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sushigirlali · 5 years

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94: “ We can’t go in there… ” + Reylo

Prompt: “We can’t go in there…”

Pairing: Rey x Kylo Ren/Ben Solo [Reylo][ReyBen]

Continuity: Post TLJ

Rating: T

A/N: This one-shot is dedicated to mywifey grlie-girl ❤️💙 I actually wrote the ending first as a short drabble andwasn’t intending to do more, but then a fic bug got into my head and here weare XD Enjoy!

Master list –> AO3 | ff.net | Tumblr

——————

For: @grlie-girl

Love: sushigirlali

LuminousBeings Are We

——————

“Rey, we can’t go in there…”

“Why not?”

“Because we have no ideawhat kind of condition the Empire left the temple in,” Finn said pointedly. “Weshould do some recon first, make sure it’s safe. I bet Rose could rig the Falcon’ssensors to check for explosives. Knowing her, it would only take a few hours.”

“Finn, I grew up takingImperial technology apart, surely—”

“Scavenging wreckedstarships isn’t the same thing and you know it,” he admonished. “Luke said mostof the Jedi temples were booby-trapped after the purge to eliminate any strayslooking for sanctuary.”

“I know what MasterSkywalker said, but that was over fifty years ago!” she challenged.

“We should still becareful,” he reiterated.

Rey blew out a breath.“Are you really going to try and stop me?”

“Are you really going to ignoreeverything I’ve just said?”

“It’s not that I don’t understandwhere you’re coming from, Finn, I do, but we’re running out of time. We stillhaven’t found a way to shield against hyperspace tracking, so the First Ordercould catch up with us any minute,” Rey reasoned. “You know B—Kylo isn’t goingto stop until he gets what he wants.”

The determination on Finn’s facegradually faded as he realized that she wasn’t going to budge. “At least let BBrun a scan on the entrance,” he implored. “Do that and I’ll stop nagging you.”

“Promise?” she grinned, liftingher communicator to her mouth. “BB-8? I need your help.”

——————

Once the rocky outcrop was deemed safe,Rey moved past Finn and the droid to inspect the intricately carved entryway.There didn’t appear to be a locking mechanism of any kind, but then the ancientJedi probably hadn’t needed one. What wasthat like, I wonder? To be so sure of your superiority that you didn’t evenbother to lock the front door?

“That’s not fair, Rey,” Lukechided as he blinked into existence beside her. “Whatever their faults, theJedi were guardians of peace and justice for over a thousand generations. Theydeserve your respect.”

Rey glanced at the faint blueoutline of her master. “Weren’t you the one who said they were hypocritical failures?”

“Did I? Well, nobody’s perfect,”he shrugged.

You’dknow, shethought, rolling her eyes.

Whateverhappened to respecting your elders? Luke sighed. Padawans thesedays…

“Stay out of my head,” she glared.

“Stop leaving yourself open,” hecountered. “You need to be mindful of your thoughts, Rey, especially now. I wouldn’tbe surprised if Ben—”

“Don’t say his name,” she cut himoff, stiffly turning away to scrutinize the symbols stamped into the massive stonedoor. It would take a while to decipher them even with Luke’s assistance, butRey was feeling reckless. “I think all we have to do is push, Finn. Care togive me a hand?”

“Is, uh, that what Luke said weshould do?” Finn asked, skirting around the spot she’d been staring at.

“I didn’t ask him,” Rey saidabsently, bracing her shoulder against the left side of the door. “Push onthree.”

“Hey, wait!” Finn scrambled to getin position.

“Ready? One, two, three!” The doorgave easily under their weight, creaking open to reveal a long marble hallway. Theivory walls contrasted sharply with the onyx floor and ceiling, making it seemlike the hallway went on forever before tapering off into shadow.

“Whoa!” Finn exclaimed, lookingboth fascinated and fearful. “Do you think it’s safe?”

