#tech has emotions

[swiftwaterprawn]

I've been thinking more about Tech's eyes. And before I start, I love Phee & Tech and I love Tech in all kinds of fanfic too, I didn't come here to comment on that whole thing. A few days ago I put to you, that Tech's eyes are fascinating, because we get to see them almost all the time. We see every little emotion on his face. Even without the helmet, his eyes are accentuated by his glasses.

"I may process moments and thoughts differently, but it does not mean that I feel any less than you." (Tech to Omega, Series 2, ep9)

Now, I think it's fair to say that canonically, Tech is neurodiverse. He is on the autistic spectrum. And I wholeheartedly love to see it. And given this, his eyes struck me as even more fascinating. Autistic people sometimes struggle with eye contact, and reading emotions from people's eyes. Yes Tech wears glasses and uses the flip-down visor, but he could still have used them without having a gap in his helmet. In fact, it possibly means it's not as airtight and not as protective as the standard helmets. But he still chose to keep his eyes free. Tech chose for people to be able to see his eyes. He chose for others to see his emotions.

Is it any wonder that Phee chooses to compliment his eyes? Yeah, clones all got the same eyes. But Tech's are different. Being autistic does not mean we don't have emotions. We're not sociopaths. Being autistic does not mean we don't want a romantic or physical relationship. This doesn't mean to say this isn't the opposite case for some. Bear in mind that being autistic means very different things to different people; its called a spectrum for a reason. But it fills me with joy to see Tech on screen with his beautiful eyes, beautiful emotions, and becoming a romantic interest. It's challenging some stereotypes and I love it.

[kasumingo]

A lot of older TMNT fans dislike the ROTTMNT designs for making the brothers barely look like turtles but actually I enjoy them looking mostly humanoid

They resemble the person they were mutated with a lot, they look like new species entirely and they went into drastically different direction with sharp, pointy dynamic lines, rather than huge round blobified shapes the other series were going for

Plus the designs and thought process behind each of them are amazing

Like, I could rant about Donnie's design quirks for ages

[swiftwaterprawn]

It should be a thing every day of the week... being able to see Tech's eyes is so interesting to me. He gets mistaken for this cold and aloof walking robot brain whose early lines are almost exclusively "actually... *knowledge*" and yet he is the only clone whose eyes we can see with their helmet on. Being able to see his eyes means we can see his reactions, his focus, his intent... he is the only clone whose emotions we can see at almost all times. And that allows us to connect with him in ways that are so different to his brothers. Hear me out: after mum Echo leaves, Tech is the most upset of the lot. Tech immediately gets into an argument with Wrecker, upsets Omega, and annoys Hunter. He goes and jumps instantly into likely death after Omega when she falls. He takes over Echo's mum protective role of Omega without being told when they end up on the set of Alien (zillo beast). In conclusion, Tech is one of the most complex and emotional clones out there, and that is why we are gifted with his beautiful eyes at all times.

Is SEXY EYES MONDAY a thing? It is now…

[coriander-candlesticks]

Sometimes your Mental Illness™ is kicking your ass and all you can do is offer the first hot, non-leftover meal you managed to prep in the day at 10:30 pm to Apollo & ask for help getting to *and* getting through your appointment tomorrow and that's okay

[abigfanofstarwars]

that was .. so much better than i could’ve hoped for

🥹

[eriexplosion]

At some point I want to write a whole thing about how Hunter is a complete deconstruction of the Mentor Figure. I often think about how he's definitely set up like one initially and then proceeds to teach Omega essentially jack shit because he never had any idea what's going on. Hunter cannot mentor he doesn't know how that works, he confronts every issue with the sullen weight of someone that needs an adultier adult but knows that there isn't one available.

[swiftwaterprawn]

Most importantly, Wrecker ships it (I'm joking, these are all excellent points well made)

Why I Love Tech and Phee

I keep thinking about these two today and it just leads to me smiling uncontrollably (I'm literally grinning while I write this XD) so I'm just gonna talk about why these two work for me!

