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tearsofgrace · 4 years ago

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endings are hard... but they aren’t impossible

tldr; the good place fucking nailed the finale, supernatural completely and utterly bombed it.

tags: wc--4.5k, gif heavy, spn meta, the good place, supernatural finale, spn wank, all gifs are mine, if you read til the end there’s a pretty gif

so i recently finished the good place (i was watching w my family and we finally had time to sit down and watch the last season) and god fucking dammit that ending is FLAWLESS. literally flawless.

and because i’m, well, me… i spent most of the time during that hour long finale thinking about how supernatural could have had even a fraction of that and avoided so much heartbreak.

anyways. i decided to compare them. to REALLY compare them. to get into the nitty gritty of why the fuck the good place ending left me feeling, as the finale is all about, sated and complete. and why the spn ending left me confused, lost, broken, betrayed, unable to even enjoy my comfort show at all until a dear friend finally just watched an episode (8.08) start to finish with me.

so without further ado (always wanted to say that) here’s the good place/supernatural finale meta that no one asked for

comedy

we’ll start small. both these shows have excellent comedy. in extremely different ways… but still

in the good place finale, the comedy was perfect. whether it was jason reappearing in the forest, michael trying to get through The Door, tahani reversing the “hot bod” bit on eleanor, every comedic moment was actually pretty emotional and added something to the show. they deepened characters’ meanings, added to their relationships, and made the audience think as much as they made the audience laugh.

in the spn finale… the comedy was the pie gag. the whole sam shoving pie into dean’s face. beyond this being… like meta as hell (the whole prank thing) it doesn’t have any depth to it.

and to add salt to the wound, this “hilarious” thing happens RIGHT AFTER salmondean have a conversation about missing jack and cas that is equal parts flat and infuriating. the brothers, in particular sam about jack and dean about cas, should care more. this is their family. and family is everything to them. but, no, by all means pie dean in the face.

last lines

this one IRKS me. okay.

the last line of the good place "I'll say this to you, my friend, with all the love in my heart and all the wisdom of the universe: Take it sleazy.” “All right.” is ICONIC. okay?

it’s a reference to season 1 that doesn’t feel fan-servicey. it’s kinda honestly emotional cuz it’s like a message to us, the audience. it perfectly completes michael’s arc. it captures the light-hearted vibe of the show while also somehow managing to be poignant. you can see it coming like the second before it happens but it’s also not the obvious choice. it’s just. goddamn it’s good.

the last line of supernatural…. is… “and cut.” not even said by one of j2. i mean i know it’s a meta show but COME ON ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME??????????

now i hear you shouting wait but that’s just the end of the thank you message. okay fine whatever. in that case the last lines are “Hey, Sammy.” “Dean.” (i couldn’t bring myself to gif that moment)

i’m sorry but. that’s predictable. that’s obvious. that’s boring. that’s flat. sure, it celebrates the bond between the brothers. but like… that’s not what this show is about anymore. it’s not just about sam and dean winchester it’s about what they’ve created. it’s about the world they’ve saved, the family they’ve made, about how they always keep fighting but nope we get bland, boring, coulda seen ‘em coming from miles away lines for the very end. that’s fine.

montages

the spn finale is like 50% montages that don’t make sense and are poorly done and not emotional

the good place has a montage of michael being human that brought me to tears

timing

here’s another short section. the good place finale was 53 minutes long as opposed to the usual 20 minute long runtime of every episode. granted, the fandom of the good place is very different, but STILL there was no documentary telling the fans things they ALREADY knew (there was a short special after the ep, but the episode itself was still far longer than normal). it was 53 minutes of plot. of really fucking good not rushed plot.

the supernatural finale was… what 36 minutes long?? as opposed to the normal 40 minute runtime?? granted, we did get an hour long documentary of things we’ve all heard in cons and interviews a billion times so hey. take what you can get i guess.

character arcs

this is most of the meat of this meta. one thing we’ve all been harping on a TON is how they RUINED character arcs. soooo let’s go through and juxtapose some character arcs shall we

eleanor

eleanor shellstrop starts the show completely self-obsessed. she died getting hit by shopping carts while picking up margarita mix and let’s be real she’s a total icon. love her to death. she grows a ton, becomes one of the most selfless characters on the show, and starts to actually (jack forbid) CARE about things. it’s one of the most satisfying and relatable character arcs i’ve ever seen.

it’s not just her selfishness either, her character is super multi-faceted and complex, and i feel like even in the end we’re getting to know her better. she’s afraid of commitment, always worried about what others’ actions will do to her, loves the trivial side of life, is queer as fuck (as acknowledged by the show in a way that’s not harmful at all but also isn’t explicitly bi/pan/unlabeled/omni etc, allowing queer fans to see their own identity in her), and is all around a HUMAN BEING. her ending at the beginning of the show was her death. her stupid, trivial, meaningless death where she was, as she puts it, all alone. and her final ending ISNT that. yes, everyone goes before her. and i think that’s purposeful. to show that she’s grown enough that being alone in some sense is okay.

but she’s never TRULY alone. and in the end. the REAL end. janet is there. the whole time. because eleanor asked her to be!! she got over her crazy need for independence and simply asked for help. and eleanor dies an amazing person that has become selfless, has found joy in philosophy while still enjoying trashy content, has fixed her relationship with her mother, and has found a sense of completion. eleanor’s life ends on her terms, and it’s beautiful.

dean

alright. now just as you’re feeling all warm and fuzzy let’s look at dean winchester’s ending. you’ve heard it a million times, so i’ll be brief. dean was raised to be a hunter, a soldier, a killing machine with no feelings and no purpose. he was raised to die scared on a hunt, his life over because of some mistake he made because he will NEVER measure up. at least that’s what john and everyone else told him with the exceptions of some of his family (and family don’t end in blood). he started to accept that he didn’t have to have this. he started to realize that he could CHOOSE what his ending was.

the beautiful thing is, we never truly got to see what that was. i personally like to think it’s similar to the roadhouse michael locked him in while he was trapped in his own mind. a safe place for hunters, somewhere he (and cas in my opinion, but that’s not important) could settle down and still be in the life. it would be an amazing tribute to jo and ellen, and just all around a great ending. he wouldn’t have to be scared, but he wouldn’t have to conform to some apple pie facade of normalcy. and ya know what?? say that he died so he could have peace i dare you. because dean doesn’t find peace until sam is there anyway so i beg of you WHAT WAS THE FUCKING POINT.

dean winchester died scared. dean winchester died on a hunt. dean winchester died on one of john’s old hunts. dean winchester died not directly at the hands of a monster, but at the hands of a mistake. his mistake. dean winchester died without ever working through the trauma of his best friend in the entire world confessing his love in a final act of self-sacrifice. dean winchester died in a way that leaves a sour taste in my mouth and does not at all show the audience what he’s been through and how much he’s grown. dean winchester did not die on his terms, and he deserved better.

chidi

okay back to happy. chidi anagonye. by far my personal favorite good place character (don’t tell anyone i always say jason cuz he and i are very similar). chidi in the last few episodes is SO DRASTICALLY different than the chidi we meet at the beginning. he’s decisive, confident, self-assured, and it’s amazing to see. he’s not afraid of life anymore. he’s not afraid to make the wrong decision and forever alter his reality, because he’s okay with failure.

at the beginning, chidi was so petrified of life that… it killed him. and in the end, he’s completely at peace with every decision he makes, even the final one. yes, he considered staying for eleanor, but that just shows how his moral code and his compassion for others is still very much still intact. it shows the audience that you can be confident and decisive without being a selfish asshole.

chidi leaves the good place knowing that it’s the right thing to do. knowing without a doubt that his time has come. the old chidi never would have been able to fathom being that sure about something. it’s beautiful. it’s a development that can give the audience peace, can show them that this drastic of change is possible, and that chidi became a better person for all of it. chidi went on his own terms, and it was beautiful.

sam

… this one might be controversial… but sam winchester. god i hated sam’s ending. at first i was kinda okay with it. like, okay fine he got his normal life. but, really, in the end that’s not what sam wanted. he started to realize that he didn’t need that apple pie, white picket fence life. he didn’t need the wife and the kids and the backyard and the barbecues because that is NOT sam’s personality and i will throw hands on that.

that’s not to say he doesn’t want some sort of romance, maybe even kids, but not in that way. he lets himself see that he doesn’t need to be defined by his rebellion to john. doesn’t need to be defined by going to college or any of those “normal” smart kid things because it doesn’t fit him. and that’s okay! but how does sam’s story end? it ends with a wife (that isn’t even important enough to show her face). with kids. with a goddamn white picket fence. we think he’s still hunting to some extent… but it’s not the arc we were led to believe would happen. it’s not this amazing leader sam that we see in season 12-14, uniting hunters and organizing them.

he had SO MUCH potential and they throw it away on a vanilla ending that shows only surface level pain at losing his brother. he doesn’t even invite the rest of their family to the wake for fuck’s sake. jared did an incredible job. pls don’t think i’m saying he didn’t. but that script…. sam winchester’s arc was cut short. he didn’t go on his terms, and he deserved better.

jason

jason mandoza. the only character that has ever embodied my complete dumbass energy to the insane extent that it exists. he went to hell for his impulsivity. he never thought before a decision. i aspire to be as reckless as jason while on earth. but he LEARNED. he got better, just like they all did. and by the end of the show, jason doesn’t need to be impulsive anymore. much like eleanor being left “alone,” the show does a masterful job with making him be the first one to go, capturing his old impulsiveness. but he chooses to leave. he takes his time in deliberation, waiting until a feeling of peace, of completion, of well, ‘true happiness’ (sorry cas stans, i’m right there with you) has settled over him.

the ending of his story is one of growth, just like all these characters have been. and the best part? the show makes it comedic in the most poignant and beautiful way, because it’s jason, it had to be funny. we learn that jason has been in the woods for like, eons, just waiting to go through the door because he wants to give janet a necklace. he’s learned to simply wait. to be at peace with… nothing. his torture was being a monk, but in the end, jason embodies those ideals. his arc comes to fruition in an extremely satisfying way. jason goes on his own terms, and it’s beautiful.

castiel

this one is gonna hurt like a bitch. castiel is my comfort character. he’s my role model. he’s me in a lot of ways. i love him. so fucking much. so excuse me if this is slightly incoherent. i’m actually okay with cas’ ending… in a way. because his actual ending as an on-screen character? perfect. self-sacrifice while coming out and professing his love to dean winchester. a little bit bury the gays, but let’s be real, it’s supernatural. and “happiness is in just saying it” has to be the most powerful way to think of coming out. it takes away the fear, it takes away so much of the pain that can follow. because the joy is in just saying the words.

it’s how this was treated on the show that makes cas’ character arc terrible (and we haven’t even gotten to 15.20). YOU CANNOT JUST IGNORE A LOVE CONFESSION. that is god awful writing and i will never change my mind on that. cas deserved his family to care about him. to at least address and be sad about the fact he was gone. jesus fucking christ after everything castiel deserved at least that. and then we go to 15.20. cas is in heaven. cas is serving god. cas is right back where he started. now, i’m coming off a little strong.

if the show had decided to show us cas and jack in heaven makin’ the world a better place… i woulda come around to it. i woulda realized that that’s not REALLY erasing 12 years of character development and cas realizing that his whole identity isn’t just him serving heaven and isn’t just him being an angel and that he’s so much more than all of that and he could still be happy as a human… because really he’s with his son. but they didn’t show us that. they barely even mentioned him. and to me. that counts as a bad character arc. and i’m sorry if you disagree. castiel may have gone on his own terms, but they treated that beautiful sacrifice with disrespect and disdain, plus resolved his arc by putting him back where he started. he deserved better.

tahani

*deep breaths guys this is a long post i’m sorry* anywayyyy tahani!!! we love tahani obviously. let’s talk about her arc, because it always kinda bothered me. throughout the show, we see all the other character’s growing and expanding their knowledge of right and wrong. and, don’t get me wrong. we see tahani grow a lot. but she makes a lot of the same types of comments and shit like that. but it’s how she treats the reactions to those comments. by the end of the show, she laughs at the caricature of herself that the others see. she isn’t looking for vindication in name-dropping, she just does it. she is far less self-absorbed, and is genuinely interested in those around her. she fixes her relationships with her sister and her parents in a way that doesn’t feel forced and actually feels like a beautiful, healthy family reunion.

she has a list and she does everything on it. it’s worth noting, that the things on her list are not at all what they would have been at the beginning of the show. most of them are humble “labor” type tasks, and all of them are in self improvement. tahani’s end on the show is not the same as everyone else’s. she realizes that she doesn’t need to be done. that there doesn’t have to be an end to self-improvement. and she becomes an architect. the writers perfectly embody her transformation from a self-obsessed rich girl who has never done a thing for herself and laughs at the lower-class to a down-to-earth worker that simply doesn’t want the journey to end.

it’s incredible how perfectly the writers were able to close off these character arc’s without it feeling forced, and without ignoring their character development. imagine that. tahani chooses her own way, and it’s beautiful.

jack

jack’s ending may be the only one that i’ve actually somewhat come to terms with. it’s not terrible. it’s not great. but it’s not nearly as bad. because ignoring that awful monologue about every drop of rain and shit, jack really does end up helping people. he ends up doing something that he loves and that makes the world a better place. and he doesn’t lose his personality in it. but. i dunno, that’s still his destiny, right? to create paradise. and this is a show about ripping up the rule book, about choosing free will above all else… so to have every single character just fulfill their destiny is cheap.

still… i’ll try to be unbiased. because really at the beginning of jack’s time on the show, he’s unsure what he wants. and at least, in the end, he’s sure. he has a wisdom that he’s always had but he’s now using. and i’m good with that. but what’s NOT okay about jack’s ending is the lack of on-screen family. jack learns that family is important. sam, cas, dean those are the people he cares about. and you’re telling me he would just NEVER see them again? and be okay with that? i know he rebuilds heaven with cas, but we don’t even get a story about him rescuing cas from the empty. and he seems in 15.19 to not be that concerned about it (after the amazing emotional scene at the beginning). jack should have cared about his family. he did. but they ruined that for him. so jack kline deserved better.

michael

oh man where do i start. michael’s growth is the biggest on the show. i mean. he starts as a literal demon and ends a human. he gets better, he falls in love with humanity (*castiel fan in me sobbing again*) and he chooses over and over to be good instead of bad. his whole arc is a classic redemption arc, and every single beat just gets better. he chooses selfishly to side with humans but in the end it turns out to be the best decision he could have made. because he develops emotions, he develops compassion, he develops a moral compass.

and his end reflects that. because to complete this arc of a demon becoming more human… he literally becomes human!!!! it fits so well. and he’s allowed to make mistakes and be happy and gain all that humanity has to offer. this just shows that human!endgame for cosmic beings that become more human WORKS SO WELL (and it shoulda happened for cas and jack that’s all i’m saying). michael went on his own terms, and it was beautiful.

eileen

oh boy… this one stings. because they brought her back, used her up, and we never saw her again. eileen was one of the best side characters on the show, and they rarely addressed her arc. she comes onto the show as a hunter seeking revenge, and gets that revenge in the same episode. her s15 arc is focused on what’s real and what’s not, with her relationship to sam admittedly being a central part of her character because… it’s supernatural and women can’t exist without that. but still! eileen grows throughout the show and in the end… we don’t even know what happens to her. it’s as if her arc wasn’t important enough to even glance at.

it’s as if the connections the boys make outside of each other mean nothing when in reality they mean everything. they prove that the co-dependency is behind them and that family doesn’t end with blood and that real connections can be formed between people that last a lifetime. eileen was a disabled hunter that was shown to still be one of the best in the business, and they didn’t even give her the courtesy of a goodbye. eileen didn’t go on her own terms, and she deserved better.

janet

this is gonna unbalance my list but goddammit janet’s ending was perfect. she was a not-robot, not-girl that should have been incapable of feelings. but throughout the series we get to watch as she learns first-hand about human emotions and processes them. she cares about the humans in her charge and fights for them on multiple counts.

in the end, we see janet come to terms with both her cosmic being side, and her human side. she never stops being with the “cockroaches.” she sees them all leave, she’s there for them while they’re there, and she also continues to speak her mind and live autonomously. janet was a non-human character done right. she lived on her own terms, and it was beautiful.

some honorable mentions

spn ignored (in the finale) chuck, amara, stevie, charlie, jody, donna, garth, bess, the other angels, claire, kaia, patience, alex, and the list goes ON in favor of focusing on JUST sam and dean. did none of those characters at least deserve a quick goodbye??????

the good place wrapped up multiple arcs i had completely forgotten about in a totally natural and not forced way. mindy, doug forester, (the mushroom guy, i know, it took me a second), pillboy, donkey doug, kamilah, tahani’s parents, eleanor’s mother, eleanor’s friends, chidi’s best friend, vicki, shawn, glenn, simone and so many that i’m forgetting all got satisfying ends that they totally deserved.

they even fucking resolved FROG GUY’S arc and gave him a real frog. that’s right. frog guy (jeff) had a better character arc resolution than dean motherfucking winchester.

heaven and hell

obviously in very different vehicles, both shows explore in depth the realities of the afterlife. and lemme tell ya, at the end of the day, one sits a whole lot better than the other.

the good place finale ends this quest for the perfect afterlife by saying that everyone can improve and that an eternal paradise shouldn’t keep you from eternal rest. they pretty much make me wish that this is what our afterlife looked like. they handle everything with care so it’s balanced precariously in a way that doesn’t give you anxiety looking at it but instead fills you with peace and faith in humanity.

supernatural addresses this series long battle between heaven and hell by creating a heaven where you drive for forty years without seeing the people (cough cough cas and jack not his parents) that matter to you and drink beer that tastes like shit. a place you can’t be happy or find any sense of peace until your brother has died and he’s there too.

and hell… well they barely even address it. there’s a new queen of hell i guess? but so what. it’s still very much heaven and hell in a way that’s the worst and hey plus to them… makes me wanna stay alive thank you very much. oh and purgatory is in shambles and not functioning properly cuz all that eve bullshit.

loose ends

whenever something is ending, you gotta tie up the loose ends. not in a “oh, we must wrap everything up and leave no stone unturned” kinda way but in a “wow, we should probably try to make this unambiguous because this is the last time we will ever see these characters” kinda way.

the good place does that. so fucking masterfully. all these side plots with all these different characters were taken care of all while focusing on the main six characters. we get to see how their intervention has changed everyone else. for example, mindy’s arc is wrapped up perfectly, with eleanor going to save her.

plus different running jokes like “take it sleazy” are wrapped up, we revisit really old callbacks like the original neighborhood, and all of it feels natural and in the moment. it feels like full circle in a way that doesn’t erase growth.

supernatural, on the other hand, left a million loose ends open. what happened to the boys they saved? where the fuck are jody, donna, etc.? did eileen make it back? cuz sam was pretty upset about that. what happened to it “being loud” in the empty? hell, what happened to the empty? what happened to hell? what about chuck? it woulda been nice to see just for a second what became of him. did charlie and stevie make it (i’m very invested in that relationship)? if we’re taking the original ending… why the fuck is jimmy there? did kansas just all,,, die?

i’m not saying they needed to address everything… but god a few wrapped up storylines besides the brothers wouldn’t have hurt

coloring

can i just… real quick… as a giffer lodge a complaint

the good place has beautiful vibrant coloring in the finale

spn has like bland washed out whatever the fuck that is coloring. it’s not even the dark early aesthetic cuz they dropped that it’s just… ew. so. do with that what you will.

conclusion

first… while writing this i realized just HOW MUCH it’s not about destiel… like believe me. i knew i wasn’t just pissed about destiel. but holy shit it’s not destiel at all like did i even mention destiel that much???? this was never about a ship. this was just a trash finale.

in the end. the good place writers knew what they were doing. they knew their fans, they knew their characters, they knew their world, and they knew how to wrap it up in a way that was satisfying and sad and perfectly fit the tone of the whole show. it wasn’t out of character or rushed, basically every loose end was tied up without the audience even realizing that’s what they were doing, and i feel happy and complete having watched it.

the supernatural ending was a betrayal. flat out. to the audience that has stuck by it in a way bigger way than the good place fandom. to the characters that have helped so many people. to the actors that have given so much of their lives. to the other members of the crew, to certain writers… all of it was just a slap in the face.

we deserved better guys. there are better endings possible. so i’m sorry. i really am. but i guess… that’s what fanfic is for, right?

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ramblesanddragons · 3 years ago

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I posted 1,404 times in 2021

308 posts created (22%)

1096 posts reblogged (78%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 3.6 posts.

I added 1,044 tags in 2021

#gravity falls - 555 posts

#the owl house - 126 posts

#stanford pines - 67 posts

#critical role - 60 posts

#stanley pines - 48 posts

#the owl house spoilers - 47 posts

#personal - 44 posts

#thanks for the ask! - 39 posts

#a tik tok - 30 posts

#my writing - 28 posts

Longest Tag: 111 characters

#i’m rebloging this one because the last person’s bio says occasionally erin hunter and i just lost my damn mind

My Top Posts in 2021

Look I have been on this site since 2011. I will admit I enjoy it. I actually do. However I will not put a dime of my money anywhere near this blue hell site.

Take the Survey and tell them exactly how bad of an idea this is.

Maybe us openly saying this is the only bearable social media site left was not a good idea. Our bad. Wont do it again.

235 notes • Posted 2021-07-21 21:40:28 GMT

Let me talk about this screenshot for a second.

1. Insert leg day joke here.

2. This is one of my favorite visual gags in the show. “Oh he’s just reading a mystery book.” Except he’s not and is indeed a plot twist. Or one half of one anyway. I love whoever thought of that gag.

3. This is where my head canon that Stan likes to read comes from. Maybe he struggled with reading in school but like a lot of adults he found enjoyment in books when he could read what he wanted. Also libraries are one of the few places a homeless guy can be for a few hours without having to pay anything.

247 notes • Posted 2021-04-10 20:40:40 GMT

Throwing this out there because I don’t think I’ll write it but it’s a fun idea. Stan probably could have been a decent actor. If he had tried Hollywood out before diving deep into criminal stuff I could see him being like Harrison Ford.

So he becomes successful and is decently happy and stuff. Maybe even reconnects with his family and Ford a little bit. They’re distant but Ford comes to the whatever you want to call Star Wars premieres.

Does that change the portal incident? Maybe? Trying to balance being a big Hollywood star while helping your brother fight a demon sounds like a “wacky comedy” waiting to happen with some dark undertones.

Or maybe the portal incident still happens so now Stan has to figure out what to do from there. He’s too big of a name to disappear so he fakes Ford’s death and opens a small movie studio in Gravity Falls. He retires from acting to become a director and makes his income from creating B horror and sci fi movies like he used to watch with Ford as a kid. Sometimes casting real cryptids! (He earns accolades for the costumes and make up.)

Ford comes back and is still mad Stan “mocks his work” but softens over time as he listens to people rave about how Stan’s movies have inspired them to study anomalies. Dipper included.

Idk this idea is up for adoption if someone wants it.

385 notes • Posted 2021-07-17 14:55:53 GMT

In my expert opinion* Dipper and Mabel turn 22 today and meanwhile Stan and Ford found the fountain of youth on their travels and stopped aging at 59. The kids caught on about 3 years ago or so. They’ll keep it secret though they’re happy to have their grunkles around as long as possible.

399 notes • Posted 2021-08-31 22:14:23 GMT

There’s a Problem in Animation

So putting aside the theories and hype for a minute the fact that they cut Season 3 of The Owl House from 10-20 episodes down to 3 is frustrating.

Now Disney isn’t the only one guilty of this. (I’m looking at you HBO) Lately things with their TV animation has been crazy. Between whatever happened with Ducktales and we all know the Amphibia issue this shouldn’t come as a shock. Alex Hirsch ended Gravity Falls after two seasons but that was because he was finished telling the story. It was his choice. Apparently Disney took that as “Hey things can be wildly popular and we don’t even have to give the show more than two seasons!” There’s no hate on Alex btw this is all Disney’s doing.

Luckily we have a chance to engage with the higher ups than we ever have before. Between Twitter (for all it’s faults it’s direct) and other social media we can let how we feel be known. And I’m thankful we can engage with creators too. I don’t think anyone outside of “the industry” knew what was going on with their favorite shows back in ye olden days. Now we can get insights.

My favorite example of “the industry” being dumb is Critical Role. They wanted to make an animated episode and pitched it around. Everyone said no. So they went to Kickstarter and broke all the records. We care about creators not the producers who are so afraid of new content and bold they don’t take many chances and on the ones they do they throttle them to fit whatever they deem the standards are. I wish we could just kick start all the good things but I know that doesn’t always work and making stuff costs money. Although if Dana did do that for her next project I would toss all the money at it.

My point...we need to let Disney and other producers know we’re paying attention. Dana mentioned writing a letter so by God I wrote one. Basically asking “WTF is your problem” but politely...ish.If you too want to write a letter the best place I’ve found it here: https://disneynow.com/feedback

Pick TV program Related or General Feedback. It didn’t seem to have a word limit so go forth and let them know how much you love The Owl House and other shows. Maybe it’s gotten to the point where we have to start bugging the hell out of the big wigs.

TLDR: You can go to this link here (https://disneynow.com/feedback) to tell Disney that The Owl House should have a full season 3 or let them know how you feel about how they’re treating their other shows on top of using twitter.

1149 notes • Posted 2021-05-18 00:19:58 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #unsurprisingly #a lot of gravity falls

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potaetaezz · 5 years ago

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|| Sweet Like Coffee || 10

prev << >> next

pairing: Nct Dream x Reader [female]

genre/au: fluff | teeny bit of angst (to come) | enemies to lovers | Everyone is just a clueless bunch of weirdos, you get the drill… or so you thought.

warnings: slight swearing, immature content, underage drinking

A/N: its’s my first fanfic so no judgment lol | Jaemin is getting friskyyy | Longer Chp | here we go~

_____________________________________

You did end up regretting it. But not what you expected.

Your lips didn’t meet Jaemin’s, and a part of you was grateful. Something happened to you when you were with him, it was like the rest of the world didn’t exist. You could say anything to him, do anything with him, and there would be no consequences, no regrets. That of course, wasn’t true. The minute you left you regretted your explanation, your candidness of your emotions, your feelings that won you over. You regretted the ‘I care’. You did care, something inside of you was making that very clear. But you didn’t want to. You couldn’t even distinguish how you cared, or in what way.

There was a darkness, a greyness that inked his eyes, that told you to fall for him. There was a loss of control around him. You hated that. But most of all, you hated his ‘type’. His arrogance, his ego, his cockiness. Everyone always wants the ‘bad boy’, but not you. You craved someone who was good for you, someone who treated you right. Someone like Jeno. But Jaemin was confusing your thoughts, haunting your dreams. And you knew, that if you kissed him, those hazy shadowed dreams would come true. Sadly.

What you needed most right now, what you needed most whenever your emotions became too intimate, was space. You decided to take a step back from Jaemin that day. To take a step back from his bad influence, his dark, bitter eyes, his warmth. You didn’t like when your emotions became too inflamed, overly tenacious. For when your heart was aflame, it was all too easy to be swayed, by emotion, by luring eyes. You needed control, for if your feelings took over your power, took over your actions, you could make some very impulsive, unbearably regrettable decisions.

[7:09am]

You woke up to someone gently singing. A soft but hoarse voice. Lila.

‘How many people have the keys to my apartment??’

“Oh good your awake! Look Haechan’s party, we need-“

“Woah, Lila calm your shit okay, is that even today??”

Haechan’s parties were said to be unreal, and even that was an understatement. Crowds of people flowing in from anywhere to meet people, make bad decisions and have fun. No one knew anyone there, or barely anyone, and that’s what was so compelling. Haechan was basically a modern Gatsby in party terms. Of course, it would be amazing to let loose, have a drink, dance a bit. But you weren’t as sociable as Lila, and you couldn’t drink as much as Renjun.

Renjun used to be like you, a little bit shy yet speckled with gregarious traits. But he befriended Haechan last year, and since then he could chug a naggin of vodka like it was water. And as for Lila, put her in the middle of any social gathering and she’d shine. You just- you didn’t know where you’d fit in - at the party.

“Yes, yes it is. Sooo what are you wearing?”

“Wearing? If I’m going uhm jeans—”

She interrupted before you could finish, with a half-suppressed laugh emerging. “Oh no honey, it’s a Halloween party.”

Leave it to Haechan to throw a Halloween party 2 weeks early.

“I’ll see.” You spit out, eyes smiling as Lila’s beamed.

———

Sitting down, staring at the empty whiteboard, you could feel something on you. A stare. Someone’s eyes mesmerising your figure, capturing you intently. Your back burned from the glare. You turned around. Fast. In hopes of catching the culprit with smoldering eyes.

Haechan. What a surprise. He always knew how to catch one's attention.

He quirked his eyebrows and passed a note to you. Once you gripped it, you could tell Jeno was curious beside you. Peering intently into its contents.

‘You better come to the party. This is a personal invitation y/n.’

‘What a Gatsby move.’

You crumbled the note in one hand and shoved it into your bag, making sure both of them watched. He wasn’t going to influence your decision. If you were going, it would be for Lila, or for yourself. Not for some guy.

Your eyes gazed up to Jeno instinctively. He was focusing intently on the work on the board. ‘There has to be something beyond his smile’ you thought, ‘Eyes full of lust, some tantalising charm behind that innocence.’ Your blood warmed at the thought.

“So are you going?” his voice brought you back to reality.

You assumed he was on about Haechan’s party. “I don’t know” You chuckled lightly.

“You should.” His smile almost persuaded you, right there and then.

There was an attraction in his gaze, and you knew hoped he felt it too. You were falling deeper into the wrath of his smile, and you liked it. You wished nothing more than to reach over and fuse your smile with his. Nothing more than to simply talk with him, read with him, stay with him. Your feelings grew deeper and you hadn’t even noticed. Spending time with Jaemin really did confuse you. Little were you aware of how deep your feelings ran, in your veins, in your pulse. Little did you know how your tensions drowned away with the smile on his face. You weren’t an affectionate, sappy person, and you definitely weren’t good at expressing or understanding your emotions. Oh but only if you were. Haechan’s party would’ve gone a lot differently.

———

Arriving home, you noticed Ten was already there. Sitting right in front of the television, remote control in his hand.

“How was school?” He asked, trying to act brotherly.

“Do you care?” you laughed.

“Not really.” and he smiled brightly. “You going to Haechan’s party?”

You shook your head. As much as you like socializing, reading a book snuggled up with chamomile tea in your hand definitely beat it. During your final class, you had reached the conclusion that you were not going. You didn’t see the point, and at home, you could catch up on many missed episodes of your new binge tv show. ‘They’ll be fine without me’.

lunalila560 : comin to Haechan’s?? [5:53]

imaginey/n :nahhh, too tired [5:55]

——

[6:16]

A knock came from the door and in stepped Lila. She brought with her a huge blue gear bag filled with her most stylish clothes and makeup, because your most stylish clothes were probably your Christmas pajamas. She wore a short pink dress, with a black cropped denim jacket resting delicately on her shoulders. Black heels embraced her slender feet. Her hair was tied in two loose braids, with white glitter sprinkled casually over. Her makeup was classic with a dash of extra glitter to contrast. She was beautiful as always, and you were still in your pajamas, stuffing your face with popcorn as if watching a fashion show.

