S2: E1 "In My Time of Dying"
Brought to you by hi, I'm not dead, just very sleepy a lot because of school. Finally answered all those anons, now an episode. Just for you guys.
This episode featuring: Dean's on strike 2 with the near death nonsense, Sam's psychic-ing needs work, don't fear the reaper, and Certified Dad Moments
Woooo recap
[ Kayla: CARRY ON MY WAYWARD SOOOON ]
WHSHSHSH THE RADIO GOING as they're like half dead in the car
Oop there goes the demon
Oh no the poor guy that was posessed
RIP Sam is the only one still conscious
Morning sleeping beauty
Hm. Maybe? Creepy empty hospital? Whats up here
[ Silas: color theory ]
Is Dean having one of them out of body experiences
HE SURE IS I CALLED IT
Cmon Sam aren't you psychic
[ Anniss snickers, having apparently forgotten what this guy gets up too. Yeah Sam's just sort of psychic and it's only relevant like half the time. ]
Dean's standing here like AAA IM RIGHT HERE GODDAMMIT
Sooo true Sam but like yeah it is important
Protection since they might be attacked at any time
Dean (out of body) judging their Dad
OH NO THE CAR
Whshshsgsgsv where's Dean is he going MY CARRR
Ohhh Sam are u projecting onto the car
Ohh Bobby knows someth too... what are they hidiiing
Dean is like I WANT TO BE ACTUALLY AWAKE THIS ISN'T FAIR
Oooough hes yelling at his dad... who can't hear him........
UH OH
Somethin zoomed by
Is Dean gonna have to outrun Death or someth... who dis
Hmmmmm thats not good
UH OHH
Oh they are fighting and now Dean can't intervene
OH Dean can knock stuff around!!
WJSHSH DEAN
Uh oh Dean
OH NO
Bitch slap it bitch slap it
Oh Sam is picking up on somthing now!
Okay so there is something haunting the hospital
Dean is going to literally be fighting for his life
Oh someone else is stuck like this!! Hi Tessa! Out of body funtime party! Trying not to die!
Oh whatcha grabbin Sam?
Whshshs now we are just vibing as out-of-body spirits
Oh the spooky! The evil spooky!
Hmmm
Whatcha got there Sam are u gonna put it on Dean to try and talk to him
WAIT DOES HE HAVE
HAHAHAHAHHAA
OUIJA BOARD THATS SO FUNNY
Dean is so offended and put off
"Hunt"
"Reaper"
Hough
:(
Uh oh John is Gone
Ur a terrible father sir
[ Crepe says this is his highest point in being a father, which is terribly ominous. ]
Just a little light Demon Summoning
U h O h
ohhhhh
John buddy what the hell. Literally! Lol. Since we're summoning shit
Hello Demon(s)
MAKE A DEAL?
I don't like this but I guess we have to start somewheeeere
"You can't leave me here alone with Dad, we'll kill each other, you know that" wjshsj love functional families
"We were just starting to be brothers again" AUGH :((
WHSHSHS SHES JUST GIVING HIM THE STAGES OF GRIEF
Damn this is heavy
A Warrior's Death
Ohh. OH THATS HOW ANGRY SPIRITS ARE BORN..... Wough.........
The Colt for Dean.......
Hm? Sam and the other children? Whats the deallll
[ Crepe and Melon are hyping up the upcoming Father Moment. ]
Oh no! Oh boy! Im a fear!
I kind of like this Reaper tbh she's just. Nice. Talking people through their deaths.
[ Crepe says they all do that. ]
Yeah I guess the last one was leashed and pissed about it
OH NO
what the fuck
The doctor: Hm well thats fucking bizarre
Dean doesn't remember????
"Except this pit in my stomache saying something's wrong..."
Hm
Hmm
John: (apologizes and asks not to fight)
Sam: Are you good?? You okay???
(The answer is no)
GOD. Being about to die is one helluva wakeup call. BASTARD
Dean: ??? Fear?? Worried??? Dad what?????
Oh hes telling him someth
???
Dramatically drops the coffee
Howd u drop it upright
Time of death 10:41 AM
Well damn!
Great start to season 2: Dads fuckin dead!
---
I guess that's one hell of a way to kick things off for the season, but damn. Like, after all that work they put into trying to find their dad, then trying to help him, save him... and he dies anyways. So Dean can live.
Crepe and Melon spent several more messages just roasting the hell out of John Winchester, which, while it's probably fair, rather took away from the emotion of the scene LMAO
So uh. Gonna be interesting to see how they go forward from here and what their goal will be.
So. Dad Winchester is dead, the Colt has been taken by That Specific Demon alongside its last bullet, and Dean and Sam are here and traumatized. Interesting.
