#there's not really such a thing as casual ableism. because it all feeds into the same evil machine at the end of the day

[giantkillerjack]

Favorite part about Death Note is that Light gets the Note and IMMEDIATELY becomes a serial killer fascist with a god complex.

No build-up, no Fall From Grace, no slow corruption of a good boy gradually becoming a monster. Just-- SPEED RUN STRATS. And I love that for him.

Tbh, I think there are a lot of folks (especially boys) from my high school days who would have immediately become monsters if given the power of life and death over every person around them.

It's kind of like how when people have apparently casual ableist beliefs, and you push them to elaborate on that just a little bit, they'll often end up openly saying stuff like "well, some people are just too disabled to be worth the resources it takes to support them." - Which is... eugenics. It's just eugenics, justified by the myth of scarcity. Now these folks almost certainly won't call it eugenics, or even think of it that way. But that doesn't make it NOT a core belief of the Nazis.

In a similar way, Light seems like a nice and well-adjusted boy with strong beliefs. No harm in that.

But to paraphrase Lindsay Ellis in her analysis of the Game of Thrones ending, "Power doesn't necessarily corrupt. Power reveals." [I think she was quoting someone else when she said this. It was someone who wrote a biography on LBJ. Whatever. Lindsay said it and she's smart as hell and I recommend her videos.]

And 15 minutes into the Death Note musical, I'm already thinking about how so many beliefs "casually" held by well-adjusted, nice people immediately reveal their monstrousness when talked through to their natural conclusion.

And I wonder how many of those people, given the power of life and death over everyone around them - the power to take their ideas to their natural conclusions - would also immediately reveal how their lack of self-reflection has laid the groundwork for them to become monsters.

[floofanflurr]

I! Am so tired of the infantilization of Papyrus. I'm so tired of the infantilization of autistic people, and autistic traits. I thought we were past this in this fandom... but NOPE.

I am absolutely NOT going to name any names, (especially because I don't think ANY of this is intentional!!! I don't think people are doing it on purpose!!! And I don't want to hurt people. And also because it's SO many people now. I see it all the time from so many different places. It would be impossible to list them all.)

But??? I am getting increasingly uncomfortable with the casual ableism in Papyrus fans, bloggers, and writers who don't even realize that's what they're doing. People who say they are against the infantilization of Papyrus.

(Sticking the rest of this under a cut so I don't clog any feeds)

I just!!!! It's all well and good to have your headcanons about Papyrus! He's a really mysterious character that we don't know a lot about! I'm not denying that! But I see SO many people just… saying things like:

"Papyrus would NEVER do (insert autistic trait here) because he's an ADULT! CLEARLY it was a joke."

or

"People take him seriously or at face value when he does (insert autistic trait here) but he's not stupid???? Clearly it means something else-"

And so freaking many variations of that.

Just. Have your headcanons about what Papyrus means or doesn't mean. That's okay! If you think he's joking that's FINE! But PLEASE don't shit on other people and be so casually ableist by saying that he could never be these things, or that these things would mean he was stupid, or childlike if he ACTUALLY meant them or did them.

ITS LIKE. Taking the initial infantilization of Papyrus in fandom and spinning it on it's head so far it goes right back into infantilizing autistic people by just. REMOVING PAPYRUS'S AUTISITC TRAITS AFTER LABELING THEM STUPID OR CHILDLIKE.

"You're infantilizing Papyrus! CLEARLY he could never actually MEAN these things or do those things for real because he's an adult-" AND LIKE. BABE. THOSE THINGS ARE JUST AUTISTIC THINGS.

And just.

It's really really upsetting to see the traits that I personally relate to in Papyrus have people saying "he could NEVER actually mean/do that! CLEARLY it was a joke, or subterfuge or insert something else here-"(the very strongly implied "because only Children do that" is so clear it's nauseating) (And often stated, but just in slightly different language. "It's clear." or "Of course Papyrus wouldn't-" or "He's smart!" or "He's an adult!")

Most of the portrayals I see of Papyrus are wonderful. While I've seen this a lot in fandom, I don't think it's the majority of people who create or write, or blog Papyrus content. But it's a big enough chunk that it is incredibly worrying and upsetting.

I'm also not trying to wave away any level of subterfuge, or mystery that Papyrus has. Because he has a lot! And!!! He's a grown ass adult! (A HILARIOUS one who cracks a shit ton of jokes and is witty as hell.) Someone who is very sneaky about many things, and masks a lot, and is clearly hiding SOMETHING. Have fun theorizing about him, because there sure is a lot to theorize about! Sneaky, sneaky skeleton...

Just. While I'm not trying to change anyone's headcanons... It might be worth it to see if the Papyrus you create has been removed from all of his autistic traits that are deemed undesirable (a level of social ineptitude or not understanding others, routines like bedtime stories, and so much more) while only leaving the ones you think are quirky or fun (things like masking, or stimming with big, flailing gestures, special interest in puzzles, etc.).

And if that's true, why might that be?

If the answer is "because Papyrus is too smart/mature/clever/etc. to mean or do this seriously." then that is no longer an innocent headcanon. That is saying that people who DO have those traits aren't smart/mature/clever/etc. That is infantilizing autistic traits. (And yes! Autistic people can also do this by accident! I used to fall victim to internalized ableism that I didn't even realize was there, and I've seen other people do it, too.)

I was going to get into a more in-depth list of Papyrus’s traits that are autistic traits or could be caused by being autistic, and basically write an entire fan essay on the whole situation, starting from the beginning infantilization of Papyrus in fandom (equally as bad) and ending with where we're at now as Papyrus fans. (This right now is not an essay. It's a vent, and a plea. When I say essay, I mean with cited sources, properly structured... An actual ESSAY that would help people.)

But… I’m tired. I know it’s an accident in most cases. I know that most people probably don’t realize they’re calling autistic traits “stupid” or “childlike” or “papyrus would never because he’s not a child—“

And I know that this one simple post isn’t enough to explain how autistic peoples’ brains frequently work, or why these things don’t mean someone is stupid or childlike.

I know that without a thorough explanation there’s so many people that won’t realize that they’re doing this. And it’s certainly not as gentle as I wanted to be. I want to be kind, because I know that it's an accident, and that people aren't trying to be cruel or harmful.

But I’m just… tired. I’m so, so tired. It’s hard to gently explain to people that are actively harming you and your community why what they’re doing is hurtful.

Maybe someday I’ll actually write that essay, and I can include helpful tips on what autism can look like, or how Papyrus's differing things COULD be (not necessarily ARE) an indication or presentation of autism, and also some more tips on how to integrate some of Papyrus’s characteristics in different ways in a fic that keeps his wonderful autistic swag if that's what you want to do. Maybe I can delve into some more of the nuance of this discussion, of which there is much.

But right now I can’t.

If you're worried you might be doing something like this but you really do need an essay or more structure and specific writing breaking it all out, then. Well! I want to help people. If you have questions about what I said and genuinely want to learn, I can do my best to answer and help in an essay if there's enough questions, or in asks if its just a one off question.

(Though absolutely no promises. The entire discussion is draining and triggering, so... It's hard. Please don't be surprised if I'm unable to keep conversation about this going.)

I don't want to write the essay if it's not going to help anyone though. So… let me know. Maybe in reblogs. Just please not in my DMs. I'll turn on anonymous asks for the next month or so, and if people use them to be cruel, or confrontational, I will be taking that away again.

If you've made it this far... Thanks for reading.

...And, you know what? Shitty TLDR:

Papyrus is a grown ass man who can say fuck and be a bad ass bitch, and who can also be an autistic adult. These things are not mutually exclusive to each other.

Edit: Someone sent me a wonderful essay written by the-irken-pony about Papyrus and autism that was written in the earlier days of the fandom and Papyrus infantilization. (I have no idea how I haven’t seen this before.)

It’s not the current issue of “wow you became the thing you most sought to destroy (infantilization)” in Papyrus’s fan base, but it’s a wonderful breakdown of autism in Papyrus. It’s a good thing to read with this. You don’t have to accept the various headcanons as yours, but please take note of the various things that could be caused by autism. And then make sure that you aren’t calling those things childish.

[seokwoosmole]

This took me so long to post cuz episode 14 made me so sad. I just wanted to cry the whole way through. Like one of those my chest hurts and my face can’t help but contort kinda cries.

First of all, Attorney Jung. They better not kill him off. I was trying to hold it together during the whole episode but then he finally got his damn noodles and was just so happy that everyone was happy eating and I burst.

Second of all, I still hate Minwoo. I don't care that he's not acting as asshole-ish as he was before, he still is one, and I hate that they're trying to push Suyeon's character to suddenly like him just because he's doing these chivalrous acts out of basic human courtesy, and until he realizes understands how wrong he was for treating Youngwoo the way he did or actually apologizes or attempts to right his wrongs, my opinion about him isn't changing.

Third of all, I'm heartbroken. I'm also frustrated. Junho is a smart guy and more so than that, he's an observant one. It's one of the reasons why he's such a great guy in a relationship! Because he actually seems to pay attention to his partner and her needs and uses his observations to cater to those needs. Definitely one of those "hey you casually told me you like this thing one time so I got it for you" or "hey this reminded me of you" kinda guys. So where was that energy when Youngwoo broke up with him?? Like how could he not put two and two together that ever since they started dating, other people's prejudice and ableism has been attempting to come in between them, which has made Youngwoo very insecure in their relationship, enough so to make her ask Junho if he'd still keep loving her even if it's difficult and question her ability to make him happy, and that their recent visit with his family was clearly very nerve-wracking for her and that she MIGHT have heard his sister insult her and their relationship??? Like how did that not even cross his mind??

This is the man that never hesitates to defend Youngwoo when she's insulted or discriminated against, yet in this moment, he seems so oblivious to the problem. Going back a bit, as much as I love the sentiment in Junho's statement when Youngwoo says that loving her is difficult and he says yes, though he's going to keep doing it, I don't particularly appreciate the wording. Because so far, at least that they've shown, the most challenging part of their relationship isn't that "loving Youngwoo isn't difficult" but more so that their relationship has challenges because they both have different needs and other people are constantly shoving in their face this idea that they won't work out, which as a result, is planting insecurity in their relationship which is making things difficult. The lack of communication between the two of them is just an unfortunate bi-product of this. Like yes, Youngwoo should have explained why she wanted to break up with him instead of leaving him confused, but I also understand why she didn't. She knows that Junho is a great guy and his feelings for her are genuine, but when everyone is saying that she isn't right for Junho and no one is saying she IS, of course, who wouldn't feed into that kind of pressure and fall victim to insecurity. And even if Junho is happy and not lonely with her in the moment, she believes it's less likely that he'd stay that way and more likely for him to become lonely and unhappy in the future. And I feel like if Junho were to hear that explanation, he wouldn't allow her to break things with him; hence why Youngwoo didn't explain. Part of me was upset at this whole lack of communication and wanted to call out the show for bad writing. But also...I really can't. Because it kinda works. Youngwoo believes she'll make Junho unhappy but she's only thinking on her own and not even considering asking Junho if he feels that way, and Junho almost seemed offended at her breaking up with him, as though she didn't care about his feelings, when really, all she was thinking about was his feelings. Meanwhile, Junho is wracking his brain granted, not very well trying to think of what possibly went wrong or upset Youngwoo enough to break up with him; and the idea that her believing she could make him unhappy probably would never cross his mind. So in a way....this lack of communication makes sense for them. It's pretty on par with how their characters think and behave. I just hope that means that they'll continue to stay in character and find time to have a healthy conversation to discuss the reason of the break-up and why they should both communicate their concerns to each other instead of just trying to do what they believe is best for the other person. We saw this when Junho became Youngwoo's designated whale talk person and he thought the best thing to do was to simply listen to her talk about whales at all times throughout the day regardless of time and setting. But he learned that what really was best was to communicate with Youngwoo that they should have a designated time to discuss whales so that it's guaranteed but also balanced, giving them the opportunity to discuss other things and spend more planned time together. So long story short. I am still sad but hopefully after we see some reconciliation, sadness will be gone.

[mimzy-writing-online]

How do you handle casual ableism especially ableism that’s said to be “a joke”? I am blind and I get this all the time and it’s so annoying because I can’t win.

If it’s said by someone I know I probably won’t talk to much, if ever again, I just grin and bear it. If I’m invested in this friendship or know I’ll be working with them a lot, then I’ll say something. But I do have some personal pet-peeves.

“Oh, so you’re blind, but not like, blind-blind.” 

Whenever I explain to someone new that I’m visually impaired and what I see, I sometimes get the “oh, so you’re blind, but not like, blind-blind.” and I just... *internal screaming*

I hate it because it reinforces this hierarchy of “who has it worst in the world” that abled society has. It’s like saying, “oh, you’re blind, but at least you don’t have cancer.” That is insensitive to both people who are blind, people who have cancer, and people who have both. 

Everyone is going through their own stuff, and sometimes it feels debilitating and sometimes it feels normal. Undermining someone’s experiences by saying/implying someone has it worse is terrible and even worse is using that idea to say “oh, then you don’t need this accommodation that badly, you’re not disabled-disabled.”

I am blind. Just blind. I have a condition that highly affects my life and just because there are a few settings where I can pass for sighted, does not mean that I am not blind.

And those people feed my internalized ableism and imposter syndrome so that I begin to think “I’m not that blind, people have so much less sight than me” and begin to feel like I don’t deserve any of my accommodations, even my cane when my worst days hit. My cane, that thing I bought myself that affects no one apart from warning them I can’t see them, but means everything to me.

What I would like to say: “I am blind. What I’m describing might sound like no big deal to you, but it affects my life every day and I will never, under any circumstances, see as much as a sighted person. Please stop comparing my disability to other disabilities.”

“Can you use your cane as a weapon?”

It was funny the first 3-4 times I heard it, but strangers say it to me constantly and it’s just like... “oh, them Lakers” or “How’s the weather up there” or some other cliché joke that has been told to death. And these strangers don’t realize how unoriginal it is because they probably never interact with other blind people, but I hear it all the fricken time.

I’ve explained to friends that I don’t like this joke. And I have an example of it in A Witch’s Memory, specifically Ulric’s second chapter. But like, I cannot control what strangers think is funny.

What I would like to say: “I cannot. Canes are much more fragile than you think, and each one has cost me $50 each. And I’ve had... six? Over the years. And they take weeks to ship to me. I would be terrified of my cane getting damaged.”

“I bet you’re looking forward to robot eyes.”

No. I’m not. I’m really not. Leave my eyes the fuck alone.

This was waaaaaay before I was diagnosed with Visual Snow Syndrome, which is a neurological problem, not an eye problem, even if the symptoms that affect me most are visual.

And as for the ableism, there’s soooo so much in that statement:

“Oh, I bet you’re looking forward to getting cured”

“I think being blind is terrible, I would want robot eyes immediately”

And if I said that I didn’t want robot eyes ever, I’d almost always get:

“I bet it wouldn’t be that bad, you’d be a cyborg. How cool is that?”

I said no the first time. Respect that answer. It’s my body, my eyes. I’m so tired of this debate.

The only form of this conversation I will ever accept is from my best friend who admitted that he personally would jump at the chance for cybernetic enhancements, especially something that reduced chronic pain. There are some more personal issues I won’t disclose, but from his perspective I understood and we came to the acceptance that we had very different stances and that was okay so long as we respected each other’s choices.

What I would like to say: “I have considered this and personally decided that under no circumstances would I ever want this kind of surgery done to me. Please respect that choice and don’t joke about experimental surgeries with me.”

“Just consider me your personal human guide dog.”

Only one person has ever said this to me, but he’s said it several times while acting as my sighted guide and I hate it, not because there is any ableism directed at me, but because he’s calling himself less than human and I wish he treated himself better. He deserves better. My solution is just saying nice things to him every chance I get about how much I care about him and how he is good.

“Fuck you! I love you! Don’t you dare call yourself a dog. You’re amazing and I love you.”

“Well you’re able-bodied.”

Said to me by another person with a disability, specifically a chronic illness, while complaining about why I couldn’t do something for him.

It was my father.

and I just...

I have literally never not been disabled in some capacity.

I remember my ADHD affected me from the early age of six years old and how much that affected my self esteem. I started having chronic health problems (mostly due to anxiety) as soon as I entered my teenage years. The worst was when I was 19. And then I went blind.

I am in no way able-bodied. Do not throw this hierarchy of who’s more disabled at me. I physically cannot handle the task you asked me to do without physical pain following me for the rest of the day. It’s either going to have to get done by someone else, or I’m going to need help. Why do I need to be in pain all day for this?

You’re young, therefore you are able-bodied.

You means nothing in terms of disability! Lots of people are disabled, visibly and invisibly. And if your kid needs disability aids to perform normal tasks like walking safely outside, you shouldn’t be calling them able bodied.

What I would like to say: “I am not able bodied. I am far from it. What you’re asking me to do will either risk serious injury to me or will cause me serious, lasting pain. Please respect my physical limitations.”

“And on your right you and hear, smell, taste, touch the ocean.”

It was a joke by a close friend when we were on a road trip. Also, we were in a car on the freeway, literally, none of those things would be possible from that distance because all I would hear and smell would be car fumes. 

Like, okay, I know I can’t enjoy the scenic view the way sighted people can, but I am enjoying this drive in my own way. Even the visuals I can see are nice(ish). It’s stimulation, something different for my brain. I’m having fun listening to the music and your story while we move and there are shapes and faded colors passing us.

I’m experiencing this amazing road trip.

Maybe it’s not the way you would experience or best enjoy it, but I am having fun, don’t spoil it by reminding me that I’m different from you and that my experience “must be less enjoyable.”

I told him: “I don’t like those jokes. They aren’t funny to me. I don’t need to see it to enjoy it.” And he stopped. He never made another one after that drive.

(He’s also one of those people who has serious anxiety around making someone uncomfortable, and me telling him “hey I don’t like this, can we do this instead” actually helps us both, because I’m no longer uncomfortable and he can trust that I would immediately tell him if he ever did something I didn’t like. If I’m not speaking up, then I am good. And I can trust that he will stop as soon as I tell him to, and that I can always speak up if I need to.)

[comingoutofthecauldron]

let’s talk about lesbophobia in fandom

i don’t like to use the word “lesbophobia” unironically because of all the gross radfem terfy connotations, so i will clarify right off the bat that i am neither a terf nor an aphobe and that if you are i want you off my blog like, right now. unfortunately, the meaning of lesbophobia has been so warped by alt right lesbians that seeing it in an unironic context makes me, a lesbian, uncomfortable, which speaks volumes in itself. so to clarify, lesbophobia is essentially homophobia with a pinch of sexism thrown into the mix, and it’s running rampant in supposed safe spaces and, more relevantly, fandom. 

