#this probably needs to be revised

[vynxwave]

EarthSpark Shockwave Analysis

Since Shockwave's first appearance, he's been shown to have a strong affinity for Cybertron intertwined with his being a Decepticon, and this is central to his character.

Unlike all the other Decepticons, Shockwave is the only Decepticon who retains his Cybertronian altmode the entire time he's on Earth. While not unusual for this character at all, it does carry meaning in EarthSpark in particular due to altmodes being expressly reflective of one's identity/character. For him, keeping his Cybertronian altmode is reflective of his refusal to embrace Earth as a new home. (Compare with Megatron, whose adoption of an Earth altmode represents his acceptance of Earth and subsequent willingness to embrace a new path.)

Shockwave is first shown in S1E16 "Warzone" planning to use the AllSpark to raise a protoform army to defeat the Autobots and conquer Earth, and resurrect Cybertron under Decepticon rule: Shockwave upholds Decepticon supremacy, whereas Megatron values the lives of all Cybertronians regardless of faction. Both want to revive Cybertron with the AllSpark, but they refuse the other side's ways of going about it.

Of sides, Shockwave exhibits a very strong loyalty to the Decepticons and upholds their ideal of superiority over others.

Shockwave here rejects the Terrans, who represent "the new path to the future" post-Transformers War, and he doubles down in his bigotry by calling them "lower class Cybrids".

Shockwave: "You think you can just start over with these... lower class Cybrids?" Megatron: "Class. You have learned nothing." Shockwave: "Except that you will eventually betray them, just like you did me."

Shockwave's use of "start over" and "just like you did me" shows he doesn't grasp Megatron's actual meaning because of how narrow his perspective is: instead of seeing Megatron's desire to move forward post-war, Shockwave can only understand Megatron's alliance with the Terrans as being Megatron effectively starting a new movement with new recruits, just as Megatron did with the Decepticons back on Cybertron with Shockwave's allegiance.

Shockwave's rejection of the Decepticons losing the war is so strong that he's willing to die in a murder-suicide to defeat Megatron, whose betrayal he took personally*. This decision may likely be informed by his understanding of the ramifications of the Space Bridge being destroyed — as in, there's no way back to Cybertron for him without it (so he'd rather die assuredly defeating Megatron than stay marooned on Earth!). *(It isn't just Soundwave that took Megatron's betrayal personally. Megatron called Shockwave "old friend" twice in the flashback, Shockwave calling him "traitor" in the stasis pod has emotional weight to it (corroborating "old friend"), and Shockwave's "[…] you will eventually betray them, just like you did me" all suggest he took Megatron's betrayal personally.)

Shockwave saying "You brought this on yourself, Megatron" and offering an out for Mo suggests he views humans as uninvolved in the current conflict, despite previously having wanted to conquer/destroy Earth (which would have harmed humans). Without access to the Space Bridge to Cybertron and, consequently, all the Decepticons back home, conquering Earth has disappeared from his priorities, so perhaps he considers humans to only be bystanders at this point, considering his recognition of their sentience (but also his view of them as inferior). I'll note here that none of the other Decepticons expressly extend this grace to the humans on their own accord, so Shockwave is unique in this regard.

(Based on Optimus Prime saying that Megatron had been allied with him and GHOST for 15 years in S1E09 "Age of Evolution", it is likely that Shockwave has been in the stasis pod for 15 years at this point.)

In S1E24 "The Battle of Witwicky" Shockwave is quick to reject Thrash's claim of the war being over, upholding a similar belief he held in his introduction episode (— "The war continues so long as I stand to oppose you."). Despite this, his immediate priority is Croft due to being betrayed by her.

Shockwave: "She has an active Space Bridge. Who knows what she plans to do with it."

While Shockwave doesn't go in-depth, it can be inferred that he had helped in some way to realize a Space Bridge under Croft and was able to because GHOST (as shown throughout S1) does possess and even engineer Cybertronian technology.

