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bilbao-song · 3 years

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heres an ask because i too am desperate to engage with people. i know u dont care about roxy music but you did say you would accept something as incoherent as a keysmash so here is an equivalent: admittedly i find the dynamics between ANY band and their fans very interesting, but roxy music in particular. there is a peculiar divide between those who are staunch bryan ferry fans (these people typically dont give half of a shit about anyone else in the band), those who are fans of the group as a whole and dont particularly care about individual members at all, and those who are most interested in phil manzanera and andy mackay and sometimes the other guys, who generally quite dislike bryan (i being the latter)- and often there is resentment between the groups. i think its so interesting that a group of people can be presented with the same exact material, love it and enjoy it for years, and yet latch onto different parts of it and make it such a part of their identity that should you confuse one with the other they become insulted, or if nothing else will tell you "no no, i like roxy music but i REALLY like bryan, i think hes the best", or "no no, i love roxy music and im a fan of andy and phil in particular but i dont care for byran much at all, dont get it twisted", etc. are there bands you're more familiar with who have this sort of divide amongst the fanbase? do tell me about them, if you like :>

first of all i absolutely love that u sent this ksdhgkshg this is like. exactly the kind of thing i wanted

sorry for taking 39485949 years to post this lmao. i wrote like FIVE entire paragraphs and then had to edit it but it was getting super late and anyway it’s still absurdly long (as in, i can say whatever i want in the below text bc no one is going to want to read it) and definitely devolved into a huge general rant about the annoying and creepy behaviors of some people within band fanbases (specifically ELO-related bc of course) as well as vagueing about my own controversial opinions but......nonetheless.

anyway!!! i find this kind of thing really interesting too!! and i know EXACTLY what you’re talking about. there are just sooo many facets to this, and i guess it’s different for every band. on the one hand i do think it’s kind of an interesting phenomenon bc if you think about it, they’re basically enjoying the same thing but taking wildly different/opposing stances on it. as a whole i would find it a lot more interesting/amusing and less frustrating if people could like...manage these kinds of differences without turning it into some kind of overly vitriolic/super hostile opposition that you would think is about politics or something and not a band we r supposed to be listening to for entertainment purposes. i mean, i 100% get that things don’t have to be Extremely Important to be worth discussing, but it just seems wild the way some people get SO intensely angry about these things, sometimes to the point of being kind of inappropriate. i have a lot of issues with the way some people within band fanbases tend to behave lol

.......anyway the Full Rant is below here (idk why i wrote this bc it’s long enough to be turned in for a grade and it’s only partially relevant. read at ur own risk):

so!! thankfully with most bands i enjoy i just kind of watch the fanbase from the sidelines and don't get too involved in or even aware of all the drama. like...i know about the band and enjoy the music but just manage to not get involved in whatever the community happens to be collectively freaking out about at any given moment. i feel like the kind of divide you mentioned is actually pretty common within band fanbases (i think there are things like this with like...styx and three dog night? among others? but i don't know all the details 👀) but like, FORTUNATELY with most of them i just would not know. that's very nice because i unfortunately do not always have that kind of luxury with the ELO fanbase...idk i have a lot of very strong ELO-related opinions that i usually don't like to discuss in great detail bc i get disproportionately frustrated but yeah basically what you described does kind of happen among ELO fans, although thankfully i'd say it's to a somewhat lesser extent? people are commonly at each other's throats about a variety of topics including (but not limited to) who they support or don't support, but there are still plenty of people who (thankfully) are not so aggressive lmao. there is sort of a divide within the fanbase but i feel like it's probably not so 50/50 as what you're talking about...maybe more like 85/15

THAT SAID, i have frequently commented on the fact that the ELO fanbase is largely a dumpster fire and there is a whole entire sector of the fanbase that is comprised of people who i absolutely cannot stand, and most of them do fight a lot lmao. this is only partially related to the subject at hand, but a good portion of the bickering is relevant to The Divide. like, i'm 100% okay with having a different opinion than someone else as long as they aren't acting like a complete freak about it, but idk, aside from the fact that most of these people are like?? needlessly aggressive?? there are certain opinions held by certain members of the Greater ELO Community that just give me that vibe of like...hmmmm this is a person i probably would not want to associate with at all, even in matters completely unrelated to this. Unsavory Person Vibes. i mean like, “opinions” that just boil down to "i am very very entitled and also incapable of seeing anyone else's perspective on literally anything ever BUT that isn't going to stop me from openly whining about this absolutely whenever possible." like!! it's one thing to have some kind of legitimate, reasonable criticism of an individual or band but some, if not most, of the things i've seen people losing their minds over within this fanbase have been so hilariously trivial that i just CANNOT understand how these people actually managed to get to be (presumably) functional adults who are probably like 50+ years old. i mean like, full-blown tantrums and calling someone all sorts of nasty things over something that shouldn't even be an issue because without exaggerating i cannot fathom how anyone could even be majorly upset about it in the first place. to give an example: someone once had a whole entire little strongly-worded, excessively presumptuous freakout because a guitar was no longer on loan to the rock and roll hall of fame. like...it was there for quite awhile and two out of four inductees loaned absolutely nothing but you're whining because one who DID loan something eventually took it back? do we not know what the word "loan" means? anyway the best part is that basically every time something like this happens, if someone tries to point out that the person is overreacting or perhaps just needs to look at a situation another way, they will then go off on that person bc god forbid we try to be level-headed about things. everything has to be Very Horrible All The Time or we’re doing something wrong or being stupid or something. idk i'm convinced that some people just want to be angry

also just...some of these people do some really shady things that i personally feel are morally questionable but there's nothing i can do about it so i try to just kind of avoid dwelling on it lmfao. like, it's not okay to violate people's privacy just because they're famous and you're overly entitled/nosy/desperate for clout/blatantly trying to profit off of them? i know in the Sane World that's a completely non-controversial idea but band fanbases apparently often aren't based on sanity skhglkshgks idk i could probably write a small novel on this and make a specific list of all the things they do that are just like...bafflingly tone deaf and kind of appalling but i digress. idk the worst part to me is the way they'll be like, saying/doing something that's just awful or like, maybe even totally factually wrong while acting like they're in the right. absolutely wild

to at least somewhat bring this back to what we were ATTEMPTING to talk about!!! personally i've reached a point where i pretty much no longer care about like 90% of anyone who has ever been in ELO (jeffrey/richard/roy/mike de albuquerque supremacy) but i'm not like, actively a Hater of the others lmao. i appreciate that they were there and enjoy the nostalgia(? i wasn’t alive) of it and i’m glad they’re out there existing but i just...don’t really care about anything they do at this point?? a good portion of it is a result of me taking issue with certain things some of them have done, which has impacted the way i feel about them, but MOST of it is really not that deep and it’s just that some of them just don't particularly interest me on that kind of level/i don't feel the need to get that invested in like 927509257 different people (fun fact: during the 1970s every third person in existence on earth was, at least briefly, a member of ELO). there's really only one ELO-adjacent person who i actually very strongly dislike and a) luckily i feel like they barely even count as a member b) the reasoning is kind of its own Thing and has very very very little to do with anything related to the band so it's kind of another subject entirely. anyway that’s as close as i’ll ever get to actually getting involved with any of the Drama sgsdgsdgfhdh. my primary beef is with the fanbase anyway because, as previously mentioned, there are too many insane people. i guess what i’m getting at here is that yeah there’s a divide and it does affect me BUT i also don’t really get why people allow this to make them act in a way that goes beyond just having a difference in opinion and is so overly hostile towards each other as well as the people they’re discussing. like...if anyone involved is a serial killer or something even remotely similar then yeah, being outraged on an extreme level and absolutely hating them even as an outsider makes sense. otherwise? calm down!!!!!

anyway. to wrap up this mostly incoherent rant that i hope no one read: i have always suspected that band fandoms kind of attract certain kinds of very distressingly weird people and i just think it's funny how there's always like, a little cluster of people within the fanbase who basically seem like they actually hate the band (those are almost always the Weird Ones bc i can’t tell you how many times i’ve witnessed a person who is like, into a band to a CREEPY extent and then one day they just flip and become a hater). at that point i'm just like, okay? so why are you still here lmfao. i guess that's the Main Idea of all of this lol. i just don't get why these people stick around when 98% of all they ever do is complain and act overly judgy? i just feel like if my so-called favorite band was making me that miserable i would try to find another band to like instead of becoming a menace to society. that’s just me tho

to bring all of this together i guess i just assume that some kind of phenomenon like this occurs within basically every band fanbase. idk it just seems pretty universal for some reason. certain kinds of people just love drama i guess and will turn any difference of opinion into some kind of shitshow

tl;dr: yes

#every time i talk about this sort of thing i think about how my mom joined some of the elo facebook groups #and after a few weeks she was like omg!!! you were right!!! they're crazy!!! they're FIGHTING with each other!!!#sadly the facebook ppl are actually pretty tame compared to what can be found lurking in other corners of the internet #anyway this mostly just turned into me vagueing about my beef with the elo fanbase again but it's hard not to go there sdhglkhsdgl #also i feel like with a lot of things that cause Controversy within band fandoms it's just like #people getting so angry over things that don't affect them and that the actual people involved aren't even that concerned about anymore #AND ppl assuming they have the whole story on a particular issue when oftentimes it's likely that they don't #whether it's bc the information just isn't out there or because certain sources are obviously going to slant things in their favor #which is not inherently a problem bc of course people have different perspectives but you just can't forget that that's a thing #idk i have.....so many very strong opinions but the idea of being specific about it in a conversation gives me hives #metaphorical hives #anyway thank you for sending this bc i am literally always waiting to rant about weird ppl within band fandoms #eddie-riff

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verdigrisprowl · 6 years

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Dec 17 Odothon Part 6 - DS9 S4E1 S4E10 S4E11 S4E12 S4E20 S4E25 S5E1 S5E8 S5E9 S5E12 S5E22 S6E1 S6E2 S6E3 S6E4

Do you know what Prowl has missed? Binge-watching things.

Since last Wednesday he's done nothing except sleep, go to work, and watch TV with Soundwave—and even at that he's used a couple of his work breaks to sneak off and watch even more.

So here they are on day five, where now each installment is less about the people and more about the war that they've found themselves in. By the end, the space station has been occupied by enemy forces. The star of their marathon is very quickly being seduced into complacency under the new oppressive rulers, and then into aligning with a representative of his villainous home world. And Prowl is intensely scared for this lonely little shapeshifter he’s never met in his life.