/i’d also like to clarify that i’m not only speaking on lesbophobia, but also the general disgust and disdain for all wlw in fandom, and am using it as a sort of umbrella term/

lesbophobia and disdain for wlw has been around forever, but whilst gay positivity, mlm and mlm ships have been steadily increasing in popularity within fandom over time, wlw and wlw ships have remained perpetual underdogs. why? because lesbophobia has become a fandom within itself. both in and outside of fandom, we see instances of casual lesbophobia every single day—from aggression towards wlw to something as simple and prevalent as the complete and utter lack of sapphic ships and characters in media. hatred of lesbians and wlw is practically a trend, and it’s seeping in through the cracks of fandoms who are already facing issues with minorities and marginalized groups (i.e. racism, ableism). if you honestly think that lesbophobia isn’t prevalent as hell in fandom right now, you’re either not a wlw, you’re not all that involved in fandom, or you’re dumb as shit. 

just look at ships. in almost every single fandom, the ratio of mlm ships to sapphic ships is ridiculously unbalanced. people are quick to ship male characters who so much as smile at each other (and i don’t condemn that) but would never do the same for two women—even on the rare occasion that the ship is actually canon. i once wrote a wlw fanfic for a [predominantly straight] fandom, and received messages like this gem:

on the flip side of that, if there is a sapphic ship in canon or fanon, it is often fetishized and sexualised to a disturbing degree. there will be double the amount of nsfw art and fics, and ninety percent of it will be derogatory and fetishized as hell. having been actively involved in several fandoms over the past few years (and currently a content creator in one), i’ve seen instances of all this hundreds of times. people go crazy for mlm ships, but the second you say you ship/prefer a wlw ship, there’s always someone at the ready with, “i think all ships are great!” or “it’s not a contest” or “i prefer [insert m/m or m/f ship] actually” or “they’re my brotp!/why can’t you just let them be friends?”. not only do lesbians and wlw not get to have any rep in media, any rep that they try to create for themselves in fandom just gets attacked or ruined. this is so detrimental not only to all wlw, but especially to younger wlw who will end up being indoctrinated into this belief that their sexuality is something dirty, something that can never be tender and sweet but rather something that deserves to be preyed upon. 

building on that, let’s talk about engagement. i run an instagram account (where i have a significantly bigger following) as well as this blog for my fandom, where i post the content i create (mainly text posts). when i first started creating content, i made a lot for a relatively unpopular wlw ship, in which both girls are canonically romantically involved with a dude—though one of them is canonically pan. their canonical m/f ships are both very popular, and i noticed that my engagement was dropping every time i posted them, so i eventually just stopped. it wasn’t even a conscious decision; i merely resigned myself to the fact that the fandom didn’t want to see sapphic ships, and some people would even go as far as to condemn them. for reference, my instagram posts get an average of about 500 likes per post (popular ones usually exceeding 1k), but when i post this ship, my engagement drops to about 250 likes. similarly, my tumblr text posts have an average of about 140 notes per post (popular ones usually reaching up to 750), but my wlw content rarely surpasses 100. this just feeds the cycle of wlw never getting rep: if, like me, content creators become disincentivised by the lack of engagement with their sapphic content, they’re more likely to stop making/posting it, leading to further lack of rep—and when new content creators try to rectify that, they face the same problems. 

and then, of course, there’s the treatment of actual wlw in fandom. my best example of this is when my friend and i made an anti account on instagram (the first instagram anti account in that fandom), our bio saying something like “salty and bitter lesbians being salty and bitter”, and received an onslaught of lesbophobic insults and threats from angry stans within hours. (tw: r*pe) one commenter even went as far as to tell us that they wanted us to get r*ped. as well as this, i’ve seen so many instances of people using slurs against lesbians in arguments/in anons, often for no apparent reason other than they feel that they have the right. when i first mentioned i was a lesbian on instagram, my account only had about 200 followers, and within a day i lost 20. i also lose followers whenever i post f/f ships, not quite to that extent but enough for it to be noticeable, on top of the aforementioned engagement dips. in the face of all this adversity, i think a lot of wlw turn to mlm ships because they’re the closest thing we have to actual rep, but when we do we get accused of fetishizing them by the same people who fetishize us. there’s an endless list of double standards that non-wlw have been upholding for years, and i can firmly say that i’m really fucking sick of it. because of our sexuality, we will never be allowed to enjoy something without someone labelling it or us as dirty or otherwise problematic, when to them, the only problematic thing about us is that we aren’t pleasing men. 

as i mentioned before, the lack of rep for wlw in media is appallingly consistent, and part of that stems from tokenism. in a lot of modern mainstream media, you’ll have one, maybe two lgbt characters, and nine times out of ten those characters are white cis male gays. of course, there are exceptions to this, but generally, that’s it. script writers and authors (especially cishets) seem to have this mentality of, “oh, well, we gave them one, that’s sure to be enough!”, which means that on the off chance you do get your gay rep, the likelihood of also receiving wlw or any other kind of rep becomes practically non-existant. this belief that all marginalized groups are the same and that one represents all is what leads to misrepresentation on top of lack of rep, which is what makes tokenism so dangerous. if you treat your only gay character badly, you are essentially treating every single gay person badly in that universe. so not only is lesbophobia and disdain for wlw harmful to sapphic women via their exclusion in media, it’s also harming those minorities who do get rep. when people try to defend lesbophobic source material, that’s when fandom starts to get toxic. the need for critical thinking has never been more apparent and it has also never been less appeased—and wlw are getting hit hard by it, as always.

finally, a pretty big driving factor of lesbophobia is, ironically, lesbians. my lesbian friends and i often joke that though everyone seems to hate us, no one hates lesbians more than lesbians do. though i’d say it’s most prevalent on tumblr, i see traces of it all over the internet. the growth of alt right lesbian movements is not only reinforcing hatred for lesbians, but also reinforcing hatred for bi and pan women. here you have these terrible lesbians using their platforms to express their disgust for bi/pan women, for aces and aros, for trans women/nb lesbians, and people see them and say, “gosh, lesbians are just awful.” and just like that, all of us are evil. occasionally, lesbian blogs that i follow get put on terf blocklists for no other reason than the fact that they have “lesbian” in their bio. and the lesbians that actually deserve to be on those blocklists? they’re too busy spewing misinformation about trans women and bi women to care, boosted up by their alt right friends in an ever-expanding movement. i’ve found that this heavily influences fandom on tumblr, lesbians often getting branded as “biphobic” when they hc a female character as a lesbian rather than bi or pan. this criticism of both lesbians and wlw by lesbians and non-wlw alike only ever allows lesbophobia to grow, both in and out of fandom. that said, lesbians aren’t to blame for their own discrimination; rather, many of us have been conditioned into subconsciously endorsing it after spending our entire lives hearing heterosexual platitudes about lesbians and sapphic relationships. homophobic cishets are and always have been the nexus of this oppression—the only difference is that now they can hide behind alt right lesbians.

one thing has been made apparent to me throughout my time in fandom, and that thing is that no one likes to see men “underrepresented”. people hate sapphic ships and lesbians so much because there is no room for men, and men Do Not Like That. so, like the worms that they are, they slither their way in, be it through fetishization or condemnation of wlw characters and ships, and they ruin whatever good things we have going for us. the thing about worms, though, is that they’re easy enough to crush if you’re wearing the right shoes.

so to all my bi/pan gals and lesbian pals: put on your doc martens, because we’ve got ourselves some lesbophobes to stomp on. 

[screechthemighty]

Yes, I’m Still On My Bullshit about this, but it hit me that the thing that bugs me about headcase-gate isn’t that Bangalore said something abelist. If anything, everything about her background means some casual and not-so-casual abelism is probably par for the course for her (I could write a whole-ass essay about that but I won’t do it here). What bothers me is that it goes unchallenged by the narrative. And I was wondering if it’s a matter of can’t or won’t, and had the sinking realization that...I think it’s both.

Her ableism can’t go challenged in any meaningful way because of the nature of the narrative. We’re dealing with short-ass stories that have to be concise in order to convey all the plot information, which makes a serious look at a character’s flaws and any chance for them to be meaningfully challenged difficult to impossible. And this isn’t really something we can do in the gameplay, either, since...well, it’s a multiplayer shooter that only just got character-specific dialogue. Not the best method for storytelling (as proven by Overwatch *puts a coin in the “cheap shots at overwatch” jar). So there is that hurdle to overcome.

That said, I also think her abelism won’t go challenged by the narrative because...well, they still had a chance and they didn’t take it. Think about it. Elliott kinda stood up for Pathfinder when Loba called him “appliance.” That proves that we can take five seconds to call out rude behavior. Literally all it would take is one line from someone to make it clear that it was the wrong thing to say. Here, I’ll fix it for them:

Bangalore: Hold up. You want to repeat that, Headcase?

Mirage: Hey, no need to get personal, Bangalore, calm down. But uh, Wraith, maybe try to read the room?

Or something like:

Bangalore: Hold up. You want to repeat that, headcase?

Pathfinder: Hey, don’t talk about my friend like that!

Mirage: I’m with the robot on that, B. But uh, Wraith, maybe try to read the room?

Literally these took me five seconds to come up with. I have no idea why that comment was allowed to go unaddressed when all three of the people Wraith can stand are in the room but none of them stood up for her. 

And before anyone says, “Screech, can’t we just understand that what she said was wrong? Does the narrative have to spoon-feed us this?” Well, seeing how people (especially gamers) throw around words like “r*tarded” on the regular and call people “autistic” as an insult...no, some people DON’T just understand that it’s wrong and so it NEEDS to be clear in the narrative. But seeing how everything Bangalore has said about anything has gone unchallenged (even by people who by all rights SHOULD have a thing or two to say about her IMC affiliation), I’m not super optimistic about her getting rightfully called out.

[verdigrisprowl]

Nov 13 Dancitron Movie Night - Baby Driver

It was a very good movie that various people found themselves identifying extremely closely with and/or made very uncomfortable by.

Some Grade A Bullshit went down at this movie night. The leaguers went outside to get away from the movie; Prowl followed them outside to apologize for getting them stuck here once a week. Meanwhile, Swoop harassed Tarantulas until Tarantulas literally threw him outside and webbed the door shut. Now there’s a fire-breathing baby who’s attracted to violence stuck outside with two tiny aliens who throw baseball pitches that look like miniature atomic bombs going off. Prowl goes into protective mode. Swoop wanders over to check out the aliens.

Meanwhile, Windchill and Whirl are trying to get the door back open. Soundwave, who’s like, really into the movie, is only just barely becoming aware of what the hell is going on outside. He tries to help open the door. It’s gross. He wipes it off on Tarantulas’s fur, which is fair, because it was Tarantulas’s mess in the first place. They finally manage to get the door back open, around the time that Prowl has turned into a brooding hen crouching defensively over the leaguers.

Soundwave gets on the roof to watch; Windchill tries to lure Swoop back inside with promises of hanging out with Laserbeak; thus causing Swoop to barrel straight into Windchill, who is, in fact, in between Swoop and the door. Prowl picks up the leaguers and fucking bolts in the other direction. Soundwave opens a space bridge full of water and soaks Swoop and Windchill to preemptively put out any Dinobot fires, then bridges their asses back to Swoop’s world, where Swoop proceeds to bite Windchill until he gets bored. All that remains of the battle scene is a soggy spiderweb beard.

And then Soundwave dances.

Yesterday ItsyBitsySpyers 8:02 pm *The usual assortment of minis is scattered around the room, and the twins are definitely excited, but Soundwave? For once, he is as alert as alert can be, 3000% attentive and ready for tonight's show. Feeds pared down to the most vital and everything. He's been told this will be one right up his alley...* Whirl 8:03 pm ((aww heel ye)) Swoop 8:03 pm *zips into the room and darts for energon, he is a hungry bab tonight* Specs 8:04 pm *a dragon trundles in with a set of thin energon cookies! she's looking better, if a bit dusty. her paws are unbandaged now, but they're shaved. fear the hideous raccoon hands of the dragon.* Swoop 8:04 pm *grabs a cube and CHUG CHUG CHUG* FakeProwl 8:05 pm *appears, takes seat, slumps* Swoop 8:07 pm *drops the empty cube and grabs another to chug* Bevel 8:07 pm *trundles in* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:07 pm *Soundwave nods to everyone rolling in, sends Laserbeak to Swoop, and gives the dragon's paws a curious head tilt.* Magnum Ace 8:07 pm -and he's actually still got his glove and ball in hand this time, as he walks in. He forgot the time this time- FakeProwl 8:07 pm *... tired, suspicious look at music video* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:08 pm *Once he tires of looking at them he'll ping Prowl hello and nudge a knee.* FakeProwl 8:08 pm *tired, suspicious look at soundwave* Bull 8:08 pm *Bull Armor followed Magnum in, placing his own mitt in his internal storage* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:08 pm //Yo, Bevel. Hey Ace, Bull.// ItsyBitsySpyers 8:09 pm (txt): ...What? Magnum Ace 8:09 pm Hello. I guess it's movie time again, now. FakeProwl 8:09 pm Are you encouraging a disregard for traffic laws? *both songs since prowl's arrived have been about speeding* Bull 8:09 pm Hello. *Is starting to get use to this 'oddity'* Specs 8:10 pm *the dragon actually glides to a couch close to Soundwave, and holds up her front paws for reference. without the protective fur, it's clearer to see that they've got true fingers- two opposable thumbs, and two fingers.* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:10 pm (txt): Negative. Themed music, tonight's film.

*Oh, he's distracted again. Is he allowed to gently touch the paws with a feeler tendril?* Bevel 8:11 pm Hi, Rumble! Specs 8:11 pm *he is! the dragon holds them out, "palms" up, to be investigated* FakeProwl 8:12 pm Is tonight's film encouraging a disregard for traffic laws? Bevel 8:12 pm ((oh prowl ItsyBitsySpyers 8:12 pm //C'mon and get comfy. Gonna have a good time tonight, heh.// Bevel 8:13 pm *will take her usual seat* What are we watching? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:13 pm (txt): ...Not film's main intention.

*But if it does, y'know. He's not taking responsibility.* Swoop 8:13 pm *downs cube number three and then drops it too, squeaking out a chirp when he sees Bird* HI! Magnum Ace 8:13 pm -nods and makes his way to Rumble. Safer up there than on the floor- ItsyBitsySpyers 8:13 pm //Somethin' called Baby Driver. Don't think there's no babies though.// Whirl 8:13 pm *trots in, quietly and casually making his way for his usual table* Bull 8:14 pm *While Bull may not like heights, it was better than the floor* FakeProwl 8:14 pm *suspicious look continues* ... Very well. Specs 8:15 pm *if Soundwave is finished investigating the paws, Whirl is going to find himself in possession of a furry epaulette pretty soon* Bevel 8:15 pm Cybertronian babies driving would be kind of cute. *waves to Whirl as he arrives at the table* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:15 pm {{Swooooop. Swoop gonna like tonight, neheh.}}

*The gentlest of prods to the paws, but yes, he's done now. Organic flesh is so... weird. And fur. Fur is weird too.* //Hey, Whirl!// Enthusiastic waving. //'N you leave Frenzy outta this, Bevel.// Swoop 8:16 pm What tonight? 😮 ItsyBitsySpyers 8:16 pm \\HEY!\\ Bevel 8:16 pm *laughs* Specs 8:16 pm *the dragon isn't exactly normal, to be fair. most dragons aren't furry.* Hello, Whirl! *have a shoulderpad with fur* How have you been? Whirl 8:16 pm *he'll pause long enough to let the dragon settle herself, and then sit* Hey, dragon. *and he'll toss a salute Rumble's way, sitting down* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:16 pm ((EIGHT MINUTE WARNING get your snacks, your bathroom breaks, and i mean it when i say you want headphones)) Swoop 8:17 pm ((that big a difference?)) ItsyBitsySpyers 8:17 pm ((there are some things it's easier to notice if you have 'em. example: lead gets an earbud pulled out. sound in that side of your headphones goes out.)) Swoop 8:17 pm ((sweet)) Whirl 8:18 pm Makin' it, more or less. *he's a little on the scruffy side, but otherwise looks more or less intact* You? Specs 8:19 pm *the dragon holds up her naked paws* I'm alive, despite all the odds! It's been a little crazy. Bull 8:20 pm *having settles in their -now- usual spot, Bull Armor takes out a canister of oil to drink; he was glad to have grabbed it from the repair room before heading out* Whirl 8:21 pm Yeah? You tell me your story first, and I'll tell you mine. Share you definition of "crazy" with me. Bevel 8:21 pm I am not sure Frenzy is cute but that is really nice you think he is, Rumble. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:21 pm //You're outta your fraggin' mind.// \\I AIN'T NEITHER!\\ Swoop 8:21 pm *stuffs his face full of goodies like the chipmonk he isn't* Bevel 8:22 pm *giggles* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:22 pm *Laserbeak pokes Swoop's cheek* Whirl 8:22 pm *okay Bevel gets a snicker for that one* Swoop 8:22 pm *giggles uncontrollably* Specs 8:22 pm *the dragon gapes a grin* Blew up the energon molds the night before halloween. I was way too close to them, I burned my paws real badly. Singed my face too, but I trimmed the fur down so that it doesn't look weird anymore. I looked pretty silly on halloween night, let me tell you! Swoop 8:22 pm *slaps both hands over his mouth to keep from losing goodies* *laughs harder* *is going to choke and die* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:23 pm ((OKAY WARNING TIME)) ((Some of you know that I schedule these weeks or months in advance. Most of the time, it works out okay. Tonight, there's an unforeseen problem.))

((Kevin Spacey plays a role in this movie.)) Whirl 8:23 pm I dunno, "freshly exploded upon" is a good look, if you can make it work. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:23 pm ((I have opted to go ahead with showing Baby Driver as originally planned for three reasons: it was finished and released months before the news came to light, the director's work tying the soundtrack into the story deserves to be admired, and spoilers about where Spacey's character ends up. I doubt Spacey will receive future acting roles, but if he does, those projects won't be shown here.))

((If his presence in it is or becomes too uncomfortable for you, please, take care of yourself and skip out for the evening.)) Magnum Ace 8:23 pm -Magnum was following Bull's example, settling down and opening his oil canister as well- I hope no one saw us vanish like that... ItsyBitsySpyers 8:23 pm ((Other warnings: blood, violence, foul language (curses, ableism, sexism, etc), sometimes flashing lights and/or rapid film cuts, the irritating tinnitus sound, depictions of domestic abuse, Hollywood Speed Romance, probably something I can't think of offhand, and a dose of cheese.)) Swoop 8:24 pm ((lets rock and roll)) Specs 8:24 pm Not when you're furry and already had a costume planned, it doesn't! *the dragon grins again* And what about you? ((*headbangs*)) Whirl 8:25 pm ((Thanks for the warnings, my dude!)) What WAS your planned costume, anyway? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:27 pm ((ALL RIGHT Y'ALL I HOPE YOU GOT YOUR VOLUME UP AND YOUR DISTRACTIONS THROWN OUT CUZ HERE WE GO 😄 :D)) Specs 8:27 pm You know those dragons that everyone else thinks are dragons? Green and scaly? That was my costume! Swoop 8:27 pm *reaches over to try to poke Bird's 'cheek'* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:27 pm *Soundwave scoots forward in his seat a little bit and a little bit and a little bit.* *Laserbeak chatters and pinches his finger* Swoop 8:28 pm *more explosive giggles* Whirl 8:29 pm Nice! I dressed up for that thing... once, I think? Missed it this year. Anyway, I was out for a bit. Someone tried to kill me, and I got hit by a spaceship. Magnum Ace 8:29 pm ....? Whirl 8:29 pm BUT, I'm thinking I'm gonna keep the spaceship. So a win-win, really. Specs 8:29 pm If it hit you and no one took it back, it's yours, right? Swoop 8:29 pm *talking through his fingers* this BIRD movie? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:29 pm {{No. It Boss movie.}} Swoop 8:30 pm Bird do tapping music too Whirl 8:30 pm Well, the pilot's DEFINITELY dead. Specs 8:30 pm So it's a free ship, then. Whirl 8:30 pm Yep. Specs 8:30 pm Nice. Did you kill the person who tried to kill you? Magnum Ace 8:31 pm ...looks like Coach's driving Bull 8:31 pm Yeah... Bevel 8:31 pm This looks fun. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:31 pm //Hot damn.// Whirl 8:31 pm Of COURSE. I wanted to save the corpse to feed to Killer, but it was starting to stink after a few days. Swoop 8:31 pm Oh! Him drive like Sideswipe keheheh Magnum Ace 8:31 pm Not...when you're in the car Bull 8:32 pm Top Joy nearly fell out last time. Whirl 8:32 pm *settles back, and turns his appreciative attention towards the screen* Specs 8:32 pm Didn't have anything to preserve it or ferment it? Magnum Ace 8:32 pm I think Silky's group fell off the back Whirl 8:33 pm Nah. I'm on Cybertron, right now. Got back last week, actually. Not much pickling equipment there. Swoop 8:33 pm ((this is SICK holy shit)) Specs 8:33 pm Ah, fair enough. Whirl 8:33 pm Okay now, that getaway was just as much luck as it was skill. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:33 pm *Soundwave is practically buzzing already. Lights bright and all.* Tarantulas 8:33 pm *sneaks in* ...Did I miss much? Whirl 8:34 pm A little fancy driving. Swoop 8:34 pm *perks up at Tara and makes grabby hands, mouth still totally crammed full of goodies* Whirl 8:34 pm But I'm willing to bet there will be a lot more of that. ...Ha. Just in time for these clever opening credits, though. Tarantulas 8:35 pm *dismissive paw wave at swoop, pppplease don't ask him to pick you up* Swoop 8:35 pm UP! FakeProwl 8:36 pm *twenty-seven crimes thus far, and that's just counting what happened inside a car.* Tarantulas 8:36 pm *rubbing his face with a sigh as he maneuvers the room* /No/ Swoop, not this time Swoop 8:37 pm Why "no"?? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:37 pm *Well, he did say it wasn't promoting speed. It... might be promoting a lot of others. At least 27 others.* [[No, there's not.]] Swoop 8:38 pm *bounces and grins at Tara while still working on the waaaaay too big mouthful of goodies he grabbed* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:38 pm //Heh heh. I gotta keep me an extra visor for that.// Bevel 8:38 pm He has more than two pairs. Magnum Ace 8:39 pm ... Specs 8:39 pm How many visors does he have? I counted three. Clich A 8:39 pm (sneaks in not even...knowing what this is.) ItsyBitsySpyers 8:39 pm ((baby driver. getcher headphones)) Clich A 8:39 pm ((headphones got) FakeProwl 8:39 pm ((they do Fancy Stuff with the soundtrack)) Tarantulas 8:40 pm (( cries because comp audio only works on one side Bull 8:41 pm *is watching with interest* Specs 8:41 pm *the dragon is clearly fascinated by the sign language here. she's all eyes* Swoop 8:41 pm Spiderbot! : > ItsyBitsySpyers 8:42 pm *Soundwave pulls his attention away long enough at the word "Spiderbot" to notice Tarantulas. He nods hello and goes back to watching.* Clich A 8:42 pm Aww, I remember that one. Whirl 8:43 pm *merely tilts his head at the sign language, but his expression is, as always, impossible to read* Tarantulas 8:43 pm "Spiderbot" is leaving you on the ground today, dinobot. Swoop 8:44 pm No : < Tarantulas 8:44 pm *is there a spot on the couch, it's gettin taken* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:44 pm *There is room, yep.* Tarantulas 8:44 pm *gud. seat acquired* FakeProwl 8:45 pm *glances at tarantulas. ... tiny nod.* Swoop 8:45 pm Oh. Him record. Kehehhh. Bird right. It Soundwave movie. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:46 pm *It sounds like a good time to him.* Clich A 8:46 pm It very hard to decide on food when you looking at pretty people. Clich A 8:48 pm Wow loving that the subtiles give us the song titles too. Magnum Ace 8:48 pm Wait. So...he doesn't get a choice? Swoop 8:48 pm Spiderbot! Tarantulas 8:49 pm *tiny nod? meet not-so-tiny arm on the back of the couch behind prowl. tara's not getting in the way, but he's scootin in close. aaaand also ignoring swoop* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:49 pm [[No. He's... in debt.]] Whirl 8:49 pm Being coerced by people with more power than him. Happens all the time. *with that, he'll stand up (carefully, so as not to dislodge his epaulette) and head to the bar* Swoop 8:49 pm Up! : > Specs 8:50 pm *the dragon settles into place. she's not going anywhere* Magnum Ace 8:50 pm ...... Bull 8:50 pm Now we know what's up. Magnum Ace 8:50 pm Yeah. That's...a bit unfair Swoop 8:51 pm ((he is literally baby soundwave)) Tarantulas 8:51 pm *smoosh. a spider paw pats swoop down. not up* Swoop 8:51 pm :V : > Uppp Me Swoop want up Clich A 8:52 pm Uh, rude. Bull 8:52 pm Kid is like Jurota. Whirl 8:52 pm Hey, Ravage, any chance I can get something good and strong on tab? Didn't bring anything interesting to trade, but you know I'm good for it. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:52 pm *Soundwave pings Prowl. Did he see. Did he see the human doing the thing.* Magnum Ace 8:52 pm Almost scarily like him Tarantulas 8:53 pm Hasn't Ratchet ever told you you can't always get what you want, Swoop? Swoop 8:53 pm YAH! Lots. Keheheh. Whirl 8:53 pm ((OH MY GOD HAAAHHAHA)) Swoop 8:53 pm ((omfg)) ItsyBitsySpyers 8:53 pm =Yes. Usual?= *Lazy tail flick* Specs 8:53 pm ((lmao)) Magnum Ace 8:53 pm ((WOW Whirl 8:54 pm Yeah. I'm more concerned with getting drunk than tasting it, though. FakeProwl 8:54 pm *... doesn't move away from tarantulas, but doesn't move any closer either* Bevel 8:54 pm Oh no. Magnum Ace 8:54 pm ... Swoop 8:54 pm ((holy shit that was badass)) Bull 8:54 pm And everything goes wrong. *though very spectacularly he must admit* Magnum Ace 8:55 pm Or...not? Specs 8:55 pm No plan survives contact with the enemy. *hums contemplatively* Magnum Ace 8:55 pm Ah...that's Clich A 8:56 pm oh geeze Swoop 8:56 pm *glances back at the screen* OH! Dead. Kehehhehh Spiderbot *pats Tara's upper arm* Bull 8:56 pm Oh, no. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:56 pm \\GUESSIN' HE AIN'T SEEN LOTSA DEAD HAPPENIN' BEFORE.\\ Whirl 8:56 pm Not used to being made to do it. Swoop 8:56 pm ((literally soundwave, rewinds song to the CORRECT part of the get away Lololol)) Bull 8:57 pm *breaths a sigh of relief at baby being ok* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:57 pm *Ravage hefts an... odd-looking version of a gaugebuster onto the bar* *Whirl wants drunk? Whirl's gonna get it.* Whirl 8:57 pm *hell yes, Ravage. This is why you're the best bartender* Any requests on what I should bring back for you, mech? Magnum Ace 8:58 pm -settles down again- I think...these movies are not good for after practice. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:58 pm *Ravage eyes Rumble for a moment before looking back up at Whirl.*

