#bbs ep12

[airenyah]

Bad Buddy (2021) | Moonlight Chicken (2023) Dir. Aof Noppharnach Chaiwimol

[waitmyturtles]

Okay: I am going in on my BBS OGMMTVC episode 12 rewatch.

What have I learned today, from a comments chat and then an offline chat with @bengiyo, @lurkingshan, and @twig-tea:

1) The infamous episode 12 preview after episode 11 preceded a

TWO- WEEK BREAK

in-between episode 11 and the finale. TWO WEEKS. YOU ALL HAD TO WAIT TWO WEEKS. I HAD. NO FUCKING IDEA. I had no clue. Two weeks.

[EDITING TO ADD: CORRECTION! Ben has let me know that the two-week break actually happened after episode 9. So the fandom only had one week between episodes 11 and 12. Ben confirms he still stands by everything else below -- and honestly, my critical viewpoint of this episode as enhanced by Shan, Ben, and Twig stand as well.]

2) Shan and Ben and I were talking about episode 12's structure. It was parts 1/4 AND 2/4 that kept up the premise that Pat and Pran had broken up. Half the episode.

Considering the depth of brilliance and meaning of episodes 10 and 11: I see Shan and Ben's point about docking points from BBS's perfection for the sake of the trick against the audience. Much to Ben and Shan's chagrin (I gotta stay typical), I would posit that there might be an argument for an extended demonstration of the INANITY of Pat and Pran HAVING to hide their relationship vis à vis the trauma they faced and face from their families. And parts 1/4 and 2/4 do capture some of Pat's commentary about the permanently fractured state of his relationship with his demanding father.

But I also agree that narratively, we could have used a lot more time to see HOW Pat and Pran came up with their strategy. To have seen them discuss and collaborate on that, in the 24 hours between leaving the eco-village and arriving at their families' doorsteps -- that would have been a conversation to behold.

Alas, what we got was the voiceover monologue citing Uncle Tong's "one man can't change the world/but the world can't change me" philosophy. I absolutely see Ben and Shan's point that we could have dug into that a lot deeper, and I agree, and I would have loved to see it.

We could have spent more time on Pran's decision to go to Singapore. As I get into Our Skyy 2 either tonight or this weekend, I'll be thinking about this. I have new theories on Singapore to share, but to Shan and Ben's point to me -- we could have had time to get more clarity in the finale, and we didn't.

So: I hear it, the criticism of the narrative structure of episode 12, and will absolutely be thinking about it as I watch, starting.... now.

[airenyah]

another reason why it could be set during the time skip between ep6 and 7: the trailer ends on this song in the background which is also the same song that plays during the ep7 montage

The Our Skyy 2 Bad Buddy trailer has premiered, and quite honestly they're not giving us much to go on (so don't set too much store by it). What I gather:

Archi and Engine rivalry is very much a thing still – both faculties have to put on a play, but the auditorium is only available for one. So Ajahn Pichai makes them compete to see who gets it ("The faculty that's more prepared gets the auditorium."). Sweeping the exterior grounds with large brooms and construction drawings with truss frames are somehow involved.

Pat and Pran seem to be aware of each other's feelings but their relationship is beset by rivalry, so it looks like the episodes are set as predicted during the timeskip after the Beachside Bet of BBS Ep.6 [4/4] and their sophomore year of BBS Ep.7, in the early part of their "rivalry as courtship" era. But you never know! 🤷‍♂️

A lot of backstage shenanigans between Pat and Pran, and the red backdrop is everywhere.

Their friend groups don't seem aware that the two have embarked on something romantic (i.e., they seem to be seeing only rivalry and competition), which fits placing this in the timeskip.

Wai seems much less like a troublemaker here though.

Pat's hair looks even more hideous than in the earlier Our Skyy 2 trailer. Not easy to make Ohm look bad, but they're managing somehow.

Ohm lost weight after Bad Buddy and looked much leaner in the series he did post-BBS. Strangely he looks bigger in this trailer, almost Pat-sized again (maybe it's the hair and faculty jacket). Nanon looks much the same.

They've changed the filming location for their university, so the ambience is different.

Ink and Pa are in it! And Ink is feeding Pa with shrimp (again). It looks like another hotpot in someone's dorm.

But Pat calls himself "Nong Pat" and asks to be fed shrimp by Pran in front of Ink and Pa. What gives?

Pat and Pran bunk over in that same dorm room (it's not Tinidee), with a tent and Christmas lights – it looks like a planned romantic getaway, but one they're forced to hold indoors away from public view maybe. Their energy there is tender, softer and more vulnerable. And mutual.

They're also seen in a lift for the company Hightem Construction, not LogTech, but they're wearing "Visitor" tags all the same.

Pran wears The Watch, and his PP hobo bag puts in an appearance too.

There are cheek kisses but nothing on the scale of The Rooftop Kiss.

Pat and Pran do some sort of deal behind the scenes, in front of their laptops, sealed with a fistbump.

As noted before by @miscellar and @dribs-and-drabbles (see these links here and here 😍) you CAN'T trust a trailer by Director Aof, so we have six days to find out how much of the above holds true and how much of it turns out to be wool pulled over our eyes. 😂

Waiting on tenterhooks all the same! 😍 And counting down to 31 May 2023... 💖

 ‌

[villadeimisteri]

the list (non exhaustive) of daniel ep12 moments:

emotional recovery period - took 10 seconds from seeing the coffin to being open being fucked in it, "are you the zodiac killer" to "do the fangs thing" pipeline

cheshire cat face at seeing the drugs backgammon set

a bit too enthusiastic for gay4drugs opportunity, and his confused puppy headtilt when he realised it's not necessary

his gay coked out demeanor

supportive drunk girl in womens club bathroom energy while louis is screaming lestat slander in the tape recorder

actually the entire danlou 'two dumb bitches telling eo exactly' vibe

"get off that bench brother"

believing his dick sucking skills are enough to get him out of the psychological and physical saw trap

"this feet in the block shit is bullshit!"

"no point. except FUCK YOUR BOYFRIEND"

"i don't want to rest; i like my life" (oh daniel bb)

him realising the origin of louis' speech and what it's done for him

[mahuhumaling]

why pran singing the unfinished version of "our song" is one of my top 5 fav bbs scenes

EXT. PRASERTSILP HIGH SCHOOL CAMPUS — DAY

adding a layer to highschool!patpran by introducing us to their juniors specifically in their music club is cute and clever.

this show has a great habit of establishing things early on (pran starts writing the song in EP2 shortly after applying in EP1) and paying it off before the show ends. the Chekhov's Gun Principle approves.

we get confirmation from p'aof (?) that pran's guitar is a metaphor for pat and his relationship with him.

forbidding to play it, it being kept for years and returned (= university reunion), then at EP12 dissaya getting it herself and laying it for her son to play... yeah.

pat also being smart because he knows exactly how to get to pran, by making a deal.

this scene is so easy breezy. that even though they're in public now, there are no more pretenses. they get to be comfortable.

also wait! cute goof up. they decided to keep that in because it's natural. i think his forehead got hit by the guitar, haha.

speaking of natural, thank you that pran did some testing and tuning because no one immediately remembers the chords and plays it. lol

and then, when pran actually starts playing, the lighting changes. he looks more angel-like.

p'aof said that the windy effect wasn't on purpose. sir i'm glad you shot this scene like this, even though it must've been hard to pick up audio, because it looks so good.

again, natural. pran sing so slowly because he's trying to remember the lyrics.

i kind of bashed episode 3's guitar hallway scene because the background music didn't make way for pran playing the guitar. there was music on top of music it was kind of annoying lmao but

they made it up with this scene. they let only the sound of the wind, the strings, and nanon's voice take over quietly.

hats off to Pat's multitasking and attention though?? deciphering the lyrics and then stopping to admire Pran. brooo. you're so down bad.

but seriously, the simplicity in their looks. we see in the show's first half how and why pran fell in love with pat, so now we see here the vice versa. (pun not intended)

i have a feeling the song draft actually ends at the previous line, about the sky, sea, or other kind of splendor.

but pran improvises the beginning of the refrain right here. because when he can serenade to pat like this, he can finally answer the question in the first verse.

because see how he stops and looks up before and after he sings this line: it felt like he wasn't recalling, but rather making up one on the spot.

this scene was simply a masterclass of the simplicity of romantic chemistry. the fondness in the eyes. the succeeding revelation of pat's memory.

remember when tumblr user absolutebl said nanon emotes with his eyes? because yes. god yes.

look at him. pran is very surprised. but what is more on the surface are warmth and affection once he learns of this fact and that hears it from pat himself.

i love how nanon chooses to fall into a trance-like state while looking at pat, so much that pran has to visibly shake himself off of it by blinking and looking away to continue the sincere conversation playfully. he's so INFJ for this.

we end with pran learning that pat has liked him back just as long as him, which makes both him and i happy.

the lack of awareness pat has with the nature of feelings he has for pran doesn't invalidate its existence: that it's romantic in nature.

