Brown Eyes" GOT ME!!! Her saying that clearly caught him off guard and in the most cutest way possible <3
----
UUGGHH, I AM SUCH A ROMANTIC! WHEN WILL IT BE MY TURN 😭
GORGEOUSLY WRITTEN🥵😭
Tech needed this.
Would love to see a part 2 👀
I Can Help With That***
Tech X F!Reader
word count: 3.9k
After fracturing his femur, Tech is in no way shape of form of carrying out difficult repairs. He just can’t help but get turned on seeing you getting your hands dirty for him.
warnings: NSFW 18+ only. Blowjob (tech receiving), swearing, praises, not established relationship, implied sex after, reader is female. No y/n. Not proofread.
Masterlist
When the others aside from you and Tech ventured out, Hunter gave you strict and private orders to make sure that Tech stays resting.
Since his injury, it seemed that he was more than adamant to do everything he can. From trying to wedge himself under all the ships control panels to climbing onto the ships nose and inspecting the small scratches that crab-like creatures had left. For someone so smart, he can be very silly.
You give Hunter a thumbs up before they depart and you glance at Tech who was in the cockpit, injured leg resting up on the co-pilot's seat and had his face down in his datapad. Good, he’s not doing anything he shouldn't, which gives you enough space and time to tidy up around here.
It was not uncommon for the boys and Omega to be a little messy, maybe Echo being the least but it surprises you that Hunter never took the initiative to clean up too with his senses and all. Hm, maybe he’s gone nose blind.
Throwing things into a small waste bin that was tucked away under a control panel, you’re squishing it all down to make as much room as possible when you heard some loud clanging followed by some faint curses.
In a second you’re crossing the ship to see what the noise was and despair sits on your face to see Tech on the floor, tools around him with one of the chairs spinning round and round. “You okay down there?” You question, stopping the chair spinning with your foot as you watch him grunt, sitting himself up.
“It appears that I did not calculate how little balance I would have for standing on a chair.” He comments, craning his neck from side to side whilst adding a little pressure to his thigh and sighs.
Your eyes are wide in confusion. “Well what were you doing standing on the chair anywha? How many times do we have to say that you should not be doing this kind of stuff when your leg is still bad.” You shake your head at him but it doesn’t stop you from helping him up and making him sit on the chair opposite the one he was standing on.
“I am not happy with the ventilation in the ship's roof paneling.” Tech expresses, watching you look up to the vent he was trying to clearly ‘fix’.
Your hands rest on your hips and you look back at him with an amused expression. “Right… Does it actually need fixing though? Right this second?”
The Clone shifts a little under your scrutinised gaze but knows your questions are from a good intention. “Well, uh, no. I suppose not.”
“Then let’s not fracture your other femur, hm?” You crouch down to the floor and pick up his tools that were scattered around but glance up when he tsks. “What?”
“I am at a position of displeasure with the control circuit being open and on display but due to me falling, I didn’t have time to finish my operation.”
Supposedly Tech’s foolish need for fixing things that aren’t broken is stemming from his boredom of staying out of missions. You felt bad and although he would not admit that he was doing this just out of boredom, perhaps you could help him?
“Oh. Well,” you stand back to your full height, a small spanner in your hand and look at the work ahead, “perhaps I could give it a go?”
You weren’t looking at him but Tech’s face was almost comical and a little disbelieving. “I appreciate you trying to help but respectfully, I do not think you are well versed in this kind of thing.”
“I’ll have you know that I am quite good. According to Echo anyway.” You shrug. Tech raises a brow, not aware that Echo has been having help with his ship from you. Then again, nothing seemed to be wrong with the ship fatally so maybe you weren’t having him on. “I’ve been known to be good with a screw.”
Tech chokes on air at your seemingly innocent words, making you look at him with a dubious glance. “You okay?”
“Y-yes I’m fine,” he clears his throat, wondering where that initial surprise came from, “I did not know that mechanics was your calling, so to speak.”
You did wonder why he reacted that way or maybe he was just clearly choking on air - you’ve definitely done it before but Tech doing it? Odd. You shrug it off anyway.
“I suppose only recently I got inspired. Anyway, you gonna help me up?” You move to the chair Tech was previously standing on, carefully placing one foot on the seat and then looking back at him.
“I do not think this is a good idea.” He scratches the back of his neck and you scoff.
“Oh come on, trust me?” You stick your arm out to him, gesturing for help and reluctantly he stands, limps towards you and holds you steady as you clamber onto the chair.
It’s a little precarious but once you found your footing, you steadied yourself and were able to just about reach the circuit. “Kriff, why couldn’t it be on the wall or something other than up here?”
“That is because the ship was designed this way, to enhance maximum capacity though I do see the predicament.” He keeps a hold of the back of the chair, making sure it doesn’t spin round with you on it. “Perhaps I could rewire it so we do not have to do this again.”
“Erm, one thing at a time.” You say with a short laugh, placing a small spanner between your lips as you inspect what it was Tech was up to. By the looks of it, he was trying to filter the airflow which was quite an odd and specific thing to do. When you questioned him about it, his answer surprised you.
“Well, I overheard you complaining that the environment was a little bit too stuffy and uncomfortable. So I figured that if I altered the airflow, our respiratory systems would benefit from somewhat cleaner air.”
You paused to look down at Tech who seemed to look a little more flushed at his confession. “You were doing this for me?”
He staggers a breath, not wanting to slip when it came to his strong feelings for you - something that had been blossoming for many weeks now. “Yes but also for the others as it would be beneficial for us all.” He clears it up, looking everywhere than up at you.
“Oh, well thank you.” You said, speech a little muffled due to the handy tool in your mouth before turning back to the work ahwad, trying to avoid the blush creeping up your neck. “Are you still okay holding me steady?”
“Of course.” For an odd moment, Tech panics. His hands leave the back of the chair and you have to suppress the gasp caught in your throat as his hands grip onto your waist.
“O-oh I meant the chair? And because of your leg.” You gush, pulling the spanner out from your mouth as you look down at him, seeing his eyes widen at his mistake.
He swallows the saliva that piled up in his throat. “My mistake.” His hands leave your body and truthfully you miss the touch of them but you weren’t going to make it any more awkward.
“Not a problem, I think I see what I need to do. Is there a socket spanner I can use?” You stick down one hand, knowing full well Tech must have one on him.
“I’m impressed that you know which tools are needed,” he says with a small smile but there’s a small wave of jealousy, “did Echo teach you?”
You hummed in slight amusement, a little timid at your confession when you say, ‘No.. I actually learned from you.”
He pauses, raising a brow. “I don’t recall us having a session where I teached you?”
You twist a bolt, finding your way to the minuscule fans as you try to come up with a reason as to how you know what to do without it sounding weird.
“Well, sometimes I watch you when you work and you tend to explain what you’re doing without realising.” You come up with, supposedly better than saying ‘I like to watch you’.
“I see.” He feels his heart leap a little for joy, glad to know that his ramblings don't necessarily go unnoticed. “And do you feel confident?”
You let out a small grunt, one of the bolts a little too tight which in your position on a swivel chair was quite hazardous but you trusted Tech to keep you safe. “A little, but I am not as good as you.”
He looks up at you, seeing you gaze down at him as you pass him a compliment but then you winked. And his whole state faltered.
His eyes widen behind those wonderful yellow goggles, you compliment as well as the wink whether it being friendly or flirtatious he wasn’t sure but it was enough to make his knees tremble. “My intelligence is merely biological, I-I am naturally intelligent about this.”
The stutter is new and rather cute. Why was he being so modest all of a sudden? You pondered questioning him about it but decided to leave it as you just managed to unscrew one of the bolts which gave you enough time to scan the fans over. “Hmm, am I right in guessing they need to be twisted at 90 degrees?”
“Most likely. But it is rather hard to tell from being down here.” He comments, making you roll your eyes playfully.
“Better than you being up here and falling… again.” You jest back, tone laced with playfulness but find yourself cursing as the spanner falls from your fingers and clatters on the steel floor. “Shoot. Sorry, are you okay to pass me that please?”
Tech’s eyes travel down to where the spanner dropped. “I can but I may have to let go of the chair. Can you steady yourself?”
He gives yoh a moment, allowing you to place you to grin onto the vent itself, spread your legs a little more for more balance but giving him the go ahead. “Okay I think I’m steady, go ahead.”
Carefully, without any sudden movement he lets go, pausing to make sure you are fine before he nimbly bends over to grab the tool. However as he picks it up, he casts a quick gaze up at you and his eyes prematurely roam your body. He couldn’t help it as it was hard to miss but when his eyes landed on your arse, he bites his tongue from a groan threatening to spill. He had thought you to be pretty, beautiful in fact to be sure but your physique was rather marvelous to admire too.
“You got it? I’m a little nervous up here Tech.” Your words snap him out of his almost dribbling gaze, shaking the thoughts away as he quickly recovers himself and passes the tool back up to you.
From then on he’s a little quiet, giving you the odd advice if you question anything but it all seemed to come together. Though, you noticed his silence and frown. “You got something on your mind, Tech?”
Tech has been trying to avoid looking up at you as all he can focus on now is the silhouette of your body. But if you’re talking to him, he feels obliged to look. He tries to crane his neck up as far as he can but his eyes trained on your neck, seeing the sweat glisten on your soft skin he had so often thought about kissing.