=Yourself. Go. Enjoy.= Whirl 8:58 pm Ravage, you're not allowed to eat me until I'm dead. Bevel 8:59 pm He is all out of sorts. Whirl 8:59 pm But, you got it. *he'll take the drink in one claw, salute with the other, and return to his table* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:59 pm *Low rumbly laugh.* =Not eating.= *Nods.* [[He doesn't understand.]] Bull 9:00 pm ... Magnum Ace 9:00 pm ........ Clich A 9:00 pm Wow. Bevel 9:00 pm 😧 Swoop 9:00 pm DEAD ItsyBitsySpyers 9:00 pm [[The Baby human. What this really means.]] Clich A 9:00 pm When he said sunset I thought like...Thelma and Louise.....drive it off a cliff. Swoop 9:01 pm THEM dead tooooo FakeProwl 9:01 pm *glances at the leaguers.* ... Do you need a bridge home early? Clich A 9:01 pm The gloves...are red palmed, because blood on the hands? FakeProwl 9:02 pm *there's no damn reason they can't be bridging them home the minute they get here instead of after movie night is over.* Clich A 9:02 pm Symbolism??? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:02 pm ((omg i hadn't caught that before)) Whirl 9:03 pm My first thought went to Sunset Boulevard, but clearly, I was wrong. Magnum Ace 9:03 pm I'm...uh...Bull? Whirl 9:03 pm Y'know, just leave the car somewhere, maybe try and frame someone else. Bull 9:04 pm *Bull shakes his head* Uh, I think... I'm ok. For now. Magnum Ace 9:05 pm Right. We're...we're good ItsyBitsySpyers 9:05 pm *Amused huff.* Swoop 9:05 pm ((they are so cute)) FakeProwl 9:05 pm *small nod* Magnum Ace 9:06 pm -uncomfortable as hell, but all good. For now- Clich A 9:06 pm I do like me some T.rex Whirl 9:06 pm "Bang A Gong" is a decent one. Bull 9:07 pm *not saying a word; as long as it keeps this current mood he can be alright for a time* Whirl 9:07 pm Can't say I've heard a lot of their other things, though. Clich A 9:07 pm Ballrooms of Mars is a personal favorite. Magnum Ace 9:07 pm -same here- ItsyBitsySpyers 9:08 pm *Pleased finger twitches. The human replays statements too.* Whirl 9:08 pm ((bless them, they're doing their best with those accents. They're not irritating, at least)) FakeProwl 9:09 pm ... *turns to tarantulas, says quietly* We need to fix this. Sooner rather than later. Swoop 9:10 pm Bird ItsyBitsySpyers 9:10 pm {{What what?}} Swoop 9:10 pm What them doing. Hands. Words. Whirl 9:10 pm *snickers, and gets chuggin* Tarantulas 9:10 pm F-fix - what do you mean? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:10 pm {{It hand talking language.}} {{Them motion meaning thing.}} Magnum Ace 9:11 pm Oh! -this is much better- FakeProwl 9:11 pm The portal problem, with the leaguers. Magnum Ace 9:11 pm -less driving that reminds him of Coach's- ItsyBitsySpyers 9:11 pm *Shakes his head gently. There it is.* Bull 9:11 pm Oh no... not him. Magnum Ace 9:11 pm .... Whirl 9:11 pm *to Swoop* We've got something similar. Chirolinguistics. Not a thing, in your dimension? Bevel 9:11 pm Noooooo Magnum Ace 9:12 pm Run. Clich A 9:12 pm ...Hm. Is that a thing? Clich A 9:13 pm Can I eat...catfish dipped in gold? Bull 9:13 pm There is -nothing- good about him. *is bristling* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:13 pm //Skip the fish 'n go for gold.// Specs 9:13 pm *hisses* Eat him. Magnum Ace 9:13 pm -sitting up straighter- He /didn't/ ItsyBitsySpyers 9:13 pm [[He did.]] Tarantulas 9:13 pm Oh. *WHEW that's a relief. way to scare him, prowl* I - yes. I can give you an update on the situation when I get back to my console. FakeProwl 9:14 pm *nod* Magnum Ace 9:14 pm He said he didn't want to Bull 9:14 pm He's not being given a choice. FakeProwl 9:14 pm ... I'm going to stop coming if coming means I keep trapping them here. They don't want to be here. They didn't volunteer for it. Whirl 9:14 pm It's called coercion. Keep up, little guys. Happens all the damn time. Magnum Ace 9:15 pm I /know/ what coercion is Whirl 9:15 pm So, why are you surprised? Clich A 9:15 pm Yeah Whirl don't patronize them, just because they aren't tall as you. Unless you are doing it for regular reasons. Then I guess I understand. Bull 9:15 pm Not really surprised, just uncomfortable. Bevel 9:15 pm It is really not fair. He just wants to stop. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:15 pm *Soundwave's attention finally pulls away again at "I'm going to stop coming". He looks over at Prowl first, then Tarantulas, and then the Leaguers.* Magnum Ace 9:16 pm I'm...not surprised. I'm disappointed Tarantulas 9:16 pm You won't have long to wait, Prowl. I - you did end up giving me the code I need, although there's more to it than just that. Swoop 9:16 pm ((what i miss)) Clich A 9:16 pm ((Coercion. into another job)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:16 pm ((he was forced to go back to work on pain of his new gf and his foster dad being hurt. he's scoping out a new place with the boss's nephew)) Bevel 9:16 pm *this is hitting way too close to home and she is uncomfortable* Swoop 9:17 pm ((cool)) Whirl 9:17 pm Pfft. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:17 pm \\HAH! HE GOT A MINI LIKE US.\\ Magnum Ace 9:17 pm ((holy shit kid is good)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:17 pm \\'N JUS' AS GOOD.\\ Swoop 9:17 pm You Bird good at language thing You do hand language? *wears a shiteating grin* *if he could finger guns with his grin he'd be doing it* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:18 pm *She blats at him. Rude.* Whirl 9:18 pm *snickers* Swoop 9:18 pm Keheehee Whirl 9:18 pm What a kid. Swoop 9:18 pm You Bird borrow Swoop hands Specs 9:19 pm *snickers uncertainly* Swoop 9:19 pm Or Me Swoop kill someone and take hands then Bird can hands Magnum Ace 9:19 pm -bristles at that- -That's not a team- ItsyBitsySpyers 9:20 pm //Ix-nay on the akin'-hands-tay.// Clich A 9:20 pm That is right, it is not. He's mean. and Manipulative and just...not ...likeable. Unlike Soundwave. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:21 pm [[Which part of that is he not like?]] *Amused.* Clich A 9:21 pm Unlikeable. Bevel 9:21 pm Soundwave can be nice. FakeProwl 9:21 pm *Small nod to Tarantulas.* I would appreciate it. I'm certain they would too. Clich A 9:22 pm Because this guy, he pretends to be charming and personable but he ISN"T. Soundwave pretends nothing and I like that about him. Swoop 9:22 pm Spiderbot! Spiderbot! ItsyBitsySpyers 9:22 pm [[Flatterers.]] Clich A 9:22 pm Truther. Specs 9:22 pm It's true, though. Swoop 9:23 pm ((This movie is phenomenal but jesus christ how many ears have those earbuds been in)) ((this is an unprotected earbud orgy)) Specs 9:23 pm ((too many)) Whirl 9:23 pm That guy is hilarious. Specs 9:23 pm ((do you sanitize your earbuds too swoopmun)) Magnum Ace 9:23 pm ((hope he cleans the things Swoop 9:24 pm ((I use over the ear headphones. Earbuds drive me nuts. Can't stand them.)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:24 pm ((same)) Bevel 9:24 pm ((same Specs 9:24 pm ((I prefer headphones on my ears, but my scalp is super sensitive so earbuds keep my skull from rashing out)) Bevel 9:25 pm ((over the ears also deter more random strangers trying to talk i've noticed Whirl 9:25 pm ((i can only use earbuds at work, so I have grown accustomed)) Specs 9:25 pm ((but I have to santize the buds because they get gross so fast)) *the dragon squints at the flirting humans* Tarantulas 9:25 pm *nods and squeezes prowl enough for him to feel* What IS it, Swoop Whirl 9:25 pm *flirting with a shotgun is perfectly normal, dragon* Swoop 9:25 pm Me Swoop pick YOU up! Keheh. Then You pick up Swoop : > ItsyBitsySpyers 9:25 pm [[What is wrong with his insiders' noses?]] Specs 9:25 pm *dragons don't USE guns. dragons flirt with teeth* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:26 pm *Looks at those here with noses.* Clich A 9:26 pm I can... only imagine it's a thing about drugs? I know nose drugs exist. FakeProwl 9:26 pm *Hesitates. Then leans against Tarantulas.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:26 pm [[.........."Nose drugs."]] *Stare.* [[You are pulling his leg.]] Clich A 9:26 pm I saw it in a movie. Magnum Ace 9:27 pm ..... Bull 9:27 pm *uncomfortable twitch* Specs 9:27 pm Don't humans need their noses? Whirl 9:27 pm *fair enough. Those of us without teeth must make do, however* Specs 9:28 pm *the dragon understands and sympathizes* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:28 pm *Lasting stare of disbelief. He'll turn his attention back to the film after another moment or so.* Tarantulas 9:28 pm I highly, highly doubt you could pick me up, Swoop. And that is NOT a challenge FakeProwl 9:28 pm *starts to say something; stops.* Bevel 9:28 pm Nose drugs? Swoop 9:28 pm *bounces in his seat* Yuh HUH! Me Swoop can! Clich A 9:28 pm That's right, PICK ME UP SWOOP. That is a CHALLANGE I'm heavier than I look. Magnum Ace 9:29 pm -and this is one uncomfortable leaguer- Bevel 9:29 pm *grumbles* Whirl 9:29 pm *snickers again; Whirl is gradually relaxing as the drink in his glass diminishes* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:30 pm //That's the best lookin' organic meat I ever seen.// Magnum Ace 9:30 pm -oh look, he's even more uncomfortable- Whirl 9:30 pm ((waaait a sec)) You said, it, Rumble. Clich A 9:30 pm Oh that was good word play tho Magnum Ace 9:30 pm -OKAY, he's out- Whirl 9:30 pm ((OH MY GOD IT IS THE GUY)) ((THAT'S THE GUY FROM PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE)) Bull 9:31 pm *jumped at the suddenness* Specs 9:31 pm *the dragon blinks slowly* Was that even necessary? Clich A 9:31 pm Pigs is a term for Police. Bevel 9:31 pm *covers her face with a hand* Swoop 9:31 pm ((I fuckng can't with how good this sound design is. A+ headphone suggestion, cro)) Clich A 9:31 pm So he was saying That these guys are cops? Magnum Ace 9:31 pm -heading for the edge of the table to jump down- Clich A 9:32 pm Oh I guessed right Bull 9:32 pm *turns to see Magnum leaving* Magnum...? *moves to follow* Clich A 9:32 pm I'm not named 'Clich'e" without a good reason it seems. Magnum Ace 9:32 pm -he needs air- ItsyBitsySpyers 9:32 pm //You two need out a sec?// Clich A 9:33 pm Does anyone need a hug? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:33 pm //Boss. Boss, the doors open?//

[[Hm? Yes.]] Magnum Ace 9:33 pm Yes. I need out for a moment. Clich A 9:33 pm OH NO Specs 9:34 pm Oh dear. Whirl 9:34 pm ((STAX, HELL YEAH)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:34 pm *Ravage stretches and leaps off the bar, heading toward the Leaguers.*

