So True!

So true!

I know 😔💔

This! I love Phee!

I'm gonna say it: Phee Genoa is drastically underrated and doesn't get enough credit for being one of the best friends the Bad Batch could have ever asked for, so I'm going to spell out the things we know she did for them without even getting anything in return (well, friendship can be its own reward depending on who the friends are, but anyway):

Offered to split the reward if they helped her on Skara Nal, but (unlike Cid) didn't hold it over their heads when it didn't pan out

Introduced them to Pabu when they had nowhere else to go

Was loyal to them, kept the situation under wraps and never told Cid anything about them - we can deduce this from the implication that Cid had to have information about Phee "extracted" from her when CX2 was searching for the Bad Batch, and given that Cid proved herself to be the kind of person who will gladly give up information long before torture is required, it stands to reason that Cid didn't make any connection between Phee and the Batch's whereabouts in the first place since Phee had kept quiet about them

Put herself out there to try to get intel on m-count, which we know is a subject that would attract the wrong kind of attention for her

Readily volunteered her ship and services to carry out a prison break to help the Batch save Omega

And this is all just the stuff we are aware of that she did to help them.

Phee is one of the best non-clone characters to come from Bad Batch and she deserves the best of everything.

The Light

Words: 1374

Summary: Hunter and Crosshair have a chat

Notes: I promise I can write from another POV but this is a Hunter POV again.

Hunter gritted his teeth to try and stifle a scream. It was a deep, guttural noise that seemed to get stuck in his throat. They were taking away his life, his family, his battles, and his dreams. Pictures flashed in his head, the edges browning, coiling and burning away, lit by some bright, invisible flame. The pain in his head radiated from his forehead to the top of his spine. It felt like his brain was being liquidated inside his skull.

He sat bolt upright in bed, chest heaving, sweat covering his face and dripping down his back. He had the blade of his knife clutched between his fingers, pulled back to his ear, ready to be released at the enemy.

There was a silhouette in the doorway, the amber light from the common area shining around the tall, lanky frame. They were leaning against the door but didn’t cross the threshold into the room.

Hunter relaxed, recognizing the hiss like breathing of his brother. He slowly lowered the knife, tucking it back under his pillow. “What can I do for you, Crosshair,” he said gruffly, trying to steady his beathing and shake off the last remnants of the nightmare.

“You were screaming,” Crosshair said matter-of-factly.

Hunter nodded and swung his legs out of bed. He pushed his sopping wet hair out of his face and padded past his brother, through the common room to the kitchen beyond. The sky was dark through the window, but Hunter could hear the stirring of the birds and the splashing of the fish in the harbor. Sunrise wasn’t too far away.

He set about making some caf. The thought of trying to sleep again wasn’t appealing, he might as well get the day started. Crosshair had followed him and was now propped in the doorway of the kitchen, once again leaning.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Crosshair asked, his voice unusually soft.

“It was just a nightmare, Crosshair. Don’t worry about it. Go back to sleep,”

His brother crossed to the table and sat down. Hunter could feel his eyes on him the whole time and deliberately didn’t meet his gaze. Crosshair cradled the stump of his wrist in his left hand and rubbed it absentmindedly. He was getting used to the prosthetic, but still hadn’t committed to a permanent replacement. Hunter wasn’t sure if it was because he didn’t want it or wasn’t ready to leave the safety of Pabu and travel off world for the procedure.

Nightmares weren’t an uncommon occurrence in the house. Hunter had woken to Omega and Crosshair’s screams too many times to count. Omega would sob into her brothers’ arms before falling asleep against one of them and getting tucked back into bed.

Crosshair’s nightmares were a mystery. He never spoke about the content, just the feeling. Hunter was usually the first to respond, just because he heard him first. He’d stumble into his room to find him curled up in the corner under his lofted bed, knees pressed to his chest, head buried in his knees. They didn’t need to talk, Hunter would sit next to him, ground him in his presence and wait until he was ready to get up.

Wrecker had the fewest nightmares but when he did, he re-lived Eriadu. He watched Tech fall again and again in slow motion. He screamed out for him and every time woke up with his arms stretched outwards, trying to catch him. His scream would permeate Hunter’s dreams sometimes, and he’d wake up, reliving the moment with him.

Hunter’s dreams had started more recently. It had been three months since Tantis and just as the others had started to heal, the insidious mind experiments of Doctor Hemlock started to take hold. Even in death he couldn’t escape the Doctor’s grip and he couldn’t stand it.