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Hey! At first, I want to say that really adore your essays. I found your blog shortly after I joined tumblr and it was a great beginning.
My question is not only about Loki. Few times you mentioned that queer subtext always existed in cinema. So I wanted to know more about it. Are there any common tricks which artists use? How can we know that it isn't just our imagination?
And if you could give some literature recommendations on this topic I'd be thrilled :)
Hi Anon!
This is a really important question. I’m so glad you asked it, so I’ve bumped you to the front of my inbox queue.
Superhell (Destiel). Superheaven (Aziracrow). Supertime (Lokius). It’s not an accident these types of tragic queer endings are a pattern in our TV media. Though of the three, Good Omens is the most likely to deliver a happy ending eventually, the resources I provide below contextualize why queer subtext and queer tragedy persists. I believe the paper on Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a particularly important read as it sheds light on tragic queer tropes and utilization of queer subtext from the 1950s that persist to this day.
I do need to clarify a few things:
1.) I’m not a formal scholar. I don’t have a Master’s, let alone a PhD. I would love to continue my education, but I only just finished paying off my student loans. This is to say, most of what I’ve learned is from self-guided reading, watching documentaries, and talking to literary and cinematic professionals and members of the LGBTQAI+ community.
2.) Subtext exists in all forms of art: literature, music, painting, sculptures, film, and so on. There is no 1-to-1 definition of what subtext could be because subtext, by its very definition, is the communicating of information and/or a feeling without communicating it directly. It’s also important to remember that we use subtext in everyday life without realizing it.
3.) It’s necessary to share foundational resources in order to provide a greater contextual understanding in response to your question. The resources I'll be sharing, which will go from broad foundational to specifically queer subtext in cinema, are as follows: A.) Using JSTOR, B.) Linguistics & Subtext, C.) Film History, D.) Queer Subtext in Literature, Theater, and Film.
USING JSTOR
JSTOR is an incredible academic journal article resource. You can sign-up as a user and have access to up to 100 articles per month online for free! If you don’t feel comfortable creating an account, you can also visit your local library, who more likely than not have a JSTOR membership.
When searching for articles, I recommend using these keywords: queer, homosexuality, subtext, literature, film, history.
LINGUISTICS & SUBTEXT
Pragmatics
-- Jerome Bruner’s “Pragmatics of Language and Language of Pragmatics” (Available on JSTOR; Published by The Johns Hopkins University Press)
-- Kristin Borjesson’s “The Semantics-Pragmatics Interface: The Role of Speak Intentions and Nature of Implicit Meaning Aspects” (Available on JSTOR; Published by Armand Colin)
Iceberg Theory and Theory of Omission
-- Silvia Ammary’s “Poe’s ‘Theory of Omission” and Hemingway’s ‘Unity Effect’” (Available on JSTOR; Published in the Edgar Allan Poe Review)
-- Charles J. Nolan, Jr’s “‘Out of Season’: The Importance of Close Reading’” (Available on JSTOR; Published in the Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature)
-- Paul Smith’s “Hemingway’s Early Manuscripts: The Theory and Practice of Omission” (Available on JSTOR; Published by Journal of Modern Literature)
Implicature
-- Catherine Abell’s “Pictorial Implicature” (An important read as it provides academic context on interpretation of the visual medium, which is connected to interpretation of film; Available on JSTOR; Published by The American Society for Aesthetics)
-- Eric Swanson’s “Omissive Implicature” (Linguistic study on implied communication through omission) Available on JSTOR; Published by University of Arkansas Press)
-- Jacques Moeshcler’s “On the Pragmatics of Logical Connectives” (Published in the book: “Aspects of Linguistic Variation)
Exformation
-- David Foster Wallace’s “Laughing with Kafka” (Yes, the same writer of the book, Infinite Jest! A quick 4-page read that explains exformation in literature using Kafka as an example; Available on JSTOR; Published in Log by Anyone Corporation)
-- Stephen J. Burn’s “Reading the Multiple Drafts Novel” (23 pages; can be a slog to read, but it addresses the issues of “canon”; Available on JSTOR; Published by The Johns Hopkins University Press)
FILM HISTORY
Generally, I recommend looking up Hollywood History pre-code (Hays Code aka the Motion Picture Production Code from 1930-1967). Notice that the code’s abandonment was gradual in the 60s, which was when the U.S.’s sexual revolution occured. The MPAA Film Rating System went into effect in 1968.
Sin if Soft Focus: Pre-Code Hollywood by Mark A. Vieira
Available in hard cover on Amazon (looks like there’s only 1 copy left); no digital version that I can find. You may be able to find this at your library.
