#bad batch week 2021

[cy-cyborg-draws]

My disability doesn't need to be hidden

Two weeks ago, I made a batch of videos for Tik Tok that were supposed to be going up over the next month or so. However, out of the 5 uploaded and queued, 3 were flagged as needing manual review for potentially breaking community guidelines. The only thing about these videos that was any different from the other content I'd made in the past, or the two new videos that didn't get flagged, was that they featured either images of myself where my legs and wheelchair were visible, or images of my fursona Nix (who has the same disability) where their legs and wheelchair were visible. I took all the videos down, since the later ones wouldn't have made much sense in isolation and made a quick crop to the earlier ones so my/Nix's legs were out-of-frame and low-and-behold, they didn't get flagged. This isn't new. In the past, Tik Tok has removed or hidden my videos (meaning they were stuck on 0 views and people visiting my page couldn't see them) when my legs and scars weren't entirely covered. I kind of expected it to happen to the video that used IRL footage of me and I had a backup plan, but censoring Nix in particular just felt... petty and uncalled for. It's bad enough to do this to real disabled people's bodies and that I even had to have a backup plan for it at all, but the other videos? They were stylised drawings of a purple dragon with simplified scars. A drawing I've used on other platforms with no issue by the way; I've uploaded videos with those same images to both Youtube (shorts and youtube proper) and Red Note. It's only Tik Tok that has an issue with it consistently. Despite the vent I had about it all on Tumblr when it first happened, I will eventually re-upload the videos, as well as upload them to other platforms, but I have to figure out how to get around whatever is flagging them first. I won't be hiding or censoring my/nix's stumps or scars if I can avoid it. I know it seems petty and it's going to make things harder in the long run, but I started my tik tok account to share my art, the vast majority of which has disability as a central theme in some way, shape or form, and to educate about disability, and I can't do that If I have to hide mine. My body and my disability (whether depicted on me or on my characters) isn't gore and it doesn't need to be censored. [ID: An image of a purple dragon with yellow wings and a yellow underbelly, flying in front of the 2021 disability pride flag. The dragon is missing most of it's tail and it's hind legs, with the right leg gone from above the knee, the left from just below it. Both the tail and legs are covered in very visible scarring, and there are a few smaller scars on the arms. There is white text with a black outline on the image which reads "Disability just being visible isn't "Graphic and Disturbing Imagery"". /End ID]

[professorsnape394]

DAY 11 - Unrequited Love

Pairing: Severus Snape x Reader

Rating: 😡

Prompt: Buried

Summary: Long Buried feelings finally come to light and Severus does not know how to react.

A/N: For this one I took inspiration from the last Snapetober I participated in (2021). I found an half-finished unpublished story in my drafts, so here is it finished and fully fleshed out. Enjoy :-)

Warnings:  Angst. Rejection. Spoilers: Unhappy Ending.

Word Count: 2307

Credits to Gif Creator.

Hogwarts Christmas Ball, 1978.

Y/N stared across the dance floor longingly, her gaze captivated by the slender boy on the other side of the room. Despite his tattered dress robes, and slightly greasy hair, Y/N always found herself drawn to him. In fact, her attention was rarely on anything but him. Severus Snape had stolen Y/N’s heart long ago; it was just a shame he knew nothing about it.

Her stomach lurched at the sight of Severus approaching a familiar red-head. While Y/N spent her days watching the boy, Snape spent his trailing around after Lily Evans.

It did not come as a shock to see them at the ball together since it was rumoured her infatuation, James Potter, was absent due to a bad batch of pumpkin pasties. What was surprising, however, was the fact that Severus was supposed to be attending the ball with her. A fact that seems to have slipped his mind.

Fighting back a second bout of tears that week, Y/N turned her gaze elsewhere. While she was under no illusions that Severus would return her feelings, she had hoped that the two of them might enjoy one dance together, even if they remained only friends. She watched on from afar, as her date laughed with another girl. Her face burned with a mixture of jealously and embarrassment.

It wasn’t the first time Severus’ feelings for Lily Evans made her feel small. But it was the first time her best friend had betrayed her so blatantly.  

Hours passed and without a single offer to dance, her classmate’s uninterested in anyone else besides their own dates. Severus remained on the opposite side of the Great Hall, oblivious to the girl whose heart was breaking over him.

Finding the night to be a lost cause, Y/N resided to return to her dorm. With one last glance over her shoulder, she caught a glimpse of Severus and Lily dancing arm in arm to a slow song; her head positioned intimately on his chest, his lips brushing against her auburn hair.   When he turned in time with the music, Y/N recognised the unrequited look on his face as the same one she often wore around him. It was in that moment she lost all hope of ever ensnaring the man she so longed to love.

That night forever haunted Y/N’s memory even years after she had graduated from Hogwarts. It was the night she had lost all hope on love, and despite trying to overcome her teenage infatuation, the remnants of her feelings still remained. It was this that prevented her from finding love elsewhere, thus leaving her just as alone in her twenties as she had been as a teen.

Diagon Alley, 1985.

Y/N’s usual weekend ritual consisted of a trip to Flourish and Blotts to purchase a brand-new novel, then visit a local café to begin her next literary adventure. It seemed the only way to escape the bitter thoughts of reality that often creeped up on her whenever she was alone.

The familiar chime of the doorbell welcomed her into the shop, the wall of heat easing the sting of the cold winter air outside. She took her time browsing the bookshelves, roaming up and down the aisles multiple different times before settling upon her final pick.

Y/N finally reached for the hardback, tugging only to find it would not budge. The witch crouched to inspect the issue, finding a second hand tightly gripped the spine from one aisle over, seemingly as reluctant to let go as she was.

An irritated grunt echoed through the silence of the shop, and the book was ripped from her grasp.

“Excuse me, what exactly do you think you are doing?” Y/N exclaimed, marching her way around the shelves. “I had that book firs-“

Her voice trailed away, the sight of her competitor stealing all the breath in her lungs.

“Severus.” She gasped.

“Y/N?” He turned to the woman in surprise.

“It’s… good to see you.” She bit back the tone of shock in her voice. A sickly feeling forming in the pit of her stomach.

“How long as it been? I can’t remember the last we spoke.”

“I can.” She blurted without thought.

After that night at the Christmas Ball, Y/N swore to never speak a word to the man again. Though it pained her, it was ultimately the right decision to try and lessen the hold he had on her. What hurt more was that he never once tried to reach out after that night; it hadn’t occurred to Y/N that their friendship had meant so very little to him.

Snape raised an eyebrow questioningly, waiting for the woman to elaborate.

“I should get going. It was nice to see you again, Severus.” She made a dash for the door.

“Wait. Your book.” He called after her, feeling nothing but utter confusion.

“Keep it, it’s yours.” She disappeared from his sight.

Struggling for breath, Y/N planted herself in the far corner of the café, peeling off her layers of scarfs and her winter coat. Her encounter with Severus had sent her blood boiling, flushing her face with colour and breaking a sweat out on her forehead. He was both the first and the last man she wanted to run into on any given day, she just never expected it to actually happen.

He looked so different now; no longer the lanky teenager she first developed feelings for. Yes, his face had aged, but his slight wrinkles only added to his appeal. At least when she thought back on him, she was picturing the scrawny boy with clothes that barely fit him. Now, however, she would forever see him as the man he had grown to become; tall, broad shoulders, and not completely lacking in the muscle department. And it didn’t escape her notice how strong his grip was when he forced the book from her hands.

Burying her head in her palms, Y/N wanted to scream, cry and throw up all at once. What had once been a distant memory of a childhood crush was now back in full force and she couldn’t get the image of the man out her head.

There was no way of telling how long she sat like that, except for the fact her tea had long since turned cold and the busy streets of Diagon Alley had almost emptied.

Had her hands not been pried away from her face, she may very well have sat like that all night. Her eyes first landed on the leather-bound novel that had been placed gently in front of her, not daring to look at where it had come from.

“Y/N.” Severus spoke softly, announcing his presence.

“How did you know I was here.” She croaked, burning a hole into the cover of the book.

“I remembered how much you liked tea. There was only so many places you could run to.” He took the seat opposite hers. “Why did you run?”

Y/N fought the urge to bury her head in her hands again. How was she going to explain the bizarre reaction she had to seeing him again after all these years.

“What can I get you, Sir?” A waitress interrupted, buying her time.

“Coffee. Black.”

“That’ll be with you in just a moment.” She smiled, returning behind the counter, leaving the two of them to sit in silence once more.

The loaded silence between the two threatened to swallow Y/N whole. Her need to see the look on Severus’ face, outweighed the need to hide the embarrassment on her own. She appreciated he did not push her for an answer, but his intense stare had a similar effect. There was no escaping his question.

“Seeing you again, after all these years… it’s too painful.” She stuttered.

Severus swallowed; it was clear he did not expect such an answer from her.

“Care to enlighten me as to why an encounter with me is … painful for you?”

Y/N searched his face for a semblance of understanding, surely he was not entirely oblivious to her feelings for him.

“Do you remember the last time we spoke?”

Severus didn’t bat an eyelid at her swift change of subject.

“I didn’t think I did.” He started. “But upon seeing you again, I think I remember when it was.”

“It was the day before the Christmas Ball in our Seventh year. We were sat in the common room by the fire. I was telling you about my dress, I was so excited to wear it for the ball.” The memory of the moment had her blinking back tears, it hurt to recount the events. “We were complaining that we both had to attend the ball alone, almost everyone in our year had dates and frankly it was a bit embarrassing that no one had even thought to ask me. You on the other hand made your own choice by refusing to ask anyone at all, considering the one person you wanted to ask was already taken.”

“I recall.” Severus clenched his jaw at the mention of the late Lily Potter.  

“Do you remember what happened later that night? You came to me in my dorm; slightly dishevelled I admit, maybe you had been drinking? I don’t know. But you came to me and asked me to accompany you to the ball.”

Severus froze, the memory slowly coming back to him.

“I don’t think you ever knew how happy that made me. I was completely over-joyed at the thought of having a date to the ball. Not just any date; you. You were the only one I truly wanted to go with and I felt like my dreams were finally coming true. I could barely sleep I was so happy. I spent the whole next day prepping and primping, making myself look the best I possibly could, in the hopes I could somehow manage to impress you.”

“You did not need to impress me.”

“Didn’t I?” Y/N couldn’t help but laugh as a tear fell from her eyes. “Because if my memory is correct; despite my efforts to prepare for a magical evening with you, I spend all of it alone. I arrived in the Great Hall to find my date had apparently been double booked.”

Suddenly it all dawned on Severus at once. He had completely fucked up. Not only by forgetting his arrangement with you, but for leaving his friend on the lurch when she had no one else to go with. He had been so blind by Lily’s request to replace James; he had forgotten everything the two of them had spoken about the night before.

“Y/N.” Severus sighed, massaging his forehead.

“I discovered through my own humiliating research that Lily Evans had become short of a date at the last moment and came to you for help. Which you so graciously offered.” She swiped at the stream of tears pouring down her cheeks.

“Y/N, I’m so sorry.” Snape reached across the table to take her hand in his.

“It’s done now.” She sniffled. “But you never even spoke to me after that. All those years of friendship forgotten about in an instant.”

“You were avoiding me like the plague, Y/N. I had no idea what I had done to piss you off, all I knew was that you were mad at me. I thought it would be better if I left you alone.”

“I wasn’t mad at you Severus. I was in love with you.” She looked teary-eyed into his pitying gaze.

Her confession left Severus speechless. Had he really been so blind, that he hadn’t noticed his best friend was in love with him?

He swallowed, clearing the ever-growing lump in his throat.

“I had no idea.” His words were nothing more than a whisper.

“Well, you wouldn’t, would you? While I was staring at you, you were too busy looking at her.”

Severus closed his eyes, taking a second to think back. She was right, his entire youth was memories of pining after. He hadn’t even taken a second to appreciate the one girl who stuck by him through it all.

“That still doesn’t explain why you ran away from me just now? Did I hurt you so bad that you’re still annoyed with me?”

It was Y/N’s turn to fall silent now.

“I think I should go.” She said after an uncomfortably long pause.

Y/N rushed to stand from the small wooden table, Severus stood just as quickly, blocking her exit path.

“Tell me.” He stared intensely into her eyes, his cold hands wrapping around her dainty wrist. “Please.”

The length between his words and hers seemed to go on for days. Finally, she gathered the courage to say the words she had been holding in for so many years.

“I think… I think I might still be in love with you.” His hand fell from hers, retracting as if he had been burned.

While it was her instinct to run away as far as she could, Y/N suspected this would be the one time she would regret fleeing. She needed to hear what he had to say.

“I… I don’t know what to say.”

Her heart sunk.

“Nothing.” She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “If the obvious doesn’t occur to you, then the best thing to say would be nothing.”

“I’m sorry.” He repeated sincerely.

“It really is time I should get going.” This time Severus stepped out of her way, allowing her access to the door.

“Your book.” He lifted it from the table.

“Keep it. If you ever have a change of heart, I might borrow it from you someday.”

Severus nodded, understanding her words.

Y/N took one last glimpse of him before leaving, flashing him a sad smile that might haunt his memory forever.

[mchlgayser]

𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐏 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐏! [my anime ults] how they'd take care of you when you're having your period.

⸻ cw: menstrual pain & not proofread

qeena's brief note: woooooaahh yes this is very much a self-indulgent fic 😕 i'm having a very bad pre-period cramp rn (idk if that's even a word) but yes, this pain is killing me so much and i can't very much believe it that i finished such long writing loll btw this took me two hours and half (with breaks ofc) guys don't bash me for my last ult okie hes just so special to me and i love him sm (as much as truck-kun loves him) im 2021 he was my everything istg, i was literally fighting every bits of his haters (hes my shitsaki yall 🤭) ໒꒰ྀི ≧ ᗜ ≦ ꒱ྀིა and that's pretty much my rant for the day lmao thank you, i love you, reblogs and comments are very much appreciated and happy reading xoxo 💙

˙✧˖° 🌊 ⋆｡˚꩜˙ 𓇼 ᴛᴏɢᴀᴍᴇ ᴊᴏ

TOGAME JO will most definitely offer to run errands or take care of your tasks on your behalf. He know how painful and hard it must be for you to endure the aching pain around your lower abdomen so of course, no chores for you for the rest of the week or more. He'll probably let you do light chores if you insisted but no, he'll do the laundry, hang the clothes to dry it, iron and fold them for you, clean the dishes after you ate the food he bought for you.

