#cochise (the warriors)

[alexihollis]

The Will to Lead

Cochise found Cleon on the roof, murdering a pack of cigarettes.

"You feel like sharing?" She asked.

Cleon said nothing, but handed Cochise her light when she sat on the ledge next to her, then held out the box with a cigarette jutting out of it. Cochise took the cigarette, lit the end, and took a long drag.

"So," Cochise asked as she blew out the smoke. "What are we up here for?"

"Thinking."

"Bout what?"

Cleon shrugged.

"No one's going to accept anyone but Swan as number two. Not as long as you and her are around," Cochise said. Because Cochise knew things like that. She was good at watching people.

"I wasn't-"

"Yeah, you were," Cochise interrupted, because she did not feel like doing this with Cleon tonight. "Don't play."

Cleon eyed her for a second, before giving up. "How'd you guess?"

"Because Swan picked up the same reason you never actually considered Ajax for it," Cochise said. She continued at Cleon's surprised look, "Come on. Yes, Ajax is a bit hotheaded, but we all know if you actually gave her more responsibility, she'd figure it out. Hell, we could probably save ourselves a shit ton of money bailing her out if you did. One bad run, one time someone else gets hurt on her orders? She'd change in two seconds."

"I don't exactly endorse traumatizing as a teaching strategy," Cleon deadpanned.

Cochise rolled her eyes. "Not the point. You've never honestly considered Ajax because of Rembrandt. Tell me I'm wrong."

"How do you figure?" Cleon asked after wasting long seconds on her cigarette.

"Because Ajax would never be willing to put Rembrandt in danger for the good of the gang," Cochise said. They all knew it. "And she'll prioritize Rembrandt over everyone else, every time."

"It's not a bad thing."

Cochise shrugged, "I didn't say it was. Doesn't make for a great leader, though."

"She's also incredibly impulsive-"

"All right, now you're deflecting," Cochise cut her off. "You can't replace Swan just because she's got Mercy, now."

"I wasn't going to do that," Cleon insisted with a huff. "I just- It isn't just because of Mercy."

Cochise took another drag. "Swan's young, Cleon. She hadn't lost someone like that before. Fox- It was fucking brutal. You can't hold that against her."

Cleon rubbed a hand down her face, the one not holding the cigarette. "I don't. She's a good leader, she more than proved it, but...what if I'm putting too much on her, y'know? She is young, she's been in the gang since she was seventeen, maybe- Should I have pushed her more into going back to school?"

"Considering you need shit like birth certificates and proof of residency and guardianship paperwork, no, I think that would have been a monumentally stupid idea," Cochise said. "Where the Hell is this coming from?"

"Because everyone else did. Fox did and she did it while living here-"

"Wildly different situation-"

"Swan is literally the only one," Cleon said. "And it feels like I trapped her and now I see how happy she is with Mercy. Have you ever seen Swan this happy?"

Cleon had her there. Swan smiled now, small, quiet smiles, but smiles. She took nights off, she went dancing. For fuck's sake, Rembrandt strong-armed Swan into going on a double-date with her and Ajax.

"Cleon, Swan wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you."

"What's gonna happen if we lose Mercy?"

Cochise blinked. Fuck. That's...fuck.

"We lose Mercy, we lose both of them," Cleon said. "And- Its been the same math with Rembrandt and Ajax. Lose one, lose the other, I'm used to it, but...I can keep Rembrandt close. I can keep her on Coney, she's fast as all Hell, and she's smart. But Mercy?"

Cleon shook her head.

"She's not a tagger that I can keep in our territory and she wants to fight, she wants to be in the thick of everything, but she's not one of our strongest fighters," Cleon stubbed out her cigarette butt with a scowl. "She isn't going to come home with just a black eye and if I send her out with Swan...God forbid I send her out with Ajax and Mercy comes home beat up, Swan might actually murder Ajax..."

"In fairness, Ajax did almost kill her that time she came home and Rembrandt had broken her wrist," Cochise reminded.