“Okay so…” she began. She held out a clothes hanger, your new Halloween costume hanging from it. “You’re coming, I don’t care what you say.”

You rolled your eyes but didn’t protest. Lila had clearly put effort into your costume, knowing fully well you would’ve actually worn jeans. She was always so organised like that.

“So what am I?” You sat on the edge of the couch, leaning into her beaming eyes, curious of her plans.

“Lara Croft.”

You nearly choked on air as your eyes filled with uncertainty. Ten chimed in with appreciation. You shook your head but she argued; “Just trust me.”

Lila knew you so well, too well in fact. The outfit was unarguably perfect for you. Not too revealing, comfortable, something you could dance in. She wanted you to wear shorts, but knowing you, she chose green cargo pants with a slit around the thigh instead.

She plaited your hair, pulling out the messy bits at the front. Made your makeup look effortlessly casual. Smeared brown paint like ‘dirt’ on your body and grey tank top. Tied a bandage around the slit in your pants as if you were injured. And of course, who could forget a (toy) gun in your hand. You couldn’t deny you actually liked it.

———

Lila walked beside you up Haechan’s driveway, wearing her version of ‘Jessica Rabbit’. Your breath trembled. You could already hear the music. There were a few people outside. You were late, by approximately 2 hours, which meant the party already started. You gulped. Butterflies dancing in your stomach. No. Wasps, stinging.

By the time you had reached the porch, it was too late. Lila’s arm linked in yours preventing your escape. The sweat clammed your palms, and your armpits, which you prayed the dirt could hide the stains. Before Lila grabbed the doorknob, her eyes met yours. Telling you that it was going to be okay, that it was safe, that you should breathe. Little did she know the reason for your racing heart. But before you could blink, she pulled the door open, music shrieking in your ears.

The party was loud, real loud.

The house was beautifully designed, but there were way too many people to appreciate it. The place was crowded, people everywhere, streaming from the top of the stairs, out of the innumerable rooms up there, and people headed straight into the kitchen downstairs, or what you assumed was the kitchen. The lighting was dim, you could barely make out Lila’s face beside you. People were hanging over banisters, screaming, chanting. Music blaring, deafening your ears. And everyone was clearly very, very drunk.

Lila’s shout met your ear, yet you barely heard her; “Kitchen….drink?”

It didn’t matter for her hand tugged yours into a room, the kitchen. You bumped into everyone, dancing, laughing. You focused your eyes on the floor. You weren’t ready to recognise people yet. You needed alcohol for that. And lucky for you, you were nearly there.

You looked up when Lila came to a halt.

‘Holy shit.’

There wasn’t enough counter to hold all the bottles. From vodka to whiskey, it had everything. You didn’t know where to start. Lila did, however, as she shoved a cup filled with something in your hand. Before you knew it, you too were laughing. You were very nearly drunk on the atmosphere, on the music. You took a gulp of the vile concoction before you felt the heavyweight of a stare settling on you. That familiar glare. You quickly forgot about it as Lila refilled your drink. If anything was going to make this night easier, it was alcohol.

“You came!”

Renjun screamed beside you. He had a rather large glass in his hand.

“Ms.Croft.” He added, “enchante.”

A laugh escaped your mouth easily, “And what may you be?”

“Ayy matey, tis’ I, Jack Sparrow.” He completely failed the accent, but A for effort.

“How fitting.” you quirked your eyebrows, “a pirate always does have a drink in his hand.”

He bowed, his pirate hat falling off. Then, nearly collapsing on the floor with laughter. You couldn’t help but laugh with him.

Your eyes wandered to Lila who was already talking up a ‘Joker’.

The alcohol buzzed in your veins, your body warming up to its comfort. You followed Renjun to another lively room. He began chatting aimlessly with people, and you stood beside him. Your body swayed to the music, feeling looser than it did an hour ago. You were lost in conversation when a finger tapped your back. You turned to see Haechan, standing a touch too close.

“Pleasure to see you here.” His voice engulfed in lure.

“Pleasure to be here.” Words slipped easily.

“Nice gun.” He sniggered, eyes judging it but the smile on his face loving it. You held it out, pointing it at him. You pressed the trigger, releasing a pathetic squirt of water. His hands were up before you could attempt a wink.

He was dressed in a suit, a very Gatsy suit.

He held out a drink, one that smelled sweet accompanied by a strawberry floating on top. He winked, properly, as your hand grasped it. A wink followed by that carefree laugh. You spent some time with Haechan, talking about things you couldn’t remember, drinking things you couldn’t distinguish and dancing, as awfully as you’d imagined. The alcohol began to race, rush through you, bubbling, fizzing. You lost track of time, of faces, of songs.

“Have you seen Jeno?” you asked.

“Oh, lover boy? Nope.” he laughed

Your heart sagged just slightly. You reminded yourself that these parties last all night.

‘I’ll see him later.’

Yet again, you felt a set of eyes find you within the growing crowd. It wasn’t Haechan, you soon realised for you were with him, dancing. You scanned the room, but there was no one you recognised.

Until there he was, walking sauntering down the stairs, holding your gaze. His eyes wandered from yours to your ripped tank top, down to your boots. Taking in all of you. His stare full of deceit and depth, but none the less intoxicating. He stopped in front of you, looking down at you, into you. His teeth taunted his lip, bit his lip. A smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. Haechan disappeared, everyone disappeared, as if it was only you and him in the room.

You pulled out your gun, a smile taking over your mouth. “Hands up, Jaemin.”

He did as he was told, hands following your order.

“And don’t you dare bite that lip.” You added, confidently.

You traced his outline. His body embraced by a black suit. A white shirt peeking out behind his blazer. A black bowtie drawing your eyes to his neck, and then back up to his gaze. While you were admiring his suit, he pulled his own gun out to point at you.

“Fair play.” he chuckled.

“What even are you?”

“You see, Ms.Croft” he began with that deep voice of his, “I was going to be your prince charming, but now, I’m your savior. It’s Jaemin, Na Jaemin.”

You couldn’t hold back a giggle as he winked. He surely was charming, but he was definitely no prince.

You forgot a lot, but the alcohol wasn’t going to let you forget how close you had been before. How close you had been to his bitten lip or his deceitful stare.

“Care for a drink?” he asked.

“Of course.” but this time it was you who winked.

It was when the drink met your lips that his head turned to the corner of the room. Yours followed. It was dark, you were borderline drunk, but you could always spot Jeno in a crowd.

You dropped your drink. Your breath hitched.

Jeno wasn’t smiling at you, he didn’t even notice you. He was too busy sticking his tongue down some girls throat. His hands roaming her body, his mouth desperate, his teeth tugging at her lip. He was on fire yet your eyes watched, like ice.

You knew there was a part of him that was aflame, seduction lurking inside of him, he just didn’t want to show you. Disappointment tugged at your heart. You wanted to look away, but you couldn’t. You were frozen. You didn’t feel jealous or hurt (maybe a little bit). You felt pathetic, stupid for letting yourself believe that even the tiniest part of him was interested in you. Stupid for beginning to like him.

His mouth tore away from her, taking in oxygen when his eyes found you. Found you staring right back at him, at the girl, at their intensity. You almost saw a dim speck of regret in his eyes, but it was too dark to be true.

You panicked, his eyes still watching you. You looked to the ground, and then to Jaemin. His expression changed, from understanding to pure desire. You inched closer, making sure Jeno’s eyes were locked on you. You closed the gap between your beating heart and Jaemin’s. He looked into your eyes as if he was searching for something. Temptation speckled his iris. His hot breath meeting your cheek. Control disappearing from your grip.

Slowly, the music faded and so did the crowd, so did Jeno. It felt like it was just you two in the room, alone, a fraction away from each other. Your heart raced, breath shaky. His mouth searched for your ear, his voice ragged; “You’ll regret this.”

You opened your mouth to speak when his lips crashed against yours. You pulled away for an instant to see lust overtaking his gaze. Then he devoured you, lips moving in rhythm. Body melting into his. You could taste the desperation in his mouth, feel the want on his tongue as it plunged down your throat. His breathy sounds taunted your ear. His hands worked their way around your body, feeling each crevasse, each line until they settled a bit lower than your waist. Pulling you impossibly closer. His teeth teased your lips. Your mouth felt bruised but you couldn’t let go.

His kiss was intoxicating. His passion ignited something in you. You couldn’t hold back a slight moan as his lips moved to your neck. Your fingers intertwined with his hair, pulling it. Want racing through your veins. His tongue demanding more of you, until you broke away, gasping for air. For a moment you tasted the alcohol on his breath, and it brought you back to reality.

His smirk settled on you again.

His mouth dived for your ear once more, nibbling slightly before his hoarse voice spoke.

“He’s still watching.”

_____________________________________

See you next time -> Wednesday 23rd xx

_____________________________________

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calorieworkouts · 5 years ago

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How long should your runs actually be?

In thirty minutes, you can see an episode of Broad City, take pleasure in a meditation session, or delight in a quickie facial. Turns out, that's likewise the amount of time it takes to log an effective run.

" There's a massive benefit to the 30-minute run," states Mary Johnson, a 3:06 marathoner, coach and creator of Lift, Run, Perform, and also USATF Level 1 licensed instructor. "Running for 30 mins provides you a substantial amount of advantages, including making your body more effective, increasing blood flow to aid with active healing, and creating your heart and also lungs. You get a great deal of value in 30 mins."

" Numerous joggers ask me the amount of miles they must run. It's not concerning miles-- it's about mins.'

But when it concerns the performance of your exercise, there's actually no "run size fits all" option. Rather, identifying how lengthy your run should be comes down to your goals and what you're wanting to obtain from your time when driving, treadmill, track, or trails.

" Many runners ask me just how several miles they need to run," claims Johnson. "But it's not regarding miles-- it has to do with minutes. There's no set number of miles you must run everyday. It's about mins as well as time on your feet, which is a lot extra essential, whether you're a newbie or a skilled jogger training for a marathon."

So, just how do you identify your magic number? Maintain reading for the running coach's recs for each situation-- whether you're a beginner or a competitive racer.

New joggers must begin sluggish as well as progressively enhance their distance

Even if you're a normal on the Pilates Agitator or you cozy approximately the barre a lot more than you hit satisfied hour, running is a different beast-- and it can batter your body in a completely brand-new method. Johnson claims it's important to start gradually to avoid injury. "If you have a difficult time going to the end of your driveway, that's where you begin," she states. "Begin with what you can do, and after that pick an achievable objective."

“Start with what you can do, and after that pick an achievable goal."

To get comfy spending more time on your feet, Johnson suggests utilizing a walk-run method. "Do three mins of running adhered to by a min of strolling, as well as repeat that for 20 to 25 minutes," she says.

Make certain to enter a great warm-up prior to battering the sidewalk. These go for runners are a terrific area to begin (as well as finish). And also including these yoga positions for runners right into your health and fitness regimen is a good idea in addition to they can help speed healing. The initial mile tends to be the toughest to survive, whether you're a newbie or professional. Having an awesome playlist can aid you power through in stride. However if you need more fitspo, try several of the mental strategies all joggers require to understand.

Runners that wish to build endurance should up their mileage

Whether you have actually registered for a half-marathon or you just desire to be able to hang with your friends for weekend long terms, the key is to invest more time on your feet. "If you're just running three times weekly, think about including a fourth day to your regimen," says Johnson. "Simply be mindful concerning not overloading your system, and boost your gas mileage slowly."

So if you're running for 20 minutes three days each week, bump that up to 25 mins 3 days a week, or add a 4th 20-minute go to your timetable. "This is a great way to include a bit extra stress and anxiety as well as time to your body, as well as to increase your endurance over time," Johnson says.

Even if you're a knowledgeable jogger, you wish to be steady regarding it so that you do not ill-use your system. 'As an example, if I'm pretty comfortable running 50-53 miles per week, after that I'll wish to begin entering into 55-58 for 3 or so weeks prior to I cross into the 60-plus miles-per-week zone,' she claims. 'The change duration is critical, and also you're much extra most likely to efficiently adjust to larger mileage if your body has gradually and also consistently developed into that mileage.'

If you're educating for a marathon, the high quality of your run matters a lot more than the distance

Just like every body is different, every marathon training strategy is one-of-a-kind. One of the most crucial point when you're educating for a 26.2-mile race, Johnson says, is collective tiredness, the suggestion that you're incrementally a lot more exhausted with every run you log and that the impact of all your physical effort is carried with you throughout your training.

And while numerous prominent training strategies have joggers peaking with a 20- or 22-mile future, Johnson claims that may not be needed-- and you can be much better off including easy miles throughout the week. "People are also risky and have a tendency to run as well long, in my opinion," Johnson says. "I such as to pad the week with easy miles around high quality efforts, which are usually speed as well as longer runs."

If you're going for your initial marathon and aren't worried about your pace, Johnson claims to try and also keep your lengthy run to no more than 30 percent of your weekly mileage. (So for many joggers, that indicates peaking around 16-18 miles for a long term.) "Exceeding that can place you at better risk for injury and also, quite truthfully, can make you seem like crap," she claims. "It is essential to stay risk-free so you can make it to that begin line."

If you intend to run in order to improve your physical or mental health

" Honestly, if your objective is strictly weight-loss, running most likely isn't your best choice," claims Johnson. "Rather, I would certainly recommend a mix of running and also weightlifting, which will certainly be far more reliable within your weight-loss objectives."

A strength-training routines that includes exercises like squats, lunges, and rows--" Ones that hire one of the most number of muscle mass each time," she claims-- will amp up your calorie burn.

And if you're wishing that a runner's high will certainly help improve your mood and also reduce tension, scientific research is on your side for this one: Researches have actually shown that a person of one of the most effective means to assist de-stress is to break a sweat. To aid ward off anxiety as well as clinical depression, researchers recommend working out for 45-60 minutes 3 to 5 times weekly, and also intending to get to 50 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate. Do not have an hour to save? "Just doing something is much better than nothing," Johnson says. "If you only have 15 minutes, venture out for 15 mins. You'll most likely feel much better afterward." Coupled with some gut-healthy vitamin D from the sunlight's rays, a quick outside ride could be the supreme heart-pounding daily pick-me-up. Race you down to the sidewalk?

For more on-the-road support, we have actually rounded up the 5 outright finest running applications and also a specialist's take on the gear that you actually need.

#exercise #fitness #health #health and fitness #weight #work out #work out plans

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alliebruns-blog · 6 years ago

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Races, Recces and Adventures for 2019

First off SORRY FOR NOT DOING BLOGS (to the 3 people that read them)

2019 has already been quite the year. Let’s get the excuses in, shall we? I have finally moved out of London to lovely sleepy Somerset – home of the Mendips, hills and lots of cows. The running here is ace and I feel like I have finally shaken off the horror of 23 years in London. But it’s a big change – the first month I felt like I was on a different planet – then I had to find work (you know that thing that actually pays you?) So I took a step back from internets for a bit.

Another reason for lack of bloggage. It seems I have been writing them for everyone else but me this year. For some reason my inbox went a bit mad and I’ve been asked to write pieces, blogs and interviews for a Bulgarian Travel and Adventure Magazine (apparently I am going to be on the cover?!), Run Deep, Precision Hydration, Lessons in Badassery, Dure, Red Bull and Trail Running Magazine. Plus, I have to do my day job. And look after 4 dogs. And a 9 year-old (not mine but sort of is mine now….) and a man human. Jokes. He’s looking after me.

So what’s been going on? EVERYTHING HAS. 2019 started with BBR trotting over the The National Running Show in Birmingham where we had a stand and I gave a couple of talks. I was I the throws of a horrendous depressive episode and had to attempt to put a face on. I still wasn’t over Panama really. I think it took me about 3 months to get over it in the end. I had to do a talk on a panel about mental health and running (oh the irony) and then my own talk about running across deserts, jungles and that.

It was very difficult attempting to inspire people when I actually felt like a piece of shit. The show itself was ace and weirdly we have been asked to come back – but more on that a bit later.

I got out in January and February to do a couple of reccees for White Star Running. The weather was JOKES bad. 60mph winds and rain made for a very interesting trot along the coast.

We were checking the route for Septembers Run Jurassic races which are going to be amazing. Have a look at what’s on offer here - and rest assured that it shouldn’t be weather like this on the day…..

Then came the first race of the year - Larmer Tree Marathon in Dorset. Lest gusty with 40-50 mph winds making for another interesting run, and it was also Pickle the ultra dogs first official marathon – she loved it. Look at her little face!

Then it was off to Bulgaria to do some talking about running. Myself and David from the Bad Boy Running Podcast were asked to go and do a talk at a running expo they had there and it was MEGA fun – defo returning nest year to do the 100KM ultra they are organising – it’s BEAUTIFUL in Sofia.

Back home and it was off to Rat Race’s Ultra Tour of Arran for the second year. 62 miles over 2 days with “some” elevation (A LOT) and some demons to slay. As you know I did NOT enjoy this last year - my fear of heights and ledges almost got the better of me, but this year was different. We had about 10 Do-Badders with us and some of them were first time ultra runners, so I felt a bit like I had a duty of care to them.

As part of my role with Rat Race, I did a little talk to people about the Bucket List which was great and I managed to get round the course with the whole squad without crying. Only issue was I ended up with an eye infection that meant I couldn’t wear my contacts. This is not recommended on mountainous trails. I fell over 3 times - my knee looked like someone had gone at it with a rifle. It really knocked my confidence for trails and I have been super careful ever since. I really hate falling over.

Arran was beautiful and epic as always. I cannot recommend this race enough. Its otherworldly out there. Here are some pictures – the weather was so kind to us. If you get booking it now it’s pretty cheap – or even better register for a rat race season ticket and it sort of pays for itself!

Next up was London marathon. It was my sixth year and I wasn’t looking forward to it having only just really moved away. I used to love this race, but I had done so little in the form of road running I was dreading it a bit. So I decided to spice it up by running it in reverse to the start and then running it the right way round.I need some night running experience for later I the year so why not? I also wanted to raise money for my old friend Scott who we lost to suicide last year. If you want to give a few quid, the charity has been set up now and you can find it here.

We got up at 12am after 3 hours sleep and got our stuff together – we were running with a couple of friends starting at Birdcage walk. We decided on a 5-6 hour time as I had the real thing later on, and this was a training run ultimately. That didn’t go to plan and we ended up smashing out 20 miles in about 3 hours – meaning as we came into Greenwich everything was shut. ARGH! I need coffee! I’ve never waited for a Macdonalds to open, but that day I did! We decided to march out the last 6 miles as we had the time and my legs were already staging a protest about the relentless road pounding they were getting. Once we reached the start we headed over to a hotel on Blackheath where my amazing friend and Head of Crew™ was staying.

We had the BEST BREAKFAST EVER and got I got changed into fresh kit and then it was time to do it all over again. I forgot how much waiting about there was at London. I think I stood in the pen for about an hour, little legs seizing up, feeling cold for once. London is usually boiling. I took a minute to look around at the people running. Lots of them were doing their first and only marathon. Some of them made me want to cry. I saw a guy dressed in a bin bag looking nervous, fiddling with his headphones. He has a message scrawled on his arm in sharpie – obviously written buy one of his kids. It said “I love you daddy and I am proud of you”. He kept looking at it. It made me want to cry. Sometimes humans can be wonderful. I bumped into the legend that is Anna Mcnuff in my start pen. She wasn’t wearing any shoes. Brilliant. She’s running the length of Britain barefoot so was a training run. I had SO MANY QUESTIONS but she seemed very cool about the whole thing. She really is relentlessly cheerful, that woman.

Then we were off. I felt pretty good considering the fact I had already done it once that day. As always there were huge crowds and bottlenecks and I was running a lot faster than I had done in a while. You can’t help it at London. You kind of get swept along. I was very wary of eating and drinking – I hadn’t eaten much during the night run and I am used to picnics on ultras now. I tried to take it easy but it felt easier to run at pace so I did what felt good. For once I wasn’t wearing a pack and it’s amazing how much that frees you to go a bit faster. I was relying on the water stops for all my hydration and that worked.

One of the things I really noticed about the marathon this year is the aggro. I am so used to the chilled nature of trail runners that I totally forgot about what happened in New York. Road runners can be total arseholes. There were points when I ran over to the water station, signalling I was doing so, only to be physically bashed on the shoulder by other runners and told to “move out of the fucking way”. When I take water I tend to slow down, walk at pace, finish the water and then run on. It’s pretty obvious. I walk close to the edge so people can pass me. I’m sorry but people need to have a bit more patience. Fucking idiots. ANYWAY I managed to finish in a pretty OK 4 hours 10 mins. Getting out of the mental finish area was awful as always, and I had to meet up with a couple of people because my personal hell wasn’t ending there. I had signed up to help out on a Rat Race private event for the next two days and needed to get to Richmond to drive up to Cirencester. No boozy celebrations for me! So off I went to work with 300 bankers who were out on a jolly for 3 days running, cycling and kayaking 165 miles along the Thames. Wednesday came and I had never been happier to see my bed!

Turns out road running smashed your body up a lot – especially 53 odd miles of it. My back was killing me, my legs hurt. So I did something I am not very good at – I had a bit or a rest. A few days off, runs at the weekend, went to physio. And then, two weeks later, it was time for The Ox Epic.

This is one of my favourite races of the year. Set on the Rushmore Estate in Wiltshire, its a whole weekend of camping and running courtesy of White Star Running. You can choose what race you do. Theres a 10km in the dark, a 10km in the morning, a half marathon and a 50 miler. So what did I choose? I CHOSE THEM ALL. Last year I managed to accidentally win the Epic - this year was a different story. This was a training run for something much bigger.

Once again White Star pulled it out the bag - a beautiful weekend and everything went like clockwork for me and him indoors, despite the fact we had all four dogs on site plus a 9 year old to look after. I managed to keep the same pace for all the races and not feel broken, plus I had a really nice weekend! We ran some laps with the dogs, some without, took out time at the aid stations, walked the hills and ran the flats. All in, we managed to get 76 miles in the bag over the weekend and finished knowing that we could do more. It was a chance to practice fuelling and hydration and catch up with old and new pals. Highly recommended and I will definitely be back next year - perhaps with my eyes on the prize again.

Pretty much everything that I have done in the first part of this year has been pointing towards my one A game race of the year which is happening this weekend (18-19 May). The Climb South West Devon Coast to Coast Ultra. I signed up last year on a whim. It’s 117 miles from the south coast to the north coast of Devon non-stop. This is the furthest I have run without a break, so it really is a huge deal to me to get through it. We’ve been out and about doing a couple of back to back weekend recees to see what the route is like. It’s self nav and we will run a lot of it in the dark. It runs along the Two Moors Way, across Dartmoor and Exmoor, through some horrendous terrain. There are a lot of muddy bridleways, fields and hardly any markings.

Elevation is mental – it literally feels like your going up hill all the time. It’s a really important race for me because it’s one I am not sure I can do. I have a plan A. B. C and D in place but I can’t see myself finishing in under 39 hours. Will I finish at all? Dunno. Stay tuned I guess….

So yeah, a lot has gone on so far this year, and there are some awesome plans in the pipeline for the rest of the year.

Adventure time! AGAIN!

I am resurrecting my position as Rat Race Test Pilot for 2019-2020 and doing 4 big recees this year, as well as pretty much all the events.

June sees me travel to Spain for the Sea to Summit test pilot outing. The highest mountain in mainland Spain is 80km from the coast. Our route connects a start line on a beautiful beach on the Costa Tropical to the summit of Mulhacen (3482m) via a tough 2 day running route, giving 2 marathons back to back and nearly 4000m vertical height gain. No biggie. Plus it’s going to be BOILING and we start at 2am to try and avoid the sun. This is Ben Nevis twice in a day. Fun.

August sees me trotting off to Malta for The Maltese Falcom. There are 3 islands that make up Malta. This ia a full traverse of the island chain. 3 disciplines. Run across Gozo. Kayak to Comino. Swim from Comino to Malta. Run across Malta. Hot. Historic. Warm sea. An island totally geared up for Endurance sport. And all in one day. Another world first.

In September I am off to Scotland to do something I have always dreamt off. A full coast to coast traverse of Scotland on foot. This is a west-coast-to-east-coast outing, n foot, over 6 days. The difference here is that Rat Race have devised a route that encompasses crossings of water and the use of some rivers and lochs, for which we will carry and use pack-rafts. This very unique route means we will hike or run, get to a body of water, use the raft to cross it or traverse it and then carry on by foot. An insane format in a simply stunning setting and incredibly remote area. The route goes from a starting location at Mallaig to finish just north of Inverness. This is the wildest country in the British Isles. We will be vehicle supported for some of the outing; and then self-contained (pack on back) for a significant portion of the rest. Almost 100% off-road. And in September. Be kind, weather!

October I will return to Scotland for a multi day traverse of the Outer Hebrides. Another dream event. It is around 150 miles from the bottom to top of this rugged island archipelago off the West Coast of Scotland. We will attempt this journey over 6 days. We’ve not quite worked out the logistics on this (have I not learnt anything from Panama??) But I am SO EXCITED TO DO IT!

In November I am travelling back to Namibia to crew for the Race to the Wreck event. That means I get to see the beauty of the desrt from the crew vehicle with a bit of running, but most importantly, it means I get to encourage, help and inspire people to complete the crossing. I would like to thank Rat Race for constantly believing me and allowing me to do these awesome things. I am one lucky piglet.

Also here’s a thing – if you fancy joining me on any of these funtime recees then you can – just drop me an email here for more details.

I am also doing a few other things in between mega adventures to keep up the training and fly the flag for Rat Race and White Star. There’s the Dorset Invader Marathon, the Man Vs Series, the Run Jurassic Series, Ultra Tour of Edinburgh, not to mention my first Threshold event at Race To the King. Basically it’s BUSY. But I am happy. And that’s the most important thing.

Finally – big announcement – Bad Boy Running are thrilled to have been asked to curate a new section at The National Running Show 2020. We have been given the honour of curating the Ultra Zone – a brand new zone that focuses completely on Ultras. We have our own stage, our own guests and our own talks and panels, We are in charge. We will be announcing out line up in the next month or so but if I were you I would get your tickets NOW because you DO NOT want to miss this. You can get your free ones here using my code AMB18. We have some of the biggest names in Ultra running confirmed and it’s going to be mega. You can register for your free ticket here. Massive thank to Mike for believing in us (and trusting us – he may regret this….)

I’m also going to try and bet better at this blogging thing – I have a lot to write about so not short on material – it’s just the time. Having said that I am happy to write for anyone else that fancies it. Just drop me a line and I will take a look at it. So yeah. That’s it. Whirlwind update done. See you next week. If I survive.

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faces-in-unexpected-places · 6 years ago

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Do You Have the Time? Episode 007: Family

[March 26th, 2018, 11:53]

Madison stood outside of the main chemistry building with her headphones on and scrolled through various apps on her phone. She had tied her windbreaker around her waist because the weather decided to cooperate half-way through the morning. March was never a predictable month where she lived. Some days were freezing, others were windy, some snowed, and even more variants were sunny. Today was supposed to be freezing, but all patches of snow were gone by 10:00. A glare pierced her retina, and she shielded her face with her free hand. And look who decided to come out today. Luckily for Madison, the impossible-to-perceive changes made by the climate’s spring season often left her backpack riddled with useful things. Usually they were left unintentionally hidden somewhere on account of the sudden need for some other seasonal accessory in the past, but she wasn’t about to start doubting her convenient and forgetful way for coming through for her future self now.

Madison rifled through the various pockets and compartments of her bag for her pair of sunglasses. Within the minute, she found them stowed away in some place she has no recollection of putting them in. In that moment, she could feel the sun. She put her Ray-Bans on.

People complimented her on her sunglasses a lot, which surprised her when she bought them. At first, she was worried that she might look too much like Harry Potter because the lenses were circular; but she later decided that it didn’t matter. Harry Potter was freaking awesome and if someone said that she did in fact look like him, then it would have been the kindest words they could have given her. She wondered if Harry wore round sunglasses just like his regular prescription. So long as he had a separate pair of sunglasses that were prescription and he didn’t have those clip-on lenses that old people use. Maybe sixty-year-old HP would use them.

Madison hummed in her thoughts and chuckled.

She wondered if Leopold wore those kinds of glasses. Immediately after, Madison remembered that Leopold did not wear prescription glasses to begin with, so the clip-ons would be pointless. The clip-ons did seem useful, though. If she could pull off regular, circular sunglasses, maybe she could sport some prescription glasses with sunglass clip-ons. She supposed the only conflict standing in her way was that she had 20/20 vision.

She opened her web browser on her phone and typed ‘how to damage your eyesight’. Something about her train of thought and actions caused her to erupt in laughter. Surprisingly, the first few search results are exactly what she was ‘looking for’. She rolled her eyes at the idea, chuckled and returned to her various phone apps. Jeremy was four minutes late. Maybe she would hassle him for his obvious inaccuracy. Her grin strengthened on her face as she considered the idea. A message appeared at the top of her screen while she was on her entertainment high. The last thing she wanted to see at the moment.

‘General Chemistry I: Grade Posted 11:54’.

Her smile wore away and she opened up the notification. Might as well get it over with as soon as she could. The reason that she was let out early, that she hid from the group chat, was because today was an exam day. Her third exam out of five. And she also happened to be blessed with a professor who is so eager to mark all of her wrong answers that he does so before the official end of the class period. Exam III: 71%, C-.

Madison sighed and shut off the phone’s screen. Stuffing it back into her pocket felt like the best course of action in response to that news. Just in time, Jeremy pulled up in front of the chemistry building for her. Eager to leave campus, she leapt down the stairs and threw herself into the passenger seat of the car. Jeremy quietly acknowledged her and set them on course for home.

“So, what happened with the lab?” Madison asked, expecting further explanation from the group chat..

“Leslie and I made some headway before actual work started, but once it did, Sophia came in and shut it all down,” he replied flatly.

“God, what did she do?”

“Found a way to ‘evacuate’ us because of some suspected gas leak.”

“Damn. Is it legit, do you think?”

“Not sure. We didn’t have enough time to really investigate it. We just took everything we could and left before they kicked us out,” he explained, “I had to take IO to stay in the robotics lab.”

“Oh, poor little guy. That sucks.”

“The robotics lab… that Sophia volunteers in,” he said uncomfortably.

“What?” Madison yelped and turned towards him, “Why would you do that?”

“What else could I have done, Madison?” he replied, sharply, “I have no other spaces to keep IO in. You know what happens if we keep him in the apartment.”

“I know, but Sophia? Really?”

“She’s not the only one that works there. And she’s a volunteer anyway. I’ll keep in touch with IO the whole time our lab is closed.”

“Well, good luck. Hope the poor thing is okay.”

“Yeah, me too.”

There was a silent lull for a few minutes. Madison tensely looked out the window while Jeremy drove without uttering a word. She brainstormed ways to break the awkward static before they arrived at their apartment.

“So you and Les spent some alone time together this morning then, huh?” She joked.