What laid beyond the eerie passagewas anyone’s guess, but she wasn’t afraid. “Only one way to find out.” Reyflipped on the penlight attached to her mask and stepped over the threshold. Achorus of voices called out her name in protest, but she ignored them, moving forwarduntil her slight form was swallowed by darkness.

——————

Ten minutes later, Rey regrettedstorming into the temple without consulting her friends first. With only asliver of light to lead the way, it was impossible to see more than a few feetin front of her, forcing her to measure her pace. I’m sure Rose would’ve lent me some gear if I’d bothered to ask, butthe moment Luke mentioned Ben, I just…

The memory of his face, pale andpleading, had haunted her dreams over the last twelve months. Refusing hisoutstretched hand had been the most difficult decision of her life, but he’dleft her few alternatives. It wasn’t fairof him to ask me to choose, but then, I suppose I could say the same of myself.

Still, for a few precious moments,Rey had thought that she’d finally found theone. Someone who understood her, whotrusted her, who…loved her. Not just for her mystical abilities or practicalskills, but for her, for Rey, the lonely scavenger from Jakku.

“This is not going to go the wayyou think,” Luke had warned her, but she’d been so sure of her vision thatBen’s ultimatum had completely…

Oh! Ican see light ahead! Shakingoff her sorrow, Rey shot towards the end of the hall. The shape of a dooremerged a few steps later, outlined by a soft white glow. Every path has an end, she mused, remembering the cave on Ahch-To. Thank the stars.

Skidding to a halt in front of theplain wooden door, she carefully clutched the dull silver nob and twisted itopen. “Oh!” To her surprise, the small circular space was drab and nearly empty;the only thing of note being a raised stone dais in the center of the room.

Hmm,what’s that? Some kind of artifact? Cautiously moving inside, Rey eyed the dark gray granite boxsitting atop the pulpit. Interestingly, the lid was imprinted with the mark ofthe Jedi. “Finn?” she spoke into her communicator.

“Rey! Are you alright?” heresponded at once.

She smiled at his concern. “I’mfine.”

“Are you sure, I can—”

“I found something,” sheinterjected, heading him off.

“A crystal?” he said excitedly.

“I think so. I found a smallcontainer embossed with the Jedi crest. I haven’t opened it yet, though.”

“Do you think it’s safe?”

Goodquestion. Reyclosed her eyes, reaching out to the Force as she focused on the box before her.There was definitely something inside, something powerful, but she didn’t getthe impression that the item was dangerous. “Seems safe,” she relayed, tryingto sound certain for her friend’s sake. “I’m going to leave my com open. Wishme luck.”

“Rey…”

Gingerly touching the top of thebox, she was thrilled when it didn’t immediately explode in her hands. Okay. So far so good. Now, finish it.Taking a deep breath, Rey slowly lifted the heavy lid away. “Finn, you’re notgoing to believe this,” she said, sagging in relief when a large colorlesscrystal came into view.

“We hit another dead end?” he saidtentatively.

“No, dummy!” Rey shouted intriumph. “We did it!”

“We did?!” he laughed at herenthusiasm. “That’s amazing! Now get back here! We’re running out of time,remember?”

“You got it,” she promised, settingthe cover aside. “I’m just going to check it out and then—”

“Stop! Don’t move!”

Rey froze, startled by the roughcommand. “Ben?” she gaped. It had been over a year, but she’d recognize hisdeep voice anywhere.

“Where are you?” Ben Solo demanded,sliding into focus before her.

“N—none of your business!” she stammered,taking in his haggard appearance. Oh, Ben,you look terrible.

“You’re in danger,” he saidfrankly, “of course it’s my business.”

“Since when?!” Rey battled back.“I’ve been in worse situations than this since the last time we met and younever—”

“Ah, Rey?” Finn piped up. “What’sgoing on? Who are you talking to?”