Shockwave's "She betrayed me" in context suggests he and Croft had some kind of deal before being under Mandroid's mind-control tech. Based on Shockwave's affinity for Cybertron shown in his introduction episode and dismay at the Space Bridge's destruction, I'd actually go so far as to say that he helped Croft realize the Space Bridge under the pretense that he and the other Decepticons could return to Cybertron upon its completion, because there's no reason to believe he would be interested in furthering a human's goals for just her benefit (due to having described humans as "sentient bags of goo", he sees them as an inferior species) (and Croft's major involvement in imprisoning earthbound Decepticons). Croft, of course, would never actually let the Decepticons go, so she betrays him. She would later reveal that her intention is to conquer Cybertron, validating Shockwave's concern about her intentions with the Space Bridge.

Shockwave's concern about Croft's intentions with the Space Bridge is grave enough to where he allies himself with the Maltos, and even Megatron and the Autobots. Unlike his first encounter with the Terrans, here he bears no hostility or prejudice against them — in fact, his alliance with them is immediate; he recognizes Hashtag's altmode capabilities and helps her (because doing so would also help him further his objective — a logical choice, and his logical nature would become apparent in the series henceforth [or since his introduction if you consider the murder-suicide a logical conclusion from seeing the Space Bridge's destruction]).

Although Shockwave still doesn't see eye-to-eye with Megatron, this team up with the Autobots and Terrans shows he's able to put grievances and factions aside when a greater danger demands it.

In S2, Shockwave's disapproval with the direction Starscream has taken the Decepticons is actually visible in the first episode of the season, S2E01 "Aftermath", when Starscream addresses them:

When Starscream shouts "Decepticons, to war!" to enthuse the rallied Decepticons, all of them shout and throw their fist up in agreement — except for Shockwave, who instead remains silent with his arms crossed, subtly displaying his discontent with Starscream's objective.

Shockwave is quickly hidden from view in the next shot by Breakdown's enthusiasm:

— Breaking off here for a moment to actually delve into the way Shockwave and Starscream's leadership and goals are continually (and intentionally) compared throughout the show, which begins in S1E16 "Warzone":

Shockwave often talks as if embodying the will/interests of all Decepticons rather than in the interest of furthering a personal agenda. "For our glory" "We will conquer this planet and resurrect our own, under Decepticon rule" "[…] the Autobots will kneel before us" "[...] Cybertron will be ours"

Compare to Starscream who, when the AllSpark (the life force of Cybertron) tumbles to him, exclaims "Yes! I have it!" (be)holding it as if it were a personal victory/trophy. (More on S1 Starscream in this post.)

For Starscream it's all about himself, whereas for Shockwave it's all about the Decepticons and Cybertron. Shockwave lacks all of Starscream's self-interest, being instead wholly devoted to the Decepticons' interests.

Alex Malto in S2E01 "Aftermath" brings up the idea of Starscream using the Embershards to create a Chaos Terran army, which calls to mind Shockwave's original plan to use the AllSpark to create a protoform army to conquer Earth in S1E16 "Warzone".

Now, this is more pertinent to S2 Starscream's character than to Shockwave's (so, it'll be explored in a future post with S2 Starscream), but this does compare the two's leadership. (Without getting too in-depth about him here) Starscream ultimately seeks his own personal glory and power — Terratronus is a weapon he would personally wield, and with her he'd have power to crush all who oppose him like a dictator (rendering an army unnecessary when he holds all the power in his hand).

Starscream's selfish goals contrast greatly with Shockwave's, who has only ever had (what he sees as) the Decepticons' best interest in mind.

This makes Shockwave's leadership share a commonality with the Malto family's values of "family first": Shockwave is interested in the collective well-being of the Decepticons rather than just himself; Breakdown would even refer to the Decepticons expressly as "family" in S3.

Shockwave had actually discarded his interest in conquering Earth in S1 the moment he perceived the Space Bridge's destruction (the Decepticons' way back home), and this is further supported by his implied part in helping to realize Croft's Space Bridge (like mentioned before, he would have no reason to do this just for Croft's gain considering his view of humans as inferior and her role in imprisoning the Decepticons). Shockwave's frustration and disapproval with Starscream's goals in S2 makes this all the more apparent (elaboration on this shortly).

