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stateofsport211 · 10 months

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Wimbledon MS Q3: Know Your Men's Singles Qualifiers + Lucky Loser Situation (2/2)

The qualifying competition as they happened, side-by-side (📸 AFP via The Japan Times)

Compared to the first batch, most matches covered in the second batch were concluded in four or five sets (as they happened). While some of these could be tense, some also featured the (possible) plot twists that only occurred in the best-of-five sets: either the match that could have finished long ago but the opposition dug deep (thus adding extra pressure) or another kind of turnaround that resulted in a rollercoaster of a kind.

Those stories enriched the Wimbledon qualifying rounds, making it distinct from the other Grand Slams since this is the only Grand Slam played on grass. It could be a good preparation for them coming to the main draw, so be sure to have these qualifiers (and possibly, lucky losers) on the lookout too!

The first part of the article can be found here, and the Twitter thread can also be found here.

Section 5: Radu Albot d. Felipe Meligeni R. Alves 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(6)

Radu Albot’s point at 3-0* 0-30 to 15-30, 2nd set (left) and match point conversion to 7-6(6), 4th set (📸 Wimbledon qualification feed)

Having qualified for the Championships last year as well, Albot came with at least a tie-breaker set in his previous two rounds, one of which he had to dig deep against Johannus Monday 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-2. On the other hand, Felipe stunned two veterans by defeating Pablo Cuevas and Vasek Pospisil to prevent a vintage battle to claim the qualifying spot.

Although Felipe’s defense-to-offense approach worked to some extent, just like in the fast hard ones, Albot’s creative prowess enabled him to outhit Felipe. While his working drop shots were spotted making the difference, minimizing the gap before Felipe held 1-3 in the second set, Felipe’s balance already went off before his level raise in the fourth set was insufficient to hand Albot the win, all on Felipe’s double fault as an initial differential, that even if the latter saved a match point out of his own volley (to reply to Albot’s lob), it was insufficient to the match tie-break thanks to Albot’s forehand, which Felipe shanked after the ball reached the let cord (and turned out to be in).

Section 8: Dennis Novak d. Yosuke Watanuki 6-7(9), 6-3, 6-3, 6-4

Dennis Novak’s point to *3-4 40-40 to 40-ad, 3rd set (📸 Wimbledon qualifying feed)

Y. Watanuki’s return depth, which also bothered Hubert Hurkacz when the former was a qualifier in Stuttgart (250), could pose an interesting test in the final qualifying round as he faced a more experienced Dennis Novak, who avenged Charles Broom 6-3, 6-4 after his three heartbreaker tie-breaker sets loss in the second qualifying round of the Ilkley Challenger.

The moment shifted in the last three sets once Dennis gained control in the middle of the second set. Stemmed from the Austrian’s power and variety (inclusive of his often proper slice usage and a forehand winner, displayed during a break point creation in the third set), Y. Watanuki’s service games ended up being pressed, often getting his shots rushed when trying to finish a point, hence the rest of the three sets.

Section 10: Dominic Stricker d. Mattia Bellucci 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4

Dominic Stricker’s point to 3-3* 0-15 to 0-30, 4th set (📸 Wimbledon qualification feed)

M. Bellucci could regain his form in the grass season after reaching the second round of the Ilkley Challenger (l. Jason Kubler) after the rollercoaster clay season post-Australian Open qualifying rounds (l. Francesco Passaro in Q2). Somehow, after defeating Raphael Collignon and Ivan Gakhov in straight sets, he had to face a rising Dominic Stricker, who sought a main draw qualification to close his competitive grass season, notably keeping it close against Andy Murray in the Nottingham Challenger.

Stricker finally qualified for the main draw after sealing the fourth set with an ace. Before that, while handling M. Bellucci’s groundstrokes that worked better in faster courts (notably hard courts and grass), Stricker added more pace and spin to his shots, resulting in the sampled forehand winner to put himself 2 points ahead in the sixth game of the fourth set. In the end, after M. Bellucci got pressed, he rushed his final shots, which did not help anything except Stricker gaining his moment.

Section 2: Oscar Otte d. Marc Polmans 6-3, 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-5

Oscar Otte’s point at 3-3* 30-0 to 30-15, 2nd set (📸 Wimbledon qualification feed)

Otte came with a questionable form since the beginning of the year (even was the 32nd seed last year) but appeared trying to make his comeback count in the grass season. This was visible in his journey to survive this popcorn chaos section, where he defeated Benoit Paire and Leandro Riedi, of all people, to secure his third-round encounter against Marc Polmans, who was eliminated by Cristian Garin in the second round of Wimbledon 2021.

Somehow, his grass-court prowess appeared just in time during the qualifying rounds. Despite being a closer encounter than his first two rounds, Otte’s redirecting ability and shot selection (including some balance of power in between) were still strong, he caught unleashing a drop shot and perfectly landed it before Polmans replied. The margin was thin, where the latter became an important differential in another example, where Otte lobbed his way through the 3-1 lead in the second set tie-breaker, eventually pressing Polmans’ service games at some other moments.

Section 4: Kimmer Coppejans d. Taro Daniel 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2

Kimmer Coppejans’ point at *4-4 15-15 to 15-30, 4th set (📸 Wimbledon qualification feed)

The fourth section partially fell apart when Coppejans defeated last year’s Ilkley Challenger champion, Zizou Bergs, in the second qualifying round after digging deep to defeat Timofey Skatov (in the first qualifying round) to conclude that match in a tie-breaker to break his 8-match losing streak on grass. On the other hand, although T. Daniel’s career grass records were an entirely different entity, he kept it competitive against Tommy Paul in the Queen’s Club’s first round; and it is possible to visualize the application of his game on the grass courts, with some pacing adjustments while trying to stay aggressive.

Had this been a best-of-three match, T. Daniel would have advanced. However, maintaining the rhythm looked like a tough challenge for T. Daniel, where his rushes only shifted his moment in Coppejans’ favor. Even if T. Daniel broke for the other two sets, Coppejans re-found his balance thanks to his systematic point construction, where not only his forehand caused more damage, but he also smashed his way to open the path before he broke T. Daniel’s service game in the fourth set. The latter then ended up having his balance further off, resulting in the fifth set beatdown with Coppejans dominating its flow.

Section 3: Maximilian Marterer d. Fabian Marozsan 7-5, 6-4, 6-7(5), 5-7, 7-5

Maximilian Marterer’s match point conversion to 7-5, 5th set (📸 Wimbledon qualification feed)

Upon winning the Perugia Challenger (which was held on clay), Marozsan entered the Top 100 for the first time in his career, currently sitting at number 95 in the official rankings. Playing his first professional grass-court Slam qualifying, Marozsan adapted his game in his own way by defeating Oleksii Krutykh and Elias Ymer before facing Maximilian Marterer, who qualified for the main draw last year after defeating Nicolas Moreno de Alboran.

This match became the match of the day as both players fought thick and thin in another five-set thriller. While Marterer often came up with passes caught off-guard in his strokes, Marozsan’s grass-court adaptation worked by using more slices and trying to use more drop shots despite its 50-50 success rate. However, as deep as Marozsan tried to dig, Marterer stood out by the end of the decider because of Marozsan’s rushed forehands, resulting in Marterer’s qualification to the main draw.

Section 9: M. Tomas Barrios Vera d. Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-4, 6-7(3), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2

M. Tomas Barrios Vera broke to 5-2, 5th set (📸 Wimbledon qualification feed)

Barrios Vera came to the qualification right after being the runner-up of the Poznan Challenger on clay (l. Mariano Navone 7-5, 6-3). However, having qualified in 2021 before his first-round elimination to Kevin Anderson, he might have a slight edge in facing an aggressive Seyboth Wild, who advanced after defeating Jelle Sels and Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the first two rounds.

After Barrios Vera took the first set 6-4, he tried to find his balance because Seyboth Wild tried to paint his own lines, with a forehand down-the-line winner sealing him the second set through a tie-breaker. However, a fall in the middle of the fourth set forced Seyboth Wild to take a medical timeout in the middle of a game, and Barrios Vera started to regain his pace and passed him in one way or another. The forehand winner to double the break in the fifth set was the pinnacle before he served it out to dominate the last two sets, finally securing his main draw ticket.

Section 13: Laurent Lokoli d. Michael Mmoh 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-3, 2-6, 6-2

Laurent Lokoli’s point to break 3-1, 3rd set (📸 Wimbledon qualification feed)

In an already chaotic section, Lokoli and Mmoh faced off to secure a spot in the main draw. While Mmoh had to dig deep in defeating Adrian Andreev and Dragos Nicolae Madaras in the first two qualifying rounds, Lokoli qualified for both the Nottingham and Ilkley Challengers in his maiden grass season, coming to the third qualifying round without dropping a set here.

Despite this match coming to a decider, Lokoli’s creativity carried several crucial parts in his favor. Not only his drop shot could run Mmoh over at the net (on his volley side) in this third set sample, but he also could utilize the open space to adjust his pacing, neutering Mmoh’s baseline game in one way or another. Things like these were behind Lokoli’s stand-out performance in the fifth set, resulting in a relieving ending as he qualified for his second Grand Slam appearance this year after the Australian Open.

Lucky Loser Situation

Lucky loser situation per the last two matches playing (📸 Entry List Updates via Twitter)

After Jan-Lennard Struff and Gael Monfils withdrew due to an injury, four highest-ranked people (lost in the third qualifying round) will be drawn for two spots in the main draw, which are Marozsan, T. Daniel, Y. Watanuki, and Mmoh (all of which, somehow, came from this batch). Two of them will appear in tomorrow’s main draw, while the other two would stand by (just in case).

By the time the last match ended, it means A. Kovacevic and Piros will stay on the borderline, leaving the first four names to be drawn (for that moment). The lucky losers will be covered in a separate article before or after the draw and could be updated should they increase. For the first time in the tournament's history, the main draw ceremony will be streamed live on their official website at 10am local time, where the qualifiers and lucky losers will also be placed.

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writingforfun0714 · 2 years

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I can’t believe I’m actually doing this. I figured I should stop being so scared and just post, even if no one sees/likes it.

Here’s my first OC fic for Bad Batch. It’s a full fic based on my 2nd part of my HC of the Batch finding/adopting a Jedi youngling, here. I even drew a quick sketch of one of the scenes here.

Her name is Maisy and she’s a 4 1/2yr Jedi youngling.

I’m hoping to make this a multi-chapter/part fic.

Warnings—contains talk of mental illness/trauma, spoilers for Clone Wars and Bad Batch, headcanons, OC character, mentions of Obi-wan Kenobi, O66 trauma, 3rd POV

*I put OWK cuz my OC’s backstory is almost identical to Reva’s though isn’t really mentioned in this chapter.

**Takes place during ep10 Common Ground and goes to finale

**I HC that S1 and S2 of BB are about a year apart w/ each ep being about 3 weeks apart aside from the last 2 eps (which are 2 parts)**

So ep 10 is about 8-9mo from O66 (ep1)

About my OC—Maisy is a 4 and a half year old jedi youngling who is found by Omega during ep10. Having being told to stay behind, Omega meets Maisy when the youngling sneaks food from Cid’s

Older Sister

Chapter 1

3rd POV

The Batch rescued Omega from Bane and Shand and are finally back on Ord Mantell. They had just stopped to get some Mantell Mix as per tradition (and because of the whole ordeal Omega went through) to cheer the young clone up. Omega sits perched on Wrecker’s left shoulder as the squad walks through the alleyways back to Cid’s bar.

“How’s the Mantell Mix kid?” Wrecker asks. Omega eats a few pieces as she grabs more and drops some in Wrecker’s mouth.

“Better than ever,” she tells him as he nods in agreement.

“Yeah it is!” Wrecker exclaims before laughing.

“So when’s our next mission?” Omega asks.

“With 2 bounty hunters after you, it’d be wise to keep a low profile,” Tech turns around to explain to the girl as Wrecker sets her down.

“Tech’s right,” Hunter agrees, “There’s too much heat on us right now.”

“Ha! That never stopped us before,” Wrecker says when Hunter suddenly pulls the larger clone to the side a bit.

“The kid’s been through enough. She needs a break,” Hunter tells the explosives expert quietly before they glance over and watch Omega offer Tech and Echo some of her food. Echo takes a few pieces and sniffs them curiously while Tech gives them a small smile.

“She seems fine to me,” Wrecker whispers to Hunter before the sergeant of the squad heads into the seedy bar they’ve been calling home. Wrecker, Tech, Omega and Echo all follow Hunter inside.

It’s mostly empty aside from the regulars and Cid.

“I’ve got a mission for you boys,” Cid informs the Batch as they walk in and take seats at the bar, “A simple extraction on Raxus.”

“Raxus?” Tech questions, “That is the former center of the Separatist government. It has since become an Imperial outpost—“

“I’m not interested in a history lesson, Goggles,” Cid shakes her head, “You’re being hired to locate and free Senator Avi Singh from his confinement,” Cid shows them a hologram of the senator.

“My client will meet you at the given coordinates to brief you. Details are on this. Now get going,” she tosses a datachip to Tech, but Hunter catches it midair. The squad looks at Hunter questioningly.

“Help a Separatist?” Hunter asks and pauses, as if briefly considering it, “Not gonna happen,” he tells Cid, tossing the chip back to the Trandoshan bar owner.

“Your debt’s still not paid, remember?” She says, “A job’s a job.” She argues. Hunter motions for them to talk away from the group and Cid follows. Once they are out of immediate earshot of the group, Hunter faces Cid.

“I am not bringing Omega to a planet swarming with Imperials,” Hunter says definitively.

“So leave her here with me. I’ll keep an eye on her,” Cid offers.

“I don’t exactly trust you either,” Hunter admits, crossing his arms and Cid smirks.

“Good. You shouldn’t,” she tells him before continuing, “But if keeping the kid safe means more money in my pocket, then it’s in my best interest to do so, isn’t it?” Cid asks, poking the sergeant’s chest plate with her clawed finger.

“If anything happens to her—“

“Yeah, yeah Bandana. Just get outta here, will you?” Cid waves Hunter off after shoving the chip at him. He looks at her and sighs. He doesn’t want to do this mission, but they still have a debt.

Hunter walks up as Omega readies her electrobow across her body.

“Ready when you are, Sergeant,” Omega salutes excitedly. Hunter kneels down to be eye-level with the girl.

“Not this time, Omega. You’re staying with Cid,” Hunter tells her.

“But th-the mission. I’m part of the squad too,” Omega insists.

“Then following orders shouldn’t be a problem,” Hunter argues gently, placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“Stay close to Cid and don’t leave this parlor,” Hunter orders, “Got it, soldier?” He asks. Omega groans with a sigh as she rolls her eyes a bit.

“Yes sir,” she answers Hunter obediently. He nods and heads out with Tech and Echo following. Wrecker gives Omega a pat on the shoulder as if to say ‘don’t worry’ before following his brothers out to the Marauder while Omega looks on sadly.

“Hey, Tiny, I got a mission for you,” Cid says, waving the sponge she’s holding a bit, getting the girl’s attention. She tosses the scrubber to Omega, who catches it.

“Now get scrubbing,” Cid orders and Omega frowns before doing as she’s told, albeit with minimal/low effort.

2 of Cid’s regulars are arguing over a game of holochess as the Trandoshan bar owner walks past them. Omega’s sitting on a bar stool, her head resting on her hand (with her elbow propped on the table) slowly running the scrubber on her spot, clearly upset about being left behind. Cid approaches the blonde-haired girl.

“Enough with the moping around,” Cid snaps, “You’re bringing the mood down around here.” She motions around to the mostly empty parlor.

“Sorry,” Omega replies sarcastically before going back to looking sad.

“Alright, I’ll bite. What’s wrong with you?” Cid asks.

“I haven’t heard back from them yet. Do you think they’re ok?” Omega asks with a shrug.

“They better be for what this job’s paying,” Cid replies.

“I should’ve gone with them on the mission,” Omega says, angrily shoving the sponge away, “It’s not fair,” she crosses her arms angrily.

“I’ve got news for you, kid. Life ain’t fair,” Cid says, grabbing the sponge, “You don’t like it? Stop pouting and do something about it,” Cid says, receiving a look from the girl.

“Maybe if you weren’t so helpless, those 4 laser brains wouldn’t have left you here with me,” Cid tells the girl.

Having had enough of Cid’s talk, Omega frowns and slides off the stool before angrily walking away from the female Trandoshan. The 2 regulars, who have been paying attention to them, look at Cid and shake their heads.

“What’re you 2 looking at?!” Cid asks, throwing the scrubber at the Weequay before approaching Omega, who’s sitting on the edge of a booth seat, sitting with her arms crossed, facing away from them. Cid approaches the girl.

“I’m not helpless,” Omega says, clearly angry before turning away.

“Look, kid, I told dark and broody I’d keep an eye on you and keep you safe,” Cid explains.

“Hmm-for how much?” Omega asks. Cid scowls at the girl and scoffs.

“Not enough,” Cid grumbles before leaving the girl alone.

Cid decided to join her regulars, a Weequay and a Tall (Tahl? Idk), in a game of Dejarik. Omega decided to go back to scrubbing the bar table down, but is also listening in/paying attention to the game Cid’s playing.

“You’ve got her cornered!” the Tall exclaims triumphantly, causing Omega to look over. Cid is playing the 2 regulars.

“Oh, yeah, I’m real scared,” Cid mocks before thinking about her move.

“Delay all you want, you’re not getting out of this one,” the Weequay says. Cid is about to press the button.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Omega says, stopping Cid’s clawed finger. The bar owner looks at the young girl, who shakes her head.

“Hear that? We got an expert here,” Cid tells her opponents before going ahead with her move. She presses the upper button and the holographic figure chitters and whistles before getting taken down by one of the bigger figures. The Tall laughs.

“She’s done for!” The Tall says to the Weequay. Cid scowls lightly.

“I told you,” Omega warned.

“Well, expert, what should I do next?” Cid asks and Omega approaches, joining the game.

The young girl studies the holochess board a bit before pushing three buttons in a specific sequence and watching the board for her results. Cid’s largest figure takes out the last 2 dejarik figures her regulars had, causing the Tall to groan in frustration.

“You blew it!” He exclaims, shoving the Weequay a bit.

“Yeah, but you’re the one who said to bet it all!” The Weequay argues.

“You wanna take this outside?!” The Tall asks.

“Gladly!” The Weequay answers and they head outside to fight while Cid stares in disbelief.

“How’d you know to do that?” She asks the girl curiously. Omega smiles.

“It’s a strategy game. I’m good at strategy,” she says and Cid thinks for a moment.

“Hmm..how good? Enough to uh…win a few matches for some money?” Cid asks.

“Depends…what’s my cut?” Omega asks smartly.

“Hmm..30%,” Cid offers. Omega thinks on it briefly.

“60,” the girl counters. Cid thinks it over and nods.

At first, customers trickle in but once they start playing, and losing to Omega, a crowd starts to form and word of mouth spreads, bringing in all sorts of people. Despite the large, outstanding debt the Bad Batch owes, Omega’s able to win it back and then some with only 7 games. The girl just finishes off her latest opponent and the crowd cheers.

“Better luck next time,” Cid tells the male Nautolan, who pays Cid, who in turn, splits the credits with Omega.

“Can I use the refresher?” Omega asks and Cid nods.

“5 minute break everyone—refresh your drinks, and get your credits,” Cid tells the crowd that is gathered around the dejarik board. Omega hurries to the restroom at the back of the bar.

Once she’s done, Omega heads out to hear Cid grunting and calling out.

“Hey! Hey get back here you little thief!” Cid exclaims. Omega frowns and hurries into the parlor and spots Cid holding a small scrawny girl by her wrist. Omega sees the girl is wearing tattered looking robes and has thick, wild, shaggy blackish brown hair and bright dark eyes. The little girl can’t be older than 5, but because Omega grew up around clones, it’s a little hard for her to guess ages (since most clones have accelerated aging).

“Cid! What’s going on!?” Omega asks as the little girl wriggles and squirms, trying to free herself from Cid’s iron grip.

“I caught this little wamp rat stealing food from behind the bar-“ Cid explains before turning to her regulars.

“Should we call the police?” The Tall asks and the little girl gasps.

“Don’t-“ Cid tells them as the little girl manages to slip free from Cid’s grip.

“Grab her!” Cid exclaims. The girl manages to dodge the Weequay and Tall but Omega manages to catch the girl by her belt.

“Aah!” The little girl yelps and struggles in Omega’s grip.

“Good job kid,” Cid says.

“It’s ok-I’m not gonna hurt you-“ Omega assures the squirming, wriggling little girl, who practically radiates fear.

“Easy kid-easy-“ Cid says, approaching cautiously. The little girl’s breathing increases to a rapid pace and Omega notices.

“It’s ok-this is Cid, she’s a friend. This is her bar,” Omega explains. The little girl absorbs Omega’s words and sees the young clone give her an encouraging smile.

“It’s ok,” Omega assures her as the little girl stops squirming. She looks at Omega up and down before sensing the truth to the young clone’s words. The little girl is cautious but has stopped wriggling and Omega’s grip lightens up considerably.

“My name’s Omega, what’s your name?” Omega introduces. The mysterious little girl looks between Omega and Cid. At first the girl doesn’t answer, afraid of giving her identity away. Her stomach growls in hunger and she blushes.

“C’mon kid, I’ll let you have whatever we have to eat if you tell us your name,” Cid bribes. The girl nods and Omega takes the girl’s hand in her own and leads her over to the bar stools.

Omega takes the seat to the left of the girl as she climbs up into the bar stool that’s as tall as her. The little girl has to shift to her knees to reach the bar table. Cid offers the girl a cup of water and she takes it immediately.

“Thank you,” the little girl says before gulping down the whole glass. Cid smirks while Omega genuinely smiles.

“She talks,” Cid says and the little girl nods as she eyes the bowl of fries she got caught eating. Cid notices.

“You like those huh? I think we have more somewhere-“ Cid says and walks to the back to find more, leaving Omega alone with the girl.

“So, what’s your name?” Omega asks once they’re alone.

“Maisy…I’m Maisy,” the little girl introduces shyly. Omega smiles.

“Nice to meet you Maisy,” she says before her face falls.