The way you were working was such a turn on that he was cursing at the fact he wasn’t wearing his armor to cover his crotch. Then again, he seemed to have gotten rid of that bit anyway. “Thoughts are always circulating in my mind but to give you a definitive answer is impossible. My mind,” he sucks in a deep breath, eyes lingering a little too long on your body that when you reach up, your shirt goes up with it, “a bit of a blur at the minute.” He grunts, eyes trailing over the skin of your stomach and accidentally at the underside of your bra.
“Well,” you say with a small smile, not noticing how Tech was currently sweating under his collar, “I am done now.”
Tech starts to help you down but with one small slip, the chair spins frantically from under you which almost sent you crashing to the floor. Luckily Tech had grabbed you, arms wrapping around your waist to keep you up securely as he tried his best to ignore the throbbing pain in his femur again.
“Kriff, that was close!” You say a little breathlessly, eyes wide as your hands rest on his shoulders. “You got me?”
“Always.”
For some reason his single and simple word meant more to you than you think he anticipated. You liked Tech, quite a lot and thought of him always having your back and being your aid sent a warmth through you. When your feet are planted firmly on the ground, you pull back from him with a toothy grin. “That was sweet of you.”
He pushed his goggles further up his nose, trying to shake out his flustered trance on you. “What was?”
You point up towards the now fixed vent and could already feel the benefits of the traveling air throughout the ship. Which was a good job because you had glanced down briefly to see if anything was on the floor when your eyes landed on his unmissable length in his pants that sucked all the air out of you.
Tech hisses a touch, his leg aching once more and sits back down. “You okay?” You ask, trying to play off the fact that you had just seen Tech’s boner which by the looks of it as he crossed his legs, was trying to hide.
He stares up at you and nods quickly, clearing his throat as he begins to ramble and truthfully? You weren't too sure what he was rambling about. He was using long words that you didn’t quite understand but the sight of his length against his blue pants was ingrained in your mind that you couldn’t help but ask, “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
Silence then fills the ship, his mouth partly open as he stops his incoherent mouth from running. For a second he swore he saw you glance down at his crotch but due to the lighting of the ship it was hard to tell. Hm, maybe that could be altered next?
“Tech,” you say again softly but there’s something in your eyes as you take a smaller step towards him, making him crane his neck up to look at you once again, “is there anything else…” your breath shudders a little, your nerves growing but you were fairly confident that what you saw was real and most likely about you, “I can help you with?”
Tech couldn’t process anything at that second, knowing that you had definitely seen his deceiving ache between his legs for you. “C-cyare, I can explain.”
“‘Cyare’ am I now? That’s new.” There’s humor in your tone but also a hint of lust but Tech was a little bit too preoccupied to even notice the change in your tone.
His fists are clenched tightly as he begins to unload reasons as to why he had a boner at this particular time and in all honesty, it was rather cute seeing such an intelligent and unfazed man becoming a flustered mess.
“Naturally, I found myself becoming rather enraptured whilst watching you at work.”
He won’t even look at you.
“You have always been someone I found rather endearing to look at as you are a fairly, no - rather attractive female.”
His face is turning red.
“I figure someone as attractive as you is probably repulsed that someone like me has taken advantage of an innocent and caring situation. Please let me first of all apologise that I found myself getting arou-.”
He is so adorably foolish.
“Tech, stop.” You shush him, taking a step closer until there’s practically no gap between you. He goes to speak up again but words fail him as you slowly drop to your knees, a gentle hand riding over his thigh and helping him uncross his legs, spreading them a little so you could sandwich yourself in between.
“You’re adorable, Tech. I really, really want to help you.” Your voice is a gentle whisper now, head tilting to the side until it’s resting upon his stiff thigh. Ever so carefully, both hands graze over his legs until your fingers just trace over the semi in his pants which causes him to flinch but not at all refuse your touch.
“Oh mesh’la,” he breathes, biting down on his fist as he gazes at you teasing him, “y-you don’t have to do this for me.”
“No,” you smile at him with your eyes, seeing him slouch further into the chair as your fingers begin to tease over the fastenings of his pants before you popped a button, “but I want to.”
Tech looks down at you, eyes unfocused, breath shallow, making those noises. His cock behind his pants is starting to complain already, feeling himself stiffen at the sight of you starting to tug at his pants to get them off.
Pleasantly he lifts his hips, allowing his pants to slide straight down to his ankles, kicking them away as you stare in awe at his fully erect member. Kriff, he looks delicious.
You begin to gently grip a hand around the base of Tech’s cock which causes him to squirm, breath hitching in anticipation. Feeling yourself get aroused too, your eyes risk a glance up and lock on to him as you give an experimental lick.
