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#this is very relevant to the world lately

rhapsodynew · 2 days

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A song featuring George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

Ringo and George, 1966

A hitherto forgotten soundtrack created more than half a century ago, featuring Maestro Saroda Ustad Aashish Khan performing in tandem with the iconic Beatles By George Harrison and Ringo Starr has now been found, restored and released - much to the delight of fans and music lovers.

The soundtrack, titled ‘Radhe Shaam', which was allegedly recorded in 1968 at Trident Studios at the height of Beatlemania, was released on November 10, 2021. In a song produced and written by Suresh Joshi, a veteran journalist and TV presenter with a long track record, soulful performance Ustad Khan is gracefully accompanied by a rhythm guitar George and Ringo's drumming.

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Mister Joshi, who was friends with George Harrison, was the very person who introduced him to the famous Indian musician Ravi Shankar, who had a great influence on the star and, as is known, taught him how to play the sitar.

At that moment, George and Ringo were taking a break from recording Hey Jude in the studio.

“I was working on the music for my documentary ‘East meets West’ when George (Harrison), who was a good friend of mine, offered to play for the soundtrack. As soon as he decided to participate, Ringo also kindly came to the rescue,” Joshi recalled.

George with engineer Ken Scott at Trident Studios in late October 1970.

However, as soon as the recording was completed, Suresh took the master tape to his attic in his Birmingham home and forgot about it until years later he met Deepak Pathak, co-founder of Maharaja Organics.

“I became friends with Deepak when I was alone at home during the pandemic. During one of our conversations, I told him that I had produced and recorded a song with maestro Saroda Ustad Aashish Khan, Ringo Starr and George Harrison, which was never released,” Joshi explained.

“At that time The Beatles were in the process of breaking up, and they had various problems, so no one wanted to [release the track],” Aashish also said.

Pathak convinced Joshi to let him listen to the soundtrack.

As soon as Pathak heard this ‘fundamental work’ and became convinced that it should be released to a wider audience. He sent the master tape to the music producer Suraj Shinhu, who restored it and prepared it for release.

“I am delighted that we have managed to save this fundamental work of Suresh. I persevered with the recovery process, which was technically difficult, but extremely effective,” Shinh said.

John Barham, Ringo and Suresh Joshi

Despite the fact that this song was written more than fifty years ago, it is still relevant and will be close to modern youth, Joshi agreed.

“The song revolves around the concept that we are all one, and that the world is our oyster shell, something that we all realized during this pandemic. A song written more than 50 years ago is more relevant today than ever,” Joshi concluded.

Earlier, the track was given to 100 visitors of the Liverpool Museum to listen to The Beatles. Museum Manager Paul Perry said that the invited audience who listened to the song, including Mr. Joshi, “fell in love with it.”

“Without any doubt, it was George's guitar, [and] it felt like he was here among us. And, also, without a doubt, the drums belonged to Ringo.”

However, opinions and memories about the time and circumstances of the track's recording differ.

From Matt Hurwitz:

“Actually, this is not 1968, but the song was recorded at Trident on March 10, 1970, as described in detail in my article about the recording of "All Things Must Pass". George helped Aashish Khan, who was asked to write an Indian-themed pop song for an Indian director, but the track was never used.”

The session was dedicated to the future project of Aashish Khan and John Barham. The musicians were Hashish Khan, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston and Klaus Voormann (Foreman). Everyone, with the exception of Khan, will take part in the recording of the album George's “All Things Must Pass".

So he plays the lead guitar Clapton, and George plays the rhythm guitar. Khan talked about a song called ’In Praise Of Lord (We Are All Children Of God)' that they were supposed to record ten years ago. It looks like they also recorded a song by Mr. Joshi ‘Radhe Shaam'. At that time, the song had no title, which may explain why it was not mentioned for many years.

Pete Drake and George

Album John Barham and Aashisha Khan was released in 1973 under the name ”Jugalbandi" on Elektra Records, both superstar tracks of March 1970 did not hit it.

#Youtube #george harrison #ringo starr #beatlemania #music #my music #music love #musica #history music #rock music #pop #rock photography #ken scott #1970s #John Barham #Suresh

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tabernacleheart · 2 years

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Observe what an affectionate son Isaac was: it was about three years since his mother died, and yet he was not, till [his marriage], comforted. See also what an affectionate husband he was to his wife! Dutiful sons promise fair to be affectionate husbands; he that fills up his first station in life with honour, is likely to do the same in those that follow.

Matthew Henry; Commentary on Genesis 24:67

#the sanctity of marriage #parenthood #honor thy father and mother #biblical commentary #matthew henry #this is very relevant to the world lately #isaac #rebekah #Genesis 24:67

