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eriexplosion · 7 months

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Tech Lives: An Ungodly Long Essay

(AKA: Turns out that my Tech Lives compilation post comment was actually a threat.)

There have been hundreds if not thousands of posts since Plan 99 aired wondering if Tech might have made it after his fall - it's probably been brought up more than any other hanging plot point, even after season 2 scooped up Omega and left us on a massive cliffhanger. Now that season 3 has started, though, Omega and Crosshair are home (for now) but we have received an almost aggressive lack of Tech info. So, I've gathered up some of the stronger Evidence for why Tech might be fashionably late but still on his way back from The Void!

THE LEAD UP

So to start, let's go back to what came before the whole Incident. This will focus mostly on season 2, seeing as that was definitely Tech's season to shine, but with bits about plotlines in season 1. Which brings us to our first bit, that's not really evidence so much as some gentle push-back on a common argument.

Doomed By Character Development?

We've all seen this particular situation before - a character is slated for a tragic death, so just before it happens the writers gives them a little extra relevance to the plot to make sure the audience really feels it when the time comes. The Clone Wars was especially good at this, giving characters like Fives an arc of his own that ended in his tragic death. Season 7 gave us a better look at Jesse, first in the Bad Batch's intro arc and then again through the Siege of Mandalore, all to bring us to the chip activation that led to his ultimate death.

When season 2 started off with one of the two intro episodes spotlighting Tech and our first breather episode of the season also spotlighting him, people started to get worried. So is it fair to say that his spotlight in season 2 was setting him up for a permadeath?

Looking at it, I don't think so, for multiple reasons. For one, Tech didn't just get a spotlight episode, his development dominated a good chunk of the whole damned season, often taking priority over the other characters that wouldn't be dropped into the mists. While giving a little bit of character development to a doomed character can be a good move, giving ALL your development to a doomed character ends up feeling like a good portion of your season was actively pointless.

The Bad Batch is not an open ended show. It seems to have been planned for the three seasons it got, and they would have gone into it knowing they had a set amount of time to work with. Dedicating so much time to developing Tech in preparation for a character death takes away all of their opportunity to develop, well, anything else.

But, along with the amount of time that was dedicated to Tech as a character through season 2, they also didn't develop him in the ways that most often get used for a doomed character. Namely...

That Sure Is A Lot Of Open Plot Lines

And not one of them got tied up. Currently, Tech has two open plot lines to himself, both started in season 2, as well as a key place in the overall show narrative arc. As the overall show narrative arc takes precedence, we'll start with that.

The Bad Batch sets up a few different narrative arcs very early. One is if clones can be more than soldiers - this is the central thing that we see them struggling against from the start, they've been created to be soldiers and don't know much else about how to function in the world. Theoretically this arc can be fulfilled with one or two of them still dying as soldiers, as long as a few of them make it to find a new life for themselves.

The arc that can't be fulfilled without everyone though is the ongoing thread of reuniting the batch. Much of the show is geared towards making the viewer want this specific end result, as soon as they talk about Crosshair, Omega says they'll just have to get him back and complete their family. The end of season 1 teases us with this only to pull it away at the last moment, then season 2 teases us with it again only to yet again pull it away, this time seemingly permanently.

Ending one of your key narrative threads you've been using to draw audiences in only 2/3rds of the way into the show and without ever resolving it... well it would be a choice. If Tech is gone for good then the last time we saw everyone together would be the end of season 1. Rewatches would lack impact because something that was made to seem so vital ended up going nowhere, and the series finale would never quite reach the height that hearing the full batch theme kick in over the team fighting droids together did. It absolutely destroys the central narrative to leave him gone without ever having reunited the family.

And then there's his personal plots.

Let's start with the obvious one. Tech got a whole potential love interest this season and they absolutely did not resolve a damn thing about it.

Again, this takes a trope that we all know - the young army man that's going to go home and finally marry his girl, who has his whole life ahead of him, but dies tragically in his final mission - and seemingly intentionally subverts the beats. Because what makes the trope work is that the plot line is resolved as soon as that young man decides how he's going to move forward. He can't die uncertain of if he's going to marry his girl, he has to make a decision, and the longer we spend on the relationship to his girl the stronger the decision has to be to consider the narrative line resolved and free him up for some tragedy.

Tech/Phee is a tentative little 'will they or won't they' romance. They're flirting, they're feeling each other out, they're seeing if they're compatible. To tie up this narrative line we would have to find out if they are or not, get a yes or a no on the question. Will they or won't they? We simply don't know because the writers didn't put a resolution in.

We do get the traditional pre-mission scene with them, which would normally be when we get the first kiss or perhaps the promise of a date, either of which would have had me digging Tech's grave for him to fall into from the second it happened. Or even a 'we can't do this right now, but maybe some day it will be the right time' which would have been a kind of lukewarm resolution but would have at least represented a decision.

Instead we get a scene that almost aggressively refuses to resolve anything. They have an awkward interaction, but not one that says they won't get together, no promises are made for the future, no decision point is reached, and the plot line is still dangling wide open when Tech falls to his supposed death. If we truly leave it off here, well, what was the Tech/Phee subplot for? Why did we spend precious time on it when it could have been spent on something else, if it was meant to make Tech's death hit harder why did it not go further?

A second subplot with Tech is that he certainly made the most progress on seeing options outside of the Empire - it starts early on in Ruins of War when he meets Romar and gets his eyes opened to the idea of cultures that existed unconnected to the war. Serenno existed before the war and before the separatists, and Romar introduces Tech to that idea of an ongoing culture. He gets a taste of racing in front of a cheering crowd, leans further into his teaching of Omega and gets new insights from her regarding their lives as soldiers, his relationship with Phee picks up right when he finds out that she is interested in the preservation of cultures. It's a quiet little subplot, but Tech was seeing the full scope of what the galaxy contained beyond being a soldier in a war.

But, like the Tech/Phee, it never resolves. He never decides to settle down, he never chooses to stop being a soldier or even openly discusses the idea of what life will look like after. Rescuing Crosshair isn't positioned as a final mission that they have to complete in order to give up their lives as soldiers. Without that decision point being reached, the plot stays open, we never find out what he Would Have Done so we don't get a sense of the future that he would lose by dying, which is what the purpose of these types of plots is for a planned permadeath.

The Kaminoans don't create without purpose and writers working on a three season timeline don't typically write without it either. So if we spent the time on Tech/Phee but Tech is dead before it ever went anywhere, if we spent time on Tech's relationship with being something other than a soldier but he never really pursues it, what is the payoff?

Too Much of a Survivor To Die?

There's also the matter of how they chose to build Tech's character this season. Namely they beefed that man's skills up incredibly high making it intensely unbelievable that he's dead without seeing some sort of concrete proof. Things we know about Tech as of the end of season 2 include:

Incredible pain tolerance - Tech fractures his femur in Ruins of War and seems shockingly unbothered by it. The femur is frequently listed as one of the most painful bones to break. This is not a broken toe the man is hobbling around on, he fractured the strongest bone in the body and kept going through the woods. He physically fought and killed a man with that busted femur.

Lightning fast mental processing - this is of course on display nowhere so much as Faster where he's put up against droids and wins by taking calculated risks that no one else is willing to try.

A cool head in stressful circumstances - this one is hilarious because he outright says it, but Tech does demonstrate time and time again that when it comes down to it, he's able to keep calm no matter the circumstances.

Essentially, we spend the entirety of season 2 setting up why Tech is the perfect person to drop out of the sky and have him survive. He has the ability to keep calm and come up with a plan in seconds and he has the grit to keep moving even if he's grievously injured once he hits the ground. When you set a character up like this, you can still kill them, but you have to work harder to do it convincingly. Leaving Tech not at the moment of death but with probably at least a minute to act in and then not showing us the body is the exact opposite.

We have a moment in The Crossing showing us Tech's precise aim, and it comes up again to brutal effect when he shoots out the connection on the rail car. If moments through the season were used to set up that particular instant of the finale, then we can't discount the numerous scenes demonstrating his survival skills as being irrelevant to his chances.

Plus, looking back at Ruins of War - one of the big moments in the episode is towards the end, where Romar tells Tech, "I'm a survivor. Remember?" The camera then lingers on Tech for a long moment. It's not the kind of action that demonstrates his capabilities as above, but it works to associate the words with Tech in the viewers mind. Romar is a survivor, and Tech is a survivor too. And when you intend to kill someone off, it's kind of an odd choice to spend that whole season setting them up as a survivor.

THE FALL

Which brings us to the scene itself. Plan 99, implied to be one of the last ditch plans that they have. It's absolutely a heartbreaking scene, and one that can be tough to analyze when it's so well done, because it's rough to watch repeatedly. But, it's worth doing, because the scene itself is FULL of questions, some structural others more based in the visual presentation.

What is Plan 99?

Well, that's just it, we don't actually know.

We know what it's implied to be, a self sacrifice plan where one of the batch gives their life for the others to get away. But in show it's never actually defined, leaving the full meaning of Plan 99 up to interpretation. It could be as simple as what it's implied to be, but that brings up questions like 'why not provide any lead up or foreshadowing for it?' and 'does killing yourself actually count as a plan?'

Removing the assumptions from it gives us room to speculate. Is the plan actually that they leave him behind, dead or alive? Hunter ordered them to do so without a plan number in season 1, but he is the sergeant, so plan 99 could easily be something that bypasses his authority - if a batcher calls a plan 99, you go and you don't question his decision. It's certainly closer to a plan if there's something they are supposed to be doing from their end rather than just an announcement of intent.

It's not strictly evidence one way or another, but it is something of note when Tech's entire sacrifice is based around a plan that we're not privy to the details of. TBB has hidden its twists in ambiguity before, so it would not be the first time that it let us assume something only to pull the rug out later. But ambiguity is not the only thing that makes this scene stand out in the raising questions department.

Pacing Goes Out The Window

Generally speaking, a self sacrifice is the climax of an episode. Think Kanan, Hardcase, Gregor, Hevy, etc - Even a minor character sacrificing their life tends to make up the most climactic portion of any given episode, let alone one of the characters from the title squad. It gets to be the big central moment, the big rush of music and feeling, the pinnacle of the viewers attention.

Tech's sacrifice is not. It happens around 5 minutes into the episode, is rapidly moved past with barely a moment to think, and then the actual climax is Omega's capture on Ord Mantell. They even repeat the music when Omega is captured, except much stronger this time, making it clear that this is the emotional crux of the episode, this is the scene that is supposed to stick with you.

The opportunity to make it the climax of an episode was certainly there. The storyline could have been adjusted to put Tech's fall at the end of The Summit, allowing more time in Plan 99 for processing his loss and making it feel final. The pacing choice is one that doesn't allow the viewer to process the loss, only giving us maybe a couple minutes of time with actual emotional reactions before we're barreling off to the next plot point. Why was Tech's death de-emphasized within the episode if it is indeed our last moment with this central character?

Tarkin, Eriadu, & Saw Gerrera

A lot goes into the set-up for Plan 99. We have Tarkin's base on Eriadu as the setting they're working within, going up against Tarkin for the first time since early season 1. This is the big leagues, and something that's come up in multiple interviews is that when going into the den of one of the franchise's big bads we have to have consequences, something to demonstrate that Tarkin is not to be trifled with.

Sounds reasonable enough. Except Tarkin doesn't actually do anything in either of these episodes. The thing that actually threw them off was Saw's planning mixing in with their own.

All Tarkin does upon finding out that the batch is stuck on the rail is order an air strike and ignore that this would kill many of his own men. This is certainly evil, but it's standard Imperial evil. Rampart would have given that order. Hemlock would have given that order. The guy in Tipping Point that we know for 5 minutes before he fried himself would have given that order.

So if the point of this finale was to demonstrate Tarkin's power, then bringing Saw in both complicates the plot and devalues what they're claiming they are trying to show. So is the point to get them to Tantiss? No, because they fail in that. They don't plant the tracker, they're no closer to finding Crosshair than they were before.

By all accounts the point of the whole endeavor is in fact just to drop Tech off a sky rail for reasons unknown and injure Omega to force them to go back to Ord Mantell. These two things could have happened anywhere in any way of course, so why choose Eriadu and why choose to complicate the plot by introducing Saw rather than letting Tarkin handle the job?

They're questions we don't have answers to yet, but they're very hard to get answers to if Tech is dead and completely out of the picture. Having a dead body on Eriadu is fairly useless to the plot, having a living Tech on Eriadu though? That has potential to move them huge leaps forward in a very short amount of time once we bring him back in. Especially given his conversation with Saw prior to everything going downhill - Tech was in favor of gathering intel from the facility rather than destroying it.

And what about Saw, anyway? If he was genuinely there to cause problems and fly away, again, that's a plot wrinkle that isn't needed and took time away from everything else. If he's there because they needed someone to pick Tech up though? There's potential there.

Did Tech's Sacrifice Mean Anything?

In universe, Tech's sacrifice means everything, of course. It's a decision made in the moment to risk everything to save his family. It's a noble deed and one he does without hesitation. But pulling away from that narrow scope of an in universe perspective, what did we accomplish narratively with his fall?

Well... not much actually! They got over the bump in the road that they encountered all of five seconds ago and promptly crashed headfirst into another, different bump in the road. Tech's dramatic sacrifice didn't allow them to escape unharmed, it didn't allow them to find Crosshair, it just allowed them to move a few steps forward, after which Omega is almost killed and then captured, which is a fairly weak reason to sacrifice a whole major character.

But not every character death is exclusively about narrative, sometimes it's about the character arc itself. So does this close out anything for Tech's character development? Again, not really. Tech has always been completely loyal to the squad and would have risked anything for his family. He never had a choice not to fall, it was either just him or the whole team, and he is an endlessly logical actor. The action would have played out the same had it happened in the series premier or the season 1 finale, or any other time in the show. If anything it's a backtrack on his character by putting him solidly back into the soldier box that the show is trying to let the clones grow out of.

Maybe it's not about Tech's character though, maybe it's about everyone else's! Does his death change anyone's trajectory? Again... no, not really. We'll get into season 3's lack of mentioning Tech later, but in the immediate aftermath of his fall, no one's course or actions is majorly changed because of his loss. Hunter wants to go back to Pabu where it's safe, the same thing he wanted to do before they ever left for this mission. Omega puts herself in danger to save her brothers, which has been one of her defining traits since season one. Wrecker is following Hunter's lead, same as he always did. (We get very little of what Echo hopes to do, but the opening of season 3 reveals that they went back to work with Rex, exactly like they were doing before.)

So narratively nothing required him to die, the character's arc isn't completed, and the other characters aren't motivated to change. If Tech dies here, it's the picture of a shock value death. It doesn't complete or inform his character, it doesn't need to narratively happen in order to put Omega on the path to being captured, and thematically it exists just to give the viewer an unnecessary gut-punch when just the failure to rescue Crosshair and the loss of Omega would have been enough.

Framing is Everything

In a death scene there's nothing more powerful than our final shot of a character. The very last we'll ever see of them, the image that will linger in our minds when we think of that character from then on. This is especially important in animation where everything has to go through several iterations before deciding on what that final look will be. You want it to be impactful, you want the audience to have one final connection to the character before they're gone for good.

So why does Tech die with his helmet on?

If there's one thing TBB is good at, it's their expression work, and a death scene is a perfect place to show off their full range, which is why most deaths meant to have a heavy impact occur with faces unobscured. Crosshair loses his helmet and takes Mayday's off so we can see both of their faces as Mayday dies, Slip, Cade, even Clone X and Wilco, all die helmetless. Looking into older series you have Kanan dying without his mask, Fives, Hardcase, Waxer all dying helmetless with one last good look at their faces and expressions.

And while Tech's helmet gives us a good look at his eyes, the rest of his face goes unseen, and Wrecker's face as he watches this happen is completely obscured. We're denied a look at a lot of their expressions as the decision is made and Plan 99 is executed, rendering it less personal than it otherwise could have been. Tech could have lost his helmet in the blast that knocked him from the rail, Wrecker could have had his helmet knocked off at some point to give us a good look at his expression. TBB isn't known for pulling its punches, so why leave our final look at Tech's face back in The Summit and not here?

Then there's the framing choices. We get some absolutely amazing shots of Tech during the fall, from taking the shot to falling backwards towards the cloudy cover - but here's where some interesting choices are made. Rather than letting our last shot of him be a face up shot that keeps eye contact with the camera as he falls, they make the choice to have him flip over, and we hold the shot as the rail car goes down after him, partially obscuring him.

Which means instead of our last glimpse of Tech being something like this.

We end up with something closer to this.

Which, while we all love those Tech crotch shots is somewhat less impactful emotionally. These frames go through multiple departments and get multiple eyes on them before going through final animation, and no one thought that leaving him face up and unobscured until he disappears into the fog would stick more firmly in the viewer's memory?

The Flip Might be Intentional

And I don't just mean out of universe, as every detail of animation is often intentional, but in universe as well. If you look closely at Tech as he falls, he seems to roll his shoulders back in order to begin flipping over. It was a specific enough detail to send me searching for a reason and I found it in instructions on how to survive a long fall - the first thing that you're supposed to do? Get into the arch position like a skydiver to slow and control your fall.

The flip was important enough to not only include but to include the small detail of Tech intentionally flipping himself over into said position. It's not a confirmation but it's an interesting detail, and one that has very few other reasons to exist.

THE AFTERMATH

Image chosen because even thinking he's alive I didn't want to pull from Omega reacting to the fall on Ord Mantell. Looking at her makes me Sad. So the fall has happened, the rail car has rushed forward and crashed, and Omega fades in and out of consciousness until finally waking up on Ord Mantell to the bad news.

"What if he's hurt?"

Omega is our POV character for the show. We may sometimes see things she doesn't, but emotionally she remains the center of the narrative, the character that the target audience will see themselves in. Her ultimate thoughts on a situation are the closest we have to a clear indicator of our intended takeaway.

So it's interesting that the first thing we hear out of her, having heard that Tech 'didn't make it,' is a firm denial. He can't be gone, he might be hurt, he needs them and they need to go back for him. And, despite Hunter continuing to talk with her about it for a bit, we never actually hear Omega explicitly take it back or verbally acknowledge Tech as dead. The closest we get is 'lost' which she also uses for Echo in The Crossing.

Now, here's where the interpretation between the adult and child audience will likely differ. From an adult perspective, this is a reasonable reaction for a child her age. It comes off as very natural that she doesn't want to accept it and that she doesn't have time to really process that it's true before the scene moves on. It makes sense from an in universe perspective.

However, the main audience is still children who actually are Omega's age and who are being presented with her as their window into this world. And their takeaway, seeing that same scene, is likely to be that Omega is correct. They don't know that Tech's dead, just because an adult says it doesn't make it true and just because Hemlock says it DEFINITELY doesn't mean it's true, they have to go back and check.

If they wanted the main audience to think that Tech is dead for sure, they could have had Omega be the one to say that he's gone, with Hunter simply confirming it for her. Alternatively, Omega accepting it when Hunter tells her would also function in the same way - ultimately, as the POV character, if Omega doesn't accept it there's a strong possibility much of the audience won't accept it either, especially without other evidence.

No Body?

And, as we all know, we simply don't have other concrete evidence. Not only are the batch given no time to look for Tech's body or any confirmation that he died, but we get a whole scene with Hemlock and the goggles where he also confirms verbally that he doesn't have a body either. There's very little reason to have him say this outside of putting a bug in the viewer's ear that he might not be gone for good.

Not only do we have that verbal confirmation, but we have multiple places where a body could have been included or implied without adding much to the runtime.

Easiest place would probably be when Omega passes out - there's a trooper's corpse right there in front of her, and it would have been very easy to make that identifiable as Tech. Have one of the boys check his pulse like Crosshair did with Mayday and then be forced to leave after confirming he's dead. Would it require a little bit of fudging the details of how he landed so close to them, sure, but it would have been narratively streamlined and easy.

Have Hemlock bring his helmet rather than his goggles (and damage it in a way clearly incompatible with survival) or confirm that he did find a body but has no use for the goggles.

Put the body in Hemlock's lab when Omega is brought there at the end of the episode. Have a sheet covering him even if you want and just one of his hands hanging out, especially the one with the distinctive light on the back of it. Give us her reaction to that.

These are just the ones that don't involve adding scenes or making major changes - instead, in a franchise known for bringing back everyone and their grandmother especially if there's no body, they chose to leave it extremely vague.

Reused Score

The soundtrack for Tech's sacrifice is fantastic, I don't think anyone can argue that. In fact it's so good that it's used occasionally used as a reason for why he's dead for real. If it's a fakeout, why go so hard on the music?

It almost sounds like a reasonable argument, except that the music isn't even unique to Tech's fall. We get the same motif later in the episode with Omega's capture, and it actually comes in even harder and more impactful there than it did with Tech falling.

Reusing bits of the music has two results. It lessens the impact of hearing it with Tech if it is in fact his Death music, because it makes it clear that he is not the central feeling of the episode but rather, Omega's capture is. As mentioned before, deaths are usually the climax of their own episodes partially to avoid them being upstaged by any other plot points, but here Omega's capture is fully prioritized over the loss of one of our central characters.

The second result is that it changes the meaning of the music. It's no longer meant specifically to underscore a tragic death, but rather a more general one of loss and separation. And if it's simply about that separation, then it no longer requires Tech to be dead to have that same impact. They're apart from each other, and that's painful enough.

SEASON 3 SO FAR

Which of course finally brings us to season 3! We're five episodes in as of the posting of this, so a full 1/3rd of the season down, which gives us a good idea of how they're handling the whole grief aspect of this scenario.

They Aren't!

That's right, we simply have not directly acknowledged or dealt with the whole 'watching your squadmate fall to a presumed horrible death' thing even once in five episodes. Tech has been mentioned by name twice, we've seen his goggles once, and Wrecker makes one sideways reference to him having not made it back.

In universe, there is a several month timeskip and it seems to be implied that the majority of the grief milestones happened in that gap. For example, we don't see Crosshair finding out from Omega, we don't see Omega grieving her brother, we don't see Phee finding out (more on her in a bit) despite her fledgling romance. Months of grieving and processing skipped over and what comes out the other side is single line mentions that go by in seconds.

This is especially apparent after episode 5, where we got something to compare it to. Crosshair has a long, painful moment of grieving with Mayday's helmet when they return to Barton IV. It's deep, personal, and intimate and we take a minute with him gathering up the helmets of Mayday and his men to set them up on the crates the same way that Mayday had honored them.

Mayday is a one episode character that was important to only a single character, Crosshair - Tech is a core member of the team present through two full seasons and shown as close to every member of the squad. Yet the single scene grieving Mayday is longer and more emotionally gripping than every short mention of Tech so far in season 3.

Narrative Grief

Seeing characters grieve their loved ones onscreen is about more than just the characters themselves. It's also part of the viewer experience - through the characters' grief, we're able to process our own grief at the loss. It makes it feel real, it makes it feel personal, and the amount of grieving needs to be proportionate to the character's importance in the story.

This is especially true in a show written for children like The Bad Batch. Kids don't typically have the same experience with death as adults, and a well written main character death within a children's show will need more time and energy spent towards making the loss feel real. We see this with deaths like Kanan's; it wasn't Jedi Night that told the viewer that Kanan was really, truly dead, it was Dume, where the characters mourned him and dealt with the aftermath.

Currently, with Tech, we do see holes in the team that make us miss Tech but they remain completely unaddressed by the characters. We see Tech's goggles, but Hunter isn't looking at them, he's looking at Lula. Omega mentions Tech having taught her all the plans, but without any real sadness on her or Crosshair's part. The closest we get to actually bringing it up are Wrecker saying 'not everyone came back' and Echo mentioning the datapad would be difficult without Tech, and both of those are only seconds long before moving on. They don't serve as any kind of catharsis for the viewer, relying more on gut punch impact and keeping the wound open rather than allowing it to heal. The difference between the treatment of Tech's death and Mayday's just makes it more stark.

How Do You Like Yearning?

Interestingly, though, it strongly resembles the writing team's handling of another situation: Crosshair's departure from the team in season 1 vs Echo's in season 2. The show even drew a lot of flack for the lack of discussion on Crosshair's betrayal, as outside of a couple conversations the matter often went unremarked on. Echo leaving, on the other hand, got a whole episode dedicated to processing the loss immediately after it happened.

So what was the difference? Crosshair's departure is part of a long term plot point. We're supposed to want him back, we're supposed to want the team to talk about him, anything that would ease the tension. The writers on the other hand want that tension to remain until it's time to actually resolve the plot. So we get those slow drips in between bigger encounters, we get opportunities for Crosshair to come home that he doesn't take, and we don't get the catharsis of the team actually talking about any of it. We're left to want and imagine it, using the yearning to keep it on people's minds more than anything.

If Crosshair had been discussed on screen long enough for the characters to actually come to terms with his absence, though, that would have made the plot feel more settled and resolved early on. It might be conversations we want to see, but it doesn't keep the viewer on edge and craving a resolution. Best case scenario we're just not as desperate for Crosshair to come home - worst case scenario we accept that he won't be returning and find the fact that he eventually does to be unrealistic.

Echo on the other hand gets their absence processed immediately, because their absence from the team is not meant to be a huge plot point. It's something the team has to deal with, yes, and the viewer wants to see them again just like Omega does, but Echo returning isn't meant to be a maybe, and it's not supposed to keep the viewer wondering and worrying. It's a when, not an if.

Similarly to Crosshair, Tech has never felt like a resolved plot point. We don't get confirmation on his death, we don't get any long term grieving, and we get drip fed acknowledgements that pry the wound back open. If we actually see the team discuss and come to terms with their grief and loss, the plot point closes, the wound closes and we begin to fully accept a team without Tech in it, which makes it harder to reinsert him into the storyline if he is in fact alive.

If he's truly gone for good, what is the point of denying closure to the audience? We know that they are capable of writing an intense mourning moment that feels completely in character for otherwise emotionally repressed men such as Crosshair, so why not give us that with the team mourning for Tech? A memorial, an intimate moment with the goggles, a short scene of Crosshair finding out about the loss, or anything at all really? Once again it's something that makes sense if he's alive and we're simply not being shown yet, but makes very little sense to not capitalize on if he's dead.

What's to Come

We have ten episodes of season 3 to go, and a lot to cover. Reviews have indicated that Tech is not explicitly brought up in the first eight, so the earliest we could possibly have a survival reveal is in episode 9. Will it actually happen? Maybe, maybe not. Though interestingly episode 9, The Harbinger, is almost exactly one year after Plan 99, just like The Return aired almost one year after The Outpost. Could mean nothing, but they do enjoy their anniversary dates.

One thing we do know for sure is coming up is Phee's inclusion - she's seen in the official trailer, as well as briefly in a recent twitter spot. This is interesting as Phee is, of course, Tech's teased love interest, and her connection to Tech has been emphasized multiple times, including on her Databank entry and the official 'what you need to know about season 3' guide. When she comes onto the scene, it's very likely that more information about Tech will too.

MARKETING, INTERVIEWS, & SOCIAL MEDIA

I wanted to keep this mostly focused on what can be seen within the show itself, but it's impossible to talk about whether or not Tech is alive without pointing to the absolutely bizarre messaging from the cast and crew, as well as the marketing choices surrounding his sacrifice. (Example: the Instagram Mourning Filter they layered over him in the official trailer, as seen above) I won't get quite as detailed here as in the above, but it does have to be mentioned.

Constant Focus

In between the end of season 2 and the posting of the season 3 trailer in late January, there were several posts on various official Star Wars media. The majority of them were about Tech and Plan 99. In fact, I don't think I ever saw anything mentioning the giant 'Omega's been captured' cliffhanger, just Tech. Over and over again.

Once a character is dead, marketing generally stops caring about them. They're forward focused after all, they want you coming back for what's to come not lingering on what won't be relevant again. So why the constant focus on Tech?

And it wasn't just the social media either - a huge portion of the trailers and reels included old footage of him too. For the most part this was from Plan 99 and bringing up his fall again to rip open those old wounds, but in one case they included action footage from The Summit. This was an interesting case, because the majority of people watching wouldn't have recognized it immediately. Fittingly, the entire comment section was full of nothing but 'Was that Tech?' style comments, which they would have known was going to be the case to start with.

So why are we so focused on a man that's supposedly dead? If he's genuinely never going to show up again why keep putting him in? Everything? While not even bringing him up all that often in the show? If he's dead, this is a truly bizarre marketing decision.

Never Say Die

In interviews or in official material. For several months the word 'dead' was never used for Tech anywhere, not in interviews, not in official material, nowhere. It took until January 23rd for all of the databank entries to be updated, and among all of the main cast he's only referred to as 'killed' once, and it's on Hunter's page not even his own. Then, the Friday before the premier, an interview came out referring to him as dead - on the part of the interviewer, not the creators themselves.

Everything else seems to use a variety of euphemisms. His sacrifice, his absence, his loss, he 'plummeted out of sight', he 'fell from a tram car', he did absolutely anything it's possible to do except outright die apparently.

It's an odd choice when there's known controversy over if he's dead or not. The standard operating protocol of course, in a planned comeback, is to refer to them as dead anyway and allow fandom to fuel its own speculation, but with a fandom as devastated as TBB's was, it's quite possible that the odd behavior had to be introduced just to keep speculation going. The only interviews that sound remotely final came out right before the episodes started coming out - if they had done that from the beginning, the chances of people outright refusing to come back to the show likely would have been higher.

Much like the marketing, this is not necessarily proof of anything - but in combination with the multiple odd things in the show itself, it's certainly suspicious. Speaking of suspicious...

What an Odd Thing to Say

The cast and crew themselves have not been skimping on making strange comments when it comes to the Tech situation.

There is of course the well known Joel Aron (lighting director for the series) tweet that came out the day of the Celebrations panel (AKA when the Tech trauma was at an all time high) and in direct reply to a fan that was having a hard time with Tech's death. It's hard to take it as anything but a reference to Tech given the timing, and it was certainly taken as being about Tech in the quote tweets. If it's not about Tech, why tease the fandom with it? And the specification for it being a mid s3 episode as well...

Also from the day of Celebrations, and from the panel itself, we have Michelle Ang saying in front of God and everybody, that Tech "doesn't come back... in this episode, at least." At the time there was a possibility she didn't know and was just leaving it open, but with that only being ten months ago and the extremely long timeframe of animation, it's almost certain that she would have been done with all primary recording by that point. If you know he's not coming back, how do you accidentally imply that he is with no one correcting it?

Dee Bradley Baker, when asked for a farewell message from Tech at a con, came out with "the life of a soldier is fulfilled by fulfilling his mission and supporting his brothers. And this was the end of mine. And that's a good thing." Which was a perfectly serviceable goodbye right up until he said that the end of Tech's (life? soldier's life? mission?) was a good thing.

During an instagram interview we have Deana Kiner, one of the composers, in response to the interviewer talking about the final episode containing a major loss, saying, "It's kind of a loss... It's complicated." The claim on twitter was that this was about Omega, because everyone knows that when someone mentions the major loss in Plan 99 they're definitely talking about Omega.

So is Tech alive? Is Tech dead? We still don't know. But while one or two of the above might be a coincidence, having all of them at once coalesce around this single character death is a lot to chew over. The Bad Batch team has shown willingness to address grief and loss prior, as well as a willingness to show us death onscreen and front and center. So why, with such an important character, sidestep it all in order to keep it vague? Why keep it from sounding final for so long, if the intent the entire time was for him to be dead for good?

We won't know until he either shows back up or the show ends. If Tech's alive, all of the above starts to make sense. If he's dead... well a lot of things will just never quite add up. I feel that this team has shown enough willingness to follow up on their trailing plotlines that they've earned my trust. Fingers crossed for a satisfying resolution for all of us, and for our boy Tech, whatever that resolution may be.

#the bad batch #tbb #tbb tech #the bad batch spoilers #tbb spoilers #the bad batch speculation #this thing is some 7500 words i might have an obsession problem

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vapolis · 22 days

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You know, this IF is strange. I've come across stories where I'm 100% more invested in the family drama plotline than the romantic plots (shockingly, this happens a lot more than you'd think, even with supreme choice ROs) but never have I come across an interactive story where I'm far more invested in making my Mercs feel loved, and safe, and HAPPY than I am in snagging the hottest love interest.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still gonna do the devils tango with all the ROs (each in their own respective playthroughs). But, like, the Merc is such a character in their own right. And not just any kinda character.

They're a sad, pathetic, love starved wet cat who is unhinged and needs saving (whether that's them saving themself or being saved by others). The kinda character I love to see in fiction (and the kinda romance i love pursuing when they're a potential romantic choice).

Lowkey I wanna nab them and their future pupper and take them outta the city to a lovely safe calm place and pamper the hell outta them.

That said: if you had to rewrite the story and make a new blank slate MC, and the Merc a gender selectable RO, what kinda RO would the Merc be? What would their romance be like?

(Note: I'm NOT saying I want this to happen. Just asking out of pure curiosity since, like I said, the Merc is such a character in their own right even without us making decisions for them).

that's an interesting question!

I can't really imagine this IF working with a blank slate mc but I understand what you mean. I think merc would be the kind of RO that's a little lost and that would try to find themself throughout their story arc. the romance would be very angsty I imagine and in my mind involves quite a few set backs. I think merc as a RO would have a hard time trusting as they already do and the main objective would be to make them trust your mc.

intimacy of any kind is probably out the window with them, and their route has to be very slow burn. to the point where you question if it's even worth it, but slowly you'll realize that they're opening up to you and learning to be someone beyond the role they have been shoved into and that independence blossoming would be beautiful to witness. to finally see beyond the facade.