Oh,shit. Reymotioned for Ben to be quiet. “Uh, nothing, Finn! Just talking to myself.” Rey scowledat as Ben’s lips twitched in amusement, slamming the cover back on the box. “I’mcoming back now.”

“Okay, Rey,” Finn replied, lettingher off the hook for now. “See you soon.”

Turning off her communicator, Rey placeda possessive hand on top of the stone box. “Are you here to stop me from takingthis kyber crystal?” she inquired suspiciously. “Because you’re a little late.And incorporeal.”

“I don’t care about the crystal,”Ben said dismissively.

“Then why?”

“I already told you,” he said,coming closer, “I’m here because you’re in danger.”

“How would you know?” she hissed,not backing down. “After all this time, you’ve got some nerve trying to—oh!”

She quieted as he hesitantlyreached out and caressed the brown leather armband encircling her right bicep.“You covered it.”

“Well, I…” she flushed. “I didn’twant anyone asking questions.”

“You didn’t want a reminder, youmean.” Ben looked away, absently touching his own scar. His expression made herheart clench.

“Stop it! You can’t—you can’t justshow up out of the blue and try to make me feel guilty for—”

“That’s not why I’m here,” hereiterated, dropping his hand. “I’m only trying to protect you. Leave the boxand go.”

“I knew it!” Rey cried. “You dowant the crystal for yourself!”

“No, I do not!” he denied. “I’mtelling you, something doesn’t feel right about—Rey, no!”

But she wasn’t listening. I’ve searched too far for too long. I’m notgiving this up. Snatching the rare resource off the pedestal, she was inthe process of shoving it into her bag when the floor suddenly gave way.“Ahhhhh! Ben!” she screamed, falling several stories into a dark pit hidden belowthe chamber.

“Rey!” he yelled, jumping throughthe hole after her. He landed heavily at her side, thrown off balance by thethirty-foot drop. “Rey, are you—oh, Force!”

“Ben!” she gasped, lying flat onher back and buried up to the neck in rubble. “Help…Ben…hit my head…goingto…pass out…Ben…”

“Rey? Rey!”

——————

“Ouch…” Rey gradually lifted herthrobbing head, feeling sluggish and disoriented. “What—where? Ben?”

“Lie still,” he demanded roughly,cradling her battered body to his chest.

“You’re alright,” she sighed,rubbing her cheek against the soft fabric of his shirt. They were sitting onthe hard ground under a rocky overhang, protecting them from the harsh middaysun. Ben’s black cloak is going to getfilthy, she thought idly.

“I’m—? Of course, I’m alright!”Ben said incredulously. “You’re the one who nearly broke your neck!”

“Hey!” she slapped his arm. “Notso loud.”

“Sorry,” he mumbled, smoothing hersoft sable hair away from her bruised cheek, “but you scared the hell out ofme.”

“I did?” Rey gazed up at himcuriously. “I can’t quite remember…”

“You were inside a Jedi temple,searching for a kyber crystal to replace the one that we…well, when you grabbedit, the floor collapsed and you fell.” He paused, appearing anguished. “Ithought you were dead for a moment there, but you’d only fainted.”

“You saved me, didn’t you, Ben?”she smiled, eyes bright. “You pulled me out somehow.”

“Well…yes,” he said gently. “I’mnot exactly sure how our bond works, but I was able to—”

“Hey, Rey? Excuse me. Hi. What’sgoing on here, exactly?” Finn cut in.

Rey peered around, only justrealizing that her friends were crowded nearby. They must think I’m crazy, talking to myself like this. “I, uh, hadan accident inside the temple, so I’m feeling pretty dizzy. In fact, I’m noteven sure what I’m saying right now, so, um…feel free to ignore everything Ijust said!”

“Really, Rey?” Poe slanted her alook.

“What?” she said nervously. “Nothing…weirdhappened, or anything. Just an accident, I swear!”

