#executive agent croft

[monocle-teacup]

I could be forgetting, but why did Mandroid kill Karen Croft? They share the same goal (with the latter wanting to take the next step in genociding Cybertron if it still exists). He could've tested that device on someone he deems way more "deserving" like a strong supporter of the Autobots to punish them for "treason".

Because she treated him like shit. The way she throws the energon patch on the ground in Home like Mandroid's a dog:

How she clearly doesn't care that he's in a terrible state in Disarmed:

Look at Mandroid's face as Croft leaves his lab in Disarmed:

Croft thought she was in control of him when she very much wasn't. It's obvious in every interaction they have that they hate each other.

[cartoonbabbles]

A quick analysis of the Breakdown/Bumblebee escape sequence from Earthspark

Quick context: the way I read them is more of the “we’re calling them brothers like how spop had to call catradora sisters to explain the levels of affection they have for each other and to throw off the scent of the homophobes so therefore they are gay” way. That being said.

1) Breakdown could have put his hand anywhere. ANYWHERE on Bee to push him out of the way. Instead, he puts his hand in the softest way possible on Bee’s chest - where his insignia is - where the symbol that drove them apart is stamped in a red that sets itself apart from the yellow and black of Bee’s paint job. People literally talked about this, had conversations, and approved the boards and final animations. He could have shoved him at the shoulder, or anywhere else but no. They chose his chest for a REASON.

2) The diversion scene - Breakdown is not only taking all of those stupid laser blasts, including Croft’s supercharged blasts - while being faster than Bumblebee. And we see Bee accelerating as Breakdown pulls further and further ahead. This tells me two things. One. Bee knew he would lose, but agreed to the bet with Breakdown in the trailer anyways because he would rather see him safe since he doesn’t have the same support system Bee has, and two, Bee’s entire goal of finding and racing Breakdown was to make sure he was safe and he was willing to give up ever seeing him again if it meant he would be able to evade GHOST.

3) The way Breakdown sounded when he first revealed himself, as mentioned by another post on here, was that he sounded afraid. Breakdown was terrified of being taken in, but didn’t want that to happen to Bee because he knew what GHOST had in store was both inhumane and awful. So he took the fall and dove straight into the line of fire. And you can hear the desperation in his voice as he reaches out because he knows it’s a last-ditch effort for one of them to escape to safety.

4) Bee’s look of shock and terror as Breakdown disappears under the bridge, injured, unable to transform, and surrounded by agents is heartbreaking. He just lost one of the parts of home closest to him - a friend from BEFORE the war. Remember, this isn’t someone he befriended during the war, they were torn apart by it. And they were able to keep up their little game of drag racing together until now, when the war took them apart again - potentially forever.

Also i just want to add yes I am subscribed to the headcanon that knockout is still here and that yes all three of them have two hands. Bee can have some boyfriends. As a treat. He’s been through a lot and needs love.

[monocle-teacup]

I'm pretty sure it was. It makes sense since in the What Dwells Within episode from S1 Croft didn't want anyone going in the tunnels under GHOST.

I just realised.

Was the titan on Croft's hard drive? Is that why it was important? It was just never mentioned again!

You'd think they'd have wiped all drives yaknow because they might have government grade secrets on then!! God the autobots are incompetent

[king-starscreams-fics]

Planning A Reunion

Optimus is worried about Megatron. He is becoming volatile and unpredictable – Executive Agent Croft has noticed, too, which means that he is likely to land himself in serious trouble before long.

If only there was something that could be done to help the situation.

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: Gen

Fandoms: Transformers: Earthspark (Cartoon); Transformers - All Media Types

Relationships: Megatron & Optimus Prime; Dorothy "Dot" Malto & Megatron

Characters: Optimus Prime; Karen Croft; Megatron; Dorothy "Dot" Malto

Additional Tags: Friendship; Trauma; Optimus wants to help

Language: English

Stats:

Published: 2024-11-02

Words: 567

Chapters: 1/1

[talesfromawannabewriter]

@things-arent-what-they-seem66

@beef-brisket

@lilacwriter07

So we know our top five favorite characters and tv/film crushes, but what about top five nuisances? People in television and film whom you wish would burn in the deepest depths of Hell for all eternity after being tortured for centuries, I’ll go first

executive agent Croft from Transformers: earthspark

2. Madam president from MHA

3. Vaggie from Hazbin Hotel

4. Ross from Friends

5. Tamaki Suoh from OHSHC

[cityzenshark]

Executive Assistant Jon Schloder of G.H.O.S.T Witwicky Prison | Firsts to Grow Up - Earthspark AU

When Warden Croft is called in by GHOST HQ, Jon Schloder takes the chance to investigate her true intentions towards the prison base she had volunteered to watch over.

He notices strange injuries on captive Decepticons whenever Croft takes them out of isolation. Schloder doesn't tolerate prisoner abuse, alien war criminal or no. He trusts his men that they wouldn't let their personal feelings interfering their duties. He doubts Croft does the same.

As her half-brother, Schloder feels hurt.

As the executive assistant, he steels his emotions. He cannot allow her to keep him in the dark anymore. Should anything happen to the prison, the residents of Witwicky will be the first victims. Schloder must not let that happen.

Another thing he strongly disagrees on is Croft's manipulative tactics to forcefully recruit veterans into GHOST.

Upon being informed of Dorothy's situation, Schloder went to visit her outpost. He compensates her the best he can. He promised her that she is Park Ranger Malto first and foremost, and a GHOST agent last. She is only required to report any possible Cybertronian activity to base and leave a GHOST team to handle the rest. He will have teams to scout near her farm's vicinity to ensure that she and her family are safe.

Though ensured that her park ranger job isn't entirely a lie, Dot's fear outgrows it.

A prison holding Cybertronian prisoners are in Witwicky, and her new home is close to it.

The Terrans aren't safe. Her children aren't safe.

Dorothy feels as if she had brought the war to her family.

.

.

[sonicasura]

Transformers Earthspark: Personal Changes

I figured I should write this as I plan to write stuff on it. Transformers Earthspark, an show with interesting concepts despite the mixed execution. I honestly like some of the ideas proposed by it in Season 1 as they aren't actually bad. We rarely get a post war setting for the series since most writers prefer the standard formula and the Terrans hold potential when you remember that Cybertronian are an endangered species whose numbers have only decreased due to war.

This is mainly a simplified list on what changes you'll see in my work involving Earthspark. Points with an asterisk * are new.

Dot doesn't allow her kids to become child soldiers. She wouldn't have a problem if it was self defense lessons as there are people who don't like Cybertronians or will harm her family for the Terrans' nature. Otherwise, the Maltobots are allowed to learn about Cybertron's history and culture.

Megatron is a rogue with the personality of an asshole cat. (Murderous nature partly fizzled out for causing problems to people he dislikes.) The Decepticons had fallen apart after a nasty dispute and gone their own ways. Megatron vanished once GHOST began to hunt any bot not aligned with them. He hides out at the Maltos upon discovering a massive plot that would put all Cybertronian life in danger.

Bumblebee remains rogue as his trust in Optimus is in tatters. He gets involved with the Maltos under the same reason Megatron does and is responsible for the Terrans' self defense training. (Megs handles their history/culture.) Tendency to have war flashbacks.

No Emberstone saves or Prime reverence. Mo is traumatized by Quintus' false reality dream and doesn't like the Cyber Sleeves anymore. Jawbreaker alongside Thrash help with her trauma. Scars are prone to occur alongside the chance of life changing injuries for everyone.

GHOST Autobots have a tense relationship revolving Optimus. This only grows once Bumblebee's current location becomes known. Optimus often questions if he made the right choice as he looks at the unanswered orders involving his rogue Autobots.

Decepticons begin to reform under a new cause. The preservation and protection of the Cybertronian race as GHOST attacks intensify. Starscream leads them under an anti-hero alignment since they will do things the Autobots won't to keep themselves alive. (Think Venom or A-Team.)

Fighting between siblings specifically Robby vs Mo, Twitch vs Thrash, and Jawbreaker finally snaps. I seen potential conflict involving these five that no way in hell is gonna be ignored under my watch. Nightshade and Hashtag act like mediators at times but some fights can't be dissolved so easily.

More enemies for each respective group alongside painful clashes such as Bumblebee vs Optimus. Flora/fauna mutated by Energon, bad Autobots like Pharma/Sunder, and more volatile Decepticons like Astrotrain. No one is having fun when shit hits the fan.

Disabilities like Dot's prosthetic leg are on display. Mandroid slowly gone insane due to Energon poisoning through his experiments as once neutral views regarding Cybertronians were corrupted. First exposure is creation of the Arachnamechs. His students' death amidst the friendly fire tips him over the edge. *

Experiments involving humans and Cybertronians herald by Mandroid. Most of his Energon induced is a result from trying to hybridize both in some way. He eventually forgets about Alex after the second confrontation. Examples: Synthetic blood that boosts healing, skin which repairs through Cybertronian nanites, etc. *

Karen and Agent Schloder are distant with each other. The former isolating herself despite the latter's attempts to reach out. He works at GHOST to keep an eye on her but soon realizes Croft is a lost cause. *

Alex begin to tone down his obsession involving Bumblebee after awhile. He realizes it makes the bot uncomfortable and bring back awful memories. Bumblebee is still Alex's favorite but it is on a healthy level. *

Dad #2 is addressed properly to the Terrans. They learn that not everyone would be okay with the term or might not be someone they can trust. Parental figures is a concept the kids want to understand better so any further issues and discomfort are avoided. *

Terrans are taught Escrima alongside various aspects of Filipino culture. Everyone has their own different style towards the martial art and interests in other cultures were broaden. Dot often picks up books for them. *

The Emberstone is a chaotic manifestation of evolution without proper containment. It often causes trouble for the Maltos by spawning monsters, mutate nearby wildlife or producing twisted visuals for them to adapt against. The last disturbance results in Wheeljack showing up to contain the artifact. *

After the season finale, Twitch remains half blind as her body rejects any replacements offered by both former factions. She learns to live with her disability and alters her Drone alt mode to add a visual guide to further help. It takes quite a while for Twitch to thrive after multiple mishaps. *

That's all I could think of at the moment but will expand the list should more be added or changes are needed.

[seytazen]

🌹🌹🌹🌹

This is so late but dammit life has been rough lately I hope you can forgive me but here's an Earthspark ficlet for ya.

Optimus tapped a digit on the desk, staring at the data form waiting for him to read, fill out, and file it. He glanced at his chronometer mentally noting he had been at this for about an hour now… and not even the first question was done. 

Tap tap tap tap tap. 

This form was a field report for GHOST, he told himself. Therefore important. This report was already late, so it’s a priority now. Either way it must be done. He shifted in his seat, leaning forwards to get a closer look at the sentence.

Why couldn’t his processor just process the information? He knew how to read in English, so why are these English words registering as gibberish? He fidgeted with the stylus in his hand trying to keep his mind off of the terrible helmache brewing. He was also so tired… he hadn’t actually gotten any recharge in- 42 hours? 

His optics glanced over to the other parts of his paperwork he had not gotten to yet. The large messy stack that took up a terribly large portion on his desk contained the various unread reports, to do paperwork, receipt copies covered with sticky notes, empty reusable energon cubes, and an empty orange prescription bottle. 

Right… that was why. 