“Are…you by yourself?” Omega asks. Maisy’s eyes widen and she tenses at Omega’s question before managing a small nod.

“I am…now,” Maisy replies sadly. Omega frowns worriedly.

“If you don’t have anyone else, you can come with me and my brothers-“ Omega tells Maisy. Before Maisy can ask, Cid walks back in holding a fresh basket of fries.

“So, did you find anything out, Tiny? Though I guess compared to her, you’re not so tiny,” Cid says and Omega smirks.

“She said her name’s Maisy and she’s by herself,” Omega explains.

“Where are your parents kid?” Cid asks the little girl, sliding the basket of food over to the small, scrawny girl who clearly hasn’t eaten in a while. Maisy looks up at Cid in confusion.

“Parents? What is parents?” Maisy asks.

“Parents, you know, the adults that take care of you-“ Cid explains. Maisy does remember one adult. An elderly man. There were other adults, but she remembers him the most. He was nice and kind.

“Gone…dead,” Maisy whimpers when she remembers what happened. Omega frowns sympathetically and places a comforting hand on the younger girl’s shoulder.

“It’s ok…you can stay with me,” Omega assures Maisy, who looks at her through teary eyes. Maisy gives a small watery sniff.

“Really?” She asks and Omega nods.

“I promise,” she says.

“Promise?” Maisy asks and Omega nods.

“It’s unbreakable, it’s what friends do,” Omega says.

“Friends,” Maisy repeats and Omega smiles. As she eats, Omega talks with Maisy, trying to find out any other information on the little girl.

“So how old are you Maisy?” Omega asks.

“I’m 4 and a half-“ Maisy answers before looking Omega up and down.

“How old are you?” Maisy asks her.

“I’m 11,” Omega tells her and the girl nods.

“There were a bunch of kids your age in the class above me,” Maisy tells Omega.

“Class?” Omega asks and Maisy nods.

“At the Temple,” she tells the young clone as she finishes up, licking her fingers. Omega thinks. Temple? She hasn’t seen any Temple on Ord Mantell since the Batch came to be in Cid’s service.

“Cid-what’s this Temple Maisy’s talking about?” Omega asks.

“Hmm, there’s nothing like that that I know of here. Could be the Jedi Temple on Coruscant…most everyone knows that one,” Cid tells Omega. Her eyes widen and she turns to Maisy.

“Are you…a Jedi?” Omega asks. Maisy blinks in shock at her.

“No-..No I’m not. Jedi carry lightsabers,” Maisy argues, remembering her master’s dying words. Omega frowns as if knowing the young girl isn’t telling her everything.

“She’s right kid, the Jedi I worked with carried those laser swords,” Cid tells Omega.

“Are you from here?” Omega asks and Maisy shakes her head.

“Have you been on Ord Mantell long? How did you get here?” Omega asks at once.

“I-I don’t know…m-my ship crashed here and…and I was taken. But I got away. I’m not sure how long it’s been, a few moons maybe,” Maisy tells Omega, who nods and thinks to herself. Maisy looks at Omega and while the young clone is deep in thought, Maisy’s eyes scan Omega’s face.

“A-Are you a clone?” Maisy asks Omega innocently. Omega looks at the young girl.

“I am…how did you know?” Omega answers honestly before asking.

“Your eyes. They look like Commander Fox’s…and he’s a clone. But..but I’ve never heard of a girl clone,” Maisy says, clearly confused. Omega nods.

“I’m different. I’m unaltered,” Omega tells the girl, surprising herself. She had just come to terms of who she is and yet, something about this little girl makes Omega want to tell her.

Flashes of Master Shaak Ti race by in Omega’s mind as she doesn’t have many of the Jedi Master. She knew the Jedi through the Togruta master in charge of the clones before Nala Se intervened. Omega wonders why this girl reminds her of the Jedi master…but the young clone suddenly wonders where Master Ti is and if she’s ok.

“Omega?” Maisy asks, getting Omega’s attention.

“Hm?”

“Are you ok?”

“Yes, it’s just…you remind me of someone from my home,” Omega says. Seeing Maisy not make eye contact, Omega realizes the younger girl is a bit uncomfortable.

Looking for a distraction, Omega spots the Dejarik board behind her and smiles.

“Hey, have you ever played Dejarik?” Omega asks the girl. She blinks and shakes her head.

“C’mon, I’ll teach you,” Omega offers and Maisy smiles.

“Ok,” she says and follows Omega.

They take the adjacent spots as Omega turns the holochess board on and explaining the rules and object of the game. She goes through each piece and their corresponding buttons.

“Ok, ready?” Omega asks and when Maisy nods, the older girl motions for the younger to go first. Maisy nods and starts off with a basic move.

As the moves go on, Maisy managed to corner Omega and beat the older girl. Wanting a rematch, Maisy happily agreed and the girls are now on their 4th game with Omega only winning 1 game.

“Are you sure you’ve never played this before?” Omega asks. Maisy shakes her head. Truth be told, Maisy’s life consisted of studying and training at the Temple on Coruscant. The Jedi had no time for such games. Once Maisy’s had enough, Omega tells Cid to resume the betting.

“Can I watch?” Maisy asks Omega and the older girl nods.

“Of course,” she says and pulls a seat over to her side so Maisy can sit next to her. The young girl smiles and hurries over as the next challenger takes the seat across the board.

The rest of the Batch finally return from successfully retrieving Senator Avi Singh. Hunter notices the amount of people first.

“What’s all this?” Wrecker asks, wondering why there are so many people wanting to go to Cid’s.

“C’mon,” Hunter says and they follow the sergeant inside.

“Man! No one can stop these kids!” A patron exclaims. Hunter and Tech push past a few to get a look.

“Of course,” Hunter says. Everyone’s eyes widen when they see Omega make the winning move. The crowd cheers.

That’s when Omega spots Hunter and the others within the crowd and waves at him.

“Alright, that’s it, no more bets,” Cid says, walking up to the Batch. Omega hurries over to her brothers. Maisy watches curiously from her spot. The others haven’t seemed to notice her yet.

“Where’d you learn to do that?” Wrecker asks, picking the young girl up.

“She’s a natural. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Cid says, making Omega smile.

“I told you to keep a low profile. This is the opposite,” Hunter scolds lightly, making Omega’s smile turn into a frown.

“Ease up Bandana,” Cid says, shoving Hunter roughly to get him to face her.

“Omega made enough money to clear off the debt you boys owe me, so try showing a little more gratitude to my friend,” Cid says, pointing her clawed finger at the sergeant, who blinks in surprise. She walks up to Omega, who is still in Wrecker’s arms.

“You did good,” she says, placing her clawed hand on Omega’s shoulder in an approving/kind gesture, making the girl smile again.

“Senator, glad you made it. Let’s talk payment,” Cid says, showing the Senator and his droid to her office to talk business, leaving the Batch alone in the parlor, since everyone cleared out. Maisy stays silent to watch the interaction between Omega and the men wearing clone armor painted black and red.

“You really paid off our debt?” Hunter asks Omega.

“I wanted to be useful, even if I couldn’t go on the mission,” Omega tells him. She looks at the holochess board and that’s when she spots Maisy’s thick, wild, shaggy dark brown hair poking out from behind and she remembers her new friend. She hurries over and the boys watch.

“It’s ok, they’re my brothers,” Omega says, holding something. The boys wonder who she’s talking to until she manages to coax a little girl out from hiding.

The Batch stare in shock.

“Hunter…Hunter this is my new friend,” Omega introduces.

“Omega?” Hunter asks, clearly confused at seeing Omega with a much younger girl in what appears to be Jedi robes.

“Woah,” Wrecker comments.

“Who is that?” Tech asks.

“I don’t believe it,” Echo says in awe. When Maisy looks them over, she suddenly recognizes them as clones.

“C-Clones?” She asks. Hunter nods.

“This is Hunter, our squad leader,” Omega introduces.

“Omega, who is that?” Hunter asks, repeating Tech’s question.

“This is Maisy. She’s my new friend,” Omega tells the sergeant. He looks at the little girl and she looks back at him with large, owl-like eyes.

“How did you two meet?” Echo asks and Omega explains that Cid caught her sneaking food.

“Who are you?” Maisy asks, tired of answering questions.

“I’m Wrecker-“ the largest clone introduces first and Omega smiles at how readily and easily Wrecker is to get to know her new friend.

“My name’s Echo..that’s Tech,” Echo introduces. Despite his modifications, he looks the most like the clones Maisy is used to. Tech analyzes her with his visor.

“Young human child. Origins…Coruscant?” Tech says and they all look at Maisy.

“You’re from Coruscant?” Hunter asks and Maisy nods and the boys share a look but don’t say anything.

“Omega’s been teaching me about Dejarik. She taught me how to play,” Maisy tells them and Omega smiles.

“Oh yeah? Well let’s put those strategy skills to the test. One match. If you win, no more sitting out on missions,” Hunter says, exciting Omega. He turns the board on and motions with his head to it. She hurries over and motions for Maisy to come sit next to her.

“You ready for this?” Hunter asks.

“Are you?” Omega asks back and the 2 begin to play.

“So Maisy…do you have any family or someone we can contact for you?” Hunter asks, making his move. The little girl shakes her head sadly.

“I’m…alone,” she says and Omega quickly pulls the younger girl closer, knowing that feeling all too well.

“Not with me you’re not. We’re friends and as your friend, I’m here for you,” Omega tells her, making a move.

“Omega-“ Hunter tries.

“Hunter-she has no one,” Omega insists. He sighs, making another move.

“We can’t take her with us Omega,” Hunter says and Omega frowns, clearly upset. Maisy looks away, clearly uncomfortable being talked about right in front of.

“Why not? Helping people is what soldiers do-“ Omega argues, making a counter move.

“We don’t have the resources. Besides, Maisy is a lot younger than you and needs more attentive care,” Hunter argues.

“I can take care of myself. I don’t wanna be a burden-“ Maisy argues.

“You’re not a burden,” Omega argues almost immediately before turning back to Hunter.

“Please Hunter? She needs us,” Omega begs. Hunter sighs and looks at Omega’s new friend.

Whether its her large pleading eyes or Omega’s insisting look, Hunter breaks first and nods.

“Alright,” Hunter sighs causing the 2 girls to light up excitedly.

“But there will be rules that have to be followed, understand?” Hunter says and Omega and Maisy nod.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Maisy exclaims happily before jumping into Hunter, wrapping her small, scrawny arms as much as she can around the sergeant. Omega smiles at the gesture and Hunter allows himself a small smile as well before putting a hand on Maisy’s back.

“Sure thing kid,” Hunter replies, though inside, wondering how the kriff he’s gonna manage this as Omega beings to tell Maisy all the great things about being in the squad.