=Come.= =See the canyon.= Magnum Ace 9:34 pm Thank you. Bull 9:34 pm *follows Magnum and Ravage* Magnum Ace 9:35 pm -and he's following Ravage out the room- Whirl 9:36 pm What an incredible pissing contest in this podunk little diner. *toasts the screen* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:37 pm //I'm gettin' embarrassed for all of 'em.// Whirl 9:37 pm I know, right? Why not just throw down if you're as tough as you say? Specs 9:37 pm They should fight instead of talking. Whirl 9:38 pm You said it. Bevel 9:38 pm I like them talking. Swoop 9:39 pm *chucks a goodie at Tara's head* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:39 pm *The Doctor's lie detection senses are rubbish.* Clich A 9:39 pm It's actually tenser that they are...not fighting Whirl 9:40 pm Trash talking should take place WHILE you're fighting. Magnum Ace 9:40 pm ((so glad the leaguers are out of the room)) Windchill 9:40 pm *Appears, that's the bad news.* Bull 9:40 pm ((I'm enjoying the movie but the leaguers; yeah, no.)) Tarantulas 9:41 pm *hisses when the goodie hits his head* Bevel 9:41 pm *grumbles* Magnum Ace 9:41 pm ((yeah, the movie is fun Windchill 9:41 pm Is this one of those dramatic movies? Whirl 9:41 pm Kinda. It's pretty cool. Windchill 9:41 pm Not as dramatic as I am, I'll bet. Whirl 9:41 pm Good music. *waves at Chill; he's got a dragon on his shoulder and a mostly-empty glass of potent liquor* NOTHING is as dramatic as you are. Not even ME. Windchill 9:42 pm *Mostly empty is a good sign.* That's right, and don't you forget it. Swoop 9:42 pm Spiiiiiiidduuurrrr Windchill 9:42 pm I'm the worst there ever was. Bevel 9:42 pm Nooooo Whirl 9:42 pm Nah, nah. Not the worst. Just the most dramatic. Windchill 9:42 pm *He'll find a place to sit down like a normal person tonight.* Depends on your opinion of needless drama. Magnum Ace 9:43 pm ((oh wow, this got bad quick)) Tarantulas 9:43 pm I have a name, Swoop. Swoop 9:43 pm Keheehee You Spiderbot eat goodie aaaaaaaaaaaand pick up Me Swoop FakeProwl 9:44 pm ... I'll be right back. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:45 pm *Concerned look up.* Tarantulas 9:46 pm *lets prowl go* FakeProwl 9:46 pm *He's heading outside. Where are the leaguers?* Magnum Ace 9:46 pm -following Ravage- Bevel 9:46 pm *whines* This is bad. Clich A 9:46 pm Does not feel good, that's for sure. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:46 pm *Likely near the canyon edge with Ravage, who is loafed and comfy.* Windchill 9:46 pm *POINTS* Dog, I saw the dog. Probably saw it first, too. Tarantulas 9:47 pm *turns to swoop* ..You're paying me in goodies, as if I were a fair ride operator. I cannot /believe/ you Windchill 9:47 pm You guys need to quit slacking off on the dog-spotting. Swoop 9:47 pm *bounces and grins* Eat eat Magnum Ace 9:47 pm -is possibly also staring over said edge in amazement- Whirl 9:47 pm I've had enough dogs to last me the next ten years. Windchill 9:47 pm Dogs? Whirl 9:48 pm Well. One dog. Bevel 9:48 pm *wants to know how this ends but also doesn't want to see everything go bad* Windchill 9:48 pm One dog too many? Swoop 9:49 pm ((HOLY FUCK)) Whirl 9:49 pm Haha, HELL YEAH! Windchill 9:49 pm Well, that'll do it. Whirl 9:49 pm *toasts the screen* Bull 9:49 pm *is staying away from the edge of the canyon* Swoop 9:49 pm *SHRIEK laughter* He DEAD Whirl 9:49 pm (9OH HELL YES)) ((HOCUS POCUS)) ((YEEESSSS)) Magnum Ace 9:50 pm ((holy crap he's good Windchill 9:50 pm *POINTS* Dogs. FakeProwl 9:50 pm *looks around until he spots them, then heads their way.* Windchill 9:50 pm I win again. Whirl 9:50 pm ((i ALREADY LIKED THIS MOVIE BUT THE inclusion of this song won me over)) Bull 9:51 pm ((The soundtrack is great)) Windchill 9:51 pm Wow. Swoop 9:51 pm *pat pat pat pat pats at Tara's arm* ((boy take your busted ass glasses off XD)) Windchill 9:51 pm Last time I went down an escalator it was not so elegant. I broke it. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:51 pm ((i love all the little things like pillars passing in time to the music and the steps down the escalator with drum rolls etc)) Whirl 9:51 pm I can't imagine any escalator that would survive your enormous butt. Swoop 9:51 pm ((the detail in the sound design is incredible)) Windchill 9:51 pm It didn't. Whirl 9:51 pm ((I KNOOOW this directing is driven by the music and it's fantastic)) Swoop 9:52 pm ((It started off a little bit music videoy but it is very cinematic now)) Clich A 9:52 pm Who left that chair there. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:52 pm ((even the cart crashing down in a few seconds has a double crash)) Windchill 9:52 pm I broke both sides. On purpose. Whirl 9:52 pm *nods sagely and finishes off his drink* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:53 pm //Some worker on break probably.// Windchill 9:53 pm Casual property damage is kind of my thing. Dead. Whirl 9:53 pm *snickers* ((IM DYING)) Magnum Ace 9:53 pm -looks back up to Prowl- Hello Swoop 9:53 pm ((god the bullets are all so well timed, it doesn't feel fakey. It's so natural with how on beat everything is.)) Clich A 9:54 pm Oh wow. FakeProwl 9:54 pm Hi. *kneels down next to them.* Magnum Ace 9:54 pm ((HAH! Windchill 9:55 pm I like the purple car. Whirl 9:55 pm Oh, hell, 'Chill. Guess what? Might have a ship. Windchill 9:55 pm Because. It's purple. A ship? Bull 9:55 pm Hi Prowl Windchill 9:55 pm Who did you kill? Did you steal it? Bevel 9:55 pm *likes the car as well but doesn't want to agree with Windchill* Windchill 9:55 pm *WELL TOO BAD.* Whirl 9:55 pm I got hit by it. Windchill 9:56 pm Hmm, maybe that's even better. Whirl 9:56 pm The guy inside is dead--he was trying to kill me. Probably wanted my bounty. But I figure, finders keepers. Windchill 9:56 pm I see you survived, yes. How are you going to change the registration? Whirl 9:56 pm No damn clue. Windchill 9:57 pm Might want to work on that. I mean. FakeProwl 9:57 pm ... We've figured out why you keep ending up here. Windchill 9:57 pm After cleaning up the corpse. Whirl 9:57 pm Oh, it's gone. Magnum Ace 9:57 pm You have? Can it be fixed? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:58 pm ((best unexpected use of this song ever)) Bevel 9:58 pm *shifts uncomfortably and waits for this to backfire horribly* FakeProwl 9:58 pm If not fixed, then prevented. Bevel 9:58 pm *yup there it is the backfire* Whirl 9:58 pm ((is..... HAHAHA)) Magnum Ace 9:59 pm That's good. No more late nights Windchill 9:59 pm Who uses their sirens to use the bathroom? Whirl 9:59 pm When you gotta go, you gotta go. Specs 10:00 pm ((honestly, that happens a LOT where I live. the cops are jackasses)) Bull 10:00 pm Meckel has been getting suspicious of us being so tired the next day. Windchill 10:00 pm It's probably illegal. Magnum Ace 10:00 pm Windy has already called me out on it FakeProwl 10:00 pm When we made comm contact, somehow the frequency got tangled up in the program I used to show up here. One of my—roommates, uses it to show up to the other movie night you've gone to. Windchill 10:00 pm I disapprove. Whirl 10:00 pm HA! EXCELLENT. Windchill 10:01 pm Not dead yet. Whirl 10:01 pm Let him bleed out. Windchill 10:01 pm Nah, he might recover. Finish him off. See. Whirl 10:01 pm Okay, fair. Still. What did that idiot think was going to happen? Holding his main squeeze hostage? Looking away from his gun? Idiot. Clich A 10:02 pm ....oh Magnum Ace 10:02 pm Oh, I guess that's...good? FakeProwl 10:02 pm I've got someone who can fix it. Hopefully, this week. Windchill 10:02 pm *Nods.* So. FakeProwl 10:02 pm But if he can't fix it, then I'll stop coming. Windchill 10:03 pm Whirl. Magnum Ace 10:03 pm That would be nice. Windchill 10:03 pm I can't believe. You're out murdering without me. Again. Magnum Ace 10:03 pm But...wouldn't we just appear where you are? Whirl 10:03 pm Hey, now, I was minding my own goddamned BUSINESS. Windchill 10:03 pm *Disapproves of siren misuse but not of murder apparently.* Whirl 10:04 pm I didn't start nothing, but APPARENTLY, I've got a very valuable head. FakeProwl 10:04 pm No. It only happens when I turn the program on. Bevel 10:04 pm *laughs a little at the monsters inc. bit* Windchill 10:04 pm Funny, it's so small. Whirl 10:04 pm I know. Small and shaped like a flashlight. Ugliest head you ever saw. Windchill 10:05 pm *His week long vow to not antagonize people doesn't apply to Whirl, apparently.* Magnum Ace 10:05 pm Really? That's...pretty good. Windchill 10:05 pm Nah, I've seen uglier. Whirl 10:05 pm You're objectively wrong, but I appreciate it. Windchill 10:06 pm You're objectively a butthead. Whirl 10:06 pm *LAUGHS* Bull 10:06 pm If you like these movie nights you should keep going. Windchill 10:06 pm Dead. Swoop 10:06 pm ((goddammit this movie is at 11 all the way through, isn't it?)) Bull 10:06 pm They just, hit some sore spots for us. Whirl 10:06 pm (IT IS)) FakeProwl 10:06 pm So. One way or another, you won't be showing up here against your will again. Whirl 10:06 pm ((I figured this movie would be good but I am still impressed)) Magnum Ace 10:07 pm It's okay, we've gotten used to it FakeProwl 10:07 pm It's not okay. Whirl 10:08 pm That's not what that means. It means, "why are you Romeo," you uncultured--*thrusts his empty cup at the screen*--SWINE. HA! Specs 10:08 pm *snickers at Whirl's drama* Windchill 10:08 pm You sure showed them. Swoop 10:09 pm *shrieks* FakeProwl 10:09 pm ... We've suspected the problem for a few weeks now. I'm sorry I kept coming during that time. Swoop 10:09 pm YAAAHHHH Windchill 10:09 pm He had better be dead this time. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:09 pm *Soundwave lurches forward at the shots by the human kid's ears.* Windchill 10:09 pm Huh. Whirl 10:10 pm Kill him! Kill him! Bevel 10:10 pm *flinches* Whirl 10:10 pm Pfft. Swoop 10:10 pm KAHAAAAAAAAAAAA!! DEAD D E A D Specs 10:10 pm Very dead. Whirl 10:10 pm Not as cool as if she'd bashed out his brains with the crowbar. Windchill 10:10 pm Finally, an explosion. Whirl 10:10 pm But still. Windchill 10:10 pm Yeah. Magnum Ace 10:10 pm ...oh Windchill 10:10 pm She got to hit him a little. Swoop 10:11 pm ((*clasps hand over heart* oh no)) Whirl 10:11 pm Woulda been funnier if he got killed by his "bargaining chip," y'know? She was just baby's weak spot this whole thing. Woulda been hilarious to watch someone get brutally murdered by a "weak spot." FakeProwl 10:11 pm Anyway—if you'd like, I can provide a bridge home. There's no reason for you to wait until the rest of us are ready to go. Windchill 10:11 pm *Nods.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:11 pm *At least the human is free, but...* *Oh. Not even that.* Magnum Ace 10:12 pm Well, it's not every day we get to wander around an alien planet Bevel 10:12 pm Is he turning himself in? FakeProwl 10:12 pm No. Just every week. Windchill 10:13 pm Well. I guess that's the right thing to do or whatever. We'll see. Magnum Ace 10:14 pm Well, yeah ItsyBitsySpyers 10:15 pm ((ahh i didn't catch the bunch of people in DOC suits watching a car chase before)) Tarantulas 10:15 pm (( fuckin. seriously. miles Magnum Ace 10:15 pm But I meant now. -gestures to the canyon- Whirl 10:16 pm Not bad. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:16 pm //Heh. Cute.// Swoop 10:16 pm ((good movie 😄 )) Tarantulas 10:16 pm (( HELLA good Swoop 10:16 pm That good movie It fast FakeProwl 10:16 pm ... *Nods.* All right. *Stands up.* Whenever you're ready to go, then. Swoop 10:16 pm Buuuuuuuuut FakeProwl 10:16 pm ((v good)) Bull 10:16 pm ((Really good)) Whirl 10:16 pm (I SEE U PAUL WILLIAMS)) ((I SEE U)) Swoop 10:16 pm Better movie if not on GROUND 😛 Windchill 10:16 pm (( Nice Lady Teller what. )) Whirl 10:16 pm ((agreed!)) Magnum Ace 10:16 pm ((yes, very good movie)) Swoop 10:16 pm *pat pats Tara* Tarantulas 10:17 pm *rubs his face with his paw, then JUMPS when swoop pats* Windchill 10:17 pm Well, that was something. Swoop 10:17 pm *errupts laughing* You JUMPY spider Whirl 10:17 pm Yeah, you missed a lot. Worth a watch. Clever, at least. Good music. Windchill 10:17 pm I usually do. Bevel 10:17 pm ((seen this a couple times now and i'm still not over the scene in the garage ItsyBitsySpyers 10:17 pm *Soundwave immediately turns to his couchmates to text wall them about it and remembers that it's just him and Tarantulas. Did Prowl miss the whole--?*

*He's about to reach for Tarantulas when Swoop pats and scares him instead. Mmph. Maybe he'll just. Replay some of the good parts in... well, they were all good parts. Some of the best of the good parts in his head for now.* Tarantulas 10:18 pm If I really were a jumping spider, I would have actually smacked you instead of holding myself back just now. Swoop 10:18 pm Keehee ItsyBitsySpyers 10:18 pm //...Hey, I just realized somethin'.// Specs 10:18 pm *the dragon stretches* That was something else. Magnum Ace 10:18 pm -speaking of alien planet, he's curious if it will affect his pitch any- Swoop 10:18 pm *reaches for tara again* Windchill 10:18 pm *Stretches OBSCENELY.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:18 pm //If ain't nobody runnin' the Lost Light no more, we got rights to get in that music room thing, yeah?// Tarantulas 10:19 pm *tara catches swoop's hand and just. holds it. tiny hand lost in giant fuzzy paw* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:19 pm \\...OH FRAG. DRUMS. I. I GOTTA.\\ Bevel 10:19 pm *relaxes her posture finally and sighs* Whirl 10:19 pm Probably. FakeProwl 10:19 pm I'll be back inside. *Turns to trudge back in.* Whirl 10:19 pm I don't think anyone would stop you guys. Magnum Ace 10:19 pm Hey. Prowl? Swoop 10:19 pm *cocks his head - what is this? - then laughs and bounces* Up! FakeProwl 10:19 pm *Stops.* Yes? Magnum Ace 10:19 pm What are the differences on this planet to Earth's? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:20 pm //Hmm.// *Rumble points at Whirl.* //You still up for that fake band stuff, or naw?// Windchill 10:20 pm *Snorts.* Tarantulas 10:20 pm That's not my name either, Swoop. *hff. joke. but wait* ...Do you actually even KNOW my name? FakeProwl 10:20 pm ... Uhh. No humans? You're going to have to be more specific. Swoop 10:20 pm Uhhh... yeah! Whirl 10:20 pm I mean, if you guys ever wanna have a jam session, and I'm available, hell yeah. Only thing I can really do is sing. Swoop 10:20 pm Maybe Dunno Magnum Ace 10:20 pm Atmosphere? Gravity? Tarantulas 10:20 pm I thought not. No name, no up. Windchill 10:21 pm Castanets, Whirl. Swoop 10:21 pm Spiderbot Windchill 10:21 pm I believe in you. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:21 pm //Singin's all ya gotta do. You available after this, or ya gotta run back to the ship thing?// Whirl 10:21 pm Nah, that ship's not going anywhere. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:21 pm *Yeah, they overheard that.* Swoop 10:21 pm ((if I thought I could justify Swoop calling him Spider Lady, please know I'd be doing that instead)) Tarantulas 10:21 pm (( omg please. i do wish Whirl 10:21 pm Can't promise that I'll be... very good right now. I am a bit, as they say--*hoists his glass* Tipsy. *he might be a bit more than tipsy. Ravage is a very good bartender* Swoop 10:22 pm ((I can't justify it as is but, given the opportunity, I would)) ItsyBitsySpyers 10:22 pm //Heh. Drunk singin's a time-honored tradition, mech.// Swoop 10:23 pm You Spiderbot tell Me Swoop name. Theeeeeeeeen ... kehhhhehh! UP! 10:23 pm *big dragon yawn* I think it's time to turn in... This was fun! Thank you, everyone. Whirl 10:23 pm You MIGHT... have a point. Okay, if I'm singing, and Frenzy's on drums, what're you doing? *looks to his epaulette* Seeya later, dragon. Tarantulas 10:23 pm No, that's not how it works, Swoop. *stands up and stretches all the leggies* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:24 pm //Wait, he took drums?// \\DAMN RIGHT.\\ //You aft. That was gonna be me. Fine, uh. Guess I could try guitar...ing.// ItsyBitsySpyers 10:24 pm [[Goodnight, dragon.]] Swoop 10:24 pm *hops in place in front of Tara and whines* Whirl 10:24 pm So, what else we need? Windchill 10:24 pm An audience, duh! Bevel 10:24 pm *gets up to leave* Whirl 10:24 pm You volunteering? Magnum Ace 10:25 pm ((Ace is probably going to see how his pitches work on Cybertron, because curiosity)) Windchill 10:25 pm Excuse me, Do you really expect me to sit around and watch you guys play drunken rock band? Of course. Swoop 10:25 pm whhHHhhhHHyyYYyyyYYyyyYyY? Whirl 10:25 pm Yes, I d--heh. Windchill 10:25 pm Bye, Sho-Bevel. Whirl 10:25 pm I mean, we do pretty good duets, you could join in. Windchill 10:25 pm *ALMOST* Whirl 10:25 pm *perks up* Oh! Yeah, seeya, Shovel! Windchill 10:25 pm "Pretty good," he says. Tarantulas 10:26 pm *looks around, wait, where's laserbeak when you need her* Windchill 10:26 pm We're the best there ever was. We'll see. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:26 pm *Laserbeak's watching the mess and waving to Bevel.* Swoop 10:26 pm *grabs tara's wrist* Whirl 10:28 pm Okay. Anything else y'all think we need? Anyone you wanna draft? Tarantulas 10:28 pm Primus damn it, you're going to have me researching newbuild psychology on my off hours aren't you Let /go/. Swoop 10:28 pm *jumps up and down* NO ItsyBitsySpyers 10:29 pm *Frenzy scratches his chin, then points to Laserbeak.* \\HER. SHE GOT HER WEIRD TRANSFORMIN' SOUND STUFF.\\ FakeProwl 10:29 pm ((i'm sorry for the slow reply, i'm trying to desperately consult with the muns who run this cybertron to find out what their gravity is)) ItsyBitsySpyers 10:29 pm \\...'N I GUESS SWOOP CUZ HE TAGS ALONG 'N STUFF.\\ Bevel 10:29 pm *doesn't acknowledge any of the goodbyes, the movie put her in a weird mood* Tarantulas 10:30 pm Yes. Swoop. Swoop should absolutely do whatever it is he's being recruited for. Please. Windchill 10:30 pm You guys gotta pick songs, too. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:30 pm \\SWOOP. YOU WANNA PLAY IN A BAND WITH BIRD?\\ Windchill 10:30 pm Maybe it's better to be spontaneous though, scratch that. Swoop 10:30 pm *doesn't let go of Tara, but he looks around, still making high pitched whiny noises* Whirl 10:31 pm *nods his approval; Laserbeak is a good draft* Swoop 10:31 pm *if he isn't getting what he wants, everyone else's audios are gonig ot have to pay for it* Windchill 10:31 pm *The spider is not your mom child, calm down.* Magnum Ace 10:31 pm ((hey, accuracy is a good reason Whirl 10:31 pm You want I should pry him off, Legs? Windchill 10:31 pm *Thinks of something evil.* Tarantulas said he could sing. Might as well bring him along, too. FakeProwl 10:32 pm Ah. You'd be better off getting the specifics on the atmosphere from him. *nods to Ravage.* This isn't my Cybertron. But gravity is 31.7 percent of Earth's. Tarantulas 10:32 pm Yes, please. Before I web him up to the - oh Primus. Whirl 10:32 pm Nah. We already GOT a singer. Windchill 10:32 pm You can have more than one, you frick. Whirl 10:32 pm Not if the LEAD singer don't say so. Windchill 10:32 pm You guys could be like a boy band. Or Destiny's Child, even. Swoop 10:32 pm *clamps down with both hands, he is a baby but his talons are pretty well developed* UP! Whirl 10:32 pm Next time, maybe, Legs can join. I doubt he could keep up. *sly, sidelong look* Windchill 10:33 pm Whirl you're RUINING my EVIL PLOT. FakeProwl 10:33 pm *He can't take air samples but he CAN observe gravity at work. That's just simple math.* Whirl 10:33 pm *no, he's just running an evil plot parallel to yours* Bevel 10:33 pm *there are other bots outside... awkwardly shuffles in a direction away from others while they're distracted by talking about gravity* Magnum Ace 10:33 pm Percent more or less? Windchill 10:33 pm *RUINING. RUINED. IT'S RUINED.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:33 pm *Ravage flicks an ear and looks up. He was called? Yes? No? What?* Tarantulas 10:33 pm *fricken damn it swoop. tara's arm jerks p hard to get him off, and if that doesn't work, tara's physically going to pry him off with a few other legs* FakeProwl 10:33 pm Percent of. Windchill 10:34 pm *Sinks into his seat in mock defeat.* *Whines.* I just wanna be evil... Magnum Ace 10:34 pm ((oh this is gonna be fun Swoop 10:34 pm *oh he's going to make you pry, whining increasingly higher pitches the whole while* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:34 pm *Ravage rumbles a goodbye to Bevel.* *He can't see her, but he can smell her.* FakeProwl 10:34 pm So, 68.3% less. Magnum Ace 10:34 pm ((less gravity on that scary ass pitch Bevel 10:35 pm *feels bad about ignoring everyone in the club so Ravage gets a very quick ping because that will help her feel less guilty yes* Windchill 10:35 pm Swoop. FakeProwl 10:35 pm ((for reference: about a third of earth's gravity and roughly double the moon's gravity)) Windchill 10:35 pm Swoop. Swoop. Swoop. Magnum Ace 10:35 pm ((cool! Thanks Windchill 10:35 pm You're being a poop, Swoop. Tarantulas 10:36 pm *once he gets a proper hold of swoop tara drags him out to the door and just. tosses him out. there. u guys outside have him* Windchill 10:36 pm Nobody's allowed to be higher pitched than I am! Magnum Ace 10:36 pm Hmn. Hey, Bull? Bull 10:36 pm Yeah? Tarantulas 10:36 pm *tara really hopes sw isn't watching, he doesn't know if that warrants a bridge out or not* Swoop 10:36 pm *shrieks the entire way across the room while Tara drags him like he's DYING, but it turns into an excited laugh once he's getting tossed, this is a slight improvement* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:37 pm *Soundwave is on cloud nine right now. He was trusting the twins to watch.*

*That was, of course, A Mistake.* FakeProwl 10:37 pm *He figures that's all he's needed for. Heads back into the cl— There's a Swoop in his way.* Windchill 10:37 pm This is getting borderline violent. Swoop 10:37 pm *lands with more grace than a shrieking toddler really should, but he's all giggles now* FakeProwl 10:37 pm *Regards the Swoop tiredly.* Magnum Ace 10:38 pm Want to test out something? Swoop 10:38 pm *finally notices Prowl, then immediately stops caring, Prowl is boring* AGAIN! AGAIN! Magnum Ace 10:38 pm -and he's hefting his baseball in the one hand- Tarantulas 10:39 pm *nope swoop, tara shut the doors behind him when he went back inside* Bull 10:39 pm Test out? Magnum, I thought your shoulder would be tired from earlier. *chuckles* But if you want to. Swoop 10:39 pm *scratches at the door* Tarantulas 10:39 pm *he webbed it shut* FakeProwl 10:39 pm *... He doesn't have the energy to walk around Swoop.* Whirl 10:39 pm *watches this in silence* Windchill 10:39 pm *YOU TRAPPED PROWL OUTSIDE???* Swoop 10:39 pm *is the worst type of movie villain... a child* FakeProwl 10:40 pm *He could just go non-corporeal and walk straight through Swoop and the d—* Windchill 10:40 pm You guys are gonna give that kid a complex. Tarantulas 10:40 pm He already HAS a complex. FakeProwl 10:40 pm *... And leave the leaguers outside alone with a rampant Dinobot.* Swoop 10:40 pm *has a complex* Windchill 10:40 pm A WORSE ONE. Magnum Ace 10:40 pm Not really. Besides, I want to try this out FakeProwl 10:40 pm *......... Tiredly trudges back over to the cliff. He's on guard duty now, he supposes.* Windchill 10:41 pm We're the adults in this situation, that means we're responsible. As much as it pains me to say so. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:41 pm *Ravage would tell them not to break any windows, but, well. Dancitron hasn't got any.* Bull 10:41 pm Alright. *pulls out his mitt* Just let me get into position. *Bull moved a good ways away from Magnum before taking a catching stance* Magnum Ace 10:41 pm ((this bullshit is what he's about to do https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9VvaGg-rC0&feature=youtu.be&t=16m2s Shippu! Iron Leaguer 48 (SUB) Shippu! Iron Leaguer 48 (SUB) New episode once per week. This is NOT an "official" fansub. Beware of translating mistakes, typos, and bad grammar. Translations: sharky857, me & my friend ... FakeProwl 10:41 pm *... Oh. They're about to—* Don't— You shouldn't— You don't want to do that right now. Bull 10:41 pm *his horns pointing forward as his visor drops down* Swoop 10:42 pm *could burn down the building..... but Bird. SIGH* Bull 10:42 pm ((Wrong cli[p)) Magnum Ace 10:42 pm ((whoops, wrong clip)) FakeProwl 10:42 pm Magnum Ace! *If he starts throwing things—* Tarantulas 10:42 pm Windchill, you're only saying that because you aren't the one he's latched onto. Magnum Ace 10:43 pm ((what problems if he does that? Whirl 10:43 pm I think he could handle it. Windchill DOES have a kid. FakeProwl 10:43 pm ((attracting the attention of a fireball-throwing berserker toddler)) Whirl 10:43 pm I've met her, too, she's a right terror. Windchill 10:43 pm As lucky as I am that he doesn't like me, I'm still right. Yeah, I got... Tarantulas 10:44 pm Please, then LET him handle it Windchill 10:44 pm I got this THING. Whirl 10:44 pm I have already taught her how to curse. *claw over spark* Windchill 10:44 pm Called EXPERIENCE. In dealing with little shits. Swoop 10:44 pm *how do you get inside a building without burning it down? wheeljack didn't prepare him for this scenario....* Whirl 10:44 pm Windchill, you know what you must do. Windchill 10:44 pm What must I do? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:44 pm *YOU USE THE DOORS YOU'RE RIGHT IN FRONT OF, SWOOP, HE SWEARS TO PRIMUS* Magnum Ace 10:44 pm ((oops. He's probably already doing the thing Tarantulas 10:44 pm ...Please don't let him back in Swoop 10:44 pm *TARA WEBBED IT SHUT HE IS TRYING* Magnum Ace 10:44 pm ((because he's curious and forgot)) Windchill 10:45 pm He's gonna do something inadvisable if we leave him out there, that's for sure. Swoop 10:45 pm *he has missiles bu the's pretty sure that still counts as burning the building down* Tarantulas 10:45 pm (( this is a disaster (( i love it ItsyBitsySpyers 10:46 pm *Soundwave shakes his helm and returns himself to the Real World. Looks like some people have left and some still haven't returned. What's keeping Prowl and the Le--*