He shook his helm. He couldn’t dwell on that too much, Ratchet said there was a shortage of the compounds he needed, but there was a shipment on the way. He just needed to hold out for another week. 

Mind over matter…

Tap tap tap tap. 

Oh come on, he had done this sort of stuff before. He just had worked through all sorts of things… a helmache and a little fatigue? It should be a walk in the park. He scratched behind his audio with another loud sigh. There's a million things he’d rather be doing right now… basketball sounded like fun. Maybe Elita would be free for a one on one- NO. 

No no no. 

Important paperwork first.  

Important very late paperwork first.

Focus. 

He flipped the stylus he was holding around in his right servo. He could do this, it was just a field report… Question one. 

Question one… 

Question…one. 

He fiddled absentmindedly with the stylus in his servo. He sure had a lot of paperwork to do today. He had been terrible about letting it pile up this past week. And he knew that he had to have it finished if he wanted to watch the Lakers Game on Thursday. He still had the budget to do for this quarter, several reports from Megatron and Elita to read, Prowl’s patrol schedule for everyone needed to be confirmed, he still had this field report and the other three to do too for Executive Agent Croft, Agent Schloder had a few wordy reports in here as well.

 There were also Arcee’s reports to read and file…

 It’s been a little while since he checked up on Bumblebee too-and then the Terrans training needed to be checked up on. Dottie had mentioned something about them. What was it again? Right- he had been meaning to visit and Nightshade was rather curious about Cybertronian history and he still had a few textbooks laying around his quarters that he could loan out. Anything to keep Cybertron’s history alive and breathing right? Now that he thought about it, where did he put those? He knew they were in his quarters somewhere-but where? He really ought to clean his room sometime soon- he was certain that he was the main culprit of the missing cubes from the recreation room. He didn’t even know how many he had accidentally hoarded away, but Jazz was getting very persistent with the base wide emails asking- no pleading for them to be returned. Prowl wouldn’t be very happy if he had to give in and order some more to keep the rest of the autobots fueled. He should set a reminder to do that right now on his comm- oh right- he turned his comm off and he also couldn’t use the internet in his office right now- the router was unplugged. Well it was kind of important that he get a reminder on his comm about the missing reusable cubes, otherwise he would forget about it and then he would feel worse the next time he checked his emails and found another base wide demand for people to return the cubes when they were done with them. Speaking of emails, he should give his inbox a glance while he had his comm on-

Wait, now he was off track again. 

Scrap. 

He rubbed at his optics tiredly. His helm ached and he could go for a quick powerdown… after he does at least half of this paperwork because he wanted to go to the game on Thursday. Where was that ticking noise coming from? Right right- Earth clocks make noise because they have mechanisms that keep the time. There was one on the wall. How had he wasted another 20 minutes staring at this datapad?? 

Tap tap tap. 

He narrowed his optics to it. Earth time was a lot faster than Cybertronian time, and it was dwindling away in front of him. He leaned against the back of the chair glaring down at the datapad again. 

These were his responsibility. People needed him to get his paperwork in. And they needed it like yesterday. There were no excuses for a Prime being so lazy, so he just needed to get it done. 

He stayed right where he was. It was like he was stuck…He glanced over at his comm’s full inbox blinking in his peripheral. He needed to do something about that, there was no telling how many messages he had missed while he sat here struggling to do anything about the massive pile of work he had neglected. Oh, there were a few missed calls from Bumblebee here too… maybe he should check up on him, it must be somewhat urgent if he’s calling- wait no! He was doing it again! He had turned off his comm specifically so he wouldn’t get distracted with a call or emails or TikTok videos! These papers were urgent too, and if Bumblebee needed something Elita and Megatron were both available to back him up. 

He slumped over, putting his helm in his folded arms with a groan.

It was time to stop messing around. Stop procrastinating, and just do it. He had to. He had to. He had to… 

Do it. Do it. Do it, do it, do it. DO IT NOW. 

…

This was pointless…

Maybe a walk would help get his helm in order.

Optimus stood up slowly and walked to his office door in defeat, once again guiltily leaving the pile of paperwork behind him. Just 15 minutes. 15 minutes and he would try again. He had to, there was too much to do for him to not get anything accomplished again. 

He shut the door behind him quietly as he looked back and forth down the empty hallway. He turned to walk down the hallway. Base was pretty much a long rectangle if you took the halls around the long way. Just to get some energon flowing, he’d take a quick walk and then go back to doing paperwork. 

He paced down the hallway, letting his mind wander a little bit, but still watching for humans underfoot. 

“OP! There you are, I was hoping I’d catch you,” a familiar voice called from behind him, the footsteps quickening to catch up to him.  He froze in his steps before slowly turning around in dread.

Please don’t have another report. 

“Elita,” he greeted back watching the pink femme walk up to him with a datapad in hand. He hoped that wasn’t what he was assuming it was… “What can I do for you?” 

“Glad you asked,” she replied, holding the datapad out. He grimaced behind his mask, taking it from her servo. She continued to speak, “Saw the Do not Disturb sign so I held off, but hey, since I ran into you might as well give it to you. Getting all caught up?” She elbowed him gently. 

He thought about telling her briefly. He really did. But if he admitted he was so far behind she would be appalled and ask why- and then he would have to explain why he couldn’t focus on measly data work, and that would lead to him trying to explain the disorder he had, and THAT would lead to her asking all sorts of questions about how he can want to do something but somehow can’t do it, and he didn’t have the time or the patience.

He didn’t want to be shamed for this, he was already ashamed of this problem as it was and that she knew he was behind in the first place. 

“Um. Yes! Yes, I am,” he replied with a stiff nod, keeping a forced smile on his face. He was practically gritting his teeth. He didn’t care about lying, he really didn’t, but he didn’t want to make excuses for a hole he dug for himself. “Nothing quite like getting caught up on paperwork! I’ve just been churning them out, one right after the other!” He chuckled, hoping deeply she would buy it. “Just taking a little bit of a break and then I’ll get right back to work on them. Should be done really soon… Yes, another report should be no issue. Thank you, Elita.” 

“Yeah, no problem! Keep up the good work, yeah? I’ll let you get back to your break,” she smiled, giving him a firm pat on the shoulder. “I’m hitting the gym. See ya at the watch party OP! Go Lakers!” She called as she jogged away. 

He waved to her even as she disappeared around a corner. He slumped where he stood once she was completely out of view looking down at the training report he was just handed. The watch party… if he didn’t finish his paperwork he wouldn’t be permitted to go. And he had been looking forward to this game. He sighed, shaking his helm. What was one more anyway? He slowly turned back around and continued to walk. 

He turned another corner through the hallways, holding the datapad from Elita in one hand as he let his thoughts wander as he walked. There was a soft tapping on his shoulder. He turned to see what it could be. He felt more weight settled on top of the report he was already holding. His optics widened a little bit, turning back to look down at his hands. He blinked, finding another two sitting on top of Elita’s newest report. 

“Turning in my scouting reports! Thanks Optimus!” Arcee’s voice called from behind him. He wrenched his helm back behind him, watching her frame disappear around the corner he had just turned. 

He sighed softly, turning back to stare harshly at the total of three new reports in his servos. “No problem…” he muttered. 

…

He completed the loop around the base he had meant to walk, he still had zero interest in doing any of the work already piled on his desk, and he had somehow accumulated 7 more datapads to do. 

There was an unpleasant pressure in his chest as he dropped them roughly on top of the pile. How frustrating- he just wanted to throw them all against the wall! He stared at the mess every passing second rage gathering in his spark. He could identify at least 65 different tasks he could do, and yet he couldn’t pinpoint on a single one to start on! 

He stared harder, clenching his fists.

Annoyance/Frustration/Overwhelmed colored his field.  

This was officially a breaking point. There was too much of it and he was sick of looking at it. 

The only way there was to get it out of his sight was to do it. 

He could do this. 

All he had to do was start. 

Just one at a time.  

Knock knock knock. 

Dammit, not now! 

Knock knock knock.

He slowly turned to stare at the door. He could pretend he wasn’t here… 

Knock knock knock 

“Optimus? It’s Megatron. I know you’re in there!” He called through the door. 

Optimus felt his optic twitch. So much for that idea. Begrudgingly, he opened the door a little bit. “What can I do for you, Megatron?” He asked, trying not to sound annoyed, but he knew he had failed when Megatron took a small step back.  

Megatron gave him a small sheepish smile. “So how are the reports going?” 

His optic twitched as he took a slow vent in. “…good. They’re going good,” he replied stiffly, not breaking optic contact with Megatron. 

“Great! That’s great, So you won't mind if I hand you a few more?” He asked, pulling another three datapads from behind his back. 

Optimus felt like he was on the verge of glitching. He took a deep intake staring at the additional three reports. 

On top of the mess. 

Frustration was rapidly building. 

“Yes. I can definitely take those. That will not be a problem at all,” he replied, reaching out and trying to take them. 

He must not be doing a good job at masking his building anxiety because Megatron gave him a look and pulled the pads back out of his reach. He frowned, raising an eyebrow. “Are you…sure?” 

Optimus hesitated. He must have had a tone. He straightened up a little bit, speaking slowly and reminding himself that this was his fault- not Megatron’s. “Yes. I’m sure,” he sighed. “Sorry, I’m just a little tired is all.” 

Megatron slowly tried to look over his shoulder and Optimus quickly sidestepped to block his view of the messy office. Megatron narrowed his optics just a little bit. “Optimus, are you absolutely sure you’re okay taking these now? I can always bring them back later if you aren’t caught up-“ 

“I am caught up! I am. I’ve got it under control. So I’ll just take these now,” he replied, panic seeping into his voice. He couldn’t let Megatron figure out he was drowning in procrastination! Elita finding out was doable, but Megatron would certainly judge him. “It’s no issue! I assure you.” 

Megatron seemed to hesitate, looking at Optimus critically. “You just seem kind of… jittery. You know, if you’re having trouble catching up…” Optimus narrowed his optics a little bit, beginning to grow rather short tempered all of a sudden.

“I’m not having any trouble catching up-“ Optimus replied in a low warning tone. 

“All I’m saying is if you need a little help-“

“Megatron, I assure you, there’s nothing to worry about. I am on top of it. I do not need help and I am perfectly capable of datawork so why don’t you just hand over the reports!” He snapped, exasperated by Megatron’s concern. 

A low whistle from behind him caught his attention. “Wow… quite the stack there, huh?” 

His spark sank rather quickly. He knew Dottie was standing by his desk. Shame was burning through him as he turned around to face her. “Lieutenant Malto…”

Dottie chuckled. “I was starting to wonder why my paperwork is still pending…” 

Megatron stepped inside the office now that Optimus had been found out and was no longer focused on keeping him out. . “Yikes… and I thought I was terrible with paperwork,” he teased. A part of Optimus knew it was meant to be in good nature, but it tugged at him. 

“Usually I’m not this terrible with it…” he replied softly, shutting the door behind Megatron and watching Dottie scale the side of his desk. “Trust me, no one is more frustrated with this mess than I am. If I could I would, but I just… can’t. 

“So what’s going on then, Big Rig?” Dot asked as she searched for another crevasse to further her climb up.  

Megatron strolled over to the side of the desk to give Dot a boost. The orange bottle caught his optics. He sat Dot down and slowly picked it up. 

Optimus visibly bristled at it averting his optics. 

