#Hunter and Mayday so similar

[leapingbadger]

The Phantom

Summary - Six months after Tantiss and Crosshair still struggles with nightmares. Hunter tries to help his Brother through his biggest hurt.

Word Count: 1403

Read on AO3

Hunter flew out of the fresher, wrapped a towel around his waist and grabbed his virboknife from the bundle of clothes on the floor.

He’d heard a loud scream and instinct had taken over. He stood in the middle of the common room, dripping onto the cold stone floor. He heard the soft breathing of Omega to his right, the booming snores of Wrecker in front of him. He pushed his hair back and out of his eyes and walked slowly to the room on the far left.

Nudging the door open, a thin beam of light illuminated his brother, crumpled on the hard floor under a handwoven blanket, instead of in his lofted bed. He was restless, extremities shifting and jerking this way and that. Batcher must be in Omega’s room otherwise she would already be at work, calming him.

“Mayday” Crosshair cried into the dark.

Hunter put his weapon down on the arm of the couch and slowly pushed his way inside the blackness of the room.

“Cross?” Hunter whispered, hoping not to alarm the sniper. There was no response. He scratched his beard and tried again, a little louder, “Cross? you, okay?”

Hunter was next to him now, knelt down at his brother’s side, hand tentatively hovering over his shoulder, not sure whether to wake him or let the nightmare pass. He could hear Crosshair’s heart beating rapidly in his chest, he could have been running with the speed of it. He jerked again, left arm flying up and almost smacking Hunter in the face.

Hunter shook his brother gently on the shoulder, “Crosshair, it’s me. Wake up. It’s just a nightmare. You’re safe.”

All of Crosshair’s limbs moved at once as he threw himself into a sitting position. Hunter held his face level with his brother’s, his hand holding on to his shoulder to steady him.

“Mayday?” Crosshair asked, heavily lidded eyes struggling to focus. Tears glistened on his cheeks in the dim lights of Pabu through the window and Hunter felt his stomach clench. It had been one of those nightmares.

“It’s me, Cross. It’s Hunter.” He said in what he hoped was a reassuring tone.

Hunter saw Crosshair’s eyes finally come into focus and rest on his face. He sat up straighter, pushing his brother’s hands off his shoulder as he did so.

“Hunter…why are you wet?”

“I was in the fresher; you were having a nightmare.”

“I’m aware.” Crosshair said witheringly.

His eyes had narrowed into the characteristic scowl, his lips pressed into a thin line. All that was missing was a toothpick, Hunter thought.

“Go dry off, Hunter. I’m fine”

Hunter hesitated but nodded and made his way to the door. “I’m here. If you want to talk about it.”

Crosshair laid back down on the floor, pulling the blanket over his head, obscuring him from his brother’s view.

***

Hunter sat at the small kitchen table, the warm Pabu sun streaming through the windows. The front door was propped open, letting the comforting breeze and occasional moon-yo in. He swirled his hot caf once before taking a sip. It was a habit he’d picked up long ago that had become a tradition with every cup. He felt the bitter liquid scorch his throat as he swallowed.

He looked down at Tech’s old datapad, casually scrolling the latest news of the galaxy.

“Morning” he said.

A few seconds passed before Crosshair walked over the threshold, “you know I hate it when you do that,” he said pausing in the doorway as he looked at his brother. “You shaved.”

Hunter ran his hand over his jawline and smiled, “It was getting itchy.”

Crosshair narrowed his eyes but didn’t say anything as he moved further into the kitchen to prepare a cup of tea.

Hunter turned back to the datapad. “Wanna talk about it?” He asked, hoping this time would be different. That six months on from Tantiss Crosshair would finally be able to discuss his invisible wounds.

Perhaps Omega was a better person to try to get through to Crosshair, Hunter knew she had him wrapped around her finger, like she did the rest of them. But even she had failed to unlock the secrets of the nightmares.  

“Where are Omega and Wrecker?” Crosshair asked, ignoring the question as usual.

“Fishing,” Hunter grunted.

Crosshair sat down opposite Hunter, shoving a small pink cake from the market in his mouth. He took a sip of tea to wash it down.

“Why did you shave?” Crosshair asked Hunter again.

“I told you, too itchy.” Hunter replied, not raising his eyes to meet his brother’s.

Crosshair sighed and leaned back in his chair with a creak, “you’re a terrible liar, Hunter.”

“Why does it matter?” Hunter asked, pressing a button on the datapad and putting it down.

They were at a stalemate, as usual. Hunter knew Crosshair. Knew that whatever trauma and loss he’d suffered would be discussed when he was ready and not a second before. And Crosshair must have known that Hunter wasn’t going to pry. Forcing information out of someone rarely had the anticipated consequences, even if the intentions were noble.

As always, Crosshair liked to subvert Hunter’s expectations.

“Mayday,” he croaked into the quiet, sunny kitchen as though fearful the walls would hear.

Hunter kept his eyes low, not wanting to intrude but unable to fully look away. Crosshair’s face had twisted into a pained expression, as though every piece of him was desperately trying to hold itself together. All the color seemed to drain out of his face. His chestnut eyes were wide but dimming to the color of mud with sadness. The tattoo over his right eye, usually scrunched, was stretched, a rare full glimpse of then namesake mark.

“He saved my life on Barton IV. Twice. He…you…you look like him sometimes, in the dark.”

Hunter nodded his understanding. “He had a beard,” Hunter said into the gaping silence. It wasn’t a question. As soon as he had let his facial hair grow, Crosshair had had a visceral reaction, like he’d seen a ghost.

“Uhuh.” Crosshair said quietly. He held his tea close to him in both hands, real and prosthetic, as though hoping the warm liquid would scare off the chill of the ice planet that he had never fully left.

Hunter wanted to ask so many questions, find out what happened, every loss, every terrible thing. The more information he gathered the more he would be able to help. His tactical mind whirred, desperate for an explanation, for a solution. But he held his tongue.

“The helmet was his.” Hunter stated. He remembered watching Crosshair, his broken brother, methodically lay out helmet after helmet on the abandoned imperial crates in that frozen outpost.

Crosshair nodded but didn’t speak. Couldn’t speak, Hunter realized.

“I didn’t know what it meant, for you to go back there. I’m sorry I was so…”

“Hostile?” Crosshair supplied.

“Confrontational.” Hunter said seriously.

A small smile tickled the corner of Crosshair’s lips. Hunter let out a sigh.

“Is there anything I can do? Apart from shaving more often?

Crosshair shook his head, holding the warm cup up to his heart as though trying to help it thaw. They had come a long way since Barton IV as a family, as brothers, but Hunter knew there was more to discuss, more to process, when they were ready.

“Understood” Hunter said before standing up and placing a reassuring hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Thanks, Cross.”

“For what?”

“Helping me understand.” He said quietly.

His brother nodded. It may have been Hunter’s imagination, but Crosshair’s shoulders were slumped a little less. With every revelation about his time with the Empire he was able to rise above the weight of it. One day he would walk tall again.

Hunter crossed to the far cabinet for a bottle of spirit. Back at the table he took the cup of tea from Crosshair’s hands, replacing it with a large glass of amber liquid.

“What’s this for?”

Hunter poured his own glass and raised his hand, “For Mayday,” he said gruffly.

Crosshair’s voice caught in his throat. “Mayday,” he said raising the glass is his prosthetic hand, it quivered a little, sending a splash of spirit onto the table. Hunter pretended not to notice. They clinked the glasses together and Hunter watched his brother down the drink in one shot and promptly followed suit.

[laughhardrunfastbekindsblog]

It took 2 people to fully convince Crosshair to do a 180 on the Empire - but neither of those people were Bad Batch members.

They couldn't be. What would a squad of defective clones who had been disobeying orders since day 1 know about loyalty to an institution determined to establish order for the good of the galaxy? What would they know about finding purpose in being "good soldiers"?

Now, I DO think the seeds of Crosshair's eventual defection were planted by his brothers. Hunter pointing out that "Blind allegiance makes you a pawn" and then telling Crosshair "All you'll ever be to them is a number" are statements that are proven later to be true. But it takes Cody and Mayday to drive the lessons home.

Cody and Mayday share several characteristics that place them in unique positions to influence Crosshair:

Both are regs who accepted and befriended Crosshair - Cody says he specifically asked for Crosshair for the mission, and Mayday is upfront and friendly to Crosshair right from the start. (Contrast this to the other regs getting up to move tables when Crosshair sits to eat, or the other clone troopers who walk past Crosshair to get onto the shuttle without even sparing him a glance.)

Both are commanders. (I believe Crosshair ultimately respects authority for the most part: even when he was arguing with and challenging Hunter in "Aftermath," he still deferred to Hunter's orders until his inhibitor chip was intensified and he was then promoted to commander.)

Both are loyal soldiers who have served the Empire well - again, these regs are still commanders even under the new government. And we all know how important loyalty to the Empire is to Crosshair at this point.

Both save Crosshair's life during their missions.

In short, both are regs, but they are still soldiers Crosshair can quickly identify with and trust.

I think it's key that Crosshair encountered Cody before Mayday, though. And despite their similarities, both soldiers drive home different points.

CODY

Cody is one of the few regs we know Crosshair already respected - and still respects, given that Crosshair almost smiles when he recognizes him.

(Some proof in case it isn't apparent: Crosshair goes from frowny face...

...to relaxed almost-happy-if-you-squint-just-right face)

Anyway, while Cody does drop some hints early on that he has doubts about the Empire, he is willing to carry out the mission to rescue "Governor" Grotton, showing he will follow orders to a certain extent. However, he shows more restraint than Crosshair might have: he doesn't attack the civilians despite their obvious mistrust of the soldiers, he comes to an understanding with Tawni Ames, he's NOT willing to follow an order to execute her, and he is clearly dismayed and disappointed by her death.

And so, at the end of a "successful" mission, Cody more plainly reveals the depth of his dissatisfaction with following orders against one's own moral scruples:

Hunter had said "Blind allegiance makes you a pawn." And Cody, unwilling to blindly and unquestioningly be a pawn - or act like a battle droid - any longer, goes AWOL.

But that lesson alone isn't enough to make Crosshair turn on the Empire. Instead, he needs Mayday to give him the final push.

MAYDAY

First, Mayday indicates how appalled he is by the idea of anyone leaving their own behind - which we know is a sore spot for Crosshair. But most importantly, Mayday has demonstrated since he was first introduced that he strongly believes in soldiers being loyal to and looking out for each other (which is far different than just being loyal to the Empire).

Second, Mayday unknowingly challenges Crosshair's belief that serving the Empire provides meaningful purpose. (Remember that one of Crosshair's main arguments to his brothers about joining the Empire was so they could "find purpose again.")

Then, he unwittingly goes for the jugular and rips apart the motto Crosshair had adopted.

And then, in case Crosshair has any lingering doubts about the answer to Mayday's rhetorical question, Nolan decidedly answers the question for him.

Hunter had said "All you'll ever be to them is a number," and he is proven right in the most heartbreaking way.

Crosshair had accused his brothers of not being loyal to him; unfortunately, now he sees what true disloyalty looks like. And for Crosshair - severe and unyielding - realizing that he has misplaced his loyalty by giving it to an entity that mocks him and casts him AND those he cares about aside for doing so... this is the final straw.

Thankfully, Crosshair has now rediscovered the people who are worthy of his loyalty.

[fellthemarvelous]

Without hope, we have nothing.

(Spoilers and speculation included a bit further down)

This is actually a post about the Bad Batch and not Star Wars Rebels, but this bit is important so...

Try not to cry when you remember that Tech is the one who taught Hera Syndulla how to mask her ship's signature, a move that made her a massive threat to the Empire and a move that she often used to her advantage. She was such a threat to the Empire that they wanted to capture her alive so they could make an example of her for her years of defiance.

And then also try not to cry when you remember that when Hera was taken prisoner by the Empire, Kanan Jarrus sacrificed his life to free her and save the future of the Rebellion. Try not to cry when you think about the fact that Kanan Jarrus aka Caleb Dume was the Jedi padawan the Bad Batch protected (except for Crosshair) from the Empire during Order 66 by claiming Hunter killed him.

Hunter, Tech, Wrecker and Echo lied to the Empire to protect a Jedi.

And Tech taught Hera how to evade the Empire when the Bad Batch helped her family (Chopper included) escape Ryloth after being accused of treason.

Clone Force 99's actions had a direct outcome on the success of the Rebellion. They refused to commit treason against the Republic and all they did was commit treason against the Empire. They were strong enough to resist the effects of the inhibitor chip (Crosshair and Wrecker for awhile), outright ignored Order 66 (Hunter and Tech), or were tortured and turned partially into a machine against his will by the Techno Union and used as a weapon against the Republic who, upon rescue, immediately jumped back into Separatist territory and fucked their asses up (Echo). Luckily, with the help of Rex, they got their chips removed after Wrecker tried to kill all of them.

Everything under the cut is pure speculation. I'm having a galaxy brain moment, I just have no idea if it's pointing me in the right direction or not lol.

If you disagree with me, I don't need you to rudely tell me why.

After his time on Tantiss, Crosshair can now identify with Echo more than anyone else in the Bad Batch (and Tech if CX-2 is Tech).

