Just A Small Hunter & Omega Thing. The Last Episode Hit Me With Feels (no Spoilers For It Though)

Breaking down Hunter and Omega’s relationship: Pt 3.

Hi everybody, I’m back with this weeks post on our favourite father-daughter-space-duo, the third instalment of the series! Thank you all so much for your positive feedback and discussions that have taken place over the last couple of posts, it means a lot to me to see my insights so neatly examined! I don’t really think the post itself needs much of an introduction, itself quite self explanatory! And I hope you enjoy!

(Pasted paragraphs: I would just like to add a disclaimer here. I am, in no way whatsoever, slating the other batchers for having differing relationships with Omega. I absolutely adore everything single one of the boys, and I think they all have wonderful and unique interrelations with her. Although I may point out these different approaches in comparison to Hunter’s, I am not stating these engages are wrong, just different is all!

I’m going to separate this into a little series- covering each episode in a separate post, which I’ll have tagged as the series progresses. Once I’ve tackled these two, as they’re my favourites, I’m going to move on to each individual Batcher and perhaps a few other dynamics such and Hunter and Crosshair, or Wrecker and Omega! Let me know what you guys would like to see!)

Replacements: S1/E3

The opening scene in this episode is everything for these two. This is Omega behaving like an authentic child, a child in the midst of winding down with her datapad, leaning against Gonky, just…existing. She isn’t expected to be on hand for medical assistance, she isn’t studying, she isn’t working, she’s just living within herself, enjoying herself. Hunter makes a light comment, observing she doesn’t look too comfortable, allowing Omega the option to respond, she can either agree and ask to sit upfront, or she can stay if she’s happy to do so, but it already opens the door to a certain amount of communication between them. Of course, she insists she is fine and accepts her ration bar, yet before she can return to her seat on the floor Wrecker joins them, allowing their brief ordeal over the ration shortage to occur. I love both Omega’s immediate selflessness as she offers Wrecker her food, and Hunter’s sudden interruption in this little sequence. He doesn’t even l allow room to consider her proposal, instead his immediate thought is to ensure this little girl can eat, especially considering she doesn’t even have anywhere to sleep (as we see this has been weighing on his mind by the mention of its necessity)

Omega’s response to Wrecker’s denial to accept her food- “Okay 😇.” Bless her little heart, she projects so much innocence with every word, and we can see from Hunter’s endeared little smile that he absolutely adores this about her. Upon Wrecker admitting that he hasn’t quite gotten use to Omega’s presence (which he looks very upset about, poor Wrecks 😔), Hunter insists that none of them have, but Omega isn’t making much fuss or complaining. This suggests that their brief conversation after leaving Saleucami is still heavily weighing on Hunter’s mind, he has taken his promise to both her and Cut quite seriously, and although both he and the rest of the batch are all still educating themselves in regards to Omega, she isn’t holding any resentment, and trusts them to make correct decisions in regards to her best interest.

I only want to briefly address the crash scene as their interaction are minimal, but I absolutely love how despite the fact that Wrecker is a lot closer to Omega, and ultimately does help her strap in, it is Hunter who takes presidency when addressing the situation. Although, as the leader, he has a lot of orders to cover to ensure they land without too much damage and every member of the squad is safe, his first priority is to ensure Omega is secure before he can move on to his secondary concerns. This relates back to the parental relationship of putting the guardian’s life second to the child’s. (To quote Shelby from ‘Glee’ “parenthood is about accepting the fact that your feelings and that your life and your body, that they all come second to making sure the child is happy and safe” which Hunter demonstrates perfectly here.)

I love how both Omega and Hunter look to Gonky as he slides past her and into the cockpit where Hunter is seated and is easily able to stabilise the unit once they finally land, (thanks to Tech’s amazing manoeuvring of course). I immediately noticed that when addressing the squad, Hunter’s head is veered more so towards Omega rather than Wrecker, where he asks her “are you alright?” with extreme emphasis on the “you”. This ties back into the previous point that Hunter’s new priority is her, as out of the entire squad she is in need of the most protection and reassurance. Alongside this, I discerned Omega’s body language as primarily Hunter-centric, she hangs her head in his direction throughout the entire crash, despite the fact Wrecker is much closer to her. She still finds the need to seek out Hunter specifically. This also mirrors their heavily pronounced relationship, which we see much more of throughout the season.