“Care to explain why you’resitting in Kylo Ren’s lap, then?” Poe said pointedly.

Her eyebrows shot up. “Wait, areyou saying you can see him?! How—owww!” Rey held her aching skull between herhands. “Can we do this later?” she said weakly. “I think I might have aconcussion.”

“But what about him?” Poe saidindigently. “We can’t just allow him to—”

“Leave her alone,” Ben growled.“She’s hurt, or can’t you see that.”

“And how do we know that you’renot the cause of it?” Poe charged. “Are we supposed to just take your word forit, Supreme Leader Ren?”

“Oh, come on, Poe, look at her,”Rose intreated. “Does she look afraid of him?”

“No, but that doesn’t mean—”

“Poe, that’s enough,” Finn saidseriously. “You gave me a chance when you had every reason not to. We at leastowe Rey that much. If she wants him here, he stays.”

“Ah, hell, why do you always haveto ruin my fun?” Poe grinned. “But you’re the one who’s going to have to keepan eye on him, okay? We don’t even know if he’s ship-trained yet.”

“I’m not a pet, Dameron,” Bendeadpanned.

“No?” Poe glanced between him andRey. “You sure about that?”

Ben glowered at the commander, butdidn’t contradict him.

“Stop playing with him, Poe,” Reysaid sleepily. “Ben’s staying.”

A dozen emotions flew across Ben’swane face at her words, the most prominent of which was fear.

“You are staying, right?” she said,suddenly more alert. “Ben?”

“I…yes, I’m staying,” he promisedat last.

“Well, there you have it!” Roselinked her arms through Finn and Poe’s. “Come on, laserbrains, we need to getthe Captain’s quarters ready for Rey—Poe don’t give me that look—so she has somewherequiet to recover.” Rose turned to Ben. “Carry her to the Falcon, will you? I want to make sure nothing’s broken.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he answeredautomatically.

“Ma’am, huh?” Rose whistled,dragging the boys with her. “I think I like him already.”

——————

Once they were alone, Rey ran herfingertips over the scar adorning his pale cheek. “Are you really here? Or am Idreaming?”

“I’m here,” Ben confirmed, meltinginto her touch. “I had to set you down for a moment to explain what happened toyour friends and they could see me even then.”

“And they didn’t try to attackyou?”

“No, they did,” he smirked, “butnone of them are Force-sensitive, so it wasn’t really a fair fight.”

“Ben, what’d you do?!”

“Nothing,” he assured her. “Justlocked them in place so that I could explain myself.”

“And the crystal?”

“I grabbed it for you.”

“Thank you, Ben.” Rey twirled asilky lock of his dark hair around her finger, overcome with emotion. “How isthis possible?” she wondered.

“I don’t know.”

“Maybe I could be of someassistance?” Luke said, materializing close by.

“Uncle,” Ben acknowledged stonily.

“Nephew,” Luke smiled slightly.“You look like hell.”

“So do you, old man,” Ben repliedwithout heat.

“Rey has a way of keeping me on mytoes, even in this form.”

“I know what you mean.”

“Have we finally found some commonground, then?” Luke said hopefully.

Ben’s shoulders slumped as if agreat weight had been lifted off them. “I suppose we have.” He indicated forLuke to join them.

The legendary Jedi Master satcross-legged across from them, his ghostly figure making no impact on the dustyground. “I believe your bond is responsible for this miracle. When Ben felt thedanger you were courting, he immediately projected himself to your location.But unlike previous connections, he was driven by the desire to protect you morethan mere curiosity.”

“Does that make a difference?” Reyasked.

“Yes. As with anything, intentionis everything,” Luke said sagely. “Courage, fear, love, hate…the feelings behindyour actions always matter. And when a Force-user feels something powerfullyenough, anything is possible.”

“So the fact that he’s here now,in the flesh…” Rey looked at Ben with her heart in her eyes.

“It means that I love you,” Benwhispered.