*When did THAT get there?*

(txt): Tarantulas. Windchill 10:46 pm *Eyes the doors, trying to gauge how his claws would fare against the webbing.* FakeProwl 10:46 pm ((do i assume he already threw a pitch then?)) Tarantulas 10:46 pm *groans and collapses in a chair* Magnum Ace 10:46 pm ((more like https://youtu.be/cuJZK5jkrKo?t=17m26s that one FakeProwl 10:46 pm ((you didn't say he threw it, so ???)) Windchill 10:47 pm *And whether the doors themselves would emerge unscathed. Property damage is more fun when you get away with it.* Magnum Ace 10:47 pm ((and yes, he did, probably when Prowl was yelling at him not to FakeProwl 10:47 pm *Scrap SCRAP scrapscrap. That's not a subtle pitch. Panicked look toward Swoop. Please, by some miracle, do not have noticed it.* Swoop 10:47 pm *slides down the door and immediately texts BIrd just an unreal number of sad emojis* Windchill 10:47 pm I'm gonna do it. Tarantulas 10:48 pm *HEAVY SIGH* ...Have at it. Ughh. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:48 pm [[What? Have at what? DO NOT BREAK HIS DOORS.]] Windchill 10:48 pm Don't worry, I got a delicate touch. Bull 10:48 pm *Bull Armor was more than a little surprised at the strength of the pitch in the alien atmosphere, but managed to catch it* FakeProwl 10:49 pm *Prowl has seen bazookas that shoot concentrated sunlight that are less flashy than that pitch* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:49 pm *Startled to his feet. Still hasn't gotten an answer. Prods Tarantulas with a feeler.* Windchill 10:49 pm *He gets up and rolls his shoulders; this is gonna take all of his strength.* Okay you guys. Bull 10:49 pm Woah, that would definitely tear up the field more than usual. Magnum Ace 10:49 pm -Sorry Prowl- Windchill 10:50 pm He's liable to come flying back your way. If we're lucky he'll run into my groin first. No promises. Magnum Ace 10:50 pm ...are you okay, Bull? FakeProwl 10:50 pm ... You—! What'syourname! CATCHER! Tarantulas 10:50 pm *bats sw's feeler away with a "take care of it yourself" huff and the mental image of swoop with a giant X stamped on him* Whirl 10:50 pm All right. Well. I'm heading out, one way or the other. *looks to the twins* Comin with? Or should I meet you later on tonight? Bull 10:50 pm Me? *Bull Armor pointed to himself curiously* Bull Armor Windchill 10:50 pm *Goes to the door. Stares at it.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:50 pm //Comin' with. I ain't gonna be here when footstool here breaks them doors 'n torques the Boss off.//

\\ME NEITHER.\\ Whirl 10:50 pm *snickers* Windchill 10:51 pm Cowards! Whirl 10:51 pm Good luck, foostool! Ping me if you wanna bridge to the band floor. Windchill 10:51 pm *Picks idly at the webbing, testing it.* Yeah, give me a few. FakeProwl 10:51 pm Do NOT throw that back. No more. Both of you. Stop it. *he's trying not to shout because shouting might attract Dinobot attention too, but the two of them are very far apart.* Bull 10:51 pm I'm okay Magnum, just wasn't expecting such a difference. Ummm... I wasn't intending to. Magnum Ace 10:51 pm Neither was I... FakeProwl 10:52 pm Good. Bull 10:52 pm *doesn't understand what the problem is* Tarantulas 10:52 pm *there's not too much webbing on the doors, windchill should only need a few seconds to get it off* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:52 pm *Take care of WHAT himself? The webs?*

[[No. No few. Step away from the doors.]] Magnum Ace 10:52 pm That may be a bit too strong... Windchill 10:52 pm *If you want a Swoop to the face then have at it.* FakeProwl 10:52 pm There are dangerous, murderous things out here that are attracted to bright lights, environmental damage, and fun, and you are producing all three. And one of those dangerous things is standing behind me. Whirl 10:52 pm *pauses, looking to the twins* Should I ask to bridge or...? I'm pretty sure I ain't supposed to indoors. Swoop 10:53 pm *notices that life beyond the situation he is immediately in exist and looks over to see what other people are doing outside* FakeProwl 10:53 pm *admittedly, farther behind prowl than prowl is to either of the players, but still technically behind him. he's made his point.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:53 pm *They're huge panes of specialized red glass and if Windchill breaks them he is going to--*

//Uh.// *Conspiratorial whisper and gesture to Whirl and Frenzy to follow him.* //Upstairs. C'mon. More room there.// Magnum Ace 10:53 pm ...him? -points to Swoop- FakeProwl 10:53 pm Him. Do not. Do that. Swoop 10:53 pm *sees the point* *waves* Magnum Ace 10:53 pm -waves back- Windchill 10:54 pm *Puts his hands on his hips to wait patiently.* Whirl 10:54 pm *nods; he'll set his glass carefully down on the table and allow himself to be led away by the twins* Swoop 10:54 pm *waves with his whole arm like the three year old he's being right now* Windchill 10:54 pm Oh ye of little faith. Magnum Ace 10:54 pm Okay, sorry, I won't do that again FakeProwl 10:54 pm *... Dammit.* Windchill 10:54 pm *He SEES you, Whirl.* Bull 10:54 pm *Bull walks back to Magnum to give him the ball* FakeProwl 10:54 pm *Turns around. Please don't let Swoop be coming over here.* Swoop 10:54 pm *hops up off his spot on the floor and comes over there* Magnum Ace 10:54 pm -takes off his mitt again, and hands it to Bull- ItsyBitsySpyers 10:54 pm ((QUICK TIME OUT i am super mixed up now where is everyone specifically)) Swoop 10:54 pm Hi FakeProwl 10:54 pm *DamMIT.* Bull 10:54 pm Hi FakeProwl 10:55 pm ((swoop, prowl, and the leaguers are outside. everyone else is inside i think)) Tarantulas 10:55 pm (( tara's in a chair in dancitron Magnum Ace 10:55 pm -ball inside it- FakeProwl 10:55 pm ((is ravage still with them outside?)) Swoop 10:55 pm ((Yup. Swoop got thrown out. The others were already out. Everyoen else is trapped indoors with Tara lol)) Windchill 10:55 pm (( Way to put it lol. )) FakeProwl 10:55 pm *He's not breathing fire. That's good. But if he makes one false move toward the leaguers...* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:56 pm ((ravage is outside, rumble and frenzy and bird are heading upstairs with whirl. and is windchill still bothering the doors or no?)) Swoop 10:56 pm *crouches down by the leaguers* What doing? Windchill 10:56 pm (( Chill's standing beside the doors. )) Magnum Ace 10:56 pm We were looking at the view? FakeProwl 10:56 pm *Nuh nuh-uh-uh Prowl's not letting Swoop get closer to the leaguers than to himself. Maintain a safe distance.* Swoop 10:57 pm ((there's a cliff out here they are looking at, yeah?)) FakeProwl 10:57 pm ((yeh)) Magnum Ace 10:57 pm ((yup Swoop 10:57 pm YAH! It good cliff. Kehehhh. For JUMP! ItsyBitsySpyers 10:58 pm *If allowed, he'll try to get a feelerful of web to pull it off.*

*And then he'll realize it's horrible and sticky and thready and even worse than Airachnid's. And recoil and try shaking it off of his claws.* Tarantulas 10:58 pm *tarantulas can't help but snicker* Magnum Ace 10:58 pm Ah...if you have wings, I'm sure ItsyBitsySpyers 10:58 pm *Looks like it's Windchill's job after all. He's dealing with a Gross moment.* FakeProwl 10:59 pm *Flatly.* If you're interested, then be my guest. Go jump off a cliff. Magnum Ace 10:59 pm -He's sure even the volleyball leaguers wouldn't go near it- Windchill 10:59 pm So? What's the plan? Swoop 10:59 pm *totally misses Prowl's point* Swoop and Bird fly here LOTS! FakeProwl 11:00 pm *He wouldn't have made it if he thought Swoop would get it.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:00 pm *Scraping the feeler across the floor in the hopes of ridding himself of it.*

[[Just - don't break the glass.]] Bull 11:00 pm Lets not. *Bull Armor moves behind Magnum* Windchill 11:00 pm Okay. FakeProwl 11:01 pm *He's going to try to edge himself more directly between Swoop and the leaguers. Living shield.* Magnum Ace 11:01 pm -just going to...move a bit more in front of Bull- Swoop 11:02 pm *is so used to freaked out people that this doesn't register at all* Kehhehh! Cliffs not so much fun for grounders. Windchill 11:02 pm *He's gonna SQUAT in front of the door and pick at the seam, using his claw to get under the ick where he can peel it back towards himself.* Magnum Ace 11:02 pm Well, the view is nice Windchill 11:02 pm *Gross stringy bits, ew.* Swoop 11:03 pm Throw stuff nice too! Keheh! Windchill 11:03 pm *He's forming an idea.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:03 pm *Primus, it's just sort of getting into the cracks in his claws and in the inside now. He needs something that isn't smooth to clean it on.*

*Tarantulas. Tarantulas is furry. Fur has lots of places to catch things on and he's the one responsible for this in the first place.*

*SWIPE across Tarantulas' chest.* Windchill 11:03 pm *Careful is NOT his specialty.* Tarantulas 11:04 pm *nO SOUNDWAVE* Windchill 11:04 pm *Just. A. Little bit MORE.* Magnum Ace 11:04 pm Throw...stuff? ItsyBitsySpyers 11:04 pm *CLEAN AT LAST* Windchill 11:04 pm *Gets his meaty claws around a chunk of it and pulls on it like melted cheese.* Swoop 11:05 pm YAH! Like rock. Him Slag, kehhehh, him SPIT off cliff Tarantulas 11:05 pm *starts cleaning his fur immediately. you're going to regret that sw* Windchill 11:05 pm *SLICE.* *It's not perfect, but there's more in his hands than on the door now.* You guys... *Stands up and turns around to present his trophy, a small mass of web.* Bull 11:06 pm I think we'll stick to throwing balls. Windchill 11:06 pm *Sticks it to his chin, like...a beard.* Ho, Ho, Ho. Magnum Ace 11:06 pm Oh...-phew. He thought for a moment he was in trouble- Tarantulas 11:07 pm *tarantulas just stares at windchill. and stares and stares* Windchill 11:07 pm *Seems mightily pleased with himself.* Swoop 11:07 pm *digs his talons into the ground, does he want to take off?.... nahh* What balls? FakeProwl 11:08 pm *gives the leaguers a Look. it's supposed to be pleading but tbh it probably just looks angry. please. please. please do not encourage him.* Windchill 11:08 pm It seems you guys are lacking in holiday spirit! Tsk tsk tsk! ItsyBitsySpyers 11:08 pm *Soundwave looks down at the floor as if asking Primus why he has to put up with this, then at the doors.*

[[Do they work now.]] Windchill 11:08 pm That's it. Magnum Ace 11:08 pm -nudges Bull back BEHIND him- Windchill 11:08 pm Coal for all of you. *He looks back at the doors, fondling his new beard.* Magnum Ace 11:09 pm Snowballs Windchill 11:09 pm As well as they're going to short of a scrubbing or chemical strip. Swoop 11:09 pm Snow?? Magnum Ace 11:09 pm -just going to bend the truth a bit- FakeProwl 11:09 pm *wow. prowl gave somebody a Look and it worked. how often does that happen?* Tarantulas 11:10 pm I'll deal with the rest of the webbing later, Soundwave, just - do NOT open those doors. Magnum Ace 11:10 pm Yes. Snow. What humans do for fun, when they get snow to do it with Windchill 11:10 pm TOO LATE FUCKO. *OPENS THE DOORS.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:10 pm [[He didn't.]] Swoop 11:10 pm Dinobots not good in snow. Kehhehh. Us around, it just WATER! Tarantulas 11:10 pm *sinks down as far in chair as possible* Windchill 11:11 pm *Hmm, Swoop appears to be absent.* Well, that was anticlimatic. Magnum Ace 11:11 pm -Prowl is a friend. He's going to try and listen to him- So, you just melt the snow by being near it? Swoop 11:12 pm Uhhh. Depend. Kehhhehhh. If Us do lots of FIRE before kehehh! *huffs a puff of flame and smoke, just a little, nothing too murdery* Windchill 11:13 pm We're TOO LATE. *Changes tack to something more dramatic.* Magnum Ace 11:13 pm Oh...that would melt snow pretty fast -He breaths FIRE!?- Swoop 11:14 pm Melt BOTS pretty fast too kehhehehhh ItsyBitsySpyers 11:14 pm *Soundwave looks at Tarantulas. What was all the warning about?* FakeProwl 11:14 pm *SITS UP STRAIGHTER. the flames are coming out. he's on high alert.* Bull 11:14 pm *Bull Armor was not expecting the mech to suddenly breath fire* Magnum Ace 11:14 pm I'm sure. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:14 pm *Well, at least he knows where Prowl is now, and -- ARE THOSE FLAMES?* Windchill 11:14 pm *BOUNDS out the door, beard and all, bellowing like a crazed bull.* SWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP! Magnum Ace 11:15 pm Please point them in a different direction FakeProwl 11:15 pm *oh dammit* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:15 pm *Follows Windchill looking not at all crazed or bull-ish and much quieter.* Tarantulas 11:15 pm *...why doesn't tarantulas just leave. he could just... go. wow. but he should say goodbye to prowl before he - wait. fuck. where's prowl. is he -* Swoop 11:15 pm *why is everyone so surprised? he does three things - fly, fire, and harass people. it what he do* Kay Windchill 11:15 pm *Santa has been UNLEASHED.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:15 pm [[NO. FIRE.]] Swoop 11:15 pm *was gonna do a thing but, instead, his head snaps towards Soundwave* Magnum Ace 11:16 pm -Bull. He wants his glove and ball back now- Swoop 11:16 pm *he is?? outside????* FakeProwl 11:16 pm *and there's another lunatic barreling at them, which is probably going to start a fight. leans over the leaguers, he's preparing to pick them up and run.* Swoop 11:16 pm *outside??? means it is?? fire time????* Bull 11:16 pm *gladly hands Magnum his ball and glove back* Windchill 11:17 pm *Skids to a stop to pose and roar at the sky dramatically. Gotta release all of this pent up energy.* *His beard flaps in the wind, maybe.* Swoop 11:17 pm *SHRIEKS with laughter at Windchill* WHAT???? Windchill 11:17 pm WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? Swoop 11:17 pm *HOPS up and down* FIRE! Windchill 11:18 pm You out here harassing people??! Swoop 11:18 pm YAH! : > Tarantulas 11:18 pm (( i'm totally just imagining the music playing out the open club doors in the background of this ridiculous scene Windchill 11:18 pm (( Perf. )) Swoop 11:18 pm ((oh totally)) Magnum Ace 11:18 pm -he's putting his mitt back on, and holding his ball in a more ready position. You guys have put him on alert too- ItsyBitsySpyers 11:18 pm ((in that case i know what's next)) FakeProwl 11:18 pm *probably just. hilariously squat-crouched over two aliens. with his elbows out and his optics wide. all 8| like* Windchill 11:18 pm (( GOD. )) Tarantulas 11:19 pm (( i kKNEW it Swoop 11:19 pm *is excited to be here again, what are we doing, he doesn't know, he doesn't care* ((YES GOOD)) FakeProwl 11:19 pm ((fuckin)) Magnum Ace 11:19 pm ((ohmygod Bull 11:19 pm *Bull's horns are pointed forward in the alarmed position* Windchill 11:20 pm *Puts his hands on his hips. Briefly contemplates how long he has before he, too, is locked out.* Are you making friends, Swoop?! Swoop 11:21 pm *is only getting bouncer the longer he's here, someone is gong to get bit soon if he doesn't get to do SOMETHING* YAH! Magnum Ace 11:21 pm ((Prowl is acting like a mother hen ItsyBitsySpyers 11:21 pm *How much energon would it take to bridge this many people out. Could they find their way back home if he just. Puts them somewhere. Anywhere.* FakeProwl 11:21 pm ((BASICALLY)) Windchill 11:21 pm *Squints, He's not convinced, Swoop.* Tarantulas 11:21 pm *tarantulas is just hiding indoors. nbd. let soundwave deal with the mess* Swoop 11:22 pm *cannot read that squinty expression, he is jumping too much and honestly doesn't care* Magnum Ace 11:22 pm ((it's cute and funny at once Swoop 11:22 pm *may or may not fling himself off a cliff soon* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:22 pm *Ravage, for the record, is still a damn useless loaf who is just listening to the whole affair like it's a soap opera. Living with the other minis makes you jaded.* FakeProwl 11:22 pm ((the second swoop does anything more threatening than bounce, he is ready to take Action)) Windchill 11:22 pm I think your friends need a break, Swoop. They have to go home soon. Laz-BIRD is waiting for you upstairs. Magnum Ace 11:23 pm ((awwww Swoop 11:23 pm *squeals* BIRD? Windchill 11:23 pm She's gonna leave and go play Rock Band without you if you don't go get her! Swoop 11:23 pm ((sir)) ((are you attempting to bring ths child indoors)) ((because I can make that happen)) Windchill 11:23 pm (( : ) )) Tarantulas 11:23 pm (( no. no. nonono Swoop 11:24 pm *HAS NO IDEA WHAT THAT IS BUT HE WANTS TO PARTICIPATE* *PROMPTLY -LAUNCHES- HIMSELF BACK TOWARDS DANCITRON* Windchill 11:24 pm HEY. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:24 pm [[Yes. Every rock concert needs pyrotechni--]] Magnum Ace 11:24 pm ..... ItsyBitsySpyers 11:24 pm [[...Well.]] Windchill 11:24 pm *Is, luckily or not, between Swoop and the door.* FakeProwl 11:25 pm *drops shoulder to shield the leaguers as swoop barrels by* Swoop 11:25 pm *straight up slide-dives to try to slip past windchill's legs* Magnum Ace 11:25 pm -shoving himself and Bull further behind Prowl's shoulder- Windchill 11:25 pm *SCISSORS* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:25 pm *Bridges himself the hell outta the way and up onto the roof.* Swoop 11:26 pm *!!!!* ?????????? *THRASHES* Windchill 11:26 pm *ALMOST TRIPS HELP THIS WAS NOT THOUGHT THROUGH VERY WELL.* *DARN YOU RECKLESS IMPULSE!* FakeProwl 11:26 pm *is that the start of a fight* Windchill 11:26 pm SWOOP STOP. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:27 pm ((can soundwave make a Questionable Decision)) Tarantulas 11:27 pm (( please. this evening is full of questionable decisions Swoop 11:27 pm *CHOMP right on the back of windchill's knee* Magnum Ace 11:27 pm ((go for it, Ace already did one)) FakeProwl 11:27 pm *THAT'S A FIGHT* Windchill 11:27 pm (( The entire day has been questionable decisions. )) Swoop 11:27 pm ((tonight is a questionable decision)) FakeProwl 11:27 pm *picks up the leaguers and fucking, sprints.* Windchill 11:28 pm *IS JUST GONNA STAY VERY STILL.* Windchill 11:28 pm Swoop... Bull 11:28 pm *Bull Armor yelps and clings* FakeProwl 11:28 pm *we are going along the cliff the OTHER WAY from the fight* Magnum Ace 11:28 pm -copies Bull and clings- ItsyBitsySpyers 11:28 pm *Two things happen in short succession. First: A MASSIVE SPLASH DOWN of water pours out over those two from an overhead bridge, presumably from Earth. He's heard this works there.* *As soon as that one disappears and it cuts off, he sends them both to Swoop's timeline via another one.* FakeProwl 11:28 pm *PROWL DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THAT NOISE IS BUT HE'S RUNNING FASTER* Swoop 11:29 pm *THE FIRST PART WAS UNNECESSARY, SOUNDWAVE, WHY DO YOU WATER THE DINOBOT THIS IS A NON O* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:29 pm *BECAUSE THERE MIGHT BE FLAMES IN A MINUTE* Windchill 11:29 pm (( To make him grow?)) Windchill 11:30 pm *His prized beard has been washed away, the only remaining evidence of his presence.* Swoop 11:30 pm *whelp, he's going to be a whole lot of someone's problem on the other side of that bridge, now that he's hyped up AND wet, but it's not soundwave's problem and that's what matters in the end, finger guns all around* Windchill 11:30 pm *Remember him...as he was...* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:31 pm *A perfect temporary fit for the bizarreness of the boxyverse?* Magnum Ace 11:31 pm -just going to cling tighter to Prowl at that- -what is going on now?- Windchill 11:32 pm *He'll just cry at Whirl over the comms for a bridge once he's done being Detangled from Swoop, probably.* FakeProwl 11:32 pm *... the fighting noises have stopped. slows to a jog and glances back over his shoulder.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:32 pm *And miss out on giant purple griffins and Autobots in Hollywood? For shame, Windchill.* Swoop 11:32 pm ((Swoop is hyped af, knows he is missing out hanging out with Bird, wet, and still tangled up in a stranger. He's going to bite the shit out of Windchill before any escapes are made lol)) Magnum Ace 11:33 pm ...Prowl? Windchill 11:33 pm *BUT MISSING ROCK BAND? WITH HIS FRIEND? PERISH THE THOUGHT* Magnum Ace 11:33 pm What...just happened there? ItsyBitsySpyers 11:34 pm *Good point. Get those bites, get free, and get rocking.* Swoop 11:34 pm *take some lovely new beak imprints back with you, buddy* *tell Bird how much of a pain in the ass he was to fight off* *it's what he'd want* Windchill 11:34 pm *He will cherish those hideous welts.* *Battle scars.* *Even if he's not gonna battle so much as tough it out until Swoop either runs out of biting fury or finds something else to do.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:35 pm *Soundwave temporarily transforms to fly down to the ground, popping back into root mode as soon as he gets to the puddle. Prod prod with foot.* FakeProwl 11:35 pm *slows to a stop.* Your new fire-breathing friend is always one small burst of excitement away from starting a fight with anything he can get his claws on. He had a burst of excitement. Swoop 11:35 pm *just throw him like a Frisbee and run, buddy* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:36 pm [[This is going to rust.]] Put-upon vent. [[He's going back inside.]] Tarantulas 11:36 pm *...........wait. you know what would be smart. sorry prowl, but this spider's bridging the fuck outta dodge before anyone can come back inside* Windchill 11:36 pm *Save his beard while you're at it he might come back for it.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:36 pm *With intent to sit by - now WHERE THE PIT--* Windchill 11:36 pm *He was planning to eat it and muck up his guts just for the shits and giggles.* *YOU RUINED IT.* Windchill 11:37 pm *HE HAD HOPES AND DREAMS.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:37 pm *Location request for Tarantulas.* Magnum Ace 11:37 pm ...oh FakeProwl 11:37 pm And—for the record—seeing someone throwing giant balls of ground-ripping light around would induce a burst of excitement as well. He would probably think you're a fun combat partner. Windchill 11:37 pm *Sorry Swoop, no frisbee today. That would only make it worse, in his opinion.* Magnum Ace 11:38 pm I didn't...oh... Bull 11:38 pm L-lets not let that happen Magnum Ace 11:38 pm No. Let's not. I'd rather not be anyone's compat partner *combat Tarantulas 11:39 pm @SW: ::What, are you my keeper now? I'm back home.:: Windchill 11:39 pm *He's gonna sit there and suffer your bites and WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A SERIOUS TALK YOUNG MAN. EVEN IF IT ALL GOES OVER YOUR POINTY HEAD.* Swoop 11:39 pm ((I've been comparing swoop bios lately and consistently, he's got an unreal amount of endurance with speed being the next big thing. Point is, he'd be at it for a whiiiiiiiiile before he got bored. If You wanna play with other people, just bail out. I'm going to doodle and laugh my ass off at this nutty night. I'm good.)) FakeProwl 11:39 pm ... Everyone here is dangerous. Most of us have self-control and some degree of regard for other people's lives. He doesn't. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:39 pm @Tarantulas: (txt): Negative. Confused. Now clear. Enjoy home. FakeProwl 11:40 pm *Starts to trudge back toward the club. Stops.* ... Would you like to be set down? ItsyBitsySpyers 11:40 pm *Well then. It looks like he has the inside of Dancitron to himself.*

