talizorahs | helo572

+HELO after time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, i will return to where i began.

[brine-cell]

yesterday I randomly thought of how the boys would be depressed. I figure I should put it on the yapper site

hunter: passive suicide risk and moderately self-destructive behavior in every imaginable way. he invented self sabotage. something remotely good happened well what if it was actually secretly terrible. you know that guy who goes to work every day and goes home and thinks about how bad his day was and does nothing else and then goes to work again. yeah that guy

tech: losing interest in things and trying to still do things and be interested in things and it's not working and he hates it here and he thinks he should be able to be normal and do the thing and he sucks he was made/trained better than this how can he be a passable soldier/brother/whatever if he's stupid like this and it just gets worse from there

wrecker: gets quiet and withdrawn. sometimes he tries to fake it and be goofy, but that just makes everyone more concerned, so he kinda gives up on that. he's so lonely even though he's got his awesome brothers who he loves but it hurts and he has to fight every day against the worm in his head that says he'll be a nuisance if he seeks comfort from his loved ones

crosshair: it can be hard for everyone including himself to tell, but the main tell is that his number of serious fights and bullying incidents increases. he's just worse to be around. and that creates a feedback loop where he hits rock bottom and starts digging. they say you can't break bedrock well this guy will find the glitch so that he can drop into the void

echo: his snarky humor gets progressively more upsetting in content and you have to call him out on it to make him reflect on the fact that he's actually sad. he really doesn't want to think about it. he reeeeeeeally doesn't want to think about it. yeah he's anhedonic as hell no that isn't a problem as long as he can keep functioning and all that

omega: this concept of being brave is a big deal to her to a self-destructive extent. she knows how to say the right things and show affection and gratitude to distract her loved ones from the fact that she is sad and they don't know how to fix it. maybe being extra attached to my bros and loving them so so much and spending time with them will fix me this time. no no it won't

[talizorahs]

[in the genre of the man horse standing sadly on the beach]:

[sacredlantern]

presenting my squishy frog girl (suvi: githyanki wild magic sorcerer)

[c-e-d-f]

I did a post about Sanctuary details that I think imply Hunter doesn’t see himself as like an actual real person (at least subconsciously) but I also need to do one about how it shows up in Sanctuary bc If you asked Hunter, he’d tell you he doesn’t buy into the whole kaminoan you’re just a weapon for a purpose thing. he’s the head of tbb of course he doesn’t! He’s not a reg. But the thing is he’s just exchanged “ct 9901 is for tracking and eliminating targets” for “Hunter is for protecting his brothers.” He’s not a real person. Not like the others are.

And it’s a character flaw!!! My favorite thing ever is when a character hates themself so much and disregards their own humanity to such an extent that it becomes a flaw. Happened to my good friend Breq JusticeofToren Mianaai (my other favorite stunningly violent endlessly loving and gentle child-loving war machine learning to be human after being forcibly removed from their life/identity as a tool of imperialism) and it happens to Hunter.

It’s the reason he projects EVERYTHINGGGG onto others. He wants the others to want to stay on Pabu bc he doesn’t want things. He doesn’t have desires beyond keeping his family safe. And so if he wants this it’s not because he’s tired. It’s not because he’s sick of the fighting. It’s to keep them safe. And so them not wanting it as much is a big fucking problem. And why he projects his failure onto Phee (the this is all your fault argument that ends in the brutal tech crosshair comment) bc he can’t fail. They’ll leave him if he fails. He’s nothing if he fails and he might as well not be alive.

It’s why he can’t stand the thought of them separating. In that convo with Wrecker where Wrecker says they want different things, it’s not the not staying on Pabu that bothers him the most. Wrecker emphasizes the idea of them going in different directions bc he knows THAT’S the real problem. Bc if they’re not all together then Hunter can’t be there to protect them so what is he supposed to do?? He’s for protecting them!!

And it’s why he’s so bent out of shape when Phee says he’s not their sergeant anymore. She’s not attacking his pride like she thinks. She’s attacking the entirety of his identity.

[talizorahs]

People have been sending me your posts and I have been lowkey obsessed, scribbling notes about them at work, re-reading some other Hunter posting, etcetera, etcetera, and I thought I should actually log in and reply to one of your posts. I hope I'm not overstepping by doing so, but I haven't been able to get some of your points out of my head, and wanted to reblog with my own commentary. Plus, I feel fated to find this particular post first because personhood is Hunter's WHOLE THING as a character in the show, and in the book -- as you've said above.

