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Post by Sable Conolly on Mar 7, 2008 21:00:42 GMT -5
Scourge considers Dead End's comments and agrees, "Not a common transform, but my reality has few repeat transforms. Cars are common, and that's about it." Is he implying that his Optimus Prime is not a semi-truck? He is! "Gestalts are all different numbers - three, four, five."
"Mega-Octane is green, yellow, orange, and black, for reference," since Dead End has been mentioning colours, "Aside from Mega-Octane, the rest of Ruination are Movor, Ro-Tor, Rollbar, and Armorhide. Movor is an orange, white, black, and purple space shuttle and forms a limb. Likes this sort of Terran music called 'heavy metal' and their pop culture in general. His optics are bit defective, which is unfortunate, but he is still suitable for orbital surveillance." Scourge has no idea yet just how defective Movor's optics are. "He likes his baths lukewarm."
Scourge looks over Dead End critically and decides to give the buffing another run.
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Dead End
Major
Yes, we're all doomed. I already knew that.
Posts: 797
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Post by Dead End on Mar 7, 2008 23:50:34 GMT -5
Dead End's engine revved briefly in surprise. "Interesting. One of the other Combaticons, Blast-Off, is also a space shuttle, though differently colored. Are baths an item of contention?"
"Breakdown transforms into a cream and blue Lamborghini Countache--a rare, expensive, and exotic Italian sports car, guaranteed to attract human eyes wherever he drives. That is a curse for him, because Breakdown... dislikes being watched by humans... or their devices. He imagines they are constantly monitoring him and know what he is underneath the car." Dead End seems to sigh. "So, naturally, he is our scout."
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Post by Sable Conolly on Mar 8, 2008 11:01:16 GMT -5
Scourge tilts his head to one side and answers, "Why, of course. Bunch of Decepticons, limited amount of bathing space and time, and squabbles result." Isn't that obvious? "You Stunticons never had problems with it?"
Also, is it just Scourge, or did they pick the absolutely worst task for each Stunticon and then assign it to him as his function?
He continues, "Then there is Rollbar. Bit of an accent like those found in the southern areas of the United States. He is an orange, black, and green FMC XR311 combat support vehicle," coincidentally, the same thing as Swindle. "He practises a number of martial arts. Rollbar is fond of saunas and rainy days."
Scourge thinks he has the buffing done, but just to be certain, he asks, "Anything you'd like touched up before you transform?"
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Dead End
Major
Yes, we're all doomed. I already knew that.
Posts: 797
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Post by Dead End on Mar 8, 2008 12:18:53 GMT -5
"The Undersea Base had plenty of room, in spite of Starscream's claustrophobic whining, and there's no shortage of water with the sea outside and a power plant to desalinate it," Dead End lazily replied. "Once we returned to Cybertron, that was a different matter. Water is quite rare on Cybertron; they use solvent solutions for cleaning there. And Charr... is not worth speaking of."
Paranoids make very alert scouts, even if they are miserable about it. Vicious psychotics with something to prove make fearsome warriors. Dead End wasn't sure where he fit in the big picture, but the fact that his nature was the opposite of most of his brothers and sort of balanced it seemed significant to him.
"If he were yellow, I'd say that was Swindle of the Combaticons. Curious. The rest of the Combaticons are Brawl, a tank-former, and Vortex, a helicopter-former. Do the parallels continue? They merge to form Bruticus. I don't suppose you have any images of Ruination? I do have a radar image of Bruticus somewhere in my memory banks..."
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Post by Sable Conolly on Mar 8, 2008 13:32:45 GMT -5
Scourge comments absently, "Our base was also undersea." However, it was shaped like a giant torso, conveniently enough. He pauses and stares at Dead End before rubbing the back of his head. Scourge notes, "They do, actually. Ro-Tor is a red and blue helicopter. Armorhide is a desert camouflage tank. Ro-Tor's a bit snippy and arrogant, and he likes hot, open-air bath with a good view. Armorhide usually pairs up with Rollbar, and he likes sand baths." He withdraws his datascreen, a sort of floating, glowing, semi-translucent flat panel, and he calls up an image of Ruination. Ruination is pretty clearly just a repaint of Bruticus with a funny symbol on his chest. Scourge intones, "Behold, Ruination." In a more confidential tone, he adds, "Has a strange fondness for lattes." Yes, the secret of Ruination's power is coffee milk. Scourge has no idea how Ruination can even digest lattes. Scourge was the one who scanned a human, not Mega-Octane! So Scourge is the lovechild of Optimus Prime and Megatron, and he leads the Combaticons' cousins. Life is weird.
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Dead End
Major
Yes, we're all doomed. I already knew that.
Posts: 797
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Post by Dead End on Mar 9, 2008 16:54:43 GMT -5
"Oh, my! That's the very image of Bruticus, only with different colors. But the latte thing is definitely, ah, different," Dead End replied. He transformed into robot mode and looked himself over.
"Oh, very nice! Do you think you could get the back of my helm?" Dead End asked as he unlatched his battle mask and picked up an unused cleaning rag. "I can get this piece."
"Interesting parallels. From your descriptions, Ruination and his members have different colors and rather different personalities from Bruticus and the Combaticons. Onslaught, who corresponds to your Mega-Octane, is a perfectionist tactician; he hates it when anyone fouls up the execution of his perfect plans." Dead End put dry emphasis on 'perfect'.