He loves to spoiled you a lot, making sure you're in bed at all times, only allows you to leave when you have to change your pads/tampons or when it's your time to shower "Kame, I'm alright now..." He grin, tucking you back to bed and bring you a warm heat pack "No, you're not, princess. Now lie down and rest until you're really, really alright."

˙✧˖° 🌊 ⋆｡˚꩜˙ 𓇼 ᴍɪᴛꜱᴜᴋɪ ᴋɪʀʏᴜ

MITSUKI KIRYU love to give you a full-body massage to relieve cramps. He'll buy all sort of products that are mentioned to be good for a smooth blood-circulation, buying expensive massage gun because he know you'll love to use them when you're having a severe cramp pain.

"Here?" The rapid vibration of the motor pokes around your lower back making your groan, tucking your head in between the fold of your arm "This feels so nice, thanks, Suki." He smile, moving down to kiss the back of your hair and caress the crown of your head softly "It's a no problem, dove. As long as you're good."

˙✧˖° 🌊 ⋆｡˚꩜˙ 𓇼 ʏᴀᴍᴀᴛᴏ ᴇɴᴅᴏ

YAMATO ENDO never forget to bring, or better, surprise you with your favorite chocolates and snacks during your menstrual pain. He know how appreciative his baby is when he brings her chocolates and snacks she love so much. He' also never forget to buy a batch of pain reliever pills because he know you'll take them at night. He just know his favorite baby so well.

"And your favorite chips!" Beside you on the bed is a kingdom of junkies. It's so full of teeth-rotting sweets and snacks Endo got you "So, which one you want to try first?" When you told him you don't know, he laugh, helping you pick one thing he's most excited to try.

Endo will stay beside you, caging you in between his arms as you both eat all your favorite snacks that he got you.

˙✧˖° 🌊 ⋆｡˚꩜˙ 𓇼 ꜱᴀᴋᴜʀᴀ ʜᴀʀᴜᴋᴀ

SAKURA HARUKA may look like he's inexperienced at cooking but hey, let's be realistic, he's been living alone for a lot of years. Obviously, at some point, he must've learnt how to cook and that's why, he absolutely delighted to cook your favorite comfort food for you during your period. Whatever the food it may be, Sakura will make it for you, doesn't matter if it taste slightly decent or not.

He know you loves it when he cooks for you, you didn't say it but he can see it, the way your eyes sparkles the more you take bites of the food he made you.

"It's good or not?" Sometimes, he still need a bit of reassurance so let's give him that... "It's delicious, Haru. So delicious!" He huff, propping one hand beneath his chin as he watch you eat. The notable blush crept to his cheeks all the while you're eating.

˙✧˖° 🌊 ⋆｡˚꩜˙ 𓇼 ɪꜱᴀɢɪ ʏᴏɪᴄʜɪ

ISAGI YOICHI unfortunately can't help you physically whenever you're having your period because he's in Blue Lock but that doesn't stop him from helping you mentally and emotionally. How exactly? Of course, through sweet texts, memes, random photos of him to brighten your mood.

isababy:

saw this cute video that made me think of you

hope it brings a smile to your face

[video attachment]

you:

aww sooo cutee TT TT ilysm! ❤️

isababy:

sending warm hugs to chase away any cramps

and i love you too

Maybe it's because you're on your period, maybe that's why you're so sensitive in the middle of the night that you can't help but cry a bit (a lot) when your usually nice boyfriend is being nice.

˙✧˖° 🌊 ⋆｡˚꩜˙ 𓇼 ᴍɪᴄʜᴀᴇʟ ᴋᴀɪꜱᴇʀ

MICHAEL KAISER is your typical "I'm rich so I can spoil my girlfriend" type of boyfriend so needless to say, whenever you're on your period, a small thoughtful gift is what you are gonna get. Kaiser remember you showing a video of someone unboxing a whole box set of blind boxes so that's what he got you. A set of twelve Hirono's blind boxes. He also remember you saying you'd like a tea boba with abnormally large size of bobas so that's what he got you as well. He wouldn't want you to worry your pretty little head thinking where he got those.

"Oh, my God, let's see our first pull!" He clap his hand together in excitement, laughing when you squeal "What's this... Oh, we got 'Poem'!" He pat your head, happy to see you smile "So childish, getting worked up over sheer boxes." He plop onto the bed next to you, chuckled when you blow raspberry at him "A man who chase round object called a ball for profession doesn't have a say to what I like." He pout, pretending to be hurt which makes you scoff "Come on, let's open another one." Kaiser bet on 'Drifter' and you bet on 'Patience' but you got 'Unspoken'. It's okay, he still got you another ten.

˙✧˖° 🌊 ⋆｡˚꩜˙ 𓇼 ᴀᴋᴀᴀꜱʜɪ ᴋᴇɪᴊɪ

AKAASHI KEIJI never missed to draw a bath for you when you're on your period, especially at nights when it'll hurt the most. He love to set up a diffuser inside the bathroom and put a various choice of your favorite fragrance so the bathroom will smell nice. He run the tub with warm water and a tropical-scent bath bomb before calling you in. What, you thought he'll done with just that? No, he even got you a projector so you can watch your comfort show while you're at that. It's just a full-package princess treatment.

"Keiji, are you alright?" He hum, situating himself comfortably on the stool, still massaging your head nice and slow "Yes, what about you, Y/n? Want to refill the snacks?" You hums a yes, thanking him in the process. He take the bowl, leaning down to kiss you on the head "I'll be right back, love."

✧˖° 🌊 ⋆｡˚꩜˙ 𓇼 ᴛᴇɴᴅᴏᴜ ꜱᴀᴛᴏʀɪ

TENDOU SATORI enjoy keeping you company in your bed where you both would just cuddle and watch movies together. Tendou absolutely love nothing more than just to trap you in between his slender arms, the more when you're on period "You're always so much warmer during your period." He said to which you don't agree at all.

"Tori, we've been in bed for six hours now. Shouldn't we do something else?" He grin, tightening his hold around you, making sure his legs intersected on top your legs to assure you won't move "Don't be dramatic, it was only 5 hours and 45 minutes." He resume the movie, planting his chin to your head and caress your lower back, hoping to soothe your throbbing pain "So warm," You sighed, begrudgingly act accordingly to his will, and subconsciously leaning further onto him making him smirk.

✧˖° 🌊 ⋆｡˚꩜˙ 𓇼 ʏᴜᴜᴊɪ ɪᴛᴀᴅᴏʀɪ

YUUJI ITADORI is very attentive towards your needs. He know you like a hot chocolate and a place warm enough to shield you from cold so that's what he's currently making, a cozy nest with blankets and pillows just for you. He always make sure you are nicely placed, tucking you on the sofa with all your favorite stuffed animals on your side, a cup of hot chocolate on the coffee table, snacks and pain medication. He especially make sure they're within-reach.

"Anything else, N/n?" You look at him, eyes droop in exhaustion "Can I have a bottle of hot water, just in case..." One moment he's there, the second he's gone, rushing down to the kitchen to get you a bottle of hot water "Here! Go ahead and rest, N/n. I'll stay here." He pat your head, sitting down in front of you on the carpeted floor, legs crossed with a beaming smile on his face.

Let's just say he's somehow manage to get inside your cozy nest, nuzzling behind you, and snoring pretty deeply.

✧˖° 🌊 ⋆｡˚꩜˙ 𓇼 ᴋɪꜱᴀᴋɪ ᴛᴇᴛᴛᴀ

KISAKI TETTA is a very simple guy. Your basic need such as pads, tampons, snacks and chocolate and medications is a must have. This guy had these in hands before you even got your period. But what's something he'll give you that impressed you the most? Indeed, a bouquet of fresh flowers. They're your favorite flowers, duh. Kisaki like giving you things, providing you stuff and help you with chores when you're having your menstrual cycle but what is it something he do that you love so very much again? Yes, reading you books. It doesn't matter romance book, children book? You'll love them the same.

"...The old woman is a witch and is planning to keep them as her prisoners. Hansel and Gretel are afraid, but decide to go inside the house..." Your head lie comfortably on his arm, smiling despite getting tired, happy because your boyfriend is more than glad to read a book for you "Hansel and Gretel notice a large oven nearby-" The pain long subsided, all thanks to Kisaki Tetta, and after playing war with your cramp, tiredness consumed and you fell asleep through his soft readings.

[mother-of-lothcats]

bad batch fans in 2024: yeah so this week’s episode hunter and wrecker were risking their lives for fennec shand in the florida bayou while crosshair and omega had a much needed sunset bonding meditation session

time traveler from 2021: WHAT

[badbatchdalorian]

Missing Piece - Part 1: Are You Mandalorians?

MEDIA: The Bad Batch (2021-2024), The Mandalorian (2019-2023) CHARACTERS: The Bad Batch & Din Djarin (Young) RATING: T (14+) TAGS: not canon compliant, PTSD, trauma, childhood trauma, canon-typical violence, hurt/comfort, angst with a happy ending, family fluff, Tech lives, protective siblings (more here) SUMMARY: In this galaxy far, far away, it's experimental unit Clone Force 99 that saves Din Djarin instead of the Mandalorians, forever altering not only his fate, but also their own. How they manage to survive with not one, but two young soldiers-in-training under their wings proves just how far they're willing to go to keep their family's missing piece as close as possible. cross-posted from ao3, where updates are more frequent

PART 1: Are You Mandalorians?

Hunter flipped his knife into the air just as the emergency comm channel began to blare. He jumped in his seat and narrowly avoided missing—and being cut by—the blade as it fell back into his grasp. Every head turned towards the cockpit, though some snapped more quickly than others. Wrecker was noticeably groggy as he groaned in dismay.

“C’mon!” Wrecker exclaimed, heaving a breath as he did so. “I was havin’ the best sleep I’ve gotten in weeks! ”

Hunter had already started towards the cockpit, and he knew Tech wouldn’t be far behind.

“Complaining about new action?” Crosshair huffed. “Never thought I’d see the day.”

“I can’t face new action without any sleep ,” Wrecker insisted.

Hunter tuned them out as he reached the Marauder ’s controls. He sat down in the co-pilot’s chair and pressed the button, watching as a blue image flickered to life. Hunter’s brow shot up as a Togrutan silhouette formed more fully.

“General?” Hunter managed the title even amidst his own surprise. He didn’t need Tech to tell him that General Shaak Ti being on the other end of the emergency comm was highly unusual, though he could practically feel the thought simmering in Tech’s brain from the pilot’s chair beside him.

“ Sergeant .” General Ti was as calm as ever, bowing her head in greeting before going on. “ I understand your squad is currently en route back to Kamino? ”

“That is correct,” Tech answered for his brother. He adjusted his goggles before letting his fingers fly over the controls. “We are approximately a single rotation and three additional standard hours away, given how distant our point of origin was.”

“ Is there any chance your squad is near the Relgim sector? ” General Ti’s expression morphed into something Hunter had never seen in the general before: desperation. “ We’ve just received a dire call for help, but the settlement is too remote for anyone else to get there in time. I saw your squad’s current route and hoped it wasn’t too late .”

Tech had already begun to analyze where in hyperspace they were the moment General Ti had requested it. Hunter fought back the exhaustion creeping into the corners of his mind as he pressed for more information. “Where would we be headed, General?”

General Ti still looked troubled as she responded. “ Aq Vetina .”

“In that case…” Tech paused, reaching for the hyperspace lever and pulling it back.

Hunter gripped the nearest support he could find as the Marauder shuddered out of hyperspace. Something fell behind them, and Wrecker grunted as Crosshair cursed loudly. Hunter chuckled, shaking his head—and knowing full well any other squad leader would have been mortified to have such a thing happen in front of a Jedi general.

“Your timing could not have been more optimal, General.” Tech spoke to General Ti while he focused on piloting the Marauder towards a distant world. “We are currently in the Relgim sector, and we are now on approach to Aq Vetina.”

General Ti let out a sigh of relief, her shoulders visibly lightening as she did so. “ Thank the Force. ” She focused on Hunter as she went on. “ Your orders are to engage only if the Separatist forces can be handled by your squad alone. If not… then we must consider this a loss .” Hunter didn’t need to be a Force-sensitive Jedi to sense her devastation at the mere thought of such an outcome. “ But I know that if any squad can take on such forces without backup, it’s yours, Sergeant. ”

“That’s right!” Wrecker was suddenly behind Hunter, his voice much brighter than before. He grinned at the Togruta Jedi and waved. “Hey, General!”

General Ti returned his smile. “ Wrecker, it’s good to see you .” Each word was genuine, spreading a comforting warmth through Hunter’s chest. Of everyone on Kamino, she had no doubt been the kindest to Hunter and his squad growing up, and for that he was forever indebted to her. “ I’m afraid I don’t have much time to catch up, though, and neither do you. Sergeant, if you wouldn’t mind contacting me on this frequency when you have an update on the situation? ”

Hunter nodded. “Of course, General.”

General Ti returned his nod. “ Thank you, Sergeant. Your squad is this settlement’s only hope. Do not engage in a battle you know you cannot win, but keep this in mind as you prepare for what’s ahead. ”

Those were the words she left them with. Her blue image faded, and for a few moments, all Hunter could hear—even with his enhanced senses—was the soft hum of space around them.

Hunter nearly winced when Wrecker raised his voice again from just behind them. “A surprise mission? Oh, yeah!” He punched the air. “I take back what I said before. This was totally worth missin’ out on some sleep.”

“What’s going on?” Hunter spun in his chair as Echo approached. He’d been surprised that Echo hadn’t joined him and Tech inside the cockpit for the comm, but given the way the ARC trooper was stretching his neck and suppressing a yawn, he had been in the middle of a deep, and clearly much-needed, sleep. “Was that General Ti?”

Hunter nodded. “It was.” He rose from his chair and clapped his hand on Echo’s shoulder. “Gear up. We have another mission.”

Echo’s eyes doubled in size. “ What? ” He shook his head. “That can’t be right. I thought we were headed back—?”