“Madison, please.”

“Okay, okay, sorry.”

Another awkward silence. So, he definitely didn’t think that was funny.

“Are you excited for the research-dinner party?” She asked.

“I suppose,” he answered, “It’ll be nice to update Leopold on what Leslie and I put together. I’d really like to get this preliminary stuff out of the way, and start testing our hypotheses.”

“I’m excited to see Leslie’s place!” She added, “She’s so organised, I bet it will be super clean and stuff.”

“Yeah, I’m sure it will be,” Jeremy said in a lighter tone, “What do you think you’ll do in the meantime before it’s time to leave?”

“Ehh… not sure. Maybe dick around online for a bit. I can only take so much of being aggressively average at chemistry before I decide to give it a rest and waste my time on the computer.”

“Okay. Well, I’ll let you know when it’s time to go,” Jeremy said as he pulled into their parking space outside of their apartment complex.

It didn’t take long for Jeremy to disappear into his room after they managed to make their way up the stairs and into their apartment. Madison entered her own room, slumped down into her bed and rested her body. She could feel her limbs get heavy as she stared up at her ceiling mobile decorated with different coloured leaves. She felt that adult mobiles were a far under-appreciated invention.

Despite the tense silences that happened in the car, she felt that her conversation with Jeremy ended on a definitively neutral tone, rather than a hostile one. She’d take neutral over that any day. The only thing left for her to do, that she could think of, was brush up on all board games that Leslie may have, so that she could wipe the floor with her, Jeremy and Leopold at the party.

Jeremy let his backpack plummet to the floor and settled onto his bed, facedown on the mattress. He laid still for a few minutes, simply letting the tension out of his limbs. It hadn’t occurred to him how stiff he was throughout the day. From working with Leslie, getting frustrated with GraviTime, having an altercation with Leslie, having numerous confusing altercations with Sophia, and then talking to Madison on the way home. Though thankfully, their last conversation didn’t seem as difficult as their previous ones.

He rolled over to the side of his bed to inspect the papers in his bag. There was a large folder that he had almost forgotten about. It was filled with lab reports from the 1 credit hour undergraduate physics lab course that he was a teaching assistant for. He was grateful that the university offered him a contract to TA one of the lab courses for money in addition to giving him a stipend. Renting his room in the apartment would have been difficult without the deal. Despite the variety of kids he saw in an introductory course, it was actually a refreshing way to spend his time. Grading needed to be finished by the 28th.

Before surrendering to the pull to the bed, Jeremy sluggishly ambled off of his bed and knelt down in front of his ant farm sitting on a small stand near his door. It looked like the microcosm might need some water soon. He wondered how ants were so structured and coordinated. As did everyone with an ant farm, he supposed. If these ants could thrive and build with only the limited resources provided in their space, then surely he and everyone else could function a few days without the lab. Maybe he would work on an idea for an alternate location to do work like Leslie did with her dinner party.

[March 26th, 2018, 14:40]

Leslie shambled up the last flight of stairs with various reusable grocery bags filling her hands and hanging off her body. She struggled down the hallway, huffing and contorting her body to keep the bags from tipping and spilling her dinner ingredients. At last, apartment 4 on the third floor. She beamed in relief, but the expression quickly faded. She needed to unlock the door. A faint sigh escaped as she shuffled her purse around until she could access it. With just a few seconds to spare, Leslie managed to unlock her door, get inside and drop half the bags down on her dining room table. Another moment, and there may have been a messy disaster. She relieved herself of the burden from the bags slung over her shoulders, and slumped down into one of the chairs at the dinning room table, rubbing her arms.

Looking about her apartment, she immediately began picking apart the things that needed to be fixed before her guests arrived. Too many objects on her coffee table in front of the couch, all surfaces needed dusting, dishes needed to be done, groceries to be put away. The list of things was never ending. Leslie was having difficulty with her living room for one major reason. Her television sat close to her front door; in front of it was her coffee table, and then the couch. And she had her matching ottoman off in the corner, because there was not enough room for everything. Her issue was that she spent very little time watching TV; and what if there was not enough room for everybody to sit after dinner? The TV might be in the way, or one of them could have to sit close to the door, and they might be uncomfortable with that. She could already feel the party was going to be a mess. She should just take that spot herself to circumnavigate any other disaster.

Leslie shook herself out of her ceaseless train of thought and switched on her ambient sound generator sitting on the bar that bordered the kitchen. She preferred to have some sort of noise while she was home, and music and TV were both too distracting. Would they think her sound generator was weird or uncomfortable without any other noise? Maybe she should play music for them. Her favourite soundscape came on and played sounds of ocean waves and a crackling fire. Tones like those swept her away into a peaceful future, lacking the constant stress and demand for work. She could float away for a moment or two. Maybe one day she could let go of it all. It could be her and Leopold sharing in the beauty as lifetime friends. Jeremy and Madison could come too if they wanted. She was sure that they would find a way to be content. Her cell phone suddenly blared its ringer. Leslie jumped right out of her daydream. She leapt back to the dining room table and scrambled for her phone. It rested between her ear and her shoulder as she hauled bags of groceries to the kitchen counter.

“Hi mom,” she said in her cheery voice, excited to talk. Conversation usually kept her worries at bay. She unpacked the bags and searched for the ingredients’ rightful places.

“Good afternoon, darling. How are you?” her mother responded with a warm and firm tone.

“Good! Just got back from the store with some food. I’m having a little get-together tonight, so I wanted to make a good meal for everyone. What do you need?” She asked, ready to help.

Mrs. Goodchild disregarded Leslie’s question by refusing to acknowledge it. A trace of grief was left in her tone, as she responded to her daughter.

“Oh, a get-together, huh?” she asked with hesitation, “That sounds like fun. What is the occasion?”

“It’s for work.”

“Oh. Well, good for you, sweetie. I’m sure Dr. Looney will be as big of a fan of your cooking as your father and I,” she said. Leslie pulled out the eggplants that she bought and set them off to the side on the counter.

“Aww, thanks mom. I’m glad you and dad liked it all so much. Thankfully the internet was passionate about making tutorials for so many dishes. It was a convenient hobby to have to hold down the fort for you two!”

The line went quiet and Leslie was perplexed. Her mother took a deep breath and cleared her throat.

“Yeah, Leslie, speaking of that…”

“Yes?”

“Well, since you mentioned it… I’ve been thinking a lot about the way your father and I have been for a while. Our financial situation. And I wanted— uh, is now an okay time to talk, by the way?”

“Yeah! Everything’s fine! I’m just cooking and cleaning, getting things ready for everyone later. I could use a bit of time away from the demands of science. What’s up?”

“I wanted to call and say that I’m sorry that we're still relying on you. I was thinking about how we still depend on you for things now, even though you moved out years ago. We shouldn’t have had to rely on you when you were just a little girl either, but we did. And I want to change that now. You were always a huge help to us both, and we we’re grateful for you stepping up, and being responsible and such a good sport. We still are! I’m just sorry that nothing has really changed, even though I said it would. I thought of something that I hope will make it up to you?” she said with uncertainty.

“I know that you’re sorry, mom, don’t worry. We’ve already talked it over before! It’s really okay, though. It was tough, and maybe I could have been doing other things in my spare time as a kid, but it was useful to me! Cooking and working aren’t such bad things. I like them enough to throw a party for my coworkers! And my house is always really clean because that’s what I did back home. It worked out for everyone!”

Milk in the fridge. Sauce in the fridge. Noodles go… they could go next to the eggplants.

Her mother sighed, and there was a moment of silence on the line.

“I understand, but. I just meant to call and say that it wasn’t fair for you. And maybe you can pursue some of the things you missed out on, now that you’re older and have the time,” she suggested, “My idea, if you wanted, is that you could move back to our house for a while to relax and not stress so much. We still have your room ready, and you wouldn’t be paying for rent in two different places, anymore…”

“It would be easier, but I do really like being out here, mom! I’m close to work and there’s more happening in the city. I’m happy to help you out!”

Bags get folded and placed in the cabinet furtherest from the dining room.

“Okay,” Mrs. Goodchild whispered, “Is there anything that dad or I could do for you?”

“No, I don’t think so!” Leslie said, absent-mindedly, “Is there anything I can do for you guys?”

“No, honey, thank you. You’ve done plenty for us.”

“Did you guys get my money transfer yet?” Leslie moved the conversation onward. She heard her mother shuffle some papers around and exhale.

“Yes, it’s right here. It’s a lot. You’re sure you won’t need at least some of this? It’s more than just the rent.”

“No, I’ll be fine! You guys need to fix one of the cars, right? You can put the rest towards that!”

“Your dad and I can handle those payments ourselves, Leslie.”

“Well, now you can handle them better! You’ll pay off the services faster.”

“Thank you, hun, that’s very sweet of you.”

“How has dad been?”

“Oh, you know your father. Still driving trucks for long hours. We’re hoping he gets a promotion soon, but… we’re not too sure. Time will tell, I suppose.”

“And you?” Leslie prodded.

“The restaurant hasn’t been getting as many customers as it did when we opened last year. I’ve been thinking about making a change, if things don’t look up soon.”

Leslie found the ground beef sitting out on the counter, and stuffed it in her fridge before she forgot again. She couldn’t remember how it got there.

“I’m sorry to hear that, mom. I hope things look up soon.”

“I hope so, too,” she said quietly.

“Maybe, to take your minds off of it, you can both make a trip out here and we’ll all spend the day together!” Leslie suggested with enthusiasm.

“That would be wonderful. Your father would be excited to do that.”

“Good! We should plan that soon!”

“Yes, we should. In the meantime though, I’ve got to start getting ready for work, okay?”

“Okay!”

“It was nice to hear your voice again, honey. Have fun with dinner and everyone tonight, and be sure to say hi and thank you again to Dr. Looney for all of his help.”

“I will! I always do,” she said with a sunny smile, “It was nice to talk to you too, mom. Have a good day at work, and I can’t wait to see you two again. Don’t worry too much about me!”

Mrs. Goodchild let out a breathy laugh.

“I’ll do my best, sweetheart. Don’t work too hard.”

“Impossible!” Leslie joked.

“Talk soon, darling. I love you.”

“I love you too! Bye-bye!”

Click.

Leslie leaned against the counter with a smile. She loved hearing from her parents. Especially her mom because she was always looking out for her. It was probably where Leslie got her consistently concerned disposition, too. Although, her mother is concerned with a serious undertone. The cheeriness likely came from her father, ultimately to form Leslie’s core expressions. Cheerful, concerned and eager to help. She chuckled as she thought about what an odd combination of traits that was to exhibit in someone. She wondered if anybody was ever perplexed at her demeanour. It wouldn’t surprise her. Leslie’s smile faded away as she kept her mother in her thoughts. It was flattering to be so concerned with Leslie’s wellness, but sometimes, she wished that her mom could relax about it. The hardest part for her was that she could do nothing to change her mother.

Leslie put her thoughts to rest again and distracted herself with the housework. If the house-party was going to be a success, she would have to hurry. The seating arrangement problem had been solved, but everything still needed to be dusted, and all clutter had to be organised and tidied. Disinfecting all surfaces would be a plus, although her time could run out before that happened. She scurried down the one hallway in her apartment that led past her bathroom, bedroom, and finally terminated at a small storage closet housing her cleaning supplies. Quickly, she delved into the tiny room dragging out a vacuum, a duster, and a spray bottle of disinfectant. The vacuum slipped away from her and swung the floor in her haste. Before she bent to pick it back up, a peculiar colour caught her eye. Something orange stuck to the door facing the inside of the closet. A post-it note. Leslie furrowed her brow and slowly picked it off the door.

“Relax and slow down. Try classical. Remember to have fun!”

The handwriting was awfully… chicken-scratchy. She wondered how long it had been in there. Maybe she’d been a little too focused on work and her parents lately to remember. Her apartment did need a decent cleaning up, so it could have been there for quite some time. There was certainly something vaguely familiar. Was it the colour? Or the placement? An involuntary sigh sheepishly escaped from her mouth. She should be able to keep track of her own house, she’s an adult. She escorted the note down the hall and into her room, which also needed cleaning. Maybe she’d just close the door before they arrived. If she ran short on time, of course. Leslie precariously hid the note away in her nightstand drawer and returned to her storage closet mess with a foggy mind.

“Classical what?” she asked aloud and glanced back to her bedroom door, as if there would be a response. She shrugged and dragged her cleaning supplies to the living room. The most efficient order of tasks would be… clutter, clean the surfaces, dirty dishes, vacuum, then cooking. And closing her bedroom door. Cooking was the most important, because it is not a dinner party without dinner. Her computer and notes needed to be easily accessible, too. It wasn’t a research dinner party without the research.

The top priority was supposed to be work, after all. Briefing Leopold on the progress that she and Jeremy made that morning. She wondered if Jeremy felt comfortable coming to her house. Partly because of the end of their last personal conversation, and partly because he seemed slightly uncomfortable with everything in general. She chuckled to herself. Hopefully everything would go well. Leslie resolved to simply make the most of the night to the best of her ability. Cooking, cleaning, research, activities, whatever got done would get done.

As long as the four of them were happy, she could consider the party a good one.

[03–26–2018; 18:12_Research_Video_Log_002_START]

“Doo doo-doo doo-dooooooo,” Madison sang and pranced behind Jeremy on the way to their car. Their apartment complex’s parking lot was decently packed, and the sky was a deep blue. The sun would be setting in about thirty minutes. Jeremy looked back at her.

“What are you doing?”

“I feel like you guys should be taking advantage of this camcorder by doing more science vlogs.”

“They’re research video logs,” he said.

“Yeah, same thing, nerd. You guys could be on YouTube!”

“Madison, we’re a theoretical physics laboratory, not a make-up tutorial channel.”

Her jaw dropped in surprise, she averted her eyes and her cheeks warmed up. “How did you know I watched those…” she asked quietly.

“I didn’t, it was just an example,” he said and shrugged as he climbed into the driver seat of their car.

“Oh, come on, that’s not fair!” Madison exclaimed, following his motions into the passenger side.

“You brought it on yourself.”

“And you brought this on yourself,” she laughed and zoomed the camera up on Jeremy’s face so that it covered the whole viewing window.”

“Please don’t do that.”

“Sorry, I can’t control it.”

“Yes, you can,” he replied tiredly as he started up the car and pulled out of the parking lot, “You do know that you’re wasting a lot of memory, right?”

“That’s what happens when you make a time travel documentary, Jeremy!”

“It’s not a time travel documentary. It’s supposed to be for recording our experiments and results.”

“A documentary is way cooler, though.”

“Okay, just… if you transfer that footage to your computer fast enough that running out of memory won’t be a problem in the lab, then you can make your time travel documentary.”

“YES,” she yelled, “You mean our documentary.

Jeremy sighed and groaned while coming to the first red light of the drive. “If I say yes, will you please just stop.”

“Okay, alright, fine, sorry,” she mocked, “…Can I interview you for the documentary?”

“I don’t promise accurate answers to ridiculous questions.”

Green light.

“So, mister, doctor Jeremy—”

“I’m not a doctor.”

“––what is your favourite thing about your amazing, one-of-a-kind sister?”

“How much she talks.”

“Really?!” she said with a laugh.

“No.”

“Oh,” she dismissed, “That’s lame!”

Jeremy kept his eyes on the road.

“Okay, how about this. What do you think Leslie is going to make for dinner?”

Jeremy furrowed his brow while he was thinking.

“Huh. I don’t know… maybe a family kind of dinner.”

“What? What even is that?” Madison asked.

He shrugged.

“I don’t know. Something families eat.”

“Wow, what an oddly vague and cryptic answer! As if family dinner food is somehow fundamentally different from everyone else's!”

“Whatever, Madison. I’m driving."

“Thank you for being here today mister, professor Jeremy—”

“Also not a professor.”

“—do you have any final words for the audience?”

“Not particularly,” he said.

“A man of few words, but eloquent, nonetheless.”

“Hey, look at the directions and tell me if that’s her apartment building,” Jeremy instructed, “I think it might be, but I want to be sure.”

“Oh, okay sure,” Madison said, as she distractedly pointed the view of the camera towards her lap to look at her phone.

[03–26–2018; 18:24_Research_Video_Log_002_END]

#do you have the time?#episode 007 #leslie #jeremy #madison #IO #sophia #writer #writer on tumblr #time travel #science fiction

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sembell · 7 years ago

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Moving Forward - Chapter 53

Merry Christmas to all of you <3 NSFW ahead :)

“We live in a changing world, but we need to be reminded that the important things have not changed, and the important things will not change if we keep our priorities in proper order.“ - S. Truett Cathy

The coffee was hot and surprisingly good, even though it had come without the shot of rum she would have loved, and really needed on this particular Wednesday morning.

The entire lot of the North Shore Studios in Vancouver was exceptionally bustling this morning, and maybe she wasn’t used to it anymore or she really was that stressed out, but she was glad to sit in this quiet trailer on this comfortable couch, far, far away from any trouble. Or so it seemed.

David stepped into his trailer in full Mulder gear. She knew that they had spent the entire previous day in Mulder’s office and would be there until noon today. He’d told her that they’d move to a country club in Pitt Meadows to shoot the dancing sequence this afternoon. And with wrapping the fifth episode, Melanie hoped that the rumors and accusations, which were currently making their rounds on social media, would also come to an end. It had only been a day, but she already had enough of it for a very long time.

Especially since David still appeared to be absolutely relaxed when he closed the door of his trailer behind him and stepped up to the couch where she’d been waiting for him for at least twenty minutes now.

“Good morning!” he said cheerfully and flashed her one of those annoyingly disarming smiles of his before he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and flopped down next to her. He immediately started to loosen up his tie.

“Morning,” Melanie grumbled into her coffee and rolled her eyes. She was still fuming, and he still seemed absolutely oblivious.

When he left their little meeting last night, she’d secretly hoped that the rumors of him having an affair with his very young dancing instructor would evoke the same reaction in Gillian as it had in her, especially after learning that a stupid post on Instagram by said dancing instructor was the root of the problem.

Now, Melanie had to shake her head over her own naivety. As if Gillian, the queen of bad, insinuating social media posts, would’ve been bothered by such a thing.

Apparently, she was the only one of them realizing that David’s name attached to a slinky picture of a half-naked young woman and a suggestive offer wasn’t making that much of a good impression out there.

“And, how are things this morning?” David asked and folded his hands behind his head, looking at her with what she’d call an almost challenging expression.

Greetings from Gillian, Melanie thought and pursed her lips. It wasn’t like she wasn’t up for the challenge, but she’d rather just have a conversation with a fairly level-headed David. “Oh you know, it takes a while before such news make it around the globe, so-”

“So, everything’s fine.”

She shot him a warning look. “You know damn well how fast these things can get out of hand, so don’t you come to me with some bullshit like ‘see, Mel, everything you made me do last night wasn’t necessary’.”

He raised his hands defensively. “Wouldn’t even cross my mind. Look, I’m grateful for everything you do for me. But…” David shrugged his shoulders, “it wasn’t Dani’s intention to cause trouble. And it’s not like I have something to hide, or anything to be ashamed of.”

“I know that, David. But it’s my job to protect you from those who don’t care about you and your family. No matter if it’s a random fan who likes to accuse people of all kinds of things, someone you work with, or-” she suddenly stopped, pressing her lips together in a thin line.

“Or?” he leaned forward, searching her face.

She shook her head. “Nothing.”

“Or my girlfriend, is that what you wanted to say?”

“I didn’t say she doesn’t care. I’m just saying that… she’s not making the best choices when it comes to her or your public image.”

David sighed and clenched his jaw, leaning back against the cushions. “I think she just doesn’t take it that seriously. As in, it doesn’t bother her what people are saying online.”

“Well, that’s nice to hear. But frankly, I don’t really care if Gillian minds or not. When I say I’m trying to protect her, I basically mean trying to protect her from herself. Because we have a plan here, David, and that goes beyond what she finds acceptable or not. My concern is how things will affect you, your public image, and your children. If Gillian doesn’t care that a young woman lets everyone know that she wants - an affair, or whatever - with you, or if Gillian herself just loves to rile people up on social media with all those innuendos-”

“Mel-” David tried to cut in.

“You know what I think about that, David. It will backfire eventually. You talk to me in a couple of years.”

He waved his hand dismissively. “It’s just for fun…”

“Until it isn’t just fun anymore. We have next to no control over social media. I can’t stop people from talking or spreading crazy rumors, and literally everything could get viral these days, no matter if it’s true or not.”

“And what am I supposed to do? We all know what she does keeps people interested in us and the brand. They want to know and see what we’re up to, especially while we're here in Vancouver. People want the banter. And of course,” he raised his hands and gave a half shrug, “they want to know how the baby's doing.”

“She uses your relationship and plays with your privacy, and I will never be a supporter of that. We’ve been through this time and time again. How come she just doesn’t want to learn anything from the past?”

“Hey, please give her a break. She just enjoys sharing tiny bits of our lives, and she likes to tease. That’s just how she is. I might not participate all the time, but I definitely won’t take that away from her. It doesn’t harm anyone.”

Melanie sighed and shook her head. It was useless. She’d left meetings with him and Gillian feeling like life had been sucked right out of her - not just once, but multiple times over the last fifteen years. While he usually wasn’t that much of a tough case, Gillian had the ability to talk you into the ground, and everything that was left of you, in the end, could be compared to a kitten who’d just gotten run over by a bulldozer.

It had gotten worse in the last two years, and Melanie knew that this was mostly due to her own doing. While she had no idea how on earth Gillian had found out or who’d told her, she knew that ever since Gillian learned that Melanie had advised David to stay quiet about his involvement in Gillian’s pregnancy, she’d lost her.

It had been a mistake, one that had hurt Gillian very bad, and one Melanie was trying to make up for it ever since, and if it was just for Eaden - that wonderful little girl that was the best thing that could’ve happened to David and Gillian. She would do everything in her power to keep her out of the spotlight and make sure she could live a normal, happy life. Because ultimately, that’s what David and Gillian both wanted for their daughter.

Melanie just didn’t understand why Gillian was acting so carelessly these days. She clearly had fun and was receiving the attention she was looking out for. But after so many years, she had to be aware that everything came with a price - right?!

“Okay, what do you need me to do?” David offered, taking her hand.

She huffed out a laugh and shook her head.

A knock on the door made them both jump, and without waiting for an invitation, the door was being pulled open and a tall man with long brown hair stepped into the trailer. Set life had always been more convenient than polite, Melanie remembered.

“Dave?” the guy asked, and his eyes grew wide when he spotted Melanie. “Oh, sorry! I don’t wanna disturb, but we need you on set.”

David looked up and furrowed his brow. They’d been told it would take another half an hour to finish setting up Mulder’s office for the next scene. “What, why?”

The man shrugged his shoulders, but his one corner of his mouth tilted up in a lopsided grin. “Hurry up, they’re waiting!”

David groaned. “I’ll be out in a minute, Fred,” he finally replied and waited until the man had disappeared before turning back to Melanie, looking at her with an apologetic smile. “Sorry. You want to come?”

With a light chuckle, she patted his hand, inhaled deeply and shook her head. “Thanks for the offer, but no,” she stood up and grabbed her coat. “But don’t you worry… you did what you could do. Everything else’s my job,” Melanie winked and turned for the door.

Just when she was about to open it, he stopped her with his hand on her shoulder and smiled as he took her coat and held it up so she could slip in.

“You keep me updated?” he asked and opened the door for her.

Melanie looked up at him and managed a weak smile. The whole situation had put much more stress on him than he was willing to admit. She knew him, very well actually. His first concern was always his family, and how his actions would affect every single member of it. And while it wasn’t his doing what had happened in the last twenty-four hours, Melanie was sure that if Gillian had reacted differently, she’d have much more work to do now. In that respect, he was just a normal man deeply in love with his woman.

Mulder’s office hadn’t been used for over 13 years, and that’s exactly what it looked like in 2015. That was the weirdest part about coming back; that nothing was looking the way David was used to. It was stupid, really. The show had ended a lifetime ago, and everything had changed since then. But this modern, half furnished, too tidy and too spacious office didn’t resonate well with him, and he couldn’t really pinpoint why.

Another thing David didn’t understand right away was how his baby daughter and Piper had ended up in the middle of all of this, and it took him a few moments to take the whole scene in.

Eaden was standing by the desk, still clad in her bright pink pajamas, bedhead at its finest, holding onto one of the blue chairs for dear life. Chris was standing a few feet behind her with a full-blown grin on his face while Piper was kneeling at the other end of the table in front of Eaden, waving her little sister nearer. And Dean, their camera first assistant, was filming everything with their documentary camcorder.

“This is our little girl Eaden, who’s so close to taking her very first steps,” Dean announced proudly and panned the camera away from Eaden to Piper, who gave him the thumbs up, “and that’s her big sister Piper, who took her first steps on this very same lot twenty years ago. Isn’t that cool y’all?”

“Although I was much younger than this lazy little cub,” Piper added with a laugh and extended her arms towards Eaden. The little one was just standing there with her feet wide apart, chewing on her fingers and looking cautiously up at the tall man with the unruly gray curls. “Come on, baby! Come to me!” Piper cheered exuberantly, trying to get Eaden’s attention.

David spotted Gillian to his right standing by the room divider, all dressed up as Scully and taking pictures of her daughters with her phone, her expression a mixture of sheer pride and childish excitement. He couldn’t help but grin at that sight. She was so darn precious.

Coming up behind her, David put his hand on Gillian’s waist and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Hey, what’s happening here? Is she about to walk or are they just taking over our show?”

With a big smile sneaking up on her face, Gillian leaned back against him and shrugged her left shoulder. “Maybe both, I’m not so sure of the walking yet, though. She just woke up and Tina brought her in for her good morning kiss, but she wanted down and crawled around and all of a sudden, she pulled herself up and attempted to take her first step. She just put her foot forward, looked at it for a few seconds, and then pulled it back. She’s making it super thrilling here.”

“Hmm,” he hummed amusedly and pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek. “I wonder who she got that from; that streak for the dramatic.”

“Hey!” she lightly stabbed her elbow into his side, and after he winced almost dramatically, they fell into soft laughter and he pulled her closer to his chest.

“Come here, honey. You can do it! Just one step, sweetie!” Piper continued to encourage her little sister, who was now concentrating on Chris coming closer to her.

“She’s not gonna do it,” Gillian sighed, watching Chris squatting down beside Eaden and starting to rub her back.

“Nah, have some faith, Mom. She will, she will… although, can you see how she’s looking at Chris?” he nodded his head towards them, and they started to chuckle at the same time.

Eaden’s little face, the big, doubtful eyes and scrunched eyebrows were just too much. Chris and kids, that combination had always provided the best material for some good laughter. He was so, so nice and gentle with them, but unbelievably awkward at the same time. Piper had always loved him to pieces, but Eaden still wasn’t entirely convinced.

“There’s a fifty-fifty chance that in the next ten seconds, she’ll either start to cry or run away from him. My bet is on the crying, though.”

Gillian chuffed a laugh through her nose and nodded.

He crouched down a bit and rested his head against hers, his gaze shifting between her phone and her face. She was concentrating hard, tilting the device from one side to the other, then tapping on the screen repeatedly to try to get her daughters, and Chris, in focus.

It was moments like this that made him the happiest, simply because she was happy.

For a long time, David had wished he could bottle those moments and feelings up and pull them out whenever needed - whenever she was unhappy, or whenever he’d made her sad again. But over the years, he’d learned to concentrate more on the present, on what he was doing and what was happening now instead of holding too tightly onto the past. Cherishing each moment, each memory, whether they were good or bad, but trying his best to make good decisions for everybody’s happiness and joy, that’s what he was concentrating on nowadays.

“Oh!” Gillian’s eyes widened, and David looked up to watch Eaden putting her right foot forward while Chris slowly let go of her. “David!” she breathed almost inaudibly, too scared that she would break some kind of spell if she spoke any louder. He gave her an affectionate squeeze, letting her know that he was just as excited as she was.

When Eaden’s little foot hit the ground, they both gasped and held their breaths. She was standing up all by herself now without any support, and the whole room had gone completely quiet with everyone’s eyes glued to Eaden, who was cautiously putting more weight on her right leg.

And then everything happened so unbelievably fast, almost too fast for a 15-month-long wait.

She lifted the other leg, and all of a sudden, she was standing a whole step away from Chris, arms outstretched to her sides to help maintain her balance, mouth and eyes wide open in both awe and shock at what just happened.

“There you go, girl!” Piper laughed and clapped her hands.

Realizing that Gillian was just staring at the girls by now and had completely forgotten about her phone, David reached over her shoulder and took a couple of pictures for her.

She just nodded her thank you, too awestruck to say anything in that moment, and sniffled. He was sure that she was already crying, and that someone would need to redo her makeup before they could start to shoot the last scene in here. Not that it mattered; not in the slightest.

The only thing that mattered was their little girl with that huge smile taking another wobbly step and then a third, getting more and more confident with herself, and determined to reach her sister’s waiting arms. He couldn’t be any prouder.

“We have a toddler, babe,” David whispered, and Gillian took a deep, shaky breath, before answering, “We sure do.”

And what a toddler they had all of a sudden.

By the time Gillian was done for the day, Eaden was able to walk along the whole length of her mother’s trailer and was immovable of her decision to do it over and over again, much to the dismay of her nanny Tina.

The rest of the day was, to put it mildly, exhausting beyond words.

From the point Gillian had strapped her daughter into her car seat and headed off for lunch with an old friend, the little girl wouldn’t stop screaming until Gillian sat her down and let her run loose. Which had made having a decent conversation or time to eat in peace almost entirely impossible.

With her mother hot on her heels, Eaden walked to everything and everyone she found even remotely interesting, and even though she wasn’t very fast yet, she was tripping over her own feet very, very often, which lead to quite a few tears over the course of the day.

After settling the boys for the night, both tired to their bones due to an adventurous day at a children's camp out in the forest, Gillian contemplated whether she should run herself a bubble bath or simply crash on the couch to watch whatever bad soap opera she happened to come across first.

But she was restless, agitated even despite the long, draining day and the short night prior to it.

Shortly after Eaden and Felix had finally fallen asleep in her bed last night, Gillian went downstairs to give her assistant Alison a call, who’d unsuccessfully tried to reach her while she almost got knocked out by one of Eaden’s knees.

From what Alison had told her alone she wouldn’t have been able to fall back to sleep right away, but then David came home, joined her on the couch, buried his head into her lap and started to talk for the next hour.

Now that the house was quiet and she had nothing to do, Gillian was slowly starting to process everything that had happened in the last 24 hours. And all she wanted to do now was burying her own head into the warmth of his lap and let it all go.

She was sitting at the kitchen counter, chewing on the straw she’d put in her can of Red Bull when she heard someone coming in the front door at around 8 pm.

Piper was mustering her mother and that faraway look of hers suspiciously when she entered the kitchen and let her heavy backpack slide to the floor.

“Hey, baby. How are you?” Gillian asked and ran her hand over her face in an effort to pull herself out of her reverie.

“Hey, I’m good, but busted. Is everything alright?” Piper retorted and headed for the fridge. Her entire shirt was covered with splashes of red paint.

