Tasha Walker
Minor
She's got legs, she knows how to use them. She never begs, she knows how to choose them.
Posts: 430
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Post by Tasha Walker on Jul 15, 2009 23:57:26 GMT -5
The stool drops hard back onto all four legs. "Schematics?" she repeats, managing to sound completely unphased by the request. Inwardly, however, she is already poised to strike and run, if it comes to that. "I do not. Not for my current technOrganic construction. I may be able to sketch out some parts of the original from memory."
She props both feet on the lowest rung of the stool, hands once again grasping the seat's edge. "Abilities do tend to be rather singular, but I would not say they are unique. Many of them can simply be swapped from mech to mech. But the more specialized, the more integrated, and the harder to extract and retrofit. My way is sooooo much easier."
Most of her attention is on the Mayhems before her, but Blackarachnia is keeping a wary eye on her Mini-me. She hears the question the other spider put to her, but is taking her time answering. After a moment's pause she shakes her head.
"No, no. I don't think so. That is my own score to settle and my own cross to bear. But I will say that they were not- and are not- Decepticons." She thinks she's said enough up to now for a smart cookie to figure out that she used to be an Autobot. But telling them she used to be buddy buddy with two Primes? That's another matter.
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Blackarachnia (BW)
Rookie
She lay back on the ground and let the soft earth envelope her body.
Miss Predacon Blackarachnia, at your service.
Posts: 226
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Post by Blackarachnia (BW) on Jul 16, 2009 1:35:57 GMT -5
Now if only there was a smart cookie in this room.... oh wait that is right.
"So you got dumped by two Autobots, got some new powers and a new look, and then later, became a Decepticon." Stop dancing around what you're saying, you're not fooling anyone. "Why do I get the feeling these two things are related?"
The smaller Blackarachnia leans back. "We do have a few similarities. Names, altmodes, abilities. So, regarding these friends of yours, opportunistic I am going to put a few names out there and see if it strikes a chord with you. Rattrap? Dinobot? Rhinox?"
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Post by Needlenose on Jul 16, 2009 17:36:31 GMT -5
Needlenose would more be surprised at the idea of two simultaneous Primes, really. But then, we've already established that he's not only formal Autobot himself, but Iaconian.
One Blackarachnia is an ex-Autobot. One has a Maximal spark. And Needlenose is an ex-Autobot. Spinister's kind of the odd mechanoid out here, isn't he?
"A schematic of the original state, or as much as you can muster, would be interesting, yeah," Needlenose virtually purrs, and he does sound very interested. "But of course, if we're going to get you any repairs, sooner or later our techs need to take a look at your systems as they are."
Ulterior motive? Perish the thought!
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Post by Spinister on Jul 16, 2009 18:12:27 GMT -5
Spinister's history is shrouded in mystery, and that is the way he likes it.
However, he's probably just a boring Decepticon who was made in a perfectly normal factory after the war started.
Spinister doesn't really mind ex-Autobots and ex-Maximals, just as long as they stay on his side of the fence. After all, they've made the right choice.
He does say softly, "Your own cross to bear and score to settle? You don't have to be alone. If these people show up and you need any help..." Spinister trails off and takes a step back away from Needlenose, taking Singe in rifle mode into his hands, checking over the weapon.
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Tasha Walker
Minor
She's got legs, she knows how to use them. She never begs, she knows how to choose them.
Posts: 430
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Post by Tasha Walker on Jul 16, 2009 22:52:00 GMT -5
"No, no, and no, three strikes you're out, Miss Muffet, and I've never even heard those names before as such. 'Dinobot' is a sub-classification of Autobot, not a proper name, and a very young offshoot it is. I'd say our similarities end at appearances and abilities. Also," Blackarachnia shrugs, "I did say Needlenose and I had quite a lot in common after his own revelation of orgin, didn't I? Really, I would have thought the conclusion was rather obvious ."
And speaking of the pretty jet, he is still entirely too interested in her schematics and makeup and that is worrying. More worrying though is his allusion to a required physical. Not happening, flyboy, so not happening. She can't quite keep her uncaring tone as she flatly tells him, "I do my own doctoring." Very specific choice of words there.
It won't be left at that. She knows it. An instant later she's smiling up at Spinster, head tilted. "And I do appreciate the offer, honey, reaaaaly I do. But I am sure you can appreciate that I'd rather handle that....personally. Should opportunity arise."
"Besides-and really my dears, this is not meant in offense-," her posture relaxes a bit, and she studies her fingertips, "But I've spent most of days as a Decepticon alone, and seen precious little in most any who wear the brand to inspire either confidence or loyalty. Lugnut is more typical than not, you see, leaving alone his religious fervor."
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Blackarachnia (BW)
Rookie
She lay back on the ground and let the soft earth envelope her body.
Miss Predacon Blackarachnia, at your service.
Posts: 226
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Post by Blackarachnia (BW) on Jul 16, 2009 23:26:11 GMT -5
Oh god, Blackarachnia is rolling her optics as hard as she can, and it's not enough.
"Oh, yes, I loved the part in Needlenose's story where he ran off to a faction he didn't even like just because he was ditched on a planet by his friends." Blackarachnia snips back. "But you know the part I really liked? How he didn't just say that but danced around what he was saying, thinking he was so clever. Yeah, your stories were exactly the same."
She places her cube down with disgust. "Look, tell you what, if we all promise we really think you are truly smart and witty, do you think you can try and tell a story straight for once?"
Blackarachnia offers a wicked grin with Spinister's offer. It's good to have help at times. Though she knows what it's like to work alone, and quietly makes another mental note about the similarities they share... you know, the ones that her larger namesake brushed off.
She quietly radios Needlenose, //I'll show you mine if you show me hers.//
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Post by Needlenose on Jul 17, 2009 18:32:25 GMT -5
//Daaaaaarling,// Needlenose radios back to the little Blackarachnia, //if I get the opportunity to take you up on that offer, I will. Hooooowever,//
"I just don't get it!" he exclaims out loud. "Why all the hiding? Are you really ashamed of your internal workings that much? Ugly schematics? Disorderly spaghetti diagrams? Why all the fuss? A well-made piece of circuitry is meant to be shown off!"
Needlenose is a circuit exhibitionist.
"So, do your own doctoring. You a tech, then?" he adds, almost purring.
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Post by Spinister on Jul 18, 2009 12:30:25 GMT -5
Spinister puts Singe away for now and returns to attempting to drape himself over Needlenose's shoulders like a gaudy scarf.
She doesn't like it when people work on her? Hello, familiar! He, in specific, doesn't like it when competent medics work on him because a competent medic just might be able to figure out what Spinister did to himself. So Spinister generally tries to do his 'doctoring' himself when he can and seeks out the lesser medics when he cannot.
He has to wonder if her rationale for avoiding medics is the same as his own.
Spinister looks mildly amused when she calls him 'honey'. No, Miss Blackarachnia, Spinister is not offering to assist because he finds you attractive in shape or form. He's offering because he'd make the same offer for any Decepticon who is in a fix that can be solved by killing someone.
That she'd like to handle her old friends alone, though, is worrisome. Perhaps she has lingering soft feelings for the Autobots and doesn't actually want them dead.
But I am sure you can appreciate that I'd rather handle that....personally.
Spinister says quietly, "'fraid I can't, miss." He is the very definition of impersonality and rather team-oriented.
But I've spent most of days as a Decepticon alone, and seen precious little in most any who wear the brand to inspire either confidence or loyalty. Lugnut is more typical than not, you see, leaving alone his religious fervor.
And that does not inspire any faith in Spinister in this Blackarachnia. Perhaps apropos of nothing, he states, "I'm sorry."
And he certainly is. But what is he sorry about?
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Tasha Walker
Minor
She's got legs, she knows how to use them. She never begs, she knows how to choose them.
Posts: 430
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Post by Tasha Walker on Jul 18, 2009 15:38:05 GMT -5
Now, normally, the Miss Snarky McSnark on the other chair there wouldn't be able to get to Blackarachnia so well. But the stress of the situation in and of itself, coupled with Needlenose's continued references to and instances on viewing her internal makeup are all combining to make one very upset and on edge spider lady. Her (mostly) calm demeanor crumbles and she turns and hisses at the Predacon.
"Listen, you little witch," she starts, still hissing. She stands, "Maybe you were silly enough, or had reason enough, to trust this lot from the off. I don't. As it is, you've all gotten more of my history than anyone, so back the frag off!"
She rounds sharply on the two Mayhems then, slapping her palms down on the table. "And you! Wanting schematics and to see my workings and wiring and whatnot! You think that helps? I joined the Decepticons, stayed with them, because they never once tried to stick me on a dissection table. For all their faults, they recognized my as a valuable asset and were willing to let me be on that score."
She reaches up and yanks her helmet off her head, holding it up long enough for everyone to get a good look before she slams it back down again. "It doesn't have a thing to do with not having pretty circuits, flyboy, it's because I'm not just metal and circuits any more!
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Blackarachnia (BW)
Rookie
She lay back on the ground and let the soft earth envelope her body.
Miss Predacon Blackarachnia, at your service.
Posts: 226
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Post by Blackarachnia (BW) on Jul 18, 2009 16:17:42 GMT -5
And this larger Blackarachnia called her ugly. Heh.
Blackarachnia falls silent during the freak-out, but the grin on her face knowing such big buttons have been pressed is apparent.
"Okay, you've revealed more of your history here than ever before. Fine. But just say it. Because despite what you think, sister, we've got more in common than name and a couple of powers. If someone was being as vague as you were, would you have difficulty understanding what the slag they were talking about?!"
Blackarachnia points her hand on her chest, then thrusts it to the other two. "I'm smart. They're smart! Now, my advice? Calm. The slag. Down. We all had a rough time when we got here, so take it like a bot."
And hee hee, did Needlenose just call her darling?!
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Post by Spinister on Jul 18, 2009 18:32:29 GMT -5
OOC: Changing order with Needlenose via Needlenose's player's request.
Spinister takes the freak-out calmly, but then, he hung out with Bludgeon, who looked like an undead samurai, and Octopunch, who could have starred in Japanese flicks on the side. He gives his Nebulans a mental poke as Miss Techno-Organic has a freak-out over the status of Decepticon medical care.
Singe answers, surly, I'm not stripping front of women.
Hairsplitter points out, They're not even females of our own species!
Singe concludes, And that's why you're stripping. Sucker.
There is a sigh from Spinister's laser-rifle, and it falls to the ground and transforms into a small humanoid. In the armour, he looks just like a robot. That's why Hairsplitter starts to take it off. He very carefully unlatches and unbuckles his Targetmaster armour, piling it neatly at his feet. With the armour off, he looks like a pasty human with boring, grey-tinged brown hair in a purple military flightsuit. Perhaps a bit reticently, he unzips the flightsuit and folds it neatly, setting at atop the tidy pile of armour. He is now in a purple tank top, purple boxers, and purple socks. He tugs off the socks and then the tank top, showing that there is a chain with a pair of tags around his neck. Hairsplitter stops there, shivering, and he looks up at Blackarachnia.
He still looks like an unremarkable human, aside from cybernetic implants where his armour literally links into his body and a few pale, faded scars. Someone who looks at him will see an awful lot of those pale, faded scars, as if the man had been entirely cut open at some point.
Hairsplitter speaks up, trying to project his voice and perhaps failing, "Miss Blackarachnia? I'm organic. Mostly. Not all organic anymore, to be specific, I'd be considered a cyborg. These Decepticons aren't entirely incompetent in rendering medical care to organics and partial-organics, no matter what the Decepticons and Autobots back home may have been like. An MRI scan would be out of the question, clearly," he moves to adjust a buttoned collar that he no longer wears, "but ultrasonography - quite an established technique in the aerospace industry, interestingly enough, so the Decepticons were already quite capable at it prior to learning the medical applications for organics - positron emission tomography, computed tomography, infrared imaging, electrical impedance tomography, radionuclide imaging, and other forms of non-invasive imaging work perfectly well as imaging and diagnostic tools, nevermind endoscopy."
Yes, Singe would really rather that Hairsplitter had not mentioned endoscopy.
Hairsplitter concludes, "Now, if you let them take a few, painless scans, they'll have a basis for comparison in case you ever get so injured that your own skills do not suffice to treat your injuries. No one can be lucky forever. If you break a component, we can hardly repair it properly unless we know what it looks like when in proper, functional order."