Me 10:43 am *ping, ping, can Prowl come over* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:44 am *After all that noise and all those thoughts and all those lights, Soundwave is 100% ready to settle in on a couch with his amica and turn Earth potato until the next work shift.*

*So yes. Yes, he can. Downstairs, this time, as usual.* FakeProwl 10:45 am *appears and immediately sits let's go what are the klingons up to* *... greeting/permission ping* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:47 am [[Good morning.]]

*Had to finish passing out trade orders for the minicons whose duty is to see the vendors today.*

[[We go.]] ((or we will as soon as it loads lmfao)) FakeProwl 10:48 am *Leans on Soundwave.* *... No. Insufficient. Gets on Soundwave's lap.*

ItsyBitsySpyers 10:50 am *??? What is this? He'll accept it, and wrap his arms around Prowl, but this is unexpected.*

[[Hello.]] FakeProwl 10:52 am Hello. *wraps an arm around Soundwave's back.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:54 am *How do you ask this politely when you're as curious about it as he is?*

[[In the mood for contact?]] FakeProwl 10:55 am ... Clever. Deliberately "leak" the information to a known spy. *oh. question. hm.* ... Obviously. Provided you're not Bevel this time. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:56 am *Quiet puffing.* [[Bevel is no telepath.]] FakeProwl 10:56 am Thank goodness. FakeProwl 10:58 am Is Wharf perceived as a traitor to his people? He seems popular with every Klingon he's spoken with. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:02 am [[In years before this one, his father was framed for an act that betrayed the Empire. Those responsible for judging refused Worf's evidence of his father's innocence. To prevent the civil war that would occur if the true traitor were revealed, and the death of his brother, he accepted a punishment removing him from the Empire.]] FakeProwl 11:03 am Ah. Is that why he's in the Federation. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:03 am [[He was in the Federation before then.]] FakeProwl 11:03 am Hm. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:04 am [[He joined because a vision from one of his culture's legendary figures told him he would eventually do something no Klingon had ever done. He believed it meant becoming the first Klingon in Starfleet.]] FakeProwl 11:05 am /Hm./ Visions. FakeProwl 11:06 am Conveniently vague, allowing room for a self-fulfilling prophecy. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:06 am *Soundwave spreads his feelers in place of his hands, unwilling to let go of Prowl.*

[[He does not claim to believe in them. He only relates what he knows.]] FakeProwl 11:08 am *Good, Prowl has no interest in being let go of.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:14 am [[Now they listen.]] FakeProwl 11:17 am Even if they had listened the first time, the Klingons are out of line. Conquering a planet for mere suspicion of shapeshifters is wildly out of line. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:17 am [[No, no, not the conquering. The blood screening.]] FakeProwl 11:19 am I know. I don't think they specifically objected to the blood screening. So even if they'd listened to it it wouldn't have prevented all this. FakeProwl 11:20 am *That was a very nice analysis of humans. ... What's root beer though.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:21 am *Don't ask him; all he knows is what they just saw.*

[[Ah. No, it likely would not. Conquering seems to have been their plan from the start.]] FakeProwl 11:21 am Mhm. FakeProwl 11:24 am *Huff. Good, Odo. Demand no less than an opera.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:25 am *Bobs his helm. What a good sense of humor.* FakeProwl 11:25 am *HUFF. Odo is in fine form today. Excellent deadpan.* Why are Cardassians so... *vague gesture.* Are they ALL like that, or just the two of them? ItsyBitsySpyers 11:26 am [[Dramatic?]] FakeProwl 11:27 am Dramatic like a spy movie where they all think everything they say has three meanings. Garak is a spy, the other one doesn't have that excuse. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:28 am [[Gul Dukat is egotistical and cocky. Garak uses humor to deflect, cover, and protect. Each loathes the other. They often engage in such barbed banter.]]

[[There are many others, and they are not all so... prone to putting on displays.]] FakeProwl 11:29 am Oh, good. Otherwise their entire planet sounded insufferable. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:33 am [[He approves of their devotion to their family units and closest friends. And the functional quality of the Obsidian Order, before its destruction. The fanatical devotion to a tightly controlled state with a legal system like theirs, however... that, he could do without.]] FakeProwl 11:33 am I'll take your word about the family and friends. FakeProwl 11:34 am The one on the right is overly optimistic. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:35 am [[Indeed.]]

FakeProwl 11:42 am *Poor Odo.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:42 am *You're telling him.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:47 am [[The twins sometimes find it amusing to change the order of the objects on his shelves. Unfortunately, it is safer for him to move them back himself.]] FakeProwl 11:48 am Reprehensible. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:48 am [[...The organ replacement?]] FakeProwl 11:49 am No, the moving objects around merely to vex the owner of the objects. Both Docks and the twins. ((check out these larping nerds)) ItsyBitsySpyers 11:50 am [[It is hardly the worst offense he can think of. But it IS irritating.]] *Pause.* [[...Docks?]] FakeProwl 11:51 am Docks, yes. The one with the spots on her face who messed up Odo's room. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:51 am ((i love his whole speech so much)) FakeProwl 11:52 am ((it was beautiful)) ItsyBitsySpyers 11:52 am [[...The Trill?]] *Light huff.* [[Dax, Prowl. She is not a place to settle a boat.]] FakeProwl 11:52 am ... D...ax. *that's not a word.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:53 am *Nod, nod. Of course it's not a word; it's an organic name. Their names never make sense.* *LOUD huff* FakeProwl 11:53 am *Pff. The Klingons know how to handle gods.* FakeProwl 11:58 am All right. The captain's father is now a suspect as a shapeshifter. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:58 am [[Reasoning?]] FakeProwl 11:59 am He isn't eating in front of them. He's a weak link to the person who's guarding over their one access gate into this part of the galaxy. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:00 pm *Nods.* [[That makes sense.]] FakeProwl 12:01 pm The president guy in the stripey suit is a suspect too. There was just a massive terrorist attack with 27 deaths and— Hah. Impressive, Odo. FakeProwl 12:03 pm ... EARTH is a PEACEFUL HAVEN? Earth is a PARADISE? FakeProwl 12:04 pm *the future is wild* FakeProwl 12:05 pm ... Red Squad is all suspect too. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:06 pm [[By then. Hunger solved, mass peace, the removal of judgments against those with differences, and so on. After a war which nearly destroyed their full planet.]] FakeProwl 12:06 pm Isolate a pack of students, tell them they're better then others—start taking them away from other people, get them alone—and they start refusing to interact with other people. FakeProwl 12:09 pm The admiral is unnecessarily hostile. ... The admiral is prob— yes. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:10 pm [[He wonders how much the changeling gathered before he was found.]] FakeProwl 12:12 pm He couldn't go into any places that would have phaser scans, which limits things. So he's limited to things he could discover by talking to people outside. FakeProwl 12:13 pm Still a great deal, but no classified files. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:13 pm [[They appear to do much of their talking outside.]] *Nods.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:16 pm ((i know this is Future Medicine but "just a mild stroke" is a hell of a line to get whapped with)) FakeProwl 12:17 pm ((yeah :,) )) ItsyBitsySpyers 12:17 pm [[He has something of a point about the stolen blood. Odo contained a datapad when he was a briefcase.]] FakeProwl 12:17 pm ((... my mom had a mild stroke. she went to the hospital for something unrelated and they did a brain scan and said "uhhhh you've got mild brain damage that says you had a stroke a few months ago???" and she went "hahaha what")) ItsyBitsySpyers 12:18 pm ((oh my goodness gracious 😧 i'm glad it wasn't a worse one, at least)) FakeProwl 12:19 pm This is true. *Earth is in trouble. Sits up straighter.* FakeProwl 12:21 pm "With the exception of the Borg incident there hasn't been a state of emergency in a century"? Well then, call this one an exception too. Problem solved. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:22 pm *Soundwave muffles his amusement by pressing his mouth against Prowl's shoulder.*

[[Are you certain you were never a politician?]] FakeProwl 12:23 pm Fairly certain, but I've hung out with quite a few. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:23 pm [[And listened closely.]] FakeProwl 12:24 pm Coming from a politician and a good listener, I'm taking that as a high compliment.

ItsyBitsySpyers 12:25 pm [[Former.]] *He's not a senator anymore, Prowl.* [[But good. It was.]] FakeProwl 12:26 pm I consider "politician" an enduring skillset, not a job. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:26 pm [[Don't tell Ratbat.]] FakeProwl 12:26 pm ... And in HIS case, a personality. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:27 pm *Shaking enough he's probably causing Prowl to wobble too.* FakeProwl 12:28 pm *turns to bump Soundwave's crest.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:28 pm *Bump! And a good nuzzling rub before he sits up properly.* [[You have a fine instinct for suspects. Or... what is it the other timelines say.]] *Tap tap tap.* [[Oh. Yes. A nose for it.]] FakeProwl 12:30 pm Heh. I'd say Red Squad is definitely a changeling infiltration squad. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:31 pm [[Then the Bolian officer we just saw would need to be one as well. He asked the Sisko human to cover their tracks.]] FakeProwl 12:32 pm Indeed. FakeProwl 12:33 pm ... And they're not scared of the Dominion. ... AND they want to know more about "the man at the front line." ItsyBitsySpyers 12:36 pm [[What a delightful data-gathering plan.]] [[And a sloppy cadet. He should not have been so willing to divulge that data.]] FakeProwl 12:36 pm Indeed. FakeProwl 12:38 pm ... If it IS a Starfleet operation, it's brilliant. Get past the president's reluctance to up security by taking out power, framing the Dominion, and instituting martial law. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:40 pm [[Brilliant, but foolish. What if his work had exposed Earth to the very changelings they were worried about? Some were already present. They could have notified the others.]] FakeProwl 12:42 pm Or what if—as is now the case—the civilians find out the truth. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:43 pm [[He recalls Bashir's wolf story.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 12:46 pm [[Bold of this one.]] FakeProwl 12:46 pm Very bold. FakeProwl 12:48 pm Although I have no respect for people who come up to their enemies just to gloat. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:50 pm [[It is inefficient. And grants them a chance to terminate you.]]