Forbidden Hollywood: The Pre-Code Era (1930-1934): When Sin Rules the Movies by Mark A. Vieira
Available on Kindle. Similar to Vieira’s first book but considered inferior.
The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies by Vito Russo
Published in the 1980s, a groundbreaking work and the first of its kind. It’s dated but still considered critical reading.
Screening the Sexes: Homosexuality in the Movies by Parker Tyler
Available in hardcover and paperback. This is also considered critical reading to be paired with Celluloid Closet.
Images in the Dark: An Encyclopedia of Gay and Lesbian Film and Video by Raymond Murray
Available in paperback on Amazon (1 copy left); likely to be in the library as well.
QUEER SUBTEXT IN LITERATURE, THEATER, AND FILM
Queerbaiting and Fandom: Teasing Fans through Homoerotic Possibilities
The first book of its kind, published in 2019. A must-read as contributing articles include analysis on Supernatural, Sherlock, and Merlin, among many others. I highly recommend reading the entire book, but it is expensive. You may be able to find this at your library.
My recommended articles from this book:
-- Joseph Brenann’s “Introduction: A History of Queerbaiting” is critical to understanding the Loki series specific place in queer fandom and media history.
-- Monique Franklin’s “Queerbaiting, Queer Readings, and Heteronormative Viewing Practices”
-- Guillaume Sirois’s “Hollywood Queerbaiting and the (In)Visibility of Same-Sex Desire
-- Christoferr Bagger’s “Multiversal Queerbaiting: Alan Scott, Alternate Universes, and Gay Characters in Superhero Comics”
Fandom: Identities and Communities in a Mediated World
About half the price of Queerbaiting and Fandom but significantly more broad in scope.
My recommended articles from this book:
-- Cornel Sandvoss’s The Death of the Reader? Literary Theory and the Study of Texts in Popular Culture
-- Derek Johnson’s “Fantagonism: Factions, Institutions, Constitutive Hegemonies of Fandom”
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Reading of epic poem recommended)
-- David L. Boyd’s “Sodomy, Misogyny, and Displacement: Occluding Queer Desire in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" (available on JSTOR; from Arthuriana published by Scriptorium Press)
Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (Reading the novel recommended)
-- Jeff Nunokawa’s “Homosexual Desire and the Effacement of the Self in ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’” (available on JSTOR; Published by The Johns Hopkins University)
-- Ed Cohen’s “Writing Gone Wilde: Homoerotic Desire in the Closet of Representation” (available on JSTOR; Published by Cambridge University Press)
-- Sandra Mayer’s “‘A Complex Multiform Creature’: Ambiguity and Limitation Foreshadowed in the Early Critical Reception of Oscar Wilde” (available on JSTOR; Published in AAA: Arbeiten aus Anglistik und Amerikanistik)
Tennessee Williams’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Reading the short story [“Three Players of a Summer Game” and stage play and watching the film adaptation highly recommended)
-- Dean Shackelford’s “The Truth That Must Be Told: Gay Subjectivity, Homophobia, and Social History in “‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’”. (A must-read, in my opinion. You see a lot of patterns that continue in our subtextual queer stories to this day, concerning since Williams’s play was written in the early 1950s. Available on JSTOR; published in The Tennessee Williams Annual Review)
I hope these resources are helpful and interesting to you! Happy reading!
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I wish you would write a fic where... Theron somehow amasses a following of actual, physical porn bots droids and shenanigans ensue
I saw this prompt come in and devolved into a fit of heinous cackling. How, oh how could I resist trying to render our collective Tumblr nightmare into fictional text form?
Context: While not required reading, this is technically a sequel to this stunning crackfic, authored so long ago. If you need a refresher on the Medical Droid Love Triangle Saga, follow this link. Or this one, which is the real villain origin story of this fic. Or don't, you're already cursed if you click beyond the read more of this post.
With special thanks to @grumpyhedgehog, @sandwyrm, @storyknitter, @kitsonpaws, and @andveryginger for providing me with ideas, cursed pornbot summaries, and many cursed HoloNet websites that should never exist. You are not required to read any of this.
Technically rated T, but in reality rated N for Nobody, because no one should have to read this. I'm packing my bags, as my ride to superhell just came. Enjoy.
It had started as such a normal day -- if you could indeed have called any day on Odessen “normal”. What with the galaxy always being at the brink of some disaster or another, and their merry little band of misfits being led by the galaxy’s most notorious do-gooder, Theron’s schedule and to-do list had a tendency to get derailed on almost a daily basis.
This, however, was not how that usually happened.
He’d paused, mid-step, finger still hovering over his datapad, mid-entry as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, slowly dawning horror washing over him. His head turned slowly, like one of those doomed characters in a horror holofilm to look at the droid he’d just passed.