When they went to rescue Echo, Crosshair is the one who snidely told Captain Rex that he would have left Echo behind too.

Which is exactly what happened to Crosshair when the Empire turned him into a weapon against his own brothers. He had no choice because the Empire attached him to a machine and amped up the effect of his inhibitor chip so he could not disobey orders.

Rex told Cody "I think Echo is still alive" and Cody told him that was impossible. Anakin accompanied him on this rescue mission with The Bad Batch (we know Cody would have too if he hadn't been injured).

I think that if Tech is CX-2, Crosshair already knows or highly suspects it. He's terrified of Tantiss. I think we're going to have a parallel moment of Crosshair possibly saying the same thing, knowing that he could never leave a brother behind again after what he went through, especially if CX-2 is Tech. (I also wouldn't be surprised if Omega suspected something after her trip back to Tantiss with CX-2.)

We never saw Echo's body after the explosion. Instead we got this image. An empty helmet and a droid arm.

Crosshair defected from the Empire when he witnessed the Empire tell him that Mayday was only a clone and not worth giving medical attention to. Those actions resulted in the death of Mayday and that's when Crosshair chose to shoot an Imperial officer between the eyes (similar to Dogma's execution of General Krell in many ways).

If Tech is CX-2, that is the second Bad Batcher the Empire has turned into an enemy against his brothers.

This is the last we saw of Tech.

Hemlock was fucking lying when he said that Tech's glasses were all they recovered. Why the hell would he have found Tech's glasses and not Tech? All we see below him are clouds. And this is the last bit of Tech we see. That gun is in the shot with his glasses for a reason.

I feel like this is going to parallel Echo's rescue from Skako Minor. Tech and Echo are both highly intelligent huge ass nerds (remember that the battle plans being used against the Republic were written by both Rex and Echo, and Cody acknowledged that Rex was one of their best strategists in the GAR) who always ended up working best together.

Part of me wonders if we are heading into a show centered on the clone troopers in a post Order 66 world going up against the Empire as they try to rescue more of their brothers. Enough to become a problem for the Empire.

Part of me also wonders if the inclusion of Force sensitive children in the Bad Batch means Rex will need to call Ahsoka into the fray. Wolffe has only appeared once so he hasn't even switched sides, let alone even started blocking Ahsoka's messages to Rex yet. During the Clone Wars she had to save Force sensitive children from Darth Sidious. During the Rebellion, the saved more Force sensitive children from Darth Sidious. It makes me wonder if she is also going to save Force sensitive children from this too? I might be reaching a bit too much here, but it could be a possibility! She seems to always show up when Force sensitive children need to be rescued from Darth Sidious.

No matter what ending we get for the Bad Batch, I know it's going to leave us with hope for the future because the message in Star Wars has always shown us that hope will always be stronger than fear.

A simple act of kindness can fill a galaxy with hope.

Without hope, we have nothing.

These episodes are all relevant to Echo's journey. The Domino Squad was referred to as a bad batch and Echo was the one who seemed to struggle the most with orders that conflicted with doing what needed to be done. He is the one who memorized the regulations manual after all. And now the Bad Batch are on a similar journey because they have never trusted regs before, but now it seems they might have to trust the regs to come to help them the way they helped Rex and Echo before the war ended. The way they helped Gregor after the war ended.

If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but that's a fanfic I can always write!! I don't want to get into who I think is going to die or survive, but I have my suspicions there too and I'm already in too much pain to keep going.

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

Crosshair and Omega's dynamic

Spoilers for episode 4

Out of all of Omega's relationships with the Batch, I have to say my favorite is the one with Crosshair (and it's not because I'm biased towards him). Even though they only had like two full episodes to work off each other, they do it so well. It's peak sibling relationship. But why I think it works so well is because of how they work off each other. In my eyes, Omega and Cross see each other as equals or at least on similar levels. This is evident with how they guide each other when fleeing from the Empire. There's no clear leader between them, the pair listen to each other depending on the situation.

Crosshair's skills are basically fighting and playing lookout. Both are very handy to have. Whenever a fight breaks out, Omega lets Crosshair take the lead and he works to protect her and himself. That's not to say Omega can't hold her own, but when the going gets tough, the tough get going (credit Lion King 2 for that cheesy line). Cross also takes a natural protective stance around her. While she does the technical stuff, he keeps watch. He might say it isn't part of his skill set, but believe me, it is.

Then, we have Omega. She's much better at hustling and seeking alternative ways to get things done. It's true that blaster fire will draw more attention to one's self. Thus, Crosshair lets her guide him in situations where they need to be more low-profile. Omega is also better with social situations imo. She's a smart kid who learned a lot from her other brothers and Cid. I love that the show gives both characters to exercise their unique skill set while not undermining the other.

The other reason why I love their relationship so much is because of how it's changed Crosshair. In the months that he and Omega have been imprisoned, he's truly grown to care for and respect her. First off, he uses her name. The only other people he does that with is Hunter and Wrecker. Secondly, he follows her lead with almost no question. He does complain and make comments. BUT, he still follows her. Crosshair in season 1 mocked Hunter for listening to Omega. Little did he know that he would follow her over 6 months later (yes, I did the math).

And then there's the emotional piece of it. Crosshair is so open with Omega in his body language, facial expressions, and words. She brings out the best side of him and I am here for it. Compare that to when we first meet him in Clone Wars. He's quiet, hangs back, and usually wears a stern look on his face. Now look at him with Omega. He's much more talkative. His face emits so much emotion from being fed up to genuine concern. There is no doubt in my mind that he loves Omega. He encourages her and openly voices his concerns. I myself struggle with opening up to others about certain except for a few people. Seeing Crosshair opening to someone who he feels comfortable with is truly beautiful and heartwarming. Between Mayday and Omega, you can see just how much Crosshair has changed.

Finally, the imperial officer casually calling Crosshair Omega's dad and her not saying anything proves that Crossdad is real. It's so on the nose, but it's so obvious that Crosshair cares for her and is good at keeping her safe.

[cross-my-heartt]

okay so I slept on it... and as much as I hate to say it I think I'm disappointed with episode five

really disappointed

putting my thoughts under a cut, they're mostly critical but there's some praise in there too

I'm not gonna lie some parts of this episode were fantastic. I legitimately started crying when Crosshair picked up Mayday's helmet and started lining them all up. but as much as I wanted to feel the same way about the other emotional moments in this episode (and they were a lot) I just didn't and it's weird because they feel right from a storytelling perspective but execution wise?... yeah, I have some thoughts

for starters I'm getting really frustrated with Corbett and co's aversion to showing us characters reacting to major events. I fully expected this episode to pick up where we left off but instead we went straight to the timeskip, foregoing all the initial stages of Crosshair's reintegration into the team (similarly people have pointed out how disappointing it is that we didn't see Crosshair react to the news of Tech's death. or Echo reacting to the news of Fives’ death. can we see the pattern here?)

we're supposed to feel like this tension in the team has been going on for a while but instead we're just told that it has. yes, it makes sense for this to be the case but when you think that the whole thing is resolved in one single episode, you start to realize just how damn rushed it is

so much of this episode relied on clunky exposition to fill us in on what's happening instead of just taking the time to show us. imagine if instead of one episode we had three episodes to develop this story line. one on Pabu, one on Barton and one final one for the mission where Crosshiar and Hunter's tension comes to a head. just imagine.

we have so much room for side quests where these characters' conflicts can broil and stew and develop in the background and we can get a real sense of time passing and a sense of how this affects them. we got a whole episode dedicated to showing us what Omega's imprisonment was like on Tantiss, imagine if they'd put the same effort into setting up Crosshair's return the same way

instead this is really starting to feel like we're trying to get Crosshair's arc out of the way so we can move on to the next one (which I presume will be about Tech) and if we do get episodes where this could have been developed as a background subplot I will chew my socks off

also if I see another giant worm creature living underground in a star wars media, I will throw myself off a cliff

NO MORE FREAKING CREATURES. we're sick and tired of them. why, why do we have to waste precious screen time on a redundant action scene? it feels so old at this point. not to mention how obviously shoehorned it is because a) it messes with Outpost's plot and b) Outpost never mentioned this being the purpose of the sensors meaning this is obviously something the writers retconned into existence to hastily cobble the plot together

a very predictable one too, I swear to god I expected it to be a worm the moment they showed the ground shake, I swear

yes, it was supposed to show us the batch working together as a yay team moment but I personally feel it was pretty lackluster (none of them actually put their special skills to good use, I'm baffled by how useless Hunter's sense were here). imagine if instead of this we got an episode that was actually interested in exploring the conflict between these two

have them walk off to quarrel after Hunter sees Crosshair acting strange with the helmets (the one piece of setup I would praise) then accidentally fall through a weak point in the ice, plunging them underground. and instead of an action scene we get a long episode of them trying to get out of the maze, walking through the tunnels and struggling to cooperate in between bouts of bickering. have Crosshair internally freaking out because this is all so similar to him and Mayday crawling through the tunnels. maybe have one of them step on an old mine, echoing that same moment in Outpost

have Hunter ask Crosshair why he knows about these mines and who taught him to disarm them. have Crosshair completely reluctant to tell him

seriously there is SO much wasted potential here...

which leads me to the next point which is dialogue. the worst side effect of rushing plot is that most of your dialogue ends up being expository and it really showed. characters saying exactly how they feel, over explaining and pointing out things that could have been shown. it all feels even more egregious when you realize that Crosshair is the one saddled with most of the exposition making him not only weirdly talkative this episode but also nudging him into the out of character territory

because Crosshair has always been taciturn and roundabout in the way he expresses himself and I feel like this was sorely lacking this time. it's a shame because that's one of the main things that made him so complex and interesting to watch

call me crazy but we didn't need Crosshair and Hunter acknowledging their mistakes. a meaningful look or a silent moment shared between them would have sufficed. we didn't need Crossahir saying what he's done, we know what he's done, and knowing Crosshair that shouldn't have come out so earnestly either

I feel like the show has proved that it's really good at conveying these nuances in a subtle way but somehow it forgot all about it in its urge to hurry the plot along

I don't know if I'm wrong or right about this but I really hope I'm not. I'm not saying the writers are neglecting Crosshair as a character, there were moments where I could really feel how much love they have for him. but the telling of that story really fell flat

all in all this episode felt like 'finish crosshair's story arc: speedrun edition'. the right story beats are there - the hug, the confrontation, honoring Mayday, focusing on the tremor - but they're so rushed and the dialogue is so expository and clunky that they left me feeling hollow

(also are we really going to pretend it's okay for AZ to be there?? your sole chip removing droid and it's used as target practice by the man with a hand tremor and a 50% accuracy rate?? hello??? anyway, just a nitpick lol)

all in all there is a lot to love and in a sense we got everything we wanted but I do wish it had been done differently

[ghostfives]

If you ever need us… We’ll be there.

Part 1

Hunter smiles as he pets Batchers head, he’s waiting for Omega to return. She’s supposed to be coming for a visit today, but somethings wrong. Omega is rarely late, but when she is she always messages first.

“Hunter, I’m sure she’s fine.” Tech promises, sitting beside his older brother. “Omega is a very competent young lady, she’s grown up well. We’ve taught her everything she needs to know and more.” He says softly, but even he has a small spark of worry in his eyes, hidden behind his goggles.

“It just isn’t like her not to message, or even call.” Hunter sighs, scratching at the bite mark on his arm nervously. “I don’t like this.”

Tech watches him scratch at the bite, and sighs. “Not trying to change the subject, but you do know that you have to tell her about what happened, yes? Now that she’s finally here?” He says softly.

“No.”

“Hunter-“ Tech starts.

“No!” Hunter stands up and storms off, heading back up to the house angrily.

Tech sighs, and gets up too. He follow after Hunter, knowing that his brother is just scared. This change is such a big one, let alone terrifying.

“Guys!” Crosshair screams. “SOMETHINGS HAPPENED TO OMEGA!!”

Hunter and Techs blood run cold as they run as fast as they can to the house, even with Hunters bad knee.

xxx

“Fill me in again on what’s happened, Ech.” Hunter snarls softly, as Echo flies the ship and the others get ready for battle with whatever armor they can get to fit.

“Omega sent a distress signal.” Echo says. “And all Hera knows is that she was on the way to Pabu and then the empire was on her tail. Of course she wouldn’t lead them to there, so she diverted. Last Hera heard Omega was crashing, but Hera and the other rebels are too far away so they called us.” He sighs. “So let’s get our girl.” He pulls them out of hyperspace.

Hunter snarls loudly, eyes flashing. “I swear, if they hurt her… I’m going to kill them. Painfully.”

“Agreed.” Echo sighs, coming in for a landing on the icy planet of fantasia. This planet is one that is uninhabited except for the rare ice creature, very similar to Hoth.

“There’s her ship!” Crosshair yells, and they all see it, the ship smoking and on fire.

Echo instantly lands and they all run out too the ship, finding it empty and deserted. “She must have gotten out.”

Hunter frowns, spotting a large spot of blood. “There was a fight here.” He says as he kneels down. “Snow already covered the tracks. Alright men!” He stands up, wincing when he pulls on his sore knee. “We’ll split up, keep your comms handy.”

“On it, if we find Omega rush to the ship then comm yeah?” Wrecker asks.

