SOLVED! Top nut on the strut came loose. Dang washer was rattling around! Turns out I'm dumb AND lucky because the fix couldn't have been easier.
Can you all confirm this is a bad end link for me before I get new ones? In anyone's experience with a Crosstrek could this be something more sinister? It's a '24 if that makes a difference.
I thought it was just loose after putting in a Rallitek strut kit so I checked and torqued everything again. Still had the clanky rattle so I added a few lbs. of torques to the end link but the noise persists.
What's wild is that this car has around 15k miles which is why I thought it might be some other more mysterious problem. It hasn't seen that much abuse from me. Only one big pothole which would have destroyed something else first. In an unrelated matter, Rallitek install was smooth as heck. The only issue I had was one of the lower strut bolts stripped with a torque wrench... Never ever have I had that happen before.
Thanks all!