It was one of the new ones that had come in on a recent shipment. So new in fact, that there was still a fleet of them in the middle of being unpacked in the Logistics Wing. Shining, tall and blue, its highly polished quadranium head pivoted to look back at him.
“What,” Theron swallowed, willing his voice to sound even and not give in to the creeping dread, “what did you say?”
“Theron Shan,” the droid repeated helpfully, “is a master lover.”
“Oh no.” The words slipped out of their own accord.
“Just a moment, sir,” the droid continued, seemingly oblivious to the human’s distress, “I’m not quite done with your evaluation yet. Let’s see, where were we?”
“No no no no.”
The round flattened dome that served as its head tilted to one side, beady orange eyes sweeping over Theron from head to toe, before resuming its cheery, if horrifying report. “Subject is an exemplary specimen. In good cardiovascular health, above average muscle tone. Tall, well-built, and very clean...”
“Um,” Theron stammered. “I’m...” Flattered? Taken? Leaving? Wait--yes, that last one. “Going now!”
He didn’t give the cursed machine any more time to continue ogling him, instead taking off down the hall at a very brisk walk that nearly bordered on a jog. His mind raced at he beat a hasty retreat, trying to understand what was happening. It had been over a year since the The Incident, dubbed by some as the “Sexy Spy Virus”, and others by much more crude names, where a little harmless reprogramming had taken on a life of its own. Theron had been meticulous in his coding of the antivirus, wanting to ensure that the entire debacle would be forgotten. There was simply no way that it could crop back in on its own.
“Theron,” the brisk accented tone of one Lana Beniko burst in over his comm, “why did a droid just feel the need to inform me that they found rust on its insides during its last tune-up?”
“I don’t know,” Theron insisted, but his words were almost drowned out by a metallic clanking echoing down the corridor.
He threw a look over his shoulder, and to his horror, saw that his robotic admirer had decided to give chase.
“I’m going to have to call you back,” he quickly said into the comm as the droid picked up speed from a walk to an all out gallop.
“Theron,” she sounded both concerned and exasperated, which, considering Lana, was about par the course, “what’s going on?”
“Save me!” He shouted as he took off a dead sprint.
In his many years in the field, Theron had been threatened, sure. Shot at? Many times. He’d been drugged. Tortured. Stabbed through the gut with a lightsaber pike and lived to tell the tale. He’d run into Sith, Revanites, bounty hunters, thugs, fanatics and cultists alike. He’d been in more firefights than he could remember, and more covert ops than he cared to. He’d even been accused of being a traitor (although that was kind of the point at the time).
None of that compared right now to being chased down by a droid yelling at top volume claiming he was the best lover it had ever seen.
And this time, he was pretty sure it wasn’t actually his fault.
He rounded the corner from the corridor leading from the Logistics Wing, passing by the Commander’s (and at this point, his) Quarters. HK-55 and Z0-0M straightened to their full height at his arrival. Oh thank the Force, allies.
“Salutations: Agent Shan, you are looking quite spry today.”
“What?” he panted as he approached.
“Yes, Agent Shan, don’t believe what anyone else is saying!” Zeeyo exclaimed, throwing her arms into the air. “Your undercarriage doesn’t look rusty at all!”
Mind sharp as a tack, Theron realized the implications of this just in time, and dodged to the side, ducking and rolling as the assassin-turned-bodyguard droid lunged forward to trap him in a bear hug. Not pausing to even catch his breath, as soon as his feet hit the ground he propelled himself forward and further down the hall.
“Frustration: I only wish to profess my admiration for you, Agent Shan!”
“Nope nope nope nope!” Desperation was starting to tinge the edges of his words now.
The metallic clanking intensified as more droids behind him joined in the chase, all of their vocabulators joining in unison to tell him in one way, or another, that he was in fact, the pinnacle of sexual prowess.
Theron couldn’t run forever, despite whatever their programming was forcing them to say, his stamina would give out before the lustftul droids’ power supplies. As the corridor zigged and twisted, he saw an opening in the form of a door sliding open. Without hesitation he dove in, shoving the individual there, thankfully made of flesh and bone, aside as he slammed the door controls.
The door slid securely shut just as the thunderous clanking filled the corridor beyond, their lustful words of appreciation and encouragement nearly drowned out by the racket. Theron hadn’t bothered to look or count, but he was pretty sure that the number had risen from three in the scant moments it had taken Theron to dart from one corridor to the next.
He held up a hand to his lips as he turned to thank the person who had unwittingly provided his temporary salvation. The words of gratitude died on his lips, as he realized exactly who’s room he had sought refuge in.
For a moment, Theron truly considered surrendering himself to the lusty droid mob.
Draike Highwind’s face was caught somewhere between confusion and amusement, but the latter was winning out as he started to decipher individual phrases drifting in from the corridor. A dark brow arched higher, lips twitching with undisguised mirth as the stupid blue droid that had started this whole mess yelled once again about Theron being a master lover.
More seconds passed, the ruckus quieting down, before silence descended once more, and it was finally safe to speak.
“So,” Draike drew out the word, somehow lacing it with more innuendo than all of the malfunctioning droids combined, “what ya been doing, Shan?”
“Nothing!” he insisted, voice still hushed just in case one of the droids could somehow hear.
“Doesn’t sound like nothing.” His brother-in-law’s smirk widened into an almost feral grin, eyebrows waggling. “Sounds like you’ve been getting... busy.”
One of the greatest mysteries in the galaxy was how one man could make anything sound that dirty. “I was minding my own business!”
“Oh, I bet you were.”
“You’re having way too much fun with this.”
“I mean...” If looks could kill, the pilot would have melted on the spot. Unfortunately for Theron, Draike was apparently immune to that sort of thing. “How often do I get the chance?”
“Did you do this?”
“Me?” Draike let out a sharp bark of laughter. “Stars, I wish I could have thought of something this good! These are memories I will cherish forever.”
Theron massaged the bridge of his nose. “I hate my life.”
“I mean, I’m not really into droids,” Draike went on, either not knowing (or more likely caring) about his brother-in-law’s predicament, “flesh is more my kind of thing. But you know, if you and the little lady need to spice things up by bringing in a little metal--”
“Please stop. I’m begging you!”
“Begging, eh? So you’re saying you’re more into--“
“Forget it, I’m taking my chances with the sex-crazed machines roaming the halls.” His palm hovered over the door sensors.
“Theron, wait!” There was enough urgency in Draike’s voice to give him pause. “It’s dangerous out there, take this.”
At first, he was honestly afraid to look, expecting to be offered something like a condom or some other bad joke, but was surprised to see the other man holding out a stealth generator.
“To escape your fans.”
“That’s actually not a bad idea.”
“I know. I’m a genius.”
“I didn’t say that.” He quickly nabbed the stealth generator before Draike could change his mind and frowned at the initials carved in the side in Aurabesh. “Is this even yours?”
“Eh, close enough.”
Whatever, beggars couldn’t be choosers. Theron would deal with those potential repercussions later. He flicked on the power to the stealth generator which let out a low, almost inaudible hum as a burst of life engulfed his form. He closed his eyes against the sudden burst of brightness, and when he opened them again, dark spots of the light pattern danced in his vision for a few seconds. He blinked a few more times before they faded away.
He waved an arm experimentally in front of his face, and only felt the slight movement of air. Draike didn’t seem to react at all, and that was probably good enough.
“Thanks,” he said, palming the sensor to the door.
Draike rolled his eyes and ambled out into the corridor, looking around with the air of a man all too used to hiding from those looking for him. Theron watched as he raised a hand to a very slowly moving GNK power droid.
“How’s it hanging?”
“GONK!”
“Oh yeah? You don’t say! I think I saw him head that way.” Draike pointed in the direction leading to cantina. “Just between you and me, I heard he’s sweet on that droid who’s a comfort enthusiast.”
“GONK! GONK! GONK!”
Still hidden underneath the stealth field, Theron had to bite down the urge to make any noise of frustration and just turned an invisible, irritated gaze at the other man’s back. As if sensing Theron’s irritation, Draike just grinned wider.
“Yeah, you know how those spy types are. Always toying with droids’ hearts. You could do better than him.”
“GONK!”
“Oh, you spicy droid! Yeah, trundle off that way, big guy. I’m sure you’ll catch him!”
With a loud clanking, the GNK droid began his slow and steady journey towards the cantina. As the echoes finally faded, Draike casually stretched, pointing towards the direction of the War Room.
Theron skulked on by, but not before giving his brother-in-law a well deserved whop upside the head. The stealth field flickered momentarily on the physical contact before shimmering back into place.
“It’d serve you right to get caught by doing that,” Draike sniffed indignantly, “after all I’ve done to help you.”
“When all of this is over--”
“Hush now,” Draike waved at the air in front of him. “You have bigger problems to deal with. Meanwhile, I will be heading to the cantina. And definitely won’t be live-streaming any brawls breaking out over the Master Lover breaking droid hearts everywhere.”
Theron snorted out an annoyed breath, and checked his urge to trip Draike as he sauntered off, hands jammed into his pockets as he whistled a jaunty tune. Like the purloined stealth generator, he’d have to worry about slicing and corrupting any servers containing evidence of this mess after he figured out how to stop whatever this was from spreading any further.