*...He has the inside of Dancitron to himself.*

*Time to put on some music.* Windchill 11:40 pm (( I got nothing going on 'cept work tomorrow so IDGAF. )) Tarantulas 11:40 pm @SW: ::And you enjoy your home as well, hyeh.:: Bull 11:40 pm I think we should go home. ((I gotta get flopping off)) Swoop 11:41 pm ((lol k, then you and I can just fastforward to windchill being a very throughout chew toy and swoop getting bored but still gnawing a bit lol)) FakeProwl 11:42 pm I'll get you a bridge. *Sets them down.* And this will be the last time this happens. Magnum Ace 11:42 pm Yeah...home about now sounds good Windchill 11:42 pm (( Fair. Pull up that Spongebob time card. )) Magnum Ace 11:42 pm Thank you ItsyBitsySpyers 11:42 pm *Prowl's probably escorting the Leaguers through a bridge right now, Tarantulas is gone, Swoop and Windchill are away, and the minis are elsewhere. So.*

*He's doing as the robot humans are singing.* Tarantulas 11:42 pm (( i caNT BELIEVE TARANTULAS IS MISSING THIS ItsyBitsySpyers 11:43 pm *Nothing fancy. Just a little something to satisfy the part of him that wanted to be more involved with the night's movie.* Windchill 11:43 pm (( YOU DONE GOOFED. )) Swoop 11:43 pm ((I look forward to Swoop getting IMMEDIATELY thrown out of Dancitron this time next week when he tackles Tara the second he comes in the door)) Windchill 11:43 pm (( Beautiful. )) Tarantulas 11:43 pm (( tara might just get bridged out too. rip Bull 11:43 pm ((Night)) Swoop 11:44 pm *chews, but not very enthusiastically, on windchill's forearm* Windchill 11:44 pm (( o7 )) Swoop 11:44 pm Boring Magnum Ace 11:44 pm ((so, if we want the leaguers there next week, how do we go about that?)) FakeProwl 11:44 pm *Bridge for the leaguers.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:44 pm ((ask soundwave, he'll bridge them)) FakeProwl 11:44 pm ((now they've gotta WANT to come)) Windchill 11:44 pm *Stares at the sky in what's technically an alien world, resigned to his fate.* Boring? Swoop 11:45 pm You boring Windchill 11:45 pm Thanks. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:45 pm *Sliding steps across the floor, graceful spins, biolights as bright as you please now that he's free to indulge.* Windchill 11:45 pm I appreciate it. I always did want to be a little more boring. Swoop 11:45 pm Keh Magnum Ace 11:45 pm -And back home the leaguers go- ((that's good! Swoop 11:45 pm Me Swoop want to play with Bird now. Magnum Ace 11:46 pm ((and g'night! Thanks for the chaos Windchill 11:46 pm You Swoop make us late to Rock Band. Swoop 11:46 pm Nuh uh Windchill 11:46 pm Yes. Swoop 11:46 pm No Windchill 11:46 pm Pretty sure. Swoop 11:47 pm Keheh Noooo Me Swoop not *gestures vaguely around himself* do stuff bridge Him Soundwave do Windchill 11:47 pm *Gasps.* Him SOUNDWAVE make us late to Rock Band! Swoop 11:47 pm YAH *believes this completelY* Windchill 11:49 pm *Is he mimicking Swoop's speech on purpose or is it getting to him? We may never know.* Swoop 11:49 pm *will never think hard enough to wonder this* Windchill 11:49 pm I dunno, we kinda deserved it. Swoop 11:49 pm noo ItsyBitsySpyers 11:50 pm *He's never noticed that Laserbeak does a form of it. Windchill will get away with it.* Swoop 11:50 pm Me Swoop not want to water Windchill 11:50 pm That's what happens when you break the rules and scare people. And bite them. Swoop 11:50 pm *blows raspberries* Windchill 11:51 pm *BLOWS HARDER.* Swoop 11:51 pm Rules for breaking kehhh *MORE RASPBERRRIES* Windchill 11:51 pm Then you'll keep being late. Swoop 11:51 pm Dinobots show up WHENever Us Want Windchill 11:51 pm *Has a free hand to blow gross flatulent raspberries into. Juicy.* You want to miss Bird playing Rock Band? Swoop 11:52 pm Nooo Windchill 11:52 pm Then you have to play by the rules. Swoop 11:53 pm Me Swoop never KILL anyone at movie night 😛 ((yet)) ((give him time)) ItsyBitsySpyers 11:53 pm *Definitely getting into a flow of sorts now that nobody's here. Are there really humans like the one in the film? That one was so much like him...* Swoop 11:53 pm Him Soundwave get maaad at Me Swoop no reason BAH kick out Windchill 11:53 pm *Invents.* Swoop 11:54 pm Whatever Me Swoop can play anywhere : > Windchill 11:54 pm *Your density is testing his patience.* We broke the rules so we got kicked out. Tarantulas 11:54 pm *wahhhh. tarantulas didn't say bye to prowl. now he feels bad. a ping for prowl. then!!* Swoop 11:55 pm *buddy if you don't like dense this is the WRONG team to interact wtih* FakeProwl 11:55 pm *pings back* Windchill 11:55 pm *Technically Swoop broke the rules with the biting but they're in this together now.* Swoop 11:55 pm Nuh uh No No rules Tarantulas 11:55 pm @Prowl: ::How are things there, are - is everything calmer now?:: Swoop 11:56 pm Me Swoop can kill anyone OUTSIDE. It not movie rules EVERYWHERE. Windchill 11:56 pm We were practically on Soundwave's porch, you putz! Swoop 11:56 pm *as far as he's concerned he could be lining people up execution style in the parking lot and that's got nothing to do with nobody* Porch That Jazz alt mode Windchill 11:57 pm *Amazing.* FakeProwl 11:57 pm @Tarantulas «Swoop and Windchill, by all appearances, melted into a puddle outside Dancitron. So, yes, it's calmer outside. I can't tell you what it's like inside.» @Tarantulas «I don't see fire, though.» Windchill 11:57 pm I don't know what you're talking about now. Swoop 11:57 pm Him a porch Windchill 11:57 pm *WHEEZE.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:58 pm *He doesn't have damaged audio receptors, of course, but there is a lot of "noise" to drown out. Sometimes more than he's in the mood to hear, and if Ravage's not around to help... there's always the old ways.* *Like this.* Windchill 11:58 pm I don't know any Jazz that turns into a porch. I'll take your word for it. Swoop 11:58 pm Keheh Yesterday Tarantulas 11:59 pm @Prowl: ::Ah, good, I - hmm. I might actually come back, I had to duck out. Just a moment.:: Windchill 12:00 am (( Dammit I just realized we missed our chance to make a Wicked Witch reference with that one. )) Tarantulas 12:00 am *bridges right outside dancitron where he expects prowl is* Windchill 12:01 am You want to go see Bird now? Swoop 12:01 am *cocks his head* Soundwave mad. FakeProwl 12:02 am *He's a little off—Prowl had to run off to the side a bit—but he waves tiredly.* Windchill 12:02 am *Someone fetch his beard dammit.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:02 am *Mm, where's the other one, with the more... with the other tone to it. He might as well. It's been much longer than necessary for the Leaguers to go home, and he doesn't hear any commotion through the doors. So on he goes.* Tarantulas 12:03 am *tarantulas almost steps on the so-called beard, so he picks it up and subspaces it. sw doesn't need any more samples of his webbing lying around* Windchill 12:03 am We were going to the Lost Light, not Soundwave's. Tarantulas 12:03 am *holds out a paw for prowl* Come, let's go inside, hm? Swoop 12:04 am What Lost Light? Windchill 12:04 am Some dingy old boat. Swoop 12:04 am No more water for Swoop! Kah! Windchill 12:05 am Boat, as in spaceship. FakeProwl 12:05 am *for a second, just, stares at it. but then takes it.* Windchill 12:06 am Whirl used to live there. You think Whirl would live in a place with water? Swoop 12:06 am *shrugs, he has no idea* Windchill 12:06 am Fool! Swoop 12:06 am ?? Windchill 12:06 am Never mind that. FakeProwl 12:07 am *Right. Back into Dancitron.* Swoop 12:07 am Kay Windchill 12:07 am I'm going to cry at Whirl until he takes pity on me and gets me a bridge over. FakeProwl 12:07 am *... Stops in the doorway. Oh. Hi there.* Swoop 12:07 am Me Swoop want to play with Bird Windchill 12:07 am You can come hang with us and Bird if you want, you were invited. Swoop 12:07 am Yah Windchill 12:08 am Okay. Tarantulas 12:08 am *couldn't see at first but stops behind prowl and just - heh. he'll stand and watch as long as prowl does* FakeProwl 12:08 am *Prowl is paralyzed, they're going to be here a while.* Windchill 12:08 am But no fire and no biting. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:08 am *Deeper into the mood, feelers out to accompany him with little writhing, swirling motions.* Swoop 12:08 am Why? Windchill 12:09 am Because we're going to be inside and if you break something with fire and biting then we can't play. And you'll probably get bridged out...again. Tarantulas 12:10 am *bad news: tarantulas's ability to stand still doesn't last long. good news: he's going to start swaying a little himself and see if he can wrap an arm around prowl from behind. daaaance.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:11 am *And on this turn, looks toward the door, getting the strange sense that he's being watched. Probably one of the minicons from the complexes out back; they've been in a lot lately with compROWL AND TARANTULAS* Swoop 12:11 am That okay. Me Swoop get bridge A LOT kehehhh Windchill 12:11 am Lame. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:11 am *Freezes like a noodle in the headlights.* Windchill 12:12 am (( And that's when Soundwave's soul ascended to heaven. Expired. )) I don't like bridges. FakeProwl 12:12 am ... Hello. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:12 am ((dancitron's floor opened to swallow him whole and he was never seen again)) Tarantulas 12:12 am *trying not to giggle* You don't have to stop on our account, you know. Windchill 12:12 am (( The mech, the myth, the legend. )) Swoop 12:12 am Bridges fun. It SURPRISE kehheh. Surprise flying or surprise eat dirt kahah Windchill 12:13 am NO they make me SICK. *vomiting sounds for effect.* FakeProwl 12:13 am *He has the very very smallest partial smile.* Swoop 12:13 am *snickers* You practice more, kahah, like ME SWOOP ItsyBitsySpyers 12:14 am *one of the feelers is still lightly going to the music. he curls it behind his back. the other one twitches in some sense of... something. he's not sure what he should feel about this.*

(txt): ...Return: unexpected.

*Well, obviously. Way to go.* Windchill 12:14 am I probably have more practice than you! *Well, depends on how often Swoop gets kicked out of places, maybe.* Maybe I'm just WEAK. Swoop 12:14 am Yah, probably. Windchill 12:14 am Stronger than YOU. Swoop 12:14 am No Windchill 12:15 am Yes. FakeProwl 12:15 am ... Surprise. Swoop 12:15 am Nuh uh Dinobots STRONGEST at EVERYTHING Tarantulas 12:15 am *pfft. definitely a laugh there* Windchill 12:15 am Then how did I catch you? Swoop 12:15 am With legs Windchill 12:16 am Even my legs are stronger than you, ha! ItsyBitsySpyers 12:16 am *He sees the arm wrapped. That's a good excuse.*

(txt): Take turn if wanted. Soundwave leaves space.

*Steps off the floor and toward his couch.* Swoop 12:16 am nooOooOOoOoooOO *bouces* Windchill 12:16 am Yup. I win this round, punk. Swoop 12:16 am Punk? 😄 Windchill 12:16 am That's what you are, FakeProwl 12:16 am No no, you can keep going if you want. Swoop 12:17 am *sets both hands on his crest* Mohawk kehh Tarantulas 12:17 am You really should. There's plenty of room for more than just one. Windchill 12:17 am *Tries really hard to not think about who else has a mohawk.* Exactly. Oh well. Tarantulas 12:18 am *can he casually make it over to soundwave in time to snag a feeler and keep him from sitting just yet?* Windchill 12:18 am I guess you'll just have to get even stronger if you want to beat me next time. FakeProwl 12:18 am *If Tarantulas is heading over to Soundwave then Prowl will quietly extricate himself.* Swoop 12:18 am *raspberries* You get Her BIrd or Me Swoop leaving. You boring. Windchill 12:19 am *Sputters.* Tarantulas 12:19 am *tarantulas has a LOT of arms, prowl, you're not getting out of this one* Windchill 12:19 am We have to go TO Bird. Swoop 12:19 am Ok Windchill 12:19 am I'll call Whirl. If I burst into hysterics and sound like I'm dying or crying, that's normal. Swoop 12:20 am Baaaabby ItsyBitsySpyers 12:20 am *He can make it in time. Soundwave's not moving that fast. He really doesn't want to stop, and Prowl said he could keep going, and a little spidery encouragement didn't hurt either. It's hard not to take two sets of permission from mechs he trusts more than the average moviegoer.* Windchill 12:20 am Maybe, but I get what I want. *Sticks his tongue out.* FakeProwl 12:20 am *If Tarantulas is going to try to drag Prowl along despite Prowl's obvious attempts to get out of his hold, then Prowl will ghost himself out.* Swoop 12:21 am Hurry hurry Tarantulas 12:21 am *he's not going to drag him, but he's not going to be happy leaving him behind, either* FakeProwl 12:21 am *Also: he's disturbed that continuing to hold Prowl when Prowl is trying to get free is becoming a more frequent problem.* Windchill 12:21 am Be patient, Whirl's drunk and it slows him down a little. (( Can't do much more from here but we can say they, eventually, made it to Support their Bird Friends playing Robot Rock Band. )) Swoop 12:22 am ((sounds good)) Tarantulas 12:23 am *hhh. tarantulas lets go with his one arm on prowl to take soundwave's feeler in another. sounds like the strategy here is to bring the noodle over instead of the other way around* Swoop 12:23 am ((I gotta say. I was hoping for a shitshow when Swoop went after Tara but this exceeded my expectations.)) ItsyBitsySpyers 12:23 am ((an excellent night)) Tarantulas 12:23 am (( fantabulous Swoop 12:23 am ((if this doesn't get him a dancitron punch card, by god, I don't know what will)) ((arson)) Windchill 12:23 am (( A disaster. )) FakeProwl 12:24 am *... Are the two of them going to dance? He's gonna, just, grab a seat with a good view.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:25 am *The noodle slowly follows back, feeler waving again. He glances at Prowl and pings for one last confirmation. This isn't going to leave the room?* FakeProwl 12:25 am *... What does the ping mean. Does the ping have content or is it just a ping.* Tarantulas 12:25 am (( for the record tarantulas WILL be reading up on child psychology before next week. damn you swoop Swoop 12:26 am ((excellent)) ItsyBitsySpyers 12:26 am *It has the question in it in awkward text mode.* Windchill 12:26 am (( Prime resource with experience with actual babies = Windchill McButtface. )) (( McBeardface, my mistake. )) Tarantulas 12:27 am (( he's buttface without the beard tho. so currently the first iteration Swoop 12:27 am ((Windchill actually did good. My littlest brother is 14 years younger than me and I had good results with doing what he did - explicitly stating that we are going to x, so we can y, and you are going to z.)) Windchill 12:27 am (( Hairybuttface then. )) FakeProwl 12:27 am *in that case, sends affirmative ping* Windchill 12:27 am (( Swoop is simply too powerful for such methods. )) Swoop 12:28 am ((He's too ... actively trained to murder adults. It throws things off a bit when he knows that authority figures BLEED.)) Tarantulas 12:29 am *good, tarantulas is glad soundwave's not resisting or overly embarrassed - he lets that be felt if soundwave feels for it* Windchill 12:29 am (( BLEEEED. )) (( Windchill's going to have a lot of explaining to do when he gets home. )) Swoop 12:30 am