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Post by Needlenose on Jul 18, 2009 22:54:31 GMT -5
Needlenose's antennae perk, and he leans back into Spinister during the tirade. He doesn't seem particularly bothered by the appearance of Blackarachnia's face, but then, he did used to team with Decepticon Pretenders. Even so, without saying a word, Zigzag and Sunbeam turn off the video games and wander nearer. It takes Needlenose a second, however, to figure out just what the problem is, exactly. Small Blackarachnia addresses a tangent issue, but she doesn't seem to be talking about the main topic.
Needlenose tilts his head, one optic narrowed more than the other, as Hairsplitter gives his speech. "OOOOOOOOOH!" he exclaims when it is done. "So you're saying you were afraid of us cuttin' you open and not knowing how to close it, you mean?" Something about his tone suggests that he finds the fact that she would fear something like that kind of odd. He just shakes his head faintly. "We don't have the troop strength to be doing something like that to the recruits," he points out, then jerks his head towards Hairsplitter. "But year. A bit more used to dealing with, well, hybrid tech than what it sounds like your folks are used to."
"But really, though, if your loyalty's based on who won't slice you open, that don't account for much." He glances up at Spinister and makes a faintly amused snerking sound. "Might as well ally with the Pz-Zazzian mafia if you're going to be like that."
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Tasha Walker
Minor
She's got legs, she knows how to use them. She never begs, she knows how to choose them.
Posts: 430
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Post by Tasha Walker on Jul 18, 2009 23:47:42 GMT -5
Blackarachnia neither looks at nor answers the other Blackarachnia, because she is sure that if she does...well, cat fight wouldn't begin to describe it. Besides she has a show to watch.
A very strange show. However, given her mindset and worries, it was probably the best move anyone could make at the moment. Human-like males getting near naked isn't likely to inspire her to attack anyone. Though she's keeping a wary eye out in case it's just an attempt to distract her from a coming attack.
There was a time, a long, long time ago, when she would have been a bit fascinated by the implications of what the man-turned-gun was saying. A part of her may still be. But right now all that shows is some confusion- and surprise, oddly enough, and both expressions are pretty clear on her face and in her demeanor. After all, she's used to being the tainted one, the monster, the aberrant spark. And...these Decepticons aren't seeing her as that.
Blackarachnia crouches down to get a better look at Hairsplitter. "You guys really do look human, don't you?" she muses. Her voice seems calmer, if one can call a suspicious tone calm. She tilts her head back up at Needlenose, "Listen, it's a better reason than some have, and while you may think it speaks ill of my loyalties, my choices have kept me alive. You keep saying not to judge you lot by my own experiences? Then don't hold me against your yardstick and then complain when I come up short."
She looks back at Hairsplitter, points at the tags hanging at his neck. "Human military have something similar." There's an unasked question there.
She does ask, "Was it voluntary?" Because yes, that is a Very Big Point for her.
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Blackarachnia (BW)
Rookie
She lay back on the ground and let the soft earth envelope her body.
Miss Predacon Blackarachnia, at your service.
Posts: 226
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Post by Blackarachnia (BW) on Jul 19, 2009 6:37:48 GMT -5
Blackarachnia doesn't mind when she incites a snitfit; she gets pissy when she is ignored. Grrrr.
She is also about to say something when Hairsplitter falls short of completely undressing. Ugh. Fully organics.
The others seem to be calming her down. For the most part. The Predacon keeps silent for now.
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Post by Spinister on Jul 19, 2009 9:39:55 GMT -5
Spinister is mainly seeing big Blackarachnia as a rather touchy inside-out Pretender. (Little Blackarachnia is a lightly less touchy inside-out Pretender.) He can't really complain about her having organic components when his guns are little Nebulan men in armour suits.
Hairsplitter goes for his sock - right sock first, but he pauses to reply, "I am a Nebulan, Miss. We're a bit less frail than humans." A slightly ghastly smirk ghosts over his face. Humans find mercury a dangerous poison. Nebulans let their children splash around in it. "Voluntary? Oh, yes, of course. My co-workers back home never appreciated me or my accuracy," his face scrunches up into a grimace, and then he looks up at Spinister, "but Spinister does."
Singe snorts, "Like a war-mongering machine could force a proper Nebulan into a binary bond he didn't want."
Spinister shoots a mild glare down at Singe, who matches Spinister's mild glare with his own.
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