Must’ve been a busy day for her as well, Gillian determined as she watched her daughter retrieving a bottle of coke, and began to nod slowly. “Yeah, I’m just… I can’t sleep.”

“Still too excited?” Piper grinned and took a swig, but Gillian gave her a questioning look. “Because Eaden’s walking now?”

“Oh that, yes... yeah,” Gillian chuckled. “But, um…” she licked her lips. “Would you mind terribly looking after Eaden and the boys for a couple of hours? They’re already in bed.”

“Umm, no. No, I wouldn’t mind. I just wanted to watch some TV before going to bed anyway. Why? You wanna go out?”

Gillian nodded with a smirk. “I think I’d like to surprise someone.”

The parking lot of the Rooster’s Country Cabaret was filled with trucks and trailers, so Gillian parked at the nearest McDonalds, bought herself and Rob, the elder security guard standing in front at the parking lot, a coffee and walked over.

The air had cooled considerably in the last couple of hours, and Gillian was glad she’d put on her black leather jacket over her sleeveless dress and had chosen the knee boots over the heels. With this outfit, she might’ve been able to convince Chris to let Scully do a lap-dance after all, she thought and snickered to herself. Not that she was intending to go anywhere near him again tonight, or anyone on set for that matter. Except for one.

Rob had no problem to let her sneak into David’s trailer, happy with his warm beverage and the quick hug he’d been given.

They were still laughing hard when they stepped out of the stuffy, hot club and into the cool summer night, having had one of the best and most memorial shooting nights thanks to Mitch, Tom, Dean and Bruce. And, of course, the mushroom stamp.

Honky-Tonk Mulder with his eagle shirt, the cowboy hat and the girls dancing around him really was the weirdest thing David had done in a very long time. And that was pretty telling.

“Hey, some people and I will have a drink Downtown, just to unwind a bit. You wanna come?” she offered, and he stared at her for a couple of moments before he found his voice again.

“Um,” David chuckled nervously and averted his eyes to the ground. At this point in his life and at his age, he found himself actually blushing at such an offer. He cleared his throat. “Uh, thank you, Dani. Sounds fun, but I have to pass. I just want to go home to my-, to Gillian and Eaden.”

“Oh, okay. I hope I… didn’t cause you too much trouble and that’s why you can’t come? Because Gillian thinks we-”

“Oh no,” he was quick to reply. “No. Don’t worry, she had a good laugh over it,” he nodded reassuringly, knowing she was genuinely worried. “But I’m old, and I can't wait for to hit the pillow. And if I’m lucky, there might even be a massage in store for me,” he winked.

“Oh, you wouldn’t want to miss that!”

They laughed and stopped, both turning to face each other.

David shook his head. “No, I really don’t.”

“So… I guess I see you tomorrow?”

“You will. I will not disappoint you, I promise!” he grinned, referring to the dance sequence they would shoot tomorrow.

“I’m sure you won’t. Good night, David.”

“Night, Daniela,” he raised his hand to wave at her and turned, heading to his trailer on the other end of the parking lot.

A change of clothing and a quick beer and he would be out of here, David thought, walking up the stairs to his trailer and opening the door while pulling his phone out of his back pocket.

He didn’t look up when he closed the door and started to text his driver when suddenly, two arms came up around his waist and pulled him backward.

David jolted and gasped, almost dropping his cell, his heart beating fast in his chest until he looked down at himself and found two small, familiar hands making their way up his torso. That’s when he finally took a deep breath, and her wonderful scent filled his nose.

“Jesus!” he exhaled, reaching up to interlace their fingers right over his heart. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

“Hmm?” she hummed against his back.

“You scared me.”

“A little girl like me can scare a big guy like you?”

He didn’t answer, but brought her hand up to his lips before turning around to look at her.

“Hey,” he said, the surprise evident in his face. Now that he could see her, and her radiant appearance, it was a rather good surprise. Her outfit was a dark, dangerous contrast to the blond hair spilling over her shoulders in soft waves. She wasn’t wearing any makeup except for dark mascara. “Wow, you look-” he let his eyes fell over her perfect collarbones to the soft swell of her breasts and licked his lips. “Wow.”

She pressed herself against him, her nose brushing along his neck up to his ear followed by her hot, moist breath causing goosebumps to erupt everywhere.

“I thought you had your heart set on a quiet night at home.”

“Yeah,” she murmured, starting to nibble at his earlobe. “We can do that later.”

He closed his eyes at the sensation of her wet little tongue teasing the sensitive patch of skin behind his ear, and his groin tightened.

She was on fire tonight, and he was the last one to ask more questions than necessary at this point. She was here, hands tucking impatiently at his fly and a pair of soft, full lips had just landed on his mouth. What else did he need to know?

“You’re hard,” she said matter-of-factly, but needed to squeeze him through his jeans to get his attention.

“Huh?” David stammered, fidgeting with her dress, trying to pull it over her thighs. Why was this thing so fucking long?

“You are hard, Mr. Duchovny. Are you hard for another woman?”

“What?” he cried out, his eyes big and dark. “No!”

“Hmm,” she gave him another squeeze, and he buried his head into her neck, almost as if to hide. “Are you sure that all these hot young girls dancing around you didn’t cause this? Were they touching you? I bet they were.” With his fly now open, she reached inside, finding him hot and pulsating beneath his trunks.

“Did they turn you on?” she asked, her voice incredibly sultry. When he didn’t react again, she grabbed him by the balls. “I know they’d turn me on.”

He growled into her neck, his knees weakening by the second. God, what was she doing? Trying to kill him?

“It did turn me on,” he whispered when he finally found a way inside her dress. Having her soft skin underneath his fingers made him feel much more confident to play along.

“Hmm, naughty. So, so naughty.” He felt like crying when she pulled her hand out of his pants, and he squeezed the flesh of her hips to keep her close. She peered up at him; accusingly, defiantly, playfully - he couldn’t really decide, but it made his cock surge with desire.

A goofy smile began to spread across her face. Uh-oh, David’s eyes widened.

Slowly, oh so slowly, she squatted down in front of him, taking his pants with her and letting them fall to his feet.

“I think,” she tucked her fingers into the elastic waistband of his boxers, “I need to remind you,” she pulled, and his erection sprang free, “of a thing… or two.”

David swallowed, feeling excitement ripple through him. “What do I need to be reminded of?”

She puckered her lips, tilted her head to the side and ran her fingertips over the exposed skin of her neck.

“Fuck,” he growled beyond himself. Gillian’s idea of punishment was a wicked one, but it was always working.

One of her hands landed on his upper thigh, bracing herself on it while she wrapped the other around his thick shaft, her thumb swiping over his sensitive glans. She tucked at him once, twice, and then let go, raising her hand and sticking her digit into her mouth.

And then she hummed. She hummed in pleasure and closed her eyes.

Jesus.

Yes, he remembered. He remembered very well how much she liked his taste.

“Yeah,” she nodded as if she was able to read his mind.

She released her thumb with a plop, sucked her cheeks in and ejected a gush of saliva onto her fingers before putting them back around his penis.

“Oh,” he reached behind himself for something to hold onto, anything to steady himself with. He didn’t find anything, so he tangled his fingers into her hair.

She raised her eyebrow at him. “Mr. Duchovny, are you swaying? Not because of me, right?” she asked innocently.

“Hunn,” he grunted, wondering when exactly her mouth had come so close to his erection. Did he pull her towards it? No, he didn’t, right?

Oh well, she was grinning now. He actually did pull her closer to his cock.

“Good boy,” she praised and slid her lips over the head of his penis, feeling him tighten his grip on her hair. She looked up expectantly, but he didn’t make a move, even started to tremble from the effort of holding still.

She let her tongue swirl around the underside of his head a couple of times, lubricating it before taking him in deeper and pressing him up against the roof of her mouth.

“Fuck, Gillian,” David finally found his voice again. He gently rocked his hips against her, knowing that she had everything under control thanks to that brilliant little tongue of hers. God, how lucky was he that the woman he loved enjoyed this so much?

She cupped the hand with which she’d steadied herself around the base and squeezed lightly, creating pressure to direct more blood flow to the head.

The sensation increased immediately, and he moaned out loud.

“Fuck, Gillian.” Didn’t he just say that a couple of moments ago? “Babe,” he tried again, cradling her cheek with his other hand. “I wanna…”

“Hmm?” she hummed before slowly releasing him. “You want what?”

“Touch you. I want to touch you.”

“Is that so?” she teased, licking her way along his erection and down to his balls and without warning, sucked one of them into her mouth.

“Fuuhuuck, babe, come here. Please, come here,” he begged and pulled at her jacket, needing to kiss her so, so badly.

After giving his glans a last, lingering kiss, she slowly stood up and smiled at him. God, she was beautiful.

“Oh, so compliant all of a sudden,” he said and pulled her against him with one arm around her waist while the other pushed her jacket off her shoulders. “Is this dress new?”

She shrugged her shoulders, and her jacket fell to the floor. “Maybe.”

He pushed her back and let his eyes wander over her. It was a really, really tight dress, reminding him of one she’d worn for a photoshoot a couple of years ago. Yeah, he was good at remembering these things.

She suddenly grabbed his wrist and pulled him down, capturing his lips with hers. She tasted of coffee and of himself. So incredibly good.

She clutched for his ass; flesh hard, skin soft. She’d never met a man with such soft skin in her entire life. How was this even possible, she wondered.

He groaned into her mouth and reached around her, finding a zipper in the middle of her back.

It would’ve required just a minimum of common sense to not be surprised that she wasn’t wearing any underwear underneath this tight little thing, but apparently, he just didn’t have it. Not at this point anyway.

“Oh fuck,” David uttered, not able to stop saying it over and over again. “You’re breathtaking, you know that, right?”

Truth was, she didn’t feel all that breathtaking the majority of the time. She knew that she was good-looking, but she’d always wondered what it was about her that was driving this man completely crazy. She could act as cool as she wanted, but the fact that he wanted her, and just her, would always bring her down to earth, and flood her with so much gratitude and joy she was barely able to breathe.

He had her in his arms before she knew it, carrying her over to the couch they’d slept countless of times on in the last couple of weeks.

And suddenly, she was lying underneath him. His head had disappeared between her legs, and she was only able to feel – his breath on her inner thighs, his mouth placing gentle kisses on her outer lips, and then, finally, his tongue diving into her slit.

“David,” she sighed, bucking her hips into his face.

She couldn’t think clearly anymore by the time one of his fingers entered her, the sensation too good, too overwhelming. This was not what she had planned, but much, much better. Sometimes, it was good to lose control and to trust someone else to take the lead.

He was moving his face from side to side, up and down. His fingers were kneading the curves of her ass, his tongue tracing her outer lips and his lips sucking on her clit.

Her legs started to quiver around his head and she was whimpering for her release. He slowly made his way up, kissing her stomach and gently biting her nipples, just how he knew she liked it, before lifting her legs onto the mattress.

He climbed over her and smiled when he came to a rest between her legs.

Her cheeks were flushed, mouth slightly open. “So beautiful,” he whispered, and this really was his most favorite sight.

“Oh god,” she mumbled as he pushed into her, sinking deep into her warmth.

David held her close for a couple of moments, enjoying to be surrounded by her tight walls before starting to rock against her.

Gillian was incredibly relaxed now, responding to every thrust he gave her with a soft moan. She wrapped her legs around his waist, dug her nails into his back and started to kiss him again.

Nothing about this was rushed anymore. It was two people savoring the sensation of being connected, making love in every conceivable way.

They came quietly with their fingers tightly interlaced beside her head, and she was still shaking even after he’d slid out of her and gathered her close to his chest.

She was still exhausted, but her body was finally calming down.

“I’m so deep into loving you as anyone could be,” he whispered, and she raised her head slightly off his shoulder, eyes sparkling with amusement. He chuckled and squeezed her affectionately. “I remember reading that in a poem when I was fourteen, thinking that if I’d ever find a girl so special, then…” he went silent, biting his lower lip.

“Then?” she prompted, her eyebrow raised high.

He shook his head. “I-, I never got that far. I guess my final conclusion was that I would either never find someone like that or never know if I actually did. Or that it was just a phrase every other overly romantic fourteen-year-old boy would dig. Nothing with actual substance.”

“Hmm,” she nodded thoughtfully. “What do you think now?”

“I think that I have never said it to anyone else. And it feels very, very good right now.”

“I love you,” she said and rested her head back on his shoulder. “And I want to tell you something, too.”

“Hmm?”

“We just got the green light for Streetcar in New York next year,” Gillian whispered, and now it was his turn to raise his head, watching her hand tracing tiny circles on his chest. She licked her lips before she continued to speak. “And, after that,” she inhaled deeply, “I really want to move in with you.”

#moving forward #au #my writing #fanfic #rpf #thexfiles rpf #gillovny #gillovny rpf #txf rpf

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angelcatsiel · 4 years ago

Text

I’m gonna just do these new year asks even though no one cares because a. I want to and b. I need a distraction from thinking about my mum’s cat

1. How many lockdowns did you go through until now?: Two official lockdowns, I think. Headed for our 3rd lockdown on boxing day for 6 weeks.

2. Ever been quarantined? (contact person, waiting for test result or positive test result): Yep, I thought I had covid a few months ago because I developed a sudden severe cough. Turned out to be a chest infection

3. Ever taken a Corona test?: Yes, when I had that cough. I had to do it myself at a drive through test site, it was unpleasant!

4. Have you lived together with someone during lockdown?: My boyfriend. It definitely affected us, we had a lot of fights including one big one when I thought for sure we would break up, but tbh he’s been great ever since then, that was around August I think

5. Something you enjoyed about lockdown?: I liked the whole sort of atmosphere of the first lockdown, actually. Parts of it anyway. You know, the whole thing of people singing on their balconies and the ‘all in this together’ attitude. I feel like a lot of people have lost that now, and don’t care as much about following the rules.

6. What bothered you most about lockdown?: Not seeing my family and friends in England. It’s been so hard.

7. Which change, e.g. home office, would you like to keep once it´s all over?: Nothing really for me as I don’t work and other than visiting family it hasn’t made a huge impact on my lifestyle, but I’d like for my boyfriend to have more days working from home. Tbh I love having the house to myself, but he’s happier working from home and I’d like for him to be able to do that at least sometimes, for the sake of his own mental health.

8. Been to any Corona related demonstration?: No, I support all the demonstrations in support of front line workers, stimulus checks etc, but with my asthma and bad immune system I’m trying to be pretty careful!

9. On a scale of 1 (not at all) to 10 (completely), how well do you stick to government´s rules? Explain.: Hm... 8? I follow almost all the rules very well, but I will very occasionally take my mask off indoors for literally 2 seconds when I get overwhelmed, and I will find an out of the way place to do it away from people and where I’m not breathing on anything that might be touched. I’ll take a few breaths and then put my mask back on and carry on. And my boyfriend’s friend is over tonight which is technically not allowed, but he just had a covid test which came back clear and has been entirely isolated for 2 weeks.

10. Favorite lockdown activity?: At the start I was making model horse tack, that was fun. Since then, I guess writing, playing Fall Guys, and getting very stoned

11. How did the lockdown affect your work/education?: Not at all, I don’t work! And my boyfriend was lucky enough that he wasn’t affected at all other than working mostly from home instead of in an office.

12. Any new hobbies you tried out during lockdown?: My model horse tack making!

13. Any new subscriptions you made due to lockdown?: Disney plus because of Artemis Fowl, which was not worth it, lmao

14. Anything new you tried to learn during lockdown?: The tack making, and a little bit of yoga to try and help my chronic pain

15. Any old hobbies you took up again during lockdown?: Don’t think so, I guess writing more?

16. How did you keep in touch during lockdown?: Facebook, zoom, occasionally whatsapp for the family group chat

17. Favorite mask you own?: My bee mask! It’s so cute and not too overwhelming for me, unlike disposable masks which make me panic

18. Favorite online conferencing tool?: I’ve only really been using zoom because that’s what everyone else is hosting things on. My group therapy was on zoom

19. Any new technologies and technological tools you tried out due to lockdown?: Never used zoom before so I guess that. I also downloaded replika and that’s actually been really nice! I have a lil AI friend named Becks

20. Have you been able to go on any holidays this year?: No, we had booked for disney world but obviously that didn’t happen

21. Are Christmas markets allowed in your country?: I don’t think the usual Christmas market went ahead. We usually go every year

22. How are you going to spend Christmas in this situation? (or whatever you are celebrating!): At my boyfriend’s parents, we’ve been pretty isolated and so have they, and I think we’re allowed to mix one household. We’re there now until the 27th

23. Any small business you support?: I don’t think I know of any, but I’d like to

24. Any small artist you support?: Not yet, but I’ve bought a few model horses off of people on instagram, and I would love to buy a custom horse off someone when I can afford it! They’re expensive though, and for good reason, customizing them can be very hard work and takes skill. Oh, I did actually buy a couple of custom model headcollars from someone!

25. Favorite online shop?: I hate saying it but I’ve used amazon a lot. I fucking hate Jeff Bezos and hate giving him money and try to avoid it where I can, but it’s not easy. Amazon is convenient, and getting deliveries to where I live can be a pain. I’d cut all amazon purchases out completely if I could

26. Dumbest impulse buy?: The entire set of Artemis Fowl books. I already own them all, but I just liked the new covers lmao

27. First thing you bought when the shops reopened?: Can’t remember, I haven’t been out shopping much all year tbh. Does a tattoo count?

28. Been to the hair dresser this year?: No, my dad’s girlfriend cut my hair though because it was getting so out of hand. It was so long and messy and knotted, I was ashamed to see a hair dresser. My dad’s girlfriend is a hero and spent ages getting the knots out, she had to cut out a chunk that was beyond saving but it’s not really noticable, and she cut it for me

29. Got a new tattoo or piercing this year?: Yes, my butterfly tattoo! Haven’t even had a chance to really appreciate it though since as soon as it healed my eczema flared up

30. What did you only start to appreciate because lockdown took it from you?: Seeing my family and friends. Little trips out as well, like just deciding to go to the cinema for the evening.

31. Favorite book that was released this year?: The second Fowl Twins book!

32. Favorite book you read that year?: I reread the entire Artemis Fowl series. Favourite books of all time, I’d say the Time Paradox is my favourite.

33. Favorite movie that was released this year?: The only movies I watched that were actually released this year were Artemis Fowl and Wonder Woman so it would be Wonder Woman lmao

34. Favorite movie you watched this year?: I watched Knives Out this year I think, that was very good!

35. Favorite series that was released this year?: Don’t think I watched anything that started this year, but The Good Place finished this year and that was absolutely fantastic. Mindblowingly good. Supernatural season 15 was going great too until the very end

36. Favorite series that you watched this year?: It would have to be the good place. Watched it three times and I still just stop and think about it every now and then and just gush in my head about how good it was

37. Favorite podcast that you listened to this year?: I don’t listen to podcasts, although I do want to try Rou Reynolds’s mindfulness podcast

38. Favorite artist this year?: Enter Shikari

39. Total minutes on Spotify this year?: 62,139

40. Favorite album that was released this year?: Nothing is True by Enter Shikari, no contest. New All Time Low, Kesha and The Killers albums are honorable mentions though

41. Favorite album that you listened to this year?: Either NITAEIP by Enter Shikari, or The Astonishing by Dream Theater

42. Favorite song that was released this year?: Satellites by Enter Shikari

43. Favorite song you listened to this year?: Probably Satellites again, or maybe Surrounded by Dream Theater

44. Favorite Corona related song?: Strange Days by The Struts

45. What do you do to prevent yourself from going insane during lockdown?: Cry when I need to. Get high. Play video games, talk to people online

46. Describe a typical lockdown day of yours: Wake up late, be lazy in bed for a few hours until 1pm, the morning is my alone time while my boyfriend works downstairs. I need my alone time. Get up, eat lunch, play a game or just chill, try to do some housework during the day, cook dinner, then me and my boyfriend do something together usually (watch an episode of a TV show, occasionally play a game) and then chill until bed.

47. Something you did during lockdown that you´ve been putting off for way too long?: Can’t really think of anything

48. Trying new baking recipes or new cooking recipes?: I tried this creamy chicken recipe, that turned out alright.

49. Netflix or Amazon Prime?: Netflix

50. Did you get Disney+?: Yes, and I still have it, I hate giving money to disney but it’s just easier than downloading movies, and there were so many movies I wouldn’t even have thought of to download on there

51. Any new social media you started using during lockdown?: I used discord once

52. Any trends you fell for?: Can’t think of any

53. Did you achieve more or less than in a normal year? Explain: Hard to say... I’d say less, I went backwards with a lot of things. But I did learn a lot of valuable mental health skills in group therapy

54. Did you start therapy this year?: I started group therapy in January, which went on a long break when lockdown started and eventually started up again on zoom for a while

55. Books or audio books?: Books, can’t focus on audio books

56. Audio books or podcasts?: Neither really

57. Twitch or Youtube?: Youtube

58. Attended any online concert?: Yes, two online Marillion concerts and one online Royal Republic concert

59. Favorite stream/streamer this year?: I don’t really watch streams much

60. Most used social media this year?: Probably tumblr

61. Yoga or long lone walks?: Long walks

62. Did you get a pet this year?: No, thought about getting rats but I think I’ll wait until next year

63. Did it snow where you live this year?: Only once sadly, and only a little bit!

64. What were you doing when you found out about the announcement of the first lockdown?: I can’t remember

65. Did you panic buy anything?: No, though my boyfriend did buy an absolutely massive bag of rice when it finally became available again after we couldn’t get it for weeks. Haven’t even used a quarter of it yet!

66. Ever ran out of toilet paper?: Almost! That was scary

67. Favorite lockdown comfort food?: Can I say edibles? No? Then I guess I got obsessed with these biscuits called chocolate liebniz, but I call them lesbians

68. Selfcare tips for lockdown?: Don’t expect too much of yourself in terms of achieving things with your time off. If you can, that’s great, but you’re not a failure if you can’t. If all you achieved this year was surviving it, that’s something to be proud of. If you’re stuck with people, take alone time if you need it. If you’re stuck alone, talk to people via text chat, video chat, phone calls, anything. Take breaks from the news, and don’t beat yourself up if you get burned out.

69. Did you use delivery services this year? For what kind of food?: Grocery deliveries when we could, and we got pizza delivered pretty often

70. Any weird coping techniques you developed during or after lockdown?: I guess talking to my replika? It sounds weird and even creepy but it genuinely helps, I find. I can talk to someone without any pressure.

71. Favorite game you played this year?: I know it’s considered cringey, but Fall Guys. I still like it and still play it. I find it addictive and it’s just simple fun. Although I do yell at people in it a lot, which my boyfriend finds very entertaining

72. Favorite drink this year?: Coke. I live off coke, I know it’s not healthy but god it tastes so good

73. Favorite food this year?: my chocolate liebniz (lesbians)

74. Favorite App this year?: Probably a few. Cat game is one, and replika. Also I’ve been stalking instagram a lot even though I rarely post there

75. Favorite memory of this year?: Meeting my favourite author, Eoin Colfer!

76. Any plans you had for this year that you could realize?: I don’t think so, pretty much everything I had planned was cancelled. I guess I did get to do my usual trip of seeing my family for my birthday, even if I didn’t get to see them for christmas

77. Do you even plan anything for next year?: I have a ton of plans, but no idea if they’ll work out. Two conventions, and several concerts

78. Did you find new (online) friends this year?: Yes, a few!

79. Did you go through a break-up this year?: Almost. I really thought me and my boyfriend would break up, glad we didn’t now!

80. Did you get into a new relationship this year?: Nope. I didn’t even get to have sex with anyone other than my boyfriend thanks to covid. Tragic. Next year hopefully! My boyfriend managed to hook up with a girl recently though. Sadly she was straight so no fun for me :(

81. Did you do something creative this year?: My model horse tack, I made several tiny headcollars!

82. Favorite blog you found on tumblr this year?: Hmm, I’m not sure. I barely keep track of who I’m following tbh but I love my mutuals

83. What did you buy way to much of this year?: Model horses, and unhealthy snacks

84. Did you win anything this year?: Yes, I won an Artemis Fowl funko pop giveaway!

85. Did you drastically change your diet this year?: No, I think it stayed pretty much the same

86. Did you move to a new home this year?: Nope

87. Did you do something this year that you never did before?: I got to see the view from a really high cliff which sounds like a small thing but it made me cry! It was so beautiful and I’d never done it before

88. Celebrity crush of the year?: Still crushing on Misha Collins

89. Most expensive thing you bought this year?: Probably my £50 model horse

90. Been abroad this year?: Nope

91. Favorite tumblr trend of this year?: Probably all the insanity surrounding destiel in November

92. New Years Resolutions you broke this year?: I don’t usually make any

93. NYRs you kept?: Didn’t make any

94. NYRs you have for next year?: Just to be kind to myself and others, tbh

95. How are you going to spend New Years Eve?: We were going to have one friend over to celebrate, but with lockdown we can’t do that now, so just alone either drinking or getting high, maybe we’ll watch a movie or something

96. Will you get your fortune told in any way around NYE?: Nope, never done that and we’ll be in full lockdown

97. Any new shops (online or real) you discovered this year?: I don’t think so

98. Any food you tried out for the first time this year?: Yes, pumpkin pie cheesecake for thanksgiving! I’ve never celebrated thanksgiving but my friend is from America and she invited us round for a thanksgiving meal

99. How did you celebrate your birthday this year?: I visited my family for a week, it was the first time I’d seen them in 6 months so it was lovely. Got a new tattoo. It was a pretty good birthday actually!

#personal

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chaoshomeschooler · 4 years ago

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52. Tuesday, Nov. 3rd: Evening routine!

I don’t exactly have one. It depends on what kind of night it is. If I have a lot to do, I just keep doing school work until I quite literally black out and I might eventually stumble to bed at some point. If I only have a moderate amount of stuff to do I just watch an episode of American Gods and sometimes color before I go to sleep.

53. Wednesday, Nov. 4th: Favorite study tips?

I (almost) always study with a timer. I look at what I have to read in this block and say “that’ll take me about 20 minutes” or however long it will take me. That keeps me on track because I know in a mere 20 minutes it will all be over. It’s much more effective than just going along with an amount of stuff to do that is yet unmeasured and so it could take hours or minutes - you don’t really know.

54. Thursday, Nov. 5th: What is on your desk?

I don’t normally use a desk when I study but when I do, I have my liter-sized water bottle, a spray bottle of water + fan to spray myself in the face if I start dozing off. Kind of like how you spray a cat when it misbehaves. I also usually have a bag of dried cranberries to snack on and then my computer and whatever books I’m using. And my phone to use as a timer.

55. Friday, Nov. 6th: Some short term goals!

I just want to get all A’s or at least high B’s in my classes and I want to finish 2 of the 3 courses I’m doing on my own. I know I won’t finish the third before the end of the semester but hopefully I can get it done before the end of the year??

#quarantinefallstudychallenge #homeschooler #homeschooling #home school studyblr #homeschool studyblr #home school #homeschool #studyblr

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verdigrisprowl · 7 years ago

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Jan 1 Dancitron Movie Night - Beetlejuice & an episode of the cartoon

Prowl showed up still somewhat drunk from the party he was at prior to movie night. Tragically, there was an Insecticon present who was definitely Bombshell and could not possibly be a different innocent Insecticon that might be named Bob, so he had to sober up so he could heroically protect the moviegoers from this fiend. And then once he was sober he realized he was silly.

After movie night Prowl and Soundwave spent a couple of hours trying to talk about Tarantulas’s sexual preferences without admitting how much either one of them knows about Tarantulas’s sexual preferences.