[x.]

MY TOP 5 FAVORITE BAD BUDDY SCENES

(In no actual order)

3 - Broken Bus Stop Redesigning

5 - Fight in the Dorm Parking Lot

10 - Pran Sings "Our Song" Draft

10 - InkPa in the Darkroom

12 - Dissaya Watches Ming

[dimplesandfierceeyes]

@dudeyuri

WOAH WOAH WOAH! HOLD UP!!

I was so caught up on the time thing that I didn't even notice that Pat had the tarot cards for TEMPERANCE and JUSTICE as his phone background! Are you shitting me?

TEMPERANCE, which symbolises moderation, self-restraint, and accommodation!!

JUSTICE, which represents finding balance and righteousness.

Both major arcana cards that represent cardinal virtues alongside Strength, which represents courage and fortitude.

Not that these things have anything to do with PatPran's story, Pat's character in particular, or have been major narrative themes through both Our Skyy episodes, or anything 🙃

Oh, P'Aof, you are truly back on your bullshit and I, for one l, am ecstatic about it

This man panicked so hard he actually ran backwards through time

[charthanry]

OS2xBBS: My Overall Thoughts

This is severely overdue, but I wanted to distance myself from these episodes to make sure that 1) regency bias didn’t seep through and 2) my thoughts don’t get clouded by the cute, swoony moments (all the kissing!) in an attempt to mask deeper plot and characterization issues, and 3) with some difficulty, I try to set aside how desperately I wanted OhmNanon’s reunion with PatPran to live up to the OG series.

So, to address the last item, for the most part OhmNanon’s chemistry was still alive and well, save for a few hiccups. This is a testament to two very experienced professionals. That said, my biggest gripe with these special episodes was the treatment of the Pat and Pran characters that has nothing to do with the actors.

It didn’t feel like a true crossover of two beloved series but instead felt like Pat and Pran’s presence were more like afterthoughts thrown into an ATOTS script. Pat and Pran were merely there to serve Phupha and Tian’s story and that is were I take great issue. In this case, Ohm and Nanon should not have been billed as main leads but rather supporting characters that have extended guest arcs in an ATOTS sequel.

Maybe setting plays a larger role here. I’ve asked myself if I would feel this way if Phupha and Tian got thrown into Pat and Pran’s university life instead. But I can’t imagine a storyline where the inverse of what we got makes sense since PatPran are the more established couple and PhuTian have no reason to leave PPD.

My wish was that instead of a crossover, P’Aof would have let BBS stand on its own even if it meant we got two fewer episodes out of it. While we did get glimpses of Pat and Pran’s life three-years into their relationship, it felt watered down because they weren’t in their own environment but a borrowed one. So, really, more like seeing them while on vacation than anything truly concrete. A lot of ‘what have Pat and Pran been up to and where are they in their relationship’ was left to viewer interpretation, which is all fine and well if what P’Aof had to say about the state of their relationship made any sense.

Fake fighting and cute hijinks aside (Ohm and Nanon can sell these type of scenes in their sleep); what I’m after is the meatier stuff like the end of EP4, the entirety of EP5, EP10, EP11 and EP12. Where is the Pran that got choked up when Pat revealed he ran after him with his guitar; who gripped his hand when Pat volunteered to fake break up to win back Pran’s friends and wordlessly said I’m here to stay. Where is the “but I care about you more” Pran? 

And where is the Pat who communicated so openly with his man? Who served as a walking advertisement of what it means to be a soaring green flag to all those who came before and after him? Why was he reduced to an amalgamation of Harry and Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber? Make it make sense, P’Aof. Pat never, ever, not once, came off as a dumb himbo in the OG series, so why was he reduced to that here?

The script could have been so much better, tighter, just more substantial. And we can't even say that P'Aof didn't have the space to include a meaningful story for them; I call bullshit on this notion. There's so much story that you can tell in a single hour. We've seen him do it with the BBS pilot.

It felt like so very little thought went into the BBS side of the story. Does P’Aof not know how to write established relationships in a compelling way? I know this can't be true because he gave us EP12, but why did it feel like he phoned it in with these bonus episodes? It’s like P’Aof knew he had both boys for a limited time and just threw the entire kitchen sink at them and anything that stuck made it into the final cut. Like, he relied heavily on the actors to bring it home for him. And that really wasn't fair to Ohm or Nanon who really did the best they could with what they were given.

I mean, even if he wanted to show the (realistic) cracks in their relationship, there were so many better ways to show this than have Pran essentially running away, avoiding Pat (basically regressing to who he was pre-relationship) and then treating Pat like a bumbling Barney Fife for following him? There was no fire in either of them to fight for or with one another. They were shown to have grown complacent (and dare I say taking each other for granted?) which is so at odds with what we got in the OG series that I was confused at what I was watching onscreen. It did not feel like a continuation of EP11 leading to EP12, in fact it felt very disconnected from their origin story.

Pat Jindapat. What they did to my guy was a travesty. They took away all his depth and cast him in the role of a bumbling idiot. Don't get me wrong, OG Pat had his comedic moments but I felt like OS2 veered so far into the extreme of 'lets bring the funny' that it fell completely flat. It was NOT funny. It was disappointing and sad to see one of my favorite characters reduced to this cartoon version.

More than senselessly reducing Pat to cannon fodder to merely serve as comic relief, I'm upset that Pran's growth from the series was essentially negated to where he became, in some ways, unrecognizable. More than once, it felt like Pran was just tolerating Pat's presence rather than basking or gravitating towards it. Again, so inconsistent for a guy who longed for his man for literal YEARS.

Gone are the days of "I'm done adapting" or adoringly staring at the space Pat used to occupy with heart eyes. I just don't get how we went from that Pran to this Pran to the Pran who readily committed his life to Pat in EP12. This in-between Pran is a stranger to me.

Final words: I'm both grateful that we got extra scenes with our boys but at the same time wish P'Aof had left them untainted.

[lost-my-sanity1]

MY SCHOOL PRESIDENT my beloved 😭

gun actively wanting to take a selfie with tinn threw tinn so out of the loop. them looking at each other's eyes.

GUN BEING THE FIRST ONE TO LOOK AT TINN'S LIPS when they were up close

no seriously tinn's hands shaking while he was linking his and gun's pinkies together was top tier like how am I supposed to move on from that?

BBS PARALLEL. of course tinn watched bbs and forgot which episode he was in so he did the ep12 thing in ep4 😭🤧

the stairs? both away from public eye, tinn getting a silent alone moment with his crush, supporting and motivating him, telling him to be himself? stairs my beloved.

TIW × GUN friendship. (even tho it was just supporting gun on his decisions on the student council room)

TIW.

sound and the band merging without it being toxic. they welcomed sound and sound went so willingly. (damn I thought he was gonna be arrogant and throw some tantrums and bad mouth them)

tinn letting gun go.

[that reminds me of "mohabbat hain is liye jaane diya... zidd hoti toh baahon mein hoti. -Jazbaa, 2015.

which roughly translates to "it's love, that's why i let go had there been stubbornness, she would have been in the arms"]

gun bringing celebratory bbq pork to tinn.

gun..... likes tinn?😭

also gmmtv normalizing having academic rivals without turning them into a rivals to lovers story (after infecting us with bad buddy brain rot cuz they knew we would try to think of it as something else like sound was tinn's ex or smthg....?)