"Not helpful." Yeah, probably not. "What am I gonna do?"

"Trust your girls." Cleon looked at her, confused. "They can handle themselves, their emotions. I promise. You can't protect them from everything."

Cleon nodded, slowly. "That's good advice."

Then, "Any chance you'd be interested in-"

"Not even a little bit.

----------------

Ey! We got some Cleon and Cochise in the fic! Nice.

[pixthefuckup]

the warriors but as the crazy shit I've done as a new Yorker myself

All: had been in Manhattan for something fun, then got lost on the q, then had to head all the way back from the end of the line to Queens, made it to one of the safe stations i could transfer only to face the MTA deciding multiple times that they could no longer send a train following the proper routes i needed (i got on and off so many trains), and ended up leaving from the closest station i knew, speed-walking home in the freezing cold, cursing God and the MTA, until my dad finally came to escort me home safely.

Cochise: i have gone to parties for way older people. i get all the nice perks with a twist: i have to do karaoke performances for my mom and her friends at parties or cheer on their karaoke. i've done this multiple times. my voice will literally die and i can't keep up after a couple of songs, even though these middle-aged ladies can. i persevere for the sake of food and drinks.

Cowgirl: once saw an extra virgin olive oil bottle and spaghetti and instead of being sane and thinking about recipes, i fully blurted out "once your spaghetti comes to a boil, stick your d*** in some extra virgin olive oil." IN THE MIDDLE OF A CROWDED SUPERMARKET. IN THE LINE TO THE CASHIER SURROUNDED BY STRANGERS.

Fox: i once outran a train because i could. i had a bit of a lead because i was in the middle of the platform once it started coming in but trains are pretty fast. it was coming up from behind me but i kept running. eventually i could hear my friends saying i already outpaced. i looked behind me and sure it was, behind me. pretty cool.

Cleon: i was in a short film where i got beaten up multiple times. thrown into stairs, shoved against a wall, etc. not as bad as my co-star who i strangled and also shoved into walls but it was pretty bad. we also broke the boys bathroom door during this (it was in the stairwall we were working with) so it was a funny bit of teamwork where i was the lookout and the one holding the still working door shut in case staff tried to come in and the other guys were just doing their best to pick the door lock to get it open and unbroken.

Ajax: once shoved my head through the subway doors to try and get through while it was closing (i wanted to get home quick and my friends were already on). ended up accidentally getting it clamped on my neck so i basically had to shove it open with my bare hands. if it's funnier... i'm in middle school during this. so imagine you're like a full blown adult sitting on the train and all of a sudden, you're watching a 13 year old, with braces and tiny pink strands flowing through her brown hair, shoving a door open with her hands while her friends are trying their best to help. you don't know whether to continue staring or clap once she gets through and finally on the train.

Rembrandt: got high in the middle of the park with my friends and instead of being chill like i expected, i went on a rant about the artistry of dante and vergil, fanfiction, and both of their connections to each and the veil, reaching beyond life to things we cannot touch. i also was real rambly and uneloquent compared to how i am irl.

Swan: once had a sprained shoulder the day before my kickboxing practice. I still went in and told the teachers only to realize both didn't hear me. i didn't feel like repeating myself so i pushed myself through the rest of the class. i then listened to a scolding from one of the teachers at the end for not putting my all into it, nodding along as if i didn't have a shoulder injury because i didn't want to sound like i was making up excuses last minute.

Mercy: once had such a crazy crush on a girl that i was willing to brawl with some other people. i then got shoved under a bus seat while she was punching a guy on top of it. she helped me get out after but ugh did i have to stare at chewed up gum for a while.

[cherry-velvet-skies]

They have arrived! Babygirl Warriors icons!

I can make some from the actual movie too if y'all want but I adore their character models in the game lol they're so cute 💕

And y'all can use these as your icons if you want too I don't mind 🥰

[bbbatcave]

Warriors (1979) + the videogame headcanons:

Snow goes birdwatching with Ajax (who doesn’t like it but appreciates the time they spend)

Mercy and Ajax are both trans, and they’ll both yap about Swan

Mercy/Starr ??????