[[The only exception is when they are the type to let their anger overwhelm all their sense. Which Sisko is not.]] FakeProwl 12:51 pm And gives away part of their plans. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:51 pm [[He counted that under inefficiency.]] FakeProwl 12:51 pm Ah. Fair. FakeProwl 12:54 pm An interesting trick. Where did they get a fake sample of shape-shifter goo? ItsyBitsySpyers 12:54 pm [[Odo, he expects.]] FakeProwl 12:54 pm I imagine Odo is very protective of his goo. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:56 pm [[They were clever enough liars to get away with taking down the power relays. They may have found a way to convince him to part with it.]] FakeProwl 12:58 pm I doubt it. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:58 pm [[What do you propose, then? He is most curious.]] *Attentively listening. He's not being rude; he's genuinely interested.* FakeProwl 12:59 pm I don't know. Perhaps some synthetic substance that can turn from a red liquid into a clear goo when introduced to the correct conditions. FakeProwl 1:01 pm ... This would be a circumstance in which recording every conversation would be extremely beneficial. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:02 pm [[Hm. Perhaps.]] *He's no chemist, so he doesn't know what it would be, but he's seen various Shockwaves do odd things with substances before.*

[[They happen far more often than others think.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 1:03 pm *Soundwave's fingers twitch tighter at the one human trying to lecture the other about what loyalty means. It strikes an old and irritated nerve.* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:08 pm [[A mother hen?]] FakeProwl 1:09 pm Don't know. ... An interesting... examination of paranoia.

ItsyBitsySpyers 1:10 pm [[You disagree with some part of it?]] *Throwing darts at that hesitation.* FakeProwl 1:10 pm Nnnno, I don't think so. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:11 pm [[Why pause?]] ((bluh)) FakeProwl 1:11 pm Looking for a good word. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:12 pm [[Ah.]] FakeProwl 1:15 pm ... While mildly amusing, I do not approve of Odo deliberately antagonizing Quark via taking quarters over him. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:15 pm [[Even though a poorly-rested Quark is a Quark likely to make more slip-ups and be caught quicker?]] FakeProwl 1:18 pm I sincerely doubt that that is why Odo did it. Regardless, deliberately exhausting someone in an effort to prevent them from committing hypothetical future crimes is torture. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:19 pm [[Hm.]] *He'll wisely keep his mouth shut.* FakeProwl 1:19 pm *Prowl has a good guess why.* FakeProwl 1:21 pm ... You never see that. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:22 pm [[Others approving of minimal socialization?]] FakeProwl 1:22 pm Indeed. People talking frankly and non-judgmentally about how to make their rooms and schedules more orderly and how to make their quarters more inhospitable to visitors. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:24 pm [[Extremely high-pitched frequencies.]] FakeProwl 1:24 pm Pff. FakeProwl 1:25 pm ((that's the cutest thing)) ItsyBitsySpyers 1:25 pm [[High enough to make them uncomfortable without being blatantly noticeable. It makes their plating crawl and you can filter it out if you know what you set it to be.]] *Feeler wave* [[If you want his suggestion.]] FakeProwl 1:25 pm ((fwoomp. belt.)) ItsyBitsySpyers 1:25 pm ((it is!!) FakeProwl 1:26 pm Fortunately, I already find my current quarters quite inhospitable to visitors. Something about telling people I'm imprisoned and there are guards outside. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:26 pm [[And yet, Arcee.]] FakeProwl 1:26 pm I think Arcee thrives on inhospitable. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:28 pm [[...Perhaps next time she arrives you should offer her every available comfort. She might leave after the fifth offer to refill her cube and bring her a tarp.]] *Shakes his helm.* [[Then again, she may grow accustomed to it. Better we prevent invasion in the first place.]] FakeProwl 1:29 pm Space bridges it is. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:29 pm [[He enjoys being useful.]] FakeProwl 1:30 pm *nuzzle* I know. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:31 pm *Low rumble and nuzzle. Such affection, today. He enjoys that, too, when Prowl feels up to delivering it.* FakeProwl 1:32 pm *Oh hello Odo, what an awkward position, Prowl's been there before.* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:33 pm [[But fun.]] FakeProwl 1:34 pm *snorts* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:37 pm [[That looks like a ritual you would like.]] *Idle nibble.* [[Going over reports.]] FakeProwl 1:40 pm I'd like for it to be. But most people are so /bad/ at reports. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:41 pm [[If they file them to begin with.]] FakeProwl 1:46 pm ... At this point, for his own effectiveness as an officer, Odo needs to put serious effort into emotionally separating himself from Kira as much as possible. ... That's a reasonable starting point. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:47 pm [[Yes. He is clearly unpracticed at separating his personal matters from his work hours.]] FakeProwl 1:48 pm The first time is hardest. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:50 pm [[May he ask...?]] FakeProwl 1:51 pm No. Maybe another time. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:52 pm *Nods.* [[As you wish.]] *Another nibble. No harm meant.* FakeProwl 1:53 pm Odo made the correct decision. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:55 pm [[Agreed. May he learn from it.]]

ItsyBitsySpyers 2:00 pm [[Owning a mate against their will.]] *Can you ffffeeeeeeell the disgust.* FakeProwl 2:02 pm *He can, actually.* FakeProwl 2:03 pm ((they've been in one and a half episodes together and i'm already shipping odo and worf)) ((go. go on a walk together.)) ItsyBitsySpyers 2:03 pm ((heh)) ItsyBitsySpyers 2:06 pm [[He wonders if that is what Tarantulas experiences.]] FakeProwl 2:06 pm I don't think any of his eggs have had anything living in them. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:06 pm [[Would that make a difference?]] FakeProwl 2:06 pm No kicks. ... She doesn't LOOK like she feels unwelcome. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:08 pm [[Not in the slightest.]] FakeProwl 2:11 pm He's doing what? ItsyBitsySpyers 2:11 pm [[Using a loophole. Cleverly.]] FakeProwl 2:11 pm He certainly is! FakeProwl 2:13 pm ... Why don't they just tell JL that he's not invited, if his presence could throw the plan into disarray? ItsyBitsySpyers 2:13 pm [[He is already her husband. His approval may be legally required for the transfer to be made.]] FakeProwl 2:13 pm They made no explicit mention of that. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:14 pm [[He is only speculating. He does not know the rest of their law.]] FakeProwl 2:14 pm Nor I. But if that were an explicit requirement, I'd think that would have been stated outright, while explaining the other laws. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:14 pm [[It did say family and friends. He is, now, technically family.]] FakeProwl 2:17 pm *"She saw how different as I was, and she didn't recoil. She wanted to see more." Quietly tightens grip around Soundwave.* ItsyBitsySpyers 2:17 pm *Winds a feeler around one of Prowl's wrists and squeezes. He can guess what that was about.* FakeProwl 2:19 pm ((I love that we're blithely skipping over a clearly very creepy storyline with a writer and what looks like some kind of nightmare vampire-muse so we can focus on this wedding)) ItsyBitsySpyers 2:19 pm ((well i mean if you WANT prowl to watch someone blatantly steal life energy from jake sisko's mind...)) FakeProwl 2:20 pm ((not at all, it's just kinda funny)) ItsyBitsySpyers 2:20 pm ((LOL)) FakeProwl 2:20 pm (("waIT WHAT THE FUCK'S GOING ON HERE oh hey wedding time")) FakeProwl 2:21 pm She's very sensible about romance. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:22 pm [[She is. She manages to wear her feelings blatantly and keep her head at the same time. It is impressive.]] FakeProwl 2:23 pm Indeed. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:24 pm *And Soundwave quietly appreciates that the marriage was not forced even though it was not an appropriate fit. He grew tired of people bothering him about his views long ago.*

[[A summary, and then he must pause to gather fuel before we continue. He worked long hours yesterday.]] FakeProwl 2:24 pm Very well. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:26 pm [[Sisko and the others are called to help the Dominion hunt down a rare troop of rogue Jem'Hadar, lest those Jem'Hadar seize the Dominion for themselves and do worse than even the changelings. During the hunt, a Vorta named Weyoun secretly infects Odo with a virus while insisting that the Founders love him and want him back. Odo refuses.]]

[[Weyoun is later killed by his own Jem'Hadar team for doubting their loyalty during the hunt.]] FakeProwl 2:27 pm What does the virus do? ItsyBitsySpyers 2:28 pm [[You will see when he has finished refueling.]] FakeProwl 2:28 pm All right. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:29 pm *No need for Prowl to move unless he wants to. Soundwave will just get several cubes from behind the bar with his feelers. Prowl's already seen him eat many times. He doesn't care if Prowl sees it again.* FakeProwl 2:54 pm *Prowl's avatar goes idle until Soundwave says it's time to start again.* ItsyBitsySpyers 2:56 pm *It occurs to him as he begins the second cube (and the next tape) that Prowl was calling the alien husband JL. Who can blame him? The organics call themselves odd things instead of sensible names like Skywarp and Mirage.* *Tap tap the avatar.*

[[He's ready.]] FakeProwl 2:57 pm *optics flicker.* So am I. FakeProwl 2:58 pm {{S4E25 Broken Link}}

Hey, he can use his coffee trick with her. FakeProwl 3:00 pm *sits forward* ... Virus? ItsyBitsySpyers 3:02 pm [[Mm-hmm.]] *Sits forward with* [[Have you considered creating a "coffee trick" of your own?]] FakeProwl 3:02 pm Yes. I don't know how to make a cup. FakeProwl 3:03 pm ... Well, whatever's going on with him, it definitely isn't fatal. ItsyBitsySpyers 3:03 pm *Soundwave points at one of the exhaust pipes - yes, he finally figured out what those are for - and blips to get Prowl to look down.*