Returning back to S2 — in S2E03 "Control Alt Delete" Shockwave is tasked with retrieving Croft's hard drive and he gets increasingly frustrated as this chase with Hashtag goes on.

Of Hashtag, despite his frustration chasing her, he's able to genuinely compliment her skills. This is quite the positive development from Shockwave's original impression of the Terrans, though not at all sudden given his previous alliance with the Terrans in S1E24 "The Battle of Witwicky" where he recognizes Hashtag's altmode capabilities and helped her.

Interestingly, he offers to let Hashtag live if she gives him the hard drives. Classic villain dialogue, but for Shockwave, he may actually be believed here, based on his logical nature and objective being to simply retrieve the desired hard drive. When he downs her, he immediately moves onto the hard drives rather than assuring her termination. By this, he doesn't see the Terrans directly as his enemies.

Earlier in the episode when Starscream says "The information on that drive is vital to the future of the Decepticons" Shockwave is visibly 'taken aback' when Starscream says "future", which is another subtle hint of Shockwave's disagreement with the future that Starscream wants for the Decepticons.

When Shockwave has the hard drive in hand, he says: "Finally. Starscream will be pleased." Due to his discontent being visible in the first episode of this season and reaction to Starscream's use of "future" earlier, perhaps this statement reflects how he doesn't actually view retrieving the hard drive (progressing Starscream's objective) as something he values or views as important himself (as his dissent would later be verbalized in S2E09 "Witwicky"). Of course, this statement also means to acknowledge Starscream's increasing frustration with Shockwave's lack of retrieving the hard drive.

It's also worth noting that when Shockwave says he didn't retrieve it, Starscream begins to say "I never should have entrusted such—" which actually subtly reveals that Starscream is aware of Shockwave's discontent, because Starscream would have no reason to believe him (a loyal Decepticon) to be untrustworthy for an important mission otherwise.

Based on Shockwave and Starscream's dialogue in S2E09 "Witwicky" —

Starscream: "Decepticons, when the sun next rises, it will shine upon New Cybertron. I, her ruler." Shockwave: "Starscream, your objective is misguided. Had you consulted me, I—" Starscream: "Fall in line, Shockwave." Shockwave: "Our priority should be a return to Cybertron. Earth will never be our home. It is our prison." Starscream: "For years, you have failed to provide proof of Cybertron's survival. So this world is our new domain. All who stand in opposition shall perish beneath the heel of my Chaos Titan."

— Shockwave had wanted to put the Decepticons' entire focus on returning to Cybertron following Mandroid's defeat (based on his extreme reaction to seeing the Space Bridge gone and later helping realize a Space Bridge under Croft), but was unable to put this into motion due to Starscream having taken Decepticon leadership.

Starscream's "For years, you have failed to [...]" reveals he has been aware of Shockwave's objection to his plans (which is corroborated on-screen in S2E03 "Control Alt Delete" as mentioned).

Starscream's objective may have appealed to the Decepticons based on their desire to get revenge on the Malto(bot)s/Autobots (and therefore the Earth and its inhabitants as a whole) for the role they played in imprisoning/hunting the Decepticons, whereas Shockwave never shared this desire for revenge against them (Croft, who had his focus for betraying him, is dead) (and unlike the rest of the Decepticons, he never spent years being hunted or imprisoned by GHOST).

Shockwave ends up choosing not to stop Twitch and Robby from stealing the Embershards. It's a choice made in opposition to what his leader wants, with his understanding of Starscream needing all of the Embershards to control Terratronus. From this it can be deduced that Shockwave does not want Starscream to have the power of a Chaos Titan.

(The Maltos working to protect their home is something that Shockwave would do for Cybertron. While Shockwave can understand a human's desire for self-preservation, it might be too speculative to wonder if he empathizes with them. So, this may later function as a parallel to, assuming Breakdown in S3 suggesting Cybertron is in need of help is correct, Shockwave and his Decepticons working to save Cybertron from whatever menaces it.)