“There’s a remote settlement we’re passing by that needs help.” Hunter set his jaw, conveying an uncharacteristic amount of severity. “The general said we’re their only chance.”

Echo immediately straightened. Hunter began to smile in satisfaction. “What are we up against?”

Hunter kept his smile even as he gently brushed past Echo to head further into the ship. “Don’t know. We have to get a closer look.” He turned his head just enough to raise his voice over his shoulder. “Tech, let me know as soon as you have a visual. As for the rest of you…” Hunter looked pointedly at Crosshair, who had been watching everything unfold from the chair he was lounging in. “Get ready for a fight.”

Wrecker cheered in the background as Crosshair raised the corner of his mouth in a much more subtle form of celebration. Hunter could see the exhaustion looming within the depths of his brother’s eyes, and the darkening of the circles that hung underneath them, but that exhaustion was overpowered by their genuine love for what they did best: battle.

Hunter himself felt all of it—the exhaustion, the excitement, the addicting rush of adrenaline that shot through every single vein and nerve in his body. This time, however, he also felt something that he didn’t always experience, at least not to this degree. It was the same thing that had been written all over General Ti’s face.

He wanted to help these people, and he felt responsible for their safety.

But Hunter also felt responsible for his own squad, just as he always had. The weight of their flawless success rate got heavier with each new mission, though the success rate paled in comparison to the safety of his brothers. He wasn’t willing to sacrifice any one of them for a mission, not even one like this.

As hard as that truth would always be to swallow.

Hunter shoved these thoughts to the back of his mind just like always and focused on gearing up, paying extra attention to the way his armor snapped into place. He spared a look around and saw that Wrecker, Crosshair, and Echo had made just as much progress as himself, with Tech well on his way after he had put the ship on autopilot for the time being.

Hunter wasn’t looking forward to a reality where this rush and preparation for battle wasn’t necessary. Based on what General Ti had told them, it was very likely that they could be forced to bail after seeing what they were up against.

The last thing Hunter reached for was his helmet before he strided back towards the cockpit. He could see Aq Vetina on approach through the viewport, a small world that didn’t get much bigger even as the ship got closer.

“ Force .” Echo’s voice was a mere breath behind Hunter, but the sergeant wasn’t surprised by his close presence. He had sensed Echo’s whereabouts long before he had spoken. “That’s a small planet.” He exhaled, his voice dropping lower. “No wonder why they need help so badly.”

“Let’s just hope we can provide it.” Hunter turned towards Tech as he joined them. Tech returned to the pilot’s chair and Hunter stood behind him, letting Echo take the co-pilot’s seat. “Tech, how’s it looking from here?”

“I’ll have a better idea once I’ve navigated us closer.” Tech gently pushed the Marauder ’s steering wheel ahead, allowing the Omicron-class shuttle to move forward through the stars. 

Hunter could sense the shadows of Wrecker and Crosshair behind him, no doubt just as curious about what awaited them. Despite the fact they were all—at least, almost all—just sleeping peacefully a few minutes ago, they were itching for a fight, especially one that sounded so critical.

For once, the squad remained silent as Tech continued to steer the ship forward. The tension was so thick that the sound of the proximity sensor going off made everyone jump.

“I’m clocking… one Separatist ship.” Tech sounded unimpressed as he continued to analyze the incoming data.

They all waited a beat before Wrecker spoke up. “That’s it?”

Hunter narrowed his eyes. “Is it a command ship?”

“Negative. I assume they have already left the system.” Tech’s voice lowered only slightly as he went on. “The battle may very well be over.”

Echo shook his head. “Not if they’ve left a ship here. They could’ve realized a planet this small only needed one ship’s worth of forces and sent the others to their other targets.” He glanced up at Hunter, his gaze hopeful.

Hunter returned Echo’s look and considered their next steps. Tech and Echo could both be right, and there was only one way to find out.

“It’s worth checking out.” Hunter nodded towards the viewport. “Bring us in, Tech.”

Tech returned Hunter’s nod and obeyed the sergeant’s order. Wrecker chuckled victoriously and must’ve nudged Crosshair’s shoulder, based on the way their brother grunted in dissatisfaction soon after. Echo flashed Hunter an appreciative smile before he focused on assisting Tech with the landing sequence.

Hunter lowered himself into one of the chairs off to Echo’s right side and exhaled a gentle breath through his nose. While spontaneous planning was their usual style, this mission was too delicate to abide by their typical tactics.

Hunter thought through each step carefully and brainstormed every possibility he could come up with in the time it took the Marauder to exchange the view of the stars for the grayish-blue of Aq Vetina’s atmosphere. His heart tightened uncomfortably when he caught plumes of smoke on the horizon.

Tech started his warning. “Hunter…”

“Don’t bring us too close.” Hunter was back on his feet, setting a hand on the backs of both Tech’s and Echo’s chairs as he surveyed the situation for himself. “Keep us a few klicks away. We’ll do a loose recon before we decide if we’re engaging.”

Wrecker groaned in disappointment. “So we still don’t know if we’re gonna fight?”

Crosshair hummed. “No use in trying to save their skins if there aren’t any skins left to save.”

Echo spun around in his chair to fix Crosshair with a pointed look, his eyes narrowed dangerously. Hunter didn’t have to look back at Crosshair to know he was unaffected. Echo still hadn’t gotten used to Crosshair’s severe nature, but he would have to understand that Crosshair meant no harm by it. He was just a realist, one who still cared deeply—even if he refused to show it.

Hunter tightened his grasp on the chairs as Tech brought the Marauder down. Its descent was even smoother than usual, no doubt a result of Tech’s abundance of caution, and it wasn’t long after that Tech powered it down completely. Hunter stepped back to give him and Echo room to stand.

Hunter was already setting his helmet over his head. “Let’s get moving.” He turned and pushed himself through the small gap between Wrecker and Crosshair at the cockpit’s threshold. “The longer we wait, the more lives we put at risk.”

The lack of Hunter’s usual enthusiasm heading into a mission caused the others to follow his order without complaint or hesitation. Hunter led the way off the Marauder before he sped up into a fast jog that helped them disappear quickly into the surrounding wood.

Hunter wove through the trees easily, gently touching the bark as his senses created a reliable trail to the city that had gone up in flames. The crunching of his brothers’ footsteps behind him was reassuring, grounding him to the present even as the leadership part of his mind tried to think far ahead.

It wasn’t long before the first sandstone building came into sight. Its blue, domed roof was charred with black grime, and the sounds of blasterfire and explosions were unmistakable to Hunter’s sensitive ears.

Hunter raised his fist, signaling for the squad to stop as he pressed his palm against the sandstone. He listened more closely for another few heartbeats, letting the sounds of the firefight rattle against his eardrums.

Super battle droids. Not enough to overwhelm his squad, not at all, but certainly enough to level a settlement of this size. They had to act fast to minimize whatever damage they could.

Hunter turned to face his brothers and nodded. “We’re going in.”

Wrecker cheered.

“We’ve got SBDs.” Hunter glanced at both Wrecker and Crosshair. “Crosshair, head up. Wrecker, give him a boost.”

The pair nodded at the sergeant before bounding forward. Wrecker knelt down just enough for Crosshair to lift his foot into his brother’s cupped hands. Crosshair pushed off just as Wrecker threw his arms up, and Crosshair had more than enough air to get onto the roof. Hunter continued as they did so.

“As for the rest of us, Plan 70.” Hunter nodded at Tech. “You’re with me. We’ll head to the east,” he waved two fingers at Wrecker and Echo, “you take the west.”

Echo tightened his grasp on his blaster. “We’re on it.” With that, both he and Wrecker disappeared into the settlement, the ARC trooper guiding the way.

Hunter looked over at Tech and watched his brother tighten his grasp on his blasters. One nod was all it took for them to communicate their next move. Hunter passed Tech to lead the way to the east. They stuck close to the walls of the structures they passed, checking around each corner before moving ahead. The fight was getting closer and closer.

A new wave of adrenaline shot through Hunter’s veins like a rocket. If the stakes weren’t so high for the people they were rescuing, he would even smile at the sensation, but it felt disrespectful. He couldn’t enjoy it when there were civilians caught in the crossfire.

Hunter flinched when the helmet comm suddenly opened up. “ You four might want to speed things up ,” Crosshair warned. Hunter shared a concerned look with Tech, noting the way Tech’s gaze flashed with cautious curiosity. “ Looks like the clankers are about to have this battle won. ”

Wrecker snarled over the comms. “ Not if we can help it! ”

Crosshair sighed. “ That’s exactly what I’m saying, Wrecker .”

Hunter fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Focus. Remember what General Ti said. We’re their only chance at survival.”

Like his brothers, he didn’t mind the rush of battle, but this was different. This wasn’t blasting droids on the battlefield. This was rescuing civilians from the destruction of their home.

Hunter held his arm out in front of Tech when he caught sight of a horde of SBDs. He holstered his blaster and drew his blade from his gauntlet instead, keeping it at the ready as his other hand rose back to his helmet.

“Echo, Wrecker, status report.”

Echo answered for them. “ In position. ”

Hunter steadied himself with a breath before nodding to himself. “Move in.”

He didn’t waste another second. Hunter sprinted out from behind the protection of the nearby building and launched himself at the first droid in his path. He flung one arm around the droid’s neck from behind as the other jabbed his knife into the droid’s chest, frying its circuitry. Hunter pushed himself off the droid as it collapsed, leaping into the air and dodging blasterfire as he made a beeline for the next one.

Hunter was so lost in the familiar yet thrilling routine of battle that he paid little attention to the rest of their surroundings. It was only after he tripped over something unexpected that he was forced to stop and glance down at the unpredictable obstacle.

It was a body, clothed in red robes that tragically matched the color of their spilled blood. One quick look around the courtyard they were in proved that it was far from the only one of their people who had fallen.

Hunter blanched, but only for a moment. He couldn’t afford to take any more time. Hunter snapped his helmet up and watched as a droid threw open the doors to a bunker in the ground, taking aim with their weapon soon after.

Someone had to be alive down there. Someone they could save .

Hunter threw his knife before he had even gotten to his feet. The blade sunk into the side of the SBD’s head, causing it to stiffen before it collapsed to the side. Hunter was already running over, not bothering to retrieve his knife just yet as he awaited helping the person, or the people, who had taken refuge in the bunker.

When Hunter skidded to a stop in front of it, he nearly lost the ration that he had eaten just a few standard hours ago. He blinked in disbelief and attempted to catch his mind up with what his eyes were seeing.

It was a child, a boy no older than nine cycles, who was slowly reopening his eyes to look up at Hunter with fear, shock, and hope .

Hunter felt as if the wind had been knocked from him, the same way he always did whenever Wrecker sacked him during their sparring sessions. Still, he couldn’t afford to freeze up like this in the heat of battle, especially not when there was a helpless child staring back at him.

“It’s okay,” Hunter finally said, lifting his gloved hands up for the scared boy to see. “I’m not gonna hurt you. We’re here to help.”

The child blinked, his trembling lips parting as he tried to speak. “W-We?”

Hunter pasted on a small smile. “My squad.” He nodded in further reassurance. “We’ll keep you safe.”

The boy’s shoulders sagged in relief. He looked as if he was about to ask a question, but then thought better of it. Hunter fought to ignore the sudden ache in his chest as he glanced over his shoulder and narrowly dodged a blaster bolt.

“Stay down here for now.” Hunter was gentle with the order. “I’ll protect you from up here, and once the droids are dealt with, we’ll get out of here. Sound good?”

The boy nodded, his small fists clutching the dirt on the bottom of the bunker as he did so. Hunter let out a quiet exhale and spun back to face the battle.

Hunter lifted his fingers to his helmet as he tore the blade from the SBD’s head. “Has anyone else come across survivors? I’m protecting one right now.”

It took some time for the others to answer as they focused on blasting the last few droids. “ Negative ,” Tech answered for himself.

Echo was next. “ Same here .”

Wrecker maintained optimism. “ Not yet! ”

It was Crosshair who had to deliver the news that dropped like a stone into Hunter’s stomach. “ I’m not seeing any survivors from up here .”

Hunter’s jaw tightened as he held his position, using the SBD’s body as cover to fire off shots. They had been too late, after all. Hunter couldn’t help wondering how this boy had gotten so lucky.

That’s when he dared a look to the side of the bunker he was closest too. His breath caught in his throat when he saw a charred red slump that was half-hidden by the bunker’s damaged door.

Someone had purposefully protected the boy, and Hunter was willing to bet he knew exactly who they were. Suddenly, the boy’s hesitant attempt at a question made sense. He wanted to know if his parents were still alive.

Hunter closed his eyes behind his visor and gave his helmet a small shake. This was the part of the war he could never truly come to terms with, the part that was so easy to ignore when it was just him, his brothers, and a crowd of clankers. It was the reason why they were fighting this war in the first place.

Hunter reopened his eyes and watched as Wrecker took down the last droid. The settlement went eerily silent, and the blaster smoke made the atmosphere feel even heavier. Hunter sighed and turned back to the boy in the bunker.

There were fresh tear trails on the boy’s dirty cheeks, running from a pair of dark brown eyes that were open so wide Hunter half-feared they would pop right out of the boy’s head. Hunter put all his weapons away and lifted his helmet to show the child his face.

“Alright, we got the last of ‘em.” Hunter knelt down and rested an arm upon his propped-up knee. “Not too bad of a wait, huh?”

The boy sniffled, but Hunter caught the corners of his lips rising in a small smile. Hunter nodded at him in encouragement.

“You did great down here, following my orders.” He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. “You listen better than my squad does.”

The child chuckled. Hunter grinned, even as his heart squeezed tighter.

“My name’s Hunter.” Hunter pressed both hands against his chestplate before he gestured towards the child. “What about you?”

The boy lifted his arm and rubbed his face with the sleeve of his red hooded robe. He hiccuped on a breath as he fought to answer Hunter’s question. “Din, s-sir.” His voice was so quiet that Hunter wouldn’t have been able to hear it if it weren’t for his enhanced senses.

“Nice to meet you, Din. I’m… sorry we couldn’t get here sooner.” And Hunter meant that. His regret was already leaving a resounding ache deep within his bones.