“Yes exactly, she comes first.” Hunter says. “Tech, stay with the ship. Someone needs to have medical ready and you are the best at that.”

“Of course.” Tech doesn’t protest and runs back on the ship.

“Alright, let’s move.” Crosshair goes running, holding back flashbacks of his time with mayday. He prays that Omega is okay, he can’t… lose her. He just can’t.

xxx

Hunter searches through the snow, his leg giving him so much trouble and pain, but he powers through. He has to find Omega, he will not let her die.

“OMEGA!!!” Hunter yells, calling her for what feels like the hundredth time without an answer back. He sniffs the air, but he can’t catch any scents with how the wind blows, the cold making his nose useless. “Come on!” He whimpers softly. “I need to find my girl.”

Hunter gasps when he hears a roar, and he goes running towards it. It’s the first lead he’s had. But that’s when he suddenly sees it. A Wompa, and it’s huddled over… no! No he knows that blonde hair anywhere, even covered in snow. Something in him ignited, a rage deep and fierce. Telling him to protect her! Right now!

“OME-GRRAAAAUUURRR!”

xxx

Omega shivers, bleeding harshly from where the Wompa has torn into her. She’s losing feeling in her fingers and toes, feeling so so tired.

She forces her eyes open, if she falls asleep now Omega knows she’ll die but… she’s going to die anyway. Hera and the ghost crew are too far away, and her dads… they have no idea where she is. That she’s even in trouble. A tear drips down her cheek, she just wants to go home.

“OME-GRRAAAAUUURRR!” The yell goes from almost her Papa’s voice to a roar, but Omegas too tired to even care. She hears fighting, and when she peeks her eye open she sees a large, grey and brown blur going at the Wompa, then she sees blood splattering. Just great… another monster to eat her.

It’s not long, and there’s no sounds from the Wompa anymore. Before Omega can think, the other beast is at her. She can hardly react as a large hand is placed on her back, and one under her legs. Then she’s suddenly lifted against a furry chest. What? She doesn’t understand.

“Shhh, Papa’s got you.” The deep voice whispers, and even with it being deeper and more growls, Omega knows it by heart.

Suddenly they’re running, and Omega shivers against his chest as one arm holds her. But the edges of her vision go fuzzy, and everything goes black.

xxx

Omega whines, waking up tucked against that same large, furry chest. But she feels so warm, and comfortable. Something licks her head, and there’s a soft rumble.

Omega peeks her eyes open, looking up at the large creature. It’s a wolf, with long hair and golden eyes. It’s grey and brown, and is more human esque. She feels fear for a second, but then the golden eyes look sad.

“Omega.”

Omega startles, looking up with wide eyes when the wolf says her name. She knows that voice. “Papa?” She asks softly.

Hunter sighs with relief, nuzzling her gently. “Hi baby… didn’t want you to find out this way.” He whispers, licking her head.

“What… happened?” Omega asks tiredly, reaching up weakly to touch her papas face.

Hunter sighs and nuzzles her hand with his wet nose. “That will be answered later; sweet girl. You’re injured, and need rest.” He says, wincing when he looks at her wounded chest. “Sleep baby, we’re going home for now.”

Omega wants to protest, but she’s just so tired. And her papas so soft, and warm. She’s ready to sleep. So she closes her eyes, and curls close to her papa, letting herself be lulled to sleep.

Hunter holds her close, gently nuzzling her head and curling up wish her. His baby is home safe in his arms, and for right now that’s all that matters. Nothing else. He sighs as he looks at himself, he’s become a monster but… it helped him protect his child. Maybe this isn’t so bad?

“How is she?” Crosshair asks, coming and sitting beside Hunter.

“I just…. Don’t know. She knows it’s me now, but I’ll have to explain everything to her. What this means… for her? For us?” Hunter sighs.

“And what does it mean?” Crosshair huffs. “You’re a werewolf, that doesn’t mean anything. You’re our brother, werewolf or not. Hairy or not.” He says. “So relax, Hunter. You did good today.”

Hunter sighs, trying to relax. But… he still feels like a monster. And maybe… he always will.

[mylittlepooka]

Hunter and Mayday have a really similar vibe.

That's probably why this hurt so much.

[legendary-defender-of-fandoms]

Reasons why Technically Technology Technician Bad Batch the Third Isn’t Dead

Maintenance Clone 99 didn’t sacrifice himself when he died. He was shot while trying to get more ammo for Echo & Fives during the Battle of Tipoca City. It was tragic, unfair, and heartwrenching, but not a sacrifice. So naming a sacrifice plan after him makes no sense.

No corpse, no proof of death. Goggles with an intact strap are not a corpse. And isn’t it weird that the goggles were on Tech’s face under his helmet, but Hemlocke just found them at the crash site with the band intact? They couldn’t just fall off his head, which means either Hemlocke removed them from Tech’s head or Tech left them as proof of death as part of his plan.

No one at Disney or Star Wars will say “Tech is dead.” They’ll talk about his sacrifice, or say “he doesn’t come back this episode,” but they won’t outright say he’s dead. They keep saying “it’s complicated,” which makes no sense if he’s really dead. It’s only complicated if he’s alive.

Tech would definitely sacrifice himself to save his family, and he knew his odds of surviving were slim, but he would still do everything in his power to increase his own odds of survival once he knew the others wouldn’t fall with him. It’s easier to save one than five.

No clone death has ever gotten this much social media focus from the official platforms. Not Gregor, not Mayday, not even Jesse.

Tech’s death is getting more “we sure miss hims” and “relive his adventures” than the deaths of Han Solo, Leia Organa, and LUKE F*CKING SKYWALKER!!!! No way Disney would spend more social media time mourning a clone from one of the spin-off animated series than the OG hero trio unless the death wasn’t real.

Star Wars has always been the antithesis of nihilism & grimdark. I’m not saying it’s all sunshine & rainbows, but the core of Star Wars has always been the power of hope. Even in stories where everything goes to shit, Star Wars will always try to end on a hopeful note. And if the Bad Batch loses a member for good, there is no hope.

Tech has a lot of unresolved plot threads. His relationship with Phee, finding something to do besides nerf nugget deliveries or hiding from the Empire, reconciling with Crosshair. We need closure.

Disney loves the theme they composed for the Bad Batch. They love playing it when the brothers fight together. And they ONLY play it for the brothers & the end credits (sorry, Omega) We haven’t heard it in-show since the last time all five brothers were together on Kamino, and I have no doubt they’ll bring it back once more in the last season. But to do that, they need all five brothers.

Tech didn’t have an “Uh Oh” arc before the season 2 finale. Echo’s rescue in Season 7 of The Clone Wars was his “Uh Oh” arc, Wrecker kept taking head trauma that led to migraines & his chip activating, Hunter got yeeted out a ship, fell into a mountain, and got shot by Cad Bane, and Crosshair has been nothing but “Uh Oh” arcs ever since Order 66. Now it’s Tech’s turn.

Star Wars loves repeating patterns, and with The Bad Batch getting only three seasons it’s the perfect setup to mirror the original trilogy. Not necessarily in actions, but in emotional beats. Tech in Season 2 follows similar emotional beats as Han (complicated relationship with a smuggler, struggling with emotions, betrayed by a shifty ally, etc.), culminating with both men being cut off from their found family in a dramatic confrontation with the Empire. Leia got Han back, and I knew Omega will get Tech back.

Saw’s insurgents mucked up the plan to track Hemlock’s personal ship back to Mount Tantiss to find & rescue Crosshair and the other clones. The team needed a new way to track Hemlocke, and a new infiltration plan. What better way to get behind enemy lines than to fake your death, steal a proto-Stormtrooper uniform, and pretend to be a normal soldier? Especially since Tech looks the least like a Fett clone, so if he does take off the helmet no one will recognize him.

Omega coined “The Tech Turn” as the name of a certain flying technique that only Tech uses. It’s something only the two of them know. And it feels like a plant, like in Season 3 there will be a scene where Omega sees a Stormtrooper pull off The Tech Turn in a shuttle, or Omega will hijack a shuttle & someone will tell her to do The Tech Turn to get rid of some proto TIE fighters on her tail.

There are a ton of Star Wars characters who have died onscreen just to show up several installments later. Maul, Ventress, Gregor, Echo, Palpatine, Boba Fett, Fennec Shand. Heck, Artoo’s died onscreen TWICE and been fixed up good as new before the end credits, and Chewie was totally blown up by the First Order until he suddenly wasn’t. So Tech returning isn’t unprecedented.

Star Wars doesn’t tease. They don’t leverage the possibility of seeing certain characters to get more seasons or new movies. Young Justice does that will Wally West - they “killed” him in Season 2, and use the promise of his return to get fans coming back only to say “Whoops, no Wally this season. Guess we’ll have to be greenlit for another season in order to see if he comes back.” Star Wars doesn’t play dirty like that. Star Wars always delivers. If all of this attention is suggesting Tech is alive, then Tech will be back in season 3.

Tech is the first canonically autistic Star Wars character. Star Wars won’t invoke the “bury your neurodivergents” trope. They’ve been getting better at inclusivity in recent years (mostly in writing, but there are baby steps being made in the TV shows).

[robotsandramblings]

k this is where my very strong bias & headcanons for Hunter loving Omega like a daughter come into play, but here's how i see it:

i think all of ^ these comments highlight perfectly why it had to be Crosshair in this scenario. i honestly don't think Hunter could ever have agreed to it.

"focus on the bigger mission" i wouldn't go so far as to say Hunter doesn't care at all about the bigger mission and the prisoner clones, but i do think Omega's well-being is Hunter's biggest 'mission'.

"i'm just a small part of it" similar to above - Omega is no small thing to Hunter. she's his everything.

"then let her go" i honestly don't think Hunter can let go of Omega. at least, not right now. (he would literally be a terrible Jedi with his attachment issues rn lol.) i think it's partly that he's still convinced CF99 is her best option for protection, and i think that Omega gives him what he's been missing since the Republic fell - purpose. she's his purpose and his mission now and drives all of his decisions and choices. if he loses her, then he would be totally lost and directionless himself.

(and that's not to say that these things don't apply to Crosshair and Omega as well, because they do - to some degree. but as said by others, Crosshair is very good at seeing the big picture. and perhaps his time with Mayday has opened him up more to his "reg" brothers in terms of empathy, ie. it's entirely possible that, now, Crosshair is more willing/wanting than Hunter to help out other clones.)

(andand i guess i shouldn't say it could only be Crosshair. i'm guessing Wrecker would have let her go too, in the end... but not without tears first!)

did anyone else notice how this conversation sounded like the one they had in the beginning of the season when crosshair was telling omega to forget about him and batcher and focus on completing the mission, escaping tantiss?

[leapingbadger]

The Dark

Read on AO3

Crosshair woke with a start. The side of his neck throbbed, and the rest of his body ached as he lay, sprawled out on the cold, hard bunk. Minimal light from the console at the end of the hall filtered through the crosshatched bars of his cell. He sat up and drew his arms around himself, trying to get some warmth that had been elusive since he’d been taken off Barton IV.

He didn’t want to think about that place. Couldn’t think about that place. He pinched the bridge of his nose, allowing his eyes to become accustomed to the dark. He’d hear the occasional moan down the hall from the other clones the Empire had cast aside.

He deserved it, he thought to himself bitterly. He didn’t have to end up here, it was his choices that led him to this.

“You gave us a chance, Crosshair. This is yours.” Hunter's words rang in his head. He closed his eyes and saw the bright blue sky of Kamino. The day the rain stopped, and all could have been well again. Hunter’s hair was moving gently in the breeze as they stood on the platform, earnest eyes searching, willing Crosshair to come back.

Why hadn’t he gone with them? He could have gone with them, been their brother again. But then he remembered Wrecker’s face once they’d pulled the kid from the water, frown deepening, adjusting his blaster so if he needed to take the shot, he wouldn’t miss. They thought he was going to kill Hunter, murder him in front of them. How could he go back to that? They’d never trust him; never believe he’d have their backs again.

Crosshair shook his head, hoping to rattle the thought out but it was just replaced with another. Hanging off the lowest step of the platform on Kamino.  The hard rain pelted his face as he looked into the churning water, debris swirling with the current and the wind. His stomach ached with hunger, his arms and legs weak after days of starvation.

The empire must have thought he had some use left in him as they pulled him off of that platform and worked to get him fit again. Not that it had done him any good in the long run. He had put his faith, his loyalty in the wrong place. Trusting the new empire for his salvation instead of his brothers. He knew that now. If only it hadn’t taken this long, taken Mayday, for him to realize.

He balked as the bearded face of the fallen commander fell in front of his eyes. He rose without thinking, slamming his hand angrily into the wall. A metal clang rang through the cell block.

“Quiet down there,” a guard called, not even bothering to see the location of the disturbance.  

Again, Crosshair tried to shake out the memory of Mayday. He looked like Hunter. “They all look like Hunter,” he scolded himself. But something about Mayday was so similar to his older brother he just couldn’t shake it. He thought about one and the picture in his head morphed into the other and no matter which one crossed his mind, he felt a sharp stab of pain in his chest. He’d let them both down and he’d never be able to fix it.