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torgawl · 6 months

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i'm so in love with wrio. that man is the embodiment of mercy and compassion. he is so... human. despite the deep disdain for atrocious acts that hurt others, especially acts that remind him of his own pain and traumas, he is able to keep himself in check and hold on to his values. despite being so proactive in fixing the wrongdoings of people that actively harm those under his care and assuring that everyone is supported in the best way possible; despite knowing he could have not controlled other people's hearts once they were in too deep in their own sins, he still feels helpless and incompetent. he recognises he cannot fully empathise with those who have been hurt for he has not experienced what they have and he understands that some wounds might not be able to heal even with all the attention and efforts, or at least not that easily. and it pains him. his whole life he's been trying to protect others. all his hard work during his time at the fortress and taking over it's administration has granted him the power and resources to actually change lives in a more restorative way, with a bigger amplitude than just the people who he's close to. yet he's only human. and not everyone wishes to be saved. and he doesn't hold back from breaking his own rules if means he is guaranteeing the best outcome for the greater good, for the well being of all of those he's sworn to protect. and although he earned himself a respectable title and even got used to being referred to in that way, he doesn't see people at the fortress as innmates but as equals. he never stopped being the little boy that was sentenced to live over a decade of his life there. and he is so good at what he does and he is so successful at restoring people's hopes in life, at giving them a second chance to become who they want to be, that there's people who actually want to stay there. he is the literal personification of turning your own pain into goodness, into love. love for community and love for others. he found meaning in making the world a better place and i just think that's really fucking beautiful.

#cerberus preventing the dead from leaving the underworld vs wrio whose compassion makes people not want to leave the fortress #god he makes me go feral #sorry for wrioposting everyday shjshdh he never leaves my mind #i saw someone point out the 3 heads possibly meaning past present and future and how we get to see a bit of all of those aspects through #his quest and i think that's really cool #also how the main themes surrounding his character are redemption and retribution #dwelling into these topics is just fun and i think they did it really well and again i think wrio is incredibly well written #i just think it's cool to see a character in a position with power to punish others be someone who was also judged by that same system #i think it's cool that rather than blindly following authority he used his power to change and reform the system #he created this utopia of the perfect living conditions and managed to sustain them #it makes you feel a certain type of way when you strive or wish for this type of equity and justice in the real world too #obviously it's only a slice of the cake but it's a relevant slice of the cake #not to enter a socialism and politics conversation but wriothesley and his quest share a very radical ideal and i think it's relevant #to acknowledge it #something something stories about revolution #i'm a bit sleepy tired it's so late but well i had to write something bye #genshin thoughts #genshin impact #my post

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uglyducklingofthe2000s · 8 days

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Shivers - Max Verstappen

Summary: Max's girlfriend is always cold unless bundled up in 5 layers (sometimes with a hot water bottle wedged between the layers), lying on a hot beach minimum of 30 degrees(c) or Max's top choice when she tries to latch onto him.

The gif isn't relevant to the story, but it is important to me for reasons it feels inappropriate to share 🥵

ANYWAY, this is for the cold girlies who know the struggle of never being warm (it's me, I hate it. Literally waited to exit the womb 10 days late purely to be born on the hottest day of the year 😉)

No part 2 requests please

Wet races at a form of torture for y/n and with Spa being famous for it's wet weather. Even if it's not really that cold, it's definitely not a place she wants to be.

"Are you sure this is enough?" Max asks as he zips up her jacket as the final layer making her smile and nod. "Are you really sure?"

"You've already got a hot water bottle between the second and third layer. I promise I'm definitely warm." Y/n nods though they both know as soon as she steps outside she'll be shivering. It's actually like there's something wrong with her but really she's just naturally in need of constant warmth.

Admittedly 5 layers is not exactly the wisest for stability and balance but y/n manages to shuffle following Max out the hotel and to the awaiting car where he does lift her up into the car before moving around to the other side.

Max always makes sure the car is well and truly heated before they get in it so she doesn't have to worry about being cold because of the car.

When they walk through the paddock, Max and y/n do end up in conversation with Daniel who looks at y/n and offers her a hug since the world is aware of her inability to maintain any body heat.

"You're shaking a little." Daniel comments with a pout in pity for her while rubbing her back while Max frowns.

"I hate rain." Y/n mumbles before sighing when she's released and pouts looking at Max.

"I'll see you later, mate." Max smiles with a small laugh, wanting to get y/n inside for more warmth.

"No problem, bye y/n." Daniel smiles waving at y/n.

"Bye, Daniel." Y/n smiles returning the gesture.

Usually Max prefers to just go home and spend time with the cats and on the simulator. But every so often, especially when he knows it's not going to be the warmest weather in Monaco. Since it's the summer break, they've got plenty of time for him to be on the sim and hidden away in Monaco.

So they're away in Hawaii.

Their villa seems to come with a slightly more private bit of beach which gives Max the privacy he's always hoping for.

"You look warm." Max smiles as he finds y/n sitting very much in the heat of the sun.

He's really let her relish but the nurturing side of him can't help but need to apply and reapply sunscreen on her to make sure there's no sun damage since he knows she still cares about the health of her skin.

"I am...you brought me food?" Y/n gasps with a smile.

Max places the tray of food down in front of her since he knows it's been a while since either of them ate so when he went inside to use the toilet, he also decided to grab them some snacks.

Seeing y/n thrive in the heat and sun is actually a very comforting sight. The glow around her in the sun is just something that he doesn't get to see nearly as often as he'd like. She always struggles so much in the ever-changing weather that they face in Europe but just being in the warmth in Hawaii in the depth of summer is really a perfect and y/n is so happy it makes the travel worth every second.

Especially since whenever y/n is happy, so is Max.

Not to mention seeing her body so completely exposed is never a sight that Max wants denied from himself, but usually he does only get to see her completely naked in the shower, bath, getting changed or during sex and even then sometimes she manages to keep a t-shirt on just as a layer of warmth.

With that in mind, before applying the new layer of spf, he leans forward and kisses as much surface area of her skin while he can.

