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🌄 - 2

I just want them to be reunited 🥹

part 1

animation stills on my ko-fi

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The compulsion to genderbend the Batch has struck

They will be weirder

Also, Tech

Crosshair is in his/her Hot Topic phase and I hate it 😂

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They all guessed horribly wrong. (Omega wanted a lil' sister :[ )

Meme based on this [X]

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More Ghost Agents Civvies✨

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Neurodivergent Tech Week Day 2: Overstimulation/Sensory Overload

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A pattern

I am OBSESSED with the fact that Crosshair ship OCs are overwhelmingly ginger. I mean that in the best way. I've observed this pattern since 2022 and it continues to be the most constant part of the TBB fandom. xD

You all need to find each other, get on a Magma and all draw your OCs together around Crosshair. PLEASEEEE. And you can include the exceptions like shiny pokemon!! I will literally help kickstart this!!!

There are similar patterns too, like Tech OCs are overwhelmingly goth women.... I am also victim of this. Looks away

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A little something for @la-caerula-jedi21 .

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@genericficerblog

That is TOTALLY understandable; in a way, the line between demi/demi and aroace is so small that, while different, the two overlap so much it's seemingly the same thing from many angles. I personally LOVE demi headcanons, and honestly, the ship I explore could probably qualify as demi. 🤔 A ship doesn't really appeal to me if it isn't demi at a baseline.

But honestly, I really appreciate you, and it's alright. Acephobia is generally a common theme amongst fandom, due to society at large being very sexually focused. And that's not a bad thing at all - it simply means that generally speaking, we have to make the representation for ourselves. Star Wars and it's fandom as a whole are just extraordinarily toxic, and always have been. You would not BELIEVE the amount of hatebombing I've gotten purely for having different interests when it comes to TBB haha.

Funnily enough, I know some leaks about the upcoming book that largely disprove my HC for Tech; I fully expect to be harassed even more. Whether or not I'll stick around for it is another story. 😂 But I will absolutely do my best to stay strong and keep pushing for more aroace rep. ❤️

Let's talk about Aroace Tech.

There has never not been a time in this fandom where the existence of aroace headcanons for Tech has not been contested. As an aroace person who is also autistic, and who has been fighting the battle against acephobia in this fandom for almost 4 years now... I'd like to talk about that.

For the entire duration of my time in this fandom, I have always pushed for aroace acceptance and representation in fandom media. This has largely been through my personal content with Tech, and my introduction of an aroace partner for him. And while I have gotten overwhelming support for these two over the years, I have also been met with extremely concerning pushback.

Death threats, anonymous messages, angry shippers telling me that my interpretation of Tech as a character is wrong and harmful, despite it being a 1:1 reflection of my own identity. I write and treat Tech as aroace because it makes me feel seen. Me, who is of the type of person where representation is solely restricted to harmful stereotypes, has found immense joy and comfort in making Tech aroace.

I do believe that this largely comes from the wave of fandom purity culture that followed the dreaded virus. In an attempt to protect a certain group of people, those in fandom will try and erase anything that they deem as harmful to that group - often erasing the very group they meant to protect in the process.

In our fandom, this is VERY prevalent. So let me speak on behalf of the many autistic and aroace folks I've met when I say;

If you do not believe that Tech can be aroace, or are of the belief that it is a "bad stereotype" for autistic people, this tells us that you believe romance is the checkmark for maturity as a human being, and that a lack of romantic attraction makes someone less of an adult. This also conveys to us that you see romance as the sole thing that makes someone a human - Because you believe an aroace headcanon "dehumanizes" and automatically "infantalizes" an autistic person.

... Are you seeing the issue here?

Aroace people are not any less mature than anyone else, simply due to their lack of romantic attraction. Likewise, they are not less human because of that either. Aroace people like me make the choice not to pursue romantic relationships because we simply have no interest in it. I am a fully functioning adult with a vibrant life that is not lacking in any regard or capacity due to the absence of romantic or sexual relationships. It is insulting to me that people think of me as less "mature" or less "human" because of my own personal choice to exclude these factors from my life. Similarly, it is harmful to see people be so adverse to Tech headcanons of a similar nature, under the guise of these things inherently being 'bad'.

Now, here are some common arguments given to me against this.

- People use it as an excuse or to be harmful/ableist towards autistic people!

I will be completely honest; it is extremely easy to spot an aroace headcanon for Tech, or for any autistic character, that is intentionally malicious.

You'll often find that someone who creates this content is not shy about showing, writing or displaying Tech in ways that are evidently infantalized or dehumanizing. Simply look at the subtext. Is this person creating aroace content for themselves and their own representation, or are they doing it because they do not believe autistic people can feel attraction? Are they displaying this belief in their writing or art?

If they are? Block them. It's as simple as that.

- Tech can't be aroace because Phee exists!

To this, I have quite a number of responses.

Firstly, aroace people are more than capable of being in relationships with others. Both segments of the identity are a spectrum of attraction, and this spectrum will look different for everyone. To say Tech is aroace does not automatically void him of the potential of a relationship. I have many friends who write and view him as aroace, and maintain that in Techphee as a ship. I, myself, write him as being involved in an aroace relationship. I am in one myself. Being aroace does not suddenly mean you can't be in a relationship - it is meant to describe your experience with attraction.

Secondly, remember that Techphee as a ship is not canon. These are two characters who are not endgame, who are never in any formal relationship, and who never hold hands, kiss, or verbally affirm a relationship in any capacity. It is one-sided flirting. Even if the book expands on Tech's thoughts towards Phee and his mindset, the ending of the show will remain the same. It is perfectly reasonable that people may glean interpretations from this that align with Tech being aroace, adverse in various regards, etc. Likewise, it's perfectly fine to interpret the text as him being any other queer identity. Nobody is making you change your views, so please don't heckle others into doing the same.

Thirdly, remember that fandom is BUILT on the back of queer headcanons. If you trace fandom, OCs and the like back to their roots, all avenues will point you towards gay/mlm Star Trek content - even while the male characters in the show display open attraction to women. This has never stopped anyone, and it never will. Hell, Star Wars is built on it in a similar fashion. Despite Anakin and Padme being in a formal, canon relationship, there are THOUSANDS who write and treat Anakin as a gay man. The same applies for Obi-Wan and Satine, or even Ahsoka, who went as far as kissing Lux. Fandom is a means to represent yourself, and has always been a safe space for queer exploration. Do not exclude aroace people from that privilege.

- Why can't he just be happy?

This implies aroace people cannot be happy...? Which is a genuinely harmful rhetoric. To be happy and fulfilled in life does not mean one has to be in a relationship. It never has.

I am happy. Most aroace people I know are perfectly happy and content with their lives, their friendships and the connections with people they make. Our quality of life is not dampened by the lack of sexual or romantic connections we make. I'd argue it's bolstered by our ability to breeze through life without those aspects interrupting the things we want to do.

While this argument, and those who are angered by autistic/aroace headcanons ebb and flow like the waves, it is still disheartening to see the tides against aroace representation rise again everytime someone attempts to try and explore it. It makes me and many others feel unsafe and unwelcome in this fandom. I am frequently reminded of a Twitter post I made eons ago, which gained a small amount of traction on here...

In closing, let's all remember that we're here because we love Tech. He has been a massive milestone of importance in my life, as I am sure he has been for many others. We are all going to express our interest in this character in different ways - and that's okay! Do not rush to erase someone elses interpretation of a character simply because it is different than yours. Everyone has a right to explore this character, themselves, and anything else in their orbit.

Educate yourself on the topic of aroace identities, their frequency and relationship with autism, and how it impacts those who fall underneath both labels, as opposed to immediately running to cry "ableism".

Because whether you like it or not, there will always be autistic people who are aroace, and there always have been.

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Hello fellow biologist who loves the bad batch and art 😂 it’s a small world!

Hello!! <3 Always great to meet fellow TBB fans also pursuing biology, hehe! You wouldn't believe how many of us there are :0 We've all collected around these silly copy-paste men...

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New universal avatar everywhere of my beloved boy :) wasn't gonna post it but im too excited to. And now i can vanish again into the void LOL

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pay me child support

you literally stole my tralalero on steal a brainrot. that WAS my income

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do you think chuck is proud of you or does he think your think pieces on techphee are cringe

jokes on you, my dad has never been proud of me 💔💔💔 im fatherless AND cringe

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Hm

I think for my next big essay post, I need to get a buzzball or two, and start writing down how and why I believe The Bad Batch is an atrociously written show littered with failed payoff, scrapped potential and shallow achievements lol. Everything about how the show ended and the direction it went fires me up. It truly could have been so amazing had they just downsized the scope and actually gave each batcher properly development. Instead, we have Wrecker's dialogue being reduced to animalistic growling. LOL

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it's disappointing to see tech, a character who is very specifically coded as autistic, almost always referred to as vaguely 'neurodivergent' in fandom content- autism is not a dirty word, and we've already been erased so much within tbb fandom

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redraw of my favourite tech moment

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For me, the shipping depends on if I'm ovulating or not, LOL. most of the time im very romance repulsed. but every month for a few days, i consume it like crack. xD

Im 50/50 on Tech lives. I both enjoy him being dead per the narrative, but I also am writing a Tech-lives longfic. I think both are really interesting; i do enjoy him being dead in canon, I think. (Even if it breaks my heart. ToT)

rambles

Is anyone else just... a bit sad at how much fandom Tech content has been reduced to his death or to shipping?

It's like he's no longer his own character - all depth has been taken away. People only ever draw or take interest in him regarding Plan 99; if it's not Plan 99 and it's a 'Tech lives' au, his entire character centers around Techphee, as if both of them are devoid of their own individuality.

I rarely ever see content about just him. Even just familial art with him and his brothers. It's disheartening to see that what remains of Tech's fanbase only really hone in on those two things. I see amazing art for both, don't get me wrong; the plan 99 art is gut-wrenching, and Techphee artists are among the most talented in our community. But I want to see more. I want more of just HIM. Just him and his brothers, even. Or even him podracing, an AU where he becomes a famous racer, or scientist, or whatever!

If you read this, I challenge you to explore Tech more as his own entity. Explore TCW-era Tech, cadet Tech, anything. I'm starving for content and I need my fix. I'm making some myself as well, just to feed the machine (that is... also myself. xD) I do lots of shipping art for Tech, but believe it or not, I'm actually just more interested in him alone.