Following Shockwave's conversation with Starscream, Shockwave must have come to terms with the fact that Starscream's ambitions are selfish and actually threaten the Decepticons (Shockwave was not surprised at all when Starscream turned on them). If Starscream succeeded in his plan, would Shockwave have been able to continue to search for Cybertron (or return to it) under Starscream's dictatorial command with the Chaos Titan?

While Starscream wants to conquer Earth and call it "New Cybertron", Shockwave never believed Cybertron to be gone in the first place.

Shockwave: "Decepticons, Starscream has lost control of his weapon and his mind. This will be the end of us all." Hardtop: "Woah, where are you going?" Shockwave: "My own way. Follow me if you want to live."

^ Shockwave addresses the Decepticons who have just been betrayed by Starscream. Notably, they are injured from Terratronus's swipe; and now with a taste of what Starscream intends to do, Shockwave easily appeals to them.

Shockwave saying he's going his own way marks the new direction he intends to go in: focusing on a return to Cybertron like he said in this episode.

In S3E01 "The Need for Read" Shockwave's logic is emphasized to contrast Starscream's irrationality: Starscream threw away his promise to make the Decepticons a new home and threw away the good rapport he had built up with them just so he could empower himself, whereas Shockwave does not seek to empower himself or put his own interests above the interests of the Decepticons.

Shockwave describing the Decepticons as "much more logical" under his command and "this need not be a violent conflict" contrasts Starscream's leadership, where the Decepticons regularly fought the Autobots over the Embershards. While many of the Decepticons have been shown to enjoy fighting, Shockwave's use of fighting appears more pointed and intentional, rather than being just for the sake of fighting. For example, Shockwave's first words to Hashtag after ambushing her in S2E03 "Control Alt Delete" were "Hand over the hard drives" which was straight to the point.

Shockwave says he wants to "facilitate an exodus from this planet" (leave Earth), which is completely consistent with how he's been portrayed throughout the series.

Shockwave honors the deal he made with Bumblebee, even when it means a Decepticon loss, and by doing this he shows himself to be honorable and fair (compare with Starscream, who ended up breaking his promise to the Decepticons).

In S3E04 "No Solider Left Behind" Shockwave's desire to return to Cybertron — to return home — like he has been wanting is finally put into motion now that he's the Decepticon leader and is able to commandeer the starship.

He heavily stresses the starship's importance to the Decepticons: "That starship is our way home. We must have it at any cost." "Just find us a way inside. Do not destroy it." "The ship is our priority. [...]"

Shockwave, as Breakdown revealed in S3E01 "The Need for Read", has promised the Decepticons a return to Cybertron, and by commandeering the starship they'll be able to do just that. This also adds credibility to Shockwave's "you can trust our promises".

Shockwave referring to the Decepticons escaping the Dome and Earth as "freedom" reflects his calling both a "prison" (in S3E01 "The Need for Read" and S2E09 "Witwicky" respectively). "To freedom." "But it's not too late to join us in freedom. Choose: us or the Autobots."

Shockwave is disappointed at Megatron's choice and doesn't end up blasting him. Giving Megatron that option in the first place shows that Shockwave wants Megatron back in the Decepticon fold, despite him having seriously betrayed him and the Decepticons. So, Shockwave doesn't totally hate Megatron.

For the second time, Shockwave has chosen to not fire at the enemy he's supposed to. (Or for the third time, if Bumblebee's dissuasion in S3E01 "The Need for Read" is counted.)

This is interesting, considering Shockwave still values Decepticon victory over the Autobots. Will this be challenged on Cybertron, once the Autobots are able to come? If Cybertron is in need of help like Breakdown suggested, would Shockwave ally with the Autobots like he has before?