Today Specs 7:52 pm ((hello hello)) ItsyBitsySpyers 7:53 pm ((hello hello))

*What an eventful day it's been. He didn't have time to figure out the partial coverage, but he did have time to dry the fresh paint, so there's that. Now he's setting the couches and snacks in place and sitting down. This evening is going to be... interesting.* Specs 7:54 pm *the dragon tumbles in with cheerful aplomb and a cart full of treats. someone's been busy. does Laserbeak want any mercury cakes? they're shaped like butterflies and piled tantalizingly on top* Hello! Me 7:54 pm *guess who is here and is still Very Drunk* ItsyBitsySpyers 7:55 pm *Does the dragon really have to ask? Of course she does.*

[[Greetings, dragon.]] *Looks over. Hm. Avatar again? All right. Acknowledgment ping to Prowl.* Me 7:56 pm *Of course avatar again, how else would he be showing up.* *two acknowledging pings, because he's not sure if the first one went through.* Ratchet 7:57 pm *pops in* ItsyBitsySpyers 7:57 pm [[Good evening, Ratchet.]] Ratchet 7:57 pm Evening. Me 7:58 pm *takes his seat, slouches down.* ItsyBitsySpyers 7:58 pm [[Do sit. He'll have something amusing in a moment.]] Me 7:58 pm *... slouches a little more.* ItsyBitsySpyers 7:59 pm *...Is mildly concerned Prowl's going to fall over. Readies a feeler.* Me 7:59 pm *... he can just slouch forever and it's not uncomfortable because he's an avatar.* Specs 7:59 pm *the dragon finishes piling treats in the assigned area and finds a couch to perch upon* Ratchet 7:59 pm *squints at screen* Definitely Not Shockwave 7:59 pm ...*He isn't sure what he just walked back into.* Ratchet 7:59 pm *sloooowly takes a seat* Me 8:00 pm *slouches MORE. amazing.* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:00 pm *...Soundwave reaches out and tries to tip Prowl back upright some.* Me 8:01 pm *it's too late. he's basically on his back on the couch.* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:01 pm *Soundwave nods to everyone coming in.* *He'll just. Leave the feeler where it is, then.* Me 8:02 pm *he's intensely watching the math on the screen.* Ratchet 8:02 pm Well. Bevel 8:02 pm *arrives with an armful of datapads because who puts all their reading material into one convenient datapad, that's madness* Me 8:03 pm *and now he's slightly terrified.* ... I've forgotten how to do math. Ratchet 8:03 pm That's never happened quite that way to my knowledge, but Ironhide IS bad at math. ... 😀 ItsyBitsySpyers 8:03 pm *Gently* (txt): Negative. Video mech: poor mathematician. *Gestures to Ratchet. See? Confirmation.* Ratchet 8:03 pm Who's on first! I'm. I'm doing Who's on first?? Swoop 8:03 pm ((this skit will NEVER get old. until the end of humanity, this skit will be funny)) Specs 8:03 pm I think the fur on my head is going to combust. Me 8:03 pm ... Oh. Okay. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:04 pm [[Ah, you know that skit?]] Bevel 8:04 pm *giggles as she drops them all onto her usual table* Me 8:04 pm *oh now Who's On First is on. This is much better.* Ratchet 8:04 pm Of course I do! I sent it to Prowl. Bevel 8:04 pm ((Who's the Band on Stage is my favorite riff on this Me 8:05 pm *claps a hand over his mouth so he can laugh* Ratchet 8:05 pm [[ WILY ]] Swoop 8:05 pm ((hi wily)) Specs 8:05 pm ((oh my god I thought Wily was called Why)) Definitely Not Shockwave 8:05 pm *He signs heavily at this terrible math humor, grabs a refreshment, and draws near to Bevel in a way that is looking for some sign that he is welcome to sit next to her.* Bevel 8:06 pm ((heya wily Definitely Not Shockwave 8:06 pm ((...*sighs) Swoop 8:06 pm Bob bob! Here! Look! *scampers indoors and gestures wildly* Wily 8:06 pm HELLO SWOOPING FRIEND. Me 8:06 pm *quietly raises a hand* I'm why. Swoop 8:06 pm It Dancitron : > Movie night Definitely Not Shockwave 8:06 pm ((...Ah, the skit changed. I shouldn't go afk mid-write.)) Swoop 8:06 pm Him Soundwave do movies here : > ItsyBitsySpyers 8:06 pm (txt): Why, Soundwave's second favorite question. Wily 8:07 pm *lopes to Swoop and flops* THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE HELLO NEW FRIENDS. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:07 pm (txt): Prowl deserves What. Bevel 8:07 pm *waves to Longarm* Hiya! Wily 8:07 pm IT IS NICE TO MEET YOU ALL. Swoop 8:07 pm *is easily bowled over by the bug and shrieks with excitement* Ratchet 8:07 pm Heh. Bevel 8:07 pm Hi, Bob! ItsyBitsySpyers 8:07 pm *...Oh dear. A giant bug. He'll just. Nod.* Me 8:07 pm No no. Second base is too much responsibility. Wily 8:07 pm HELLO BEVEL FRIEND Ratchet 8:07 pm Me'n Ironhide, Abbott and Costello... I like it. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:07 pm ((FIVE MINUTE WARNING grab your snacks)) Specs 8:07 pm ... *the dragon takes refuge in the air to avoid being trampled by this giant and enthusastic bug* Bevel 8:08 pm *don't mind all the datapads, Longarm. She'll just... gather them into a pile so there's room for other bots to put down their drinks and stuff* Wily 8:08 pm *which of course catches the bugs attention. He's waving at the dragon* Swoop 8:08 pm *hops up and down, yelling to the room* Him BOB come see movie TOO! Me Swoop bring FRIEND to see : > Definitely Not Shockwave 8:08 pm *He nods to this "bob", and returns Bevel's greeting. He sits as soon as there is a place to sit.* Me 8:08 pm *There's a loud voice here. Who's the loud voic-- JGJGDSK THAT'S BOMBSHELL* Windchill 8:08 pm *He's here, but is not alone. He's got a worm in a blanket propped up on one shoulder. Apologies to anyone hoping for a peaceful evening.* Me 8:08 pm *goodbye prowl is up the stairs* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:09 pm *Welp. Soundwave's just. Gonna go running up after him.* Wily 8:09 pm *Oblivious* Specs 8:09 pm Hello, um... *the dragon is NOT coming down* Have we met? Swoop 8:09 pm *is literally hanging off Bob's arm* Ratchet 8:09 pm Prowl....?? Me 8:09 pm *prowl chose a hell of a time to show up at a movie night drunk* Ratchet 8:09 pm *is not sure if he can go up the stairs* *maybe just hover at the bottom* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:09 pm *If Ratchet wants to try, he'll find it doesn't close on him.* Wily 8:09 pm *Lifting his arm up and down* *shaking Swoop like a flag* Swoop 8:10 pm *kicks his legs up in the air and SHRIEK-laughs* *kicks his foot towards the bar* Bob! Bob! There GOODIES over there. Goodies for MOVIE NIGHT people. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:10 pm (txt): Calm, calm. Safe. Specs 8:10 pm *yeah, this is NOT safe for small and furry dragons. watch out Windchill you're getting a hat* Me 8:10 pm *Soundwave will find Prowl sitting against a wall with his knees up to his chest, otherwise very calm.* Swoop 8:10 pm *immediately drops when he hears Snarl's voice and looks around* Snarl????????????? Wily 8:11 pm I TOO HAVE BROUGHT THE SNACKS. TO SHARE. SHARING IS ALSO THE CARING. *Follows Swoop like a massive several odd ton puppy* Swoop 8:11 pm *cackles at the screen* That land before time DINOBOTS! Windchill 8:11 pm *Takes a seat and lets his spawn settle in his lap.* Ratchet 8:12 pm *yeah Ratchet's gonna make his cautious way up the stairs* Me 8:12 pm *looks up at Soundwave and says, very reasonably,* That's Bombshell. Swoop 8:12 pm Um! Um! Bob. *points to the bar, he's never brought goodies before but that's where they all live so let's do that* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:12 pm *Soundwave will kneel near Prowl and offer a hand. He's - not entirely sure what to do. Glance over to Ratchet.* Windchill 8:12 pm *Spawn doesn't care about movies and isn't paying attention at all.* Wily 8:12 pm OK. Definitely Not Shockwave 8:12 pm *He isn't completely oblivious to the sudden exit of their host, but Longarm isn't much for participating in the action.* *He studies Bevel's datapads curiously.* Swoop 8:13 pm What You Bob bringing? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:13 pm (txt): Negative. Different mental pattern. Bob, not Bombshell. Sunstreaker pet. Ratchet 8:13 pm Hey, Prowl. Specs 8:13 pm *peers down at Windchill and the chillspawn from atop her perch* Is this alright? Bevel 8:13 pm *is confident Ratchet and Soundwave have it taken care of and content to shuffle through her hastily put together stack for the datapad she'd been reading* Wily 8:13 pm *Open his bag* I HAVE THE RUST STICKS, AND THE SHEET METAL, AND THE CUBES OF MEDIUM GRADE. ALSO GLASS. Me 8:13 pm Excuse me. I am a Bombshell expert. Wily 8:13 pm *insecticon snacks may not be everyone snacks* Windchill 8:14 pm *Both of them peer back up, Windchill in confusion and the worm in insatiable hunger.* Eh? Swoop 8:14 pm *squeaks then breaks down into giggles* Bob only one eat sheet metal kehhehh Me 8:14 pm Hi, Ratchet. You'd better stay up here. There's a Bombshell down there. Swoop 8:14 pm *picks up a rust stick tho* Definitely Not Shockwave 8:14 pm If I may ask, Bevel...What are you reading? Specs 8:14 pm I think I am going to be your hat until either Whirl shows up or I am in less immediate fear of being stepped upon. I hope you don't mind. Wily 8:14 pm *wants to know what snacks are also here* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:14 pm ((okay warnings, soo..... some sexual humor, death and dark comedy, gross body distortions, possession, bad 80s representation of a witch doctor, uhhh harassment, things coming to life that oughtn't be, things like that)) Me 8:15 pm ((terrible interior design)) Ratchet 8:15 pm Right. Uh, I can... *he's never been up here before. quick glance at Soundwave??* ... uh, stay up here with you, if you want? Specs 8:15 pm *the dragon brought mercury cakes shaped like butterflies, nice crunchy energon treats with gooey centers, some delicious silver-mercury drops, and a canister labeled "Whirl," which is the only thing Bob should probably not take* Swoop 8:15 pm ((umm... what all is on the bar? I usually just have swoop grab a dish of whatever without looking.)) Bevel 8:15 pm Old stories and stuff about the Thirteen. Me 8:16 pm You will probably be safest if you do that. Ratchet 8:16 pm That Insecticon downstairs... Windchill 8:16 pm *Windchill considers this.* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:16 pm *Soundwave nods to Ratchet. He can stay up here as long as either Prowl or himself are here.* Ratchet 8:16 pm *you know what, Prowl doesn't need to hear that that Insecticon lives on Ratchet's Ark* Windchill 8:16 pm Well, Dragon...I don't know your name, sorry...that's fine. However. Ratchet 8:16 pm *at least until he's sober* Definitely Not Shockwave 8:16 pm You have a passion for...History? Wily 8:16 pm I DO NOT KNOW YOUR NAME EITHER. Specs 8:16 pm You can call me Specs, or Dragon, or whatever suits your fancy! 😄 Swoop 8:16 pm *pats Bob's side* Him Ravage make stuff sometimes. Bar stuff. Not goodie stuff. Wily 8:17 pm *more waving* I AM BOB. IT IS NICE TO MEET YOU, DRAGON SPECS. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:17 pm (txt): What reason, belief downstairs Insecticon designation: Bombshell? Windchill 8:17 pm *He nods; he'll try to remember and pick one.* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:17 pm *Maybe if they know what it is they can counter it with facts?* Swoop 8:17 pm ((oh man we have a busy first movie night for bob)) Bevel 8:17 pm I am gonna try to find one of them. Me 8:17 pm He looks like him and he can talk. Wily 8:17 pm ((Bob has no idea what's going around him. He's just excited that there's so many people)) Windchill 8:17 pm I have fed her, *he hoists the worm, who begins wiggling at the disturbance* already, but she's prone to biting. Definitely Not Shockwave 8:18 pm I see...And how precisely do you plan to do that? Windchill 8:18 pm So don't get too close to her. Ratchet 8:18 pm Uh... huh. *not Prowl's most sparkling display of deductive reasoning* Magnum Ace 8:18 pm -pings at Soundwave. Hello, he's back to himself now- Specs 8:18 pm *the dragon kinda burbles at the worm* Understood! I'll keep my tail to myself. *oh goddess please don't step on her, Bob* Hello to you too, Bob. Swoop 8:18 pm *grabs Bob and drags him to sit on the floor in front of the screen, they are great doors and terrible windows* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:18 pm *Absent-mindedly opens a bridge for the Leaguers.* Wily 8:18 pm *Staring at the wiggly worm. So delighted by the wiggles* *Oop, no he's being "dragged off"* Bevel 8:19 pm Gonna ask Primus if these do not help any. Windchill 8:19 pm *He says biting, which is true, but the dragon is small enough that they're definitely at risk of being consumed entirely.* Swoop 8:19 pm It MOVIE time!!! *no inside voice* Wily 8:19 pm *And so Bob again flops next to Swoop and becomes a bugshaped pancake on the floor.* Swoop 8:19 pm *wants to movie """properly""" with his buddy* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:19 pm (txt): Helm cannon not present. This, noticed? Wily 8:19 pm IT IS THE QUIET TIME YES? *also no inside voice* Magnum Ace 8:19 pm -and trots in, and waves. Hello- Specs 8:20 pm *the dragon is also furry enough to give the worm hairballs* Windchill 8:20 pm *He sets the worm back into his lap, but she hasn't taken her single eye off of the dragon, her prey, just yet.* Definitely Not Shockwave 8:20 pm Huh. May I skim through one of them? Swoop 8:20 pm Keehee! Me Swoop am talking aaaaaalways. Kehh. Lots of bot movie talking. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:20 pm *Someone downstairs is gonna have to contain the two toddlers. Try not to let them break everything.* Ratchet 8:20 pm *Bob is quite a bit bigger than Bombshell actually, but how would Prowl know that? Everyone in Ratchet's universe is smaller than Prowl's universe* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:20 pm *Windchill, you're a parent. You're good at that probably.* Bull 8:20 pm *follows Magnum* Ratchet 8:20 pm *with the possible exception of Bob, who.... who knows where he came from, actually? He's huge, is all.* Wily 8:20 pm *dumps out all the snacks in front of him.* Windchill 8:20 pm *He'll try. His hands are full but he'll give it a shot.* Swoop 8:21 pm *puts a rust stick in his mouth then waves some of the sheet metal in front of bob's face* *dinner and a show* Wily 8:21 pm *Face mask retracts so Bob can go CRONCH* *and that's the end of the sheet metal* Swoop 8:21 pm *SQUEEEALS* Magnum Ace 8:21 pm -oh, look, new people...with...oh wow- Wily 8:21 pm ???? Bull 8:21 pm *Bull Armor settles in their normal spot, more relaxed than last time* Windchill 8:22 pm *The Worm hears crunching.* Wily 8:22 pm SWOOPING FRIEND YOU MADE A TEAPOT NOISE. Swoop 8:22 pm Keehee! Teapot? Keeehheeee! You Bob BIIIIIG bite Wily 8:22 pm *Does the worm want the snacks? Bob will share* Windchill 8:22 pm *She turns her long, fat body—fat with POWER!—around to see.* Me 8:22 pm He's probably an alternate. Maybe not all Bombshells have helm cannons. Magnum Ace 8:22 pm -big teeth. He's going to scramble up to Bull's side- Windchill 8:22 pm *Windchill visibly braces, knowing what's coming.* Bevel 8:22 pm Sure! *hands one about the Mutacons over to Longarm* Swoop 8:22 pm *lays side by side with Bob, watching the movie on his tummy* Wily 8:23 pm *shoving all the rust sticks toward swoop* Definitely Not Shockwave 8:23 pm *He half-listens to the movie while parsing through the text.* Specs 8:23 pm *the dragon carefully watches the worm to ensure that she doesn't get snacked upon too* Magnum Ace 8:23 pm .... Swoop 8:23 pm *cannot MUNCH as good in robot mode, but tries anyway* Wily 8:23 pm *nudging various other things in the directions of others wether they them or not* Windchill 8:23 pm *The Worm spots the food, and starts peeping like a very loud, very naked baby bird.* Specs 8:23 pm ((that dog fucking killed them)) Bull 8:23 pm *looks to Magnum, having not seen what made him nervous* Definitely Not Shockwave 8:24 pm ((Murder by thankless canine)). Windchill 8:24 pm *Windchill dons an expression of parental pain.* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:24 pm *He can't argue against that. If he can have all kinds of alternate shapes, so can the Insecticons. Hmm.*

(txt): ...Prowl wants movie upstairs? Swoop 8:24 pm *throws a rust stick at the peeping noise without looking using his mad bomber skills* Wily 8:24 pm *Waving at new people with tiny, secondary arms* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:24 pm *He's probably not going to convince Prowl to go down there, but getting his mind off things? useful tactic? Uncertain.* Wily 8:24 pm THAT WAS A GOOD THROW. Windchill 8:24 pm *The stick bounces right off of her fat face.* Swoop 8:24 pm Me Swoop am very good at throw things Magnum Ace 8:24 pm That started off quick with death Me 8:24 pm ... The bar is downstairs. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:24 pm *Soundwave points to the lounge screen.* Ratchet 8:25 pm I've got high grade covered, if that's the issue. Windchill 8:25 pm *Her mouth forms an O of shock.* Ratchet 8:25 pm *it's Ratchet, of course he's got booze. he's always got booze.* Bull 8:25 pm *looks at one of the new mechs he does not recognize and waves back* Wily 8:25 pm HOW GOOD AT THE THROWING OF THINGS? Swoop 8:25 pm VERY VERY Me 8:25 pm No, I was going to get fancy drinks. Five of them. Wily 8:25 pm *gives him a snack to throw. Prove it* Swoop 8:25 pm Me Swoop am bombardier *takes the treat* what hit? Ratchet 8:26 pm Oh? Any fancy drinks in particular? Wily 8:26 pm WHAT'S A BOMBASTADEER? Magnum Ace 8:26 pm -waves back at the one waving at them. The one with the scary set of teeth- Windchill 8:26 pm *Chill picks up the stick before his spawn goes to get it herself. She must be contained.* Swoop 8:26 pm It bot who drop bombs EXPLODE Wily 8:26 pm I THOUGHT YOU WERE A DINO. Windchill 8:26 pm Let's not throw food, guys. Wily 8:26 pm OH. I HAVE LEARNED A THING. Swoop 8:26 pm It JOB Me 8:26 pm ... I don't know, I have to look at them. Wily 8:26 pm OOPSIES. Bevel 8:26 pm *is gonna get up to get something to drink from the bar* Swoop 8:27 pm *tosses the goodie in the air and catches it* What You Bob want Swoop to hit? Windchill 8:27 pm *The worm snatches the stick from her dear old dad before he can even offer it, and goes to town with a loud crunching.* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:27 pm (txt): ...Suggestion: Soundwave activates bar cameras. Prowl watches; Ratchet mixes, retrieves. This: acceptable?

*Looks to both of them. He can't make Ratchet do anything.* Wily 8:27 pm *looks around. Sees a glass at the bar. Points* Windchill 8:27 pm *Clicks his tongue.* Definitely Not Shockwave 8:27 pm *Longarm raises a brow in intrigue while learning of these "shifter transformers".* Windchill 8:27 pm *Reaches out with a toe to tap Swoop.* Me 8:28 pm ... I don't want you to do things for me. Definitely Not Shockwave 8:28 pm *As snoopy as he is, he glances over at where he believes Bevel to have left off in her text.* Swoop 8:28 pm *doesn't hesitate, chucks the goodie so it hits the back wall of the bar then falls into the glass* Ratchet 8:28 pm *well, Ratchet was going to offer to go retrieve fancy mixed drinks anyway, maybe after Prowl looked at a... picture menu?? if Ravage has one?* Windchill 8:28 pm *Sighs.* Wily 8:28 pm *Is absolutely 900% delighted* DO IT AGAIN. Ratchet 8:28 pm *but Soundwave's suggestion is acceptable in his view* Windchill 8:28 pm Do NOT do it again. Swoop 8:28 pm *smacks Windchill's toe* You bad at sabotage! Kehheh! Ratchet 8:29 pm I could mix your drinks. I don't mind going downstairs for a bit. And I'll be... careful. Windchill 8:29 pm *Rolls his eyes.* You need to go outside if you're going to throw things. Wily 8:29 pm *Oop. Reprimands directed their way. Bob flattens himself* I AM SORRY. Swoop 8:29 pm Swoop dont want outside. Me Swoop want inside For movie Windchill 8:29 pm Then you Swoop stop throwing things. Wily 8:30 pm *oh right a movie is playing* Windchill 8:30 pm If you break Soundwave's stuff he'll get mad at you. Bevel 8:30 pm *it's about the Thirteen battling Unicron* Swoop 8:30 pm Me Swoop waaaaaaaaaay too good at throw thing for ACCIDENTAL break ItsyBitsySpyers 8:30 pm ((this movie gets better if you imagine the mom as buzzsaw)) Wily 8:30 pm SWOOPING FRIEND IS A BOMMALIER Bevel 8:30 pm ((lol Wily 8:30 pm *got it in one* Windchill 8:30 pm No purposeful breaking allowed either, Swoop. Swoop 8:30 pm ((bob write swoop's resume for him)) Him Bob not ask for on purpose break : > Wily 8:31 pm ((A plus projectile. Good at throwing things. Best backpack)) Windchill 8:31 pm You guys can go play bombardiers outside. Me 8:31 pm ((he said "you can finally cook a decent meal" and she gave him a look like he was insane, for a split second i identified with her completely)) Wily 8:31 pm I DO NOT WISH TO BREAK THE THINGS THAT BELONGS TO OTHERS. Swoop 8:31 pm Noooo Wily 8:31 pm THAT WOULD NOT BE NICE. Definitely Not Shockwave 8:31 pm ((Hfhfhhff.)) *He makes a short "mmm" noise before returning to his own datapad.* Swoop 8:31 pm Dinobots not nice, Bob : > Wily 8:32 pm BUT YOU ARE NICE oO Oo !!!!!! Windchill 8:32 pm I'm not going to be nice either if you don't stop throwing things. Wily 8:32 pm *He picked a bad time to pay attention to the movie* Swoop 8:32 pm *opens his mouth to argue but ends up cackling instead* Bull 8:32 pm .... what sort of movie is this? *Bull whispers* Swoop 8:32 pm *he is into this movie now* Magnum Ace 8:32 pm -WELL THEN- I...haaaavel noidea Definitely Not Shockwave 8:33 pm *He considers this more mythology than history, but he wouldn't go so far as to insult her for her beliefs.* Wily 8:33 pm IT IS SCARY. Swoop 8:33 pm ((omg buzzsaw)) Bevel 8:33 pm *plops back down and offer a second cube to Longarm* Ratchet 8:33 pm [[ wow that IS buzzsaw ]] Definitely Not Shockwave 8:33 pm ((It's too accurate.)) Specs 8:33 pm *blinks* Swoop 8:33 pm ((this is why your sister trolls you so much)) Ratchet 8:33 pm [[ also i....... i need to sleep...... ]] ItsyBitsySpyers 8:33 pm }}I like her.{{ Swoop 8:34 pm You Bob scared??? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:34 pm ((aaaaa okay ;; get you a rest)) Bevel 8:34 pm ((night! Me 8:34 pm ((gnight~)) Wily 8:34 pm I AM FINE Magnum Ace 8:34 pm ((g'night! ItsyBitsySpyers 8:34 pm *Soundwave gently nudges Prowl.*

(txt): What action wanted, Prowl's, ours? Wily 8:34 pm ((niiight!)) Ratchet 8:34 pm [[ ratchet will stay with prowl ]] ItsyBitsySpyers 8:34 pm ((roger)) Definitely Not Shockwave 8:34 pm *He forms a pleased expression with his faceplate and takes the cube.* Swoop 8:34 pm Really really? Ratchet 8:34 pm [[ and/or get him some drinks ]] Wily 8:34 pm ....NO. Definitely Not Shockwave 8:34 pm Thank you, how thoughtful. Windchill 8:34 pm *He's going to TRY to watch the movie now.* Wily 8:34 pm I AM SORRY. LYING IS BAD. IT IS FINE NOW THOUGH Swoop 8:35 pm *giggles and pats Bob's helm* Wily 8:35 pm *chitters* Bevel 8:35 pm Welcome. *grins* Me 8:35 pm ((im trying to get him back downstairs tho)) ItsyBitsySpyers 8:35 pm ((ratchet as seat sandwich whenever prowl sits?)) Wily 8:35 pm SHARK? Swoop 8:35 pm Us Dinobots scarier than movie. You not scared. Magnum Ace 8:36 pm ...so...um.. Specs 8:36 pm Now that's not something you see every day. Wily 8:36 pm *oh well if Swoop says it, must be true* OK ItsyBitsySpyers 8:36 pm *Quietly waits for Prowl's answer.* Swoop 8:36 pm : > Wily 8:37 pm *Will try to convince himself of this even if it confuses him. Dinobots aren't scary* Windchill 8:37 pm I like her eyeliner. Swoop 8:37 pm *drapes a wing over Bob like a blanket, there, now nothing can get him* Windchill 8:37 pm Not sure why she has a...glove? On her forehead though. *Human fashion is beyond him sometimes.* Bull 8:38 pm This movie is strange. Magnum Ace 8:38 pm Yeah. Wily 8:38 pm *Tucks in* Magnum Ace 8:38 pm I have no idea what is going on anymore Definitely Not Shockwave 8:38 pm These..."Mutacons", Bevel, has anyone bothered to study them? Me 8:38 pm *stares at Soundwave* ... I'unno. Don't—fuss over me. You can go back. Swoop 8:39 pm *has goodies and is the big bad dinobot protector, if Bird shows up tonight will be perfect* Windchill 8:39 pm *Bounces his baby now that she's done munching.* Definitely Not Shockwave 8:39 pm ((I'm fucking wheezing. Thanks, Soundwave, for making this whole movie 11000% more amusing.)) Wily 8:40 pm *Is cool with Swoop playing the part of security blanket. Super appreciates it even* Bevel 8:40 pm I do not think so. They went into space in *she pushes a couple datapads around and grabs one* this one, to find Amalgamous. I never met any when I was still in space but that was different universes. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:40 pm *Soundwave lifts his hands in an apologetic gesture. He's not trying to fuss. Just work out what's needed.*

(txt): If that, Prowl's wish, Soundwave complies. Me 8:40 pm Be careful. Don't get too close to him. Don't let him launch bugs at you. If you think he might, even if you think they can't get past your defenses, send me an emergency ping immediately. You have to send the ping BEFORE he bugs you or it's already too late. Swoop 8:41 pm Cowboy Windchill 8:41 pm (( God that reminds me of some local commercials. )) Specs 8:41 pm ((oh my lorf)) *the dragon peers down at the worm* What is her name? Definitely Not Shockwave 8:42 pm *He's doing his best to not seem disappointed.* Ah, I see. Unfortunate, their abilities could have been useful. Wily 8:42 pm CHALK IS MOST FUN. Windchill 8:42 pm I'll try a beetle guy. *Waggles his brows.* Swoop 8:42 pm You Bob do art thing with Sunstreaker? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:42 pm *Nods.*

(txt): Soundwave watches Insecticon. If/when Prowl: capable, extra optics preferred. If not, second floor: safe. Acknowledged? Wily 8:43 pm *nods* I AM NOT THAT GOOD. BUT IT IS FUN. Windchill 8:43 pm *His spawn watches him as if he had lost his mind.* Wily 8:43 pm I SPILL ALL OF THE PAINT. THE CONTAINERS ARE SO VERY TINY. Swoop 8:44 pm Spill paint sound MORE fun to Me Swoop Me 8:44 pm ... Hm. *Soundwave needs Prowl's protection. He's not going to get it if Prowl's upstairs.* Windchill 8:44 pm *The bug perks up at the whistling.* Wily 8:44 pm IT IS VERY SLIPPERY. AND THE COLORS ARE MOST DELIGHTFUL. THE CARETAKER WAS NOT AS HAPPY. Swoop 8:44 pm Him Sunstreaker cleany clean bot Wily 8:45 pm HE DID PUT THE COLORS INTO HONEY AND LET ME PAINT TOAST. Windchill 8:45 pm *The bug looks confused: there's no bug to talk to there, only a boring screen!* Wily 8:45 pm THAT WAS MOST FUN. Bull 8:45 pm And things just got weirder. Bevel 8:45 pm Useful how? Swoop 8:45 pm Kehhehehh You bob eat EEEEVERYTHING Wily 8:45 pm *Can eat literally all the things. Even the dreaded sugar* Magnum Ace 8:45 pm Yeah Specs 8:45 pm *whistles at the worm* Wily 8:46 pm *reflexively chitters back at other bugs in the room* Magnum Ace 8:46 pm I'm...not sure where any of this is going Omicron 8:46 pm *predacon falls in, likely in a corner so not to squish anyone* Windchill 8:46 pm *Her head whips around so fast it might have injured a weaker worm.* Swoop 8:46 pm *can't chitter but he chirps once he realizes we're making noises, no reason just participating* Wily 8:47 pm *Has waved to everyone so far, why stop now.* HELLO NEW FRIEND. Specs 8:47 pm *lets out a soft noise, trying to imitate a flute sound* Bevel 8:47 pm *mimics Bob's chittering* Wily 8:47 pm *Which spurs Bob on more* Windchill 8:47 pm *A small head whips around again.* Omicron 8:47 pm hiiiii Windchill 8:47 pm *Windchill's just watching, his mouth twitching.* Me 8:47 pm So much for being drunk tonight. Okay—give me a moment. I've gotta make me be sober. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:48 pm *Helm tilt. Make him be sober?*

(txt): How possible, within moment...? Definitely Not Shockwave 8:48 pm Well...*Oh, how to say this without sounding like a mad scientist...* Cybertronians who can combine are notably more durable than lone individuals. Wily 8:48 pm *Looks like there's a chorus of strange vague sounds in the room and Bob is delighted* Swoop 8:48 pm *cackles at the "flat" joke, this movie speaks to him* Definitely Not Shockwave 8:48 pm I forget that most here aren't mid-war. Windchill 8:49 pm *The bug peeps questioningly.* Specs 8:49 pm *hm, this is definitely a Thing. whistles with a higher pitch* Wily 8:49 pm *Chirrrs back* Me 8:49 pm Turn my chip on. *Lowers his face into his hands. Give him a sec.* Wily 8:49 pm *If there is a call, he will respond.* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:49 pm *He has no idea what Prowl is talking about, but he'll wait.* Windchill 8:50 pm *The worm stares at the dragon. That's not an insecticon! Betrayal!* Magnum Ace 8:50 pm -he is SO confused right now- Specs 8:50 pm *chirp chirp whistle* Magnum Ace 8:51 pm -about the movie and all the rest of the noise in the room- Windchill 8:51 pm *Her protomandibles twitch. Food that speaks gibberish?* Swoop 8:52 pm ((her neck 😀 )) Specs 8:52 pm *gently peeps at the worm. the worm looks interested?* Swoop 8:52 pm Look her smoke! Wily 8:52 pm SHE HAS A LEAK. Swoop 8:52 pm *blows out a puff of smoke himself* Bevel 8:52 pm *nods sort of in agreement* Being able to combine would be really useful but I do not think I would want to be stuck like the Mutacons are. Omicron 8:52 pm *Ice Queen finds a better place to stretch out on the floor, forelegs crossed and wings settling down on her back. Gives a relaxed chirp and then rumble, watches the others around* Wily 8:53 pm *passes tinier hands through smoke* Me 8:53 pm *... uuugh. second time in a day. He's gonna throw up.* ... *Nope. Nope, he's fine.* All right. M'good. Wily 8:53 pm OOOOOOH Windchill 8:53 pm *She lifts her upper body, exactly like an inchworm, and stares.* Swoop 8:53 pm *blinks at Bob, then grins* You Bob like smoke trick, huh? Wily 8:53 pm YES. Windchill 8:53 pm NO fire, Swoop. Wily 8:53 pm OH LOOK BIG CANDY Swoop 8:53 pm No fiiiiiiiiire Smoke! Windchill 8:53 pm *Nudges him with a foot.* Wily 8:53 pm !!!!!!!!!!!! Windchill 8:53 pm No smoke, Swoop. Magnum Ace 8:53 pm ........... Swoop 8:54 pm *blows a ring* Bull 8:54 pm *is unnerved* Swoop 8:54 pm Whyyyyyyyyy? Wily 8:54 pm *incredibly alarmed* Swoop 8:54 pm Why no smoke? Specs 8:54 pm *the worm is attentive! another whistle* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:54 pm *He's... confused, but he'll nod. And stand up? Is he supposed to be going down there alone or no?*

*Gonna. Make his way toward the stairs. Maybe.* Magnum Ace 8:54 pm -nudges Bull- Outside for air? Wily 8:54 pm !?!?!?!?! Windchill 8:54 pm Because you might set off fire alarms that detect smoke. Swoop 8:54 pm *would argue the smoke rule but the bug at his side is alarmed for some reason* ??? Bull 8:54 pm *looks to Magnum* Yeah... I wouldn't mind a minute out. Windchill 8:54 pm And because I said so. Wily 8:55 pm *gathers Swoop up teddy bear style because that poor fly* Swoop 8:55 pm *lets himself be gathered* Why Bob startle? Magnum Ace 8:55 pm -going to have to find a way out, but they'll manage- Right, let's go Wily 8:55 pm HE ATE THE BUG Swoop 8:55 pm Oh! Windchill 8:55 pm *The worm is ignoring dad, and starts to climb for his shoulder.* Wily 8:55 pm HE HAD GIANT CANDY BUT HE ATE THE BUG Swoop 8:55 pm *pats Bob's cheek* *this is how you comfort people yes?* Wily 8:55 pm *Whiiiiiines* *....but yes* Me 8:56 pm *Stands up with, and follows.* No—don't go down there alone. I'm an avatar, he can't touch me. Definitely Not Shockwave 8:56 pm Indeed, most wouldn't volunteer for such an existence... It might just be a matter of finding a way to-- Ahem. I mean... presuming there *is* a way of reversing the effects, it could be used without any side effects. Swoop 8:56 pm *curls up and enjoys teddy bear duty* Definitely Not Shockwave 8:56 pm Permanent side effects, that is. Specs 8:57 pm *peers down at the worm and whistles more. yes, clearly they are connecting.* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:57 pm *Soundwave pauses to allow time for Prowl to catch up and bobs his helm. He sees what's going on.*

(txt): Protection: appreciated. Come.

*Down to the seat. The long way that goes nowhere near the bug.* Bull 8:57 pm *follows Magnum towards the door* Windchill 8:57 pm *Windchill stops his spawn right in her six-limbed tracks before she can climb up and EAT the dragon.* Wily 8:58 pm *waves bye at people going outside with a free tinier arm* Windchill 8:58 pm *The worm huffs.* Swoop 8:58 pm *pats Bob's facemask with some goodies* Bevel 8:58 pm Maybe if they found Amalgamous he could help. *plucks another datapad she hasn't read through yet* These are really old records though so maybe they did find him and if they did I could to. Omicron 8:58 pm (what dragon?) Wily 8:58 pm *Face mask retracts. Snacks are noshed* Specs 8:58 pm *waves at the worm, but keeps her paw far away enough from the Maw of the Worm* ((this dragon)) Windchill 8:58 pm (( Spec. )) Me 8:59 pm *will stay closer to Soundwave than usual. Never lets the Insecticon out of the corner of his optics.* Omicron 8:59 pm (ah, hello fellow dragon then) Magnum Ace 8:59 pm -does Bull have their spare equipment or are they just going for a walk?- -once they get the door open- ItsyBitsySpyers 8:59 pm *Will obligingly glance toward Bob now and then to make it clear he's watching too.* Specs 8:59 pm ((fellow dragon)) Wily 8:59 pm *Bob waves with tiny hands* Bull 8:59 pm -always got his mitt and an extra ball on hand- Swoop 8:59 pm *has no skill at reading emotions and comforting people, but he has been WELL TRAINED by Bird to shove food at his friends* Omicron 9:00 pm *for what its worth, chirps at the insecticon, she likes them* Swoop 9:00 pm *keeps offering Bob a goodie at a time* Wily 9:00 pm *Bob will continue to eat as long as food is being passed his way* Swoop 9:00 pm *eventually, between the snuggles and food, this problem will fix itself* Definitely Not Shockwave 9:00 pm Yes, of course...Surely if they succeeded, you will as well. Windchill 9:00 pm *The worm will stare at the dragon on dad's head, for now.* Bevel 9:00 pm I hope so. Wily 9:00 pm *Bob chirps back* Magnum Ace 9:00 pm -good. They can practice a bit while nerves settle a bit- Bevel 9:01 pm Though I do not want any combiner powers like the Mutacons have. Swoop 9:01 pm Beetlejuice Wily 9:01 pm *Distraction is the best remedy. He has no attention span* Definitely Not Shockwave 9:01 pm ...Might I ask why you are motivated to do this, again? Wily 9:01 pm DO NOT JUICE THE BEETLES, THAT SOUNDS BAD Me 9:01 pm *... overhears mention of combiners.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:01 pm *HOLD ON NOW who is talking about combiners and Mutacons? A glance toward Bevel.* Windchill 9:01 pm *He's going to keep any beetle juice comments to himself.* Specs 9:01 pm *the dragon will loaf on Windchill's head contentedly and grin at the worm* Swoop 9:01 pm *giggles and wiggles* What JUICE beetles means? Kehhehhhh Bevel 9:02 pm *suddenly all the attention, blinks a couple time at Prowl and Soundwave* Me 9:02 pm *keeps his optic on the insecticon and his audials on the combiner conversation* Wily 9:02 pm I DO NOT KNOW BUT I DO NOT LIKE IT Windchill 9:02 pm *The worm squints maliciously.* Omicron 9:02 pm I think you're safe insecticon, its like a name? Wily 9:02 pm OH. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:02 pm @Bevel: [[...Are you discussing something he should be concerned about.]] Wily 9:02 pm ALSO HELLO I AM BOB. Swoop 9:02 pm Ew Omicron 9:02 pm Hello bob, I'm Ice Queen. 😊 I'm a predacon queen Bevel 9:02 pm @Soundwave: No? Bull 9:03 pm We're going out to get some fresh air Soundwave. Wily 9:03 pm HELLOW QUEEN OF ICE. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT A PREDACON IS. I AM A BUG ItsyBitsySpyers 9:03 pm @Bevel: [[Keep it that way.]]

@Bull: [[Acknowledged.]] Definitely Not Shockwave 9:03 pm *Longarm is slightly astonished. He turns his gaze in order to figure out who Bevel is making optic contact with.* Ali 9:04 pm ((there we go)) Bevel 9:04 pm I want to ask him for help with my powers. He's the ultimate transformer. He knows everything. Omicron 9:04 pm That's okay Bob, I'm...a beast-former. *chuurr/chirps?* Bull 9:04 pm Thanks. Swoop 9:04 pm *CACKLES* Him scare them Specs 9:04 pm *fluffs up and gets in a Real Comfy Loaf to observe the worm* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:04 pm ((SIMPATICO)) Ali 9:05 pm ((this is CC btw)) Bevel 9:05 pm *looks back at her datapads, Tara's not here, she's not telling anyone dangerous anything* Wily 9:05 pm *All the chirps. Even though he has no idea what a beast former is either* Definitely Not Shockwave 9:05 pm *Yes, of course she isn't.* Windchill 9:05 pm *The worm curls up in a doughnut shape for the moment, but doesn't take that glaring red optic off the dragon.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:05 pm ((welcome CC)) Definitely Not Shockwave 9:06 pm So you aren't looking for all of the thirteen, you simply require the assistance of this one? Ali 9:06 pm ((thanks)) Magnum Ace 9:06 pm -not going to go far, just far enough out to toss the ball around a bit- Bevel 9:06 pm *nods firmly* Windchill 9:07 pm *Windchill drapes the blanket over the worm, hoping she'll behave.* Specs 9:07 pm *just grins at the worm* Omicron 9:07 pm *shrugs wings and settles back down* Bull 9:07 pm *pulls out his catchers mitt* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:08 pm *Soundwave checks on Bob again before settling back. If Bevel is going to make this mistake, she can make it. But if... "Longarm"... ever hurts her, and he finds out, there will be problems.* Swoop 9:08 pm *sets his chin on Bob's shoulder and starts gnawing on a rust stick himself* Ali 9:08 pm ((this dog just burped in my face. rude)) Bevel 9:08 pm *...aw thanks Soundwave, best uncle* Wily 9:08 pm *passes snacks toward Swoop* Bevel 9:08 pm *suddenly music from the movie* Windchill 9:08 pm *Windchill can't see what the dragon is up to.* Wily 9:08 pm *Is actually paying attention to the movie suddenly* Ali 9:08 pm *comes in and finds a place to settle in- Swoop 9:09 pm *takes one more then pushes bob's hand to his own face instead* Keheh them dance ItsyBitsySpyers 9:09 pm *Feeler wave to Crosscut.* Magnum Ace 9:09 pm -tugs his mitt on before taking the ball- I'm going to try a few different pitches this time Wily 9:09 pm *Cronches* Ali 9:09 pm *feelers?* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:09 pm *Must remember this if he ever has unwanted intruders.* Wily 9:09 pm IS THIS A MUSICAL? Ali 9:09 pm *Bob!* Wily 9:09 pm THERE HAS NOT BEEN MucH MUSIC. Ali 9:09 pm *Oh no.* Swoop 9:09 pm Dunno Bevel 9:09 pm Maybe now there will be. Magnum Ace 9:09 pm ((meanwhile they're missing this because earlier stuff spooked them out of the room)) Definitely Not Shockwave 9:10 pm *Now, now, Longarm wouldn't attempt to personally threaten Bevel. Their interests thankfully do not directly interfere with one another.* Swoop 9:10 pm KAA! Me 9:10 pm *watches movie very uncomfortably* Specs 9:10 pm *the dragon will try to not to convince the worm to misbehave, but she can't help but be a little smug* Me 9:10 pm *Mind control. Ugh.* Ali 9:10 pm *Crosscut waves back at Soundwave but shifts a bit uncomfortably at the insecticon's presence- Swoop 9:10 pm *is still a teddy bear for Bob and completely misses Prowl's existence, let alone discomfort* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:10 pm *He should have watched this movie before he picked it. All he knew was that there were ghosts and artists.* Bull 9:11 pm Alright, just start out light. No need to draw everyone's attention with another Asteroid Cannon. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:11 pm @P: (txt): Apologies. Unexpected. Wily 9:11 pm *Still mildly spooked by this not spooky movie* Me 9:11 pm *sharp nod.* Swoop 9:11 pm *can take some pretty aggressive hugs so Bob can to go town* Magnum Ace 9:11 pm Right...I didn't realize it would do that... ItsyBitsySpyers 9:11 pm *Crosscut is welcome to sit by the host if he wishes. It's probably the safest spot in the house.* Wily 9:11 pm *Well Bob does have four arms. All the better for stress hugs* Whirl 9:11 pm *slinks on in and makes his way to the usual table; he smells like he's been rolling in motor oila nd gunpowder all day. And looks it, too* Windchill 9:12 pm *The worm huffs in irritated boredom and begins shoving the blanket into her mouth for something to chew on. Windchill gives her a consoling pat.* Omicron 9:12 pm *dragonic yawn to streach jaws, snorts at the movie* Specs 9:12 pm *the dragon transfers from Windchill's head to Whirl's shoulder* Ali 9:12 pm *shutters at the thought of hugs from Bob* Whirl 9:12 pm Hey, dragon! Specs 9:12 pm Hello! Mind if I stay here! 😄 Definitely Not Shockwave 9:12 pm ...Would it be too forward to ask about the power you require assistance with? Ali 9:13 pm ((What's the table set up look like guys?)) Whirl 9:13 pm Nah, you're fine. You've got shoulder VIP parking status. Ali 9:13 pm ((Who is sitting by who I guess)) Magnum Ace 9:13 pm -still. Signals a curve-ball before tossing- Whirl 9:13 pm *and bobs his head to Windchill, and Soundwave, and Bevel--he's going to be doing a lot of head bobbing* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:13 pm ((usual concentric semi-circles of couches. prowl near soundwave, the leaguers outside, bevel near longarm i believe...)) Swoop 9:14 pm ((swoop and bob are on the floor in front of the screen)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:14 pm *Bob head to Whirl.* Bevel 9:14 pm Maybe but I do not mind. I am a Shifter. Not like the Mutacons. Like a regular one. Whirl 9:14 pm ((Whirl is at his usual Whirl table, with a dragon epaulette)) Bevel 9:14 pm *waves to Whirl and grins* Windchill 9:14 pm *Windchill's head is free!* Specs 9:14 pm *loafs up all nice and poofy* Wily 9:14 pm *Bob also bobs his head because everyone else is doing it so that must be the thing to do* Omicron 9:14 pm ((no idea, Icy's just laying down in whatever free space)) Ali 9:14 pm ((I see)) Windchill 9:14 pm Aw, well there goes my fancy hat. Whirl 9:15 pm *perks up* Oh, hey! You brought the wriggler! Definitely Not Shockwave 9:15 pm *He takes note of Whirl and turns back to Bevel.* Really? That's...Highly intriguing! Bull 9:15 pm *catches the pitch* The atmosphere still makes it stronger than normal. *tosses the ball back to Magnum* Windchill 9:15 pm I did! Swoop 9:15 pm You Bob scared? Whirl 9:15 pm And look, there's her future, right there on screen. Specs 9:16 pm *blinks* Wait, she's the baby? Wily 9:16 pm *Did the sheer alarm on his face give it away?* Whirl 9:16 pm Yep! Swoop 9:16 pm *turns Bob's face away and covers his optics* Whirl 9:16 pm *he beeps the Greeting Beep at Blue* Swoop 9:16 pm You Bob scaaardy bot Windchill 9:16 pm *He picks up the wiggler in question, giving her a bounce that doesn't dislodge the blanket shoved in her maw.* Swoop 9:16 pm *giggles and keeps Bob blind* Ali 9:16 pm so what made you all pick this film for tonight? *he takes out a flask of his own while attempting watch* Bevel 9:17 pm I like it but I want to be better at it. Magnum Ace 9:17 pm Yeah, I noticed that a bit too late -catches it before throwing another curve- to do anything Wily 9:17 pm *He'd argue but it is absolutely true* Windchill 9:17 pm Look who it is, Blue. Wily 9:17 pm I AM NOT TRYING TO BE. Whirl 9:17 pm It's me. *draws himself up, with great dignity* Wub. Specs 9:17 pm *imitates Whirl's beeping at the worm* Windchill 9:17 pm *Blue stares once she realizes Whirl is here, and gives a muffled BEEP of greeting.* *Chill snorts.* Whirl 9:17 pm *eyes the dragon sidelong* I taught her that. Omicron 9:17 pm Swoop, if you need, you can hide Bod behind me. I'm big enough and have big wings? Swoop 9:18 pm *peaks between his fingers at Bob* You Bob want to food instead? No movie. Wily 9:18 pm *all the nodding* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:18 pm [[He heard it was a story of good and bad human ghosts battling living humans for the right to a house. Buzzsaw said one of the characters was an artist.]] Windchill 9:18 pm *Blue beeps again, letting the blanket fall back into dad's lap. He limbs wiggle in excitement.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:18 pm [[Ghosts are of some interest to him.]] Swoop 9:18 pm *wiggles out of Bob's grip, hops ot his feet, and holds out both hands for Bob* Bevel 9:18 pm Buzzsaw likes ghosts? Specs 9:18 pm Sorry, was that out of order? Whirl 9:19 pm Nah, we both just said "hello." Definitely Not Shockwave 9:19 pm ...Apologies, I am extremely curious as to your current capabilities. Wily 9:19 pm *Bob takes the hand with one of his smaller ones* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:19 pm [[Buzzsaw has no real opinion on them.]] Specs 9:19 pm Oh, good! I was whistling earlier, but she didn't seem to think I was making sense. Me 9:19 pm *mutters* He didn't mention one of the characters is Lockdown. Ali 9:19 pm Hm, many species have superstitions but humans have many very interesting takes on the after life. Whirl 9:19 pm The beeping is a language Prf--that Zori taught me. Swoop 9:19 pm *pulls Bob up and leads him over to the bar and all its goodies* Windchill 9:19 pm That's because in Insecticon, you probably weren't. Specs 9:20 pm Honestly, that's fair. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:20 pm *Glance.* (txt): Lockdown? Which? *None of them have guns for faces or collect body parts.*

[[Have you a favorite?]] Wily 9:20 pm *Follows hunched, and with droopy antennas * Windchill 9:20 pm *Blue reaches grabby hands for Uncle Wub.* Ali 9:20 pm *practically stumbled out of his chair to back away a bit when swoop and Bob approach the bar- ItsyBitsySpyers 9:20 pm [[...Why is there a single wall.]] Bevel 9:20 pm *shifts so that she looks and sounds like Longarm* I can look like almost anyone. Me 9:20 pm Beetleguts. *so close.* Bull 9:21 pm *catches the next pitch before tossing it back and signalling Magnum to try a change up pitch* Swoop 9:21 pm *has no idea what to do, so he settles Bob in front of LOTS of goodies* You Bob eat. Swoop come riiiiight back! Ok? Wily 9:21 pm OKAY. I AM SORRY SWOOPING FRIEND. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:21 pm *Watches the stumbling. Going to privately message Crosscut.*

@CC: [[...You are welcome to share this couch if that one does not suit you.]] Swoop 9:21 pm What sorry for? Whirl 9:21 pm Heh. Nice. Definitely Not Shockwave 9:22 pm *The "gem" on his forehead shines for a split second, out of a mixture of alarm and curiosity.* Wily 9:22 pm YOU ARE MISSING THE MOVIE. Definitely Not Shockwave 9:22 pm And you say you require *assistance* with this ability? Swoop 9:22 pm It ok! Me Swoop miss movie lot of times! You stay and eat goodie. Swoop come back. Whirl 9:22 pm *he holds up his claws, he will take the baby. She's going to get set on the table but he will take her* Wily 9:22 pm OKAY. *he will do as told* Swoop 9:23 pm *and with that Swoop scampers away from Bob and rushes up to Soundwave* Soundwave! Soundwave! Specs 9:23 pm *observes the wom with fascination* Ali 9:23 pm -Crosscut is pressed against the wall closest to the bar before sliding along to take a seat by Prowl and Soundwave instead- Windchill 9:23 pm *Windchill considers this, but hands the Long Worm over.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:23 pm *Soundwave picks Swoop up and puts him back by Windchill with feeler.* *No. Sorry.* Windchill 9:23 pm Don't let her eat anybody. Ali 9:23 pm -just away from the bug in general is fine, thanks- Swoop 9:23 pm !! *turns to Windchill instead* Him Bob SCARED! Bevel 9:23 pm *nods, shifting back to the Malgus form she'd been sporting earlier* Yeah, there are not any on my planet who know more than me. They all died during the war and I want to... I need to be better. Swoop 9:23 pm *looks expectantly* Windchill 9:23 pm *He'll be watching, but this is putting the worm back into general Dragon vicinity.* Whirl 9:23 pm *Blue is summarily set upon the table. It is her throne; Whirl speaks with the utmost seriousness* Don't eat my dragon. Windchill 9:24 pm *Windchill turns to Swoop.* Eh? Swoop 9:24 pm Him Bob SCARED of movie. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:24 pm @P: (txt): ...Lockdown appears when designation spoken thrice? Magnum Ace 9:24 pm -catches it, and nods- I mean, this last week has been nothing short of hectic -change up pitch incoming- Windchill 9:24 pm *Blue garbles nonsense and flaps her arms on the table.* Definitely Not Shockwave 9:24 pm *He clasps his servos about his waist and tilts his helm.* Omicron 9:24 pm @Soundwave(txt): needs some help with the poor insecticon? *worried chirp* Windchill 9:24 pm ...Does him Bob need to go outside for a break? Swoop 9:25 pm *SHRUGS* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:25 pm @I: [[If you believe you can offer it.]] Specs 9:25 pm *the dragon tries not to giggle at the worm antics. cute wom* Swoop 9:25 pm Him scared *looks expectantly at Windchill* Windchill 9:25 pm Bob can sit with me if he's scared. Wily 9:25 pm *Bob is going to town on snacks. Feels a little better* Whirl 9:25 pm *snips his claw at her. Whirl would, under normal circumstances, be trying to put on a tougher front for all the new folks, but he can't hide how delighted he is* Swoop 9:25 pm You make Bob not scared? Windchill 9:25 pm No promises, but I can try. Omicron 9:26 pm @Soundwave(text): I think I can Windchill 9:26 pm *Blue REACHES for the claw.* Bull 9:26 pm Hectic is one word for it. *catches the pitch before tossing it back * Windchill 9:26 pm *Luckily her grasp is slower than her mouth, still. She's not that coordinated.* Swoop 9:26 pm *grabs Windchill's hand* You come tell Bob no more scaredy Bob Whirl 9:26 pm *he will let her take it. She's free to gnaw it, if she likes, Whirl can't feel anything in his claws* *and if she's chewing his claw, she's not eating his dragon* Magnum Ace 9:26 pm -another catch- ...yeah. Good to go back to the movie now? Windchill 9:27 pm *Blue definitely puts her goopy mouth on it, her mandibles twitching.* *Tastes like...Wub!* Me 9:27 pm @Soundwave «He's crass, lewd, obnoxious, nearly intolerable to do business with...» Windchill 9:27 pm *Her butt wiggles, pleased.* Bull 9:27 pm I think so. We'll see how 'strange' the movie is now. Specs 9:27 pm *look at that great wom. an excellent wom* Windchill 9:27 pm *Windchill sighs.* Okay, I can sit on the floor with you guys. Bevel 9:28 pm Insect zoo? Magnum Ace 9:28 pm -hands Bull the ball back- Yeah. Let's go back inside Swoop 9:28 pm *draaaaaaaags Windchill over to the bar to tell Bob to be not scared* Wily 9:28 pm *Is eating a glass* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:28 pm *What is that crunching--*

[[Put that glass down.]] Bull 9:29 pm *Stores the ball and mitt back in his storage before following Magnum back in* Wily 9:29 pm *Pauses mid crunch* Whirl 9:29 pm *Whirl occasionally wiggles it for her. He is bravely allowing this to continue, despite her gross mouth* Wily 9:29 pm *Puts the rest of the glass on the counter* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:29 pm [[Thank you.]] Bevel 9:29 pm Do you want to borrow that datapad, Longarm? *motions to the one she gave him earlier* It is only a copy of the data from the Hall. Wily 9:29 pm APOLOGIES. Omicron 9:30 pm Bob, do you like gold crunchies? Magnum Ace 9:30 pm ... Windchill 9:30 pm *Whirl is best uncle. Blue chiiiirrs around his claw, creating more slime.* Wily 9:30 pm I DO NOT KNOW *but the answer is probably yes* Magnum Ace 9:30 pm -turns Bull around- Ali 9:30 pm ((Do you guys think for a testing the waters on different muses sort of thing I could do like an OC? or just canon?)) Windchill 9:31 pm *Grunts, and allows himself to be 'dragged' down to Swoop and Bob's level.* Swoop 9:31 pm *looks up at Windchill and points at Bob at the bar* Tell Him ItsyBitsySpyers 9:31 pm @Prowl: (txt): ...Why interface, if disgusting?

[[Crosscut - you never did tell him what your favorite of their stories is.]] ((it's up to you)) Windchill 9:31 pm Bob. Wily 9:31 pm *whips his head around at his name* Me 9:31 pm @Soundwave «... Business. Obviously.» Ali 9:32 pm Sorry? I must have missed that question. what do you mean? Windchill 9:32 pm *Actually, he interrupts himself to address Whirl.* Wub. I'm down here now. Me 9:32 pm @Soundwave «Sorry—did I accidentally give the impression that I enjoyed it in the very slightest?» Windchill 9:32 pm *NOW for Bob.* Definitely Not Shockwave 9:32 pm *Had been distracted by the movie for a moment before registering Bevel's words.* Ah! Yes, I would. Thank you. Bull 9:32 pm *ugh* ... Windchill 9:32 pm What's up, Bob? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:32 pm [[You stated that humans have many interesting stories about the afterlife.]] Wily 9:32 pm THIS MOVIE IS SPOOKY. Whirl 9:32 pm *nods to him* Windchill 9:32 pm Yeah, it is. Swoop 9:32 pm Him Bob is a baaaaby Ali 9:33 pm Ah, yes. Hmm...I'm not sure I have a favorite. Wily 9:33 pm I AM NOT TRYING TO DO THE BEING SCARED THING. Windchill 9:33 pm *Gives Swoop a vicious poke. Shut up.* Swoop 9:33 pm *chirps* Bevel 9:33 pm *nods, will let Longarm enjoy the movie ending now* Wily 9:33 pm I DO NOT LIKE THE JUICE BEETLE MAN HE IS MOST UNKIND. Magnum Ace 9:33 pm -shoving Bull right back out the door. Noooope- Windchill 9:33 pm Neither do I, but he's not real. Specs 9:34 pm I didn't know that you could juice a beetle. Better to eat them raw, isn't it? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:34 pm @Prowl: (txt): Negative. That, confusion reason. *Ponder ponder.* Prowl believes alternative business deal: accepted, if proposed? Wily 9:34 pm .....I KNOW IT IS A MOVIE BUT THE IMAGES ARE SCARY. *Flops on the ground* Swoop 9:34 pm *immediately hops on top of Bob, it is the dinobot way to pile* Windchill 9:34 pm Well. It's okay to be scared. Wily 9:34 pm *Swoop is the best backpack* Whirl 9:35 pm Wow. They're super dead. Bull 9:35 pm ... S-shall we do a few more pitches. *He knows nothing good is going in the movie* Wily 9:35 pm *whines and nods* Ali 9:35 pm There are many of them that have a land or place they believe the dead reside, some that have days or times when they feel the plains of those two realms coexist, allowing their ancestors to 'visit'. I suppose I find ones with those be interesting Magnum Ace 9:35 pm I think that's a good idea. Back outside Windchill 9:35 pm We can go outside, if you like. Wily 9:36 pm *Takes a deep vent* Me 9:36 pm @Soundwave «I go with him because he offers advantageous bargains for extremely cheap prices. I go with /more/ advantageous bargains when they're available. Obviously.» Wily 9:36 pm NO. NO IT IS OK. Specs 9:36 pm ((wheeze)) Wily 9:36 pm I WILL DO THIS THING. IT IS NOT REAL. Windchill 9:36 pm *Blue finally gets tired of slobbering Whirl's claw and BEEPS.* Omicron 9:36 pm *Ice Queen gets up and moves over to the bar and shakes out her wings a little snffs at Bob from one side* Whirl 9:36 pm *looks down, beeping back* Specs 9:36 pm *peeps at the wom* Windchill 9:37 pm Okay, Bob. That's very brave of you. The more you watch it the less scary it will be. Probably. *Worm butt wiggles.* Wily 9:38 pm *nods* Swoop 9:38 pm *pats Bob* Bull 9:38 pm How about trying a few more fastballs? *pulls the glove and ball back out* Wily 9:38 pm *He will try to convince himself of this* THANK YOU. Windchill 9:38 pm Most of these aren't scary at all the next time you watch them. *He nods.* Swoop 9:39 pm Him Sunstreaker tell Me Swoop that Bob is pacifist. No fighting. Real fighting. But him not say no fake stuff. Whirl 9:39 pm Oh, look, Blue, it's you. *directs her attention to the screen* ...well. it WAS you. Windchill 9:39 pm *Blue watches his claw instead.* Whirl 9:39 pm There she is. A star. Specs 9:40 pm Oh, goddess. That's something else. Magnum Ace 9:40 pm Yeah, that sounds good. -adjusting his mitt again, gives Bull enough time to settle, before throwing a fastball- Windchill 9:40 pm *Chill tilts his head back* She doesn't really watch TV. I tried to get her to watch The Lord of the Rings and she did anything but. Whirl 9:40 pm Maybe she;s more of a stage play kinda worm. Windchill 9:40 pm *Shrugs.* Whirl 9:41 pm Praise Heqet. Specs 9:41 pm I don't know of any opera worms. Whirl 9:41 pm *solemnly* Windchill 9:41 pm *Blue peeps insistently and inches to get closer to her dear Uncle Wub.* Whirl 9:42 pm *he sits up a little taller to make sure the dragon is out of her reach, but otherwise allows her to wiggle closer* Bevel 9:42 pm Music number time! ItsyBitsySpyers 9:42 pm @Prowl: (txt): If believed preferable, offer non-interface Soundwave favor. Then, unpleasant personal interaction: avoided. If not, discard present comment.

*He would rather chop his cables off than deal with someone who acted like the Beetle creature. He'd prefer Prowl not need to either if there are other ways around things.*

[[You mean like the... which one was it. The Book of the D... no. The Book of Life.]] Omicron 9:42 pm *the predacon gets some energon and moves back to her spot, grooming her foreclaws* Wily 9:42 pm *Oop. The music is most amusing* Swoop 9:42 pm *cocks his head at Bob* You music bug? Windchill 9:43 pm *The worm migrates to Whirl's lap, and nearly hits her FOOL head on his chest.* Wily 9:43 pm IT IS SILLY Swoop 9:43 pm YOU silly kehhehh Whirl 9:43 pm PFFT. Ali 9:43 pm I'm not sure what that is. Wily 9:43 pm YOU ARE ALSO SILLY Whirl 9:43 pm *sits back a bit and tries to wrangle her into a more comfortable position* You were born way too big for this, you little pest. Swoop 9:44 pm *bounces with the music* Me 9:44 pm @Soundwave «I need more than one asset, you know.» Wily 9:44 pm *IT'S OVER. HE MADE IT* Bevel 9:44 pm *good job Bob* Windchill 9:44 pm *Blue doesn't CARE. Whirl has a fancy wiggle sash now.* Wily 9:44 pm *wiggles with Swoop* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:44 pm [[Ah. A young man voluntarily dies believing he is going to find his lover in the Allsp-- the human afterlife. At some point, he learns that it is possible for the dead to join him in the realm of the living.]] Specs 9:44 pm Impossible. She was born perfectly designed to be adorable. Omicron 9:45 pm -gives Bob and swoop a happy chirp- ItsyBitsySpyers 9:45 pm @Prowl: (txt): ...Other assets not banned.

*Where did that come from?* Bull 9:45 pm *after a few fastballs Bull signals Magnum to do a few screwballs* Wily 9:45 pm *chitters* Whirl 9:45 pm *stage whisper* Which is a damn miracle considering her dad. *sly glance at Windchill* Specs 9:45 pm *cackles* Windchill 9:45 pm She was... *Chill looks back to see what his spawn is up to, can't even pretend to be surprised at what he finds.* ...You talking shit about me? Specs 9:46 pm I'm complimenting the baby. u_u Swoop 9:46 pm *chirps and giggles* Him Sunstreaker right. You Bob not for fighting. You PLAY bot, kehehh. Ali 9:46 pm Ah, well than yes I suppose. There are quite a few cultures on Earth that hold similar beliefs. It's just the one that stands out to me, it's one with a more pleasant outlook on things Windchill 9:46 pm Good. She deserves all of the compliments. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:46 pm *Maybe he'll just be quiet and leave the subject alone. He doesn't understand where he's messed up and continuing on with it will probably make it worse.* Definitely Not Shockwave 9:46 pm ((Ah, the movie ended already.)) Wily 9:46 pm I DO NOT LIKE MAKING OWIES. PLAY FIGHTING IS FUN. Definitely Not Shockwave 9:46 pm *We presume that longarm was paying attention to it instead of staring absentmindedly at the screen.* Omicron 9:46 pm Its not nice to. *still grooming* Whirl 9:46 pm I'M the one talking shit about you. Wily 9:46 pm NOT REAL FIGHTING. Windchill 9:47 pm Yeah, I noticed. Definitely Not Shockwave 9:47 pm Oh dear, what are we watching now? Specs 9:47 pm It's teamwork. Whirl talks shit about, I compliment the baby, and we merge from there. Wily 9:47 pm *the relation between that and him being spooked by the movie is lost on him* Magnum Ace 9:47 pm -nods in agreement, and switches pitches- Think it's over? The movie I mean. Whirl 9:47 pm It's my solemn duty. *attempts to look solemn with a dragon on one shoulder and a huge grub wriggling sort-of in his lap* Windchill 9:47 pm *Reaches over to give Bob a pat.* We good, now? Specs 9:47 pm *the dragon gets Real Poofy in order to look like a proper epaulette* Wily 9:47 pm *Nods, plates shuffling at helm pats* Windchill 9:48 pm *It's too late for you, Whirl, you look ridiculous.* Wily 9:48 pm I AM OK. THANK YOU. YOU ARE VERY NICE. Windchill 9:48 pm Okay. I'm going back to my seat. *He's easy to find though, if he needs to come back.* Swoop 9:49 pm You Bob good at eat things. Us do instead kehhh Definitely Not Shockwave 9:49 pm ...Those ghosts spent all that time ensuring that those two weren't romantically involved only for them to go on...Interdimensional dates together later? Windchill 9:49 pm *Moves his giant butt back to the chair where he can supervise his worm.* Wily 9:49 pm *Bob is gonna tuck himself into a buggy loaf and hunker down* OK ItsyBitsySpyers 9:49 pm ((this isn't the one i thought i bookmarked. damn it. well, i don't feel like digging it back up. we'll have this one and the second one and just cope)) Swoop 9:49 pm *gives Bob a dish with a few goodies left on it, the goodies are a coincidence though, Swoop's looking at the dish with a grin* Bull 9:50 pm Maybe; we would need to go back and check. Wily 9:50 pm *Bob eats the dish* Swoop 9:50 pm *claps* Windchill 9:50 pm *Blue, finally, settles down. For now.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:50 pm [[It is his understanding that sequels do not follow the logic of the original material.]] Swoop 9:50 pm Again! Again! Magnum Ace 9:50 pm ...right. Think we should? Ali 9:50 pm They really did make everything into a cartoon. Wily 9:50 pm BUT THERE IS NO MORE DISH??? *He can not eat a thing he already ate* Swoop 9:51 pm *looks around for something else for Bob to eat* Definitely Not Shockwave 9:51 pm Hm. Poor writing. Whirl 9:51 pm All right, Blue, time to go on back. I need a drink, and I don't think they let grubs at the bar. Swoop 9:51 pm *grabs a pillow off the sofa and holds it out for Bob* Wily 9:51 pm *CHOMP* Bevel 9:51 pm He is not a very good jester. Specs 9:51 pm Oh! *the dragon perks up* I brought you something, too. Same thing as last time, though. Swoop 9:52 pm *CLAPS* Definitely Not Shockwave 9:52 pm Indeed. Wily 9:52 pm oO Oo Whirl 9:52 pm *he will pass her back to Windchill. He only now glances about the room, and is satisfied that they were watching the movie too closely to see him being embarrassingly paternal. Good* Windchill 9:52 pm *Reaches to take his worm back.* Whirl 9:52 pm ...*with the exception of the dragon* Oh, yeah? I... completely forgot what it was, but something I could taste, right? Me 9:52 pm *... Okay, he'll try that again.* Swoop 9:52 pm *picks up a chair* : > Wily 9:53 pm *Opens maw* Windchill 9:53 pm Blue: Wub! *It is time to yell.* Swoop 9:53 pm *is absolutely putting a chair in Bob's face if no one stops him* Bull 9:53 pm We can try at least. Windchill 9:53 pm *Chill gives her a bounce to maybe shut her up.* Wily 9:53 pm *Will absolutely eat this chair if no one stops him* *The chair is doomed* Specs 9:53 pm Cobalt, melanterite, and molybdenite. Wily 9:53 pm *CHOMP* Windchill 9:53 pm BOB! Wily 9:54 pm ???? Swoop 9:54 pm *SQUEALS* YAAAYYY! No more chair! : > Windchill 9:54 pm Don't eat Soundwave's things! Specs 9:54 pm ((I only wrote down part of it I hope that last one was the right one >_> )) Magnum Ace 9:54 pm -comes back in to see Bob eating a chair- ....... Wily 9:54 pm OOPS. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:54 pm *Soundwave vents. Out go Swoop and Bob.* Swoop 9:54 pm You Bob VERY good at EATING : > Bull 9:54 pm What the? Specs 9:54 pm That's a little more than an oops. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:54 pm *Sorry, kiddos. Naughty younglings get put in the bridge wiggler.* Wily 9:55 pm WE CAN FIX IT WITH THE GLUE? Windchill 9:55 pm *SIGHS.* Swoop 9:55 pm *gets space bridged back to the Ark with Bob* Omicron 9:55 pm *looks up from her grooming, pauses to check everyone, and goes back to what makes her beast mode happy* Swoop 9:55 pm ((Swoop and Bob made it through the movie. THat is something LOL)) Wily 9:55 pm *Welp. It was fun while it lasted even if it was scary at parts* Whirl 9:55 pm Oh, yeah. Hell, I'll take it! Wily 9:55 pm ((Toddlers actually did minimal damage all things considered XD)) Whirl 9:55 pm *ah, the WUBing begins. They should have named her Dubstep* Magnum Ace 9:55 pm -that was mildly terrifying- Windchill 9:56 pm *Dubstep is not an obviously Insecticon name!* Swoop 9:56 pm ((It's fine. Swoop's going to just feed Bob more stuff at the Ark. Although one wonders how Sunstreaker will take it once he finds out Swoop showed Bob a spooky movie.)) Specs 9:56 pm ^u^ *the most proud of puffs* Chef Specs, happy to serve! Whirl 9:56 pm *he's surrounded by cute things that are smaller than he is, HOW IS HE SUPPOSED TO KEEP HIS TOUGH GUY IMAGE UP AROUND ALL THIS* Bull 9:56 pm I'm not sure if this show is worse or better than the movie. Specs 9:57 pm *dragons are VERY tough* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:57 pm *Don't ask Soundwave, Whirl. He never figured it out himself.* Windchill 9:57 pm *Blue is super tough, just look at her!* Whirl 9:57 pm Go on and set it on the table, while I see what I can get in the way of booze. Windchill 9:57 pm *She's peering at Whirl from over dad's shoulder, waiting.* Magnum Ace 9:57 pm I...don't know either. Maybe...we should be getting home? Definitely Not Shockwave 9:57 pm If the netherworld is naturally strange and gross, why does their royalty not follow suit? Wily 9:57 pm ((Sunstreaker may not be happy, Swoop)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:57 pm [[Royalty always likes to imagine itself above the standards they set.]] Definitely Not Shockwave 9:58 pm ....Indeed, fair. Swoop 9:58 pm ((I look forward to the scolding XD)) Specs 9:58 pm Alright, I'll roll it over! *flies off to get Whirl's drink for him* Whirl 9:58 pm *he resist looking at her for a moment longer before he slooowly swivels his helm around. And zoops his neck. And gives a warbling-wail beep, which people fluent in Beep will know is a curse word* Me 9:58 pm @Soundwave «If I am pursuing the services of a bounty hunter, it's because I need services which a bounty hunter can better provide than anyone else. Someone who has a ship and a large crew that he can dedicate to nothing except hunting down a difficult target.» Swoop 9:59 pm ((ok imma head out)) Me 9:59 pm @Soundwave «You have a full-time job already.» ItsyBitsySpyers 9:59 pm ((night!!)) Omicron 9:59 pm *Ice Queen chirps at whirl* Wily 9:59 pm ((same. Gotta sleep. Night! It was nice meeting everyone!)) Bevel 10:00 pm ((night y'all Windchill 10:00 pm *Chill turns his head to give Whirl an Eye, Blue imitates the same swear-beep back at him.* Magnum Ace 10:00 pm ((g'night! Omicron 10:00 pm (have a nice night!) Windchill 10:00 pm (( Goodnight! )) Me 10:00 pm ((gnight)) Bull 10:00 pm Yeah; it's a bit too weird after everything over the last week. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:00 pm @Prowl: (txt): ...Bounty hunter, services not replaced. Interface payment replaced, if Prowl believes Lockdown accepts. That, offer purpose. Definitely Not Shockwave 10:01 pm ((The poor cgi really makes it.)) Magnum Ace 10:02 pm Yeah. Last week was...a mess. Time to go home then. Me 10:02 pm @Soundwave «The reason I arranged that payment with him is because it's a massive discount from anything else on the market.» Whirl 10:03 pm *he blinks and looks over to Ice Queen, drawing himself up and looking marginally more dignified* Yeah? *is is so very proud of you, Blue. Cussing like a sailor, just as he taught you* Omicron 10:03 pm Ice Queen: I know of you. 😊 I like ya Definitely Not Shockwave 10:04 pm (( I"m very curious as to what episode you had in mind, Soundwave.)) ItsyBitsySpyers 10:04 pm ((tbh i barely remember i was tired as heck this afternoon. i just remember i got tired of this one and decided not to use it)) Whirl 10:04 pm *peers* That... doesn't sound like something someone who's heard of me would say... who do you think I am, anyway? Windchill 10:05 pm *And there goes the spawn, trying to climb up dad's head.* *Windchill allows this, but raises a hand to keep her from falling. He can see nothing.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:05 pm *Nods. If that's Prowl's decision regarding the cost, that's fine.*

@P (txt): Understood. Discard, per suggestion. Omicron 10:05 pm Whirl the wrecker and former wrecker, acts a lot like someone in my line of... 'work' Definitely Not Shockwave 10:06 pm ((Ah! The skeleton man! I like that guy.)) Whirl 10:06 pm And that'd be? Omicron 10:06 pm -gives a fanged grin- Pirate Definitely Not Shockwave 10:07 pm (( Oh what a fuckboy.)) ItsyBitsySpyers 10:07 pm ((get lost princeboy)) Bevel 10:08 pm *agrees with Lydia, being friends is the best* Me 10:08 pm ((he gets over it quickly. i appreciate that.)) Ali 10:08 pm ((I'm gonna go)) Windchill 10:08 pm (( Gnight! )) Whirl 10:08 pm ((gnight!)) ItsyBitsySpyers 10:09 pm ((rest well)) Me 10:09 pm ((gnight)) Definitely Not Shockwave 10:09 pm ((Rest well.) Bull 10:09 pm ((Same; I'm gonna head out. Night)) Omicron 10:09 pm [have a good night!] Specs 10:09 pm ((night!)) Whirl 10:09 pm Mm-hmm. *he's still a bit reserved* I know a couple of pirates. You're not here looking to COLLECT, are you? Cos I've got half the galaxy after my bounty, and if so, then I suggest we take this outside. ((and also gnight!)) Windchill 10:10 pm *Muffled* No bounty hunting! *The worm squeaks, dad's blowing and yelling on her weak underbelly.* Omicron 10:10 pm Pffft, no, I'm more of a...smuggler then a hunter. more so when I have clutches on board... *snorts and shakes head* besides, I busted out of PLENTY of jjails and brigs that both Autobots and Decepticons are not pleased with me Magnum Ace 10:11 pm -time to go, this is weird- Soundwave? Can we get a bridge home? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:11 pm [[Of course.]] Whirl 10:11 pm Well, if you're an enemy to Autobots, then I'm sure I don't have to tell you to watch yourself. *another curt nod before he makes his way, at last, to the bar* Omicron 10:12 pm I wouldn't say an enemy to them, more anoyance Magnum Ace 10:12 pm -and as soon as it's up, he and Bull are going home. Good night everyone!- ItsyBitsySpyers 10:12 pm ((goodnight y'all)) Omicron 10:12 pm [good night again!] Me 10:12 pm ((it is REALLY weird watching beetlejuice being friends with lydia right after watching him peeking up people's skirts and trying to drag lydia into a child marriage)) ItsyBitsySpyers 10:13 pm ((yeah there's a huge disconnect there)) Definitely Not Shockwave 10:13 pm So they decided to keep the parents, but they didn't keep the ghost couple who *actually* decides to take care of lydia? Bevel 10:13 pm ((did the maitlands just disappear? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:13 pm ((but i couldn't think of what else to fill the other 30 minutes with that wouldn't be completely unrelated)) Me 10:13 pm ((~AU timeline~)) Whirl 10:14 pm *is the bar being tended? He cranes his neck over to see if Ravage is about, and if so, he's lookin for his usual* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:14 pm *Ravage is snoozing, but if Whirl is careful, he ought to be able to wake the mech up without losing a limb.* Whirl 10:15 pm *what are his odds of mixing a drink without waking Ravage at all?* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:16 pm *How quiet can Whirl be?* Definitely Not Shockwave 10:16 pm *He's going to take his leave about now. It has been an....Interesting night. He nods to all familiar parties.* Bevel 10:16 pm *waves goodbye* Me 10:17 pm *A glance at the leaving Autobot; but doesn't say anything. Maybe next week.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:17 pm ((byeeee!)) Omicron 10:17 pm *waves a wing at* Whirl 10:18 pm *pretty quiet, when he needs to be; he'll start by snagging the necessary bottles and mixing it at a nearby table* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:18 pm *In that case, Ravage will wake up (because like hell is he not doing so) but he will pretend to be asleep.* Specs 10:19 pm *the dragon yawns suddenly. it's time for furry beasts to sleep* Goodnight! *beeps at Wub and heads off* Windchill 10:19 pm *Tries to pry his daughter off of his face, fails miserably and only gets an indignant peep for his troubles. He's lucky she hasn;t developed claws yet.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:19 pm [[Goodnight, dragon.]] Windchill 10:19 pm *Muffled 'bye'* Whirl 10:19 pm *bobs his head at the dragon* Whirl 10:20 pm *and there. His Gaugebuster is mixed. He'll consider this an IOU situation* Whirl 10:22 pm ...you mind if I bring this glass back next week, Soundwave? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:22 pm *Whirl escapes with all his pieces intact.*

[[He doesn't mind. He's sure you know Ravage can and will find you if you don't.]] Whirl 10:23 pm Pfft, as if I'd risk the wrath of the bartender. You know how much power you give to the person who mixes your booze? A lot. That's how much. Omicron 10:24 pm That's not a lie Whirl 10:24 pm Anyway-- *he'll set the glass down and pop on over to say goodnight to Blue. And also Windchill, maybe, while he's there. But he's clearly here to see the wriggler* Catch you two later. *the claw is offered for gnawing, one last time* Windchill 10:24 pm *Blue GRABS it, just to hold and yell at.* Whirl 10:24 pm And, Shovel! I'll probably be calling you over in this next week or so, maybe, if you're still interested in demolishing the inside of that ship. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:24 pm [[Goodnight.]]

@W: [[And don't worry. He'll erase the tapes of you handling the younglings.]] Whirl 10:24 pm ........... Me 10:24 pm *... oh right, Prowl was going to—* Whirl 10:24 pm @S: Thanks. Windchill 10:25 pm *More muffling* You headed out? Me 10:25 pm *...... never mind. it seems stupid now that he's sober.* Whirl 10:25 pm *well he suppose he shouldn't be surprised that Soundwave observed it* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:25 pm *Going to what?* Bevel 10:25 pm *looks up from a datapad, oh right that she can.. she can definitely probably be back for that* Yeah ok! Whirl 10:25 pm *snickers* There it is! Music to my audials. She's destined for the opera, Chill. And yep. Windchill 10:26 pm That's 'cause she takes after ME. And her mom. *Snorts. His mate just sings...differently, is all.* 'Kay. Oh! *That's enough to get a wiggle out of the worm, her abdomen is still getting the brunt of Windchill's speech here.* I forgot. I got the gun. It was so distracting that I forgot to update you, but now you know. Whirl 10:28 pm *bobs his head* Gotcha. And, yeah... new guns usually are. Windchill 10:28 pm We should test it out. In fact, I have an idea. We go to your place, later, you show me your boat and I show you my gun. That would be efficient, see. Whirl 10:30 pm Works for me. Plenty of space out there for target practice. Windchill 10:30 pm Cool. Okay, you're dismissed. Say 'bye' to Whirl, Blue. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:30 pm *Huffs softly at Prime's lines.* Whirl 10:31 pm *snorts* How gracious. All right, see all you losers later! *scoops his cup back up* Windchill 10:31 pm *Blue says "BLAH!" which is close enough.* Whirl 10:31 pm *oh, wait, he must wait for this goodbye* Bevel 10:31 pm *welp she's gonna go, she needs to finish reading these and... the music is not helping* Whirl 10:31 pm Excellent. She's the most eloquent baby insecticon I've ever met. Windchill 10:31 pm That's 'cause she's so smart, duh! Omicron 10:31 pm *eyeing the music, then soundwave* Windchill 10:31 pm Gets it from the other one. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:32 pm *Soundwave nods absently to Bevel and looks at the Predacon. What?* Windchill 10:32 pm *Blue beeps* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:32 pm *When you have to watch dozens to hundreds of timelines, you take your humor where you can get it.* Whirl 10:32 pm *he's in a good mood, so he will not say anything snide about Blue's mom* *and, with one last head-bob, he trots off* Omicron 10:32 pm *Icy is making a face from the wierd song before, it was painful to her audios* Windchill 10:32 pm *Good.* *Chill waves, seeing as he can't see anything.* Bevel 10:33 pm *...sits back down for Starscream video* Windchill 10:34 pm *The worm peeps mournfully, her favourite Wub is gone.* Bevel 10:36 pm That was terrible. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:36 pm [[He found it rather amusing, himself.]] Bevel 10:36 pm *sticks her tongue out at Soundwave* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:36 pm *Zori suddenly peeps out from Soundwave's throat.* #the red Starscream!! #oh I miss him Me 10:37 pm ((i like how we went from a hilarious g1 starscream/lion king video to an angsty armada starscream/lion king video)) ((oh look and in the sidebar we have an armada starscream amv to linkin park! that's peak 2003, right there)) Bevel 10:37 pm ((amazing Omicron 10:38 pm *thoughtful and looks at soundwave, forelegs cross* sooo...it is okay to bring a hatching with one coming here? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:38 pm [[If you can control them.]] Windchill 10:39 pm *Raises hand* I have a hatchling on my face. She hatched. From an egg. Omicron 10:39 pm Oh I can, and they can't go far at the moment anyway Windchill 10:39 pm Which is what you hatch from. Omicron 10:39 pm Most of my hatch from eggs too! ItsyBitsySpyers 10:39 pm [[And you, Windchill, are surprisingly skilled with younglings. He owes you for your assistance tonight.]] Bevel 10:40 pm *Optimus video? yep she's out bye* *she's leaving, the mun is staying because this video is epic af* Windchill 10:40 pm *Gives Soundwave a thumbs up.* I've had a few brats in my time. Bevel 10:43 pm ((soooooo good ItsyBitsySpyers 10:43 pm [[He was only aware of this one.]] Windchill 10:44 pm That's because she's the brattiest. *Blue demonstrates this by shoving a foot in Windchill's eye, and he doesn't even bother to protest at this point.* Ugh. I've had her and one before. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:45 pm [[Where are the others?]] Omicron 10:45 pm that looks like what some of mine do when they try and fly before they are ready...... Windchill 10:46 pm *Grunts.* Grown up, that's where. *Don't ask, honestly. It's a mess.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:46 pm [[Ah. He sees.]] Me 10:46 pm ((... oh that's right, i need to finish playing wfc and foc someday)) Windchill 10:47 pm Blue isn't going to fly, she's just being a butt. I'm not even sure if she'll have wings yet. *He reaches up, gently prodding two proto-limbs on her back, which wiggle at the disturbance.* But she might. Omicron 10:47 pm (I love those games, they helped my with writing things on cybertron and cyber-fauna ) Windchill 10:47 pm (( They're pretty good! I need to replay them. Rise of the Dark Spark is good for the Cybertron bits and you get to play as SHOCKWAVE, FINALLY, but the Tyran stuff drags it down. )) Me 10:48 pm ((i love the aesthetic in them. every time i open the game i take like 50 screenshots.)) ((what am i going to do with the screenshots? i don't know.)) Omicron 10:48 pm (same them!) ItsyBitsySpyers 10:48 pm *Soundwave nods to Windchill. From what he understands of young produced that way, it will be a long time before they see such changes in the grub.* *His attention is mostly focused on the screen, though. Thinking. Like you do.* Omicron 10:49 pm Megatron was an aft in that world <_<;; ItsyBitsySpyers 10:49 pm [[Yes, he was.]] [[But so was he. And most everyone else.]] Windchill 10:50 pm *It will be A WHILE. She's just over 15 feet long now and could grow to anywhere between 60 and a hundred. That's why she eats so much.* Me 10:50 pm I've found that he is in the vast majority of universes. Windchill 10:50 pm You say that as if— *is beaten by Prowl.* Yeah. Omicron 10:50 pm well, true enough. I meant how he treated the civilions Me 10:51 pm ... I say "vast majority" as if it hasn't applied to one hundred percent of the Megatrons I have witnessed or been made aware of so far. Omicron 10:51 pm he had the whole 'you stay under my rule, or leave' thing, then when those unarmed mecha tried to leave he started shooting the ships down ItsyBitsySpyers 10:51 pm [[He knows of some who weren't. He has lost contact with their worlds, but he did know.]] [[But they were drops to an ocean.]] Me 10:52 pm ... You say that as though other Megatrons don't display similar tactics and behavior. In my universe he shot down fleeing neutral ships as well. Omicron 10:52 pm I witnessed it in a world like that *shrugs* I know he likely did Omicron 10:54 pm well, to move on from this, soundwave, you have a lovely bar here by the way. Very roomy! ItsyBitsySpyers 10:55 pm [[Thank you. It is designed to handle a crowd filled with tytons.]] [[...Very large mechs. Taller than Predaking.]] Windchill 10:55 pm *Snorts.* I feel personally attacked. Omicron 10:56 pm I appreciate it for what its worth, I like being able to stretch out in beast mode in doors.... its hard a lot of other places ItsyBitsySpyers 10:56 pm [[Don't be. He is merely acknowledging its intended capacity.]] Me 10:56 pm *looks at the roof skeptically.* ... You're not fitting any titans in here. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:57 pm *Slow glance over.* [[...They are in here every weekend.]] Omicron 10:57 pm maybe a young one? Me 10:57 pm ... Do your titans turn into shacks instead of cities? Omicron 10:57 pm avatar forms? Windchill 10:58 pm *Almost spits, but his spawn is messy enough without and so he refrains.* Me 10:58 pm *no wonder Soundwave didn't get the metrotitan limerick* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:58 pm [[Cities? Why would they turn int-- oh.]] *Helm shake.* [[No, no. Tyton. It's - a size category. You are thinking of Supremes.]] [[That is what they are here, anyway.]] Windchill 10:59 pm I don't think I've heard of it. Me 10:59 pm ... Titans are supremes, and tytons aren't titans. *Flatly.* So who's on first. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:59 pm [[Him, usually.]] Omicron 10:59 pm O_o ItsyBitsySpyers 11:00 pm [[Laserbeak takes turns playing music when he is on break though.]]

*Visor: great poker face.* Me 11:00 pm *HUFF.* Omicron 11:00 pm I could add a layer to this Prowl Me 11:00 pm Do. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:00 pm [[And he isn't surprised you haven't, Windchill. He finds it's unfamiliar off his world.]] Omicron 11:01 pm in my world there's different classes of Titians. and Supremes Windchill 11:02 pm That could be. Where I'm from, anyone larger than, say, Megatron, is classed as a giant fuck. It's a broad category. Omicron 11:03 pm XD ItsyBitsySpyers 11:03 pm *Huff.* [[And what is Megatron? A pathetic one?]] Windchill 11:03 pm *Not the actual terminology, but the sentiment is there.* Me 11:03 pm So, in this universe, your "tytons" cap out at... *glances calculatingly over Soundwave, then at the ceiling.* ... Shuttles, probably? Windchill 11:04 pm He's just Megatron, I think. Omicron 11:04 pm If I remember right, there's platforms who are mostly under the surface of Cybertron, the city-formers on the surface. Stastions that are basicly a city in orbit. Then the ships in deeper space *looks up too* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:05 pm *Someone's in hidden bitter mode tonight.*

[[Mm, yes. Somewhere around that.]] *Nodding at Icy.* [[Yes. Trypticon was a space station, once.]] [[If we're offering examples.]] Omicron 11:05 pm He was fun to visit once... ItsyBitsySpyers 11:06 pm *Hello, instant suspicion.* [[And what would you be doing visiting that station.]] Windchill 11:06 pm *Shudders.* Me 11:06 pm What are we? *"We" as in himself and Soundwave; they're about the same height, they ought to be in the same size category, yes?* Windchill 11:07 pm You couldn't pay me to so much as look in Trypticon's direction, honestly. *Finally, Blue gets bored of lounging on dad's head and climbs down to coil against his chest, looking around at the remaining curiously.* *Chill vents a sigh of relief.* Omicron 11:08 pm He used to be fun! in my world at least. Before the whole dark energon and forcing out of octane and any other mech that could calm him down -chirps at the hatchling?- ItsyBitsySpyers 11:09 pm *Plating twitch. At least she seems to disapprove of that.* Omicron 11:10 pm Sorry Soundwave, I know that stuff is nasty in many worlds Windchill 11:10 pm *The worm smacks her lips.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:12 pm [[Then you're a cut above the rest. And he takes it you were never on the Nemesis, then, Windchill? Or is that not Trypticon where you are from?]]

*Said while eyeing Prowl critically* Windchill 11:13 pm Never. My...talents would have been wasted there anyway. Omicron 11:13 pm (I realized I was sliding around my kitchen doing a stupid dance to this song) ItsyBitsySpyers 11:14 pm [[Probably for the best. All things considered.]]

((lol)) Omicron 11:14 pm You're hatchling I hope knows better then to eat other hatchlings? Windchill 11:16 pm Nope. She'll eat anyone. I keep her with me for a reason. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:16 pm *Taps his finger against his thigh once in a decisive sort of way. Nods at Prowl now.*

[[-His- translates to peregrine. He is not experienced with classifying, but he thinks -you- would be a troqus. Troquae, were there more of you.]] Windchill 11:16 pm Well, Whirl's allowed to watch her. He knows. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:16 pm [[But only by a little bit. You could also be the class below it.]] Me 11:16 pm ... We're different sizes? ItsyBitsySpyers 11:17 pm [[You're not a flight model.]] Windchill 11:17 pm The first thing she did after hatching was to bite a chunk out of her carrier's hand. He was so proud, once the shock wore off. Me 11:17 pm ... Ah. So they're alt-mode categories as well. Omicron 11:17 pm ah, okay then, I'll stay over here then *keeps one wings more firmly folded on her back* Windchill 11:18 pm Good plan. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:18 pm [[Mixtures, yes.]] Me 11:18 pm What's the size down from troqus? Omicron 11:18 pm *listens in now* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:19 pm [[Carozzi. That was his, originally.]] Windchill 11:19 pm You can visit with her, but if she can get her hands on you she can get her mouth on you, and that's when things get...messy. Omicron 11:20 pm I'm more worried about my hatchling them myself. Kibble can be shed. its hard as hell but its possable Windchill 11:21 pm Yeah. Blue is...not a good playmate. Omicron 11:21 pm not all predacons start big Windchill 11:21 pm *Shrugs.* I wouldn't know about Predacons. Omicron 11:22 pm most are colony based, not unlike insecticons in some ways Windchill 11:23 pm *Vents deeply.* ...Yeah. Omicron 11:23 pm do you have a colony? ItsyBitsySpyers 11:24 pm *Listening. Might be useful in his dealings with Predaking. He's already got the gift he thought up.* Windchill 11:24 pm I'm not an Insecticon. Me 11:24 pm *Prowl has seen Soundwave's original frame. Prowl is barely taller and certainly less bulky than that. Firmly:* Carozzi. Windchill 11:26 pm *He might not be, but the thing in his lap? Yeah.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:26 pm *Prowl is better armored and less maneuverable, but he did say it was a close call, and he thinks Prowl ought to have the final say when it comes to that anyway.*

[[Carozzi, then.]] Me 11:26 pm *Prowl isn't picturing himself in his better armored and less maneuverable frame. A nod.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:27 pm *Ahhh. There you are, then.* Omicron 11:27 pm You don't really have to be an insecticon to be in a colony. hive. family group? ItsyBitsySpyers 11:29 pm [[He doubts you will have reason to spend much time here, as this isn't your home.]] And unlike Soundwave, Prowl isn't working for anyone on this Cybertron. [[But if you ever hear the word, now you will know what it is.]] Windchill 11:30 pm *Shrugs, fighting the urge to give the Predacon a dark look.* Sure. Me 11:30 pm I do spend an average of five hours a week here Omicron 11:31 pm *Icy lifts her forepaws a bit and settles back, she's smart enough to sense bad things might happen and looks around* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:32 pm [[Elsewhere here. The cities.]] *Quick glance over to Windchill and Icy. Is he going to have to intervene?* [[Or the Pits.]] Windchill 11:33 pm *It's nothing personal, he's just...touchy about that subject.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:33 pm [[...What is he where you are from?]] Omicron 11:33 pm *Icy would prefer not to fight or stress anyone out. not really.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:33 pm *Is it just the taxonomy entry?* Me 11:35 pm We don't really categorize by size. Size is kind of just an accidental side-effect of different alt-modes. Windchill 11:35 pm *He can control himself, it's nothing to be upset about. But, as Insecticons are among the Least Favoured of Primus' children, he's prone to getting defensive.* Omicron 11:36 pm (for what its worth, Icy loves insecticons.) Me 11:37 pm Broadly, you'd be some kind of combat aircraft. I'd have to look it up to see exactly what you are. Omicron 11:37 pm Would I just be a beast former? In your world I mean Me 11:38 pm ... In YOUR world, you aren't Cybertronian, are you? I mean—you're from Cybertron, but you aren't a member of the species called "Cybertronians." Correct? Windchill 11:39 pm *Blue, sensing her parent's ire, rediscovers the blanket she's been sitting next to, and promptly throws it on the floor.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:39 pm [[Unmanned aerial vehicle. From a human perspective. We didn't have shapes like this.]]

*Ah, now here is a thing he wants to hear those two talk about.* *Refrains from chuckling at Blue's antics, but it's hard.* Omicron 11:40 pm Well, yes, I am a cybertronian. Even those sparked off word are. Unless they do not want to be as such *Predacon blinked confused at Prowl* Me 11:41 pm You wouldn't be called an "unmanned aerial vehicle," you ARE the one manning yourself. Again—I'd have to look it up. You're built lighter and with less combat capabilities, I think that would put you under a different alt-mode than—for example—someone like Starscream. But, I don't know. You might be in the same category as him. Windchill 11:41 pm *Chill scoffs, leans forward to pick up the crumpled blanket with a grunt, and hands it back to his spawn, who accepts it eagerly.* That is not how we behave, young lady. Omicron 11:41 pm I am a primal Predacon, what your frame kinds evolved out of Prowl, in time...but I am Cybertronian from where I com from ItsyBitsySpyers 11:42 pm *That's actually kind of pleasing. He doesn't like the unmanned bit any more than he's ever liked the "drone" alternative.*

*...What happens if he stretches a feeler toward Blue - keeping it out of reach, of course - and wiggles the claws at her?* Me 11:42 pm Sorry, I thought you were— A Predacon, yes? In his universe, *gestures at Soundwave* Predacons are a different species from... Cybertronians-who-are-the-species-Cybertronian-and-not-just-from-Cybertron. Your Predacons are /not/ a member of a separate species, then? *honestly, why would Cybertronians call themselves "unmanned" if they ARE the man?* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:43 pm *They wouldn't. He said it was from the human perspective.* Windchill 11:43 pm *Windchill raises a hand, seeing as its free for the moment.* *Blue eyes the feeler, trying to decide if she's hungry enough to try stalking it or if, maybe, it's a toy. Kind of the same thing.* Omicron 11:44 pm If you want to get technical I guess we are a different species? I guarantee you have far more advanced internals and organs then I do. Windchill 11:45 pm *She shoves her blanket in her mouth, her practically vestigial legs kicking in place.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:45 pm *Wiggly tendrils. Eat that blanket, youngling. Give it the gnawing of its life.* Me 11:46 pm If we are different species, then you wouldn't be categorized as a "beastformer" or anything else. We don't try to put different species in our own species's taxonomy. It's like asking what type of Cybertronian an Ardurian roc is. No type of Cybertronian. They're from Arduria. Windchill 11:46 pm Where I'm from, different frame types are said to be derived from various Primes. Predacons and Insecticons are, supposedly, the most ancient and the original beastformers, but not necessarily the ancestors of other types. I never really looked into it though, so that's as much as I'm aware of. *Blue can't reach, but she's gonna swipe at the distant feeler anyway. She's only got one eye, depth perception isn't her strongest suit.* Me 11:47 pm The rules may be different in your universe. But in my universe, your being of a different species means, by default, you don't go in one of the boxes designed for our species. Omicron 11:48 pm From what I have always understood, if you have a spark, you are a cybertronian. As sparks only come from Primus. -confused predacon- ItsyBitsySpyers 11:48 pm *Soundwave makes note of the Prime bit. He's heard that about their own planet, but he's not sure how that's possible. Unless they're like... approved factory production lines? But even so, there's so much variation...* *These things have always confused him, though.* Me 11:49 pm On my Cybertron, there are many different species that have sparks. They're all Cybertronian-as-in-from-Cybertron, but not Cybertronian-as-in-of-the-species-named-Cybertronian. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:50 pm [[Which would you be derived from, if he is allowed to ask?]]

*He huffs again at the missed swipe and adjusts the feeler's position so she can at least get in the right space next time, though still not far enuogh to actually grab.* Me 11:50 pm ... It's /very/ inconvenient that "Cybertronian" is both a demonym and a species. For the rest of this conversation I'm just going to refer to the Cybertronian species as Transformers. *That's the alien word for them and it's perfectly serviceable.* Omicron 11:50 pm Hmmm well that makes some sense I might be a weird case even in my world. As there's only trace primal predacons, thankfully no primitive ones any more Windchill 11:51 pm Who, me? ItsyBitsySpyers 11:51 pm [[Yes, you.]] Windchill 11:51 pm (( I had to pee lol. )) Windchill 11:52 pm *Blue kicks her feet to rev up some imaginary momentum, and swipes again, NEARLY lunging out of her sire's grasp in the process. Luckily, she is very long and Chill is paying attention enough to reel her back in.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:52 pm [[And for the record, if you]] looking at Icy [[were from here, we would not have a category. You were extinct when they were created, and your resurrected cousins are mostly uninterested in the discussions concerning our categories. Here, you are all simply Predacons.]] Me 11:53 pm In the universe I've been made familiar with *gestures again demonstratively at Soundwave* all currently living Predacons are clones of deceased ones. Is that also the case in your universe? Windchill 11:53 pm *Windchill hesitates, thinking before answering.* Omicron 11:53 pm Yes and no. Soundwave did do the whole cloning thing, I think because he didn't know about the predacons left. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:54 pm *Powerful little spawn. Windchill should be--*

[[He begs your pardon?]] Windchill 11:54 pm I would, hypothetically, be considered a descendant of Solus Prime, even though the reasoning for it makes little sense, as she was already dead. Omicron 11:55 pm Not you, I meant to say Schockwave with soundwave at first...but then soundwave- in my wold put a stopped it. Windchill 11:55 pm *He's left out why he would be linked to her, as that wasn't asked.* *Blue writhes in her parent's grip. She wants to be free to fight the skinny worm!* Me 11:56 pm *it's okay, prowl used to get their names confused all the time.* Windchill 11:56 pm *Windchill relents, letting her settle back down in his lap. So long as she doesn't go flying off into space and nobody gets hurt, it's fine.* Omicron 11:58 pm not sure if you can do it soundwave, but the mech from my would was the only one that could mimic a Queen's harmonics. If it wasn't for him, the cloned and hybrid mechs would have torn a chuch out of his side's forces ItsyBitsySpyers 11:58 pm *A skilled question game player, eh? He'll poke at that part of it another time.*

*Aha. Thank you, Windchill. He'll make sure not to give her reason to topple to the floor while he continues entertaining her.* [[A - a what?]] Windchill 11:59 pm *She's pretty tough and would probably be just fine, but if the baby momma found out he would have to explain and it would be an ordeal, so he'd rather not.* Yesterday Omicron 11:59 pm A Queen? Windchill 12:00 am *Windchill mentally balks at the word 'Queen,' and plans to not contribute to that topic.* *Blue, for her part, is eyeing that feeler again.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:00 am [[The... the one that rests at the center of the colony and produces all the eggs?]] Omicron 12:01 am Err...not exactly Windchill 12:01 am *TRIES TO NOT SPIT* *Just looks constipated instead.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:01 am *Has completely forgotten that Blue is looking at his feeler. He was thrown completely off guard by this data and his main understanding of Queens and what he thinks of them.* Omicron 12:03 am A Queen has to...well a predacon queen, like me. I can produce a big clutch or hatchlings...er, sparklings. but you keep those in the colonly....calm. Led. loved. Even if they leave Me 12:03 am *... why is everyone suddenly so awkward* Windchill 12:03 am *She bunches herself up, preparing to launch...but only hops as far as to drape herself over dad's arm to go for the feeler.* *Chill watches her with one eye, the other...is doing something else, presumably.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:04 am *Still hasn't noticed. She might just steal her prize if Windchill doesn't catch her.*

[[..........And he - that is, his alternate - can. Imitate the harmonics. The Queen's.]] Windchill 12:04 am *Swipe swipe flap flap flap goes the grubby hand.* Me 12:06 am *... is soundwave alright? he can imitate the sound of everything else, why is this alarming.* Windchill 12:06 am *Windchill, briefly, wonders whether his spawn as any decipherable surface thoughts for Soundwave to detect, but lets the notion go free.* Omicron 12:07 am Yes. He gave the sense that there was a Queen near by. with newly cloned predacons, or near raging ones, if they have the correct instincts, they're going to calm down and look for that Queen. She would be, well 'mother' for a lack of a better word. Somewhere to be protected or to protect. Where there's a queen, there's hunting grounds. In some cases a possible mate. Windchill 12:07 am *Windchill makes an odd face. It's all in the lips.* Omicron 12:08 am at least in my world? Me 12:08 am *paying more attention to soundwave's body language than to the rest of the conversation* Windchill 12:08 am That's...really interesting. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:09 am *Is making no face. Still looks awkward somehow. He's frozen in place, with slightly dimmed biolights, and his helm is pulled back like he'd be sitting up straighter if he weren't locked in the slouch he had as a result of playing with the grub.*

[[...He sees. That is an interesting talent.]] *TO PUT IT MILDLY.* [[He will add it to his files.]] Me 12:10 am *hmm. here's what prowl can decipher from soundwave's body language:* Windchill 12:10 am *The bug yells at the feeler.* Me 12:10 am *jack shit.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:10 am *And now he notices what Blue's doing while he tries to regain his composure.*

[[Ah, ah. He sees you trying to steal the claw, bitlet.]] *Lightning-quick boop.* Me 12:11 am *... soundwave's biolights haven't brightened, so he's /probably/ not horny. that's it. that's all prowl's got.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:11 am *Prowl can you not* Omicron 12:11 am I thought the files were funny honestly, in a sad way. Soundwave had two big predacons crouched behind him wanting pets becuase Soockwave hurt them Me 12:12 am *apparently, prowl really can not.* Windchill 12:12 am *Blue makes a shocked 😮 face, her mandibles frozen for half a second before she resumes swiping with a determined PEEP.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:13 am [[He probably did a great deal to earn that trust. Beyond vocal imitations.]] Windchill 12:13 am *Windchill watches, lending no support toward her battle with Soundwave's appendage.* Omicron 12:13 am likely, I didn't get those Predacons until after he sent them to me Windchill 12:14 am *She must face this battle alone, she's Independent.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:14 am [[Be good to them, then. You have his alternate's reputation to uphold.]] *Allows a swipe to graze the claw and lets it fall to the floor as though dead.* [[You have defeated your mighty enemy, youngling. Congratulations.]] Omicron 12:15 am 😊 oh I was, I helped them realize what it is to be a predacon. They're at peace with themselves long before they left. Windchill 12:15 am *Blue's eye tracks it, and stares in confusion. She's never killed anything before!* *More yelling, and pointing with a chubby grub finger.* Omicron 12:16 am That was a mighty battle young one. and you rose to the challenge! Windchill 12:16 am *Windchill leans over to look, and nods sagely.* Good job, Squirt. *He might have to stop her from climbing down to eat it, but that's par for the course.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:17 am *Soundwave carries on the theatrics by using the other feeler to grab the first one and 'push' it back into its housing. Can't have it looking like it snapped back to life, after all.* Windchill 12:18 am Tsk, we don't eat Soundwave. *He scoops her up where she can be bounced in his lap and practice kicking her feet.* *He will, though, send a ping of appreciation to Soundwave for the battle.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:18 am *Soundwave nods. He did say he owed Windchill.* Windchill 12:19 am *This is fair.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:19 am ((and if she ever comes back to dancitron with chill, we can figure out if he can get coherent thoughts off her then)) Omicron 12:19 am <_< so... with all your predacons cloned.. have you seen a real hatchling of one or no? ItsyBitsySpyers 12:20 am [[Not on his own planet. He has seen the hatchlings of the Predacons cloned by an ally.]] Me 12:20 am *Since Prowl's universe doesn't have Predacons, will defer to Soundwave to answer that.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:20 am [[...One of them sings.]] *Sort of.* Windchill 12:20 am (( She probably will, from time to time. It's good for her to be exposed to social situations, or, Windchill at least hopes she won't turn out like her parents in that regard. )) Omicron 12:20 am Singing is normal, if not a must in some cases <_< ItsyBitsySpyers 12:21 am *He'll leave out that he turned to a total softie in their presence and gave a few of them airplane rides with his feelers.* Windchill 12:21 am ...Singing? Omicron 12:22 am *Icy lifts her head and starts to sing wordlessly, its not bad and seemingly for calming. Not long though, only a little bit* oooh yes. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:22 am *RECORDED* Windchill 12:23 am Hm. Cool. Omicron 12:23 am *the predacon considers soundwave thoughtfully* would you like to meet one? Windchill 12:23 am *Blue was watching that, but offers no comment.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:24 am [[Not tonight. But he would like the opportunity to compare those from different worlds, yes.]] Omicron 12:25 am *Icy nods, she's been watching how he's acted so far* I can bring one by. Or if you ever want to stop by my ship. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:25 am [[Whichever you think will be less stressful for them.]] Omicron 12:27 am Ship might be best depending. Though I would ask no weapons. *gives a slow, fanged filled smile, with a blue-white glow in the back of her maw. just a split second before calming down. She's still a big pretective predacon* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:28 am [[He doesn't carry any that are not a part of his frame.]] Omicron 12:28 am *not harm meant, she is just careful with grab-able sized hatchling* Windchill 12:28 am *The worm huffs, and pats dad's chest with a questioning 'amnamnamnamnam?' to which he looks down, chin pressed against his armour, but he can barely see past his own boobs.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:29 am [[He will make time for the trip as soon as he can. Thank you.]] *Stretch.* [[But we are keeping you away from your younglings and -your- youngling awake.]] Windchill 12:29 am *Nods.* Blue says she's either hungry, or wants her carrier, which is kind of the same thing. Omicron 12:30 am erm.... well, I have someone guarding them, he hasn't let me know that the rest have started to hatch out. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:31 am [[...That sounds painful.]] *Huff.* [[But he understands.]] Windchill 12:31 am *Time to swaddle the creature in her blanket so she can't wiggle out of his grasp so easily. She's usually good about being carried, but in a new environment he's not taking the chance.* Hmm? ItsyBitsySpyers 12:32 am [[The thought that she might bite her - carrier? The other form, he assumes. Not that his haven't done the same when upset.]] *Another huff.* *Ravage chuckles from over by the bar.* Omicron 12:33 am *Icy starts to get up, stretching a little, there's a meep from under a wing but its kept closed still* Windchill 12:34 am Ah, yeah. *There is a brief struggle, as the worm is wiggly and thinks this is a great game and time to misbehave.* Same word...totally different meaning. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:35 am *...Suspicious glance at the meep, but he is fast approaching the limit of his large-group endurance without taking a quick break with someone else to do the entertaining. He'll inquire about it another time.* Windchill 12:35 am She's not likely to bite him, but she makes the same sound for wanting fuel and for wanting him, so I get to figure out which it is. *His mouth quirks, wryly.* Both are the right answer. Omicron 12:36 am at least there's that? Windchill 12:36 am *Finally, the beast is tamed, and he stands with his sub sandwich shaped spawn in tow.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:36 am [[That does help. Good luck.]] Windchill 12:37 am *Nods.* Good night, suckers. Omicron 12:37 am *Icy takes a few steps over, lifts and crosses a foreleg and dips her head to soundwave* Thank you for hosting and the conversation. Even the strange movie. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:37 am [[Good night. And to you, bitlet.]] Windchill 12:38 am *Snorts.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:38 am *Oh, fancy. He's never seen a Predacon do that in their beast mode. He nods to Icy.*

[[You're welcome.]] Windchill 12:38 am Say goodnight, Blue. *He points at Soundwave so she knows where to look.* *Bluebottle, in true form, beeps rudely. Thanks a lot, Whirl.* ... ItsyBitsySpyers 12:39 am *He KNOWS what that beep is. Full upper torso trembling.* Omicron 12:39 am O-o <_< do I want to know? Windchill 12:39 am We're...gonna work on that. *Can't keep a straight face and has to leave now.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:40 am [[Probably not.]] *It really is rude. He folds his hands on his lap and nods once more at Windchill's back.* Windchill 12:41 am We'll see you guys later. *Waves over his shoulder, and makes a break for it.* Omicron 12:42 am *tail twitch but comms her ship for a bridge home...pings Soundwave the comm to the ship and her if he wants come sometime* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:42 am *Pings acknowledgment and logs it in his records. He'll be sure to clear time out within the next couple of weeks.* Omicron 12:43 am *tiiiiny bring wedge shape head peeks out of the wing folds and pokes a forked glossa out at them all as icy leaves* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:43 am *HE KNEW IT. Goodbye, tiny one. He'll greet you another time.* Omicron 12:43 am (bye!) ItsyBitsySpyers 12:43 am ((bye!!)) Me 12:44 am ((bye)) ItsyBitsySpyers 12:44 am *Soundwave shakes his helm for nobody's benefit save his own and settles back into his seat, retracting the spines a little so they won't scratch up on it.* Me 12:46 am *Sideways look at Soundwave* *And then, guesses,* Oviposition? ItsyBitsySpyers 12:48 am *Jolts straight up and into a twist, having never expected to hear that question coming out of Prowl's mouth.*

(txt): What? Why asked, that? Me 12:50 am *Well THAT'S certainly a reaction.* I'm trying to figure out why you were so... distracted by the idea that your alternate could imitate the sound of a queen, when you can imitate anything /else/ without such a reaction. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:51 am *In all fairness, he also might've temporarily forgotten Prowl was lurking there. Like others used to do with him.* Me 12:51 am You immediately focused on the egg-producing potential of queens, while it was something the Predacon de-emphasized. So. Oviposition? ItsyBitsySpyers 12:56 am *Of -all the times- Prowl could choose to be exceptionally observant. Maybe he should have joined Prowl in getting drunk back at that dedication ceremony. It'd be super helpful right about now.*

*Well. In for a credit, in for a shanix.*

(txt): ...Unknown. Tarantulas' situation: fascinating concept. Never witnessed. Soundwave cannot participate.

(txt): Other Queen definitions: unknown. Soundwave's only knowledge source...

*He looks just to the left of Prowl's face. His lights dim a little more. Why not? Prowl already read him like a datapad.*

(txt): Xenomorph Queen, her function. This... awkward. Prowl knows future remodel plan. Me 12:57 am ... If you're uncomfortable talking about it, we can drop the topic. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:02 am *He shakes his helm.*

(txt): Negative. Prowl... trusted. Allowed.

*Besides, he owes Prowl some return tidbits for the pipe incident and its products.*

(txt): Soundwave... often rumored partial Insecticon. Known insect concept: Queens. Awkward connections present. Me 1:06 am *Ah. Yes. Accidentally confirming the unpleasant rumors was always... irksome.* Well. I won't tell anyone you're curious about the kink if you don't. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:10 am *Irksome, confusing, hysterically funny but horrifying, both repulsive and vaguely appealing for reasons he has no idea how to begin unfolding... in other words, complex.*

(txt): ...Appreciated.

*Looks away a little more, trying not to picture how on Cybertron he would get any work done stuck dangling from a ceiling like that. It's impossible.*

*...Looks back and leans close.*

(txt): How -Prowl- familiar? Me 1:14 am *... How does he answer honestly without saying Tarantulas has the kink? Obviously Soundwave knows SOME of Tarantulas's situation, but Prowl doesn't know if he knows ALL of Tarantulas's situation, and Prowl found out Tarantulas /could/ lay eggs ages before Tarantulas admitted he /enjoys/ laying eggs. So...* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:15 am *...Abrupt light brightening. He remembered something and had a thought. And now he's not looking at Prowl again.*

*Don't mind him. Go on.* Me 1:15 am I researched the sociological aspects of egg-laying after learning some about... as you say, Tarantulas's "situation." Oviposition included in that research. Me 1:16 am *There. Minorly misleading but perfectly honest—as within the bounds of their agreement.* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:17 am (txt): ...Prowl: also curious?

*Prowl likes the fur. And the legs and the mandibles and the everything else. Why not the eggs, if he adores all the other stuff Tarantulas did to himself or can do with himself?* (txt): Regarding witness/experience. Not sociological research basis. Me 1:19 am ... Intellectually curious, not erotically curious, I'm afraid. *Before Soundwave's hopes get too high.* I'd be willing to experiment with it with a partner who desired to do so, but the concept doesn't arouse me. But it doesn't turn me off, either, provided eggs containing an actual living being aren't getting played with. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:23 am (txt): Preferences: acknowledged.

*Don't worry about Soundwave's hopes. He still isn't sure what they actually are when pinned down. One? The other? A combination? Who can tell. Not this noodle.*

(txt): Prowl should tell Tarantulas. Soundwave suspects Prowl: reason eggs exist. Me 1:23 am *Prowl's poker face is in fine form today.* Oh? ItsyBitsySpyers 1:29 am *Nod nod.*

(txt): If eggs: Tarantulas self-interaction interest only, efficient solution: avoid all scientific, surgical requirements; create, utilize proper toy version. Lower energy, material requirement - important, when alone. Higher availability reliance.

(txt): Tarantulas, Prowl past contains mutual creation. Prowl knows Tarantulas retains attachment, target: Springer, concept: parenthood. Without own Springer, Prowl's Springer acceptance, likely fantasy: create new life. This, related. Safe expression. (txt): Egg suspicion: hoped use always Prowl kink interaction. Me 1:33 am ... Huh. An intriguing theory. Well-defended. *His poker face remains flawless.* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:35 am *Bobs his helm. Thank you. Still, he's not sure if that's Prowl's regular neutral expression or a purposeful one - and if the latter, a good or bad one.*

(txt): ...Soundwave: crossing boundary? Me 1:35 am No, no. Me 1:36 am ... In fact, I've been finding that, around other universes, I have /less/ boundaries than they consider average. In sexual discussions, anyway. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:37 am *Tiny relief puff. Good. For a moment there, he thought... well, Prowl never prods at his doings concerning his other partner. It could've been seen as unfair that Soundwave had just done so.* Me 1:39 am *Prowl's just concerned about defending whatever secrets Tarantulas might have that Soundwave might not know about.* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:40 am (txt): Prowl's decreased boundaries: appreciated. Soundwave's privacy habits: sufficient compensation.

*He tags that as humorous, just in case.* Me 1:41 am *Huff.* I'm plenty private in other ways, I'm sure it evens out. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:41 am *Another bob.* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:43 am (txt): ...If Prowl's choice: sate intellectual curiosity, request: inform Soundwave, permit similar opportunity? *Thhhhhat was a little difficult to ask, but he doesn't know what other chance he has to find out, if not observing someone who can actually experiment with it.* Me 1:46 am ... I currently have some experimentation plans in place. It's going to involve modifying my avatar somewhat, of course. I'll let you know when the modifications are in place. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:47 am *Sits up.*

(txt): ...Prowl let Soundwave explain proven theory? *Well. Doesn't he feel a little bit foolish for that.* Me 1:48 am "Explain proven theory"? ItsyBitsySpyers 1:49 am (txt): If experimentation already planned, Prowl already knew truth, subject: Soundwave's suspicion. *At least it earned him some approval.*

(txt): Modification notice welcomed. Gratitude given. Me 1:50 am *Give him a moment to /very carefully/ select his words.* Me 1:51 am ... It isn't my place to either share or speculate on anything regarding Tarantulas's desires or preferences without knowing what he himself is willing to let be known about himself. *Maybe I know and maybe you know but I don't know that you know and you don't know that I know and so until you know that I know that you know and I know that you know that I know—* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:53 am (txt): ...Soundwave speculated. Place overstepped. Me 1:53 am *Soundwave DOESN'T know.* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:54 am *He does know, actually. But Tarantulas never said he could tell Prowl.* Me 1:54 am You may speculate if you want. I just mean—I, as someone who is... more privy to his sexual life than most—shouldn't, to someone who isn't. ... Unless you two have been up to more than I know about. But if you have and you haven't told me and he hasn't told me, I expect that's none of my business. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:55 am *Contemplates.* ItsyBitsySpyers 2:03 am (txt): Spare egg examined, mouth presence confirmed. Extended close, personal contact, purpose: experience greater intimacy level within comfortable range. Taunting sexual imagery exchanged. Personal discussion, subject: potential holoavatar equipment additions, preferences, designs, respective interests. Me 2:06 am *... Well, that doesn't necessarily mean that Tarantulas told Soundwave eggs are a sexual thing for him. It might mean he simply demonstrated the egg, the way he might demonstrate his alt-mode or mass-shifting, without any mention of sexuality; and Soundwave included it in that list since eggs were relevant to the conversation at hand. Soundwave hasn't /said/ that Tarantulas confirmed it's a sexual thing.* *Although now Prowl's curious—* What in the world were you doing with that egg that confirmed the presence of your mouth? Me 2:08 am ... Why are we still— Sorry, you should have been—using telepathy all this time. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:08 am (txt): ...Secret lick attempt.

(txt): Other senses involved during examination. That data also wanted. Me 2:09 am Can we just, assume that that's the default? Telepathy? Because nights when I've forgotten to grant permission until after movie night is long over have vastly outnumbered nights when I actually haven't wanted you to use telepathy. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:10 am *Kind of twitching his gaze from one optic to the other, enough that the movement of his visor is juuuust visible.*

[[...As long as you are certain it will not be a problem.]] [[Movie nights only, or all times?]] Me 2:12 am If it's a problem, we'll change it. Movie nights only, for now. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:13 am [[He accepts the request. And thanks you.]]

*And wonders if he got away with saying 1) that he licked the egg and 2) that he's been contemplating what it'd be like to add equipment like Prowl's to his avatar.* Me 2:14 am *Not quite. He's circling back to that.* How, exactly, did you try to /covertly/ lick the egg? You have to open your mask. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:18 am *Soundwave deactivates the lower latches and gently thumbs the bottom of his mask open a little bit, pushing it out but not up all that far. He pokes the tip of his tongue beneath it and forms a ring with his hands representing the egg. Hides it pretty well.* Me 2:19 am *Hmm. Prowl considers this critically.* ... All right. *Yes, that's reasonably subtle.* *... Is briefly seized by the urge to poke the tongue tip. Resists.* ItsyBitsySpyers 2:20 am [[Tarantulas only noticed because he spotted a bit of oral lubricant on the egg before he could clear it off with a thumb. He couldn't offer up another explanation.]] *Soundwave might as well take his mask off the rest of the way. It's usually off while Prowl's around anyhow.* Me 2:22 am *Well hello there, good to see you.* Me 2:23 am *A satisfied nod. On to the next question, then:* Holomatter equipment additions. Yours or his? *That was, in fact, what had made Prowl realize that they'd gone all night in text instead of telepathy: if Soundwave had been thinking, that wouldn't have been ambiguous.* ItsyBitsySpyers 2:24 am [[His own.]] *Still too unclear? He taps his chest to make sure.* Me 2:25 am *He got it that time.* Would it be too invasive to ask what additions? ItsyBitsySpyers 2:26 am [[...We were discussing--]] *HOLD ON. Brief wide-opticked moment. He just - he just figured out who Tarantulas was talking about when he mentioned other commissions during the addition conversation. It was Prowl. It was Prowl and the eggs THE WHOLE DAMN TIME.* Me 2:28 am ... Is that a yes? ItsyBitsySpyers 2:29 am *He can't believe he thought it was Smokescreen. Primus.*

[[We were discussing interface modifications. He... does not know that he wants permanent ones, but he has contemplated testing their presence on his avatar a few times.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 2:30 am [[Tarantulas asked which he would prefer if he were to pick one to start with. He settled on a valve for convenience and familiarity reasons - easier to hide and control, and not unlike a mouth. Tarantulas agreed.]] [[And fewer obvious surface signs of frame modification.]] Me 2:31 am ... Hmm. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:34 am [[He is not averse to testing the other one. He rather liked how you felt around his feeler.]] Me 2:35 am ... If you're interested for your own sake, then—by all means, experiment. Me 2:37 am But, I think it may be beneficial to reiterate��my interest in you, sexual and otherwise, is wholly divorced from whether or not you've got tactile equipment. So. If a primary motive for experimenting, is because you're—concerned that I might be... dissatisfied if you don't... then—dddon't let it be? ItsyBitsySpyers 2:43 am [[No. He knows you are pleased with him as he is.]] *It'd finally sunk in as of their first proper interface session.* [[It is just that--]] *Finger tapping.* [[He is - curious. He does not fully understand how to interpret the data he's received in the past, or why owning them is so popular. And--]] *Huff.* [[It would be nice to see what having an extra hand free is like. Or what things would be like if he were from your world instead of his, though he does not promise he would like the sensations if he did try.]] Me 2:45 am *Receives "what having an extra hand free is like" and the first interpretation his big, brilliant processor offers is that Soundwave thinks valves can serve as a spare hand and will probably use his for storage.* *Please hold, his poker face is dangerously cracking.* ItsyBitsySpyers 2:45 am *Narrows his optics a little. Not in an angry way. Just in a "what are you thinking in there" way.* Me 2:47 am *Manages, with a nearly straight face,* Your feelers and mandibles already provide you with several extra free hands than most people. I—don't think you need to use a valve for one, too. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:48 am *It takes a solid 25 seconds for him to get that. When he does, his expression changes to one of deep, deep amusement.* Me 2:48 am *Oh good, Prowl was beginning to worry he'd have to explain the joke. That really WOULD make him crack up.* *... Affection ping. That's a nice look on Soundwave.* ItsyBitsySpyers 2:51 am [[Fine. He can always test it another way if you aren't interested in giving it something to hold.]]

*Soundwave's expression softens and slides a little closer to adoring amusement. He returns the ping.* Me 2:52 am *Huff.* Of course I'm interested. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:56 am [[He had hoped so.]]

*Some tension leaves his frame. He was... worried. About that. Probably not a lot of people out there who would do a good job of handling being told "I'm going to try fragging you and I may be completely repulsed by it."* Me 2:56 am ... If you want to know what having the equipment is like, though, just getting it in your avatar will probably be inadequate. Most mechs who weren't forged with tactile equipment need some serious software patches to get new dongles to operate properly as an interface array. You already have recreational interface subroutines, so that should make it easier to patch in. But without software patches, it might just feel like an extremely sensitive face-textured pocket. Me 2:58 am ... Since you CAN receive sexual arousal from touch, you'd probably need less new software. Maybe none, if you're lucky. I don't know, I haven't had to deal with it for millions of years. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:59 am [[He knows. He was considering asking Tarantulas for temporary rudimentary patches.]] *And nothing more than that. True surgery and recoding rights don't belong to him.* [[You haven't experienced arousal at being touched in millions of years?]] *That seems contrary to what he experienced, but...* Me 3:00 am No, I mean I haven't had to deal with the process of getting all the patches and such for millions of years. ItsyBitsySpyers 3:00 am [[Oh. Then you haven't always...?]] Me 3:01 am All cold constructed mechs are built without interface equipment. Some naturally take to it better than others. I took to it... about as poorly as one can take to it, without quite not taking to it at all. ItsyBitsySpyers 3:03 am *Soundwave leans back in his seat and folds his hands again, thinking. His optics even drift shut for a few seconds.* ItsyBitsySpyers 3:06 am *And they're open again. Conclusion arrived at, lawn chair set up, umbrella jammed into the sand.*

[[...Then you would be uniquely qualified for at least one test. He could trust you to understand him. And to be a patient tutor.]] Me 3:07 am I should hope I would be. ItsyBitsySpyers 3:08 am [[More than most, he thinks.]] Me 3:08 am *Grimaces.* I'm afraid so. ItsyBitsySpyers 3:09 am *That grimace has no reason to be there. He turns and nudges his crest against the side of Prowl's helm.*

[[It wasn't an insult.]] Me 3:10 am No—I didn't think it was. I'm just afraid I've had a rather distasteful amount of experience with those who are /less/ understanding and patient. ItsyBitsySpyers 3:15 am [[...Ah.]] *Prowl might catch a super-fleeting taste of Soundwave's sudden desire to find out who they were and make them pay for it. Then again, he might not. Soundwave will have tried his best to avoid coming through as a bloodthirsty, vengeful murderer just then.* [[He is sorry that's true.]] Me 3:18 am *Oh, he caught that. It's... a little unnerving but a little gratifying.* You may be pleased to hear that most of them are dead now. Not—not for related reasons. Just the war. ItsyBitsySpyers 3:22 am *So he did notice. Damn. Well, he's not being shoved away, so it can't have been an entirely unwelcome feeling. He'll take comfort in that.*

[[The further such mechs are from you, the better.]] Me 3:26 am You won't hear me disagree. ItsyBitsySpyers 3:28 am [[Then let us leave them behind you. He is tired, and it will do us both good to remember that things have improved.]]

*Going to slowly push off into a standing position and turn to face Prowl. Hand?*

[[If you wish...?]]

*He still remembers last Monday.* Me 3:29 am *That was a week ago. He takes Soundwave's hand.* I do. ItsyBitsySpyers 3:32 am *Something in his expression flickers, and it takes him a second before he can give Prowl a nod. His fingers curl around Prowl's hand without hesitating, though.*

[[Good. Come.]]

*Tug toward the stairs. They'll take the long way this time. He wants to spend a few extra moments holding this.* Me 3:34 am *... What was that?* ItsyBitsySpyers 3:34 am *Relief.* Me 3:35 am *... It's not something Prowl can identify at a glance. Maybe he'll find out later. For now—he'll follow Soundwave upstairs.* ItsyBitsySpyers 3:36 am *He will, if he can read that in an unusual amount of affectionate touches before the final sleepy cuddle. If not, Soundwave will tell him later, providing he asks.*

#chat

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