Dottie looked between Optimus and the empty bottle Megatron held. “I assume it has something to do with that?” She asked, crossing her arms. 

Megatron gave him that concerned look he had practically mastered over the last 15 years. 

The one that merely said ‘spill it.’ 

No point in hiding it now…

He sighed heavily leaning against the door and folding his arms. He looked down at the floor. “…I’ve always had trouble doing desk work,” he said, shaking his helm. “It’s boring and monotonous and I sit down to do them, and I get… stuck… I-I know it sounds strange. I want to sit down, focus, and finish my paperwork, but I can’t do it.” 

“Can you elaborate on that?” Dottie asked crossing her arms and looking up and down the piles that towards precariously around her. 

Optimus looked back up at the orange bottle Megatron was holding. “It’s not that I don’t want to do it… it’s like my mind won’t let me. I’ll get distracted with thinking about all the other tasks I need to do, or I’ll try to focus on what is in front of me suddenly I’m unable to comprehend any data input I observe, or I’ll set it down for two minutes and accidentally forget I was supposed to do it in the first place, or its something ridiculous- like the sound of electricity or air conditioning drowns out my thoughts. I talked to Ratchet about it years ago, and after I talked to Ratchet I went through a series of tests and he diagnosed me with this uncommon computing disorder. It’s a little bizarre and it sounds like I just don’t want to do it, I know, but It really does render me unable to ‘regulate my attention.’ Ratchet makes this medication for me to help fix it. I don’t know everything that’s in it, but I do know when I take it, it helps me feel much better… I’m able to focus, I feel more in control, and I don’t forget things as often,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“So… why is this bottle empty then?” Megatron asked, shaking it gently to illustrate his point. “Why not go get more medicine from Ratchet?” 

Optimus sighed, rubbing a servo down his face. “Ratchet can’t refill my prescription right now. He doesn’t have the components he needs to make it…” 

Megatron let out a quiet “oh.” Dottie walked over the edge of the desk and sat, her legs dangling. “Sounds a lot like something humans have sometimes. We call it ADHD. It’s actually pretty common on Earth. How long have you been without your meds OP?” 

“What day of the week is it?” He asked frowning, trying to remember. “Tuesday.” 

Optimus recounted the days. “A week ago?” 

“Bots have something called withdrawal, Megs?” Dottie asked, looking over at the former decepticon. “You know, you stop taking something and you get jittery and you start feeling a little sick?” 

Megatron gave a firm nod. “We do. It’s not fun,” he said, shaking his helm. “And that certainly explains why you look like you haven’t recharged in a good while.” 

Optimus sighed faintly letting himself slide down against the door to sit on the floor, his field still buzzing with distress. He felt pressure beginning to build behind his optics. He felt horribly small in that moment- Optimus Prime defeated by mounds of datapads and sticky notes- that was a line for the history books. He pulled his knees to his chest staring at the floor. “I want to get it over and done with- but all I can think about is how badly I want to sleep and how much my helm aches, and the fact that Prowl is going to end me if he ever finds out about how many cubes I’ve forgotten to return, and how deeply embarrassing it is that I’m still a week and a half behind on data work after I’ve taken every precaution to limit distractions, and I’m never going to catch up ever let alone by Thursday evening because my CPU doesn’t work right.” 

“Why is Thursday the deadline?” Dottie asked, tilting her head. “The basketball Game,” Megatron replied, all too familiar with Optimus’s love of the Earth custom. “The game is televised on Thursday night and there’s a watch party. He wants to go, but obviously if Croft or Schoder or Primus forbid- Prowl catches him doing extracurriculars while he’s this far behind on paperwork- they aren’t going to be happy.” 

Optimus nodded with a heavy sigh. “There’s 78 datapads on that desk. I’ve completed 3 of them in 10 days. If I want to watch the game with everyone else then I need to complete at least 26 of them today, 26 tomorrow, and 26 before 6 o’clock on Thursday.” 

Megatron hummed thoughtfully before he sat down in Optimus’s office chair looking down at the report sitting open and ready to be filled out. “A week ago, you engaged a rogue decepticon during your scheduled patrol, right?” 

Optimus frowned, recalling that afternoon. “Yes.” “Out of curiosity- what happened?” Megatron asked, picking up a stylus. “I was patrolling the Southeast quadrant of my route during the morning and I came across a trail of muddy footprints that were far too large to be anything other than a cybertronian’s, so I followed them through a clearing in the tree line. I found and identified Hook, a known Decepticon Medic. I confirmed my suspicions that he was alone then I cornered him and asked him to comply and told him I was arresting him. He resisted, there was a short exchange of blaster fire, I temporarily stunned him with a good shot that landed on his shoulder, I overpowered him and he submitted. He was taken back to base loaded in my trailer.” 

There was a beat of silence and the sound of a pen scribbling away. He blinked slowly looking up from the floor and at Megatron. It was only a moment more before the datapad he was writing away at was tossed in his “finished” basket. 

Optimus watched as he grabbed the next datapad off the pile. 

“Megatron,” he said, frowning. “You really don’t have to do my paperwork for me. It’s my responsibility not yours…I’ll just not go to the watch party- it’s fine.” 

He clenched his fists, willing himself to not sound quite so upset about it, because it was just a game- but still. 

“I’m not doing your paperwork for you,” he said looking up from the datapad. “You’re telling me what to write. I’m just moving my hand accordingly, Prime.” 

They locked optics for a moment, Optimus’s confused and Megatron’s sympathetic. “Why are you helping me with this?” He asked, sounding far smaller than he ever would admit. “I’m sure you’d rather spend your off time doing anything else.” 

Megatron gave a small shrug, a ghost of a smile tugging on the corner of his mouth. “Maybe I want my fraggin paperwork processed. And I guess, maybe I also know what it's like drowning in crap you have to get done when it feels pretty damn hard to function and I’ve got some sympathy hidden away in my spark for your sorry backside, Prime.” 

“But-” 

“But nothin!” Megatron interrupted, pointing the stylus at Optimus. “Let’s just get these blasted datapads where they belong, hmmm? If you feel that bad then you can thank me by owing me a favor later.” 

Optimus paused in his half formed protest and slowly smiled at Megatron. “Fine, then.” he sighed, letting one leg stretch out in front of him. “Let’s hear the next one…” 

-end

[transingthoseformers]

SG Earthspark: So this is the basic plot of the seasons

Season 1 — Twitch, Thrash, Nightshade, Hashtag, and Jawbreaker are born, and the first two's birth kickstarts the plot. US and the Autobots were bad guys but won the war and wrote history, and they try to manipulate and use the kids and the Emberstone, but after a lot of dark subtext the kids find out the truth. Around midway G.H.O.S.T and the Autobots find out they know and the Maltos have to go on the run. They succeed at exposing the truth to the world and the government decides to kill everybody and put all the blame on the Autobots when they're too dead to contradict the narrative, so the Autobots, the Adcenticons, and the Maltos team up against G.H.O.S.T and executive agent Schloder is killed (somewhere during these events agent Croft turns on Schloder to stop him from killing Robby or Mo, after which she has to go with the Maltos because that's treason). The Emberstone shatters because G.H.O.S.T fucked with it or something, and the Autobots run away before the army or similiar can show up. The Maltos and the Ascenticons (and Croft) also run away somewhere. Not sure how they can win against or be safe from the government though, especially if they don't leave America.

Season 2 — Maybe only a few months' timeskip or no timeskip. The Malto kids have lost their connection to Quintus because the Emberstone shattered and are trying to put it back together in the hopes that'll fix things. T wo of the shards accidentally and unprecedently create two new terrans, Aftermath and Spitfire, who have shards for sparks and no emotional link to the Malto kids. [WIP, i haven't even gotten to the mid-season finale]

Makes sense

Honestly? I vote for no timeskip

[monocle-teacup]

Still find it interesting that it's heavily implied Mandroid worked out some sort of arrangement with Croft and faked his death before the beginning of ES.

Evidence: -Croft's line to Mandroid in Disarmed: "You're no good to me dead. We already tried that."

-How Mandroid had such easy access to GHOST resources

-Croft was secretly running Bot Brawl on the side so Mandroid must have had some way to contact her directly. She even says something along the lines of: "Face to face at last." when the two interact in Home. He's basically dying at that point, but it's obvious that he hates having to deal with her.

-Mandroid's monologue about "Part of two different worlds" implies that he tried living a normal life after his accident (though not going back to teaching), but terrible treatment (most likely from being an amputee) and his hatred of TFs started him on his Mission. Also Alex believed Dr. Meridian was dead.

[spiritofdragonfire]

My thoughts on Transformers: Earthspark Episodes 11-18

Absolutely PHENOMENAL!!!

Truly outstanding!

So happy to see more of the new Terrans (aka the new precious cinnamon rolls of the Malto family) learning more about each of them

It was cool to see new characters such as Tarantulas, Breakdown, Shockwave, & Grimlock! Though I'm surprised we didn't see more of Optimus & Starscream in this new set of episodes.

Hashtag & Nightshade's new designs & alt modes are so cool & fit them perfectly! I thought Jawbreaker would finally find his alt mode by the end of season, but it looks like we'll have to wait until next time

Hashtag's GHOST surveillance van alt mode, ability to connect to the Internet, and love for cinema & technology is pretty neat & suits her character.

Nightshade's owl form suits them as they needed a form as interesting & unique as they are. Such a sweet little scientist! The bond they formed with Tarantulas was sweet! Hope Tarantulas was able to escape from GHOST & we see more of him in the future & he eventually reunites with Nightshade.

Jawbreaker is just downright precious & all his moments on screen are nothing short of adorable! Eager to see what alt mode he ultimately chooses for himself. He is the definition of a gentle giant!

So sweet to see Twitch, Thrash, & the Malto kids take on big sibling roles & look out for their new younger Terran siblings!

Dorthy continues being the best, most badass mom ever! Definitely one of my favorite human characters of any Transformers series!

Bumblebee being friends with Stunticon Breakdown was interesting. Seeing him sacrifice himself to GHOST so that Bumblebee could escape after both of them were exposed was so sad. Then Bumblebee was forced to leave in order to keep the Terrans & Malto family safe while being hunted down by GHOST which made this episode even sadder!

I like how they showed how the final battle that ended the war went down in the memorial episode. Megatron taking the Malto kids & young Terrans there to teach them about the history & help set them on the right path to a better, brighter future in that episode was so beautifully done!

Definitely loved that they elaborated on Megatron's redemption arc. So sweet that he said it was Dorthy that caused him to have a change of spark & join Optimus. Not only that, it was when she & her squadron were attacked by Decepticon seekers that Megatron proved he had truly changed by choosing an Earth alt mode to protect them (mainly her)!

I definitely want a flashback episode of when Megatron & Dorthy first met & how they became friends! I desperately need this episode to happen!!!

Special Agent Schloder & Executive Agent Croft being brother & sister was both both unexpected & interesting. I knew there was something off about her! He seems like a pretty decent guy who wants to do the right thing, while she is a conniving, shady bitch!

I knew Mandroid wasn't dead! No body, no confirmed kill! Should have known that he would end up conspiring with Croft to do more shady shit to Cybertronians! This is one dangerous pairing!

GHOST is even more shady than I initially thought! Torturing captive Decepticons & Croft allowing Mandroid to use them as his test subjects is downright despicable! Also, what is up with all the toxic GHOST boxes just being left in the woods to infect & mutate the wildlife seemingly at random & how were they able to make a device capable of erasing the memories of Cybertronians? (Also did the mutated bear remind anyone else of the Krang aliens from TMNT?)