“I-Is…it…over?” Oh Bless. I love how she looks between both Hunter and Wrecker, unsure of where to direct her scattered and fraying attention.

Swiftly shifting towards the power capacitor hunt and Omega accidentally dropping Crosshair’s weapon kit, we see the entire batch deflate at the awkwardness of their sudden situation. Unknowingly, she has just resurrected a resented emotion for them, something they haven’t learnt to completely handle in the short amount of time they have been separated from their brother, and yet although his face falls harsh for a mere moment, Hunter is the first to immediately soften and approach Omega’s ‘mistake’ with a gentle tone, kindly explaining the device and its origin to her. And while everybody else completely avoids eye contact with the child, Hunter tries his best to meet her eye, most likely to add reassurance and strength to his explanation, for her sake.

I won’t delve too deep into this, but I’d also like to note that throughout the explanation in regards to Crosshair’s actions, Hunter seems to be the most…tense, this supports the later revelation that he has taken his own actions very personally, and is deeply frustrated with himself for leaving his brother behind, and bringing Crosshair up revives these feelings, which he has no doubt been trying to suppress. Omega immediately notices this, as she watches him retreat into the cockpit, with a clear sense of curiosity and concern for him. I love the effort by the animators to mirror the looks these two share behind one another’s back.

Maybe this is me potentially entering headcanon territory, but I speculate Hunter was the one to allow Omega to play with the oxygen masks. It isn’t uncommon for guardians of children who have come out of a traumatic experience to allow said child to play with a positive association to their ‘safe person/people’, in which case Omega’s safe people would be the batch, and therefore their association to the use of the oxygen masks would help her calm down after an upsetting crash landing and a tense conversation in regards to Crosshair.

Omega’s little lip tremble when the lights cut out….this poor kid isn’t use to pitch black :( no matter the dreary atmosphere of Kamino’s torrential storms, Omega was always kept inside the brightly lit walls of Tipoca City, and although Nala Se’s lab isn’t particularly well lit, it isn’t plunged into complete darkness like the Marauder was, sparing the emergency dim lighting which barely cast a shadow.

Her explanation of the Ordo Moon Dragon is so juvenilised with a small sense of dramatics- “it was THIS big, with a LONG tail!” This gives a gentle hint back to Omega’s childlike immaturity and her true age, both physically and mentally, which we see Hunter truly consider throughout the rest of the episode.

When Omega insists she wants to go with Hunter to retrieve their missing part, Hunter doesn’t even have to think twice before he denies her request, and his sole reasoning is because, “that thing could be dangerous.” and as we know his top priority is keeping her safe. But, of course Omega being Omega, she gives Hunter a pretty decent response, she is a part of their squad, and should be allowed the chance to prove her place amongst clone force 99, especially for something as quaint as a retrieval mission. Instead of outright denying her once again, Hunter ponders her reply for a moment, before agreeing, with the additional gentle reminder that she MUST stay close. Her excited little smile as she jumps from her standing position on the co-pilot’s seat to the floor, rushing past Hunter and straight for the exit, highlights her excitement to finally participate and assist Hunter on a mission of their own, which we see perplexes, yet intrigues him.

While exploring the moon’s surface, I immediately notice that sparing a brief moment of watching the floor, Omega’s eyes never leave Hunter, not even for a moment. She is completely complacent in regards to his rule to stick close to him, which is further continued throughout their second chat over Crosshair.

Without surprise, Omega copies Hunter’s actions a few times too, especially when tracing his hand throughout the dust. This is where she asks, “could I learn to track like you?” and here I’d like to specifically focus on the “like you” segment of her sentence. It shows a clear connotation between Omega’s desire to be just like Hunter, which we’ve seen she already had in episode one, and the natural desire to be considered a soldier amongst their ranks. Equally, I love how Hunter doesn’t outrightly reject her request, he simply says “it’s an enhanced skill,” which suggests he probably couldn’t exactly teach her how, but he appreciates her enthusiasm and finds her request almost quite cute.