Hunter looked over his shoulder and saw his brothers standing close by. They all had their helmets tucked underneath their arms, their expressions giving away their curiosity. Crosshair had already joined them again.

Hunter’s gaze fell back to the ground that was littered with the bodies of both the droids and the civilians. He circled his jaw and turned back to Din.

“Okay, kid, I have one more order for you.” Hunter tightened his gloved hand into a fist and maintained the best duty voice he could manage. “Think you’re brave enough to handle it?”

Din nodded earnestly, taking one more wipe at his tears. Hunter beamed.

“That’s what I thought.” Hunter tapped the edge of the bunker. “I’m gonna help you up, and we’re gonna take you on our ship to somewhere safe. I need you to keep your eyes closed until I say so. Got it?”

Din nodded again. “That sounds easy, sir.”

Hunter let out a genuine chuckle as he raised his brow. “I knew you’d be up for the challenge.” 

Hunter leaned down into the bunker and extended a hand towards Din. The boy stood to his feet and shuffled his way over. After the two of them interlocked hands, Hunter paused, his stare meeting Din’s.

“Ready to close your eyes?”

Din gave Hunter’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Yes, sir.”

Hunter nodded. “Alright. Close ‘em.”

Din obeyed. Hunter tugged the boy up with ease, gently setting him onto the terrain at his side. Hunter tucked his helmet under his arm and stood to his feet, keeping his grasp on Din’s hand. He looked down at the boy who had his eyes shut tight enough to make the skin on his lids wrinkle.

“The rest of my squad is here, too,” Hunter told him. He spared a look at his brothers, whose expressions had all fallen at the sight of the young child. “I’ll introduce you when it’s time to open your eyes. Okay?”

Din nodded. He hesitated before he decided to say something. “T-Thank you, sirs.”

Wrecker said “Anytime, kid!” right when Crosshair said “Don’t thank us yet.” Crosshair shrugged when he was leveled with a warning glare from all four of them.

Echo’s gaze met Hunter’s before he signed the best he could with his hand. A kid?

Hunter cut his gaze over to the bunker door. Everyone’s eyes followed his. Echo’s jaw tightened as Wrecker’s brow furrowed in devastation. Tech adjusted his goggles uncomfortably, and even Crosshair shifted his weight and looked away from the sight.

Hunter addressed his squad when he spoke again. “We have to get going before they send more down.” He set his helmet over his head and gave Din’s hand a gentle squeeze to get his attention. “I’m gonna carry you so you don’t have to worry about where you’re going. Is that okay?”

Din’s voice was only growing stronger. “Yes, sir.”

Hunter let go of the boy’s hand and reached over his back. He removed his pack and tossed it to Wrecker, who caught it and nodded at the sergeant. Hunter picked Din up and guided him onto his back, helping the boy to wrap his arms around Hunter’s neck.

Only once the boy was settled did Hunter nod at his squad. “Time to go.”

Hunter wasted no more time standing around. He began to jog back the way they had first come, using his senses to recall their path. The crunching of the terrain behind him told him that the squad was matching his pace, barely exhausted by the quick battle.

They were about halfway back to the Marauder when Din broke their silence. “Hunter, sir?”

Hunter flashed him a quick look over his shoulder as he continued ahead. He huffed out a fond breath. “You don’t have to call me ‘sir,’ kid.”

“Okay.” Din’s voice was wobbling a bit. An uneasy knot tied up in Hunter’s stomach. “I was just wondering… when are we gonna go back and help everyone else?”

Hunter nearly stopped dead in his tracks. Only his desire to keep Din from panicking kept him moving. The knot in his stomach rose into his chest, making it difficult to breathe—and suddenly mindful of Din’s extra weight upon his back.

It was like a blaster wound straight to the chest.

“Kid…”

Hunter inhaled a soft breath. Din was no doubt old enough to tell whether Hunter was lying or not. Hunter had already done what he could for Din by keeping him from having to remember the sight of their bodies. He deserved to know the truth; it was better for him to hear it now than later.

“There was no one else for us to save.”

The silence that followed was louder than any other Hunter had ever heard. He wasn’t used to silence, not with senses that picked up on just about everything, but focusing on this one now was utterly painful.

Hunter’s jaw tensed and refused to relax until Din spoke again. “Oh.” Din’s arms tightened around Hunter’s neck. “Okay.”

Din’s tone was one of distant acceptance. It shattered Hunter even more that a child like him had to come to terms with something like this.

Suddenly, he was angry. Angry at the Separatists, at the war, at the galaxy . This was a kind of loss that Hunter, thankfully, never had to experience, but if he was given the choice to face it in this child’s place, he would have.

But then he glanced back at his squadmates, his brothers , and Hunter selfishly thanked the Force that he never had to know what this kind of loss was like.

The sight of the Marauder was relieving, but not relieving enough to dispel all the darkness and tension from Hunter. He could sense the same weight upon the shoulders of his brothers behind him as they reentered the ship. It was obvious in the way Tech quietly dismissed himself to the cockpit for takeoff while the rest of them began to set down their gear, each one careful to make less noise than necessary.

Hunter helped Din’s feet get back to the floor. He lifted his helmet and set it aside, kneeling in front of the boy whose eyes were still closed diligently. Hunter softened.

“Okay, kid. You can open your eyes now.”

Din obeyed. He blinked a few times as he glanced around the space, his jaw falling open in wonder. Hunter chuckled to himself as Din’s hands clutched into small fists at his sides. “A spaceship ?”

“Technically, this is a shuttle,” Tech corrected him from the cockpit. Hunter fought the urge to roll his eyes fondly. “An Omicron-class attack shuttle, to be precise.”

Din just let out an impressed, exaggerated exhale. “ Whoa .”

The boy’s attention then fell on the squadmates who were huddled behind Hunter. The sergeant spun around to take a look at them himself.

Echo’s arms were at his sides, his brow pinched in distress. Wrecker had a warm smile on his face. Crosshair’s arms were crossed, his expression thoughtful and considering. Tech was still in the cockpit.

Hunter looked back at Din, whose chin tucked closer to his chest as the boy shyly addressed the room. “Are you Mandalorians?”

Immediately, Wrecker burst out into fond laughter. Echo gave him a light shove, despite the smile that started to tug at his own lips. Even Crosshair was wearing an amused smirk. Hunter chuckled to himself.

That hearty rumbling quickly disappeared from Hunter’s chest the moment he heard Din’s heartbeat quicken. He turned to see the boy’s gaze cast downward, his face reddened underneath the grime that coated his tan skin. Din started to shrink in on himself, clearly embarrassed by whatever error he had made.

Wrecker stepped forward before Hunter himself could act to remedy the situation. He knelt down to Din’s level and offered him a smile. “You’re right about us bein’ soldiers, kiddo, but not Mandalorians. We’re clones.”

Hunter heard Din’s racing heartbeat slow back down at Wrecker’s warmth as the boy’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Then why don’t you look like each other?”

Wrecker looked over at Hunter, who shrugged at his brother in amusement. “Fair point,” Hunter murmured. Wrecker turned back to Din.

“We’re clones, but…we’re different.” Wrecker jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. “Wanna meet us all?”

Din nodded earnestly. Hunter smiled again. He was trying to assess Din for any signs of shock, but clearly, Wrecker’s distractions were working for the time being. Tech could make a proper assessment once he was done piloting them into hyperspace.

Wrecker pointed to himself. “I’m Wrecker, and I like to blow things up!”

The delivery of the fun fact was enough to make Din laugh. Hunter’s chest warmed for the first time since he had rescued the boy.

Wrecker turned to face Echo and Crosshair. Echo took the glance as an invitation to step forward, kneeling down at Wrecker’s side. “I’m Echo.” He rested his left arm against his knee and managed a smile, though Hunter could clearly see the sadness set deep within his gaze. “It’s an honor to meet someone as brave as you.”

Din smiled at Echo’s praise. The warmth in Hunter’s chest blazed into a steady flame.

The boy’s smile faded when he looked down and caught sight of Echo’s scomp link and cybernetic legs. His expression was marred by worry. “Echo, sir, can I ask you a question?”

Getting rid of formalities was no doubt an adjustment for Din, one Hunter was more than willing to excuse. Echo held Din’s gaze and nodded confidently, allowing the boy to go on.

“What happened to your arm and legs?” Din cradled his own hands close to his chest. “Are you okay?”

Echo chuckled, the sound full of genuine warmth as he nodded again. “Yeah, kid, I’m alright.” Echo set his hand on Din’s shoulder. The boy relaxed underneath the soldier’s touch. “Something bad happened to me, but…” Echo paused, his gaze searching before he focused on Din again, “these guys found me and helped me learn how to make the most of it.”

Din brightened at that. His shoulders lifted, and his chest puffed up in hope. “Does that mean they’ll do the same for me, too?”

Hunter was about to answer in the affirmative from the boy’s side, but Echo beat him to the punch. “No doubt about it.” Echo gave Din’s shoulder a soft squeeze. “And so will I.”

Din’s smile remained, though his gaze shifted from Echo to something beyond him. The light of curiosity flickered in his gaze again, something to match the quicker rush of air Hunter heard in the boy’s lungs. Din’s voice was almost a whisper as he spoke.

“What’s his name?”

Wrecker and Echo both turned their heads to look at Crosshair, who was standing just behind them. Wrecker huffed and faced Din, gesturing with his head back towards their youngest brother. “That’s Crosshair.”

Din blinked a few times at the sniper, who had already tasked himself with balancing a new toothpick between his lips. Hunter watched as the boy studied his brother before he spoke up again.

“Do you like to shoot things, Crosshair?”

Crosshair’s arms stayed crossed over his chest even as his armored shoulders lifted with his amused exhale. “I do.” His brow shot up. “Looking to be a new target?”

Hunter narrowed his eyes and prepared a proper disciplinary speech for Crosshair, but Din’s laugh split right through his thoughts. “You’re funny!”

The corner of Crosshair’s mouth rose at that. Hunter’s tightened jaw relaxed. The kid could not only understand, but also appreciate Crosshair’s crude humor. He was already fitting in around here.

Not that he would be staying for long. The weight of reporting back to General Ti sat heavy upon Hunter’s shoulders, as he already knew what would result from telling her about their sole survivor. They would be redirected to Coruscant, where they would drop off Din at one of the refugee organizations—likely one created just for orphans.

What Hunter couldn’t fully understand was why that was an order he had no desire to comply with. Though, it wasn’t surprising that he didn’t want to comply with an order. He and his squad had been that way ever since he could remember.

Still, this was different, and one look at the brothers around him confirmed it. Everyone was glowing at this child, who had just been through the unimaginable, but was still displaying an admirable amount of strength and curiosity.

Finally, Tech stepped out of the cockpit, his voice breaking through the squad’s brief silence in the hold. “We are en route to Kamino once again,” Tech informed them, though he looked pointedly at Hunter. “Although I do expect to be rerouted to Coruscant once you have briefed General Ti on our… findings.” Tech adjusted his goggles as he stared at Din.

The boy pointed at Tech’s eyes. “I like your goggles, sir.”

Tech lit up and knelt down eagerly in the space between Echo and Hunter. “These goggles were designed to enhance my less-than-average eyesight,” he explained to Din. “As something had to give in order for the Kaminoans to enhance my genetics and carefully craft my exceptional mind.”

Din’s brow scrunched up. “Enhance your genetics?”

“That is correct.” Tech gestured with his head to the squad around him. “It is why our physical appearances vary, despite the fact we are all made from the same genetic template.”

Din looked at Hunter for guidance, and the sergeant nodded at him. “We’re named for our enhancements.” Hunter tapped his own chestplate. “I’m good at tracking and sensing things. Wrecker’s good at… well, wrecking things. Crosshair’s the best sharpshooter you’ll ever meet. And like Tech here said, he’s got an incredible mind.”

Din looked almost worriedly at Echo. “What about Echo?”

Echo offered the boy a reassuring smile. “I wasn’t originally a part of this squad. I got my name a long time ago, when I was still with my batchmates.”

Din tilted his head. “Batchmates?”

Hunter read Echo carefully as the ARC trooper cleared his throat and went on. “My brothers. The clones I was born with and trained with until I started to fight for the Republic.” Echo’s gaze lightened as he went on. “My brothers called me ‘Echo’ because I used to repeat all our orders.”

Din nodded in understanding. He looked around the group as a smile spread across his lips. “I like all your names.”

Tech lifted a finger. “Technically, they are nicknames. We were not given names when we were created, only numerical designations.”

“Oh.” Din began to deflate again. “I was only given a name, but… I wish I had a nickname like you guys.”

Wrecker set a hand on Din’s shoulder. “Well, you gotta’ know a lot about Mandalorians to think that’s what we were, right?”

Din looked up at him and nodded. “Yes, sir.” He blinked in succession and rushed to correct himself. “I mean, Wrecker.” He hesitated before going on. “I learned a lot about them in galactic history. And my pare…”

Din came to an abrupt stop. Grief powerful enough to knock Hunter off his feet washed over the young boy’s face, though he still pushed on to finish his thought—even if his voice was considerably smaller.

“They used to tell me a lot of Mandalorian stories.”

Wrecker shared a concerned look with Hunter. Still, he maintained his usual cheery disposition as he focused on Din. “That makes you an honorary Mandalorian in my book, kid. How about Mando for a nickname?”

That at least got Din to brighten again. “Mando…” Din even began to smile again. Hunter was overwhelmed by a wave of relief. “I like that.”

“Good.” Wrecker mirrored Din’s smile. “That means you gotta’ catch us up on all the stories, though!”

As Wrecker continued to keep Din busy, Hunter nudged Tech with his armored shoulder to get his attention. His brother gave him an inquisitive glance, which Hunter responded to by gesturing with his head back towards the cockpit. Hunter stood and Tech followed him over to the open threshold.

“I’m gonna contact General Ti,” Hunter nodded towards Din. “Give the kid an assessment to see what symptoms of shock he might be presenting. He’s a strong kid, I’ll give him that, but I’m not convinced that he’s just forgotten about everything that happened.”

Tech returned Hunter’s nod. “That would be a wise conclusion.”

