Flame
Rookie
Causam ago dementia
Posts: 198
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Post by Flame on Jan 8, 2012 22:32:22 GMT -5
"I – I can't," Flame croaks. "I can't – I can't–" Xaaron asks a terrifying question. A horrible question. A dangerous question. Flame said he wanted to be a Decepticon. That hasn't changed; but does he want to be here, now, with Onslaught holding him up for the cameras and ripping open all his scars? The resentment burns hot like his weapons and he thinks no, he does not want to be here with these Decepticons in this moment.
Then he realises what a mutinous thought that is and recoils from himself, from the others, stepping back and pointing at Xaaron. His face is a mask of unadulterated pain and rage.
"You know why," he cries, voice cracking. "You know why! You did it!" Then he rounds on Rodimus and Onslaught, adding shrilly, "Stop it! Stop it!" His head is ringing; it feels as though his brain module might well implode on itself. He half expects Tyrest to appear from behind the ferris wheel.
He snaps again, turning and running. Humans to both sides shout and scramble to get clear of his path; he ignores them. He's on a beeline course for the coordinates where he landed earlier. He wants to go home.
OOC: Out of thread unless stopped, or pursued, or whichever.
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Post by Emirate Xaaron on Jan 15, 2012 19:59:08 GMT -5
OOC: It is difficult to play a good guy in this thread, because the good guys want to get their evil counterparts to move far, far away from the humans, but they do not want to use force, because collateral damage is unacceptable around this many humans. Thus, I propose a thread wrap on the Autobots awkwardly trying to shoo the Decepticons in a nonviolent fashion.
"No, I don't know," Emirate Xaaron says firmly, almost sadly. He shrugs. "Well, if he doesn't want to talk about it, I will be forced to assume that he is... content where he is."
Rodimus Prime will know what that means, if they ever meet Flame again, and their hands are not tied by humans in the area.
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Post by Pee-Dee on Jan 17, 2012 21:12:09 GMT -5
Pee-Dee stands up after Flame's outburst. There is something deliberate in the movement, like a gunslinger unbuckling the peace-tie over his guns. She steps forward, looks up at Onslaught. "Your cruelty has consequence.1"
She holds his optic-band for a long moment, then steps past him and walks away. Her course is parallel to Flame's but more careful. Only when she's away from the humans does she transform, falling into motorcycle-mode so she can follow the poor, unfortunate soul.
OOC: Pee-Dee is out of thread after Flame.
1. Alteration of "Cruelty", the Cruxshadows
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Post by Rodimus Prime on Jan 19, 2012 19:41:10 GMT -5
Rodimus just stares after Flame blankly, optics flickering once.
"What the blazes just happened?"
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Post by Onslaught/Octavian Comstock on Jan 21, 2012 12:46:48 GMT -5
There is a look of sympathy in Onslaughts' optical band as he regards Flame's breakdown. He even raises a hand, as if to pat Flame's shoulder in a sign of regret and comraderie, and it remains hanging there for a few seconds as Flame storms off. "I...Flame." But inwardly? He could not be more pleased. This is exactly what he had hoped for. No, this is even better. And he jumps in on it almost perfectly, shooting a scandalizing look at Xaaron, even taking a step forward to say something suitably bitter, only to step away, as if he thought better of it.
But Pee-Dee does not escape notice. How can she, when she pursues the poor traumatized monster? He casts one last glare at Rodimus before he turns and walks after them, carefully avoiding stepping on any of the humans, and once he's clear he'll transform and drive after them with billowing smokestacks.
//Slugslinger, do as you please, but I suggest that you leave. Unless you are willing to face the Autobots' prying questions on your own.//
__________________
Out of thread unless stopped
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Slugslinger
Minor
And if it weren't for this blasted coin…
Posts: 388
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Post by Slugslinger on Jan 24, 2012 8:23:30 GMT -5
Much to Slugslinger's irritation, Flame's shrieking fit sends the film crews ducking. Then Onslaught takes off after him and the Autobot, leaving Slugslinger alone with the Councillor and the Prime. Inwardly, he shrugs at this development, not particularly worried about their questions. After all, he's just a dumb thug, right? To wit, he cranes his neck to answer Rodimus in a a voice that sounds distracted and annoyed more than anything else:
"He ran off." With deliberately exaggerated care, Slugslinger deigns to nudge a few of the cameramen to their feet since their cameras leave them so off-balance. He adds, roughening his voice and throwing in a touch of asperity, "You guys freak him out for some reason." One reporter he outright scoops back to her feet. It probably looks like somebody righting fallen toys. "Flame didn't spook you little guys too much, huh?" he wonders.
Dorie still feels ill. Attempting to regain her composure, she looks to Xaaron and Rodimus, as they're the more sociable giant death machines here.
"Pardon me," she says, clearing her throat. "Would you care to explain?"
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Post by Emirate Xaaron on Jan 25, 2012 13:57:25 GMT -5
//Rodimus Prime, Pee-Dee definitely cannot handle Onslaught and Flame on her own,// Emirate Xaaron says, voice tight. //Do you want to go after her? I can't keep pace.//
Just leave Emirate Xaaron alone here with Slugslinger. That will surely go well.
Maybe Rodimus Prime will be the sensible one for once and suggest that someone else spacebridge in to give Pee-Dee back up.
He says neutrally, "He looked like someone I knew a very long time ago, before the war, but he's not the bot I knew. I look like a bot he used to know, too, evidently, but I'm not the one he knows, either, because I had never met him before now."
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Post by Rodimus Prime on Jan 25, 2012 20:04:58 GMT -5
//Not if it means leaving you here alone with the 'Con, I don't. I'll call Bluestreak.//
And he does just that, before turning towards the human and crouching, placing one hand on the ground to balance himself and offering a gentle, sad smile as he shakes his head. "I'm afraid I don't really know. As we explained when we arrived, we actually represent a lot of different realities," that really was part of their UN statement, and while some might call it 'crazy,' once you're talking giant space robots in a superhero universe, the standards for 'crazy' get loosened a bit, "so we run into an unfortunate number of mistaken identity cases."
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Slugslinger
Minor
And if it weren't for this blasted coin…
Posts: 388
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Post by Slugslinger on Jan 26, 2012 10:08:33 GMT -5
"I see," says Dorie, gathering her characteristic calm air about her like a fine cloak. She hedges for a moment on her next question, but it bears asking. "Do these cases of mistaken identity happen often?" Rodimus seems genuinely saddened by this whole surreal circus, at the very least, and Emirate Xaaron looks rather… drawn.
"Now," Slugslinger quietly murmurs to the crew that was unwisely willing to give him their attention, "see how he's got all those bright colours? It's like this, see – our paint isn't like your paint. The colour can change if we're sick or old and stuff. When it gets really bright, like the Prime's there?" He smirks and lowers his voice still further, to a stage whisper. "That's how you can tell when somebody's ready to…." He pauses and screws up his face, making a show of searching for the right word. He eventually adds, "I guess you humans'd call it mating."
"You can't be serious," the reporter says, sceptical. Slugslinger fishes for a colloquialism he picked up before he answers.
"As a heart attack."
"…How's he know what a heart attack is?" grumbles the cameraman.
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Post by Emirate Xaaron on Jan 26, 2012 12:04:19 GMT -5
//I.... yes, I suppose that Bluestreak and Pee-Dee should be able to handle Flame and Onslaught, barring something unexpected,// Emirate Xaaron agrees reluctantly. Of course, Bluestreak will never find Pee-Dee, but he does not know that.
"Reality confusion aside, many of us are made in factories, so many of us look quite similar to others of our own kind," Emirate Xaaron explains, which implies there are other creation methods, which is true.