Moving right along to their secondary Crosshair conversation, I absolutely love Hunter’s facial expressions throughout this passage. He isn’t harsh or crude, instead he is quite sullen, yet in a sympathetic tone. His entire demeanour is taken down slightly, and I believe this is to shield Omega from Hunter’s true self-hatred and deprecating emotions towards their situation. He is careful to explain himself to her, without adding too much honesty in hopes that he won’t unnecessarily worry her. Once again, this ending furthers the blatant protective connection between them. Furthermore, Omega’s reaction is so pure, yet extremely wise for her age and knowledge level. There is still a sense of juvenility to her widened eyes and the movement of her hand snaking it’s way around Hunter’s forearm comfortingly, and yet she still does her best to comfort him in the same way that he has done for her on multiple occasions in their scarce time together, sparing the Nexu event. We see this immediately makes Hunter smile, which is a pleasant thing to notice after the intensity of their conversation. In short, she makes him smile, she helps him, and vice versa.

After Hunter is attacked by the dragon, I can’t help but notice Omega’s worried little face as his mask is knocked aside and he begins to gasp for air. Even after he falls unconscious and she rushes to fix his mask, she still manages to push aside her anxieties to secure his safety and design a brief plan in her mind after backup becomes unavailable, I personally see this as a matter of Omega taking Hunter’s initiative to complete the mission, after assuring herself he is once again breathing and safe for the time being. I also love her little double take, one final look at her guardian before she takes off into the dragon’s nest, she’s so sweet.

Skipping ahead slightly as there isn’t much to cover in regards to Omega’s little lone adventure into the cave, upon Hunter’s return to consciousness I absolutely LOVE how after sucking in a few puffs of necessary air, his first, almost immediate, thought is Omega. He doesn’t even notice his blaster is missing (which we see later on when Omega returns it to him), his instant reaction is to call her name and start tracking her. And his worried expression as the realisation that she’s gone after the dragon dawns on him :( this man cares SO much.

THEIR. REUNION. IS. EVERYTHING. As her little head pops up out of the nests opening , he immediately scoops her up, crouches down to her level, pats her shoulders, rubs her triceps, and the first thing he says to her is “are you okay?” None of this angry shouting from the previous episode, no reprimanding for running off or disobeying orders, instead he makes sure she’s unharmed, and he’s so caring about it. This is character development at its finest. After assuring that she isn’t injured he, very tenderly, asks what she was thinking, insisting he was extremely worried about her. I’d also like to note Omega’s reaction to this, she doesn’t shy away from Hunter like she does in the second episode of the season, instead she excitedly explains that she completed their mission, even going far enough to say that she “tracked the dragon, like you did.” Further complimenting their close and confident bond with one another, she truly looks up to him. The realisation on his face that although small and somewhat dependable, she is no liability and can support herself and the others if needs be. The look is so…parental.

Upon their return to the ship, I love the way Hunter automatically lifts his arm to allow her little blonde head to rush past him and make way for a seat in the cockpit. Kiddo knows the rules, strap in before we take off, Hunter doesn’t even have to tell her.😇

I absolutely adore Hunter’s curious smirk as Wrecker leads Omega to her surprise, alongside the fact he is the first to follow them to see whatever their injured batch member has planned for the little one. I’d also like to note that he actually stares at Omega as they approach the gunners nest, only briefly breaking to take a look at Wrecker, but primarily his sight falls to her.

Her face…when she discovers her room, his face when he watches her jump up and giggle as she turns to thank Wrecker, these two absolutely melt my heart, I swear. He’s admiring her happiness, that splash of childlike innocence he and the batchers never got to have, exactly what he’s seen Cut give to his children, what he wants to give to her. It’s absolutely beautiful.

“I’ve never had my own room before.” Hunter’s split moment of realisation here, before he steps forwards and reassures her that she is “a part of their squad” their family, it’s just so charming to his character and role as her custodian. Omega’s equally gentle smile as she looks back to him, head resting against Lula’s ears shows her clear sense of peace in her new environment. I also think it’s absolutely adorable that while the other batchers share glances between themselves to silently thank Wrecker for his sweet act of kindness, Hunter only partakes for a moment, before he continues to watch Omega settle in, her head now falling against the wall, staring out into the inky black of space, with the new addition of her comforting fairy lights, which I’d like to specify are a warm yellow, in comparison to the bright white of the Kaminoan facilities. This contrast provides a nice device between Omega’s new comfort with her family on the marauder, and her cruel upbringing on Kamino. She is happier here, and Hunter and the others will do whatever they can to ensure she is always happy with them, as we can see from his consistent looks of admiration for her.