((I've been tryign to draw swoop sleeping. I've gone through like 6 poses during this chat. Those wings are a pain in the ass.)) Windchill 12:30 am (( How dare him Swoop look so smug. )) Swoop 12:30 am ((that's just what his face looks like and also how he feels)) Windchill 12:31 am (( Robots resting are some of the hardest things IMO. )) Swoop 12:31 am ((v true)) ((and on that note imma go to sleep. Night!)) Tarantulas 12:31 am (( niiiiight ItsyBitsySpyers 12:31 am ((night!)) Windchill 12:31 am (( Night! )) (( I'm out too, need some decaf coffee and to contemplate my life's choices. )) ItsyBitsySpyers 12:32 am ((night to you too!)) Tarantulas 12:32 am (( thanks 4 takin the baby, chillmom (( night! Swoop 12:32 am ((btw tara should definately read up on extinction bursts lol)) Windchill 12:32 am (( HE TRIED. )) Swoop 12:32 am ((applicable to swoop for more than just the hilarious dinosaur reason)) ItsyBitsySpyers 12:33 am *So be it. Tarantulas is welcome to join him, then, and carry on as long as they both wish. Soundwave will only be half there, though. He's thinking of drives and aerial battles long past, and what it felt like to get free of the Pit owner, and...* Tarantulas 12:36 am *perfectly fine - tarantulas's mind is elsewhere too, though still in the room, so to speak. it's no mistake when he catches prowl's optic from time to time* This message has been removed. *fluid steps over in prowl's direction after a moment, though* You're sure you won't join us? Just standing, even. FakeProwl 12:38 am I'm sure. The view's better from here. *And what a view it is.* Tarantulas 12:41 am *soundwave definitely has a better handle on the baby-driver-esque timing of his dancing, but tara's not bad, per se. with a nod and a nuzzle he's off with the music again* FakeProwl 12:42 am *leans forward to return the nuzzle, then sits back to watch.* Tarantulas 12:43 am *part of him - a really strong part - wants to literally try the fishing rod/hook dance move with some silk and pull prowl onto the floor, but he knows better than to attempt that* FakeProwl 12:44 am *smart move* Tarantulas 12:49 am *it takes a while, but tarantulas can't ever escape the pull back to prowl. if only the music were a tad more fitting for a lapdance, hmm... but no, tarantulas just sits next to him on the arm of prowl's chair, still slightly moving with the beat* FakeProwl 12:50 am *gonna, watch sideways for a moment.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:50 am *Every once in a while, he leaves his thoughts long enough to notice this about Tarantulas and spend a few seconds focusing on pulling him into the steps. It seems the spider has unexpected talents.*

*Like convincing him to stay in a state of mind where he's free to think about things in peace. Things concerning organics he hasn't wondered about since discovering Eurythma. Things about communication. Things that have been bothering him for the last few days. Things he wants more than anything and hasn't gotten yet. Which he can change.* *Once Tarantulas moves toward Prowl, he moves off in his own direction, firmly planting himself in his own head.* FakeProwl 12:52 am *... But after a bit, decides to speak up.* So. You can fix the problem with my holomatter program by next week? Tarantulas 12:55 am *a slight huff - business, yes. tara's sprawling a bit* Sooner than that, most likely. FakeProwl 12:56 am Good. I can't go out until that's fixed. Tarantulas 12:58 am *absentminded petting.* We can't have that, no. FakeProwl 12:59 am ... As long as you're adjusting the code... Tarantulas 12:59 am Separating out the coding should only be a matter of hours, I'll - hmm? *those ellipses have his attention* FakeProwl 1:01 am Regarding the—recreational mods we discussed. Tarantulas 1:01 am *OH. now prowl's REALLY got his attention* FakeProwl 1:01 am I suppose they would do me little good if my holomatter program hasn't been patched to properly process tactile input, wouldn't they? Tarantulas 1:03 am No, no, that wouldn't do at all. *visor smirk, though -* How awful IS your input? Do I even want to know? I suppose if you give me the specs I'll find out, but still. FakeProwl 1:04 am The program for handling tactile input should be somewhere in what I sent you. I can assure you it's pretty much useless for interfacing. Tarantulas 1:05 am But - we /did/ interface, the three of us, and you were in avatar then - did you not get anything from it? *seems actually concerned* *u better not have faked on him, prowl* FakeProwl 1:06 am I simultaneously masturbated to keep up. Tarantulas 1:06 am *visor glow. hff.* I see. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:06 am *Soundwave misses a step.* *And keeps going.* FakeProwl 1:07 am Rest assured, I got plenty from it. Just not from the— *he saw that, Soundwave. Slight smirk.* —from the actual physical sensation. Which is fine for a lot of interfacing, but not when you're specifically introducing me to a new physical experience. Tarantulas 1:09 am That's a downright shame. I can't believe we haven't fixed this earlier - but, I suppose late is better than never. I'm MORE than happy to accommodate, facilitate, enhance - whatever you like. *more petting and touching, but now it's a little firmer - tarantulas is wondering honestly how much prowl can't actually feel* FakeProwl 1:11 am *Leans slightly into the touches. If this tells you anything, he's reacting to the touches for the first time this conversation AFTER it gets firmer.* FakeProwl 1:13 am Just give me the option to have it work like a normal body's tactile system. *Pause.* ... Perhaps add in the option to make it more sensitive, as desired. In a... localized, selective way. Tarantulas 1:13 am *aw dang, well here's some good lapdance music. is this the right time tho* Most certainly. Can't have you getting overwhelmed before things even get started, but there's always room for tweaking... FakeProwl 1:16 am My thoughts precisely. I doubt I'll use the option to turn up the sensitivity very often, but it does no harm to have it on hand. Tarantulas 1:21 am *a nod and a nip - no, more of a bite now.* Consider it done, Prowl. Tarantulas 1:22 am *a sigh, and tarantulas looks over at soundwave, then back at prowl.* ...I - actually, is there anything else? I probably ought to be on my way. FakeProwl 1:22 am *Oh so very coolly and calmly.* I look forward to testing out the results of your work. Tarantulas 1:23 am So do I, rest assured. *purr* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:23 am *He freezes again, pausing the music to look at Tarantulas and try to shift his thoughts to what he wants. Does he want anything that requires Tarantulas' assistance tonight? Mm... no, he's pretty sure he doesn't. And work is work, and he mustn't keep Tarantulas from that. So he shakes his head.* Tarantulas 1:25 am *with their permission, tarantulas lingers for goodbyes and a few more touches, but he'll be on his way* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:25 am *And visor-glyph goodbyes and a brush he'll get as he goes.* FakeProwl 1:26 am Evening, Tarantulas. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:29 am *And now Soundwave is drifting off the end of his thoughts. With Tarantulas gone, there's only one person left to keep him moving. While he values Prowl's input so very, very much, it's always easier to let himself be so free if there's either a crowd or a somewhat trustworthy mech available to be a distraction of sorts.*

*Which means it's his turn to dance quietly and gently towards Prowl, until he's able to stop and touch their foreheads together.* FakeProwl 1:31 am *leans into the touch* Hello. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:38 am *Rough nuzzle.* [][][]Hello.[][][]

(txt): ...Apology given. Bonecrusher's punishment: harmful beyond intended level. Prowl, surroundings, unwanted-required companions/trust: damaged. If desired, compensatory requests: heard, obeyed within reason. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:40 am (txt): Regardless, personal decision: avoid similar future activity, discover alternative.

*Pulls away to nod.* FakeProwl 1:41 am ... Mm. Come to me when you have a problem with one of them. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:42 am *And another nod. If that is the suggested alternative, he will comply.* FakeProwl 1:45 am And if you could keep yourself off monitor duty, that would be appreciated. Obviously, he has no way of knowing which of you is watching; but if I can tell him I've talked you into ensuring that it will be anyone BUT you, it may help. FakeProwl 1:46 am ... He's upset he didn't get to show Buzzsaw his finished art project, but there's little that can be done about that now. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:50 am *It hurts a little giving up the one way he can reliably see Prowl without needing the avatar, but he'd been contemplating asking if Prowl wanted him to stop watching anyway. And if it'll help lower the paranoia and tension and let Prowl get some rest...*

(txt): Done.

(txt): ...Demonstration still desired? Buzzsaw: available soon. If needed, during meeting, Soundwave: absent. FakeProwl 1:51 am He wanted to show it off at Blurr's... *dismissive hand wave* Costume event. So. It's too late for that. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:57 am (txt): Understood.

*There's... he's not sure what else to say to that. He already gave an apology, so there's no need to repeat it, and evidently he can't fix that by sending Buzzsaw to personally check it out. Or any other way. So he'll just. Take it as another sign of the things he's ruined.*

(txt): Notify Bonecrusher all camera control permissions: moved before morning. Highest guards. Not Soundwave, deployers.

(txt): ...Request: Contain advantage taken. This, not doormat evidence. Position preservation required. FakeProwl 1:58 am *A pause. And then, to make sure he understood that:* ... Not Soundwave /or/ deployers? ItsyBitsySpyers 2:00 am (txt): Affirmative.

*Fidget.*

(txt): Secondary request, higher importance: Prowl remains safe - inform if greater good math: adjusted, delay relevant activity. This, promised? FakeProwl 2:04 am *Soundwave and his deployers aren't going to be watching them anymore. At all. Prowl finally gets to go back to being watched by safe, distant, apathetic strangers. It's like a spotlight that's been exposing him for months has suddenly burned out.* *For a moment, Prowl's avatar goes very still, to ensure that none of his deep relief is visible in his face or posture.* Promised. To both of those. Although, for the record, the Constructicons already have me on a suicide watch—an unnecessary one. *And if Soundwave has been wondering why the Constructicons suddenly took to hanging out with Prowl in his room, but only one at a time, there's that mystery solved.* *... Prowl thinks he's still on suicide watch, anyway. It's been a bit slack this last week, what with Bonecrusher's state taking precedence.* ItsyBitsySpyers 2:07 am *He did and it does. Though he's not sure he really trusts them to be good at it. Or to care enough to do anything other than go to the rest of themselves and say "he did it, let's get a replacement before we crack".* *Soundwave nods, then. And tries to tell himself to trust those promises. Prowl's not supposed to lie to him. It'll be okay if he lets the cameras go. It's for the best that he does.*

*Lean for another quiet bunt, though he's not sure he'll get one right now. If he doesn't, he'll just stand up and look just above Prowl's helm instead.*

(txt): ...Cube tests performed, passed. Better time ahead, perhaps.

(txt): Rest. FakeProwl 2:11 am *Not only does he get a bunt, Prowl leans further into it if Soundwave tries to pull back.* ItsyBitsySpyers 2:12 am *Surprising, but enough to help temporarily soothe the immediate crack over losing the cameras.* ItsyBitsySpyers 2:13 am *(And he wasted his last bits of time with them watching Bonecrusher, of all mechs. Stupid.)* FakeProwl 2:17 am Perhaps. Hopefully. ... And in a few days I should also have an avatar upgrade that will assist with a "better time." *What should have been a flirty hint came out lifelessly. That's something he's supposed to be eager about, isn't it? He can't feel it. Not after talking about Bonecrusher's breakdown and surveillance restrictions and suicide watch.* *Maybe by the time they have a chance to actually do something, he'll be able to feel it.* ItsyBitsySpyers 2:22 am *That was more lacking than usual. He's pretty sure he can guess why. He's also pretty sure it'll be a bit before there's any enthusiasm behind it again. That's okay. Prowl waited on him. He'll wait for Prowl.*

(txt): Acknowledged.

(txt): Soundwave: tired. Work, satisfying movie, frantic activity, extended dance, many thoughts. Recharge required.

(txt): Until next meeting. FakeProwl 2:22 am ... I should see the rest of the movie sometime. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:23 am *Nods. Yes. Yes, Prowl should. It was... it was a thing, and if Soundwave gets started on it, they'll never sleep.* FakeProwl 2:24 am Not tonight, obviously. *Leans in a bit more for a nuzzle.* Until next meeting. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:24 am *Gives one, rough but affectionate.* FakeProwl 2:27 am *A final, farewell ping; and he disappears.*

[sage-nebula]

I want to try and articulate my thoughts a little bit about why what Cheritz has done with Saeran in “Another Story” upsets me so much, because my feelings on it go beyond just “it’s bad writing” (though it is) and “it unnecessarily nerfs Seven” (which it does). What they’ve done actually, I feel, veers straight into ableism and certainly does nothing kind to their portrayal of survivors of trauma. While their representation of mental illness in the past wasn’t necessarily the best (though I would argue that it hasn’t always been as bad as some claimed before), this is downright awful and, in my opinion, at least borderline inexcusable, if not outright).

That said, I’ve only just started Day 9, so I don’t want any spoilers past that point. Things I see later on might change my opinion on the matter, but I very heavily doubt it. We’ll see.

That said . . .

For those who don’t know, a quick flash of context. Choi Saeran is a character in Mystic Messenger who is known for most of the game as Unknown, a hacker working for Mint Eye who is trying to sabotage RFA / bring everyone to Mint Eye / murder Seven and probably V. Throughout Seven’s route and the Secret Endings of Casual Story / Deep Story, the player learns that Saeran is Seven’s twin brother. The two were the bastard children of a very prominent politician who wanted them killed so they wouldn’t tarnish his image, and a very abusive mother who used them as blackmail bait to get money from said wealthy politician father. Saeran was always frail, health-wise, so Seven took it upon himself to take care of him. However, when the boys were about twelve, Rika and V convinced Seven that the only way to protect Saeran (and himself) from their father was for him to join an intelligence agency, through which he would never be able to see Saeran again. Seven agreed, provided V and Rika kept Saeran safe, which V promised they would. For a time, they did rescue Saeran and keep him safe; however, some time after that, Rika removed Saeran from V’s care, locked him in a dungeon, drugged and tortured him, and therefore turned him into the Unknown that we see in Casual Story / Deep Story.

Another Story keeps most of that, but with a twist. This time, even though Saeran (apparently) went through all of the same abuse that he underwent in the first set of paths, he developed a split personality from it. He has his “nice” / “good” personality that we see for most of the route, known as Ray . . . but then he also has a “mean” / “bad” personality that we see at other times, known as Unknown / Saeran.

And this is where I have a problem.

There are some base issues with how this is presented---shallow problems that, in the grand scheme, aren’t that big of a deal. For instance, for some reason the Ray personality is a brilliant hacker even better than Seven, who runs rings around him for the duration of the plot even though Saeran was never able to do so in Casual Story / Deep Story (in fact, it’s a very important part of the climax of the Secret Endings that Seven is a more skilled hacker than he is---and it makes sense, since Seven has had far more experience in hacking than Saeran ever has). This was no doubt done in an effort to prolong the plot, since having Seven crack things open right away would have killed any sort of suspense Cheritz tried to build. However, it makes no sense. Even if Ray “knew nothing but work”, the same could pretty much be said for Seven, who devoted himself to learning about computers even before he went to the agency so that he could try to get a job with them to make money to save Saeran. After joining the agency, it was previously established canon (that has apparently been retconned) that he was always a diligent worker until the main plot, and we also know that he both managed things for RFA and pranked other hackers in his free time (see: Hackers Chasing Hackers). So even if Ray dedicated himself to learning, Seven did as well, and to have that much of a skill discrepency between them does not make sense, even if Ray is a separate personality from Unknown. In fact, that makes even less sense, because while people with multiple personalities often do experience severe memory loss, that does not seem to be what Cheritz is going for here, given that the Unknown personality knows things that happened while the Ray personality was in control, and vice versa. So that said, Saeran should have all of his hacking knowledge regardless of what personality is at the forefront. Making a huge skill gap like this really does not make sense at all.

But even so, as I said, that’s a shallow problem. It’s one that’s easily moved on from, even if it does make me sigh heavily because it’s bad writing. (Like really, there are other ways to make suspense last than by nerfing one of your characters like that.) The bigger issue surrounds how they handled this “split personality” business in the first place.

To begin with, context is important. Dissociative identity disorder (often called multiple personality disorder) is heavily stigmatized in the real world. They’re often potrayed as jokes at best or villains at worst within media, and this affects how they’re treated in real life. People with DID are often looked upon as being crazy at best, or absolutely dangerous and unhinged at worst. While of course a person with DID has a capability for violence, so does every single human being on this planet, whether mentally ill or not. The fact that people with DID are often used as the butt of jokes or as villains within media is a problem that is not aided by furthering to perpetuate that in new forms of media.

So to that end, since DID is often so poorly represented, the fact that we have a poor representation of it here, again, is a problem. While it’s true that as the narrative goes on you’re supposed to see Ray as more and more of a victim, that’s just it: You’re supposed to see the Ray personality as a victim, while Unknown is supposed to be seen as dangerous. Despite the fact that DID is actually better called identity fragmentation than an actual split personality (which is sort of what I feel like they’re going for here, in the sense that both Ray and Unknown have experienced the same things and are aware of this, but they missed the mark a bit), here you’re clearly supposed to see them as a Good Personality and Bad Personality. This is a problem with how survivors of trauma are depicted in media to begin with, but even setting that aside for the time being, it’s particularly a problem with how DID is portrayed in media because it’s a very common (and pretty harmful) portrayal. It essentially subtly pushes both that “this person is dangerous because they have this disorder,” as well as, “well, but if we can save this nice personality, or avoid bringing out the bad personality, we’ll be okay.” Rather than wanting to treat and help the person suffering from DID so that they can unite their various personalities into one and heal the fragmentation, it’s instead demonizing an entire part of their personality---which is constructed from trauma!---and treating them as dangerous and threatening because of it. Of course, Ray does some pretty fucked up things over the course of the plot as well, so it’s not as if he has been treated as an angel. However, once Unknown makes his presence . . . well, known, it’s made pretty clear that Ray is supposed to be viewed as pure / harmless / frightened, and that Unknown is supposed to be viewed as psychotic and dangerous. It’s made clear that we’re supposed to understand that Ray is the part of Saeran that was scared and innocent, whereas Unknown---a manifestation of his rage, his hatred, his betrayal and his pain---is supposed to be seen as violent and dangerous. This feeds into harmful stereotypes about DID, furthering the perception (subconscious or otherwise) that these individuals are dangerous, unstable, and unhinged, and it puts a very bad taste in my mouth.

(And again, maybe he’ll get help with this later on, just as Saeran gets help in the Secret Endings. I don’t know, I’m just on Day 9. But right now, this is how it comes across to me.)

On top of that, however, drawing a fierce dichotomy between two personalities like this also feeds into the Good Victim vs. Bad Victim mentality that I’ve seen repeated again, and again, and again within various media. I talk about it a lot in this post, but a basic gist is that we’re often shown a stark contrast between “Good Victims” and “Bad Victims” in the media (and in fandom reaction to abuse victims within media), in the sense that we’re shown characters who are sweet, kind, loving, and pure despite the abuse they’ve gone through, and the narrative (and fandom) treats them as being sweet, pure, and Too Good for This World, but when we’re shown characters who are mistrustful, stand-offish, or perhaps even angry as a result of what they’ve gone through---when we’re shown characters who aren’t sunshine and smiles and kind, gentle words despite their traumas---the narrative (and the fandom) treats them as being unreasonable, unjust, and distasteful, irredeemable bullies / trash (or “emo edgelords” at the very best, as far as the fandom goes, but that’s still distasteful as well, imo). There is no one way to react to trauma; every person is different, and therefore the way each person reacts to trauma is going to be different. To that end, there is no “right way” to be a victim. But that’s exactly why Good Victim and Bad Victim portrayals and attitudes within media and fandom are so harmful. It’s harmful to tell someone that their anger, their mistrust, their hurt and how they react to it, is Bad, Unjust, Whiny, or Emo. It’s harmful to tell someone that in order for them to receive sympathy, that in order for them to receive love and care, that they must bottle all of those negative feelings, that they have to stuff it down their throat and suffer in silence, that they have to be sweet, kind, and forgiving. I’m not saying that survivors should never forgive their abusers (if they want to and that helps them, that’s their choice), but I am saying that survivors should never be under any obligation to do so. Survivors should not have to be sweet, kind, or loving to receive understanding or sympathy because of the abuse they’ve undergone. And note as well that I am NOT saying that abuse survivors should have a free pass to be abusers themselves. Saeran does some legitimately harmful things in every single route, regardless of whether he has DID or not, that are not excusable. The fact that he was abused does not excuse the abuse he doles out on others. However, he still does need help, and context matters in the sense that he was not always as aware of the terrible things he was doing (or the fact that they were terrible) as others in the plot were. That has to be taken into consideration.

However, that’s another discussion for another time. The point I’m trying to make here is that the Good Victim / Bad Victim dichotomy that is so often perpetuated in the media (and, again, all fandoms) is legitimately harmful to survivors of abuse, because it dictates what “appropriate” responses to abuse and trauma are. Mystic Messenger had, until this point, avoided doing that. Although Rika’s actions are unquestionably awful despite whatever bullying or ostracization she received in childhood (and despite her own mental illness) because she knew exactly what she was doing and caused irreparable harm to so many others, I don’t feel that her character fed into this dichotomy because of the other abuse survivors in the cast. Both Choi twins demonstrate C-PTSD as a result of abuse, and both of them do things that would ordinarily be seen as “Bad Victim” traits as a result of their very believable C-PTSD. Seven is mistrustful, self-isolating, and has difficulties with emotional regulation that result in him snapping and lashing out at those around him, even when they’re trying to reach out to help. Saeran has even more problems with emotional regulation, and has such difficulties forming relationships with others that he has full on breakdowns when he thinks the few ties he has are falling apart. The way both twins lash out at those around them as a result of their C-PTSD (among other things) would normally have them painted as Bad Victims. However, not only are both twins beloved by the fandom, but the narrative presents Seven as an absolute hero (perhaps the hero of the narrative, honestly), and Saeran is presented in a very sympathetic light, both in Seven’s route and the Secret Endings (Secret Ending 2 especially), in which he is given a hopeful ending after all is said and done. Although Rika is portrayed very negatively, I would argue that she is portrayed negatively despite her mental illness, not because of it. Her actions are her own, and as we see with characters like Seven, it is perfectly capable to find mentally ill characters in Mystic Messenger who are not only not portrayed negatively, but who are actually portrayed heroically. Yes, they still need help, but they get that help, and they aren’t treated as villains. Not all mentally ill characters in this narrative are demonized, and that’s what makes what was done with Rika arguably fine.