“Even after all thistime?”

“Yes,” he admitted, asawed by the revelation as Rey.

“You balance each other, and byextension the Force, I can see that now,” Luke said wistfully. “The two of you,together, united…you can bring the galaxy back from the brink.”

“Is that so?” Rey pressed herforehead to her equal’s. “What do you say, Ben? Want to save the galaxy withme?”

“Not really, no.” He chuckled when sheslapped his arm again. “Truth be told, I’d rather run away with you than fightany more battles, but I have a feeling you’ll be able to talk me into it.”

And she did.

——————

Five years later…

——————

“Rey, we can’t go in there…”

“Why not?”

“Because we’ve been inseveral times already and promised to let Finn and Rose figure it out,” Bensaid simply.

“What if they need ourhelp?” Rey said worriedly.

“They don’t,” he assuredher.

“How do you know?” shefrowned. “Rose is really small; she could get hurt.”

“Is she? It’s hard to tellwhenever she starts waving that vicious stun baton around,” he laughed. “Trustme, sweetheart, Rose has got this handled.”

“Well, what about Finn?”

“He fought me andsurvived,” Ben reminded her, tone tinted with respect, “so I think he canhandle giving Grey a bath.”

“But, still…” she said,wincing in discomfort.

Feeling the twinge throughtheir bond, Ben lifted a wide palm to massage the back of his wife’s neck. “Rey,if we’re ever going to take that honeymoon, we need to give our friends thebenefit of the doubt during this trial run. If we can’t trust them to watch ourson for two days, I don’t really see how we could leave him for two weeks.”

“I know, you’re right,”Rey sighed, leaning into his touch, “I’m just being ridiculous.”

“You’re not beingridiculous,” he chided, curling his free arm around her slim waist. “We’re bothnovices here, okay? We’ll figure it out together. All of us.”

“Alright,” she conceded, turningin his hold and pressing her cheek against his heart. “I love you, Ben.”

“I love you too,” hereturned, staring bemusedly at the closed door behind her; Finn and Rose hadstarted speaking in the silliest of baby voices. “Besides, what are the oddsthat Grey figures out how to tap into the Force while we’re gone anyway?”

“Oh, Ben!” Rey stiffened.“I hadn’t even thought of—Mmm!”

Anticipating her reaction,Ben captured her lips in a searing kiss. Don’tthink, just feel.

Rey sank into his warmembrace without protest. No fair, shegroaned, merging her mind with his, allowing his unwavering belief in theirfamily to relieve her baseless fears and bring balance to her errant emotions. But don’t you dare stop.

Never, sweetheart.

Light. Darkness. Abalance. The Force hummed contentedly between them, knowing that the future ofthe galaxy had been secured at last.

-FIN-

——————

A/N: I wanted to tap intothat period of time in your early 20s where everyone around you keeps treatingyou like a kid despite the fact that you’re legally an adult. As a result, Reyended up kinda moody in the beginning of this fic XD But I’m satisfied when howit turned out! Please review!

#reylo #reylo fanfic #reylo fic #kylo ren #ben solo #rey #ily wifey #prompts #my fanfiction #sushigirlali #luminous beings are we #whoops forgot to answer the ask lolz #repost #asks answered #reylo baby

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macromicrocosm · 3 years

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Novel Review: Automatic Reload by Ferrett Steinmetz

Hei Hei and Welcome to MacroMicroCosm Literary Review…

Novel: Automatic Reload Author: Ferrett Steinmetz Publisher: TOR Books (2020) Rating: 4/5 Stars

Today we are diving cautious as a paranoid quadruple amputee cyborg into the cyberpunk romantic kill zone known as Ferrett Steinmetz’s Automatic Reload published in 2020 by Tor Books. Strap into something, prepare your payloads and it’s time to dive in.