[[It is not so different in shape. Add a handle and change the external appearance.]] FakeProwl 3:04 pm The shape isn't the problem, I can't do textures. ItsyBitsySpyers 3:05 pm [[Bonecrusher does fine work. Or Buzzsaw.]] *Chin tap.* [[Perhaps Bevel. He does not know if she has worked with avatars before.]] FakeProwl 3:05 pm SHE'S pregnant now? It's an epidemic. ItsyBitsySpyers 3:06 pm [[It is a complicated situation. The youngling's original host was severely damaged. To prevent them both from perishing, it was implanted within another organic.]] [[Namely, her. With her permission.]] FakeProwl 3:07 pm *Brightens. He understands that concept!* Oh. Oviposition. *Note: he doesn't understand that concept.* ItsyBitsySpyers 3:07 pm [[Yes.]] *Note: neither does he.* FakeProwl 3:08 pm Well, everyone that Odo gets along with is coming down with it. Next it's going to be Wharf. ItsyBitsySpyers 3:08 pm [[He already has a son.]] *Still hasn't caught on to that particular misnomer.* FakeProwl 3:09 pm Lack— Lox-won— The one he married already had offspring as well. ItsyBitsySpyers 3:10 pm [[...Good point.]] [[They should all double-check their firew... their...]] *Sit up and slight frown.* [[...Whatever they have.]] FakeProwl 3:11 pm ... Do organic firewall equivalents block reproduction? ItsyBitsySpyers 3:14 pm [[Yes.]] *Pause* [[Maybe.]] *Pause again.* [[He thinks. He's heard from a few scattered pieces of Earth media that the humans have *something* they refer to as protections....]] FakeProwl 3:14 pm Don't they have wheelchairs in the future? ItsyBitsySpyers 3:16 pm [[Perhaps they have some sort of... antivirus program...? Force field? Modular organs?]] *Nearly misses the question.* [[What? Oh. They do.]] FakeProwl 3:17 pm Then Odo should have taken one across the promenade. His pride be damned, it would get him to the Defiant sooner and thus get him to his homeworld sooner. ItsyBitsySpyers 3:18 pm ((all i can ever think of is "the jem'hadar give o'brien a purple nurple")) FakeProwl 3:18 pm ((fff)) ItsyBitsySpyers 3:21 pm *Sets the other question aside. He'll ask Tarantulas. If anyone knows, it'll be him.*

[[Speaking as a former Decepticon... there are those who would interpret it as weakness. A reason to stop fearing his watchful optic. The greatest threat to their criminal operations brought low. It is difficult to reverse such ideas, once those mechs - or fleshlings - have formed them.]] FakeProwl 3:22 pm Limping across the promenade doesn't look weak? FakeProwl 3:24 pm They poisoned him. Does that not count as a changeling harming a changeling? ItsyBitsySpyers 3:24 pm [[He demands to walk despite falling to pieces. It is the promise of one who will pursue them to his last breath.]]

*Soundwave hums low, thinking.*

[[It would be better for him to abandon the pretense and prioritize his health. But that thought is what his reason would have been aboard the Nemesis.]] FakeProwl 3:26 pm Oh, I understand why he would do it. Plenty of Autobots would do exactly the same. It's still stupid and inefficient. ItsyBitsySpyers 3:27 pm *Nods.* FakeProwl 3:29 pm *Odo WANTS to be judged for his crime. Prowl's respect for him has gone through the roof.* FakeProwl 3:30 pm *Ugh. A whole sea of people merged into one consciousness. Repulsive.* ItsyBitsySpyers 3:31 pm [[Ha.]] FakeProwl 3:31 pm ((he was about to fuckin throw a rock at a bunch of people omg)) ItsyBitsySpyers 3:31 pm [[That would NOT have ended well.]] FakeProwl 3:32 pm N-no. I doubt it would have. FakeProwl 3:34 pm *"Don't tell me you'd object to a little genocide in the name of self-defense?" Prowl is almost furious at how much he has to agree with that sentiment.* FakeProwl 3:35 pm *In this case, under these circumstances... he might have done the same as Garak.* FakeProwl 3:40 pm *An incredibly cruel punishment. Prowl tries to imagine what it would be like to—say, have his ability to transform taken away.* ItsyBitsySpyers 3:41 pm *Soundwave rather thought it was simpler than that. After all, Prowl knows what it is to be stuck in a body he doesn't want.* FakeProwl 3:41 pm *... Actually, Prowl doesn't think he'd miss his alt-mode all that much. He'd get used to going without it.* *He chose a poor metaphor.* ItsyBitsySpyers 3:42 pm {{S5E1 Apocalypse Rising}} ItsyBitsySpyers 3:43 pm *Not necessarily a poor one. Misapplied to himself, perhaps, but for many, it would be like that.* *Knock Out, for example. It would just about kill him, Soundwave imagines.* FakeProwl 3:43 pm *Poor for his purposes. He was searching for a way to feel empathy. Empathy is a challenging thought exercise.* ... You know, I don't think I'd mind being a monoformer terribly much. It would be an inconvenience, not a—an existential horror. ItsyBitsySpyers 3:47 pm [[It might be if you were unwillingly stuck as... hm. A helicopter in alt-mode. Or in a frame fifty feet taller than the height to which you'd become accustomed.]] [[They did not even trap him as a changeling. They made him a human.]] FakeProwl 3:48 pm No, no, I don't think my feelings about being a monoformer are in the very slightest related to Odo's feelings about being a solid. Completely unrelated. I'm just making converation. ItsyBitsySpyers 3:50 pm [[Ah. That is different.]] *Soundwave chews on the leftmost pointy tip of the piece framing Prowl's light bar.* [[He would not like it now, himself. He enjoys flight. But he thinks he could get used to it some day. Perhaps when it is time for him to undergo the planned reformat.]] FakeProwl 3:51 pm ... Mm. *he's lost the train of conversation, he's intensely worried about Odo.* *Depressed? Drinking too much? Not doing as much work as he used to?* FakeProwl 3:55 pm *He seems like... well. Like Prowl, if you take out the drinking.* ItsyBitsySpyers 3:55 pm *He most certainly does.* FakeProwl 3:55 pm *... Well. Right. What was the conversation.* Your reformat? The xenomorph isn't going to be your alt-mode? ItsyBitsySpyers 3:58 pm [[It probably will be. But if he were forced to cope with being stuck, he could do it easier then.]] FakeProwl 3:59 pm Hmm. ItsyBitsySpyers 4:00 pm [[...What?]] FakeProwl 4:01 pm What what? Just contemplating what you said. ItsyBitsySpyers 4:01 pm [[Yes. Usually "hmm"s are followed by statements. He thought you might have one.]] FakeProwl 4:01 pm Oh. No. ... I must have made the "hm" too long. ItsyBitsySpyers 4:03 pm [[It was fine.]] FakeProwl 4:04 pm Oh, sure, leaving a blown-up ship from unknown causes in the middle of space, I'm sure that won't cause an intersolar military incident. ItsyBitsySpyers 4:05 pm [[ [][][]I haven't survived this long by being sloppy,[][][] claims local organic being sloppy. Film at now.]] FakeProwl 4:06 pm Heh. FakeProwl 4:09 pm ... Somebody tell Odo to stop drinking. ItsyBitsySpyers 4:09 pm [[It would be nice if they did.]] FakeProwl 4:11 pm *Mumbles,* "Success," indeed. ItsyBitsySpyers 4:13 pm *Curious perk.* tlhIngan Hol Dajatlh'a'? FakeProwl 4:15 pm Is that what it's called? I can't SPEAK it yet, but I've heard it enough to understand it. ItsyBitsySpyers 4:16 pm [[Fascinating. He will remember that for the future. It may have its uses.]] FakeProwl 4:17 pm ((and your haaauuuus)) ItsyBitsySpyers 4:17 pm ((lol)) ItsyBitsySpyers 4:19 pm [[Now, where has he heard that before.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 4:26 pm *Hmph. There's nothing wrong with fangs.* FakeProwl 4:26 pm *Well, if you're not used to them...* ItsyBitsySpyers 4:27 pm {{S5E8 Things Past}} FakeProwl 4:30 pm ... Is that DS9 during the occupation? Oh, yes, there are the Cardassians. ItsyBitsySpyers 4:30 pm [[It is. It was called Terok Nor then.]] FakeProwl 4:38 pm Is this related to the simulation the changelings ran on the crew while they were captives? ItsyBitsySpyers 4:39 pm [[Not quite.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 4:44 pm [[This is the habit he told you about when we were speculating on the list murder.]] FakeProwl 4:44 pm I assumed as much. ItsyBitsySpyers 4:45 pm [["A". Hmph.]] FakeProwl 4:45 pm Oh, you poor, isolated man, unable to be friendly with the people you enslave. So lonely at the top. ItsyBitsySpyers 4:46 pm *Soundwave does so love it when Prowl oozes sarcasm.* FakeProwl 4:48 pm ... So, the three people they've replaced were innocents executed after being accused of trying to assassinate Gold Docket. There's a very easy way to avoid that fate. ItsyBitsySpyers 4:48 pm [[Succeed.]] FakeProwl 4:48 pm Yes. Try to assassinate him for real. FakeProwl 4:55 pm Now, if, instead of checking on Docks, they'd grabbed somethigns harp and jammed it Gold Docket's neck, they would have changed the past. ItsyBitsySpyers 4:57 pm [[If they hadn't been shot before they got there, thanks to the soldiers being on alert from the grenade.]] FakeProwl 4:57 pm *Listen to Odo pleading for an actual proper forensic examination and interviewing the witnesses.* Ugh. How condescending. HA. ItsyBitsySpyers 4:59 pm [[If only that happened more often.]] FakeProwl 5:03 pm ... Is this his dream? Is he dreaming about trying to fix the past? ...... Is he running a simulation? ItsyBitsySpyers 5:04 pm [[In a sense, yes.]] FakeProwl 5:06 pm He needs more practice at it. Everything jumps around, doors to ships lead to prisons instead. ItsyBitsySpyers 5:09 pm *Quietly* [[He would call this proof of ongoing improvement.]] FakeProwl 5:09 pm As would I. ItsyBitsySpyers 5:11 pm ((it's a lovely mirror of Necessary Evil)) FakeProwl 5:12 pm *"You were the one man who stood apart from everyone else, the one man who stood for justice. Now what?" Prowl's found himself wondering that.* {{S5E9 The Ascent}} ItsyBitsySpyers 5:13 pm ((hup i was gonna type that once i got it positioned stop being fasterrrrr XD)) *They'll have to see.* FakeProwl 5:20 pm I would much like to see someone break Quark's wrinkly little nose. On another note, though, I am INCREDIBLY suspicious of the claim that /the accused/ can't know /the charges made against him/. ItsyBitsySpyers 5:21 pm [[...Are relationship novels required reading for p--]] *Huffs into Prowl's back.* [[But not Odo, yes? Perhaps Kira will do it for him some day.]] FakeProwl 5:22 pm My desire to see Quark get punched and my desire for Odo to be better than that are separate. ItsyBitsySpyers 5:23 pm [[He'll accept that.]] *More laughing.* FakeProwl 5:25 pm And no. Relationship novels are not required reading. FakeProwl 5:27 pm And poor resources for knowledge about how relationships work. He'd be better off with psychology texts and true crime documentaries. ItsyBitsySpyers 5:28 pm [[He should go back to O'Brien for the detective novels.]] [[If he insists on reading fiction.]] FakeProwl 5:29 pm Better than nothing. ItsyBitsySpyers 5:31 pm [[Prowl.]] FakeProwl 5:32 pm Hm? ItsyBitsySpyers 5:32 pm [[He's your chair right now. Just in case you were unaware.]] FakeProwl 5:33 pm I thought my seat didn't feel as flat as usual. ItsyBitsySpyers 5:33 pm [[You're right.]] *Makes a show of looking at himself with a feeler.* [[It's flatter.]] FakeProwl 5:33 pm Hff. ItsyBitsySpyers 5:34 pm *Curls the feeler back around the limb it was holding. A little lightness to break up some of the rougher moments.* FakeProwl 5:41 pm Well, their stupid fight exponentially decreased both their odds of surviving. ItsyBitsySpyers 5:42 pm [[What would you calculate them at now?]] *Bright optics. If Prowl mentions odds, he's probably got some in mind.* FakeProwl 5:44 pm ... Well, I mean, /obviously/ it's about ninety-eight percent. You wouldn't show me all this if you weren't going to give me some sort of story with what you feel to be a satisfactory ending. ItsyBitsySpyers 5:44 pm [[Mm. He prefers to keep the unsatisfactory endings to movie nights.]] FakeProwl 5:45 pm But based solely on the evidence presented in the video: before the fight they had about twenty-two percent odds. After, three percent. ItsyBitsySpyers 5:46 pm *Playback of someone else whistling.*