The upside to this whole unfortunate side encounter, was that the stealth generator made it possible for him to quietly creep around any droids he passed in the corridor. Most seemed to be making a hasty exit for the cantina, almost as if word had spread of Drake’s false rumor about his and C2-N2’s torrid love affair and every heartbroken circuit was flocking in that direction now.
And when he thought about it like that, when exactly had this become his life? Oh, right. Like fifteen minutes ago. Or however long this nightmare had started. Time had sort of lost meaning, if he were being honest.
He managed to make it to the war room, undetected and unmolested, and quietly snuck his way towards the irritable blonde Sith, holding her head in her hands as if she were battling the world’s strongest migraine. As Theron approached the Sith, he could hear her muttering under her breath in frustration. He hesitated for a moment before clearing his throat, causing her to jerk her head up in surprise.
“Who’s there?”
“Quiet,” Theron hissed. “They might hear you.”
“Oh, for Sith’s sake,” she exhaled, “where in the blazes have you been?”
“Hiding,” he whispered urgently. “These droids have all gone haywire!”
“And who’s fault is that, I wonder.”
“Not me,” he insisted, “not this time!”
“Right,” she said sardonically, “and I suppose that’s why there isn’t a reality holoseries entitled ‘Programmed for Love’ currently being live-streamed in the cantina for the entire HoloNet to see.”
“Damn it, Draike!” Theron cursed. “I thought he was joking about that.”
“Of course. How did I not see that coming?” she muttered.
“I’ll slice in and scrub all of the servers after we figure out this... this... whatever this is?”
“Your insecurities laid bare in binary?” she suggested, oh so helpfully.
“Why did I come to you for help again?”
“Because--”
It was at that point, that a probe droid, currently speeding its way towards the cantina, happened to take notice of Lana talking to thin air, and veered off its intended trajectory, heading straight for Theron’s position near the back of the war room. If the loud alarms and flashing lights were any indication, it had been able to see through his stealth generator.
Wait... those weren’t alarm proximities it was flashing. As Theron watched its rapid approach, he couldn’t help but stare at it in dumb fascination, brow furrowing as he tried to make out the images it was projecting. If he didn’t know better, he’d almost say it was a bizarre mixture of Aurabesh and hologlyphs.
He squinted, just able to make out: “DX-98 🤖🔥 Analytical Scanner 💋🙏 Okara Droid Factory 🔍🌌💕 Exobiology Research 🥵🍑 Top HoloFans 0.7%!”
Before he had a chance to process any of that, the droid was already upon him, pincher arms spreading wide to snap him up for some purpose far beyond its original programming. He only had milliseconds to react before the droid reached him, when an explosive force sent the droid flying backwards harmlessly, and had Theron landing ungracefully on his tailbone. The stealth field fizzled out with a pop on his impact with the ground.
A familiar figure landed between him and the droid, twin blue scarves billowing behind her dramatically, blonde ponytail swaying with the motion of her movement. A small frown of concentration bunched her forehead as his wife threw a concerned look in his direction.
“You requested rescue?” Grey asked.
“Ah, my knight in shining armor has arrived,” he quipped back.
“I am not wearing my armor.” The frown of concentration morphed into one of confusion.
“I--never mind.” He pushed himself to his feet, dusting off his hands. “Thank you for the timely intervention.”
She graced him with a hint of a smile and a bob of her head in acknowledgment. “Any time.”
“As touching as all of this is,” Lana broke in sourly, “it still doesn’t solve our larger problem.”
“Yeah,” Theron rubbed the back of his neck, “you’re not wrong. It sounds like this has spread across the entire base?”
“It appears that way,” Lana said tightly. “You know, you assured me that all of this had been taken care of the last time we dealt with this issue.”
“Hey now,” he bit back, “I’m a man of my word!”
She snorted at that. “Tell that to the Umbaran Transit Authority.”
“How are you still mad about that?”
“You tazed me!”
“Focus,” Grey said, eyeing the stunned probe droid warily. “If memory serves me correct, you had a program you deployed to revert the programming of the droids the last time this happened.”
“Yes, that’s what doesn’t make sense.” He watched as the holoprojectors on the downed probe droid flickered, hologlyphs flashing rapidly in the War Room’s dim light. “I programmed it to eliminate all trace of the offending code. The only way it could be reappearing now is if someone took one of the infected droids offline before I deployed...”
Lana arrived at the same conclusion right about the time that Theron did, picking up the thought. “I seem to recall a certain someone requesting you replicate your work for less-than-legal purposes.”
Theron angrily punched the button on his comm as he growled, “Gault!”
The Devaronian’s voice came back immediately, almost a little too suave. “Theron! What a surprise to hear your dulcet tones requesting my presence.”
“Gault,” Lana managed to keep some measure of calm, “are you responsible for this current situation?”