"Maxie." Y/n laughs not quite used to being ravished by such physical attention, especially not out in the open for the rest of the world to see. Though admittedly, Max never actually shies away from physical affection so maybe she shouldn't be so surprised by it.

Max staying up late with his e-racing team isn't uncommon when they're home. Y/n tends to try and keep herself busy during those hours, allowing him to sleep. On this occasion she decided to restock the house with plenty of food, especially for the cats since Max gets them the best food they can buy in store, along with buying extra stuff online.

But she definitely was deceived by the sun, because it's certainly not as warm as she would've liked so after making the quickest possible job of unpacking the food. She tip-toes to the dark bedroom, her body a shadow as she strips down, hating the cold air wrapping around her body before she lifts the blanket and eases herself down onto the bed.

"Y/n?" Max mumbles as she feels his body heat practically burn her in comparison to his body.

"Sorry." Y/n whispers hoping not to disturb him anymore than she already has.

Max doesn't even need to guess as to why she's climbing back into bed with him, all he does is shift and move till her cooler body is lying underneath his own.

He has to smile a little at the feeling of her skin against his own as they lie together.

"Talk to me." Max mumbles knowing she won't fall asleep till she's completely warmed up and even with him lying on top of her like a bear, and if there's one thing he loves, it's hearing her voice. So getting her to talk is definitely something that will add to this moment.

Y/n tells him about shopping and how she spent the morning, including buying them both some expensive cake purely motivated by the fact it looks so good that she passed it 5 times before caving into the urge.

"You're so pretty, you know that?" Y/n whispers suddenly and while Max doesn't quite have the energy to open his eyes, she feels his smile before he turns his head just enough to kiss her skin as she runs her hands through his hair. "I love you."

"I love you too." Max hums noticing the weight of sleep beginning to appear in her voice.

It's not long before they've both dropped off from being awake, Max still exhausted from his late night and y/n successfully lulled back to sleep from the heat of his body. They'll probably spend the whole day like that if they go undisturbed.

Max is more than happy to waste a day cuddling with his girlfriend and y/n is more than happy to waste the day completely smothered under Max's body. It's not like they get that many days to spend like this, so on the rare occasion it's certainly not going to be something they deny themselves from enjoying.

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dilemmaontwolegs · 8 months

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Not A Verstappen: A New World {3}

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x fem!driver!reader x Lando Norris Summary: just a short smut scene to keep you fed while I’m away 😊 Warnings: 18+ only, nsfw, smut, p in v & a, cumplay WC: 800~ F1 Masterlist NAV: Sibling Rivalry One || Two || Three NAV: Gridlocked One || Two || Three || Four || Five || Six || Seven || Eight || Nine NAV: A New World One || Two || Three || Four

The alarm to get ready for media day was promptly ignored and for the first time in his life Lando was the first one awake. You were semi-conscious, half asleep and caught in the peripherals of a dream that left you hot and needy. Your body sought out the source of hardness behind you and Lando kissed your shoulder as his morning wood pressed to your ass.

“Seven days, baby,” he murmured in your ear. The relevance was lost on you in your state as his hand lifted your leg up so his cock could tease your entrance. You were in a trance as his tip penetrated you and your eyes burst open as you felt the warmth of his cock for the first time and Charles grinned at the sight.

“Seven days,” you breathed unevenly as you realised the significance and Lando echoed the sound as his cock was coated in your wetness.

“Fuck, Charles,” Lando moaned in your ear. “She feels like heaven.”

Without the latex barrier it was like you could feel every ridge and every vein on his shaft as it dragged along your walls. With nothing coming between you, you felt everything.

You whimpered at the loss as Lando pulled out but it was momentary as Charles replaced him. You could feel his heart beating rapidly against your chest as he grabbed your knee and pulled it over his hip, deepening the angle of his lazy thrusts as he sealed his lips over yours. Charles stole the moan that would have filled the hotel room as Lando’s finger teased your ass, using your own arousal to prep it for him.

“Putain, you’re so tight, chérie,” Charles gasped as your walls clenched around his cock and he rolled onto his back, keeping your bodies joined as you settled on top.

“Relax, baby,” Lando cooed as he knelt behind you, spreading your cheeks as he watched you ride Charles for a moment. He was almost undone by the sight of his boyfriend’s cock, bare and glistening with your juices, pumping in and out of your pretty pussy. Sense came back to him when your head fell back with a cry and your body shuddered with your orgasm and the urge to feel that for himself spurred him forward.

Light danced around your vision as Lando inched himself into you, the fullness seeming to chase the very air from your lungs as your body stretched to fit them both. Lando stilled behind you as his chest pressed to your back and he breathed with the counted marks of a man barely holding on to his sanity.

“Best decision ever,” you purred as you tortured them, slowly fucking yourself against them to see who would lose patience first.

“Agreed,” Lando chuckled in your ear. “I can feel Charles inside you, love.”

“Moi aussi,” Charles groaned, snapping his hips up and leaving you breathless.

You could feel another orgasm approaching, the feeling of weightlessness and tightening causing a short circuit in your brain.

“Holy shit,” Lando moaned as he felt your body clench around him. “Gonna cum, baby. Gonna fill you up so good.”

“Je vais te remplir la chatte.”

Your cunt clenched at the dirty words and you lost yourself to the feeling of their cocks filling your holes and the heat that flooded you as they came inside you.