[dudeyuri]

bad buddy fandom getting-to-know-you meme!

note: i consider "fanworks" to pretty much everything people create related to a fandom, including but not limited to meta/analysis/discussion, gifs, fanvids/edits/fancams, filk, fanart, fanfic, fan food, fan crafts, etc. please include this note with the meme unless you have a different definition!

name and whatever you want to share about yourself

hi i’m yarrow, she/her, i’m 28, i’m bisexual, i’m having the time of my life. i live in NY. if you’re a mutual who also lives in NY by any chance we should be friends

when did you watch bad buddy/join the fandom?

watching bad buddy was the first thing i did this year and it didn’t take me long after to make this blog. it hit me so unbelievably hard, i was reeling, i’m still reeling. i know i’m preaching to the choir but for me it’s unlike anything i’ve loved before. i had been out of fandom for like. almost ten years. before bbs (and a small handful of other beloved thai bls) yanked me back in

favorite ship(s)

well you know. the obvious one. inkpa too OF COURSE. waikorn cracks me up even if i’m a nonbeliever. i loved whatever was happening between pat, pran, phupha, and tian. and i also love, in a platonic way, pran’s dynamic with ink (he makes fun of her bracelet/fakes her out by saying he also liked her…as a friend. it’s very endearing very sibling-in-law) and pran’s dynamic with pa (in bbs but also in bbsos2) 

favorite character(s)

god how to choose between pat and pran. they are both characters of all time. well-developed with idiosyncrasies and penchants for lying and performing and slipping into roles and reversing roles. especially when they’re with each other of course. i might choose pran simply because i see more of myself in pat if that makes sense

favorite episode(s)

it’s probably episode 5, or episode 11. both these episodes just take everything out of me. you know why. runners up: episode 3 and episode 12. this is hard to pick because there is not a single episode i wouldn't enjoy (lol) randomly rewatching. all bangers no skips

favorite scene(s)

i love the scene in episode 4 of pat telling pran his dimples are cute. episode 5 fight scene my beloved. then there's the entirety of the bet era like aside from how perfect it is for pat and pran…it’s just peak romance, peak build-up, such a pleasure to watch. i reeeeeally do love the fantasy sequence of pat and pran eating dinner with pran’s parents in episode 11, i’m fascinated by it in a meta sense but also it hurts so good. i like ming and dissaya hearing pat and pran laughing and singing together in pran’s room in ep12 and being utterly powerless to stop it. it’s like, the show didn’t necessarily need all of ep 12, but it was such a welcome and fitting epilogue to these beloved characters and their love. pat and pran are gonna be alright... 

one thing you would change about the show if you could

i really appreciate all of its imperfections honestly but. it would have to be the aftermath of wai outing pat and pran. even in my first watch it was a head scratcher that pran was expected to be the one apologizing. it just didn’t add up. there was a weight behind what was happening that the show didn’t realize. i can rationalize it and explain it away to make wai somewhat less heinous in universe but it really should have been treated as what it was: an outing. also yes let ink and pa kiss.

what are your some of your favorite fanworks made by other people? 

you know i’m a sucker for @kit-teung's art

and for @hereforlou's art. pure domestic bliss that pat and pran have EARNED. this is the fanart reimaginings they deserve. also i love their little cowlicks

@miscellar's meta series the comprehensive shrek breakdown of pat and pran's story in our skyy (particularly for ep3 which i linked). i was in the trenches those two weeks in late may/early june and these posts (and their dms) were my guiding light...all of miscellar's meta is extremely baller and forever on the bbs 101 syllabus in my mind. and for some reason i’m waiting to read more bad buddy fanfiction until after i finish my own BBS fic but I’m excited to read their zombie patpran. so it gets an honorable mention here + they get so many anons singing its praise like i literally can't wait

also I’m not on Twitter much at all but the other day I read @dimplesandfierceeyes's pinned thread and listen it got me through the day. just read it if you haven't.

@transpat's "pre-relationship patpran and haq" post about the unspoken entitlement they entrust each other with. a deep dive into their pre-relationship dynamic. it's so good. an all-time bbs meta

@ranchthoughts (and me a little) talking about Pran's "Pat you've got to stop doing this to me" line in ep 5 here. i fucking LOVE this line and this meta. ranch's baseball mom shirt meta also required reading

"Bad Buddy, Tragedy, and Queer Futures" essay by @chickenstrangers, another all-time bbs meta, required reading. i go back to this one a lot

(if you create fanworks) what are your favorite fanworks that you’ve made?

my favorite bbs fanwork I’ve made is the unreleased patpran timeloop WIP that has been burning a hole in my gdocs for the past month. i’m having so much fun writing it but wow it’s also driving me up the fucking wall (affectionate)

i also really enjoyed all the meltdowns in the tags/notes when i posted this about that ep11 scene i love. and then this is my love letter to bbs, i think it still holds up idk my bbs os2-induced manic episode is all a blur.

idk anything else you want us to know?

thanks @fiercynn this was so cute 

i’m tagging some mutuals who post about bbs fairly often who i havent seen do this yet (i think?? i’ve been kind of absent lately). if i didn’t tag you and you want to do it please do, you can say i tagged you <3

@chickenstrangers @miscellar @hereforlou @ranchthoughts @midnightfreeway @philologique @neonsbian

[writingforfun0714]

Hey all was going through the links cuz something happened when Tumblr updated and I couldn’t find Chapter 3 of my Bad Batch fanfic Older Sister

Link for all chapters

CH3 takes place during BB ep12 “Rescue on Ryloth”

Here’s Chapter 3

Tech is piloting the Marauder through space with Echo in the copilot seat with Hunter and Wrecker behind them. Omega is showing Maisy how to repair Gonky’s prime power source, trying to get her mind off of telling Hunter about giving out their personal information. Omega takes the spanner and accidentally fries Gonky’s control panel briefly with a small zap of electricity. Smoke sizzles and Gonky beeps. Maisy gasps and Omega’s eyes widen.

“Uh-oh-“ Omega says.

“What’s going on here?” Hunter asks, looking between the 2 girls and the gonk droid.

“Gonky’s prime power source won’t fully charge. I’m showing Maisy how to fix it,” Omega explains and the Youngling nods happily.

“You can’t. He’s a defective unit,” Hunter explains, putting a hand on Omega’s shoulder before walking back to the cockpit. Gonky’s low-pitched beep sounds sad.

“Don’t worry, we’re defective too,” Omega assures the droid. That’s when an alerting beep sounds, getting Tech’s attention. He turns in his chair to look back at Hunter.

“We are receiving a recorded transmission, but I do not recognize this frequency,” Tech tells the sergeant.

“Patch it through,” Hunter says and Tech does so.

A hologram of Hera, kneeling, appears.

“Omega-Maisy-it’s Hera. You have to come back to Ryloth,” Hera says urgently. Maisy’s eyes widen and she gasps quietly.

“Isn’t she the kid from the weapons drop?” Wrecker asks, recognizing the young female Twi’lek. Omega hurries forward with Maisy trailing after her.

“Hera?” Omega asks.

“The Empire’s taken my parents, and they’re after me now too,” Hera warns, “I’m sending coordinates. Please hurry. I need your help,” Hera pleads. Hunter looks at the girls and judging by Maisy’s guilty face and she’s trying to hide behind Omega, tells Hunter everything he needs to know. He looks at the Youngling, who’s clinging to Omega’s thigh. He sighs.

“You gave her our comm channel?” Hunter asks accusingly. Maisy’s grip on Omega tightens and she steps in front of the girl as if to protect her from Hunter.

“For emergencies, and that sounded pretty urgent,” Omega argues, “we have to go.”

“Perhaps the situation is not as dire as described. Children often overreact,” Tech interjects, getting their attention.

“No we don’t!” Omega and Maisy reply simultaneously, as if taking the comment personally.

“You heard her. She needs us,” Omega insists, looking back at Hunter.

“Girls, it’s a big galaxy,” Hunter says, gently placing both hands on one of both girls’ shoulders.

“We can’t put ourselves on the line every time someone’s in trouble,” Hunter says.

“Why not? Isn’t that what soldiers do?” Omega asks, causing the sergeant to falter slightly.

“You helped me when I needed someone…why can’t we help Hera?” Maisy asks. Hunter looks to the others for help and they all cannot meet his look.

“Well I suppose the girls do have a point,” Tech comments. Hunter nods and looks to Echo, who nods as well. The ARC trooper had heard of Ryloth mostly from the 212th. This wasn’t like Raxus, though with the Imperial occupation, it might as well have been.

“Tech, plot a course with the coordinates Hera sent,” Hunter orders and Tech nods before the ship flies back to Ryloth.

They fly through the atmosphere and head down to the rocky surface, heading towards a small canyon.

Tech weaves through the rocky walls to get to a well hidden, lit space that is clearly the rendezvous.

“C’mon,” Omega tells Maisy as the ship finishes landing and the door opens. The girls walk down the stairs first with the rest of the Batch following behind.

Omega and Maisy look around for Hera as they walk, when a droid beeps, making his presence known. The girls watch as Chopper, Hera’s droid friend hurries towards them, waving his droid hands. Omega stops the orange, yellow and white droid before he could slam into the Youngling.

“What’s his problem?” Wrecker asks as Omega pushes Maisy back slightly.

“Thank you for coming,” Hera announces as she steps forward.

“I wasn’t sure you would,” Hera admits.

“You said you were in trouble,” Omega says before Hunter steps forward.

“Care to tell us why the Empire is after you?” Hunter asks the young Twi’lek girl.

“Because my father is Cham Syndulla,” Hera tells the sarge.

“The freedom fighter?” Tech asks, clearly having heard the name before.

“Yes. This was his old command outpost. It’s where I’ve been hiding. The Empire’s begun targeting anyone loyal to him,” Hera explains since the Batch left before everything went down.

“What do you want us to do?” Echo asks.