Rembrandt vs Ajax’s internalized homophobia (they get wasted together in a gay bar or something and Ajax gets over it after that)

Mute Snow and he only speaks in sign language; he taught everyone else sign. Cowboy still has some trouble picking it up though :/

Cochise is THE ladies man (gotta have one heterosexual in there)

Rembrandt? He’s autistic as hell (NOT projecting guys)

Their social worker has to settle fights when Cleon or Swan aren’t there. She is fed up with their bullshit.

They stole a color TV during the blackout and can’t ever agree on what to watch except for The Muppets. They all like The Muppets.

The Warriors and The Lizzies formed an alliance (mlm wlw solidarity)

Vermin and Lincoln have to share Cleon (shout out to polyamorous people, we love you guys)

Cowboy faked a southern accent for the first year when he met Swan. He had never traveled further than New Jersey.

Fox is really pretentious about his reading and Ajax hates it.

[billblasswithafatass]

cochise:

[whatcannotbesaid-shallbewept]

Warriors promotional images.

[theexistingbox]

good evening warriors musical fandom, have some doodles

[subwaylesbians]

ajax and swan’s relationship is so important to me bc there’s so much care and respect there. and their matching “I’m worthless if I’m not protecting the people around me” complexes manifest in such opposite directions that they could have been designed in a lab to piss each other off

[pinkygripper]

"Hey youve gotta be nice to me ive had a chomp taken out of me"

"wait someone bit you?? I had absolutely *no* idea why had noone told me about this. If only someone had been here to remind me of it every two minutes."

" >:P "

Hey boppers for your eyes today i have created some cuisine. The flavour is scrumptious? I dunno why i love cochise and cowgirl so much when they're just kind of along for the ride. Listen guys they are very dear to me also cochise sticks her tounge out when shes concentrating I dont make the rules.

ALSO when I was drawing I suddenly thought cowgirl has a septum and ugh i love it forever unfortunately it didnt look right in this doodle i tried but! next time i draw her for sure.

If its not clear cochise is painting cowgirls toenails and they're having a yap session. <3

I was craving some silly sketchy doodles today so I wasnt looking too hard at references for it GUYS go and do some silly sketches! >:) also makes sure to stretch out your hands after drawing for ages

Okay also also i know I do a lot of yapping on these posts but I wanted to say thankyou!!! again for how lovely everyone is :'''') all the reblogs and comments pointing out stuff and details from my drawings that i liked made me like YIPPEEEE

Ive finally looked at the lyric book guys go look at the lyric book it has given me so many ideas so expect more art :D

anywayyyyy lots of big kisses to you all and especially @circeneedsahobby for showing me warriors, enabling my obsession by screaming about it with me and hyping me to post on here. GO LOOK AT THEIR ART! :))

[swantactics]

swan being the last in roll call because she always ends up putting herself between her warriors and others, THATS MY FAVE NUMBER TWO 

[yourlocalkatiesimp]

there’s 12 of us here but ik mercy’s line in A Light or Somethin’ is “What’s wrong? Kiss me.” but i spaced out earlier and my brain processed it as mercy going “What’s wrong-?” and swan going “Kiss me.” and now i’m actually never gonna move on from that

[alexihollis]

War Torn

"Who's Jackson?"

Cochise stared at Swan as their cart moved away from the Wonder Wheel loading dock, her horror mounting at the same speed as the cart rising off of the boardwalk.

"What?" Cochise forced herself to respond, trying to play it cool. Casual.

Based on Swan's expression? Her attempt appeared less than successful.

"Jackson. Thirties, looks exactly like you. Came by Cleon's looking for you," Swan said. "Cleon said she'd put the word out, see if you were around."

"And you couldn't have asked me this anywhere else?" Cochise asked, her voice getting a bit too high, a bit too thready.

"Call it payback," Swan deadpanned.

Damn. Cowgirl did always say this would come back to bite her in the ass. "I am not nearly as avoidant as the rest of you."