“What situation is that?” he asked far too innocently, even as a distant call of a droid’s clanking nearly drowned out it’s loud declaration of the presence of rust on one Theron Shan’s “bolt”. There was a moment of silence before he continued. “Oh! You mean the lustful droids currently running amok on the base?”
“I’m glad we’re on the same page,” Lana said dryly. “My original question stands.”
“I am shocked, shocked and scandalized that my name would be the first to come to mind! Might I remind you, it was one Miss Djannis who requested you create her a Shan Sexbot.”
“Yeah,” Kaliyo jumped in on the comms, clearly annoyed, the sound of metallic brawling nearly drowning out her voice, “I wanted it for hilarious crimes! Not whatever the fuck this is!”
“Gault,” a third voice, Hylo Visz, cut in. From the background noise, it seemed she was in the same location as Kaliyo. “I swear, if you don’t help us figure out how to stop this, when you’re not looking I’ll cut off your--”
“Okay, okay, geez!” He interrupted before his significant other could finish whatever that threat was. “Fine, it was me! I deactivated a droid before Theron uploaded his program.”
“Of course.” Lana rolled her eyes upwards, as if asking the Force for patience.
“In my defense,” Gault continued, “originally it was just to shut the stupid thing up! But then Kaliyo came up with that brilliant idea for the Shan Sexbot Distraction, and I thought, why not hold on to this beauty in case it came in handy for a con?”
The sound of Theron smacking his forehead in frustration echoed throughout the War Room.
“So you know, just had a fun idea come to me the other day, so I extracted the original programming and altered a few things, and tried to put it into a new droid for my plan.”
“Did that droid happen to be a blue medical monstrosity?” Theron was actively massaging his temples at this point.
“I will have you know,” Gault said, “that BL-U3 is a consummate professional. You would be lucky to have him perform a medical exam on you!”
“Yeah, that was definitely his intent,” Theron shot back. “Purely professional and not lecherous at all! Which was not in any of my code.”
“Hey, I never claimed to be very talented when it came to software programming. I may have made a mistake or two when altering your code.”
“May have?!”
“How was I supposed to know that the remnants of the Gemini Frequency code in our systems was going to work after the entire Eternal Fleet had gone offline and deploy your software STD to the entire network? Sue me!”
“I’m considering it!”
Before the mostly pointless argument could escalate any further, the sounds of metallic clanking from above, roughly from the location of the cantina, began to grow closer, the cacophony increasing in volume, until it sounded like it was coming in all directions.
“That is not a good sign,” Grey’s mutter was nearly lost to the noise.
“Hey,” Drake’s annoyed voice cut in over the comm, “my livestream is now officially ruined! I hope you’re all happy!”
“I’m afraid to even ask why,” Theron said.
“Oh, it seems all of my extremely eligible and single contestants heard your voice over the comms and abandoned challenging Seetoo Enntoo to unarmed droid combat for the right to court you, and are now all headed in your direction.”
“Oops.”
“Worry not Agent Shan,” the unusually warbly vocabulator of C2-N2 came over the comms, “I will not rest until I alone can provide you with the ultimate in comfort!”
“We should probably get a different housekeeping droid after this is all over,” he told his wife.
That seemed a lesser concern to Grey, as she had shifted into Alliance Commander mode, and was currently on the comms, shouting for every available member of the Force Enclave to get to the War Room as fast as possible to help hold off the incoming army of lustful droids.
Yeah, come to think of it, that was probably more important.
“We must use nonlethal force,” she stressed, giving a particularly severe look to Lana when she said that, getting a simple nonplussed shrug in return, “as we only need to hold the droids at bay until we can come up with a solution. They are not to blame for what’s happening.”
Theron begged to differ, but she was probably right in this case. The cost of repairing or replacing an entire base full of droids would be astronomical.
As Force users began to stream in and take up position around the room, the sound of wheels racing along the metal plating caught Theron's attention, and he looked over to see a familiar silver T7-series astromech racing into the room. He tensed up instinctively at the sight of a droid, as anyone would have in his situation.
“Teeseven!” Grey called out with a smile, clearly not as wary or droidshy.
The little astromech let out a friendly whistle and series of chirps in binary, that roughly translated to: “T7-01 = Safe! // Been off network entire morning!”
“Oh, what a relief,” she breathed, “I would have hated for you to be infected with this too!”
He let out another series of beeps: “T7-01 = still in possession of original antivirus code. // Can tweak it and upload to servers = Save the day?”
“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” Theron muttered.
“T7 = not scared!”
Grey’s expression melted into one of admiration and pride. “Teeseven, that’s incredibly brave -- but are you sure? Theron’s right, it could be very dangerous.”
