#above everything else that used to rank more highly

[reversatility1]

Warrior Nun: Beatrice’s journey reconciling the mission with her love for Ava was beautiful to behold

[sea-changed]

i. Reading Looking For The Good War has, among many other things, I think really helped me to clarify and articulate what I find so disquieting about "Points" as an episode. (Which is not all of it! There are certainly plenty of scenes that I find fascinating and/or enjoyable to watch.) But:

"It is much easier to tell a sentimental war story with a happy ending, in which valor eclipses causes and reconciliation triumphs over everything--a comedy, in other words--than it is to tell another, unsentimental kind of story." (page 89)

This is what it is, exactly--"in which valor eclipses causes and reconciliation triumphs over everything" could more or less be the logline of "Points." This is most egregiously evident to me in the scene of Nazi general's surrender, but the scene where Winters tells the Nazi officer to keep his sidearm is also I think highly indicative of this drive towards reconciliation, however rotten, above all else. And Samet articulates that wonderfully, and articulates as well the cost of this type of narrative:

"Yet sentimentality does more than shape the way we commemorate wars. It informs all those cultural and sociological attitudes in the shadow of which wartime and postwar policies are crafted, and it prevents a more productive and enduring sympathy that, in cooperation with reason, might guide our actions and help us become more careful readers of war's many ambiguities and false seductions." (page 83)

ii. The layers of dislike I have for the Nazi general scene are manifold; the mirroring of Winters and the Nazi general and thereby Easy Company with the Nazi soldiers feels incredibly sinister, perhaps most aggressively so in its weird push to rehabilitate the Nazis as soldiers, and thus to both foreshadow (within the world of the show) and echo (in the world of the audience) the archetypal defense that Nazi higher-ups would put forward at Nuremberg and beyond, that they were just following orders.

iii. The mirroring of Winters and Easy Company with the Nazis is clearly intentional, and somewhat bizarrely explicit ("You've found in one another a bond that exists only in combat among brothers") and maudlin (the panning shots over the Nazi soldiers' faces and wounds), and by the end the urge to parallel the two leaders and the two armies--indeed, to collapse one into the other, in order to make them functionally the same--seems to cause a sort of scriptwriting amnesia about who these words are actually being said by and to. Once again the greater historic context makes this especially chilling, Operation Paperclip being perhaps the most salient point to evoke. (I am also haunted, forever, by a statistic that Michael C. C. Adams cites in The Best War Ever, that a September 1945 survey of American GIs found that 22% believed the Nazi treatment of Jewish people to be justified. Granted, this survey would not have been taken using modern sampling methods, and who knows what the sample size was to begin with or what soldiers in particular were being surveyed. But still.)

iv. The scene leans heavily into the idea of a unique soldierly bond that unites not only each individual army within itself but bonds the two armies together. ("You've found in one another a bond that exists only in combat, among brothers who've shared foxholes, held each other in dire moments, who've seen death and suffered together.") Besides being disquieting for reasons I state above, I think it's notable that the Nazi general's speech emphasizing the brotherhood of soldiers happens directly after the short scene between Winters and Sobel, wherein Winters chides Sobel on a point of military ritual ("We salute the rank, not the man"). Sobel is outside the brotherhood; he doesn't understand how to be a soldier; whereas the Nazis are within the brotherhood, so much so that they are allowed to articulate its terms. (This is egregious no matter what, but becomes all the more so when it is framed as a Jewish man being excluded from the "club" of military brotherhood while WASP Americans and literal Nazis are allowed in.) (Meanwhile, Liebgott occupies a sort of bizarre placement in this scene, there to ventriloquize--indeed, perhaps neutralize, or even legitimize--the Nazi general's words, but not speak for himself.)

v. This gets to another point that Samet makes that stuck out to me, about the inherent tautology of military culture. She quotes William Styron, who in a 1964 review of General Douglas MacArthur's memoir said:

"Anyone who has lived as a stranger for any length of time among professional military men, especially officers, is made gradually aware of something that runs counter to everything one has been taught to believe—and that is that most of these men, far from corresponding to the liberal cliché of the super-patriot, are in fact totally lacking in patriotism. They are not unpatriotic, they simply do not understand or care what patriotism is. [...] A true military man is a mercenary [...] and it is within the world of soldiering that he finds his only home." (Samet quotes Styron on page 233; I'm quoting here from the full review)

The point of being a soldier is to be a soldier; the point of the military is to have a military. She also has this to say--especially saliently, I think, for obvious reasons--about Ambrose, and his perspective specifically in Citizen Soldiers:

"By means of emphasis and convenient omission, Ambrose preserves his focus on unity, not division; right, not wrong; liberation, not subjugation. Paradoxically, given that he makes so much of American idealism, he often subordinates a consideration of causes altogether to a veneration for the magnificence of the army itself. The creation of that army, rather than the victory it made possible, becomes 'the great achievement of the American people and system,' just as the nation's 'greatest nineteenth-century achievement' had been, according to Ambrose, 'the creation of the Army of the Potomac' rather than the end it eventually secured--the abolition of chattel slavery." (page 46)

Here we are back to the first Samet quote from above: valor eclipses causes and reconciliation triumphs over everything. To be a military man--to be part of the club, the brotherhood, the "bond that exists only in combat"--is to "subordinate a consideration of causes altogether to a veneration for the magnificence of the army itself." The country and the cause that the Nazi general and his soldiers fought "bravely, proudly" for become sublimated, while that bravery and pride, stripped of more specific meaning, is extolled. What matters, by the time this scene happens--and it's the last scene in the core section of the episode, followed only by the close of the frame structure with Winters and Nixon and then the baseball scene-cum-epilogue--is not the American cause that Easy Company was fighting for, and certainly not the Nazi atrocities they were fighting against, but rather a reconciliation that views the experience of war as preeminently important. Sobel, who did not experience combat, is dismissed; the Nazi general, who did, is legitimated.

vi. And that, I think, is the core of the message that Band of Brothers promotes. Fandom often refers to the show in passing as propaganda, but I'm not sure that really gets to the heart of what it is, in the end, saying. I would suggest that it's not merely propaganda; it's a recruitment poster. It's not selling truth, justice, and the American way (or if it is, it's doing so only incidentally); it's selling the experience of being in the military as a transformative and ultimately positive one, that unites (a certain subset of) men through the unique crucible of battle, beyond any concerns about what, exactly, one is fighting for. So long as you know when and how to salute, you too can be a part of the brotherhood.

vii. All of which gets back to the scene earlier in "Points," when the Nazi colonel surrenders to Winters. The colonel first makes the explicit parallel between the Nazis and the Americans, and between himself and Winters in particular: "I wonder what will happen to us, to people like you and me, when there are finally no more wars to occupy us." He serves to explicate here more or less exactly what I was saying above: he sees himself and Winters united as military men, above and beyond their particular countries and causes.

Winters doesn't look thrilled about the comparison--but then almost immediately tells the Nazi colonel to retain his surrendered sidearm. I suppose this is supposed to read as magnanimous and fair-minded on Winters's part, but it also serves to reinforce the Nazi colonel's own words, validating the colonel's prioritization of their shared military positions above and beyond their allegiance to the countries and ideologies they were (at least nominally!) fighting for. As the scene itself shows, giving up a sidearm is an expected part of the surrender process, both practically and symbolically; by refusing it Winters is stepping outside military precedent--indeed, bending over backwards--to help the Nazi colonel retain dignity as well as firepower. On its own it is, I think, a frustrating and uncomfortable scene; in the broader context of the episode it sets up and reinforces the Nazi general's speech later on and the ways that Winters and the show itself find meaning in paralleling and reconciling the Americans and the Nazis with one other. (The Nazi colonel knows how to salute; and when he does so, Winters salutes him back.)

viii. Of course it's historically true that American soldiers tended to identify with German soldiers and civilians much more than they identified with people from Allied countries, as Samet herself and even the veteran interviews at the beginning of "Why We Fight" document. (And I don't believe that paralleling the Americans and the Nazis is necessarily something to be dismissed out of hand.) But because the end of "Points" is so overtly sentimental, paralleling the Americans and Nazis serves not as an indictment of American soldiers' amorality but rather as a rehabilitation of the Nazi soldiers and officers as soldiers and a paean to military culture divorced from meaning or cause. As Samet says--"valor eclipses causes and reconciliation triumphs over everything." The military, as an institution, whether it be American or Nazi, becomes the greater good of the war; while the causes those militaries were fighting for become not only secondary, but recede entirely.

[kirarasdeliveryservice]

Hello, I was wondering if I could request a fem muzan x male reader? If not just the regular muzan is fine as well. And it's basically the Reader is an upper ranked demon. This takes place at the infinity fortress.

And could this be smut? With a top male reader?

Thanks if you do this!

P.S Everything else is your choice.

SPECIAL DELIVERY!

MUZAN KIBUSTUJI X M!READER

Genre: Smut

Format: Oneshot

WARNINGS: smut obv, cowgirl, muzan got boobies (homie still has a dick.), subby top m!reader, dommy bottom Muzan.

Silence filled the room as the upper moons awaited lord Muzan’s presence. You are one of them. Upper Moon 2, who fought Douma and put him in his place long ago.

Muzan praised you highly, you were considered his favorite.

Nakime announces Muzan’s return and strikes her biwa loudly. The noise echoed through the infinity castle.

The sound of doors sliding and clacking fills the room as Muzan is revealed. You gawked at how beautiful Muzan looked as he was in a rather feminine outfit. The black traditional kimono with long silky midnight hair tied into a large low bun.

He begins to commentate on the next missions that’ll be assigned to take down the slayers, to be honest, you weren’t paying attention all that well, you just kept your eyes on how attractive Muzan appeared that day.

After the meeting was done, Muzan held you behind.

“Dear [Y/N], were you paying any attention to what was said?”

He appears in front of you, holding your chin to face him. He smiles and kisses your forehead.

“I know you weren’t. Perhaps because you have something on your mind?”

He tilts his head as he stares you down. His gaze moves all over your body and immediately meets the raging bulge appearing from your pants, making itself known. Without any hesitation, Muzan begins to palm you.

“Would you like to sort this out?”

He gives you a sly smile as you whimper under his touch. “Yes, I would.” You mumble, hands gravitating to Muzan’s hips.

“Nakime, Please take us somewhere private.”

She sighs and begrudgingly strikes her biwa, causing you and Muzan to teleport to a room with a large Western-style bed.

“So worked up for me, [Y/N].” He laughs, walking to the bed and patting it. You nod and sit on the bed.

Muzan unties his obi and lets his kimono loosen up, causing it to fall and just barely cover his nipples. You stare at Muzan with big doe eyes as you neatly take off his clothes. Muzan replies with a soft giggle and a kiss on your forehead.

“Good boy,” Muzan says while making quick work of your clothes. Your dick springs up and slaps against your stomach. Precum leaks intensely from your swollen tip.