You collapsed into a sweaty pile of tangled limbs, but Charles was strong enough to handle the added weight as his arms encompassed both you and Lando.

“Hmm,” he hummed happily behind you as he pulled out and watched his cum leak from your ass. You peeked over your shoulder to see the possessive look in his eyes before yours fluttered shut as he pushed it back in with his finger. “Pretty.”

You were happy to take the fine for being late to the media pit, nothing could bring you down from the high you were on.

Click here for the next part.

#Charles Leclerc x reader x lando Norris #charles leclerc fanfic #lando norris fanfic #charles leclerc x reader #lando norris x reader #charles leclerc imagine #lando norris imagine #f1 x reader #f1 rpf #f1 smut #charles leclerc smut #lando norris smut

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tossawary · 7 months

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The last time that I rewatched "The Fellowship of the Ring" (extended edition, of course), my favorite new detail that I noticed is that the characters, once they set out on their journey, are pretty much always traveling from screen-left to screen-right.

It had been a few years since I'd seen the films and I'd learned more about filmmaking in that time. I'm completely biased regarding the LOTR films; they're not perfect, but I grew up on them, I love them. I was trying to take notes on all of the little details that made the world of the films seem so rich and so enchanting to me. The camerawork, character staging, and editing is one of the many things that just happened to jump out at me at this time.

When Frodo and Sam are leaving the Shire, the camera is set up in such a way that they start on the left side of the screen (<- that side) and travel across it to the right side of the screen (-> that side).

This way to go the farthest you've ever been from home. ->

As the hobbits travel from Bree to Rivendell, as the Fellowship travels from Rivendell to the Misty Mountains, all of those gorgeous scenic shots of the Nine Walkers show them moving from screen-left to screen-right. I haven't rewatched the entire trilogy lately, but in "The Fellowship of the Ring", it is so beautifully consistent.

There are a handful of reasons why this is done. In staging and editing, consistency regarding where the characters are placed on the screen is a storytelling tool. For example: the "180 degrees rule" says to generally keep the camera on one side of the characters within a scene, so that the audience can mentally keep track of the characters within the environment and focus on the action/dialogue. If we're watching two characters talking in a diner, even in the close-ups, one character will usually be kept on screen-left and be shown facing screen-right, and the other will be kept on screen-right and be shown facing screen-left. It feels stable. (People will sometimes choose to break the "180 degrees rule". It can be a tool to create a sense of disorientation and/or instability in the audience.)

In "The Fellowship of the Ring", the maps that the audience is shown of Middle Earth tell us that the Shire is located in the West (left side of the map) and everything else of relevance (Rivendell, Moria, Rohan, Gondor, Mordor) is East (right side of the map). As the characters consistently travel screen-right, the audience builds up a firmer mental map of Middle Earth and can better keep track of the characters' progress on their long journey. With every step that Frodo takes towards screen-right (->), we know that he is traveling East, taking another step towards Mordor.

Left to right may also instinctively feel like the way forward in a culture that writes and reads from left to right. Regardless of which way you write: if your film establishes extremely consistently that one direction is forward, then this visual language can be used to tell the audience that something is wrong if the characters start traveling from right to left. They might be lost! It builds suspense in the visual depiction of the characters going backwards and undoing progress! This all suits the lengthy hero's journey of LOTR very well, in my opinion.

There's an old joke that knowing how anything is made ruins the magic, and another old joke that knowing anything about filmmaking makes you insufferable to watch movies with, but I've never felt that way, especially not here. How does that quote go? It's still magic even if you know how it's done. (GNU Terry Pratchett.)

I find it enchanting, honestly, that so many people can work so hard for an effect that can seem so simple. Actors, directors, camera operators, editors, storyboarders, and so many others on the crew of the films consistently placed characters, sets, and props just so! So that the audience could more easily keep track of where everyone was and lose themselves a little more deeply in the story.

It's such a simple rule! And it works so well! Left -> Right. West -> East. Shire -> Mordor. Home -> Adventure. Known -> Unknown.

I personally recommend trying to keep track of character movement across the screen in films, especially if you have any interest in visual storytelling (films or illustration or something else). It's fun! It's impossible for me to unsee, watching "The Fellowship of the Ring" now, and I think it's a wonderful piece of movie magic.

#tossawary tolkien #frodo baggins #samwise gamgee #long post

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prokopetz · 1 year

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More favourite metrodvania tropes:

Upgrades which exist specifically to provide unnecessary diegetic explanations for standard game-mechanical conceits, like the fact that baddies drop power-ups or the existence of the minimap.

When a game with a non-atmospheric soundtrack switches to atmospheric audio to convey that things are about to go fuckwise.

When the very first upgrade you acquired is later revealed to be an artifact of world-shaking importance, and the whole time you've just been using it to jump higher or whatever.

Increasingly strained explanations for how an ostensibly non-combatant NPC ended up in various extremely dangerous areas.

When the game's starting area has a one-way exit that prevents you from returning until much later in the game, and when you do, it turns out that something super important was literally right behind you, you just didn't have the right mobility upgrade to access it.

Major emotional character development moments being reflected by a change in the player character's colour scheme.

Late-game areas with weird design constraints because the developer wanted to make sure you need all of the upgrades to get through, even that weird one that basically exists to solve one specific puzzle and is never relevant again – until now.

That one NPC with the ridiculously large number of dialogue boxes, which the player character explicitly remarks upon.

When you get extremely off the intended route and discover that there's progression logic specifically addressing the situation, like you pass through a door from the wrong direction and the NPC guarding it demands to know how the fuck you got back there.

When any time there's a very long fall the screen shakes on landing and the player character does the superhero landing pose.

#gaming #video games #metroidvanias #game design #violence mention #swearing

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tabernacleheart · 10 months

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Those who feel little or none of the work of God in their own hearts are not willing to allow that He works in others. Many deny the influences of God's Spirit, merely because they never felt them. This is to make any man's experience the rule by which the whole Word of God is to be interpreted; and consequently, to leave no more divinity in the Bible than is found in the heart of him who professes to explain it.

Adam Clarke

#this hits hard #biblical interpretation #the bible #Unbelief #Faith #Doubt #Lean not on your own understanding #This is very relevant to the world lately

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harrysonlylover · 9 months

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Little One

Summary: A small glimpse into CEO Harry’s past followed by a life changing news.

Trope: CEO! H

WC: 3.5k

Warnings: mentions of pregnancy.

A/n: Unedited and not proofread.

CEO Harry Masterlist

Harry knew that he wanted to be someone relevant when he was a kid.

He observed as doctors were thanked for their service, engineers for their genuineness and architects for their dedication. He was eager to have a similar experience and wash his ego with such praise.

Whatever he decides to do, would be for the greater good. Small gestures or even small actions are still as important, especially when others do not see it.

As Harry grew up, he found himself fleeing away from science. It’s not that he disliked it, in fact he was a genius at biology, yet he couldn’t imagine it as a career. He found solace in art classes, he’d draw sketches until the bell rang and sometimes his teacher would let him stay because he never realized that class was over.

First, it started as a habit. Drawing doodles to pass time whenever boredom strikes. Then, it became an outlet for his biology obsession. Delicately move the pencils to focus on the vein, give the artery more shadow, maybe memorize the anatomy using his drawings.

But teenagers are complicated and jump fast from one obsession to another. Deep down he had a soft spot for biology, but he left it aside and focused on something more revolutionary.

When he discovered his love for lust in college, he was more than obsessed and not in a hormonal frat boy way. He’d daydream about his partners, their body and skin, how long he can tease them, how much can his and their bodies take.

It consumed his thoughts day and night but especially his drawings. With the consent of his hookups, he’d use his vision and sex appeal that would create a sketch full of lust and gift it to them as a memoire.

The world was so different back then. The idea of sex and pleasure wasn’t appealing to everyone and neither was exploration. Rumors were spread about him, how he fucks his partners and doesn’t pursue any further relationships. He never really addressed anything, because he knew that behind closed doors, his number one rule was no attachment.

By being aware of his honesty he had nothing to worry about. At least the rumors did include how good he was at sex but he wouldn’t call that a rumor.

He was shamed for his love for lust along with his interest in exploring his sexuality. The other frat boys wrote slurs on his textbooks and car just for being seen kissing a boy. He didn’t care nor respond. It’s quite pathetic that his preference pissed other people off.

He does remember one specific partner who helped him explore the most. She was into toys and helped him delve deeper into pleasure yet it wasn’t a surprise when she’d ask to quit the toys because they weren’t as comfortable nor pleasing.

And the rest is history.

He slowly began receiving thoughts about his own line, some shapes for the toys, a certain structure suitable for the anatomy of men and woman. It was a risky idea, who would take a college boy seriously about sex toys?

He was a very intelligent boy who earned himself a scholarship to business school, so all of his savings from his job at a local pizza store went to his campaign.

The nude photoshoot was definitely the icebreaker. People who shared similar personalities and interests defended him against the public eye and supported his brand. He’d never forget how he started with only 2000$ in his pocket, looking for a lab to run the tests for him, late nights sketching and experimenting with modules.

All of his struggles morphed together to get him to where he is now. He may not be praised like people with noble professions but he can’t deny the impact he made. He helped many youngsters to come out of their shell and indulge in pleasure. Many happily married couples even met thanks to Pleasing.

Harry Styles is a relevant man but something was missing.

He remembers the pang in his chest when he met you, how he flew from one country to another after a business meeting to avoid being late for your first date. He was like a blind puppy walking behind you.

As much as he liked being careful with his dates for the sake of his public image, he was ready to jump feet first when it came to you. Love at first sight was a bullshit idea for him, but after you, he began rethinking all of his ideologies.

He’d sit in his chair during dates, his hand fixed under his chin as he listened intently to you. The glimmer in your eyes when you talk about something you love, telling him about your comfort book, why pandas are underrated creatures, the cute ducks you feed in the park, your standard job that you refuse to upgrade from because no one would treat the elderly owner nicely.

He can’t remember the number of times he rescheduled meetings so he could spend time with you. You were a beautiful soul whose confidence at his sex club captured everyone’s attention. He knew that every man and woman were attracted to you and he didn’t like that.

He took you everywhere and showed you all the places you haven’t seen before, as well as his comfort shops that he visits whenever he’s feeling overwhelmed which was pretty often due to being the CEO.

He had known you for three months only but they felt like three years. The feeling of being overwhelmed from work slowly turned into being overwhelmed from your presence around him. He was aware of how long he’d stare at you but god he couldn’t help it.

Sex was so different for the first time in his life. He never imagined that loving someone would make it this intense. He wanted to memorize every inch, worship your body, surrender himself to you and allow you to explore as much as you liked.