I hope you liked my analysis of Hunter and Omega’s relationship in episode three of The Bad Batch! Of course, I’d love to discuss these two with anybody who might be interested, so please feel free to drop me an ask or a DM, and if you’re captivated enough I’d totally recommend looking out for my future posts on the topic!

As always, much love to our ‘Megs and Hunter, thank you for reading! 💛

Part One: Aftermath

Part Two: Cut and Run

Keep thinking about how tragic the lives of Star Wars characters truly are...

There are those that feel so trapped and angry that they have no choice but to violently lash out.

Those that are victims of circumstances where they have little or no control over the tragedy forced upon them.

Those that feel they have been abandoned by everyone they care about and are pushed to the wrong side as they are consumed by pain and anger.

Those that make a wrong decision while trying to save others, leading to disastrous consequences.

Those that try to lead those under their command to the best of their ability and with the best intentions, but fail those very people.

Those that follow orders and do what seems right, only to see how wrong those orders were after tragedy has occurred.

And those who hold so firmly to their beliefs, only to watch them all come crashing down around them.

AND The Bad Batch family including Omega ;).

*blows kiss towards space* to all the star wars found families

fall back into place - masterlist

on AO3 ⚘ ❀

masterlist

Description: There is no limit to the indescribable comfort he feels when Omega rests her head on his shoulder and her hair tickles his neck. This must be all that he has ever fought for.

OR

5 times the bad batch learns something from Omega and the 1 time Omega learns from them.

Rating: G or T (idek)

Part 1 - Tech

Part 2 - Echo

Part 3 - Hunter

Part 4 - Hunter pt. 2

Part 5 - Tech pt. 2

Part 6 - Omega

Hawaiian Footsteps: The Night Marchers

   The telling of ghost stories has been an important part of Hawaiian culture since ancient times. One of the most popular tales are the Night Marchers. The Night Marchers are an apparition of people marching to the beat of a drum often recognized my drum beat, chanting, and bright torches.    What the Night Marchers exactly are is debated. Some stories say they’re a band, others armed spirit warriors, or the ali’i spirits spirits going to greet new warriors. It’s also said that they’re restless spirits looking to reclaim territory, replay a battle, or maybe avenge their deaths.    Legend says Night Marchers usually march through specific places. A few notable places happen to be, Nu'uanu Pali Lookout, Ka'a'awa Valley, Kalihi Valley, Oahu’s Pali Highway, Kamehameha Schools campus in Kapalama on Oahu, Kualoa Ranch on Oahu’s windward coast, La'ie on Oahu, La Perouse Bay in South Maui, and  the town of Kaunakakai on Molokai. There are also two nights in particular which the Night Marches tend to appear most frequently. These nights are Po Kane and Po Akua. Po Kane and Po Akua are both nights of the new moon just at different times in the moon cycle.    When the night marchers come about, a few characteristics of their arrival are, heavy wind, rows of spirits carrying torches, alternating male and female rows, lightning and thunder, heavy rain or high surf, chanting and drumbeating, bright torches and mist or fog.    When coming in contact with the Night Marchers it is important to not disturb them. Do not get in their way. Don’t even look at them. It is best to crouch low to the floor and avert your eyes. It is vital that their procession is not interrupted. I hope you enjoyed this spooky bit of Hawaiian folklore!

LOVE these two!

“I'll see you again. I promise.”

had to redraw the scene that made me cry the most! program: procreate

OMG I LOVE THIS SO VERY VERY MUCH AND PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO A FANFICTION FOR THIS (I beg you and not just a one shot unless it’s long lol).

The Bad Batch, if they had to raise Omega from a baby, because thinking of this makes me SOFT

This has sparked from me now plotting out an AU which is exactly this, the five of them raising baby Omega. Stay tuned for that, in the mean time have some headcanons. They’re specifically meant to be about the five of them raising Omega together, but definitely work for each of them with their own kids, so enjoy!

This post is gonna be long because I have so many thoughts. @scarlettroseog and I had the best time discussing these!!