Muzan immediately begins to stroke you gently, watching your hips jerk for more friction while you whimper quietly. “Such a good boy for me.” He smiles and gives your tip a gentle kiss, which promptly makes you gasp.

“Lay down sweetie.” Muzan motions you with his hand and you of course listen, laying down on your back in the middle of the bed.

He crawls on top of you before moving down to your dick and slamming it into his mouth. You moan out, a rushed feeling of ecstasy and pleasure washes over you as you feel the warmth and slippery inside of his mouth. Your body begins to shake as these feelings overwhelm it, breath staggering.

After a while of toying with you and watching your reactions with pure joy, Muzan takes you out his mouth and crawls above you, angling you to his entrance.

Once found the proper placement, Muzan sat down. You immediately react to the tightness and warmth of it all. You whimper loudly, gripping the sheets harshly.

“Ready darling?” Muzan whispers, softly grinding on you. You can only nod before Muzan rises and slams down on you at a slowly accelerating pace. You whimper and moan each time he reaches the base, back arching and tears streaming down your face.

“Oh my gods.” You moan out, gripping Muzan's fatty hips and leaving bruises. He does not falter, stripping you of any cognitive thinking as you drown in waves of pleasure and warmth.

He reaches a fast and rough pace, making you see stars every time he slams down harshly. He is groaning and growling lowly while concentrating on you.

God, you have never felt so special and wanted before and you were enjoying every second, becoming a whiny moaning mess under his grasp. You begin to thrust into him, syncing yourself with his movements.

Tears are falling on your face at a rapid pace as you lose total control of your body and the only name you know is Muzan’s. Moaning his name out every 5 seconds.

At this point you have no fucking idea who you are, only knowing Muzan and his body. All you can do is make noises and jerk around while drowning in the ocean’s worth of ecstasy you’re experiencing right now.

You have always wanted to do this with Muzan and fantasized about it often. But, this pleasure could never compare to your thoughts or hand.

You reach your climax quickly, thick and sticky strings of cum filling Muzan. Your breath is irregular as you try to catch it, recovering from the moment.

“No no, I am not done yet.” He whispers as he kisses you. He continues his pace but it becomes more erratic and uneven. Muzan soon climaxes too, white liquid covering your chest, neck, and chin.

Muzan stays on top of you, catching his breath while tracing patterns into your skin with his fingertips. “Next time, pay attention.”

He smiles as he brings you into a soft yet passionate kiss, the sweat on the two of you causing you to stick together, the cum on you not helping.

“Thank you, Lord Muzan.” You pant out, releasing your iron grip from his hips.

A/N: This is my first time writing smut, so I hope I did okay! Sorry for it being so short, I think I could’ve done more but I didn’t know how to execute it properly. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed it! I had a lot of fun writing this.

-Kirara

[ysljoon]

I love all the things u wrote so far. Got a headcannon/ fanfic of Ghost with a fem! Reader thats a higher rank then him. Like a colonel or, idk Admiral. What woukd he act like? Whats the smut with it? Hehehe, asking for a friend

simon 'ghost' riley subordinate headcanons

warnings: afab reader (callsign cinder), smut (nsfw under the cut), fingering (f receiving), doggystyle, creampie, porn with very little plot a/n: thank you sm anon I hope this meets your expectations bbg. i made the reader a captain because when I was doing research for this i found out a colonel was like three ranks above a lieutenant and i thought that was too severe of a rank gap 😭 MINORS DNI (have your age in your bio or you're getting blocked)

When he heard someone was being added onto TF141 and they were a higher rank than him he was very curious as to who could do more than what he already does???

He’s literally Price’s right hand man and having someone take his spot took a huge blow to his ego (he wouldn’t ever vocalize that out loud tho) 

When you walked into the briefing room he just thought you were a recruit that got lost

He was about to tell you off to go somewhere else until Price was walking up to you with open arms 

“Cinder, good to see you’ve finally made it!” He brought you to the front of the room so everyone could fully see who you were

“Everyone, this is Cinder, our newest addition to the team! Treat her with respect especially since she is also a captain and will be taking my place for this mission since my expertise is needed elsewhere as per Laswell’s request”

All of the 141 stared at you with wide eyes when they’ve come to the realization that you were going to be the one in charge instead of Price except for Ghost

Through the mask you couldn’t tell but he was disgruntled by it all

You booted up the projector and got to explaining where the task force was going and your roles in this mission

Ghost seemed to find the ceiling a lot more interesting that what was being shown on the screen and paid no mind to what you were talking about

“Lieutenant, I hope you’ve caught everything I’ve presented to you so far about this mission as it is crucial to not have any mistakes so it all runs smoothly.”

He lets out a deep sigh and makes a move to the door but stops momentarily before he leaves

“I heard you loud and clear Captain. I will see you at 0400.” and with that he snuck out without another word

You cleared your throat and finished presenting and answering any questions Soap and Gaz had about the mission before concluding it.

You sighed once they were all gone from frustration and headed to your office to finish up paperwork that Price had given you and decided to use some free time to brush up on your shots at the gun range

In the gun range you saw Ghost there, but decided to ignore him. If he didn’t want to give you the respect you deserved that was fine as long as he still finished his job without any hitches and wasn’t out of line with you

You were loading your magazine when you felt his eyes on you and just lingering on you without him saying a word

You paid him no mind until you felt his presence looming behind you just as you were about to get into position to shoot

“Lieutenant, what are you doing? This is highly inappropriate!” You whipped around to be face first with his chest and almost collided with him

“I don’t know what it is that you do to me, but you make me lose all self fuckin’ control.”

Before you could even question what Ghost was going on about he wrapped an arm around your waist and lifted up the bottom half of his balaclava and smashed his lips against yours.

You melted against his touch and pressed yourself closer to him to deepen the kiss

His thick hands traveled down to your ass and gave it one hard slap that had you moaning out 

His gloved hand came to cover your mouth and whispered breathily into your ear that gave you goosebumps all over, “Keep yourself quiet if you don’t want to get us caught. It would look worse for you, than for me sweetheart.”

You nodded obediently and with precision he undid your belt and was unbuttoning your tac pants  and letting them drop to your ankles.

He rubbed circles on your clit through your panties and he was reveling in seeing the wet spot grow bigger the more he worked on your swollen pussy.

With his gloves still on he inserted two fingers inside your tight hole and the sensation had your back arching and you whimpering from how good it felt

The ribbed texture on the fingertips for grip had you squirming as they were pumping in and out of you and you started to tremble as you felt your first orgasm about to overtake you.

“Ghost please keep on going. I wanna cum so bad.” “I know, I know I want you to make a mess all over my fingers and have you lick it all up.” he was cooing at you and in any other instance it would’ve felt patronizing but you were loving it right now.

Ghost felt your pussy tighten around his fingers as your orgasmed and he let out a groan just imagining how it would feel around his cock.

In an instant his fingers were out of you and he was feverishly working on getting his pants down so he could fuck you.

Right as he slipped his large cock into you he stuffed his wet fingers into your mouth to keep you quiet.

“Such a good girl for me taking my cock and sucking on my fingers. I would’ve never taken you for such a slut, sweetheart.” 

His was thrusting so hard it was lurching your body forward and you were on your tippy toes as his pelvis was slamming against your ass and filling the room with that sound

“Fuck you feel so good around me. I feel you about to cum sweetheart your pussy is just sucking me in so deep.” He threw his head back and was gripping your hips tight enough to leave bruises as you were creaming down his shaft

“Sweetheart I’m about to cum where do you want me?” “C-cum inside me please  I wanna feel all of you.” you were mewling and pleading for his cum and this was enough to have him groaning and spilling his seed deep inside your pussy.

Once he slipped out his softening cock and pulled up your panties and gave a small tap to your pussy before situating himself back into his pants.

“Keep my cum in there for safe keeping, beloved. I’ll see you at 0400 tomorrow.” 

And with that Ghost had left you there with your mind still hazy. You needed to get it together fast before the mission tomorrow.

[velvet-vox]

Alright, so, the survey is finally up, and judging by the results and considering where most of my audience members come from, I assume you want more of the crazy cannibalistic russian content, which, credit where credit is due, I kind of inevitably called upon myself.

While it's going to take a while before I can put out that analysis in particular, I wanted to use this moment to talk about something that I've somewhat alluded to in the past, but I never actually realised in words:

This scene.

Is the most interesting scene in Murder Drones.

I'm actually unsure whether or not it's just my (un) conditional love for Doll that makes me rank this particular scene so highly in the grand scheme of things, but after some time of revaluation, I can confidently say that this is my favourite scene in Murder Drones, and it's exactly because, at face value, it's completely whortless.

If you still haven't realised the frames in question, it's the scene from Episode 5 where Doll thanks Khan for raising Uzi as a good daughter right after she stole the Cabin Fever key bug from our trio.

I love this scene.

While I have analysed it already when making my argument of Doll actually trying to form connections (in her non - neurotypical way), here I just want to tell you what stands out to me about this scene.

Murder Drones main problem, as of right now, is his insane and unsustainable pacing that puts the story above everything else; the character interactions, as a result, often happen in conjunction with the plot, as a way to enhance it, or as a result of it. And said character interactions are also locked up in extremely strict and rigid roles:

Doll is Uzi's foil and vice versa.

Uzi x N is Doll x V counter ship and vice versa.

Thad is to Uzi and N what Lizzie is to Doll and V.

Nori and Yeva are the foil relationship of Uzi and Doll.

Khan and Doll's dad are... well at least theoretically.

So, whenever there's an interaction on screen, it tends to fall into one of these preestablished roles in the relationship chart.

But here instead, we get an interaction between Doll and Khan, two characters that have almost no reason to talk to each other, not just now but generally ever, having a useless 10 second long interaction, and the reason why this interaction grabs me so much is because this is exactly what the show needed up to this point.

Less of the rushed end of the world plot and more of "traumatized serial killers trying and failing to find a place in the society they've harmed. Also teenage drama". It doesn't matter how good you think your story is, if it doesn't have the proper time to develop, then it's only a mere skeleton of the actual story you wanted to tell.

There are various interpretations that can be gathered from this scene, many already formulated by other members, one of which is the possibility of Liam Vickers not being the one who wrote it (my theory), but for now, I just really wanted to appreciate this as a standalone moment for its simplicity.

Want more?

[tryslora]

Support your favorite creative(s) this season!

So, it’s the holiday season (for values of holiday which can be anything you care to celebrate during the winter months) and you would like to support your favorite creative(s). What are some good ways to do that?

Tell the world about them

If someone is a favorite of yours, there’s a good chance that you know someone else who will enjoy their work. Signal boost the creative’s posts. Create your own post with links to their work. Showcase some of your favorite pieces of theirs with a snippet and a link to the original. Talk about why you love the work (trust me, your favorite creative will love to hear this just as much as your friends will appreciate finding out about something new).