End of Chapter 1

Chapter 2

#star wars #star wars bad batch #bad batch #fanfic #star wars tbb #star wars fanfiction #bad batch fanfic #bad batch oc fanfic #bad batch jedi oc #bad batch jedi fanfic #bad batch fanfiction #jedi youngling oc #Disney #please #unwhitewash the bad batch #and the clones #pleeeeeease #bad batch older sister fanfic #older sister fanfic

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seer918 · 1 year

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Comparing Megaman robot masters to Megaman Battle Network netnavis part 2: The very belated one

Soooooo I totally forgot I was doing this. Shows how bad last summer was if my brain melted to the point I forgot

Oh well, time for the next batch

Score so far is 5-2 in favour of the navi because I count ties as a point for both, and I feel like that gap’s gonna get larger

First, MetalMan and MetalMan.exe

God these designs fuck (affectionate)

Not a big fan of the yellow on the robot master, and I enjoy the addition of gears and the mechanical fists to make .EXE more metal themed rather than just buzzsaw themed

Point for MetalMan.exe, raising the score to 6-2

Next, AirMan and AirMan.EXE

Ehhhh, they’re both...alright? Kinda dumpy in different ways

Not sure I like the addition of green to the Navi design, but do like its slightly more threatening fan

But there’s just something truly iconic about the classic design, even if I didn’t grow up with it. I also prefer the overal bulkiness compare to the inexplicably lanky thighs of .EXE...

It’s a tie, 7-3.

Okay, next up is...next up are the Bubblemen

...it’s a race to rock bottom, folks. Another victim of the random chibi-fication but instead of ruining a solid design it’s just another version of a really ugly look

Why the cheek marks and the fat lips? But then again why give a robot a diving mask? Why make a water robot green?

I’m half tempted to remove a point from BOTH games’ score but instead I’m awarding both games a point as compensation for having to look at these two.

8-4

Thankfully the next up are a nice change of pace, pun semi-intended, QuickMan and QuickMan.EXE

Both are really solid designs, but even putting my personal navi bias aside I do like that .EXE looks like something that can move fast. And all the sharp edges make the idea of simply getting in his way a fatal choice.

9-4, but it was REALLY close this time.

Skipping over CrashMan since I guess they didn’t want to think about how overpowered a program with CRASH in it’s name would be to fight, we move on to FLASH, AH AAAAAAA~

...this batch (with one notable exception) so far has really been the ‘close to the original’ round, huh?

Ironically given the name, I like the mostly darker colour scheme for .EXE, since it makes the actual flashing parts POP a bit more.

10-4 and that’s mainly because the pauldrons on the robot master being light blue annoys me for some reason, otherwise it’d’ve been a tie.

Next up is a dumpy guy dressed as a lighter and a screaming Hellbeast that looks like a lighter that uses child blood as lighter fuel

The best glow up in this batch and the best navi partner of Mr Match...oh do I have a burning desire to tear into the last one of his fire trio but I’ll wait until the 6th round.

Even if I didn’t have a bias, I just love the jack’o lantern look to .EXE’s face. They really went hard in on the fact that Navi don’t HAVE to look humanoids and I love it.

11-4

And last we have...Oh, nice, WoodMan

The only Robot master who isn’t mostly red or blue in this batch so my eyes are happy. the yellow accents are weird but do help pop against his otherwise dull tone-mm? Oh, how rude of me, I forgot to get a picture of your decendent, WoodMan.EXEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYIKES!

....HE LOOKS CONSTIPATED!

I mean I guess they were going more for the wooden golem look but...why give him big meaty lips? Why does his arms look more robotic than the actual robot master? On MetalMan.EXE that makes sense since mechanical bu-WHY DOES HE HAVE A FUEL GAUGE?!

...I’m dissapointed Battle Network. At least you made his operator an absolute cutie.

11-5. The gap got larger but the classic series is still clinging on

Gonna try and make this at least a twice weekly series since the Legacy Collection will be out soon, even if currently my funds won’t let me buy it until my next paychecque...stupid illness taking out a week and a bit...

Er, anyway I’ll try and have the 3rd batch out tomorrow, be good people

#megaman #megaman battle network #robot masters #net navi

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crashpit · 2 years

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Here are all the LPS toys I'm keeping for myself (NOT selling) bc they have sentimental value to me. I will be displaying these on a shelf somewhere... probably near my g3 ponies I've kept. These all have been cleaned in a big batch in the sink but many need to be individually scrubbed again. Some of these ones look dirty and those are ones that will need some extra care before they are displayed. This goes for the ones I'm selling as well. Many of those need some tlc before they can be sold.

Okay so I'll go through all of these explaining why I'm keeping them and the sentimental value they have to me just cause I feel like it.

Here we go:

1st picture: purple ferret, unique multicolored dog with stars on its ears and other interesting details, a snow-themed husky dog that is light blue with some details in a darker blue. These 3 are very unique toys in my opinion. They are all very cute to me and besides the fact that I loved these as a kid, I also love them now and I think they'd look pretty on my shelf. Husky could use some extra cleaning for sure.

2nd pic: Pink Raccoon! Raccoons are my favorite animal and this one is reminiscent of albino raccoons, something I was very intrigued by as a kid and even now I find albino animals to be something really awesome and intriguing! I actually have another raccoon LPS toy I have yet to find that is black and grey, like a more traditional raccoon. That one I am keeping as well.

3rd pic: green eyed panda. This one has some visible marks on it and chips in the paint. That is because I LOVED this toy as a child and brought it with me to elementary school very often. We had an after care program at our school for kids whose parents worked later and we were aloud to bring toys so... I'd very often bring LPS toys with me and this one was definitely brought with me the most. This one has a lot of sentimental value. I did have another panda with blue eyes, but my lil sis wanted that one. She's 8, so perfect age for these toys :D

4th pic: hermit crab with some interesting details on shell, eyes, face and claws. I just thought this one was cool and would look nice on my shelf. I am actually open to offers on this one as I have another hermit crab that I was more attached to in a box somewhere.

5th pic: My chihuahuas!! These I'm very attached to because I played with them a lot as a kid and I would pretend they were sisters... So because they are sisters they are inseparable and will be on my shelf next to each other!!

6th pic: beige bulldog! I always loved this wrinkly little guy. He's got a very adorable face and I find him to be unique since I don't often see bulldog LPS toys (I may be wrong tho ... These may be more common than I think) and he has a lot more detail to his mold than most LPS toys I've seen. I love the quality of this toy, too. It's very well made and there's no visible mistakes in the paint on his eyes and paws. Also, he's in very good condition. Aaaaand I was attached to him as a kid (he has a gender for christs sake).

7th pic: brown cocker spaniel looking dog. Love the details in the mold on this dog. I've seen a lot of LPS dogs with the same mold but different colors and I'm always very fond of these bc ...they're just pretty. Well made toy and in good condition. It's def one of my faves.

8th pic: bunnies! Love these two but mainly the one on the right. Keeping bc I just really like how these look and I want some bunnies on my shelf!

9th pic: little yorkie with a lil bit of doll hair sticking out from its head! This one was one of my first LPS toys I remember getting. It came with some accessories that have since gone missing but the toy itself is in good condition and is one of the more detailed molds I've seen on an LPS toy. A lot of LPS toys have detailed molds, but some more than others I'd say. This one's a personal favorite of mine and I'm definitely keeping it!

10th and last pic: little orange kitten! I don't know how common these kitten LPS toys are tbh.. I had two of them: this one and a gray one. I kept this orange one and my sis kept the gray. We kept em bc we thought they were cute.

#lps #lps toys #littlest pet shop #wade rambles #reblogging is allowed

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sasanamiri · 2 years

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Hey, Have you entered this competition to win Decentralized Internet of Value Genesis Plan: NFT + DeFI + DAO + Mesh yet? If you refer friends you get more chances to win :) https://wn.nr/7RcsYj

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solosvejs · 2 years

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Our Flag Means Data

As we all know, Our Flag Means Death has exploded onto fandom in a very short amount of time, and we still don’t have any news about a season 2 so one day at like 3 am I decided that it would be a great idea to see if I can do some data about it. More specifically, I wanted to see if there was any relationship between the stuff that was happening in the show and people writing (or not writing) fic about it. We all remember SPN Finale-pocalypse, when you had to go 50 pages back in the ao3 results to find anything written before that episode - was something similar happening here?

Quick numbers:

We have produced 2131 fanworks in 34 days!!!

The total wordcount was 6,497,681 (yes that’s almost 6.5 million words about gay pirates) - y’all are SO PRODUCTIVE.

Average wordcount: 3042

Est. words per day: 191108

The first fic on Ao3 was posted on March 9 - six days after the initial batch of episodes dropped (e01-e03). OFMD has a very weird release schedule where they didn’t do the standard one-episode-per-week model OR the Netflix release-everything-at-once model.

By April 3rd, there were over 1000 works - meaning that less than a month after the first fanfic appeared, the fandom was already ineligible for Yuletide.

So far, the day with the highest activity was April 4 - 211 works were posted that day.

The graph above shows very quick growth, but a running total will always look kind of inflated, so lets look at it in more detail:

(full-view for all the data-y goodness)

Here we have the number of works posted per day, and some more interesting patterns. I’ve also plotted the wordcount as the dashed line, and added annotations for when each batch of episodes came out.

We start to see fandom activity start out fairly slow - It wasn’t until after episodes 7-8 (”This is Happening” and “We Gull Way Back”) were released that you get more than 1-2 posts each day. Is this the point at which we all clued into the premise of the show and realized it wasn’t just queer-baiting?

March 26 and 27 saw another spike when the last two episodes came out - you had more fics than the previous day (and it helped that this was a weekend, so people had time to write as many fix-its as they wanted). This is also when the ship was DEFINITELY confirmed, we had an actual kiss, everyone lost their collective shit. The increase after this was a bit slower, but still steady - even if there are falling-off periods like on March 28th, it never does back to the previous level.

I’m really curious about the two REALLY big spikes that we see on April 2nd and 10th.

This graph uses the same daily fic count as the one above, but now we are plotting only the difference from the previous day:

So we are seeing some ebbs and flows in the activity. It’s difficult to make a real comparison to SPN Finale because, well... Supernatural had 15 years’ worth of fic before that, as well as its own fandom migrations, wank, and controversies.

In conclusion...

This whole thing started because I saw someone in the OFMD tag say that people only started watching the show once they knew that Blackbonnet was canon -- I thought, huh I wonder if that’s true, maybe I can do a chart or something. And, well, a couple of weeks later, I don’t know if I have a definitive answer to that question? It’s likely that a canon ship got people talking more and drew some folks in who may not have otherwise been interested -- the “oh it’s queer? Yeah I’m in” argument works on me very often.

Do we see an increase in fanfic production after The Kiss happened? Yes. But because episodes 9 and 10 were released at the same time, it’s hard to untangle which works were written in response to what without looking at the tags. As I was writing this I realized something as well, which I didn’t consider at first: When do we we consider Ed/Stede to have been made “canon” ?

The episode when they kiss is an easy choice, but probably an equally large number of people would say it’s episode 7, “This Is Happening”. I’m sure for some people it was their adorable moonlight exchange in episode 5. Maybe for others it was another moment when they knew it was canon. If you’re David Jenkins, it was probably canon from the very first episode, we the audience just didn’t know about it yet.

Ultimately, I’m not sure it matters. People find different fandoms in all sorts of different ways -- through larger fandom spaces, recs from friends and popular blogs, or even just out in the wild. And people some people did only decide to watch the show once they knew they wouldn’t be queer-baited, which is absolutely their right! Consume your blorbos as you will :)

Caveats and assumptions

I only looked at what was posted on Ao3 because that’s what I have the most access to and am most familiar with in terms of stats and how the data is structured. It’s possible there are other folks who’ve already tracked the growth on Twitter/Tumblr or other social medias.