Qualifications: nearly 500k words of published TBB fan fiction, mainly gen w/ Hunter, another 500k words of TBB roleplay as Hunter, this Hunter thread on X, probably more. My point is I absolutely love this man as far as fictional character loving goes.

I know you're re-reading Sanctuary, and your post is specifically about his internal dialogue in said book, but here I'm just gesturing at Hunter as a whole. The book is a valuable part; actually being able to get in his head.

My whole character hypothesis with Hunter is about his relationship with 'strays'. He is an adopter of people who have gone astray: Cut and Suu, Echo, Caleb/Kanan (attempted), Omega. And of non-uniform ideas, given the whole deviancy narrative of CF99. Hunter has no problems disobeying orders, no adherence to Republic protocol, no moral crisis about deserting. If it feels right, and better, if he can help someone, he will do it.

Which is hilarious, to your point above, because once he renders his assistance, he has no idea what to do beyond that. What did he hope to gain from this exercise? He has no idea, as there was no end goal in mind; no want which he was satisfying for himself. You can make the perfectly valid argument that he does these things because he's a good guy, which he is. He cares deeply for others, especially those he considers family. But that's where he stops, as you say, because his function is for others:

As the eldest clone of his (bad) batch, his function is to look out for the others.

As a sergeant of his squad, his function is to protect the team.

As the older brother to his younger sister, his function is to protect her -- literally, the whole show happens because of this fact, from her rescue from Kamino to her rescue from Tantiss.

It's also why Crosshair's dissent hits him so hard as well, because Hunter goes straight to 'is it me?' before he hits any other wall. It's a failure of his function, as the squad splits up, and because did Crosshair split off because of him? Add to that complicated dynamic by having Crosshair assist in Omega's flight from Tantiss in S3; Hunter was not a participant in restoring either of those people back to his squad. So what is he doing, if not his self-imposed job? Crosshair even calls him out on it in the later S3 episode, E05 the Return. Everybody around him knows that Hunter is a herder and is lost without something to herd.

I also like to write about the Collapse of the Republic (proper noun) because it's a character in Hunter's narrative. Slaves as they were, being a commando squad in the Republic's arsenal bought stability and order to Hunter, and all of their lives. He may not have followed orders to a T, but Hunter relied on Republic supply lines, on leads from Command, and on the war needing his brothers' specific sets of skills. And he has absolutely no problem with seeing his brothers as capable in all of this. (Which, sidepoint: it's funny that Hunter has the soul-defining urge to protect, but simultaneously recognises how cool Tech, Wrecker, Crosshair, and Echo are.) It's the lack of structure after the Republic collapses. You see him struggle with this in the background of the show many times. Less-so in the novel, as Phee is the lead-giver and Pabu is the entity he is helping. But after the collapse, there is no backup. From Cut and Suu's homestead, into bounty hunters vying for Omega, into working for Cid... He sees himself as his squad's only line of defense. This freaks him the fuck out, but also empowers him to do everything he can to protect them -- including being overbearing to the point he has to be called out by a third party. Because Hunter's brothers, his sister, they all love him, they appreciate his role in their safety, but also need room to conceptualise their own desires. Something that Hunter has no idea how to do, thus, no idea how make room for others to do so.

TL;DR this long paragraph: the war ending, and the Empire rising, makes Hunter's personhood gauge go from like -10 to -1000.

And I must apologise, for this post feels so disjointed as I've grabbed like, five notepads I've been scribbling in across several days, and it's also a word vomit after 5 years of having this guy living in my brain.

The last thing I wanted to mention was the whump trope and Hunter (in relation to one another). As I saw another post where you said about his enhanced senses as a storytelling device (+1 from me there), and about others' privacy vs. Hunter's pride. The pride stuff stuck out to me in particular. As afterwards, my comment to a friend was:

Which I feel is more eloquently succinct than me writing another paragraph after your post.

All in all, I hope I'm not imposing on you. Feel free to respond, or don't, I just can't put into words how much this niche Star Wars dude means to me and my psyche, so reading other's words about him always makes me feel particularly seen.

Hope you enjoyed the book!

[c-e-d-f]

YESSS omg you raised so many good points here and I spent a few days trying to like. coherently respond. and somehow that turned into this whole s1-s2 hunter manifesto bc I also rewatched s1 at the same time. Because god he makes me so so so crazy and you're right. It's allll about the Collapse of the Republic. Because Hunter is more of a function than a person (hunter = protecting his brothers). And he functions very well in the context in which he was created! But when that context and structure is gone, he discovers a big fucking problem.