The image of Omega handcuffed to Hemlock, being dragged away flashed in front of Hunter’s eyes. He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head to get rid of it. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he was startled when Crosshair spoke again.

“The dreams…they’re bright white and searing pain…”

Hunter looked over at his little brother, his narrow face contorted in anguish. His eyes were down, staring at the stump where his shooting hand should be.

“You feel like your soul is being stripped bare, your memories distorted or erased…like you are being erased. You can’t tell what’s real and what’s not.” Crosshair continued.

Hunter grabbed two cups of caf and sat down at the table opposite his brother. “Yeah, that sounds about right,” he said grimly.

He winced as he sat on the rickety wooden chair. The explosion he got caught up in had damaged the discs in his back. Another souvenir from Tantis. The bruise had finally faded, but the rest was yet to fully recover. And every so often a twinge sent a shockwave down his right leg.

He slid the second cup of caf to his brother, watching him curl his left hand around it. Hunter felt a wave of regret wash over him. How many times had Crosshair been tortured? How many times had he been put in those machines and for how long? Hunter had only been in them a few hours, at his best guess, and he was still feeling the ramifications from it. No wonder his brother was so wounded when he returned to them.

He looked out of the small, round window behind Crosshair. Sunlight was licking the horizon. He could hear boats departing the harbor and the chatter of the Moon-yos darting about the island. The soft scent of the weeping maya blossom drifted into the kitchen.

“Crosshair,” he started, his voice getting caught in his throat. He cleared it and started again, putting down his caf. “Crosshair…I’m sorry…for not understanding…about what they did to you…for…for all of it…” he trailed off. Perhaps it was too late for apologies.

Crosshair looked up at him, “I deserved it,” he said at last, one fat teardrop fell into his caf. His right hand started shaking ever so slightly. Hunter rested his hand on his brother’s forearm and left it there.

“Nobody deserves to be tortured, Crosshair,” he said bluntly. He thought they had moved past this. Thought that Crosshair had realized he wasn’t to blame.

“I…I submitted a report, after Kaller. Said the Padawan survived. It was my fault…”

“Crosshair, it was the inhibitor chip. None of that was your doing. You have to let it go. I have.” Hunter said softly.

Crosshair nodded, seemingly shaking off the despair that had overwhelmed him moments ago. Hunter knew he was still coming to terms with everything. It’s easy to push these thoughts away when you’re running, it’s the quiet moments when the trauma bubbles up to the surface, and this squad had a lot of that to go around.

A faint tinkling sound entered the room and Batcher padded softly over to Crosshair, resting her head on his thigh. He scratched the top of her head while absentmindedly sipping his caf. Omega may have been the one to tame the lurka hound, but she had adopted Crosshair as her minder and favorite person. Hunter smirked at the thought of Crosshair having a pet. It really was possible for people to change.

Hunter and Crosshair sat in silence, watching the sun gradually rise over the horizon. The golden light filled the room, banishing the shadows that had lingered moments before.

Hunter took a deep breath and smiled as he heard Omega shuffling through the house. She appeared in the doorway, blonde hair wild, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She had grown so much in such a short amount of time, but here, in this light, she still looked like the child they had taken from Kamino, big eyes, wide smile. She seemed to glow in the golden light of the kitchen.

“Morning, Kid” he said getting up and letting her sit opposite his brother.

Crosshair smiled at Omega then looked at Hunter. He gave an ever so slight nod, which Hunter returned.

There would always be darkness but they both knew where to look for the light.

Our poor, dear Sergeant 😢

Hunter hasn’t gotten a proper break since the squad left Kamino the first time… I feel like he takes care of everyone but forgets about himself, typical eldest sibling in crisis mode :((

Absolutely this!

hey readers. I feel like you know, but do you like. Do you KNOW? What reaction you invoke in a writer, when they see you've reblogged their post and added flaily tags? Do you know how excited they get to see an ao3 email that starts with "comment on..."? Do you know how great they feel when they see how you've gone through a bunch of their fic and see your trail of kudos?

You should know. Because it has a HUGE boost on their confidence and productivity and mental health. Knowing someone enjoyed their stuff enough to react in some way? There is truly nothing like it. Nothing.

So thank you, readers, for your engagement. It NEVER goes unnoticed.

❤️

Love this!

Have You Ever Tried to Drag Your Younger Sibling Somewhere They Don’t Want to Go.PNG

unlikely season 2 predictions but hey that’s what I’m here for