He laid back down on the bunk, his back to the bars, legs curled up to his chest. “We were good soldiers, we followed orders, and for what?” a gruff voice sounded in his head. Crosshair shook as he tried to quiet the guttural sobs, but it didn’t matter. There was no one who cared to hear. He was alone. The darkness was enveloping him, and he didn’t have the strength to claw his way out. Not this time.

[laughhardrunfastbekindsblog]

What Needs to Be Done

Summer of Bad Batch | Week 13 | Prompt: Crashing Hard

Summary: Crosshair was so sure he made the right choice, the only choice... But now he has doubts.

POV: Crosshair

Rating: PG

(Word Count: 650)

Notes: I've been wanting to delve more into what Crosshair might have gone through in season 2 before "The Outpost," especially since I think his confession to Hunter of "I've done things. I've made mistakes" refers to far more than just the Imperial missions we saw him on. I might expand on this storyline in the future; for now, here's a short little ficlet since there's only so much Crosshair angst I can write at the moment.

"CT-9904, report to Captain Dask for your next mission."

The operation involved relocating the inhabitants of Quwan to an Imperial holding facility to await the construction of a factory on their homeworld, a factory they would man in service to the Empire. Those who did not appreciate the opportunity, those who resisted, were not given a second chance, and so the people learned very quickly not to resist. The families cried as their homes were burned to make way for the factory; the children cried as they were hustled onto ships by armed troopers. Crosshair had completed operations very similar to this before; but for some reason, this time he heard Hunter's voice echoing through his mind: Crosshair, I've seen what the Empire's doing, occupying planets and silencing anyone who stands against them. You know it's not right.

But it didn't matter what he thought was right. "Good soldiers follow orders," he thought to himself, though the words had started to grow stale. "We do what needs to be done," he repeated like a mantra, drowning out the memory of Hunter's plea.

******

He heard the rumors, whispers about an attack on Rampart's Venator, intel extracted that proved instrumental in causing Rampart's demise. The Defense Recruitment Bill was passed, but Rampart was gone. And while no one had been able to ID the infiltration team, Crosshair listened to the details of the attack, and he knew who had done it. "They were fools, they won't let themselves see the bigger picture," he told himself, ignoring the painful wrenching in his gut at the reminder of his old squad, though the traitorous thought crossed his mind that he wished he had been with them, wished he was with his brothers now.

******

"Three CTs have gone AWOL and were recently spotted in the market district," the lieutenant addressed the hand-picked squad. "You are to apprehend them. One chance to surrender, one chance only. That is all."

"Traitors," he scoffed to himself, pushing down his unease upon learning that the CTs in question had been part of his detachment during their most recent operation on Vurun. He knew nothing about them, they hadn't even spoken to him the entire mission... so why did he worry about what he might have to do? And why did wish he could have left too? Going AWOL was pointless; they were tracked down soon enough.

"Traitor," he thought again, carefully aiming as one of them tried to run, though his finger trembled on the trigger...

Cody weighed on his mind, haunted his dreams for weeks afterwards...

******

He waited outside the ship preparing to depart for Barton IV; there was no point standing any longer than he had to inside the ship with all the other clones who always ignored him. A group of unarmored clones passed by, questioning an Imperial officer about forced retirement. He knew more clones were being decommissioned, but he wasn't concerned. That wouldn't happen to him. He was useful to the Empire. He had purpose as a soldier.

And he tried not to think about the long years stretching before him, serving as a soldier until the day he died, no friends, brothers gone, all alone.

******

Mayday.

Gone.

He had served as a soldier until the day he died, had outlasted most of his friends, all his brothers gone, and the lieutenant was now ordering Crosshair to leave him... to leave him all alone.

Crosshair had believed the Empire offered him purpose.

He didn't believe it anymore.

"Lieutenant," Crosshair said, the only warning he was willing to give.

He released all his anger and doubts as he avenged Mayday, and suddenly found that this release had sapped all his strength, sapped all his belief in purpose, and he collapsed, no longer caring what happened to him.

I... It needed to be done, was his final thought as the darkness closed in around him.

@summer-of-bad-batch

[robotsandramblings]

eeiiiii thank u for the tag @toastyrobos !! ♥♥

Your favorite member of TBB is: Hunter Because: he's hot, lolol. he is literally my type - the long hair, the deep voice, the badass soldier, the "i'm a killing machine but also very tender and soft" thing, and my greatest weakness, the reluctant slow-burn Dad. and on a more serious note, i genuinely do like him as a character, seeing his struggles as a leader and a teammate/brother during literally the worst time period

You identify the most with: i dunno... Crosshair, i suppose? because: similar to him, i prefer to be alone, and can only tolerate my family and a handful of close friends lol. i very rarely like to talk about my deeper feelings and problems. i prefer to observe things from the outside, from a distance, vs being in the thick of things. i'm very much a "support you, do things for you, and make your life easier, quietly in the background" person.

Your favorite minor character from the show and why: technically Gregor, bc he's one of my favourite clones ever. otherwise, it's Commander Mayday, who just seems like an awesome dude and a great leader; and Senator Riyo Chuchi, who is just lovely, honourable, and brave (since TCW), and standing up for our boys!! <33 honourable mention to Eleni Syndulla, who is truly a badass

A TBB-centric piece or post of yours that you are most proud of: i think this one, a comparison of Omega & Mayday's lines about doing good / the right thing and still losing. because: it's just so heartbreaking and tragic to watch our favourite clones knowing they're fighting a losing battle </3

A TBB-centric piece of art that slaps so hard you enjoy (and why): lmao i narrowed it down to... SIX; i reblogged them all before this post but here are the links:

Shyranno's "Love Languages" ft. acts of service Crosshair saving AZI and Omega. it just really hit me hard in the feels and made me say "yes, yes, this is the essence of who Crosshair is"

Carrot-top-monk's comic about Crosshair and Echo literally cuddle-sandwiching Tech to sleep, with the most heartbreaking ending ever holy fuck ;-;

Ashyyybees-art's "Does it ever drive you crazy / just how fast the night changes" bc it breaks my heart and soul

Shakoribe's gorgeous piece of Crosshair vs Hunter

Autiloidea's Crosshair vs Hunter. simple lineart, but i love the drama lol and the fact Crosshair got the drop on Hunter. reminds me of a line from Transformers Animated: "i know all your moves."

"Protect Baby Sister Mode" gif thread,, because nothing is hotter than someone doing the slow draw for their weapon to protect someone

A TBB-centric fanfic that gives you life you enjoy (and why): not really a fanfic reader! i'll read the odd one that crosses my dash, but i never save/bookmark them lol

A TBB headcanon or trope that is 100% canon to you: Tech cannot see without his glasses. i can admire goggle-less Tech art, but ultimately i truly believe he never takes them off unless he's cleaning them, rubbing his eyes, or sleeping (even then i think he mostly keeps them on). Also the one about Hunter getting migraines if overstimulated, super stressed for a long time, or something in the natural physical geography of a place (like idk a higher air pressure or magnetic field or whatever).

Color(s) you think would suit if Crosshair gets "Mercenary" armor: i like the idea of mostly dark but hints of orange; i've seen some that use hints of green which i liked too (thematically relevant, no? green is about growth and renewal/rebirth? so that'd be neat). since they're both my favourite colours, i'd love both!

One thing you NEED to see happen in Season 3: HUGS. MUTHAFUCKIN H U G S. PLEASE. I BEG. AND FOR HUNTER TO "No, Omega... I want to be... your father..." HEAVYBREATHING. (srsly tho like an actual adoption or at least an acknowledgement between them that they love each other as father & daughter,, christ i will BAWL)

open tagging!! if you want to do it, please do!! i love seeing other's answers! :D

Fellow Zealots of The Bad Batch, Unite!

Please share your answers to these questions and pass them on to some of your Bad Batch-loving buds!

Your favorite member of TBB is:

Because:

You identify the most with:

Because:

Your favorite minor character from the show:

Because:

A TBB-centric piece or post of yours that you are most proud of:

Because:

Link so that we can appreciate it:

A TBB-centric piece of art that slaps so hard you enjoy (and why):

Link:

A TBB-centric fanfic that gives you life you enjoy (and why):

Link:

A TBB headcanon or trope that is 100% canon to you:

Color(s) you think would suit if Crosshair gets "Mercenary" armor:

One thing you NEED to see happen in Season 3:

@wwheeljack @wrenkenstein @floundrickthewayfarer @raevulsix @enigmatist17 @slenderboo @echojedis @nika6q @zaana @wiseowl18 @toastyrobos @eclec-tech @jigget @destril @niobiumao3

[wickymicky]

all the questions in @ohsua‘s ask thing! this was really hard and i put more effort into some questions than others, but it was fun! putting it under a Read More cause it got reaaaaally long

What's your favourite title track?

piri! probably anyway. possibly what?

Sleep-walking or Silent Night?

sleepwalking personally, though i like both

Favourite teaser image for The Tree Of Language so far?

uhhhhhhh hmmm. im not sure, maybe dami? or siyeon? from the first round?

Favourite choreography? If you can, explain why

i dont really have an easy answer cause i’d have to watch them all again but the first one that comes to mind is piri. i cant really explain why though lol, i just think its cool to watch

Favourite cover?

tbh i havent heard a lot of their covers, oops

Favourite album?

hmmmmmmm. maybe prequel? or raid of dream? prequel has wake up and sleepwalking though... hmm

Who's your bias?

it was dami forever, and then now it’s jiu, though dami might be bias wrecking me lmao. bias unwrecking? rebiasing?

What's your favourite mv?

oh hmmmm... you know i love piri but honestly that music video is not one of my favorites. i think i’m leaning towards you and i or good night here. i love the scene where the ghost hunter dude’s room is exploding cause i guess the members are messing with shit on the other side of the mirror or whatever, but there’s just a shot of the dude and it’s slowly zooming out as stacks of paper and books and stuff go flying, it’s great. digipedi always makes fantastic videos

What concept would you like to see?

i have so many answers to this that idk if i can choose lol. anything lol, anything. they could do anything. i dont want them to lose the spirit of their concept and sound, but there are infinite directions they could take their concept without losing that spirit. 

Mayday or Wake Up?

wake up dude are you kidding me? i also just um... dont really remember mayday. i’ve heard it but i dont remember right now... wake up is great though

Deja Vu or Piri?

piri! i love deja vu though. piri was the song that got me into them and deja vu was my first comeback with them, so i have an attachment to both, but i would have to say piri, yeah

Who's your favourite vocalist? Rank the members from favourite to least favourite

oh shit really? uhh idk if i can do that but... i mean i gotta say siyeon right? her voice *is* dreamcatcher to me. her voice defines their sound more than anything else, even more than their rock concept. like for real, her voice is more integral to the feel of a dreamcatcher song than the guitars or sort of dark vibe. well, her voice brings the dark vibe a lot of the time, honestly. after that i’d say jiu cause her voice is the total opposite, she has the voice you would least associate with a concept like this, but that serves to add a lot of range to their sound too. her voice is so vividly bright and cheerful... so, dreamcatcher’s dark concepts are defined by siyeon for me, and dreamcatcher’s lively personality and energy onstage and offstage are defined by jiu for me. those first lines of “wake up”? iconic, full of energy, aaaaaa i love her. after that i guess i’d say yoohyeon cause she’s the lead vocalist lol. and then... about the same for the rest. i dont have an order from then on. they’re one of the groups where i think it’s the easiest to tell which member is singing just from audio alone, all seven of them have distinct vocal characters. the only two that i sometimes mix up (again, just based on audio only) are sua and gahyeon. or dami when she sings lol

Did you get to see them live? If yes what's your favourite memory & is there a song you enjoyed on the concert way more than you expected?

noooo i didnt get to :( if they ever come back around though i will move heaven and earth to get there

Dreamcatcher Notes or Vlogs

i tend to watch dreamcatcher notes more because there’s more going on a lot of the time, cause they’re like behind the scenes stuff. also.... there are some members whose vlogs im more likely to watch right away than others lol... though im working my way through all of them little by little so i’ll see all of them eventually. if jiu posts a vlog it’s immediate haha i’m on it immediately

What’s your favourite era of each member?

oh wow okay this is a hard one... here goes!

jiu - already we’ve hit a really difficult one lmao. does blue/purple Jiu count since it was technically post-deja vu? i guess purple is now gonna be immortalized in their new comeback huh? i think actually i’ll say fly high. i think that’s the obvious choice but... idk, she doesnt have a bad era lol

sua - hmmm.... im having trouble remembering which eras were which for certain members... i know she had reddish purplish hair for piri right? i cant remember some of them though... like she didnt have as many drastically different looks as someone like siyeon or dami. maybe i’ll say good night though, purely because of her rap haha. EDIT: oh shit i looked at photos from the eras after all, and oh my god i forgot about you and i... nevermind lol scratch that, it’s you and i. those designs she had in her hair were super cool

siyeon - deja vu, specifically the part where she had short blue hair. amazing. flawless. legendary. stories will be told of those days

handong - her ‘what’ era is probably her most popular, but actually im gonna say deja vu. i liked her short blonde hair, it looks really good on her. the first thing that came to mind is her with that hair and those purple/black deja vu outfits... im thinking of some photos from some fansigns... yeah. 

yoohyeon - deja vu again lol, sorry about the recency bias haha. this is the era she viciously and savagely bias wrecked me. especially during those fanmeetings where she had a ponytail and was wearing a suit... oh my god lol she knew exactly what she was doing. they all know exactly how good they look in suits and they subject us to it as often as they can lol. her grey hair during you and i is iconic too, and the red she had during good night... but i think im gonna stick with my answer

dami - piri!!!!!!! oh my god!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh my god??? oh my god!!!! especially post-piri with her black hair??? fucuuucuckckckckckkckkkkkk dude she’s so handsome i could CRY. this current era we’re about to get is looking like a gamechanger too though... her hair’s kinda wavy and that look on her face in that first teaser... and her floral shirt... damn dude. honorable mention to you and i cause of the baton trick she’s famous for lol

gahyeon - now with gahyeon its actually pretty hard for me to say, she has had the same or similar hair in every comeback pretty much, right? hmmm. the things that immediately come to mind are good night and piri and i’m not sure why. actually i might be thinking of chase me? OH NEVERMIND okay i caved and i looked at photos from different eras and i forgot that she had green in her hair during fly high, okay yeah nevermind lol it’s fly high

What do you hope to see on their albums in the future?

what do you mean? like in terms of types of songs? uhhh.. idk.. most of the stuff i would say to this is stuff that i have no doubt will actually come. i want more bangers like piri and what, i want more edm stuff like sleepwalking and silent night, but yeah i’m sure we’ll get that. i guess what i’ll say is... more songs with involvement from the members. either in terms of composition or even just lyrics. though i like the composers and lyricists they have a lot! i’ll also say if nothing else, then a song choreographed at least in part by the members would be amazing. idk if it’ll happen for a title track, but if sua choreographs one of their edm bsides or something, and they perform it live on music shows, fuck...