Crosshair: Crosshair is the one who stares at baby Omega when they first get her and is just like “how do I pick it up”. Tech offers to show him a useful holovideo on how to safely hold a baby. Crosshair offers to throw Tech into hyperspace. Once he gets the hang of it though, Cross is a natural and can often be found asleep with a baby on his chest. He loves baby cuddles more than life itself, but he’ll be damned if he let’s anyone know it. He has to act like holding her is the biggest inconvenience you could ever ask of him, but if someone else offers to take her, he’ll refuse. He reminds them he never said he wouldn’t hold her. 

Very much a silent protector, Cross is always incredibly aware of his and Omega’s surroundings and is always looking out for her. He’s most at ease when Omega is still in his eyeline, but as long as she’s with one of the squad, he know she’s safe.

Crosshair is an utter softie and has been caught singing to her, and crying when she grabbed and clung to his finger for the first time. He talks to her in the softest voice, and when she starts to babble he talks back as if they’re having a conversation. Little Omega hangs onto his every word. The others don’t understand why he tries so hard to hide his affections, they all think its the cutest thing ever. 

Oh, and he absolutely has no qualms cursing around her. He secretly hopes Omega’s first word is kriff to see Hunter’s reaction.

Tech: This. Man. Tech disappears for a whole day when Omega lands in their care, and re-emerges a child rearing expert with a large shipment of baby supplies on its way to them. He has gone to the ends of the Holonet to research absolutely everything he needs to know and eagerly passes on his findings to the others. He’s an expert swaddler to the point the others usually just leave that job for him. He’s tried countless to teach the others, but Hunter especially just cannot get the hang of it. One time they find him sat shirtless with baby Omega on his chest, and he explains how he read that skin to skin contact is really good for newborns and helps them bond and feel safe. He suggests making a rota for skin to skin contact. Crosshair tells him to never say those words ever again. His enthusiasm comes from a place of absolute love, but he does have to be reminded to rein it in from time to time.

Tech absolutely documents EVERYTHING. He’s so in awe of this extraordinary tiny human and all her potential. He tracks and logs her development and milestones, he’s recorded her crying countless times to try and decipher what she needs from how she’s crying. He even develops a pretty successful formula to help her get to sleep. This guy is revolutionising child care over here. He allows the others to add to his notes with cute pictures and stuff, so its more of a baby book than a scientific log.

Despite his eagerness to learn and give Omega the best care he can, the change she brings to their entire lives does unsettle Tech a fair bit. New priorities, new routines, everything has changed in some way. He does acclimatise, helped by how he dives into learning how to care for her, but its a difficult transition at first.

Baby Omega gives Tech a sense of protectiveness he’s never experienced before. She brings his emotions to the surface more than anything else ever could. He records a lot of sounds of her growing up, and the sound of her first laugh might just be his favourite sound hes ever recorded. He finds himself listening to it if he’s away from her for whatever reason. When he’s working on projects, he likes having Omega to keep him company. He crafts a little baby chair to attach to his work table, and she sits and watches him work. He talks her through what he’s doing, knowing full well she has no idea what he’s saying, but her sweet little smile makes up for it.

Wrecker: None of them have EVER seen Wrecker so gentle and careful. They warned him once that she’s fragile, and they never had to warn him again. He is also swaddling expert second only to Tech - he asked Tech to teach him and practised over and over again on Lula until he got it. Considering Hunter cannot do it to save his life, he’s very proud of himself. This guy is so, so sweet with her, he simply cannot cope with how tiny and adorable she is and will not rest until he has gushed about it to anyone who will listen. He even turned an unused storage crate into a crib for her with all the blankets she could ever need. He puts Lula in there too, but the fact she’s bigger than Omega gives Hunter anxiety so she is still Wrecker’s until Omega is bigger.

Not to worry, though, because Omega spends more time sleeping in the arms of her ori'vod than in the crib anyway. Tech has insisted multiple times that they should allow her to get used to sleeping in her crib, but even he is guilty of falling asleep with the baby in his arms.

My friend has a headcanon that Wrecker knits in his spare time as a calming activity and oh boy am I running with this. Hats. Wrecker makes all the hats for tiny Omega, and all five of them cried the first time she wore one of his creations. He doesn’t just stop there, she has blankets, stuffies, bootees, Wrecker should start his own knitwear etsy shop at this point. He plans to donate omega’s knitted things to people in need when she grows out of them. Wrecker is at his happiest sat knitting with little Omega fast asleep on him.