I saw a criticism of tbb that amounted to “tbb gets boring because Hunter has no character goal” and I disagree with that wholeheartedly. Hunter does have a goal. He says it all the time. He wants to do what’s best for his family. To keep them safe. That’s what he’s for. It’s just that he doesn’t know how to do that. Not anymore. Because there seems to be a flaw in his entire sense of self. It’s small. So small they’ll never notice it. But a direct hit could take the whole station down and brother, Crosshair has turned his targeting computer off.

And this is the tasty part. Because it’s all about choice. I mean. This is Star Wars. It’s always about choice. About how order and control can only ever come in the absence of choice, and how it feels like security and safety, but it’s no way to live.

Because Hunter is for protecting his family. His whole family. All the time. And as long as they all have the same goals, do the same things, want the same things, that’s not a problem. And it’s not something Hunter has ever had to consider, because for most of their lives, they had no meaningful agency. So Hunter’s personhood or lack thereof wasn’t a problem. It was actually pretty adaptive for their situation. Hunter is for protecting his brothers, so as long as that’s done, then Hunter gets everything he needs and he’s fine. If he never wants anything more than that, then he’s not hurt by its absence, or by what he has to do to keep them alive. He can keep going. Keep protecting them. 100% mission success rate. Hunter may not be a person, but he’s a good soldier and a good older brother, and that’s more than enough for him.

And then comes Order 66 and for the first time in his life, Hunter is faced with an impossible choice. How is he supposed to protect his family from his family? This is his Y2K. His systems aren’t designed for this. What the fuck. But he’s never had real choices. He just makes the best ones he can with the shit he’s given to protect as much of his family as possible. And it’s okay, actually! Crosshair’s chipped. He didn’t choose to betray them, so it’s fine. It’s fixable, and nothing about Hunter has been irreparably broken. It’s fine.

(Hunter is the king of denying what he can’t tolerate. Think about when they get Omega back from Bane and Hunter says they’ll protect her and Omega says you can’t. Not from everyone. Not forever. But if that’s true then Hunter (for protecting his family) isn’t possible (can’t protect his family). And Hunter still has things to do and a family to protect, so he can’t lose it, so he’ll deny it. Yes I can. I’ll protect you from everything. You’re never going back to Kamino. I won’t let it happen.)

And then they do go back to Kamino. And Hunter finds out that Crosshair has had his chip out for a long time (and I think Hunter believes this but why he does is a subject of another post). And he realizes. For the first time in his life, Crosshair was presented with a real choice. And he chose to leave them.

And Hunter can’t tolerate that. That’s impossible. Nothing about Hunter is designed for or able to adapt to a galaxy in which one of his brothers doesn’t choose the squad. Choose Hunter. So Crosshair and every thought about him has to be turned into something more tolerable. Something that won’t destroy Hunter entirely. So it has to have been Hunter’s fault, because if it was Hunter’s fault then it means he can fix it. He just has to get better at protecting his family, and this will never happen again. He won’t let it.

And so he takes advantage of his own newfound wealth of choices and starts making ones that keep his family safe. Cut told him that he had to put being a soldier behind him if he wants to do that, so he gets to work on that. Hunter’s not a person. He’s a function for protecting his family. So when people talk to him about becoming more than a soldier and settling into civilian life he thinks yes. That’s what I’m doing. I am my family and so if I enable my family to become civilians then I too will be A Civilian. Whatever that is. I’m making it safe for my family to do that by finally having the chance to say no to shitty missions and taking every precaution I want to and keeping them all together where I can see and therefore protect them. Because civilian life is about being safe. So this is civilian life. What do you mean, “no, you personally have to change the way you look at the entire world”? The way I look at the world keeps my family safe. So this is me being a civilian. Why is everyone so mad at me. .

And of course there’s the thing he can’t think about. That if Crosshair’s first choice was to leave him, then it’s possible that the others will, too. That Hunter will lose his entire family. Everything. His entire self. He can’t think about that. So he doesn’t. And so when Phee says things like “who made you the leader? Have you ever thought that now that there’s no republic appointing you sergeant, now that they have a choice, they might choose something other than letting you lead them?” Well… no, Hunter hasn’t. At least not in ways he’s allowed himself to be aware of. They weren’t just following him out of orders. …Were they? (And no. For Hunter, there is no difference between being a CO and being an older brother and being a protector. I think that convo with Phee in Sanctuary shows that, especially with how afterward he gets all angsty about not being the CO and therefore not understanding the structure of his family anymore. Military structure and family structure are the same for them. Hunter is a soldier, not a person. And it’s a bit like. And Hunter would never manage to think this consciously. But it’s a bit like if he’s not a person then it’s easier for him to be with them if they’re not people either. But now the war is over and they’re learning how to be people and Hunter can’t keep up.)