Instantly his hips buck at the contact and there are those sounds again. Tech is practically begging for you which was such a shock to see. How long has it been since this kind of tension was released?
“Darling please, I need your mouth.” He groans, tilting his head back as you pump against his long cock slowly. Being the kind soul you were, you complied - wrapping your lips around the head of his cock.
"Fuck," Tech groans, palms flexing by his sides like he doesn't quite know what to do with them. Slowly, you take him in further, bit by bit, small sucks and a little bit of tongue. It was the first time you heard Tech swear and it set a fire inside your belly; he sounds gorgeous. He also looks gorgeous as he unravels in front of you.
“Do you like this? My mouth on your cock?” You tantalise, pulling away for a short breather but keep your hand moving against him as he nods frantically. He speaks in mando’a, obvious obscenities that he didn’t want you to hear but you knew he was loving every second.
You grip his cock tighter, moving it gently in time with your warm mouth. Tech is panting, a string of nonsense and cursing amidst moans pouring from his lips repetitively. “Have you, uhhh fuck, done this before?”
Looking up at him from between his legs, cock in your mouth you smirk. “That good, huh?”
“Perfect. You clearly have…” he trails off, eyes blown wide with lust as you take him all the way in, tip hitting the back of your throat like it was nothing, “expertise.” He gasps.
You giggle, sending vibrations against him before pulling away with a pop and small saliva trail. “Why don’t you play with my hair, Tech?” You look to his hands, finally without something to hold that made him look a little helpless.
“Sure,” he rasps, reaching towards your head as his fingers play through your hair before grabbing it in a small scrunch as you allow him to guide your head back to his cock, “keep sucking pretty girl.” He purrs and you obey without a second glance.
Sucking harder, your tongue swirls around his cock in all the places Tech is growing to adore. He is holding onto your hair securely, but not too rough as he can see the pleasure you get from him taking control of the situation. You’re moaning against his length, eyes fluttering closed as a mix of juices dance in your mouth.
“You’ve needed this haven’t you?” You gasp, licking down his shaft and towards his balls that you place an experimental kiss to. “You have been so tense, Tech. Always want to look after you.”
He sighs heavenly, head tilting to the side as you begin to suck on his sensitive balls whilst stroking his cock. “You’re not wrong, cyare. Ooh, right there. Good girl.”
His praises made your pussy throb but this was about him, all your attention focusing purely on the mewling man in front of you.
Moving back to his cock, you groan a little around him causing Tech to make the most obscene noises now, his hand clutching at your hair like a lifeline. You work your hand and tongue harder, faster, more persistent all the more he hears the Clones groans getting louder and more desperate. He’s shaking all over, things bouncing up and down and it might just be the hottest thing you’ve ever witnessed.
You’re working at his cock for maybe just a minute when he begins to moan: “Kark, fuck, I'm gonna-.” He is saying your name over and over as his hips snap upwards once, twice and three times as his cock slams into the back of your throat until he's cumming in hot spurts.
Swallowing everything he has to offer, your heart pangs a little as Tech mumbles soft and frantic apologies. “I should have asked mesh’la,” he sighs but there was no denying that the feeling of cumming in your mouth was long overdue.
“Hush honey,” you pull your mouth away, wiping the corner of your mouth and placing a soft kiss to his thigh, “I didn’t mind.”
“Are you sure?” His hand that is now in your hair is playing with it softly, moving the sweaty bits out of the way as he gazes at you longingly.
“Positive.” Getting up off your knees, legs cramping just a bit you smile in slight amusement to see that his cock was still hard. “Looks like I didn’t help you out as much as I would’ve liked.” You nod towards his throbbing length and he flushed with embarrassment.
“Yes, despite my ejaculation I am still rather aroused at what has just occurred. Mainly because I am in the presence of a beautiful soul.” You melt at his words and think for a second. The others did say that they wouldn’t be back for a while…
You reach out a hand to him and carefully pull him up to his feet. He staggers a little but watches you with piqued interest as you lean towards his ear and kiss along his jaw. “Maybe you could help me with something?”
He’s melting at your words and without a thought, he grabs you by the hand and drags you towards the bunks. He may still have a fractured femur but that isn’t going to stop this man from fucking you into the next star system.
Masterlist
More Tech Works
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Echo and Tech -YouTuber Edition
I don’t know if y’all do this 😭 but do you ever see YouTube videos and put in certain characters into the vids 👀 (I may need help)
Either way, I’ve watched Chris and Andrew for quite a long time and couldn’t help but think that Echo is Chris and Tech is Andrew.
If you haven’t seen them, please do cause they make me laugh so much!!!!!
Here is a vid of Tech and Echo (imo)
Saw this on Pinterest 😌