"Then why does it matter?" Swan cocked her head to the side.

Because Cochise wanted to be avoidant. "He's no one. Tell Cleon I don't want to talk to him."

"Why?" Swan asked.

"Does it matter?"

"Did it matter when you made me talk about my sisters?" Swan shot back. The words hung heavy in the air for a moment. "He's your brother, isn't he? The one who made it home?"

One of three, blood-related at least. One of far too many others. Vaguely, Cochise remembered telling Swan about her brothers being sent off to Vietnam. About only one coming back, only a handful left of the older neighborhood boys who used to run their block and left behind scared kids who grew into angry teenagers and didn't understand the people who returned to them wearing the faces of their lost siblings.

Cleon swallowed, thickly, before nodding. "Yeah."

"He's doing well," Swan said. "Married. Has two kids."

"That's great for him," Cochise forced herself to say, looking out over the ocean.

"He wants to get dinner or something," Swan said. "Catch-up."

"How'd he even find me?" Cochise asked.

Swan shrugged, "You'd have to ask him."

"I don't want to."

"That's your right."

Swan told the truth. Cochise remembered crystal clear what happened when Swan's sister, the one barely more than a year younger than her, tracked her down to Coney a few months after Swan joined the Warriors. Within two seconds of Cochise watching the Not-Swan talk to Cleon, two things became clear: 1) Swan was very much understating the religious aspect of her upbringing, holy shit and 2) Not-Swan had absolutely zero nice or helpful things to say to Swan. Cleon chased off Not-Swan, saying she would let Swan know she came, but back off, then brought the conversation to Swan to let her make the decision. When Swan said no, it had been easy enough. Not-Swan was skittish and not very stubborn at all, so after a week of vague-threats and Ajax silently glaring with her arms crossed, Not Swan stopped coming around.

Jackson would not be as easily run off, but it would be the same game plan and Cochise would never have to even look at him.

Jackson didn't deserve that, though.

"He's not a bad guy," Cochise said.

Swan nodded. "Okay."

Cochise shifted, uncomfortable on the vinyl seat. Okay. Maybe everyone else had a point about getting trapped on the Wonder Wheel like this.

After a minute of Swan just staring at her, Cochise cracked. A bit. "Seriously. He's a good guy. Even when he came home, he was just depressed and slept all the time."

"How old were you?" Swan asked.

"Thirteen. By the time he got home," Cochise said. "Eleven when he left. Ten when most of the older kids left."

"That must have been difficult."

"I didn't understand what was happening, at first." Cochise remembered that the most. Remembered her neighborhood gathering together when the letters first coming in. Her mom sobbing at the kitchen table, then other moms sobbing at their kitchen table.

One family vanished out of nowhere one night. Someone said they ran to Canada, but Cochise didn't know if that was true or not.

When Jackson's time came, a few months after their older brothers' orders and a year before they died, Cochise remembered hearing her dad yelling. Telling him to say anything. Do anything. Pretend he couldn't see colors. Pretend he couldn't walk right. Pretend he was too dumb to take orders or too queer to be trusted on the frontlines. Anything.

Jackson refused and Jackson got sent away.

"The adults were a disaster," Cochise said. "We were usually left alone, the older kids did a lot around the neighborhood, but I don't think we really realized how much until they left. I tried to help, when I could."

Jackson had told her, too. You're the oldest now, he had said, the same words everyone Cochise's age heard when their older siblings left. You need to step up, he said, watch out for the younger ones.

Cochise tried, but it was hard. Then, the teenagers started leaving. The sixteen year olds all the way down to twelve, sometimes. They just started running away. One by one. Breaking their parents hearts all over again, but unable to stay and Cochise tried. She babysat for kids not even two years younger than her and learned what mom liked to get from the grocery store. She learned what beer dad drank after work and what cigarettes grandma smoked.

It wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to make grandma's heart survive the pain of losing two grandchildren or stop her parents from fighting, day in and out.

"It was hard and Jackson coming home didn't help."