“Free my parents from the Capitol. That’s where they’re being held,” Hera tells the ARC trooper. They all share an unsure, uncertain look.

“They can pay you if you get them out,” Hera adds hastily, sensing that the soldiers aren’t on board yet.

“Please? I don’t have anyone else to ask,” Hera begs. Maisy immediately nods determined, though Omega looks up at Hunter, hoping he’d agree.

But when Hunter just has his arms crossed over his chest, Omega decides to approach her friend. The young clone nods at Hera and Maisy keeps pushing his leg slightly.

“Say yes Hunter. Say yes,” Maisy whispers. Hunter shuts his eyes before looking down at the Youngling and then at the older girls.

“Let’s see what we’re up against first. But no guarantees,” Hunter adds when the girls light up. Omega frowns slightly at Hunter’s hastily added warning. Hera’s face falls and Maisy pouts, crossing her scrawny arms over her chest.

Memories of what happened before meeting Omega and the Bad Batch flash through Maisy’s mind. In her desperate time of need, she wished she had someone help her. Of course T8-02, the droid that helped her escape Coruscant is the whole reason she’s alive, but the girl wished she had someone to talk to besides the droid. But they were all killed by clones. Maisy remembers how she cried out for help, begging, pleading, until she ran into the maintenance droid. The helplessness, even now, feels so real and Maisy wouldn’t wish the feeling on her worst enemies. She knows this must be how Hera’s feeling, wanting to save her family. That’s what Maisy had wanted to. To save her Master and the other Younglings she considered to be siblings. Feeling tears well in her eyes, Maisy stomps her feet lightly as she walks up to Hera and Omega before wordlessly reaching out and hugging Hera’s legs tightly, unable to keep the tears from falling.

“Maisy? What’s wrong?” Omega asks. Maisy sniffles wetly and presses her face into Hera’s thigh with her arms wrapped as far as she can around the older Twi-lek girl.

“Hera needs us…can’t leave them…hafta help,” is all the little girl says. Hera blinks at the little girl wrapped around her right thigh before shifting the girl so she can kneel down properly hug her. The Twi’lek feels the little girl shaking a bit with emotion. Hera shares a look with Omega, who shrugs slightly, not knowing what brought on this sudden wave of emotion. Hunter approaches and gently places a hand on Maisy’s back, causing the Youngling to look up at the sergeant.

“Let’s see what we’d be dealing with,” Hunter suggests, repeating what he said earlier. Maisy sniffles wetly and swipes her hand under her nose before wiping away her tears with her sleeves before nodding.

“Ok,” the Youngling says. Omega gives the girl a small smile that the Maisy tries to return, but it’s more sad before Omega offers her hand to the younger girl. Maisy takes Omega’s hand and they all gather around to figure out the best vantage point.

After a bit of hiking, the group finds a good, high vantage point to look down on the Capitol. Chopper has his scanner out and is playing the local broadcast. It��s Admiral Rampart.

“But the perpetrators of this heinous assassination attempt have been captured,” the man says.

“Assassination attempt?” Hunter asks, lowering his binocs, glancing at Hera.

“Rest assured, Cham Syndulla and his insurgents will answer for their betrayal-” the man over the transmission continues.

“That’s not what happened!” Hera argues when the soldiers look at her.

“Hunter…Crosshair’s here,” Omega warns the sergeant. Maisy had heard of Crosshair, mostly from Omega and Wrecker. He’s the group’s 5th brother, a sniper, but Omega told her they were separated and now wants to work for the Empire. Maisy wished she could’ve gotten to know Crosshair and Omega assured her that once they rescue him, they’ll get to be friends too.

Hunter uses his binocs to look down on the crowded square until he spots his lean, slightly lanky brother in all black armor with a lighted visor and his signature sniper blaster.

“Great. Just what we need,” Wrecker comments before Hunter motions for them to move out with a simple finger circle. The boys all move out while the girls just exchange a worried glance before staying to keep a look out.

“The plasma bridge into the city’s been deactivated,” Hunter says.

“Well, I say we fly in and blow our way out,” Wrecker suggests.

“The Capitol scanners would detect our ship,” Tech argues, “I don’t like the look of this.”

“The troop presence here is similar to that of Raxus,” Tech adds.

“This is a military occupation-“ Tech says.

“Ryloth’ s not a Separatist planet,” Echo interrupts, arguing.

“Exactly my point,” Tech tells him.

Unaware to the group at first, a probe droid lurks behind the rock pillar, spying on the Bad Batch. Hunter senses a change in the air. To him, it’s a metallic smell along with slight pressure between his eyes. Not enough to cause a headache, but enough to get his attention. He glances to the side.

“Wait here,” Hunter tells the rest of them, motioning for his brothers to stay put.

The probe droid spies on Echo, Wrecker and Tech, still gathered and appearing to be talking. The droid zooms in on them just as Hunter drops down from climbing the rock pillar and grabs the probe droid. He pulls out his vibroknife and stabs the probe droid’s main eye. It beeps, sparking a bit and falls to the ground with Hunter landing beside it. The girls gasp and see the destroyed probe droid behind them. Hunter pulls out the knife and sheaths it back on his forearm.

“Oh good, a probe droid,” Tech says sarcastically. The girls and Chopper gather around the destroyed droid.

“The Empire will know we’re here,” Tech warns.

“And so will Crosshair. C’mon, let’s move,” Hunter says. Maisy, remembering the clones that turned on her and the other Jedi, quickly follows the boys and Omega grabs Hera’s wrist.

“Come on,” Omega says and pulls Hera along with her as she runs to catch up. Chopper chatters and rolls after Hera.

Meanwhile…

Crosshair is patrolling the square when one of his new squad mates approach.

“Command received a transmission from a probe droid in sector 5,” they tell Crosshair, handing him a data pad. The sniper takes it and watches the recorded video. Because the droid is focused on Echo, Wrecker and Tech, Crosshair is oblivious to Omega, Maisy and Hera.

Crosshair glances up at the rock pillar that he knows is in sector 5. That’s where they were…they were here, Crosshair thinks. He knows after his meeting with his brothers on Bracca that there’s little chance that they’d actually try and rescue him. But a small part of him, deep, deep down…had hoped that they were here for him. It’s not like it was his choice to get taken when they were imprisoned on Kamino. Hunter had wanted to go back for…for some girl he didn’t even know…but not for his own brother.

“Keep patrolling. I’ll report this to Admiral Rampart,” Crosshair orders his squad mate, who nods as Crosshair walks away.

The Batch manage to fly back to the abandoned outpost where they met Hera and get away without hassle.

“All my father wanted was peace on Ryloth,” Hera says, her arms crossed, “Why is this happening?” She asks.

“He’s a voice the people stand behind. That makes him a threat to the Empire,” Echo tells the Twi’lek girl.

“I don’t care about any of that. I just want my parents back,” Hera says. Chopper chatters and skips the steps with his rocket as Tech follows the droid.

“We’re all over the Imperial comm channels,” Tech announces, “They’ve increased patrols within the city.”

“Crosshair will expect an attack,” Hunter says, “The element of surprise is gone. There’s nothing we can do,” Hunter says. Maisy’s eyes widen.

“Wait! You can’t leave!” Hera begs.

“I told you no guarantees,” Hunter argues.

“We’ll get you off world and take you some place safe,” Hunter tells Hera.

“Stop!” Hera pleads, grabbing Hunter’s right forearm, causing him to stop and look at the girl.

“I’ll pay you double!” She begs.

“All the money in the galaxy won’t matter if we’re dead,” Hunter argues, glancing at Omega and Maisy. Ever since the Batch adopted Maisy, he had told Cid that no matter the job, the girls had to come first, especially since they were all 99% sure Maisy’s a Jedi.

“What you’re asking us to do, it’s not worth the risk,” Hunter tells Hera. Maisy gasps and Omega frowns slightly at the sergeant.

“Not to you,” Hera argues before walking away.

“Hera! Wait!” Maisy exclaims and hurries after the Twi’lek and her droid.

“You shouldn’t have said that,” Omega scrutinizes Hunter before hurrying after Maisy and their new friend.

“Being strategic means knowing your limitations, Omega,” Hunter argues.

“She’s trying to save her family Hunter. I’d do the same for you,” Omega tells him before walking off to the 2 girls, leaving Hunter to think on Omega’s words. Hunter turns around and heads back to the ship to talk with the rest of the squad while the girls talk with Hera.

“Hunter didn’t mean it,” Maisy tries telling Hera, who’s sitting on the ground with her legs pulled up. Chopper beeps at his Twi’lek friend before she sighs and turns to him.

“I don’t need a lecture Chop,” she says. He beeps again.

“I didn’t give up! He did!” Hera argues with her droid.