Hunter set his hand on Tech’s shoulder before he turned away to walk into the cockpit. He paused just in front of the communicator, heaving a breath through his nostrils as he closed his eyes in consideration.

There was something tugging at his gut, squeezing his lungs hard enough to make breathing feel like a chore. Reporting to a higher ranking officer, even a general, wasn’t anything new for Hunter, so he knew that wasn’t the problem. It was something else.

Hunter reopened his eyes and spared a glance over his shoulder. Wrecker and Echo were distracting Din with more conversation as Tech tended to him, causing their soft voices and Din’s gentle laughter to fill the space. Even Crosshair looked fondly amused from where he was still standing behind his brothers.

Hunter smiled. The Marauder was… warmer. Lighter. Happier . He hadn’t seen it like this ever since the war had started, since before his brothers sourced their joy from things much more innocent than warfare.

Then Hunter faced the communicator again, and his stomach clenched hard enough that he thought he might be sick right there.

Something wasn’t right. Hunter wasn’t sure what to make of it. Maybe he just needed better sleep than he’d been getting these days, but deep down, he knew exactly what it was, because he knew exactly what order was awaiting him on the other end of the call.

Was he really about to drop this freshly orphaned child off like some kind of cargo shipment?

Hunter shook his head. There was no other choice; they were soldiers, and there was no business exposing a kid to a life like theirs. Hunter had never thought twice about keeping survivors around before. He wasn’t sure why it should be any different this time.

The sergeant forced himself to press the button on the communicator before he could hesitate again. After a few heavy heartbeats, General Ti’s holographic image appeared in front of him.

“ Sergeant Hunter. You’re reporting sooner than expected .” There was no missing the caution in General Ti’s tone as she undoubtedly prepared herself for the worst. “ How did your mission go? ”

Hunter steadied himself with a breath and looked apologetically at the general. “I’m afraid we were too late, General. The settlement’s been destroyed.”

The general blanched, though she otherwise maintained her usual composure. “ Any survivors? ”

Hunter circled his jaw, once again considering his words. As disobedient as he and his brothers could be, this wasn’t something he should lie about. “Just one. A child.”

General Ti’s head lowered. After a brief moment of silence, she spoke in a softer voice than usual. “ May the Force be with him, and with those he knew who have faded into it. ”

Hunter didn’t respond. He was waiting to receive his order, one that he should have had no problem following. They had disobeyed much more complex orders before.

“ Bring the child to Coruscant. I will call ahead and let them know you’re coming. ”

Hunter nodded. “Yes, General.” He cleared his throat, but kept the sound quiet enough for only him to hear. “We’ll see you back on Kamino after our… detour.”

General Ti returned his nod, and she even managed a genuine smile for him. “ I’ll be looking forward to it, Sergeant .”

Thankfully, General Ti ended the call there. Hunter released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and closed his eyes.

The sergeant didn’t know what to make of the Force, and like many other clones, he had his own suspicions about it, but whatever was suddenly tugging on his heartstrings certainly felt like a mysterious force. It screamed at him to disobey in a way he hadn’t experienced before, not even in their riskiest endeavors.

Hunter reopened his eyes and turned his head over his shoulder. The dynamic between everyone had already changed, with Wrecker, Echo, and Tech huddled on the ground around Din as the boy spoke with wide, excited eyes. Even Crosshair was lingering closer, his chair spun in their direction as he smiled around the toothpick between his lips.

The sergeant reached out with his senses to listen more closely.

“... and zzsskk! ”

Din raised his arm as if he was pretending to pull a weapon from a sheath. Wrecker let out an eager gasp, his gaze glittering almost as much as the child’s. Tech looked pensive, while Echo beamed at Din the best he could.

“The warrior had a glowing sword!”

“Glowing sword?” Wrecker chuckled and nudged Tech. “Now that’s wizard.”

“Technically, if this ‘sword’ did have a luminescent glow, it would classify as a lightsaber,” Tech spoke up. He paused and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Though I suppose vibroswords and blades can, at times, produce luminescence of their own accord…”

Din blinked at Tech in innocent confusion. “Huh?”

“Uh, that’s alright,” Echo waved his hand at Din in reassurance. “What happened next, Mando?”

Din’s shoulders lifted at the nickname, and he gave Echo an enthusiastic nod before going on.

Hunter gave his sensitive hearing a rest as he smiled to himself. Every heartbeat on that ship was at ease for the first time in much too long. He knew his brothers enjoyed battle, but that didn’t mean they didn’t still feel the stress of it. This was the calmest they all had been since the earliest days of their deployment.

Surely, that couldn’t be a coincidence. Hunter just didn’t know what he was supposed to do about it.

═════════════════���══

Echo was more than happy to volunteer for the first watch shift, and he had no intentions of rotating out anytime soon. He had offered his bunk to their young passenger, and the last thing he wanted to do was interrupt the child’s slumber. If anyone knew how important that first bout of rest after such trauma and loss was, it was Echo.

In fact, he’d been remembering a lot of those moments ever since they left Aq Vetina.

Such as Echo’s own eternal slumber after the Citadel. He shivered just thinking about the confusing stretch of darkness and flickering light that seemed as if it would never end. Sequences had run over his eyes constantly, letting light in each time they did, but they were never enough to bring him back completely.

Echo blinked his weightless eyelids to relieve the burning ache within them.

It had taken a long time for him to get comfortable with sleeping again, and clearly, he was still adjusting. He had been good about it for a while, but there was something about Din’s tragedy that had felt so personal to him.

Echo had understood it, that feeling of losing everybody, especially those held closest to the heart. He hadn’t even been given proper time to grieve Fives after he woke from his stasis. Somehow, that hurt more than the idea of having to witness his brother’s fate with his own eyes. He couldn’t even be there to protect his brother from the relentless force of death.

And then there was the explosion causing the fate of Din’s parents, and Echo was brought right back to Rishi Moon, to the graveyard of his three other brothers.

Echo tapped his scomp against his thigh and closed his eyes. No, he wouldn’t be sleeping tonight. Facing these horrors in his conscious mind was bad enough.

Plus, if it wasn’t him out here, it would be Hunter, and Echo couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen his brother get more than an hour of sleep—if that. Hunter had been teetering on a migraine purely from his senses getting little to no rest before Echo had assured him for a third time that he would be just fine having a solo watch shift.

Echo’s eyes only reopened when he heard gentle footsteps behind him. Knowing better than to actually expect a threat, Echo let out a sigh and prepared to lecture Hunter for not staying asleep.

But when Echo turned his chair around, his gaze was forced to lower to meet his visitor’s. Lost brown eyes met his own, the grief within them three times larger than the boy’s own stature.

“Hey, kid.” Echo kept his voice low to keep the others from waking. “What’s up? Can’t sleep?”

Din shook his head, his stare falling to his arms as he pulled the sleeves of his red tunic over his fists. His words were barely a whisper as he spoke. “I keep seeing them.”

Echo’s heart splintered within his chest, but he kept a steady expression for the boy. “Your people?”

Din’s shoulders rose and fell with a heavy breath before he lifted his head again. His lower lip quivered as his gaze sparkled with unshed tears. “My parents.”

Echo deflated, his eyes cutting away from the child for just a fraction of a moment. The swell of grief that rose within him was strong enough to make him lose his breath, though he found his voice and recovered quickly for Din’s sake. “I’m sorry, kid. I really am. I…”

Echo paused, pressing his lips together as he considered his next words carefully.

“I know how hard it can be to sleep after things like this.”

Din’s brow wrinkled at him, the light of curiosity—and a sense of hope—sparkling in the dark depths of his devastation. “You do?”

Echo let out a gentler breath this time. The memories had already been on his mind, anyway. It wouldn’t hurt to coax them out just a bit further to ease this young boy’s fresh wound. “I do.” Echo managed a smile. “Want to hear a story?”

Din nodded eagerly, no doubt grateful for the distraction. Echo let out a soft chuckle and tapped the co-pilot’s seat next to him. Din hopped right up, spinning in the chair to face Echo as he tucked his hands underneath his legs and swung them back and forth in anticipation.

Now, if only Echo could find a way to keep this story from making things worse.

“These guys here,” Echo gestured with his head back towards the bunks, “they’re my brothers. We’re a squad. But… it wasn’t always that way, like I told you before. They're batchmates, and I used to have my own, too.”

Din’s expression began to fall as he realization dawned over him. “What happened to your batchmates, Echo?”

Hearing his own name from the boy’s lips made it even harder to say the truth out loud for some reason. Echo swallowed hard and pushed on. “They’re gone.”

Din frowned. “I’m sorry.” He adjusted the way he was sitting on his hands before he continued. “How many brothers did you have?”

Echo brought himself back to the past for a moment, when he and the rest of Domino Squad were just eager cadets who had finally managed to get along and pass the test. Back when they had their whole lives ahead of them.

Back when he was naive enough to really believe that.

“Four.”

Echo smiled, and it was genuine. He kept a careful eye on Din and saw the boy lightening up the more he spoke. Sharing his pain was making Din’s more manageable, and Echo would bleed himself out if it meant this boy would get closer to healing.

“Their names were Droidbait, Cutup, Hevy, and Fives.” Echo’s voice wavered on the last one.

Din’s eyes were bright with enthusiasm, even in the midst of the heavy topic. “How did they all get their names? Was it like yours?”

Echo bobbed his head. “In a way. Droidbait… well, he kept acting like bait for the training droids, and he’d get hit by ‘em all the time.”

Din’s brow pinched together. “Did it hurt?”

“Not too bad, but he definitely had a lot of bruises.” Echo waited until Din had relaxed to keep going. “Cutup got his name from one of our trainers. This trainer… he was real tough on us, but Cutup wasn’t afraid to talk back to him. So, the guy called him a cutup, and he used that as his name.”

Din giggled. “That’s wizard.”

Echo grinned, recognizing Wrecker’s vernacular on Din’s tongue already. “Isn’t it?” He took a deep breath as Hevy’s image entered his mind. “We named my brother Hevy, because not only was he the strongest of us, but he also loved heavy machinery. He used the biggest blaster the clones are allowed to carry, a Z-6 blaster cannon.”

Din’s eyes doubled in wonder. “ Whoa .”

Echo chuckled. Hevy would’ve loved this kid, no doubt.

That left him with one more name to review. Echo fought the glassiness that had already started to overtake his vision.

“Fives got his name from his CT number. Do you remember Tech telling you about those?” Din nodded. “Fives’ was CT-5555, so he shortened it to Fives. Fives and I… we were really close, because we lost our other brothers early on in the war.”

Din deflated. He searched Echo’s gaze before he asked a question in a quiet and cautious voice. “Can I ask what happened to them?”

The corners of Echo’s mouth lifted as he nodded. “They’d want their stories to be told.” Echo exhaled a breath and went on. “We were stationed at an outpost on a moon. It was our first mission, and we had been there for a long time. Nothing had ever happened, but one night, we were suddenly attacked by droids.”

Din inhaled a sharp breath. Echo softened; it would be all too familiar for the boy, based on what Echo had seen once they had arrived on Aq Vetina.

“Droidbait was one of the first to try to hold them off, but there were too many of them. The rest of us got out of the station, but Cutup got taken by local wildlife. We had some reinforcements arrive, two of our finest commanding officers, but even they weren’t enough to overrun the droids.”

Echo’s mouth was getting dry. It was never quite easier to tell this story, but it did heal little fractals in his soul each time. The pain would turn into mending eventually.

“That’s when Hevy gave his life for ours by blowing up the whole base. His actions not only saved both our commanding officers, Fives, and I, but it also told the Republic that we were in trouble, and prevented a major attack on our homeworld of Kamino.”

Din’s lip was starting to quiver again, but his voice was still fairly strong when he managed a response to Echo’s story. “He was a hero.”

Echo closed his eyes and blew out a heavy breath. “He was. Because of what he did, giving his life for Fives and I, we were able to fight in the war for a long time, side-by-side. His loss, and my other brothers’, never got easier to deal with, but… I know that they did what they did for a reason, and I wanted to honor that the best I could by moving forward and continuing their fight.”

Din was silent after that. Echo reopened his eyes to see the boy staring at his lap, fresh tear tracks visible on his cheeks. Echo’s heart leapt into his throat at the mere thought of accomplishing the opposite of what he had wanted by upsetting Din further, but before he could do anything, Din began to move.

The boy slid off the chair and practically fell into Echo’s side, wrapping his arms around the ARC trooper the best he could. Echo froze for a few heartbeats, too shocked to do anything just yet, but he eventually came to his senses and gently held Din closer to his side.

Din sniffled back his tears and spoke, his voice muffled from where he was practically buried in Echo’s side. “I’m sorry about your brothers, Echo.”

Echo was selfishly grateful that Din didn’t ask about Fives. That was a story he wasn’t ready to tell.

“It’s okay.” Echo gave the boy’s back a soft tap. “I’ve moved on now, but it doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten them.” Echo dared to lower his voice and go on. “One day, you’ll be able to do the same, too, because their sacrifice was the same as Hevy’s.”

Din lifted his face from Echo’s side. It was still wet with tears, but there was a newfound strength there that the ARC trooper could clearly see within his dark eyes. “They’re heroes, just like your brother.”

Echo smiled and nodded. “They are.”

Din returned his smile. His expression morphed into something more pensive before he spoke again. “If your brothers all give each other nicknames, and you all gave me a nickname… does that mean I’m your brother now, too?”

Din’s expression was something so breathlessly hopeful that Echo found himself speechless at first. After so many years spent witnessing the galaxy’s outward opposition to clones, it was hard to imagine that someone on the outside, even a child like Din, would ever want to be counted amongst their ranks. But here he was, practically pleading with his eyes full of wonder to be considered one of them.

And who was Echo to refuse him?

“Yeah, Mando.” Echo set his hands on Din’s shoulders and nodded. “It does.”

Din grinned, the last traces of sadness fleeing from his gaze as he bounced on his heels. He then retreated back to his seat and all but jumped into it. Echo blinked a few times at the quick and unexpected change in pace, but then he laughed.

It was all too similar to both Fives and Hevy.

“Well, I better make good on my namesake then, right?”

Din clapped his hands together excitedly, then tensed as his head whipped towards the bunks. When no one grumbled or swore about getting woken up, Din relaxed and continued. This time, his voice was a whisper.