Also did the part when Shockwave scanned Thrash to see his memories remind anyone else of when Transformers Prime Shockwave would use the cordical psychic patch to see into the memories of other Cybertronians?

Can't wait for more episodes! Can't get enough of this great show!

[trekfm]

453: Punch the Shark

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life.

The first Tomb Raider movie was a success which guaranteed that Angelina Jolie would be suiting up as the intrepid, globetrotting character for a sequel.

In this episode of The 602 Club hosts Matthew Rushing and Christy Morris talk about Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life. We discuss a second time around, a big opening, Pandora's Box, secret agent Tomb Raider, the villain, love interest, locations, the action, production, music, a third film and our ratings.  

Chapters Second Time Around (00:02:27) A Big Opening (00:05:05) Pandora's Box (00:11:17) Secret Agent Tomb Raider (00:13:51) The Villain (00:19:38) The Love Interest (00:23:38) The Locations (00:31:16) The Action (00:34:25) The Production (00:37:09) The Music (00:42:45) A Third Film (00:45:35) Ratings (00:48:08)

Host Matthew Rushing

Co-Host Christy Morris 

Production Matthew Rushing (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer)

Social Twitter: @The602Club Instagram: @the602clubtfm

New podcast episode:

[blueskyscribe]

Earthspark voice actor info / bios / spoilers from this site:

----

Also announced today is an all-star lineup of additional voice talent for TRANSFORMERS: EARTHSPARK:

Nolan North ("Rick and Morty") as Swindle and Hardtop – Swindle and Hardtop are Decepticon brothers and professional mischief makers. Swindle is the brains, a wheeler and dealer always looking to take advantage of a situation, and Hardtop is the muscle, an experienced tracker and an expert shot.  

Michael T Downey (Chicago Fire) as Wheeljack – Wheeljack is a resourceful mechanic and experienced scientist Autobot who spends his time working out the kinks of his most recent invention.  

Marc Evan Jackson ("Brooklyn Nine-Nine") as Agent Schloder – Agent Schloder is a hard-nosed G.H.O.S.T. operative on a mission to climb the corporate ladder to the executive suite where his sister comfortably sits.  

Sean Kenin Reyes ("Pokemon") as Soundwave – A Con of few words, Soundwave maintains a cold exterior by choosing to express himself through his fists.  

Nicole Dubuc ("Young Justice") as Skywarp and Nova Storm – Skywarp and Nova Storm were partners on an elite squad of Decepticons with jet alt-modes called Seekers. They've been displaced after the end of the war and are doing whatever they must to survive.  

Martha Marion ("The Wave") as Arcee – Arcee has been an Autobot for millions of years, and she's collected a wealth of experience along the way. Being on the smaller side for a bot, Arcee proves that being undersized has its own advantages.  

Kari Wahlgren (STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS) as Executive Agent Croft – Intelligent, a master planner, and the woman pulling the strings of the Autobots, Croft has a far more nefarious scheme than any Decepticon.  

Daran Norris ("The Fairly OddParents") as Mr. Smelt – Mr. Smelt is Witwicky Charter School's frustrated drama teacher, who will never surrender his dreams of starring on stage and screen.

------

I find it interesting the even the Decepticons we've seen fighting the Autobots in the trailers are described with some nuance. Swindle and Hardtop are brothers which is interesting in a show that emphasizes family. And Skywarp and Nova Storm were "displaced after the war and are doing what they must to survive."

So yeah I'm really excited about this series and the fanfiction it will bring.

[whataperfectwasteoftime]

How to Kill an Immortal - Chapter 5

Pairing: Marcus Pike x OFC, with flashbacks of Marcus x other OFCs & OMCs

Rating: M (non-explicit smut)

Word Count: 7k

Warnings: Angst, character death mention, period-typical sexism, arranged marriage, gun mention, protective!Marcus, BAMF!Marcus, implied attempted assault (everyone is okay)

Summary: It’s endearing, Marcus thinks, that she always seems to be a bit flustered. He wonders if she’s always like this, or if it’s just around him, specifically, that she stammers her words and breaks eye contact. No. All the more reason why she has to kill you.

A/N: I'M BACK!!!!!!! Thank you for your patience as I obsessed over another fic. THE BIGGEST OF THANK-YOUS to @radiowallet for making the CASE PLOT make sense!!!! I was completely lost! Please mind the tags, there is an implied attempted assault in this chapter as our little side-quest gets resolved. I know this chapter is supersized–that’s because it’s MOSTLY dialogue. Please do let me know what you think!

Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist

Chapter Five - The Victorian Era

York, England. 2014 AD.

“Agent Pike,” Marcus answers the phone call from the little house he’s renting for the duration of the case.

“It’s Carson Stone,” comes the response from the other end of the call. “Got what you asked for.”

Marcus’s heart starts to beat faster. “And?”

“Well, Declan Lawson was registered as an attendee, and they were able to provide a receipt for the purchase of his ticket.”

Marcus can hear the unspoken ‘but’ at the end of Detective Stone’s sentence. “Go on,” he leads.

“Your hunch was right. He never checked in, never picked up his badge. There’s absolutely no indication that the man was ever there. I checked plane manifests, the conference center’s hotel, other hotels in the area,” Carson rattles off. “I can’t find anything that says one Declan Lawson was actually in L.A.”

Marcus blows out a long breath between pursed lips. “That’s–wow. Okay. Thanks for doing all of that, I–”

“There’s one more thing,” interrupts the other Detective. “You told me his potential motive was the increased publicity to the museum, and I wanted to follow up on that. Yorkshire Museum membership and ticketing has gone up three hundred percent.”

“I mean, that makes sense,” Marcus begins. “He wasn’t wrong, something like this is always bound to drum up attention.”

“Well, yeah, but here’s the thing, I was also able to pull the bonus structure policy from the HR department of the museum. Increased membership sales is a huge part of their incentive program, and guess who stands to get a bonus of two hundred percent of their already-inflated salary with numbers like those?” Carson asks rhetorically.

“Declan Lawson,” Marcus answers with a wry, crooked grin. 

“Guessed it in one," Detective Stone says. "And to make it even more incriminating, only the executives are getting said bonus."

"And all the executives are Lawson's goons," Marcus mutters.

"How do you know that?" Carson asks. 

"Something the lead curator for the Medieval Art collection told me," Marcus answers. "He's staffed that place with yes-men and attractive women that they walk all over and treat like shit," he explains with a frown.

"And they can't say anything to HR because it's filled with his yes-men," Carson finishes. "So he's an absolute creep, obviously, but how do we know he's the one who actually took the sword?"

"I think we can get him to spill it," Marcus says, tapping his pen against the notebook sitting on the kitchen counter. "When I spoke to him, he was trying to implicate Evelyn Croft for the theft, and I think it's because he wants her out of the way. She's outspoken. Likely to cause trouble for him if he tries to fire her without cause."

"Unless she's in jail for the theft of a priceless cultural heritage artifact for the city," the other Detective cuts in. 

"Unless she's in jail for the theft of a priceless cultural heritage object for the city," Marcus agrees with a wan smile. 

"You think you can get him to slip up?" Carson asks. 

Marcus breathes out slowly through his nose. "That's always the problem, isn't it? Let me meet with Ms. Croft and see if there's any details about either Lawson or the sword we can use. In the meantime, get your team together and be ready. I’ll let you know if and when we move on this.”

Some time later, Marcus finds himself at Evelyn’s office door. He taps gently, alerting her to his presence. Her face seems to light up when she sees him, and Marcus pushes down that all-too-familiar pang of wistful sadness. Bad idea.

“Hey, stranger,” he says with a crooked grin. “Thought I’d offer to take you to lunch?”

Evelyn seems to brighten even further. “Well, well! What’s the occasion, Agent Pike?” she teases with a smile.

“Actually, I could use your help with something,” Marcus says. “But I can’t discuss it here.”

Evelyn’s eyes widen. “Oh! Um… yeah, let me get my–” she stuffs her phone and keys into her purse rather haphazardly. “Ready,” she says as she stands.

It’s endearing, Marcus thinks, that she always seems to be a bit flustered. He wonders if she’s always like this, or if it’s just around him, specifically, that she stammers her words and breaks eye contact.

No. All the more reason why she has to kill you. Marcus shakes himself. You can’t let yourself get involved again. He won’t survive another loss, he’s sure of it. 

Evelyn suggests a little sandwich shop a few blocks from the museum. “I had a dream about their chicken salad last night,” she says with a smile.

“Isn’t that more of a self-fulfilling prophecy?” Marcus asks with a curious look at her.

“Oh, absolutely,” she agrees with a smile. “Any time I dream about food, it usually is.”

Marcus laughs. “How does it work, the dreams?” he muses. “How long before events happen do you dream about them?”

“I don’t know, exactly,” Evelyn says thoughtfully. “It seems to depend on the, um, the impact on my life. Like, the more significant events get telegraphed much earlier than, say, dreaming that my fridge is going to break. I told you I dreamt of my parents’ deaths for around six years before it happened.”

“And me,” Marcus adds. “How long did you say you had dreams about me?”

Evelyn swallows nervously. “Ten years or so,” she mumbles, not meeting his gaze.

Warning bells are sounding in Marcus’s head. “Huh,” he says dumbly. “That’s a long time.”

Evelyn doesn’t respond, and Marcus isn’t sure what else to say. He supposes killing someone would rate as a ‘significant event,’ enough to trigger prophetic dreams a decade before… right?

He clears his throat. “Anyway, the case,” Marcus redirects. “That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.”   

“Okay,” Evelyn says quietly. The previous topic of conversation has left her subdued, almost sad, and Marcus can’t help but feel regret for being the one who made her face fall and her shoulders sink in defeat.

“This stays between us,” Marcus says firmly. “I’m not supposed to be telling you any of this, but I could use your help, okay?”

Evelyn nods, and he continues.

“We have reason to believe that Declan Lawson is tied to the theft somehow,” he tells her, and she gapes at him. “His alibi does not check out, and like I told you the other day, he was actively trying to implicate you when he and I spoke.”

“Do you really think he did it?” she asks.

“Well, I might be biased, because he’s an absolute dick,” Marcus says with a wry smile. “But at the same time, when you’ve lived for seven centuries, you get really good at reading people. And Lawson is…” Marcus gazes up at the ceiling, trying to find the right phrase in his jumbled brain. 

“Fucking shady,” Evelyn offers.

Marcus snaps his fingers. “Exactly.”

“What can I do to help?” she asks him.

“I think we can get him to slip up,” Marcus says. “He’s a boastful guy. It shouldn’t be hard to appeal to his ego somehow and get him to admit something.”

Evelyn purses her lips in thought. “What if we appeal to his dick,” she deadpans.

Marcus has to make an effort not to swallow his tongue. “Pardon?” he chokes.

“Lawson is such a fucking creep,” Evelyn mutters. “He can’t help himself around beautiful women, and I think you could capitalize on that.”

Marcus narrows his eyes. “I don’t want to put anyone in an uncomfortable position–”

“Oh, relax,” Evelyn interrupts. “It’s well worth it if we can get him fired.”

“I don’t think he’ll admit anything to you,” Marcus tells her. “He’s trying to pin it on you.”