Even now, after being with you for two years, he still gets the same ache in his chest upon being around you. The honeymoon period will never end for you, you’re just aligned energetically.

He adores having his skin near yours, it restores his energy and grounds him. Stealing kisses is his job, allowing his fingers to linger a little longer, appreciating your chats about the mundane and important things, buying you properties because “you deserve it”.

He was very giddy and stressed the days prior to proposing and broke down in tears when you said yes. Although he was eager to officially make you his wife, he was already calling you his and introducing you to everyone as his life partner.

You had decided to postpone the wedding to make Pleasing’s second branch opening in Italy smooth which he was very thankful for. You didn’t mind a simple wedding with no guests but he wanted a huge ceremony to show you off despite his love for secrecy.

“I want everyone to look at you and know that you’re mine for life, and whatever comes after life, that they’ll never be as lucky as I am.”

You recall his words quite well as he placed a ruby diamond ring on your finger and kissed it.

After that, a huge shift happened. Bigger than the one he felt upon meeting you. He couldn’t tame his thoughts when he found out you were extra fertile. He always knew deep down that he wanted you to be the mother of his children yet it was so different when it became reality.

He was aching to be a father and it grew to be his purpose, it gave him a feeling that Pleasing never provided. The feelings during sex doubled, it became more intense and primal, butterflies in your tummies and sweaty bodies clinging to each other.

Just the mere thought of getting to breed you had him weak in the knees, the chemicals in his brain shifted and all he could think about was making sure you’re always full of his seed day and night.

He didn’t think that it would be possible to become more obsessed with you, but boy was he wrong. His biology obsession sneaked itself back into his life, the nights when he wasn’t balls deep inside of you, he’d make you Red Raspberry leaf tea (amazing for fertility), have you sat in his lap as he reads pregnancy books.

You found random books around the house with topics about the pregnancy phases, child psychology, postpartum, hormonal shifts, making the pregnant woman comfortable and understanding her emotions, along with the anatomy of a fetus starting from the first weeks till birth.

You had never seen someone so dedicated to being a good father and partner. He didn’t even want you to move around a lot or do anything that might upset you.

You both knew that sooner or later you’ll get pregnant, not only because you were so fertile, but because you acted like horny rabbits around each other. He filled you up any chance he got and used a plug to keep his seed inside of you before pulling it out at night to give you another load.

His number one rule was giving you as many orgasms as you needed and whenever you needed. He knows how your hormones become as you near ovulation, you get more feral than him. As much as your breeding sessions were fun, he’ll miss doing his duty in getting you round and swollen and all the dirty talk he used to rile you up.

“Gonna give me a sweet baby like you? Guess I’ll just have to keep filling you up.”

However you must admit that your favorite moments were getting him riled up by acting like a brat.

“Acting so careless as if I don’t own your womb, as if your cunt doesn’t beg for me to breed it every night.”

Just him whispering his filthy thoughts in your ear made you so goddamn weak. You knew that you getting pregnant will not stop him from being the primal man he is, in fact you have an inkling that some more kinks will come out.

It’s been over a month since his breeding obsession began, you didn’t keep up with your cycle app, Harry did. Although it might reveal a lot to him, you’re thankful that he can’t know about your pregnancy unless you tell him.

You’ve been noticing some changes over the past few days, and despite the difference in every woman’s body some of the common symptoms occurred to you like tender breasts, nausea and random headaches. Not only are they pregnancy factors but you also never suffered from them during menstruation.

These symptoms are the exact reason you purchased three different brands of pregnancy tests. You went to the store when Harry left the house right after making love to you.

The three tests are laid on the bathroom counter in front of you. You couldn’t wait till Harry returned from work and immediately peed on them then set up a timer of 2 minutes.

Call it an early mother instinct but you know that you’re pregnant. You won’t be disappointed if the result is negative, it’s simply that your body can already feel your little one growing inside you.

Your thoughts are interrupted by the timer setting off. It takes you a few seconds before jumping on your feet and taking a cautious look at the three tests.

Test 1: Plus sign

Test 2: Two lines

Test 3: Two lines

All of the tests are designed differently but show the same result: you’re pregnant with Harry’s child.

You couldn’t hold back your tears as you stared back at the positive tests and placed a protective hand over your stomach.

You’re pregnant.

You’re going to be a mom.

And Harry… the flow of tears intensified when you imagined him as a dad or how he’d react to such news. You were so adamant on getting pregnant that you didn’t think of how he’d find out.

It took a while for the news to settle in and you couldn’t keep your hand away from your stomach. The tears coated your face even more as you rubbed your hand back and forth, noticing the ring harry bought for you on your finger.

Your lovely little family.

After you washed your face and calmed down, you excitedly ran back to your bedroom and fetched your polaroid camera to take a picture in the mirror for the memories. Harry bought you a huge album book where you can place the photos in and leave notes under them. You’ll write down ‘When I found out about our baby’ under it but it felt weird since Harry wasn’t present.

Your thoughts drifted to him, how he’s sitting in his office so clueless about everything. How he made love to you this morning and kept pressing kisses to your collarbone , calling you the most beautiful names.

You began crying again upon thinking about him. God, what an amazing dad he’ll be. You’re not sure if you’ll be able to successfully pull off the pregnancy reveal in a cute way. You’re way too emotional for that.