"Brawl, the tank, is exceedingly stupid--like our friend Demolisher, ill-tempered, and violent--rather like Counterpunch or our friend Demolisher again. Blast Off fancies himself a cultured aristocrat, and won't deign to talk to you unless you can form grammatical sentences and at least follow his conversation. He spends a lot of time in orbit. Vortex is almost as hyper-active as Wildrider. He's also an interrogator, and truly enjoys his work. Finally, Swindle is well-named. He's notoriously greedy to the point of folly; he once sold his teammates for spare parts after they were offlined in a battle with Superion. Megatron was not amused."
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Post by Sable Conolly on Mar 9, 2008 17:17:53 GMT -5
Scourge inquires, "You sure about getting that?" He doesn't want to let Dead End claim that Scourge skimped on him. Then, he pauses and takes a good look At Dead End and then at the mask in Dead End's hand. It's stupid, he knows it's stupid as he says it, but he says it all the same, "It comes off?"
Of course it comes off. Scourge thinks, annoyed with himself. Dead End's mask comes off, there is a little bladed creature that turns into stereo, Starscream cannot be properly killed, and there are a bunch of tiny Predacons. Why am I surprised by anything anymore?
To hide his annoyance, he steps behind Dead End to work on the back of Dead End's head. When Scourge believes that he can say something civil, it is, "Doesn't sound anything like my Decepticons, forms aside. How peculiar."
Of course, if any of them end up here, Scourge will totally try to yoink them just to have a familiar face around that he doesn't want to bash in.
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Dead End
Major
Yes, we're all doomed. I already knew that.
Posts: 797
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Post by Dead End on Mar 9, 2008 18:34:12 GMT -5
"Yes... I'm indolent enough, can't have people thinking I won't lift a finger to take care of myself," Dead End said in an amused tone.
"As does the visor." Dead End demonstrated by unhooking his visor from the slots in his helm and removed it, revealing two brightly glowing optics the same violet color as his visor.
If Dead End knew Scourge's thoughts, he might point out the flying shark, Starscream actually being in charge for more than five minutes, Autobot Long Haul, and a bluish hovercar that isn't named 'Sweep' and collects toys.
"The parallels are intriguing. We've already seen the obvious parallels of same person, same name but different history, different person, same name, and now different name, different history, but same shape."
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Post by Sable Conolly on Mar 9, 2008 18:48:49 GMT -5
"People aren't watching," Scourge notes quickly. He takes a step back around to get a look at Dead End without the visor. He tilts his head to one side, and he has to ask, "What does that even feel like?" To him, it'd be like removing his face. It's just a weird thought.
He moves back around to finish doing the back of Dead End's helmet, and he nods. Scourge muses, "The parallels are stranger than the differences, in some ways."
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Dead End
Major
Yes, we're all doomed. I already knew that.
Posts: 797
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Post by Dead End on Mar 9, 2008 19:13:47 GMT -5
"You're 'people'," Dead End replied with a curious smirk. "If you wish..." he held out the mask for Scourge.
"I feel... exposed. Vulnerable. There's nothing protecting my optics from weapons fire or flash weapons right now. You can see my face, now." There's the barest hint of a frown; sans mask, Dead End's face is as expressive as any Seeker's.
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Post by Sable Conolly on Mar 9, 2008 20:01:09 GMT -5
Scourge takes up the mask to wax, polish, and buff, but he does look at it curiously. Is there a hook-up so that Dead End can feel what the mask feels when he has it on? Scourge protests, "No, I mean, does this mask and your visor have any sensory connection to your body when on or is it just... dead metal that you wear? You think of what you have beneath as your face?"
He is careful with the small object, treating it gingerly.
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Dead End
Major
Yes, we're all doomed. I already knew that.
Posts: 797
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Post by Dead End on Mar 9, 2008 21:44:46 GMT -5
"My visor does have connections with my optic circuitry: head-up displays and extra brightness cut-outs. My battle mask is... just a mask. Armor. What you see now is my face." Dead End tilted his head and regarded Scourge thoughtfully.
"It's not the same for everyone, I know. Vortex did not have a mask to remove, nor most of the other Combaticons. As far as I'd heard, no one had ever seen Optimus Prime without his mask. Half the Constructicons have fixed masks. Perhaps I am a bit odd, to have a removable mask."
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Post by Sable Conolly on Mar 10, 2008 4:59:58 GMT -5
So Dead End is wearing sunglasses in the dark most of the time. How... unsurprising, really.
Scourge muses, "You're wearing a mask all the time, like a cosplayer," blame Sky-Byte that Scourge even knows what cosplaying is, "How Decepticon."
He finishes polishing the mask and holds it back out to Dead End.
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Dead End
Major
Yes, we're all doomed. I already knew that.
Posts: 797
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Post by Dead End on Mar 10, 2008 14:05:50 GMT -5
But does he have half a pack of cigarettes?
"It keeps me out of trouble," Dead End murmured as he took the mask back from Scourge.
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Post by Sable Conolly on Mar 10, 2008 17:35:55 GMT -5
Scourge would not put it past Dead End to have half a pack of cigarettes.
"Afraid of what others might see?" Scourge asks quietly. "Afraid that they might see your despair... or your joy? Ruin your bad reputation?"
He's being playful, here, but he wonders if he has a point.
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