Echo: oh my god do not get me STARTED. I’m crying already. Echo is the sweetest most gentle soul and Omega is such a calming presence to him, and he has the same effect on her. A cuddle with Echo and she’s out like a light, and Hunter definitely isn’t jealous.

Due to his scomp arm, he always asks for help to pick her up or take her into his arms. He usually puts a blanket or something around the scomp as well, he’s so afraid that he could hurt her or cause her discomfort with it. He can’t hide that it gets him down, he wants to help out with Omega as much as the others can, he wants to be able to pick her up on his own without assistance.

Hunter takes him aside and reassures him that he’s doing a great job and that Omega clearly feels safe with him regardless. He knows how self-conscious Echo can get about his appearance and his disabilities, and reminds him how much of an incredible role model he is for Omega. Tech is already hard at work, though. If he hadn’t already been working on a prosthetic arm for Echo, he was now and working double time. Seriously, no one knows if Tech is even getting any sleep. At least once they have to force him away from his work and hand him Omega to give him a moment to calm down and relax. In the meantime, Wrecker knits Echo a little scomp cover, and Hunter and Crosshair fashion slings out of spare blankets, so Echo can hold Omega more easily and in general so everyone can hold her hands-free if they need to do something else at the same time.

Echo cries the first time he picks Omega up on his own, and in the same moment, Omega smiles for the first time. Now Hunter is crying, Wrecker is crying (more because he had been trying so hard to get her to smile for him), and Tech is leaping over furniture so he can capture the moment in time. 

Hunter: The Dad™. Also a nervous wreck. Hunter is the one you’ll find watching Omega sleep and constantly checking she’s breathing. And waking the poor thing up on occasion, just to be sure. Omega coughs once and immediately, Hunter.exe has stopped working and he’s probably called an ambulance. He puts on a brave face, but in reality, he’s terrified. He’s trained for battle, not parenting. He doesn’t know the first thing about raising a baby, but with his squad behind him (particularly Tech’s extensive research), he knows he’ll be just fine. The one thing hes certain about, from the moment she is left in their care, is that he is never, ever going to let anyone hurt this little girl. Ever.

He is also the one with the rules; no weapons around the baby, no cursing around the baby, no throwing the baby (no one intends to do so, but he wanted to make that very clear just in case), and no eating while holding the baby, after Wrecker dropped half his lunch on her one time. Hunter didn’t find it as funny as Omega did. 

His heightened senses come in very handy, he can often sense just moments before the crying starts, and unfortunately for him, he knows before anyone else when she needs changing. At times, the crying takes it’s toll and can contribute to a sensory overload, but with the rest of his squad on hand to help, that’s rarely an issue. If it isn’t his turn for night duty, he has his noise cancellers in, otherwise he’ll be waking up every time Omega does. He finds her presence calming like Echo does, she’s so peaceful when asleep, and her big brown eyes are so alight with curiosity when she’s awake. Hunter finds himself watching her silently observing the world around her, and enjoys going for walks with her strapped to his chest so he can show her just a little bit more of the world. Someday, he’ll show her the galaxy.

BONUS HEADCANONS:

- At first, the five of them end up doing everything together. Baby check up? All five of them are piled in that doctor’s office. Baby music class? It was Wrecker’s idea, but all five of them come along. After a while they learn that not every situation requires all five of them.

- Tech suggested making a baby care rota, but they didn’t need one. They just kind of manage to balance out the tasks and the cuddle time. Except Hunter. Hunter is selfish. Hunter will straight up steal the baby from one of his brothers when he decides it’s his turn for cuddles. The only exception to this is Echo. Hunter will never steal Omega from Echo.

Sorry for this absolute essay. I put more effort and focus into this today than I did at work. This has also helped massively in plotting out a couple fics surrounding The Bad Batch and a baby Omega. I cannot cope with the amount of fluff I’ve written today. 

Please let me know what you think, add some suggestions! I had a great time writing this and want to write some more headcanons for similar scenarios!

Hemlock: We have someone you might like to see. *brings Omega*

Crosshair: *pulling Omega towards him* Hurt her and I’ll kill you.