You sanitized the pregnancy sticks and placed them in a gift box, before covering them with confetti and putting the polaroid picture on top. You couldn’t think of any other way and besides you wanted it to be simple.

All he has to do is come home.

The house was unbelievably quiet when Harry unlocked the front door. He’s aware that while being away , you feel like going out sometimes maybe have a random shopping spree or simply buy a refreshing drink.

Usually you’d text him, not because he’s an obsessed controlling partner but you guys love updating each other on your day. You’ve been doing that since you began dating.

You barely replied to his texts today which made him concerned and a bit pouty, especially now that the house feels empty as if you’re not here.

“Honeyyy? I’m back, where are you?” His voice echoed as he took off his shoes near the door and placed the flower bouquet he gets you every day on the kitchen counter.

His feet dragged him to the living room where an empty dish and mug were left near the sofa making him frown because you have a thing for neatness.

He took the stairs and headed straight to your shared bedroom where the door was left ajar, a sigh of relief left his lips as he spotted your figure on the carpet hunched over items he can’t see.

“My sweetheart you made my stomach drop, I called for you.” You turned around at his remark giving him your sweet smile that he adores.

“I was so focused here I didn’t notice.” You pointed to the mess in front of you. He took a closer look and went down on his knees next to you before wrapping his arms around you and leaving a kiss on your forehead.

You were going through some old albums of his and yours, the photos were distributed under your feet along with some letters and cards you both kept since you were children.

“What made you look through all of this?” He couldn’t resist giving your forehead another kiss and pulling your body to his so that your back was resting against his chest.

“I felt nostalgic I guess.” You shrugged picking up a photo of baby Harry swimming butt baked in a mini baby pool. The first time he showed it to you, you laughed so hard and spat your juice on his shirt. It made him a bit pouty so you had to kiss him and reassure him that your reaction was like that because he’s adorable.

You fetched two more photos, one that belongs to you and one to Harry. He was wearing a dalmatian puppy costume as he showed off a big smile while your photo included a sassy version of you holding a cotton candy stick as you posed for the camera with your hair styled in piggytails.

“Look at us being so extra, our baby is going to be amazing.” You chuckled as tears welled up in your eyes at what Harry doesn’t know.

“I think they’re going to have your soft hair and my teeth.” He whispered with his cheek laid against yours. His adoration and love for being a dad is making your heart burst especially that his hand is so close to your stomach when he doesn’t know his best friend is in there.

You can already imagine your baby and his thoughts aren’t helping. He is a gorgeous man and you could squeal just from thinking about their genetics.

“I think pictures are a great way to preserve love.” You couldn’t help the tear that fell from your eye as you thought of all the pictures you could take with your baby and Harry.

“Hmm it’s true my love. They’re like a time capsule.” He didn’t notice your wet cheek as he was too enamored by your pictures that he’s seen a thousand times.

You eyed the little gift box that bears the wonderful news and knew that no moment can be more perfect than this one.

“H, could you please grab this box and check what’s in it.” You pretended to busy yourself with the photos beneath you as he nodded and fetched the pink box.

You could’ve sworn that time went still in those few seconds, his arm reaching for the box and his focused gaze. It was all in slow motion, his hand opening the lid, the furrow in his eyebrows when he notices the polaroid seeing that it is you wearing the same clothes as now.

But that one second, half a second even when his hands move the confetti and spot the pregnancy tests. That moment itself is full of pure love that no time capsule can contain, it is something that could only be passed on from one generation to another.

“I- bab- What?” His hands begin to shake as he picks up the three tests in one hand while you allow the tears to flow both at his reaction and the memory you’re sharing.

“I’m pregnant.”

You move your body closer to him as he appears to have entered a state of shock. His arms are still trembling while his eyes cannot seem to hold his tears nor his excitement, his sniffles grew louder as he dropped his head in your lap.

“We’re gonna make our own time capsule and memories.” You whispered to your fiancée who’s full on sobbing in your lap.

You raised his head and cupped his cheeks smashing them in the process as some of his tears fell into your palm, his lips were pouty and trembling which urged you to kiss them. You reached for his hand and placed it on your tummy under your shirt and you could’ve sworn he let out a hiccup from crying.

“Our Baby?” He questioned as more tears stained his cheeks.

“Yes my love. Our Baby.” You laid your foreheads against each other sharing sloppy kisses unable to contain the love that is overwhelming your tiny human hearts.

You can’t remember for how long you stayed in that position, an hour maybe less just holding your bodies close and whispering love confessions as you think of your little darling.

“What’s with the polaroid of you?” Harry managed to ask after calming down.

“I took it to remember the day I found out about the pregnancy but it felt missing… you should be in it.” He suddenly jumped on his feet and helped you to get up before frantically rummaging through his drawer and fetching his film camera.

He said nothing as he held your hand and walked you over to the mirror. He positioned your body in front of him and wrapped an arm around your stomach before pressing his lips to the back of your head due to the height difference.

He turned on the camera and muttered a ‘smile honey’ before taking the picture that will live on and on.

The old childhood photos are still discarded on the ground. The two of you bask in the silence and love as he rubs on your tummy and kisses your earlobe every now and then.

Harry Styles is a very respected man of both authority and wealth. He doesn’t need a noble profession to feel proud but it turns out that he doesn’t need Pleasing either.

The relevancy he always looked for existed in your presence and the knowledge of becoming a father.

Harry Styles is a relevant man through his fatherhood and for him nothing else will matter.