And then they all start to tell him that they are going to choose other things. That just like Crosshair, they aren’t choosing Hunter. Tech even mentions Crosshair directly. And Wrecker tells him that they’re not soldiers anymore and that they don’t have to be and that he sees the way Hunter wants them to be as a failure to move past the soldier mindset. And then Omega tells him that a safe life with no choice is the same thing she had on Kamino. And that it’s not enough. The way things were is not enough. Not the kind of life real people get to lead. That Hunter hasn’t changed. That he’s still just a soldier, and that it’s not enough for his family anymore. It’s like Omega tried to tell him: what he wants for them isn’t what they want, and he doesn’t understand why because he can’t conceive of what better looks like. And the last time one of them didn’t want what he wanted, well. The entire universe changed in horrible ways, and Hunter couldn’t keep up, and now he doesn’t know what to do.

So Phee was right. Hunter does make this about him all the time. It’s always been about him, it’s just that he is them. And apparently, that has to change. Quickly, before they leave.

And maybe the end of Sanctuary helped him process some of that. Maybe he started to see the light. But then they went to Eriadu.

No easy days.

And last but not least I’ll leave you with a bit of my epic hunter misery longfic wip bc your discord message reminded me of it (and the deliciousness of “I will suffer to spare my family from suffering. Of course my suffering doesn’t cause them suffering bc that would cause a major problem). Context for what they’re talking about is just like. A medical problem Hunter’s been having that’s relevant to the WIP but not worth explaining here

[talizorahs]

This was a FEAST I must thank you for the words, and the reply, I very much enjoyed reading through. Was nodding my head along to all of your points. Big +1 to agreeing to Hunter's function and concept (lack thereof) of personhood.

On your noted scope, I always saw it loosely as:

Season 1 was Hunter's season.

Season 2 was Tech's season.

Season 3 was Crosshair's season.

So it stands to reason why you focus on 1-2 plus the book. Crosshair is also a fantastic character, so I enjoy season 3 as well, but the Hunter goodies are in the earlier parts of the show and all of these inferences about Pre-Collapse of the Republic and Post-Collapse of the Republic.

I could ramble on and on so I wanted to hone in on two things in response.

Wrecker's complementary function to Hunter

I love Wrecker. I love all of them, so very much, and it's why I'm still stuck (positively) on this fandom and why I'm still writing for it. But Wrecker is such a great, great character for Hunter to be "stuck with" at the start of S3. Wrecker is, first and foremost, the emotional backbone of the Batch, Echo inclusive. He has the emotional intelligence braincell of the group -- a headcanon made canon by Sanctuary -- and he has a growing vocabulary to enact this throughout the show's 3 seasons. (For those following along at home, I'm not trying to say that the others also don't have any emotional intelligence.) Wrecker loves love, he has a big heart, a big appetite for everything, and he wears it all very much out in the open.

Hunter does not. You said yourself, Hunter's arc takes a nosedive post-season 1. Sure, outwardly. But the background development around the Collapse of the Republic, Tech's death, Omega's kidnappings... That's all very much Hunter shutting down, Hunter becoming more of his self-imposed role as protector.

And these two are stuck together for months, crossed the galaxy five times looking for Omega. Shoutout to @badbatchdalorian for Five as it is a must-read IMO.

Wrecker says in the novel that his home is as a soldier, as well. He functions well with the others. But Wrecker sees what that costs; he has his injuries from pre-canon, he watches Tech die, he watches Hunter all but die from stress. And then Wrecker is more than happy to settle down, as he sees the meaningful, personal change that sanctuary can bring, and that letting go of their old lives is safe. He sees the purpose of attaching yourself to something, to someone, and letting yourself love things. As a soldier -- and a slave -- he conceptualised no such thing, he didn't dare it. But Wrecker did and Wrecker can.

Hunter... cannot. And I enjoy them very much in the book when they speak, and the inferences we can draw from Wrecker witnessing Tech's death (with a sidenote that Tech died of one of Wrecker's phobias).

Then:

2. Your fic!

Thanks for sharing this as well. Absolutely delicious food. Reading between the lines: looks like seizures? That's also one of my favourite tropes and headcanons for him; anything related to Hunter's enhanced senses having drawbacks and truly being seen as ultimately a 'defect'. It has drawbacks and they can cripple him (and the same goes for the rest of CF99).

Looking forward to reading once you're ready. Like, genuinely, actually excited. I need more Hunter whump in my life because he is the perfect character to whump, whether it's pre- or post-Collapse of the Republic. No personhood. No sense of self-preservation related to himself. Desire to protect people, any people, but especially his own people. I can also write essays about this.

And about Crosshair and Hunter -- they are my favourite brotherly duo.

Thanks again for your reply, I seriously had a blast reading, and responding back in the trenches of my own brainrot.

[t9909-g]

Dunno what to say okay

[c-e-d-f]

I did a post about Sanctuary details that I think imply Hunter doesn’t see himself as like an actual real person (at least subconsciously) but I also need to do one about how it shows up in Sanctuary bc If you asked Hunter, he’d tell you he doesn’t buy into the whole kaminoan you’re just a weapon for a purpose thing. he’s the head of tbb of course he doesn’t! He’s not a reg. But the thing is he’s just exchanged “ct 9901 is for tracking and eliminating targets” for “Hunter is for protecting his brothers.” He’s not a real person. Not like the others are.

And it’s a character flaw!!! My favorite thing ever is when a character hates themself so much and disregards their own humanity to such an extent that it becomes a flaw. Happened to my good friend Breq JusticeofToren Mianaai (my other favorite stunningly violent endlessly loving and gentle child-loving war machine learning to be human after being forcibly removed from their life/identity as a tool of imperialism) and it happens to Hunter.

It’s the reason he projects EVERYTHINGGGG onto others. He wants the others to want to stay on Pabu bc he doesn’t want things. He doesn’t have desires beyond keeping his family safe. And so if he wants this it’s not because he’s tired. It’s not because he’s sick of the fighting. It’s to keep them safe. And so them not wanting it as much is a big fucking problem. And why he projects his failure onto Phee (the this is all your fault argument that ends in the brutal tech crosshair comment) bc he can’t fail. They’ll leave him if he fails. He’s nothing if he fails and he might as well not be alive.

It’s why he can’t stand the thought of them separating. In that convo with Wrecker where Wrecker says they want different things, it’s not the not staying on Pabu that bothers him the most. Wrecker emphasizes the idea of them going in different directions bc he knows THAT’S the real problem. Bc if they’re not all together then Hunter can’t be there to protect them so what is he supposed to do?? He’s for protecting them!!

And it’s why he’s so bent out of shape when Phee says he’s not their sergeant anymore. She’s not attacking his pride like she thinks. She’s attacking the entirety of his identity.

[talizorahs]

People have been sending me your posts and I have been lowkey obsessed, scribbling notes about them at work, re-reading some other Hunter posting, etcetera, etcetera, and I thought I should actually log in and reply to one of your posts. I hope I'm not overstepping by doing so, but I haven't been able to get some of your points out of my head, and wanted to reblog with my own commentary. Plus, I feel fated to find this particular post first because personhood is Hunter's WHOLE THING as a character in the show, and in the book -- as you've said above.

Qualifications: nearly 500k words of published TBB fan fiction, mainly gen w/ Hunter, another 500k words of TBB roleplay as Hunter, this Hunter thread on X, probably more. My point is I absolutely love this man as far as fictional character loving goes.

I know you're re-reading Sanctuary, and your post is specifically about his internal dialogue in said book, but here I'm just gesturing at Hunter as a whole. The book is a valuable part; actually being able to get in his head.

My whole character hypothesis with Hunter is about his relationship with 'strays'. He is an adopter of people who have gone astray: Cut and Suu, Echo, Caleb/Kanan (attempted), Omega. And of non-uniform ideas, given the whole deviancy narrative of CF99. Hunter has no problems disobeying orders, no adherence to Republic protocol, no moral crisis about deserting. If it feels right, and better, if he can help someone, he will do it.

Which is hilarious, to your point above, because once he renders his assistance, he has no idea what to do beyond that. What did he hope to gain from this exercise? He has no idea, as there was no end goal in mind; no want which he was satisfying for himself. You can make the perfectly valid argument that he does these things because he's a good guy, which he is. He cares deeply for others, especially those he considers family. But that's where he stops, as you say, because his function is for others:

As the eldest clone of his (bad) batch, his function is to look out for the others.

