Welcome back!!! I've been consuming each of your Bert/Deimos fics, and I would really like to know ur deep dives on what Bert thinks regarding Deimos?
In Deimos's own words, Bert's always been nicer to him even at the start -> and he even held him back from tearing off Doc's arm in that one part!
Also, what does Bert think about Doc? (his employer, right? Is it like a "scratch my back, ill scratch yours?" Scenario)
I'm asking to have a glimpse into ur mind palace girl I'm dying for more Bert deep dives
honestly didn't realize I'd written that many things with Bert in them until I opened up everything. one of them is a WIP don't worry if you don't recognize some of the screenshots
here's an older post about my bertmos dynamic
and here's a very brief history on my headcanons for Bert from that WIP I mentioned:
as well as a much older infodump from discord. there's more to that story with him and Bossman both joining MERC and eventually ending up at the SQ as well but that's for another day
basically, the jist of all that is that Bert knows exactly what it's like to be angry, alone, scared, and out of control. he doesn't look at Deimos and see a monster or something dangerous, just who he used to be, which means he sees the same potential for change. early on he recognizes that Deimos just needs a friend and to be treated like a person
(side note, he's especially nicer in Tear in My Heart specifically because the lapdog joke was started by him and he feels real bad about it after finding out it upset Deimos)
once Deimos gets over himself and starts coming out of his shell a little more, they start out as just drinking buddies and naturally become good friends over time. they're both jackasses that do stupid shit for the hell of it and Deimos appreciates people with low/no expectations of him. additionally, Bert is incredibly unapologetic about who he is and wears his heart on his sleeve always, even when he's scared or hurting:
now, I write Deimos as really struggling with reading people's emotions/expressions. I leave it up to interpretation because some people see it as CPTSD, BPD, autism, etc, but the "canon" explanation is an amygdalotomy that he has no memory of. and for this reason, he enjoys Bert's company because he doesn't have to spend time and energy analyzing every micro-expression or reading between the lines of everything Bert says. Bert says exactly what's on his mind always and has never schooled his facial expression in his life
now I write Bert as being very flirty in general. doesn't take long for him to develop a little crush on his friend and that's where it really starts. the 'no homo' jokes except he never says no homo. Do Not the Staircases is technically meant to be read as "they're just friends," can't stop people from interpreting it as a ship, but even though Bert makes a lot of jokes he very much means it. Deimos is dense so the sincerity goes over his head
he makes his intentions very obvious but still leaves the ball in Deimos's court every time when he does flirt back, lets Deimos be the one to close that final distance between them. Bert is secretly a hopeless romantic underneath all the jackassery and he doesn't hold back on that when him and Deimos actually get together. checks in and asks if it's okay to do things to him, calls him 'love.' not because he thinks Deimos is fragile, but he does know that he's incredibly repressed socially, sexually, and romantically, and doesn't wanna turn something fun between them into exposure therapy for shit that makes Deimos uncomfortable. simple stuff like this
it doesn't ever get elaborated on and never will, but Deimos doesn't want his shirt off. leaving it entirely up to reader interpretation why, but Bert takes Deimos's response as a hard 'no' and doesn't ask about it again
also letting Deimos be the one to move his hand where he wants it
on paper, they're friends with benefits, but Bert always makes sure Deimos has nothing but a good time and cooks him breakfast in the morning. he's sweet on him, best way to put it
on to the part about him and Doc
I need to write more of these two interacting honestly cause they have such a fun dynamic in my head. Bert started working for Doc when he was still relatively young, mid/late 20s, and just never really fell for the intimidating persona. he's better at reading people than most give him credit for and with Doc it was pretty obvious that he's always trying his best to do the right thing. at most, he finds the guy a little odd at times, but he pays him well and it's a serious upgrade from MERC conditions, so he won't complain
in short, he is not scared of Doc and is thus not scared of mouthing off or making his opinion known to Doc:
for the record, he had no problem with Deimos in New Perspective. but he does know that other people (Sanford) have their own biases about clones and frankly just didn't think it was a good idea to bring Deimos into what was a very small operation at the time
Doc appreciates the honesty. there's a lot that most people won't say to his face and it's nice knowing that he can actually trust Bert to tell him the truth even when they don't see eye-to-eye. Bert doesn't tend to argue unless it effects him directly or goes against his morals, almost always defers to Doc's authority, and he's a hard worker that's fully willing to put himself in harm's way to protect others. Doc thinks he's a good kid
Bert only ends up with the desk job and later as a quartermaster because he pretty strongly swore off violence after putting that guy in the hospital when he was younger and, despite how useful he could be in the field, Doc doesn't push him on it. he'll hurt someone if he absolutely has to, but if there's a nonviolent way out of a bad situation (like putting Deimos in a chokehold instead of hitting or even killing him), he'll always take it
this is a little all over the place but that about sums everything up. a lot of my inspo for him comes from Can't Break Me Down by Charlie Scene, Million Dollar Baby (good fucking movie), and Demoman tf2 but specifically how TheTriggeredHappy writes him. enjoy your glimpse into my sick and twisted mind palace