[fanfix666]

*covered in blood and sweat, cautiously approaching with a poorly concealed limp, shaking* the next chapter of my fic is posted btw

[realbeefman]

stacy is sooo interesting because she's in love with house but knows that they will never ever be able to have a healthy, stable, sane relationship because they're too similar so. she finds house-lite instead and marries him and. essentially moves on with her life! and is successful in this because she's a moderately well-adjusted person!

wilson, in contrast, never manages to escape the inevitable, in spite of his best efforts to find a house-lite of his very own, because he's an absolute fucking freak and ends up glued to house to the bitter. bitter end

[limeekak]

and what if I give ya the first chapter of the fanfic I'm writing (or a part of it) just for fun

(post s7 where Soren meets Lissa again)

[natsukihappyhousehold]

i'm done with reinsuba, julisuba, and ferisuba "Subaru label step-up" events, finally orz

in terms of timelines, it goes julisuba (archive) -> a few days later ferisuba (infirmary) -> a few days later reinsuba (stuco room).

everything happens between february 14th - march 14th in mofuko's first year, it's just that mofuko hasn't noticed that the trigger why all of them become so bold is something that subaru did on valentine...

i try to carefully make subaru react differently to each of them too. i probably won't write the aftermath of the event from subaru's pov because we're still in mofuko's pov so i'll just write it here:

with julius, subaru freezes because of the sudden physical intimacy (physical >> words). he reacts instinctively (mofuko is right that he's pretty much overwhelmed by the distance and julius everything) and his retaliation is also pretty much done on instinct (subaru's line of thought: he did it first! ****er!!) in the end, subaru actually ran to the bathroom and tries to stave off a panic attack because wtf just happens?!

with ferris, subaru has time to process things because ferris uses his words and take it real slowly (physical = words). he's confused but he notices that there's something different with ferris so he stays still. but before subaru can responds ferris, ferris backs off because he's scared of what subaru might say this is the first time subaru tries to engage emotionally but ferris is giving him mixed signal so he's actually hurt

with reinhard, subaru has more leeway to process things because reinhard is the third event and he does the barest physical contact (physical << words). so this time subaru is more ready to engage. that's why he tries to answer reinhard sincerely although he still doesn't know what his answer is after that, subaru took his sweet time to go back to the student council room because he remembers the archive incident and the infirmary incident and he has THOUGHTS about that now

also, mofuko is cursing julius and ferris but if they push the boundary (julius -> kiss on the lips; ferris -> make use of the bed) subaru's affection towards them would tank super hard (although the label would still change)

they're actually doing a fine play by backing off in that moment (julius did it perfectly, while ferris backs off TOO HARD)

also in subaru's backstory i did insinuate that shota!subaru in this au also has rbd(?)-level and canon-level of trauma (iykyk) so you know this subaru is not as okay as he may look (just like canon!subaru)

actually, everyone is not as okay as they look, even our narrator/protagonist mofuko

there's a reason why subaru is not romantically involved with emilia and rem in this au and not just because he's designated as one of mofuko's love interests

also mofuko doesn't know why subaru still has his headphones (hint: it never got confiscated in the first place)

[antlered-prince]

made a quick lil icon to match with @owl-bones on discord, bc i made him change it to a cute panel from his mafia comic

(it's mirrored to his so it looks like we bonked heads (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠) )

[inkyrainstorms]

it says something about me and Ford, i think, that the fic writing process so far is just Ford going “i’m going to do this now and no one can thwart me” and me going “okay dude” and then everything going as wrong as humanly possible bc does Ford know what he’s doing? no. but do I know whats happening? also no

we’re two bumbling fools except i can see all the puzzle pieces and Ford can’t but we’re having the same amount of difficulty putting it all together. it’s amazing, frankly

[mcaelius]

everyones getting grades+stuff i've only done 2/9 exams 😭

[mansplainmanipulatemalewife]

[ms-bluejay]

the moment i unboxed my plushie i KNEW i had to doodle something for @a-magpie-in-gravesfield :3

i love The Hatchetfield Saga a ton, and Black Friday just so happens to be about a diabolical plushie wrecking mayhem upon the world, it writes itself LOL. 🤣

Anyway, silly plushie pics o’clock :3

first he met a mammoth, then a piggy, then himself (and rock frog, love this stone goober), and then had a country club era ✨💗

[whoreiaki-kakyoin]

MY THESIS DEFENSE WENT REALLY WELL 😭

Arven would pick me up and twirl me around and make a big deal of smothering me in kisses. He’d cook me something special and we’d go have a picnic to celebrate 🥹🥰

Maybe I’ll see what I have around and have lunch or dinner outside today like it’s alittle picnic date with Arven 🙈

[itzoliveink]

I realize that I never posted my Genshin Oc and got inspired to do so thanks to @/kayumuo (you guys really should check out her oc, he’s such a cutie) anyway

This is my Genshin Oc, Pumna!! (her name has no meaning, I made it up)

(Fyi, that’s not a tail, just a fabric that looks like the tail of a yumkasaur)

Pumna is a 5 star bow user with a geo vision.