As a sergeant of his squad, his function is to protect the team.

As the older brother to his younger sister, his function is to protect her -- literally, the whole show happens because of this fact, from her rescue from Kamino to her rescue from Tantiss.

It's also why Crosshair's dissent hits him so hard as well, because Hunter goes straight to 'is it me?' before he hits any other wall. It's a failure of his function, as the squad splits up, and because did Crosshair split off because of him? Add to that complicated dynamic by having Crosshair assist in Omega's flight from Tantiss in S3; Hunter was not a participant in restoring either of those people back to his squad. So what is he doing, if not his self-imposed job? Crosshair even calls him out on it in the later S3 episode, E05 the Return. Everybody around him knows that Hunter is a herder and is lost without something to herd.

I also like to write about the Collapse of the Republic (proper noun) because it's a character in Hunter's narrative. Slaves as they were, being a commando squad in the Republic's arsenal bought stability and order to Hunter, and all of their lives. He may not have followed orders to a T, but Hunter relied on Republic supply lines, on leads from Command, and on the war needing his brothers' specific sets of skills. And he has absolutely no problem with seeing his brothers as capable in all of this. (Which, sidepoint: it's funny that Hunter has the soul-defining urge to protect, but simultaneously recognises how cool Tech, Wrecker, Crosshair, and Echo are.) It's the lack of structure after the Republic collapses. You see him struggle with this in the background of the show many times. Less-so in the novel, as Phee is the lead-giver and Pabu is the entity he is helping. But after the collapse, there is no backup. From Cut and Suu's homestead, into bounty hunters vying for Omega, into working for Cid... He sees himself as his squad's only line of defense. This freaks him the fuck out, but also empowers him to do everything he can to protect them -- including being overbearing to the point he has to be called out by a third party. Because Hunter's brothers, his sister, they all love him, they appreciate his role in their safety, but also need room to conceptualise their own desires. Something that Hunter has no idea how to do, thus, no idea how make room for others to do so.

TL;DR this long paragraph: the war ending, and the Empire rising, makes Hunter's personhood gauge go from like -10 to -1000.

And I must apologise, for this post feels so disjointed as I've grabbed like, five notepads I've been scribbling in across several days, and it's also a word vomit after 5 years of having this guy living in my brain.

The last thing I wanted to mention was the whump trope and Hunter (in relation to one another). As I saw another post where you said about his enhanced senses as a storytelling device (+1 from me there), and about others' privacy vs. Hunter's pride. The pride stuff stuck out to me in particular. As afterwards, my comment to a friend was:

Which I feel is more eloquently succinct than me writing another paragraph after your post.

All in all, I hope I'm not imposing on you. Feel free to respond, or don't, I just can't put into words how much this niche Star Wars dude means to me and my psyche, so reading other's words about him always makes me feel particularly seen.

Hope you enjoyed the book!

[talizorahs]

the fourth thing about centaxday [star wars: the bad batch] [ao3]

written for my @badthingshappenbingo card

READ ON AO3

summary:

“Oh no.” Wrecker’s voice drops down low, nearly to a whisper. “Aw, no, Hunter. What happened?” Hunter’s mouth twists ruefully. His gaze flicks down the hall, towards the front door, like he’s looking for the answer on the floorboards. “Laundry,” he says hoarsely, and then, like that’s not humiliating enough: “Batcher.” Or, Hunter just wanted to catch up on the kriffing laundry. This does not go according to plan. When does it ever?

prompt: arm in a sling word count: 5,741 pairing: none (gen)

notes: big bang is done so you know what that means! >:) this fic is dedicated to molly & dregs who listened to my hunter whump ramblings throughout the big bang period, while i could not work on my hunter whump ramblings to make them hunter whump flowers. now i must attend to my garden.

my board progress:

[queenjiru]

‘Stoked to finally post this piece I did for my dear friend @talizorahs to go with their Clone Bang 2025 fic! It’s a Bad Batch Avatar the Last Airbender AU, and in true Helo fashion it’s fantastic!

You can read A False Herald here ! Please consider showing them all the love!