She remembered Dad yelling at the lump sleeping in her brother's bed. Telling him to get up. Go to a bar, go on a date, do something, do anything. Then, Mom yelling at Dad to not yell, to give him space, and Dad hollering about World War II, because Cochise always forgot her dad served, he never talked about it.

"Everyone said a lot, but no one talked, you know? It made everything worse."

"You're always yelling at us about that," Swan said, her voice soft, but still strong. "You're really good at getting people to talk about things they don't want to. That's saved us a lot of problems."

Cochise smiled, half-heartedly. "Thanks." Then, "I didn't know how to do that back then."

"You were a kid."

"Yeah, maybe."

She didn't feel like a kid, back then. Some days, she felt more like a kid now. Running around on the boardwalk, getting in trouble with Cowgirl, Cleon chasing after them making sure they ate lunch and drank water. No matter what she did, Cleon would be there, looking out.

"When did you leave?" Swan asked.

"I kind of didn't," Cochise said. Swan looked a bit confused, so Cochise elaborated. "Mom and Dad split not long after Jackson got home. Dad took me and got an apartment in Coney, then he died not long after I graduated high school. Heart attack."

Same as grandma, but more sudden. Cleon remembered she had been making them dinner when the knock on the door came and she opened it to one of Dad's friends from the factory. She knew what it was before he opened his mouth.

"Same apartment, even," Cochise said.

Swan blinked, before the dots connected. "You still live in that apartment? With Cowgirl?"

Cochise nodded. "It was Cleon, first, when we were with the Destroyers. We got the bigger apartment when the gang started growing and we had more girls crashing on the couch, so Cleon moved in there and I stayed put."

"I always forget you were the first soldier," Swan said.

"Yeah, don't go reminding people." It made people weird. Ajax still thought it was weird that Cochise never even angled for number two.

"So why are you surprised Jackson could find you, then?"

"Because my mom and Jackson thought we moved out of state," Cochise said. Dad said it was for the best and Cochise had never thought to question it. Never wanted to question why she still followed orders after his death.

"Damn," was Swan's only response. Then, "If you're sure you don't want to talk to him, I'll let Cleon know."

Except...that didn't...

That felt wrong. The felt really wrong.

"Don't," Cochise said.

Swan stayed silent, but Cochise did not elaborate.

"You want her to tell him something else, then?" Swan asked.

"No." At Swan's unimpressed look, Cochise continued. "They live in the same house. I'm going to go pay them a visit myself."

Swan's eyebrows raised. "You know that?"

"Yep." The cart started to close in on the loading dock. Freedom. "We don't need to dissect why I know that."

"We can go another round," Swan said, half-teasing.

"I'm good!"

[emilywaters]

Cochise is so underrated Lin did her dirty

Like everyone else has a Thing. Even Cowgirl has her 'he bit me!!' saga

We as a fandom need to give her a Thing

She deserves so much attention

Girlie had everyone's back right from the start

[fishinavest]

Smth smth Swercy medieval au

[mega-banette]

having more thoughts about the order of the roll call because as we all know Cleon is in the middle because she’s the leader, but this implies that the group would fall apart without her but they don’t.

but then I realised that this could be because Swan initially takes her place when listing off the other Warriors’ names in Woodlawn Cemetery, however by the time we get to Outside Gray’s Papaya she reverts back to being last. Which probably implies that she feels insecure in just replacing Cleon and feels like she’s failed as leader.

however, this is that last roll call before Ajax gets arrested and the group splits, which suggests that they do in fact fall apart without someone in Cleon’s place.

but it is also interesting when you remember that Swan’s spot in the roll call is last, which suggests that she puts others ahead of herself, which we see her do in The Park at Night when she goes back for Ajax. Which means that Swan is unable to properly take Cleon’s place because she sees her role within the gang as having everyone’s back as opposed to leading

[thatgenderfluidmonstrosity]

Made some quick sketches of the Warriors inspired by/based off their singers!!!

(I’m tired- and I tried 😭)