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rebelsofshield · 1 year ago

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Star Wars Ahsoka: "Far, Far Away" - Review

Ahsoka hits new heights in a chapter that leans hard into a space fantasy set up that's intriguing, charming, haunting, and delightful.

Grand Admiral Thrawn's allies arrive on the mysterious world of Peridea, a galactic planet of rolling plains, Purgill graveyards, and controlled by a trio of Nightsister witches. There Sabine Wren begins the next step in her voyage to find Ezra Bridger while Thrawn readies himself for his apocalyptic return to the known galaxy.

Star Wars has always been an epic fantasy dressed up in sci-fi aesthetics. Sure, we occasionally get something like Andor that take a more detailed and logical approach to the Galaxy Far, Far Away, but some of the franchise's best stories, including many written by showrunner Dave Filoni, have leaned hard into the magical/supernatural elements of the galaxy. In Ahsoka's sixth chapter, we take a wonderful leap into that fantastical side of Star Wars and the series is made all the better for it.

Ever since its premiere, Ahsoka has been treading a fine line between continuing the stories of previous franchise narratives and finding an identity of its own. While the series struggled dramatically in its opening chapters, Dave Filoni's first big live action saga has slowly started to right itself. In a way, the set up of "Far, Far Away" offers the series a bit of a restart. Thrawn's allies and Sabine are slingshot into a brand new galaxy and for the first time most of our cast is on as unfamiliar footing as the rest of us.

It also gives Filoni the chance to tell some fundamentally new stories with Ahsoka. Sure, we are still playing with the legacy of Rebels, in an even bigger way this week, but the sheer amount of creative and inspired storytelling and design choices this week more than make up for that. In fact, they make the callbacks work even more than ever.

It helps to some degree that the focal points of "Far, Far Away" are a bit more limited than in past episodes. We may spend the cold open with Ahsoka and Huyang swapping stories in the belly of a space whale, but the rest of the episode takes place entirely on the new world of Peridea with only its residents and new arrivals. This is a story that's fundamentally about Sabine Wren getting what she wants and glimpsing the consequences of her actions, while Thrawn and his allies spin their own tangled webs.

Yes, Thrawn finally makes his live action debut this week and is played once again by the marvelously talented Lars Mikkelson. The Grand Admiral has been spent years as a whispered about menace in the Mandoverse and his teasing often felt so prolonged that his inevitable arrival ran the risk of not living up to the foreboding name drops that Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have doling out since 2020. We shouldn't have doubted. Riding in on the skeletal husk of his famous Star Destroyer, Grand Admiral Thrawn enters amid a cacophony of clashing organs and haunting chants. He surrounds himself with Stormtroopers whose armor feels cracked and welded together after years of hard survival. His forces are lead by an unsettling gold masked commander named, Enoch. Even if Lars Mikkelson doesn't quite carry the same level of physical intimidation that Thrawn's animated counterpart did, the presentation of those around him is enough to sell him as a threat to be reckoned with. Also, Mikkelson knocks it out of the park as usual. Mikkelson's Thrawn speaks with quiet politeness and formality but is also capable of delivering orders of calculated violence and cruelty. He's a well-dressed terror and immediately steals any scene he's a part of.

Even if the circumstances of his exile may be hard to track for new viewers, Filoni and episodic director Jennifer Getzinger are able to catch the audience up to speed with sharp scripting and direction. The same can be said of the handling of Sabine's story and her search for and eventual reunion with Ezra Bridger. With the threat of Thrawn established, the consequences of Sabine's decision feel all the more real. We understand that she has risked something truly awful for the chance to be with her friend, one of the few people she feels connected to in this galaxy anymore. And sure, Ahsoka may have not made the case for why Ezra is so important prior to this episode but "Far, Far Away" more than makes up for this deficit.

A lot of the heart in Sabine's journey come from Filoni's willingness to play to some of the more cute and playful aspects of the saga. When Thrawn lets Sabine free to search for her friend (or kind of, more on that later), he provides her with a hyena like mount called a "Howler." Behaving like a mix of a horse, dog, and bird, this creature is a wonderful effect that's not only lovingly and convincingly realized on screen but provides a fun little mini-arc for Sabine. I mean, tell me you weren't rooting for this former Mandalorian and her weird space dog to become friends? It shows us a different, lighter side to a character that to this point has been mostly defined by her brooding and loneliness.

The Howler isn't the only new creature that's sure to steal the hearts of Star Wars fans. We also have the hermit crab like Noti who have befriended Ezra Bridger. The Noti play like humbler, more skittish Ewoks and they won me over instantly. They also provide an essential narrative beat in contextualizing Ezra Bridger to the audience. We can see that these friendly but skittish beings have welcomed Ezra into their own and even been inspired by his story as they wear the symbol of the rebellion in hand fashioned medallions around their necks. It speaks a lot to his character and personality just through visual storytelling and it works wonders.

Also, can we talk about how perfect Eman Esfandi is as live action Ezra? It's impressive just how easily Esfandi is able to capture the playful warmth and humor of the character in just a few minutes of screentime. It's a pitch perfect pairing and I never once doubted that I was looking at a man who used to be a boy I knew from a cartoon.

And the long awaited reunion between Ezra and Sabine? Perfect. Esfandi and Natasha Liu Bordizzo have instant platonic chemistry with one another and their interactions feel both joyful and sad. There's also the dark irony hanging over it all. Sabine in her quest to see her friend has effectively undone everything he sacrificed all those years ago. We can tell that she knows that this happiness can't last forever and sooner or later her surrogate brother will learn the truth, but for the moment she just wants to bask in the feeling of seeing his face again. It's a phenomenal sequence and maybe one of the most human moments we've gotten from any of the Mandoverse shows.

Thankfully, despite how much time "Far, Far Away" spends with the legacy of another series, Ahsoka doesn't forget its own new characters. Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati remain fascinating wildcards and here we finally get to learn a bit more about what is motivating this sullen former Jedi. Baylan's entire world ended when the Order fell. Since then he's seen Empire's rise and fall and has begun to see multiple factions make the same mistakes once again. He sees a galaxy stuck in a destructive loop and believes there is something Peridea's wasteland that might bring permanent change to the galaxy. Whether this is all a delusion in Baylan's head is unknown but it's fascinating to see how his own trauma at the end of the Order has shaped him into what he is now. He's a great philosophical foil for Ahsoka and I'm eager to see the two come to blows once more.

Also, Shin Hati is finally starting to define herself outside of Baylan's feral second in command. While I think any hint of romantic or sexual chemistry might be wishful thinking on my and many other queer fans' part, Shin does seem to be developing a greater sense of sympathy for Sabine. In particular, she seems distrustful of the larger scheme that Baylan has gotten the two of them involved in and almost even offended that her master would go back on his word in letting Sabine live and go through with Thrawn's orders to have her and Bridger executed. I'm not saying that there is redemption coming in the near future for Shin, but her loyalties may prove more complicated than we assume when all of the cards are laid down on the table.

Visually, "Far, Far Away" is a stunner. Not only is it the most confidently directed of any of the episodes of Ahsoka aired so far, but the production design of Peridea is incredible. The seemingly endless rolling hills hide masked bandits clad in rusted samurai-esque armor. Haunting statues of witches tower over the landscape. In the atmosphere the skeletons of Purgill float by like some celestial graveyard. It's the most inventive we've seen this corner of the Star Wars galaxy be in quite sometime and the end result feels like a mix of an 80s fantasy film like Willow or the Never Ending Story with a Kurosawa samurai epic.

"Far, Far Away" is a standout hour of television that manages to further Ahsoka's story and reward long time fans in equal measure. Only two episodes left! Let's keep this going.

Score: A

#Star Wars #Star Wars Ahsoka #Ahsoka #review #reviews

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auto-collision · 4 months ago

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Understanding the Collision Repair Process: What to Expect at a Collision Center

Accidents happen, and when they do, understanding the collision repair process can help ease the stress of getting your vehicle back on the road. This comprehensive guide outlines the key steps involved in collision repair, ensuring you know what to expect at each stage.

1. Initial Assessment and Estimate

Step One: Vehicle Drop-Off and Inspection

The collision repair process begins with dropping off your vehicle at the collision center. A technician will perform a thorough inspection to assess the damage. This includes a visual examination and the use of diagnostic tools to identify both visible and hidden damage. This step is crucial for developing an accurate repair plan.

Step Two: Damage Estimate

After the initial inspection, the technician will provide a detailed estimate of the repair costs. This estimate includes the cost of parts, labor, and any additional services required. Reviewing this estimate carefully and discussing any concerns with the collision center staff is essential to understanding the scope of work needed.

2. Insurance Approval

Step Three: Submitting the Estimate

If you're filing an insurance claim, the collision center will typically submit the repair estimate to your insurance company. This submission includes detailed documentation, such as photos of the damage and a breakdown of the estimated costs. The goal is to get insurance approval for the necessary repairs.

Step Four: Insurance Adjuster Review

An insurance adjuster will review the estimate and may inspect the vehicle in person. They will determine the extent of coverage based on your policy and approve the necessary repairs. Once the insurance company approves the estimate, the collision center can proceed with the repair work.

3. Disassembly and Damage Discovery

Step Five: Vehicle Disassembly

The repair process begins with disassembling the damaged areas of the vehicle. This step allows technicians to access hidden components and further assess the extent of the damage. Additional issues may be discovered during this phase, which can impact the repair plan.

Step Six: Supplemental Estimate

If additional damage is found during disassembly, the collision center will create a supplemental estimate and submit it to the insurance company for approval. This ensures that all necessary repairs are covered and that there are no surprises later in the process.

4. Structural and Body Repairs

Step Seven: Structural Repairs

If the vehicle’s frame or structural components are damaged, specialized equipment is used to restore the vehicle to its original specifications. This process may involve straightening the frame, welding, and replacing damaged parts. Structural repairs are critical for ensuring the vehicle's safety and integrity.

Step Eight: Body Repairs

Body repairs focus on fixing or replacing damaged panels, doors, and other exterior components. Technicians use various techniques, including metalworking, sanding, and filling, to restore the vehicle’s body to its pre-accident condition. These repairs ensure that the vehicle looks as good as new.

5. Paint and Refinishing

Step Nine: Surface Preparation

Before painting, the repaired areas are thoroughly prepped to ensure a smooth and even finish. This preparation involves sanding, priming, and masking off areas that are not to be painted. Proper surface preparation is essential for achieving a flawless paint job.

Step Ten: Painting and Clear Coating

Using a computerized paint-matching system, technicians apply the vehicle’s original color to the repaired areas. After the base coat is applied, a clear coat is added to protect the paint and give it a glossy finish. The painted areas are then baked in a specialized booth to cure the paint, ensuring durability and shine.

6. Reassembly and Quality Control

Step Eleven: Reassembly

Once the paint has cured, the vehicle is reassembled. This step involves reinstalling trim, lights, mirrors, and other components that were removed during the repair process. Technicians ensure that everything fits correctly and functions properly.

Step Twelve: Quality Control Inspection

Before the vehicle is returned to you, a comprehensive quality control inspection is performed. This inspection checks that all repairs meet industry standards and that the vehicle is safe to drive. Any necessary adjustments are made to ensure the highest quality repair.

7. Final Delivery and Customer Satisfaction

Step Thirteen: Vehicle Pickup

When the repairs are complete, you will be notified that your vehicle is ready for pickup. Upon arrival at the collision center, take the time to inspect the repairs and ensure that everything is to your satisfaction. This final inspection is your opportunity to ask any questions and address any concerns.

Step Fourteen: Review and Feedback

Most collision centers will ask for your feedback on the repair process and your overall experience. This feedback helps them improve their services and ensures customer satisfaction. Providing honest feedback can also assist other customers in choosing a reliable collision center.

Conclusion

Understanding the collision repair process can help ease the anxiety that often accompanies vehicle repairs. By knowing what to expect, you can navigate the process with confidence and ensure that your vehicle is restored to its pre-accident condition. From the initial assessment to the final delivery, each step is designed to provide you with a safe, well-repaired vehicle and a positive customer experience. The transparency and thoroughness of the collision repair process are crucial for maintaining trust and satisfaction in what can be a stressful time. K&H CollisionCenter.

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azuisreading · 1 year ago

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Welcome to Potion Con by R.K. Ashwick

Bubbling cauldron? Love it. Bubbly people? Not so much. Young apprentice Ambrose Beake knows everything about potions...except for how to talk to other potioneers. So, when the annual potion convention rolls into town, he’s both thrilled and riddled with anxiety. Will the chatty crowds be too much for him? Or will he find his people? In this light-hearted Dungeons & Dragons meets Comic-Con short story, you'll meet the main character of A Rival Most Vial, eight years before his rival sets up shop across the street.

Review

I knew, the moment I was reading A Rival Most Vial, that I will love whatever R.K. Ashwick writes about those characters. And so far it has been real, because you don’t have the slightest idea of how much time I passed reading on Tumblr a, what it was, a 60k words AU / Crossover with some pirates? And a story with criminals? And all the short stories she had lingering around, of them being college students and whatnot. And it was delightful, I was in paradise. Except for the fact that it was an obsessive reading and I left aside everything I should have been doing… heheh

This was pretty short in comparison, but it was as good. My favorite character wasn’t around (?), but there was the same exact reason why I fell in love with the gang, Sherry, Banneker and Grim, though Grim weren’t around. I mean, I knew a scene with something like that will be there and was waiting for it, all quiet and calm and giggly because I knew it was coming. And was so good. I loved it and treasure it dearly because it’s so good, it’s so great that I’m able to feel that love as if it were written for me.

Our potioneer is little here, in a moment from the past (that at least for me feels like a spoiler from the future), but I didn’t think- well, I knew he was kind of like that, but really didn’t expect him to be able to do what he did in a situation like that. Though all the necessary requirements for him to just do it were met, so wasn’t that much of a surprise. More like an expected delight.

Ah, oh. I also felt so delighted when an unexpected moment arrived, where I saw why my favorite character is so special. That exact situation play again in the future as to say to you “look why it didn’t work then” and, well, I’m happy about it.

How something so short can bring me so much joy, how? I should have read it sooner, but it was there just when I needed it. And it’s free, what are you waiting to give it a shot?

Phrases that I liked so much that I marked them while reading

«“Did Pearce give you money for lunch?” she asked Ambrose. It was odd seeing her and Banneker without their usual shop attire. No gloves, no aprons, no goggles or welding masks. Simply tunics and vests, like what Ambrose wore. “Ah, no, he didn’t,” he said, looking through his coin purse. “But I should have enough.” Banneker rolled his eyes. “I got this one.” Before Ambrose could protest, the artificer dropped a handful of coins into his purse. Ambrose stiffened and pawed through them, trying to count the new coins. If Master Pearce noticed the extra money… “I’ll give you half-off on your next vial,” he said quickly. “That should settle the debt—“ “It’s not a debt, it’s a gift,” Sherry sighed. “Now, if you get lost, we’ll be in Vendor’s Alley for most of the day. You need anything, we’ll be right there.” She squeezed his shoulder.» — Check-In.

«The peace of the workroom allowed Ambrose to better appreciate Sandon’s eyes and the way his hair fell across them. When presented like this, his offer was almost tempting. But even Sandon’s charming half-smile couldn’t convince him to go to a crowded party at a tavern. Not after the day he had.» — Vendor’s Alley.

#welcome to potion con #a rival most vial #side quest row #r.k. ashwick #booklover #reading #book blog #book review #review #potioneering for love and profit

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eis123456 · 2 years ago

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Sander Tool Collision Repair

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weldinghelmet-blog1 · 5 years ago

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welding helmet reviews

https://www.theweldinghelmet.com/

We did a lot of research on the best welding helmet based on market sales & users experience right now. Welding helmets are salient used with arc welding processes. Welding helmets are available in many styles, which might confuse you when you go to pick one out. In that case a few things to consider to buy the best welding helmet to prevent eyes and it can also prevent retina burns, which can lead to a loss of vision. Personally, we wanted the best welding helmet for relatively easy to work and wanted to ensure that all kinds of physical and external matter would be safe.

#best welding helmet #welding helmet reviews #welding mask reviews #welding hood reviews #proline welding helmet review

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eebydeebyderby · 3 years ago

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While We Wait (Ch. 1/4)

A fic in which Reader grows closer to Egon as the team tackles an unknown supernatural threat. Soft continuation of this one-shot.

General info:

Egon x fem!Reader, fluff, mostly light-hearted, minor angst, hurt/comfort, slow-burn (sort of)

Chapter info:

~3.0k words, no content warnings

No proofreading we die like anarchists

Egon’s back was turned to you when you ventured down into the lab, sparks flying around him as he fired up the soldering iron. You rapped your knuckles on the wall. “Knock, knock, Spengs.”

“You’re here late,” his deep voice was dulled behind the metal shield on his face. He switched off the soldering iron. “I’d advise a welder’s mask if you’re going to stay down here. You don’t want to risk corneal flash burns.” He rummaged through the ridiculously huge toolbox under the table as you scuttled over to him and handed you his spare. Once he saw that you had it on, he resumed his welding, sending sparks everywhere once again.

You leaned in a bit to get a closer look at his handiwork in-progress. "Whatcha doing?"

"Peter's neutrino wand has a cracked nozzle. Simple repair.”

“How’d he manage that?”

"He pistol-whipped the spirit after it referred to Dana in a derogatory manner and his gun jammed. I’m close to finishing up the repair.”

“Oh. How’s that work?”

“I’ve already taken the axle grinder to the break and the sander to the compromised edges. Now I’m just welding the alloy together to seal the break. Typically I use a ¾ inch aluminum spool, but since it has a fairly low melting point compared to the carbon steel alloy used to reinforce the structure of the gun nozzle, I opted to try⁠—”

You didn’t really understand or care about the technical jargon, but you could listen to his deep, rumbling voice for hours on-end, even if the words meant nothing to you. You leaned your elbows on the table and your chin in your hands, idly watching him send sparks everywhere as he welded Peter’s proton gun. His large hands were rough and calloused, strong and robust, but still capable of the delicacy needed to repair the gun with nothing less than his usual surgical precision. Janine often swooned over what she referred to as 'big ole’ manly man hands' when the two of you had off time together. The appeal was definitely something you could see, as you were currently transfixed on the effortless, fluid movements of Egon’s hands as he idly explained to your deaf ears the process he was following, “⁠—consulted with Winston and he recommended this type 5356 silicone alloy welding wire with a wire feed speed of 85 RPS and a voltage output of 256 amps⁠—” You were grateful for the shield hiding the smile creeping across your face as you watched him work. The spell broke when his soldering iron turned off and his words became coherent again. "On another note, Peter claims that you and Janine are plotting something insidious against him.”

“This is true. Tell him. I want him to know. I want him to feel fear.”

He snickered. “I’ll be sure to let him know.” He lifted the protective mask and turned to you, the jagged gash on his face from the most recent call still fresh and raw. Your face fell a bit upon seeing it; even though the wound was a few days old now, the sight of it still sent an unpleasant sensation down the back of your neck. He caught the look on your face and quickly added, "It's healing rapidly. I expect minimal to no scarring since it seems the ectoplasm stimulated new tissue growth instead of the usual scar tissue."

You decided to change the subject. “Do you ever get lonely down here?”

“I wouldn’t say so. But I’m not one to pass up your company either.”

You smiled. “Anything I can help out with?”

“Yes, actually.” He rifled through several files on his cluttered desk and handed you a small handful of pictures. “I’d like to review the photographs with you again."

"Okay," you said, spreading them out across the table. "I'm assuming you have an update?"

"Yes. Our original theory was that of the benign Dover Demon cryptid, but with recent testimonies I’ve reason to suspect it’s actually a lesser entity of Ars Goetia classification.”

Your head shot up and you locked eyes with him. “You think it’s demonic?”

“Yes. It’s much more serious than we originally believed." He slid one photo closer to you, one you hadn't seen before. “Winston captured this image of the spirit from our most recent call. It looks nearly identical to these other photographs you sorted earlier, except its form is much more developed with tails and wings, and, as I came to know firsthand, the capability of direct physical attack. Look here.” He pointed to a marking on the blurred creature’s forehead.

You leaned in slightly to get a better look. He smelled good, the faintest hint of aftershave. Heat rushed to your face and you cleared your throat. “What’s that symbol mean?”

“It’s the insignia for the Cult of Shandor.” His baritone voice was smooth and calm, but you saw fear when you caught his eye. He immediately tore his gaze away and walked over to his desk, where he started flipping through a tattered notebook.

“Some of these photos show four fingers on each hand," you said, "but some have five. Do you think they’re variations of the same thing, or different?”

He cocked his head in thought, fiddled with his glasses a bit and scribbled something in the notebook. “I’m not sure.” Fatigue weighed heavily in his dark eyes, but it did little to cloud the intrigue burning in his soft gaze. “The corporeal forms of amortal entities often vary between manifestations. These differences are so minor that I’m leaning toward the former explanation. An additional digit may very well be vestigial, so it may be a matter of extra available energy when manifesting."

“Demons can’t produce their own energy,” you uttered under your breath, pawing at a pen on the table. “They need to draw it from somewhere else. Where do you think that’s from?”

"I don't know. The form variations imply multiple spawn points with variable amounts of available resources."

“Think we should recruit backup for this one? Janine and I can get a hold of Rookie’s team in Jersey tomorrow.”

“Maybe. We’d need to discuss it beforehand.”

You tilted your head a bit. “You haven’t told the others yet?”

He hesitated. “No. You’re the first.” He turned to you, concern suddenly etched on his face. “You believe me, don’t you?”

The question threw you for a loop. “Of course I believe you. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, when it comes to the topic of G⁠—”

A siren blared and cut him off, piercing and absolutely ear-splitting. You startled and toppled out of your chair. Egon rushed over to you as you scrambled to your knees, hands over your ears until it ended. “What the hell was that?!”

“Severe weather warning. The city’s going under emergency lockdown.” He took your hand and gently pulled you to your feet. For a split second you wanted so badly to hold his hand to your face, feel the gentleness of his thumb caressing your cheek, but he pulled away.

Janine’s voice crackled through the PA system. “Everybody to the lunchroom!”

“Here.” He pulled off his coat and draped it over you, letting his hands linger on your shoulders for a moment before pulling away, making your stomach leap into your throat. “The radiator might not handle the temperature drop coming.”

You preened, pulling the coat tighter around yourself and absolutely glowing with delight. “You’re not getting this back anytime soon.”

“Good. I’d prefer if you held onto it until at least the lockdown passes,” he said, completely missing your point. “I have more upstairs for myself. Let’s get going.”

It took a few minutes for everyone to crawl out from their various spots in the firehouse and take a seat at the largest kitchen table. Winston was the last to enter the kitchen, barefoot, cocooned in a blanket and eyes narrowed, clearly still half-asleep. “This is my punishment for being the only one with a non-dysfunctional sleep schedule,” he grumbled, a rueful smile lighting up his tired face. He yawned and turned to you. “First storm lockdown in New York, eh girlie? You weren’t here for the emergency planning, but part of it includes us drawing straws in a starvation scenario to see who gets eaten first.”

“I know. Egon made me read all the protocols when I got hired.”

Winston yawned again and joined Peter at the fridge, who was rummaging for a drink. You glanced around the room and your gaze fixated on Egon’s hands as he fiddled with his tie, chatting with Ray. He caught your eye and the two of you immediately looked away. The slightest ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips when Ray nudged him with his elbow.

“So,” Janine said loudly, getting the attention of the group, “headcount of six. Everybody was in-house for the alarm so we don’t need to worry about recovering anyone from outside. Does everybody have everything they’ll need for the day or so? Medications? Warm clothes?”

There were mutters of affirmation around the table.

“Good. There’s plenty of toiletries and we have about a week of food before we need to start eating each other. The current report predicts a lockdown of twelve hours or less. Since it’s one in the morning, I suggest we sleep through most of it. There’s plenty of extra blankets in the storage closet and the radiator seems to be in working order for now. Anybody got something to say before we break?”

Egon placed his soda down. “Yes. I reviewed our investigation into the Dover Demon inquiry with YN and we agree that the evidence points to something much more serious than we originally believed.” He avoided Peter’s credulous eye and looked to you for backing.

You nodded vigorously to the rest of the table. “Yeah. I think it’s something that really needs attention sooner than later. It seems pretty urgent.”

Peter groaned and ran his hands over his face. “Egon, I swear to God, if you say it has something to do with Gozer then I’m going to chew Ray’s arm off and beat you with it.”

Winston, who looked like someone plucked from a severe windstorm, said airily, “How about we save the demon discussions and cannibalistic plottings for when it’s not one in the morning?”

Ray nodded. “He’s right. A few hours of delay in talking won’t hurt since we can’t do anything under lockdown until tonight at least. It also gives me time to practice ambidexterity so I’m ready for Peter.”

Winston yawned again. “And where are we planning to put YN to sleep in the meantime? Everyone has a spot otherwise.”

“She can take Egon’s bed!” Ray said brightly, pretending not to feel Egon’s and your gazes smoldering into the side of his face.

Winston smirked, his eyes narrowed deviously. “And where would Egon sleep?”

“In his own bed, of course!” Peter chimed. “Right, Egon?”

Egon snorted into his soda, spilling it down his chin and nearly choking. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, failing to suppress the dry coughs rising in his throat, his face beet-red. You put your hand over your mouth, chortling uncontrollably.

Janine came to your rescue. “YN and I will share the pullout couch. We’ll have a little girls’ night downstairs.” She hooked her arm around your elbow. Your presence was very much a welcome one for her⁠—this was the first storm lockdown where she wasn’t the only woman.

"Sounds good to me," Winston said, rising to his feet. "I'm off to bed. Goodnight everyone, you nocturnal freaks. Much love from Winston."

Janine tugged on your arm. "Come on, honey. Let's go down and pick out a movie that we can ignore while we talk about boys and eat junk food."

You snickered, still reeling from the boys’ comments. "Good plans."

Peter’s mouth twisted into a devilish smile. “Hey, wait, YN, is that—?" He gasped loudly, making sure that everyone could hear him. "Is that Egon’s coat?”

You stuck your tongue at Peter. “Jealous, Venkman?” you teased, flourishing the oversized coat like a villainous cape and distracting Peter while Egon slipped away to the lab. “You’re too stinky to wear this coat.”

Peter clasped his hand to his chest and gasped in theatrical outrage. “Now wait just a min⁠—!”

“Don’t talk to us, Peter. Girls only from here on out,” Janine said sharply, leading you down the stairs like a mother hen. “No boys allowed in the lounge tonight!”

“Coward!” he called out as the two of you descended.

Once the two of you were alone, she turned to you and clapped her hands. "Oh, honey, he gave you his coat!" she squealed in delight. "Oh, I'm so happy for you! We should celebrate. Come here, come here." She gestured for you to follow her to her desk, where she opened a drawer full of sweets. "Help yourself," she said, pulling out a candy bar.

"I'm trying not to get too excited. He's pretty pragmatic with most of what he does."

"Listen, honey, when I first met that man I chased him for months. Months. I never got the attention he gives you. We talked it out eventually and he's a sweetheart-and-a-half for a friend, don't get me wrong, but there's something there for you that I don't see him giving to anyone else. Little things. You think he just happened to find a spare welder's mask soon after Ray hired you on? Hell no. He went out and bought one just for you. He won't tell you this but nobody's allowed to use it except you. He won't offer it to the other boys; he'll just kick them out." She slid her oversized glasses down the bridge of her nose to look at you directly. "Has he ever kicked you out of the lab?"

You shook your head.

"Exactly. I've seen you go down into the lab with an open welcome when just minutes before he kicked out the other boys, and you're always none the wiser. He'll tell them he's not in the mood for company, but that tune always changes when you come around. Now," she plopped down on the couch, grabbed the nearest pillow and tucked it under her chin, "tell me about those big 'ole man hands of his."

You laughed, heat rising to your face. "Yep. They're big 'ole man hands all right."

“Mmm," she swooned. "Big ‘ole man hands.”

“Big ‘ole man hands!”

The two of you laughed.

Peter trotted down the stairs. “Hey, girls, I just wanted to come down real quick to⁠—” A pillow struck him square in the face, silencing him, and plopped onto the floor.

“No boys allowed!” Janine shouted, brandishing another pillow.

He looked blankly at the pillow at his feet before meeting your eye. "I just want to ask—"

You gleefully followed her lead and lobbed a couch cushion at him, which bounced off the top of his head. “No boys allowed!"

He bent down and scooped up the pillow and couch cushion under his arms. "Well, I was gonna ask if you had any extra pillows for Ray since his back is h—" He was once again cut off when Janine threw a pillowcase at him, which draped over his head.

"No boys allowed!" she repeated.

"Okay." His voice was muffled by the pillowcase completely covering his head. "Thanks for the stuff. Goodnight." He departed up the stairs, familiar enough with the firehouse that he could make his way around perfectly fine with his vision obscured.

You and Janine burst into fits of laughter.

“How’s Tully doing?” you asked as the two of you set up the pullout couch.

She sighed dreamily, a far off look in her eye. “I told him I loved him for the first time the other night and he got so excited he threw up.”

“Oh, wow! Did he say ‘I love you’ back?”

She smiled and nodded, her cheeks burning red. She sighed again. “He might be the man I marry…I like that idea.”

The two of you finished setting up the pullout couch and switched on a bad movie to block out the sounds of the growing storm. You tucked in nicely, still happily wearing Egon’s coat as the two of you settled in for the night.

******

The raging storm was unrelenting through the next few hours, rattling the windows and plummeting the outside temperature to the point of strain on the old building’s radiator. Janine had long fallen asleep, invisible under a mound of pillows with her earmuffs and eye mask hiding her from any disruptions. The clock was seconds from 3:00am and you were tired, albeit completely engrossed in a tattered book Janine loaned you from her desk--an old favorite of yours--before she sealed herself away from the outside world. You had Egon’s coat cozily wrapped over your shoulders, the subtle smell of his aftershave absolutely intoxicating.

Approaching footsteps had you put down your book. Egon cautiously poked his head out from the doorway, prepared to withdraw from any incoming projectiles. "Is this a good time?"

You chuckled. "Why are you hiding, Spengs?"

He tentatively crept out from the doorway. “Peter said there was a strict ‘no boys allowed’ policy. He claims to have recently survived a severe life-altering assault at the hands of Janine and yourself for violating said policy."

You sat up a bit. "Well, in our defense, we never meant to assault him. We meant to kill him.” Your tiredness gave you the boldness for your next words. “But, you can stay. Handsome boys get a pass.”

He averted his gaze, caught off-guard. A pink tinge spread across his face like spilled ink and his mouth split into a smile. He basked in the compliment for a quick second before meeting your gaze again. “Gonna be up for a while?"

"Yeah."

"Feel free to join me in the lab." He took a moment to summon his nerve. "It can get lonely without you.”

Next chapter

#egon spengler #egon spengler x reader #egon x reader #ghostbusters x reader #ghostbusters fanfiction #egon #fic #oc #while we wait #ghostbusters imagine #ghostbusters fluff #egon spengler fluff #hurt/comfort #slow-burn

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mossy-rainfrog · 3 years ago

Photo

[ID: A traditional, black and white drawing and a comic of characters from Pacific Rim, and Vanessa Gottlieb.

The first drawing shows Vanessa, a chubby black woman with her curly hair in a bun, wearing a dark tank top, jeans, and doc martens. She has a necklace with the Star of David, and a ring looped onto the cord, and a tattoo of a figure with the lesbian symbol for a head on her right leg. Her left leg is a prosthetic from the knee down. She is sitting down atop a part of a jaeger, with her legs spread, holding a wrench in one hand as she towels off her face with the other. She smiles up to the side kindly. The next two images are closeups of her face, and tattoo.

The comic has five panels. The first panel shows Newt and Hermann walking together. Newt is wildly asking questions about Vanessa, exclaiming: “Dude, what the fuck, you didn’t tell me you had a WIFE? Who doesn’t share that? When? How? I thought you were in a committed relationship with physics and hating fun. A MODEL?” Hermann looks exasperated as he replies “Yes, well...”

The next panel continues his sentence, saying “It’s not exactly the most traditional relationship.” The panel shows Vanessa sitting on a section of wall, pushing up a welder’s mask to smile at the approaching men. She happily calls out “Hermann!”

The next panel shows her approaching to greet Hermann, grabbing him by the shoulders and smiling. She says “It’s so good to see you!!” and he replies with a wide smile, “Same to you! How’s Don?” while Newt looks on in surprise in the background.

The next panel shows her grinning and breaking into a long winded ramble about Don while she gestures with her welding gloves still on. She says “Oh, she’s wonderful! I’m developing a new upgrade for her heart implant, I might ask you to review the details, actually, and also she’s expecting soon! We missed you for Shavuot, but don’t worry, I know how things are with the Marshall- he called me up just the other day, totally messed up one of my shoots, but that’s fine, you know I prefer this anyways. But, anywho, she asked me dancing last week at this LOVELY new lesbian bar - you’d hate the noise - but it was so nice, the owners are so kind, and...”

The final panel shows Newt and Hermann reacting as Vanessa talking in the background. Hermann is smiling fondly, with an arrow pointing to him that says “loves his queerplatonic wife and her gf”, while Newt grins wildly at him and just exclaims “DUDE”. End ID.]

ok the id for this is already really long, but the context for this is even longer so bear with me hlskdjflksdjf anyways I discovered this morning that apparently there was a WHOLE THING back in 2013 where the screenwriter of PacRim ( @travisbeacham lol ) basically introduced a wife for Hermann out of nowhere in the dubiously canon novel, and then got really frustrated with people online for “sidelining her” even though he’s the one who. didn’t write her into the movie whatsoever lol, and I lost my Mind over this and talked with @darkbitchithic extensively abt this and the two of us decided that Vanessa is actually Hermann’s beard, that they’re both gay and got married for family/other reasons, and are deeply close friends.

She’s a full time model, part time jaeger repair woman who loves her gf and her scrunkly favorite science lad. There’s a lot more that I’m holding back, but for now, pls enjoy cool Jewish butch lesbian model Vanessa Gottlieb and her bestie

#vanessa gottlieb #hermann gottlieb #newton geiszler #pacific rim #pacrim #newt geiszler #vanessa pacific rim #hermann pacific rim #newt pacific rim #disabled character #queer characters #queerplatonic relationship #pacific rim fan art #fan art #swear im working on those outfit memes btw i just had an aneurism abt this this morning so #described #mossy art #accessible art

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andrewmoocow · 3 years ago

Text

The Black Pearl Brigade chapter 4: Brain Brawl (originally published on April 4, 2022)

AN: Looks like things are finally starting to heat up! After writing for Dalmatian Jasper & Zoisite and loving how much I made them play off each other, I got a good feeling about the rest of Cinnabar's team. For this chapter, we shall focus on Bloodstone, the Ronaldo-like chief scientist and conspiracy theorist who, much like Ronaldo, is found incredibly annoying by tons of people for acting so damn insane. But unlike Ronaldo, there may be more to Bloodstone than her insane ramblings may imply.

Synopsis: IQ competes against the genius conspiracy theorist Bloodstone for the entertainment of a species that prides intelligence.

Cast:

Deedee-Magno Hall as The Black Pearl Brigade

Lena Hall as Bloodstone

Avi Roque as Cinnabar

Awkwafina as Kyanite

Michaela Dietz as Unlucky Amethysts

Corey Burton as Intellgia Emissary

Mike Pollock, Cissy Jones & Ben Diskin as Intelliga High Council

Kathleen Barr as Púrén

Patti LuPone as Yellow Diamond

Lisa Hannigan as Blue Diamond

Allison Janney as Pyrite

Featuring Jonathan Hyde as Supreme Intelligent One

The Intelliga, quite possibly one of the most highly advanced and intelligent races to exist throughout the galaxy. Having survived for eons through their beyond genius intellect and machinery, they pride themselves on reviewing the intelligence of other races and pitting them against each other in what they dub a Brain Brawl, a competition they hold to see who is vastly more intelligent. On their futuristic home planet of Teslein, some of the Intelliga's high council were busy reviewing future Brain Brawl contestants across the stars.

"Hm, such a bright young lady for an Earthling." The leader of the high council observed as he and his comrades observed Connie Maheswaran preparing for college via a universal surveillance system. "But I fear even her brain might not be able to comprehend our way of life."

"Let us move on." A female member responded as their surveillance turned to Peridot teaching her class how to pronounce photosynthesis. "A Peridot, eh? She could be promising."

"But I was expecting a Peridot to be building weapons of war or performing experiments for their masters, not teaching at a school." A third council member stated before they happened upon Pearl reading a childcare book. "My word, a Pearl?! But they were meant to be common slaves, and this one seems to be reading!"

"How curious." A fourth council member replied, stroking his goatee while deep in thought. "Let us see what else Earth has to offer." The council then began spying on Black Rutile hiding in a cave, working on a device while wearing a holographic welding mask. "I've heard of this Rutile before. Isn't she a wanted criminal?"

"That would get the Diamonds on our tail." The second council member muttered. "Let's try something that won't get us in trouble." Finally, the screen seemed to settle on two Gems simultaneously. One was Bloodstone, who was hard at work on a new weapon while doing some calculations on a holographic board. The other was IQ, busy doing maintenance on the Servant with help from Púrén. "What about these two?"

"Another Pearl!" the fourth member exclaimed in shock. "And that Bloodstone over there is quite intelligent as well!"

"Well, this shall certainly be an interesting Brain Brawl." The leader of the Intelliga declared. "So, are we all in agreement, ladies and gentlemen?"

"AYE!" the rest of the high council answered.

"Motion carried." The leader responded before turning to an emissary. "Track down these Gems at once and extend our invitation to them."

"I shall do as you command, Supreme Intelligent One!" the emissary saluted proudly as he tapped on a smartwatch that made him teleport away.

"Just need to make some last finishing touches here." Bloodstone mumbled to herself as she worked on her latest weapon. "This machine is capable of not just shattering a Gem, but also completely disintegrating the gemstone and leaving nothing behind. And I picked you two to be my lucky test subjects."

"This won't go wrong like the last few tests, right?" one of the Amethysts that Bloodstone forced to volunteer for her experiments. The Amethyst's question would soon be answered as Bloodstone presented her device, a giant laser cannon she had to carry around like a mini-gun, and fired at the Amethyst's gem. Quickly realizing what might happen to her, the Amethyst began panicking while the cannon hit her in her gem before she exploded in a flash of light. Just as Bloodstone predicted, there was nothing left of the Amethyst.

"EUREKA!" Bloodstone yelled excitedly. "I have a breakthrough! What do you think about that?!"

"I think you need to consider why not many people like you, Bloodstone!" the surviving Amethyst yelled. "You're just an insane crackpot whose experiments always get Gems hurt!"

"Uh, hello? I'm a mad scientist in service to a terrorist working for an even bigger terrorist." Bloodstone replied. "It comes with the territory!"

"Yeah, but even before you joined Cinnabar, you always were a loose cannon!" the Amethyst added. "Your theories made you a total laughingstock!"

"I urge you to believe me, my Diamonds!" Bloodstone said to Yellow and Blue Diamond thousands of years ago during the Rebellion, while also surrounded by dozens of other Gems as she presented her latest theory. "This rebellion was all built on lies, a complete waste of our time even! Pink Diamond had all this staged out of boredom and sadism, and she must be stopped! Please, my fellow Gems, we must come together to end this war and stop this shared enemy!"

However, none of the Gems responded for a few precious seconds. Then, they all started to point and laugh at Bloodstone for her outlandish claims. Even the Diamonds let out a few snickers before they silenced their subjects so they could speak.

"I admire your passion Bloodstone, but I find it hard to believe that Pink Diamond would've faked her own shattering out of total boredom!" Yellow Diamond declared. "She may be a pain in the neck at times, but I don't think she'd go that far."

"And a shared enemy, too?" Blue Diamond raised an eyebrow while bringing a finger to her lips. "Clearly, she's gone mad. But then again, she's always been eccentric, right?"

"ECCENTRIC, ECCENTRIC, ECCENTRIC!" the Gems jeered Bloodstone out of the audience chamber as she walked out with her hands in her coat pockets and a scowl on her face. "ECCENTRIC, ECCENTRIC, ECCENTRIC!"

"Oh, mock me all you want, but you'll all see I'm right." Bloodstone snarled at the mocking Gems. "YOU'LL ALL SEE, I TELLS YA!"

"No, we won't!" a voice called out to the scientist amidst the continued mocking, which continued even after she left.

A few hours later, at her lab, Bloodstone decided to vent her frustrations on bullying by doing what she does best, designing new weapons for use in war. However, this weapon would be different from the others Bloodstone had built. "I'm sure White Diamond would love to use one like this." Bloodstone muttered after running a few calculations. "One zap of this, and I'll be good as perfect."

Though Bloodstone didn't look like it, she came out with a few imperfections herself upon creation that made her mind unlike other Gems that shared her intellect. Once she pulls the trigger, those imperfections will be blown away like the wind. Before she could finish the job, however, the door behind Bloodstone opened, and in walked Pyrite.

"Oh, Bloodstone, my darling, how are you?!" Pyrite exclaimed as she skipped into Bloodstone's lab when she noticed what Bloodstone was about to do. "Oh, making yourself a guinea pig again? I swear, you have got to put a stop to that. It's really unhealthy, sweetie pie."

"I know; it's just, I got laughed at for one of my crazy theories again." Bloodstone stated while putting down the weapon. "I had told everyone that I thought Pink Diamond was behind this whole war because she was a total sociopath that was getting bored with how things work here."

"Bored sociopath? That's a little far-fetched if I do say so myself." Pyrite commented, causing Bloodstone to glare at her. "But besides the point, I got a big order coming up, and I need you to help me!" she commanded the scientist. "We got some Prasiolites wanting some of your tools, and we don't have all the time in the world, so chop chop!"

"OK, Pyrite." Bloodstone obeyed the business-Gem's orders before throwing her imperfection remover away and working on some new kinds of weapons. This cycle would continue on for the next couple thousand years during and since the Rebellion, but there would soon come a day when Bloodstone would finally be vindicated.

"So guess what, I was right all along!" Bloodstone declared as she sat across from another Gem in a dark room. "This was all built upon Pink Diamond being a psychotic brat who only wanted to see everything that isn't her suffer! Because of her, we left all those innocent soldiers to be corrupted, and our resources were nearly bled dry!" she began ranting. "And I don't think her little boy will make anything better! He's probably pretending to be all nice and sweet and stuff to hide the fact that he's basically enslaved us all! And did anyone still believe what I had to say?! No!"

"I can see that recent events have stressed you, Bloodstone." Black Rutile said while leaning into the light. "I can definitely relate, as can many other Gems. How would you like to join me and finally be proven right?"

"Yes, that would mean so much to me!" Bloodstone eagerly accepted the Rutile's offer. "Oh, it would be my honor to work alongside such a tactical genius like the Striking Shadow of the Rebellion and be surrounded by Gems that won't ruthlessly pick on me for being annoying!"

"Someone's eager." Black Rutile smiled at the scientist.

In the present day, Bloodstone strolled down a long hallway to her quarters, where she intended to hide herself away in shame of how nothing has changed about her lifestyle since joining the Rutile Rebels. "What's the use in this anymore?" she moped while locking the door behind her. "I want to fight for justice and peace for all, I'm fighting for a legitimately good cause, yet still no one will treat me right! If only someone would give me a sign that I can be of use!"

"Hey yo, Bloodstone, come out of there!" Kyanite called for the scientist while pounding on the door. "Someone's calling for you!"

"Hmph, what a coincidence." Bloodstone muttered and opened the door to reveal Kyanite and Cinnabar on the other side. "Anything you need?"

"An emissary of the Intelliga wishes to speak with you." Cinnabar replied, motioning for a blue-skinned, floating humanoid with a medium-sized cranium to appear. "I believe our friend Bloodstone is the one you're looking for."

"A pleasure to meet you, Bloodstone." The emissary said as he shook Bloodstone's hand. "I am an emissary of the Intelliga, and they wish to invite you to their world for a little Brain Brawl against an equally intelligent Gem."

"A Brain Brawl, invited, me?!" Bloodstone stuttered excitedly before she descended into excited squealing. "EEEEEEE, THIS HAS BEEN MY LIFELONG DREAM, EEEEEEE!"

"Yes, we are very happy for you, Bloodstone." Cinnabar snarked while covering her ears. "Now, can you please shut up and behave yourself?"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Bloodstone immediately did as she was told before turning back to the emissary. "So, when can we start?"

"We shall begin as soon as your opponent is brought to Teslein." The emissary explained. "But let us bring you to the arena in the meantime." Tapping on his smartwatch again, the emissary teleported away with Bloodstone, Cinnabar, and Kyanite accompanying him.

Meanwhile, on the Servant, IQ worked hard on new weapons for the Brigade in her laboratory, hoping that they'd be strong enough to assist them in their battles. "Hopefully, with these, we won't get captured again like what happened with Dalmatian Jasper and Zoisite." She muttered to herself. "It's funny, really. We've only known each other for a few weeks, but we've grown quite a bit as a team since Yellow Diamond found us. I'm always there to supply the team with useful information, Cap always calls the shots with ease, Pony is a handy number two, Braids is one of the strongest Gems I know, and when she's given enough motivation, Tails knows how to be a team player."

Just then, Púrén suddenly appeared behind IQ, giving the genius Pearl a scare as she didn't expect the AI to appear. "My apologies." Púrén said calmly. "It's just that Cap has a message for you."

"Just play it back for me." IQ requested the AI, who quickly transformed into Cap to replay her message.

"IQ, we got a job." Cap's message stated. "An emissary of the Intelliga wants to speak with you about participating in a Brain Brawl. Please stop what you're doing and report to my quarters."

"Wait, the Intelliga want to enter me in a Brain Brawl?!" IQ gasped in excitement. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for any sentient being with an advanced intelligence!" She then put down her tools and burst from her lab to meet the emissary. "DON'T WAIT UP!"

Kicking down the door to Cap's quarters, IQ locked eyes with the rest of the Brigade and the emissary standing together before the latter hovered towards Pearl. "Ah, this must be IQ. Quite a fitting name, I must say."

"It is an honor to meet a member of the Intelliga." IQ said as the two geniuses shook hands. "You said you wanted me to enter one of your Brain Brawls?"

"Indeed." The emissary replied. "We have been monitoring the smartest beings in the universe for eons to select them as contestants, and you just happen to be one of the latest. We were also pondering selecting other Gems to enter, but you seemed to be a good fit for this."

"So, where shall we have this battle?" Braids asked.

"This Brain Brawl, as do all Brain Brawls, shall take place on our home planet of Teslein, and the winner shall be dubbed one of the smartest to have ever lived." The emissary declared. "We shall arrive there posthaste with my teleportation watch."

"No need. Allow us to bring you home with our ship." Cap stated. "Púrén, set a course for Teslein!"

"Affirmative." Púrén obliged and began routing the ship towards the Intelliga's home planet. "And good luck on the Brain Brawl, IQ."

"Thanks." IQ grinned.

The Servant touched down on Teslein, a grand and advanced planet that seemed to be colored primarily in cold blues, grays, and blacks. The capital city of Chiteki was particularly in Brain Brawl fever, with billboards all over the place advertising the upcoming bout between IQ and Bloodstone.

"Welcome to Chiteki, Pearls." The emissary proclaimed as he and the Brigade disembarked. "Follow me to the High Council Headquarters now. We haven't all the time in the world."

"So, this is Teslein." Braids nodded while taking in the Pearls' new surroundings, watching the citizens of the Intelliga's home planet gaze at them with amazement and fear. Some refused to acknowledge their crystalline visitors as anything but conquerors, but others were eager to see Gems in real life. "Hm, pretty glorious, I must say."

"Excuse me, Pearls, could I perhaps take a picture with you for a research project I'm working on?" a young Intelligan asked the five Gems as he floated up to them.

"We're a little short on time, but I suppose we can make room for at least one photo." Pony replied as the Pearls struck a pose for a picture. As soon as the Intelligan took the photo, he was off like a light while the six continued on their way.

"I can only assume that boy will probably show that photo off to his friends." Pony muttered before they finally reached the high council's tower and entered the nearest elevator. "At least he wasn't recoiling in fear of us."

"I guess some people have more trouble adjusting to the Diamonds changing their ways more than others." IQ replied while the elevator kept creeping up the tower. "So, who is our opponent supposed to be?"

"Oh, it's someone who is very eager to see you." The emissary answered cheerfully when the Pearls heard a ding. "Oh, speak of the devil; we're right on time." As the doors opened, the Brigade began gaping in shock as they realized that IQ's opponent in the upcoming Brain Brawl was accompanied by someone they never thought they'd see.

"CINNABAR?!" the Pearls yelled at the former general, who turned to them with a cold glare as she stood with Bloodstone and Kyanite.

"Ah, the Black Pearl Brigade." Cinnabar scowled at the mercenaries. "I never thought today would be the day we'd meet each other in person for the first time." Though she secretly wanted to shatter them all on the spot and have Bloodstone be declared the victor by default, Cinnabar kept herself restrained as she politely greeted the Gems that had already outwitted three of her top lieutenants and stuck out her hand. "May the best genius win."

"Good to see you being a team player." IQ replied and shook with Cinnabar, sounding just as restrained as their archenemy.

"If we win, we get to destroy them, right?" Kyanite asked bluntly, forcing Cinnabar to hold her mouth shut as the Supreme Intelligent One made his grand entrance.

"Welcome Gems to Chiteki, the capital city of Teslein!" the Supreme Intelligent One bombastically declared while descending upon his visitors. "You may refer to me as the Supreme Intelligent One, and I welcome all of you to this latest Brain Brawl. Now, what is a Brain Brawl, you may ask?"

"We didn't ask anything." Braids replied cluelessly.

"Well, to put it simply, a Brain Brawl is when we select two individuals from across the stars to compete on our homeworld for the ultimate prize of being dubbed the smartest ever to exist." The Supreme Intelligent One continued, ignoring Braids' literal reply. "The contest will be held in a series of three challenges. First, the contestants face off in a trivia challenge themed around a certain topic. In your case, the questions shall be based around the Gem race."

"Interesting." Cinnabar commented.

"The second challenge will test skill and ingenuity by building androids and pitting them against each other." The Supreme Intelligent One proclaimed. "And finally, the third challenge will test your emotional intelligence by testing how well you know your comrades in a series of true or false questions based on data telepathically gathered and submitted to us by the audience."

"Wow, that's a Brain Brawl?" Pony wondered out loud. "I kind of expected things to be a bit more complicated than that."

"Oh, don't underestimate us, Pearl." The emissary declared. "Many have been tested through Brain Brawls for eons, and let me tell you, the losers left completely ashamed of themselves. So I advise you all get ready because the stakes have never been higher."

"He is indeed right." The leader of the Intelliga agreed. "Let the Brain Brawl begin!"

As the Brain Brawl got off to a roaring start, IQ and Bloodstone stood face to face on a set resembling that of a game show while the Supreme Intelligent One stood by with a microphone in hand. "Welcome one and all to this edition of Brain Brawl! I am your host and esteemed leader, the Supreme Intelligent One. For this contest, we have gained the participation of two Gems currently in the stands. Please, introduce yourselves, ladies."

"My name is Bloodstone, and I shall compete on behalf of the mighty Black Rutile and Cinnabar!" Bloodstone passionately declared while snatching the mic from the Intelligent One's hand. "Once the Crystal Gems are no more, and this universe is ours to control, you all shall be among the planets that will fall to our unlimited power!"

"Yeah, you go, girl!" Kyanite whooped from the audience.

"My my, someone's excited." The Gems' super genius host grinned while beckoning his microphone back to his hand. "And what about you, dear Pearl?"

"You may refer to me as IQ." IQ introduced herself to the audience. "I am part of an elite mercenary squad in service to Yellow Diamond, tasked with terminating the other rebels who have pledged allegiance to Black Rutile, Cinnabar chief among them."

"Very nice, ladies." The host stated. "Now, without further ado, let the Brain Brawl begin!" The audience began cheering wildly as the contest commenced and then immediately calmed down to allow their leader to reveal the first challenge. "Now, as stated earlier, the first challenge shall be in the form of a trivia contest based on the contestants' lives. In this case, the questions shall be based around the Gem empire and its dominion over many planets. First question, how much of the universe did the Diamonds rule over before Era 3?"

IQ pressed the buzzer first. "They claimed at least 63.7% of all known planets in the universe. The rest are property of the Universal Lords."

"Correct!" the Supreme Intelligent One exclaimed. "Second question. How many years ago did Pink Diamond quote-unquote "shatter" herself?"

Bloodstone was quick to answer. "Approximately 5,052 years ago."

"That is also correct." The Supreme Intelligent One stated. "Now for the third question."

The two Gems were eager to press the buzzer again as the next question was read. "Approximately how many Gems were created by the height of the Rebellion?"

Before IQ could buzz in, she quickly froze. She was only a few weeks old. How could she possibly know how many Gems were created at that period? While the Pearl began to space out from sheer anxiety, Bloodstone confidently answered. "Around 15,616,700,250,340,800 Gems."

"That is correct." The Supreme Intelligent One declared.

"Wait, THAT many?!" Braids declared, utterly flabbergasted at the massive number she just heard. "I simply wasn't aware of such a number."

"Yeah, me neither." Pony replied, just as stunned before she noticed IQ still staring in shock. "Uh, is IQ gonna be OK?"

"Question #4, which was the first planet to be colonized at the start of Era 1?" the Supreme Intelligent One continued. Since IQ was still frozen in shock, Bloodstone again took the answer. "Bloodstone?"

"That would be Sigmas-17," Bloodstone stated. "It is where some of our earliest technology comes from."

"Correct again, Bloodstone." The host responded before turning back to IQ. "IQ, darling, best try to catch up for this last question. Which is, what was the operation's name that led to the creation of the Pearl facility on Titan?"

"It was Project Nacre!" IQ frantically shoved her opponent's hand out of the way and pushed the buzzer before her. "Project Nacre was named for a Gem known as Nacre, dubbed the Mother of Pearls because she served as a prototype for the modern Pearl!"

"You are correct, Pearl, but unfortunately, you didn't answer all the questions." The Supreme Intelligent One said glumly. "Which is why this victory shall go to Bloodstone."

"As expected." Cinnabar grinned smugly in response.

"WHOO, GO BLOODSTONE, YOU'RE NUMBER ONE!" Kyanite screamed excitedly at her teammate's triumph.

"Yes, yes, I am so amazing," Bloodstone smirked before turning to IQ. "Just goes to show how experience can save your life once in a while. Now, good luck on the next challenge." As the scientist laughed callously while walking backstage, IQ got up and sulked back to her teammates in the audience, who were shocked at their machinist's loss.

"What happened there, IQ?" Cap asked. "You had that first question in the bag, but then you just froze up at the big numbers!"

"I'm sorry girls, but there are some things that even I don't know." IQ said, trying her hardest not to cry over her loss. "I mean, I'm supposed to be the smart one of the gang! If I'm not the smart one, then who am I?!"

"It doesn't matter what kind of Pearl you are; you're still our friend regardless." Pony proclaimed to comfort IQ. "So, what's the next trial again?"

"I believe robot building." Braids answered. "I believe that might be more your style, IQ."

"Yeah, it doesn't matter whether you're the smart one or not. Just do what you think suits you best." Tails repeated what Pony said earlier. "Now then, let's get building."

Meanwhile, Bloodstone was busy reveling in her victory to her master, and was having an utter blast doing so. "You should've seen the look on her face! The Pearl looked like she had seen a ghost or something, and when we left, it seemed like she was going to cry!"

"Don't get too cocky, Bloodstone." Cinnabar declared, cutting Bloodstone's reverie short. "Just like Pyrite and Dalmatian Jasper & Zoisite before you, your pride will undoubtedly be your downfall. Remember to keep that in mind or else."

"And good luck on the robot building too!" Kyanite added happily.

"Let us begin the second round!" the Supreme Intelligent One announced the next challenge of the Brain Brawl. "For this challenge, our contestants shall build mechanical lifeforms to battle to the finish, in which only one shall remain standing to declare their creator the winner!"

"This is it; let's go." IQ said while the Pearls stood around a silver human skeleton with menacing red eyes and a cannon in place of a left arm. "Sculder, you are free to go."

Before marching into the arena, Sculder gave no verbal response, only a quiet nod. On the other side of the battlefield, Bloodstone confidently stood with her arms crossed beside a much brawnier, bulkier machine with red & gold plating and circular lights on its chest and palms. The two robots just stood there, intensely glaring at each other, before the referee made his entrance.

"Are you ready for some mechanical melee?!" the referee boomed, causing the audience to cheer excitedly. "Well, that's all I need to hear because it's robot-fighting time!"

"ROBOTS ACTIVATE." A mechanical voice declared, signifying the beginning of the match as Bloodstone's android made the first move, tackling IQ's robot to the ground and pressing one of his palms against its opponent's face, the heat causing the other machine's cheek to melt a little. Luckily, Sculder retaliated by using its arm cannon to propel itself off the ground, knocking the other machine down before it was gunned down.

"GO, SCULDER, GO!" IQ cheered for her creation before the red and gold robot formed an energy shield to deflect Sculder's cannon blasts.

"You can do it, uh….." Kyanite exclaimed when she realized that Bloodstone may not have given her machine a name. "Hey Bloodstone, what did you call your bot?"

"I did not bother with a name because that means I'll get attached." Bloodstone responded. "But if it's any consolation, I think the Pearl-verizer would suffice."

"And I don't think you bothered giving it good defenses either." Cinnabar proclaimed, taking her scientist by the shoulder and pointing at the arena. "Look, IQ's skeleton has found a way to break through the shield!"

Cinnabar was right, as Sculder just kept ramming at the shield projected by its opponent, causing it to crack more and more until finally, the shield was broken. In desperation, the Pearl-verizer prepared to throw the fight by running away, but Sculder extended its hands like tentacles to grab the Pearl-verizer's ankles and toss it into the air.

"Did you even think straight while building that thing?!" Cinnabar shouted, clearly on the verge of losing her cool as the Pearl-verizer was on the edge of defeat.

"To be fair, I was indeed blinded by arrogance as you predicted." Bloodstone bluntly replied. "My apologies."

Meanwhile, Sculder prepared to land the finishing blow by supercharging its cannon arm and fired. The Pearl-verizer was about to fight back by slapping the energy blast back, but it was too late. Instead, the robot was blown to pieces, leaving several pieces remaining for Sculder to gather up and walk towards IQ, whose wrist it grabbed to declare its creator the winner.

"The robot has spoken. IQ wins the challenge!" the referee exclaimed, much to IQ's delight.

"Oh stars, I actually did it!" IQ squealed in delight and gave the metallic fruit of her labor a big hug. "Thank you so much for proving that I am still worth something after all!" Sculder replied by gently stroking the Pearl's hair before dropping the pieces on the ground. "What's that boy? Do you want an upgrade? I'll be sure to get to it once we leave."

"GLORIOUS!" Tails roared excitedly as the Pearls raised IQ to the air in celebration. "Three cheers for IQ! Hip hip!"

"Hooray!" the other Pearls cheered.

"Don't celebrate just yet, Pearls!" Bloodstone interrupted the Brigade's celebration. "There's still only one challenge left, and you can be sure that I'll win fair and square!"

"Someone is getting too cocky." Tails frowned at the conspiracy theorist. "Just admit that you lost, OK?!"

"NEVER!" Bloodstone started screaming. "I have eyes, you know! They're under my eyebrows, telling me that I will win this and prove myself the smartest in the universe!"

"See what I mean about pride being your downfall?" Bloodstone said to Kyanite as they watched Bloodstone have a meltdown of egotism. "Don't let the same happen to you when your time comes, Kyanite."

"I won't fail you, Cinnabar!" Kyanite obediently stated. "Now, which one of us will calm her down so we can think of a plan for the final challenge? I think cheating looks pretty good right now."

As soon as Bloodstone started to relax, the final challenge of the Brain Brawl was about to begin. Returning to the game show set, IQ and Bloodstone were ready to accept whatever challenges would come their way while the Supreme Intelligent One cleared his throat. "For this final round of the Brain Brawl, we asked our audience to submit questions based on the thoughts of our contestants and telepathically transfer them to me."

"But isn't that an invasion of our privacy?" IQ asked with a raise of her hand.

"Don't think too hard about it." The Supreme Intelligent One tried to justify his actions before moving on. "Now, you will be given a series of true or false questions based upon the experiences shared by you and your comrades. Answer them correctly, and you will win the Brawl. Are you two ready?"

"We're ready." The two Gems declared.

"Very well, let's begin with the first question." The Supreme Intelligent One stated. "True or false? Pyrite originally served as an arms dealer who sold weapons to both Crystal and Homeworld Gems during the Rebellion."

"True." Bloodstone nodded. "I should know, I made some of those weapons."

"Interesting to know." The Intelligent One replied. "True or false? Dalmatian Jasper was initially believed to be defective upon emerging in a Kindergarten due to her gem being in the place of a hand, but she quickly proved her worth against a squad of Crystal Gems."

"False?" IQ answered, showing how little she knew about Dalmatian Jasper. "I mean, she did take us by surprise when we met her and Zoisite."

"I apologize, but the answer is true." The host stated. "True or false? When Shell was rediscovered by Black Rutile, she put it to work on generating five dozen Pearls per minute."

"That one is true." IQ said, causing Bloodstone to scoff since, of course, a Pearl created by Shell would know about this. "Not so high and mighty now, aren't you, Bloodstone?"

"You just got one question right, who gave you permission to act all smug?!" Bloodstone yelled in frustration.

"I got permission because I realized that I don't have to be uber-perfect," IQ responded confidently. "Did anyone ever give you the same lesson?"

"I'm already perfect; I am one of the Gems' greatest minds ever created!" Bloodstone boasted. "And once I win, I shall be one of the smartest in the entire universe too!"

"OK, ladies, enough bickering now, for these shall be the last few questions." The Supreme Intelligent One interrupted as he proceeded with the game. "True or false? Black Rutile went by many names in her time fighting for Homeworld in the Rebellion, but one that sticks out is her title of the Striking Shadow of the Rebellion."

"TRUE!" both Gems cried out in unison before glaring at one another.

"I answered first!" IQ yelled.

"Well, I'm louder!" Bloodstone responded while the Pearls and Sculder watched.

"We're getting nowhere." Cap groaned as the two kept bickering. "Half the time, they're just arguing with each other."

"Buckle in, girls. We're gonna be here a while." Tails snarked when she discovered something. "Hey, wait for a second; something doesn't seem right."

"What are you talking about?" Braids asked Tails, who took her by the shoulder and pointed to the other side of the soundstage, where Cinnabar was standing next to a machine that seemed to be hacking into the Intelligans' thoughts, giving them questions only Bloodstone would answer. "Of course Bloodstone would try to cheat."

"We have to warn IQ before it's too late!" Cap stated. "Or maybe she'll find out herself. Either way, Bloodstone has to be stopped."

As IQ and Bloodstone kept arguing with the Supreme Intelligent One watched with bemusement, IQ noticed something behind Bloodstone. It was the same machine that her fellow Pearls discovered, pumping vital information into the minds of the Intelliga to ensure her victory. With a confident smile, IQ asked her own question. "True or false Bloodstone. Are you cheating your way to victory here with that machine over there?"

"False! What machine?!" Bloodstone panicked, desperately trying to hide her duplicity before Sculder fired its cannon arm at the stage, exposing the machine as it shut down. The audience gasped in alarm while Cinnabar facepalmed in disgust.

"This can only end so well." Cinnabar groaned.

"A literal cheating device, I see." The Supreme Intelligent One observed, floating over to examine the remains of the device. "This was a pretty close match, but ultimately, Bloodstone is disqualified from the proceedings, and thus, IQ is the winner. Not just for doing so well, but for seeing what the others couldn't."

"We saw it first; everything was just a coincidence!" Braids shouted as the Pearls rushed over to congratulate IQ on the victory.

"Yes, we did it!" Pony declared happily.

"Indeed, well done." The Supreme Intelligent One added. "Congratulations IQ on becoming the smartest in the universe. If you and your compatriots hadn't noticed the machine, who knows what could've happened."

"Good, now let's get on out of here." Tails said. "I feel like things ended a little too abruptly."

"Ha, who's laughing now?!" IQ jeered smugly at the aghast Bloodstone, who just kept staring at the Pearls as the Supreme High Intelligence allowed them and Sculder to leave.

"You may win this round, Pearls, but we will most certainly meet again." Bloodstone declared coldly as she turned to Bloodstone. "And as for you."

"You're going to lock me up for my failures, aren't you?" Bloodstone wondered aloud. "Go ahead. I'm sure Pyrite, DJ, and Zee could use the company."

"Actually, no." Cinnabar corrected her scientist. "Regardless of the loss, I still believe you have some use left in you. Kyanite?"

"Right here, boss!" Kyanite eagerly said as she handed over some blueprints Cinnabar showed to Bloodstone.

"What are these?" Bloodstone asked, gazing at the strange golems with large gems in their chests.

"I call this Project Concrete." Cinnabar explained while the three Gems began walking. "They are a breed of super soldiers I've been planning for a while now, and I feel you might be the Gem best suited for supervising development. Would you be willing to do so?"

Eager to prove herself once more, Bloodstone had on a sadistic smile. "Sure, my Cinnabar."

Tails was right, that did end a little abruptly. I guess that's what happens when you don't have existing episodes of a show to work from and have to come up with your own. You know, maybe at some point, I should take a little break once Season 1 finishes so I can re-center myself, focus on other stories, and not rush myself so much when I get back to it. But on a lighter subject, next up is Kyanite's time to shine! Hopefully it won't be as awkwardly written. See you then, pardners!

#steven universe #steven universe alternate future #fanfiction #the black pearl brigade #cap pearl #pony pearl #iq pearl #braids pearl #tails pearl #cinnabar #bloodstone #kyanite

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freedfromthegalactichivemind · 3 years ago

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What if the Lab Was Cuter?

She-Ra Fanfiction Entrapdak General Audiences Fluff Entrapdak Positivity Week Re-Post due to a blog-move. Day 1 Prompt. Redecorating Summary: Entrapta enjoys her trinkets and seems to have an endless supply of them.

What If the Lab Was Cuter? “What is the meaning of this?” Hordak growled as a little creature scuttled by his feet and was nearly crushed by his steel boot. He wondered, momentarily, if there was another rodent-infestation in the Fright Zone. Imp usually took care of those – with great delight, chasing unfortunate creatures around with one tool or another, screeching his dominance – and the current Second-In-Command had apparently had her own issues with pests. If they could not take care of it, he would, decisively and without mercy. The Lord of the Fright Zone quickly realized that the “animal” he’d almost stepped on was metallic and was rolling on treads. It parked in front of him and looked up at him with purple glass optics and it panted with a purple plastic tongue. “Oh, don’t mind them!” a familiar voice chimed. A pair of large violet ponytails shrugged from a cubby in the room. Their owner turned in her swivel-chair at a workbench and lifted her welding-mask up. The reprogrammed Horde-drone next to her turned toward him on its shaky tripod legs and gave him a whistling beep. Hordak noticed that the spare workbench within his sanctum was covered in not only computer-innards and machine parts, but in toys – small, adorable toys. There were little figurines of big-eyed pigs and deformed white cats sporting little bows. There was a robot that was not a robot, but a soft plush-toy of a robot. Hordak remembered seeing it before, back when he reviewed the files from Dryl. It was the mascot of some large indoor marketplace there. The toy represented a real device that roamed around the store, doing simple tasks. He had no idea if it was one of Entrapta’s own designs or one belonging to a predecessor, but she was obviously a fan of the googly-eyed thing. There was a picture on the wall, a painting on velvet depicting a too-short-faced canine victim of aggressive artificial selection. Hordak wrinkled his nose-bridge. He stepped lightly around the scuttling mechanical rodent. “I shall repeat myself,” he said authoritatively, “What is the meaning of this?” “I redecorated my workspace!” Entrapta happily explained, leaning back on her chair and opening up her arms. “Isn’t it all cute?” “My Sanctum is not meant to be ‘cute,” Hordak rumbled, folding his arms in front of his chest. “It is a place of serious scientific endeavor.” “Hmmm…” Entrapta mused, putting a lock of hair to her chin. “You told me to make myself comfortable as long as I’m working here, didn’t you?” Hordak staggered back, a small blush appearing on his cheeks. Imp flew by and chattered. He landed on Entrapta’s workbench and promptly grabbed one of the little plastic big-headed cats. “Hey!” Entrapta shouted, “That’s not yours!” Emily – the drone – made many electronic noises of great disapproval, as if trying, like Entrapta, to reprimand him. Imp flew off with his prize into a vent. Entrapta pouted, but did not pursue him. Instead, she pulled another little trinket from the bulk of her hair with one snakelike lock, a chubby plastic unicorn, and smiled gently as she placed it on the area of the bench where the cat was before Imp’s theft. Emily buzzed and went back into rest-mode, apparently satisfied. “We create weapons here, Entrapta,” Hordak emphasized. “So what?” Entrapta countered. “Just because weapons are born here doesn’t mean that things can’t be cute! Think of all the bots…coming online in a welcoming environment!” Emily bounced up on her legs, issuing a happy whirring sound. Entrapta patted her with large lock of hair. “See? Emily likes it!” Emily beeped a decisive affirmative. The Leader of the Horde grunted. “Very well,” he signed, putting his hands down. “Just keep the redecorating to your personal areas.” “Will do!” Entrapta put her mask back over her face and got back to her hazardous work. Later on, Hordak would find baubles in Imp’s many nests around the Sanctum and the greater Fright Zone. Entrapta seemed to have an endless supply of trinkets and did not seem to mind “sharing” them with his little spy. Every once in a while, he’d pick up some tiny malformed bear, some cartoon-cat, a chubby plastic pony or even a rubber representation of a cupcake with big eyes or something else equally ridiculous, palm it in his hand and gently return it to the nest with a deep sigh and what he felt was a smile threatening to tug at his lips. Hordak, mighty and feared, dark and gruesome, was helpless against the slow and steady redecorating of his life.

#spop #hordak #entrapta #entrapdak #entrapdak positivity week

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jbuffyangel · 4 years ago

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The Domino Falls: Arrow 1x12 Review (Vertigo)

It’s officially 1 year today since Arrow went off the air and I thought what better way to mark the moment than by chatting about the show we all love with a review!

We have begun the slow and steady climb to more Felicity Smoak content

and “Vertigo” is a monumentally HUGE moment in Oliver and Felicity’s relationship. One little meet up at Big Belly Burger is what tips the dominoes over for Oliver Queen.

Let’s dig in...

Olicity

Let’s get right to the good stuff. Of course, there’s other stuff that happened in this episode, but do we care? Only a little. Oliver is on the hunt for The Count – the man responsible for the Vertigo epidemic and Thea’s looming drug trial. The Count is in my Top 5 of best Arrow villains. Of course his first episode coincides with an Olicity milestone. That rat bastard worked the hardest for our ship.

The judge has decided to make an example out of Ms. Queen in hopes of deterring others from trying Vertigo. Seriously, does that ever work?

So, he chucked Thea’s plea agreement right out the window. Big Bro in The Hood is hoping to serve up a bigger fish – THE FISH – to help get his sister off the hook. Oliver is generally anti innocent people dying from illicit drugs, so there are unselfish reasons at play too.

No one knows the identity of The Count, so after roughing up the streets and getting nowhere, Oliver reaches out to Alexi Leonov. We met Leonov in 1x03, but for those who need a refresher - he leads the Starling City chapter of the Bratva. This is the first time Diggle meets Leonov, discovers Oliver speaks Russian, is a captain in the Russian mob, and can fake kill someone.

It was a big day for John.

Leonov sets up the meet with The Count and Oliver attempts to buy some Vertigo off him, sans mask and arrow. The cops show up and Oliver tries to run down The Count as he escapes, but is stabbed in the chest with two syringes full of Vertigo.

Never fear, Oliver has his magic herbs from Lian Yu which apparently can cure drug overdose. (Maybe share with the rest of the world?) Vertigo makes him momentarily murderous (more than usual) and he screams a lot.

THE POINT OF ALL THIS EXPOSITION IS ALL ROADS LEAD TO FELICITY SMOAK.

Diggle and Oliver think it would be wise to have someone analyze the Vertigo… for some reason. This leads our dynamic duo to Queen Consolidated and to our favorite blonde hacker.

Felicity rambles about Oliver’s haggard appearance (re: see drug overdose) and a cat being tased (she connects those disparate dots, I assure you). He offers yet another ridiculous lie and we embark on one of the funniest scenes in Arrow’s history.

Arrow struggled to find its footing for a long time, but “Vertigo” is the beginning of the writers settling on to solid ground. If you ever have to wonder why the show focused on Oliver, Diggle and Felicity as the core characters you only need to watch this scene for the answer.

The chemistry between all the actors is amazing. Arrow is not known for its humor (especially in Season 1), but between Emily Bett Rickard’s perfect delivery of another one of Felicity’s awkward and inadvertent sexual slip ups,

Stephen Amell’s inability to stay in character as he laughs right along with us,

and David Ramsey’s stone cold straight man reaction –

this entire scene is comedy gold.

I vividly remember watching it live, laughing my ass off, and wanting more of EVERYTHING these three have to offer. And that’s exactly what we’re going get.

“I ran out of sports bottles” reigned as Arrow’s funniest scene for a solid two years (until this episode), but it also marks the worst of Oliver’s terrible lies to Felicity. It’s so bad even Diggle has to remark on it in the elevator. Oliver’s lies are horrible, everyone knows Felicity doesn’t buy a word of it, and their need for her help is increasing with every day. Something has to change.

As we discussed in 1x11, Oliver is prone to distrust and very reticent to change his mind – ever. He’s been burned so many times in the past it’s difficult for him to view anyone through a trusting lens.

And yet, Oliver told his deepest and darkest secret to a man he’d only known for a few weeks. Yes, Diggle had soldier skills Oliver would find useful as a partner. He knew John could hold his own in the field, but it’s not just about his abilities. It was also about the person Diggle is. Oliver did his homework and realized he needed John to survive. There was a wellspring of humanity in John that Oliver wasn’t able to access inside himself. He was subconsciously reaching out for help - like a moth to a flame.

It is the same with Felicity. Yes, Oliver needs her abilities – perhaps even more than what Diggle has to offer. (It’s not like Oliver Queen can’t handle himself in the field). But he is also drawn to Felicity’s warmth, kindness, humor, compassion and openness. Oliver’s heart is encased in iron and welded shut. He doesn’t know how to open it back up. It’s been dark and alone for so long. And yet, Oliver returns again and again to this brightly shining light and why? Because he craves it.

Something has to change. We need that final push, the first domino to fall, so Oliver can make that final step and tell Felicity who he really is. Diggle was easier. He’d fought a war before. Oliver also knew about Andy’s death. Remember – Oliver brought Diggle onboard when he needed help with Deadshot. Manipulative? Yes, but it worked.

Felicity is trickier. I’m sure Oliver has done his research.

Well, yes that kind of research, but also into her background. There’s no dead family member requiring retribution. No war zone she’s recently returned from. She’s an MIT graduate with a penchant for hacking working at a global conglomerate as a wildly overqualified IT tech. The girl doesn’t have so much as a parking ticket. The leap to vigilantism would be rather big.

I also think a fair amount of his hesitancy to involve her in anything related to The Hood is the danger. Diggle can handle himself. Felicity is a different story. Oliver is constantly battling the need for Felicity’s help versus the risk he’s putting her at by asking for it. The lies are to protest Oliver’s secret identity, but also to shield Felicity from it.

Whether it is Oliver’s own distrustfulness, his inability to see an angle to reel Felicity in, his desire to protect her or all three – it doesn’t matter. He continues to lie to her. Oliver isn’t ready to make that big leap either.

Source: yet-i-remain-quiet

Until… Felicity asks to meet him at Big Belly Burger. Oliver waits for her, looking out the window on a rainy night, thinking of Yao Fei.

Oliver feared Yao Fei betrayed him and was really working for Fyers, but neither was true. He convinced Fyers of his loyalty by pretending to kill Oliver. (So that’s who Oliver learned it from!) Yao Fei wakes Oliver just as he rolls his “dead” body into the waterfall. He also slips Oliver a map with a location marked with the words “Survive.”

Oliver doubted his trust in Yao Fei, but in the end was shocked to find out he had it right all along. Yao Fei was exactly who Oliver thought he was – a good man. That final and literal push cemented Oliver’s belief in his friend and to trust his gut.

There will probably always be a debate as to when the writers began the shift towards Olicity. “We DiDn’T dEcIdE uNtIL sEaSoN 2,” is the standard story, but I’m a firm believer it began in Season 1 and often include this scene in my massive pile of evidence. The last scene in the episode either tees up the next or contains a lot of emotional significance. Felicity beings to carve out a lot of final scene time as the series progresses.

The last scene in “Vertigo” is romantically lit with rain drops shimmering on the window. Oliver and Felicity are meeting outside the office and ALONE. Soft instrumental music plays in the background. It feels more intimate than any scene they’ve shared before.

Source: andjustforthismoment

I still cannot get over Oliver “The Sex God” Queen waving at Felicity Smoak like a giddy school boy and then shaking his head over how completely uncool he looked. We watched this man leave a criminal suspended in the air with an arrow through his hand in the first scene and in the last he acts like a puppy. THE RANGE.

It’s clear Felicity is a little nervous as she exhales walking in. Is she nervous to be meeting with Oliver or nervous about what she has to say? Both. She tips her hand a bit by thanking Oliver for meeting her at Big Belly Burger. She did not want to have this discussion at the Queen mansion. (THE PLOT THICKENS).

It seems Oliver and Felicity are having similar conundrums about each other. Felicity is uncertain if she can trust Oliver and has been debating for weeks whether or not to tell him the full truth. SOUND FAMILIAR? Felicity has far more evidence of Oliver’s untrustworthiness. There’s no rambling this time. She lays out the cold hard facts which is Oliver Queen is a big, fat liar and she knows it. He knows it. They both know it. Felicity Smoak is nobody’s fool.

And yet, she trusts him. Even though Oliver has given her no reason to. Even though there are clearly things he’s not telling her. Even though Oliver has yet to show her the same trust. There is something Felicity sees in him which tells her Oliver is worthy of it. It is an unsubstantiated truth. Felicity is going with her gut and her gut says Oliver Queen is a good man.

This doesn’t stop her from asking him the simple question though. Felicity needs that little bit of reassurance before she makes the final leap.

At first, Oliver plays it off in his smarmy, smart ass and flippant way. It’s the Ollie Queen façade that always works with L*urel, Tommy, Lance, Moira and Thea.

It’s an act that’s never worked on Felicity. She sees through it now just like she’s always has. Her smile fades. Felicity breaks eye contact with Oliver and doesn’t hide her disappointment. She is tired of the games and lies. Felicity wants to talk to the real Oliver Queen. That’s the only man she will share this secret with.

All it takes is five seconds of Felicity’s disappointment for Oliver to drop the façade like a hot potato.

He even apologizes and promises Felicity he is worthy of her trust. Then, Felicity lowers the boom and hands him The List.

It is difficult to surprise Oliver Queen, but this one has him reeling. She hands the book to Oliver, the same book Robert gave him, but he hesitates taking it. He has no idea where this is going, so he defaults to his standard operating procedure and lies.

Oliver is not doing a stellar job covering his “my world is upside down” reaction, so I highly doubt Felicity believes him, but she lets it slide for now.

The more information she shares with Oliver the worse it gets. Felicity begins to fill in all the missing pieces to Walter’s disappearance and the guilt is pointing directly at Moira.

This is not the first time Oliver has reason to doubt his mother, but every time he’s able to reason away her involvement in anything nefarious. If he can’t do that on his own then Moira provides very plausible explanations (LIES), which allow Oliver to continuing looking at his family with a blind eye. But this? This is impossible to easily explain away. Particularly since WALTER was beginning to suspect his own wife.

Source: green-arrows-of-karamel

If The List cost Walter his life then Felicity is risking her own by showing it to anyone, particularly a Queen. She is literally putting her life in Oliver’s hands when she handed him that book. The first domino falls, but it’s not Oliver who pushes it over. It’s Felicity. She gives Oliver the truth when he’s given nothing but lies. Felicity trusts him absolutely when he’s done nothing to show he’s deserving of it. She risks everything while Oliver continues to hide everything.

Felicity shocks Oliver no differently than Yao Fei shocked him. We’ve been waiting all this time for Oliver to make that final step and in the end it is Felicity who gives their relationship the necessary push over the waterfall. It’s a cold awakening, but he can see things clearly now. She is like a flashlight illuminating all the answers clouded by his distrustfulness and hesitancy.

Felicity reveals so much of herself in this moment. First, she is willing to take risks if the cause is worth it. Giving Oliver that book took real courage. Second, the girl can keep a secret. She never said boo about anything related to Moira or Walter during Oliver’s little visits. Not even a hint! Three, Felicity Smoak sees clearly all the things Oliver is blind to.

This serves as an important lesson for Oliver. Felicity knows so much more than he ever gave her credit for. Most importantly, his gut was right about her and he was wrong to ever question it. Two mistakes he will never make again.

And now everything will change.

Thea and Moira

I’m not gonna sugar coat this for you guys. I was one hundred percent okay with Thea going to jail. Season 1 Thea is a pain in the ass. A couple episodes with her sitting in the slammer would be a welcomed break from the teenage ‘tude.

L*urel and Lance work out a sweetheart deal for Thea after the judge basically said he would throw the book at her. Thea will serve 500 hours of community service under the watchful gaze of L*urel Lance at CRNI. And Thea flat out refuses.

Now, typically I am a fan of anyone who tells L*urel Lance to go screw herself, but even this was too much for me. Thea wants to go to jail to stick it to her mother because she’s still convinced Moira cheated on Walter.

She didn’t cheat on Walter, Thea! Your mom just kidnapped him. So it’s fine.

Oliver decides to drop the Robert “I’m not the man you think I am” Queen bomb on Thea and tells her their father was a big hoe. Thea refuses to believe him and Moira is ticked because Oliver told the truth. Queens don’t do that EVER.

Moira: He loved you. No matter his faults. He loved you.

Thea wants to know why Moira took all the punishment for Robert’s sins and her answer is very simple. She was trying to protect Thea’s memory of her father. Moira Queen is as shady as they come, but her desire to protect her children is always the driving force of any decisions she makes – good, bad and the ugly.

Moira: One day I hope you’re lucky enough to have a daughter and then you’ll know why.

This is the essence of motherhood. We will serve ourselves up on a platter and take the brunt of their hurt and anger if we believe it protect or help our children in the long run. Right or wrong - it’s just the gig.

Source: queensarrow.

L*urel and Lance

L*urel and Detective Lance are really Thea’s only hope of avoiding significant jail time and, despite their history, Oliver has no problem groveling at their feet if it means protecting his sister. Luckily for Oliver, this week L*urel likes him, so she’s willing to do Thea a favor.

But her reason for wanting to help Thea turns out have very little to do with Oliver. It’s about Sara. When L*urel looks at Thea she sees all the wild abandon of Sara with all the red flags.

L*urel: For so long you and I have blamed Oliver for Sara's death, but Sara is to blame too.

Detective Lance isn’t too keen on helping Oliver or Thea, but L*urel calls out her father on his hypocrisy. He had no qualms about bailing Sara out after she shop lifted. The youngest Lance daughter seemed to get herself in to trouble long before she ever stepped onto the Queen’s Gambit and her father always helped her avoid the consequences of her actions. Until those consequences finally caught up with her.

This is the first time L*urel lays any blame at Sara’s feet. I find it wildly disturbing whenever I agree with L*urel, but damn it she has this one right. Oliver wasn’t the only one who cheated. Oliver wasn’t the only one who lied. Oliver wasn’t the only one who was selfish. Sara was all of those things too. Just because she paid for those mistakes with her life doesn’t erase the choices she made and the pain she caused. If someone held Sara responsible without destroying her life, like L*urel is trying to do with Thea just maybe she would have never gotten on the boat. Maybe.

The game of “What if?” is a torturous one. It never gives any definitive answers. But Detective Lance refusing to help Thea to stick it to Oliver isn’t fair. L*urel is right. Sure, it may hurt Oliver, but it won’t bring Sara back.

More importantly, it doesn’t hold Sara responsible in any way. Detective Lance is treating Sara the same in death as he did in life. She wasn’t a saint anymore than Thea is – no matter how much Lance romanticizes his memory of his daughter. L*urel and her father don’t resolve the Sara issue, but Lance helping Thea is an important step towards his acknowledgement of the truth and putting some of the blame where it belongs.

Stray Thoughts

Oliver is shirtless and handcuffed in the bunker is an absolutely wasted opportunity for an Olicity sex scene. Pretty sure I read a fic that started like it though. Source: @olivergifs

Bratva Oliver is cold, calculating and stylish. I don’t know what it is about that jacket you guys. It doesn’t things to me.

I say this as a person who was very anti murder throughout the show, but sometimes it’s great to watch Oliver do a little violence.

“Whoever you fear, fear me more!” As vigilante lines go this was a damn good one.

“I’m not the one going to prison.” Give it time, Moira. Give it time.

McKenna Hall makes her first episode appearance as the rotation of female guest stars continues while show desperately searches for a love interest Stephen has chemistry because it ain’t Katie Cassidy. (Psst! You found THE ONE already!!! Call off the search!)

Just for you multifandom folks out there McKenna is also Qetsiyah on The Vampire Diaries.

Why doesn’t Oliver give a sketch to the police of The Count? That could be helpful.

“I don’t need the bow.” Yeah, but you need to walk straight!

Musings of the Kiddo

Kiddo: How many times does he do this to her?

Me: Lie? A lot. She was very patient with him.

Disclaimer: Any gifs on the blog are not mine. If you would like a gif removed from my reviews, please message me.

If you’d like to support the blog, please buy me a cup of tea!

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wardogxicarus · 4 years ago

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“He’s in his workshop. The doors are locked and he’s blasting music.” “How long as the commander been in there?” “I’m not sure. Four, maybe five, hours?” “How’d he look on the way in? He only does that if he’s either pissed or inspired.” “Honestly... I think it’s a mix of both.” “Hmm.. well... whatever comes out of there with him will be huge, I bet.” “The last thing that came out of there was Aegis, so I’d take that wager.”

----------------------------------------

Even through hearing protection, Silas could listen to the music he had playing. The whine and screeches of metal cutters was, thankfully, drowned out. Sparks soared through the air as he carefully welded a seam. Off to the side, his scaled prototype sat on a table. Wires still snaked out from the miniature version and into a laptop where he had half a dozen beta test results saved for continued review.

Aerodynamics wise, the build was a success. The agility and speed he’d gain from this would keep enemy Cybertronians on their toes at worst. At best? MECH would be gaining a tool that would firmly establish their superiority. The tricky part was the engine and user interface. But that would come with time- even if he was running on a short clock.

With the final weld of the section done, Silas pushed his mask back and retreated several paces. The welder was set down and his hands curled around a set of chains. With a grunt, he pulled; lifting his full scale prototype higher to examine. With his side aching, but at no risk of renewed injury, he finally opted to take a break. The music was cut and he turned away to find water.

On the platform, secured by chains and crane arms, the skeleton of Project Daedalus had begun to take shape.

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spacebatisluvd · 5 years ago

Text

LUVD

Summary: Adora can read the First Ones’ language. Hordak cannot. (Entrapta has some explaining to do.)

CW: This is fluff with hurt/comfort elements, featuring Hordak’s self-esteem issues, panic attacks, and rage.

A/N: Probably the last drabble I can manage before the final season drops. See you guys on the other side. (Again, I’m sorry for the readmore. I tried. The mobile app is garbage, but I wrote the drabble on my phone, so what are you gonna do?)

[[MORE]]

The alliance had, reluctantly, asked Hordak to come to Bright Moon. An issue had arisen amongst the clones that had decided to settle there—and wasn’t that a wonder? they had decided—and apparently, neither the Queen nor her princesses were able to resolve it, and Swift Wind had, somehow, made the matter worse. Hordak had been somewhat reluctant, as he and Entrapta were in the middle of a time-sensitive experiment, but he had an obligation to go. He was the clones’ ‘cultural ambassador’—or some such nonsense; he hadn’t paid much attention to the title itself—and fulfilling that role was part of his reparations to Etheria. It was hard to go alone, but Entrapta didn’t really need him for the experiment, and she promised to record the whole thing for him to review when he returned.

So he went. While he worked with the clones—who had begun to collectively call themselves ‘Kin’ rather than ‘Horde’—he stayed in Bright Moon’s castle. The Queen insisted it was to honor his status. Hordak was fairly sure it was so they could keep a close eye on him. He was also fairly sure that’s why they had invited the She-Ra—or, rather, her avatar—as well.

He didn’t mind working with Adora. She was intelligent and efficient—and if a small part of him was proud of her conditioning, he certainly wasn’t going to mention that to anyone—but he really didn’t enjoy the way she looked at him at times. Or, rather, the way she looked at the crystal that powered his armor. He often caught her staring at it, and his hand frequently lifted to cover it on its own, before he was conscious of the action. He then felt obliged to clear his throat and do something else with his hand because this was ridiculous and he was making it worse.

He didn’t even know why she was staring, until he was nearly done with his work with the Kin. She was pretending to be busy, while in reality, she was minding him, and Hordak was actually busy, looking over the contested village plans. He sighed, crossing something out and re-writing it elsewhere. “So, how’s it going?” she asked.

He snorted in disgust. “While I am glad that my kindred are starting to form their own personalities and are becoming comfortable seeking out the things they want for themselves, I am afraid they are also going to have to come to understand that the nature of compromise means that they can’t all get what they want all the time. This should not have been as complicated as they made it out to be.”

She laughed a little, the sound shy and unsure. He ignored it; he hadn’t been joking, and he didn’t understand why she thought that was funny. “Yeah. I guess so.” She rocked on her toes a little, and suddenly, she was sidling over, invading his space. He straightened, perturbed by her proximity. She was looking at his crystal again. He clenched his hand to keep from covering it protectively. “How about you? You and Entrapta are...getting pretty close? Right?”

He narrowed his eyes. “I fail to see why that is any of your business. Move—you’re in my light.”

“Oh, sorry.” She stepped aside, though not very far. He gave her another suspicious glare before returning to the plans. “Uh, did Entrapta tell you I could read the First Ones’ language?”

He sighed. He did not engage in ‘small talk’. He didn’t see the point of it, but Entrapta had asked him to be nice, so he would answer the avatar’s vapid questions. “No, she did not. I do not believe she thought it would be relevant.” He said the last word very pointedly, hoping she might take the hint.

She did not. “Oh. Well. I can.” She looked at him very deliberately as she said it. His ears twitched before he returned his attention to the plans.

“How nice for you,” he said, taking care to keep his tone neutral and polite.

“Ugh! Hordak, I can read what your crystal says, okay?!”

Unable to stop himself, he cupped his hand over it. “I have no idea what you mean—it doesn’t say anything.”

Her eyes went wide and her cheeks flushed a deep scarlet. “Oh. She didn’t...tell you...?” She swallowed. “Never mind! My mistake—you’re right, it doesn’t say anything!”

He caught her arm as she tried to leave. “What does it say?” he demanded, looming over her.

“Well. Um. It’s not really a word? It’s letters that sound like a word.” His ears flattened.

“What. Does. It. Say?”

She swallowed. “L-U-V-D.” He narrowed his eyes. “Loved—it says ‘loved’. She really never told you?”

It felt like he couldn’t breathe.

“Hordak?”

He pushed her away, hearing the pounding of his hearts echo in his ears. “You’re mistaken.”

“Uh? No? I’m really not. Look, it’s a She-Ra thing; I can—“

“I don’t care!” he snarled, the writing stylus snapping between his fingers. “You are mistaken! It is either an unfortunate acronym or merely a coincidence. Regardless, it doesn’t mean ‘loved’—it doesn’t mean anything!” He straightened, trying to steady his breathing. “And I expect you to keep your ridiculous suspicions to yourself. Do you realize how badly you could damage Entrapta’s reputation by implying—?” He exhaled hard and leveled a hard look at her. “She does not need you wrecking everything she has built.”

The avatar stared back at him with wide eyes. “Have you talked to Entrapta about this?” she asked after a moment.

“There is nothing to talk about.”

“Hordak—“

With a snarl, he dodged her outstretched hand and stormed off. “We’re done.”

“Hordak, wait! Can we just—“

“I said we’re done!”

He returned to the castle, too frazzled to continue his work. He paced in his assigned room, hissing at Imp when he gave a curious chirp. Imp left with an abundance of angry chattering as he sought out more pleasant company. Hordak couldn’t blame him—he knew he wasn’t at his best when he was like this. He’d been working on controlling his temper, but the urge to start breaking things was strong.

He shut his eyes, trying to breathe through the rage. How dare she? How dare she?! Did she realize what such rumors would do to Entrapta? To Dryl? They weren’t some isolated nation—they were at best a city-state and heavily reliant on their trade agreements with their neighbors. Neighbors he had attacked and conquered!

Was this their revenge, then? To use Hordak to ruin Entrapta’s reputation, to destroy her small country’s economy? To play with his emotions, taunting him with—?

One of his vambraces started to spark, shocking him. He ripped it off with a roar and tossed it across the room, his breathing rapid and ragged.

Just then, his communicator started beeping. Entrapta. Something like relief wrapped him. Of course! He should have contacted her immediately! He turned on the monitor, barely waiting for her features to resolve when he said, “Good; we have something to discuss.”

“Oh. Yeah. Adora called me and—“

“I think we can get ahead of the rumors if we—“

“—said she told you about—“

“—form a plan. We’ll need to re-affirm your trade agreements—“

“Wait. Trade agreements?”

He nodded, glad she was listening. He started to pace as he laid out his plan. “Yes! You need to ratify your agreements, strengthen the bonds with your closest allies.” He beat one fist against his unarmored palm. “We have some inventions that might be useful to the others as well, things that other kingdoms can use. If we produce blueprints, show them how to—“

“Hordak.”

“—make them, we can endear ourselves to some of the kingdoms that—“

“Hordak.”

“—would be particularly upset by these rumors.” He hesitated. “You ought to...start seeing suitors.” It felt like his chest was being compressed. “That would certainly quell any rumors of—“

“Hordak.”

“—of impropriety.”

“Hordak!”

He looked at the monitor. “What?”

“Will you take a breath?” He blinked. “Just. A deep breath. Like this—“ She inhaled. Through pursed lips, as if trying to keep the air in, she said, “And hold it.”

Not sure why she’d ask this of him but trusting her nonetheless, he filled his lungs and held his breath. Entrapta nodded. “Good. That’s good. Now exhale real slow—like this.” She demonstrated, and he mimicked her.

“What was the purpose of that?”

“To calm you down. You were panicking.”

“I do not panic!”

“Why don’t you take another deeeep breath?”

“I DO NOT NEED TO BREATHE!” She raised a brow, and his words caught up to him. “Perhaps, you aren’t...incorrect.”

“You think?” He shot her a look, but let her walk him through some more breathing exercises. Finally, it felt like the band of steel wrapping his chest had loosened. Smiling fondly, Entrapta said, “Okay. Why don’t we try this again? Adora called me. She said she told you what the crystal says.”

“Yes. I’m concerned. Our...working relationship is bound to spark rumors, regardless of whether or not the She-Ra’s keeps her suspicions to herself. It’s something we should have considered before, as it will likely have broader effects on your kingdom.”

She started to play with her hair. “O-oh. So. You...don’t...? You don’t mind that it says ‘LUVD’? You aren’t...? Confused? Or...?”

He waved that off. “Entrapta, I know it doesn’t mean anything. It’s not as if you wrote it—“

“I did.”

“You?”

“Wrote it.”

“Oh. Well. I’m sure you didn’t mean—“

“I did.”

He blinked. It felt like he was drifting. Like his body was no longer tethered by gravity. “‘Loved’? You meant? That?”

She nodded, then smiled weakly. “Um. Yeah.”

“Oh.” He sat heavily on the bed. “I.” He touched the crystal.

“I didn’t really mean for you to find out. Definitely not like this. I figured that maybe if....” She lowered her welding mask.

“If?”

“I would have told you. If I thought you returned my feelings.” Her hair rubbed at her upper arm.

“I—“ His tongue felt thick. Cumbersome. His breathing was shallow and too fast. “What if. I did?”

She lifted her mask, eyeing him. “Is this just a thought experiment? Or...?”

He swallowed. “I have. Reason to be invested in your answer. What if I returned your feelings?” He couldn’t believe what he was saying, couldn’t believe he was allowing himself to entertain the idea that Entrapta.

Loved.

Him.

“Well.” She rolled the word around, tasting it. Her mouth quirked in a small smile. “We’d probably need to implement some of your ideas to keep our trade agreements in place. And.” She held onto her hair, combing one lock with her fingers. “Maybe go on a date?”

He just stared at the screen. Stunned. He swallowed, ears lowered. “I think I will ask if they can manage the rest without me. I would like to return home and continue this conversation in person.” He looked down. “I believe I will also offer an apology to the She-Ra.”

“Yeah. I think I might owe her a thank you.”

Entrapta smiled at him, and he nodded his agreement, rendered mute by the weight of his feelings.

His fingers traced over the crystal af his throat.

LUVD.

He was.

Loved.

(And he loved in return.)

#hordak #entrapdak #entrapta #hordapta #spop #Entrapta really doesn’t care about politics #Hordak super does though #he takes care of the details of running a kingdom #so his wife has more time for science #fight me #longpost #long post

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tf-decepti-stories · 5 years ago

Text

We’re Trapped in Here Together Chpt 2

I bet you all thought I was dead. Ha! I’m only mostly dead. Here’s another angst chapter for my angsty ko/ss universe that I wrote in like... two hours or something. 100% not reviewed for editing. I have only two modes - angst or smut and this is certainly the latter. Warnings for continued implied abuse. ~~ Soundwave was a pits damned glitch. At least, that was Knock Out's current opinion of the Decepticon third in command. The silent mech had cut Knock Out off from the remaining high grade on the Nemesis. It had been nice to escape behind the numbing fuzz created by the high grade. And so what if a few Vehicons died from sloppy work? They probably wouldn't have recovered anyways.

The loss of Breakdown was now a dull, throbbing pain in his spark instead of the searing agony it had been. It was like a wound that might never fully heal. I don't even have a frame to properly mourn. Knock Out shuttered his optics and forced that thought away. He couldn't fall apart. Not right now. Which reminded Knock Out about why he was currently in the medbay. Megatron had sent Starscream and a force of Vehicons to drive the Autobots away from one of their energon mines. It wouldn't be long before the wounded, and the dead for spare parts, were brought into his domain. Depending on how the encounter went he might also have to repair Starscream once Megatron was… done with the second in command. The Autobots had had too many successes of late and Knock Out was sick of having to treat the seeker when Megatron finished punishing or using him. Before their little “talk” they had both simply pretended Knock Out wasn’t aware of how Starscream had gotten those injuries. Now? Their optics would meet and it was Starscream that would look away. Something in his expression that looked like shame would appear before the seeker managed to hide it away again behind a bland mask.

The sound of hurried pedes outside the medbay jarred him from his dark thoughts, bringing him back to the present. He could distract himself, for a little while at least, with fixing Vehicons. Making something right. Two Vehicons nearly stumbled into the medbay as the doors opened, bearing a third frame between them. No, bearing Starscream’s frame between them. Energon dripped from the fist sized hole in the side of the seeker’s chassis, leaving a trail as the Vehicons quickly dragged him over and onto a medical berth. Knock Out was surprised to find his frame already in motion. He felt strangely disconnected from himself and from reality as he began working on Starscream. His voice was calm as he gave orders to the Vehicons that milled about. His servos were deft as he closed off burned and sliced energon lines, working to stabilize Starscream. There was something behind his calm facade, but he didn’t want to push at it. Knock Out had a feeling that if he did, he wouldn’t be able to do what needed to be done. He needed to wall all of that out. For now.

Starscream woke to pain. Well, pain meant he was still alive. Probably. What a wonderful surprise, considering his last memory was of Arcee’s coming in close and shoving her blaster into his chassis before firing. As soft sparked as Prime could be, he doubted he would have woken up at all if he was in Autobot servos.

The seeker onlined his optics, pleased to see he was correct in his guess. That was the familiar ceiling of the medbay on the Nemesis. Starscream slowly levered himself up on his elbows so he could take stock of his frame. Everything seemed to be in place, more or less, aside from the fresh patch and weld marks where he remembered being shot. Relief was quickly followed by apprehension. This would be a reprieve from Megatron’s wrath over his failure, but that wouldn’t stop the warlord from punishing Starscream later. Disgust mingled with leaden apathy in his spark. It was hard to fight the hopelessness that tried to creep into his processor. He slowly clenched his servos into fists as he dragged stubborn, determined rage up to meet the rising hopelessness. Starscream, former Winglord of Vos, second in command of the Deceptions, would not give up or give in. He would bring Megatron low one day. And then the warlord would know how very much he had underestimated Starscream. Daydreams of victory and freedom were interrupted by the smaller door at the back of the medbay, which led to an office, opening to reveal Knock Out. The medic looked awful, but not much more awful than was his normal of late. “I take it this patch job is your work?” Starscream sneered and gestured down at the closed wound in his chassis. Before… before … Knock Out would have had Starscream patched, welds ground down, and frame repainted before the seeker even came out of stasis. Now it was just another thing the medic had let slip from his attention. Starscream knew he shouldn’t poke at Knock Out like that, trying to rile the medic into quarreling with him, but it was easier than actually talking about… about how he felt. Better to fight with the medic than delve into that mess. Knock Out raised an eyebrow as he walked over, holding an energon cube out in one servo and a data pad in the other. “You’re welcome, try not to be too gracious in your thanks.” The words lacked the normal sass. It was like Knock Out was playing the part, but his spark wasn’t in it. Starscream glanced away after accepting the offered energon cube. “I suppose I’ll fully recover?” “Mmhm.” Knock Out stated absently. When Starscream glanced at him, he found the medic staring off into space. He looked… tired. Starscream quickly downed the cube of energon with a grimace for the bitter taste of added minerals. “I should go to… report to Megatron.” Now Starscream was sure he saw a hot flicker of rage cross Knock Out’s face in flash before vanishing into that dull expression. His optics had even brightened for a moment before dimming again. “I suppose I will be here when you are finished. Or rather, when he is.” He muttered the last part bitterly. The seeker’s wings dipped down, the awkward truth once more cutting a divide between him and Knock Out. The thing that they had purposefully not spoken of until that meeting in the mess hall. And now it felt like a wedge pushing them further and further apart. But Starscream didn’t know how to make it better, or even if he should try to. Maybe it was for the best if he kept Knock Out at arm’s length. But that sensation of hopelessness, of being cut off from everyone and everything, was trying to well up inside him again. It usually only crept up on him at night, just before he could slip into recharge. Could… could it really be so bad to try and rely on someone for help? Not someone, but to rely on Knock Out? “Knock Out, I-” Starscream was cut off as the main medbay door suddenly opened and Megatron strode in with his sheer presence and rage practically filling the room. ~~ Clearly Megatron had lost what little patience he had waiting for Starscream’s repairs to be finished. Temporary repairs, if Knock Out had to guess by the warlord’s fury. He tried to remember back to a time before rejoining the Nemesis here on Earth. Had Megatron always been so quick to anger? So ruthless? So violent to his own forces? How much of this was from Megatron’s strange addiction to dark energon? And did it really matter? “Starscream, I didn’t realize I could be any more disappointed in you. You are a completely worthless second in command! How could you allow such a pathetic Autobot to nearly snuff your spark?! Or perhaps you allowed yourself to be injured in some vain attempt to win some pity from me? A foolish idea worthy of your limited ability to plan.” Megatron had advanced on the seeker during his tirade until he was looming over his second in command. His servo lashed out to grab at the cowering figure on the medical berth. He likely planned to drag Starscream from the medbay and finish his “discussion” with the seeker along with his punishment. But Megatron aborted the attempt grab when a saw slashed into the space between it and the seeker, missing his servo by bare inches. The surprise caused the warlord to stagger back a step as Knock Out moved forward to get between him and Starscream. The smaller mech’s optics blazed with rage as he stood his ground with his dentae gritted together. It had been too much, having to stand by and watch as Megatron abused Starscream. To witness him preparing to continue the cycle of physical and emotional abuse on the seeker. “He’s not clear to leave the medbay, Lord Megatron.” Knock Out’s voice just barely managed not to make a mockery of the title. “I would appreciate being able to finish repairing him before he is returned here with new injuries.” The words were almost spat up at Megatron. He knew he was walking along a knife’s edge, hinting at his own knowledge of what Megatron did to Starscream. Megatron’s own optics widened in shock and then narrowed again in his own rage. “Is that so?” The words were spoken slowly, each carefully enunciated and nearly dripping with scorn. “What I do to enforce my command is none of your business, medic.” “It is if it means he’ll be back on my medbay in the next couple hours. Using up more of my time and supplies. Don’t we have Autobots to fight? Wouldn’t it be better to have all of us in top fighting form?” Knock Out lifted his chin defiantly, refusing to back down. “If it is your time and supplies you are so concerned about, I could always end the traitorous glitch and rid us all of a drain on our resources.” Megatron snarled the words, his optics shifting from Knock Out to Starscream as he spoke. The seeker was cringing on the medical berth as he stared with wide optics at this exchange. “His life would be better spent against the Autobots.” Knock Out pointed out. He shifted his weight slightly, as if he wanted to try and keep Megatron’s attention on himself instead of the freshly repaired seeker. Megatron stepped back with a disgruntled huff. His optics were narrowed in thought as he glanced between the pair. There was suspicion there. And hate. “Perhaps you are right, Knock Out.” The words came out in a calmer tone, almost a menacing purr. “Ensure my second in command is prepared to go fight against the Autobots as soon as possible. It would be a shame if his death had to come at their servos.” The warlord cast one last sneer at Starscream before he turned and strode out of the med bay. ~~ Starscream had been frozen in place as Knock Out verbally sparred with Megatron. With Megatron. He was a medic, for Primus’s sake, and barely half Megatron’s size! It was shocking, apparently to Megatron as much as Starscream. As soon as the medbay door closed, Knock Out’s shoulders slumped and he started to sway. Starscream scrambled forward on the medical berth to grab the medic and make sure he didn’t collapse or something. But Knock Out pushed Starscream’s servo away from himself. “Don’t. Don’t touch me. I didn’t do it for you.” Knock Out snapped at him quickly. He dipped his helm, partially hiding his expression. “I’m just sick of fixing you when he’s done. I’m sick of you being on my medical berth.” Starscream stared at the medic in continued shock, this time it mingled with pain at the harsh tone. “I didn’t mean... “ He cut himself off from saying anything else. Why expose himself to more pain? “Well. I should probably go before he comes back for me then.” Starscream pushed himself up from the medical berth. His chassis ached with pain, but not so much that he couldn’t retreat his own quarters. When he reached the door of the medbay he paused and looked back Knock Out. “I owe you.” The words spilled out before he could really stop himself. The edge of a crooked smile touched the medic’s lips. “Get me some high grade. We’ll call it even.” ~~ His servos started shaking after Starscream left. Knock Out slowly sank to the floor, his back against the medical berth as the shaking spread. What had he been thinking? How could he be so stupid? Why not be stupid? It wasn’t like he had anything left to really lose. Except his own life. Of course, there were worse fates than death. Knock Out clutched at his chassis, his frame curling up slightly as his spark throbbed with pain. There was no way out of this mess. No way to win. Looking into Megatron’s optics, he knew that the warlord really would kill Starscream. Maybe not today, but one day. If he let himself open up to Starscream he would only be setting himself up for more pain. And now Megatron knew, or suspected, that Knock Out cared about Starscream as more than just a fellow Decepticon. He would use that against Knock Out. He might even decide to kill Knock Out for that little stunt he’d just pulled. He couldn’t escape Megatron, not without ripping out his own spark in the process. The Autobots wouldn’t take someone like Starscream in and besides, Starscream had been right. At the slightest indication that either of them planned to leave they would be killed. And who knew how thoroughly Soundwave had the Nemesis under his surveillance. The silent third in command was utterly loyal to the cause and Lord Megatron. They were trapped. Both of them were trapped in this hell with no way out. But did they have to be trapped alone? Knock Out tipped his helm back until it lightly thumped against the medical berth behind him. No. He had lost too much to just lie down and let Megatron take everything. His optics darkened as Knock Out felt something shift and settle within himself. A certainty. If they couldn’t win against Megatron, he would find a way to at least make sure Megatron didn’t win either.

#transformers prime #tfp knockout #starscream #starscream/knockout #past knockout/breakdown #megatron #implied abuse #megatron/starscream #writing #angst #there is no escape

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