What would you say to each member if you didn't have to worry about a time limit?

each member individually??? that’s too time consuming woirjgeoiwrgew but i do have individual answers for all of them probably lol. especially yoohyeon, i wanna talk to her about languages. i’ll just say to all of them how much i appreciate them and how they arent boxed in by typical idol conventions, but they also arent boxed in as outside them either. like, they’re not an anti-kpop-group, they’re not the complete antithesis, they like being a kpop group and they like other kpop groups so they would never want to be that. i like how much fun they have, i like how close they are, i like how they treat their fans, i think if the fandom did something really awful or went too far i like to think they would feel comfortable letting us know. hopefully, anyway. more than most other kpop groups i’m aware of, it’s easy to find them in videos and vlives and stuff not being totally in idol-mode and just being people, and friends with their members. im not criticizing other groups, cause if i was in their position, i think i would have a hard time not being “on” when on camera, even if it’s just a vlive. maybe it’s because they’ve known each other for a lot longer than a lot of other current-gen groups, and they’re older than many of their current-gen peers too. they feel very earnest, they’re not trying to hide. im sure there are aspects to them that we dont know about and will never know about, and i hope that’s the case cause i hope they’re able to maintain some privacy in this job, but it’s not hard to tell when someone is being genuine and when someone isn’t, and i get a very genuine vibe from them a lot of the time. i’m glad they are who they are, they’re really influential and inspirational to me.  i.... also might wanna mention their support for lgbt people, though i would want to talk to them about that in private because it’s personal for me and risky for them and i know how shitty that situation is, especially since i know that they care and would be a lot more vocal if they could be. and they’re one of the most vocal groups about it already! i just want to thank them.

Is there a song you think is underappreciated?

hmmm. i’m not really sure which are and which arent, i actually think insomnias do a good job appreciating everything haha. 

Rank Breaking Out, You and I, Fly High, What and Deja Vu from favourite to least favourite

oof okay, i guess this is the Controversial Opinion Time huh?

What (i guess this is a controversial song? is it? it’s one of my favorites, number 1 or number 2, so idk lol)

Fly High

Deja Vu

You and I

Breaking Out

Let's say you are forced to choose a title track that gets erased from existence so that the rest can stay, which one do you pick? i'm sorry

does this count jp ones? cause.... im not into breaking out... sorry... i think i would say.... idk.... my least favorite main title track was still a big moment for them and had great moments in the choreo.... i dont know if i would want to erase it fully.... iojdoikoldofbm i feel like the one you could erase the easiest, and that wouldnt change their history all that much, would be What... but i love What... lmao idk... at one point i would have said Fly High but it grew on me a lot and i think it was necessary for them at that point. i also love it for the lore haha. so im sorry i dont have an answer.... unless breaking out counts oijwefmgodlr,rfl;kfd

Full Moon or Over The Sky?

i only got into both songs fairly recently, for whatever reason i hadnt heard full moon for a long time, and when the over the sky special clip came out i decided that i didnt like the song at all but i just listened to it not that long ago and was surprised at how much i liked it, so actually i dont hate either song lol. still, i’ll say full moon

Choose between their Taemin covers: Move or Sayonara Hitori

oh uh i havent heard/watched these ioerokgopdrgkdh. i hadnt even heard Move until like two weeks ago. oops. i guess i should watch their cover huh? tbh i didnt even know they did that lol im bad at this

Who do you wish they could collab with?

lol i would love to say loona because theyre my other ult but actually im gonna say ateez. they have so much in common! they have the same producers for all their title tracks, theyre both very choreo-focused, they both are very concept-heavy... i would love some sort of crossover thing. imagine a 15 member crossover EP or something... the pirates meeting the nightmares... or whatever each of their new concepts are gonna be... damn. again this would go over extremely well musically too, cause Ollounder could just try to combine his styles for his two groups lol

Who first caught your eyes and why?

dami obviously, i’m only human

Trap or Diamond?

diamond i guess, i dont really listen to either of these that often

Pick 3 members for your zombie apocalypse squad

sua cause she could beat people up, siyeon cause she could beat people up, yoohyeon cause she’s a clumsy mess and we would need a challenge

Blonde Siyeon or Blue haired Siyeon

blue!!!! but only by a bit

Favourite dancer?

theyre all so good, they all could be the main dancer for any other group. sua is considered their main dancer, but idk, any of them could be. maybe i’ll say jiu?

If the next album features lyrics by one (or more) of the members, who do you hope it is this time?

only one??? can i say all of them?

Do you hope for more vocalist Dami or would you rather see her rap?

both! idk lol. i want to see more rapping from sua and possibly siyeon too, so more vocalist dami could allow for that? but rapper dami is obviously more iconic

Sua's choreography for Copycat or Taki Taki?

taki taki i guess?

Favourite lyrics?

hmmmm..... i’d have to look deeply into this and i dont feel like doing that right now... i’ll just say that “pirireul bureora” is so catchy so in terms of catchiness of the lyric i’ll say that lol. i know that’s not what this question was asking though, i just dont have an answer

Are there any songs you hope one or more of the members cover?

oh wow uh... hmm. shine by pentagon lol

Favourite intro?

end of nightmare maybe? i like that it has the piri melody in it, and i like how the edm part melts your fucking face off. is that the most abrasive moment of any dc song? maybe?

Version E, V, I or L of The Tree Of Language?

oh idk, i dont really have a preference, sorry

Wonderland or And there was no one left?

er9iokgbiktwikpbherohtbkret i actually listen to these all the time and my answer goes back and forth. i’m gonna say wonderland right now

Favourite instrumental?

sleepwalking?

Vocalist Jiu or dancer Jiu?

haha idk, both? i mean i mostly listen to music and watch music videos, i dont watch as many performances, so i guess i’ll say vocalist?

Do you have a favourite ballad?

uhhhhh not really, im sorry

What are your 5 favourite pictures of your bias?

ah fuck, this question would be easy to do if i was answering this just based on someone sending them in... um... i’ll just reblog five real good ones in a row after this post... sorry lol....

What was the first song you heard?

piri! it came out a bit before i got into kpop, so it was still fairly new at the time anyway

How did you find out about them?

to be honest i dont even remember. did i just click on a thumbnail for piri that was in the related videos to some other kpop song? i dont remember... i might have heard that there was a rock based kpop group even before listening to it? i forget but i didnt like it at first lol. i thought it clashed really badly and it didnt appeal to my metal sensibilities. some parts stuck in my head though and i kept coming back and it was a guilty pleasure at first and then oops i fell in love and then oops it appeals to every sensibility i have now lol. though mostly i still like them more for their pop aspects than their rock/metal aspects. but anyway still, i dont remember how i first heard about them, i just remember the first time i listened to piri

What do you think about Handong being on Idol Producer and missing all of their activities? Do you think it's worth it?

sigh.... i mean, time will tell, right? i hope she does well enough that it gets them a lot of exposure, but... selfishly, i guess... i hope she doesnt become part of the final group because i want to see her back in dreamcatcher lol. we’ll see, and hopefully this is a good experience for her! i know things are weird right now cause of the virus outbreak... i havent been following the news but is it postponed or something? i think i heard that somewhere? or maybe i just saw speculation, idk

Vocalist Gahyeon or rapper Gahyeon?

either! she has a lot of potential with both

Yoohyeon's cover of Secret Love Song or 2002?

um.... okay..... this is me again being a bad insomnia, i dont think ive watched either of those iokgopprlgwephk

The no budget July 7th mv or the Curse of the Spider mv from the fanmeeting?

i havent seen the curse of the spider one woah, i didnt know that existed! and is the no budget july 7th mv different than the special clip one? i dont really like that song much so i wouldnt know geijrgpokprgwoephk

Chase Me or Good Night?

good night till the day i die lol. chase me is a phenomenal debut though and works better for that purpose than good night, and i love that the lyrics are about all the ways they haunt your dreams, but i love good night so much

Favourite Siyeon cover?

im not super knowledgeable again here im sorry :( is it cheating if i say overdose, mostly just by default?

Handong's pre chorus in Deja Vu or the bridge in Piri?

piri lol

What's your favourite bside from each album?

oh fuck okay hold on

uhhh i dont have one for Nightmare, it was just chase me, an intro, and one other song. is it cheating if i say the intro lol

same for Fall Asleep in the Mirror, i guess the intro

Prequel okay now we’re getting somewhere.... Wake Up or Sleepwalking.... fuck.... Sleepwalking is actually probably the song that really converted me into a fan cause its the first time i really heard their range. after listening to Piri and You and I and maybe Chase Me, i decided to just watch all their music videos in order, and the playlist i used included the special clip mvs too, so hearing Sleepwalking for the first time right after Fly High was wild, it blew me away and i listened to it like 8 times in a row haha. Wake Up has been rising up my rankings a ton recently but i think i still have to go with Sleepwalking

Escape the ERA.. hmm... Mayday? earlier i said ive only heard this song a bit and that’s true, i’m listening to it right now though. wow i dont remember this song at all haha, this is good what the fuck, how did i forget this? oops what the hell

Alone in the City FUCK this intro is so GOOD god DAMN. its short, it doesnt go that hard, but it makes you so tense and suspenseful. but my answer is Wonderland lol

for End of Nightmare it’s And There Was No One Left

for Raid of Dream it’s hard to choose again... Silent Night is probably by far the most popular pick for this, and i think Curse of the Spider is a little bit underrated, so my instinct to pick the unconventional pick makes me wanna choose it, but i just dont know if that’s true lol. i think i have to go with Silent Night

[cfee-tea-andstories]

Warmind

HOORAY FOR THINGS I’LL NEVER FINISH!!!!

Zavala always got up early so Risha, too, got up earlier than her friends, but after 3 days of non-stop patrols and fighting, the hunter was exhausted to the bone. He looked back at the young Guardian and smiled fondly as he sat up.

“Is it time to get up already?” she murmured tiredly, shifting, opening one eye to look at him. He smiled rubbing her back, pulling the covers back up over her where they fell off her.

“Just get some rest, honey. You deserve it.” He said kissing her cheek as she turned, grabbing his pillows and cuddling them breathing in deep.

Before he left the room, he looked back at her small frame and noticed her armor and weapons were polished and laid out ready for her to wake up.

“Hm…” he pondered as he walked out to the empty courtyard and transmatted into orbit as the stars started to wink out.

Risha stretched out and rolled over, further entangling herself in the blankets. Her Ghost, Saffron, nudged her gently.

“Come now, dear. Up and at ‘em.”  Her melodious voice said softly.

“Do we have to?” Risha said, her usual honeyed voice rough and groggy from days in the field and only a day and a half of sleep to make up for it.

“Yes, Zavala’s been gone for a while, dear. If we want to go to Mars, now would be the time.” Saffron said transmatting Rishas’ armor and weapons to her inventory and began making her coffee and a muffin as Risha untangled herself from the sheets sitting up, Zavala’s shirt hanging off her shoulder.

Wiping her eyes, Risha grabbed the coffee and sipped it gently while nibbling the muffin.

“Not hungry, dear?” Saffron chirped in her mom voice.

“Only a little.” She said, voice slowly returning to normal. “It’s still good though.”

Saffron chuckled flying to her and disappeared into her chest.

“Good.”

Risha finished her coffee and put the rest of the muffin in the rooms mini-fridge for later or for Zavala and started dressing into her armor.

“Okay. Off to Mars,” She said transmatting to her ship and set her destination for Mars, watching the stars speed by.