I borrowed Automatic Reload’s audiobook from my municipal library’s Libby app, and will be critiquing the audiobook narration by Tim Campbell via Macmillan Audio with Steinmetz’ prose. Tim Campbell’s narration hit my auditory nerves with the same grit as a Private Eye in my spouse’s beloved old radio shows. Instantaneously, I was brought back to The Shadow, and Red Panda Adventures. Mat’s internal narration was made vivid with Campbell’s grit. All goes as expected for a guttural masculine-led audiobook… until Campbell narrates female characters. The grit and gruff voice of our narrator and protagonist Mat (whose name I missed completely for the first few hours of audio storytelling), shifted to a nasal ‘quasi-feminine whine’ each a tad different for the few feminine characters in the novel. While off-putting to hear limp feminine audio, it didn’t stop me from listening to the entire audiobook. I wish Macmillan Audio hired two voice actors, that Sylvia and Trish especially were voiced by a woman. I don’t envy Campbell’s options with Sylvia’s voice, especially in the beginning, Sylvia is a panic-attacked whimpering victim and Mat the rough but conscience-bound redeemer. Maybe it’s a pet peeve of mine, when listening to audiobook narration with too ‘breathy’ a character voice, or too much differentiation between a narrator’s timbre and the various dialogue, but it threw me out of Automatic Reload’s prose a few times and elicited many a rant among our MacroMicroCosm discord server on the nature of respecting female characters by allowing them a more natural voice, and not a whining nasal whimper. It’s unfortunate, because Tim Campbell had the perfect voice for Mat’s rough narration. All in, this was the only issue with the audiobook version of Automatic Reload.

On to Steinmetz’s prose. While entertaining, and a fun way of portraying neuro-divergent characters, Automatic Reload is not making it into my top cyberpunk novels. As it was billed to be a cyberpunk romance, the choice to spend a vast third if not half of the novel in a first-person narrator-protagonist dry technological readout of the various guns, cybernetically augmented prostheses and associated weapons-come-defence programs felt stale as a slice of bread on the kitchen counter in summertime. Maybe engineering isn’t my thing, I know of several friends who would love such attention given to the weaponry, and recommended Automatic Reload to all of them, but a good hour into the prose and all I knew of Mat was the amount of weaponry he possessed on his specialized limbs, that he was attempting to halt a kidnapping, and he was paralyzed with the incapacity to kill. A decent bedrock for a PTSD scarred main character, Mat’s inability to take life becomes a mainstay of the manuscript. This is not in itself a negative. It makes for intriguing prose, and shows his caring, ethical side.

But I could not help feeling Mat’s selfish delusions within the first few chapters. His first-person narration of saving the teenaged girl became more about saving the people, who caused her fear and harm at her expense. When I taught self defence in a university and martial art academy setting, one of the first lessons (especially to the female students) was a defender has the right to go home. The attacker has every opportunity to stop harming you, and them refusing to let go is them allowing you to defend your right to survive unharmed as possible. In the introductory arc, Mat rescues a girl from kidnappers, who are prepared to kill her. Regardless of how noble Mat was in his attempts of causing less harm, I could not stop thinking of the harm he was causing to the poor girl frightened out of her mind, with a knife against her neck. Steinmetz goes so far as to have the girl bleed from a superficial slice to the throat, before our ‘wounded hero’ intervenes in a kinetic fashion.

Mat is not a hero, his paranoia at preventing harm does not make him precisely good. It does, however, make him a fascinating study of an injured veteran compensating for the horrors of war. He reminds me of Perseus, played by Sam Worthington in the 2010 released Clash of the Titans, where Perseus discovers his demi-godhood and struggles to go about his mission as a normal man, not a god. As if his spectacular powers were to be feared or forgotten in self-hatred rather than used to others’ advantages. Even when companions on his voyage begin to die, Perseus sticks to his selfish morals and refuses his inner power until it is all but too late. Just as Perseus could have saved multiple companion’s lives had he accepted his power, so too Mat could have saved the girl from trauma (injection of ‘anti PTSD drugs’ notwithstanding) if he hadn’t attempted to wait the kidnappers out as long as he did, until a last second where she looks into his faceplate and knows she is about to die.