Important side note which I know you know but it bears repeating: please reblog and link to your favorite creative’s posts; do not repost their material. Reposting might sound like a great way to show off what the creative does, but it doesn’t help anyone find them. Please be considerate.

Post reviews of their work

Instructions for this depends on what type of creative you are following. If they are a writer, leave a review on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, B&N, whatever platform you choose. Positive reviews are how writers get discovered.

If your creative is an artist and has a platform where they offer commissions, leave a review there if appropriate. Give them five stars. Help your creative climb the ranks from unknown to well-reviewed!

Follow them on social media

If your creative has a list of social media accounts, follow them! This gives you a better chance to help signal boost their cool stuff (as well as hearing about it when they post!). It also gives you a chance to interact, and to see what they’re like when they aren’t creating. If you like their creations, you might have other things in common. 

Does your creative have a newsletter? Subscribe! You can even forward copies to your friends if there’s something really cool you want to share. A Patreon? Check to see if they have free material posted. Many Patreons allow people to follow at a free level, and while there might be paywall-locked material, there might be unlocked material as well.

Social media is wide and varied these days, with everything from Bluesky and Mastodon, to old-school Facebook pages, to even older-school platforms like Dreamwidth. Don’t forget the little known Pillowfort, or the highly fannish Tumblr. Even better, be aware that your creative may present different faces in different spaces. They are just as human as the rest of us!

Talk to them

I’m serious! Being a creative is like shouting into the abyss… if the abyss happens to shout back, that’s emotional food that can sustain a creative for days. Most creatives have several places where they can be found, either for private communication (check to see if they accept messages/DMs/emails first, please) or for public conversation (social media can be wonderful!). 

Create a transformative work

This won’t work for all creatives. BUT. If your creative is a writer, I would place a bet that they would LOVE fanart of their work. Or maybe that’s just me.

Buy their stuff

Yes, this one requires money, and I am well aware that most of us don’t have the budget for monetary support. And that’s fine! As shown above, there are so many other ways to support your creative and help them grow. But if you do have the budget, picking up copies of their work means you can get great gifts for your friends (and help spread the word!). And if you’re up for it, monthly support via Patreon, or random tips are always nice and appreciated things.

Ask them what will help

In the end, every creative has their own list of things that will help them most, and almost every single one would be happy to tell anyone what would help Right Now.

I’m putting this next bit behind a cut/read-more/clicky-link — whatever is appropriate to the platform you’re reading this on. Because this is the personal bit where I add links to the places you can find me. 

And if you are a creative and you are reblogging this on a platform which allows reblogs, please add your own list of helpful information. If it’s a place with comments, please comment! I want to help by giving other creatives a way to get information out.

Where can you find me…?

TrisLawrence.com is my professional website, with blog posts, upcoming appearances, and links to where to find my Stuff.

I post blog entries on Tumblr, Pillowfort, and Dreamwidth (which mirrors on Livejournal and Insanejournal).

I babble randomly on Bluesky and Mastodon. While I exist on Twi-X, I no longer post there.

I have a professional Facebook page. I have an Instagram. I have a TikTok that I am trying to learn how to use.

I am also active in several Discord communities, if you happen to find me there.

Want to support me? -- Patreon | Ko-Fi | Reblog & Comment

Want to hear more from me? — Join my mailing list

[smokinsid]

Meet Gravewatcher Siobhan. Shiv, to her friends.

Shiv is a paranormal investigator and archaeologist, fascinated with the ancient origins of life on Tyria and the intricacies and interplay of the material world and the Mists. A fast friend to the Deldrimor and a committed Priory scholar, she got her "Dark Souls"-esque name from her habits- rather literally, she watches graves.

During the Risen incursions following Zhaitan's rise to power, she served the Pact in her own grim but highly necessary way- walking between fresh graves with lamp and censer, driving off corruption in the soil, diverting Zhaitan's influence away from fallen soldiers in times where the magic was too rampant to purify.

She remained with the Pact for some time following the showdown in Orr- when news of Zhaitan's fall reached Fort Trinity, she was already on a ship heading toward Siren's Landing for continued investigations.

It wasn't until long after the events that shook Maguuma- she thought it best to sit Mordremoth out, given her already-malleable state of mind- that she left her little patch of Orr to serve the world's best interests again.

The Thunderhead Peaks were calling.

Between Ogden Stonehealer's observations recorded at the Priory, the various ruins she'd explored, and the numerous conspiracy theories she'd entertained herself with while digging up Orr's beaches, she was ready to involve herself in history and get some answers.

Some distinguish themselves with acts of great valor or daring. Shiv rose through the ranks as if steadily walking, one at a time, at a pace she set- an explorer until it served better to be a magister, a magister until her studies called for the access afforded to Priory archons.

It was from this position of magical affluence that she investigated the Great Dwarf- and began to seek linkages between the Eternal Alchemy and rituals of collective consciousness. Her theory held that all things were conscious- and that by mapping that consciousness with techniques similar to those used by Omadd's machine, an individual could- in essence- get a message out to all creation.

More practical means won out- before long the soldiers were beating Kralkatorrik's crystallized blood into spears and swords, and that was a good deal more straightforward than trying to map his brain and then solve it like a Rubik's cube.

But somehow she knew she wasn't done playing with the Eternal Alchemy. Some might've taken Scarlet Briar's dangerous foibles as an object lesson in not playing with cosmology, but when Cantha opened up to the world, she was quick to hop a ship and race to Echovald Forest.

She had heard a thing or two about Wardens, and needed very much to prove a point.

Their unity with Urgoz was a little too similar to the Rite of the Great Dwarf. Were they another inroad to map the way minds could connect?

If there was any hope of finding out, it was swallowed by the crisis in the Jade Sea. She, like everyone else, had to rush east and put her magic to good use to keep the continent- and so much beyond it- from being consumed by dragonvoid.

But now?

Now there's wizards. Wizards explicitly keeping secrets in their flying castle high above Tyria, watching the world churn below.

Shiv wants in. It's time to connect all the red twine on her corkboard and crack the case on whether consciousness in Tyria is all linked, and whether the will of one is the same as the will of the world.

If she can prove this, it has the potential to change everything. Change how Tyrians at large understand each other.

If it takes looking a little crazy to get to that point, she can live with that!

[cryptidcalling]

Things that are true about Vesper:

-Ungodly stubborn. Just so incredibly frustratingly stubborn. Even with Pansa, though to a somewhat lesser extent. He's not stubborn about everything, and he's not completely unreasonable, but if he's decided to stick to something then changing his mind is like trying to pry gorilla glue off a flytrap. Possible, but a lot more effort than it's worth, and you're probably just gonna end up stuck too.

-Bad at self-care. Not on purpose, but because he doesn't usually think about it or prioritize it. There's always something more important for him to be doing with his time than leisure. Work, field missions, combat training, occasionally working with lower-ranked military members who are skilled enough to be worthy of his time (though he's certainly not anybody's mentor), Hell he'll even do street patrols sometimes if he really feels like he's got nothing else to do. As much as he enjoys working on engineering projects, spending time with Pansa or the LTs, or taking his spaceship for a cruise, he has a hard time justifying why he should do those things when there's more important stuff to get done. +He's thankfully not too bad about meals. Sometimes he forgets to eat because he's so busy, but he rarely (though still occasionally) ignores his hunger for the sake of working. Sleep is a different story though. -Eternal busybody. This follows from the last point, but this extends beyond his personal guilt over not using his time on "valuable" matters. He just sucks at chilling out. He likes, almost needs, some kind of task or activity to keep his attention. Preferably this is something physical and either useful challenging, like tinkering with technology or getting some kind of chore done like cleaning or organizing. He doesn't really enjoy reading for entertainment and he loathes paperwork, but he would gleefully do either of those before having to go to a meeting or a gala where he has to just sit patiently. And god forbid anyone tries to put him on R&R, he's practically allergic to bed rest. It takes maybe an hour of laying around before he's gone fully stir-crazy and has run off.

-Proud. Vesper's no egomaniac, but he can't deny that he thinks highly of himself and his skills. He'll very calmly concede to not being the best at many things. He's not a chef or an artist, he could never be an actor, and even if he enjoys dancing there are easily millions of beings out there who could make him look pitiful by comparison. But as a combatant? A general? A spaceship pilot? The emperor's most trusted and beloved right-hand man and confidant? Nobody in the entire universe can compare. And this pride can also make him react quite negatively to having his ego bruised. Sometimes he'll react with disdain, getting needlessly aggressive and picking fights with whoever embarrassed him. Other times he'll just shy into himself and find somewhere to escape to, usually too embarrassed to show himself for a few hours, even days if it's bad enough. He's not above a good wallow in self-pity (though he'd of course deny that statement emphatically). Both reactions can be,, childish, but hey... he can't be good at everything. +The latter reaction usually happens when he's actually lost or been proven wrong fair and square, while the former happens if someone's being insulting or has revealed some secret that he deems embarrassing. -Protective. This applies most to people. Not just his loved ones, but he considers every citizen of the empire to be under his protection and he works hard to ensure everyone's safety. But Vesper is also protective of other things. He's protective of ideals, willing to argue over why something he did was right even if it breaks some sort of rule. He's protective of his space, very cautious about letting people into his personal areas like his living quarters or even the drawers in his office. He's protective of objects too, if he's attached enough to them. Mainly that's gifts from close friends, but he'll also maul someone if they damage his collection of spaceships, and he's also got a growing collection of antique radios (both the music sort and the communication sort) and blueprints that he keeps very safely locked up in his chambers. -Loyal. Vesper's got a lot of qualities that can make it hard to really get close to him, as seen above. But for the people he does let in, he'd go to the ends of the goddamn universe to keep them safe. He's not the best at expressing it, but he does what he can.

[anryuuepic]

Whimsy Del Rayo Bio

Name: Whimsy Del Rayo

Species: Daryan

Race: Bluescale

Role: An Assistant-rank member of Winterkill Works, who works directly under Ethereal. Formerly part of a small-time cult, he was so thoroughly indoctrinated that he now can’t function without an object of worship. Currently, this role is filled by Ethereal, and he serves her zealously.

Affiliation: Winterkill Works, unnamed cult

Gender: Male

Age: 33

Height: 6’7

Appearance: Whimsy is a tall, thin man with a lean, lanky build. His skin is fair, his hair is golden blond, chin-length, shaggy, and a perpetual mess, his face is narrow and sharp, and he’s almost always bearing a wide, slightly unhinged grin. He hides his eyes with a blindfold (using magic to substitute for his vision) and adorns himself in colorful, brightly patterned clothes.  

Personality: Above all else, Whimsy is highly eccentric. He’s emotional, animated, and excitable, as well as prone to frequent, intense mood swings. While his behavior is always a little off, he’s generally an easygoing, light-hearted person who doesn’t pick fights or involve himself in conflict. However, his early years in the cult also gave him a highly warped perception of morals and what’s “justified”, and that comes with a strange, almost out-of-character tendency for violence when he feels it’s deserved. He’s very weak-willed on his own, not knowing how to live without having someone or something to revolve his life around— and because of that, he’s prone to all-consuming obsessions with the things that captivate him.