“Hunter means well,” Omega says, approaching the 3 of them.

“I know you’re scared, but don’t give up. He’ll come around,” Omega tells Hera.

“Why do you trust him so much?” Hera asks Omega.

“Because he’s my brother,” she explains.

“Brother? Him?” Hera asks and she nods.

“They all are,” Omega tells her.

“You’re lucky,” Hera says sadly. Omega walks up and kneels down in front of Hera and Maisy, facing the Twi’lek.

“You can trust them too. All we need to do is think of a plan and convince Hunter,” Omega says.

“Omega’s right,” Maisy agrees.

“Why would he listen to me?” Hera asks.

“Because it’s strategic. Ryloth is your home. You know it better than us,” Omega explains.

“Yes…I do,” Hera agrees. Chopper chatters and rotates his head back and forth as if shaking it.

The 3 girls and Chopper head back onto the Marauder to talk with the rest of the squad about their plan.

“Attack the Capitol? Wh—That was my plan!” Wrecker says.

“Not the Capitol. The Imperial refinery on the outskirts,” Omega corrects.

“I’ve been spying on their activity,” Hera says as Chopper projects a holographic map of the refinery, highlighting points of interest. The boys all gather around to listen to the plan.

“I know their routine. If we attack there, reinforcements will be diverted from the Capitol,” Hera says.

“We can use that distraction to rescue Hera’s parents,” Omega says glancing at Hera with a smile.

“Any heavy defenses at the refinery?” Echo asks.

“5 perimeter cannons, but they are unmanned,” Hera answers, pointing them out on the holographic map.

“Auto cannons are extremely vulnerable. Where is the control console?” Tech asks.

“Right inside the main gate,” Hera says, pointing at the main gate.

“It is heavily guarded but Chopper can slip inside with the other droids and disable the cannons,” Hera explains. Hunter thinks about the plan as Hera looks at him, nervous.

“All right. You 3 go with Chopper as backup, but at a distance,” Hunter says, stressing that last part. The girls all brighten in excitement and surprise.

“Really?” They all ask simultaneously.

“By themselves?” Tech asks with that ‘are you crazy’ undertone to his voice. Hunter nods.

“Omega, you’re in charge. I’m counting on you to keep an eye on Maisy,” Hunter says and she nods.

“And Maisy, you follow Omega’s orders like they’re my own, understand? Don’t question Omega and stay close to her at all times,” Hunter says. If he’s being honest, he’d rather Maisy stay on the ship with Tech and Wrecker, but there is a chance that they’d get shot down and the girls would be hiding, safe. And he also wants to see if Omega can handle the responsibility. Maisy nods.

“Yes sir,” she replies.

“Tech, Wrecker, wait until those cannons are down and move in. Echo and I will scale the Capitol wall and free Hera’s parents,” Hunter tells them before looking at Hera.

“I guess we’ll follow your lead,” he says. She nods once at the sergeant.

Tech drops the girls off on a ridge that overlooks the refinery. It’s a good vantage point for looking at the main gate. Hera and Omega both have binocs, but Maisy pretends with her hands cupped around her eyes. Chopper has already made his way closer to the refinery.

“We are in position,” Hera says on her comms to Chopper.

A ship lands and Twi’leks and droids step out. The girls watch as clones point them towards the main gate, unaware Chopper is among the droids, but he quickly splits off from the group and goes around in the shadows.

“What’s going on?” Maisy whispers, nudging Omega, though Omega just waves a hand at the girl to be quiet. Maisy pouts. She wants to be helpful too, but without a pair of binocs, she can’t really tell what’s happening. Hunter didn’t have another extra pair, the one he did have is now Omega’s and Hera just had the one pair.

“They’re approaching the checkpoint,” Omega says and Maisy blinks and looks. All see sees are little dots walking towards the gate.

“Get ready Chop,” Hera tells her droid.

Omega and Hera watch through their binocs as Chopper casually joins the group. He rolls with the droids and they make it through. Chop makes sure no one is paying attention before veering off from the group to find the control console.

Chop slows to a stop when he spots the console. He beeps when he sees an astromech droid at the console. Careful to approach from behind, Chopper uses the shadows and comes up right behind the droid at the console and electrocutes it before pushing it out of the way. Chopper sticks in his scomp and plugs in. He beeps worriedly over the comms.

“What do you mean it won’t work? You said you could disable the cannons!” Hera argues. Maisy and Omega’s eyes widen.

“I think I see him!” Maisy points. She sees the orange top of Chopper’s head in the distance before spotting 2 white dots approaching. Clone troopers!

“We have to help Chopper,” Hera insists. Maisy looks down at the white dots that are clone troopers and shuts her eyes, focusing. She takes a few breaths before reaching her right arm out.

“Maisy? What’re you doing?” Hera asks. Omega looks down at Maisy and watches in confusion.

“Maisy?” Omega asks. She watches Maisy make a face as if she’s trying….trying hard. At what, the older girls do not know, until Omega looks through her binocs.

“W-Wait—“ Omega says, noticing the troopers with Chop suddenly stop and they suddenly drop their guns and their hands come up to their necks and start grasping at some invisible pain. Hera notices as well. Even Chopper realizes something’s wrong when he sees the 2 troopers acting weird.

“What is happening?!” Hera asks worriedly. Omega looks at Maisy and her eyes widen when she realizes that..somehow…Maisy is doing this.

“Maisy! Maisy stop!” Omega says, shaking the girl, making the younger girl lose her concentration. Maisy drops her arm tiredly and seems to pant with exhaustion. When Omega looks back at the clone troopers through her binocs, she sees them gasping for air, with their helmets off, their hands around their necks. Omega frowns and looks down at Maisy. She’ll definitely have to tell Hunter about that.

“I’m..sorry…I didn’t mean to…I wanted to help-“ Maisy says.

“Sshh, sshh, it’s ok. We’ll get Chop, but first, we need to take the console off-line,” Omega assures the younger girl who she considers to be her little sister. Maisy nods.

“Uh-how are we gonna do that?” Hera asks Omega.

“With one of those,” Omega says, pointing to the shuttles.

“You said you wanted to be a pilot, right?” Omega asks.

“Yeah?” Hera replies unsure.

“Well—come on!” Omega says. Hera nods as Omega grabs Maisy’s hand and the girls hurry down towards the shuttle landing area.

The girls manage to sneak in and hide underneath a landing platform.

“My parents would never approve of this plan,” Hera whispers.

“We won’t tell if you won’t,” Omega says and Maisy nods in agreement before peeking out.

“We’re clear,” Maisy tells them and they hurry out and run up the open platform and into the ship, taking the lift up to the cockpit.

Hera takes the pilot seat while Omega and Maisy take the gunners mount. Suddenly, Omega’s comm beeps.

“Omega, has Chopper deactivated the perimeter cannons?” Tech asks over the comms.

“No…but we’re working on it. Just don’t shoot down our shuttle,” Omega says.

“Wait-what shuttle?” Tech asks, but Hera starts the take off process.

“Here we go,” Hera says. She jerks the stick and the ship suddenly veers off to the side, slamming into the other parked ships. People scream and start running out of the way, trying to avoid getting hit.

“Gah!” Maisy yelps and slams into Omega accidentally. The ship spins out of control.

“Sorry!” Hera exclaims and manages to straighten out before heading over to Chopper.

“We’ve got a security breach! Unauthorized launch from shuttle 2!” A warning sounds over the intercom. Hera manages to stop and hover in front of the 2 clones that Maisy had Force-choked and while they’re blinded from the headlights, Chopper manages to shock them.

“GAH! AHHH!” They cry out in pain before collapsing on the ground. Hera lines up the front gun and blasts the control center, making an explosion. The perimeter cannons all deactivate and turn off.

“I’ll get him!” Maisy says and hurries back down the lift. Hera opens the cargo bay door and Maisy reaches out.

“C’mon Chop!” She says and the droid uses his rocket booster to fly up and inside. Maisy shuts the door.

“Got him!” She calls up. Hera hears and flies off.

“Omega, I’m registering multiple explosions near the refinery,” Tech says over the comms, worried.

“That was us. Cannons are down. Do some damage Wrecker,” Omega says.

Wrecker laughs and gets into position as Tech approaches in the Marauder.

“Hang on!” Tech calls to Wrecker before immediately flooring the ship.

“Woah!” Wrecker exclaims, jerking around a bit, but he manages to hold himself steady. Tech pulls back once they get close to the first cannon and turns the ship, lining Wrecker’s gun at it. Wrecker lines up his shot easily and fires, destroying the cannon.

Tech flies around the perimeter of the refinery so Wrecker can hit each cannon. The clones down below obviously call for reinforcements from the Capitol.

Meanwhile…

An alarm beeps and Admiral Rampart hurries out just as his door whooshes open. Captain Howzer rushes into Admiral Rampart’s office.