“Mars – the first place where humanity encountered the Traveler. Home to the Clovis Bray Research Facility and lost wonders of the Golden Age. The icecaps have kept those wonders hidden for hundreds of years. But the return of the Traveler’s Light has sounded an alarm heard throughout the system… and perhaps beyond. “

The ship slowed and entered Mars’ orbit and headed for the icecaps. Warsats were falling back into Mars’ orbit so Risha had to maneuver quickly around and away from them.

“The Red War is over, but Ghaul’s forces, what remains of them, have been scavenging during their retreat. And now that Warsats are falling out of orbit near Mars, the Cabal are headed there too. I’ll plot a landing course.” Saffron said turning to look at Risha. Risha nodded steering through Mars’ thin atmosphere as Saffron flew around the cabin humming, straightening the mess.

Suddenly the comm system started going off and Risha’s heart skipped a beat. Has Zavala realized she’s left without saying goodbye?!

“That’s the private Vanguard channel,” Saffron said shell twirling.

“Mayday! Mayday! Do you copy! Vanguard access code 03056… GET AWAY FROM MY GHOST, YOU FROZEN – Guardian, requesting backup! I repeat! I need back up here!”

Risha and Saffron turned to look at each other, Risha’s brows knitted and Saffron’s crown lowered slightly. Saffron looked back down to the comms as Risha tried to re-stabilize the ship’s trajectory.

“This frequency is reserved for official Vanguard business. So, look, whoever this is…” Saffron said in her motherly voice.

“That’s cute! You’ve got one of the uptight ghosts.” The mystery guardian said.

“Uptight?” Saffron grumbled, causing Risha to laugh, which earned a glare from Saffron.

“Nah, she’s just got a motherly programming in her.” The red-haired Guardian said shaking her head.

“I’m uploading coordinates to a safe landing zone. Please hurry.” The mystery guardian said as Risha received a set of coordinates and flew to them.

“All right, but you’re going to owe us for this one,” Saffron said sternly. Suddenly a Warsat shadowed them and Risha quickly maneuvered away from the fast-moving object before it hit the ship and knocked them out of the air.

“I wouldn’t have called you down here unless it was absolutely critical. The most dangerous weapon in this system is on this planet, and an entire army of Hive is trying to destroy it. I need your help,” Said the voice as Risha approached a large glacial formation and transmatted down. She looked back and watched her ship fly back to orbit.

Pulling Saffron out to her hand she looked at her HUD. Olympus Descent, Hellas Basin.

‘What a lovely name.’ she thought to pull her Scathelocke out and made sure it was loaded and checked her secondary, Coldheart, and switched her Power Weapon to D.A.R.C.I. and set out to the coordinates the stranger provided.

“We’ve touched down on the surface of Mars, Guardian. What’s your status? Are you safe?” Saffron asked as she trekked down the slippery, snowy slope.

“I hate snow and ice.” She grumbled pulling her Kairos cloaks hood further up to protect her neck from the cold.

“For now, but there’s a whole lot of “not safe” between us and the Clovis Bray facility, which is where we need to be,” She replied as Risha walked around a corner, sliding off the edge. Using her knife to anchor herself from falling into the frozen water, she hauled herself up grunting. Saffron appeared and stared at her.

“I’m fine.” She grunted kicking her heels activating her traction soles and started on.

“What’s so important there?” Saffron said disappearing back into her.

“Warsats, like the one that almost hit you on approach, have been dropping out of the sky since I got here. Which usually means only one thing…”

“Rasputin? The “greatest weapon of the Golden Age” you were talking about? But… that’s impossible.” Saffron replied.

“Nothing is impossible where Rasputin is concerned. Meet me at the facility.” The stranger said as Risha came upon a damaged Warsat. She looked back towards the glacial water and kept moving forward into a crack in the glacier. Risha moved into a cavern, only for Thralls to explode from the frozen ground and run for her, screeching and clawing. Removing her throwing knife from her chest plate she tossed it at the first one and hit it in the forehead before jumping up onto a stalagmite and started shooting at the rest. Before she knew it, she was launched forward, a searing pain in her back, a scream ripped itself from her throat and she tucked and rolled before she fell face first on the ice. Running to the stalagmite, she leaned her burning back on it to relieve some pain before leaning around it and coming face to face with an Acolyte. Surprised she stumbled back, her arm became hot and glowed a bright goldish orange as a grenade was launched to the group of acolytes. The cavern was lit in a bright glow as the grenade exploded. Soon more thralls ran from the path ahead and she quickly dodged their attacks before rolling to the cover of a boulder and reloaded her Scathelocke. Pulling out D.A.R.C.I. she leaned out slowly and aimed at the rest of them, they were just standing around. Smirking she held her breath, shouldered her rifle and aimed.

‘Morons.’ She thought quietly as she shot them down, one by one. When the last one fell, she switched back and ran towards the corridor and was suddenly launched back by two Knights.

“SHIT!!!” She sputtered as she rolled backward and hid behind her boulder again looking for a way out of there. She saw her clearing, switched her subclass and threw down a smoke bomb and became invisible. As the Knights were looking around for her she bolted back down the corridor.

“I’ve never seen Hive like this before,” Saffron said.

“As far as I know, they don’t exist anywhere but here.” The stranger replied as she continued to sprint down the cave. She passed by a cracked wall and was a little bit away when she heard the ice behind her shatter, she turned and growled. A knight with a shield lumbered after her and she turned around to keep running but was stopped by a horde of Thrall Exploders. Suddenly she had an idea, she threw her knife at them, turned back toward the knight and ran at him, deactivating the traction and slid under the Knight as the thralls reached the knight, exploding. Risha rolled covering the back of her neck as the Hive warriors were decimated in the multiple explosions.

“Ok. Let’s go.” Saffron said as Risha ran forward. ____

As Risha walked to the end of the cavern Saffron was a little… salty.

“I think it might be time to call in help from the Vanguard.” She grumbled.

“Not a great idea. Zavala won’t be happy about us digging around Bray. He wants the past to stay buried. But we need to get in there to find out what’s going on with Rasputin.”

“She’s got a point, Saffron.”

When they exited the tunnel, Risha’s cloak had quite a few tears in it that Saffron quickly repaired.

“Hm. Well, at least we’re out of that nightmare.” She said softly.

“Yes, but we stepped into another one Saffron,” Risha said walking forward looking to her lower left HUD. Glacial Drift. She shouldered Coldheart and started walking forward.

“We always do.”

Suddenly green spotlight transmatting light appeared behind her along with the sound of fireworks and she turned around to face her twin sisters. Ren and Richa stared at her accusingly.

“Did Rev snitch on me?” she said taking her helmet off, her sisters following her motion. Their similar snow-white hair shone a dull orange in the Mars light.

“No little sister,” Richa said, stern voice the deeper of the three. Her black markings deformed with the disapproving look she gave her sister.

“You know you can’t keep what you’re doing from us,” Ren said, her soft voice barely louder than a light Earthen breeze.

Risha snorted, “What? You are using the Force now, dear sisters?”

“We’re only worried about you.” The shy warlock said softly. Risha’s gut immediately filled with guilt.

“I didn’t mean…”

“It’s ok, Risha,” Ren said softly putting her helmet back on.

“Hey. What are you doing here?” Risha asked looking at them.

“Rev’s busy on missions for Cayde and I didn’t really want to go with him, so I was basically just hanging around the Tower,” Richa said shrugging putting her helmet back on as well. “And Zorlee’s asleep since she just finished the Leviathan raid with Phoenix.”

“And Shaxx is busy with the Crucible today. Many Guardians are trying out the new arenas the Redjacks claimed. So, I just left him be and told him I was going on some patrols.”

“And that’s how we got here, little sister.” Richa gently pushed her, “We were bored.”

Risha laughed putting her own helmet on and turned back around and continued.

“Is that… Rasputin??” Ren’s voice said, awe and wonder thick in her tone. Now, she was in her element.

“I thought…” Richa said, for a Titan, she was quite smart. Though she still liked to punch everything in her way, she thought things through more than the Crucible master and the Titan Vanguard.

As they walked on to the building, an explosion happened in the distance and something big and wormlike moved out of the smoke.

“What was that?!” Cleo, Ren’s ghost, exclaimed.

Risha quickly pulled her Scathelocke off her back as thralls started running at them.

“Guardian, you still with me?” Ana asked over the comms, as Richa and Ren bent over panting.

“Surprisingly,” Richa grumbled, checking her leg where a Knight attacked her. “Worst time for an event to start. Thanks, Vanguard.”

“We’re clear. Where to next?” Amon, Richa’s ghost, piped up.

“We’ve found a Golden Age research facility buried inside a glacier. Where do you think? Meet me at the entrance to Clovis Bray.” Ana said as they headed towards the entrance to the warehouse.

“Well, she seems like a lovely Guardian.” Ren huffed holstering her Sunshot and changed Cleo’s shell shader.

“Yea, she’s got some attitude to her it seems,” Risha said walking to the door. Just as she was about to reach for the panel a snarl sounded from behind the girls. Whipping around, they raised their weapons to aim at the Knight when it was suddenly shot from behind and a Hunter stood up from the window.

“Uhhh… where did she come from?” Richa pondered aloud. “She wasn’t in that window before.”

“Hey, you made it!” She said excitedly and jumped down.

“Actually, yes. We did.” Amon grumbled twirling his shell in agitation.

“Well, there were a lot of them. But you did great.” She said walking to the door. When the girl’s back was to them, the three sisters looked to each other in exasperation. Richa’s shoulders were slightly tense while Ren’s leg muscles were slightly stiff. Risha’s hand was subconsciously gripping her knife and when she realized it she jerked slightly and released it.

“Come on, let’s see what’s hiding in here. Besides hordes and hordes of frozen Hive I mean.”

Now it was the Ghost’s turn to look at each other. Amon’s Iron Companionship shell twitched nervously while Cleo’s Bursting Wisdom shell flexed with anticipation. Saffron just floated beside Risha’s head, her green, blue, and grey shell relaxed. Risha knew better when Saffron took on an air of calm she was like Ren’s Stormcaller ability. She was enraged. She did not like Ana Bray.

“She’s going to get you in trouble with the Commander, Risha,” Saffron said floating in front of her.

“As much as I agree with that. There could be good loot rewarded for this, Saf.” Risha said smiling slightly.

“What is with you and your loot Guardians,” Saffron said as the three girls walked through the door.

“You six clear a path while I try to find a way into Clovis Bray.”

“We’ve encountered Warminds before, but Ikora said Rasputin was trapped on Earth,” Amon stated as the girls ran between a building and the wall, jumping on top of the crates.

“THE FLOOR IS LAVA!!!!” Richa said jumping from obstacle to obstacle.

“Rasputin is capable of operating across multiple systems simultaneously,” Ana said through the comms.

“So, all those times the Vanguard was trying to talk to him in the Cosmodrome…”

“They were engaging fragments of Rasputin left behind after the Collapse. But his core mind was always here.”

“Man. Talk about a sight,” Ren said as she and Risha leaped onto the ramp.

“Safe!” They yelled turning to their older sister as the lumbering Titan slammed down on the ramp grumbling.

“Ok, what do the two of you want?”

“Well… There’s a new book down in the city that I can’t afford right now.”

“And why can you not afford it?” Richa said staring down her youngest sister.

“Shaxx put a restriction on my glimmer account. Said I have enough books. But I’ve read them all.”

“Ok, ok,” Richa said and turned to Risha, who was staring at the Warmind intently. “And you Risha?”

“There’s an iridescent knife I’ve had my eyes on in the city as well.”

“I’m gonna be broke because of you two,” Richa grumbled, turning to her Ghost. “Amon. Set the orders up.”

“On it.” He stated and disappeared.

The girls continued, walking up to a set of trains. Richa walked to one and put her hand on the side of it.

“Is it just me, or do these trains look like they’re in good shape?”

“Well, I don’t think there’s any rain on this planet so that could be a factor,” Ren said as a Cabal drop ship flew overhead. The Guardians pulled their weapons from their back and charged forward.

As a Legionnaire started for Ren it was quickly dispatched by a swift punch from Richa, but her arm was grabbed by another and twisted painfully around and back. A scream of pain ripped its way through the Titans throat as Risha leaped up to a ledge and aimed D.A.R.C.I. at the Legionnaire and fired, his helmet exploding. Ren ran to Risha and activated her healing rift. Slowly the twisted arm re-aligned and was soon healed.

Quickly dispatching the rest between them and the building, the Guardians ran for the building and dispatched the enemies inside before they made their way to Ana and a console. Ana twirled around slowly, arms extended from her sides.

“I’m here. I’m really here. I can’t believe it. Clovis Bray. I’m… home.”

Risha could see Richa from the corner of her eye shaking her head at Ana. Ana may have missed it, but Risha and Ren heard the deep, disapproving sigh that came from their older sister.

“The main access is encrypted. Good thing I know a few tricks. At least that seems to run in the family.”

“Personnel Identified: Dr. Anastasia Bray.”

“Dr?” Richa teased. “Does that mean you can make my booboo feel better?”

“Richa,” Ren warned.

“What, I’m just teasing.”