Positive Traits: While he does come across as strange, Whimsy is generally pleasant and easy to get along with. He’s a peaceful sort who prefers to avoid conflict and disagreements, and is most often seen in a cheerful mood. He’s highly passionate and devoted; when he finds something he believes in, he dedicates himself to it in full. Emotionally intelligent, he’s skilled at swaying people to his side. Patience comes easily to him, and he’s the type to be content with what life hands him, so long his as basic needs are met.

Negative Traits: Whimsy’s worst trait is that he’s a terribly weak-willed individual who struggles to stand on his own. When he doesn’t have something to base his entire life and personality around, he can barely function. He’s prone to changing his personality to suit whatever a situation calls for, although his mood swings and overly emotional tendencies shine through no matter how hard he tries to act otherwise. Obsessive and warped, he’ll do whatever his “idol” tells him to, no matter the act. 

History: Whimsy spent his early years in a backwoods cult of an unclear nature. Whatever happened to him there was far from healthy, but he remains convinced that everything he experienced during his childhood was perfectly normal. When the cult was dissolved, he was aimless, with nothing to live for... right up until he met Ethereal. He dedicated himself to her from that point on (as his new cult leader, more or less), and later followed her to Winterkill Works when she was “hired” as a Super Executive. 

Relationships: Whimsy’s main relationships are with Lux and Ethereal. He’s social enough with others, but most people find him mildly creepy, at best. While he bears no ill feelings toward her, Lux generally dislikes him as well, though she does respect him for their shared loyalty to Ethereal. Ethereal is the person who’s most fond of him, overall, and Whimsy’s devotion for her knows no bounds. His life revolves around her in every way. 

Interests: Whimsy likes bright colors and wild fashions, people with strong leadership, and having something to dedicate himself to. He dislikes being on his own, bright lights, and anything “unjust”. His only clear personal interest is attending to Ethereal, including whatever that may require. 

WW Role: As an Assistant-rank member of Winterkill Works, Whimsy’s job is to assist a chosen Super Executive however they may require it. He serves under Ethereal, although that job often resembles babysitting more than a boss-and-subordinate relationship. He tries to help other Assistants with their work as well, though most often, these attempts are refused.

Miscellaneous: Whimsy claims he wears the blindfold because too much light hurts his eyes. However, it seems that there may be a deeper reason behind it. Despite Lux’s general dislike of him, Whimsy remains optimistic that they’ll someday be friends. Since he grew up in a highly rural area, he doesn’t do well with cities... and can be highly ignorant about how life in them works. He speaks of the cult he grew up in with nothing but fondness, and is entirely oblivious to it when others try to tell him otherwise. He’s highly adept with magic use, especially the kind he uses to “see”. 

Connotative Description: A former cult member whose experiences in his youth warped his idea of how to live on his own. He has to have a cult leader-like figure to function, and his morals solely revolve around them.

[rabiakhatun]

How to Drive Traffic to Your Website Using Guest Posting

Some people think that having great content is the ideal way to drive visitors to their site. This is not true to some extent.

I have experienced and learned a lot from my short blogging journey. I was very sad when no one commented on my first blog post. I had great content, but no one bothered to respond. I started commenting on other blogs. Then bloggers started visiting my blog and returned the favor. I learned that I must get out of there. People need to know about me.

The same goes for traffic. Know where your traffic is and try to get it to your blog. The best way to do this is through guest posting.

I know what you're thinking guest posting takes time. This is unquestionably true. But don't forget that the most rewarding things take time. This doesn't apply to guest posting, but to everything else.

Take link building as an example. Links that are easily found have the lowest value. If you submit your site's URL to thousands of directories in less than 5 minutes, you won't get much value. These links are very easy to get and therefore, they have no value in the eyes of Google.

Getting valuable links from Google and other search engines is difficult. Some of these are editorial/contextual links. Links surrounded by this content. These are hard to find. So they are highly valued. This is to tell you that the harder you try, the better.

Go back to guest posting. What makes it so effective?

Guest posting refers to writing a blog post for another blog to get more exposure. You choose a blog that drives a lot of web traffic and has a good reputation in search engines, and you write a post for it. How can it benefit you?

First, the blog has readers, right? Those visitors will read your posts and visit your website or blog. You need to include some links in your post to generate traffic.

Second, the links you use in your guest posting are called editorial/contextual links. They're surrounded by relevant text. Hence they are very valuable from a search engine point of view. If you write a lot of guest posts you will get higher rankings and ultimately more search engine traffic.

To find blogs that accept guest posts, you can search using these terms:

"Write for us"

"Write a Guest Post"

"Become a Guest Blogger"

"Submit Guest Post"

But to take full advantage of guest posting, you need to use it correctly. To choose the right blog you need to keep these things in mind:

Check how much traffic the blog gets

Check how many comments it gets

Check if people tweet the posts

Check if people share posts on Facebook

Check the number of blog followers (Feedburner, Twitter, Facebook fan page, etc.)

Check how often the blog is updated. You should choose blogs that are not updated very frequently. This way, your guest post will get a chance to stay on the home page for a long time. Imagine the blog is updated daily. Your guest post will soon disappear and you won't get any traffic.

The above are valuable tips for generating web traffic through guest posting. This is the best traffic generation method in my book. Use it and you will see how powerful it is.

[totalseo92]

The Future is Here: Jaipur’s Next-Gen Web Design Innovations

Jaipur, famously known as the 'Pink City' for its historic charm and architectural wonders, is now also paving its path in the digital world. The metropolis is rapidly becoming a hub for some of the most innovative web design solutions in the industry. In today's article, we'll delve deep into the heart of Jaipur's digital renaissance and uncover why the city's web design firms stand out as the best.

1. Blending Tradition with Modernity

One of Jaipur’s most noteworthy strengths in web design is its ability to merge the city’s rich cultural tapestry with the demands of modern design aesthetics. Web designers here use motifs, colors, and patterns reminiscent of Jaipur’s royal history, creating a unique digital experience that is hard to find anywhere else.

2. Responsive Designs for the Mobile Era:

As more and more users access the internet via mobile devices, Jaipur’s design firms ensure that their creations are fluid, responsive, and mobile-friendly. This adaptability guarantees an optimal user experience regardless of the device being used.

3. User-Centered Approach:

Jaipur's web designers emphasize user experience. By utilizing cutting-edge user interface techniques and prioritizing user feedback, these professionals craft sites that are not only visually appealing but also highly functional and user-friendly.

4. SEO-Optimized Designs:

An aesthetically pleasing website is of no use if it doesn't rank on search engines. Jaipur’s web design agencies understand this and incorporate Total SEO solutions from the ground up, ensuring that the websites they craft rank well and remain visible in the ever-competitive digital space.

5. Innovative Use of Technology:

The best of Jaipur's web designers are always on the lookout for new technologies. Whether it’s integrating AI, VR, or the latest in animation, they ensure that they are always ahead of the curve, offering Next-Gen solutions to their clientele.

6. Custom Solutions for Every Need:

Rather than offering one-size-fits-all solutions, Jaipur’s agencies pride themselves on crafting custom web designs tailored to each client's specific needs, ensuring maximum effectiveness and uniqueness.

7. Affordability without Compromising Quality:

Jaipur’s web design agencies offer some of the best services at competitive rates. They manage to deliver top-notch quality without breaking the bank, making them an attractive choice for businesses both big and small.

8. Client-Centric Services:

One of the cornerstones of Jaipur’s success in the web design industry is its focus on building long-lasting relationships with clients. These agencies prioritize client satisfaction above all, ensuring that they always deliver beyond expectations.

9. Ongoing Support and Maintenance:

The journey doesn't end once a website goes live. Jaipur’s design firms offer unparalleled post-launch support, ensuring that their creations continue to operate seamlessly and stay updated with the latest in technology and design.

10. Total Digital Solutions:

Beyond just web design, many of Jaipur's agencies offer comprehensive digital solutions, from SEO and content marketing to PPC campaigns and social media management. This all-round approach ensures that businesses have everything they need to succeed in the digital realm under one roof.

11. Embracing E-commerce Innovation:

In the current digital age, e-commerce is the driving force behind many businesses. Jaipur’s web design agencies have recognized this trend and are equipped with the skills to create highly efficient e-commerce platforms. These platforms are designed to provide a seamless shopping experience, incorporating features like intuitive product search, secure payment gateways, and effective product display mechanisms.

12. Harnessing the Power of Data:

Data is the new gold in the digital world. Web design firms in Jaipur are integrating advanced data analytics tools into their designs. This not only helps businesses understand their audience better but also tailors the user experience based on individual preferences, ensuring a more personalized interaction with the site.

13. Integrating Social Media Seamlessly:

The influence of social media in today's world is undeniable. Recognizing its power, Jaipur's design agencies ensure that websites they design have seamless social media integration. This allows businesses to expand their reach, engage with their audience on multiple platforms, and drive more traffic to their websites.

14. Prioritizing Website Security:

With the increasing threats of cyber-attacks and data breaches, website security has become paramount. Jaipur’s agencies place a strong emphasis on ensuring that the websites they design are secure. From SSL certificates to regular security audits, they implement measures to safeguard both the website and its users.

15. Training and Workshops:

Many web design agencies in Jaipur go a step further by offering training sessions and workshops to their clients. This empowers businesses to make minor updates and changes to their sites without always relying on external help, ensuring a more sustainable and cost-effective solution in the long run.

16. Evolving with the Digital Landscape:

The digital world is ever-evolving. What's trendy today might be obsolete tomorrow. Jaipur’s design firms are committed to continuous learning. They are always on the lookout for the latest design trends, ensuring that the websites they create are not only relevant today but are also future-proof.

17. A Hub of Creative Minds:

Jaipur has become a magnet for creative talent. With several design schools and institutes in and around the city, there's a constant influx of fresh, innovative minds joining the web design community. This ensures that there's always a fresh perspective and new ideas being incorporated into designs.

18. Local Understanding with a Global Outlook:

While Jaipur’s agencies have a deep understanding of local aesthetics and preferences, they also have a global outlook. This duality ensures that websites cater to both local and international audiences, broadening their appeal and reach.

19. Commitment to Sustainability:

With increasing global attention on sustainability, many web design firms in Jaipur are taking steps to ensure their designs and operations are eco-friendly. From choosing sustainable hosting solutions to promoting green practices among clients, these firms are paving the way for a more sustainable digital future.

20. End-to-End Project Management:

Finally, Jaipur's web design agencies pride themselves on their end-to-end project management capabilities. From initial consultations and ideation to design, development, launch, and post-launch support, they ensure a smooth journey for their clients, making the entire process hassle-free.