“The Refinery is under attack-“ Captain Howzer warns, helmet in his arm at his waist.

“I’ll handle it. Stay here and guard the Capitol,” Rampart orders the clone captain as he brushes past him.

At the same time, Echo and Hunter manage to get to the Syndulla’s cell, knocking out the clone troopers guarding it. The Syndullas and Gobi all share a glance. Echo hurries over to the control panel and hacks in, disabling the red ray shield door. Gobi’s eyes widen when he recognizes the clones in their black and red armor.

“What are you doing here?” Gobi asks.

“Breaking you out,” Hunter answers.

“You know them?” Cham Syndulla, Hera’s father, asks his friend.

“They are mercenaries—but I didn’t hire them for this,” Gobi explains.

“Hera did,” Hunter explains.

“Hera? Where is she? Is she safe?” Cham asks, worried and concerned about his daughter. While Hunter didn’t know specifically, the fact that reinforcements were sent to the refinery must’ve meant the plan went along as planned. He nods at Cham and motions for the Twi’leks to follow them out.

Speaking of Hera…

“We’re getting the hang of this,” Hera says as she flies through the air above the exploding refinery.

“Yes, your dangerous and uncontrolled maneuvering is as confusing it is to them as it is to us,” Tech replies.

Admiral Rampart has given orders to Crosshair and his squad to go defend the refinery. The sniper jogs, following his squad to the shuttle when he suddenly stops and thinks. The refinery is on the outskirts and holds no military or strategic value. Why would CF99 attack it-unless—

“Stop,” Crosshair orders. His squad turns around to look at him.

“The admiral said to protect the refinery,” one argues.

“That’s not their target,” Crosshair realizes.

“Then why are they attacking it?” Another asks as shuttles of reinforcements take off. Crosshair merely watches and thinks on the situation. Cham Syndulla. But Hunter wouldn’t risk that girl’s life. Not unless he has Hera Syndulla. Crosshair looks back and spots Captain Howzer’s distinct white and teal armor. Howzer. Crosshair knew that the clone captain favored the Twi’lek freedom fighter. He wanted to go after Hera himself, to protect her.

“Get into position outside. They’re here,” Crosshair tells his squad.

“Are you sure Commander?” The female soldier asks. Crosshair sneers at them and they all nod, obeying his order. They all remember what happened to their former squad mate when he questioned the Commander. They all spread out in front of the clone trooper and aim for the single hangar door while Crosshair gets into position up top on a balcony across the yard.

Meanwhile…

The alarm blares as Hunter, Echo and the Twi’leks all race to the hangar.

“Cham! Wait!” A voice calls. Hunter whirls around and sees Captain Howzer running up to them. He points his blaster at the clone captain, as does Echo.

“You’re walking into a trap-“ Howzer warns, taking off his helmet, “There’s a squad out there waiting.” The group exchanges a look.

“Why should we trust you?” Gobi asks. Neither Hunter or Echo have lowered their blaster pistols.

“Because I’m on your side,” Howzer answers, “What the Empire’s doing is wrong,” the clone captain says, approaching the group.

“You have to get out of here. They have the exits blocked,” Howzer pleads.

“We can use Senator Taa’s shuttle in his private tower hangar,” Eleni Syndulla, Hera’s mother, tells Howzer.

“I’m sorry, General. I should’ve stopped this sooner,” Howzer says honestly, walking up to the Twi’lek. Hunter and Echo lower their blasters, sensing the truth to the clone captain’s words. If they’re being honest, Hunter and Echo see a bit of Rex in Howzer.

“Our fight for Ryloth is not over,” Cham reassures Howzer, placing a hand on the teal pauldron on Howzer’s right shoulder.

“You can’t stay here. They’ll know you helped us,” Eleni urges the captain, but he shakes his head.

“I will not abandon my squad. They’re good men,” Howzer explains, shutting his eyes sadly, knowing he could be killed. He looks back up at Cham.

“Go, while there’s still time,” Howzer urges with a pleading look on his face. Cham nods and leads the group out to Senator Taa’s shuttle tower.

Echo and Hunter bring up the rear of the group to protect the others, but Hunter slows down and watches Howzer approach the large door. The captain takes a breath before Hunter follows the others out, unable to watch what happens.

Cham leads the group through various halls until they get to a lift. They all get on and head up to the hangar.

“There-Taa’s shuttle-“ Eleni points and they hurry over.

“Tech, Omega, we have alternate transport. Meet at the rendezvou,” Hunter reports over the commlink. Echo gets in the copilot seat along with Cham and they fire up the ship.

“Meet at the rendezvou,” Tech hears over the comms.

“Gladly. Because there are multiple Imperial vessels inbound,” Tech says, looking at the scanner to see a bunch of red blinking dots approaching on the screen.

Hera looks up, spotting the Marauder, and pulls on the steering to pull the ship up and follow Tech, having heard Hunter through Omega’s commlink.

Back at the refinery, Crosshair looks through the scope on his rifle.

“Commander, should we move in?” Crosshair hears through his helmet.

“Stay in position. This is their way out,” Crosshair orders, getting ready. That’s when the door opens and a single trooper walks out. Through the scope, Crosshair sees the teal color of Captain Howzer. The clones all lower their blasters, but not Crosshair’s squad.

“Brothers! What are we doing?” Howzer asks his squad.

“We came here to free Ryloth from Separatist control, and we succeeded—but look around you! We’re now being ordered to target the very people we swore to protect. And I will not be a part of it any longer-“ Captain Howzer says, throwing his blaster down. It clatters to the ground.

“Who will stand with me?” Howzer asks. The squad looks at its leader then at each other before about half decide to stand with Howzer, while the rest do not.

“Arrest those traitors,” Crosshair orders. His squad takes the surrendering clones, along with Howzer just as the tower hangar door opens and a shuttle flies out. Crosshair fires a few shots at the shuttle, but they all fly past the ship as it flies off. Crosshair glares at the ship just as Hunter glances back out the window to look, though he doesn’t actually see the sniper.

The clones still loyal to the empire and Crosshair’s squad arrest all clones that stand with Howzer. The clone captain himself is arrested and taken to a cell with the rest of his loyal men. Howzer glances up and watches the shuttle with Cham and Eleni Syndulla flies off and despite the situation he’s in now, Howzer’s grateful the others were able to get away.

Everyone meets up at the rendezvous point and the girls immediately gush about the mission as Hunter approaches Eleni and Cham.

“Here’s the payment Hera promised,” Eleni says, handing Hunter a briefcase of credits.

“Keep it. You’ll need it,” Hunter tells the pair.

“These occupations are happening on other planets besides Ryloth,” Hunter tells Cham, remembering Saleucami and how the Empire had a growing presence there.

“I hoped to have fought my last war, but our people need us now more than ever. We must organize,” Cham tells Hunter.

“Well, that’s not something we can help with, General,” Hunter tells Cham before glancing back at Tech, Wrecker, Echo, Omega and Maisy.

“I have my own people to look out for,” Hunter tells him as the rest of his squad talks with Hera.

“If a war is coming, it will be their fight as much as ours,” Eleni tells the sergeant before glancing at her daughter.

“Come along, Hera,” she calls. Hera turns and hurries to her mother with Omega and Maisy following close behind.

“Tech showed us how to scramble a ship’s signature,” Hera tells her parents, looking at the girls.

“We will soon see how well it works,” her mother says, “it is time for us to go.”

The girl’s eyes widen.

“N-No-y-you can’t-“ Maisy suddenly says, not wanting to part ways. The adults give her a sad smile as Echo gently puts his hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“Maisy, Hera and her parents have to go now,” Echo tells the youngling. Tears form in her eyes and start spilling out and rolling down her cheeks.

“B-But we’re friends-“ Maisy whimpers. Maisy is obviously uncomfortable with letting go of anyone because of Order 66. Hera smiles and kneels down in front of her.

“You’re right Maisy. We are friends and we’ll always be friends, no matter how far apart we are. Deal?” She asks and Maisy immediately jumps into Hera, wrapping her arms around the Twi’lek pilot. Her friend.

“Friends…always,” Maisy says and the Youngling can’t help the tears as she clings to her new friend before Omega’s able to pry the girl off Hera gently. Echo steps forward and picks Maisy up and steps back. Still kneeling, Hera faces Omega.

“Well, copilot, we didn’t do too bad,” Hera tells the young clone.

“Do you have to go?” Omega asks. Although she didn’t say as much, Omega agrees with Maisy. She had hoped Hera would get to stay or have more time together.

“For now, but I’m sure I’ll see you around,” Hera tells Omega before looking back at CF99 and Maisy in Echo’s arms.