[[That is even lower than he guessed.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 5:49 pm *Taps Prowl's hand for attention.* FakeProwl 5:49 pm Hm? ItsyBitsySpyers 5:52 pm [[He is not seeking details.]] *That first. He wants to be sure Prowl understands this isn't his way of prying out secrets.* [[This one is important, and he must not skip it. But he suspects it might be somewhat... uncomfortable. Odo's laboratory scientist reappears for a little while.]] FakeProwl 5:54 pm I'm not at all uncomfortable with that. Although I am curious to hear the specifics of why you think I might be. ItsyBitsySpyers 5:59 pm [[You have not liked the other Starfleet members deciding things for Odo, poking at his boundaries, invading his space, or treating him as an experiment. You are familiar with others doing most of that to you. He finds that the typical response to seeing a similar experience on screen is to be discomfited by it.]] [[He thought it best to err on the side of warning you and letting you tell him whether or not you were fine.]] FakeProwl 6:01 pm Mm. Thought it might have something to do, specifically, with the "scientist" aspect. *wan smile* I was concerned I'd somehow given you the impression I don't like scientists. ItsyBitsySpyers 6:07 pm [[Not scientists. Tarantulas is proof of that.]]

[[But he has noticed moments of aversion to on-screen psychologists, he knows there is one you do not speak of, and he knows psychology work involves personal meddling and lecturing. He does not know the circumstances behind the refusal to explain and he does not ask for them. He is simply attempting to be a considerate host.]] FakeProwl 6:09 pm It applies to psychologists and those in closely related fields. Nothing else. ... Unless you're saying Odo's laboratory scientist was a psychologist? Considering that they didn't know he was sentient until long after they'd been testing on him, I expected not. ItsyBitsySpyers 6:12 pm [[No. But he acts like a...]] *Gesturing with a hand.* [[As though he knows who Odo truly is, and is an expert in changeling psychology because he raised one.]] FakeProwl 6:14 pm Oh. Armchair psychologist. Got it. ItsyBitsySpyers 6:14 pm *Nod.* FakeProwl 6:14 pm *Dryly.* Well, rest assured that I'm on friendly terms with all of the scientists from the lab who found me, so no lingering trauma there. We may proceed. ItsyBitsySpyers 6:15 pm {{S5E12 The Begotten}} *Uncertain look. He doesn't know whether that's sarcasm or the truth or poking fun at him or what. He'll just focus on the part he does get.*

[[All right.]] FakeProwl 6:16 pm *That was the plan.* FakeProwl 6:18 pm *A baby changeling?* ItsyBitsySpyers 6:18 pm *Indeed!* ItsyBitsySpyers 6:21 pm [[It must be convenient to have such a telltale sign of sickness.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 6:22 pm *....To what? He's checking that on the datanet.* FakeProwl 6:25 pm Hold on, did we skip over Kira? How is she? ((i love that suspicious look worf gives his drink)) ItsyBitsySpyers 6:26 pm *...Oh. Yes, he can see how someone who knows how to do that would be helpful.*

[[She is fine. Her mate and the true father are being idiots about her pregnancy and spoiling her attempt to have a peaceful...]] Uh. Uh. Uh. [[...Deposit?]] FakeProwl 6:27 pm I think the term is "laying." You lay a baby. ItsyBitsySpyers 6:27 pm [[Thank you. To lay the baby peacefully.]] FakeProwl 6:31 pm *Well, Prowl thought this scientist was enthusiastic but fine until he started blaming Odo for not being over whatever invasive methods they used to make him shape shift.* ItsyBitsySpyers 6:31 pm *That feels suspiciously like deliberate manipulation to get the result he wants.* FakeProwl 6:33 pm ... He really sells being a cube. ItsyBitsySpyers 6:34 pm [[He likes that spiral more.]] *Point.* [[But it does sound like an interesting experience.]] FakeProwl 6:36 pm Why rush the child? It's only been around a week. Let it be a blob if it wants. Most organics take years to do something interesting. ItsyBitsySpyers 6:38 pm [[Says the mech from a planet that calls its younglings adults in a month.]] *There's a humor tag following that. He's making a point, but it's not supposed to be a nasty one.* FakeProwl 6:38 pm Half a month. And I /did/ say organics. ItsyBitsySpyers 6:39 pm *Tremble tremble.* [[You did, you did.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 6:44 pm ((bluuuuh)) FakeProwl 6:46 pm ... I can forgive the things he did before he discovered Odo was sentient. And even some of the things he did out of fear of the consequences from the Cardassians if he didn't obtain results. ItsyBitsySpyers 6:47 pm ((bluuuuuuh)) FakeProwl 6:48 pm It's his arrogant claims that it was all absolutely necessary that's... detestable. FakeProwl 6:49 pm Don't tell Odo to wait outside! His blob is dying! Let him wait in the corner or /something./ ItsyBitsySpyers 6:51 pm *Soundwave fidgets slightly, feeler squeezing and not letting go. He's never been a parent, but he's been responsible for other beings before. He has some sense of that.* FakeProwl 6:52 pm *... Well. At least Odo got his ability back. But at the cost of that blob he liked so much...* FakeProwl 6:54 pm ... He wasn't that big a jerk. Just a mild jerk. Only slightly arrogant with trace amounts of emotional manipulation. ... More than slightly arrogant. Medium arrogance. Overall... decent enough. ItsyBitsySpyers 6:57 pm [[He will trust your judgment.]] *Prowl's the one who works with the law and tries to stick to decent social behavior.* [[But he would like a break. He]] *split second too long between words* [[has cubes to finish.]] *There are still three more by the couch, after all, and he wants to focus on those instead of old memories.* FakeProwl 6:57 pm *Curious look?* ... All right. ItsyBitsySpyers 6:58 pm [[He will ping you when he is ready to resume.]] FakeProwl 6:59 pm Do you mind if I stay around. ItsyBitsySpyers 7:00 pm [[...No. He would like it if you did.]] *Gonna bite into the third one and tuck in.* FakeProwl 7:04 pm *watches for a moment. then, mumbles,* Cupholder. ItsyBitsySpyers 7:11 pm *Soundwave smiles despite himself and accidentally drips some down his chin. Damn it, he said it was hard drinking with teeth like his.* *Gonna just. Carefully tilt that cube back and scrub that off.* FakeProwl 7:17 pm *poker face. ... watches closely.* ItsyBitsySpyers 7:21 pm *Resumes gulping it down for a few more moments, watching Prowl's expression.*

*Then:* [[...You are either thirsty or trying to will him into spilling it again.]] FakeProwl 7:21 pm *LOOKS AWAY.* ... I'm not thirsty. ItsyBitsySpyers 7:24 pm [[He sees.]] *Drains the last of that one and peers into the cube like he expects there to be more lurking in a corner. There isn't. He picks up the next one and turns it over, contemplating his tank gauge.* [[Or the other one. You'd want to watch that.]] FakeProwl 7:25 pm Come again? ItsyBitsySpyers 7:25 pm [[He thought you were trying to make him spill it again. But there's no point in that if you're looking away. So he was wrong on both counts.]] FakeProwl 7:26 pm Ah. Well. Not "make," per se. ... Wouldn't have complained if it had happened, though. ItsyBitsySpyers 7:28 pm [[Oh? He'll keep that in mind.]] *Sets the fourth one down for now. He'll save it to distract Prowl with later tonight.*

*Ping.* FakeProwl 7:29 pm *Hff. Unnecessary ping.* ItsyBitsySpyers 7:30 pm *He said he would.*

[[Important events not surrounding Odo and something worth mention that does. You are ready for the summaries?]] FakeProwl 7:30 pm Ready. ItsyBitsySpyers 7:31 pm [[Garak and Worf discover internment camps filled with changeling impersonation victims - including Bashir, who's been there for weeks. A small group escape and return to the station.]]

[[The station's crew try to destroy the wormhole. Bashir's replacement sabotages them and allows Dominion fleets to come through; he is killed during a later attempt to destroy Bajor.]]

[[Dukat negotiates Cardassia's entry into the Dominion as his planet's supreme ruler. Now unable to crush Cardassia alone, the Klingon Empire restores peace with the Federation.]]