Name:- Total SEO Solution

Address:- Apex Mall, Manglam Tower, 316 Second, Tonk Rd, Lalkothi, Jaipur, Rajasthan 302015

Contact No:-  +917709508692

Website:- https://www.totalseo.in

Conclusion:

The Future is Here, and it shines brightly in the Pink City. With a perfect amalgamation of traditional aesthetics, modern design techniques, and a client-first approach, Jaipur's web design agencies prove time and again why they are the best. Offering innovative, SEO-optimized, and user-focused solutions, these firms are setting new standards in the digital world. Whether you're a budding startup or an established enterprise, if you're looking for the best web design solutions, Jaipur should undoubtedly be on your radar.

[rondo-dev]

Elevated toxicity in the middle bracket

Typically, player’s MMR tend to settle in a bell-shape curve if you would put them in a graph. A small amount of players at the bottom, a large amount of players in the middle, and a small amount of players at the top.

There’s a good chance that you too are among the masses in the middle bracket. And that means there’s a good chance you have also experienced a good amount of toxicity.

Let me be clear, competitive games always have the potential to become highly toxic because of their fundamental nature. In most games, you rely on your team to do play a certain way according to the rank they have. It is annoying and frustrating when you see players don’t do what you think they should do, I mean, they are at the same rank as you. They should know what to do. Or do they?

Specialists among specialists

The perception that you have on playing a game is just that: a perception. You think you and your team must do this or that. You think they did something wrong. But what about what they think?

That is where the issue lies for these mid-level games. I believe players in this bracket have a very incomplete skill set. If we think about each skill you can have a game with a 5 star rating, players who have just started: they have 0 stars in all ratings (and that is fine). Players who are at the top have an extremely balanced and refined skill set, likely 4 stars in everything and 5 stars in a good majority. Then the question remains, what do you think the mid level players look like?

I believe they have an extremely unbalanced skill set. 1 or 2 stars in most skills, and a 4 in a select few skills they focused on. That is the source of a very high amount of toxicity, especially on the precipice of achieving the higher ranks, taking Platinum IV (top 15%) as an example in the graph above.

To attack or to defend

To paint the image a bit more clearly, let’s use Rocket League as an example. We’ve got 3 core skills which players can focus on: shooting, defending, and passing.

Each of these skills have the potential to carry you to this precipice of higher ranks. But what one player specialized in does not mean another did the same, this is what skews the individual’s perspective to their own specialty.

Player 1 is a specialist in shooting. They can dribble through the air, can maybe pull off a flip reset, and consistently shoot on target. Player 2 is a specialist in defending. They will rotate back quickly and efficiently to stop potential goals, preferring to let others shoot when possible.

The scenario appears where player 1, in their aggressive playstyle, tried for a goal but ultimately missed. Player 2, with their good rotation, is in position to shoot on a fairly open goal. They miss.

“What a shot! What a shot! What a shot!”, appears in chat, sent by player 1.

Yikes. The mood is ruined, player 1 doesn’t trust player 2 anymore and will play even more aggressively, taking the ball from player 2 because they will miss anyway. Chat is spammed with sarcastic and petty messages, communication broke down and the game is lost.

A matter of perspective

Ultimately, the issue is that when someone is only good at one or a few things, they will see exactly what someone else does wrong in their specialty, but fails to realise that other players have their own specialty also.

Player 1 from the example probably didn’t think at all about some amazing saves player 2 pulled off, or how player 2 always seems to be in position to tap the ball away from any potential attackers. But it’s so easy to see player 2 missing, what they think, an easy goal. And the same happens vice versa.

Once players reach a level where their skill is once again averaging out towards the higher level, common toxicity takes over.

[daxisdigiwebsolution]

Best SEO Services Company- D-Axis Digiweb Solutions

Introduction

In today's online competition, companies strive to establish an established digital presence to reach their customers efficiently. SEO, or Search engine Optimization (SEO), is a viable method to increase the visibility of websites and boost organic traffic. Selecting the best SEO service business is vital for any company seeking to grow digitally. One of the exceptional companies that stands out is D-Axis Digiweb Solutions. With a personable touch and a constant commitment to quality, they have become the best SEO services company in the field.

Investigating Digital-Axis Digiweb Solutions

1. Holistic Approach to SEO Strategies

They realize that every company is unique and requires a customized strategy to get the best results. As the top SEO service provider, they thoroughly review a website and the industry and competition to develop an effective strategy. With the help of cutting-edge technology and market insights, optimize the elements on their site, create top-quality content, and apply off-page strategies driven by results. Their holistic approach ensures that businesses get better rankings on search engines and increase organic traffic.

2. Unparalleled Expertise and Experience

With a staff of highly experienced SEO professionals, they possess unparalleled expertise in SEO. Their staff members stay abreast of the industry's most recent trends, algorithm updates, and the most effective practices to give clients the most efficient strategies. With their years of experience and expertise, they design custom SEO campaigns that align with the client's business goals and ensure sustainable growth.

3. Transparent and Ethical Practices

Integrity is the pillar of the D-Axis Digiweb Solutions values, which makes them the most trusted SEO service provider. They use ethical and ethical SEO practices and adhere to the guidelines of search engines. Transparency is the central tenet of their strategy since they provide their clients with comprehensive reports and periodic updates on the development of the SEO campaigns. The clients can be confident that their reputation online is safe because D-Axis insists on long-term success over quick-term growth.

4. ROI-Driven Results

They're committed to providing tangible and quantifiable results for their customers. As the top SEO service provider, they are focused on maximizing conversion rates, enhancing website performance and generating more revenue. With the help of sophisticated analytics software, they monitor the performance of critical indicators, spot areas for improvement, and continually improve strategies to increase ROI (ROI). Companies that partner with Them are likely to see significant expansion of their online presence and their bottom line.

5. Customer-Centric Approach

With D-Axis Digiweb Solutions, the client is always first. Their team can learn about a customer's specific demands, issues and objectives. They create solid client relationships based on trust and cooperation by encouraging clear communication channels. They place customer satisfaction above everything else and continually strive to surpass expectations.

Conclusion

If you're looking to select the most effective SEO services provider, D-Axis Digiweb Solutions is head and shoulders over the rest. Through their comprehensive approach, unrivaled experience, transparent practices, result driven by ROI, and customer-centric approach, they have earned themselves the status of an industry leader. Their commitment to providing exceptional results while retaining a personal approach sets them apart. If you want to achieve digital potential and surpass your competition, joining forces with them will surely boost your business to new heights.

[probably-haven]

I’ve been thinking about Childe a lot recently- because my friends slander him relentlessly and other than one person who kinda semi-likes him I’m the only one who actually likes his character.... and I know I’ve slandered him a fair amount myself but just- 

-

He was a child. 

A child - No ‘e’. No puns. No jokes. Not this time. 

He was only fourteen. 

-

His story described him as “frightened and hesitant” prior to his time in the abyss. All he wanted was an adventure of his own. To make an adventurer of himself, the likes of which he had heard so many times in the stories of his father. To be like him. He didn’t even go seeking the abyss or any kind of grave danger or incredible power, he was just a naïve little boy, running away from home with almost nothing in chase of a story of his own. 

And yet he was fated to fail, and everything went south almost immediately. Lost in the freezing cold forest environments of Snezhnaya, he was completely alone save for the wild animals on his trail. And by an unlucky roll of the dice - or perhaps because in that moment, his desire and drive to survive, to live, to get back to his family, was so strong that even the abyss itself took notice - the world he knew was stripped away. 

Scared and vulnerable with only a shortsword for protection, Ajax was torn from what already would have served to be traumatizing enough for the child, and thrust into something immeasurably worse. 

Described as “a bottomless crack in the earth’s surface,” “the endless possibilities of another ancient world,” and “the darkest corners of the universe;” the abyss is not a place that ordinary people are meant to survive.  Now I could go on about what the abyss may be or who the swordswoman might be or what might have happened to him, but the point is: it doesn’t matter what happened, his trauma is trauma nonetheless and its not in his control nor is it his fault how his brain decided to process it. Regardless, I think “endless possibilities” within the “darkest corners of the universe” speaks well enough for the severity.

Even without this however, it is important to note that for three months of what logically would have driven anyone to or past the brink, he had one consistent point of relative safety in the form of the swordswoman, a person who while training him for destruction, was also deliberately manipulating into him “the ability to stir up endless havoc.” 

Placed in an extremely traumatic situation like this and being manipulated by one he would have been forced to see as an anchor of sorts, simultaneously holding him together and molding him into the twisted version of himself that she wanted him to be; Realistically, Childe is more a victim than anything else.

And he returned - still only a fourteen year old child - to his home. 

Now an interesting point: based on the wording of his character story, it seems as though when he came out from the abyss, his new demeanor actually unnervingly reflects his hopes when he ran away, implying that the swordswoman very well could have used his own ambition as a cruel mirror to shape him based off, or used them merely as an additional manipulation tactic. “He acted as if this world revolved around him, and as if battle existed for his sake.” Almost as though he were truly the protagonist in an adventure story of his own, just like his father before- or perhaps that’s what he was made to believe. 

Regardless, Childe quickly gained a reputation for havoc, chaos, and violence, as it followed him and he spread it wherever he went, just as he had learnt to do during his time in the abyss, constantly seeking that unpredictability, the thrill of combat. 

And this continued until he went too far, and in response to this, the father that he admired so greatly sent Ajax away into the strict military environment of the Fatui. The idea was that the highly strict environment of training for the literal military, would “hone his son’s temper.” Not dampen, or control, or reduce in any way, but “hone” - to sharpen it, to refine and perfect it. And he watched “fully-armed troops getting the stuffing beaten out of them by a mere child.“

He was only a child. 

Everything he went through in the abyss and all the changes he went through himself, only to be shipped into military by the family who could no longer handle dealing with the effects of what he experienced... 

And he was just a kid. 

-

oh but they honed his temper alright. Not only was he entered in this military training like his father had planned originally, but soon after, the young child was selected and placed within the official ranks of the Fatui themselves under the guise of being a punishment.

Told to work his way up the ranks from the bottom, the Fatui “honed” his temper and penchant for combat towards the purpose of serving the Tsaritsa, encouraging these tendencies that would only continue to grow stronger and more apparent with time as a result of their actions, which was exactly their intent. These, psychologically and neurologically, were the key years for his mental development.

And once again the young Ajax found himself the victim of another’s subtle manipulation.  Until he was Ajax no more. 

-

Childe has been under the constant task of further proving himself since enlisting in the Fatui, and once he gained the recognition of the Tsaritsa, the only next possible way of doing that was by comparing his skills to others. And thus far, he has exceed in this time and time again, so with the evidence before him his arrogant confidence in his abilities is by no means unreasonable. Nor is his tendency to express friendship and varied other things through combat, it’s only natural after besting others in battle became his main source of acknowledgement throughout his younger years. 

He’s fiercely loyal as well, to the point where - were his sense of loyalty not so shrouded in his delusion of what loyalty is meant to be - it would likely border on codependency. He also doesn’t seem to have the greatest understanding of social cues, as expected with his combat-oriented upbringing, and tends to have an unnerving aura to a lot of the things he says that he doesn’t seem aware of. 

His loyalty to the Tsaritsa rings true, and seems to be his highest priority above all others, an ideology that, once again has been drilled into him since the age of 14. However, despite this, he is disliked and avoided even by his fellow harbingers, and often kept out of their true plans in a way that clearly shows what low opinions they have of his abilities in certain areas. 

And yet, through it all, he still maintains his own set of values and seeks to make genuine connections which people, which while these efforts may be unsuccessful in most cases, and these values far in between - It still firmly shows the strength of his character which, though in fragments, managed to remain as a part of who he is in spite of his circumstance. 

-

And i get that he’s memeable and slanderable and easy for a lot of people to just hate outright, i really do but sometimes it feels like a lot of people only ever see him at surface value and a lot of people dont even know his story and even fewer still actually consider the implications of that background. He was literally a child soldier - that and even more; “endless possibilities” more.

I have nothing against Childe slander, genuinely - but eventually, when it reaches a certain extent...

It’s not bad, I’m just tired.

[arlothia]

Okay @heyclickadeelickadee, I know right off the bat this is going to be a longer response than the replies will have room for, so I'm just going to do a whole freaking reblog!

(and look at that! It DID get super long! So you can all thank me for putting this under the cut 😉)

I have been excited since the moment I finished the finale (and after I was able to process my grief a bit) about Hunter doing dark (I have a whole TBB S3 bingo sheet for dark/angsty Hunter!!), and I've even thought a little bit about how Wrecker might go dark as well (because who doesn't love seeing the fun-loving goofball get super serious?), but you are so SO right about this being the catalyst for some strong character development for him!

Like you said, he's the one who can really adjust to any situation that's thrown at him - we've seen that for 2 seasons now (as you so beautifully wrote out the examples :P ). But after seeing him so BROKEN (😭😭😭😭) both directly after and in Ord Mantell? Yeah, this is going to hit him different than anything has before! He's never lost someone like this before and I think we might even see him be more of a driving force in this hunt for Omega. It's been pretty standard that he just goes along with what Hunter and the team decide to do, and of course they're all totally on the same page of "GET OMEGA BACK!" but we might see him being more proactive in this quest and it's going to be glorious!!!!

And I know you wrote this on the 9th and the Bad Batch panel wasn't until the 10th, but in case you haven't seen the leaked teaser (the quality/angle is atrocious and the audio laughably unballanced, but hey, it's what we have for now), there's a line where Hunter says "Omega's been waiting for us. I'm not making her wait another day." So you saying that we're done seeing Hunter being hesitant is toooooootally on point!!! There will be no holding back for this man and I highly suspect we'll see him dive into pretty much any situation headfirst if it even has a glimmer of a chance of bringing them closer to finding and rescuing Omega.

And I also really love the idea of the remaining Batchers having to struggle without Tech (because really, he did EVERYTHING! they are so freaking lost without him!!) and having to grow and develop to fill the gap left by him. I also think that they're going to be teaming up with Rex a lot more this season (we see him in the teaser), and having him sort of be a provisionary member of the team (plus whoever else will be coming along for the ride, like Gregor, Fireball, Nemec, Howzer, Wolffe - 'cause we see him in the teaser!!!!!) might help to fill that gap as well, but I'm assuming that it's largely just going to be the three of them.

But on the topic of working with Rex, it makes a lot of sense for Hunter and Co. to work with him more closely because their goals are very much aligned - they're both looking for missing clones taken by Hemlock, so whatever lead helps one of them will help the other. In fact, that "I'm not making her wait another day" line was said TO Rex, so, going back to the "bye bye hesitant Hunter" bit above, maybe they get a lead or something, Rex advises caution or to do a bit more planning or something, and Hunter's like "nope, we're getting her NOW!" Or maybe whatever intel they get would be able to help some regs, but Hunter wants to act on this to get to Omega first, before helping anyone else. I have no idea. I'm just spitballing here.

So I'm actually writing this AS I read through your post (so you might get some strings of consciousness here as I have no idea what I'm going to write next!), and I just got to your second footnote about the superiority complex over the regs, and I definitely think you're on to something there. I especially like how you pointed out how Crosshair said the whole "we're superior" line to Hunter and I have sort of an idea of why:

So Hunter's their leader and probably acted like one before officially becoming their ranking sergeant. Now, part of being a good leader is unifying the team and keeping moral up. Being the "sad batch" of weird "not like us" defective clones amongst a sea of same-faced "thems" to the batches "us", and knowing that the food fight in 'Aftermath' was NOT the first time even since Echo had joined their ranks (at least not the first similar confrontation, if not the first ACTUAL food fight), it stands to reason that there might have been some...friction between the Batchers and the regs growing up. The regs probably bullied them, made them feel inferior, weird, strange, etc. So what's a good leader/brother going to do? He's going to say "Hey! Don't listen to them! We're better than them! We have these awesome traits they don't have! etc." And Crosshair would have heard Hunter say this again and again and even if he didn't 100% think Hunter had a superiority complex over the regs, this line of "we're superior" would have harkened back to Hunter unifying and strengthening the team, which is exactly what Crosshair was trying to do in that situation in the training arena. And I kind of just broke my heart a little bit realizing/writing that 💔

CROSSDAD!!!!!!!!!!!! OH my gosh my soul YEARNS for this!!!!!! I need it like I need air!!!! Again, from the leaked trailer and the "I'm! Not! Them!" line (OH MY GOSH THE GROWL!!!!! 😭😭😭), I think this might be a relationship that takes some time to grow and I reeeeeally hope that we're able to see it grow and we don't just automatically jump ahead several months to when they've already gotten to sort of an understanding between them.(1) I would also love it if they were able to escape together instead of being rescued because I think that could also really solidify their relationship further. Like you said about hoping Tech isn't on Tantiss so we can see Omega with JUST Crosshair (which I totally agree with!!!), I think him seeing how capable she is on her own will go a long way towards him opening up to her and trusting her and accepting her. I swear, if he's the first of the Batch to actually call her "sister" I will SCREAM WITH JOY!!!!! She's called them all "brothers" several times now, but not ONCE have any of them actually called her or even mentioned that she's their "sister". Trust me, I have checked!!!

I lovelovelovelove the idea that Tech's journey this season (of him seeing the galaxy differently) has foreshadowed him having to survive in this galaxy in a different way than he has been (i.e. as a soldier/mercenary)!!! If he hadn't had that type of development and all of a sudden has to be on his own for a bit with the same mindset he had in S1, I think it would be a lot harder for him. But NOW we've had Romar help him see things differently, that there was a time before the war, and that just because a society/planet was on a different side of a conflict doesn't mean that the people necessarily count as "the enemy", and Phee helping him to look beyond his data pad (which he probably won't have anymore because it most likely got broken beyond repair or lost😭) and to look up at the galaxy with different eyes/perspective. And these different points of view are going to help him navigate the universe better and grow to something beyond just a soldier. Heh, and he'd beat Hunter and the rest to the punch with that one! Because while he's growing/developing like that, they're still in the "I'm going to soldier my way through the galaxy to find Omega" mode. It'll be veeeery interesting seeing how they all mesh back together once they all reunite (because they WILL and I will not take any criticism on this!!!)

a fake-out has the potential to shake up the status quo own push the characters and/or drive them to develop connections we haven’t seen before

THIS!!!! In your previous Part 4 of your "Tech's Alive" Thesis, you mentioned how the "edgelordy dudebro" crowd think that "Tech's sacrifice is only meaningful if he dies" (🤮), but what you've written with how the short-term effects of Tech's "death" will affect the characters absolutely blasts that bad take out of the water!!! How often to people change or make certain life-altering decisions based off of assumptions and perceived information, both in real life and in fiction? How many times does a temporary situation (whether you know it's temporary or not) change people permanently? Tech does not have to STAY dead in order for his sacrifice to mean anything! It meant a whole freaking lot at the time, for starters!! And like you said in Part 4, that initial sacrifice was the catalyst for the rest of the episode to happen (though as I said in my reply on that post, all that could still have happened if Tech had made it back onto the rail car, but whatevs).

AND HOLY CRAP YOUR WHOLE NARRATIVE QUESTIONS SECTION!!!!!! 😱😱😱😱 I had never thought about "the story needs to answer a question" (which I totally love and will be using in my writing!) let alone what answers TBB might be asking, but I think you hit the nail on the head! And my GOSH you're so totally right about the answers to the last three questions being no again and Again and AGAIN!!!! Something's gotta change if they want to make this last season (nooooo!!! 😭😭) satisfying in any way!

I just have to tell you how much I absolutely adore reading your #Tech'sAlive posts! They are so compelling and make so much sense and I just love them to death!!! You are absolutely fantastic and are probably the Number One reason why I was able to get through my grief! Because reading through these posts (and yes, many others as well, but especially these!!!), has given me the one thing that Star Wars has always been about:

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(1) Oh my gosh I'm doing footnotes, too!! You're a bad good influence haha! Anyway, I'm pretty sure that we're going to start the season right off the heels of the S2 finale but have a time jump somewhere along the way.

Evidence!! In the trailer, as hard as it is to see sometimes, you can definitely see that Omega has at least 2 (maaaybe three?) different hair styles. So in (possibly) chronological order, we have:

1. Her hair looking exactly as it did in S2 -

This is the scene in the teaser when she sees Crosshair in a hallway or whatever - so judging by the look of surprise on her face about a second after this shot, I'm guessing this might be the first time she sees him awake after getting to Tantiss

2. Next up is a slightly longer look (maybe, it's hard to tell with the bars and lighting and angle) when she's telling Crosshair "you're my brother" and his "I'm not them" -

Her side bangs look a little bit longer, and in the next shot when we're seeing behind her, there's a bit of an extra swoop to her hair that she didn't have in S2. I've found a kinda-sorta comparable shot from 2.16 and put them side-by-side -

The left hand trailer shot is a view from slightly behind her on her left side, and as you can see, she doesn't have the shorter length straight hair coming down as she does on the right.

3. Lastly is a better look at her bangs/forehead that MIGHT be a bit different from the one above -

Like I said, it's hard to see if this is the same hairdo as the one above, but it at least SEEMS to be a bit longer 🤷‍♀️

So if this is indeed the case and she does indeed have at least two different hairstyles this season, this means that we'll mostly likely get to see her life on Tantiss pick up right where we left her (give or take some days/weeks), and then somewhere later down the line (months if not *gulp* a hear later). I've heard from people who saw the teaser in person that it appears that Omega had her hair in a ponytail, so if her hair grew to S2's length in a few months (and it's not too much longer than than S1's), then how much time will have to pass in order for it to get to ponytail length?!?! 😱😱😱 And this really makes me think that Hunter's line of "Omega's been waiting for us. I'm not making her wait another day" might have been cut from something more like "Omega's been waiting for us (for X amount of time)..."