“And keep an eye on your siblings. They need it,” Hera whispers that last part, placing a hand on Omega’s shoulder.

“I will,” Omega nods. Hera smiles and the two embrace.

“Thanks. For believing in me,” Hera tells Omega before they part. Omega gives Hera a sad smile before they let go. Hera places her hand on Chopper and he chatters before joining Hera. The two part ways with Hera rejoining her parents and Omega catching up with CF99.

Echo sets Maisy down and Omega smiles as Maisy grabs her hand. Omega and Maisy watch as the ship Hera’s on starts up and begins to rise upwards. Omega and Maisy wave with their free hands and Hera waves back through the window. Once the ship is off, Omega and Maisy catch up with the rest of the squad.

Meanwhile…

Crosshair finds Admiral Rampart inspecting the damage at the refinery. He removes his helmet once he gets close.

“It would seem I underestimated your 4 friends. If only they were fighting for us instead of against us,” Rampart tells Crosshair.

“Request permission to hunt them down,” Crosshair asks formally. Admiral Rampart looks back behind him.

“Hmm…granted,” Rampart answers, turning to fully face the sniper before walking away, leaving Crosshair alone.

He is going to hunt down his former squad. Of course he’s not stupid. Crosshair knows that the Empire won’t let them live long. It’s why his new squad is made up of conscripted soldiers. If Crosshair can convince them to join him, the Empire would spare their lives. They are good at what they do and even better as a squad. The Empire would see their worth if they were whole.

End.

Chapter 4.1

Thanks and sorry the links got messed up

[airenyah]

the music in this moment is called timelessly yours 🥺🥺🥺

[waitmyturtles]

How did I never notice the double-P on his guitar?!

[aprillikesthings]

hey if I get through two more episodes tonight I'll finish out the first season

s1 ep12 light hope

BUT FIRST under the cut before the episode is a bunch of text I cut/pasted from the wikipedia page on narcissistic parents

"Children of a narcissistic parent may not be supportive of others in the home. Observing the behavior of the parent, the child learns that manipulation and guilt are effective strategies for getting what they want. The child may also develop a false self and use aggression and intimidation to get their way. Instead, they may invest in the opposite behaviors if they have observed them among friends and other families. When the child of a narcissistic parent experiences safe, real love or sees the example played out in other families, they may identify and act on the differences between their life and that of a child in a healthy family. For example, the lack of empathy and volatility at home may increase the child's own empathy and desire to be respectful. Similarly, intense emotional control and disrespect for boundaries at home may increase the child's value for emotional expression and their desire to extend respect to others. Although the child observes the parent's behavior, they are often on the receiving end of the same behavior. When an alternative to the pain and distress caused at home presents itself, the child may choose to focus on more comforting, safety-inducing behaviors.

"Some common issues in narcissistic parenting result from a lack of appropriate, responsible nurturing. This may lead to a child feeling empty, insecure in loving relationships, developing imagined fears, mistrusting others, experiencing identity conflict, and commitment issues.[5]

"Sensitive, guilt-ridden children in the family may learn to meet the parent's needs for gratification and seek love by accommodating the wishes of the parent. The child's normal feelings are ignored, denied and eventually repressed in attempts to gain the parent's "love". Guilt and shame keep the child locked in a developmental arrest. Aggressive impulses and rage may become split off and not integrated with normal development. Some children develop a false self as a defense mechanism and become codependent in relationships. The child's unconscious denial of their true self may perpetuate a cycle of self-hatred, fearing any reminder of their authentic self.

"Narcissistic parenting may also lead to children being either victimized or bullies, having a poor or overly inflated body image, tendency to use and/or abuse drugs or alcohol, and acting out (in a potentially harmful manner) for attention.

"In most cases, the narcissist will select one child in the family to be the Golden Child, and another child to be the Scapegoat. The Golden Child becomes an extension of the narcissist, who lives vicariously through them. As a result many golden children do not develop a healthy sense of self and struggle with boundaries. Scapegoats, on the other hand, become the receptacle for all the negative emotions of the narcissistic parent, who blames them for everything that goes wrong in the family."

-----------

LIKE I KEEP SAYING this shit is so textbook!!! Adora leaves the moment she finds a place that's better but struggles not to keep constantly self-sacrificing and people-pleasing. Catra responds by becoming vicious and cruel to herself and everyone else.

Also explains why I think Catra and Adora's post-canon romantic relationship is gonna be hella unhealthy at first.

AAAUGH

anyway time to watch some TV

...yeah

side note I googled and at least two other people have noticed Light Hope looks like Grace Jones

EXCUSE ME Swift Wind is a someONE not a someTHING

Angella is not fazed by the talking horse at all, she has seen some shit in her time lol

Angella: look bb I fucked up and always regretted it, so I'm not letting YOU fuck up :)

Hmmmm.

There's a PETA joke in here somewhere

Why does Catra keep touching Entrapta's hair so much that's like running your claws along her arms like surely she knows this? Wouldn't it be flirtatious? Is she doing it on purpose?

yeah it's on purpose, also I couldn't get Entrapta's little split-second smile but it happened

so yeah clearly she's fine with it but Catra you are not actually Entrapta's type at ALL

I love her

plot plot plot the First Ones were people from space who settled Etheria and fucked with it and Light Hope is part of the Crystal Castle which was built *for* She-Ra

AND YOU DON'T GET A CHOICE :D btw there were a ton of other She-Ras, you're just a thousand years late or so, no pressure ha ha

the way they're bouncing back and forth between Entrapta and Light Hope both saying variations on "the First Ones totally fucked up this planet :D Also, princesses are supposed to run the planet via their runestones and that's why shit is a mess!" is pretty clever.

Anyway main point is: She-Ra's job is to unite the princesses and get them to use their runestones properly and keep the planet "in balance," Entrapta's goal is to figure out every bit of information she can about said runestones (including the Black Garnet), and Catra wants to use that information to destroy the rebellion (also, piss off Shadow Weaver)

oh I forgot about those little guys

You could've said that ages ago (re: Glimmer)

Oh god did anyone else grow up on Dr. Demento recordings and immediately think of the Boot To The Head bit where they're at a martial arts school and the teacher says "Ed Gruberman, you must learn patience," and Ed Gruberman responds "Yeah yeah yeah patience, how long will that take??" Anyway the bit is here if you've never heard it.

(TBH it mostly makes fun of terrible white people going to martial arts classes and being impatient little assholes, but it WAS made in the 1980's and is a live radio show of jokes about kicking people in the head, so uhhh heads-up on that.)

do u tho

>:(

Adora: I want to help my friends! Light Hope: okay but, hear me out, what if you took that self-sacrificial streak of yours and saved THE WHOLE PLANET :D

I get that the whole point of this part of the plot is to fuck with The Chosen One narratives, but hoooboy does that line piss me off.

(The Wise Elder-type doing a "you have to be ALONE you are not allowed to LOVE ANYONE" thing probably has a name on TV Tropes but if I look it up I'll be distracted for like an hour)

EDIT I looked it up and it's just called Love is a Weakness and I am closing that tab now lest I be lost for days

"Madame Razz's Mara?" this implies Mara is over a thousand years old but given that Glimmer has mentioned her mom being immortal several times now I suppose Mara is as well, which...given they're Princesses implies that Glimmer and Adora are as well? or am I forgetting something

Something about Mara "failing" because she was distracted and then "abandoning" them in "the empty dimension of Despandos" and breaking the She-Ra line. It's weird watching this like five years later because iirc Mara was protecting Etheria

YOU THINK

ugh I hate this kind of shit SO MUCH

Meanwhile, Catra's like AHAHA FUCK YOU, HORDAK KNOWS YOU'RE A PIECE OF SHIT >:3

hearing "Princess" used as an insult is never not funny

Emily trying to protect Entrapta is so cute

IT'S NOT YOUR RUNESTONE

Catra's right on this one

"You thought you were punishing me all these years? Wrong. You were training me for this day!"

She's not talking to Catra but to the little bits of gem in her mask after Catra slices it in half.

That looked very satisfying.

I know this is about a huge and terrible weapon but also: I love her

oKAY SO weapon goes off and bad shit starts happening, then Swift Wind is like OH SHIT gotta find Adora (there's a huge beam coming out of the Crystal Castle as well as the Fright Zone)

So she's been physically lying there while all of that conversation is happening? Huh, that must've started the moment she let go of that cliff thing.

Poor Swift Wind

UGGGH

Swift Wind: "Well that's just stupid."

I love how Swift Wind dismisses Light Hope's bullshit in like three sentences, and Adora's back to like: wait, having attachments is a good thing

been a few episodes since we got the full transformation sequence!