So basically she was a yumkasaurus who was taken care of momentarily by Kinich. Prior to the war, she was experimented on by the fatui as well as other saurians, she ended up becoming human due to it. Shes pretty confident and bold when it comes to her personality, often leading her to underestimate opponents, this of course can be called the Ajaw influence. After becoming human, Pumna does not count on those two anymore and left to do her own thing, searching for any other saurian who might have been in the same situation as her.

For her stats:

Normal attack: She shots multiple arrows in four moves. For the first move she releases one arrow, for the second, she releases two, you get the rest right.

Hold: Geo charged attack like any bow user

Skill: Using her Geo vision, she pulls out arrows from her bracelet (you can see it in the pic) and uses the same move set as normal attack.

Burst (the most important thing that you should focus on when leveling her talents): When her burst is activated, her boots “crystallize” (I couldn’t figure out how to draw it buts its so cool in my head, trust, its like shapes *thumbs up*). She applies powerful hits that deal geo damage onto the enemy.

Exploration: She uses her bracelet like kinich and aims it at where ever she wants to grapple

Passive: When using her, you can interact with saurian npc’s like you would with you indwell within a saurian.

Passive: When in burst mode, anyone in Co-op gains 25% attack buff for a short amount of time; the more nightsoul points she gains, the longer the buff lasts. (I want to give it a dumb name like maybe “Pat on the Back” just for fun)

I have some fun dialogue/voice lines for her so:

About Kinich: “Oh, Kinich! It’s been a while since I’ve visited him… Did you know this scarf—yeah the one with a small bell— was actually a gift from him. When I was a young Yumkasaur, I tended to get distracted by everything, like I mean everything. Noise, something shiny, whatever it was usually caused me to be led astray from him. He got fed up with me constantly running way and no matter how much he got Ajaw to tell me to not go far from them, I could never help myself. Kinich ended up placing this on me in case someone else were to find me so they could return me or for the bell to ring so he could find me on his own…Why do I still have it? So he can hear me coming of course!”

About Xilonen: “Xilonen! Thanks for reminding me, I need to bring back some ores she requested. She was actually the one who helped create my ear muffs, I requested them from her a bit ago when I saved enough mora. Soaring through the winds of the canopy tend to irritate my ears so she came up with a solution. Xilonen is great, actually, do you mind dropping off the ores for me? Thanks.”

About Ajaw: “Did you know I used to purposely do things to get Ajaw in trouble. You can’t blame me, he is SO easy to set off. My favorite thing was to hide my part of the meal and then take his while Kinich wasn’t looking, he of course would get mad at me but Kinich never believed him. Cruel? Please, he doesn’t need to eat… not really at least.”

Favorite food: “Spice! Make it as hot as you possibly can, perhaps even add some liquid phlogiston for a little kick. Don’t look at me like that, I was joking.”

Least Favorite food: “I can’t stand sea food, fine, fish I will eat but anything else? Nope! No way!”

Here is her emote and Special:

[lyrebirdswrites]

Had a really stressful day but thinking about yuuji as I drift off to sleep will fix me

[slayerdurge]

On another note, I'm working on a chapter right now for the new version of the post-ending Banite dictators Durgetash fic where Durge & Gort are in Mulmaster because there's going to be an event that's being hosted for notable Banite leadership around Faerûn by the Church of Bane, and much to Durge's surprise, she runs into Auntie Ethel at one point in the city and they bitch at each other while Gort watches in amused confusion. (It is from Gort's POV). Anyway, here, have a little sample.