So very long story short, I think we're going to get the best of all worlds and see the initial reactions between Omega and Crosshair (which could include her telling him about Tech, him being angry/sad that they totally disregarded Plan 88 and that it led to his brother's death, etc.) as well as seeing how their relationship progresses over time without having to spend the entire season to get them to a somewhat-stable place in their relationship, but also not just jumping to them being all chummy. YAY!! 🤞🤞🤞

(okay, this footnote got really long! Sorry!)

Tech’s Alive, Part Five: I am aware that I am a clown but also! Short Term Possibilities and Long Term Narrative Questions:

So…I’m going to say something that’s probably going to be a bit unpopular. “Killing” Tech off is, or could prove to be, the correct narrative choice—in the short term. And I want to emphasize “in the short term” here. In the long term, or making it permanent, has the potential to break the entire show, and I’ll talk about why in the second half of this post. In the first half, though, I want to talk about how fake-killing Tech could potentially push both the story and the characters forward.

Hunter, Wrecker, and Echo:

From a practical standpoint, they’re going to have to make up for yet another missing skill set in their team after having never actually quite made up for the others. Tech’s the pilot, technician, and analyst, and on paper, those are all things Hunter, Wrecker, and Echo can do. Hunter isn’t as skilled a pilot as Tech, but he’s pretty competent; Wrecker doesn’t have Tech’s focus, but he is a skilled mechanic; and Echo’s excellent with technology (for reasons) as well as a brilliant strategist—a much better strategist than Tech really ever tried to be. On paper, the three of them do have the overlapping skills to make up for Tech’s absence. The thing is, they’re used to Tech being the one to do a lot of that, almost all of the time, and now they’re going to play his role as well as the roles they already have and the role they were already trying to make up for. And on top of that…Tech’s the one with the right combination of levelheadedness and total batshit insanity to get the team out of a tight spot and has, over and over and over again. That’s a thing that Wrecker, Echo, and Hunter don’t really have.

And this isn’t to say that missing Tech is going to be any harder than missing anyone else on the team. We’ve seen clone force 99 struggle for two seasons without Crosshair, and saw them struggle even harder being two men down without Echo. It’d be a struggle without any single one of them. It’s more that they’re going to have to adjust, once again, to not having someone on their team when they could actually really use him, and unlike with Echo, who they expected to get back, or with Crosshair, whose skill set wasn’t made up for by Omega’s presence and her own sharpshooting skills, but who did have someone who began to fill a similar role, Hunter, Wrecker, and Echo are expecting the gap Tech left behind to be permanent. And adjusting is going to be really hard for them.

And then, of course, there’s the way that this is going to push the three of them on a personal level. Echo has lost a lot—a lot—of brothers, so this isn’t necessarily new to him. It’s an old pain that’s just part of the background of his life. But that doesn’t mean it’s not going to hurt. It’s not necessarily going to be like losing Fives, but Tech and Echo were close. Tech was in the room when Rex pulled Echo out of that stasis chamber, Tech helped get Echo unplugged, he carried Echo out, was one of the people there helping Echo adjust after the most difficult time in his life, and for all their bickering, they were still pretty in sync with each other. They understood each other pretty well. It’s still going to be hard for Echo. And then Wrecker and Hunter—they’ve never lost a someone like this, that we know of. Maybe 99, but if they knew 99 personally, I suspect their relationship with him had a little more distance to it than their relationships with each other have. And, yes, they lost Crosshair, but with Crosshair they were missing someone who was very much alive and who (as far as they know) made the choice to leave and had the potential to come back at any time. Losing Tech is a bit more permanent—from their point of view, at least. And it has the potential to bring out a side of them we haven’t really seen before.

Wrecker’s been pretty easy going so far. Apart from the whole “Wrecker’s chip is activating” saga of the first half of season one, he hasn’t exactly had much in the way of character development. Not that there hasn’t been any, but he is probably the character with the least so far, and I think that’s because he hasn’t really had too much of an inner conflict. Oh, the Republic’s the Empire now? Well, sucks about the Jedi, but hey! Look at the armory! Ooooh, we’re going to grab this kid and we’re defecting now? Great! He gets to visit Cut, Suu, and the kids. We’re working as mercenaries for this shady Trandoshan grandma? Cool, let’s be mercenaries. Super secret mission from Rex to find information and blow open an imperial conspiracy? Awesome. Awakening the ancient horrors? All in. Retiring to Pabu? Cool, he’s going to become a pillar of the community, eat sushi, catch fish, and live his best life. This isn’t to say that he’s never bothered, because you just have to check out The Crossing and Retrieval for that. It’s more that he takes things in stride and is probably the best out of all of the boys at adjusting to new situations.

I…don’t think he’s going to adjust to this very well. He’s just lost family. He thinks it’s permanent. And you can’t tell me he’s not going to blame himself. Because, yes, Tech’s the one who shot the connection hinge through, but Wrecker’s going to see himself as the one who couldn’t get Tech up fast enough. He couldn’t hang on to Tech’s side of the rail car. I rewatched the scene (because I hate myself, I guess), and I don’t think Wrecker moves an inch after watching Tech fall. He’s frozen in that moment. You can’t tell me he’s not going to have nightmares about it. And that’s an inner conflict. That misplaced guilt is going to give him something to overcome and it could be really interesting to watch(1).

And then, of course, Hunter’s going to blame himself, too, because blaming himself for every little thing that goes wrong has been part of Hunter’s modus operandi since day one. It’s what he does. More importantly, though, this whole situation is Hunter’s nightmare scenario. They’ve lost every lead to get Crosshair back, Tech’s “dead,” and the most evil man in the galaxy has his daughter. This is everything Hunter’s been afraid of for two solid seasons. This is exactly why he was so hesitant to go back for Crosshair or come into direct conflict with the Empire and help Rex in the first place. And now that that shoe has dropped, I think we might be done seeing Hunter hesitate and take the back seat. And more than that, losing Tech specifically might be something that pushes Hunter into seeing that he and the regs have always been in the same boat, the same way Crosshair’s experience with the Empire did that for him. Now, I don’t think Hunter had quite the same defensive superiority complex about other clones that Crosshair did(2), but I do think he had or has a bit of a chip on his shoulder (probably mostly on his brothers’ behalf), and he doesn’t seem to think of other clones as brothers the same way that, say, Echo and Rex do. There’s a distance there. Losing a brother the way other clones do all the gosh darn time could be something that gets him to empathize more and see himself and his squad as part of them in a way I’m not sure he’s been able to do before(3). Is it a sort of awful way to gain that empathy? Yes, it kind of is. But it is still a way.

But, anyway, you know who else is living their nightmare scenario right now?

Omega and Crosshair:

Omega’s spent two seasons trying to have a family, getting closer to her brothers, and being terrified of ending up an experiment in a tube. And, due to the crazy series of events set off by Tech’s “death”, she’s just been ripped away from her family, lost a brother permanently, and is very much in a situation where there’s only Hemlock’s need to keep Nala Se happy keeping her from becoming an experiment in a tube. She’s dealing with a massive amount of loss and change and the only person she really knows in the whole facility is Nala Se, who I think does care about Omega in her own way, but probably isn’t going to be much help. This poor kid is not going to be okay.

And, frankly, neither is Crosshair. I mean, Crosshair’s whole deal over the course of this entire show is just him waking up thinking that maybe, just maybe, today might not be the worst day of his life, and somehow managing to be wrong every single time. He’s going to wake up again, see Omega next to him, which was exactly the thing he was trying to avoid and just got tortured over. Omega’s probably going to tell him that Tech died while they were on a mission to save him, which is exactly what he didn’t want, and given what we know now about how much Crosshair loves his family I think it’s safe to say this is all going to wreck him.

In a way, though, we have the perfect set up for Omega and Crosshair forming an actual relationship. They think of each other as brother and sister, and they care about each other, but they don’t really know one another. They’ve only interacted a handful of times, and Crosshair was unwillingly trying to kill Omega during two of them. But now they’re stuck in the same place with shared circumstances and a shared grief. Or—here’s some speculation—maybe even some wild shared hope that Tech somehow made it. Omega never had a chance to get past, “He’s not gone, he can’t be!” with Tech, and Crosshair’s going to be hearing about it secondhand; with him having known Tech longer than Omega did, did it’s possible he’d latch onto the idea that Tech could have thought his way out of it, or that it might not feel real to him unless he sees proof. Either way, it gives Omega and Crosshair something besides their current circumstances to bond over, and something they both understand, and which they can help each other through. This is actually one of the reasons why I’m actually kind of hoping that Tech isn’t in Mount Tantiss. Having Omega without the other brothers she already really knows and with just Crosshair gives her a chance to develop an actual relationship with just Crosshair, regardless of whatever shenanigans Emerie is trying to pull. Seeing Omega and Crosshair’s relationship develop is something I’ve been so wanting to see since episode one(4).

Tech:

If this is indeed a fake-out and a way for the writers to put Tech somewhere else for a while, there’s the potential for us to see Tech really struggle in a way we haven’t before. There’s the possibility that he’s going to be physically disabled after this, but whether he is or not, and whatever his circumstances, it’s something he’s going to have to deal with alone. At least, that he might have to do alone. I suspect that we’re going to find out Tech is a live well before any of the other characters do, if we find it out at all, and that they might not have a chance to reunite or even know about it until the end of next season or possibly even later, if there’s more seasons after that. And having Tech alone could be really interesting, because I’m not sure Tech handles “alone” much better than Echo does—though for very different reasons.

Clones weren’t built for solitude. And the other members of Clone Force 99, or most of them, were some of the only consistent presences in Tech’s life. A little like how I suspect Crosshair never really thought of himself as his own person, or even as a person at all for a little while, I’m not sure Tech really thinks of himself as his own man. He’s one piece of a uniquely mismatched set, and after this season, and especially after how badly he handled Echo leaving, I think it’s safe to say that Tech wouldn’t happily leave that set for an extended period of time under pretty much literally any other circumstances than the one in which he found himself in Plan 99. He’s dedicated to this family. Yes, the batchers all have vastly different personalities and strengths, but they’ve always been there, he understands them and knows how to be around them. I suspect that even in the happy version of this season where Crosshair is easily rescued, they all just stay on Pabu forever, and Tech and Phee get space married, Tech probably wouldn’t just run off with Phee and never be involved his siblings’ lives again. He’d still get up to shenanigans with Echo, bicker banter with Wrecker, be giving Omega flying lessons, etc. They’re his people, and he needs them.

Part of Tech’s arc in season two was learning about and exploring the galaxy in ways that weren’t defined by The War, and leaning into parts of himself that aren’t just a soldier(5). A fake-out death leaving Tech on his own for a little while could allow that to continue, but with the training wheels off, because he’s not going to have his people. Would he be trying to get back to his family the whole time? Oh definitely, yes. But it would be a long, hard road of discovery getting there.