“You’re sweet, but I was talking about someone else,” Evelyn says with a crooked smile. “I know just the girl for the job.”

‘Just the girl’ turns out to be a young assistant curator in the geology department that Evelyn has taken under her wing. She… well, Marcus has to admit, she’s absolutely gorgeous, in a way that probably got her quite a lot of unwanted attention from men. Her silhouette is a perfect hourglass and her face classically beautiful–exactly the type that a creep like Lawson would try and chase after.

She's also, in the words of Evelyn, "a total fucking nerd."

"Alex," Evelyn says brightly as she knocks on the door to the storage closet that doubled as a shared office for the geologists. "How would you like to take Dicklan down a few pegs?"

Alex frowns in confusion, looking up from some sort of mineral sample that she had been enthusiastically examining. "I'd love that, obviously, but what are you even talking about?"

"We think he's behind the Gilling Sword theft," Evelyn answers.

Alex laughs. "Come again?"

"He did it to drum up publicity and he wants me to take the fall for it," Evelyn explains. "And we think we can get him to slip up with some good old-fashioned femine wiles."

Alex purses her plush lips and nods. "So you want me to go be all flirty and nudge the conversation towards the sword," she states matter-of-factly. "See if I can get him to crack."

"I thought you'd be good at it, what with all the community theater you do," Evelyn says. "Plus, y'know, you look like Jessica Rabbit."

Alex rolls her eyes at the reference. "Who's this?" she suddenly asks, jerking her head in Marcus’s direction.

"Marcus Pike, FBI," he answers hastily. "I wanna go on the record and say I don't like this plan at all."

"Ignore him, he's got a savior complex," Evelyn tells her.

"Hey!" Marcus interjects. "I'm right here."

Houston, Texas. 1887 AD. 

The last time Marcus was in America, it hadn't been America.

That was a strange thought.

One hundred years hadn't seemed like a long time to Marcus, but an entire country had grown and expanded in his absence.

The years were starting to get shorter. Time felt as if it was speeding up exponentially. Marcus knew that it had been around fifty years ago that he had buried his lover and companion on the little beach where they had made a home, but it seemed to him as if only a few short years had passed. 

He and William had seen the whole of the southern continent, visiting every country, before eventually settling in Brazil, which had been William’s favorite, when he became too old to continue traveling. They had built a little bungalow on the beach and had made a modest life catching fish to eat or sell.

William had taken the reality of Marcus's condition surprisingly easily: "I always thought you were a bit odd, with a strange perspective on things, but it makes more sense now, knowing you've seen so many lifetimes," he had told Marcus upon finding out.

They had only argued about it once, quite a violent row, when William was around seventy and starting to be in poor health. He had insisted that Marcus leave before he died, not wishing for Marcus to witness another death, but Marcus had dismissed his concerns, not wanting William's last days to be spent alone. 

In the end, it was Marcus who had won, if only because he simply refused to leave. "I said I'd take care of you, and I will," he had told his lover. "That doesn't end now."

He had stayed at that beach for a few years afterwards, letting himself mourn, then he set off again, once more taking only what he could carry, the little blue handkerchief tucked in his pocket as a reminder of all he’d lost. 

Marcus was headed north, now–figuring he may as well continue on in his journey to see the world. He had stopped in this city to regroup and get his bearings–to stay here a little while and rest before moving on. He had made the journey up from Brazil mostly on foot, and it showed: his belongings were rather threadbare and he was in desperate need of some new shoes.

It had been some time now that he had been on the move. It was easier, sometimes, to keep moving after a loss, passing through towns and cities but never lingering. He had spent a good portion of the last fifty years in this nomadic state, never giving himself a chance to put down any roots. 

He went through phases like this, he realized: long oscillations between seeking isolation and seeking comfort in others. As he cast his eyes around the public library he was currently visiting, taking in the bustle of other people browsing for books or flipping through newspapers, Marcus concluded that he truly did crave the presence of other people, as much as it caused him pain. He longed to be one of them–going about their normal, unremarkable lives, unaware of the passage of time on such a disturbingly large scale on which he operated.

Marcus’s eyes flitted across the titles on the shelf, not really looking for anything in particular. He’d read most of them already. He moved on to the next row–these had been published in the past fifty years while he’d been making the slow journey up from Brazil. He scanned these books with more interest, before his hand reached out to make contact with the spine of Pride and Prejudice. 

Marcus hadn’t noticed the patron beside him, who had been reaching for the same book, until his fingers brushed a dainty, gloved hand.

“Oh!” exclaimed its owner. “Excuse me.”

Marcus turned to see a beautiful young woman dressed in fine clothes looking back at him with a hesitant expression. He smiled and pulled Pride and Prejudice from the shelf, handing it to her. “Here you go, miss.”

“Are you sure?” she asked him. “I don’t mind, really–”

“Of course,” Marcus replied kindly. “Go ahead.”

The young woman clasped her hands around the book, and smiled down at the cover wistfully. “Have you read it?” she asked him.

“I haven’t,” Marcus said. “Have you?”

“So many times,” she answered quietly, a small smile still on her face. “I like to imagine myself as Elizabeth… marrying for love…” she trailed off, a faraway look in her eyes. Suddenly, she shook herself and looked back up at Marcus with a horrified expression. “Excuse me,” she said briskly, and fled.

Marcus watched her go with a bemused expression. He wondered what she had meant–marrying for love. Surely, in these modern times, the alternative was unheard of? This city had electric lighting, for goodness’ sake. He put it out of his mind, grabbed Sense and Sensibility from the shelf, widening the little gap created by the absence of Pride and Prejudice. 

Marcus saw her again not a week later, returning their borrowed books at the same time. He smiled and waved in greeting, his eyes narrowing with confusion when she looked almost frightened in response. 

“I was wondering if you would suggest another title for me,” Marcus said to her, his tone as gentle as possible. “I very much enjoyed Sense and Sensibility.”

The young lady’s eyes widened in surprise. “You are the first man who hasn’t told me that a female author is, by very nature, foolish.”

“I’ve never much cared for what other people think,” Marcus said with a wry smile. “I’d still love it if you gave me a recommendation, Miss…?” he paused, one eyebrow raised, in silent question.

“Alice,” she said quietly.

“I’d love it if you gave me a recommendation, Alice.” 

Alice worried her bottom lip between her teeth as she considered him. Her excitement to share another title that she loved must have won out over her apparent trepidation, because she pursed her lips, said, “Follow me,” and turned to walk among the shelves.

She went straight to it–another book that must have been read and re-read by her, Marcus supposed–and pulled it from the shelf, handing it to him.

“Jane Eyre,” he read out loud. “Charlotte Brontë.”

“If you liked Austen, you’ll like her,” Alice said with a soft smile.

“Shall I give you my full review in a weeks’ time?” Marcus asked.

Alice brightened. “I’d love tha–I mean… I shouldn’t,” she said, her face falling as she spoke. “It wouldn’t be proper.”

Marcus frowned. “Proper? Why–it’s just books,” he said, confusion in his tone.

Alice stared at him. “Do you not know who I am?”

Marcus shook his head. “I’m not from around here.”

“I’m Alice Baker,” she told him. “Baker… the Mayor’s daughter?”

Marcus nodded slowly, not quite understanding why discussing books with the Mayor’s daughter was somehow improper. “Okay…” he said.

Alice laughed. “You really don’t know, do you? I’m… I’m promised to Henry Kimball. He’s an oil baron–the richest man in town. No one–” she lowers her voice to a whisper. “No one dares cross him.”

Marcus was quiet for a moment as he connected all the dots–her nervousness whenever she talked to him, her comments about marrying for love–“Are you afraid of him, this Kimball?”

“He is my intended,” Alice said, not truly answering the question.

“So you’ve said. Are you afraid of him?” Marcus asked again.

“Everyone in this town is,” she said dismissively, as if it were the most obvious thing to say. 

“I’m not,” Marcus stated. “I’d still love to meet and simply talk about literature. I’ll be here next week, same time. Perhaps I’ll see you then, Alice.” He inclined his head, then turned back to the front desk with Jane Eyre tucked under his arm.

In a weeks’ time, Marcus was tucked into an alcove in the library, a copy of Frankenstein open in his lap, the Charlotte Brontë book resting on the table beside him. Waiting. He had been here for several hours now and Alice still hadn’t showed. Marcus couldn’t hide his disappointment. It had been so long since he’d been able to just talk to another soul about something–books, music, current events, anything–and he’d been elated to finally have a friend.

Immortality was such a lonely condition.

After yet another glance around the library, Marcus cast his eyes back down at the book on his lap. Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it, he read, and huffed quietly to himself. An accumulation of anguish, indeed. 

After a few more minutes of reading, Marcus suddenly detected movement just outside of his field of vision, and he looked up to see Alice walking toward him with a hesitant smile. She was, as always, dressed impeccably–with pristine white gloves, a fancy hat, and a corset laced so tight, Marcus wondered how on earth she could breathe. 

Alice gave him a giddy look. “I don’t have anyone else with whom I can discuss literature,” she told him. “Proper or not, I decided I couldn’t turn down your kind offer.”

“I’m so glad,” Marcus said with a smile, and of course, he meant it. 

He lost track of how long he sat there with Alice, discussing Jane Eyre at length, and in turn, Frankenstein. 

“Tell me your favorite passage,” Alice demanded of Marcus, and he could only oblige, flipping through the pages until he found what he was looking for.

“Even broken in spirit as he is, no one can feel more deeply than he does the beauties of nature,” Marcus recited. “The starry sky, the sea, and every sight afforded by these wonderful regions, seems still to have the power of elevating his soul from earth. Such a man has a double existence: he may suffer misery, and be overwhelmed by disappointments; yet, when he has retired into himself, he will be like a celestial spirit that has a halo around him, within whose circle no grief or folly ventures.”

He looked up to see Alice, who was looking at him with an expression he couldn’t quite place.

“Our favorite passages of literature say so much about our own characters, don't they?” Alice said quietly.

Marcus smiled softly. “Is that so? Then give me one of yours,” he told her.

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will,” Alice quoted from the copy of Jane Eyre on her lap, sticking her chin proudly in the air as if to act the part.

“Indeed you are,” Marcus agreed. 

“I’m not,” Alice mumbled, her voice barely audible.

“You could be,” Marcus argued. “You are more than the expectations that have been put upon you by others.”

When Alice didn’t respond, he looked down at his own book again to find another passage that had spoken to him. “I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe,” Marcus read quietly. “If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other” he finished, looking up to meet Alice’s eyes again.

“Do you?” she asked him. “Is that true of you, as well?” 

“Are you likening me to Frankenstein’s monster?” Marcus teased.

Alice giggled. “If you like.”

“Isn’t one of the lessons of this book that he is just as human, if not more so, than any one of us?” he asked.

“I think the true meaning is that humanity is truly what is monstrous,” Alice responded with a challenging smile.

“Humanity may be capable of monstrosity, but I believe–” Marcus trailed off as Alice suddenly took out an ornate pocket watch and gasped in horror.

“Oh! Oh, my. I’m so sorry, I have to–I’ve been here for hours, I–” she stammered as she rose hastily from the chair.

“Same time next week, then?” Marcus asked hopefully.

Alice gave him a sympathetic look. “This was a bad idea. I’m… I’m sorry, I–” she turned and hurried out of the library without finishing her sentence.