Data was taken from the main fandom tag: https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Our%20Flag%20Means%20Death%20(TV)/works; Out of the 2131 works, only 55 were marked as crossovers.

“Date posted” and “date updated” a bit tricky to distinguish if you’re just looking at the work results and not going into each individual work/chapter/series. I don’t think it’ll skew the data very much personally, since we’re looking at such a short timescale, but I might look at this in more detail later.

The fandom is VERY NEW. We only have data for a little over a month, so it’s hard to draw any sort of conclusions about whether the trend will keep going or not.

Currently, OFMD is only available through legitimate means on HBO Max - this will limit the reach of the fandom somewhat; yes, there are people who will consume the show through gifs and memes and fanart, or those who don’t mind reading fic if they’re not familiar with the source material, but it still seems like the relative exclusivity of the show is a factor.

As an addendum to that, I have no idea what/when/how aggressively this show was marketed. I personally only became aware of it through Tumblr, but I’m probably a poor barometer since I don’t have TV outside of streaming and don’t really pay attention to HBO. If someone wants to look at promotional efforts as they relate to fanwork production, I’d be really interested to see that! (Happy to share my dataset but it might be out of date by the time I post this with how fast y’all are writing)

Boring tech info & How to get in touch!

Data was scraped from Archive of Our Own using Python and the BeautifulSoup library. To structure and analyze the data, I used pandas, csv, and collections. Charts (and one pivot table because I am still baby at programming) were made in Google Sheets. If you want a copy of any of my code, or the dataset, please DM me and I’d be happy to walk you through it :) If you’re curious about fandom stats in General, check out DestinationToast, who has been doing this for a lot longer than I have and has a ton of resources!

#fandom stats #our flag means death #ofmd #ao3 #baby's first stats project!!!#(it's me I'm the baby)#fanfiction #solo does stuff #meta #ofmd meta

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ukaiknowsbest · 3 years

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breaking down Ace of Diamond - the "Hero's Journey."

Using the model/guide presented by Overly Sarcastic Productions in their youtube video Trope Talk: The Hero's Journey, I will attempt to discuss how Sawamura Eijun's story in DnA is his Hero's Journey to becoming an ace pitcher in the Japanese HIgh School Baseball environment.

Blue from OSP put forward the 12 basic parts of the Hero's Journey Cycle. The illustration below will be our reference. I simplified a graph made by Signy Wilson in order to match OSP's less rigid guide.

disclaimer: I am by no means any kind of expert. I was just fascinated when I learned about the Hero's Journey as a general trope/framework when it came to writing stories. I want to apply what I learned by breaking down the story created by Terajima Yuuji in Ace of Diamond.

A. ORDINARY WORLD

STAGE 1. THE HERO IN HIS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Hero: Sawamura Eijun. Captain and Ace Pitcher of middle school baseball team. He has no formal training in baseball whatsoever but was the one who gathered and convinced his friends to start a baseball club. He's the best player in their small team. Good at sports but bad at academics .

He is generally a baseball idiot and quite a naive/simple guy with a strong heart. He does not have any idea what competitive and pro baseball looks like because not only does he not have experience but also he does not watch the broadcasts on tv/radio at all.

Ordinary World of the Hero: rural town in Nagano Prefecture, where Sawamura formed a small baseball team with his childhood friends. Acording to him, as long as they all stay together they can always play baseball anywhere.

STAGE 2. THE CALL TO ADVENTURE

2.1 Problem/why hero's ordinary world is going to crumble: - He lessened his chances of being scouted/accepted in a good baseball school after he btchslapped an entire opponent team and the umpires in their first and only match as middle school team in Saitama Stadium.

He also has low chance of being accepted into the high school in their area (where his friends are all going to) because he struggles with his academics a lot.

Unless he does something he won't be able to be together with his friends and/or play baseball at all.

2.2 Caller of the adventure - Takashima Rei pursues Sawamura into Nagano Prefecture in order to scout him as a sports scholar for Seido High School, a baseball powerhouse school located in the West Division of Tokyo Prefecture.

2.3 medicine/ solution to hero's crumbling world: being a sports scholar for Seido. This would solve almost all of Sawamura's highschool enrollment problem and also give him the chance to play as much baseball as he wants.

STAGE 3. REFUSAL TO THE CALL

3.1 reluctance to go: Sawamura refuses to leave Nagano despite Rei's "sales pitch" to him and his family. He doesn't want to leave his friends just to play baseball in a stronger school far away because he had promised his friends that they would always stick together.

3.2 hero punished for this - his grandpa literally smacks/slaps him in being stupid and doubting his friends.!!! / technically circumstances are already punishing him for being a hotblooded baseball idiot in the first place.

3.3 do you think you have a choice - this is probably the only chance he'll get to play baseball with all his strength AND finish highschool.

B. EXTRAORDINARY / UNKNOWN WORLD

Venturing out into more competitive/pro baseball is a world beyond him. It's scary and unknown and he'd rather defeat bigger teams than leave his friends.

STAGE 4. CROSSING THE THRESHOLD

4.1 crossing physical threshold - Rei persuades him to at least check the school out with his own eyes. They leave Tokyo together for one visit.

4.2. crossing a metaphorical threshold - in that visit, sawamura, picks a fight with a senior who's bound for baseball drafts, works together with a nationally acclaimed catcher in defeating the senior player, thus changing his worldview because he had so much fun.

4.2. conscious and irreversible decision - Because of the experience he goes home conflicted. His family encourages him in their own way to follow his guts and heart and go to Tokyo.

STAGE 5. REALM OF ADVENTURE

5.1 hero learns to navigate the unknown world - Sawamura learns the harsh realities of being in a baseball school once he actually starts to live there. Our boy also gets educated in Baseball and Pitching 101. He also finds out the true personality of the catcher he played with before.

5.2 meeting allies/rivals/mentors - he learns about the team better when he meets a whole bunch of people: batchmates, coaches and senpais. He builds interesting dynamics with all of them.

5.3 trials and initial failures - Sawamura undergoes difficult initial training and is barely allowed to play in matches.

5.4 meeting enemies - Sawamura being allowed to play as relief pitcher in the games and face talented pitchers and scary batters mostly in tense situations.

5.5 growth, new skills - Sawamura grows with each match, thus bolstering his confidence. Sometimes he falters but he learns from his mistakes.

5.6 first major success - striking out scary batters with each new thing he learns.

5.7 major challenge that leads to downfall - seido vs inashiro finals match where he goes in full of confidence and courage but then he and his team gets defeated in a devastating way.

STAGE 6. BELLY OF THE WHALE

6.1 lowest point of hero where hero physically or metaphorically goes down - one month after their major defeat, a lot of intense practice matches and change in team dynamics, the team find out that Sawamura has the YIPS. This condition took away Sawamura's ability to pitch in his trademark style/ the only thing he was good at.

6.2 hero's darkest hour - without the ability to pitch, Sawamura questions his reality and why he is still on the team.

6.3 Face and overcome inner demons - with a lot of help from allies and mentors, Sawamura finds a way to bring back a bit of his ability.

STAGE 7. ROAD OF TRIALS

7.1 Discarding old self - In the duration of his downfall and eventual healing, Sawamura turns to books, meditation and becomes even more careful in maintaining his form and body.

7.2 Accepting the new role - instead of fixating on the ace position like before, Sawamura is just glad that he is still allowed to pitch as relief.

7.3 Finding path out of the belly of the whale/The road back - After figuring out a solution to fix his pitching, he focuses on it and regains some of his ability. Sawamura is then allowed to play in matches. Just like before, he improves little by little as he recovers from each failure. He gains fresher mindset and new weapons, thus becoming an even stronger pitcher than he ever was before.

7.4 more trials - they face new opponent schools and old but improved opponents which test the best of Sawamura and the team's ability

STAGE 8. PRE SHOWDOWN BREATHER

every major match in ace of diamond has this part of the story but usually the most critical breather episode is the one before the final match.

8.1 show humanity of other characters - Somethng bad happens to the other mc without Sawamura knowing. This could absolutely wreck their chances of winning the final match. This shows that the other guys are not 100% invincible after all.

8.2 last chance to relax. - calm before the storm. It is also the time where they finalize sawamura's weapons.

8.3 quiet moment to reminisce - usually happens before each match. However the night before the finals was the major one because their old senpais went to visit their practice and encourage them.

STAGE 9. CLIMAX / STEPPING UP TO THE CHALLENGE

9.1 Final Showdown - Sawamura helps in the team defense with the best of his ability and weapons and he succeeds. Their team eventually wins Fall Tournament even with a few setbacks.

9.2 Apotheosis - Sawamura's worldview changed once he realises that even with his improvement and skill, his goal of being the ace is still out of reach for him.

9.3 Ultimate Boon - Sawamura gets to be a pivotal member of their baseball team and can play baseball as much as he wants with his team.

STAGE 7. ROAD OF TRIALS start again after the Fall Tournament Act 1 because Sawamura faces new challenges in Ace of Diamond Act 2.

Meiji Jingu Tournament - Play in matches without Miyuki

WInter camp and break - Intense Physical Training and development and improvement of his weapons which he will use and improve on throughout the rest of Act 2.

Spring Koshien where he realises that he has to do more in order to surpass the current ace which was Furuya.

Start of New Term/ Practice Matches - Sawamura and co. meets their new kouhai and team dynamics shift once again.

Spring Tournament / Summer Tournament - Sawamura meets old foes and new enemies. He also becomes the Ace Pitcher of the team, which adds more pressure on his part.

ACT 2 STAGE 8. PRE SHOWDOWN BREATHER

This is the big and long one before Summer Tournament Finals match where injuries and problems were discussed and feelings were explored.

ACT 2 STAGE 9. CLIMAX

Final (Or most hyped and awaited rematch) Seido vs Inashiro in order to qualify for Summer Koshien Nationals.

**everything after this point will be prediction and just my opinion

STAGES 7-9 start again

Koshien Nationals Arc.

STAGE 10. CROSSING THE RETURN THRESHOLD

Miyuki/3rd years retirement/graduation. Sawamura and his batch will have to lead the team.

STAGE 11. THE REWARD

Sawamura gets to play with his team as ace pitcher.

STAGE 12 / STAGE 1. THE HERO IN HIS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Sawamura may become both ace and captain, same as his role back in his middle school team, albeit in a stronger school. Even if he won't be the next captain, as ace he will still be in a strong leadership position.

CONCLUSION

That's how Ace of Diamond is written in the style of A HERO'S JOURNEY.

Act 1 writing especially followed the trope quite rigidly.

Notes:

I still don't want Sawamura to be the next captain. I hope that does not happen. However if it does, it means the story will have gone back full circle. That would be quite poetic ngl.

Gotta applaud Terajima's pacing. Can you believe that the story only reached its lowest and most pivotal point at around episode 70 of the anime???? thank godt that after ep 63 I read spoilers about yips arc in tv tropes or else i would have dropped the series completely.

I had difficulty in classifying the events after the climax stage into hero's journey stages because technically sawamura has not gone "home" yet. Moreover the challenges and trials just kept on piling up after Fall Tournament.