So, in summary, a fake-out has the potential to shake up the status quo own push the characters and/or drive them to develop connections we haven’t seen before. Making it permanent, however, has every potential to break the show, and here’s how:

Narrative Questions:

Some of the best writing advice I ever got was to think of a story as an answer to a question. It doesn’t have to be a complicated question, but the story does have to answer it, and answer it in a satisfying way, in order to have a satisfying ending.

So, what are some narrative questions in Star Wars? Well, the narrative questions of the original trilogy seem to be: one, can this farm boy become a jedi; two, can the rebel alliance defeat the evil galactic empire; and three, can the dark side be defeated? And the answer to all three are, “Yes, and here’s how.” Or Rebels, which has pretty similar narrative questions: Can this street rat become a Jedi, how does the Rebel Alliance Form, and can this little family successfully fight the empire? Once again, the answers are a resounding, “Yes, and here’s how”(6).

Okay, so, what about some Star Wars that had a tragic ending? Because a story doesn’t have to have a happy ending to be satisfying. The narrative questions at the heart of both the Prequel Trilogy and The Clone Wars are, “How does Anakin Skywalker become Darth Vader?” And “How does the Galactic Republic become the Galactic Empire?” The three movies and seven seasons of television we got are pretty satisfying answers to those questions. Maybe a little clumsy in the case of the Prequel Trilogy, but it still gets there. Or Rogue One? That’s a movie with a tragic ending if there ever was one. But its narrative question had nothing to do with whether or not Jyn or Cassian or Baze or any one individual character would be okay; it was all about how there could ever be hope in the fight against an evil like the Empire, and what it would cost those people to bring that hope to the galaxy. And, of course, answering the question of how Leia got her hands on the Death Star plans in the first place. (And honestly, there are probably other narrative questions in these movies, but I am three-thousand words into this and it’s getting out of hand, so moving on)

With this in mind, let’s try to look at what questions The Bad Batch is trying to answer. As far as I can tell, there are four of them. And, in order of importance from least to most important, those are:

1. How and why does the empire go from using clone troopers to storm troopers?

2. Can this group of clones ever chose their own purpose, or are they stuck with the purpose with which they were made (can these characters ever choose to live the lives they want and be anything but soldiers/lab experiments made to fight and die)?

3. What does, “We don’t leave our own behind,” mean, and does it mean anything?

4. Can Omega’s family ever be complete?

Now, the first question is one that I think is operating a little bit like “How was the Rebel Alliance formed?” did for Rebels. It’s an important driver of the story, it connects to the larger Star Wars story, it’s a really important subplot, it’s almost definitely leading towards that clone rebellion we keep thinking is about to happen, but in the same way that Rebels was ultimately not about the Rebel Alliance and was instead about a young indigenous boy and his family liberating his home planet from a colonial power, this whole sub-plot in The Bad Batch is super important, but not ultimately the entire point. If it was, we’d be watching a show about Rex and his crew right now. It’s also the only one of these four questions that can have a satisfying answer if the writers leave Tech dead, because you don’t really need him for it. In fact, you don’t need ANY of the bad batch characters alive or otherwise to answer that question in any real way.

The other three, though? You really need Tech alive.

And not just because the answers to the other three would be, “No, they can’t,” “Apparently it doesn’t,” and, “NOPE,” without him. You can answer a narrative question in the negative or have a tragic ending and still have a satisfying answer. It’s just that in order to have a dynamic story you kind of need the apparent answers to those questions to change from the beginning of the story to the end, and the answers to those other three questions have always been negative from the very first moment of the show.

Can these characters every be anything but what they were designed to be? Anything but soldiers and lab rats, designed to fight and die? Can they ever be free? At the beginning of the series, the answer is no. The batchers, as well as the rest of the clones, begin the series as literal enslaved soldiers. They defect, they run, apart from Crosshair, who’s mentally enslaved by the chip at first, and they try to be free, but they spend the entirety of season one still being soldiers—just soldiers without an army or a cause. In season two, they start leaning away from it, and actually have a chance at peace. Crosshair rebels and does everything in the little power he has to put the soldier down for good. Echo’s not letting go of the soldier part, but he’s at least choosing what he wants to fight for, and that matters. Omega has a chance to just be a kid. And then, by the end of the season, Hunter, Wrecker, and Echo are back to the soldier thing and Crosshair and Omega are stuck as lab experiments. The answer is still no. And leaving Tech dead, especially since he would have died as a soldier after almost having the chance to be a bunch of other things, on a mission he pushed for, in a series of events that ultimately drives his family back into the lives they’ve been trying to escape? That means the answer will always be no; or, at least, a lukewarm, “Maybe, if they’re allowed to be.” And that’s as good as a “no” anyway.

What does “We don’t leave our own behind,” mean? Does it mean anything? Again, at the beginning of the series, it’s not clear it is anything but a broken promise. The boys didn’t know about Omega, but she was still left behind. They had to leave Crosshair behind because he was trying to kill them, and they had to leave him behind a second time, because he refused to go. Then Echo left them behind, sort of, because his definition of “our own”(8) is bigger than the batch’s definition, but with every intention of coming back. And then they had to leave Tech behind, because he made the choice for them. And it’s still just a broken promise at the end of season two. If Tech stays dead, after killing him on a mission where he invoked, “We don’t leave our own behind,” during which he forced them to leave him behind, and after which they had to leave Crosshair behind AGAIN after losing their only lead, it would remain a broken promise.

Can Omega’s family every be complete? At the beginning of the series, we find it never has been, not even before Order 66. Omega finds that family picture back in the bad batch’s bachelor pad, and it’s got all five adult batchers, but it’s not a complete family picture because Omega’s not in it. And then in the very brief times we have all six batchers in the same room at the very beginning and end of season one, the family is still very much broken. Then the show is pretty pointed about the absences on both sides in season two—Hunter and crew need Crosshair, Crosshair needs them. Echo leaves, and they fall apart. And by the end of the season? The answer is still no. Emphatically no; Echo’s back, they still don’t have Crosshair, Omega’s gone, Tech’s “dead,” and it looks hopeless. Leave Tech dead, after a mission he pushed for, and which was meant to finally reunite the whole family, and the answer will always be no, even once they get Omega and Crosshair back. They answer will not have changed from the beginning of the show(7).

And the thing is, the show is acutely aware that those last three questions are driving most of the tension, because the tension of whether or not those answers will ever change has been at the heart of the both season finales. And the characters almost succeed at changing one or more of those answers every time! They almost have a full family by the end of season one—but the timing isn’t right, everyone’s too angry and embittered, and they have to leave Crosshair behind and be incomplete again. They’re so close to free at the end of season two! Hunter can almost just be a dad! Wrecker can almost just live his best life! Echo can be a freedom fighter! Tech can be whatever the hell he wants! Omega can just be a kid! Crosshair’s rejected the Empire! They’re going to go get him! They don’t leave their own behind! It’s actually going to happen this time! And then—Plan 99.

Right now, just as at the beginning of the series, the answer to all three of those last questions is negative. Everything and yet nothing has really changed for our characters; they’re still soldiers, still enslaved, in a way, still experiments, still leaving their own behind, and still incomplete. And that’s fine for now—we’re only part of the way through the story. But the very end can’t leave them the same and still be satisfying.

And that’s the other thing—I trust this team of writers to give us a satisfying ending at this point. Just like the end of last season was actually kind of frustrating to watch in real time, but ended up incredible in retrospect because of how it lead into season two, I expect a similar thing to happen here. So, here’s to hoping!

(1): I know we’re all looking forward to Hunter entering his John Wick era, but I think we might be discounting how terrifying Wrecker grieving two brothers (Tech gone for good, Crosshair maybe alive but for how long) and out-of-his-mind desperate to find his baby sister has the potential to be. We only thought Wrecker was scary with a chip. Dude is gonna crack some stormtrooper heads.

(2): Or did he? I actually genuinely wonder about this. I’ve come to the conclusion that Crosshair’s superiority complex was more defensive posturing than anything else—more of a way to keep people at a distance than anything he genuinely thought, something he tried to convince himself of, because his words and his actions absolutely don’t match up. That doesn’t make it okay, just kind of layered and interesting. But it’s worth noting that the worst of what Crosshair says about other clones is framed as part of the galaxy’s worst sales pitch in “Return to Kamino”, and a sales pitch to Hunter more than to anyone else. It’s possible that Crosshair was calibrating his, “We’re not like the regs, we’re superior,” bullshit to appeal to Hunter, specifically. Now, the fact that this absolutely didn’t work on Hunter even a little bit tells us something. But so does the possibility that Crosshair thought this was a reasonable thing to say, and so does, “When did you start caring about regs?” I don’t really think Hunter had a superiority complex, but I do think he had something of a chip on his shoulder that Crosshair maybe blew out of proportion.

(3): Just to clarify: I’m not saying that Hunter’s a terrible person or anything here. I’m just saying that clone force 99 was ostracized and excluded from clone culture for a variety of reasons (resentment due to perceived special treatment, distrust due to perceived “defectiveness”/actual difference in a monoculture because, listen, the clones are by and large good people, but they are still PEOPLE and even good people have blind spots and being different even through no fault of your own in a monoculture even when that monoculture isn’t an extreme example literally made of clones and subject to the whims of a whole other society that actively practices eugenics on it is the social and sometimes literal equivalent of a death sentence), and that Hunter probably had a reaction to that. An understandable reaction, and one a lot less toxic than Crosshair’s, but one he probably still needs to get over.

(4): CROSSDADCROSSDADCROSSDADCROSSDADCROSSDAD

(5): Wacky thought, but here you go: I think Tech’s alive. I think he’s coming back. I think he’s absolutely still going to be himself when he does. I also think that Tech the soldier is what’s going to die on Eriadu. That’s something I don’t think we’re going to see again, not in the same way.

(6): I’ve always found it kind of weird that Rebels has this reputation for having a horribly sad downer ending when, at the end of the day, our rebels in question win. It has a note of bittersweet melancholy to it because Kanan dies and Ezra’s gone, but that’s not the only note there. They liberate Lothal without the help of the Rebel Alliance before the galactic civil war even starts, Ezra jedis so hard he’s a gosh darn Jedi knight by the end I don’t even care no one was there to knight him, and we see glimpses of Zeb and Hera living full, happy lives, and Sabine is off to bring Ezra home. There’s so much triumph and hope in that ending, and it always confuses me when people say it’s just horribly, tragically sad.

(7): The only way I can see the answers to these last two questions working if Tech remains dead is if they whole batch (besides Omega) dies and the series ends with a time skip and a much, much older Omega passing away, with a glimpse of the six of them being reunited in death somehow. And while I personally love the idea of some kind of clone afterlife, I don’t think my heart could take young teenage Omega being left on her own without her family for the entire rest of her life.

(8): I think, or I hope, anyway, that the batch’s definition of “our own” is also going to expand over the course of the rest of the series, and that it might not necessarily just mean “other clones, too.”