Status | Registered Evolved |
---|---|
Ability | X-Ray Vision |
Age | 52 |
Date of Birth | January 21 |
Occupation | Psychologist, Professor, Voyeur |
Family | Abigail, Baxter (son), Joseph (stepson), Natalie (stepdaughter) |
Significant Other(s) | Abigail Deckard |
First Appearance | Days Go By |
Last Appearance | We Have The Right To Exist Too |
Bright Future | |
Present Day |
What if all the crazies are really sane
They see something that the rest of us can't
And I'll never feel the pain
Of having to fade away
- Jack Conte The Way It Was Before
Overview:
By the time the Bright Future's version of 2019 rolled around, Flint Deckard's overall quality of life had improved substantially. He turned down none of the recognition afforded him by the government and general public in the wake of Phoenix's exposure around 2010 – not because he thought he actually deserved the acclaim — but because he wasn't ignorant of the fact that it was probably the only real shot he'd get at turning his life around.
He was popular with the media for a little while after the outing of Phoenix and ensuing political congratulations, making television appearances in a variety of contexts. Not necessarily well-received, he was more than willing play the part of the black sheep (not a tremendous stretch) and say whatever he felt like saying in the face of controversy over his case. Although he was never proven guilty for the arson-robbery-murders he was pardoned for, he was never exactly proven innocent either. Because this was the bright future, he took full advantage all the same, putting money blinged off of interviews and personal accounts of his various misadventures into a return to school.
With the help of rigorous therapy, medication, and the support of his closest friends, he managed to kick the worst of his alcoholism and shook some of his more oppressive personal problems while testing his way through whatever undergraduate degree requirements he could. For the next several years he kept himself occupied with his massive course load under Abby and Teo's watch. They were there to drag him back to his feet whenever he seemed likely to blow it. Particularly at first, when it was still common for him to show up in the middle of the night bloody and reeking of whiskey and cigarette butts. He was arrested a few more times during this period, but charges were never pressed. Classes kept him busy, and as time passed, he got better at maintaining his focus.
It was late 2013 before he really got enough of a grip to be considered completely dry. Just in time to be reasonably sane and sober enough to attend Abigail's wedding without making an ass of himself. Said wedding probably also allowed him to get back in more regular contact with people he'd strayed from in the years prior.
He completed work on a PhD in psychology in early 2019, with particular emphasis on offender psychology, the human response through periods of unimaginable stress, and issues/disorders common among Evolved. Basically all areas he has personal experience in, and the stuff he was most interested in picking apart when he decided to get into the field.
His personal life was surprisingly healthy and stable for those last five or six years. He remained close to the people he was closest to already, particularly Abigail. When she ran into trouble, he was there to watch over her. When he started to fall off the wagon, she was there to drag him back onto it again. He was there for her when her husband passed away with some inevitable pressure from Teo, just as she was there to heal the aftermath of whatever scraps he managed to get himself into. As of mid-2019, they weren't married and weren't quite living together (though they might as well have been), but had a kind of mutual, undefined arrangement where he slept over a lot and was very present in her life, as she was in his. He was less reclusive than he used to be, far more self-confident and relaxed, and actually inclined to show up at get-togethers and dinners he was invited to. Gabriel, Eileen, Baxter, Delilah and Teo (among others) were common sights around the Baker household.
Career-wise, Flint spent time working with correctional systems in New York to research, evaluate and work with Evolved inmates. If hardships concerning their genetic status resulted in common psychological problems, if certain types of abilities correlated with certain types of issues, if some powers might literally negatively effect or impair the brain's function, recommendations for therapeutic intervention in special cases, consults, etc etc etc. The majority of his time was spent teaching basic psych courses at the Brooklyn campus of a branch of a New York based community college. His personal experiences, schooling, intuition, and physical ability to see the physiological inner workings and responses of the people he studies made him well-suited to observation and teaching, and he was making a steady living even as he worked to pay off the debt he accumulated in college.
Not 100% satisfied with his responsible adult life, that late in the game he still slipped out every once and a while to get himself into trouble. Black eyes, broken bones, bullet holes. You name it and he'd eventually show up at Abigail's with a half-hearted lie to explain it away. He kept up with his target practice, gun collecting and illegal concealed carrying, too. You can't completely take the Deckard out of a Deckard, no matter how many wash cycles you put him through.
After time travelling representatives of Phoenix showed up in April of 2019, potentially initiating the termination of the Bright Future timeline and/or the end of the world, Deckard began to backslide towards a few of his less becoming habits. The fact that several of the travellers moved into Abby's apartment didn't help. His alcohol intake increased; the stability of his temper and solidity of his decision-making ability decreased. Without Teo to prop him up, he relied heavily upon Abby to keep him on course, eventually going so far as to ask her to marry him after Elisabeth confirmed that he wasn't the only one operating under the assumption that they might soon cease to be. They caught a redeye flight to Vegas and made it official, with Teo just managing to scrape in at the last second to straighten Flint out before ceremony. He was their only witness.
Not long after their return, Gabriel created a series of prophetic paintings apparently depicting the end of existence, which Deckard failed to hide from Abby and Eileen in a timely fashion. Increasingly certain that the end was nigh, he avoided the issue of whether or not he should do anything to help or hinder the time travellers until a meeting with Helena and Cat confirmed his suspicion that Phoenix (and their Bright Future compadres) did not particularly care what happened to the present timeline. They had already summoned up a number of rationalizations for trying to get the group back to 2009 with knowledge of an eventual attempt on most of their lives, effectively setting a change in the course of history in stone.
Angry and disheartened, Flint returned home to Abigail to share what he had learned. Rather than attempt to convince him that Phoenix was making the right decision, she agreed with him. Together they made the decision to adopt a policy of unhappy neutrality. Though they did not directly attempt to impede Phoenix's efforts, they made no offer or move to assist or warn them either.
In the wake of Phoenix's return to 2009, the Deckards' fate — immediate or eventual — is unknown.
Trivia and Notes:
- Deckard's always been pretty decent at reading people and their intentions, but with a PhD in psychology and years of practical experience observing everything about a person and what it might mean in conjunction with what's going on upstairs, from subtle expression to minute variations in heart rate and respiration, his skills of observation have become almost supernatural. He can sniff out psychopaths, intuit when an average person is lying to him, and detect fear or attraction or distraction or depression in the way a person's heart beats or how their muscles tense or relax in response to something. Nobody ever wants to play poker with him anymore, and not just because he might be able to detect the ink on the cards.
- Probably has ties to people in law enforcement whether he likes it or not as necessitated by his particular line of research.
- Has his own small apartment in Brooklyn within walking distance of where he teaches, and still frequently carries a concealed handgun despite the law.
- Doesn't actively practice psychotherapy after finishing school but is reasonably qualified and probably still sees a few clients post-internship depending on circumstances.
- Still on antidepressants off and on after all these years. He still drinks too, if very, very rarely to excess. It doesn't take much to mess him up when he's already on other chemicals.
For more information on Flint Deckard's present day incarnation, click here.