Marcus isn’t sure if he’s surprised or not when Alice shows up at the library the next week, right on time.

“We didn’t decide on a book to discuss last week,” Marcus said lightly. “So I had my work cut out for me.” He gestures to the pile of books on the table: Wuthering Heights, Mansfield Park, Emma, Little Women, Northanger Abbey, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Alice’s eyebrows rose in disbelief. “You read all of those in one week?” 

Marcus shot her a crooked grin. “Had a lot of time on my hands.”

Alice laughed. “Clearly.”

“I thought perhaps I’d test you,” Marcus announced. “See if you can match the passage to the book.”

“Such an intriguing game! Fine,” she said, folding her hands properly in her lap and sitting up straight in her chair. “I am ready.”

Marcus smiled fondly. He was starting to take quite a liking to Alice. He pulled out a little scrap of paper he had written notes on. 

“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.” Marcus looked up, raising his eyebrows in expectation.

Alice laughed. “How very vague!” she complained. “I don’t have any notion.”

“Little Women,” Marcus answered with a smile. “Another?” 

He continued at her eager nod. “If this man had not twelve thousand a year, he would be a very stupid fellow.”

Alice let out a little surprised squeak, and then quickly covered her mouth with her gloved hand. “I know this one,” she said giddily. “It’s Mansfield Park.”

“Indeed it is,” Marcus agrees. “Okay, how’s this one–That is just the way with some people. They get down on a thing when they don’t know nothing about it.”

Alice frowns thoughtfully. “In truth, I don’t remember that particular passage, but I will wager an educated guess from the language that it is from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”

Marcus smiles. “Smart girl,” he remarks, and he notices her blush. “I have one more: If he loved with all the powers of his puny being, he couldn't love as much in eighty years as I could in a day.”

Marcus looked up to see Alice’s eyes suddenly filling with tears, and he cast aside his page of quotations and drew to the edge of his seat, coming nearer to her but not daring to take her hand. 

“Alice, I’m so sorry,” he said earnestly. “What’s wrong? Did I say–”

“Forgive me,” she whimpered. “I am in a melancholy mood today. I feel the same way about love–I feel I am full of such emotion, while everyone around me seems so… devoid.”

Marcus’s heart ached for her, trapped by circumstances of her birth as she was. “Alice–”

“May I confess something?” she spoke suddenly. “I am scared to go through with it. With… with the marriage, of course, but especially–” she glanced around frightfully and lowered her voice to a whisper–“what comes after. I know this is an improper thing to say in polite society, especially to a man, but–”

“Shhh,” Marcus quieted her. “You can tell me. It’s okay.”

“You are such a kind and caring man,” Alice murmured. “I imagine it would be much different with you.”

“Alice,” he repeated, softer this time. “You don’t have to go through with this.”

“I do,” she insisted. “What choice do I possibly have in this? I cannot just say ‘no’ and continue to live in this city without fear. Henry is… he is a cruel man, Marcus. I want–” she seemed to steel herself, squaring her shoulders and looking at him with resolve. “I wish to know what it’s like. Before I, erhm— I don’t want him to be the first.”

Marcus raked his gaze over her prim form–the ubiquitous white gloves, the cinched corset, not a hair out of place–and terror in her eyes. “Are you asking me?” he questioned softly.

“I… yes.” Alice said decisively.  

Marcus glanced around the room. Seeing no one, he gently placed his hand over hers, curling his fingers under her palm.

“On one condition,” he said gently. “You let me try and help you escape from this situation.”

Alice scoffed. “There is no way for–”

“Promise you’ll let me try,” Marcus interrupted.

Alice met his eyes, her expression full of sadness, and longing. 

“I promise,” she whispered, then added, “Wuthering Heights.”

“Pardon?” 

“The passage you had quoted. It was from Wuthering Heights.”

York, England. 2014 AD.

"I still don't think this is a good idea," Marcus mutters to himself as he finishes outfitting Alex with a wire in the conference room down the hall from Director Lawson's Office.

"Relax, would you? Lawson is a perv, sure, but he's not dangerous," Evelyn says.

Marcus pivots to look at her. "Men like him will do anything to protect their reputation. If he's truly behind the theft, that makes him dangerous. Especially if she gets him to admit it," he urges. "If he slips up and realizes that he made a mistake, then–"

"Then we'll be listening in the next room," Evelyn reminds him. "And we can intervene."

Marcus gives her a skeptical look. 

"Do you want our help or not? Don't you want the sword?" Evelyn says with an over-exaggerated tone and arched eyebrow. 

The meaning is obvious–Evelyn isn't exactly being subtle–Don't you want me to kill you?

"What is going on with you two?" Alex says with an awkward laugh.

"Nothing," Marcus mumbles. "Hold still, let me–" He clips the little microphone pack discreetly inside Alex's pencil skirt and steps back. 

"Anything feels weird at all," Marcus says firmly, "you get out of there. No hesitation, just leave."

"Yeah," Alex agrees lightly. "'Course."

"We'll be listening," he continues. "If something happens, I'm here."

"Marcus," Evelyn says, putting her hand on his shoulder, "it's fine."

He watches as Alex leaves–her hips swaying attractively–turning back to give them a goofy grin and thumbs-up before she disappears from sight. He turns back to the conference table, where the little speaker and recording device sit. 

He and Evelyn listen as Alex knocks gently on Lawson's office door and greets him, her voice pitched much higher than it had been just moments before.

"D-director Lawson? I w-was wondering if I could talk to you about something?" comes the breathless question from the speaker on the conference table.

The man's response is muffled–she's still too far away–but Marcus can tell it's an affirmative.

"I need help," Alex simpers. "I really love working here; I think you might be the best boss I've ever had, but lately I've been really uncomfortable at work and you’re the only one who can help me."

Marcus shoots Evelyn a look, but she shushes him.

"I-it's the Middle Ages curator," Alex continues. "She’s being really m-mean to me, she says the only reason I was hired is because… because…" 

"Go on, sweetheart," Declan coos. "You can tell me anything."

"S-she says the only reason I got this job is b-because of my body," she says, her voice shaking as if she's crying. 

"Oh, honey, no," the Director tuts. "She's just jealous. She doesn't like how I've been restructuring, and she's taking it out on the wonderful, talented people I've hired."

"S-she's been so mean," Alex whispers. "She says such awful things about you, too, and I told her she just wasn't being fair."

"Thank you for telling me, sweet thing, you did a good job." Lawson says, his voice lowering to a disturbingly sexual timbre.

Marcus grimaces. "This is hard to listen to," he mutters. Evelyn hushes him.

"Can't you make her… g-g-go away?" Alex is whimpering. "It would m-make me so happy."

"Would you like that, sweetheart? Would you like her to go away?" 

"You would do that for me?" Alex says girlishly. 

"You've gotta admit, she's good at this," Evelyn says, nudging Marcus with her elbow.

"What if I told you I know a way your little problem could go away permanently," Declan sneers. 

"How, sir?" Alex asks.

"Between you and me, sweetie, she's about to be discovered to have the Gilling Sword in her possession."

Marcus and Evelyn share a surprised look as they both listen to the conversation.

"Oh, my!" Alex exclaims exaggeratedly. "How do you know that?"

"Come sit on my lap, little girl, and I'll tell you."

"That's enough," Marcus says quickly, jumping up from his chair. "I'm going in."

"Hey!" Evelyn grabs his arm. "She's so fucking close, let her at least get it on the record."

"Like this, sir?" comes the high, breathy voice from the speaker, and Marcus pinches the bridge of his nose. 

"I know," murmurs Lawson–his voice is much closer to the microphone now–"because I'm about to put it there myself."

Alex gasps, and Marcus isn't sure whether it's an act or not. "You know where the sword is?"

"I've had it the whole time," he coos, and Marcus can picture the Director murmuring the phrase in Alex's ear. He fights back a twinge of nausea. 

"I staged the theft to get our little museum a bit of fame, and I'm going to use it to get our mutual problem out of the way," Declan continues.

"Holy shit," Evelyn breathes, a disbelieving look on her face. "What a fucking idiot." 

"And you, sweetheart, you aren't going to tell anyone, right?" Lawson says, a hint of a threat seeping into his voice.

"Of course not," Alex responds dutifully. "I think it's the most brilliant thing I've ever heard."

"Is that so?" the Director says quietly. Marcus doesn't like the sudden change in the man's tone. 

There's a beat of silence, then from down the hall, Marcus hears a door close. Shit. Evelyn whips her head around and stares at Marcus in alarm, and he puts a gentle hand on her forearm. He rises slowly out of his seat, hand unconsciously moving to his holster.

"Here's what's going to happen," Lawson says darkly. "You aren't going to leave this room without some sort of demonstration of… loyalty to me."

"Fuck," Evelyn whispers from her seat.

"What… what sort of demonstration?" comes the voice from the speaker–not so artificially high any more.

"I think you know, sweetheart."

Marcus tosses Detective Stone’s card over to Evelyn and withdraws his gun from the holster. "Call the number on the card and tell him Marcus says send the team," he commands hastily, and strides quickly out of the room and down the hall.

He tries the office door just in case, but of course, Lawson had locked it. Marcus curses under his breath, takes a big inhale to steady himself, and throws his full strength behind a sharp kick to the door, tearing the lock cleanly out of the frame.

Alex lets out a surprised shriek as the door bangs open and Marcus barges in, gun held up in front of him, fury in his eyes.

Marcus allows himself to be a little rougher than necessary in detaining Declan–slamming the man down on his own ostentatious desk and pressing an arm down hard between his shoulder blades as he handcuffs him. 

The moment Lawson is subdued, Marcus turns to Alex. "Are you okay?" he asks gently.

She looks more than a little shaken, but she nods her head rapidly and gives him a smile. "I got him to say the thing," she says, giddy with adrenaline.

"You were perfect," Marcus agrees. "Fantastic job. I'm so sorry for what hap–"

Evelyn bursts through the doorway and rushes over to the younger woman and wraps her in a fierce hug. "I'm so sorry," she whispers into Alex's hair. "I pushed for this, this is my fault, I–"

"It's okay, we did it," Alex replies gently. "This fucker’s going to jail because he just can’t help himself, can he?” Condescension seeps into her tone as she mockingly shakes her head at Lawson, still lying face-down on the desk. 

The man struggles against Marcus’s firm hold and sputters furiously. “You bitch!” he spits through clenched teeth. 

Marcus’s hand finds the back of Lawson’s head, forcibly turns it away from the two women, and then shoves it back down into the wood, making the man cry out as his temple hits the surface. 

“That’s enough,” Marcus growls into the man’s ear. “I wouldn’t say anything else if I were you.” He lets the threat hang in the air, and straightens, turning back to Evelyn and Alex, who are both watching him. Alex’s tongue darts out unconsciously to wet her bottom lip as she stares at him with equal parts surprise and interest, but it’s Evelyn that Marcus can’t look away from. 

Her face is displaying all the signs of attraction as well, but it’s the undercurrent of feeling underneath it that takes his breath away. Pure longing swims in her eyes, undercut by a deep sadness. Marcus finds himself wondering what she sees when she looks at him. He feels that inexplicable connection again–of being linked to Evelyn in a way he cannot explain away or erase. 

‘Love shall be your downfall.’ 

Why is he like this? Why can he not help himself? Why must he always get involved? It’s almost over, he reminds himself as he lets his gaze flit over Evelyn’s striking face. She’ll bring an end to this endless torment.