“Welcome to the Clovis Bray Research Facility, the fabled “Cradle of Invention,” on Mars. You are part of an important moment in history. Together we will strive to reach beyond the stars. Remember, you are Clovis Bray.”

“Thanks pops,” Richa said distractedly loading her weapons. Risha and Ren inhaled deeply and shook their heads.

“And… we’re in business!” Ana exclaimed as a door opened, “On you go, ladies.”

Three heads nodded and walked to the adjacent room and up the stairs. A large statue of Rasputin stood tall in the back of the room behind a pool of water. Ren walked to the railing and leaned against it.

“Looks like Rasputin’s core is housed in a separate structure. Hope you’re up for a little exploring.”

Ren snorted walking away from the rail, “We always are.”

They continued up the left stairs and through another set of rooms before returning to the outside world.

Aurora Breach, Hellas Basin.

Pushing on, the team ran into another adjacent building.

“This place is freezing!” Risha groaned.

“I estimate it to be -210 degrees Fahrenheit.” Cleo chirped.

“I estimate it to be too damn cold,” Ren grumbled loading her Sunshot. She never did like the cold. Risha always found it odd as her favorite subclass was Voidwalker. She always found the Void class to feel cold and hollow coming out, as much as she loved her Nightstalker bow, she preferred the Golden Gun.

“This facility is massive.” Amon said in awe.

“The Brays dreamed big. I don’t know much about my family, but I know that.”

Moving past a room that looked somewhat of a lab, the trio looked at a small pipe.

“Great,” Richa exhaled. “Narrow tunnel.”

“Come on Richa, it’s big enough to fit that armor of yours.” Risha grinned looking back at her older sister. Richa slowly looked from the tunnel to Risha.

“Is it big enough for that oversized head of your’s little sister?” she said, putting her hand on Ren’s back gently to help her in.

“If it’s big enough for Ren’s brain then I’m sure it’s big enough for my ego.” Risha chirped and ducked into the tunnel. She heard Richa take a deep breath that was followed by a heavy sigh.

“Are you three always like this?” Ana’s voice sparked through the comms.

“Mostly. But this isn’t my normal fireteam.” Risha said as she exited the tunnel, “Ren’s fireteam was killed during the Red War and Richa’s fireteam is busy.”

“What about yours?” Ana asked cautiously.

“Never had one.” She replied flatly and cut the comms.

“Liar,” Richa said as she crawled out of the tunnel.

“She doesn’t need to know everything.”

“And yet you decided to tell her about my fireteam?” Ren said softly, a hint of sadness in her voice.

“There’s a difference between the Cabal killing your fireteam and you killing your fireteam,” Risha said slowly as she walked on.

“You didn’t kill them, Risha,” Richa said softly, reaching out to grab her shoulder but Risha walked on ahead.

“It doesn’t matter. They’re gone.”

“At least they didn’t have to suffer the Red War.”  Ren lamented quietly.

“Come on you two.” Richa murmured softly, gently resting her hands in the middle of their backs and ushering them forward. Richa and Ren shook their heads and nodded.

“Yea. We’ve got things to do.” Ren hummed and walked back out of the building.

“I’ll tell you one thing… they certainly love their transitions.” Richa complained as they ran back into another building.

Mindlab: Rasputin, Hellas Basin.

“I’m picking up a lot of Hive activity. They’re swarming the core.” Cleo stated while the team ran across a catwalk.

“On it. Let me try to access the security systems.”

Marching into the next area, Richa was met with a volley of bullets and stumbled backward.

“Guardian down!” Saffron and Cleo exclaimed at once as Amon shell expanded with Light.

“Risha!! Cover me!!” Ren hollered and sprinted for Amon.

“It would’ve been better for me to revive her.” She muttered pulling D.A.R.C.I. out and looking down her scope firing off shots.

“HOLY SHIT!!!!” Richa wailed, holding her helmet, as Ren pulled her behind cover.

“Take it easy!” Ren screamed over the wail of the Hive spawn, popping off a few shots at the Wizards.

Richa moaned in agony as she rolled onto her knees clutching her helmet and pulling it off, only to vomit into a depression in the floor.

“S-sorry Rasputin.” She said once she heaved the rest of her lunch out.

“Less pukey, more shooty!!” Richa yelled switching to Coldheart and lasering a Wizard.

Richa chortled pulling Forgone Conclusion from her back, laying waste to the remaining enemies.

“Aaaaannnnnnddddd that is why you are Zavala’s favorite.” Risha holstered her knife back into its sheath.

“Only when it comes to missions.” Richa retorted pushing her sister gently.

Inspecting the farthest wall, Ren noticed an opening. Grabbing Richa’s shoulder pauldron, she pointed up.

“There, let’s go!” Ren hummed gliding up to the opening.

Richa looked at Risha and nodded leaped up after Ren. Risha watched her sisters disappear behind the ledge and looked back at the scenery before following them.

“What’s the status of the security system?” Saffron chirped, eager to get the girls to safety.

“I’m working on it. Hang in there.” Ana answered before cutting the line again.

Pushing forward they climbed up the narrow ramps to the top of the structure. Before Risha reached the top, Amon announced, “We got a big problem.”

“Come on Rasputin. Give me something here!” Ana barked. Richa snorted reloading her weapon.

“Maybe he’s pissed because I upchucked my ramen back there.”

“Well, that wasn’t really your fault. You just suck with Rezzing.” Risha prodded back at her sister, dodging a blast from an ogre. “Holy Traveler!!”

“Karma bitch!” Richa yelled running past her. A heavy sigh was picked up from Ren’s end of the comms.

Before Richa could jump down and activate Sunbreaker, a reddish-orange glow lit up their vision, annihilating the Hive spawn.

“It’s the Valkyrie. Rasputin’s weapon. I think… he heard us.”

Ren, Richa, and Risha looked at each other before taking off to grab a Valkyrie, pushing and shoving each other away.

“AHA!” Ren squealed, retrieving the javelin and removing her helmet. “Take a holo! I want to show Shaxx when we get done! He’s going to be so jealous!”

“I’m getting in this, too!” Richa exclaimed taking hers off as well and picking Ren up, flexing her free arm. Risha grinned removing her helmet and turned taking a picture, the ghost’s quickly joining in.

“ARE YOU THREE SERIOUS?!”

“As a heart attack.” The three Ghosts laughed flitting to and fro around their Guardians. A deep heavy sigh was heard on the comms before it was switched off, causing the Guardians to giggle hysterically.

“For once it wasn’t me with the deep heavy sigh.” Ren grinned widely putting her helmet on and picking the javelin up and running to the door. “And guess who’s here to greet us!”

The howls and snarls of the hive reached the Hunter and Titan as they ran into the fray, a volley of javelins, arc, and void bullets ripping the enemies apart.

After the last Hive was dealt with, the door unlocked, causing the three Guardians to look at each other.

“Ana? The door’s unlocked. Did you…?” Amon questioned as they walked inside.

“It wasn’t me. Maybe he’s inviting us inside. Maybe this is where questions finally turn into answers.”

“Or more questions.” Ren quietly responded. Risha’s gut started sinking, she had an awful feeling brewing inside her.

Waiting for Ana felt like an eternity to Risha, she was on edge and restless, pacing back and forth along the catwalk. Ren and Richa watched dully heads following her agitated movements.

“Hey! Sorry!” Ana exclaimed running up to the trio. “You three ready?”

Ana didn’t give them time to answer and marched on forward. Risha sputtered and ran up beside her, following her to the door. Ren and Richa looked back behind them to Mars’ landscape, noticing the sun was setting.

“It’s about to get colder.” Ren murmured, watching as the durasteel doors opened to reveal, Zavala. Ana didn’t move but Risha… Risha moved a step back.

Risha was the epitome of fear. Her pallor paled, her elbows were locked and pressed into her sides, muscles strung taught, eyes were blown wide, lips quivering ever so slightly. Her twins noted her eyes quickly darting behind her then back to her lover.

Risha was numb yet hypersensitive, alive yet dead, warm but cold. Her heart pounded in every inch of her, her wrists, her neck, the top of her booted feet, and her temples. Her breath came in slow, uneven pants.

Her mind was screaming at her to run, Run, RUN. Time was moving so fast and yet so slow, extremely slow. With every second she looked into her lover’s eyes, the more fearful she became.

No, Zavala, her lover Zavala didn’t incur these feelings. No… it was her SUPERIOR Zavala that did.

While Risha felt fear, Richa was ripe with anger. She did not like seeing her sister frozen in fear, trembling before a man who has promised to protect her.

Ren looked to Risha, noting her flared nostrils, gloved hands balled into tight fists, her muscles too were strung taught, but with a sense of protection. Her lips were pulled back in a silent snarl, veins pulsing and enlarged. Her once warm, soothing blue eyes were now cold, hard and bright with pure hatred. She was going into protection mode but still trying to fight off these feelings.

Inside her, Richa was a maelstrom of anger and violence. Her teeth ground, her heartbeat pounded, pulse racing. Her body was tensed, hot, extremely hot. Her vision was blurred. Tunnel vision she knew. Her mind was bellowing at her to grab Risha. Protect, Protect, PROTECT THEM!!! Protect your family from anyone who threatens them. Destroy them, annihilate them, save them. Save them. Her pulsing heart… slowed. She entered a state of calm anger. Of critical thinking, and then, she was a literal eye of the storm. Slowing her breathing she relaxed her tense muscles, heat subsiding eyes dimming slightly. She would only act if Zavala acted first. Sounds rushed back in and she took in her surroundings.

“Hello, Guardian.” Zavala’s tone was the same as always. But Risha heard the underlying anger. She back up slightly.

“Oh, Shhhh…anks.” Ana cursed looking down slightly.

“Z-Zavala…” Risha whispered shakily. Zavala started towards her, expression tight and furious. Ren and Risha took a step forward ready to defend her.

“What do you think you’re doing? Do you have any idea how dangerous this thing is?!” Zavala approached her forehead creased and wrinkled.

“I…” Risha shuddered out, shaking slightly.

“What were you doing to Rasputin?” Ana questioned walking behind him.

“Rasputin is Vanguard business, Anastasia. Not yours,” Zavala turned his head to Risha.  “You do not belong here.”

“Zavala… I…” Risha started stepping towards her Titan.

“I beg your pardon?!” Anastasia exclaimed angrily. Risha reached out to Zavala, but he moved, confronting Ana, scolding her like a disobedient child.

“You belonged in the City! But instead of standing by your brothers and sisters when Ghaul cam for us…” Risha grabbed Zavala’s arm gently, a reminder to keep himself grounded. It wasn’t Risha he was furious with… it was Ana. “You were here doing what you always do – what you were never supposed to do.”

“I did what I believed to be right. I came here to protect Humanity. Isn’t that what Guardians are supposed to do?”

Risha reached out with her free hand and rubbed Zavalas back gently, her fear forgotten.

“Zavala…” She murmured softly. He turned his hard gaze on her, meeting her eyes. 

“Don’t think you three are out of this yet.” He declared sternly.

“Hey!!” Ren and Richa whined in unison.

“We just came because we’re bored Commander!”

“This is a war of many fronts. And there’s more than one way to fight it, Zavala.” Ana stated, turning to face the Titan Vanguard. “Look, you tried to shield the entire world, but you can’t. There’s got to be a better way.”

“And you think Rasputin is the answer? It’s gone silent. It’s a broken weapon. Too dangerous to be left alone, and too unpredictable to wield.” Zavala countered, which in turn, made Ren sigh a heavy sigh.

“That might be true. Or maybe he has nothing to say. Maybe, just maybe, we never bothered to ask him what he wanted.”

“I don’t have time to go through this with you again. You had no right…”

“So. Should we just get married and adopt Ana? Because you two argue like father and daughter.” Risha joked, causing Ren and Richa to snort behind them.

“I have every right. You don’t understand the connection I share with Rasputin. Here, let me show you.”

Before she could walk any farther, a distant and muffled growl sounded, and four heads turned, looking around the expanse of the Warmind. Zavala’s unhappy face returned once again.

“OK, we should really figure out exactly what’s doing that,” Amon said from beside Richa’s head.

“Do we have to? Do you not remember the Pit back on Earth’s moon?” Richa whined. “This thing sounds much bigger than that.

“Hush you.” He ordered as he flew into her forehead, which in turn Richa swatted him away.

“I can tell you. Rasputin was not the only thing to awaken on Mars.

Tower, The Last City, Earth

Risha drug her feet as she walked to her shared room with the Commander, dreading what was to come.

“I knew it was a bad idea going there,” Saffron said sternly.

“Oh, you did not. You encouraged me to go missy.” Risha stared at her ghost as she walked to Zavala’s quarters, keying in the code and stepping inside. The room was neat, orderly and nothing like Risha’s old room, which had everything she had collected from the Wild’s. Zavala sat on the couch, legs propped up on the coffee table, a cold cup of coffee sat forgotten on the side. Risha chuckled softly, swatting Zavala’s legs off the table, picking up the cup.

“Before you say anything. I know, it was foolish of me to go to Mars’ and blah blah blah bloddy blah blah.” She remarked sarcastically as she poured the cold coffee into the sink and made him a new cup.

“Why did you even go?” Zavala sighed. Risha sat the cup down before plopping down on the couch beside him.