However, the way Cheritz decided to portray Saeran in Another Story shatters that, in my opinion. Yes, Seven is still mentally ill, and yes, you are encouraged to start caring about Ray once it’s clear that Rika is back in action . . . however, that’s the problem. You’re encouraged to care about Ray. Where I’m at in the story at the moment, Ray is being portrayed as the Good / Innocent / NIce one, wereas Unknown is the Bad / Dangerous / Violent one. We’re supposed to care about, worry over, and want to save Ray; we’re supposed to see Unknown as someone to be avoided, and potentially destroyed. And that’s immensely harmful, because if we go this route and give Saeran DID as a result of the trauma he has suffered, then Unknown is a manifestation of the very understandable and justified rage and betrayal he feels as a result of all he has gone through. His father wanted him dead, his mother severely abused him, he believes his brother abandoned him, the woman who claimed she was saving him had him locked up in a dungeon, drugged, and tortured for months, and so on and so forth. It’s more than understandable and justified that Saeran would feel rage over this. I’m not saying it’s justified for him to actually hurt innocent people as a result, but those feelings of anger? Those feelings of betrayal? Those are understandable! Those are justified! It makes total sense and is more than okay for Saeran to be absolutely furious at the hand this world dealt him, for him to be infuriated at the fact that he has never had a single period in his entire life where he wasn’t being used, abused, manipulated, and controlled (or at least not one that lasted for very long; we don’t know how long he was with V). The fact that Saeran feels such a fierce rage over this is normal and acceptable. He should be allowed to have these feelings without being demonized for them, particularly since we know (thanks to the Secret Endings) that part of his lashing out is a direct result of his fear of abandonment. He purposefully drives people away (and describe it as putting up a spiky shield) because he feels that they will leave him anyway, and therefore it’s better for him to cut that tie first. That’s a way for him to regain some semblance of control over his life (another realistic portrayal of C-PTSD / abuse survival), and while it’s not healthy and he needs help with that, it’s also not something he should be demonized for. It’s understandable. It’s believable. His feelings are more than valid.

But by splitting him into “Ray” and “Unknown” and portraying Ray as good / sweet / pure and Unknown as bad / dangerous / toxic, that’s precisely what Cheritz is doing. They’re demonizing and condemning Saeran’s negative reactions to his trauma, saying that the only time we should feel sorry for or sympathize with him is when he’s being kind to us. Again, for great justice, I’m NOT saying that survivors of abuse get a free pass to abuse others. But what I am saying is that, in terms of direct action, Unknown hasn’t done anything more harmful than Ray has in Another Story, and yet Ray is still treated as being the “good” one because he’s docile, apologetic, and seemingly kind to MC, whereas Unknown is treated as the “bad” one because he’s angry, brash, and willing to fight. It’s a direct portrayal of the Good Victim / Bad Victim dichotomy and, as a survivor of abuse with C-PTSD myself, it’s one that I find extremely distasteful and upsetting, particularly since I liked the realistic potrayal of Saeran’s C-PTSD from Seven’s route / the Secret Endings.

So all in all, I take severe issue with what has been done here, at least so far. Again, my feelings may change when I play more, since I’m only on Day 9 right now---but right now, I really hate this. I’m going to replay Seven’s route / the Secret Endings again once I’m through here so that I can go back to a time when Saeran wasn’t portrayed and treated so atrociously, but until then I’m going to try and suck it up and get through this. I really wish they hadn’t gone this route, though; while I understand that having Saeran be sweet to MC at all would be nigh impossible if they kept his characterization consistent, giving him a horrible potrayal of DID was still unnecessary, in my opinion, and severely hurt the overall quality of their narrative (which is already hurting due to all the bugs and errors, but whatever).

For shame, Cheritz. For shame. 

[sanaseva-archive]

okay, hi. it’s me—the annoyance in this fandom. and i’d like to talk about something, so bear with me.

 there’s a problem in this fandom that doesn’t need to be discussed. why not? it’s not up for discussion, basically. it’s up to you all to sit back and learn that this shit you all are pulling needs to be stopped. period.

 i’m breaking it up to a couple of core parts so you all know what i’m talking about.

 first of all, let’s talk about the islamophobia and racism in this fandom.

 here’s the deal: shut up and listen. is that too hard? then just shut up and close your browser. delete your blog. take a walk. go on with your shitty life.

 i don’t know why this needs to be explained—seriously. i don’t understand it. it’s not physics or the study of runes. it’s the basic thing called logic thinking and common decency at the least.

 you’re all doing something incredibly harmful and it’s not okay. when you started calling a brown character a rat i—i thought it was a joke. and when it was pointed out it’s racist, by people of colour in this fandom, you kept doing it. why? do you take enjoyment in calling brown people rats? do you think you can get away with it? guess you can, but you can stop doing it to people of colour. it’s disgusting.

 next. the idea of this season is: please don’t let me be misunderstood. the reverse of this? please don’t let me be understood. just so we’re clear. there’s no reverse. the song was in reverse, the message was clear. so you can shut up about that.

 so when the fight broke up, and sana was hiding in the bathroom stall, what did we hear? the two white random, irrelevant white girls talking about how they thought (assumed, didn’t know but talked anyway) it was about homosexuality, and how muslims are homophobic. was it there for the lols? no. it was there for us. to know. that it wasn’t about that.

 my point: shut the fuck up about it. it’s tiresome, getting old, it’s toxic. if you keep talking about this, you’re spreading harmful messages to others. what messages? that muslims are homophobic. which they can be, i’m not saying some aren’t. i’m saying that that’s not the point of this season and that non-muslims are equally likely to be homophobic. don’t believe me? wow, i guess it’s something that has been fed to you by media representation and… dare i say it? people talking shit of shit they don’t know on social platforms. precisely what you’re doing right now.

 second thing we need to talk about: the series. yes! let’s talk about what content we have right now and why us people of colour and why muslims are upset, shall we? (note: we have all the right to be upset.)

 let’s first get this out of the way: we know it’s written this way to prove some point later on in the season. probably something along the lines of muslim and brown boys not all being homophobic and shit. you know. that thing you keep shutting your eyes from. we understand that, we know that.

 we’re just. not. happy. about how it’s written. it’s kind of doing a lot of damage right now. look at some of the messages some people (people of colour, muslims, muslim people of colour) receive. and what we should be getting is much more healthy scenes between muslims, muslims and people of non-faith, people of colour and white people, to weigh up to the damage its doing. we don’t get that much of that. and it’s frustrating, because we understand why (sana’s lonely) but there are so many ways to portray loneliness than completely erase healthy interactions between people on the fucking screen.

 don’t bring up the hei briskeby videos, because they don’t count. i’m talking about the real episodes here. the real clips. the clips that the casual viewer will watch.

 so yes. the series itself is… partially at fault here. the writing, i would say. especially filming only the people of colour in a fight and—wow. that chokehold they had on the only black guy? yikes.

 what’s worse is that they surely know—or at least have a slight idea—of what outbreak their clips will give. and they keep doing it. keep feeding this shit to us, and leave us to either deal with it, or completely shut down our inboxes. which results into people thinking we’re selfish, because we don’t answer their wish to learn more about culture and islam and the experiences people of colour have.

 third thing we need to talk about: vilde and noora. yup. i’m putting them on the agenda.

 i, as a lesbian of colour, wholeheartedly believe that vilde’s character is poorly written this season. she’s obviously not too different from earlier seasons, but she’s definitely had more emphasis on her ignorance, and how that ignorance is dealt with is—less acceptable. i do believe, on top of that, that she will be “redeemed” (i’m just not sure i’ll buy into it) and that she will learn, apologise and maybe grow the last episode or something, since we won’t be getting any more.

 but what bugs me the most about the way they’re writing her this season is that, she’s coded as possibly lesbian (or bi, if you prefer, but i’m gonna talk about her being lesbian, and you can make your own post about her being bisexual). and she’s literally the only character fully coded this way. if you’re interested in why, just… google it. believe it or not, we aren’t google. but the key point is that she is doing a lot of what us lesbians perceive as compulsory heterosexuality. and they completely villainised a potential lesbian this season which is just falling into the same shit people have done over and over again. lesbians are bad, lesbians are racist, lesbians are this and fucking that and that pisses me off. if, by the off chance, she eventually is canonically declared as lesbian, i’m not sure i will rejoice or throw my phone through my computer screen. they ruined her character to me, they ruined a (coded) lesbian to me, a lesbian, simply because they wanted to put her to be the ignorant girl who keeps shitting all over sana.

 and noora. man. i’m not too mad about noora as a character herself. she’s flawed, she has her good moments and shit. but she takes up so much of her own storyline from sana’s. it’s a mess. she’s talking about herself, her problems with dickhelm, and sure, that’s what friends do—talk about what bothers you. but we’re so frustrated that she’s once again on the screen, talking about the same old thing, and rip the minutes that could’ve been spent on sana from our hands.

 don’t get me wrong. we all know that sana is a listener. but there’s a line. and they jump over it, time and time again.

 and then there’s the misogyny in this fandom that needs to be addressed. and this is a harder one, because it’s hard to spot.

 during the course of season three—up to this day, i see this shit—people keep shitting on sonja and emma for no other reason than them being girls who got hurt in the process. sonja? remember her? she got cheated on. and while even kept saying he felt controlled by her you somehow got the idea that she’s toxic. she isn’t. a toxic relationship would not end with isak thanking sonja for the help she’s given. she knows even and—well, at the most, she might have been a bit controlling because she doesn’t understand that even is his own person with or without his bipolar disorder.

 and emma? she outed isak, which is fucked up and there’s no excuse. but stop thinking she’s the absolute villain to isak’s life because she’s a girl, who got hurt, in the process. accept that, move on, because isak sure did.

 you thought i’d end there? really? nope. ain’t gonna happen. i’m gonna bring up vilde specifically again.

 you think she’s just a dumb ignorant islamophobe? partially true. she’s islamophobic and is not a good friend to sana. she’s ignorant, yes. but you’re reducing her character to something she isn’t. you’re reducing her to the blonde dumb girl, which is just as shitty as people defending her islamophobic behaviour. her islamophobia does not correlate to her dealing with whatever she’s dealing with (compulsory heterosexuality, if you will), but if you reduce her to a two-dimensional character it’s quite misogynistic itself. if you’re woman and doing that—check yourself in the mirror.

 same goes for noora, basically, but i don’t think anyone is genuinely despising her for anything else than the shitty line here and there and the serious screentime she’s clocking.

 we also had a run in with the lovely subjects of biphobia and ableism too. you all can’t stop anywhere, can you?

 since we aren’t discussing, let me just point out these things:

 bisexuality does not equate to cheater. a cheater can be of any sexuality. the stereotype is that bisexual people are cheaters is harmful and it ends here. whether a bisexual person/character has cheated can be discussed without bringing in their bisexuality to the conversation.

 and mental illness… it seems it’s harder for you to grasp this part. so let me put it this way: think of the most embarrassing shit you’ve done. called your teacher mum and everyone laughed? peed yourself in public? pretended to talk on the phone and your phone ended up ringing? whatever. the most embarrassing shit you’ve done. think of that. feel what you felt at that point. oh my god, what did people think of you?

 do you want your crush or your partner of a few months know… that? say it involved a second person. say you… shat yourself on your best friend’s expensive, newly bought couch, felt so embarrassed you left the house and deleted all your social media and never answered their calls.

 say your partner brings them up.

 would you… tell them that?

 i don’t mean to trivialise mental illness here (i’m struggling with my own). it’s much more complex (guilt, self-blaming, embarrassment, sadness) than what i’m saying here. i’m just breaking it down to a point where hopefully even the most abled person can understand.

 you’re expecting someone who deals with this every day to just tell their partner. it’s not that easy. it’s a lot of compartmentalising that needs to be done, so you can tell that story without breaking down completely. what happened to even broke him enough to switch to a new school. that’s not something you just tell someone, regardless if you’re together with them, without having thought it through for weeks—even months—and analysed each possible turnout and reaction. that’s not something you tell someone unless you really, really, really need to.

 that’s not to say that it’s… bad. that even and sana weren’t honest with isak from the start. but it’s what it is. even isn’t perfect. sana isn’t perfect. isak isn’t perfect. none of these characters are completely perfect. why not? because they’re supposed to be realistic, human and resound to us. we’re supposed to be able to relate to them, in a way.

 lastly, but most importantly: stop thinking you’re so bloody entitled to send shitty asks to people, especially the muslims, people of colour and disabled people of this fandom.

 now that i’ve said my piece, kindly don’t find your way into my inbox and think it’s time to discuss. as i said, it’s not up for discussion.

 don’t understand what i’m talking about? congratulations, you just won the prize: read this post again until you get it.

 peace the fuck out.

[wanderingfan]

Things I Enjoyed This Week

Hello Again.  Hope you’re having a good weekend!  Here’s some things I watched/listened/obsessed over this week.  This week I’m going to try to be a little more thorough on what each piece of content contains this time.

Main Fixation

Banana Fish 

This is going to be here for the next 30 weeks and I don’t know what to tell you.  Oh wait I do have something to say that I probably can’t sneak into the Eiji and Ash post I’m doing (hopefully it’ll be done by Tuesday.)

WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT HOW HORRENDOUS OF A POKER FACE EIJI HAS WHEN TALKING TO IBE.

“Oh, I will,” he says casually with his eyes bulging out of his sockets.  I loved Eiji in the manga and I’m loving Eiji in the anime and frames like this really say a thousand words about him.  I have a more depressing image that also says a thousand words but I’ll put that on a solo post later tomorrow.

Videos

Cooking With Twinkies! by brutalmoose           

contains food products including sweets such as twinkies, ice cream and cookies, condiments, cooked and uncooked sausage and hot dogs, as well as a man cooking and eating said food.

Brutalmoose’s videos are always a treat to see, whether he’s making frozen dinners, cooking weird recipes, watching old tv or television movies, or playing far off video games.  This one is him dressed in a mustard twinkie suit making food...using twinkies.   The art is in the editing hon.  And by that I mean it’s odd.

Down the Rabbit Hole by Fredrik Knudsen

contains disturbing information regarding things ranging from cult-like activity to mental illness to online abuse to attempted murder and suicide.  viewer discretion is advised.

Hey hi I accidentally binge-watched this whole playlist.  It’s documentary-like video series describing strange, often disturbing events ranging from events involving content creators to historical events like the plague.  What makes this series work I think is how the narrator acts completely separate from the events, only giving information in order to allow you to draw your own conclusion.

Arthur Games #2! by PeanutButterGamer                                              

contain bits of video made to make Arthur and its characters disturbing.  some edits are disjointed and a little off-putting

Another video that relies on odd editing.  These videos range from funny to slightly surreal.  It’s about Arthur games...based on Arthur.  The only episode I remember watching of Arthur is the one where he broke a glass bird by accident, and then one where his sister wanted to wish on a shooting star...I don't know I put in here because I watched it okay?

Examining the Yaoi BL Genre by GoatJesus

contains discussion of sexual assault, homophobia and sexism along with showing episodes that include sexual assault.

I almost removed this because there are some opinions GoatJesus has that I heavily disagree with.  However when it comes to this video in particular GoatJesus is very on point, so I feel like since I keep running into posts declaring they hate Yaoi (sometimes while putting any content with seemingly non-straight undertones into that category,) and then others justifying their love of Yaoi (but not...real LGDTQ+ people and the stories they write cough cough) by declaring some nonsensical reasoning like yaoi was before gay culture (which is...uhuh. sure. okay.) I think it’s important to have more videos like this that are clear and honest on how they feel about this topic.

The Shape of Ableism: How We Restrict Disabled and Disfigured Stories by The Princess and the Scrivener

contains discussion of mental and physical disabilities, ableism, prejudice, racism, sexism and how film portrays these topics with examples from The Elephant Man, Wonder, Me Before You, and The Shape of Water, among others.  

The way Scrivener discusses topics and her response to “critical” comments speak to me on this personal level it’s like she’s in my head and now I weirded myself out so if you want to see a proper look at the mistreatment and lack of disabled casting in films check this one out.

Are Rules Made to Be Broken? | Philosophy Tube by Philosophy Tube  

contains discussions on politics, activism, philosophy, racism and discriminatory laws

An quickie on why rules are made to be broken...not much else to say the title speaks for itself.  Short and sweet.

So I Installed 30+ Mods Onto Darkest Dungeon... and VAMPYRBORNE by Indeimaus

contains video game blood, violence and murder.  also swearing.

Whenever I’m interested in a game but don’t have a big wallet I usually look at a good playthrough of it.  However ever since I discovered Indeimaus I suddenly can’t imagine going through 30+ hours of a playthrough unless its someone I really like, because Indeimaus usually makes a single video that chronicles his experience playing through the game.

Gator Ate My Camera! and BIG PIG PARTY! by Brave Wilderness  

first video contains live gators in a feeding frenzy and raw meat.  second video contains pigs, chickens, organic cake (safe for animals to eat), birthday décor and Coyote eating a piece of the cake after dropping it on the dirt.

PIG PARTY!  GATOR PARTY!  Brave Wilderness videos are always a nice treat to watch when I feel I stopped in my tracks.  When I’m lying down not sleeping I usually watch some Brave Wilderness videos until I go to sleep.  Coyote’s love for creatures big and small is infectious.

Power Rangers (2017) - Deep Dive by FilmJoy                                               

contains people eating oreo cookies and watching a movie.  people chatting and having a good time on a couch and pausing to talk in front of the camera.  movies watching parts are set in black-and-white.

Deep Dive is a series that strives to see the joy in movies that are...not conventionally joyful.  They’re great if you’re tired of reviews that are essentially “this movie SUCKS” for 15-30 minutes and instead want to see someone at least try to find the good in even things that are atrocious.  This time though they watched a movie that was...kinda actually good?  All of them are surprised by this.

Klonoa: The Saddest Game Ever Made (Analysis/Tribute) - ChaseFace ...by ChaseFace

contains story beats to the first klonoa game, which deals with destruction, loss, deceit, and other themes, but its not gory or “adult” in any capacity.

Wh-what?  Why would I be sad about this game?  I never played it!  I have no reason to cry about this cutesy game about friendship and dreams.  N-nope!  D-didn’t cry at alllllllll-aaaaaaaaaagh *gross sobbing*

Podcasts

Waypoint - Captain Toad's Wild Ride and No Man's Guy

contains discussion on toxic behavior in gaming communities (including mention of a bomb threat to a game creator) and the culture and issues of gaming development and publishing, along with brief asides to politics.

This week Waypoint discuss how good Captain Toad is among other Switch Games, and then goes into a details discussion on what happened to No Man’s Sky, including the visceral reactions to it.

Oh No, Ross and Carrie! - Ross and Carrie Traverse Flat Earth (Part 7): The Jeran Campanella Interview

contains skepticism of modern science, religion (focusing on catholic,) atheism and the flat-earther movement

Ross and Carrie take a break from the out-of-body club to interview a flat-earther on his experience in becoming one.

Wonderful! - Wonderful! Ep. 43: Davey Coolstool’s Math Poetry

contains a married couple being in love

Wonderful is a couple who used to do a Bachelor Podcast called Rose Buddies, but after the show got to a point where the couple decided they didn’t want to encourage anyone to watch the show they moved on to just a podcast talking about things they think are wonderful.  Saccharine sweet and positive, will probably lull you to sleep.

The Worst Bestsellers - Episode 102 – Ramona and Her Mother

contains childhood nostalgia, memories, and family issues

The Worst Bestseller are ladies who go through...the worst bestsellers, from Warriors (LIES) to Fifty Shades of Grey.  But PLOTWIST - They talk about a book they actually love this time with Ramona and Her Mother, which seems to understand the small struggles of being a young kid that are still applicable today as they were in the seventies.

Let's Fight a Boss - Ep 79: Willy-Banilly

contains swearing and some dark humor.  also contain irish funeral arrangements.

A group of friend poke fun at each other while talking about what they watched/read, what they played, games news and emails.  They’re usually two hours long but sometimes less or more depending on the topics.  They can be very frank about what they like and dislike which might throw people off, but I respect them for still being good people.  Its hard for me to get differing opinions that aren’t attached to more toxic behavior, so its nice to be able to enjoy a podcast that’s still respectful.  

That’s it for this week.  Take care!