“The police are on their way,” Evelyn says quietly, breaking the spell they both seemed to be under. “They said they were on standby, so they’ll be here soon.”

“Good,” Marcus says. The moment is suddenly subdued; muted, despite their victory.

Alex looks a bit confused, her eyes flitting from Evelyn to Marcus with suspicion. She raises both of her hands and wiggles her fingers in the air. “Yay, go us, we did it,” she says faintly. 

Evelyn takes a shaky breath in, and Marcus hears the sound of police sirens approaching.

Houston, Texas. 1887 AD. 

It had been so long since Marcus had shared his bed with another person. Alice was resting now, after Marcus had, as promised, showed her exactly how she should be loved–with patience, reverence, gentleness… and unrestrained passion. 

It was already late when she had knocked on the door to the room he had been renting. He had wasted no time in guiding her in with a gentle hand on her waist and bringing his lips softly to hers–once, twice, three times, four–delighting in the little gasps she had made into his mouth.

It was far later, now–nearly dawn, he imagined. Marcus had undressed her slowly, taking his time and ensuring that she was never nervous, never afraid. She had been dressed just as she had been that afternoon at the library, gloves and all. He’d gently pulled off one, then the other, keeping his eyes fixed on hers. Next had been her hair–unpinning it and letting it fall down in waves over her shoulders, before he had started undoing the long row of buttons on her dress.

All the while, Marcus had whispered sweet nothings to her–encouraging her, complimenting her, promising everything he could possibly give. Alice had let out a large sigh of relief when Marcus unlaced the too-tight corset. Seeing the angry lines left by the boning, he had knelt before her and kissed along each one.

He smiled down at her sleeping form. The corset lines had finally disappeared, leaving only the soft, smooth skin of her belly. She had confessed to Marcus that it was Henry who had requested the tightlacing, as he found her to be too stout around the middle. As a result, she had shied away from Marcus’s enthusiastic touches to that area at first, but he was persistent and patient in coaxing her slowly out of her shell, pressing kiss after kiss to the soft skin until she was smiling again. 

Marcus couldn’t help but trace a finger across the swell of her belly as she dozed. She was so much more relaxed in sleep–none of the usual tension or stiffness was present as she snored softly next to him. 

Marcus could see the sky starting to brighten. He bent over her and dragged his lips along her skin, kissing her awake. She stretched languidly and gave him an easy smile.

“I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to go back to my life now,” Alice said quietly, her voice thick with sleep. “That is, I’m not sure if I’ll ever want to.”

“Don’t,” Marcus urged, his voice no more than a whisper. “Don’t go back.”

“How would I live?” she asked. “I couldn’t stay here in Houston, he’d–”

“Don’t stay in Houston,” Marcus entreated. “Come north with me.”

“North?” Alice repeated. “North where?”

“Anywhere,” Marcus responded. “Doesn’t matter. We’ll look at a map and you can simply point to a place.”

“Anywhere?” Alice asked, her eyes lighting up with curiosity.

Marcus leaned in close, capturing her lips with his. “Anywhere,” he whispered into her mouth.

She sat up suddenly, mischief in her eyes, and Marcus couldn’t help but laugh. “Let’s continue our game from before,” she said. “Our quotes game.”

“What–"

“It’s my turn,” Alice said seriously, then gave him a shy smile. “He's more myself than I am,” she recited, as she stared deep into Marcus’s eyes. “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”

She barely got out the last word before Marcus was on her, pressing the whole of his body against hers and kissing her desperately, taking her mouth over and over again as he notched himself against her entrance once more.

"D-don't you want to kn–"

"Don't care," he interrupted with a devilish smile, before he captured her lips again. 

York, England. 2014 AD.

The small police station is in high spirits and Marcus can't help but share in their celebration. He cheers along with the small crowd that has gathered as Detective Stone raises the Gilling Sword above his head victoriously. 

"They may take our lives," Stone cries with an exaggerated Scottish accent, "but they will never take… our freedom!!" The detective has to dodge several pieces of crumpled paper that fly through the air towards him. Then he turns to Marcus.

"This guy!" Stone exclaims, and suddenly all the attention is on Marcus. The other detective raises the sword over his head again. "Huzzah!"

"You're having way too much fun with that thing," Marcus laughed, speaking loudly over the cacophony of cheering from the crowd.

Stone holds out the hilt to him. "Your sword, sir knight."

Marcus chuckles and shakes his head. "We really shouldn't be handling this without glov–"

"Take it! Take it! Take it!" the group starts to cheer.

Marcus holds up his hands placatingly with an amused smile. "All right, all right." He takes the sword from Carson and holds it aloft with a grin.

“Actually, I was hoping you would let me hand-deliver this to the museum myself,” Marcus told the detective over the noise.

Carson claps him on the back. “You’ve more than earned it. Gonna go take it back to that pretty curator that couldn’t keep her eyes off of you?” he asks with a wink.

Marcus looks down at the floor sheepishly, his ears turning pink. “Maybe,” is all he says.

Marcus walks into the museum with a spring in his step. He’s ending things on a high note, and it feels… right, somehow. As if all the loose ends of his life are about to be tied up. It’s been a good life, Marcus thinks. A long one, but a good one. 

He taps on Evelyn’s office door. “Excuse me, ma’am, I believe you were looking for this?” he announces with an exaggerated comical swagger in his voice. He holds out the sword as Evelyn looks up in surprise.

Then, she bursts into tears.

-

Chapter 4 | Next Chapter

[papermoonloveslucy]

PARLEY BAER

August 5, 1904

Parley Baer was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. He studied drama at the University of Utah. Early in his career, Baer was a circus ringmaster and publicist before entering military service in World War II. In the 1950s, he had a job training wild animals at Jungleland and was a docent at the Los Angeles Zoo. The highlight of his radio career was originating the role of Chester in the radio version of “Gunsmoke”, a role played by Dennis Weaver on television. Baer is perhaps best known for his recurring roles as Mayor Stoner on “The Andy Griffith Show” and Doc Appleby in “The Dukes of Hazzard.”  

“Radio is the most nearly perfect medium for an actor. If you have an audience of 5 million people listening to you, you're giving 5 million performances.” ~ Parley Baer

On radio, he did four episodes of “Grandby’s Green Acres” starring Gale Gordon and Bea Benadaret, a summer fill-in for Lucille Ball’s “My Favorite Husband.”  Baer would also later appear in four episodes of the television version, “Green Acres” (1965-71). 

Baer’s first collaboration with Lucille Ball was playing MGM’s Mr. Reilly in “Ricky Needs an Agent” (ILL S4;E29).  Disguised as Miss McGillicuddy, Ricky’s agent, Lucy is determined to see Dore Schary herself, but remembers that they previously met, so she meets with another Metro executive Reilly instead.

Baer returned to the series as Connecticut furniture salesman Mr. Perry in “Lucy Gets Chummy with the Neighbors” (ILL S6;E18). Neighbor Betty Ramsey (Mary Jane Croft) takes Lucy to her favorite showroom, where Lucy mistakes stock numbers for price tags and goes over the budget Ricky allowed her. 

Baer made five appearances on “The Lucy Show.”  In his first appearance he is Mr. Evans, who sells Lucy Carmichael a sheep to help maintain her lawn in “Lucy Buys a Sheep” (TLS S1;E5) in 1962.

Two years later (finally in color) Baer returns to “The Lucy Show” to play Jack T.  Kasten, a humorless Danfield judge that has to tolerate an overzealous “Lucy the Meter Maid” (TLS S3;E7) in 1964. 

In “Lucy and the Undercover Agent” (TLS S4;E10) in 1965, Baer played Colonel Dietrich (codename HIM) of US Intelligence.  After seeing a James Bond film, Lucy, the Countess and Mr. Mooney find themselves embroiled in a spy caper that ends up with Lucy disguised as Carol Channing.  

When Lucy develops super strength in “Lucy the Superwoman” (TLS S4;E26) in 1966, she is examined by Dr. Davis (Baer) to determine the source of her sudden power. 

Baer once again dons judge’s robes when “Lucy Sues Mooney” (TLS S6;E12) in 1967. This would be his last appearance on the series, but not his last with Ball...

On “Here’s Lucy” he played Dr. Cunningham, Harry Carter’s psychiatrist, in “Lucy’s Vacation” (HL S3;E17)...

 and in “Lucy’s Bonus Bounces” (HL S4;E16). There may have been intentions to make Dr. Cunningham a recurring character, but this never came to pass. 

ON THE DESILU LOT...

Between 1952 and 1955, Baer made three appearances on “Our Miss Brooks” starring Gale Gordon and Eve Arden.  

In 1956, he made an appearance on the Desilu sitcom “December Bride” starring Verna Felton. 

In May 1959, he did an episode of Desilu’s “Whirlybirds” a series about helicopter pilots.  He shared the screen with Herb Vigran, who Baer is sometimes mistaken for and who also did several Lucy-coms. 

That same year, Baer did “The Hanging Judge” a non-Lucy-Desi episode of “The Westinghouse-Desilu Playhouse”.  The show was hosted by Desi Arnaz. 

From 1956 to 1960, Baer did three episodes of “The Danny Thomas Show” aka “Make Room for Daddy”, a show that moved to CBS in 1959 and did a crossover episode with “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”. In one episode, Baer acted with Mary Wickes (Madame Lamond), and in another he appeared opposite Shirley Mitchell (Marion Strong). The series was not produced by Desilu, but it was shot at their studio. 

In 1960, Baer did one episode of the short-lived Desilu series “Harrigan and Son” about a father / son law firm. 

In April 1961, Baer did an episode of “Angel” shot on the Desilu lot. In his episode, he played the title character of “The Dentist” and acted opposite Doris Singleton (Carlolyn Appleby), a recurring character on the short-lived series.

Perhaps his most famous work on the Desilu backlot was as Mayberry Mayor Roy Stoner in seven episodes of “The Andy Griffith Show” from 1962 to 1963. 

Back on the bench as a Judge on “My Living Doll” on the Desilu backlot for an episode aired in February 1965. The short-lived series was about a psychiatrist (Bob Cummings) entrusted with the care of a sexy robot (Julie Newmar). 

In 1966 and 1967, Baer did two episodes of “Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C” on the Desilu backlot. In 1966, Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors) turned up in a cameo on “The Lucy Show.”  At the end of 1967, Lucille Ball sold Desilu to Paramount and Gulf + Western. 

In 1946, Baer married Ernestine Clarke and they had two children. Baer died in November 2002 after a stroke. 

[kiss-my-freckle]

Katarina & Ilya

Histories.

Not one alternate history, but two. Simple math. Because one fake identity can’t protect two people. 

Katarina: Don’t you understand? He was my asset. I’d been siphoning intel off of him for years. You don’t think we had plans in place to destroy him if he ever found out that he was sleeping with the enemy? Money in secret accounts. Paper trails of payoffs. Passports in safety-deposit boxes - evidence that I didn’t steal his secrets, but that he shared them with me. Ilya: Alternate history.

I believe this was their reason for introducing the crossword puzzle before they actually introduced Ilya Koslov. Because he has an alternate history as well, but they left his out of the episode so they could focus on Katarina’s rebirth. 

Katarina is Ilya (Thanks, George)

Suitcase parallels gif set. Rassvet parallels gif set. 