[talizorahs]

But then he feels it—a tremor in the quiet, so subtle he isn’t sure it’s real. It feels like a faint hum inside his bones. He lifts his head. Above, the stars are pulsing in unison. If he strains, he can almost hear it—a distant, ethereal chorus of voices that aren’t voices at all. The realisation sends a chill of awe through him. He gazes up at the sky, heart pounding. The soundless music swells and the stars grow brighter. Constellations twist and shift, points of light rearranging themselves. He blinks hard, but it’s real: the stars are moving, gathering into a new shape. He watches, breathless, as thousands of glowing pinpricks coalesce into luminous lines and curves high above. He can barely fathom its scale—spanning the sky like a living constellation. A soft white luminescence grows at the heart of the shape, intensifying until it outshines the surrounding stars. Hunter squints against the brilliance. The glow resolves into a vast, living form with sweeping curves like a giant manta ray made of light. Long tendrils unfurl from its body like flowing ribbons. It shines pure white, tinged with faint blue, and intricate patterns flicker across its surface, hinting at eyes or markings. Every edge shimmers, as if stars dance along its outline. ... In response, one of the shining hands reaches toward him with impossible grace. Hunter stands rigid as it approaches. He half-expects it to burn—this being is made of pure light—but when it touches his forehead, just between his brows, there is no pain. Instead, a warmth blooms at the point of contact. A warmth sinks into his skin, radiating through his skull, down his spine, into every nerve. It’s the warmth of sunlight after a long winter; the warmth of a hearth on a lonely night. He knows this feeling. He’s felt it before. On the wind, in the earth. When he touches Omega.

Art by @shyranno

From The False Herald, chapter 15. Written for @clonebang 2025

Or:

The Bad Batch re-imagined in an Avatar (bending) setting. Word count is 80k. Fic is completed and being posted throughout December 2025.

[inkybyl]

The False Herald

Written by: @talizorahs

Proofread by: @theeasternempress

Created for @clonebang Team 16

Read Chapter 1: Prologue here!

Chapter 10: The Garrison

The air is thin here, but it hums faintly with chi—fractured, dissonant, like a melody missing its final note. It grates at the edges of Hunter’s senses. The cold of the evening seeps into him, but it’s not the reason he shivers. Every instinct tells him this place should be holy, that the mountain itself was once alive with spirit. But now, it feels hollowed—emptied by violence so vast that even the air seems reluctant to return.

Echo moves past him, boots crunching over the track. He stops at the edge of the path, staring up at the ruin. His face is unreadable in the fading light.

It’s been an absolute joy working on these 3 pieces with you both, @talizorahs and @theeasternempress ! I hope they look incredible paired with the story! 🎉🥳

I genuinely cannot thank you both so much for your patience with me during this time 🥹🫶 Please go and check out helo’s magnificent story! They’ve done a wonderful job and deserve all the Kudos they can get! 🫶🩵

[inkybyl]

The False Herald

Written by: @talizorahs

Proofread by: @theeasternempress

Created for @clonebang Team 16

Read Chapter 1: Prologue Here!

Chapter 7: The Flight

But then he follows her gaze and sees them:

A flock of massive birds with wings that glint in the sunlight, feathers a shimmering mix of green and gold. They spiral through the sky with lazy grace, riding thermals that carry them higher and higher—much like the airship.

[inkybyl]

The False Herald

Written by: @talizorahs

Proofread by: @theeasternempress

Created for @clonebang Team 16

Chapter 1: Prologue

In ages past the Avatar rose unbroken, cycle after cycle, nation after nation.
From water to earth, from earth to fire, balance was kept
though the Nations would falter.

In the days before our glory, the Avatar was Rwoh, 
Of stone and soil, yet even she could not shield the world from decay.

Then was Anakin born, the destined flame.
He who was raised from bondage, chosen by the Emperor’s wisdom
The truest son of the cycle
of Fire.

Yet envy stirs in barren hearts.
The Air Nomads, who cloaked themselves in secrecy, whispered rebellion.
They plotted war and in their secret halls they bent unlawfully—

Severing spirits
binding what should not be bound
daring to wield the forbidden arts.

When their treachery was revealed
the Emperor’s hand struck swift.
With righteous flame, the Nomads were struck down.

Upon Mustafar’s burning slope, the last heretic arose
And was struck down forever.

So the burden fell to Fire: to guard what is fragile,
to kindle what is fading,
to temper what is wild.

My life I give to my country.
With my hands I fight for Fire and Avatar and all before them.
With my mind I seek ways to better my nation.
And with my feet may our Empire’s march continue.