[[You have followed this portion?]] FakeProwl 7:32 pm So much for the civilian Cardassian government. Yes, go on. ItsyBitsySpyers 7:32 pm [[Odo meets a woman who's trying to leave the Orion Syndicate and chooses to help. They eventually interface. Her attempt to break free fails. After he saves her, it's revealed that she's an undercover agent gathering data on the Syndicate for her government. After they restore her memories, she remembers that she's already married and cannot stay with Odo.]] FakeProwl 7:33 pm Does that mean we find out what the Orion Syndicate is? What is it? ItsyBitsySpyers 7:34 pm [[The Orion Syndicate is a massive and incredibly powerful criminal organization involved in everything you can imagine they would be. If you name it, they are likely to have a hand in it.]] [[Gambling, assassinations, trafficking, piracy... he could list another half dozen without trying.]] FakeProwl 7:35 pm Jerks of all trades. Got it. ItsyBitsySpyers 7:36 pm [[Hmm. "Jerks of all trades."]] *rolls that around in his head* [[He likes that phrase. Good. Good.]] ((i might have to nudge netflix just a sec)) FakeProwl 7:37 pm *slightly puffs up in pride* ItsyBitsySpyers 7:38 pm {{S5E22 Children Of Time}} FakeProwl 7:42 pm ... Telepaths? ItsyBitsySpyers 7:43 pm [[No. This will be something far more interesting, he hopes.]] FakeProwl 7:43 pm They alrady know his name and recent drink preferences. Ooh, time travel. ItsyBitsySpyers 7:44 pm [[An "ooh"? He hoped correctly.]] FakeProwl 7:48 pm ... They use /Quark/ to teach math? I-I'm glad to see he's making a useful contribution to society. ItsyBitsySpyers 7:49 pm [[It only took 200 years for him to do it.]] FakeProwl 7:50 pm Ah. I'm familiar with quantum duplicates. ItsyBitsySpyers 7:50 pm [[How?]] FakeProwl 7:51 pm ... Classified. But the Autobots have observed the phenomenon. *In other universes, admittedly, but Prowl isn't giving away hints.* ItsyBitsySpyers 7:52 pm *Puffs. Damn that word.*

[[He'll take note of that.]] FakeProwl 7:53 pm He's figured out how to look more human. ... I prefer the smooth features. ItsyBitsySpyers 7:53 pm [[Why is that?]] ((odo in the jar in the box going AAAAAAH SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP)) FakeProwl 7:55 pm *Points at his own face. No wrinkles or folds of flesh.* He's more relatable when he's smooth. ((that man loves babies so much)) ItsyBitsySpyers 7:57 pm [[That makes sense.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 7:58 pm [[...The Tyran mechs. The ones like the Jazz he helps. Do you see their faces as more relatable because they are mechanical, or less than humans because of all the pieces?]] FakeProwl 7:59 pm More relatable than humans, less relatable than Cybertronians from my world. FakeProwl 8:01 pm Yours are midway between Tyran and mine. /Pretty/ familiar, but I'm always worried you're going to horribly dent your faces in alt-mode. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:02 pm [[And he worries you will crush your nose and chin when they collide with pieces of yours.]] *Heh.* FakeProwl 8:03 pm Pff. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:03 pm *And now the part he thought Prowl would like.* FakeProwl 8:03 pm *Indeed. He's focusing intensely.* FakeProwl 8:07 pm *The lives of eight thousand people, versus one dead and forty-eight ripped out of their lives forever. FakeProwl 8:10 pm ... It costs eight thousand lives to go home. But it costs who-knows-how-many hypothetical future lives if they're not back home to create them. But no hypothetical lives are worth real, currently-existent lives. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:12 pm [[What of the *other* lives already present? These are some of the humans most familiar with the Dominion and its activities. And Odo is among them. If he stays here, what insight can the Federation continue to gather? ]] FakeProwl 8:14 pm Yes, I was going to say—there is the question of the war with the Dominion, and what these people could do in those battles. But all that, too, is hypothetical. And it's difficult to calculate the /exact/ benefit that forty-nine individuals could have in a massive galaxy-wide war. FakeProwl 8:16 pm /These/ people exist. These people /will/ cease to exist if they don't go back. That is a guarantee. Nothing else is. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:18 pm [[He still does not think it wise to replace the most experienced front-line warriors at this time.]]

[[Nor does he have faith in time travel. He has always heard that changes in actions will splinter the timelines. That is how there are so many of us. Surely, now that the original crew know everything to come, it will affect their future on this planet. How can we be certain it saves the same 8,000 to begin with?]] FakeProwl 8:18 pm ... Of course, they're not going to get to the past. That would end the story and the story isn't over, is it? Obviously, they can't be certain it will save the same eight thousand. But they definitely WON'T save the same eight thousand if they don't crash. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:19 pm [[But those eight thousand could die either way.]] FakeProwl 8:19 pm Irrelevant. They MIGHT die either way. They WILL die if they don't go back. ... Correction, they DID die because they didn't go back. ...... Ugh, time travel. The eight thousand never existed and yet this crew remembers interacting with them even though they never existed to be interacted with. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:21 pm [[You said that the 8000 was a guarantee. If the 8000 is not a guarantee because they cannot know what their update in knowledge will do, does that not make the 49 the guarantee?]] FakeProwl 8:21 pm *Opens mouth.* ... Uh. ... I'm not going to be deciphering that sentence while the Odo is saying things. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:22 pm [[He'll wait.]] *This is a Moment.* FakeProwl 8:22 pm *Anyway Prowl's pointing at Kira. He's on Kira's side.* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:23 pm {{ S5E26 Call to Arms }} FakeProwl 8:25 pm These people have a military branch dedicated to timeline anomalies. I'm trusting their interpretation of the timeline better than ours, we're all still very fuzzy about time travel over here. If they think going into the past would preserve those eight thousand lives, I'm inclined to trust their experience over our guesstimates. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:25 pm [[He is inclined to trust what he has observed here in the multiverse.]] [[...He will agree that doing so to keep Kira alive was a poor reason. But he believes the 49 were more sound.]] [[Ah. Wait. He forgot something.]] FakeProwl 8:27 pm 8000 lives against 1 isn't a fair trade but 163 lives against 1 is a fair trade? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:28 pm *Squint.* Remind him of the 163 lives. *He doesn't remember the number 163 in what they just watched...* FakeProwl 8:28 pm 8000 divided by 49 is 163.265306 et cetera. That's how much each of those 49 "saved" lives costs. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:33 pm [[8000 lives that are just as likely to be destroyed because they told their history to the ancestors who were supposed to have made it. O'Brien "knows" that he married the ensign after 10 years because he finally gave up when it was clear he couldn't get away. He made the decision to stay and knew who he would end up with and why. Why not get a decade's head start? That is the reasonable thing to do to ensure the colony's survival, and that is what they claimed to want.]]

[[If 8000 may die from that as easily as they would from leaving the planet, then it is ridiculous to worry about them as much as the ones in a more stable space, who are key figures in what promises to be a horrible war.]] [[So yes. One hundred and sixty-three uncertain splinters for each of the forty-nine stable ones and all they may save.]] FakeProwl 8:35 pm As I said, I trust their experience with time travel. We might know about splintering timelines but we do not have a very good grasp of time travel, whereas their society does. So I do not consider them "uncertain splinters," I consider them VERY CERTAIN splinters. What ISN'T certain is whatever people the forty-nine may save, as those forty-nine are completely hypothetical. FakeProwl 8:36 pm Also, how do we know their telling their ancestors their history wasn't how it happened the first time around? How do we know the first ship didn't encounter the same colony, get told the same things, and make the same deliberate decision to go into the past, and the only change between that cycle and this one was Odo's actions? They never explicitly said either way. Stable time loops are nonsensical and ridiculous, it's entirely possible. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:38 pm [[But Starfleet was so concerned about changes with the tribbles...]] FakeProwl 8:39 pm The fact that they WEREN'T concerned HERE suggests that, for some reason, there is less here to be concerned about. I am taking the continued existence of those eight thousand people as safe and guaranteed if the crew decides to go into the past. Therefore the only number that those eight thousand can rationally be balanced out against is the hypothetical however-many people that those 49 might help save during the brewing war with the Dominion. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:39 pm *Is tempted to mentally mutter something about how the Kirk human was never that concerned and look how things turned out. Keeps it to himself.* FakeProwl 8:40 pm *well the kirk human is an idjit* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:41 pm [[Hrm. He does not think this is a debate either of us will bend on until we gather more data on time travel.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 8:42 pm *Soundwave has very little faith in most people's abilities to agree to stay lonely for ten years and follow through with it.* FakeProwl 8:42 pm And I am not so convinced that any of those forty-nine is /statistically guaranteed/ to be /indespensibly pivotal/ in the war, /except/ perhaps Odo, who would have instantly been replaced with the two-hundred-years-older-and-much-better-at-shapeshifting-under-adverse-circumstances Odo because they sent out a probe with a location beacon right before taking off. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:42 pm [[Providing the Dominion didn't find the beacon and come destroy them all.]] FakeProwl 8:43 pm They'd have to harm a changeling to do so. They've already issued his punishment, I imagine they'd be reluctant to do so again. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:44 pm [[The other 7,999, then.]] FakeProwl 8:45 pm Well, they /are/ the descendants of Starfleet personnel. I imagine they'd think of something. Anyway—that's no guarantee either. ... Although the fact that they launched the probe at all if that was a risk is... unlikely. What ARE the odds it could be intercepted and lead to a slaughter? Perhaps they programmed it to head home first before transmitting its message? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:47 pm [[It is in the Gamma Quadrant. He fears the odds would be high. And they programmed it to begin transmitting its location as soon as it cleared the barrier.]] FakeProwl 8:48 pm Yes, that's right, they did. Hmm. ... That's a little dumb. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:49 pm [[They didn't have much time]] *There's a flutter of amusement there* [[to think things through.]] FakeProwl 8:49 pm They had a couple of days. Maybe if they hadn't wasted so much time /farming./ ItsyBitsySpyers 8:50 pm [[Now that he will grant you.]] [[But we have much to see yet, and insufficient access to time travel data. Shall we?]] FakeProwl 8:51 pm Yes, right. Let's go on. ... You paused for some reason. Were you going to explain something? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:51 pm *Though he did like that debate. He wouldn't mind more of them in the future.*

[[Hm?]] *Reviews personal notes.* [[Yes. Yes, the - the priest Bajoran. Again.]]