You felt his chest vibrate as his chuckle echoed through the room. You laced your fingers through his and angled your head backwards.

“What are you laughing about?”

“I knocked you up.”

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weird-is-life · 3 months

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helloo! okay this might be a long request so buckle up. idea for spencer based off of my day; let it be know that i relate to spence, even if I have a "low" iq, what i mean is, I ramble. and watching people shut down spencer when he's about to rant always made me sad (obviously). but i realized it's because that happens to me. I'm a very geeky person so i get passionate and i understand why people would shut me down (still hurts tho). but today one of my friends asked a question it was about simpler animals and what the difference was. me loving animals and knowing the answer, well I spoke up but immediately got talked over about something not relevant. my real idea is, what if spencer had someone that rambled with him and appreciated his rants. like i think it'd be cute and they don't have to rant about the same thing, just both like in the corner talking absurdly fast together. and the team probably rolling their eyes. maybe??? (sorry if it was to personal) hope you have a great dayyy!!

Hiii lovely, ty for the request💕!! Hope this is okay, warnings: fluff, like one pet name (0.6k)

Sometimes Hotch kind of regrets hiring you (not really, you're a great addition to the team and everybody loves you), but when he sees you and Spencer together, the thought crosses his mind.

What he really does regret, is putting your desk and Spencer's desk next to each other. Big, big, big mistake.

You and Spencer are hunched over something at your desk, talking very quickly, as you two often do. Hotch finds your conversations, against his better judgement, cute. But not when he's trying to start a meeting and you two can't seem to notice.

He and the team see this on a regular basis, it's nothing new, that you and Spencer talk and talk about something, anything, completely in your own world.

Your conversations are still the same just like the first time, you and Spencer met. Maybe they got even worse. You two can ramble on and on for hours like it's nothing.

And you love it. You love talking to Spencer. The topic of your conversation is never a problem, you can talk about anything and nothing at the same time.

Just the fact, that you can talk to each other without being talked over, interrupted or hushed down is everything to you and to him.

Spencer feels the same. He loves talking to you. Your sweet, sweet voice makes it even better. He loves even just listening to you talk, it's maybe his favourite thing in the world.

Especially, when you two talk about the most silly, random stuff, while lying in the bed late at night. Chuckling and rambling without a care in the world. Maybe he loves it so much, because the team doesn't know about it. It's like something sacred between just you and him.

That's definitely his happy place, just you two having a quiet conversations with sleepy voices.

"Spence, have you read this book before?" you ask, pointing at the book lying on your desk.

"Oh," Spencer's face lights up with recognition," I have. It's really good, right?"

"I don't know, I haven't started it yet. I want to, but I can't bring myself to read it after a day full of work," you say to Spencer.

"I-I could read it to you?" he hesitantly offers.

"Spence, it's almost 800 pages long...." you chuckle at his offer.

"I don't mind," he quickly responds.

You think about it, but not for too long. You don't really need convincing, not when it comes to Spencer.

"Well, okay then. But only if you really want to," you give him a smile.

"I want to," he reassures you," and i do have some suggestions...."

"Like what?"

"Like books, that are similar to this. If you like this one, I could lend them to you-" Spencer's fast rambling gets interrupted, but not by you, never by you.

"Yo, lovebirds, we'd be very happy to let you talk about whatever nonsense you're talking about, but we all want to have this meeting over with. So if you'd be so kind to join us, that'd be nice," Derek basically yells at you from the conference room's doorway, making everybody in the room look at you and Spencer.

Your cheeks go a bit pink at Derek's words, you haven't realised that they were waiting on you and Spencer.

"Relax Derek, we're coming," Spencer says back loudly, " come on sweetheart, let's go there before they get mad at us," Spencer tells you, rolling his eyes over Derek's words.

"We'll talk about the book more later, yeah?" Spencer promises.

"Later?"

"I could come over tonight?" Spencer unsurely proposes.

"That'd be great, I'd love that," you'd never pass an opportunity to spend time with Spencer and getting to listen to him talk.

Somebody would maybe find reading to each other boring, but you and Spencer would never. It's like your love language.

#spencer reid x reader #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid x fem!reader #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x you #spencer reid

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eriexplosion · 1 month

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Tech Lives: An Ungodly Long Essay

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

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

THE LEAD UP

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

Doomed By Character Development?

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

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

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

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

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

That Sure Is A Lot Of Open Plot Lines

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

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

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

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

And then there's his personal plots.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Too Much of a Survivor To Die?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE FALL

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

What is Plan 99?

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

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

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

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

Pacing Goes Out The Window

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

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

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

Tarkin, Eriadu, & Saw Gerrera

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Did Tech's Sacrifice Mean Anything?

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

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

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

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

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

Framing is Everything

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

So why does Tech die with his helmet on?

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

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

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

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

We end up with something closer to this.

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

The Flip Might be Intentional

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

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

THE AFTERMATH

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

"What if he's hurt?"

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

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

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

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

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

No Body?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reused Score

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

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

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

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

SEASON 3 SO FAR

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

They Aren't!

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

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

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

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

Narrative Grief

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

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

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

How Do You Like Yearning?

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

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

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

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

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

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

What's to Come

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

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

MARKETING, INTERVIEWS, & SOCIAL MEDIA

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

Constant Focus

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

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

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

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

Never Say Die

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

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

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

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

What an Odd Thing to Say

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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