“T7 = Jedi + Theron’s friend. // Helping > Risk!”
She looked at him and he returned the gaze with a small nod, realizing there wasn’t much in the way of choice. It was either that or let the droids overrun them. And then whatever happened when one of them actually got their hands on on Theron -- a prospect he wasn’t really that thrilled to explore right now.
“Fine,” he said tersely, “let’s do this!”
The two of them rushed over to the center console in the room, Theron pulling out his slicer spike as Teeseven plugged his scomplink arm into the main network terminal. The rest of their reinforcements from the Force Enclave arrived just in time and formed a ring around the two slicers. They managed to erect a large Force barrier just as the metallic clanging and clatter grew to a roar, announcing the arrival of the lecherous horde.
Near the front of the mob, Z0-0M threw up her arms in glee and excitement as she jumped to try and catch sight of her beloved. “There you are Agent Shan! You left before we could finish our conversation -- you were saying something about oxidation?”
“Interjection: Do not listen to this hussy, Theron! You and I will make sweet explosions together!”
Theron valiantly tuned them out as he took in a feed of the original antivirus code that Teeseven shared with him. Yes, this all looked correct. Unfortunately, he was going to need get a look to see how Gault had mutilated his beautiful original coding to know how to alter it.
Teeseven was two steps ahead of him, and a stream of code flashed across the HUD in his ocular implants. He watched in horror as he saw the butchery with his own two eyes.
“Gault, where the hell did you get this code?” he asked over the comms incredulously. “HornHub?”
“Excuse you, I only frequent the classiest places on the galactic communications grid, like HoloHump!” The growl of Gault’s name from a very angry Mirialan smuggler had him quickly adding. “You know, I’m just going to shut up and let you concentrate on what you’re doing.”
Teeseven, ever the valiant worker, ignored the conversation completely, and was hard at work running diagnostics on the altered code and the best way to modify the antivirus to address it. Theron watched the stream of letters and numbers fly across the HUD at lightning speed.
The little guy was good at what he did. He let out a flurry of beeps and whistles as almost the last piece of this very lurid puzzle started to fall into place. The little droid seemed to almost be singing along with the code as he wrote it, like a mechanical maestro conducting an orchestra. They were close, so close and--
The next whistle Teeseven let out was not his normal, cheerful way of communication, much lower in timbre and more seductive.
No.
Teeseven whirled his flat head around until his visual sensor faced Theron, and let out another wolf whistle, his holoprojector lighting up to proudly display: T7-01 🤖👀🔍 Observant 👁️🔭 Scanner 🔍🏞️ Tython 🌄👏 215 🍒♎ Repairing 👅🙈 Top HoloFans 3.6%
“What was that?” Grey shouted to be heard over the droids catcalling.
“No no no no,” Theron muttered, “we’re so close! Don’t do this to me, little buddy!”
“What happened to my precious baby boy?” Grey demanded, sweat trickling down the side of her face as she struggled to maintain the Force barrier.
Beyond the barrier, the rest of the porndroid army followed suit with Teeseven, all either wildly projecting their own series of hologlyphs and random facts about themselves and their planets of origins, while others struck disturbingly seductive poses, and a scant few demanded that “ShanDaddy” start a holocall with them in private.
With no time and no recourse left, Theron dove back into the system, yanking Teeseven’s unfinished code as he was nearly overwhelmed with lewd images and thirsty hologlyphs, struggling to finish and upload the code as the volume in the War Room rose to a crescendo just as the Force users’ began to fall, one after the other, their barrier weakening by the moment.
The overwhelming cacophony of hologlyphs, lewd poses, and robotic come-ons that had filled the War Room suddenly disappeared. All eyes turned to the droids as almost in unison, as they all powered down—a sign that their malware had been neutralized. Theron slumped back in relief, his work finally done.
Grey, Lana, and the others let out a long sigh of relief, the tension leaving their bodies in a rush.
“Thank the Force,” Grey murmured, sinking down to the ground. “I do not think I could have held that barrier much longer.”
Theron nodded, feeling a similar sense of exhaustion. He leaned back against the console, closing his eyes but was unable to banish the mentally scarring series of images that were probably permanently burned into his retinas.
“Remind me,” he said faintly, “to obliterate HoloHump’s servers. Once I’m done murdering Gault.”
“You act as if there will be anything left after I find him,” Lana said darkly.
“Remember everyone,” Grey spoke in her best and most official Alliance Commander voice, “murder is bad and frowned upon in the Official Alliance Employee Handbook.”
“Query: Why are we all in the War Room?” HK-55 asked as he came back online. “And more importantly, why is that blue meddroid manipulating its medical instruments into a heart shape, as if expressing affection towards the Commander?”
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