I think their ending as a romance would be bitter sweet. some things have changed, others won't and they'd want to see what else is out there so an ending with them would be uncertain and sad and a little up in the air but you know that you hold a special place in their life, as the first person that looked at them and saw something beyond the tool they've been made into.

#asks #c: mc #game where u romance merc when

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chevelleneech · 22 days

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As much as I’m enjoying the angst in these Poolverine fics, neither Wade nor Logan (according to the movies) are really all that afraid of their feelings/attraction toward others, so what led to it being the main plot point?

If anything, I feel like it should really be Logan coming to terms with being into Wade, because Wade annoys the ever living fuck out of him, and he didn’t know he was attracted to that, lol.

Other than that, Wade was pretty chill with being upfront with Vanessa, and he still makes it clear he loves her. The only time he repressed his feelings was when he thought he was going to get cancer treatment, because he was afraid of getting her hopes up and it not working. Then he was insecure in his looks, but after that? He was fine. And new Logan technically has a clean slate, since we didn’t see how he interacted with anyone in a romantic setting, but it’s obvious he loved his friends, but maintained his “Too cool for school.” attitude. With Wade though, he disliked him for being annoying and his educated wishes, but in the end was open about coming to care for him as a friend.

So yeah, I think they’d have way less emotional angst, and a shit ton more of, “What do I do!? I want to fuck, marry, AND kill him!” At least on Logan’s end. Wade would be more like, “You can fuck, marry, and kill me! Whatever your heart desires!”

#deadpool and wolverine #poolverine

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literary-illuminati · 3 months

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2024 Book Review 32 – The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

This is the first book this year I picked up specifically and entirely because it got a Hugo nomination; I’d previously vaguely heard of it, but never in any detail and the title didn’t really grab me. Despite what an exercise in masochism the whole ‘read every nominee for best novel and novella’ turned out to be last year, I’m actually very glad I stuck with it. Not sure I’d actually vote for it – this years best novel slate is actually incredibly strong – but it was an absolutely lovely and just fun read.

As one might assume, the story follows the eponymous Amina al-Sirafi, infamous and legendary corsair, smuggler and general rogue plying the Indian ocean sometime in the 12th century. Dragged out of an obscure retirement by the aristocratic mother of a former crewman whose fate still haunts her, she is sent on a mission to rescue the crewman’s kidnapped (or runaway) child by the twin incentives of more money than she could ever spend on one hand and blatant threats to the safety of her own family on the other. From there, she puts her crew together, has an unfortunate reunion with her demonic not-technically-ex husband, makes a pact with an island of officious peris, and races to prevent a Norman warlock from seizing control of an ancient relic to make war upon God.

The setting is honestly the point of this as much as the actual plot or any of the characters are. The late medieval Islamic maritime world and the wider Indian Ocean trading networks are an incredibly rich milieu to sink your teeth into, and one the author’s clearly fallen wholly in love with. I can’t speak for their accuracy, but little details of life and flourishes of historical terminology drip off every page, and the whole thing sings with the amount of research that was put into it. It’s the vanishingly rare work of fiction with a list of further reading at the end that actually makes me want to go hunt them down.

Specifically placing it in the twelfth century is kind of interesting, in terms of placement in the Islamic Golden Age – long, long after political power became fully fragmented and the Islamic world was linked more by economic and cultural ties, in the midst of the Crusades in the Levant, but still a few generations before the Mongols sack Baghdad. I really don’t have any ideas or assumptions about te why here, it’s just centuries later than the voyage of Sinbad the book is clearly riffing off of, so it makes me curious.

The enthusiastically researched and real-feeling setting does sadly kind of stop with the characters. Amina is sincerely religious and comfortable with the supernatural in a way that feels much more fitting than the vast majority of fantasy protagonists, but in every other sense she is clearly written to be relatable and sympathetic to an assumed audience of modern liberals. (Near-)Queernorm settings are great, but does jar with the fixation on historical grounding a bit. (The whole beat where dragging a runaway bride back to their family and decades older rich fiancee is unfortunate but for their own good until it’s realized they’re trans also kind of feels like a parody of a certain kind of identity-focused liberalism).

Between this and the Radiant Emperor duology I’m definitely rediscovering a real love for historic low fantasy. The research burden is immense but it’s hard to beat the actual past for making a world that feels lived in and real, and provide the vital sense that there are a thousand other stories happening just out of shot. The complete lack of generic-western-fantasy magic and monsters is also nearly as appreciated as the lack of castles and earls.

Which is good, really, as if you ignore the setting there isn’t really much to chew on here. To an extent this seems deliberate – the story is trying to be a pulpy, larger-than-life swashbuckling adventure, what with the getting dragged out of retirement for one more big score and the getting the band back together and the cackling 1.5-dimensional villain trying to make himself as unto god. In the main it absolutely succeeds at this (though the introduction of a generous and competent pirate captain who lends Amina a ship and a spirit-cutting magic sword out of nowhere at the end of the second act does strain things a bit). It does end up feeling a bit like using the most gorgeous, lusciously details stage in the world for a bunch of puppets to act out a pantomime, though – Amina is basically the only character in the entire story that feels like a person instead of a cartoon. They are, at least, more amusing cartoons than not. Raksh the murderous but cowardly ambition-seeking incubus husband was a highlight.

All in all, a very fun, page-turning read. I’m looking forward to the sequel.

#book review #sff #hugo nom #the adventures of amina al sirafi #shannon chakraborty

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ellesthots · 4 days

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Fateful Beginnings

XXXII. “superglue”

parts: previous / next

plot: rumors spread about the circumstances of your interview with Bruce Wayne. You might have been more partial to each other than you realized…

pairing: battinson!bruce wayne x fem!reader

cw: 18+, depression, passive suicidality

words: 8.3k

a/n: it’s getting warmer in hereeee !! ahhh!!! this might be my favorite chapter yet!! as always I LOVE hearing what you think, please tell me everything!! <3

Watching the door close behind Bruce again, you felt a bruise forming.

All you’d done was check in on him, and he’d shunned you for it. Shut the door. Threw away the key. It was evident he wanted nothing to do with you.

Maybe it was all in your head—he hadn’t said he was done with you, he’d just… acted exasperated and absolutely finished with any semblance of your concern. How were you supposed to navigate that with only a week separating him and his attempt?

The phone buzzed in your hand. Dr. Crane. How were you going to navigate that while having to answer to someone else?

“Hey!”

Dr. Crane cleared his throat. “Ms. Y/L/N! Wanted to check in. Have you made contact with Mr. Wayne since we last spoke?”

“Yes.”

“And how is he?”

“Well, he said he was feeling bad. But he didn’t want to talk about it further.” It sounded worse than it was (at least you hoped it wasn’t so bad) so you pivoted. “He thanked me for helping him. He came over and cooked me some food a few days ago. We visited. Asked if I was okay. After seeing it.” You set the phone on the counter, taking a few steps back from it. Maybe if you spoke further away from the receiver, it would make the lie less painful. Make your conscience a little quieter.

“Hmm… anything since then?”

“Yeah, today. He visited again. To check in, I uh, I got in a tussle last night.” You winced at how it came out. Tussle? Really? You didn’t want him thinking he’d visited just to say ‘bad’ and then left. “That’s when he said he was feeling bad. But thanked me.” Your breath caught on the last sentence. You didn’t know if you’d ever be able to reveal it to Bruce, and you didn’t want to think about what he might do if he found out you’d been lying.

“I see a city hall meeting slated for this evening. Do you know if he’ll be in attendance?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Let me know after. We’re in the sweet spot for another issue.” He said it like the ‘issue’ was something as trivial and inconsequential as traffic on the way to the grocery store. You heard him typing on a keyboard in the background. “Are you aware of the side effects for the class of medication Mr. Wayne is on?”

“No.”

“In addition to assessing the state of his nervous system, I have a few more symptoms I want you to be on the lookout for. Rashes, fever, trouble breathing, fast heartbeat, seizures, uncontrolled movement of any part of his body, fainting, heat intolerance. Some of these are relatively benign, but I want to be kept informed if you gather any of that happening. Alright?”

You’d taken as many notes as you could while he spoke, and had zero concept of how you would know about most of those. Bruce could probably make fainting look intentional, or play it off before anyone could notice.

It was a short call, and he prompted you to trust your gut before signing off.

Showering was annoying; the Tylenol had taken the brunt of the pain away, though your head still ached when you delicately massaged shampoo against it. You had your phone in a baggie sitting on a ledge of the shower in case you slipped. You wished Mar could’ve stayed for you to shower, to make sure you were alright. Part of you was surprised she had stayed until you woke up. If you’d slept another hour, would she have left with Gianna? Would she even have left a note?

While you toweled off you tried to boil down the last 24 hours to something tangible. Mar had nearly been assaulted. You’d both gotten fucked up. Bruce had saved you. Mar had seen Bruce. Mar knew Bruce. Mar thought you and Bruce were together. Bruce knew she knew that, as far as you knew. The phone sat in the baggie on the bathroom counter, holding all of its secrets. You got out your blow dryer and started in on your soaked hair with one hand while the other scanned the video.

At 4:18 in the morning, Mar had emerged from your room. You turned up the volume, barely edging out the roar of the dryer.

“Hey.” She rubbed her eyes and walked to the medicine cabinet. You could only see her back from this POV. Bruce stood up to help, but waited. She pulled something out of a cabinet and he spoke. “Tylenol is better.” Bruce left frame for only a second, and returned with the bottle of it from where you laid on the couch. They exchanged bottles and you heard the sink run for a second.

You couldn’t see either of their faces, just their torsos, only hearing their voices. Mar was situated by the sink on the opposite side of the island. Bruce stood on the other by the middle stool. She didn’t let there be much silence.

“Where did you meet Y/N?”

“City Hall. She asked me for an interview.”

Oh, it felt strange hearing someone talk to him about you. To hear him talking about you. Couldn’t tell if you liked it or hated it.

“Why’d you accept her interview?”

He waited a few seconds, and from knowing her, you knew she was about to drill him if he didn’t speak. You wondered if he sensed it too, and that was why he was being forthright. “The timing aligned. I declined them for so long, people stopped asking. Worked out with the graduation speech.”

Mar’s tone was cold, investigative. She sounded a lot like she had back at Mora’s. Not wanting to deal with nonsense. You figured they were cut out for each other, if Bruce was cut out for anyone. They both didn’t give a fuck what anyone thought. If they had a goal, they didn’t mind being pegged an asshole on the way to meeting it. “All the way back in Spring, huh? Interesting.” You heard a slurp of some water.

“How did you and Y/N meet?” It was so fucking weird to have him talking conversationally. Lightly. Politely. Couldn’t be more out of character. You had an itch to start a spreadsheet of all his different personas.

“College. We took some sociology classes together. When did you ask her out?”

AH! She was so nosy. Your stomach clenched. “I haven’t.”

“She’s just gonna tell me tomorrow if you don’t.”

“We’re not together.”

“Whatever pact you guys made, I respect it, but I’m not a fucking fool.” Pact. At least she was making it seem like you were saying the same things he was.

“There must have been a miscommunication.” He sighed.

“What are your intentions? None of that bullshit stands here. I have a really good radar.” Her face moved slightly into frame, a glare set as she gave him a once-over. “If it’s just to fuck she needs to know that, man.”

You could’ve wrung her neck.

“It’s business.” If he was exasperated, his voice didn’t give him away. He was getting better at this.

“Fine. Keep your fuckin secrets. But if you mess her up, I don’t give a fuck who you are, or how many lawyers you have. I know who you are, Bruce Wayne, and I will not hesitate to use my voice to send you into the darkest pits of hell.”

“Noted.” Spoken genuinely, without sass. You mused on how he might’ve said it to you, and smirked.

“I won’t hesitate to fuck you up. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to fucking sleep.”

Bruce sat at the table, far enough away from the lens that you couldn’t make out his expression. He sat there on his phone for the next few hours until Mar entered again. It was hard to scrub while heat stung the back of your head, but you were forced to multitask.

“Did you even sleep?” It was like she was talking to someone completely normal; no worry about if he might hurt her, yell at her, no dancing around it like he was a stranger. The same framing situation: only able to hear their voices and see their torsos.

“I stay up late.”

Mar muttered something you couldn’t make out. He spoke again. “How are you doing? Y/N said you might have been drugged.” You hadn’t gotten used to him saying your name.

“You don’t have to act concerned because you’re fucking my friend.”

You nearly dropped the hair dryer, the hot metal grazing between your fingers as it slacked in your grip. Jesus fucking fuck. You wished more than anything you could crawl into his thoughts. “I wanted to check in. It’s a fucked up thing to go through.”

She paused. She actually paused. When she spoke again, her tone was gentler. “Not the first time it’s happened. And this time nothing actually happened.” She scoffed. “Piece of shit. He was acting so fucking nice at the bar, I should’ve known something was up.”

“You took his behavior at face-value. No blame in that.” Damn, an actually nice sentiment.

“Thanks for last night.” She uncrossed her arms and started rummaging by the phone, which was by the pantry. Bruce spoke unprompted. “Someone from the GCPD should be in contact within the next 48 hours. For your statement.”

Mar scowled. “Love doing those.” She’d done one before? She sighed. “Have you eaten?”

“I’m good. Thanks.”

“Well, I’m gonna make pancakes.”

“I can help, if you’d like.”

“Trying to impress me?”

Bruce didn’t respond. They didn’t speak again until you heard a rustle by the couch; probably you adjusting. “How is she?”

Bruce’s voice was dryer now, and you watched him reach for the dregs of his energy drink. “Seems fine. Pupils are reactive, she’s oriented to time and place.”

“What are you, a doctor or something?”

“Special interest.”

You grinned knowing the real reason. Nah, he’s just Batman. You’re not only talking to Bruce Wayne right now, you’re talking to a vigilante. She’d probably shit herself.

As soon as she had finished making breakfast and sat at the table opposite him, she started asking the frivolous questions. You felt a bit jealous of her. Getting to talk to someone she perceived as a celebrity without all the baggage, without all the fear. It might have been interesting, cool, fun. Regardless of if you thought he deserved it, or any ideological ick you got from his upbringing and social status, he lived a life entirely out of reach, kept exclusively behind a locked curtain. His life was the carrot on a stick dangling in front of every American chasing The Dream. He didn’t make it seem very fun. “What’s it like to be a billionaire?”

“I don’t think about it much. Lots of financial meetings.”

“You grew up in it so of course you don’t think about it.” A pause. You almost laughed thinking about what she was probably… “You wouldn’t miss a couple thousand, would you?” … yup. A laugh actually did escape you. As frustrating as it was to be on the receiving end of her questioning, it was decidedly enthralling to watch her do it to someone else. She took another bite and prattled more. “Nice disguise. Is it weird to have paparazzi follow you? It sounds annoying as fuck.”

“Certainly makes things more difficult.”

“What do you even do? Up in your tower, I mean. I don’t ever hear of any parties there.”

“Mostly keep to myself. Travel some. Prying eyes only got worse after my parents. Didn’t want to deal with it.”

“Damn, that’s right. Makes sense.” She finished her plate in thoughtful silence.

She put her plate away and offered some food to Bruce. At this point you looked at the recording and saw the time was one in the afternoon, just two hours before you’d woken up. He walked to the kitchen and grabbed a few pancakes, dry. In less than a minute his plate was clean.

Mar had gone back to your bedroom, telling him she was taking a nap. “Let me know when she wakes up.”

The next time you saw any movement was when Mar had made a slice of toast before speaking to you. You stopped the video when you heard her calling your name. You finished your hair, mindlessly combing through the strands, fretful about if she would ever put the pieces together herself. Black paint around his eyes. Good at fighting. Hell, she’d even said the word disguise! Why was it so clear to you, and no one else?

Between skincare steps, you’d perused Scypher, where you by far had the most notifications. It was soon evident why Mar hadn’t put two and two together: the people of Gotham thought Bruce Wayne no more than a reclusive drug addict. Maybe Bruce hadn’t had to put on the playboy show at all; everyone was already thrown off his scent.

He probably shoots heroin up in his ivory tower

swear i saw him buy on the east side

another rich scumsucker off his rocker

Then came conversations you were mentioned in. Your eyes widened at the sheer mass of them, and how cruelly they painted you. A particular thread stood out, having garnered tens of thousands of likes.

No one has talked about this STUDENT JOURNALIST — to me there’s no way someone like that would get the first pick. My sister works in editing and says people have been trying to get an interview with him for twenty years. What are we thinking, chat?