In this whole story, Sawamura has experienced only one true "Belly of the Whale stage" during his YIPS arc. I don't think he really came to a low point in Act 2 other than his first official match as Ace Pitcher. I treated that in the same vein as the effects of Raichi's first homerun off Sawamura back in Act 1.

I realized that having stages 7-9 recur starting from Meiji Jingu to the current summer tournament is what made reading Act 2 quite frustrating for me. That's at least 5-6 arcs of endless roller coaster ride loops.

I consider Miyuki's departure to be the "CROSSING THE RETURN THRESHOLD" moment because playing with him was the major reason for Sawamura's decision to study and play in Tokyo. Something will change Sawamura when this eventually happens.

As Blue from OSP said, the Hero's Journey is just a general guide/framework to writing stories. It is flexible, writers don't even have to use it or all of its parts to make a good story. Terajima just seemed to have adopted A LOT of the hero's journey trope in his baseball series.

I wanted to add more pictures tbh but tumblr is a killjoy :(

This was a fun thought exercise. There were probably even some parts which I have used the tropes wrongly. Please feel free to dispute me.

I talked about Sawamura's mentors here (x).

#sawamura eijun #sports anime #ace of diamond #daiya no a #daiya meta #daiya discuss #hero's journey #long post #daiya thoughts

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jpoakbrook · 2 years

Text

TECH AND FORTH

one shot: part of a series called "Madam To'Low's House" where the reader is a worker at a galactic brothel whose specialty is listening to her client's problems. Stories are out of order and consequential.

NSFW: Smutty as FUCK, boiiiii.

summary: you're a worker at an inter-galactic pleasure house. the bad batch are regulars. this is your 2nd time with tech, but he's emotional today.

You burst into the room with wide, frantic eyes as you took in the scene. The goggled clone was hyperventilating as he clutched his chest, tears streaking down his face. He looked up at you with a look of pure fear and anguish. The girls were all backed away from him, and you motioned for Garnett to step forward. “Give him room and bring him to mine. He’s not dying,” you said firmly.

“Are you sure?” a skinny thing squeaked at you. She was still new here, and it was clear that this would’ve been the first one to die in front of her. As morbid or gruesome as it was, it wasn’t rare for it to happen. Sometimes, the clientele got a little too excited.

“Yes. He’s just having a panic attack and needs to calm down. My room, Garnett, thank you,” you nodded. The bothan male scooped Tech into his arms with ease. Tech was slender but tall, so seeing him curled up in the burly, furry man’s arms was almost comical, especially since he only had on black shorts at this point in the evening. He couldn’t take his liquid chocolate eyes off of you as Garnett carried him out and to your room on the 2nd floor. “Take the night, Marlow,” you said and handed a bundle of credits over to the girl, who nodded.

“Uh, Shira was here, too. I don’t know where she went,” Marlow added.

“Find her and make sure she knows she didn’t kill him. He’ll be fine. I promise,” you said and handed her another stack of money for the other girl. You had forgotten that Tech was a fan of at least 2 girls at a time. He tended to find the most pleasure when he got to see his toys in play, and 1 girl just simply didn’t have enough holes or nerve points for what he wanted to test out.

You left the girl and made your way out to the bar. Madam To’low was standing behind the wooden countertop, pouring drinks into glasses. There was one for you, which she gently pushed across the bartop. It was your favourite, a tall glass of Phattro, and you downed it in one go. Madam To’low’s eyebrows raised with your gulps, and you slammed the drink on the countertop, only for her to fill it up from the pitcher she had ready.

“Gonna be a long night, isn’t it?” she asked as she checked the schedule on her datapad. Your last client had left just minutes before Marlow had pounded on your door, and you were slotted for a midday visitor tomorrow. With Tech in your room, there wasn’t really going to be time to really rest.

“He’s in a bad way. Dunno what’s going on, but I s’pose it’s something to do with Hunter not being here,” you mentioned. You had seen the Marauder when it landed, as you were leading your client into your room, and there was a notable lack of the long-haired leader of Clone Force 99. But then your client gave you those pouty lips that said she wanted all of your attention, and you weren’t able to investigate it further.

“They said he got stuck on the med bay, sent them out here to relax after a mission,” To’low said to you as she handed you a tray with your glass, an empty glass, and a pitcher of Phattro. You nodded in thanks as you took it into your grasp, taking in a deep breath. “You got this, kid,” To’low assured with a smile. You smiled back and nodded, making your way up the stairs to your room.

Your room was one of the larger ones in the House. You had started off in a shared room, then gotten your own small space after your first month, then by the end of the 3rd month, you moved into this room that has been your own for the last 8 years. Your bed had washed out, horizontal, wooden slats for the head and foot boards, and it sat against the left wall. Neatly pressed and tucked in white and grey sheets adorned the top of it. There were 4 large, white sleeping pillows there, none decorative and two on each side. There was a nightstand on both sides of the bed, each hosting a lamp with grey shades. To the left of that, along the wall that the entrance door was on, was a grey sliding door closet. Between the closet and the door was a makeup station of white wood. It was neat and orderly, though there were a couple of scarves you hadn’t put away from your last client sitting on top of it. The mirror was lined with bulbs, but it was turned off at the moment. There was an open area between the bed and the seating area, where you did your morning stretches. The seating area usually had 3 seats of choice: a long couch, a love seat, and an armchair. The armchair was missing today, as you had sent it in for repairs and reupholstering. In the middle of these seats was a coffee table. In the corner beside the long couch was a small, open kitchen, a door there leading to a private ‘fresher. Next to that door, along the right wall, was a fireplace, a TV hanging above it, and it was still left on, playing some soft music from a playlist you had made. The walls were a pleasant pale blue at the top that faded to a dark grey at the bottom. The fireplace was red brick and blazing. Your room was neat, orderly, and surprisingly cozy due to the candles that littered the furniture and the stringed lights that draped around the ceiling.

Tech had been placed on your bed, and he was sitting up with his knees curled up to his chest and his head tucked in his arms. A deep frown pulled at your lips as you set the drinks down on the coffee table and made your way to the clone.

“Tech,” you whisper, your voice gentle and oozing the love you held for the man. It pained you to see him in such a state. You lay a gentle hand on his shoulder, and he jumped at your touch. He looked at you with wild eyes, and you frowned before gently pulling his goggles off to rest on the bed beside him. He allows you to, and he stares at you with deep lines around his eyes where his goggles usually sit. You move to sit in front of him, legs dangling off the bed, and he allows you between his spread knees. You gently wipe away his tears and run your hands through his hair in long strokes upward, running to the back of his head, and then back and forth again. Your hands run across the shaved sides of his hair and then through the longer locks on top, and you start to pepper his forehead with light kisses. His eyes closed and he let the feeling wash over him. You don’t say anything until his short, sharp inhales are calmed down to regular breaths with the occasional hiccup.

“Hey, love. How are you?” you coo as he relaxes a little. He opened his sad eyes to look at you, and he shook his head a little.

“Hey, cyare. I’m…” he started before trailing off. You didn’t often see Tech at a loss for words, and you had to say, you didn’t care for it much. You loved how chatty the man was, and he always had a throng of facts for you to learn. Some of these facts you actually applied to some of your other clients, whether it be a distraction or an actual tid-bit that’s relevant to them. Tech was always excited about something he was working on or something he was learning. That brain of his was always craving more and more information. You knew it was part of his mutation, but it seemed like he was more enthusiastic about learning things than some others would’ve been.

“Hey, you don’t have to say anything,” you shushed him, stroking his cheek as you did. He leaned into your touch, raising a hand to lay on yours as he held it closely. He smiled softly, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “C’mon. I need a soak, and I think you could do with one.” You slipped your hand out of his and tugged on one of them for him to follow you. He scooped his goggles into his hand before allowing you to drag him to the ‘fresher.

You had personalised your fresher when you got the big room. It was just a shower, a sink, and a toilet before. Then you broke down the walls, took up a small portion of the room, in order to make room for a massive, corner tub. There were large windows overlooking the scenery and sky above. The view into the refresher through these windows were slightly obscured by plants and bamboo trees that grew along them. There were glass panels that sectioned off a rectangular area next to these plants, also covered with their own vines and flowers to obscure the inner area from the doorway. This was there your open shower was, with the only entrance into the rectangle being a turn from the bathtub. Your toilet sat in its own little corner, blocked off by half-walls and potted plants on top of that. Your vanity sink was a two-fer, and the flat, sink-length mirror above it showed you all of your flaws in the morning. There were candles stationed around the room, but none were lit. The soft glow from paper lantern string lights was enough for the room, as they dangled from the ceiling and along the windows and glass. You didn’t spend much time with people in here as you usually preferred to wind down on your own.

You dropped your robes onto the pale blue rug without ceremony; Tech had seen you naked before (and a lot more than just your naked body). Even through his anxiety, you could see his eyes trace over your body. He scrutinized you with every ounce of calculation he possessed, and you were sure he was thinking about all the different ways he could please you. But today was your turn to please him.

You moved to the tub and started running a hot bath, being sure to add a small amount of lavender and chamomile syrup to the mix. As the scents flowed into the room, you moved back to Tech, taking his hand in yours, and pulling him into your embrace. He didn’t fight the hug. He actually leaned into it, melted into your arms, and his hands grasped at your back tightly. You just held him, stroked the back of his head and his shoulders, and wouldn’t let go. It wasn’t long before you felt his shoulders shaking as he started to cry again. You gripped him tighter. He was clinging to you, but he couldn’t stand anymore. He dropped to his knees in front of you and wrapped his arms around your hips, burying his face into your sternum and abdomen as he sighed heavily. His tears were still flowing, but he seemed to be more relaxed in your grasp.

“C’mon, babe. I need to clean and warm up,” you whispered and tugged on his shoulder. He stood up and let you pull his undershorts down. It was nothing you hadn’t seen before, but that wasn’t to say you weren’t pleasantly surprised by it nonetheless. You dropped your robe to the ground, making sure to take his hand in yours again, and helped him into the tub. You knew he loved doing the touching when it came down to it, but you also knew he loved to be touched otherwise. A stroke of his cheek, a brush of his hand, a kiss on his shoulder; he was putty in your hands.

“Were you able to de-stress with the girls at all?” you asked as you reached onto the stand beside the tub and turned on the speakers to mirror the TV you had (accidentally) left on in the bedroom.

“Didn’t get that far,” he muttered. You turned to look at him and sunk down into the water until it covered your shoulders. There was still a bit to go before you would turn off the water; you liked being able to sit up and have the water minimally touch the underside of your breasts.

“Was it related to the girls at all?” you asked. He shook his head. “In relation to performance?” He shook his head fiercely. “Hunter?” That seemed to freeze him. You ran a hand over his thigh, gently, before running it slower and massaging the tension in the muscles there. Your smile was as gentle as your voice as you soothed him. “Hey. It’s okay. Let’s just enjoy the bath, okay?”

He sunk lower into the water to mirror you, his eyes raising to focus on your face. You smiled and lowered a little to take some water in your mouth. He furrowed his eyebrows, lip curling a little. “That is incredibly unhygienic, cyare,” he said. You just smiled and spit the water at him in a strong stream. It hit him square in the face, and he blubbered indignantly, sitting straight up and out of the water while raising a hand to frantically block what he still could. You broke into a giggle, watching him swipe at his face. He looked at you in shock, wondering what the kriff you were thinking, but he couldn’t help but break into a laugh as well. Your giggle was infectious.