Then Slugslinger says something about a creation method Emirate Xaaron has never heard of.
Dubiously but mildly, Emirate Xaaron says, "Mmm, perhaps that is so where you come from, but it certainly wasn't true in my city-state." He raps a gilded fist against his own hip. "All my paint means is that I like being corrosion-resistant."
Gold never tarnishes.
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Post by Rodimus Prime on Jan 26, 2012 21:06:09 GMT -5
Rodimus nods as Emirate Xaaron adds the note about factory similarities, then explains, "So yeah, they're... not uncommon. Also, besides that, sometimes..." the Prime hesitates and bites his lip for a moment. "Sometimes... hope... or, well, other things... lead us to jump to conclusions if a person seems 'close enough.'"
He didn't manage to overhear what Slugslinger is telling the humans, so Emirate Xaaron's answers catch him off guard, and he gives the Autobot leader a rather baffled look as the other brings up paint. Later on, if he reads in the news about the new theories over paint colors, he will... not be particularly shocked, and most likely shrug it off. After all, he was on Earth long enough for fanfiction to develop in his own reality.
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Slugslinger
Minor
And if it weren't for this blasted coin…
Posts: 388
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Post by Slugslinger on Jan 29, 2012 11:06:08 GMT -5
Slugslinger keeps his smile to himself, but he eyes Xaaron speculatively. All that shiny paint tells this two-faced troublemaker is that Xaaron has something in common with Avalon and all his ilk.
"Factory built?" Dorie asks, eyebrows climbing for her hairline. Human cloning is still a divisive topic; the notion of a race that can shrug off its people coming from an assembly line is mind-boggling.
"I didn't come from any factory," Slugslinger says with much bluster and pride, standing and jabbing his thumb to his chest. And this one isn't even a lie. Given the lack of new Transformers cropping up in his reality, it's entirely possible creation and reproduction have stopped altogether. He pauses and frowns slightly, as though he just realised he's forgotten something. Then he snaps his fingers. "Right! So I'll talk to you guys later," he says to the film crew. "There's still a bunch of this fair to check out and I'm not done yet."
"…You actually came to see the fair?" sputters one reporter. What interest would a giant robot have in a state fair? He can't even use any of the rides.
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Post by Emirate Xaaron on Jan 29, 2012 17:57:19 GMT -5
"Well, of course!" Emirate Xaaron replies to Dorie's dubiousness about factories. "If you go to all the trouble of engineering a good, multi-role design, you may as well mass-produce it. Which is not to say that there aren't variant builds or one-off proof of concept tests or custom builds, of course. At least, in my city-state, anyway. In the underground, we tended more towards custom designs because getting standardised parts was a bit tricky."
He looks over at Rodimus Prime.
OOC: Maybe a fade out on the Autobots nervously following Slugslinger around to make sure he doesn't start throwing humans into a giant meat grinder? Unless there was something else here that someone wanted to accomplish?
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Post by Rodimus Prime on Jan 29, 2012 20:56:31 GMT -5
Rodimus nods as Emirate Xaaron looks towards him. "Yeah. By the time I was built, the Autobots didn't really have any factories anymore." He's rather specific when he says that, because the Decepticons still had them.
Of course, there's also the whole, 'Recycling souls harvested from Autobots for the new Decepticons,' which is pretty terrible. Though on the flip side, otherwise, the Autobots are the only ones with access to "new" lifeforce.
He frowns as he sees Slugslinger wander off.
OOC: Certainly all right with me if it's all right with Slugslinger. The troll can gloat about how he got to waste an obscene amount of the Autobot leader and 2iC's time?
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Post by Pee-Dee on Jan 29, 2012 21:23:01 GMT -5
A rusty motorcycle scaled for Transformers comes jouncing back. "Well, I'm back.1"
1. Lord of the Rings
OOC: Also good with fade. Just wanted to make sure Pee-Dee showed back up.
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