There was a poll attached that had thousands of hits. ‘See Results’ showed you that between Fucked Him, Scripted, or Both, most people had chosen… both.

The replies were especially heinous.

Is ‘sucked off his limp cock’ an option ? cant imagine the man has any stamina anymore with all that fucking dope. The man had an NFT profile picture and ‘your mom’ in his bio. Stellar. You’d been tagged right below it. what does @youruser think about this?

Someone had answered in place of you, coming off so high and mighty you had to put the phone down before reading more responses to it.

She got bought off. Scripted responses and interview. Wayne Enterprises didn't want stocks to go down. That's why they couldn't get a real journalist, no one would agree to that unethical mess. Screams litigious. Probably signed an NDA anyway with his fuckass company

this tracks. aint pretty enough to bargain that way. less then mid if were being honest. females only care about $$$ anyway, he could pull any one if that was it

You put the phone down. It didn’t matter. You had a life to get back to.

You couldn’t be bothered to wear heels tonight, but you needed to wear something dressy; you stared a little too long at the mirror before tugging on your dress, a haze of insecurity swooping over you. You forced yourself to walk away.

You had to stay off your phone, save calls. You turned off notifications for everything besides, noting Dr. Vry had called you earlier. She’d left a voicemail detailing that there were another hundred-fifty School of Journalism applicants. Apparently, before your interview, they’d only gotten around forty-eight a year.

Outfitted in a pair of old loafers and your same dress, hoping it didn’t look too haphazard a combination, you grabbed your PRESS badge, notepad, pen, and recorder. You tucked your ID and other personal things under your dress and into your shorts pocket. If you didn’t feel like total ass, you could’ve imagined you were a spy. Jetting off to the Meeting of the Elite to uncover clues and inquire between the lines. A resentful, anxious, overwhelmed, stubborn spy. It couldn’t have felt less magical.

You shook off the past week, the past summer, the past year. Bruce Wayne wasn’t your life, he was a minuscule part of it. No longer would you let him take over your brain space—his life was his, yours was yours. As massive a secret you held, as bizarre as it was to be on a first-name basis with a modern Kennedy, you had your own life to attend to. Interviews to conduct, business to get to, truth to find. For the first time in months, you began to feel a bit hopeful as you left your apartment. If Bruce showed up tonight. If not you would literally panic. You willfully ignored the contradiction, just as you ignored the nagging thought that this newfound hope was a fleeting attempt at coping.

Gotham was normal. Cloudy, smoggy skies. It was easy on your aching head. Flickering street lamps as the evening light got ready to wane were not, however. The bustle of the people on the sidewalks, the cracked concrete, the glimmering potholes that had every other driver making a face as they slammed into them. Everything was the same as it had always been. You walked past the same people on their same commute. Saw the same taxis pass. The walking sign on the left was still out of order, murdered by kids sticking their gum into the crevices.

You kept to your usual space, the furthest to the right you could possibly get without scraping your arms against the jagged—sometimes bloody—brick, or stepping in someone’s vomit. You recalled your first month here when you’d had to hold your breath for most of your walks. Breathing ‘fresh’ air here was like gulping someone’s rancid morning breath.

The walk to City Hall wasn’t long, but it was annoying. Cobbled streets, men who wouldn’t move out of the way even if they took up the entire sidewalk. Most of your shirt sleeves had snags from being squeezed against the sides of buildings on walks like these. You had half a mind to kick a dirty puddle at them whenever they forced you to the margins. You didn’t want to double your concussion.

The air was teasing you with autumn; a few excited trees plopped leaves for your feet to crunch, though there weren’t many of them in the area. The city was mechanical, industrial. Something as sensitive and nurturing as foliage didn’t have a place here. One time you’d seen a dandelion growing out of a concrete mound and you’d cried. Maybe you’d been unhappy here longer than you’d thought. That had been in the second month.

As you walked the last stretch of blocks, your destination sitting just in the distance, that hopeful, determined version of you dwindled. You thought about if he didn’t show up, and if he did. You thought about how unfairly singular your life was. You thought about that a lot lately.

On Tuesday, to pass the time, you’d read through Bruce’s interview responses again. This time had been a lot more painful. You’d forgotten about it in the flurry of the attack, but you’d sat with your notebook for hours. Looking at the way he wrote his letters, the Gs in particular, written with a long tail that folded in on itself, seeing the grains of the paper indented in black streaks. It made you feel better holding his writing. It made his being alive feel more real. You wanted to know more about his family camping trip. Where had he gone? Where had he traveled to? Where did he want to go that he hadn’t yet?

It was his loneliness. You smelled the burning sting of it on every page and it attracted you like a moth to flame. It was never written outright, but it was strong subtext, as clear to you as him candidly naming his nerves. It felt exceedingly intimate reading back even his most playboy responses, the hindsight of his desire to die blanching every pen stroke.

This city was brutally lonely, and everyone was so desperate not to feel it. People clustered to fragile friend groups full of superficial conversation, filled their bodies with substances, stayed out all night not daring to slow down otherwise the world might fall apart. All you were was slow. All you did was think, and feel, and think again.

You’d had a lot of time on Tuesday to think about his attempt. You had a horrifying feeling of jealousy about it. You never let your mind sit there too long. It wasn’t normal to feel that way. Reminiscing on the places depression had taken you always made you feel incredible shame. Its vice grip in the middle of the night, three in the morning, when the world was quiet and asleep, but you were so painfully, entirely awake. It was why you’d come to Gotham in the first place. This city never slept.

A masochistic part of you, as you carefully labeled it, thought that Bruce might be the only person in your life who truly understood despair. He’d come face to face with it. It had nearly won out he’d let it come so close. He was willing to show his sadness. Willing to sit in it. Willing to marinate in it, really.

“He doesn’t like to show it, but compassion comes easily to him.” Alfred’s voice punctuated your contemplation. Even if it was out of guilt, Bruce had stayed with you all night; and by the looks of the video, he’d stayed fully awake for it, even with nothing to hold his attention save whatever the hell he had on his phone. Mar had left before asking you how you were—Bruce made sure to ask. Possibly because he could handle it. Probably because he’d acclimated to pain. Your mind wandered to more projections.

Gabbi, Lara, and Rose hadn’t been able to handle the good you, the best behavior you. Your dad never wanted to talk about the reality of your mother’s sickness. Couldn’t even say the word cancer. Your mom didn’t want to dwell, either, and Debbie… she was an emotional wreck. If you stepped on a crack in the sidewalk she might burst into tears, lamenting on how she missed her mother, her father, her old pair of shoes. You’d always been the one to calm her down growing up. The one to hold it when no one could. Bruce seemed like he might be able to hold it. Engage with it. When you argued, he argued back. It wasn’t lost on you how he’d asked about your mom last Thursday when you’d started crying. You felt a lump forming in your throat. He couldn’t actually give a fuck, could he?

Perhaps you were propping him up on a pedestal, delirious from being forced to orbit around him for the past 168 hours. You weren’t exactly comparing him to the world’s finest communicators. His version of handling things was to storm off, deflect. His version of handling things was to argue. His handling things was violent, aggressive, impulsive. And, you thought wistfully, you were actively in the throes of suicide watch. He was everything and nothing all at once.

The steps were easier to climb in loafers, each step jolting you back to time and place. Why the hell had you ever tried to fit in and wear anything different? You tallied how much money you had left, wondering if you could afford a trip to Target for some slacks and a sweater. City Hall was exceptionally busy, even for being only five minutes early. Conversation appeared buzzier tonight; caterers were already handing out dozens of drinks. People were usually more subdued at this point. What had happened?

When you fully stepped inside (instead of just peering through the side window like a dork), every head snapped to you, the din going calm. A few people rolled their eyes, or sighed, and went back to their conversations, but some people continued to stare, leaning in to whoever was nearby to mutter something. You struggled not to squint as the lights pouring from the chandeliers bored a hole into your skull.

You went to your usual place of refuge, near the middle of the back wall, opposite the appetizers and wine where most clustered. Except… there was a group standing now, with PRESS badges in varying fonts, sizes, pins and lanyards. Some had beautiful cameras with lenses that begged to be inspected, adored. As far as you knew, the Gazette only had one Canon you could rent out, limited to once per term per person. Stingy.

“Y/N Y/L/N, is that right?” A gorgeous blonde woman with gleaming veneers and impeccably styled 70s curls held out a manicured hand for you to take. You took it, your hand threatening to go limp when you noticed the VOGUE logo braided into her lanyard. “Eva Reveé, chief staff writer. I read your interview with Mr. Wayne, it was such a pleasure.” You swallowed hard. You felt supremely underdressed. Understood why people had rolled their eyes at your entry. A mousey small-town wannabe student journalist scoring one of the most sought-after jobs in the industry. You wanted to sink into the floor and disappear.

“Yes. Y/N.” You smiled and did a small laugh, trying to act like you weren’t talking to someone who worked at fucking Vogue. She flashed another smile at you. “You are just the cutest.” Patronizing. “Get a chance to read my email yet? I am sure your inbox is positively flooded right now.”

You turned red. You needed to remember to upgrade foundation when you came to events, a tint wasn’t nearly enough to camouflage your nerves. “I haven’t, I’m so sorry.”

“You’re perfectly fine. I was only wanting to chat about your experience interviewing him! Potentially get some ins for other journalists like myself. We were all chatting before you arrived and were so impressed you were able to score a high-profile case for your first publishing.”

You didn’t like her tone, but you were probably just irritable after the concussion. To play up the awe, or play up the professionalism? Shortchange yourself or prop yourself up? You opened your mouth to speak, but then everyone gasped, hushedly. Before turning your head, you knew Bruce Wayne had just entered the building.

“Mr. Wayne!”

“Are you alright?”

“Your accident looked horrible.”

“What caused it?”

“Didn’t think you’d be here.”

Eva and the other journalists all inched toward him, eyes bright and ravenous. Glancing at him was a bit painful, more than it had been earlier when you were already desperate to escape his gaze, but you needed to assess—you quickly realized this was, in fact, the very worst type of event for you to get any true read on him. He’d never been more on than in this room every week. How were you ever supposed to assess his mental state when he was putting on a show between these four walls?

Last night was far from written on him, not even smudged. He had no bags under his eyes, they were clear and engaged, his posture was tall and at ease. Even his voice, when he spoke, had been relieved of its crackles. It was like the past 24 hours had been a ghost. The only evidence of his attempt were some scratches on his neck and jaw, and scabs on his hand. They already looked better than they had a few hours ago. You imagined a team coming to Wayne Tower to do some fancy makeup over his injuries. The image was hilarious, but faded faster than it ever had before. Usually you adored watching Bruce squirm, even if it was relegated to your imagination, but you saw through it. I feel nervous before every event, he’d written. I don’t like crowds.

“Folks,” Bruce walked toward the center of the room and clapped his hands together, holding them tightly at his waist. The room orbited around him, the audience going still listening to his words. It was eerie. You’d never seen him have this much control over a group. “I’ve heard a lot of discussion surrounding my accident this past Friday.” He seemed to make eye contact with everyone at the same time. “I want to reassure everyone that I am okay. By the grace of God and the incredible team at Gotham General, I’ve been healing wonderfully.” He paused and looked around the perimeter of the room again. His eyes flit onto yours, and held for a second too long. He blinked and continued, and you exhaled when he released you.

“Many people are speculating that substances were involved. I want to assure everyone in here—and outside of it—” He gestured toward you and the throng of press. “That is not the case. I take the safety of my fellow citizens very seriously.” He let that sit. “I have a penchant for fixing up old cars.” He did a dry chuckle. “On a test drive around Tower grounds, my steering went out. Thus, the tree.” He was referring to the viral photo of his car nearly entirely wrapped around a thick oak tree. You gulped.

Some people mumbled, a few grumbled. Bruce stood taller, straightening the last few discs in his spine. “I was disappointed to see how far I have left to go with the residents of this city, though I understand it. I hardly leave my parent’s estate for twenty years, and now I’m in campaigns, given a voice in the election for Gotham’s mayor, and it’s only been a few months.” People’s shoulders were beginning to drop. “I’ve forgotten that though I’ve been in the public psyche, that doesn’t mean we know each other, and it certainly does not foster trust. The reactions to my accident this week have been eye-opening. I’m excited to start working with you all, and the city, to build that trust in the first place. Being Thomas and Martha Wayne’s son is a ticket into a lot of rooms, let me tell you.” Leaning a bit more playboy rich kid. “But I realized you don’t really know me, and I don’t really know you. I want to bridge that gap with this campaign season, and beyond.”

Some people nodded, less grumbles. You were absolutely mesmerized by this version of Bruce. He commanded the room flawlessly, like every syllable was a meticulous sculpture, but made everything also seem casual, off the cuff. Alfred had to have given him public speaking lessons. This was jarring. Somehow knowing precisely what to say and how to say it to lend public favor, but making it look humble, unassuming. Without a lick of nervousness.

Right then, you remembered you hadn’t turned on your recorder. This was a part of the meeting, and a massive conversation right now. You’d have to report on it. You looked down to start fiddling with it, but the REC button was stuck.

“Hopefully, that began with the publishing of Ms. Y/L/N’s interview with me last Sunday.” He both looked at and gestured toward you, the room following his hand like a cat to a laser. You went still, frozen, with your hands clutching the plastic, as a hundred or more eyes, elite eyes, powerful eyes, fixed on you. Analyzed you. Judged you. It took all your power to grin and not faint. It felt like the entire world was in this room, and in a way, it was.

“It was a great honor, and I want to publicly thank Ms. Y/L/N for handling it with utmost tact, integrity, and humor. She could not have provided a more professional, comfortable experience. We are truly indebted to the hardworking, prodigious talent of our university graduates.” He turned back to the room, consequently removing his grip on your neck. “Now, enough about me.” He held his hands up. “Let’s all enjoy tonight.”

You felt like you were buzzing; the room quieted, noise fading to the background. The sensitivity in his eyes before he’d looked away, the firmness of his words, he must have been briefed on the conversations online. You headed into the conference room when Mr. Convoy propped open the doors.

As Bruce walked away, he hoped he had stilled the criticisms hurtling toward you. Alfred had informed him upon his very late arrival back at Wayne Tower that the internet was lit up after the accident, and that it had catapulted the critique of you (and him) from the fringes into the forefront. He’d gone on the Wayne Enterprises account to see some of the conversation, but quickly had to abandon it before typing something that would’ve made everything catastrophically worse. He hadn’t been in any mood to think about you, or to think about anything, but he couldn’t stop himself fuming until the very second the words had left his mouth in front of the group. Even now, as he followed after your lead into the conference room, every step was straddling a mine. His contact lenses irritated his dry eyes after staying up so long, and it didn’t help that this was the first time wearing them to City Hall. He wasn’t looking forward to having to replay that speech later.

The first thing he did after sitting down was scan the room for you. His eyes moved to the righthand corner, where you always stood with your notebook and pen. The lurch of panic cinched his chest until he saw you nestled in with the other reporters in the back left, just barely out of peripheral view.

Convoy started the meeting the usual way, sprinkling in some good vibrations toward Bruce and his continued healing. As he explained why the candidates had not come this evening (“They are getting ready for their first respective rallies. At the meeeting’s end, we will go over the election calendar.”), Bruce fought the urge to shift his chair toward you. He wanted to check your face and see if you were okay. He was shocked you’d shown up tonight; you’d barely been able to look out the curtained window at the filtered, low light without visceral wincing. Had you only come to check on him? He wanted to dead that. How could he do that without talking to you? Was he not going to talk to you anymore?

His mind argued with itself the rest of the meeting, distracting him entirely from its content. An innocent, passing thought interrupted his ruminations and the pros and cons lists he’d drawn up to interrogate himself: he’d just talk to you after the meeting and you’d bring him up to speed about what happened. That thought felt like the first nail in the coffin; his body was already instinctively reaching toward you, trusting you.

By the time Convoy had started listing the tentative schedule for the campaign rallies, he knew he had to lock in. This… fondness he felt toward you…

He visibly grimaced. He was tired, no, exhausted. Coming up on thirty-six hours without sleep, on new meds… gah! He felt the exasperation in his bones. It wasn’t fondness, it was illusive familiarity, when in reality: he didn’t know you, even if he felt like he did, and you didn’t know him, even if you felt like you did. You’d blackmailed him. You’d done an interview. You’d saved him. You’d visited him. You’d argued, caretaken, whined, and promised, and threatened, and talked to him. That was all.

He was crushed by guilt. He’d traumatized someone. He told himself he’d feel the same way if it had happened to anyone else. He felt responsible for cleaning up the mess he’d made of you. But as he glanced behind him to see you nonchalantly scrawling something between college-ruled lines, he couldn’t read any distress in you at all. Still, the need to save you remained.

You looked at him right then. Your eyes explored the injuries on his hands, then traveled to his chest. Still vigilant. Still worried. He didn’t know if you knew he was watching you. He considered having a final conversation about it all; express his thanks, reassure you he was—he suppressed a groan— prioritizing safety, and be done with it, but exploring the guilt with you would only keep it in the present. He’d just have to grit his teeth and bear it. Let the time pass without fiddling with it. Let your wound scab over. He wouldn’t be doing you a service picking at it.

He focused instead on how he’d handle Batman going forward. He could plan well into the night, concentrate this energy toward something useful. He’d need new protocol; he’d have to talk to Alfred about developing a second distress signal; one that was for mental things, not about to bleed out, come rescue. His throat threatened to close whenever he thought about it. How his brain wasn’t reliable. The fabric of reality would fall apart around him if he thought too much about it right then. If he thought about it at all, ever.

“Didn’t think you were the religious type.”

Bruce turned to the left again and saw you closing your notebook. You looked normal; loafers instead of heels, though. Smart. Wouldn’t want to risk falling again. Tiny glance about the immediate area, and he leaned in ever so slightly. “Gotta get on their good side somehow.”

Why did he lean in? Why did he listen to his body pulling closer to you? You’d caused this. You’d decided to talk to him, after he’d made himself clear. You rolled your eyes. When you looked back up at him, you squinted. Christ, if you were able to see his lenses too… You squeezed your eyes shut and brought your fingers up to massage your temple. It didn’t relieve his worry. “Just wanted to touch base. Surprised you came tonight.”

“Couldn’t not.” He led the both of you toward the door, stopped right before the doorway, and leaned down to ‘fix’ his shoe. He lowered his voice, pretending to wrangle a knot out of his shoelace. “I saw what they’re saying online. You and I can’t be seen together.”

“I didn’t know it would be so… aggressive. I’ve only seen a bit of it.”

He was surprised you were. Always a pessimist, and you seemed to know much more about the social landscape than he did. Every single reaction you had eluded him, further solidifying you as a lock he couldn’t pick. He stood up and pretended to fix his hair. You weren’t looking at him, instead eyeing the ground as if wanting to speak. “What?” It wasn’t a conscious decision to egg you on, but, he’d done it.

“You don’t want it.”

“Pity?”

“Concern.” You tucked the notebook into your armpit and flipped your hair over your shoulder to get it out of your face. You got quieter, barely audible. Your eyes were all over the place, everywhere except him. “Are you sure you’re safe?”

His heart began to pound. The time to have the conversation had been thrust upon him, opportunity presenting itself on a silver platter. Maybe this wasn’t picking the scab, but applying ointment. His eyes latched onto the room you’d used last week, and he hid his next sentence under a cough. “Go to the bathroom.” He yawned. “Room from last week in five minutes.”

You left, your dress flouncing behind you, and he set out to find Convoy. After a seconds-long conversation about needing to make a ‘private call’, he’d gotten the man to open the room. “Make sure to lock it on your way out, Mr. Wayne.”

Now that he was alone in the room, he felt unsettled. This decision was impulsive, but necessary. The playing field needed to be leveled, in whatever way possible. The record set straight. A million other phrases and idioms whizzed around his thoughts, trying to come up with an itinerary. He needed to be grateful for what you’d done. What you’d witnessed. Sure, it was fucked up that you’d initially blackmailed him to get the interview, but the interview was assisting his public persona. He had to do one sometime. As much as he hated to admit it due to how uncomfortable it was to be known, it wasn’t your fault that you’d noticed it was him. He’d met a few people as both Bruce and Batman, in passing—as much or more than you had, and you’d deduced it.

You probably wouldn’t have stayed in his house if the flooding hadn’t happened. You’d seemed horrified at the prospect, remembering your gasp from across the table as he’d slammed himself out of the chair. You’d been rude, and intrusive, but you hadn’t committed any cardinal sins. And the elephant in the room: you’d watched him attempt to end his life. You’d seen him hit the ground. You’d gotten him help. He was sure that was etched into your memory like a scar. He had to be appreciative of that, and for calling Alfred in the alley, or he’d ruminate on it for the rest of his fucking life. Whatever guilt was eating him up, he needed to excise it to get back on his way. He needed to be the scalpel, detangling all the gluey tissue and muscle joining the both of you. So your thoughts wouldn’t ever wander back to him. So his thoughts wouldn’t ever wander back to you.

A crucial aspect of that was setting up expectations for future interaction. Unless you were leaving tomorrow, he’d have to see you again, here, every week, indefinitely. With public scrutiny at an all-time high, and you both getting wrapped up in vigilance for one another, everything was getting too complicated. You’d become entangled in his life, and his yours, to a lesser degree. Unless you were also a vigilante in your respective hometown, he didn’t think he could get caught up with you the same way. He needed to make you free of him. You were worried. He needed to soothe that worry, firmly, thoroughly, so that you might start keeping to yourself. You’d meant to leave last week, anyway. It appeared safe to assume the only reason you’d stayed was because of him.

Five minutes. He did a quick scan of the room with the watch on his wrist. The exterior was luxury, but he’d swapped all the internal components to check for bugs. The room was cleared in about five seconds. He let his shoulders drop.

When you entered the room his thoughts exited. The door clicked shut. The only light Bruce could chance keeping on was a lamp in the corner by a stray podium. He was being risky enough talking with you here, he didn’t need to draw more attention, but it was hard to see your face clearly. Also elusive: that his night-oriented vision served him in every other circumstance, but not with you. He gestured for you to sit down, and you did. He cleared his throat. “I wanted to talk with you.”

You looked afraid again. You looked like you were expecting him to lay out an imminent plan of taking his own life. Appreciation. Reassurance. Goodbye. “I left abruptly earlier. I wanted to reassure you I am safe, and I have no plans to take my own life or anyone else’s.”

He realized he’d been looking slightly above you, not at you, and dropped his gaze to your eye-level. You were squirming. Breathing too fast. He continued, choking back the grief that suddenly threatened to annihilate his body. The words came out of him with robotic monotony. “I promise that I am prioritizing safety. I’m adding a new distress signal into my suit. Keeping up on medication. Checking in with Alfred. I promise I will keep doing that.”

It was the lenses. He didn’t want to relive this. “Thank you for helping me. I mean it. From the bottom of my heart.” His jaw was starting to tremble, and he prayed you wouldn’t notice. He watched helplessly as your eyes glazed over. Fuck. Why did this feel so distressing? Grueling? Why was he starting to sweat? Long stakeouts, heated fights, he’d never been stricken by such apprehension. But you were shaking. And it stamped an ache onto his heart in a shape he’d never felt before.

You were so fucking close to blurting it out. You were trembling in an attempt to contain the lie clawing its way out of you, tooth and nail. I didn’t see it. I only said so so you might stay alive one more day. The words wouldn’t come, yet they couldn’t remain. It was a fucking prison.

Outside of him thanking you for effectively lying, it was evident this was the last time he wanted to talk to you. It was clear he was annoyed by you. That your concern and care wasn’t warm or cozy, it was sharp and inhospitable. A strange sensation settled into you. It was your first year of undergrad. Your boyfriend of three months had packed his car to head home with you for the holidays. You’d gone about four miles until you stopped in front of Lara’s house. He handed you a note. “I want you to read this.” He hadn’t even been able to say it to your face, speeding off right after he handed you a backpack of your things.

At least Bruce was looking you in the eye while he shed you.

You rid the comparison from your mind. You’d thought you were falling in love with that guy. You’d been infatuated with him from the moment you’d met. Bruce was just… Bruce. The only feelings you felt toward him were frustration, guilt, anxiety, and all of it was flooding you now. The mind was simple sometimes. Trying to find patterns even if they weren’t there, overlaying memories. Trying to make meaning out of a meaningless life.

You and him had formed a strange, flimsy, temporary camaraderie, if you could even call it that. He’d helped you, you’d helped him. He’d hurt you, you’d hurt him. He worried about you. You worried about him. Becoming intertwined in each other’s lives in secret, specific ways; suddenly, without asking. Moreso than camaraderie, you’d been in cahoots. Knowing something no one else knew was intimate, but not inherently special. Like a dollar store superglue. It got the job done of sticking things together, but the bond was easily broken apart, leaving a bunch of residue no one wanted. Whatever weird fairytale of connection sat dying in the pit of your stomach shouldn’t have existed in the first place. Before today, it hadn’t even reared its ugly, confused head.

You hadn’t realized he’d gotten a call until you heard his voice lower to a gravelly hue. You moved your eyes to look at him, unblurring your vision by focusing on the phone pressed to his ear. “Can they give it to him?” A pause. Whoever he was talking to, they knew him as Batman. It was uncanny seeing him speak like that dressed in polished Dior. You instinctively spun your chair around to look at the door, making sure it was closed. On the swivel back, you noticed his gaze slip away from you as you scooted back to the table’s edge.

“I’ll check it out.” Click. He got up and pushed his chair in. You followed suit. “What is it?”

“Miller made bail. Said something on the way out about security footage.” He was already nearing the door. It took you longer than you liked to recognize the name. Your brain was mush.

“I thought you said you were taking a break this week,” There you were, going right back to abandoned houses, bitter friends, empty fields.

He pushed past you, but stalled right after. “Tell your friend to stay away from the neighborhood until his trial. You too.”

“Bruce.”

He adjusted to face you and you took a stuttered step back, way too close for comfort. So close you could smell the detergent on his clothes, see the setting shine in his hair as it dried from a recent shower. The microscopic speck of black he’d missed by his tear duct. “We don’t need to do this anymore.”

You opened your mouth to protest but nothing came out; his eyes dropped to it for a half second before resuming domineering eye contact. You felt faint. “Don’t make this difficult.” His biting enunciation made your eyes narrow. So heartless, and for what? But it didn’t hold. I see right through you. His sensitivities were scrawled on the walls of your mind in sloping, hurried letters.

You both drew a deep breath at the same time, forcing the both of you to turn your head and avert your gaze. The only sound in the room was too fast, too shallow breathing. He turned around abruptly, whacking you with his cologne.

The room’s oxygen had been replaced with smoke. At last, facing the door he could gulp down a breath. He kept a tight rein on his tone so the ebbs of adrenaline rushing through him wouldn’t taint it. “Stay in here for a few minutes, lock it on your way out. Get a ride.” He grabbed the doorknob and walked out calmly, every muscle in his legs frenzied for him to sprint off. He smiled his way through the foyer and out to the valet. His sweaty palms left prints on the steering wheel as he drove off.

He needed to sleep. Staying awake so long had made him hysterical.

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lightningqueen11 · 9 months

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Extra notes on TOTK about things I don't quite like and I need to fix because that game has wonderful ideas and mechanics but the story just needed an extra pass or 2.

The sages, WHO WERE THEY? Like, I genuinely cannot understand what each one was supposed to be going for. They have 0 character, at all. And every time we see their cutscene it's just Zelda saying the same thing four times. We know Zelda, Rauru, & Mineru (though Mineru is kinda bland, like we see more of them but what we see is all just plot moving forward. Mineru feels a bit more like a prop than a character is what I'm saying.) The 4 sages for each region? I can guess nothing about them.

So, I want to make one small change. Instead of each cutscene being when Zelda asks for help, it's a moment of Zelda and the Sage, like, bonding. Doing something together as Sages. Maybe Zelda would put together something of a paraglider and go scouting with the rito sage. Maybe she would mess with Zonai tech and blow stuff up with the goron sage. And if seeing Zelda directly ask for help is so important, they could show it at the end. Otherwise the message at the end would be, "I wanted to help save her time, but now I cannot do that. So please accept my secret stone and save Hyrule in my stead."

Just a little, tiny mention of why Sheikah tech isn't around (and perhaps a junkyard of it) would be very nice. I would say the shrines and towers probably sunk back into the ground once the champion beat calamity Ganon, since they no longer served a purpose. The guardians were all demolished, too many painful memories for Hyrule to move forward with them still around. The Sheikah slate was reconfigured into the purah pad. Basically, don't remove a core piece of the world you established in the last game without some explanation.

Fix up the weird scrambled timeline of the fake puppet Zelda. Like, we know from the dragon's tears that this isn't Zelda, so just edit NPC dialogue after the last dragon tear. They're still chasing after this puppet Zelda cause guess what, it's actively hurting people! So they gotta stop it.

Lastly, bring back gerudo vai set I will not REST until that set has RETURNED sure we have frostbite armor but COME ON it was in the previous game it would not be that hard.

#legend of zelda #loz #link #totk #loz totk #totk spoilers #zelda #totk sages #totk rewrite #tears of the kingdom #legend of zelda tears of the kingdom

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hopepaigeturner · 2 months

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Hope's Review of S3: Creloise

Eloise Storyline…

For me it started well. Eloise started to realise how to be a true friend, and understand the privileges and flaws in her character. I HOLLERED at the screen when Cressida finally called Eloise out.

And then part 2 happens and it all got dropped like a dead fish. (see more below in my chat about Cressida).

It makes complete sense that Eloise went back to Pen. It was quite obvious. And I liked all the titbits and moments of build up to the reconciliation.

I do like that Eloise was protective of Colin and pushed Penelope to tell him. Was it done in the 100% best way? Perhaps not.

However, there seemed to be a complete 180 of Eloise with Cressida. No empathy. No sympathy. No understanding. “An absolute viper”, Hun, Pen sat in your drawing room for years and purposefully wrote about your sisters prospects to the point she was almost forced to marry Nigel Berbrooke. Where’s your empathy? Where's the Eloise that visited Cressida during calling hour to check if she was alright?

I like Eloise as a character and this season could have seen some real foundational growth. I had such hopes for her, for she is a character with such potential. But part 2 dashed my hopes…maybe next season?

I did like that she returned to wishing to change the world. I’m glad she’s leaving for Scotland and will hopefully be able to grow up a bit next season.

Cressida storyline.

For me it started so well. Cressida and Eloise’s friendship I thought was very good for both of them. Eloise called Cressida out. Cressida called Eloise out.

And then part 2…

They gave the set up, the screentime and background and then relegated Cressida to a simple antagonist.

Honestly, I feel that Cressida’s storyline suffers from the season being split in two.

For if you watched the season in continuity then you would see the overarching arc of a girl who had the potential to change, but instead descends into greater desperation and cruelty in an attempt to fight against the walls that are closing in on her. And the tragedy? Is that part 1 showed that Cressida could change if not for the stifling oppression bared down by her situation. Cressida did not have to be a mere antagonist; she could have been a tragic antagonist.

But with the series split, they literally ‘split’ Cressida. Part 1 Cressida showed a positive redemption arc for her. Then we had a break. And when we got back, we saw Cressida the antagonist, so I think her arc felt disjointed.

I also think that if one saw the overarching scenes, then the whole of Cressida's backstory scenes do have the purpose of setting up the blackmail plot. It would not be enough to just suddenly have Cressida find out about Whistledown. But again with the season split in two I feel that continuity was lost. With the ending we got, I'm not sure they needed that many scenes to set this plot point up.

Now, I must say that this does not excuse her behaviour. It does not mean Cressida's slate should be wiped clean. Even if she returns, she needs to actively make amends and apologise.

But the fact that she just gets carted off at the end of the season?

Hey? You know what would have been interesting? You know what would have been #girlboss and #feminisim? Eloise understanding that Cressida’s actions are wrong and harmful, yet having some actual empathy and understanding that Cressida is merely trying to save her freedom and future. The very things Eloise wishes to champion in women!!!! And so, helping Cressida escape. And Pen could show how she has overcome her past pain that festered in Whistledown and she will be the bigger person and use Whistledown to help Cressida. Or even use her wiles and Whistledown resourcefulness to mask Cressida's escape? Why not have Pen have this last word over Cressida? Why not show that Eloise is willing to actually do something for once?

You know what that’s called?

Gosh how they handled that infuriated me. The onyl reason I can think of to send Cressida away (as if she deserved her fate) is because they want her as a *shock* reveal in a future season.

In the meantime, I’m going to write a little plot for S4 that not only brings Cressida back in a productive way, but also showcases Sophie’s nature, and how Sophie is a BADASS + kicks Eloise up the butt for her character development. Oh, and links with the main plot. As the purple grape once said.

#two words #wasted #potential #the rage from this storyline #=#rage from reading #an offer from a gentleman #I'm ready to write some foefiction #hope's review of S3 #eloise bridgerton #cressida cowper #creloise

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velvet-vox · 5 months

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All of the points that go in favour/against Doll coming back to life.

So, originally, I wanted to make a post of theory/analysis on Cyn and the possibility of her being redeemed at the end of the show; one of the points that I was going to make for said redemption was that Doll's death was meant as a cautionary tale, the main team of the series is abuse and how trauma affects us into becoming the worst version of ourselves, Doll was a trauma victim who was so dead set in her unhealthy coping mechanism that she ended screwing over her entire life, granted said redemption for Doll wasn't unreachable as showcased by her last living moments, but by then the damage was done; Cyn, on the other hand, could have potentially realised all of the harm she was doing even as far back as before the gala massacre, but then, it kind of reminded me why I ended up never making that post.