When she was stabbing the robot spiders I remember how someone pointed out that she only uses the sword's stabbing abilities on non-human things and it's true, but that's about standards and practices for children's cartoons lol

you could airbrush that on the side of a van lol

ONE MORE IN THE SEASON

[dimplesandfierceeyes]

bad buddy fandom getting-to-know-you meme!

Another tag game I finally managed to get to! Thank you to @tiistirtipii, @dudeyuri, @feralmuskyscentedhoepran, @softpran, @dancing-out-in-space, and of course, @fiercynn for tagging me in this one!

name and whatever you want to share about yourself

Hello, I’m Kayla! I’m, as probably noticeable by my spelling, not American haha. Yeah I guess that’s it. I’ve never been good at talking about myself.

when did you watch bad buddy/join the fandom?

I watched it from the start, but somewhere around episode 3 I started actively looking into the fandom and by the end of ep4 I was already in a discord group and writing my first fanfiction. The rest, as they say, is history XD

favourite ship(s)

I am a PatPran, InkPa enthusiast although I did also like the LouisSafe idea which is why i wrote a whole fic about them haha

favourite character(s)

Beyond Pat and Pran, Pa, Korn and Ink will always be in my heart

favourite episode(s)

As much as I love episode 5, episode 3 is probably the episode I’ve watched the most haha I just love watching Pran coming out of his shell (even if he does get crushed in the very next episode T-T)

favourite scene(s)

The Rooftop comes in at number 1 every time, but also the fight in front of the apartment block just before it, the bus stop scene and guitar scene in ep3, the balcony scene in ep8, the bedroom scene in ep9, so many scenes in ep11, and everything after Pran turns up at the apartment in ep12. Serotonin factories every one. 

one thing you would change about the show if you could

I’d have liked Pat’s anger in episode 7 to have been dealt with a bit more definitely but they pulled it back by giving it proper consideration in episode 11.  Honestly I would have also loved more flashbacks to their pre-transfer era as well as a little more on Icy Pat, but I understand why we didn’t get them. 

what are your some of your favourite fanworks made by other people?

This is a difficult one for me! So I actually did a list of my favourite bad buddy edits here and also fanfics here and here plus I’m pretty sure I did another, but can I find them? No. So I’m gonna add to this by saying also anything by @miscellar (aworkingprinter on AO3).

(if you create fanworks) what are your favourite fanworks that you’ve made?

Some of my own favourites? Well, that’s trickier haha! Probably A Fine Line Between Hormones and Home, The Space Pirate and the Officer of the Law and, just because it was my first fanfic in the fandom, He’s No Romeo.

a song that makes you think of bbs (the ones in the show don’t count lol)

Pancakes for Dinner by Lizzy McAlpine always makes me think of pining Pran, Heather by Conan Gray also gives huge Pran in episode 4/5 vibes. Alas I can’t think of one that screams Pat though I know I have thought that about songs before. No doubt I’ll be listening to a playlist tomorrow and be like “oh yeah, this one!”

idk anything else you want us to know?

So out of the 494,256 words I’ve written on AO3 over an 11 year period, 426,682 of them were written in the last 3 years and all for the Bad Buddy fandom. If that doesn’t encapsulate both my obsession and love of this show, I don’t know what does haha

Now who to tag?! I can't tag everyone so going with people I'm not sure if I've seen do this yet, though no pressure for anyone! @lurkingteapot @galauvant @snimeat @loveongsa

[dribs-and-drabbles]

I need to add your tags here too Julian because you continued to say fantastic things...

#nothing will ever be or beat bad buddy in terms of. anything really lets be honest #but literally it is so special that new shows are able to do the things they do without it really being a big deal #like i just remember being there! as bb was airing and i remember how fucking sick the ep12 preview all made us #i remember how on the fence we all were abt ink being introduced #i remember the 'itll never happen but i wish' jokes about inkpa!! #i remember all the theories that korn or ming were homophobic...all of us just waiting for the rug to be torn out from under us #and every step bb said no we're not gonna do that to you. because we get it. #and its only been a year but i would NOT BE ENJOYING MSP THIS MUCH #if bad buddy hadnt set the stage #this is not a comparison or saying one is better than the other this is Literally #just an observation of the way the industry is changing right before our eyes #and plenty of ppl have brought the eclipse into the discussion which is So True #but i think theres so much merit to be found by discussing THESE two as romcoms #its just fascinating to me!!!! idk if i said it all right but. yeah!!!

Yes, YES! to all this Julian. Bad Buddy walked so that we could all run headlong into MSP without fear of being done dirty. This show is such a joy to watch and part of that joy comes from trusting that we are being given the show that we want to see. I've seen some other people making reminders that 2Gether 'came first' and also paved the way for MSP - and yes that's true, and there was A LOT that we didn't get from 2Gether that BBS (and others) rectified - but there was something really special about BBS that did a hell of a lot more with the development of this genre which is now enabling us to watch MSP in the way that we are - safe and free from anxiety.

It's in the complexity of the story. How the elements of the story get woven so dextrously into each episode's mini-story arch. And how the story and the characters make huge developments within each episode and it never feels rushed. It's in the balance between poignancy and COMEDY, and the timing and pacing (as Julian already mentioned). It's how we get the two main characters revealing their feelings for each other half-way through the series but it doesn't feel like an ending but just the start of something more...how we then get to witness their love and friendship and courtship and all the wonderful things that come with a new relationship, like the lingering looks and the butterflies in the stomach, right alongside them and for so long. Like BBS, we're going to get to see Tinn and Gun grow and support each other through the difficulties they're going to face in the next 6 eps. And that still feels so refreshing in this BL world but that's what BBS showed the rest of the industry - the potential for the the love interests to not wait until the last ep to finally get together, and instead of all the frustrating obstacles the characters could keep having to face in confessing to their crush, we actually get to see how they manage the changing dynamics of their relationship after the confession moment.

BBS subverted so many freaking tropes and showed what could be done instead, so now we can watch MSP without fear. And part of that trust comes with all the connections in the production team to BBS...after all why would Toto do any of those tired tropes when they were so expertly demolished in BBS?! And damn right the show has so many references to Bad Buddy - it's like the proud younger brother going 'look Phi! We learnt from you and we're trying to do even better'. And you know what, they are. This is a wonderfully neatly packaged BL - it's too early to say whether I will ever be able to consider it 'better' than BBS (because that show owns my whole heart) - but it's EXCELLENT not because of its cute nods to BBS but because it's just FANTASTIC in it's own right...and as much as people might be getting fed up of us always talking about BBS we have to acknowledge the ground-breaking work it did which has led to MSP being this fantastic.

do people understand that we couldnt have anything that weve gotten in msp if bad buddy hadnt come first.

and i dont just mean all the callbacks and references to it - or even the fact that half the cast and the director were involved in bb somewhat (ntm p'aof producing hi king) - which is all wonderful,

but i mean the comedy balancing perfectly with darker emotional moments - the way the tone changes never throw the audience off.

the casual yet clear signs of physical attraction shown as no big deal, as parts of funny moments or delightful moments rather than panic and awe, between two main characters where there again is no clear line separating them into stereotypical masculine or feminine traits.

the PACING!! THE PACING! so much is accomplished in every episode, it feels like a new dynamic between the characters with each one and each reveal. it's gradual and takes its time and is even predictable on occassion but it's not slow - and it keeps you hooked with good writing and stellar performances. even the product placements feel natural again - the tropes used feel fresh rather than overdone...

and let's talk about the way this is a story that also seems to know that it's a bl, and (so far) also hasn't shown a speck of homophobia. there's such a meta message to be found in these portrayals, like this is what the world could be like, this is the world as we experience it or how we wish we could.

and it makes me feel SAFE. and that's because! of! bad buddy!

its just the most incredible thing to me that i can watch things take place in a story and not worry about them. rather just enjoy them and feel what the story is trying to make me feel. like for example in ep6 tiw suggested sound might be into gun and not only was that disproven that episode, i actually forgot it'd even happened bc it was never brought up again. the miscommunication had nothing to do with jealousy and everything to do with hesitancy, which felt so much more true to real life and was honestly really lovely to watch!!!

like bad buddy, new episodes of msp have set up and resolved a different conflict each time - but without bad buddy i would not have been able to watch that ep without waiting for the shoe to drop. because i was on edge the first time thru bb, waiting to be proven wrong, waiting for the drama to start, and if you weren't there, as a previous bl watcher experiencing that feeling of holding your breath....it's just so hard to explain.

the fact of the matter is that bb showed me bl stories could do better.......and my school president is continuing to be better. it's just proving to be a very special show

[hughungrybear]

Say what you want but this is actually my favourite scene in the series 😅 Just look at the way Pat visibly gulped when he saw that it was Pran in his doorway. It gives the audience an idea how hungry *wink wink* Pat is (for Pran). 🤭🤭🤭🤭