“That’s disgusting,” he commented.

“Yeah, but you laughed,” you pointed out. He paused, unable to argue that, and motioned with his hands for you to come to him. You did, moving slowly through the water, and he pulled you into his lap. His hands settled, clasped on your hips, and she took a moment to bask in his grasp. “Hey.” He looked at you with half-closed eyes, exhaustion starting to settle on him as his panic receded. “Let me love you tonight, okay?”

He took in a deep breath and nodded. You smiled.

You moved to straddle his waist, facing him. You reached to the side to turn off the water, and the room was quieter now. Soft music kept it from being silent, and it was relaxing in the lowlight. Your hands moved over the muscles of his abdomen, up over his chest, dancing over his shoulders, and dragging down his arms. He let his head fall back, eyes closing, as he rested it on the edge of the deep tub. You smiled and started to massage the clone. Your fingers beat patterns into his forearms. You massaged tension from his shoulders. You felt him melt beneath your touch.

“Stars, Tech, why are you so beautiful?” you ask softly as he relaxed. He smirked a little and opened his eyes to peer at you curiously. He looked youthful and partnered with his eager knowledge, many mistook him to be naive or innocent. You knew from first hand experience that he was neither. A bit dense sometimes, but he had textbook knowledge of literally anything.

“Because I am a mistake. A deformity,” he responded like it was fact.

“Hmm… A deformity for sure,” you say and narrow your eyes as you scrutinize the man. He grows visibly uncomfortable under your gaze as you seemed to focus on a spot on his forehead. “Only way to explain how stupid you are.”

“I am not stupid!” he bristled beneath you.

“Then don’t call yourself a mistake,” you snap back, eyes narrowed but staring into his hazel hues now. He frowned lightly at that.

“But I am. That’s why I’m part of the Bad Batch. We’re all mistakes,” he explained. You roll your eyes and pinch his cheek. “Ow! Cyare!” He cried as he rubbed the spot, eyebrows knit.

“Don’t want pinches, don’t say stupid shit,” you mutter, and he clamps his lips shut. He definitely didn’t want more pinches. “You’re not a mistake, Tech. If you were, they would’ve gotten rid of you, like they did the defected clones. You were an accident for sure, but not a mistake,” you said with a shake of your head. “And I refuse to sit here and listen to one of my great loves be called a mistake.”

He smirked at that and muttered, “Accidents and mistakes are the same thing.”

“Not to me, they’re not. An accident is something that just… happens without meaning to. A mistake is something you regret. And I can’t imagine ever regretting you, Tech.”

His eyes soften at your words, and he sighed heavily. It was a sigh you were familiar with. Finally, he was going to tell you what was wrong. It was the sigh of someone who decided that holding themselves together wasn’t worth the effort and pain anymore. It was one of your favourite sounds in the world; coming from the batch, it was music.

“I made a mistake, mesh’la,” he whispered. You didn’t say anything, instead turning your attention back to his muscles like you intended to tenderize him with your fingertips. He pressed into your touch, and you worked a particularly nasty knot out of his left shoulder. He closed his eyes again and there was a small hitch in his breathing before he spoke again. “I got Hunter seriously injured.”

“You didn’t hurt him,” you pointed out.

“No, but my incompetence did,” he snarled. He kept his eyes closed, but his eyebrows were knit together now. There was a frown on his lips. “I didn’t do the research necessary for the mission. I thought I had, but there were things I forgot to look up, forgot to memorise. And… Hunter paid for it,” he said. You didn’t say anything, but there must’ve been a look of confusion on your face because he took one look at you before diving into an explanation.

“We were on a mission on a rain forest planet. Our objective was simple: recon on an outpost that was rumoured to be smuggling droids onto civilian-type ships. Easy enough, so we were confused as to why I sent us. I thought I looked everything up that I needed to; the climate, the winds, the foliage, the type of natural predators. I spent the entire prep week and part of the flight there just reading and learning. It is a fascinating planet, cyare. There’s a flower there that blooms only once every 10 years, and only when it’s raining. But when it does, it stays in bloom year round. It’s a gorgeous thing.” There were stars in his eyes as he gushed about the flower. But then they grew dark again. “Anyway… I overlooked something about the landscape. And Hunter got stuck in a patch of fast-sinking metal ore. It looked just like the rest of the charcoal path, but he almost fell through immediately. We were trying to pull him out, but it was like he was dangling in the middle of a tornado; almost impossible. We got caught out there, and it was a firefight while also trying to keep Hunter alive. It’s a miracle we made it out. Echo dug him out as Wrecker pulled, Cross gave them cover fire, and I… I felt useless,” he said.

“But you weren’t,” you said. You knew that he may have been a brilliant strategist and information technician, but you also knew he was fully capable in the field. You were often recanted tales of their missions, and he was nothing short of badass in all of them as well.

“I froze, cyar’ika. I just… I froze. And it took a slap from Wrecker to knock some sense into me,” he said. Your eyebrows raised in surprise, and he laughed a little. “Hunter’s orders,” he reassured her. “But for a while, I couldn’t think. All that I could focus on was the fact that I didn’t know about the sinkhole.”

You grabbed a bottle of body wash and poured a little onto your white loofah. The ointment was a pale green, and it smelled like cucumbers and sea salt. You ran it over his body, gently scrubbing the man. He kept talking.

“I just can’t stop thinking about how… maybe if I had been prepared, maybe if I just read more, then maybe Hunter wouldn’t be sitting in a med bay with 4 blaster holes in him and a bruised bottom half,” he sighed. He took the loofah from your hands, to your surprise, and he ran it over your skin. Up and down your arms, across your shoulders, back and forth in a slow and steady rhythm. His eyes were on you, but his mind was lost in memories and pain.

“I can’t stop thinking that… he almost died because I wasn’t ready. I didn’t do the one thing that was supposed to be my specialty. I didn’t do the one thing that makes me different from the others. It’s the one thing that makes me, in your words, an accident rather than a mistake.” He huffed at the thought of it, the loofah making its way over your back and along your spine. Then he moved it to your front, and his hands were gentle as he scrubbed. Despite fondling your breast, there was nothing sexual about his touch. It was a gentle and thorough search to ensure he cleaned every part of your body. It seemed to relax him. It was something he knew he could do. The loofah dipped farther down, travelling down your stomach, and you were a little shocked at the abrupt way he dove it between your legs. “Lift, cyare,” he commanded with a focused gaze. You did as told, and he made sure to clean between your thighs well, cleaning himself while he was down there.

“I… I need to learn more. I need to make sure that nobody else gets hurt because they’re relying on me to do something, something I should’ve been doing, and I didn’t do it correctly,” he finished his little rant, handing you the loofah back. You set it off to the side and started to drain the tub, taking his hand to lead him to the shower. You turned on the water, and it rained down on the two of you from directly above. He seemed to be surprised by the appearance of it. Probably used to the ones that come out of the wall, but you had insisted on an overhead sprinkler like being caught in the rain. He pulled you close, seeking your warmth and the comfort of your skin on his. You smiled and ran your hands over his body, wiping away suds and bath soap. He was so much taller than you, the same height as that lanky sniper, so you motioned for him to stoop just a little. He looked behind him and folded down a bench that folded up and down with chains. He sat down, being the perfect height to look you straight in the chest.

“I don’t know how much more you can learn, Tech,” you said and grabbed your bottle of shampoo. You massaged it into his hair, feeling the soft locks give way beneath your fingers. He leaned into your touch, loving the way you massaged his scalp. “You already know so much, and I hear you do an insane amount of research already.” From the others, but most notably Cross. You had been playing a drunken game of sabacc with the clones, and Cross went on a long rant about how Tech was “all research, no fight”. He had yelled about how he just “needs to kriffin’ do it, stop overthinking so much”. It was pretty amusing at the time. Who knew it would come in handy now?

“Not enough. Not enough to stop them from getting hurt,” Tech pouted and stood up to shampoo your hair for you. You smiled in thanks, and it was oddly intimate for the clone to touch you like this. His lithe fingers worked skillfully through your hair, pulling through the strands with ease. He was concentrating so hard on making sure he was doing it correctly. You couldn’t help but giggle at him. “What?” he asked, but you shook your head and refused to elaborate.

“You can only read so much, bud. You could know every detail of a place, but it’s never going to prepare you for the actual experience,” you said. He narrowed his eyes on you slightly, sure to ask you to explain, so you just did. “I knew this job was going to involve sex. Right? Like, that’s pretty brain-dead. But nobody prepared me for all the different things people like to do. Or the different species I’d meet. Or how I would actually end up listening to people so much.” You shook your head with a little laugh, and he moved on to the conditioner.

“I knew, from that first night, that Madam To’low intended for my specialty to be listening to people’s problems, letting them vent, and maybe offering an encouraging word or two. I knew that was my purpose in this House. I knew exactly what was expected of me… but knowing I was going to listen to people and actually listening to them are two very different things. I can’t imagine that yours is much different than that,” you say as he washes out the conditioner from your hair as well. After your hair and body were clean, you shut the water off, and you stepped out onto a bamboo mat. You offered him a towel, which he wrapped around you, much to your surprise. He dried you carefully, gently, and he allowed you to do the same to him.

“But your job is listening to people. My job is knowing information to keep my brothers and I from dying,” he said after you led him out of the ‘fresher. You motioned for him to sit back on the couch, and he did so as you poured him a glass of Phattro. You grabbed your own and joined him.

“Yeah, that’s true. And that’s something I’ll never be able to understand,” you say, taking a long drink from your glass. You loved this drink, truly. “But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s theory versus practicality. You can be as prepared as you want, Tech, but something’s going to go wrong. You can’t learn everything from a book,” you said.

“But I can learn enough to not put them in danger!” he insisted. You shook your head to him.

“Tech, cyar’ika, listen to me.” You set your glass down and grabbed his face between both hands, smushing his cheeks as you stared him directly in the eye. “You can’t beat yourself up over something that already happened. Okay? And you can’t expect yourself to learn everything going forward. You have to be reasonable. You’re just one person.”

“A person whose sole job it is to know things,” he insisted, though a bit muffled and warped from the smushening. You huffed in irritation and let go.

“Well, if you want to know things, then know that I am annoyed,” you muttered and poured yourself another drink. You stood up and went to your closet, sliding one of the doors open to grab a robe from within. He was still sitting naked while you wrapped yourself up in a pale pink, silk robe. You sat down at your makeup station and brushed your hair, a little rougher than you should’ve, but Tech was being a stubborn osik head. He appeared behind you silently, and his hands rested on your shoulders as he bent down to kiss your cheek. You started at him through the mirror, only partially irritated now.

“You’re right,” he whispered, and you knew how hard he had to bite down on that pride of his to say so. “I’m sorry.”

You turned in your seat to look at him, a faux glare on your face as you crossed your arms. “Right about what?” you demanded. He sighed and sat on the bed behind you, leaning back on his elbows.