You see, the thing is, I don't understand Cyn.

At all.

Like, I also for the longest time couldn't understand Doll despite being hyper obsessed with her, and took over a year, countless analyses done by other people and (unfortunately) episode 7 until I could finally come to understand her to the deep, narrative level that I do now, and I still don't know if I truly got everything.

But with Cyn, not only do I not understand her like I do with other characters, but..... I also kind of feel left out.

To me, it seems like the fanbase at large is obsessed with this little gremlin; I'm autistic as well, since that's the main head canon floating around, yet I don't really relate to a word she says, to me, the hype surrounding Cyn feels similar to the hype surrounding Nori pre episode 7: we have this almost blank slate character that is characterized enough to not be an head canon dump, she is super relevant to both the plot and to one of the protagonist backstory, it's one of the main antagonistic forces, and is generally super important.... Yet I still don't get her nor do I get her surrounding hype. I've read a couple of analyses, and would gladly accept if someone sent me some more, since just a single Murder Drones character requires a lot of digging to fully comprehend in its entirety.

But finally going back to Doll, I want to make a short list of all the points in favour and against a possible resurrection of her character, starting with the pros.

Pros:

- Doll is definitely a big selling point for the russian audience of Murder drones, as I have seen various people lament her death on the fact that she was russian alone; funnily enough, this was also my main reasoning to not kill her off as I and other people started learning russian all because of her.

- Gonna reiterate the fact that Doll is, currently, peak russian representation, and it just feels rather insensitive from Liam to kill her off permanently when there's already Yeva and her dad, two russians, whose death is much more acceptable.

- Doll, unlike Alice, Beau, Rebecca or others, had so much potential as a character, being Uzi's foil and all, and to not capitalize on that would be a huge waste.

- Her death, although very impactful, was not, per se, as narratively satisfying as it could have been (see Nox from Wakfu), so it might've been a mislead, and if V comes back, there's a chance Doll might come back too since Doll x V is the parallel dynamic to Uzi x N.

- Gonna mention personal bias. It's not important nor is it a valid point but it had to be mentioned.

- Doll parents are already dead but we had a whole Yeva flashback in episode 7 that I can't explain in ways other than she'll be relevant in the future, and if she turns out to be alive, even if mind controlled, Doll's death is inevitably going to lose a lot of impact because, as it stands, it's balanced, but with the twist, it could retroactively feel like drama porn.

- She wasn't unreademable, just unreachable and deeply hurt, if she had a second chance to make up for her mistakes I believe she would take it in a heartbeat, I can only imagine the immense amount of guilt she was feeling while dying, she must've realised she only caused more damage in the long run and couldn't do anything to fix it, so if she could help Uzi out even as a digital ghost, it might just give her the sense of closure she so desperately needed.

- If Nori can come back as a core, so can Doll, they just need to cut Cyn stomach in a non lethal way.

And now, for the sadly more probable cons:

- This is Liam Vickers we are talking about.

- Even with all of her potential, hers and her family backstory feel rather.... disconnected from everything else going on right now? Like, Yeva might have been this important figure into Nori's past, but as of right now, aside from her impact, she really doesn't seem too relevant to the main plot; same thing with Doll, in fact, it was Doll's own insistence to be relevant that led to her demise, because, despite everything, the story revolves around N and Uzi manages to survive because she is important to N, and even then, she still sacrifices her own life for him.

- The narrative has always been pretty disrespectful to her? Like, I'm not talking about her sad backstory, sad development, and even sadder death, (this master guide over here realistically had no end in sight as you could just go on and on forever) I mean in general there was a clear lack of commitment to her side of things from the writing team, I think I've read somewhere else that in the original animation Uzi even walked on Doll's body as she was running to N; many theorised that they only came up with her story only after the pilot dropped, and I can't help but think that it has to be true because she had this air of mystery that in my opinion went anywhere and in the pilot she's a background character. I don't know, from a supposedly sympathetic villain the writing was rather unsympathetic towards her whole situation and she felt more like your average b##ch in the episodes following the prom.

- She still fulfilled her limited narrative role, so changing it back could alter future developments and remove impact from the tragedy of this cautionary tale, since, in all honesty, Doll's side story would require the show to switch off the plot too much and unfortunately that's never been a priority for the writing team. Also bringing back up Nox from Wakfu (still gonna make that comparison post) whose Doll shares some themes with, even though his personal story was extremely tragic, it was extremely disconnected from all of the main characters as he was more of a warmup baddie for Yugo to get in the groove, and he never returned physically aside from passive mentions and an illusion.

- I don't think they went out of the way to showcase Cyn eating Doll's core just for it to be a fake out.

- Even with all of my personal biases, aside from her starring episode she never had a real purpose in the grand scheme of things so her death was probably just a way to cut off loose ends.

- She isn't a protagonist despite what she deluded herself into, so plot armour applies even less to her than it does with the main trio (spoiler: it doesn't).

Ultimately, in my heart and mind, despite what I really want, I know Doll's not coming back.

She was disrespected, screwed over by both the writing and her own twisted mind, and since this is a somewhat heavy horror show despite the comedy, I really don't think we are going to see her reunited with her parents as a ghost nor will she be in robot hell or heaven, I really think she is just dead.

That's so sad. What a shame.

Farewell, comrade.

Want more?

#murder drones #murder drones doll #murder drones cyn #murder drones episode 7 #murder drones nori #murder drones yeva #murder drones doll's dad #murder drones uzi #murder drones n #murder drones v #murder drones alice #murder drones beau #murder drones rebecca #murder drones analysis #character analysis #wakfu #wakfu nox #wakfu yugo #murder drones nuzi

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gayofthefae · 4 months

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A fight like Mike and Will's in season 3 is actually very common. If you've watched the new season of Bridgerton, you'll see it as well and it's used for the exact same function: to shift a power dynamic by breaking out of idolizing your crush.

In season 2, Mike was in a sort of caretaking and protective role over Will. This isn't a bad thing but it also isn't exactly equal. With that, in the story itself, Will didn't see enough of Mike's flaws. This is the contrast to what is often complained about in Mike and El's more immature love: conflicts like this are used to shift from infatuation to love, loving someone with their flaws instead of being blind to them. In saying "you're being an asshole and you need to stop, I am in the right in this situation and deserve better" you are acknowledging their flaws and positioning yourself as not dependent on the idea of them. Then you can come back by choice (the romantic theme in the show) and as more of equals, the audience feeling secure in the idea that you, despite historically idolizing that person, would call them out if you had to.

Mike and El don't have that, not until season 4 at least - and that pacing is too late for their story. I thought they were having it in season 3 on a first watch and that it would expose those flaws and move past them, but they remained issues in season 4. By season 4, El is secure in her independence and is choosing Mike with the acknowledgement of his flaws, but Mike is still idolizing El. The idolization isn't just an issue as has been discussed relative to "superheroes", it's used frequently across romance as an issue to be overcome. He sees her as out of his league as opposed to seeing them as equals and until he sees them as equals, they can't have the relationship they need to have. So that is their season 5 arc. Their final arc will be him seeing her as human so he can actually love her like she wants him to, inclusive of her flaws and not ignoring them - because when someone ignores your flaws, you start to worry that they're ignoring them in order to keep loving you because they know if they acknowledged them they would see you as a monster.

But it is also of note that this is a trope used consistently in preparation for a love story or romantic arc, to get the audience in the mindset to properly root for them - NOT a climax itself. You'll notice these fights between Mike and Will happened early in seasons with time to spare for their plots. The same seemed to be true for Mike and El, except they didn't use that time to resolve the issue the same.

Mike and Will fought at the beginning of season 3 to clear the slate, actually - of any pre-existing feeling of inequality or unrealistic perceptions in the eyes of the audience that they would be concerned for the characters over. The did that knowing they had time to spare and that the plotline they were setting up hadn't started yet.

At the BEGINNING of their romantic buildup in season 4 Will calls Mike out explicitly. They are on even footing and willing to tell it like it is and expect better. Then they do the romance. El believes she deserves her treatment and Mike sees himself as needing to say exactly what she wants in order to keep her, something he is desperate to do because she is so out of his league and he doesn't want to waste the opportunity. They both have conflicts but they demonstrate very different things about the characters and their relationships to each other.

Mike and El love the idea of each other and they need to love each other. Mike and Will used to love the idea of each other but had a year of loving each other before the romance came into play. All of their decisions are being shown to the audience as sound of mind and informed, even when impulsive or out of the loop. Mike and Will find equal footing before starting their romance plot. Mike and El told their entire love story and more first. That screams - "we do not want you to trust our characters' choices as informed and self-aware".

Mike and El were cute at first because they were innocent. But innocence is also naivete, and audiences aren't meant to trust decisions made by the naive.

Will has a heartbreaking scene where he physically destroys his innocence. But he also isn't naive anymore. And the audience needed that in order to trust him.

Lucas and Max face the severity of her depression and come out the other side less naive. That's why they got a second love story. One innocent and one mature.

I started to trust El when she broke up with Mike and after her dad died, didn't fully trust her with Mike until the end of season 4. I still don't trust Mike with El. At best, they would need to quickly break Mike's view of El then match Lucas and Max in giving them a second love story (something I've mentioned they could have done in season 4 if they had broken them up more similarly to Lucas and Max, giving a conflict more like Mike and Will's to him and El), now more mature.

We NEED a mature love story. We need one for all of them. Lucas and Max got one because they had one innocent and and now got one mature. Mike and Will had an innocent relationship but their love story was allowed to be entirely mature. Mike and El had got an innocent love story. And nothing else. They got more plots, but never any that matured them, and as they grow out of the word "innocent", they become naive, untrustable.

dldr: To quote Lucas Sinclair in his mature relationship from middle school, "I see you". Every couple was too innocent to see each other so deeply for a while. But they saw each other before either falling in love or falling back into love, because after truly seeing someone, you fall in love with them - even if for the second time. Mike and El still haven't seen each other, and they don't have the time nor the audience's energy to fall in love a fourth time finally seeing clearly.

#choices #first watch #byler elmike contrasts #pacing #elmike pacing #mike wheeler i love you #elmike analysis #mike wheeler #el hopper #stranger things #byler #byler fight #there is even a song on will's playlist directly about losing the image you had of someone and coming down from it #it's a sad song but it's what needed to happen #elmike contrasts #lumax analysis #castle byers #elmike lumax contrasts

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dolliedarlin · 2 years

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DADA! | ONE ⏤Denki K.

BAKUSQUAD ENDEARMENT SERIES PART 3 : DENKI KAMINARI

SUM. : it was supposed to be more than a one night stand and a great weekend spent together; there was a connection, the time spent together was special...so why did it all just stop?

PAIR. : Denki Kaminari x Single Mother Reader

LENGTH : 3.7k

G. : misunderstandings ; so much misunderstanding! ; unnecessary suffering on both sides ; single parent au ; single mother reader ; father kaminari ; but he doesn’t know that yet ; prohero au ; timeskip au ; angst for now ; slight fluff ; new beginnings? ; kirishima is a good friend ; kaminari is going through some stuff ; mutual longing

A/N : sorry it took so long to put this out, i really didn’t like the first several drafts of it and the plot arc needed a lot of tweaking. this is also just the start so it’s a bit short but there’s a lot to come, i promise! enjoy the read, dolls! all my love x

New beginnings need an equally new environment so that the pristine setting can sufficiently accommodate your grave yearning for a clean slate. It’s only been a few days but there’s a particular type of comfort that comes with living in a new place. Not only that, it saves you from ever remembering the once happy and now bitter memories held in your old home.

It’s silly, really.

To think that you would move houses just to keep from being reminded of the magical night and weekend you spent with a certain electrifying prohero. Nevertheless, here you are, fully moved into a recently available penthouse apartment and with a noticeable bump in your tummy as you were already in your second trimester.

You can be rightfully bitter towards the man responsible for your current lonely circumstance but knowing that you would soon have such a precious gift to centre your new life around was enough motivation for you to keep going.

You’re capable of letting a man go but not your baby.

Despite having a new backdrop in your everyday life, oftentimes, when you have an absent pause to think about random things occurring at that moment, you fall victim to those same sweetly haunting memories. Underlined by a warm gentleness that tries to comfort you in spite of the hollowed emptiness it carves into your chest, leaving you to ache for the missing piece that slipped through your fingers. On your lips is a small, heavy smile and brows are stitched up and furrowed tightly; it’s a perfect illustration of your consistent internal conflict.

That weekend was such a complicated and jumbled mix of emotions and experiences. It felt as if you had lived through an entire high school romance with this man in the span of only 2 days. He had made such good love to you and didn’t stop, even outside bedroom activities. After such a deeply passionate and heated few hours, he spent equally as much time, if not more, cherishing you and worshipping your entire being, not just your body. He made you laugh so hard that, at times, you cried. And the rest of your time spent together, he made you feel so loved, your heart ached with a longing that made you question why you hadn’t met him sooner.

Those two blissful days were spent away from all outside sources, your phones tucked away and silent, leaving the two of you to immerse yourselves in your own secluded world - a paradise only meant for you two. Sometimes, he cooked for you and sometimes you cooked for him. His dishes were a rather poor and sad attempt but seeing the determination in his gaze over the stovetop made the food taste better than any gourmet restaurant dish you have ever indulged in. He serenaded you over karaoke, cuddled you close through ghibli films and never stopped peppering you with kisses and affectionate nuzzles. He was childish and handsome and a dream to be with.

God! You were so in love! So deeply in love with him.

He wasn’t like any other guy that had tried to court you before and, even though you were now in such a miserable situation, you could never bring yourself to regret going to the charity gala or spending the following weekend with him.

If only he didn’t break your heart so cruelly.

Was it all an act?

You didn’t want to believe it but what other option was there for you? The only person who could possibly ease the turmoil in your head and chest was not there to do so.

You vividly remember the Monday morning you saw him last as you were rushing to work. It was the first time you were ever late to attend a meeting with an important and recurring client…

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

“I’m sorry to be in such a rush like this, Denki,” you apologised, downing your coffee and regretting it the instant your tongue blistered up from its hot temperature.

“No worries, beautiful,” he stands from his seat at the island counter, “I’ll be heading to work soon enough as well,” he pulls you in by the waist and passionately locks you in a deep kiss, one that you never wanted to pull away from.

“Here’s my number, please call me soon,” you pant from the zealous kiss, hurriedly scribbling down your digits on a sticky note and rushing off, “feel free to leave whenever and don’t worry about locking the door on your way out, the housekeeper will do it; i already messaged them! Goodbye!”

‘I love you!’ it was on the tip of your tongue but you hesitated-

“Will do! I love you babe! Take care!”

Smiling bitterly at the memory, you clenched your hands into tight fists beside you and dug your nails into your palm, why did he say that when he never intended to keep his word?

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Saved from your gradually drowning mind, you rush to the door, your hand instinctively placed on your belly as you open it to reveal a woman and a little girl with cute blonde hair ribboned up into adorable twin pigtails.

“Why hello there,” you coo softly at the adorable little girl rocking back and forth on her heels, “what brings you two here?” you smile at the two.

“Good morning, I hope we’re not disturbing you. I’m Yua and this is Katsumi, we saw you move in last week and Katsumi here wanted to gift you something,” both you and Yua turn to the little girl as she bounces up with her arms raised at you. In her small hands, she held a prettily wrapped gift with a lace ribbon to tie it together.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you two, I’m (Y/N). Thank you so much, Katsumi, for your very kind gesture,” offering up two open palms for her to place her gift into, which she promptly did with a widened smile.

“You’re welcome! I hope you find it yummy!” At her comment, you bring the gift to your nose and take in the sweet smell of baked goods.

“It smells divine; it must be very good!” you smile widely and giggle when Katsumi cheers happily.

“Take good care of your place, it was mine and daddy’s old home,”

“Oh?” you raise a brow, gently prompting her to elaborate.

“Daddy and I moved into Mommy’s place now so we can see each other every day, hehehe~” you look up at Yua, who smiles bashfully. In your head, you can piece together their story and feel a warmth bloom in your chest. What a cute little family.

“I’ll make sure to take good care of your old home, Katsumi, thank you for the present,” you bend down to gently pat her head, lifting your spare hand off your pregnant belly in order to do so.

“Oh! Congratulations!” Yua voices in excitement, finally noticing your pregnancy as you straighten up and feel your cheeks get warm.

“Th-thank you,”

“Oh? Did something special happen?”

You share a smile with Yua at Katsumi’s comment before explaining, “I’m expecting a baby and I have four more months to go,”

“Oh!” Katsumi’s pretty ruby eyes sparkle with interest and you have to suppress a giggle, “Is your baby gonna be a boy or a girl like me?”

“It would be wonderful to have a sweet little girl like you Katsumi-chan but I’m having a little boy instead,” feeling that the conversation will go for longer than you expected, you gesture for them to come in and sit in the living room. Happy to oblige, they take up room on your sofa as you go about plating the baked goodies you were gifted. Yua had promptly offered to help but you waved her off gently with a smile. Despite being 5 months along, you can still do this much.

“Like Ren!”

“Who’s Ren?” you ask curiously, centering the plated cookies and hand out complimentary glasses of milk. Naturally, Katsumi digs in as soon as she’s given the chance to as Yua reddies a napkin to wipe at her messy cheeks. A very cute mother and daughter pair.

“He’s my best friend! He’s super nice! You’ll like him too!” Katsumi says through a mouthful of cookies that she washes down with big gulps of her milk.

“Then I’m sure I will like him instantly, any friend of yours is a friend of mine,” you smile as Yua offers Katsumi her glass of milk as the little girl had already finished hers.

“That reminds me!” Yua claps her hands together and smiles in delight, “Akina, Ren’s mother, is also pregnant, I think you’re further along than she is but we should all get together for lunch or something,”

“Oh? That might be nice, I have nothing better to do so making a new pregnant friend might do me some good, especially since this is my first pregnancy,” you giggle as Yua joins you.

“That’s perfect! It’ll be Akina’s second pregnancy so I’m sure she can help you out if you need some advice. I’ll try to get everyone together soon! Can I have your number?”

“Of course!” you’re so happy for the companionship, even though your family supports you, they live far away and have their own lives to worry about. You weren’t openly judged by them but your family largely lives off the philosophy of independence, a concept you hate but are somewhat grateful for as it’s led to your success. It’s only when you finally realise how lonely you’ve become that you despise the teachings of your family. For your baby, you will live differently and with more love and affection; the first step towards that will be having a stable friendship group. Yua hands over her phone with a new contact page open, you’re quick to type in your contact details, there is a pause however as you realise you’re typing your work contact and pause to remember your personal number instead. Flushing at the embarrassing delay, you hand back Yua’s phone with haste.

“When will you be free?” Yua asks as she tucks her phone away, the two of you leaving Katsumi to devour the gift she made for you; you didn’t mind, just seeing her eat made you feel full.

“I’d be happy to meet up tomorrow, I’ve been feeling kind of lonely,” you bashfully admit as Yua gives you a warm smile.

“That sounds perfect! I know I’m available tomorrow and I’m pretty sure Akina is too but I’ll have to double check. Do you have a favourite dessert or common pregnancy craving? I can bake us something nice to share,”

You ponder for a moment and shrug, “Anything sweet will do it for me,” the comment makes Yua laugh and nod in understanding.

“I’m sure I can whip something up then,” Yua then turns to the contentedly smiling little girl beside her, who mercilessly consumed half the chunky cookies she had brought over, “Katsumi it’s time to go, cupcake,”

“Okay! Thank you for having us over and for sharing your cookies with us miss (Y/N)!” She grins brightly with crumbs all over her mouth and cheeks and you have to resist reaching forward to squish them between your fingers, mentally thanking Yua for interrupting your urges by wiping at her messy appearance once more.

“It’s no problem, sweetie, please come over again soon, I already love having you as company,” the praise makes her nose turn up slightly as she hums in self-gratification. Katsumi had, at first, been worried that you may be like all the horrible women chasing after her father but she was glad her mom encouraged her to be a good neighbour first; you’re a really nice lady and you’re already good friends with her mom so that’s extra good points in your favour.

“And if you need anything at all, we’re right next door so please give us a shout,” Yua offers, “Katsuki says pregnancy is as tough as being a prohero and always offers to help Akina and Eijiro whenever they need him, so we happily extend the same courtesy to you,”

“Thank you so much!‘ you beam happily, incredibly grateful for their selflessness. If only your own family was this openly supportive and kind.

With a warm goodbye and promise to meet again soon, you see your two new friends out and return to finally enjoy your first cookie. Humming is content, you sigh from bliss. Such a sweet taste.

“You’re really off your game, Denki, you need to sort out whatever it is that’s throwing you off. It’s becoming a danger to everyone on the field,” Kirishima comments as the two sit in opposite hospital beds with bandages covering their unnecessarily sustained injuries.

“I-I’m sorry man…” Kaminari sighs in exasperation, seated at the edge of his bed with his hands grabbing at his blonde hair as he leans forward. The shame swirling within him force his eyes and face away from his close friend and teammate’s eyes, “I just can’t get her out of my head…how could she do that to me?” the blonde begins to ramble as his red-headed friend looks on at him in sympathy, “Give me a non-existent number? Did she not want to keep in contact after all? I’ve dated many girls trying to settle down and I thought she was the one! She’s everything I could ever want in a girl! Beautiful, kind, smart, funny, put together! She actually laughs at my silly jokes, and she has the most beautiful laugh too…” Kaminari smiles and falls back with a dreamy sigh, “She has me on a leash and I want to love her with my everything but instead she plays such a cruel joke on me,” he almost sobs at his miserable reality, “I can take rejection, I’ve had to go through so many already but this…this was too much…she knows I love her, why would she do that to me?”

“Look man…” Kirishima rubs the back of his neck, deep in thought and concern for one of his closest friends, “I don’t know…how can you say you love someone after just one weekend with them?”

“I just do, okay?!” Kaminari snaps, sitting up to glare at his friend, “I love her and that’s not going to change! Don’t try to convince me otherwise, I know we did things backwards but I would do anything for her. She’s not like those other girls, I can see right through them, they’re pretty but (Y/N) is beautiful. They’re sweet but (Y/N) is kind and gentle and loving and funny and charming and mean, in the best way! She makes it so easy to love her. If I could, I would give her the world…” The frustration and sadness coursing through him brings about a static to surround Kaminari’s frame, charging the surrounding metals momentarily.

“Have you tried going to her place?”

“I did but I was too late! She was never there when I went to visit and the last time I went, the gardeners working on the estate told me she had moved out! I spent the best, most blissful two days of my life in that house and she just left it!” Kaminari feels the prickling of tears surface as he breaks down, the heartbreak suffocating him and making it unbearable to even exist. Unable to look at his friend’s broken down state much longer, Kirishima steps forward and pulls the blonde up into a standing hug.

“Why don’t you take a break from hero work, at least? Clearly you need time to think and get yourself together, it’s better you do that away from villains who could cause you and others harm,” Kirishima advises with gentle comforting pats on his best friend’s back.

“...m-maybe you’re right,” Kaminari sighs, the emotional exhaustion evident in his droopy eyes and slouching figure, “look man, I’m sorry for being such a bum…I know you and Akina are expecting and that’s great news I just-...I’m sorry for making this all about my shitty love life,”

“Think nothing of it, Akina’s more worried about cooking for and feeding you herself; she says you’ve lost too much weight these past couple of months and insists on cooking extra portions so that I can bring it over to you. Just get those muscles back and stop worrying about my pregnant wife, okay?…” a scary look begins to cross over Kirishima’s face as he looks down at his blonde friend and colleague, “Because we all know how bad stress is for the baby, right?” Despite Kirishima’s grinning face, Kaminari felt a shiver run down his spine and nods frantically.

“Yeah yeah! Of course, man! Sorry about that!”

When Kaminari had work, at least he was minorly distracted before his mind wandered off to you. Now that he's on leave for ‘mental wellbeing’, as he’s submitted it, he has nothing to distract him and so his mind is always wandering off to the time you two spent together. What bliss. If heaven was a time and place on earth, it would be those two euphoric days.

The first time he saw you, you made his heart stop beating and when you flashed him an innocent smile, the surroundings blurred around him, making you the sole focus of his stare. In that one moment, he already knew that he had to make you his and himself yours. So he approached you, nervous as could be but after the introductory ‘hello’s, conversation flowed smoothly, better than smoothly, in fact. It was as if the two of you had spent all your lives together as close friends and were catching up on things after some time spent apart. You shared laughs and got closer and closer until eventually, the two of you were leaving the venue together and spending the night and weekend at your place.

The night of the gala didn’t end with just amorous, fiery sex, there was also a lot of affectionate aftercare, timid kisses and pillow talk that ranged from deeply meaningful chatter to musings of the most irrelevant things.

That was the most memorable weekend of Kaminari’s life.

He never cooks for anyone, primarily because he knows that he’s horrible at it but he did his best to cook you breakfast the following morning and you didn’t berate his cooking skills at all, you just sat down and ate it with a smile on your face. Kaminari never thought you could become even more beautiful but he was wrong. Was it your quirk? A quirk that charms others and makes them submit to you? If so he’d happily be the one to fall for your charm.

Your time together felt like you were just two normal people in love. He wasn’t a prohero with expectations and responsibilities and you weren’t… He sighs, realising, once again, that he never asked you what you did. Not that it mattered to him, the connection you two shared, the spark that became a flame and continues to burn within him even now, was what truly mattered. It was so easy to get lost in one another and forget about the rest of the world when it was just the two of you that weekend. His one regret was that, it’s now so difficult to find you himself other than the few things he does know.

Everything hurts now but Kaminari doesn’t regret spending that weekend with you. He will never regret loving and being loved by you no matter how much it hurts him to think about it.

Back from his mental health break, Kaminari is on patrol once again. His time spent away helped him centre himself and better handle his thoughts atop doing his hero work but he still can’t stop thinking about you. It’s never going to be easy forgetting someone who he felt destined to meet.

Today he was patrolling a relatively calm district just to ease into the work day. The morning was quiet and peaceful, some fans politely held conversation with him and took some photos every once in a while but it mainly remained serene until a swarming crowd apprehends his attention as he nears the exit point of the park he had been walking through. The mob’s violent movement as an angry horde of bodies made a scowl form on his face, their demanding shouts for answers weren’t hard to miss nor were their flash photography. Paparazzi, the lowest of all scum.

#kaminari x reader #denki x reader #bnha single parent au #bnha timeskip au #kaminari prohero #single mother reader #endearment series #bakusquad endearment #hurt/comfort #bnha x reader #bnha x single mother reader #bnha kaminari #kaminari angst

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weclassybouquetfun · 1 year

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I have a passing knowledge of Jaime Reyes' Blue Beetle from the character's appearance on SMALLVILLE, BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD and these panels.

Milagro, you are so real for this.

And this is where my true knowledge about Blue Beetle comes from - Ted Kord's Blue Beetle and his friendship with Booster Gold.

Blue & Gold Forever.

So with only knowing the bare minimum about Jaime I was able to watch BLUE BEETLE with no expectations. It's an incredibly vibrant, fun and heartfelt film. I'm concerned at its low box-office showing, but films with bigger leads and bigger budgets have also failed at the box office, or at the very least, didn't recoup it's budget and marketing. There has never been anything that was a guaranteed box office success. I would rather it tried to get eyes in theaters than get lost on HBO Max where it was originally slated for release. Here's hoping National Cinema Day on Aug 27th (where theaters are selling tickets for $4 for all formats) will bring more people to the tent.

Too true.

My thoughts on BLUE BEETLE

Nothing but SPOILERS.

THE GOOD

Xolo Maridueña (COBRA KAI) is a great Jaime. If you have seen Maridueña across these five seasons of COBRA KAI, it's not surprising. He has shown consistently that he can play humour, dutifulness, vulnerable and excel at action.

Big up to COBRA KAI's annual blow-out fight sequence.

youtube

Oddly enough, at the end of the film I didn't think we got to know Jaime beyond a cursory level, but I'm sure if they did a deep dive on him I would complain about that too as my issue with origin story films is that so much real estate is given to building up the history of the character, that the plot and action seems relegated to the final act. But I guess BLUE BEETLE gave us all we need to know about Jaime.

Good egg, duty bound, gets hard from hugs (and kudos to this film for actually having a character who gets horny. Comic book films are nearly always a sexless thing, but my guy Jaime pulling his shirt down to cover his crotch after Jenny's (Bruna Marquezine) tale of woe was refreshing.)

-Really liked Jenny Kord. She wasn't the typical damsel in distress. She's formidable in her own right. She and Jaime doesn't feel rushed or shoehorned in. I especially loved the fact that they didn't just make her the love interest,

Though she and Xolo are great together,

but also gave her - in the Reyes - a new family. If she and Jaime were to go pear-shaped we can just know that Jenny still has a place within the Reyes clan.

-We have not one, but two new members to the Legion of Great DCEU Family Members. Joining the mom and dad of SHAZAM, AQUAMAN's dad, THE FLASH's mom is BLUE BEETLE's Alberto Reyes (Damián Alcázar) and Nana Reyes (the Oscar nominated Adriana Barraza).

Still waters run deep and Nana proved that. She's not just up in her room sewing and watching reruns of "María la del Barrio". She is sitting back waiting to showcase her experiene while fighting in the revolution.

And Alberto Reyes! He was this film's King T'Chaka. Always with a wise word, strong, caring. I hate that he had to die and I think it's a worn out trope that a hero has to suffer loss in order to come into their greatness, but it worked. Long Live Alberto Reyes!

Just enough George Lopez to not be annoying. He's funny, but only in small doses IMO so he was just good enough and used well enough that it wasn't eye-rolling. I really loved that he wasn't just there for the obvious comic relief, instead Uncle Rudy is a brain.

The opening along had me hyped. It set the tone and it lent to idea of the scarab being from space, but the inclusion of a classic Blue Beetle comic sketch just ::chef's kiss:

-Director Ángel Manuel Soto listed which stories he pulled from for this film,

but I see a lot of BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD episode "Fall of the Blue Beetle" in the bits where they go to Ted Kord's home/lab.

-The way they took OMAC/Kevin Kho backstory and merged it with Carapex's. In the comics OMAC was a Cambodian child of war, in this film Ignacio/Carapex was left an orphan and trained by the School of the Americas (rebranded Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation) whose training manuals advocated tortuing and blackmailing civilians. Using Kord Industries as not just a amorphous shady big tech corp, BLUE BEETLE's writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer and Soto tied Kord Industries to the realties of what big corporations are doing globally.

This ties into another thing I loved about the film - it had a strong cultural identity. From Nana using Vivaporú (Vicks Vapor Rub) as smelling salts to rouse Jamie, to El Chapulín Colorado(!!!).

The idea of gentrification that affects people across colour lines and specifically targets people of lower income.

The full integration of Jaime and Khaji-Da being exemplified by Khaji-Da (voiced by singer/actor Becky G) speaking Spanish.

THE BAD

-Is there someone with less screen prescence than Susan Sarandon? I don't know how she was ever a thing. I guess they needed a "name" but there several other actors like Anjelica Huston or Sigourney Weaver who would have done something more with that role. Carla Gugino. Anyone else!

-The establishing CGI of Kord Entrerprises was basura. There was a tangible change in F/X as if mid way through post-production they found out WB-Discovery was moving it to theatrical release and they effects crew got a cash infusion.

-While I came around on the character towards the end, I wasn't a fan of Milagro. Glad they aged her up but she fell into the trope of annoying movie sibling and it grated.

THE REST

-Harvey Guillen's character died in the film (good!) and he appears to be dead again on HARLEY QUINN (not good. There is no way Nightwing's death sticks).

-Soto and James Gunn says that Jaime has a future in the DCU. While an interview snippet is making the rounds where Soto says he would like Jason Sudeikis (TED LASSO) to play Ted Kord, I don't really believe that is true as the source is from an online site I'm not familiar with and people lie for clicks.

Yes, Buster. All. The. Time.

-While comics! Jaime lives in El Paso, Texas, film! Jaime lives in Palmera City - on El Paso St. - which was created for the film (and appeared in the comics months ahead in a tie-in). Soto found inspiration in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico. But I wonder what Palmera City's real-world city will be when James Gunn finishes the DC Map that he say is being redone. Maybe because over the years Metropolis has been Chicago/Delaware/New York.

Metropolis is not in Delaware, GTFOH.

#Youtube #blue beetle #blue beetle movie #blue beetle 2023 #jaime reyes #xolo maridueña #angel manuel soto #dc comics #comic book movies #movies #film #dcu #wb/dc #harvey guillen #bruna marquezine #spoilers

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anakirui · 4 months

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godddd as a DDLC fan the quality of mods is *so frustrating*

So many of them have, like, the seed of a fantastic idea in there, it's set up beautifully, and then it just trips and falls into the mud either because there's a blatant mischaracterization, or nonsensical storytelling presentation, or what have you.

There's one, maybe two, really good (extended length) mods, and I still have gripes with them.

Salvation Remake is ALMOST PERFECT but the Monika B plot is so much better than the SayorixMC A plot that I want to skip every single scene of it.

Also ironically re: your post, the FNF/DDLC mod is also very good lmao.

YEAH literally like yesterday, my friend and i were looking at this mod where it was about mc like... gradually realizing that he's in a game and him being self aware, and the set up was slow (paced properly) and looked somewhat promising at the start only for the characters to start jumping to conclusions WAY too fast and then there being a really mishandled scene about sayori's depression and then we stopped reading it 😭 it really read like the writer wanted to get to the "fun" part already at the cost of the pacing, and it was just a gradual decline in quality until it just became... not good. at all.

in general, i do really like the idea of mc having existentialism over being well.. a main character (and unsurprisingly, one of my favorite toby fox characters is kris deltarune, so that checks out)

and sorry for going on a tangent, i feel like he just does not have any fan content that expands on his character in a meaningful way? like he has a defined personality that also shows his supposed lack of personality since he's supposed to be nothing more than a vn mc, and i feel like there's a lot of potential to make stuff with out of that.

i tried dissecting a lot of his lines in act 1 (i haven't gotten around to going through the whole game again for this purpose), and i think it's interesting how he has underlying insecurities and also a definite sense of apathy ... which i think hints towards his "genericness" since he's supposed to be a blank slate for us to project onto (and therefore he would have no major goals, thus resulting in him seeming apathetic), but it's also interesting how this is warped in act 2 (and i haven't seen anyone talk about it?)

ignoring ddlc plus lore because i don't know how it would factor in here; mc in act 2 is interesting because i think, like the girls, something about him was modified by monika. i don't think you can chalk up his change in personality just to the absence of sayori in his life, because sure yeah while there is things like him feeling bitter when seeing groups of friends (due to not having any himself), his other actions suggest it's something else imo.

most prominently is his lack of reaction to situations, as in act 1, mc is always describing his feelings to us and remarking on how the other characters do things vividly. in act 2, his descriptions gradually become duller and duller, until he gets to the point of when natsuki sees yuri's dead body, all he has to say about it was "natsuki ran away."

additionally, he never interferes in situations where i think he would've in act 1, such as yuri's confession scene, for example, especially with how quickly he was to try and reassure sayori about her depression in act 1 (despite his conflicted feelings about the situation).

also we know the exact moment mc was fully gone, which is interesting. he thinks of some garble text right before natsuki shows up to walk in on seeing yuri's dead body, meaning that mc was probably conscious that whole weekend 😭 and just had to stare at yuri's dead body. which is. something. but besides that, the exact moment is at the end of act 2 when monika deletes natsuki and yuri and tells the player to hold on for a second, only for the interface to glitch out ... which might be part of why mc doesn't have a chr file, dan salvato not seeing him as a character otherwise . I don't know. help

#ddlc #doki doki literature club #ddlc mc #because i talked about him too much because i have a PROBLEM.

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invested-in-your-future · 1 year

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do you think some rwby characters have been unfortunately unitentionally turned to mary sues/gary stus

Jaune. Jaune. Jaune.

Perfectly describes Jaune and I don't even know if unintentionally.

We started with an okay set-up - a screw up with all the wrong ideas about "being heroic" and all the insecurities about his masculinity learning to be his own person and learning to express himself is actually a pretty strong starter premise for a character. But at some point that turned into "a burdened man learning to be the HERO through SUFFERING and DYING WOMEN as everyone gets to understand his PAIN and how much he DIDN'T ASK FOR THIS"

The writers kind of...forgot that he isn't the protagonist and just a side-character? And then kind of gave him ALL the screentime and ALL the plotlines and ALL the importance.

SOMEHOW Jaune feels like both a self-insert OC, Author's Pet AND yet somehow also blank slate at the same time.

As far as Fanfic OC aspect goes, Narrative will ALWAYS find an excuse of just WHY Jaune should absolutely be involved in something. It's almost like plot can't be allowed to progress with him. There's a "slight"(understatement) change in how he is written after the first three Volumes in that the narrative intent is to frame him as the inspiring one, the heroic one, the one that comes up with various ideas and the one that is the "heart" of the story. Ironically that's also pretty common with fanfic OC self-inserts being added, as the first thing a person usually does is to try to find a reason on just why the character matters and why the character sticks with the "cool kids(original protagonists)". Maybe the protagonists have an issue, but the OC is there to come up with a solution?! Maybe the OC had a very sad past that he shares with the protagonists showing how much the whole situation thematically is about him too?! Maybe the OC has a History with one of enemies that makes them motivated to defeat them (so what if often the fanfic OC's "history/motivations" ends up overlapping with actual story protagonist's reasons to want to fight the said antagonist) - pretty often involving a dead LI. Suddenly its the OC who is having this journey while the protagonists of the story are along for the ride and are affected by his growth and actions.

As far as Author's Pet goes, the narrative will ALWAYS self-congratulate itself on Jaune's growth and progress and how much of a bigger-person he is in spite of all his Flaws(tm) and in spite of how much he "didn't ask for this". Let's say it again, but bit more bluntly - In a story where the main message just now was that trauma and flaws don't matter and the protagonist is flawless and psychological trauma isn't real, the narrative will STILL self-congratulate itself over Jaune's growth over...his flaws and trauma?! There's pretty clear-cut subconscious element to the character writing too as Jaune is the inexperienced youngster who is thrust into the role of leadership and is reluctantly leading the narrative forward, in spite of everyone (especially villains!) telling him of how he is not a hero and how this is a hard path to walk. He is overwhelmed by the responsibility but perseveres through all the loss and tragedy to inspire others and all other characters recognize his growth and note how much stronger and mature he is now and how he's wise now. Even if we ignore the absolutely clear-cut (un)intentional metaphor of "just two inexperienced white guys writing this huuuuge show" as Miles would likely put it, There's an intent behind the narrative to try to make him likeable. In fact there's more intent in trying to make JAUNE likeable than literally any other character in the story including the ACTUAL protagonists. The narrative DESPERATELY wants the audience to see him as the "heart of the story". The story by all means shouldn't be about Jaune or relating to Jaune or telling us how Jaune feels but the narrative absolutely bends over backwards to make it so. Which gets ESPECIALLY ridiculous when the writers try to find a reason to put Jaune together with the PROTAGONISTS in their Filler Character Development Goof Dimension.

Which leads to the blank slate part, because since narrative is trying extra hard to make the audience relate to Jaune's "just a normal guy" status, intentionally or unintentionally, the character does fit the "audience self insert" idea too - Jaune is written as non-descript enough for the audience to self-insert into him ( and the show actually manages to make him MORE non-descript in terms of appearance somehow), he is surrounded by all these larger than life characters (most of them women) telling him how much he has grown and travelling with him. Even villains(most of them women) focus on him and he gets to save others and tell others how much its all about him and his emotions and struggle. Sure there's trauma (that's fine because people inserting can just ignore it, like they always do), but there's also no lasting negative consequences for his actions so the audience doesn't feel bad about relating to him too much. Sure the premise started with him having flaws but "he changed" and there's no real effort to examine the consequences or meaning behind his actions or character tropes. If one didn't say the name of the actual show, the whole set up would be pretty close to a cheap light novel premise.

The sad part is I genuinely couldn't tell you if all of that is the writers of MilesWBY being THAT self-indulgent intentionally or if parts of it are just an unintentional result of bad writing.

#rwby #rwde

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alwaysbethewest · 2 years

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Kingsman fic: That's You for Me

Folks, you know that thing where you see a cowboy and you think, he's cute and all, but what if I wrote him as troubled and sad on New Year's Eve? Well—

Title: That's You for Me Pairing: Agent Whiskey/f!Reader Rating: Mature Word Count: 1.8k Content/warnings: alcohol, lingerie, a maudlin cowboy, established relationship, mundanity, softness, lap sitting, neither plot nor porn, kind of emotional hurt/comfort I guess? Reader is mostly blank slate but is described as having cleavage. Unbetaed but as always thank you to @mourningbirds1 and @fleetwoodmactshirt for being my sounding boards and cheerleaders 💞

It’s raining out, and the backseat of this car is a welcome refuge, warm and dry and clean. The driver has K-LOVE playing on the radio—quiet, contemporary love songs to Jesus after dark—and you wonder if he sees you as a soul in need of saving. You probably look the part—eye makeup overdone and smudged by now, and cleavage peeking out from under your coat. You’re buzzed on good champagne and mid-shelf vodka and you meet his eyes in the rearview mirror and give him a smile, because you can’t help it, because it’s New Year’s Eve and you’re filled with a sense of warmth and goodwill toward your fellow man.

Your own man had stayed home tonight, claiming a pile of work needed his attention, and the tone of his voice had told you it was an excuse, and the look on his face had told you not to push it, so you didn’t. The party was fun, even without him on your arm, but the want of him had been tugging you back home all evening and you’d bowed out well before midnight and summoned a cab.

The house is quiet, lit just enough for you to slip off your shoes and pick your way through the foyer and down the hall to the bedroom. You’re expecting him there, dozing already or relaxing with a book, ready to draw you in close and ring in the new year.

The bedroom is empty.

You wander through the house, making a detour to the kitchen for a glass of water and a plate of leftover iced sugar cookies from Christmas, and eventually you find Jack in the only place he ever could have been—his study.

It’s his favorite room in the house, the only one untouched by hired decorators or exes or you. It’s dark, and warm, and simple yet plush. His desk is massive, and he cuts an imposing figure behind it when he wants to. This room is designed to intimidate visitors as much as it is to suit himself.

Tonight, his posture is slumped in the sturdy desk chair, body half illuminated by the Tiffany-style table lamp to his right. The door is open, and you’re on bare feet, but he still catches you coming in and glances at his watch as he straightens upright.

“You’re back early,” he observes. “Welcome home.”

“Thank you.”

Under your feet, the carpet is soft. You dig your toes into the threads as you walk towards him, enjoying the sensation. You still have your coat on, and it makes you feel sexy, like showing up in nothing but a trench coat, even though you’re fully dressed. You pause by the side of his desk to set down your treats and make a show of slipping off the coat.

Jack pushes his chair back from the desk, leaning back, and looks you up and down. “Well, well, well. Those legs go all the way down to the floor, now don’t they.”

“Well, well, well,” you drawl, with a laugh, “where else would they go, honey?”

He waggles his eyebrows. “I can think of a few places.”

“Very clever,” you tell him dryly, but the champagne bubbling through your system must be impairing your judgment because you feel genuinely amused and can’t hold back a smile.

You slip in front of his chair, perching against the edge of the desk, and he swivels to face you head on, letting his gaze linger on your thighs where your hem is riding high. He’s taken by the sight, distracted from whatever he’d been at before you came in, but there’s a tightness around his eyes that you recognize, that you know won’t dissipate all that easy.

You cock your head, listening to the music he’s got playing quietly on the stereo system. It’s a woman’s voice, high-pitched and full of heartache, singing a song that you can’t quite place. It would sound sad even if you couldn’t make out the words.

“Tammy?” you ask. His eyes travel up to meet your own and he looks a little sheepish. He knows that you, more than anyone, can see right through him.

“She’s been keeping me company.”

You lift one foot and rub it against his ankle. He feels far away from you still, despite sitting right there.

“I would’ve stayed home with you,” you tell him.

He’s silent for a beat.

“I wanted you to have fun,” he says. He reaches past you to pick up the glass of whiskey on his desk, and then rolls in closer so you’re nearly touching.

You open your legs for him, making room for his knees between yours. He rests his left hand, broad and warm, on the bare expanse of your thigh, and takes a slow sip of his drink.

“Tell me about the party,” he says.

You brush your fingers over his knuckles, drifting your eyes down his body. He’s wearing a soft, dark blue cashmere sweater and well-fitting charcoal trousers. It’s an elegant look for lounging around the house, and for a moment you find yourself wishing he’d come with you tonight, just for the image you would’ve struck together, his subdued, clean lines and your sparkly, low-cut dress.

“It was fun,” you tell him. “Trace and Geri were there. They were sorry not to see you.”

He shifts his jaw, thoughtfully.

“I told them you had pressing work to take care of,” you assure him. “They understood. Geri said she’ll find a date to have us over for dinner soon. Just the four of us.”

He nods.

“Linda brought her new boyfriend,” you continue. “You would’ve hated him.”

Jack laughs, surprised. “Why’s that?”

You shrug. “Call it intuition.”

Call it the fact that the young man in question was clearly coked up all night, more like, but telling Jack that would ruin the good mood you’re trying to coax him into.

He makes a skeptical sound and slides his hand an inch higher, fingertips threatening to edge under the hem of your dress.

“What brought you home so early?” he asks. “I thought you’d be out past midnight.”

“The catering was no good,” you tell him. “And the music was too loud. And… I just thought—I would rather be here with you, anyway.”

He smiles, and shakes his head a little, like he doesn’t agree with your decision-making but appreciates the sentiment nonetheless. You reach your hand out to cup his jaw, brushing your thumb along his chin and up to the corner of his mouth, and you lean in closer, carefully, so he has nowhere to look but at you.

“Jack,” you whisper. “This is always where I’d rather be.”

He blinks, and you see something shift in his face—that tightness he’d been trying to mask momentarily relaxing away—a break in the self-punishing armor he’s put on tonight to keep everyone out. You’ve given him a statement of truth and he’s absorbing it now, reckoning with it, feeling the unhappy lies he’s told himself being tilted on their heads. He inhales, swallows hard, closes his eyes for a long moment. When he opens them again his face has gone a little softer, tension fading into relief, confusion turning to acceptance.

“Come here,” he murmurs, tugging at your hips.

He pulls you into his lap, straddling his thighs. Your dress rides up indecently and the space between you is shrouded dark and silky—his trouser fabric soft under your thighs and brushing through the thin layer of your underwear. His hands span across your back, holding you close and secure, and he tips his head up to press a kiss under your jawline before leaning forward and down to nose into the valley of your cleavage. He rests there for a long moment, just breathing in slowly, angling his head to arch into it when you scratch your fingers lightly into the hair at the nape of his neck.

“Nice perfume,” he says, muffled slightly against your chest.

“You gave it to me,” you remind him.

He hums, a self-satisfied sound. “I guess I have good taste.”

“I guess you do.”

He pulls upright again to look at you, and opens his mouth to say something, then hesitates. You wait him out, fingers still massaging at the back of his head, and after a moment he has that sheepish look again, see-through, like he’s remembering there’s no use hiding if it is from you.

“Thank you for choosing me,” he says quietly.

You feel something deep in your chest, a swell of tender affection for him overtaking you.

“Thank you for being everything I need,” you say.

He doesn’t shake his head this time. He searches your face, seeing the truth of it, and gives you a small, sincere smile.

He glances at his watch again.

“It’s only eleven. You want me to help keep you awake until midnight?”

“Yes please.”

“There’s a catch,” he warns you. You raise an eyebrow. “You have to take off this dress,” he says disapprovingly. “You look—incredibly sexy, but—those sequins are scratchy as a briar patch. I want to feel you.”

You laugh and gesture over your shoulder. “The zipper is right there, baby.” His hands are reaching for it before your sentence is complete, and your laughter at his haste gets lost in the slinky fabric pulling over your head as he takes the dress off you. He tosses it onto the desk and runs his hands down your sides, giving you a low whistle.

“That’s much better,” he says. “I guess I have good taste in lingerie, too.”

It’s warm in the study, and surprisingly comfortable sitting astride his lap in nothing but your bra and panties. He wasn’t wrong about the scratch of the sequins and how much nicer it is to touch your soft, bare skin. You lean forward, experimentally, and press your body to his, enjoying the luxurious feel of his cashmere sweater. You can smell the whiskey on his breath, pairing with your own warmly scented perfume, perfect complements to each other.

“I have a proposition for you,” you say.

“I like the sound of that.” He palms your ass and squeezes with intent.

“I’ll trade you one of my cookies for a sip of your whiskey.”

“A cookie—” He shifts under you, glancing around to find your plate of Christmas cookies. “Sugar, this is a two hundred dollar bottle of liquor. That’s just not a fair trade.”

You pull away, shooting him a small mock frown. “Two cookies, then.”

He looks calculating. “One cookie,” he says, holding up a finger, “and two kisses.”

“It’s really two hundred dollars?” you ask, and he nods. “Alright,” you decide. “One cookie, two kisses, and I’m going to throw in another one for free.”

“You’re a terrible negotiator,” he observes, but he doesn’t seem to mind it when you lean in for your kiss, and you don’t mind it either that you only get your whiskey half a dozen kisses later.

(teensy tiny tag list for this one: @loversandantiheroes, @pedrostories, @littlemisspascal, @thirstworldproblemss, @knittingqueen13)

#my fic #fanfiction #kingsman fanfiction #pedro pascal #agent whiskey #agent whiskey x reader #jack daniels x reader #agent whiskey fanfiction

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