As protagonists go, Mat is an insecure, selfish moralist with his own set of obsessive edits, who passes it off as a sheriff’s bravado in the wild world of body hacking. When his contact and seemingly only friend Trish (whom I loved) gets him a job worth millions, Mat dives in to prevent collateral damage only after she cajoles his ethics, and that is noble. But this is where the novel takes its’ turn. I won’t be going into spoilers much here, but from the moment Mat meets assassin-damsel in distress Sylvia, I could see where the novel’s plot was going, and for the most part I was 9 for 10.

Sylvia’s panic and anxiety disorder took centre stage, as Mat tumbled with her assassin-programmed artificial body, and the other body-hackers who were looking to bring her back and finish their job. The bonding between the two (through ‘old timey cinema) was ultimately endearing but fairly stock, between the constant verbal output of every single technological gadget Mat had on hand, or modified to work, or picked to replace old limbs, or because we were at another moment, where Mat needed to drone on about the tech as if to remind us that we were, in fact, in a cyberpunk setting.

My major criticism of the prose isn’t Mat’s struggle with harm reduction, but the sheer amount of technological data Steinmetz pushed into the manuscript, until I felt like half the novel was a sci-fi reader’s guide to emotionless guns, cybernetic components and threat awareness programming. At a fairly early point in the prose, the tech talk got so redundant if I hadn’t been listening on audiobook in my car, I’d skip pages. Yes, I can see this was a coping mechanism for Mat, and the best way Steinmetz had to frame the science fiction setting in a novel completely from the protagonist’s inner monologue (a literal ’subvocal recording’ as we discover), but it threw me. Automatic Reload lacked a balance between the cold cover of Mat’s obsessions and the emotionally gorgeous story of two wounded people falling in love… while being chased by psycho body-hacking killers.

It’s unfortunate, because the relationship development between Mat and Sylvia is agonizingly sweet. Their ability to both freak out and help each other, the peppering of laughter to break the tension of their run with death were all wonderfully done. Trish, Mat’s business contact and friend is the stand alone best character of the novel. Sassy, strong and incapable of selfish intentions, Trish gives Automatic Reload the backbone it needs to evolve both Mat and Sylvia and drive the plot forward, even through the constant re-hashing of the setting as Mat experienced it. I cared about Trish more than I cared about Mat or Sylvia, beyond their growing connection. The enemies, while trope-ish, were believable in their immensity, and brought me to the feel of a 1980’s action flick with Van Damme, or Norris at the fore… if their female lead happened to be more powerful than the Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok.

Steinmetz’s plot in Automatic Reload is visible miles before the chapter headings, and that is unproblematic, if you’re looking for an easy, entertaining read similar to that 1980’s action flick. I won’t say the climax didn’t take a twist, it did, but even when the twist occurred, I again called what would remain of the plot. If you want a cyberpunk weapon’s heavy cute-couple novel to relax with, this will certainly do it for you. Aside from its’ flaws, Automatic Reload has a vulnerability and joy to its escapism, the clinging growth of a relationship in two freaked out, lonely people.

Mat does grow through his moments with Sylvia, but especially with Trish’s advice. If you like to know the technological readout of every warrior��s equipment, watched the Matrix and Maltese Falcon, and enjoy a good gritty radio-show, with romantic plot-line, Automatic Reload is for you. I give it four out of five stars, and imagine the ideal reader would be of the masculine or tech-minded variety who is woke enough to handle a gritty romance with more bullets than people, a transgender best friend, and heroes whose anxiety and PTSD cause as many problems as they eventually, and inevitably, solve.

For those who want something to listen to of a similar feel, I thoroughly advise listening to the Red Panda Adventures.

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