“I… I can’t expect to learn everything about a mission before we go. That’s ridiculous. That’s just… me being unreasonable,” he said slowly. “You’re right that I have to accept that the mission is over and thinking about what I could’ve done is doing nothing but driving me crazy.” You opened your mouth to speak, but he held a hand up. “And I know, you’re right. You’re right that I should go easier on myself and not expect so much, especially since the others think I’m doing a fine job. And Hunter isn’t even mad at me.” You nodded and went to speak again, but he just kept going. “And yes, I know that I do tend to take these intellectual failures harder than any other ones, especially when it results in an injury. So I will do better about not beating myself up over it.”

You weren’t going to say so much, but he did the talking for you, so you weren’t going to complain.

“Did I… did I get it right?” he asked, his voice small and searching for approval. How could you stay aggravated when he sounded like that and looked at you with those puppy dog eyes of his? You smiled and nodded, standing up to crawl onto him on the bed. You nudged his legs with yours, and he moved to lay on the bed properly.

“You did. And now, you get a reward,” you muttered as you straddled him. His mood shifted from seeking approval to excitement at a surprise yet to come. Your lips started at his earlobe, your teeth nibbling gently, as your tongue traced over the soft skin. He was immediately captivated. Your lips kissed a path from his earlobe, over his jawline, up from his chin, before finally taking his lips with yours.

His cock twitched beneath you.

You started off slowly, a gentle press of lip to lip, before letting that melt into a capture of his lower lip between your teeth. The nibble was gentle, teasing, before you kissed him again, this time with your tongue knocking and asking for a dance partner. He was happy to oblige, his fingers finding home on your hips. Your tongues danced while you ground against his cock that was growing between your thighs. You could feel your slickness growing, rubbing against his soft skin. As your heat grew, so did his erection.

You pulled away from his kiss, making him whine though it quickly turned into a gasp when your teeth found his neck. Your bites were a little more on the rough side of gentle. His hands made quick work of taking off the robe you had just thrown on. You smiled and shrugged it off, tossing it over the edge to the ground. He smiled and went to sit up, but a firm hand on his chest kept him laying down. His eyebrows rose.

“You’re getting a treat for learning, Tech. Learning that you can’t do everything. So, now, you get to do nothing,” you whisper. He seems confused, his head tilting to the side in that quizzical look you loved on him. You smiled and explained the rules as you moved his hands from your hips and to his sides. “You don’t get to touch me, or I stop and start over. You don’t get to buck beneath me, or I stop and start over. You don’t get to move, or I stop and start over. Understand?”

“I don’t like this game,” he muttered.

“No, I’m sure you don’t. But you have to learn to be okay with not being in control,” you say and press a kiss to his forehead. “Do you understand the rules?” you ask again.

“Yes, I do,” he muttered, clearly disgruntled. You laugh. You don’t care.

Your lips find his collarbone, placing kisses there that start at the top of his sternum and go to his shoulder, before you drag your tongue back along the path. Tech watches you with hungry eyes. Your kisses travel down his chest, stopping at his left nipple. You tease it with your tongue, swirling around it before taking it into your mouth to suck just a little too hard. He hissed in pleasure, back arching to push his chest against you. You stop your movements and raise an eyebrow as you looked at him. He looked at you in surprise.

“You know the rules, Tech,” you admonished him softly.

“Even that?” he asked in shock. You smile and nod, moving back to his ear. This time, you spend a little more time on his neck. He grabs your hips instinctively. You stop and lightly correct him again. By the time you start at his earlobe again, you can feel his cock throbbing beneath you. You make it past his nipples this time. He lets out the smallest squirm as you kiss his hip bones. He inhales sharply when he realises his mistake, and his fear is so cute that you pretend not to notice the squirm. As you continue your path, he sighs in relief. It doesn’t last long. Your kisses and tongue tease the insides of his thighs. His eyes are squeezed shut as he focuses on not moving. You smile and sit up.

“I think we can call that a check point, yeah?” you ask.

“Stars, please,” he begged. You smile and stand up, telling him not to move an inch as you go to grab your drinks. You allow him to sit up and down his glass as you slowly sip yours. You watch him carefully, drinking in every edge and curve of the man, and he is almost impatient in getting started again.

“Lay back,” you order. He complies immediately, but this time, you kneel between his legs, spreading them with your knees. He watches you, pupils blown.

“Remember the rules,” you warn him with a little smile before placing your first kiss just above his cock. It twitched in response. You smile as you go along, placing kisses all around his cock but not touching it. Your lips trail down the inside of his left thigh, and the first bite makes him gasp and buck. You smile and pull back. He quickly lay still again, and your kisses started at the bottom of his stomach once more. He is more prepared for the bites on his thighs this time, but he still has minor flinches now and again that you conveniently don’t notice.

After he was achingly hard, after you could see the torment on the poor boy’s face, you decide to get to where he needed to be touched the most. Your lips press a kiss to the head of his cock, and he sucks air in through his teeth. He was watching you now, anticipation drumming in his chest with every moment that passes. You gave it an experimental lick, and he doesn’t move. You swirl your tongue around it, and he groans but doesn’t move.

“Very good, cyar’ika,” you praise him with a smile. He smiles back, but it’s strained. He needs a release. You slowly slip his head between your lips, keeping your tongue active on the underside of his cock, and he raises his hands to grab your head. You cock an eyebrow at him, not moving, and he remembers rule #1. He presses the back of a fist to his lips, and the other hand grabs a fistful of your sheets. You smile to yourself and slowly move down his cock a little. He groans and partially moves to sit up before falling back on the bed. He didn’t buck, though, so you knew he remembered the rules well. You decided to have a little fun.

Every time you moved down on his cock, you pulled back up to the tip, going back down to where you were, and you did this three times before going down a little more. He bucked only once, when you were about halfway down his shaft, and he was gasping for breath when you went back to kissing his thighs. He learned quickly, and he did his absolute best to not move his hips beneath you. You finally rewarded him by sliding all the way down his shaft until you were kissing the base of his cock. He cried out in pleasure at the slow way you moved, and you infuriatingly slowly bobbed on his cock.

“Fuck, mesh’la, please.” He was almost sobbing at this point. You smiled wickedly and moved faster. His legs were active, bending and straightening, but he didn’t buck. He didn’t touch you. He didn’t move from his spot. He was being so good. You wrapped your hand around his cock and rubbed him as you pulled off to speak.

“Think you’ll be able to cum with these rules?” you ask.

“Fuck, elek,” he groaned in desperation. You smiled and nodded.

“Good.” Your lips replace your hand, and you attack him with a passion. Your lips squeeze around him, your tongue dancing on the underside, and your throat accepting his length with ease.

“Cyare,” he warned. You tapped twice on his thigh as an okay, and he hissed a moment. You felt his shaft harden, his balls tighten, and he cried out as he came. He did astoundingly well to not buck beneath you. You forgave the small movements he made. You drank his seed down, loving the way the salty splashes took on the fruity flavour of the Phattro. You chose the drink because it was your favourite, but also for it’s fast acting effects on such things. You knew you were going to suck Tech off tonight.

“Cyare, please,” he panted. You raised your eyebrows as you drank more alcohol. Your head was starting to feel muddied and, partnered with your excitement, you were burning hot. You looked back at him, and he was still fully erect. Your eyes widened.

“Fuck, Tech, still? Guess you get your pick then,” you say, curious as to which one he’ll choose. He smiled and quickly knelt, pulling you to him and kissing you deeply. You love the way his taste mingled with the drink. You were left wanting more when he broke the kiss away, and he turned you to face away from him. He pushed down on your upper back, and you smiled as you assumed one of your favourite positions. He lowered you down to rest on your forearms before kissing a line down your spine. You didn’t stop the moan that dragged from your lips. His hands moved underneath you to grope the breasts you denied him from touching, fingers pinching your nipples harshly. You hissed at the mixture of pain and pleasure.

His hands moved to grab your hips, and he didn’t want to wait any longer. One hand guided his cock to your entrance, and you were so ready for him that he sunk in to the hilt with ease. You moaned at the way he filled you, and your eyes rolled back at the feeling. He didn’t have any toys with him today, but you didn’t mind. You always wondered what he would do without them. Now you knew. He started to move slowly at first, teasing you the same way you did him. He dragged out slowly and sunk back in just as slow. It was infuriating, and you were wiggling your hips to demand more.

“Easy, cyare,” he hissed, sensitive still. You took in a deep breath, which was released in a gasp when he thrust into you suddenly very harshly. His grunts of effort accentuated each of his hard thrusts, and you cry out in response. He slips a hand beneath you, and you’re not sure what he’s aiming for since he’s very much missed your clit. But he pushes up on your abdomen, and suddenly you can very much feel him inside of you.

“T-Tech?!” you cry out, and he just chuckles lowly in your ear. He’s now bent over you, his chest pressed against your back, his lips on your ear, as he holds you closely. It’s like you denied him touch, so now all he wants to do is touch you.

“Do you like that?” he asked, but he knew the answer. His fingers press up in a specific spot, and he tilts his hips just slightly to thrust in just right. You’re seeing stars; you can’t find your breath. He chuckles in your ear again.

“I’m not going to hold on much longer, mesh’la. Join me,” he mutters as he licks your earlobe. You nod, eyes squeezing shut as your mouth drops open. He smiles, his own eyes closing, as he rests his chin on your shoulder. His thrusts become more erratic, and you can feel he’s dancing closer and closer to the edge. He presses up on your abdomen, and you are falling off the edge.

His name fumbles on your lips as you see white light. Your body convulses and shakes around his cock, and you haven’t felt such a sweep of warmth through your body before. Your orgasm sends waves of sparks through your veins, all brought on by his cock and a well placed hand. As you squeeze around his cock, Tech gasps and cries out in your ear, and you feel him cum deep inside of you. His thrusts are spastic, and he finally buries himself in deeply. He holds himself there a moment before collapsing on you. You love the weight and heat of his body on yours.

His hands travel up your arms, his fingers tangling with yours, and after he’s caught his breath, his lips are on yours. After a kiss, you look into his eyes and see a relaxed Tech, at ease in your arms… well, on top of you, anyway. He pulls his softening cock out of you and moves to lay beside you.

“I have to go clean up,” you say when he tries to pull you into a hug. He carries you to the ‘fresher, and you’re always amazed at the lithe clone’s strength. He carried you back to bed, as well, and he finally pulled you to him when you turned the lights into sleep mode. He ran his fingers through your hair, stroking the silk strands he loved so much, and he whispered sweet nothings in your ear. You loved it when he spoke Mando’a to you. All of the clones, not just the Batch, usually did after sex, and it became one of your favourite comforts in this universe.

“Thanks for helping me learn tonight,” Tech whispered in your ear. You smiled and pressed a kiss to a spot on his chest in front of your face, moving back to resting your head there. You had a hand stroking his belly as he talked. “I… I appreciate you comforting me.”

“Thanks for the orgasm,” you mutter in reply. He laughed and kissed the top of your head.

“I love you, mesh’la. Sleep well,” he whispered, his Mando’a slurring as he started fading off to sleep.

“I love you, too, Tech. See you in the morning,” you whispered in response and made sure your alarm was set before letting yourself drift off to sleep in his arms.

#madam to'low's house #galactic daydreams #ao3fic #jp oakbrook #archive of our own #fanfic #star wars #the clone wars #the clones #the bad batch #bad batch #clone force 99 #tech #angst #fluff #smut #emotions #anxiety

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