—

Much to Gortash’s astonishment, The Dark Urge smiled at the old woman in recognition. 

“Ethel!” she exclaimed. “Well, isn’t this a surprise? I certainly didn’t expect to find someone like you in a place like this. How are those lovely sisters of yours doing?”

“Quite well, quite well, petal, thank you for asking,” Ethel replied. “Vanra’s grown into quite the formidable young woman. I knew she would, of course. The ones that fight you the hardest always turn out the strongest in the end.”

“And Mayrina’s spawn?” The Dark Urge asked, evidently understanding exactly what the old croon was talking about. 

“Her name’s Maribelle, and she’s not as… talented as her sister, truth be told,” Ethel lilted, a subtle smirk curving her lips. “But family’s family, after all. Wouldn’t you agree?”      

The Dark Urge shrugged. “Not particularly.”

“Ah, well, I suppose I shouldn’t expect that from you, dearie,” Ethel said in mocking disapproval. “They say you’re worshipping a new god these days. Bane, is it? Ultimate Tyrant, and all that. Though it seems to me like he spends all his time sitting on his backside while you lot run around doing all the work. Tell me, does he need you to wipe his arse too?”

Gortash was mildly shocked. Quite a bold statement to make in the heart of Banite territory. Who was this woman? He wanted to ask The Dark Urge, but he didn’t want to throw off the rhythm of her competitive banter. 

“Ah, Ethel,” The Dark Urge said, still grinning widely. “Don’t make me have to kill you again.”

“Try it, dearie,” Ethel dared her. “I’ll come back the same as last time.”

“I’m sure you will. Weeds always do eventually.”

There was a tense silence as both women simply stared at each other. 

Then the old woman chortled. 

“Oh, dearie, you do make me laugh,” she said. “I didn’t know mind flayers had such an irreverent sense of humor.”

That comment put Gortash on edge. What else did this woman know?

“Oh, I’m full of surprises, Ethel,” The Dark Urge said. Her left hand moved to the clasp of her fur-lined cloak, bringing her dark gray gauntlet fully into the old woman’s view. “Now, we really must be going. But do be careful around the city please, for my sake. They have a rather strict view here when it comes to magic users. I’d hate for something untoward to happen to you.”

Ethel’s eyes narrowed, but her smile remained intact. “Don’t you worry about me, dearie. I can take care of myself.”

[cy-writes]

Crazy About You by Barbatos (Obey Me!)

Link to the original song

Oh yeah? Whatever may be bothering you,

I'll be pleased to talk it through

Styling or makeup

Or even setting up the dining too

There is nothing that I can't do

Do you think I'm overworked?

You know, everything you see me do, I'm happy with

A perfect spirit

Ah, a flawless scheme

So, no matter your please

Yes, allow me to brew you some tea

A troubled heart beats

I don't want to part from you, more than ever before

I'm crazy about you

Even, I can't, stop this, overflowing feeling, do you share this too?

Ahh, I wish to give you all, whatever it is that you'd ever need

No matter what you ask, I'll do it all for you now if you please

But if you make a mess, promise I won't let you have a rest,

As long as it takes,

I'll scold you until you quietly learn too

Oh yeah? Whatever may be bothering you,

I'll be pleased to talk it through

Sewing or cleaning up

There’s nothing I can’t do

This busy routine has, been too much just for you

But for me who's used to it, I'm loving this

A perfect spirit,

Ah, hold onto this feeling,

So, turn to me please

I, won't give you to anyone else, oh

I can't take this

My feelings for you

I'll make you mine

Ahh, I wish to give you all, whatever it is that you'd ever need

No matter what you ask, I'll do it all for you now if you please

But if you make a mess, promise I won't let you have a rest,

As long as it takes,

I'll scold you until you quietly--

I want you

'Cause I love you

I'm so crazy about you

Ahh, I wish to give you all, whatever it is that you'd ever need

No matter what you ask, I'll do it all for you now if you please

But if you make a mess, promise I won't let you have a rest,

As long as it takes,

I'll scold you until you quietly learn too

[scribblesandsorcery]

I think I've almost reached the finish line with this essay.