[[Kai Winn Adami is approached by the Dominion with a nonaggression pact. Seeing no good coming of either side, she stalls until she is forced to deliver the treaty to the Bajoran government without recommendation.]] FakeProwl 8:52 pm Hm. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:53 pm [[He finds it cowardly of one so devoted to ambition and power, but he is from a different side of the war.]] FakeProwl 8:53 pm I don't consider it cowardly to admit that you see no advantage to either of two options. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:53 pm [[She doesn't admit it. She simply waits until they take it from her.]] FakeProwl 8:54 pm Hm. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:54 pm [[*Now* we can go on.]] [[Ah. And that Cardassian, the one with Garak - that is Gul Dukat's daughter. With a Bajoran prisoner.]] FakeProwl 8:57 pm Why can all these aliens have offspring together? They're from different planets, do they even use the same genetic language? Humans can't even interbreed with other species on their own planet, how are they creating viable offspring with Vulcans. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:58 pm [[...He does not know the answer to that.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 9:00 pm *Soundwave quietly adjusts the images of things like centaurs and merpeople into the Definitely Fictional file though.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:02 pm [[Either they are poor observers or Quark is a very good one.]] FakeProwl 9:04 pm Or, unlike them, Quark has difficulty imagining that someone can be friendly to someone else without desperately wanting to get under their panels. ... Under theirrr... pants. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:05 pm [[Also an excellent point. And recovery.]] FakeProwl 9:05 pm Thank you. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:06 pm [[...Is worrying that much that common?]] FakeProwl 9:07 pm And Quark DID say earlier that any marriage where the wife is allowed to speak and wear clothing is doomed. So I question his judgment. FakeProwl 9:09 pm What, before conjugation? If so, they do their worrying alone. Conjugation is private. Anyone outside of close friends typically don't hear about it until long after it's become legally binding. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:10 pm [[He wonders why the organics make such a deal of it, then.]] FakeProwl 9:10 pm Probably because most of them don't keep it private. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:10 pm [[Perhaps creatures with lives as short as theirs want every excuse to have a party they can take.]] FakeProwl 9:11 pm Mm... no, I think it's just us that are odd. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:12 pm *Soundwave tries not to be mildly unsettled by the familiarity of that voice. After all, Soundwaves everywhere tend to share similar ones. Why not aliens to others?* FakeProwl 9:12 pm Before the war, openly discussing or demonstrating romance at all was taboo. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:13 pm *Leans to the side to better see Prowl's face and find out whether or not it's pokering.* FakeProwl 9:14 pm *To be honest, it's almost always pokering. Sometimes it's just more pokery than usual.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:14 pm *Extremely Pokery, then.* FakeProwl 9:14 pm *Right now, it's normal poker. With a side of ?* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:15 pm [[...Why in the name of Onyx's hooves was it taboo?]] FakeProwl 9:16 pm It was considered crass, crude, and overly sentimental. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:18 pm [[...Holding your hand would have been considered crass and crude.]] *Please wait. He's trying to process this.* FakeProwl 9:19 pm I mean—it was considered a lot more than that. But very generally. FakeProwl 9:21 pm I can't give you many specifics; I wasn't very, mm, culturally aware back then. It was probably Functionism? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:22 pm *Processing. Processing. It makes no damn sense. If they were trading fuel or something, that would be one thing. And he knows he can handle things being kept on the downlow for himself. But how did everyone else...?*

*Weak attempt to use humor to cover for his bewilderment: go.*

[[...He never realized how much of an outlaw you are.]] *Given Prowl's sitting on his lap and wrapped around and wrapped up, and all.* FakeProwl 9:22 pm It wasn't /illegal./ ItsyBitsySpyers 9:23 pm [[He was - never mind.]] FakeProwl 9:24 pm ... And I /shouldn't/ have done anything back then. I'd have been much better off figuring out how romance worked after the war had been going on for a while and the taboo had gotten more lax. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:25 pm [[Because the taboo existed or because of things he is not to ask about?]] FakeProwl 9:26 pm Because I could have talked to other people about it. Try having your first relationship, wondering if you're doing it right, not being able to look to media or documentaries or psychological works to research proper relationships, and not even being able to ask the people around you if you're doing it right because that would mean admitting to something obscene. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:28 pm [[...It would be a wonder if *anyone* managed it.]] FakeProwl 9:28 pm I can assure you, everyone was, in fact, trying. Just... very quietly. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:31 pm [[Hm. He will have to investigate this. The idea, not you specifically.]] *He already understands not to poke there.* [[It is... surprising. These were taboo,]] *Mlaaaah.* [[But not the rest.]] [[Up to a point, of course. But that point was higher than yours.]] FakeProwl 9:32 pm Hm. ... None of our anatomy was taboo. FakeProwl 9:35 pm ... With a FEW limits. Masturbating at work was generally discouraged. Even during one's break. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:36 pm *Soft hissy-puffy 'pfft' noise from vent.* FakeProwl 9:36 pm ((having a, gaaaawd walk amongst us)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:38 pm [[He did wonder how it could be 'none', if other things were socially unacceptable.]] FakeProwl 9:38 pm Well, no part of one's anatomy is inherently romantic, is it? *They spent the entire episode about the Dominion conquering DS9 talking about romance.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:39 pm [[No. But to his knowlege they're usually brought out in acts that would be considered 'crass'.]] *Hey, he was still listening and watching.* {{S6E1 A Time to Stand}} FakeProwl 9:41 pm They're considered far more crass in most other timelines than they are in ours. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:42 pm [[He has noticed that. It is refreshing. He finds that mechs from timelines where it is obsess over it more.]] FakeProwl 9:44 pm ... Bashir has a genetically-enhanced brain that can calculate their odds of survival? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:44 pm [[He does.]] FakeProwl 9:44 pm ... I really want to know his calculations. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:46 pm [[He does not have them. Would that he did.]] *He'd love to see how Bashir and Prowl's compare.* FakeProwl 9:47 pm *Bashir's will probably be better, he knows the situation better than Prowl does.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:47 pm *The way they're set up.* FakeProwl 10:00 pm I'm sure the Dominion's mercy toward Bajor and DS9 are only temporary. The Dominion detests solids, they'll want Bajor under its thumb, just like everyone else. FakeProwl 10:01 pm He makes a good point. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:01 pm [[Of course they will. And sharpened pieces of rebar aren't the easiest way to take over a population. That is why the Vorta go in first.]] [[Which point?]] FakeProwl 10:03 pm The captain's father. Isn't space big enough for everyone to leave everyone alone? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:03 pm [[One would think.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 10:06 pm [[Agreeable visits between members of populations would be fine. But sprawling wars? He is tired of them.]] FakeProwl 10:06 pm Indeed. FakeProwl 10:08 pm ... Interesting technology. An HUD viewscreen instead of a typical bridge screen. You can see outside from anywhere in the ship. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:08 pm [[..............He wants it.]] FakeProwl 10:09 pm Software could probably installed in any ship that would provide a feed like that via comm to an HUD. I would very much like to see Kira punch Docket's throat. Or teeth. Forehead spoon. The sides of his ribs look vulnerable. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:11 pm [[He already has something like it with the cameras in stationary locations, but on a ship...]]

[[He votes teeth. Not having to listen to him speak would be nice.]] FakeProwl 10:14 pm ... Noggin is far too young to be on that ship. He still lacks the necessary training. Who let him on? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:15 pm [[Noggin?]] FakeProwl 10:15 pm Yes. The uh... Quark's... brother's son. Niece? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:15 pm [[The shortest Ferengi?]] FakeProwl 10:15 pm Yes. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:16 pm [[Nog?]] FakeProwl 10:16 pm ... Yyyes? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:17 pm [[Short on officers, perhaps?]]

[[...Why Noggin?]] FakeProwl 10:17 pm *Go Odo, use that authority.* Isn't that his name? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:20 pm [[Just Nog. He's fairly sure "noggin" is a term for someone's head.]] *Small frown.* [[Being named after an Earth beverage doesn't make sense either, though.]] [[Perhaps it's because his father's brother is a bartender.]] FakeProwl 10:20 pm I thought the fact that it was a term for a head was /why/ his name was Noggin. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:21 pm *Prowl, you're getting him all twisted around today. Docks and JL and Gold Docket and Noggin and - wait.*

[[Wait. The Starfleet Klingon. What is his name?]] FakeProwl 10:23 pm *Grimace. The last time they saw the doctor and Garak in an episode together, they were... decently respectful to each other. Now Garak knows the doctor is genetically enhanced to make calculations and he's calling him arrogant and saying he thinks like a computer.* The one that gets along with Odo? Wharf? What about him? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:24 pm *Tilts his helm.* [[Worf.]] FakeProwl 10:25 pm {{S6E2 Rocks and Shoals}}

Yes, Wharf. What about him? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:25 pm [[No, it - with a - hold on.]] *Soundwave's just gonna pull his visor out of subspace and click it back in place for a second.* [[Here. Write it out so he can see it.]] FakeProwl 10:26 pm ... Okay? *reaches up to write on Soundwave's visor, then pauses.* Should I write it backwards, or...? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:27 pm [[Whichever way you feel comfortable. He can still read it.]] [[Reading from unusual directions *is* an important skill for someone like him. Not every datapad he wants to peek at will be facing him straight on.]] *Humor.* FakeProwl 10:29 pm Fair enough. *Forwards it is. In rigid, blocky letters: "wharf," as in a place to moor a ship, with a glyph under it indicating that the word is being used as a name.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:30 pm *That's what he thought his file review said Prowl was saying.*

((OH WHOOP uhhhh S6E2 Rocks and Shoals?)) FakeProwl 10:32 pm ((*edits episode title in where it belongs*)) ItsyBitsySpyers 10:32 pm ((sorry ;;)) FakeProwl 10:33 pm ((it's cool, it's all chronological now FakeProwl 10:36 pm ... Sorry, why did he tie Noggin up and threaten to kill him? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:37 pm *He writes a set of super-basic glyphs representing specific sounds - the kind Ratchet used when first teaching Raf - beneath "wharf", then strikes out both words.*