“I don’t know. Got bored of patrols, strikes, and Crucible.” Risha hummed, cuddling into the Commander’s side. Zavala’s heavy arm draped across her shoulders as he hummed back, their Light mingling and playing with one another.

“I don’t know why that freaked me out more than you disappearing into the Wilds for months at a time. But it did.”

Risha chuckled while Zavala took a sip of coffee, setting his datapad down. Risha smiled softly pulling her legs up under her as she leaned further into her Titan.

After another hour of Zavala working on the datapad, he finally set it down, pulled her into his lap and kissed her feverishly.

Oh. Oh. She hummed, kissing back with as much passion, wrapping her arms tightly around the larger Guardian.

Standing up, he hefted her up with him and the small Hunter squeaked, wrapping her legs around his waist tightly. Their Light licked at one another as he carried her to the bed.

Risha giggled, falling backward before he could drop her on the bed, which earned a small smirk from the Vanguard Commander as he crawled on the bed, hovering over her.

“Is this my punishment, Commander?” She purred.

“Partly.” He buried his face in her neck nipping. She grinned sliding his red undersuit off his shoulders.

Perhaps breaking the rules has an upside.

[panther-os]

oh clone x 👀 i can't tell if you mean one of the two force sensitive kaminoan clones of a Jedi slipped into the fett clone army from the games or the sniper assassin from the midseason finale but either way 👀 that's an interesting direction they could take it that i didn't think of.

i do think echo is a more natural leader than gregor. what we see of gregor is almost exclusively him acting on his own to achieve a given objective by any means possible. echo we know called some shots in the batch and called them well and we know he outranked fives when they were arcs. (iirc) so at the very least, after he left the. i can't remember the name of the planet in it's a sunny day in the void, i think it starts with an m? after his amnesia, i think echo does have more practical experience leading groups, and i think gregor is also happy working as a one man explosion (heh) of awesome. just like rex is happier leading from the front as captain than coordinating from the back as commander like cody usually is and like he was in the siege of mandalor after he got promoted. and i think it's also important that the clones in rex' group get to do what they're good at and what they like doing rather than what they were trained for.

that paragraph got a little out of hand 😅 speaking of echo dying trying, i do wonder about his lifespan. we've only seen one other character with a similar implant and it makes sense for the techno union to want their algorithm to live as long as possible. i also kind of just want his wonderbread white skin to mean something? but I've been having thoughts since tcw7 about legends backstory being overwritten so echo becomes lobot on cloud city. (the echo and boba interaction potential there is 👌 prime fic material.) i also have So Many thoughts about lobot being a closet badass like the cyborg alfred to lando's party batman.

ngl the entire time crosshair was being walked by the other cells i was like 👀 "cody? not cody. cody? not cody. cody? now cody? cody pls?" also i'm still holding out hope they revived mayday with scifi medicine for experiments and he gets rescued. i know it's not actually gonna happen, but let me have my fantasies. XD and i wanna know what boil's doing!!!

100% hunter is justified wondering if it's a trap. also! he's responsible for the lives of the whole team. crosshair has betrayed them before and it's better to be prepared for the worst than to lose another brother permanently because you were blinded by the best. doing your due diligence is not a character flaw.

i'm really psyched for next episode and i'm glad they took the time to set it up instead of diving right in. i'm betting echo will call in favors from the clone network and hopefully at least rex will show up. if fireball and nemec show up again just to die i'm going to scream though. there will be tears of wrath.

i do agree echo would be unhappy on pabu. it would be nice to see him coming back for mental health breaks, but i can't see him staying in any universe. even an au where palatine was dead and every clone was free, i don't see him losing that drive to actively help. (echo would make a decent jedi.)

[rereads your reblog for the seventieth time to make sure I didn't miss anything]

tech is having the quintessential dad experience of teaching your child to drive and i'm loving it. XD it's an attack shuttle not a sedan, and she's ten-ish not sixteen, but the batch deserves more domestic "normal" moments like that.

edit: forgot to say anything about howzer but i just hit the wall of "thoughts are not happening until after sleep" so i will come back to him!

"so which boys are back in town?" well.... almost all of them?

this was a very nice little set up for the finale. i was worried we were gonna get another plot heavy episode and the end would be super rushed, but that's not the case. they even name dropped the title of episode 15 which had me immediately like 👀

tarkin is a bastard as always. crosshair refusing to give up the batch - including omega - breaks my heart. i also love how they show how fucked up he is by the torture by the way he misses shots - two of them. his whole thing is that he never misses. i'm also getting the sense that emerie only has this job because it pays the bills (her line about her access card not getting crosshair outside makes me think she's not even free to leave) and that she might be an ally next week.

it was good to see riyo with an obviously established halfway home setup in the martez' garage for deserted or rescued clones, but there's still no cody :( and rex was only there in spirit. no phee this episode either which hurted my little tephee shipper heart.

i'm super glad we got to see new clones! i would already die for fireball and the fact that he's wearing 41st ranger armor (like gree and jek in rots) and he and howzer clearly know each other has me 👀 about howzer possibly being assigned there before ryloth.

"fireball" also is the name of a clone pilot captain in the 501st's gold squadron. he showed up in clone wars gambit and we know he had bright red hair with a black streak, liked to play turbodarts, and went by fib for short. so it could also be that he wasn't originally a pilot, was crosstrained, and then got transferred back to ground in the 41st later in the war and so we have a fifth captain to add to keeli, rex, howzer, and wilco's fanon squad.

(i would also die for nemec but i forgot his name and was consumed by fireball's wiki page and various writer-of-fanfic-shaped thoughts)

it was also great to see gregor wearing his gold again and fucking bizarre to see echo without a kama.

speaking of echo, his exchange with hunter was enlightening. echo's really intense about this, even moreso than before, and part of me wonders if that's because he's doing this because fives would, because he's come across so many apathetic brothers he tried to recruit and defaulted to the schpiel, or because both.

by far the best moment, though - even better than tech teaching omega to fly and the "tech turn" - was omega throwing herself into echo's arms and the way he just caught and held her. it's so obvious he misses her too. that's his kid your honor.

this is... actually my new favorite episode, just barely ahead of last week's.

[mrmichaelchadler]

RIFF 2018: Phoenix, Styx

Iceland’s first art house cinema, Bíó Paradís (Cinema Paradise), is the cozy central venue of the Reykjavík International Film Festival. Upon opening for business in 2010, the theater has screened the latest independent productions from Europe and the U.S. as well as Icelandic narratives, documentaries and shorts. Covering one of the lobby walls is an eye-popping assortment of custom-made posters for each classic movie screened at the theater’s Svartir Sunnudagar (Black Sunday) retrospectives. The witty designs of these posters, some of which can be viewed here, resemble Criterion covers produced by Mad Magazine. I especially loved the mash-up of “Star Wars” and “The Night of the Hunter,” pasting the faces of Lillian Gish and Robert Mitchum onto Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker, respectively. Gish’s immortal line, “It’s a hard world for little things,” certainly applies to one of the most haunting pictures at RIFF 2018, Norwegian writer/director Camilla Strøm Henriksen’s debut feature, “Phoenix.” Newcomer Ylva Bjørkaas Thedin delivers a deeply moving performance as Jill, a girl on the cusp of celebrating her 14th birthday, who has taken on the role of her family’s sole parental figure. 

Like Ola, the astoundingly mature child single-handedly keeping her family afloat in Anna Zamecka’s great Polish documentary, “Communion,” Jill must perform all the duties normally reserved for adults, serving as the primary caregiver for both her younger brother, Bo (Casper Falck-Løvås), and her unstable mother, Astrid (Maria Bonnevie). The film’s superbly claustrophobic first half takes place within the shadowy confines of the family’s apartment, as Jill goes about her daily routine of coaxing Astrid out of bed, encouraging her to embrace a new job opportunity, reprimanding her for staying out late drinking and finally wrestling her to the ground after she endures another meltdown. It’s no coincidence that Jill happens to be watching “Pan’s Labyrinth” prior to this frightening episode, since her journey is fraught with peril that threatens to unspool into surreal fantasy. Though Astrid’s mental illness is never specified, Bonnevie’s wide eyes convey the desperation of her character as she strains to keep her volatile temper in check. Any given interaction can swiftly derail into chaos, with Astrid only finding temporary solace in crafting artworks, some of which threaten to take on a life of their own. Henriksen is sparing in her use of horror imagery, thus making their inclusion all the eerier, such as when the tendrils of a painting come alive, or when a John Carpenter-esque creature scuttles across the floor. Spawning each of these nightmares is the young protagonists’ palpable fear of being trapped in a world indifferent to their needs. No matter how much Astrid is loved by her children, she grimly informs them, “You aren’t enough.” 

After a galvanizing turn of events, traces of psychosis start to emerge in Jill’s own behavior, as she does everything in her power to protect her brother, who sees through all of his sister’s charades. Eventually their estranged father (Sverrir Gudnason) enters the picture, providing them with a dreamlike escape made all the more painful by its fleeting nature. Any hope that can be found in this story is personified by Jill herself, who is the phoenix rising from the ashes left by two parents unable to deal with the life they brought into the world. Her fierce self-sufficiency in on par with Jennifer Lawrence’s heroine in “Winter’s Bone,” and Thedin is exceptionally skilled at conveying emotions that her character finds too difficult to articulate, even early on while sitting next to a cute guy in class. An educational movie about rainforests projected onto the screen before them makes it appear as if the pair are being doused with water, externalizing the bracing sensation of Jill’s budding crush. It’s a brief yet potent example of Henriksen’s mastery as a visual storyteller. When Festival Director Hrönn Marinósdóttir founded RIFF with a group of cinema experts in 2004, his main desire was to champion fresh faces in cinema, reserving the annual event’s top prize—the Golden Puffin (shaped after the signature animal of Iceland)—for films by first or second-time directors. It would be quite fitting to see this year’s Puffin awarded to a most deserving “Phoenix.” 

Three of the titles screening at RIFF have been selected as finalists for the Lux Prize, an award presented by the European Parliament to honor films that shed light on the debate regarding integration throughout Europe. The last four recipients of the prize have been among my favorite films of recent years: Paweł Pawlikowski’s “Ida,” Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s “Mustang,” Maren Ade’s “Toni Erdmann” and Amanda Kernell’s lesser-known yet equally essential Swedish drama, “Sami Blood.” A worthy addition to this list would be the German-Austrian coproduction among the 2018 contenders, Wolfgang Fischer’s riveting thriller at sea, “Styx.” Named after the river in Greek mythology that runs between Earth and the Underworld, this film brilliantly portrays the moral decision facing us all in light of the ever-escalating refugee crisis. Environmental catastrophe spurred in no small part by America’s stubborn reliance on fossil fuels has caused various parts of the world to become increasingly uninhabitable, forcing those who live there to seek a new home, only to be confronted with one border wall after another. Are we to let these souls in need drown as a result of xenophobic protocol or should we lend a hand? That is the question a paramedic, Rieke (Susanne Wolff), must answer while aboard her small sailing boat in the middle of the ocean. Initially the film appears to be little more than another “woman in peril” spectacle, with Rieke battling driving rain and gale-force winds, yet this sequence is simply meant to further illustrate her expertise in acting quickly and effectively amidst daunting circumstances (a fact we see earlier as she tends to the innocent victim of a car accident). 

The desired destination of her ocean journey is the artificial forest created by Charles Darwin on Ascension Island, an enduring example of how the seemingly impossible can be achieved with the necessary effort and ingenuity. It was Darwin, of course, who famous noted, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” These words are never spoken in the picture, yet they reverberate through every scene, as Rieke spots a stagnant boat overcrowded with refugees on the imminent horizon. Her urgent “mayday” calls receive terse responses ordering her not to intervene until help arrives, even as people start falling from the boat and drowning. One injured boy, Kingsley (Gedion Oduor Wekesa), manages to swim to Rieke’s boat, and she helps him aboard, carefully lifting his body which falls limp as soon as he reaches safety. Kingsley’s need to rescue the surviving members on his sinking vessel, a group that includes his sister, intensifies the conflict welling up within Rieke. The emotionally charged moment when Kingsley grab her leg reminded me of a similar scene in the Dardenne Brothers’ “The Kid With a Bike,” where an orphaned kids clings to a random woman as if for dear life (both boys stand out all the more courtesy of their red clothing). Not only does Wolff bear a striking resemblance to the previous film’s leading lady, Cécile de France, she also embodies the bold and determined spirit of the classic Dardenne heroine. 

In a stunning overhead shot, Fischer surveys a triangle of vessels—Rieke’s sailboat firing distress signals, the nearby ship of dying refugees and an enormous boat perched comfortably in the distant mist, prioritizing job security over recused lives. Whereas Baltasar Kormákur fantastic survival drama, “Adrift,” screening at RIFF as part of a retrospective honoring jury head Shailene Woodley, is a triumph of special effects technology, Fischer went out of his way to shoot “Styx” practically, going so far as to having the crew remain below deck (half of them apparently got seasick). During a post-screening Q&A with the director, an audience member voiced her despair at how people often need works of fiction like “Styx” in order to empathize with the suffering of real people. Yet therein lies the profound purpose of cinema. No art form is more adept at lending a human face to emergencies frequently reduced to statistics on the 24-hour news cycle. 

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