#(( it's a way to easily still make IC posts between threads + his real entries will start off way shorter cuz he doesn't wanna lmao ))

[antipersonal]

TO: John Walker FROM: Dr. E. M. Kessler [Consultant, OXE Behavioral Oversight] SUBJECT: Compliance Protocol – Psychological Oversight & Reintegration

John,

As discussed during your intake interview, participation under the Thunderbolts initiative is conditional on your active participation in behavioral oversight. This is not negotiable. You're not under detainment, but you are under scrunity. As much as you might dislike the process, this is the only option on the table if you're serious about getting off the bench.

Effective immediately your weekly routine will include the following:

One mandatory virtual session, logged for compliance.

A weekly minimum of two structured self-reports via written entry (typed or handwritten, your choice) submitted by 0000 hours. You may also choose to record them as audio files, if you like!

No unsupervised field assignments until a minimum of four consectuve weeks of participation without incident or noncompliance.

This isn't a punishment. This is protocol. You've crawled through mud most people never get out of. But functional isn't the same as stable, as your last deployment proved. You need to operate on more than just your instincts. Session one is scheduled for Tuesday at 09:00. Don't be late, although you never are! :-)

— Dr. Kessler

RE: COMPLIANCE PROTOCOL FROM: Walker, J. TO: Dr. Kessler

Roger. I’ll show up. You’ll get your goddamn report. But I’m not unpacking my childhood, and I’m not going to sit around talking about feelings while my teammates do real work. If you want me operational, then let me operate. You’ve got people on this team who’ve done worse things with less protocol. Just remember that.

— Walker

Walker glared at his phone in the dark, screen painfully bright even at the dimmest setting-- the email was still open on his cracked screen, words clinical and cautious like the doc had anticipated him fighting back. Maybe he was getting predictable.

Reports. Logs. Like he was a broken piece of equipment they were running through diagnostics. Walker's lip curled, but he found he couldn't muster the energy to really get angry. Instead he let out a breath, scrubbing a tired hand down his face.

(The broken windows in the tower's common room were still covered in dropcloths. The whole building reeked of paint and drywall, and half the team wouldn't speak to him unless it was over comms. Not exactly a return to form.)

Still, he thumbed a reminder into his phone. He'd play along. Not for some redemption arc, just… because he already said he would.

Or maybe because he didn't know what else to do.