I'm usually not one to be on board with romances in shows that I find unnecessary. If anything, they can actually put me off if they get in the way of good storytelling. When I first saw Phee flirting with Tech back in episode 1, I found it amusing, but I was a little hesitant as to what they were going to do with it. It was fun in the moment, but I wasn't sure that I wanted it to go anywhere. Saying that, I kept an open mind because I didn't want to spend every episode where they appeared together feeling slightly angry about this thing I didn't want being there. And, hey! Maybe I'd even enjoy it!

Turns out I would. And there's a few reasons for this.

It isn't getting in the way of the plot

If this romance was starting to mess with the core story, then yeah, I wouldn't be that okay with it. However, it still feels very much like a thing in the background. It's there, it's noticeable, but it isn't getting in the way of anything and I appreciate that. As long as it stays that way, I have a good chance of staying in support of this.

It doesn't feel rushed

I hate love at first sight. I think it might be one of my least favourite tropes and while some people love it, I really struggle to get on board with it (minus the odd exception). When it comes to romantic connections between characters, I want to see it form. I want to see the journey that they go on. I don't want something where they meet and 5 minutes later they claim to be the love of each other's lives (not to say you can't enjoy this btw. It's just really not for me). But this isn't that!

I've seen some people saying that they're moving too quickly with it, but I really don't think that's the case. Sure, there are definitely flirtatious moments, but they're pretty subdued. A few looks, a couple of small touches here and there, but nothing extreme. I know everyone has their own idea as to what qualifies as moving too quickly, but from some of the reactions I've seen, you'd think they'd be getting married in next episode. It's not like that! I actually like the pacing of this connection. It's a little tentative, just some indications that there's interest there and they're taking it at their own pace.

I really like Phee!

When we were first introduced to Phee, I liked her as a cool, sassy pirate, but I didn't really trust her (in the same way that I love but don't trust Hondo Ohnaka). The initial "brown eyes" comment was funny, but I didn't want her getting too close to Tech if she was someone to be worried about. We all love Tech, so of course we're all gonna be a little protective over him. We just don't want him getting hurt.

And then episode 5 happened and I still didn't trust her. I loved that she was acting like a role model for Omega and she was giving the kid a chance to spend some time with someone other than the Batch, but I still didn't trust her. It felt like she was still trying to use them for her own advantage and I didn't like that.

But then we come to episode 13 and that distrust has definitely faded. She wasn't trying to get artefacts for herself, she was trying to take them back to people who would appreciate and connect to them. She was also willing to take the squad to a safe place away from Cid, a place where Omega could spend time with kids her own age. It wasn't for her own benefit. She actually did it for them.

I love Phee for this. She's shown that she isn't who we thought she was. She's better and I think Tech is noticing that as well.

It isn't ruining Tech as a character

One of my worries with Tech having a love interest was that I wasn't sure if they would make it feel out of character for him. If Tech had been really flirtatious back, then it would've just felt wrong. Instead, they are willing to show that he's a little nervous about the whole thing. He doesn't really know what his feelings are or what they mean and so he's a bit tentative. When she calls him Brown Eyes early on in the ep, he looks thrown off for a second because he isn't used to the nickname. He also glances at her hand when she places it on his shoulder because he doesn't know how to feel about the whole thing. It's unexpected. Even when he listens to her and looks at the lights, he isn't quite sure how to process that situation but he's a little more open about it.

To me it seems perfectly in keeping with his character; a little hesitant, a little unsure, confused about what he's feeling, shy, bashful. It makes sense for him and it's ADORABLE!

They work well together

What I absolutely love about this dynamic is that Phee is getting Tech to open up a bit and appreciate the world in a slightly less analytical way, but she isn't trying to change him. She does actually find his personality endearing and she just wants him to loosen up a bit, start feeling more comfortable with the world.