“Can I tell you another story?”

Echo smiled and leaned back in his own chair, suddenly grateful he wasn’t alone anymore. “I’d be honored.”

Din straightened in severity and nodded, letting his smile linger as he got right into it.

“This one starts ten thousand years ago, with a man named Mandalore the Great.”

════════════════════

next part

[crimsonwolf715]

Brain Fog

(Not me realizing while I was writing this that I'm behind on Bad Batch by two whole seasons. Well, I've been wanting to work on this since finishing season one of Bad Batch sometime at the end of 2021, but I got into other things and forgot about it. Anyway, Crosshair back with his brothers, exactly where he belongs.)

Crosshair sits on his bunk, safely away from the others. It’s been a month since he joined back with the Bad Batch. His mental capacity seems to be steadily going down since coming back. Tech mentioned something about slower cognitive function due to his chip being removed, which he had done after coming back, but he didn’t mention it lasting this long. 

That and Omega’s voice is starting to grate on my nerves. Probably because she literally never shuts up. 

Crosshair puts the headphone that Tech gave him on and the world suddenly delves into silence. He never used to like silence before. After a while more of flying, the ship lands and everyone else heads outside to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. Crosshair heads to the front and watches them out of the window. He takes the headphones off and settles down in the co-pilot’s seat for a nap. He dozes off and wakes up to Echo shouting. 

“Empire’s coming!” Echo shouts. “We need to go!” 

The comm crackles. 

“Crosshair, start the ship,” Hunter says. 

“On it.” 

Crosshair starts the Marauder and everyone starts coming in. 

“Step on it!” Hunter shouts. 

Crosshair starts flying the ship away from the town. 

“Watch where you’re going!” Tech exclaims as he comes over to the pilot’s seat. 

Crosshair barely misses hitting the side of a mountain, then starts cursing under his breath. 

“I’m taking over,” Tech says. 

“Please do,” Crosshair replies. 

Tech takes over and gets them far enough away from the town. They land and everyone disperses again. Crosshair heads out to get some air. Hunter grabs his shoulder, so he stops walking. 

“Are you alright, Crosshair?” Hunter asks. “Don’t lie.” 

Crosshair sighs. “I just have some brain fog, nothing to worry about, Hunter.” 

Crosshair goes to keep walking and Hunter grabs his arm. Crosshair tenses up. 

“Crosshair.” 

“Why are you so worried?” Crosshair asks, pulling his arm away from Hunter. 

“Because they’ve already hurt you once. I don’t want you to get hurt again.” 

“I’ve been struggling with my cognitive function since my chip got removed. It’s not that big of a deal.” 

“You almost crashed the ship.” 

“I was giving everyone an adrenaline boost.” 

“We all know that we don’t need any more of that than we already have. Just have Tech do a check. If nothing comes up out of the ordinary, then I’ll leave it alone.” 

“Alright, Tech can do a check. If it means that I get some peace and quiet.” 

Crosshair and Hunter walk back onto the ship and Tech’s working on something under the floor. Hunter stops and Tech pops up. 

“Yes, Hunter?” 

“Can you do a scan for Crosshair?” Hunter asks. 

“Of course,” Tech answers. “Anything in particular that I should be looking for?” 

“Anything with his brain.” 

Tech freezes with his hand on the tablet. “Why?” 

“Nothing like that. He’s been struggling with his focus.” 

“Or maybe I’ll shoot the place up,” Crosshair says sarcastically, rolling his eyes. 

Tech does the scan. “Umm… that could be concerning,” Tech says. 

“What could be?” Crosshair asks. 

He flips the tablet around so Crosshair and Hunter can see. 

“This is Crosshair’s body.” 

“Wow.” 

“Shut up, Crosshair.” 

“I think you have an infection of some kind, Crosshair, so pay attention. These ‘hot spots’ are foreign things in your system. I just think we should run by the medic station and have Marianne check. How long has this been going on?” 

“I don’t know. It started after I got my chip removed and has been getting worse since like a week after that.” 

“A month?” both Hunter and Tech asks. 

“Tech said that it was to be expected so I didn’t worry about it until it started affecting my peace without silence a week ago,” Crosshair explains quickly, stumbling over his words a bit in an attempt to get them out as he’s thinking them. 

“That’s why you asked for the headphones,” Tech says. “I was wondering since you’ve never had a problem with the noise in the ship before Marauder.” 

“Tech, go get the others so we can take off. We have a doctor to head to. Crosshair, just stay in your bunk. Wear your headphones if that’ll help, just don’t stress.” 

Crosshair sulks back to his bunk and puts the headphones on, then leans his back against the wall behind his bunk. He closes his eyes and when the ship takes off, he grabs the post to make sure that he doesn’t pitch forward out of his bed. 

It feels like I did something wrong. Well, I should have probably been honest with them and said that it was a problem. My aim’s been off and nobody’s asked about it. Maybe that’s why I didn’t say anything. My aim is perfect and yet nobody seemed to notice that my aim was off.  

Once the ship is flying steady, Crosshair folds his arms against his chest. 

No point focusing on the fact that I barely belong on this team anymore. Might as well get some rest and hope that whatever I have won’t kill me. But if it will, let it be quick and painless.  

He starts to doze off, then feels a tiny hand on his shoulder. Then she starts shaking him. He pulls the headphones off to signal that he’s listening, but doesn’t open his eyes since he already knows that it’s Omega. 

“Are you trying to curb the anxiety?” she asks. 

“What?” Crosshair asks, opening his eyes. 

“You’re leaning back with your eyes closed and your arms folded. When Hunter does that, he’s either angry or trying not to show that he’s anxious.” 

“Or I’m just tired and trying to sleep.” 

“That’s a possibility, I guess,” Omega says, looking at him like she’s trying to look into his soul. “But it’s not likely considering you look more peaceful when you sleep. It’s really the only time you look peaceful. Wrecker’s jealous because he said that he wants to have no nightmares like you do.” 

Crosshair’s mind flashes back to the tests that he was dreaming about last night and he forces himself not to physically recoil. 

“Yeah, no nightmares.” 

“Personally, I just think you don’t respond to them the same.” 

“Well aren’t you observant?” 

Omega sits on the edge of his bed. “It’s okay to be scared. I can imagine how scary this is.” 

“Respectfully, you can’t. It’s better that you can’t understand this. It means you won’t have to deal with it. Go have Hunter or Wrecker entertain you. I’d just like some time to myself.” 

Omega nods, then obediently goes to find one of the others. Crosshair doesn’t put the headphones back on, but he closes his eyes again. 

“Crosshair?” 

Crosshair opens his eyes to find Tech in front of his bunk. He must have dozed off because he can hear that Hunter and Wrecker are asleep. 

“What?” Crosshair asks, gauging his volume to people being asleep close by. 

“Wanna come sit upfront?” Tech asks. “You’ll be more comfortable sleeping like that in one of the chairs.” 

Crosshair gets up and follows Tech, mostly because he knows that Tech wants to talk about something if he went out of his way to wake Crosshair for this. Once they’re both seated and Tech’s checked the control panel, Tech sighs. 

“I’m sorry for earlier,” Tech says, so quietly that Crosshair almost didn’t hear it over the sounds coming from the control panel. “I’m sorry if I made you feel bad about something you couldn’t control. Everything that happened isn’t your fault and I shouldn’t blame you for it.” 

It takes Crosshair a minute to remember what Tech’s talking about. 

“Blame me for it if it makes you feel better, Tech,” Crosshair says, kicking his feet up on the panel. “I never asked for it to happen, but I did absolutely nothing in my few moments of clarity.” 

“That doesn’t make it your fault.” 

“It makes me partially to blame. Not my fault, but I sure didn’t do anything about it. It’s fine, I’m over it.” 

“The constant nightmares disagree.” 

Crosshair sighs. Tech’s really the only one who knows what it looks like when Crosshair does have nightmares, so of course he’d know. Doesn’t mean that Crosshair didn’t wish that Tech didn’t know. 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Crosshair says. 

“I was never going to ask you to,” Tech replies. “You don’t like talking out your issues until you’re one hundred percent sure that you can’t deal with them on your own. I just wanted to apologize because I’m sure it wasn’t pleasant to see me react like that.” 

Crosshair shrugs, deciding against telling Tech that it pissed him off more than made him sad. Or maybe that’s just what he’s telling himself. 

“You should try to rest more. It’s a long way to Alderaan.” 

Crosshair nods, then leans his head back and closes his eyes. The gentle hum of the equipment along with the sounds of everyone else sleeping lulls Crosshair to sleep. 

Crosshair wakes up to someone shaking his shoulder. He cracks his eyes open in just enough time to see Wrecker running towards him and Tech, who’s standing there with a hand on Crosshair’s shoulder. Crosshair kicks back on the control panel and the chair slides back. Wrecker stops just short of Tech, who seems to have frozen. 

“Crosshair!” 

Wrecker scoops Crosshair into a rib-breaking hug. Crosshair, who doesn’t have the energy to fight, just turns into a limp noodle. 

“Are you okay?” Wrecker asks, putting Crosshair down on his feet. 

“Now I am,” Crosshair answers, dusting himself off. “How long was I asleep?” 

“Only an hour and a half,” Tech answers. “Hunter wants to talk about our plans. He woke Wrecker up, which is why he’s so hyper.” 

Wrecker hugs Tech, who pats his back. Crosshair sits back down and slides the chair back into its original position. Hunter walks over. 

“Echo was on night shift yesterday so we’re gonna let him sleep,” Hunter says. 

Hunter, Tech, and Wrecker sit down and Crosshair flashes back to when it was just the four of them. 

“We need to figure out what we’re gonna do once we get down to Alderaan. While they’re a peaceful planet, we’re still on the run from the Empire. We don’t want anyone to get in trouble for ‘housing traitors’.” 

Crosshair stares out the front window into hyperspeed. 

I wonder if I could learn the different solar systems’ constellations. That would be cool. I would look like a nerd if I did that though. But it would be totally worth it if I could tell what system we’re in before Tech has a chance to tell everyone. Know-it-all.  

A hand on Crosshair’s shoulder snaps him back to reality. 

“Are you with us?” Hunter asks. 

“I am now,” Crosshair answers. 

“What’s the last thing you heard?” 

Wait, what is the last thing I heard? Something about the planet.  

“Something about Alderaan,” Crosshair answers. 

Hunter sighs. “How much longer until we get there?” 

Tech turns towards the panel. “Just shy of an hour.” 

“Alright, let’s get ready to land.” 

By the time that they get to Alderaan, Echo and Omega are awake. When they land, a woman is waiting. The hatch opens and Omega and Wrecker run out. She greets them warmly, then turns towards Hunter, Crosshair, Echo, and Tech. 

“Hey. Not used to getting last minute holos from you guys. Everyone alright?” 

“He needs his blood tested for infection,” Tech answers, pointing at Crosshair. 

“Come on in then. That’s a quick process.” 

Crosshair follows her into the building after being prodded by Echo. 

“I’m Marianne, by the way.” 

“Nice to meet you,” Crosshair says half-heartedly. 

Marianne has him sit down and then starts digging through a bag. After searching for a solid five minutes, she pulls a syringe out. 

“I’m gonna take some blood. Is that alright?” 

Crosshair nods, then starts messing with his utility belt. 

He feels the needle go into his arm and he grips his belt tighter. Once the needle’s out, he relaxes. 

“Alright, give the computer a minute to analyze your blood. How did you get involved with the Batch?” 

Crosshair sighs. “Just kinda happened.” 

Marianne laughs. “Yeah, they seem to have that effect on people.” 

“Marianne!” a male voice shouts. 

“I’ll be right back,” she says, then steps out. 

Crosshair looks at the patch she put over the needle prick. He pulls it off and throws it in the bin. 

How did you get involved with the Batch?  

Crosshair sighs. 

Marianne walks over to Hunter after helping her father with gathering water. “I like your new member. He’s quieter than the rest of you.” 

“He’s not new,” Hunter says. “That’s Crosshair.” 

Marianne’s smile disappears. 

“I may have offended him then. He didn’t give me his name, and I forgot to ask,” she says. 

“He’ll be fine,” Hunter replies. “Did you get the results yet?” 

Marianne looks at the data-pad. “Yeah, he’s got a pretty common virus. Not sure why it would still be in his system. There’s an anomaly, but the computer still thinks that I can cure it with the regular medicine.” 

“Good. How long will that take?” 

“First dose will take maybe ten minutes. You’ll take the rest with you and he’ll take it daily. Make it as close to the same time as you can.” 

Hunter nods, then Marianne goes back into the tiny hospital building. After ten minutes of wrangling Wrecker and Omega, who insisted on playing tag, Crosshair comes out. 

“Well?” Tech asks. 

“I hate my life,” Crosshair says. “And I have to take this damn drug for a week.” 

“But at least you’ll be better,” Echo replies. 

Crosshair shrugs, then goes into the Marauder. After thanking Marianne and her family, they head to the Marauder. Crosshair’s settled in the co-pilot’s seat with a slightly distant expression. 

“At least he’ll be better in a week,” Tech says, his gaze in the same place Hunter’s is. 

Hunter nods. It’ll be good to have Crosshair back at one hundred percent.

[aestariiwilderness]

SPOILERS

Bad Batch Season 3 Episode 5(?) (I think?) Thoughts

Well, one big one:

HAHAHAhahahahaHHAHAHAHAHA

And the little ones:

I have been waiting for Omega to pull the age card since season 1 -- actually since before I really knew what the newest Star Wars Baby's name actually was. This was great and I want Hunter to realize it's coming for him next

I haven't stopped laughing about the "moment of silence for our fallen brother" since I saw it. Someone: *mentions Tech* Every single clone in the room: *pledge of Allegiance moment*

WHY IS CROSSHAIR STILL WEARING THE JACKET

WHY IS HE STILL WEARING THE JACKET ON A BEACH IN FULL SUNLIGHT

Crosshair is 100% the angsty sullen goth vampire hissing like he's been hit with holy water in Hawaiian environments with kind people chasing after him bearing fruit and love that I knew he would be

Crosshair: spends like two weeks on Pabu Crosshair: I can't take it anymore! UGH SUNLIGHT *drags the entire Batch to freaking Barton IV* ah, home sweet murder home. the last place I had a really good angst before my older sister found me and dragged me home by the ear. fond memories

Echo, you're a disgrace but also somehow still the only sane one here

Do datapads just not need to ever charge in Star Wars??

Omega: oh yah I have a sister did you know Echo: okay, we don't have time to unpack all that

Where is the heck is Phee? Is she just...off dismembering Cid or something?

Crosshair: "I know a place" Hunter: "YOU'RE NOT TELLING US EVERYTHING ABOUT IT" Crosshair: "I ALREADY KILLED EVERYTHING DANGEROUS HERE what do you WANT FROM ME" *Dune 2021 erupts from underneath the base* Crosshair: .... Crosshair: huh. guess Mayday forgot to mention that particular natural feature. My bad y'all

GUYS. WE NEVER TURN OFF THE MYSTERIOUS PERIMETER SENSORS. IDIOTS KNOW THIS. DID WE LEARN NOTHING FROM THE KRYKNA INCIDENTS I, II, and III

Crosshair looking at Batcher: ah, the new and improved Hunter. You're my favorite. We'll try to save you Hunter but if it gets too inconvenient I'll be over there taking a nap Hunter, standing right there: hey

Congratulations Batcher I guess you're his service animal now

Hunter: *sneaks up behind Crosshair stacking random regs' helmets one by one on a crate* Hunter: *considering Crosshair's past track record with regs, the Empire, and loyalty* so, like...did he kill these guys, or...? Hunter:...do I want to know? Hunter: *does a 180* NOPE

Hunter: "dID yOu tHiNK we wErE juST gOinG tO tAkE yOu bAcK witHoUT aSkIng aNy quEsTiONs???" Hunter, you beloved moron. You DID just take him back without asking any questions. To your super secret summer home no less. And let him spend two whole weeks chilling on a beach before it occurred to you to do anything other than stare at him with complete lack of subtlety from the top of a cliff

Why were you stalking him from the top of a cliff Hunter

Crosshair, he was silhouetted against the sun like 100 feet away with an almost seven foot dude right next to him. There was no hiding going on here. At all. Detecting him is not a super sniper skill. If you HADN'T seen that, we'd have a problem

Crosshair: hey yeah guys so this is clearly a Very Important Place to me that I will proceed to tell you Absolutely Nothing About. BTW don't land there Echo, there's a corpse in the middle of the landing pad somewhere. Possibly two if they never bothered picking up Nolan Echo:... Echo, 1000000% done with this Batch's drama: at least there's no blood this time

"I've made mistakes" AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *smash cuts to using flamethrower on civilians* *shooting Wrecker* *"aim for the kid!"* *nearly dropping Tech off an ion engine* *trying to burn them all alive in an ion engine* *shooting at them* *kidnapping Hunter* *kidnapping all of them* *getting them trapped on Kamino while it SINKS* *shooting pretty much everybody at some point* *plan 88 but no context!* AHAHAHAHAHAHA this is my new favorite line. Hunter should get him a T-shirt that says that to replace that awful hip pocket thing

Wrecker getting genre-aware

Omega: "I told you to TALK to him not ARGUE with him" Crosshair, sulkily: "He STARTED IT" EDIT: 23. IF I SEE ONE MORE ICE VULTURE IN THIS HOUSE

[cc-cobalt-1043]

Tech's date: (a bad batch modern au one-shot)

Ages:

Trix: 30

Echo and Fives: 29

Hunter: 29

Wrecker: 28

Cobalt: 26

Crosshair and Tech: 25

Phee: 27

Date: 24th July 2021

One Friday evening Hunter, Echo, Fives, Wrecker, Crosshair, Tech, Trix and Cobalt were sitting in the living room playing a round of poker.

"I win, read e'm and weep." Crosshair smirked.

The others all grumbled but handed over their credits.

"So, you guys got any plans for the weekend?" Fives asked.

"Martha and I are taking the kids to the aquarium tomorrow." Cobalt said.

"James and I are going for a hike tomorrow and Katie, Sarah and Cynthia are going to the beauty parlor." Wrecker said.

"Got a date with Luna tomorrow night." Trix said.

"I don't have any plans." Tech said.

"Actually Tech, you might." Cobalt said.

"What do you mean?" Tech asked confused.

"Well an old friend of mine from high school is in town, her name is Phee." Cobalt said.

"You talked to girls in high school?" Tech smirked.

"ooooh." the others all exclaimed at once.

"Oh no he didn't." Fives said smirking.

Cobalt scoffed.

"As a matter of fact I did." Cobalt said massaging his wounded pride.

"So what does this have to do with me?" Tech asked confused.

"Well we got to talking and I may have set you up on a date with her tomorrow night." Cobalt said.

"You what!" Tech hissed, Crosshair grabbing his arm to hold him down.

"Just hear me out okay, when we were talking yesterday I brought up all of you, when I talked about you she said to me "I'd certainly like to meet him" and so, I may have arranged for you to meet her tomorrow night." Cobalt said.

"Why would you do that?" Tech asked.

"I'm just saying it wouldn't kill you to get out a bit more, Phee's a lovely woman, worst case is she doesn't show up." Cobalt said.

Tech sighed audibly.

"Fine, I'll meet her, but if this doesn't go well I promise you Cobalt I will never let you hear the end of it." Tech said.

"I can live with that." Cobalt nodded.

The next evening:

After a nice shower Tech dressed himself for the date and despite his nerves Tech had to admit he was curious about this woman Cobalt had told him about.

Cobalt had told him the restaurant he was to meet Phee at and to his credit it was a very nice one.

After getting ready Tech headed to the front door and opened the door only for a very bright light to hit him square in the eyes.

After his eyes adjusted he was greeted by the horrific sight of his entire family standing on the front lawn, Crosshair holding a camera in his hands.

"What's this about?" Tech asked extremely confused.

"Oh just documenting this very rare occasion, our little Tech is going on his first date." Crosshair said with a massive smirk as he took another picture.

"So you invited the entire family?" Tech asked.

"Well duh." Crosshair said.

Tech just scoffed and walked down the street on his way to the restaurant Cobalt had mentioned.

When he arrived he sat down at the table that Cobalt had reserved for them, Phee hadn't arrived yet so he decided to study the menu.

"Hello, is your name Tech?" A voice asked.

Tech looked up and was slightly startled.

A young woman was smiling brightly at him, Tech was embarrassed to admit he could feel himself blushing profusely, his face heating up.

"I-Uh yes, Phee may I presume?" Tech said adjusting his glasses.

"Yep, nice to meet you." Phee said smiling warmly at him as she sat down.

The two ordered food and throughout the course of the date Tech had to admit he rather enjoyed Phee's company and he couldn't help but hope she felt the same way.

After an admittedly pleasant dinner the two talked for a while before deciding to call it an evening.

Tech walked Phee to her car which was parked just down the road.

"So Tech, if I may ask, there's a showing of pirates of the carribean at the movies next week, fancy coming along?" Phee asked.

Tech adjusted his glasses nervously as he thought for a moment before nodding.

"Yes, that sounds lovely." Tech nodded.

Phee smiled.

"Till next time...brown eyes." Phee said before getting into her car and driving away leaving a blushing Tech to watch her go.

[ncisfranchise-source]

“NCIS: Origins” may not stray far from the DNA of its flagship, but the updates to the formula make revisiting Leroy Jethro Gibbs’ past a “darker” chapter for the beloved CBS franchise.

The new series turns the clock back to 1991, when Gibbs (Austin Stowell, taking over for Mark Harmon) first joined NCIS as a special agent at Camp Pendleton. The two-hour premiere follows as the stoic agent steps into his own with a new team, while mourning the loss of his wife and daughter. Harmon narrates every episode, dropping insight into the mysterious character’s mindset for the first time — and dropping hints as to what may be coming next.

For co-showrunners David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal, the Gibbs-centered prequel series offered the right opportunity to tackle a more “character-centric” version of the crime procedural.

“The show we’re making now has the heart of the mothership but a little darker,” North told TheWrap. “The tone delves much further into the personal lives of the characters and has more of a streaming feel to it.”

“Digging deeper into our new characters, and into the characters that were already established, was so appealing to us, especially with Gibbs,” Monreal added. “To be able to dig into him in new ways has been really fulfilling.”

North and Monreal are certainly up for the challenge. North was involved with “NCIS” from 2008-2024, rising to co-showrunner of the flagship series alongside Steven D. Binder up until Season 21. Monreal was a writer and producer on the show from 2014-2021, and then wrote for shows like “Star Wars: The Bad Batch” and “Griselda.”

The idea for “Origins” first came from original Gibbs actor Mark Harmon and his son Sean, who played the character in flashbacks on “NCIS.” The pair took the premise to North, who brought Monreal in to help build a show around it. The product of that collaboration premieres Monday, introducing a whole new Gibbs to the franchise’s legion of loyal fans.

“Mark was there to help us during casting and helped us find the right young, regal Gibbs, which was invaluable. And now he’s invaluable on set, in a way that doesn’t feel like he’s imposing on Austin or anyone … it’s been a tremendous partnership so far.”

Monreal further praised Harmon for lending his voice for the show’s narration. “We have never gotten to hear [Gibbs’] inner thoughts in this type of way,” she said. We even see the present-day Gibbs in the first episode, though North and Monreal tease the focus of the show will remain with the characters in the ‘90s — but the “door is open” for Mark to reprise Gibbs when it feels appropriate.

The new team is led by special agent Mike Franks (Kyle Schmid). Mariel Molino plays special agent Lala Dominguez, a former marine making herself heard in a male-dominated workplace. Tyla Abercrumbie, Diany Rodriguez and Caleb Martin Foote complete the team.

North and Monreal also said that fans will be surprised by the show’s depiction of Franks — who the fans know from the flagship series as played by Muse Watson. Fans can expect the leader to have some off-color comments as a man in power in the 1990s, but the writers note there’s much to explore in his journey to becoming the “great” leader from the original series.

The showrunners concluded by saying that the entire ensemble helps level up the new series, juggling the “NCIS” case of the week formula with all the interpersonal mystery and cultural commentary that surrounds it.

“We really wanted to create a show that could carry a wide range, from pretty dark to funny, and we’re so fortunate to find a group of actors who had that range,” Monreal said.

[maybeimamuppet]

2, 5, 9, 11, 16 for the fic asks?

hello darling friend tysm for the ask!!

2, will you participate in any fandom exchanges or fic challenges, etc?

if i’m asked to absolutely!! i think they seem so fun but being in smaller fandoms i think they’re a lot harder to figure out. i’ve actually considered forming a few of my own for like halloween or the holidays and stuff but i’m kind of the only cadnis writer still somewhat consistently active and everyone else who writes for mean girls is into very different things (which is great we love to see it but it makes group stuff hard lol) and matilda i haven’t checked up on in so long i have no idea what’s going on in that little corner anymore whoops

5, which wip is first on your list to complete this year? will you post a snippet?

we are continuing my beloved series of ‘someone has to write all the cliche fics for this ship and by golly it might as well be me”! from the looks of things the first one to be finished will be a college au (professor/student) that i’m honestly really proud of. i’ve been hammering away at it for a while lol. but we also have a few more like that and obviously plenty more that aren’t that i’m not gonna spoil just yet but i’m very excited for them :)))

“As long as I’m your professor, this can’t happen, no matter how badly I want it to,” Cady says with a sniffle. She gently presses a kiss to the corner of Janis’ lips before she pulls away and takes a couple steps back. “I’m so sorry, Janis.”

Janis watches her go for a minute, barely feeling the frigid rain slamming against her face. Cady hunches in on herself and clicks off. “What about when you’re not my professor anymore?!”

Cady freezes and turns to look at her. “What?”

“Once I graduate,” Janis begs. “Can we be together then?”

“…Technically, yes, we could,” Cady says. “But-”

“Wait for me,” Janis says. “Please.”

Cady bites her lip, but she nods after a second. “Okay.”

“You will?” Janis asks, finally feeling hopeful enough to smile for the first time in what feels like years.

“I’ll wait,” Cady agrees. “If you’re willing to do the same. Come to me once you graduate, and… we’ll see what happens. Okay?”

“Okay,” Janis says, smiling around a sob. Cady does the same before she continues walking away.

unproofread snippet brought to you by maybeimamuppet :)

9, short term goals… what do you hope to complete this week or in january?

i’m really hoping to have that and the next chapter of pt done by the end of the month!! my third writing birthday is at the beginning of march and i’m really hoping to have a batch of fics ready to crank out by then :)) matilda is kind of wonky for the time being bc i have very few wips and i need time to sort through which requests i can actually do/want to do so they might be a while but focusing on my meanies for a while will be a nice change i think!

11, would you like to try any new fanfic genres or tropes this year?

i don’t think i do!! at least not in fics lol i’m good with my romance and family fluff sorta genres i’m in but i am trying to write a few publishable like real actual books that are a little different so we’ll see how that goes!

16, do you have one fanfic that you wrote a ton for, ages ago, but never posted? will this be the year come hell or high water that it WILL get finished and posted?

UHHHH honestly most of my wips are kinda like that lol. i hyper focus on one and then get bored with it and move on to a new one and herein lies the cycle of Big Issues. so i have a lot of like half-done oneshots (including requests i literally got in 2021 and am sobbing trying to get done i feel so bad). i do have an entire folder of ‘unpublishable fics’ that will never see the light of day. they’re mostly just writing exercises but some of them are just really embarrassing so most of them stay there lol. and i have a multi-chapter The Good Place au i started years ago and couldn’t figure out other than the title but i only wrote a couple scenes for it but that probably also won’t ever see the light of day. ce la vie ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[myspirals]

My bad memory is something that’s always troubled me. How much of it is suppressed, how much forgotten, and which of the two is worse. As an exercise: I want to attempt to remember the first flower I can recall seeing, so walk down memory lane with me.

I got a new friend flowers today because they asked for it. I appreciate when people just tell/ask me things. I got myself two sunflowers last week and purchased a third for unknown impulses. Good idea to get yourself flowers till something blooms inside of you. I remember rejoicing when I spotted a flower store on my way to the office in October 2024. It had always been a dream to have easy access to pretty flowers (non-metaphorically). I got my first batch for the office that week and a friend bought a vase to keep it. The vase is never empty. In March of 2024, I bought my first tulip ever for Unnamed’s birthday. Love is an underrated return gift.

My grandmother passed away in 2021. There were a lot of flowers in the house that day. Three years before that, I remember intensely wanting a phone with a good camera for ages and I clicked red, blue, pink, yellow pictures of all the trees in my neighbourhood when I finally got it. My phone didn’t have a gallery, it had a garden. School, 2013, a rose hidden in the front pocket of my bag, waiting to be given to a different Unnamed. Parents’ anniversary, 2010, my dad got my mom a bouquet. I didn’t know then that flowers have a deadline.

2002, a picture. I’m 6 months old, sitting in dirt, naked. In my hand, a flower. I don’t remember this moment but there’s proof of its existence.

Good example for myself to acknowledge that regardless of my memory, things (good and bad) have happened. Regardless of if I can tell a story, I have lived one.

[quadruple-whammy]

My relationship with Star Wars has been very, uh, tumultuous, I guess

I just got back from seeing Revenge of the Sith in theaters with my boyfriend, my cousin, and one of my closest friends. All I could think about is that I had been in this situation before. Watching Star Wars, particularly Revenge of the Sith, surrounded by the most important people in my life. But those people, save for one, are all gone. I have been watching these damn Star Wars movies since I was ~8. I’m getting my first adult job (on salary!) in the next few weeks. I haven’t seen a Star Wars movie since 2021. I watched The Mandalorian just for Pedro Pascal. I met Hayden Christensen back in 2023. My cousin keeps telling me to watch Bad Batch but I refuse. I want to watch Ahsoka but something doesn’t feel right. I miss Kanan and Ezra. The Jedi PS games are some of my favorite video games. I was flashing back to when I used to play Battlefront II with my best friend/eventual situationship. There is a Revenge of the Sith poster on my wall. I have The Phantom Menace on VHS. I never finished Andor.

I miss who I used to be. Marvel, at least, has been a consistent interest of mine. But Star Wars, my heart hurts when I think about it. Star Wars was a symbol of simplicity and easier times. Maybe my soul doesn’t long for Star Wars. Maybe it longs for the period of my life that it represents. And it hurts because I know I can never return even if I tried to rewatch the entire franchise.

[cryptokid3]

Massive $2.4M Buy-In for BlockDAG Before Batch 22 Sells Out; Shiba Inu's Uncertain Future & Stellar's Price Drop

As the crypto market recovers from its latest downturn, everyone is looking for the best cryptos to invest in this year. This article looks at Shiba Inu, Stellar, and BlockDAG to help traders make informed choices.Shiba Inu is currently priced at $0.00001409, with a small 2% increase in the last 24 hours. The coin has recently recovered by nearly 30% from its lowest price, leaving experts divided on its future price.Stellar's situation looks less promising—XLM has fallen by 30% in 2024, showing only slight improvements in its payment system.Meanwhile, BlockDAG is seeing a lot of positive attention. After a massive 1680% increase, this new tech project is drawing big players, with whale purchases totaling up to $2.4 million in its 22nd batch alone. BlockDAG's price is expected to jump from $0.0178 per coin to $1, an increase of 5800%.

Shiba Inu Price Prediction: Uncertain Outlook Shiba Inu has had both good and bad times, but it's currently at $0.00001409, up slightly by 2%. After dropping to $0.00001087, it's recovered by about 30%.Opinions are split on Shiba Inu's future. Some experts, like Himanshu Maradiya from CIFDAQ, are hopeful, predicting it could reach $0.0001 this year. Others, like Utkarsh Tiwari from KoinBX, are less optimistic, expecting a slower rise.

Stellar (XLM) Still Struggling, Down 30%: Investors Nervous Stellar has managed the recent crypto volatility better than some, only dropping 7% this week. But it's still down 30% for the year, continuing its slump since the 2021 crash.While there's been some growth in Stellar's payment system, it hasn't fully recovered. As the crypto world explores new uses like GambleFi, Stellar's goal of replacing daily cash transactions seems outdated. Despite its resilience, Stellar's growth remains slow as the market evolves.

BlockDAG's Batch 22 Nearly Sold Out: Whales Buying Big! BlockDAG's presale has captured a lot of interest, and not just from small traders—big players are digging in heavily.This Layer 1 project, challenging giants like Bitcoin and Ethereum, has quickly raised over $66.8 million in its presale. Starting at $0.001, BDAG's price has shot up to $0.0178—a 1680% increase. Now, insiders believe BDAG could reach $1 per coin, offering a 5800% return for early holders.Whales are buying up to $2.4 million each, showing strong confidence in BlockDAG's potential. With over 100,000 holders already, BlockDAG's future looks very promising.But with demand soaring, Batch 22 is already sold out. Those wanting to get in before the next price increase need to move quickly. As BlockDAG prepares for Batch 23, another price hike is expected. BlockDAG is making waves, and with major buy-in from whales, it could be the next big thing in crypto. Don't miss out—these chances don't last forever.

Final Thoughts The future of SHIB's price is still uncertain—some predict a rise, while others warn of a potential fall. Stellar is struggling to recover after a 30% drop this year.But BlockDAG is a different story altogether. The demand for BDAG coins is skyrocketing, and the rush is on to get in before Batch 22 ends. Why the rush? Because BDAG's price could soon hit $1 per coin, offering early buyers a huge 5800% gain.

www.cifdaq.com

[cryptoenthu]

Massive $2.4M Buy-In for BlockDAG Before Batch 22 Sells Out; Shiba Inu's Uncertain Future & Stellar's Price Drop

As the crypto market recovers from its latest downturn, everyone is looking for the best cryptos to invest in this year. This article looks at Shiba Inu, Stellar, and BlockDAG to help traders make informed choices.

Shiba Inu is currently priced at $0.00001409, with a small 2% increase in the last 24 hours. The coin has recently recovered by nearly 30% from its lowest price, leaving experts divided on its future price.

Stellar's situation looks less promising—XLM has fallen by 30% in 2024, showing only slight improvements in its payment system.

Meanwhile, BlockDAG is seeing a lot of positive attention. After a massive 1680% increase, this new tech project is drawing big players, with whale purchases totaling up to $2.4 million in its 22nd batch alone. BlockDAG's price is expected to jump from $0.0178 per coin to $1, an increase of 5800%.

Shiba Inu Price Prediction: Uncertain Outlook

Shiba Inu has had both good and bad times, but it's currently at $0.00001409, up slightly by 2%. After dropping to $0.00001087, it's recovered by about 30%.

Opinions are split on Shiba Inu's future. Some experts, like Himanshu Maradiya from CIFDAQ, are hopeful, predicting it could reach $0.0001 this year. Others, like Utkarsh Tiwari from KoinBX, are less optimistic, expecting a slower rise.

Stellar (XLM) Still Struggling, Down 30%: Investors Nervous

Stellar has managed the recent crypto volatility better than some, only dropping 7% this week. But it's still down 30% for the year, continuing its slump since the 2021 crash.

While there's been some growth in Stellar's payment system, it hasn't fully recovered. As the crypto world explores new uses like GambleFi, Stellar's goal of replacing daily cash transactions seems outdated. Despite its resilience, Stellar's growth remains slow as the market evolves.

BlockDAG's Batch 22 Nearly Sold Out: Whales Buying Big!

BlockDAG's presale has captured a lot of interest, and not just from small traders—big players are digging in heavily.

This Layer 1 project, challenging giants like Bitcoin and Ethereum, has quickly raised over $66.8 million in its presale. Starting at $0.001, BDAG's price has shot up to $0.0178—a 1680% increase. Now, insiders believe BDAG could reach $1 per coin, offering a 5800% return for early holders.

Whales are buying up to $2.4 million each, showing strong confidence in BlockDAG's potential. With over 100,000 holders already, BlockDAG's future looks very promising.

But with demand soaring, Batch 22 is already sold out. Those wanting to get in before the next price increase need to move quickly. As BlockDAG prepares for Batch 23, another price hike is expected.

BlockDAG is making waves, and with major buy-in from whales, it could be the next big thing in crypto. Don't miss out—these chances don't last forever.

Final Thoughts

The future of SHIB's price is still uncertain—some predict a rise, while others warn of a potential fall. Stellar is struggling to recover after a 30% drop this year.

But BlockDAG is a different story altogether. The demand for BDAG coins is skyrocketing, and the rush is on to get in before Batch 22 ends. Why the rush? Because BDAG's price could soon hit $1 per coin, offering early buyers a huge 5800% gain.

With whales making big purchases worth over $2.4 million, this batch is about to sell out. To secure these potential gains, you'll need to act fast before this opportunity passes you by.

www.cifdaq.com

[monkeydluffy2805]

Massive $2.4M Buy-In for BlockDAG Before Batch 22 Sells Out; Shiba Inu's Uncertain Future & Stellar's Price Drop

Shiba Inu has had both good and bad times, but it's currently at $0.00001409, up slightly by 2%. After dropping to $0.00001087, it's recovered by about 30%.

Opinions are split on Shiba Inu's future. Some experts, like Himanshu Maradiya from CIFDAQ, are hopeful, predicting it could reach $0.0001 this year. Others, like Utkarsh Tiwari from KoinBX, are less optimistic, expecting a slower rise.

Stellar (XLM) Still Struggling, Down 30%: Investors Nervous Stellar has managed the recent crypto volatility better than some, only dropping 7% this week. But it's still down 30% for the year, continuing its slump since the 2021 crash.

While there's been some growth in Stellar's payment system, it hasn't fully recovered. As the crypto world explores new uses like GambleFi, Stellar's goal of replacing daily cash transactions seems outdated. Despite its resilience, Stellar's growth remains slow as the market evolves. www.cifdaq.com

[rhazimpulsivelyposts]

It’s wild to see the “everything happens for a reason” dominos fall into place, almost in slow motion.

So I went for a different position at my job, not because I dislike the position, just that the other position suited the lifestyle I wanted for myself better.

Right before I was going to find out if I got that position or not, I was invited on a surprise late notice week long holiday from my ♌️, and of course I want to go! When is it? About a month or so from then.

I get my passport photo taken, and I joke with my supervisor that he should let me know if I got the spot because I also want to go on holiday. They call me later that day to let me know I didn’t get the spot this time, but I’m a shoe-in for next time.

I wasn’t even sad or bummed out, it was weird. I went into asking for the spot with realistic expectations that I was second pick. That isn’t a dig on me, it’s knowing that someone who has been with the company longer and who’s position is basically backfillable tomorrow, it makes sense it would go to him, and I am happy for him because I know he wanted it too. We both don’t have kids or partners or any real reason to have to be home during the week. (So I thought). I was excited for him and excited for me knowing I could now go to this holiday without it conflicting with any new training or obligations of the new role.

Well going through the steps of preparing for this week long trip out of the country, I had to consult with my doctors about my ADHD medication. Medication that I have been on for over 2 years now, almost 3, that I take every single day. My refil date would of fell within the week I’d be out of the country. I asked them for 3 more pills to hold me over, take it out of my next batch? Nope. Can’t do that sorry. With the type of medication that is, it isn’t allowed. Then when I tried to pick up my medication they wanted to give me 10 extra pills , and make me pay out of pocket for the full 40. … 40?! I asked for 3 extra not 10 what the hell?!

So to make sure I have some for the trip, and don’t run out 3 days before I’m to be home, I’ve started skipping Sundays. I work Monday through Friday no problem right? Does anyone remember the Adderall shortage in 2021? It was over prescribed, patients couldn’t get it, so their doctors started branching out and prescribing them any other ADHD drug they could find, causing all of them to short, not just Adderall. During this time , trying to conserve my medication and listening to my doctor at the time who said “it’s totally fine to skip your medication, all you are going to feel is a little more tired” , i decided to skip Saturdays and Sundays so i would have some medication for work “when I really needed it” . This was such a huge mistake, it caused a massive chemical imbalance in my brain and caused me to be massively suicidal. Why did i think this would be different? Did I forget what happened? Did i think “ah one day isn’t two days in a row every week that can’t be too bad?” Wrong. this is the 3rd Sunday in a row I’ve skipped, and it’s fcking up my whole week every week. I’m spacey, easily irritable, impulsive, overly emotional, losing my ability to feel grateful for things. It’s so bad! From 3 weeks of skipping 1 day?! Why ?! My coworker thinks I’m going through withdrawl every week just trying to get to baseline by the time I dip again.

So I have decided, it’s probably good I didn’t get that new position honestly . Swear! It was much better for my cards to fall and my strings to be knotted in such a way that I find out how bad it could be if I skip weekends just to conserve medication until I can be back in the state again to pick it up. Imagine if I took up that position, my current position is backfilled, and then like 4 months down the line I want to voluntary game over myself because my chemicals are so fcked trying to make sure I have medication Monday through Friday and just fck the weekends when I’m home and not flying in or out of the state.

Thank you Universe for both giving me an amazing holiday out of the country and also showing me that the path I wanted is not the path for me right now. This medication has changed my entire life, for the better. I actually love my life while on my medication. I don’t want to go back to never being happy or grateful or satisfied. If the one negative is being chained to my state because we don’t have universal healthcare that would allow me to pick up my medication on what ever state I was in at the time, compared to all the positives of actually feeling happiness and being able to have emotionally mature relationships and conversations, I’m staying in my state and I’m staying in my medication.

So I decide to stay yes? Well what if this is also my path because my coworker is fed up and wants to leave? If I were to get that other position and my coworker ended up then getting fed up and wanting to leave, our spot would be completely empty. Chaos. I mean it’s chaos now, it would be worse on the company. Nightmare .

I love what I do for work, and despite me constantly telling myself I’m not doing enough, it appears I’m good at what i do for work.

Today was really one of those “everything happens for a reason” kinda days where i just stared at the events in order and was like “damn what a timeline” “what weird canon interconnected events”

I mean i did do some sorta synthetic like magic mushrooms over the weekend, so maybe it’s that 🤣😅 it could just be that. 

Thank you for all the skills I learned in my last IT Jobs that led me to this one, and thank you to this job for paying me enough to afford to live on my own in a house and giving me a car to use. I hope that I prove I am worth it.