*Writes the correct ones next.* FakeProwl 10:39 pm ... That's not a word. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:40 pm [[It was a mission to an abandoned and booby-trapped Cardassian space station. There, Garak was accidentally exposed to experimental chemicals meant to enhance Cardassian paranoia and xenophobia and attacked Nog while under its influence.]] FakeProwl 10:41 pm Ah. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:41 pm [[And no, it is not. Most organic names do not translate well to us.]] FakeProwl 10:43 pm Yes, I know that. I've spent most of my life on alien worlds. ... Actually. *Hold on, he's got to do math. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:43 pm *Holds on.* FakeProwl 10:44 pm No, more like a third. Still. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:44 pm [[It is a long time.]] FakeProwl 10:44 pm Populated worlds, anyway. FakeProwl 10:45 pm Anyway, I know that most species don't use names that mean things. It's still stupid. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:46 pm *Heh. Nod.* FakeProwl 10:53 pm ... That's one way to protest, I suppose. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:54 pm [[It is the voluntary death of a spiritual figure from a heavily religious planet. It will capture attention.]] FakeProwl 10:54 pm *no, hold on, wait a second, that's usually fatal for organics, isn't it?* ... That's one HELL of a protest. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:54 pm [[Indeed.]] FakeProwl 10:58 pm ... And the one who killed herself is correct. They need to be fighting back. Not complying until the occupying forces' demands become unbearable. By the time they're unbearable, it's too late. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:59 pm [[That is, he thinks, how so many of our planets' wars begin.]] [[Complying until demands become unbearable.]] FakeProwl 11:00 pm It's figuring out how and when to most effectively fight back, but... in cases like this, with occupying forces, the answer is early and often. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:01 pm [[This is an ideal time. There are many Bajorans aboard, and none of them in camps.]] FakeProwl 11:01 pm Indeed. Yes, active resistance WILL trigger a crackdown—which is why they have to get it active as early as possible before they get more resources for a stronger crackdown. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:03 pm *...Curious lean.* [[Did your Autobots have to help many other planets this way?]] [[Or your Decepticons?]] *Because he doubts every Autobot-held planet was a good one.* FakeProwl 11:04 pm The Decepticons didn't occupy. They slaughtered. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:04 pm [[Always?]] FakeProwl 11:04 pm Always. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:05 pm [[How do you know so much about it, then?]] FakeProwl 11:05 pm Before they occupied, sometimes they infiltrated. On rare occasions, they enslaved. Because they didn't occupy "other planets." They occupied Cybertron. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:07 pm [[Ah. And you helped against those, he takes it.]] *Tap. Tap.* [[Were you a part from the beginning?]] FakeProwl 11:08 pm "A part"? Of? I never lived in a city under occupation, if that's what you mean. {{S6E3 Sons And Daughters}} ItsyBitsySpyers 11:09 pm ((*eats your keyboard*)) ((speedfingers)) [[Of the resistances. Of teaching them what you were saying, or how to do the fighting. Though he appreciates being given that fact.]] [[Also: the Klingon General Martok has rescued and delivered Sisko and the others. He will spend the rest of this incident with Worf and Worf's son, fighting Jem'Hadar.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 11:12 pm *Thinks he knows the actual reason Gul Dukat brought Ziyal back.* FakeProwl 11:12 pm No, I was always on the outside. I had already been drafted into the Autobots. And I'm... nnnot well-equipped for infiltration missions. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:14 pm *Remembers to pluck his visor off again at last.*

[[Ah. The Autobots gathered you quickly. The infiltration missions - a matter of flexibility?]] FakeProwl 11:14 pm A matter of being good at lying on your feet. But, I... Well, classified. But I helped. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:17 pm [[He hopes you will declassify those things some day. The data would be invaluable for the map predictions on similar portions of the multiverse.]] *Rests his chin on Prowl.* [[Though he expects that is the reason you do not.]] FakeProwl 11:17 pm I also don't because it's illegal. Anyway—the Autobots didn't need to "gather" me. I was law enforcement. We were restructured /into/ the Autobots. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:19 pm [[Yes, that would stop you.]] And they're unlikely to become declassified any time soon. Good thing his timelines' lifespans are so long. [[But - none of you were given a choice?]] FakeProwl 11:21 pm No. All military and paramilitary forces were redefined into Autobots. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:21 pm [[Convenient.]] FakeProwl 11:22 pm After Optimus took charge and the exodus began, anyone who hadn't joined the Autobots voluntarily was given the option to resign and leave if they wanted. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:23 pm ((we can just about squeeze in one last one if you wish)) FakeProwl 11:23 pm ((... yeah let's do it. i have a full pizza in me.)) ((i am Fueled)) ItsyBitsySpyers 11:23 pm ((LOL okay)) {{S6E4 Behind the Lines}} [[It took *that* long? For a faction led by a mech who claims freedom for all?]] FakeProwl 11:25 pm ... No one really asked before then. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:25 pm [[That is what he means.]] FakeProwl 11:25 pm No, I mean no one really asked him to let them leave. FakeProwl 11:28 pm He was recruited into the Autobots just like anyone else. He was doing his duty and fighting to defend Cybertron. We were all doing our duty and fighting to defend Cybertron. And until the exodus, there was nowhere else /to/ go. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:28 pm [[...He supposes they wouldn't. Not if they had been connected to the government like that.]] FakeProwl 11:30 pm I can honestly say that, until he announced that anyone who wanted to resign from the Autobots, could, complete with speedily-issued honorable discharges and a guarantee that they could re-enlist at any point to their old rank if they changed their mind... None of us had ever once considered the thought that we /could/ resign. That it might ever be an /option./ ((his smile tho)) (( òvó )) ItsyBitsySpyers 11:32 pm *He has a dozen whirling thoughts about that. Most are about the existing government of the time and the effect it had on its people. Some concern whether or not some of them were even capable of thinking for themselves, whether or not they realized they could. None of them are polite.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:34 pm *He tries to scrape one together anyway.*

[[Not even you?]] *Shakes his helm.* [[Wait, no. Not that you would have taken it. But the - [][][]that it might ever be an option.[][][] ]] FakeProwl 11:35 pm *"not that you would have taken it." just a little bit more pokerface.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:35 pm *If Prowl wants to try to convince Soundwave that he'd go to the Decepticons, he's welcome to make the effort. It'll be an uphill climb.* FakeProwl 11:36 pm *as though they were the only other option.* The announcement came as a surprise to me, as well. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:37 pm *Given that Prowl has removed his police decals but kept his Autobot insignia, Soundwave is disinclined to believe Prowl would have gone neutral either, whether or not that's true.* [[...That is surprising, considering all your simulating.]] FakeProwl 11:37 pm I do not run simulations on impossibilities. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:38 pm [[Hmm.]] FakeProwl 11:38 pm And I'm designed to run physics simulations, not political simulations. That was a skill I had to learn through the war. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:39 pm [[Which did not happen until after Optimus' offer?]] [[The developing of that skill.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 11:41 pm [[...And on an unrelated note, it surprises him that Odo does not immediately conclude that her presence is dangerous.]] FakeProwl 11:41 pm He might suspect it on some level. ... And I am afraid that he is becoming a collaborator. Not intentionally and not willingly. But all the same. He's too afraid of the chaos that proper resistance would bring. ... He links with her, and she can learn about the resistance. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:44 pm *Soundwave shakes his helm.* [[That was the single stupidest...]] [[Homesickness or no homesickness.]] *Fortunately, they have a little way to go.* FakeProwl 11:46 pm ... Anyway—I'd only just barely begun thinking of my position in the war as an actor, rather than a soldier. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:47 pm [[Explain?]] FakeProwl 11:49 pm Realizing I could do things other than just obey orders. I could share ideas that might change the way people behaved and thus change the way the war progressed. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:52 pm [[Then you were not always so high in the ranks. That is more of a shock to him than it has the right to be. It is difficult to picture the Autobots succeeding without you guiding them.]] FakeProwl 11:53 pm This may surprise you, but once, I was on traffic duty. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:53 pm [[*Traffic duty*?]] FakeProwl 11:53 pm And they took me /off/ traffic duty because I wasn't good enough. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:54 pm *He's gonna need a second.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:55 pm *Okay. Okay. He's got a hold on that. Sort of.*

[[This was - also during the war?]] FakeProwl 11:55 pm So, no. By the time I was serving under Optimus, I was only beginning to think about strategy. I certainly hadn't ever thought about running calculations on it. Oh, no no no. In Petrex. Just—on the subject of me not always being highly ranked. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:58 pm [[That is a relief - that it was in Petrex, not during the war. He thought of them placing you at a hallway intersection in a base with a portable stop sign.]] Yesterday FakeProwl 11:58 pm Heh. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:01 am [[They still didn't value you as much as they should have. But at least it was not that.]]

[[He was one of Megatron's highest from the start. There were times when he had to fight to keep his position or to outperform newcomers and other rivals, but he did not have to climb as far.]] FakeProwl 12:02 am ... If Odo isn't there to disable the alarms... Dammit. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:04 am [[The Founder's plan all along, he's sure.]] FakeProwl 12:04 am And... and that Ferengi was seen with Kira minutes earlier. And Quark is the only person who could have told them about the array. That's three out of five of the resistance brought down because of one stupid act. Maybe seeing Kira go down too will snap Odo out of it, nothing else seems to be doing it. FakeProwl 12:07 am It has PLENTY to do with you! It's YOUR FAULT! This is— He's— *... shoulders sag.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:08 am *Squeezes carefully.*

[[He told you there would be a fall.]] FakeProwl 12:08 am ... I don't remember that but I'm sure you did. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:09 am ((mun suddenly goes "fuck DID he?" because pretty sure but suddenly not perfectly sure)) ((mun carries on boldly)) ItsyBitsySpyers 12:11 am [[He is fairly certain. Perhaps he only thought it? He will check his files later.]]

[[We have reached a large disappointment. He suggests we pause here to process it. We can continue tomorrow, before the others arrive for movie night.]] FakeProwl 12:11 am ((boldly go, mun)) *nnnnnh it's close to time to leave for work.* ... Very well. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:13 am *Blips and offers his crest. He is not this cruel, Prowl. Not to you. Odo's story will not end here.* FakeProwl 12:14 am *Crest bump.* FakeProwl 12:15 am *And thinks about what he just saw and thinks about his own position, sitting in the lap of someone trying to convince him that he /shouldn't/ be plotting the destruction of Cybertron.* *That's probably not the comparison Soundwave wanted him to take away from this, but there it is.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:16 am *He knew he risked it.* *He is hoping what is yet to come will not leave that thought seared into Prowl's head.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:18 am [[You should get ready. There is much to do, and he has another cube to consume before recharge. It would only distract you further if you stay.]] *Unwraps arms and feeler.* FakeProwl 12:19 am *... Soundwave goes through a lot of cubes.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:20 am *Not a lot of time to eat when one spends a day and a half in public eyesight.* FakeProwl 12:20 am I'll see you tomorrow. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:20 am [[Good. He'll look forward to it. Goodnight.]] FakeProwl 12:21 am Good night. *another bump, and he disappears.*

#((if you're on mobile without functional readmores and see this post: i am so sorry))#slenderwave #chat

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