Red would already know “Katarina’s” location if she were his imposter creation, especially a hire like Vanessa Cruz. 

Red’s emotional investment. You can tell this is someone he loves and cares for, and has for a long time. 

An imposter creation wouldn’t be in danger. Whether she were wearing a Sinclair-created face or using Katarina’s identity, discontinued use would be a simple solution. This is someone Red had to travel to Paris for. 

Despite her being wanted by two powerful countries, no one has been able to locate her in the 30 years she’s been missing. This leads me to believe she’ll be someone who hasn’t been actively using Katarina’s identity. 

Paper trails. The passports. The travel. This would be Ilya. He’s the one who did Katarina’s passports and paperwork, and likely did Virginia’s as well. I believe he has a specific signature, a way of doing things - to the point it would get noticed by those who know this. I believe that’s how The Stranger was able to locate her so quickly. 

Ilya: Good luck, Anna Croft. Katarina: Money in secret accounts, paper trails of payoffs. Passports in safety-deposit boxes. Katarina: You’re gonna take the ferry to New London, and then you’ll take the bus to Boston. Katarina: Ilya liquidated his bank account to access cash. It’s in this suitcase, and it’s enough to go wherever you want. There are documents in there - a passport, a Social Security card - everything you’ll need. Katarina: For this to work, we’d need passports, cash, access, time. Ilya is likely the one who set up the p,o, box for Dom and Virginia.  Ressler: I don’t understand. The letter was sent to a woman. Jake: Well, the box is registered to a Tracey Ivers, but that’s the guy who picked it up.

The way Red and The Stranger refer to "Katarina.”

When Red spoke of them searching for her, he only referred to “Katarina.” 

Red: They’re actively looking for Katarina.

Not “They’re actively looking for her.”

Red: If Moscow is looking for Katarina -

Not “If Moscow is looking for her -

When The Stranger spoke of Katarina, he only referred to “her.”

The Stranger: I found her.

Not “I found Katarina.”

The Stranger: It’s her. I’m telling you, Raymond. Paper trails. The passports. The travel. It’s her.

Not “It’s Katarina. I’m telling you, Raymond. Paper trails. The passports. The travel. It’s Katarina.

The Stranger refers to Red as Raymond, Liz as Masha, but Oleander as Dom. Red refers to Agnes as “Masha’s daughter.” 

The Stranger seems to know Red’s real identity as well as Katarina’s. 

The Stranger has the kind of access to track and locate “this woman.”

The Stranger understates -

Red: If Moscow is looking for Katarina - if Agent Ressler’s inquiry has reignited their search - The Stranger: Then I know that could be bad.

It could be more than bad. And if The Stranger knew how bad, he wouldn’t have to ask if Red were sure about this. 

The Stranger: Raymond, are you sure about this? If you’re not sure - Red: I’m sure. 

I believe the writers are purposefully misleading, hoping we’ll believe The Stranger is Ilya. Pushing it too much for my taste.

Their trust & childhood friendship -

Rassvet (6x19): Alone in a foreign country after a mission goes catastrophically wrong, Katarina Rostova goes on the run to avoid the forces trying to hunt her down. Out of options, she seeks the only person she trusts: a man who has vowed to always protect her.

Ilya: Well, we pledged our lives to each other. Katarina: When we were 6. Ilya: And a promise is a promise.

Stranger: Have I ever let you down? Red: Once. When we were children. Stranger: You wouldn’t give back the truck. I’ll get this done. Red: You’re always so optimistic. Stranger: I thought that’s why you loved me. Red: I love you because I can trust you.

The overall feel of their relationship comes off different. 

Red knowing “Katarina’s” status. Canon and dialogues. 

Because everyone likes to scream “canon!” Red doesn’t lie to Liz.

Red knew the woman was alive. If he truly believed "Katarina" was dead, then he wouldn't have bothered to search for her. He would've continued thinking her dead and considered the Russians’ search for her to be a complete waste of time. The moment he found out diplomatic plates were looking for intel, he set up a meeting with his friend. Had he simply assumed her dead, he would've had things in place that made it possible to actively search for her for the past 30 years, yet he only cared to look for her when he found out the Russians were.

Proof that he knew she was alive -

Red: I want this done before Masha’s daughter comes home.

He wasn’t talking about the meeting in Paris, he was talking about his friend locating her. So Red knew and felt he could depend on his friend getting this done. If he truly believed her dead, again - wouldn’t have bothered. 

More proof that he knew she was alive -

Liz: You put Agnes at risk. Red: Agnes was never at risk.

Red would NEVER put Agnes at risk. 

“If MY Katarina was still here, she would have let me know.” - Dom, 6x19

Red’s “Oh, my God.“ when looking at the photo of “Katarina” falls parallel to Naomi’s facial response to seeing “Red” in S2. Not the kind of response from someone who supposedly believed her dead. He continues looking at the photo. 

The Townsend Directive.

Why I believe it has nothing to do with the President's conspiracy or Red's criminal empire, and everything to do with Red himself - with who he is. 

The President’s conspiracy literally started at the start of the season, so it lasted as long as most their story arcs do. Dr. Hans Koehler was killed by The Corsican after having facial surgery to infiltrate the U.N. and plant one of Max’s bombs. They’re not going to drag this conspiracy out another season. JB himself stated that the President's conspiracy is "Not what you expect." Because it had nothing to do with the fate of the country and everything to do with Diaz’s reputation. 

The writers confirmed its conclusion in interview. Two examples -

The season has involved watching the plot of the president (guest star Benito Martinez), a plot where the president plans to assassinate himself and nobody knows why. “We finally get to put that story to bed tonight, in what I think is a really surprising and unexpected way,” executive producer John Eisendrath exclusively tells Parade.com. “This is a blockbuster finish!” (Link)

"I think what we have coming up in tonight's episode is the resolution to a season-long conspiracy," Bokenkamp said. "This all started with our first episode of the season, with a bombing at the U.N. and a cover-up, and it has led us to this episode, where we are presented with the question of 'why would the president of the United States be part of and support a plot to assassinate the president of the United States?' So we've got great stakes. Our Task Force has been arrested, Anna McMahon is in charge, it's a big episode, it's a lot of fun, and I think it ultimately has a really surprising and satisfying answer." (Link)

Nor do I believe this is specific to Red’s criminal empire. He dealt with his employees when he got out of prison. 

I believe it’s more specific to Red and his true identity.  Leslie Townsend's Story, Hidden in Plain Sight. 

In episode 18, Dembe walked away from Red.

Red: Where are you going? Dembe: I’ve followed your path long enough. It’s time I follow my own.

In episode 20, Ressler informed Liz.

Ressler: A couple of weeks ago, I got the drop on some KGB mook who had heard that I was looking into Katarina. Wanted to know what kind of leads I had.

In episode 21, Liz informed Red.

Red: Your mother can’t hurt you. Liz: Because she’s dead? The Russians don’t seem to think so. When Ressler was trying to help me find out who you were, he went looking for her and was confronted by the KGB about what he found out. 

In episode 22, Dembe returned.

Where in episode 22 did Dembe return? Let’s look at the timeline. Red asked Ressler about the Russians Liz mentioned in episode 21. Almost immediately, he set up a meeting with The Stranger because of the diplomatic plates. As I mentioned above, Red didn’t say the Russians were actively looking for this specific woman, he said they were looking for “Katarina.” He also didn’t refer to this specific woman as “Katarina.” He simply said he wanted “this” done. The Stranger replied in kind. “I’ll get this done.” So he needed to locate this specific woman before Agnes got home. This being what led to the Townsend Directive and Dembe’s return. 

Red: So, are you back? Does this mean I’m forgiven? Dembe: The Townsend Directive. Our friend in Miami says it’s in play. Red: Is that why you’re here? Dembe: He says it’s very important.

Dembe basically telling Red just as Red told Liz -

Liz: So where does that leave us? Red: With a case. Until it’s solved, our conflict can wait.

Red: It’s critical. But not as critical as knowing why you’re here.

Red confirming it’s critical because Dembe has been gone since 6x18, but he wants to know where they stand and he’s not willing to wait for that answer. 

Dembe: I said I needed to follow my own path. I did. It led me back to you.

"You" being a gender-neutral pronoun. That's like Jennifer saying "you" when Red told her the CIA and the KGB were hunting one individual. We’ve heard much of Katarina throughout the season. From the very beginning during Red’s trial. Discussions about her between Red and Liz and the danger she poses to Agnes. Red’s conversations with Dom as he sought advice on Dembe. And in 6x19 with DomTimeStories. The one scene that stuck out to me was Dembe’s with Liz in General Shiro’s episode.

Liz: He said I reminded him of my mother. That’s what he said when I asked him why he gave us this case. Dembe: He’s right. You remind me of her too.

I believe Dembe was referring to Katarina. “It led me back to you.” Take this to the end scene with imposter Katarina. I bring this up because Katarina is someone Dembe loves, you can tell by his face. I do believe Dembe went to Paris with Red. “And we need to be someplace.” It’s one thing for Red to take a meeting alone while Dembe watches from a car down the street, and quite another to venture another country without backup. One can’t be sure, but it’s possible Dembe was resting comfortably in the back of the van that took Red. 

Putting on a show. 

It’s of no coincidence that Dembe returns just as Red is about to meet up with “Katarina” in Paris. And yet - we don’t see Dembe at all. Now, many questioning if Dembe is currently siding with the real Katarina because they don’t want her to be an imposter. Well, she is. Not once did Red or The Stranger refer to her as Katarina. In fact, this scene is the only time she’s referred to as such, and Red was the one who made the reference. 

What does Red do? He calls out Katarina. I’m sure that pulled their watchers to the window. What I couldn’t figure out while considering this scene, is why the Russians would remain perched rather than attempting to arrest her. She’s walking down the street alone. Not only at the start of the scene, but after the van leaves with Red. Quite calm, while seemingly being watched. But is she being watched by the Russians? So I went back to Ressler being watched by the Russians. 

Notice the man refers to Dom as Katarina’s father rather than Oleander. 

Shadow: My superiors. They want to know why you’re interested in Katarina Rostova’s father.

And he warns Ressler. Shadow: We’ll be watching, Agent Ressler. 

These aren’t shadows. If they were, they’d have been following “Katarina” as they were following Ressler. They remained perched in the window as if not knowing who they were watching. Regular citizens to act as witnesses like that homeless girl Jennifer paid off. “You’ll never believe what I saw outside my window! This blonde woman named Katarina injected and kidnapped some man in a hat.” Now you have a witness stating such a thing, and able to give a descriptions of both. The woman, purposefully making her injection needle visible to their audience. Now the Russians have a solid lead. Katarina is in Paris and she just kidnapped RR. 

Remember Liz on her phone, and Ross faking her kidnapping? Much like the kids in The Third Estate. Now the opposite side because they need evidence opposite the Seaduke evidence. "Katarina" stages her torture and death. Leaves the real Katarina's DNA behind.

“Are they watching?”

Think of Sutton Ross and Liz in the S5 finale. And as I already pointed out in another post, Red proved in an open courtroom that Katarina framed him for treason. So within a single episode, this friend of Red’s supposedly finds the one woman two powerful countries hasn’t been able to locate in the past 30 years, and we're to fall for it along with this scene? ahahahaha

Many thanks to my fellow Rederina theorists on fb.  I’ll edit to add as new stuff arises.