[talizorahs]

He takes a step toward the console, steeling himself— —and brandishes his sword at the new figure waiting for him there. They are leaning on the far wall, patiently waiting, like they were content to be noticed in Hunter’s own pre-flight preparations. A half-mask obscures the lower part of the person’s face, but there is no missing the narrow, calculating eyes under the brim of a Fire Nation hood—or the gleam of a long staff slung across their back. Hunter hadn’t noticed them at all—no sound, no hint of a presence until Hunter sauntered up to them at the hangar’s control booth. Whether they have been lying in wait the whole time or has just arrived on silent feet, Hunter doesn’t know.  This rattles him—more than anything else that has happened today. “Leaving?” The figure’s voice breaks the silence, shattering the hopeful quiet nestled inside the airship behind Hunter. The figure’s tone is masculine, coiled, almost like a snake. It matches the gait of his stride as he steps forward and out of the shadows.  Hunter, meanwhile, takes one step backwards, still with his sword pointed at their antagonist. “And without me?” the man goes on, like he is genuinely disappointed. He steps further into the ambient, electric light of the hangar, revealing more of himself. He wears the armour of the Fire Nation Army, but custom-fitted and modified—lighter for mobility, painted in shades of charcoal and black rather than the standard crimsons. But more concerning than anything else is the flicker of actual flame that dances around his right hand like a living glove. He has it held low at his side, and small tongues of fire curled between his fingers, ready to be unleashed. His eyes are a stormy dark grey. One of them is marred by a crossed scar over his right eye. Hunter’s eyes narrow as he makes eye contact. Yet he breathes his next word, heavy with equal parts relief and sorrow. “Crosshair.”

Art by goatbloodddd (Instagram)

From The False Herald, chapters 5 & 6. Written for @clonebang 2025.

Or:

The Bad Batch re-imagined in an Avatar (bending) setting. Word count is 80k. Fic is completed and being posted throughout December 2025.

[talizorahs]

the false herald [star wars: the bad batch AU] [ao3]

written for @clonebang

READ ON AO3

Summary:

The Air Nomads are gone. An Avatar has fallen. An empire has risen. 28 years later, Hunter doesn't care about any of that. He just wants to save his brother. A story about fugitives, failure, and family. About what survives in the face of evil. About hope itself; as small as an ember, or vast as a sunrise, it always burns the same. -- Book I — Earth: Chapters 1-17 Written for 2025's Clone Bang (Big Bang)

Or:

The Bad Batch re-imagined in an Avatar (bending) setting. Word count is 80k. Fic is completed and being posted throughout December 2025.

Book 1 concepts done by the lovely @zaana

[songofthecaptain]

Contributor Preview - Helo572

Writer Contributor Preview - Helo572 / @talizorahs on Tumblr / helo572 on AO3 / softbatch on X

A favourite Rex moment: any moment in which Rex is being flung around by Anakin, Obi-wan, Ahsoka, and company (usually by the force).

Shop is open!

[talizorahs]

found/tonight [star wars: the bad batch] [ao3]

written for my @badthingshappenbingo card

READ ON AO3

summary:

Tech gets more than he bargained for during a local liberation excursion, under the spell of one Phee Genoa.

prompt: falling from a great height word count: 11,184 pairing: tech/phee, none (gen)

notes: i have never written techphee and this is a great first fic, what with all of the techphee and general bad batch thoughts floating around my head. book soon, queen? book, queen? book?

my board progress:

[talizorahs]

escharotomy [star wars: the bad batch] [ao3]

written for my @badthingshappenbingo card

READ ON AO3

summary:

escharotomy (noun) 1. a surgical procedure used to treat full-thickness (third-degree) burns. 2. something Crosshair never wants to see performed on his brother ever again. Or, Hunter is self-sacrificial when it comes to safety of his brothers, and Crosshair has had enough.

prompt: caught in an explosion word count: 18,801 pairing: none (gen)

notes: I REALLY MISS THE BAD BATCH RAHHHHHHHH but also welcome sanctuary era. this fic is novel-adjacent 💖

my board progress:

[talizorahs]

Summer of Bad Batch 2025 - Bonus Prompts

@summer-of-bad-batch

Title: Post-Op Protocol Prompt: "It's too early for this" Word count: 11,375

Summary:

After the Clone Wars, after the fallout, after Tantiss. Recovery from a life hard lived is never going to be linear. It's also not helped by the discovery of another one of Hunter's enhancements slash defects - wisdom teeth.

READ ON AO3