And what's even better is that it's working! Yes, Tech is still nervous and unsure, but he does actually start to acknowledge that there might be something there. That moment at the end of the episode where he says that he had thought about the Batch staying and Phee responds with "did you now?". It's a little bit of teasing from her but he doesn't get flustered or stunned, he just SMILES AT HER! And it's a cute, wholesome, genuinely comfortable smile and omg I actually love this moment so much, it's so cute aaaaaahhhhh!!!

It's Tech that has the love interest

I don't just appreciate this relationship because of the way it's been handled, but also the fact that this is the character they've chosen to give this part of the story to. So many showrunners would give the love interest to the charming, dark, broody, "conventionally attractive" man (aka Hunter) but no! They actually let this play out with Tech, an autistically-coded nerd with a stupid-ass looking hairline (sorry) and we don't get enough of that! I know some people headcanon him as aroace and I don't want to discredit that, but I also love how we're showing that yes, awkward, nerdy charm is something that people appreciate!

Wrecker ships it

I don't have much to say here. Wrecker teasing his brother is just so cute and I love it!!!

Ending Thoughts

So yeah, that's how I feel about this. I was sceptical at first but this episode made me fall in love with this pairing. It's wholesome and cute and I love this for Tech. He deserves it! Having a relationship between a badass WOC and a neurodivergent character is something that I'm happy we're getting. That's not to say that the show doesn't have its issues, but this is just so great to see.

I know that not everyone is on board with this and I'm not going to discredit those opinions. Everyone's going to disagree on things and that's fine. I totally understand some of the qualms that people have about this ship and I support the existence of those criticisms!

(However, if anyone hates it so much that they are willing to turn to racist, ableist or sexist remarks about it then I kindly ask you to leave this page alone because I don't want that kind of bigotry.)

I'm excited to see where they go with the Tech/Phee pairing because it's really cute. I hope that they don't let it bleed into the main story too much though because I don't want it to start become detrimental to the plot.

Anyway, this is a pro-Tee account and I'm very happy to just gush about them because happy Tech makes me smile so much! 😁

LOOK AT THIS 😭

Edit: gonna tag @phis-writing because I know she's also been loving Tee. 🥰

[faafi]

Rev: I love you. Do you feel the same? Tech: *pauses* Tech: Give me three to five business days for me to give you an answer. [3 days later] Tech: Yes. *makes a heart shape with his hands*

[kaissauce]

with every “kirby kills gods at any minor inconvenience” “kirby is a ruthless killer” “kirby is literally a god” “kirby is a complete unaware infant” joke, i write a word to my fic. that’s how i’ve been able to write so much

[lem-argentum]

i loove characters who are passionate about technology i looove characters who are passionate about technology i looovvveeeee,,

[glittergoats]

me and my girl don't argue she just bash my head in with a rock and i walk it off like a man

[neonhellscape]

I'm beating that tech priest with a crowbar again

[clannfearrunt]

random annoying Thresher fact is that bc they play turf purely for their own personal entertainment and exercise they’re not concerned with much of anything else like winning, or making sure anyone else is having fun, or “sportsmanship”(????) or what ever,

Which isn’t normally a problem bc they’re not particularly an asshole player either but if they get matched against like, a really good charger or something, that completely shuts down any attempt to play the game normally, or something to that effect where they are not having any fun at all they’ll just disconnect mid match. Usually not even early enough to stop the entire match because they’ll initially give it a whirl you know to see if they can’t turn things around. But then if they can’t they’ll just unplug some part of the safety equipment to trigger a “disconnect” and leave everyone else to fend for themselves. They don’t care about the time out afterwards. They have better things to do than get repeatedly spawncamped by an E-Liter thank u. Is there a problem. They’re going to get a sandwich.

[girls-and-honey]

.

[jennycalendar]

booted up the ten year old ipod that my dad let us play with in middle school & that when i was eleven i was obsessed with bc my parents were SUPER stringent re: screen time but they let me go nuts with this bc it was just full of my dad’s favorite music (and also some games that i suspect they didn’t know about + that i would play in bed as my Secret Silly Tweenage Rebellion), and immediately it hit me with this

[sweaters-and-vertigo]

the bad batch fans because of the series finale: