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hamliet · 4 years ago

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The Girl Who Gets to Have It All: Buffy Summers

So with @linkspooky‘s encouragement, I have binged Buffy the Vampire Slayer and relived my childhood culture. And, it's a 10/10 for me. Not that it doesn't have flaws, but it's genuinely one of the best stories I've seen, with consistent character arcs, powerful themes, and a beautiful message. It's also like... purportedly about vampires and demons and superpowered chosen ones, but it's actually all about humanity.

Buffy was able to be a teenage girl, allowed to like the things teen girls are scorned for (boys, shopping, etc), to be insecure about the thing teenage girls are insecure about (future careers, dating, school, parents), and to be a superhero with its good and its bad aspects. The story wasn’t afraid to call Buffy on her flaws (sometimes she got in a very ‘I am the righteous chosen one’ mode) and to respect and honor each of her desires (to be a good person, to be loved, and more). The story listened to what she wanted and respected her desires, giving her the challenges needed to overcome her flaws while also never teaching her a lesson about wanting bad boys or romance is silly or any manner of dark warnings stories like to throw at teenage girls.

It respected teenage girls--nerdy girls like Willow, jocks like Buffy, lonely wallflowers with trauma like Dawn, and popular/snobby ones like Cordelia, girls gone wild like Faith. It never once reduced them to the stereotypes that were lurking right there: each character was fully rounded, human, flawed and yet with respected interests and goals. This is so rare for a story that I’m still in awe.

The story as a whole follows Buffy from 15 to 21, of her as she grows from teenager to adult. She acts like a teenager and grows to act like a young adult, wrestling with loneliness and duty. The adults, like Giles, Joyce, and Jenny, are not perfect either, but neither are they “bad parents” or “bad mentors” necessarily. Joyce in particular says something terrible to Buffy, but she tries to do better, and it’s rare to see a parent in YA stories shown with such nuance. Basically, it wrote the long-lasting adult characters as human beings, too.

Speaking of growing up, I appreciated how Buffy’s love interests mirrored this. Angel was someone Buffy loved and admired, wanted to be like, but who was always either extreme good or extreme bad, and combined with Buffy’s own tendencies towards black-white thinking, made for a beautiful relationship to help her grow, but didn’t necessarily form a foundation for a long-term partner. Spike, on the other hand... they both saw each other at their worst and were drawn to each other even then, and were inspired to become better because they couldn’t bear to be a person who treated the other person so wrongly. They pushed each other to become the best them they could be, and believed in each other. Also, Spuffy is an enemies to lovers ship for the ages.

(Also, most of the other ships were well-done or at least can be understood. Riley was very obviously wrong for Buffy which paralleled Harmony and Spike in being 100% wrong for each other. Cordelia and Xander were a fun ship even if we all knew it would never last, and Willow and Oz were beautiful and cute. But Xander and Anya and Willow and Tara? OTPs. As were Giles and Jenny, the librarian and the computer teacher.)

That said, it’s not a perfect series. No story is. All of the characters and ships had problematic aspects to them worthy of critique, and the writing is very 90s in a lot of ways. It’s a product of its time, and in many ways it’s good society has progressed beyond some of the tropes/metaphors used in the show. In other way, though, the show was ahead of its time, and in a good way it wasn’t bound by the fear of purity policing with its takes on redemption (many characters would never fly today).

So, in order of seasons ranked from my very favorite to my “still enjoyed it very much” (no season was actually bad, imo), here’s my review. I’ll also review my top 10 villains in the show, because Buffy does villains very well in terms of the redeemable and irredeemable.

Season 7: Yep, the final season was my favorite.

Overall Opinion: Buffy's finale is literally "f*ck them men, our power is ours" and while it seems cheesy it actually works (also, f*ck in both a literal and figurative sense). The series strongly hit all the themes: love as strength, and redemption. Buffy consistently shows love as her strength--*all* kinds of love. Friendship w Willow/Xander, familial with Joyce/Dawn, romantic with Spike/Angel. These types of love are also never pitted against each other as is so often the case in current-day media. It's beautiful. Also, Spike’s confrontation with Wood was so powerful in terms of exploring forgiveness, redemption, and reconciliation: where they overlap and where they don't, and what it means to move forward.

Unpopular Opinion: I have seen a lot didn’t like the inclusion of Potential Slayers, and while I agree they could have been better incorporated/characterized, it was a great way to show Buffy’s final stage of growing up to be ending her chosen one status and projecting/multiplying her powers over the world.

Biggest Critique: Kennedy was female Riley--the anti-Tara to Riley’s anti-Angel (by ‘anti’ I mean opposite in every way). Kennedy was annoying and immature. Her role, like Riley’s, was less about exploring her as a character and more about her just being stamped as “love interest: lesbian.”

Favorite Episodes: Beneath You, Lies My Parents Told Me, Touched, Chosen

Season 6:

Overall Opinion: I said this on Twitter, but I felt like this was Buffy’s The Last Jedi or Empire Strikes Back moment. It is polarizing and dark, deconstructing the tropes it stands on--but by digging to the core of these tropes, it actually makes what’s good about them shine brighter. Everyone’s enemy was the worst versions of themselves. Giles left Buffy, Willow's struggle to relate to the world led to her trying to destroy it, Buffy hurt everyone through her anger, Xander abandoned Anya at the altar, Spike... yeah. It ages well as an integral part of the story, and the Trio were eerily prophetic.

Unpopular Opinion: Dawn is a great character with a good arc. A traumatized teen acting out and struggling to come to terms with loss and identity? She wasn’t whiny; she was realistic.

Biggest Critique: Willow’s addiction coding (I’ll discuss this below) and Seeing Red as an episode. I see the argument for both of its controversial scenes from a narrative perspective: Willow starts the season not grieving Buffy but instead being determined to fix it with magic and needs to learn to grieve, but. Still. Bury your gays is not a good look. For the Spike scene... he conflates sex/passion and violence (”love is blood, children” is something he said way back in season 3), but like Tara’s death, it had more to do with Spike (as Tara’s death did for Willow) than with Buffy’s arc, and as for the actual execution... they really botched that. Did it like... have to go on that long or go that far? No. Also, the framing was good, but inconsistent with the rest of the series (Xander to Buffy in the hyena episode, Faith to Xander and to Riley, etc.)

Favorite Episodes: Once More With Feeling, Smashed, Grave

Season 3 (tied with Season 5):

Overall Opinion: The opening continuity of Buffy meeting Lily/Anne after saving her life in Season 2 was sweet. The Witchhunt episode had really powerful subtext: stories of deaths that aren’t even true are actually demons that possess the town and convince them to turn against their children in the name of protecting the children. It’s a good commentary on, oh, everything in society. Faith’s character arc was fantastic, and her chemistry with Buffy was off the charts (look, I may be Spuffy all the way, but Fuffy has rights). The finale was satisfying in so many ways, seeing the entire graduating class unite to destroy the Mayor and the school with it, symbolizing Buffy et al’s readiness to move on to college. Oz's relationship with Willow was very sweet and meaningful for a first romance for Willow.

Unpopular Opinion: I actually don’t really have one. Maybe that the miracle in Amends was earned? I think you can make a decent case that Season 3 is the best written of the seasons, but can only truly be thematically appreciated to its full potential in the light of subsequent seasons (which finish Faith’s arc and deconstruct Buffy’s).

Biggest Critique: It forgot Buffy killed the hyena guy in Season 1, making her continual insistence that she can’t kill people very ?????

Favorite Episodes: Lovers Walk, Amends, Graduation Day Part 2

Season 5, which ties with Season 3:

Overall Opinion: The entire season is about family and what it means, from Tara’s to Buffy’s to the Scoobies. I loved Glory aka Enoshima Junko as the Big Bad, I loved Dawn’s interesting meta commentary on retconning (like, the fact that she’s retconned in matters), and most of my ships are still alive. Joyce’s relationship with Spike is one of the most heartwarming aspects, and Spike’s arc’s desire is clearly highlighted: he wants to be seen as a person. The episodes after Joyce’s death are the most honest portrayals of grief I’ve ever seen, and absolutely brutal to watch.

Unpopular Opinion: Buffy’s choice at the end seems a deliberate inversion of her choice at the end of Season 2 (sacrifice a loved one to save the world), but it actually isn’t: much like at the end of Season 2 where Buffy skips town because she’s devastated after killing Angel and doesn’t want to sort out being expelled, her mom knowing she’s the slayer, and her own trauma, Buffy’s sacrifice here was as much about her wanting the easy way out of relationships, family, college, etc. as it was about saving Dawn. Buffy’s death is coded as a suicide, which Season 6 emphasizes as well.

Biggest Critique: Like Season 3, I don’t have a lot to critique here. I wish the suicidal coding had been a little more obvious in Season 5 itself, but also I’m not sure it could have been more obvious; it’s pretty apparent if you pay attention. Maybe also that Buffy and Riley’s relationship failing should have been more squarely blamed on Riley, you know, being insecure and cheating.

Favorite Episodes: Family, Fool for Love, Intervention.

Season 2:

Overall Opinion: Heartbreakingly tragic but exciting and revealing at the same time. It asked the viewer interesting questions about redemption and forgiveness and atonement through Angel being honest about his past, and then decided to show us his past now reenacted, challenging us. And still, we saw them save him in a parallel to saving Willow in Season 6 (but Season 2 was tragic because it wasn’t enough, while Season 6 was not). Jenny’s death was agonizing, and the scene were Angel watches Buffy, Willow, and Joyce get the news through the window was powerful. We didn’t have to hear them to get the grief.

Unpopular Opinion: Jenny’s death isn’t a fridging; it works for her arc too when you consider her history. She worked to save the person whose life she was tasked to ruin, and it cost her her own--yet she still succeeded, because Jenny brought joy and wisdom to the show. Kendra’s death, on the other hand... was because they needed the stakes to be high--but we already knew that before she died. So, her death was useless.

Biggest Critique: The subtext was Not It. It was essentially “do not have sex. Your older boyfriend will lose his soul, kill your friends, you’ll lose your family, your school, your home, and have to kill your true love or else hell will literally swallow earth.”

Favorite Episodes: School Hard, Passion, Becoming Part 2.

Season 1:

Overall Opinion: I really liked it; it’s just lower on this list because the others are just better. It’s a great introduction to the series and to its characters, from Giles to Buffy to Willow to Jenny to Cordelia. It has great subtext a lot of the time (for example, Natalie French as She-Mantis is a literal predatory bug who engages in predatory behavior with students). Additionally, it subverts the typical YA trope of two guys and a girl, in which the girl is usually the least interesting character. Buffy and Willow were both fully fledged characters from the beginning with distinct strengths (even before Willow became a witch, as she wasn’t one in season 1 yet), while Xander was the more ordinary of the group.

Unpopular Opinion/Biggest Critique: Xander’s arc showed its first flaws that unfortunately continued throughout the series: his writing was either very good or very indulgent in ways it never was for other characters. (cough, the hyena episode, cough, in which he gets to skirt responsibility--and acknowledges that he is skirting it--for something the show will later hold others to account for). Xander’s just kind of inconsistent, which weakened his character over all. (Which is why both his love interests--Cordelia and then ultimately Anya--were good for him: they did not indulge him.)

Favorite Episode: Witch, Nightmares.

Season 4:

Overall Opinion: it’s still a good season. It’s a good portrayal of college and the growing pains of branching out, the strains of college growth on relationships (romantic and platonic). It shows us the first hints of Spuffy, giving us some serious Jungian symbolism between Spike and Buffy early on, and does well in establishing Xander/Anya and Willow/Tara as beautiful OTPs. Faith and Buffy’s foiling is fantastic. The Halloween episode was very fun as well. However, it suffers because its Big Bad, Adam, is not all that compelling thematically--yet, he could have been. See, the final battle pulls off the Power of Friendship in a really strong way but notably the season does not end there. Instead, it ends on dreams of each character’s worst fears, continuing what we saw in Nightmares in Season 1. Why? Because it shows us that the characters’ wars aren’t against monsters, but monsters of their own making: their flaws. Adam, as a literal Frankenstein, exemplifies this, but it wasn’t capitalized on as well as it could have been.

Unpopular Opinion: Beer Bad isn’t a bad episode, at the very least because Buffy gets to punch Parker. It’s not one of the series’ best, obviously, but it does give Buffy an arc in that she gets her daydream of Parker begging her to come back, but she has overcome that desire and her desire for revenge. If we wanna talk about bad subtext in Season 4, Season 2′s Not It sex subtext continues in the Where the Wild Things Are episode in this season; it’s a powerful callout of abusive purity-culture churches, until the fact that the shame creates a literal curse undermines the progressive message it’s supposed to send. Also, the Thanksgiving episode (Pangs) is a nightmare of white guilt and Oh God Shut Up White People.

Biggest Critique: Riley is awful. Like Kennedy, he had “love interest:normal” stamped on him and that was it. The thing is, he could have worked as an Angel foil, representative of the normal-life aspect of Buffy to Angel’s vampire/supernatural aspect, but the writers never explore this and seemed to even try to back away from that later on. They threw all the romantic cliches at the wall to see what sticks, from klutzy “I dropped my schoolbooks, that’s how we met” to cliché lines that had me rolling my eyes. Do you know how bad a romance has to be to make me dislike romantic tropes?

Favorite Episodes: Fear Itself, Hush, Restless

Villain rankings:

Dark Willow, the only villain to be truly sympathetic. While the addiction coding was insensitive and, while unsurprising for its time, aged extremely poorly. That said, Willow’s turn to the dark side after Tara’s death worked well for her character and the story: it was believable and paid off what had been building since Season 1's “Nightmares” episode (Willow’s inferiority complex).

Glory managed to be genuinely terrifying, and humorous/enjoyable too. Her minions and their numerous nicknames for Glorificus were hilarious, as was her intense vanity. Her merging with Ben--a human being who genuinely wanted to be kind and good--added complexity and tragedy to her role.

The First. A really good take on Satan. The seventh season as well as the First’s first appearance in season 3′s “Amends” had kind of blatant Christian symbolism, and so the First being essentially Satan works. Their disguising themselves as dead loved ones and the subtle manipulation they used to alienate people was really disturbing and well done.

The Mayor, who was a terrible person but a truly good father. He provided an interesting contrast to the normal ‘bad dad’ bad guy character, in that he provided Faith exactly what the other characters refused to: he saw the best in her and offered her parental support, while the heroes didn’t and wound up pushing her away.

The Trio, who were villains ahead of their time: whiny fanboy reddit dudebros, basically. The stakes seemed so much lower than fighting Glory, a literal god, the previous season. But that’s why they worked so well for Season 6′s human themes, and were especially disturbing because we all know people like them. I also appreciated the surprisingly sensitive takes on Jonathan and Andrew, who got to redeem themselves, but Warren did not, and I don’t think he should have either.

Angelus + Drusilla. I’m ranking them below the Trio because Angelus was just sooooo different from Angel that it was difficult for me to feel the same way for him. He was still Angel, so it wasn’t possible to enjoy his villainy, but he also wasn’t nearly as sympathetic as Dark Willow, had no redeeming qualities like the Mayor, and wasn’t as disturbingly realistic as the Trio. However, the emotional stakes were excellently executed with him as the Big Bad, in that you were never quite sure how to feel and it just plain hurt. Also, Drusilla was a favorite recurring character. She was sympathetic and yet batsh*t enough to be enjoyable as a villain at the same time.

The Master, who was just completely camp and really worked as an introductory villain. He was scary enough to believe he was a threat, and was funny enough to introduce the series’ humor as well. He was, like Glory, an enjoyable Big Bad.

The Gentlemen, the one-off villains of Season 4′s Hush who were genuinely terrifying. It’s not as if they got a lot of explanation or any backstory, but they didn’t need it.

Caleb, the misogynist priest. Fitting with the First’s Christian symbolism, Caleb serving as a spokesperson of all bad religious beliefs felt appropriate. He was also a good foil to Warren--being actually supernaturally powered instead of a wannabe--and to Tara’s family in being full-out evil. I despised him.

Snyder. Okay Snyder is not a Big Bad like Adam is, but let’s face it: Adam is lame compared to the other villains. But Snyder as a principal? He was so irritating and yet really well used in the series to critique overly strict, hypocritical teachers. Like, we all know teachers like him. I loved to hate him, and his ending was so satisfying.

#buffy the vampire slayer #btvs #spuffy #buffy summers #dawn summers #spike #angel #cordelia chase #btvs giles #willow rosenberg #tillow #tara maclay #anya jenkins #xanya #xander harris #jenny calendar #kendra young #faith lehane #hamliet reviews

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morelikegerardheterosexual · 5 years ago

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youtube

A Letter from Damian:

I caught the coronavirus early, when there were only six known cases in California, all of them hundreds of miles from L.A., where I live. My symptoms lasted forever, but were only genuinely scary for a day and a half. My wife Kristin’s battle was tougher, though. She was only briefly at the hospital, but bedridden with breathing problems for a long stretch. As she convalesced, I struggled to keep up with our two-year-old twins, and there were times when her breathing was so labored I worried she just wouldn’t wake up.

We’re extremely lucky. She made a full recovery, and though the kids did have symptoms, they never got much worse than a nasty cold. My heart aches for those who haven’t had the same luck, who are suffering unimaginable loss and hardship, whether from the virus or the havoc it’s wrought on the world.

For all of us, the future has gotten scarier and more unknowable, and it’s bearing down on us faster. But for me, as this new strain of anxiety has spread, it’s brought an incongruous companion: a new breed of hope. It’s subtle and diffuse, but in the moments when the anxiety lets up, it’s there, hovering in the periphery of my consciousness.

At first I thought maybe it was a psychological defense; with Kristin teetering on the edge of the unthinkable, my brain was throwing me life rafts. Then as she and the kids got better, the hope felt like an offshoot of my personal relief. Then I read an essay by historian Rebecca Solnit, The Impossible Has Already Happened: What the Coronavirus Can Teach Us About Hope, and she put words to the thing I was struggling to identify.

When the status quo evaporates, anything is possible, for better or for worse. Crises are when we learn who we are. Without our frame of reference, we reinvent ourselves. Our best and worst impulses struggle against each other anew, and while our darkest fears become more real, so do our wildest hopes. “Change is not only possible, we are swept away by it.”

Solnit makes the case that this is as true for our society as it is for ourselves: Governments have made changes which were unfathomable only a few months ago. Ireland nationalized its hospitals. Canada and Germany have figured out forms of basic income. Thousands of non-violent inmates have been released from the US’s broken prison system.

My neighborhood, like many around the world, raises a cheer for frontline workers every evening. The ritual is more than just a show of gratitude, it’s a vehicle for the kind of hope Solnit writes of, the subtle feeling I was trying to pin down. We’re telling each other we believe in one another. We’re reassuring ourselves that human goodness is rugged, that our capacity to care for each other is less fragile than our individual bodies, that we can choose compassion for others over the comfort of our routines.

Inspired by this cheering, my bandmates and I, working separately in our homes, wrote and recorded a new song, “All Together Now.” We borrowed a lovely metaphor from Rebecca Solnit’s essay: society is, for a moment, liquid in the chrysalis.

The idea that some good may come from this time of overwhelming tragedy is a light in the dark right now. We’re not delusional; we don’t think optimism or compassion alone will get us through this tragic pandemic, nor do we think the better angels of our nature are predestined to be victorious. But as we wrestle with anxiety, every drop of hope is precious. We want to nurture it and share it.

- Damian Kulash of OK Go

#pls listen to this song its very sweet #illness//#coronavirus #covid 19 #hope #positivity #ok go #music #video #Youtube

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buzzdixonwriter · 5 years ago

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You Don’t Say

For me, one of the unforeseen benefits of Facebook and other social media is that it gives me a chance to do rough drafts of ideas, assembling my thoughts and getting feedback before committing to more permanent form.

And sometimes, like asteroids colliding in space, two separate ideas / posts slam into one another and either create something new and unexpected, or else shatter themselves and reveal interesting aspects of their nature heretofore hidden from view.

That happened recently with a pair of Facebook posts I made on Dennis Prager and Harlan Ellison.

Let’s get the turd out of our mouth first.

. . .

Dennis Prager is a purveyor of herpetology lubricants admired by many on the right-leaning-nazi side of the spectrum, primarily because he keeps his mouth closed when chewing. Half of what he says is repackaged self-evident truths of the “Don’t eat the yellow snow” variety, a quarter is opinions that if not startling original are at least not genuinely harmful, and the remain quarter is egregious bullshit for which he deserves a public pants down spanking.

Hmm, what? Oh, yes; purely metaphorically, of course.

I long since wrote off Prager as a. utterer of inanities, but recently his turdmongering was forced on my attention by someone who posted a link to Prager’s argument that the “left” (i.e., basically anybody who thinks Auschwitz was a Bad Idea) is inflicting harm on both the American body politic and the universe at large by denying people like Prager the right to drop the N-bomb whenever they feel like it.

As some of you no doubt already knew, Prager is a member of what polite bigots used to refer to as “those of the Hebrew persuasion”.

That a person from an ethnicity that historically suffered hatred so vicious and specifically targeted that a special word had to be created for it (“anti-Semitism” because the original word -- “Jew-hatred” -- was too damned ugly even for bigots to use) now has his knickers in a twist because he’s “not allowed” to use the only other word of equal or greater impact -- also coined specifically by oppressors for expressing unrestrained hate and contempt against those oppressed -- is so rich in irony that all I can do is swipe a phrase from Jim Wright over at Stonekettle Station and say Dennis Prager has “all the self-awareness of a dog licking its own asshole in the middle of the street”.

First off, he’s lying: Neither the “left” nor American law prevents him from dropping the N-bomb whenever he feels like it and I invite him to go down to the intersection of Normandie and Florence in South Central and drop it at the top of his lungs for as long as he is able and please make sure to take plenty of video recorders along because I really wanna see what happens next.

Second, why the fuck would you want to say that? Seriously, other than in an evidentiary context (a cop giving testimony in court, a journalist reporting what some bigoted politician says, etc.), who today gains anything from repeating the word other than inflicting unjustified distress on people who have done nothing to deserve it?

(This is the point where a bunch of alt-right trolls are gonna jump up and say “but whatabout all the times when black people say it?” and to those trolls I’m gonna say STFU & STFD; if you can’t grasp the difference in context then you’re too damned stupid to be allowed out in public except at the end of a leash and with a ball gag in your mouth.)

It’s a word specifically created and designed to be used to brutally oppress people who did nothing to deserve that brutal oppression. Why would anybody outside that group use it except to participate in that brutal oppression?

. . .

Least there sit any in the cheap seats who presume the above rant was targeted at Dennis Prager simply because he was Jewish, guess again, ya yutzes.

Few writers enjoyed as brilliant and as incendiary a career as Harlan Ellison, and I count myself privileged to have been one of his friends.

Ellison, as many of you know, also was Jewish, a damned tough little bastard, singled out for hatred and abuse as the only Jewish child in his backwater Ohio school, growing up with nerves & balls of chromium, a bona fide Army Ranger, and a writer so honest and fearless that when he wrote about juvenile delinquency in the 1950s he did so by infiltrating and joining a street gang to get first hand experience and insight on the kids who ran in that crowd (and as icing on the cake, James Caan played him in the TV version!).

Top that, Dennis.

Harlan’s electric eclectic career features many highpoints, but the one I want to focus on is his brief 4-year run as TV critic for the legendary Los Angeles Free Press (a.k.a. The Freep) from 1968 to 1972.

What’s interesting is that Harlan did this while at the same time at the height of his demand as a TV writer.

You got any idea how hard it is to make a living while you’re gnawing on the hand that feeds you?

Harlan may have been crazy, but damn it, he was honest.

Back to the issue at hand.

Recently I’ve been re-reading his TV criticism columns, collected in two volumes, The Glass Teat and The Other Glass Teat.

The depressing thing is that all the evil we see today was in place back in those days, and the same smug pious frauds and their dimbulb marks kept congratulating themselves how wonderful they were as things continued to spiral out of control.

Oh, we've had good moments when we made changes that improved the lot of people who'd previously been marginalized, but the core cancer is still there. Harlan was no cock-eyed sentimentalist -- he was often filled with anger and could vent it spectacularly at deserving targets -- but he did have hope that somehow we could keep nudging the ball further towards the goal lines.

The columns make fascinating reading; they are nowhere near as dated as one might suspect. Sometimes they offer diamond-like brilliant dissections of a particular instant in the cultural gestalt, other times they examine the unseen (well, to most audiences, that is) tides of Hollywood that shape our media, sometimes he turns his attention to bear on seemingly insignificant and forgotten local programming only to show with McLuhan-esque clarity how that tiny piece of seemingly insignificant fluff is symptomatic of a much wider, much vaster, and far more serious problem.

One entry caught my eye in particular, the March 7, 1969 column on a failed ABC pilot called Those Were The Days.

Harlan sat in the studio audience watching the taping of that pilot, and his column praised the courage and insight of producers Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin, the brilliant performances of Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton, and the raw honesty of the pilot’s sharp comedy and writing.

Those of you not in the cheap seats have already realized this was the second failed pilot for what would eventually become All In The Family over at CBS (there was an even earlier original pilot called Justice For All back when Archie and Edith’s last name was Justice, not Bunker.)

I remember the hoopla when All In The Family finally aired in January of 1971 as a mid-season replacement.

You might count Archie Bunker as the white Dolemite insofar as the comedy sprang from the shock of all the crude and vulgar things he said.

Lear and Yorkin were mocking that mindset, belittling bigotry, exposing the Babbittry of millions of “good” Americans who lacked either the self-awareness or the courage to take a long introspective look at themselves and realize how badly they were failing as citizens of this country.

Audiences weren’t supposed to like Archie Bunker.

And that’s where Lear and Yorkin made their fatal mistake.

No, audiences didn’t like Archie.

They loved him.

. . .

Asteroids collide, and sometimes they form new planets, and sometimes they shatter and expose what lies beneath.

Prager’s modern day Babbittry crashed into Harlan’s half-century old anti-Babbittry, and from the explosion a stark truth revealed itself.

It’s almost impossible to make an outlaw a villain in popular media.

No matter how many banks they rob, stages they hold up, sheriffs they shoot, the mere fact that somebody wrote a song / dime novel / movie about ‘em makes them into heroes.

Demi-gods.

People to be admired.

Emulated.

Professional wrestling knows this.

You can never be so big a heel that you won’t have a legion of followers.

And you can turn a heel into a baby face in the blink of an eye and none of the fans will remember the despicable acts the wrassler did just last week.

You put an Archie Bunker on TV, you do not get millions of people to recognize themselves in his hateful / hurtful behavior and change their ways.

Oh, hell no; you get millions of people to applaud him for saying and doing what they say and do in private.

And now that it’s all big and bold and brassy on TV, why it becomes even easier to say it in the privacy of your own home, then over the fence with the neighbors, then in the bar down the street, then on the street itself, and then against people who have done you no harm, who have committed no sin other than the heinous crime of not being exactly like you.

I remember watching and liking All In The Family when it first came on because I, like millions of other Americans, got the joke: Archie was no hero.

But it wasn’t long before the voices cheering Archie began to drown out the voices laughing at him.

Lear and Yorkin tried undoing their damage with Maude and The Jeffersons and Good Times and other spinoff shows, but the bigot was out of the bottle.

Archie Bunker, even though written in a way to ridicule his use of bigotry and stereotypes, became a champion and defender of those who clung to said bigotry and stereotypes.

So tell me again why you want to drop that N-bomb, Dennis.

Explain to me -- even while you talk out of both sides of your mouth and claim even if everybody can use they word maybe they shouldn’t use the word -- how that does anything to help anybody…

…other than bigots and hate mongers.

Your argument is as circular as the thumb and forefinger gesture white supremacists use to signal one another, a gesture deliberately chosen because it lets them transgress openly by lying about the truth meaning of their gesture.

And Harlan, you were right about Those Were The Days as it began evolving into All In The Family. Absolutely brilliant -- but absolutely deadly.

Not airing All In The Family wouldn’t have eliminated racial / ethnic / sexual prejudice in the United States…

…but it would have denied those ideas a voice.

The narcissist always proclaims, “I don’t care what they say about me so long as they spell my name right.”

Well, that’s what we got with Archie Bunker.

None of the bigots cared if we made fun of their ideas…

…just so long as they got their ideas out there.

Because ideas are made legitimate by their presence.

Now clearly, this is a bade that cuts both ways.

Ideas once unthinkable -- liberty and justice for all in the form of racial and gender equality, f’r instance -- need to be championed in public.

But we need to shout down and stamp out the bad ideas.

The United States took their foot off the neck of the defeated white racists after the end of the Civil War, and as a result jim crow came roaring back, and things did not change for millions of Americans for another entire century.

We allowed bigots and hate mongers and slavers to be whitewashed and glorified and forgiven for their crimes against humanity…

…and in the process we allowed them to continue victimizing African-Americans more and more.

Every song about the Ol’ South, every novel glorifying plantation life, every movie showing happy field hands, every statue commemorating murderous traitors as men of honor and principle, every single iteration of that idea made millions of people’s suffering not just possible but inevitable.

. . .

Now this is the point where the alt-right trolls are gonna jump up and ask “did you ever drop the N-word?”

Not in casual conversation, no.

I was born and raised in the South (Appalachia, mostly); my father’s side of the family were almost all Southerners.

Almost all.

My paternal grandmother was born and raised in New Jersey and met my grandfather when both served in the U.S. Army medical corps in WWI. When my grandfather died in his 40s, my grandmother originally moved back to New Jersey, but her three children (dad and two aunts) felt heartbroken at having to leave their Southern cousins and friends behind so even though she carried no particular love for the South, my grandmother moved her family back and stayed there for the most of her life (she and one of my aunts moved out to California to be near us, but that’s another story for another post).

One thing my grandmother absolutely refused to tolerate was use of the N-bomb anywhere near her, especially under her roof or in the homes of her children.

This included both the -er and -ra variants, because Southern racists who didn’t want to appear as uncultured and as boorish and as bigoted as their backwoods cousins preferred the second pronunciation because they could claim they were actually speaking respectfully about “colored people”.

So I grew up in the rare white Southern home where the N-bomb merely wasn’t used, it was actually denounced as wrong.

Now, don’t go thinking my grandmother was some great paragon of virtue; she wasn’t (she was hell on wheels, in fact, but that’s another story for another post).

But she did recognize there was something wrong with the use of the N-bomb, and whether she demanded her children never use it in any form to keep them from appearing to be boorish, bigoted louts, or whether she just thought it was simple good manners of the golden rule variety not to use it, I dunno.

But I do know we never used it, and when my parents heard our neighbors or schoolmates use it, we were reminded in no uncertain terms that we were never to use it.

But that doesn’t mean I haven’t used it.

A couple of decades ago I wrote a screenplay based on the life of Robert Smalls, in particular his incredible escape from Civil War Charleston by hijacking a Confederate gunboat and sailing it right past Ft. Sumter to join the Union fleet, bringing his wife and several other escaping African-Americans with him.

As a skilled harbor pilot, Smalls enjoyed certain privileges other enslaved African-Americans didn’t.

For example, he was allowed to go about the streets of Charleston unescorted…

…provided he wore a big diamond shaped brass tag around his neck.

Like a dog.

The tag indicated to slave catcher patrols that he was one of the “good” ones, that he could be trusted because he was helping his masters in their struggle against the Union by guiding blockade runners into the safety of Charleston harbor.

But knowing Southerners the way I do, and knowing the kind of low class good ol’ boy types they recruited for such jobs, I couldn’t imagine the slave catcher patrols being particularly courteous to him, even when they knew they had to let him pass because clearly he had the protection of some high positioned muckamuck.

And I could easily imagine them flinging the N-bomb at him with great glee, taunting him, daring him to act “uppity” so they could beat the crap out of him and teach him some manners and remind him of his place.

So I used the word in their dialog in my script.

Would I use that word today?

Probably not.

It’s not that crucial to the story, and if the viewer doesn’t grasp the concept that these are bigoted bully scum from their actions and attitude, then I’ve failed my job as a writer.

Have I ever quoted people who dropped the N-bomb?

Yeah, I have, in the past.

I’ve quoted Richard Pryor and Blazing Saddles and Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction.

I would excuse it then as the aforementioned evidentiary context but ya know what? I don’t quote those lines anymore.

I still think Pryor is hilarious and will recommend his routines to anyone I think might be interested, but he as a member of the African-American community at large (because like any other ethnic group, African-Americans have numerous sub-cultures and sub-communities among them), he could say things in a way neither I nor any other white person could say them.

(And, yeah, there’s a big debate going on to this very day among African-Americans about the appropriateness of that word and you know what? Whatever decision African-Americans reach for themselves is their business and should not involve any input whatsoever from we white folk; we not only can’t use the word, we can’t even comment on how they choose to use it. Period. Full stop.)

Blazing Saddles when it came out used the N-bomb to be deliberately transgressive, to make a sympathetic point re how unfairly African-Americans were treated.

All well and good.

But nine years earlier there had been a movie called A Patch Of Blue and while it wasn’t a raucous comedy like Blazing Saddles it tried making a point about race relations in America and it was a really. Really good movie and it made some important points but today is virtually unwatchable not because of any flaws in it but because the times have changed.

Ditto Blazing Saddles.

We don’t need to approach the problem that way any more.

Quentin Tarantino? I really like what he does as a director and a screenwriter but his use of the N-bomb to show us how transgressive his characters are is really shallow. I have a strong feeling his movies are going to be considered embarrassingly passé’ in a generation or two, much the same way as benign-yet-stereotypical characters in 1940s movies render many of them passé’ today.

Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction lose nothing by changing the N-word to something else.

Maybe an argument could be made for its use in Django Unchained or The Hateful 8 but even there I think substituting another word wouldn’t significantly change the tenor or tone of either movie.

So I stop quoting those lines from Tarantino’s films, at least not fully.

I can admire his skill / talent / craft without signing off on his problematic elements.

Let me offer an analogy: If a creator can get the same dramatic effect by pretending to shoot somebody but not actually blasting them with a gun, then they can get the same dramatic effect by using something evocative of the N-bomb without actually dropping it.

(By the way, for those who may be curious, my mother was from Naples and a bona fide card carrying member of Mussolini’s Fascist Youth Brigade, but that’s another story for another post.)

. . .

We are plunging into a new cultural conflict -- and while I think there will be violence, I don’t see it being violence on the scale or level of political organization as the Civil War -- and we can only win by refusing to let the bigots and the hate mongers spew their bullshit in the marketplace of ideas.

There is no compromise with an oppressor.

Stand up to it every time you encounter it.

Make it unthinkable, never acceptable.

#racism #race relations #morals #ethics #Harlan Ellison #Dennis Prager #N-bomb

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verdigrisprowl · 6 years ago

Text

Sept 3 Dancitron Movie Night - Gotham 16-18

Prowl has to ask Soundwave to adjust what things he warns him for in the show.

He offered to help Soundwave figure out how to convert different units of payment his club might receive, Whirl accused Prowl of flirting, and Prowl had a minor crisis.

Prowl found out his alternate gave Soundwave Sentinel’s ugly mug. As in a drinking glass, not his face. Soundwave offered to give it to Prowl, and he turned it down—but sent a picture of it to Bonecrusher. As well as of a piece of MLP fanart Megatron painted. Bonecrusher almost died laughing.

Today NoodlesAtNight 7:27 pm *There's nothing much different than the usual, today - which is to say, Dancitron is back in full repair at last. And Soundwave's dancing a little until others arrive.* NoodlesAtNight 7:35 pm *All right, now he's risking cutting it too close. He'll make his way back toward the couch, abruptly stop, and drop into his seat with the usual grace.* MedicalMurdersaurus 7:38 pm *drops in with no grace, what even is grace, we just don't know* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 7:39 pm *here comes the dragon! she's out of the bells and mask, and she's got a cartful of her typical goodies today. looks like the scaring holiday is over.* Hello, Soundwave! Kelpy 7:39 pm [sidles in] Oh wow. Tis place is nice when it's not, you know. SCProwl 7:39 pm *arrives, takes usual seat* NoodlesAtNight 7:39 pm [[Greetings, Swoop, Dragon, Swerve. When it's not hanging half out of its own walls, you mean?]] NoodlesAtNight 7:40 pm [[Ah. You do not have your costume, dragon. On to the next festival, then?]] Kelpy 7:40 pm I did, yeah. Ha. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 7:40 pm When it comes, yes. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 7:41 pm But not for a while yet. Hatching is a busy time. I think we all need time to recover. MedicalMurdersaurus 7:41 pm Bird? :V NoodlesAtNight 7:42 pm [[Ahh. The tired moments when all you want to do is dive into a small hole and ignore all of existence. He understands.]] [[...It never occurred to him to ask how your bar survived - or didn't - the sparkeater cure. Is it...?]] //Ain't no Bird right now. She got a package to pick up.// Kelpy 7:43 pm OH! Yeah it uh. Got a bit trashed, but overall it was fine. Just had to replace some bottles of engex and one barrel exploded. NoodlesAtNight 7:44 pm *Somewhat alarmed. He blips and everything, sitting up.* [[Exploded? In fire, or apart?]] MedicalMurdersaurus 7:44 pm BOMB package?? :V SpecsTheSpectralDragon 7:44 pm *the dragon gives him an alarmed look too- she's had accidents with energon, but never a whole barrel!* Kelpy 7:44 pm Apart! Just expoded apart. NoodlesAtNight 7:45 pm *Soundwave rests back against his seat. Thank Primus. A whole barrelful would've been - well!* [[Have you been able to replace it?]] Kelpy 7:46 pm Yeah, Rodimus and Drift wrote it off as an Unavoidable Consequence Of Sparkeaters and compensated me the cost so we replaced it. Today NoodlesAtNight 7:47 pm [[Ah, good.]] *He's been mildly concerned about the damage done to the ship since then.* [[ And no, not a bomb package. A food package.]] MedicalMurdersaurus 7:47 pm *is endlessly disappointed by the lack of Bird but has a good time imagining her picking up a package that is BLATANTLY a wrapped up bomb* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 7:48 pm ...Why does she have a snack on a leash? NoodlesAtNight 7:48 pm ((starting in 10-15)) chronosmith 7:48 pm *trots on in, FIRST STOP? THE BAR. Once again, for the first time in a long time, Whirl comes bearing a gift: it's some kind of tin, with a hinged lid and four stubby legs. Very fancy. Almost certainly stolen* MedicalMurdersaurus 7:48 pm *throws himself across the nearest sofa, laying on whoever is unfortunate enough to be there* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 7:48 pm WHIRL! Hello! *fuzzy epaulette time* NoodlesAtNight 7:48 pm [[...The singer? He sees no leash.]] chronosmith 7:48 pm *the tin is placed, with much grandiosity, on the bar. And then he has an epaulette, EVEN MORE FANCY* chronosmith 7:49 pm Hey there, dragon. And, oh mister bartender, I bring you more exotic delicacies from beyond the stars. NoodlesAtNight 7:49 pm [[Other than the temptations he claims she serves.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 7:49 pm The singer had some sort of naked mammal thing on a leash at the beginning? NoodlesAtNight 7:50 pm [[Ah. He missed it. Greetings, Whirl.]] chronosmith 7:50 pm *bobs his head at Soundwave* Hey, mech. NoodlesAtNight 7:50 pm *Ravage peeps over the edge of the bar. He was trying to stay hidden tonight, but... well, he's interested.* Kelpy 7:50 pm She has a lot of belts. SCProwl 7:50 pm Maybe it was a pet. NoodlesAtNight 7:51 pm //Maybe she's really, REALLY scared of the short pants fallin' off.// Kelpy 7:51 pm Maybe. chronosmith 7:51 pm *inside the tin is a variety of mechafish caviar, which only further confirms that Whirl stole this from some kind of ritzy gathering* Been a while since I paid towards my tab. Kelpy 7:51 pm [there's a reflexive check that Ravage is whole when he sees him before he can actually catch himself] Kelpy 7:52 pm I feel like most of these humans don't dress the way everyone else does. NoodlesAtNight 7:52 pm *Ravage uses the claws at the tip of his feeler tail to open the tin and oh-so-gently sniffs at the contents. His optics widen almost immediately.* =Where...?= chronosmith 7:52 pm ((ohh i heard this song on the radio once, it's good)) MedicalMurdersaurus 7:52 pm ((I love the choreography and pastels of the video)) NoodlesAtNight 7:53 pm *Ravage certainly LOOKS whole. It's a tallish bar, and he's able to see over it.* chronosmith 7:53 pm I did a little bit of station-hopping for some parts, and there was this thing--preeetty sure it was a museum ribbon-cutting ceremony? or something? Well. As you know, I love museums, so very, very much. *Whirl is actually canonically banned from museums basically everywhere* NoodlesAtNight 7:53 pm ((same re: choreo/pastels)) chronosmith 7:53 pm And I ducked in, thought this smelled nice and weird, and thought 'hey, why not?' MedicalMurdersaurus 7:53 pm *was metaphorically conceived in a museum* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 7:54 pm *grins from atop Whirl's shoulder* Did you liberate it for the good of Ravage, Whirl? MedicalMurdersaurus 7:54 pm *sprawls across the back of a couch* chronosmith 7:54 pm Of course. I bring Ravage stuff all the time. Least I can do for my favorite bartender. ...no offense, Swerve. MedicalMurdersaurus 7:54 pm Us do FIGHT movie this time??? Kelpy 7:55 pm [amused. He finally remembers this is not his Ravage though. No need to worry about injuries] NoodlesAtNight 7:55 pm *Ravage considers the tin, looks at the bar, and pulls himself up more to glance at Soundwave, tail flicking. Can he? And Soundwave nods.* =Serve yourself. Four weeks.= *Ravage flicks the tin closed again, picks it up in his mouth SO GENTLY - odd, for such ferocious fangs - and hustles off to run it upstairs.* [[There is a little fighting, Swoop, but it is not a movie.]] MedicalMurdersaurus 7:56 pm No movie... Us watch WRESTLING! : > Today chronosmith 7:56 pm Nice. *by now he knows how to mix a Gaugebuster, and he will industrially get to work. Sorry, dragon, this stuff's fumes alone are probably like shoving a ghost pepper up one's nose* ((i'm that guy)) NoodlesAtNight 7:56 pm [[Primus, no. No wrestling.]] MedicalMurdersaurus 7:56 pm Boxing NoodlesAtNight 7:57 pm *Rumble sits up at the sight of the skateboard and points.* //WHAT WAS THAT 'N WHERE DO I GET ONE.// chronosmith 7:57 pm ((shame on all the radio edits that cut this part out)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 7:57 pm *the dragon churrs for a moment* Nasal rebreather. I can smell, but it won't be as bad. *the perks of having a dolphin-like respiratory system- she can eat AND have an internal rebreather* Kelpy 7:57 pm //i think i've heard it like. twice lmao NoodlesAtNight 7:58 pm ((but it's so good 😧 )) chronosmith 7:58 pm ((IT IS)) NoodlesAtNight 7:58 pm //Puh. You don't smell bad. Least, no worse'n most organics.// NoodlesAtNight 7:58 pm //...Swear that's supposed t'be a compliment.// chronosmith 7:59 pm *pauses to rotate his head around and huff some air over the dragon. Enjoy the impromptu breeze* NoodlesAtNight 7:59 pm ((FIVE MINUTES GRAB YER SNACKS AND YER HATS)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 7:59 pm ... *the dragon cackles* Compliment accepted, then! *!!! breeze! gets real poofy to get that nice windswept look.* chronosmith 8:00 pm *plucks up his drink, and gestures with his free claw* I've conducted extensive research, and I gotta concur with my beau over there. You don't smell too bad. *and now, it's couch time* NoodlesAtNight 8:00 pm *Soundwave grumbles internally. He likes this song. He likes the video. But that one human made him always connect the sound of it to the thought of Jazz. Why.* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:00 pm *scrambles over to be with Whirl* chronosmith 8:01 pm *do you want to be arranged upside-down again?* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:01 pm *always* chronosmith 8:01 pm *Once Whirl is settled, he will do so* Kelpy 8:01 pm I feel like that is absolutely not how jails work. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:02 pm *SQUEALS* NoodlesAtNight 8:02 pm [[Not ones run by Prowl, at least.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:02 pm I am a very clean organic, if I do say so myself. *this catlike tongue ain't for show!* Kelpy 8:02 pm [cackles] NoodlesAtNight 8:02 pm *Rumble sort of flattens in a weird position to avoid gangly pterolimbs* *He'll sit back up in a sec* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:03 pm *has a lot of very wiggly limbs, but isn't flailing with that much force so anyone who gets clonked in the face is probably fine, Rumble* NoodlesAtNight 8:03 pm ((last song)) Kelpy 8:03 pm //is that snoop dog NoodlesAtNight 8:04 pm ((yep)) Kelpy 8:04 pm //tegrbdfg i'm lasughing god i forgot what chat it was in but one of my chats suggested an au where swerve was voiced by snoop NoodlesAtNight 8:04 pm ((oh my god)) chronosmith 8:04 pm *there's a lot more Whirl taking up the couch, he will probably by the clonked* ((skdl BEAUTIFUL)) MedicalMurdersaurus 8:05 pm You Whirl tell Me Swoop a FIGHTING story! NoodlesAtNight 8:05 pm //He got the best ones.// MedicalMurdersaurus 8:06 pm Awesome : > //WAIT NO IT WASN'T SWERVE it was tarn. tarn voiced by snoop dog gfhbthgn Kelpy 8:06 pm //nicki minaj was for swerve chronosmith 8:06 pm *preens* Of course I do. Also-- *turns and bobs his helm. Official greeting for you at last, Rumble* Hmm... let me think of a good one. NoodlesAtNight 8:07 pm [[He must ask, dragon: why do organics consider themselves clean after they have licked themselves, but think other things are filthy when licked by someone or something?]] MedicalMurdersaurus 8:07 pm Me Swoop like fight story : > verdigrisprowl 8:07 pm *appears; sits* chronosmith 8:07 pm Yeah, I just got a lot of battles to choose from... hmm. Well, I'm not going to tell the story over the show, so I'll check back in with you afterwards. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:08 pm : < NoodlesAtNight 8:08 pm *Prowl has appeared right on the line. Soundwave bobs his helm in greeting and offers an affection ping hello.* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:08 pm That's actually an interesting question. For my species, our tongues are designed to clean our fur, and the slight touch of formic acid doesn't hurt. But our tongues aren't as sanitary as, ah, an autoclave. There's still germs, and such. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:09 pm Also, to be fair, if I were to wash my fur with water, I would run the risk of mildew. verdigrisprowl 8:09 pm *affection ping* NoodlesAtNight 8:09 pm [[The rotting substance?]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:09 pm It's mold, yes. NoodlesAtNight 8:10 pm *One moment. His attention is thoroughly on the-- ooh.* verdigrisprowl 8:10 pm ((she's very chill about discovering two scruffy children in her apartment)) Kelpy 8:10 pm OH. I never did catch up on what I missed while I was away the last two weeks, woops. NoodlesAtNight 8:10 pm ((i think she's lost all fucks to give)) verdigrisprowl 8:10 pm *oh--pings visuals to his alternate* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:10 pm *perks RIGHT up* Kelpy 8:10 pm //she really is MedicalMurdersaurus 8:10 pm Me Swoop like acrobat Them fun : > Kind of flying NoodlesAtNight 8:10 pm [[....FASCINATING. He did not know humans could do that.]] MedicalMurdersaurus 8:10 pm trick stuff! verdigrisprowl 8:10 pm *... and briefly pings visuals to soundwave, too, so he can watch Prowl's HUD analysis of the acrobats.* SCProwl 8:11 pm *accepts with a thank you ping* NoodlesAtNight 8:11 pm *OOOOOOH. He'll just - there's a series of tiny clicks while his fans keep trying to start and getting killed off.* SCProwl 8:11 pm *just in time for the fight oh yeah* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:11 pm ... *blinks* I hope he didn't ruin his date. NoodlesAtNight 8:11 pm [[You will gather much of it from watching, Swerve, but if you have questions that need answering, he will assist you.]] NoodlesAtNight 8:12 pm //Uh-oh.// chronosmith 8:12 pm *snickers* NoodlesAtNight 8:12 pm //...Well, THAT ain't gonna be good for business.// SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:12 pm *snickers* Aw, hatchling loyalty. chronosmith 8:12 pm You know, he gave that big spiel weeks ago, about finding what drives people, right? What they live for? He should be careful about making HIS so obvious. Kelpy 8:12 pm Thanks! SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:12 pm I know, right. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:13 pm It's like shining a spotlight on a gaping, infected wound. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:13 pm *looks at Whirl upside down* What spIEL? chronosmith 8:13 pm You asking what a spiel IS, or what the spiel was? MedicalMurdersaurus 8:13 pm Yah NoodlesAtNight 8:13 pm [[There's a snake human?]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:13 pm I want to see the snake human. verdigrisprowl 8:14 pm ((i'm not sure what a "snake dancer" is but as long as it isn't a snake charmer it sounds Amazing)) chronosmith 8:14 pm ((balroom dancing with a reticulated python in a bowtie)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:14 pm ((dances with snakes, if the Renfest is anything to go by)) Kelpy 8:14 pm //omg MedicalMurdersaurus 8:14 pm ((adorable)) NoodlesAtNight 8:14 pm ((basically dancing in skimpy clothes with a python all up on you)) verdigrisprowl 8:14 pm ((omfg)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:14 pm ((the local renfest has a gal with a pair of ball pythons)) verdigrisprowl 8:14 pm ((... why are the snakes in a cage with bars wider than the snakes)) NoodlesAtNight 8:15 pm [[Hm. Her son looks fully human.]] chronosmith 8:15 pm ((i have one (1) python, and he is a dear, but I can't dance.)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:15 pm ((sunny's an albino and shane is a normal)) Is Sheba an aunt? NoodlesAtNight 8:15 pm *...."Sure as eggs." He has to remember that phrase.* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:15 pm *snickers* chronosmith 8:15 pm big beb)) NoodlesAtNight 8:15 pm [[...She's going to get away.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:15 pm *the dragon coos in delighted fascination* Look at that! verdigrisprowl 8:15 pm ... What kind of party would involve placing... "knickers"? in handbags? Kelpy 8:16 pm "let her out" he says when there's probably nothing keeping her in. They know snakes are escape artists right>? SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:16 pm A great big wriggler. chronosmith 8:16 pm ((also I got the type of snake correct yaaay)) verdigrisprowl 8:16 pm Knickers are underwear, right? NoodlesAtNight 8:16 pm [[Perhaps it is a party fav-- oh.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:16 pm Oh no. verdigrisprowl 8:16 pm Unusual party favor. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:16 pm KAHA! Dead! SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:16 pm Hm, she has scales. NoodlesAtNight 8:16 pm [[It could be an interface par-- well, there she is.]] verdigrisprowl 8:16 pm The ringleader knew about it. Kelpy 8:16 pm That's the fakest crying I've ever seen NoodlesAtNight 8:17 pm *Soundwave glances at him.* [[How did you know he knew?]] chronosmith 8:17 pm ((god i love u mooney)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:17 pm No surprise. Organic bodies reek. SCProwl 8:17 pm ((she's the best <3 verdigrisprowl 8:17 pm Because he was so obstructive to the investigation. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:17 pm He should have been shocked by the odor. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:17 pm Her, uhhh.... Her Lady is King? Queen. NoodlesAtNight 8:17 pm *Slow nod. Makes sense. ... Also:* [[This is - familiar.]] //The Fish lady? She ain't Queen. Wanted to be.// NoodlesAtNight 8:18 pm //Now she's just Queen of th' room.// MedicalMurdersaurus 8:18 pm Them listen So chronosmith 8:18 pm She sure knows how to take charge. *toasts the screen, and takes abig draught* Kelpy 8:18 pm Standing on people. chronosmith 8:18 pm I just like her more and more. NoodlesAtNight 8:18 pm [[Yes. Yes, she does.]] [[Though Swerve makes a point.]] chronosmith 8:18 pm Yeah--that just makes her even MORE badass. Kelpy 8:19 pm ...Aren't they graysons where he gets Robin? MedicalMurdersaurus 8:19 pm *is bored by all this not-Bird talking and looks over at Whirl* verdigrisprowl 8:19 pm ... They could have taken their costumes off first. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:19 pm They could have, but this is funny. NoodlesAtNight 8:20 pm //Yeah! The Graysons are, uh... well, I guess they ain't got him yet.// Kelpy 8:20 pm Huh. Yeah I guess not. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:20 pm Also, child, I doubt hatchling loyalty is a very great way to assist an investigation. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:20 pm *tries to stick a finger in the rotor on Whirl's arm* Kelpy 8:21 pm Wait so they hate each other, but run a circus together. chronosmith 8:21 pm *without looking, Whirl just raises his arm out of reach slowly, deliberately* Sonar, mech. You'll have to do better than that. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:22 pm *snickers and keeps reaching until his arm is stretched all the way out* NoodlesAtNight 8:22 pm *Soundwave folds his hands and rests his chin on them.* verdigrisprowl 8:22 pm They're employed together, at least. chronosmith 8:22 pm *watching closely* Kelpy 8:22 pm So, I take it that the Don caught Mooney in her plans in the two weeks I was gone? SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:23 pm ((sorry, catto pressed the power button)) NoodlesAtNight 8:23 pm [[Oh, yes. Yes, he did. He found out about her mole, killed the mole, and chased her out.]] Kelpy 8:23 pm Oh man. Shame. NoodlesAtNight 8:23 pm [[She was captured and kidnapped on her boat away from the city.]] Kelpy 8:23 pm Heck. chronosmith 8:24 pm I can appreciate that. Getting yourself killed so someone else can't use you. Kelpy 8:24 pm Oh. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:24 pm *grabs for Whirl's side in a flash, giggling all the way* NoodlesAtNight 8:24 pm //Brave human. Probably better'n what was waitin'.// chronosmith 8:24 pm Yeah. chronosmith 8:25 pm And it's better t--*lifts his arm, swiveling to look down at Swoop* Hey, Quit it. No touching. NoodlesAtNight 8:25 pm [[Coward.]] MedicalMurdersaurus 8:25 pm *grins from audio to audio* NoodlesAtNight 8:25 pm [[But that's to be expected.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:25 pm Of course. He knows they'd kill him. chronosmith 8:25 pm And yeah. better for your last act to be a big frag-you to the people that got em captured. NoodlesAtNight 8:25 pm [[And he would deserve it.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:25 pm He would. verdigrisprowl 8:26 pm They wouldn't kill him unless she was killed. And he knows full well she'd be killed. Kelpy 8:26 pm Rip that guy. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:26 pm *reaches to touch the nearest bit of Whirl with the very tippy tip of a claw* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:26 pm Riddling human! verdigrisprowl 8:26 pm Probable crime of passion. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:26 pm Aw, poor riddling human. He got interrupted. NoodlesAtNight 8:27 pm [[...The killing of the cell keep - oh, no. These two. Yes, he imagines so.]] chronosmith 8:27 pm *sighs. Offers the gaugebuster to Rumble* Would you mind holding this? NoodlesAtNight 8:27 pm [[It is a common thread in human media.]] MedicalMurdersaurus 8:27 pm : > NoodlesAtNight 8:27 pm //Sure, mech.// *Takes hold of it.* Kelpy 8:27 pm I'm assuming new girlfriend. verdigrisprowl 8:27 pm Good policy—not guessing. chronosmith 8:27 pm *now that he has both claws free, he turns, clamps one aroung Swoop's middle claw-machine-style, lifts him bodily, stands, and begins to carry him across the room* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:28 pm *SHRIEKS with laughter and looks at the room upside down* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:28 pm This man is a clown. NoodlesAtNight 8:28 pm @P: [[He hopes you have never hoped that he would mix you a dinner. He is... not accomplished at that type of thing.]] *Pause.* [[But if at some point you wish to go somewhere to have one, he would be open to that. You are, of course, not obligated to agree.]] verdigrisprowl 8:29 pm "Iron sisters." Probably a statue. SCProwl 8:29 pm Buildings perhaps? chronosmith 8:29 pm *with great aplomb, places Swoop atop a table. Pauses, and the adjusts him so his head is dangling off and he can keep watching upside-down* *and then turns to trot back to the couch* NoodlesAtNight 8:29 pm *Soundwave isn't going to interrupt Whirl and Swoop unless someone starts screaming in pain. In the meantime, if he rolls his eyes any harder behind his mask they'll dislodge and get stuck.* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:29 pm *kicks his legs with lots of enthusiasm but no real aim* NoodlesAtNight 8:30 pm *What a fraud that psychic is. As bad as the one in the 99 Brooklyns records.* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:30 pm *is all grins* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:30 pm I hope that he finds his way back to the clowns alright. NoodlesAtNight 8:30 pm *Soundwave huffs.* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:30 pm *throws his arms over his head and pushes off the table with his wings just enough to get him tipping off the edge into a handstand and then flipping back upright* NoodlesAtNight 8:30 pm [[If he can't, perhaps he can use the snake.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:30 pm *the dragon loses it laughing* verdigrisprowl 8:30 pm @S «I won't ask you to mix me dinner if you don't ask me to mix you one. ... I think we'd make a poor dinner date, anyway. You with your mask on and me without a fuel tank.» chronosmith 8:31 pm Heart and Soul, eh? What a CHALLENGING piece. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:31 pm *sorry Whirl, don't mind the dragon claws. that was a really funny joke* Kelpy 8:31 pm ... Didn't she ditch him to get laid with her other ex? Is she trying to win him back NoodlesAtNight 8:31 pm @P: [[There are always fuel line injectors. Or transport containers. But he sees your point.]] chronosmith 8:31 pm *he will barely be able to feel it, you and your claws are fine* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:32 pm *cartwheels back over to the sofa* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:32 pm *the dragon finally stops laughing. at least, cackling loudly.* chronosmith 8:32 pm *peers owlishly at Swoop* Knock it off. verdigrisprowl 8:33 pm @S «... Do you /want/ to go on a date? In public?» MedicalMurdersaurus 8:33 pm *grins* What NoodlesAtNight 8:33 pm //She ditched him on account of she couldn't take bein' scared of his work. Other lady ditched her cause she went all drugs-filled again. Misses him now.// chronosmith 8:33 pm Thanks, Rumble. *he will take that drink back--and tilts his head, optic slitting slyly* Sure you don't want a sip? SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:33 pm ...she actually convinced him to do this. Kelpy 8:33 pm But he's already moved on from the looks of it. NoodlesAtNight 8:33 pm @P: [[Not unless and/or until you are eventually comfortable with the idea. Simply covering his alternative bases.]] NoodlesAtNight 8:34 pm //Wha, me?// Kelpy 8:34 pm There's gonna b e a clue NoodlesAtNight 8:34 pm [[Yes, he's very much moved on.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:34 pm Oh. Oh, my. chronosmith 8:35 pm Yep. ...I know you know what this tastes like. Kelpy 8:35 pm Oof. verdigrisprowl 8:35 pm @S «Hm. Noted.» chronosmith 8:35 pm You're the one who showed me the brew, after all. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:35 pm *climbs up to perch on the back of the couch* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:35 pm *groans* Get to solving the murder- huh? She? Huh? NoodlesAtNight 8:35 pm *It's an idea he's curious about, not much more. It can wait, or be a thing that never happens.* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:36 pm *was that almost an apology? are they discussing their feelings in a mature way?* NoodlesAtNight 8:36 pm //Oh, nah. Don't wanna get fendered tonight. Thanks, though.// chronosmith 8:36 pm ((she's so cute im dying)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:36 pm ((she issssssss)) NoodlesAtNight 8:36 pm *Why on Cybertron would Whirl think he'd want a sip of THAT?* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:36 pm ((Lee 4 ever)) chronosmith 8:37 pm *salutes* I'll get fendered enough for the both of us. SCProwl 8:37 pm ((Lee's so great MedicalMurdersaurus 8:37 pm *is playing gargoyle on the back of the sofa* NoodlesAtNight 8:37 pm //Heh. Gonna take a lot. I ain't a lightweight.// Kelpy 8:37 pm We should test that sometime. NoodlesAtNight 8:37 pm [[...He expects there are not many relics like the Star Saber in the human world.]] chronosmith 8:37 pm *tilts head* You know, I don't think we've ever just gone drinking. We should. Kelpy 8:37 pm Which of us can get drunk last verdigrisprowl 8:37 pm ... It's not "hypocritical" to want someone in your life who accepts the dangerous things you, do but doesn't forcibly shove themself into your job and try to get involved in the danger. NoodlesAtNight 8:38 pm [[Especially after what happened with his last mate in that vein.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:38 pm Oooh, that was a facial twitch. NoodlesAtNight 8:38 pm //I dunno I'd take the bet, but I'd enjoy joinin' it.// SCProwl 8:38 pm Ah. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:38 pm Like he bit into an unfermented seaskitter. chronosmith 8:38 pm And Swerve--HELL yeah. Kelpy 8:38 pm Would be real fun Kelpy 8:39 pm Oh. Ohhhh. SCProwl 8:39 pm *sits forward to see how this plays out* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:40 pm So, then. Why- oh. Oh, one of these. NoodlesAtNight 8:40 pm [[...His voice changed.]] Kelpy 8:40 pm He's crazy. chronosmith 8:40 pm Yeah. Props to the actor, honestly. verdigrisprowl 8:40 pm ((i was meaning to ask earlier but now i'm more certain)) verdigrisprowl 8:41 pm ((was this originally supposed to be the joker's origin story)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:41 pm Humans have their myths, dragons have ours, but why do some always go the same way? ((yes)) NoodlesAtNight 8:41 pm ((yes/no)) verdigrisprowl 8:41 pm ((because he does a good joker face)) Kelpy 8:41 pm //is he the joker thbyfhgn NoodlesAtNight 8:41 pm ((this is not the end of jerome's story. jerome is a piece of the joker. jerome is not the joker.)) verdigrisprowl 8:41 pm ((he's kind of jack nicholson)) chronosmith 8:41 pm ((he does. and i'm with whirl I'm honestly impressed)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:41 pm ((he's a pale redhead with a thing about jokes)) ((I'm convinced, tbh)) Kelpy 8:42 pm //oh my god chronosmith 8:42 pm Okay so. Sometime, me, Swerve, and you--*nods to Rumble* Drink-a-thon? MedicalMurdersaurus 8:42 pm *doesn't know what we're laughing at but laughs anyway* Kelpy 8:42 pm YEah. verdigrisprowl 8:42 pm She shouldn't have been in that room. No matter how curious or excited she was. It's inappropriate. chronosmith 8:42 pm ((PFFT. THAT WAS A GOOD ASS LINE)) NoodlesAtNight 8:43 pm //Pit yeah. Long's I got time to work without a hangover, heh.// verdigrisprowl 8:43 pm ((IT WAS)) chronosmith 8:43 pm ((thank you gotham)) NoodlesAtNight 8:43 pm [[Is she not considered part of the police? She works with them.]] //Oh. Oh, frag. That's gotta hurt.// verdigrisprowl 8:43 pm She's a civilian employee. She's not an officer. Kelpy 8:43 pm Woop chronosmith 8:43 pm Eh. No sympathy. verdigrisprowl 8:43 pm Not everyone who works inside a police department is police. Kelpy 8:43 pm Did she... really expect him to sit around waiting for her to come back? chronosmith 8:43 pm SHE left HIm. And it wans't like she was broken up or anything. SCProwl 8:44 pm He's not wrong. verdigrisprowl 8:44 pm *... is this the scene he was warned ab-- yes it is.* NoodlesAtNight 8:44 pm [[Of course he doesn't. The music alone - it's the wrong environment for that.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:44 pm ...What's with him? Oh. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:45 pm That's what's wrong with him. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:45 pm ((penguin freckles <3 )) NoodlesAtNight 8:45 pm ((THE FRECKLESSS)) chronosmith 8:45 pm ((i never noticed how freckly--PFFT)) ((YEAH. I never noticed how freckley he was)) verdigrisprowl 8:45 pm ((he's incredibly freckly)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:45 pm ... Urk. Kelpy 8:45 pm //i feel like he didn't have that many before but vhbthb my memory's terrible lmao verdigrisprowl 8:45 pm *that was hard.* verdigrisprowl 8:46 pm *to watch.* SCProwl 8:46 pm ((apparently the freckles are a side effect of the makeup involved to blend the fake nose with the rest of his face verdigrisprowl 8:46 pm ((omg the doodles)) NoodlesAtNight 8:46 pm *Soundwave will casually readjust to sit with one arm in grabbing range near Prowl's leg, and one arm resting on his lap. Something Prowl can take if he wants it, or ignore if he doesn't.* chronosmith 8:46 pm Pfft. I like this kid's chutzpah. NoodlesAtNight 8:47 pm ((on his own lap. he didn't put his arm on prowl's lap)) chronosmith 8:47 pm ((an exotic new pet--Soundwave's Arm!)) MedicalMurdersaurus 8:47 pm hood-spa verdigrisprowl 8:47 pm ((all those business people in the room like "oh wow this six-year-old is calling us out")) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:47 pm A happy ending? SCProwl 8:47 pm ((noooo, you have to name your son Dick, it's still honoring Jim SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:47 pm ((does harvey think that women don't have razors)) NoodlesAtNight 8:47 pm [[The Bruce youngling is already very good at using his age to surprise his enemies. How promising.]] verdigrisprowl 8:47 pm *... sllllllowly snakes hand around soundwave's arm* chronosmith 8:48 pm Yeah! Letting them underestimate him. Kelpy 8:48 pm Don't be fooled. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:48 pm ((I love his little composition notebook)) ((like he goin to class) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:48 pm He might have learned from the cat human. NoodlesAtNight 8:48 pm //Oooh. A threat.// Kelpy 8:49 pm I assume his parents raised him to inherit the business, so these people shouldn't be surprised he knows how stuff works. NoodlesAtNight 8:49 pm *Soundwave oh so slowly squeezes against the hand once it's settled. He hopes Prowl is all right, beyond the need for that touch.* verdigrisprowl 8:49 pm Hm. Has the manager decided he's willing to sacrifice his agent? SCProwl 8:49 pm ((it's such a subtle nod to the fact that he's still a child in many respects SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:50 pm It seems so. NoodlesAtNight 8:50 pm [[She's very unlike the last 'boss'. It pays to know a potential enemy.]] chronosmith 8:50 pm ((I LOVE HEERRRR)) Heheh. Kelpy 8:50 pm Some wild hair. NoodlesAtNight 8:50 pm [[If he loses an agent, so be it. He could lose a business if not.]] [[...That is what he imagines the reasoning is, at least. It is what he has seen many, many times.]] Kelpy 8:51 pm .... I'd like some hair SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:51 pm Is this a robbery or a clown show. Is the circus still in town? NoodlesAtNight 8:51 pm [[And that,]] *pointing with his free hand* [[is a mistake. Easier tracking. Higher memorability.]] Kelpy 8:51 pm Idiot. He's grandstading, they're gonna get caught. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:52 pm KAHAHAHA chronosmith 8:52 pm What a LOUSY shot. MedicalMurdersaurus 8:52 pm Him miss verdigrisprowl 8:52 pm It's very possible that the prisoners are worth more than their guards to the boss. NoodlesAtNight 8:52 pm //I ain't seen a shot that bad since them movies about wars in the stars.// SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:52 pm What does he- oh. Kelpy 8:52 pm ...I'm that bad a shot. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:52 pm That. That would do it. NoodlesAtNight 8:52 pm [[...That's clever, though.]] chronosmith 8:52 pm Pfft. You're not wrong, Rumble. verdigrisprowl 8:52 pm Heh verdigrisprowl 8:53 pm Clever. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:53 pm Like giving isopods to the hatchlings. NoodlesAtNight 8:53 pm *This episode just reminds him of that post about bank robbers and DJs. He huffs softly.* MedicalMurdersaurus 8:53 pm *sliiiiiiiiiides onto the sofa* verdigrisprowl 8:53 pm ... But if I ever see that trick pulled in Iacon, all of you are on the suspect list. chronosmith 8:53 pm *nods to Prowl* And yeah. That's the thing with folks like that--once they get around to thinking people as, y'know, things? Possessions? Lots of times the next step is thinking of people as interchangeable. SCProwl 8:53 pm All of us? NoodlesAtNight 8:53 pm //On my honor, I ain't dumb enough to - uh, I mean. I won't. Promise.// SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:54 pm *blinks* *blinks again* chronosmith 8:54 pm Which, of course, they're not--a trained guard is plenty useful. But looks like Mooney understands that. NoodlesAtNight 8:54 pm [[Even you. It'd be only fair. You could use this as inspiration to hide your first foray into the world of crime.]] *Only half serious.* SCProwl 8:54 pm First? Kelpy 8:54 pm I'm not a criminal at all. Promise. NoodlesAtNight 8:55 pm [[Seven hundredth and third.]] chronosmith 8:55 pm No worries, Prowl, I make a point to spend the least amount of time in Starscream's Clown Town as possible. SCProwl 8:55 pm *huffs* NoodlesAtNight 8:55 pm *Rumble CACKLES at the name for Iacon* verdigrisprowl 8:55 pm I said all of you. NoodlesAtNight 8:55 pm [[...And what about YOU?]] *Turns head to peer around shoulder at V Prowl.* chronosmith 8:56 pm Yeah. *joins in the Prowl Peering* You've got the perfect cover. And the perfect poker face. ...well. ALMOST perfect. Second place. Kelpy 8:56 pm Who has the first? verdigrisprowl 8:56 pm *peers back at Soundwave. trying to decide whether he wants to be offended.* ... Well. That would be my /second/ foray into crime, wouldn't it? chronosmith 8:56 pm Me, of course. ...MAYBE Soundwave. But he doesn't have a face, so it doesn't count. Kelpy 8:56 pm Don't you--never mind. NoodlesAtNight 8:56 pm *Soundwave's still huffing. He doesn't really think Prowl would do that. Either of them.* chronosmith 8:57 pm If you're about to ask 'don't you NOT have a face' then, obviously, duh. I do. Idiot. *gestures grandly to his helm* Kelpy 8:57 pm [snorts[] MedicalMurdersaurus 8:57 pm *sloooooooooooowwwllly rolls around the sofa* Kelpy 8:58 pm She wasn't kidding about spare parts. NoodlesAtNight 8:58 pm @VP: [[Second? What, pray tell, was the first?]] *SNAPS TO ATTENTION* chronosmith 8:58 pm Not a bit. verdigrisprowl 8:58 pm @S «... I spent a year in jail for blowing up a space bridge, remember?» MedicalMurdersaurus 8:59 pm *tries to slooooooooowwwwllly touch the tip of his claw to the tip of Whirl's ped* Kelpy 8:59 pm ...I thought that said Megs SpecsTheSpectralDragon 8:59 pm Oh, a baby with a shotgun. Terrible idea. NoodlesAtNight 9:00 pm @VP: [[Ah! That. He was thinking along the lines of what is currently on the show.]] *A small shrug.* [[Bank robbing doesn't suit you, anyway. Much better keeping clean.]] *Pause.* [[Though he /does/ like red.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:00 pm No more shotgun baby. NoodlesAtNight 9:01 pm *Soundwave's plating ripples oh so slightly. Again.* chronosmith 9:01 pm *VERY SUDDENLY twists around to thrust his face into Swoop's face, unleashing a sharp hiss through his vents* What. Did. I tell you. ((THERE HE IIISSSS)) NoodlesAtNight 9:01 pm [[SWOOP. Desist at once or be thrown out.]] SCProwl 9:01 pm ((IT'S YOUR BOY, RATCHET! chronosmith 9:01 pm ((HERBERT WEST HIMSELF)) verdigrisprowl 9:01 pm @S «... I don't need to rob banks to wear red.» verdigrisprowl 9:02 pm *is this the other part he was warned about?* NoodlesAtNight 9:02 pm *No, not yet. That's not for a bit.* MedicalMurdersaurus 9:02 pm *puffs out his armor and sneers as a pure reflex reaction to someone getting up in his face* NoodlesAtNight 9:02 pm *This isn't the doctor. Only the manager.* Kelpy 9:02 pm I get the feeling that her idea of terms is to be allowed to live in luxury while he kills everyone else in the basement. NoodlesAtNight 9:02 pm @VP: [[He counts himself lucky on that point. You wear red quite well.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:02 pm She might do that. She might not. chronosmith 9:02 pm *turns away, taking a draught of his drink irritably* SCProwl 9:02 pm *starting to tense up* Kelpy 9:03 pm //is there anything i should be warned about with the doctor lmao SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:03 pm It might serve her needs better to have an army rather than a luxury. chronosmith 9:03 pm I would guess her terms are getting revenge. NoodlesAtNight 9:03 pm ((i'll side im you on here)) verdigrisprowl 9:03 pm *squeezes Soundwave's arm* MedicalMurdersaurus 9:03 pm *staaaares at Whirl while he moves his feet underneath him, gearing up to spring* NoodlesAtNight 9:04 pm *Squeezes it back.* chronosmith 9:05 pm *he's not looking at you, but he's watching you. ...sorta. You know how* PFFT. He's got priorities. MedicalMurdersaurus 9:05 pm *LAUNCHES himself at Whirl* NoodlesAtNight 9:06 pm *Rumble throws himself at Swoop.* MedicalMurdersaurus 9:06 pm !!! Kelpy 9:06 pm [yelps and ducks off the couch] chronosmith 9:06 pm *twists and joins in, grabbing swoop* You're damn lucky I can't bridge unless I'm flyin'. NoodlesAtNight 9:06 pm *And Soundwave's up off the couch.* chronosmith 9:06 pm *YOU GOT THE CLAMPS, SWOOP. CLAMPED* MedicalMurdersaurus 9:06 pm ((speaking japanese)) verdigrisprowl 9:07 pm *whoop there goes the arm he was holding* NoodlesAtNight 9:07 pm *Not by much. His arm is very long.* [[HE can bridge without flying.]] @W: [[Count to three and drop Swoop. There will be one beneath him.]] NoodlesAtNight 9:08 pm *Rumble hops off.* MedicalMurdersaurus 9:08 pm *misses all this conversation while trying to wrestle Rumble and be upside down and convince Whirl to wrestle* *it's a hard knock life* Kelpy 9:08 pm That guy's creepy. [wriggles away from the couch for whatever's about to happen] chronosmith 9:09 pm *counts, lifts Swoop a little, and then drops, on three* NoodlesAtNight 9:09 pm *FWOOSH and Swoop is out of here* MedicalMurdersaurus 9:09 pm *squeals all the way down back to the Ark* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:09 pm *the dragon pats Whirl, very gently, on the shoulder* verdigrisprowl 9:09 pm This is a terrible way to train. chronosmith 9:09 pm ((i just imagined the scene from the lion king but with swoop)) MedicalMurdersaurus 9:09 pm ((excellent)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:10 pm I see broken bones in the future. chronosmith 9:10 pm Not necessarily. NoodlesAtNight 9:10 pm *Soundwave settles back in his seat and rearranges himself into nearly the exact position he was a moment ago. Back to arm proper instead of wrist holding.* @VP: [[His apologies.]] chronosmith 9:10 pm *likewise plops back down, and settles. Nudges Rumble in silent thank-you* NoodlesAtNight 9:10 pm //He ain't wrong about what's effective. Jus' sayin'.// chronosmith 9:10 pm ...*and then decides, well. He deserves a REAL one* Thanks, Rumble. NoodlesAtNight 9:10 pm [[What is terrible about it? This style of training?]] Kelpy 9:10 pm [settles back into his seat] I mean... Bad way to train, but not a bad lesson. verdigrisprowl 9:11 pm *he's wasn't going to stretch out to grab a wrist anyway.* @S «It's fine. Business called.» SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:11 pm It's ruthless. This docent doesn't seem to like ruthless. NoodlesAtNight 9:12 pm *Rumble glances up at Whirl, surprised. He sort of looks down at the ground, and then up again, one hand behind his head.* //...Yeah, sure. I mean - 'course. Said I got your back.// *Oh, that was awkward. But he tried.* verdigrisprowl 9:13 pm *... he obeys every order he's given but he looks so natural and effortless doing it. it's—so hard to watch.* Kelpy 9:13 pm She really is weirdly comfortable with two street kids. NoodlesAtNight 9:13 pm //Maybe. Ain't like she got no one else, I guess.// NoodlesAtNight 9:14 pm //Desperate company.// chronosmith 9:14 pm *Completely. But it's still appreciated. Neither of them can claim to be Lotharios* That you did. And you deliver. SCProwl 9:14 pm ((this scene always made me laugh because it's so obvious Selina's actress is wearing makeup SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:14 pm She's a poofy hatchling. All fluffed up. ...Should you teach that to hatchlings? chronosmith 9:15 pm Pfft. No, not THAT powerful, lady. Kelpy 9:15 pm ... chronosmith 9:15 pm Looks are nothing next to a good GUN. Kelpy 9:15 pm Ouch NoodlesAtNight 9:15 pm *Soundwave is surprised that Prowl hasn't blipped out, honestly. He's... glad the warnings seem to be helping. And that he better understands how to offer them.* NoodlesAtNight 9:16 pm [[Either he is not as able to identify humans as he thinks he is or those are NOT as alike as the Harvey human insists.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:16 pm They might be similar in the activities they got up to. Not in appearance. verdigrisprowl 9:16 pm *he IS squeezing tighter.* NoodlesAtNight 9:16 pm ((if you have a problem with eye horror this is a time you will want to listen only)) Kelpy 9:16 pm [covers his face quietly] SCProwl 9:17 pm *abruptly ends the visual feed* verdigrisprowl 9:18 pm ((DANG fish)) chronosmith 9:18 pm *LAUGHS* Holy SHIT Kelpy 9:18 pm [peeks quietly] NoodlesAtNight 9:18 pm *Perhaps, but he hasn't gone screaming out of the room, so to speak. Soundwave will squeeze back every time he gets his arm squished. Every time.* SCProwl 9:18 pm *shudders* chronosmith 9:18 pm THAT is how you DO it. Damn. What a power move. Gotta love how determined she is to deny her enemies EVERYTHING. Gotta. It's great. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:19 pm If you can't win them, break them. NoodlesAtNight 9:19 pm *If a thought could be breathless:* [[Such defiance.]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:19 pm *pff* verdigrisprowl 9:19 pm @S «On future nights, could I get a schedule for whenever that human is going to show up.» chronosmith 9:19 pm ((look at bruce's two new dads)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:19 pm ((a family can be two gay dads and batman)) chronosmith 9:20 pm *nods* Yeah. That's the level of frag-you we should all aspire to, honestly. Kelpy 9:21 pm Is this friendshiping going to sour NoodlesAtNight 9:21 pm @P: [[The Butch human?]] *Oh. Oh no. Was he not as thorough as he thought?* [[Yes, of course. Are you - of course you - that is a stupid question. Let him try again: Do you require anything else of him for your personal wellbeing at this moment, or later?]] SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:21 pm Being a docent is difficult. That's why you need training for it. verdigrisprowl 9:21 pm @S «Your arm will suffice for now.» verdigrisprowl 9:22 pm @S «... Thank you for... Thank you.» NoodlesAtNight 9:22 pm @P: [[You are welcome.]] verdigrisprowl 9:23 pm *tiny arm squeeze. this one's affectionate.* NoodlesAtNight 9:25 pm [[Yes. He has not been one himself, but he saw the work required to maintain the protoforms, recently. It is - he understands why they wanted him to know more before he helped more directly.]] Kelpy 9:25 pm This is a really unethical way of sourcing drinks. verdigrisprowl 9:25 pm *and THIS arm squeeze is because The Butch is back.* NoodlesAtNight 9:25 pm *Soundwave rapidly starts questioning Ravage so he can pass along relevant information. He needs to know when Butch is - oh, damn it, already.* Kelpy 9:27 pm Ouch NoodlesAtNight 9:27 pm [[TRAITOR.]] Kelpy 9:27 pm Oh, SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:28 pm Revert-skin. NoodlesAtNight 9:28 pm *He knows exactly what this is.* chronosmith 9:28 pm Damn. Rough on the kid. Gotta see that happen twice, eh? NoodlesAtNight 9:28 pm ((okay, i can't remember exactly, but there are - two? - two, i think, club scenes at penguin's place next ep. i don't remember butch having anything to do in them but do consider prowl now notified of them just in case?)) verdigrisprowl 9:29 pm ((i will consider him notified)) NoodlesAtNight 9:29 pm ((o7)) //Butler guy's good people. Hope he don't kick off.// NoodlesAtNight 9:29 pm [[What kind of damned idiot--]] chronosmith 9:30 pm He shouldn't, since he's supposed to be around when the kid's grown, but--*shrugs* NoodlesAtNight 9:30 pm //Hey, Swerve - if ya think THAT'S an unethical way of sourcin' drinks, don't let nobody tell ya 'bout the purple badge Blurrs.// NoodlesAtNight 9:31 pm *Rumble snickers.* Kelpy 9:31 pm [holds face in hands] I *know*. I've heard things. About Purple badges in general. NoodlesAtNight 9:31 pm *HE KNEW IT.* *He was suspicious from the moment the human showed up - the timing - but that stabbing---* Kelpy 9:31 pm Oh my god. Reggie. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:31 pm REVERSE SKIN. NoodlesAtNight 9:32 pm //Hey. Hey, ain't that the - uh. Wellsigh lady?// Kelpy 9:33 pm Um verdigrisprowl 9:33 pm Why the hell did they leave the mask there? That's important evidence. NoodlesAtNight 9:33 pm //She said she was middle managin'. This corruptin' stuff is real deep, ain't it?// NoodlesAtNight 9:33 pm //Ain't nothin' like the senate, but...// NoodlesAtNight 9:33 pm [[Incompetence.]] verdigrisprowl 9:33 pm *huff. "slight puncture. leaked a bit."* Kelpy 9:33 pm Really Alfred chronosmith 9:33 pm *snickers* Kelpy 9:34 pm You're going to protect that traitor? chronosmith 9:34 pm The only reason I can see him sparing the guy is if he wants to kill him himself. Kelpy 9:34 pm Not a real good one verdigrisprowl 9:34 pm Loyalty above justice or common sense. ((ALFRED NO)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:34 pm DON'T DO THAT. They're in there for a reason! NoodlesAtNight 9:35 pm ((thank u, bruce)) Kelpy 9:35 pm I'm surprised no nurses came running did that once in Ratchet's medbay and had six nurses in three seconds. verdigrisprowl 9:35 pm ((how the hell have her fake nails stayed so immaculate)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:35 pm ((satanism)) verdigrisprowl 9:36 pm *is this the part Prowl was warned about* NoodlesAtNight 9:36 pm *No, no. Not yet.* *Soundwave's spines flick in and out. Something keeps... a word. A sound.* chronosmith 9:37 pm I don't buy it. She's playing the long game. verdigrisprowl 9:37 pm ((GDI YOU TOO FISH?)) SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:37 pm DON'T. DO. THAT. chronosmith 9:37 pm Someone THAT full of rage isn't just going to be satisfied with being someone's right hand. verdigrisprowl 9:37 pm ((LEAVE THOSE WIRES WHERE THEY BELONG)) NoodlesAtNight 9:38 pm //'Course they ain't.// NoodlesAtNight 9:38 pm [[...President of the what?]] SCProwl 9:38 pm Union. NoodlesAtNight 9:39 pm [[He thought presidents were a government office. A - the highest politicians.]] verdigrisprowl 9:39 pm Anything can have a president. Kelpy 9:39 pm Arrogant. verdigrisprowl 9:39 pm It's just the highest politician within that group. A country is just one group. Unions are groups too. Kelpy 9:40 pm Maybe he'd have better luck cleaning the system if he started at the time. chronosmith 9:40 pm "Know when you're beaten." Pfft. Not likely. verdigrisprowl 9:40 pm ... Bollocks, no. NoodlesAtNight 9:40 pm [[Then he is not just placing this corrupt human back in the department, but raising him to the highest of the - an organization that is not equal to his own position.]] *Shakes his head.* [[He does this specifically to spite the Gordon hu--]] Kelpy 9:40 pm Was his evidence fake? SCProwl 9:40 pm No. NoodlesAtNight 9:40 pm *How could the Harvey human--?* NoodlesAtNight 9:41 pm *...Shifts a little.* verdigrisprowl 9:42 pm *shifts with to maintain arm grip.* SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:42 pm ...Riddling human. No. Kelpy 9:42 pm I gotta wonder, is this a problem country wide? Could he not inform people higher in the government of what's going on??? NoodlesAtNight 9:43 pm *He was glad to vacate the position before, but - now he is more... Mm. Now he is glad that he did. Before he could - before it ever entered his head to try to fix the department Loeb's way.* Kelpy 9:43 pm Also Riddler no please. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:43 pm He's going to be high on that like a hatchling after an overripe seaskitter. chronosmith 9:43 pm That's presupposing anyone in a position of power gives a damn about anyone but themselves. verdigrisprowl 9:43 pm He SHOULD be able to inform higher people, yes. The FBI often investigates cases like this. chronosmith 9:44 pm And my vast experience had led me to believe otherwise. NoodlesAtNight 9:44 pm [[Do they not do a good job of investigating? Surely someone as clever as this human would know they could?]] verdigrisprowl 9:44 pm Your vast experience is Cybertronian. I'm referring to Earth. chronosmith 9:44 pm I can tell you right now, you know what you do? If someone puts a gun to your head, then gives you one, to shoot someone for blackmail material? What you do is, try and shoot the guy with the gun to your head. Kelpy 9:45 pm I guess those internal affairs are that bad. chronosmith 9:45 pm Sure, you'll probably die, but MAYBE you'll get to shoot the guy in the face, which has gotta be satisfying. Mostly Cybertronian, some alien. *waves a dismissive claw* Got no reason to believe humans are much different. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:46 pm ((sorry, I'm tired, gotta turn in early)) Kelpy 9:46 pm Their assumption that Leob only keeps one copy of his blackmail. NoodlesAtNight 9:46 pm ((aaaa goodnight)) verdigrisprowl 9:46 pm The thing about the FBI is that it's divorced from normal law enforcement and isn't tied to one location. SpecsTheSpectralDragon 9:46 pm ((thanks lots!)) ((my brain is just shutting down slowly)) chronosmith 9:46 pm rest well!)) Kelpy 9:46 pm //nini you NoodlesAtNight 9:47 pm *This will be the scene he warned about.* *Not right away. But very soon.* verdigrisprowl 9:47 pm If they sent in a half dozen people that live two states over from Gotham, they're not caught up in local politics and have no reason to join in the... NoodlesAtNight 9:47 pm *And now it approaches.* Kelpy 9:47 pm If I had blackmail, I'd keep six or seven copies of everything. Why do they assume the human only has one? verdigrisprowl 9:47 pm *oh. oh, he sees where this speech is going* *pre-emptively squeezes arm* NoodlesAtNight 9:48 pm *Squeeze.* chronosmith 9:48 pm ((COOOOMBS)) ((farewell)) ((OR NOT)) That looks... incredibly goofy. Kelpy 9:48 pm //did they give her his eye i looked away again lamo NoodlesAtNight 9:49 pm *...You know what. Tiny squeeze of his own.* SCProwl 9:49 pm ((tv special effects not the best NoodlesAtNight 9:49 pm ((noooope. he stitched the office manager's head onto a body made up of spare parts from multiple people.)) chronosmith 9:49 pm ((oh yes. I understand. Whirl is gonna poke it. ...and this is also mildly horrifying so defense mechanism)) Kelpy 9:49 pm //rip verdigrisprowl 9:49 pm *long, silent sigh* NoodlesAtNight 9:50 pm *A sigh? Then Prowl is still here? ...He hopes staying for that was wise. He has no idea.* Kelpy 9:50 pm That kid. Tells way too many people his secrets. verdigrisprowl 9:50 pm *he's not sure yet either.* verdigrisprowl 9:51 pm *something in the back of his mind is rumbling* *oh, it's a bunch of people sitting around doing accounting. that looks fun.* NoodlesAtNight 9:52 pm [[...He's laughing. Leave.]] chronosmith 9:52 pm Pfft. Assassin accountants. I like it. NoodlesAtNight 9:52 pm [[The money must be protected.]] verdigrisprowl 9:52 pm We saw a movie like that. chronosmith 9:52 pm Oh yeah? What was it called? Kelpy 9:53 pm Did they really think this would work verdigrisprowl 9:53 pm "The Accountant." NoodlesAtNight 9:53 pm [[Ah, yes! We did. Quite thrilling.]] chronosmith 9:53 pm ...makes sense. NoodlesAtNight 9:53 pm [[...There must be more to accounting than he knew of.]] *Rumble points and laughs.* chronosmith 9:54 pm *snickers* Kelpy 9:54 pm Oh. verdigrisprowl 9:54 pm For what it's worth, less than half of the accountants I know are stone cold killers. Kelpy 9:54 pm *why* do any of them assume there's one????? NoodlesAtNight 9:54 pm *Soundwave turns to stare.* [[.........Less than /half./]] Kelpy 9:54 pm Like. Only one. chronosmith 9:54 pm Really? I'd have expected more. verdigrisprowl 9:55 pm Less than half, yes. NoodlesAtNight 9:55 pm [[...He was expecting something closer to - to--]] *Stitches a clip very quickly.* [][][]Only a few.[][][] chronosmith 9:56 pm Well, we're still pretty fresh out of the war, mech. verdigrisprowl 9:56 pm "Few" is relative. NoodlesAtNight 9:56 pm [[Yes. And he would not have expected most accountants he ever met to survive it.]] [[It is - impressive. If alarming.]] *He does so like Penguin's style on this kind of thing.* verdigrisprowl 9:56 pm How many accountants did you meet? chronosmith 9:56 pm Though with all the NAILs infesting Cybertron right now, I mean... yeah I can see how almost half of the accountants would be non-combatants. NoodlesAtNight 9:57 pm [[Megatron took control of the pits after a while. He met quite a few.]] Kelpy 9:57 pm She's a l;iar chronosmith 9:57 pm I still say she's biding her time. NoodlesAtNight 9:57 pm *And Swerve is not far wrong about the single blackmail copy. Soundwave certainly doesn't keep information in only one place.* chronosmith 9:57 pm Gotta wait for the perfect moment to take the guy out. There's still a lot she doesn't know. Kelpy 9:58 pm Man, I keep my supplier files in like, six different places with more than one copy, and that's certainly not as valuable. NoodlesAtNight 9:58 pm [[Wise of you.]] [[And he notes that her promise may remain the same, but she is not staying with them.]] *LOUD. HUFFING.* Kelpy 9:58 pm Yes. chronosmith 9:58 pm ((THERE IT IS)) SCProwl 9:58 pm *laughs* chronosmith 9:58 pm *SNORTS* chronosmith 9:59 pm You should get Buzzsaw to make a sign saying that and put it on your desk, Soundwave. NoodlesAtNight 9:59 pm *He tries not to move too much so he doesn't take his arm away from Prowl, but he's leaning. It's making him sort of twist into one side while he shakes.* Kelpy 9:59 pm Is he laughing or making angry motions? verdigrisprowl 10:00 pm *missed whatever joke everyone is laughing at, but enjoys Soundwave's shaking.* chronosmith 10:00 pm I say this as a satisfied customer. Buzzsaw does good work. NoodlesAtNight 10:00 pm [[Y - yes, he - should do it. That. The saying.]] chronosmith 10:01 pm *salutes Soundwave wryly* ...OH. I remembered. *nudges Rumble* Skateboard. Kelpy 10:01 pm [snickers] NoodlesAtNight 10:01 pm *Reverently:* //Skateboard...// *And now Soundwave is just a mess. KEYS.* chronosmith 10:01 pm That's the thing that person was cruising on earlier. I KNEW I'd seen it. Kelpy 10:01 pm They weren't fooled at all were they verdigrisprowl 10:02 pm *supporting soundwave. there there. you'll live.* chronosmith 10:02 pm Y'know, f you want one, you could ask Hiro. The human kid, used to pal around on the Lost Light? He can build just about anything. Kelpy 10:02 pm You know, I don't think his super secret blackmail hoard is files at all. chronosmith 10:02 pm Probably put rockets on it. NoodlesAtNight 10:02 pm *He's got to try to straighten up and focus. He wants to know what the secret - KEYS - what the secret is.* NoodlesAtNight 10:03 pm [[Oh. Does she - is she the guard? Another one?]] Kelpy 10:03 pm Oh boy. [flinches for Ed] verdigrisprowl 10:03 pm *continues supporting. definitely isn't hugging him.* chronosmith 10:04 pm Well, that's what you get for being a weird CREEP. NoodlesAtNight 10:04 pm *No, definitely not. Of course. And he appreciates the support. He's coming back to himself now. This was more serious.* chronosmith 10:04 pm I mean even I'M better at flirting than this guy. NoodlesAtNight 10:04 pm *....He thought -- ah, no. Of course not.* chronosmith 10:04 pm ((omfg tHIS. I KNEW I RECOGNIZED HER)) (9SHE WAS ON THE NANNY)) chronosmith 10:05 pm ((SHE WAS THE OLDER DAUGHTER)) Kelpy 10:05 pm IS she just not allowed out of the room NoodlesAtNight 10:06 pm //Regular Buzzsaw, ain't she.// chronosmith 10:06 pm *snickers* SCProwl 10:06 pm Loeb didn't kill his wife. verdigrisprowl 10:06 pm ... All those years she's been locked up... Kelpy 10:06 pm Oh. Kelpy 10:07 pm So, she did it and he keeps her there to protecther. NoodlesAtNight 10:07 pm *Can't quite identify what Prowl's sentence was going to be. Wonders.* SCProwl 10:07 pm To protect himself. NoodlesAtNight 10:07 pm //Primus.// chronosmith 10:08 pm Harvey, again, with his priorities straight. Kelpy 10:08 pm [snorts] chronosmith 10:08 pm *also snorts* verdigrisprowl 10:08 pm Well. When the only asylum in town is trash... chronosmith 10:09 pm Yeah, honestly, she's better off in the attic. verdigrisprowl 10:09 pm Although it's 9% adequate compared to 5% adequate. NoodlesAtNight 10:09 pm [[At least there someone cared about her, he supposes.]] chronosmith 10:10 pm I dunno. I mean, I figure those nice old people give her home-cooked meals, she can entertain herself, she's in a familiar place... *shrugs* Kelpy 10:10 pm He's trying so hard to clean the system that he's becoming the system. NoodlesAtNight 10:10 pm *Though he doesn't see why Loeb couldn't have just run away as soon as they were cleared. Take her somewhere else. A quiet place.* chronosmith 10:10 pm People are caring for her instead of, you know, looking for excuses to do horrible things to her. verdigrisprowl 10:11 pm "Fight fire with fire." chronosmith 10:11 pm *snickers* Yep. chronosmith 10:12 pm *tilts his head* NoodlesAtNight 10:12 pm [[...That's no reason not to do good things.]] verdigrisprowl 10:12 pm I don't think he's making the right decision. But I've no doubt that, from where he's standing, it's probably the best one he can see. No, it's not a reason not to do good things. It's a reason to not do the bad things. NoodlesAtNight 10:13 pm [[...And he is not experienced enough to know how to manage a Penguin. Gordon isn't.]] //Pfuh. Til death do 'em part.// chronosmith 10:14 pm HAHAHA verdigrisprowl 10:14 pm *LAUGHS* Kelpy 10:14 pm Oh my god verdigrisprowl 10:14 pm *covers his mouth* chronosmith 10:14 pm That's the coolest thing he's done in the show yet. NoodlesAtNight 10:14 pm *Rumble HOWLS.* verdigrisprowl 10:14 pm *doubles over* NoodlesAtNight 10:14 pm *Ah! Now it is Soundwave's turn to be support.* Kelpy 10:15 pm Island? NoodlesAtNight 10:15 pm [[COLD island.]] chronosmith 10:15 pm I... can't wait to see how she takes him out. Kelpy 10:15 pm Heck. chronosmith 10:15 pm Cos I still have faith that she's gonna. Kelpy 10:15 pm Yes. NoodlesAtNight 10:15 pm *Gently nudges Prowl's knee. You'll live too. Heh.* verdigrisprowl 10:16 pm *okay. he's recovering. he's gonna live.* NoodlesAtNight 10:16 pm ((QUICK NOTE: the next two movie nights will only have 2 episodes apiece because a) four is too long for one night and b) the next four are not easy to handle for many people)) ((and then we will be done with gotham and return to movies for a long while)) SCProwl 10:16 pm Hopefully she does it sooner rather than later. *presses palm to visor* chronosmith 10:17 pm ((o7 )) NoodlesAtNight 10:17 pm ((time mark: 10:35)) Kelpy 10:17 pm //O7 chronosmith 10:17 pm ((gotham has been enjoyable!)) verdigrisprowl 10:17 pm ((it has)) NoodlesAtNight 10:17 pm ((i do encourage anyone who decides they like it by the end of s1 to keep watching. it gets much, much better.)) chronosmith 10:17 pm ((jada up here stealing the show)) NoodlesAtNight 10:18 pm ((i apologize for doing this song twice but it's been trapped in my head since this morning)) Kelpy 10:18 pm //lmao verdigrisprowl 10:18 pm ((it's thematically appropriate, it's in a police station)) NoodlesAtNight 10:18 pm ((also fair)) chronosmith 10:18 pm *streetches* SCProwl 10:18 pm ((Fish is the best chronosmith 10:19 pm ((she really is)) SCProwl 10:19 pm ((She's the only Gotham pop I own NoodlesAtNight 10:19 pm *Soundwave stretches.* [[He wants to know if the Loeb fleshling will strike back. Mechs with that kind of stranglehold on others do not like to be caught off guard like that. He should know.]] ((i would own penguin but he's so hard to find/expensive!)) Kelpy 10:20 pm //rip SCProwl 10:20 pm ((One day I'll get Bruce too because I need my precious bat son verdigrisprowl 10:20 pm *finally lets go of Soundwave's arm.* I'm sure he will if he finds an opportunity. chronosmith 10:23 pm With all this music, Soundwave., someone might think you're trying to coax all of us to dance. verdigrisprowl 10:23 pm Here? In a dance club? Preposterous. NoodlesAtNight 10:23 pm [[Such danger. He cannot wait to find out how it flows...]] *Soundwave glances at Whirl.* [[Someone would not be wrong.]] *Huffs at Prowl.* chronosmith 10:23 pm I know, Prowl. That's why it's so shocking. *drapes a claw dramatically over his cockpit* verdigrisprowl 10:24 pm Fortunately, I'm immune. NoodlesAtNight 10:24 pm [[Not /too/ hard, of course. He prefers most mechs pay for the right to do so.]] chronosmith 10:25 pm Tragically, I'm incapable of dancing. But even if I was, hypothetically speaking, I'd be immune to this sort of music. NoodlesAtNight 10:25 pm *Soundwave is not immune. There are music visualizations going bananas on his visor.* [[Then he'll have to test you next week with a different sort, won't he.]] verdigrisprowl 10:25 pm ... How DO you accept payment? Just whatever currency the visitors happen to have? Is there a set exchange rate between goods and currencies, or do you decide on a case by case basis? chronosmith 10:26 pm ((O BOI)) NoodlesAtNight 10:27 pm [[Case by case, mostly. Buzzsaw has an optic for such things, and we keep a list of what is in demand across the settlements.]] Kelpy 10:27 pm //oh. now i understand the ref in that one all time low musicv video gfhbh NoodlesAtNight 10:27 pm [[We prefer items, but he has started to make minor use of currency in other timelines.]] verdigrisprowl 10:27 pm ... Would you LIKE a set exchange rate? NoodlesAtNight 10:28 pm [[He would /like/ one, but he has yet to determine how to make that possible - all the timelines...]] chronosmith 10:28 pm Well, you can buy drinks with exotic dishes, so that's something. verdigrisprowl 10:28 pm *pointed look* chronosmith 10:28 pm Yeah... with the multiverse being a whole thing, y'know, barter makes the most sense. verdigrisprowl 10:28 pm You'd need the help of someone who's very good at math, I'd expect. NoodlesAtNight 10:29 pm =Is very good!= *Ravage shouts from upstairs. He took a tiny clawful earlier.* chronosmith 10:29 pm PFFT. @R: Yeah? I'll keep an eye for more. Crash another swanky event. NoodlesAtNight 10:30 pm [[He would, but none of the accountants he still has contact with have successfully w...orked...]] [[........./Ah./]] Kelpy 10:30 pm [amused snuffle] NoodlesAtNight 10:30 pm *And the music visualizations stutter briefly before settling back down just as the lights brighten a tad.* verdigrisprowl 10:31 pm *did you get it, Soundwave? Prowl was starting to worry he was being too subtle.* SCProwl 10:31 pm *that was subtle?* NoodlesAtNight 10:31 pm @W: =...Let me know, eh? We take twice as much.= verdigrisprowl 10:31 pm *he didn't THINK so, but...* chronosmith 10:31 pm *it really wasn't. Nerd love, it's a hell of a think, ain't it?* NoodlesAtNight 10:31 pm *Oh, he got it.* chronosmith 10:31 pm @R: AbsoLUTEly, mech. It'll only be more fun with you there, true story. Kelpy 10:32 pm MAth's getting involved so I think that's my cue to head off before things get awkward. Night everyone. chronosmith 10:32 pm *SNORTS* verdigrisprowl 10:32 pm ... What's awkward about math? NoodlesAtNight 10:32 pm *Rumble claps a hand over his mouth and tries not to laugh at Swerve's comment.* verdigrisprowl 10:32 pm Your bar is taking multiversal visitors, you could use a set exchange rate too. NoodlesAtNight 10:32 pm //See ya later. Got that drinkin' contest, 'n all.// *Muffled through his fingers.* chronosmith 10:32 pm I think Swerve's referring to you flirting with Soundwave, Prowl. SCProwl 10:32 pm I suppose if you're not good at it, things might be awkward if a conversation about it is started. Kelpy 10:33 pm That's true and Whirl is also correct. I'll yell at Whirl and Rumble about drinking contests later. Night! [waves and snickers] chronosmith 10:33 pm *waves* Don't forget, mech! verdigrisprowl 10:33 pm *opens mouth* ... *shuts mouth.* ... *opens mouth* I wasn't— NoodlesAtNight 10:33 pm [[He sees nothing awkward about anything. It is a valid offer, and one he happens to appreciate.]] Kelpy 10:33 pm [laughs all the way to the door] NoodlesAtNight 10:34 pm *And appreciates that the other Prowl also did not decide to make light of it. One tiny point in her favor.* chronosmith 10:34 pm If that's the case, then congrats, Prowl, you've mastered the art of unintentional flirting. verdigrisprowl 10:34 pm ... How do I turn it off? chronosmith 10:35 pm *gravely* I'm afraid you can't. You're probably irresistible to nerds everywhere. Your gift... your curse. verdigrisprowl 10:35 pm That's... not work appropriate. SCProwl 10:35 pm Sometimes math is just math. chronosmith 10:35 pm When I do math, it's just math. When THESE two get talking--*gestures to Prowl and Soundwave* It's not just math. verdigrisprowl 10:35 pm *is he flirting with people without noticing. that's awful. that's terrible. how does he stop.* chronosmith 10:36 pm ...*tilts his head, and looks to them with an honest, round optic* Not that I'm knocking you guys. *Soundwave and even Prowl have actually... been pretty damn decent. There's a tiny shred of decency in there, somewhere deep deep down* NoodlesAtNight 10:36 pm [[He should hope not. It is very unwise to irritate one's host. Or their seat company.]] verdigrisprowl 10:37 pm That's not the issue here. I was making a platonic offer. chronosmith 10:37 pm Course not. verdigrisprowl 10:37 pm *he's unintentionally flirting with people.........* chronosmith 10:37 pm *that was to Soundwave, not to Prowl* verdigrisprowl 10:37 pm *how often does it happen. how many people has he made uncomfortable. what's he doing wrong.* NoodlesAtNight 10:37 pm [[He perceived it as intended as a platonic offer. His own interest is his business.]] chronosmith 10:38 pm *Whirl has unintentionally undermined prowl in the worst possible way* *and he can't even enjoy it anymore* verdigrisprowl 10:38 pm *is staring somewhere vaguely at the floor. he is dumbstruck. the horror.* chronosmith 10:38 pm *tips his head back, draining his drink* @R: For the record? You can talk nerd to me anytime you like, mech. Won't poke fun. Promise. NoodlesAtNight 10:39 pm ((....is that ravage r or rumble r)) chronosmith 10:39 pm ((WHOP. That's a Rumble r)) verdigrisprowl 10:39 pm *no no, whirl undermined prowl in the worst way possible last year* chronosmith 10:39 pm *true. ...undermining Prowl is apparently his specialty* NoodlesAtNight 10:39 pm @W: //Better not. Happen to know yer just as nerdy as them two 'n me.// *Smirk for no apparent reason.* verdigrisprowl 10:40 pm *he's developed a knack for it* NoodlesAtNight 10:40 pm *Soundwave turns his hand over. If Prowl needs it while he deals with Whirl's commentary? He's not sure what's going on here.* chronosmith 10:40 pm *scoffs slightly, into his drink* @R: Me? NERDY? Excuse you, I'm an ARTIST, thank you very much. *will spare him an amused, sidelong look, also for no apparent reason* NoodlesAtNight 10:41 pm @W: //That makes ya like Buzzsaw. Double nerdin'.// verdigrisprowl 10:41 pm ... how often do I flirt without noticing it. NoodlesAtNight 10:41 pm *Rumble tries to sort of wink his visor. It looks like he got pinched in the side instead.* chronosmith 10:42 pm @R: Oh, shit. ...you might be right. Well. I guess I surrender to my fate. *it probably does look objectively goofy as hell but Whirl honestly loves it. Look at that. Rumble, you're smooth as hell. ...Whirl "winks" back and it looks even goofier. Because he has only one eye* NoodlesAtNight 10:42 pm [[...He doesn't recall seeing you doing so.]] NoodlesAtNight 10:43 pm [[That is your alternate's job, not yours.]] chronosmith 10:43 pm Honestly, mech? No idea. You might be specialized to unintentionally flirt specifically with your main squeeze, there. SCProwl 10:43 pm *sputters* Th-that was a joke. chronosmith 10:43 pm But I'm the opposite of an expert on that kind of thing, so... don't. Listen to me, I guess. verdigrisprowl 10:43 pm ... As long as the problem remains localized... chronosmith 10:44 pm *sidelong glance at the other Prowl. Uh oh. We must be vigilant, lest we fall under the spell* SCProwl 10:44 pm I thought I made that clear when we spoke about it, Soundwave. chronosmith 10:44 pm *dryly* I think Soundwave's willing to contain the damage, personally. I mean, he's got a lot of hands, so who better to contain... anything, really. NoodlesAtNight 10:45 pm @W: //If we wanna survive the night, probably we wanna run before the Boss gets crankier. I'm jus' sayin'.// verdigrisprowl 10:45 pm ((I don't care what the lyrics are. this is a lesbian song.)) chronosmith 10:45 pm (shakira it should be eminently easy to forget him, rihanna's RIGHT THERE)) SCProwl 10:45 pm ((yup NoodlesAtNight 10:46 pm [[And you did make it clear. That is why he referenced it.]] chronosmith 10:46 pm ((i'm gllad we all had the same thought)) verdigrisprowl 10:46 pm ((they are singing about trying to forget each other. they're failing at it because they're clearly still sleeping together.)) SCProwl 10:46 pm *huffs* chronosmith 10:47 pm *seems genuinely a bit surprised; he hadn't realized he genuinely irritated Soundwave. Oh, well. It's bound to happen*@R: Right. I was just gonna head home. You got any ideas? ...and, y'knwo. You can always come over, if you want. verdigrisprowl 10:47 pm Wait—made what clear? *he wasn't paying attention to the conversation, he was having an internal crisis* NoodlesAtNight 10:48 pm *Rumble isn't sure whether the Boss is genuinely irritated, but he knows what the Boss is talking about, and nobody wants to be around for that. That way is trouble.* @W: //Lemme help ya fix the joint up? Ain't nothin' I don't do all the time here.// chronosmith 10:50 pm @R: Sure! I could use a construction expert, honestly. *stands up* All right, losers. Time for me to bounce. See y'all next week. verdigrisprowl 10:50 pm Evening, Whirl. NoodlesAtNight 10:50 pm [[Good. He's had enough speculation on what he does with his many limbs for one night.]] chronosmith 10:50 pm Oh god, I didn't mean it LIKE THAT, jeez. chronosmith 10:51 pm *grabs his helm* Nope. Nope. Not talking about this anymore. Must save... myself. From the mental images. SCProwl 10:51 pm The <3 symbol I sent you and Soundwave. *waves a servo through the air* verdigrisprowl 10:51 pm What about it? ((did she say <3 out loud)) SCProwl 10:52 pm ((yes verdigrisprowl 10:52 pm ((amazing)) NoodlesAtNight 10:52 pm *Good. Suffer, Whirl. Suffer for confusing Prowl.* [[His side of it was a joke at his expense, apparently. He did not ask about yours, though.]] chronosmith 10:52 pm *in all fairness he didn't mean any harm, he's just inherently harmful sometimes; Whirl shifts into alt-mode and pings a quick request for permission to bridge he and Rumble out of here* NoodlesAtNight 10:53 pm *Chimera intercepts that request and gives them a bridge. Flee to safety!* chronosmith 10:53 pm *safety awaits! The chopper will bob cordially to Rumble; after you sir* NoodlesAtNight 10:53 pm ((soundwave is mostly irritated because it seems to have upset prowl, tbh; he puts up with worse from WJ all the time)) verdigrisprowl 10:53 pm ((prowl will make a full recovery)) NoodlesAtNight 10:53 pm *Rumble hop-runs through as quick as he can. Construction awaits!* SCProwl 10:54 pm I hadn't intended it be taken as flirting. It was an attempt at friendly teasing. chronosmith 10:54 pm ((oh no, soundwave's irritation is totally understandable! Whirl screwing things up without meaning to is just How It Be sometimes.)) *zoop. And Whirl, too, is gone* verdigrisprowl 10:54 pm ((Prowl's Social Insecurities Strike Again)) verdigrisprowl 10:55 pm ... Oh. So it wasn't a... ah. chronosmith 10:55 pm ((and as we have seen, Prowl's Insecurities + Whirl's Abrasiveness often has bad results. Interesting? yep. Bad? also yep) NoodlesAtNight 10:55 pm *Soundwave shakes his helm at the spot where the bridge was once it disappears.* [[Terrible.]] *Vent.* [[And yet, a splendid match for Rumble.]] *Looks to the Commissioner. So, teasing, then?* SCProwl 10:56 pm Not intentionally and most definitely not at Soundwave. NoodlesAtNight 10:56 pm *He's almost disappointed. The Captain seemed kind of interested, actually.* verdigrisprowl 10:56 pm Noted. NoodlesAtNight 10:56 pm [[...Not intentionally?]] [[One moment. That is not a not entirely.]] SCProwl 10:57 pm It's not. verdigrisprowl 10:57 pm I understand a "not intentionally" as "entirely not." I entirely didn't mean to intentionally flirt earlier. And yet here we are. SCProwl 10:57 pm Precisely. NoodlesAtNight 10:58 pm *Soundwave folds his arms. There is dodging happening here.* SCProwl 10:58 pm *sitting perfectly still actually* NoodlesAtNight 10:59 pm *But he won't push the matter. Right now.* [[...He supposes so. He apologizes for having accidentally given them material to latch on to.]] NoodlesAtNight 11:00 pm [[That is, he supposes your alternate did not mean to. He knows you did not.]] *Because Prowl said he didn't, and Soundwave has faith in him telling the truth.* verdigrisprowl 11:00 pm Well. I'm glad that was cleared up. NoodlesAtNight 11:01 pm [[.......Still. An ex-Decepticon being given an ancient glass that belonged to Sentinel Prime could wonder.]] verdigrisprowl 11:02 pm ... Who gave you what? SCProwl 11:02 pm *huffs* I was wondering how long it would take you. verdigrisprowl 11:02 pm *?? ? ???* NoodlesAtNight 11:02 pm *Soundwave stretches a feeler out and points at the weird ugly thing in a special position atop the cabinet of glasses.* [[That.]] verdigrisprowl 11:03 pm *looks at* ... And you haven't broken it yet? NoodlesAtNight 11:03 pm [[Oh, no. Mechs pay a great deal to drink out of it. They enjoy knowing that he would have a spark attack seeing low-caste mechs and manual laborers enjoying a drink from it.]] verdigrisprowl 11:03 pm Oh. Makes sense. NoodlesAtNight 11:04 pm [[He did think about it, though.]] SCProwl 11:04 pm I wouldn't have blamed you. NoodlesAtNight 11:07 pm *.........Has an odd idea. Maybe shouldn't do that. One of them might get angry with him for misleading his customers if he did.* verdigrisprowl 11:08 pm *well, he could ask* NoodlesAtNight 11:08 pm *....But it's tempting.* NoodlesAtNight 11:10 pm @P: [[...You speak often of your time with that Prime. He can give it to you if you would like to own it. Buzzsaw is capable of constructing a replica for continued use in the club...]] *He's risking the coply lecture.* verdigrisprowl 11:11 pm @S «And then, instead of enjoying knowing you're helping your low-caste customers stick it to an oppressive regime, you can enjoy knowing that you're defrauding low-caste customers by selling them false dreams of sticking it to an oppressive regime.» NoodlesAtNight 11:12 pm *Soundwave straightens up in horror. He hadn't thought that far into it.* verdigrisprowl 11:12 pm *Prowl thought he might not have.* SCProwl 11:13 pm *quietly enjoys the song while this conversation happens without her knowledge* verdigrisprowl 11:13 pm ((this is another lesbian song)) NoodlesAtNight 11:14 pm @P: [[You are right. He withdraws his offer. ... But if you would ever like to use it, he will not ask you to pay for the privilege. Consider it a thank you for preventing him from taking an action he would have loathed himself for later.]] *Pause.* [[...And for understanding him well enough to alert him to that.]] NoodlesAtNight 11:15 pm *And he knows that this is an avatar. He damn well meant sending it to Prowl's apartment to be used there.* *They're only open one and a half days a week, after all.* verdigrisprowl 11:15 pm @S «I don't think I'll want to use it. Sentinel would have had a spark attack. But I appreciate the gesture.» NoodlesAtNight 11:16 pm *Soft huff.* @P: [[As ever, your devotion and respect is admirable, even if he disagrees with the choice of target.]] *Small nod.* [[...It really is hideous,]] *He notes out loud at last.* [[Money cannot buy taste, it seems.]] verdigrisprowl 11:17 pm @S «He's dead. I can afford to respect him; it will never do any harm.» verdigrisprowl 11:18 pm *looks at it again.* ... I'm not qualified to judge. I don't understand art. *mutters* But /I/ don't like it. NoodlesAtNight 11:19 pm [[All you need to know is that Buzzsaw pretended to faint in horror on sight.]] *A light tremble.* [[But that is certainly a point against it.]] verdigrisprowl 11:19 pm Hm. *... takes a picture and sends it to Bonecrusher.* SCProwl 11:21 pm *hums* I had to bite my tongue to keep from telling him how much I disliked it, but he-- it was a gift and he wanted me to keep it and use it however I wanted. I think being here is a much better use than being packed away until something finally breaks it. NoodlesAtNight 11:22 pm ((i do not have an actual picture but tbh i figure if you could turn this mug into a transparent drinking glass that would be about the horribleness of it: http://incrediblethings.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ugly-mugs-2-558x595.jpg )) verdigrisprowl 11:22 pm ((thanks i hate it)) SCProwl 11:22 pm ((augh, no omg verdigrisprowl 11:23 pm ((imagine putting your mouth on that)) NoodlesAtNight 11:23 pm *Soundwave points at his timeline's Prowl.* [[............/You foisted it off on him./ It wasn't a gift at all. You were trying to torture him.]] SCProwl 11:23 pm ((it's just gaudy and extravagant and clearly a show of Sentinel's very extreme wealth and stature, among other things verdigrisprowl 11:24 pm ((so that mug, but encrusted in natural rubies)) NoodlesAtNight 11:24 pm ((oh my GOD)) ((soundwave gets it back missing a ruby one night and he's like "all right. nobody leaves the club until the ruby comes back. if you want one that badly i'll get you one.")) verdigrisprowl 11:25 pm *Bonecrusher sends back a five-minute rant about how much he hates that goddamn monstrosity, complete with references to... either art critics or art eras, Prowl's never heard of any of them so he doesn't know.* SCProwl 11:25 pm I can think of better ways to torture you than a single glass. verdigrisprowl 11:26 pm *forwards Bonecrusher's critical appraisal to Soundwave* NoodlesAtNight 11:26 pm [[Don't you dare give him a second one.]] SCProwl 11:26 pm I only had the one. NoodlesAtNight 11:26 pm *Soundwave doubles over again at the Bonecrusher rant. Oh, he's forwarding this. He's forwarding this RIGHT NOW, straight to the resident artist.* NoodlesAtNight 11:28 pm *He heard half of these things in a slightly different order straight out of Buzzsaw's mouth a few weeks ago.* NoodlesAtNight 11:31 pm [[Well. We have had enough to say about that glass, he thinks.]] SCProwl 11:32 pm One more thing. I never have to look at it again. verdigrisprowl 11:32 pm I think so, yes. *dryly* I'll try not to turn in its direction while I'm giving you a video feed. SCProwl 11:34 pm Thank you. You're very considerate. NoodlesAtNight 11:34 pm *...Oh. Has this discussion - he knows Prowl knows he dislikes the mech; he never thought - hmm.*

[[...If you would like one of Megatron's horrid paintings of colorful Earth equines to perch on a shelf and mock, he can arrange that.]] [[Your version may have been a writer, but ours stopped at oratory abilities.]] verdigrisprowl 11:34 pm ... Your version did WHAT. NoodlesAtNight 11:37 pm [[Hand to Primus. It was one of the first forms of Earth media we could acquire when attempting to learn about the world we were trapped on and how to use it. Megatron thought the creatures were deeply amusing. He has never understood why. But he did catch sight of the attempts to reproduce them, once.]] SCProwl 11:37 pm That's true? verdigrisprowl 11:38 pm ... I—absolutely, do not want one of those paintings. Ever. I would, however, like a picture of one to send to Bonecrusher. NoodlesAtNight 11:39 pm [[It is absolutely true. Laserbeak thought it was an attempt to mock them, but he was never fully convinced, himself. One moment; she should still have that in her databanks.]] SCProwl 11:41 pm Unbelievable. NoodlesAtNight 11:41 pm *Soundwave motions with a hand, causing the current images on the video screens to change and shrink themselves. He preps a space for it to appear, and -- ah. There it is. A glimpse of half a painting between Megatron's arm and his side, exactly as horrid and bizarre as Soundwave claimed.* SCProwl 11:41 pm The one time Smokescreen isn't lying. NoodlesAtNight 11:42 pm [[That mech found corners of the Nemesis we forgot existed. There are some things he tells the truth about.]] verdigrisprowl 11:42 pm *... forwards the atrocious view to his alternate.* *and then to Bonecrusher.* SCProwl 11:43 pm Yes, but most rumors about Megatron's habits and hobbies were... incorrect. I hope. NoodlesAtNight 11:43 pm [[And now, neither of you may ever tell him he does not know how to give a fine gift.]]

[[Yes. You do hope.]] NoodlesAtNight 11:44 pm [[But he tires of visual horrors now. There are better things he would like to spend time on - actual exchange rates, for example.]] verdigrisprowl 11:44 pm You have a strange definition of "fine gift." NoodlesAtNight 11:45 pm [[He gave you an unprecedented opportunity to think poorly of his former leader. He thinks that is fine indeed.]] SCProwl 11:45 pm Ha. verdigrisprowl 11:45 pm Rest assured, I already thought poorly of him. SCProwl 11:45 pm It doesn't take much. NoodlesAtNight 11:46 pm [[Well. Either way.]] *Soundwave swipes the screen clear and rises.* SCProwl 11:47 pm I should be getting back to Praxus. verdigrisprowl 11:48 pm Evening, alternate. NoodlesAtNight 11:51 pm [[Goodnight, Prowl.]] verdigrisprowl 11:53 pm *... leans on* NoodlesAtNight 11:53 pm *Leans against.* verdigrisprowl 11:54 pm *... ah. a TEN minute rant from Bonecrusher. A disproportionate amount of it is either hysterical laughter or incoherent shouting.* *forwards.* NoodlesAtNight 11:55 pm *Feels somewhat better about having offered it. If nothing else, he has brought joy to the life of someone else around Prowl. ... Of course he probably also brought them awful, awful rage, but when didn't a Constructicon have that.* verdigrisprowl 11:55 pm *Bonecrusher enjoys awful, awful rage.* NoodlesAtNight 11:57 pm [[He corrects himself. No one can say that /you/ do not give fine gifts. Or other good and enjoyable things, such as your company. Which he would like to have upstairs in the lounge at your convenience, if you are available.]] verdigrisprowl 11:58 pm My evening is free. NoodlesAtNight 11:58 pm [[Then come with him. He has mostly accurate ledgers you may be interested in seeing.]] NoodlesAtNight 11:59 pm *Stretches a feeler back for Prowl to take hold of and starts on toward the stairs. Currency him up.* verdigrisprowl 11:59 pm *with genuine horror* "Mostly"?? NoodlesAtNight 11:59 pm [[The twins do have turns at writing things in there, you know.]] Today verdigrisprowl 12:00 am ... That sounds like a terrible mistake. *Takes the feeler. He'll come see this travesty for himself.* NoodlesAtNight 12:00 am [[It is. It is.]] *And they're off.*

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