Emirate Xaaron-3
Rookie
Ate you alive since you were a child/That's when the monster first appeared in you
Posts: 162
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Post by Emirate Xaaron-3 on Mar 16, 2008 8:23:48 GMT -5
So Emirate Xaaron leaves a crowded area, and the crowd breaks up, and a new crowd turns up when he attempts to hide behind Swerve. All that glitters is not gold, people! Hopefully Jazz will just stay occupied with Firebolt. That would be fantastic.
Unicron, he's being looked over. It takes all of his admittedly poor self-control to keep from cringing. He wasn't always a skittish wreck, though. Emirate Xaaron has always been terrified, since the day he came online, but he used to be able to keep such tight control over himself that no one ever would have called him for the coward he is.
Forcing down his revulsion at the thought of being touched, he moves to take Mirage's arm, when he pauses and stares over at the ruckus. Did his alternate self just try to get between Pee-Dee and Nightbeat? Oh. He did. Clearly, his alternate self is crazy! He revises his opinion when Pee-Dee clocks Nightbeat right back. His alternate self is still crazy, but maybe he's justifiably crazy.
Then Kup starts swearing. What would his demographics make of that? Emirate Xaaron is now feeling the urge to not take Mirage's arm but instead hide behind Mirage, since hiding behind Swerve clearly doesn't work.
Sighing, he snatches up the drink Swerve offered to him and says quickly, "Thank you, Swerve". Emirate Xaaron does not gulp or slurp or anything so vulgar. Despite this, the drink is there one minute and simply gone the next. The world will be pleasantly fuzzy in a short while, but he does have to ask, "No one is going to hit me for dancing with you, are they?"
Given Emirate Xaaron's luck, Mirage and Ironfire are probably deeply in love. Finally quashing the last of his reservations, he takes Mirage's arm, clearly positioning himself to be led. The thought of leading honestly never entered his head.
OOC: Er, yeah. Out of thread with Mirage.
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Jazz
Rookie
SugarSugarBoozeSugarSugarBoozeSugarSugar!
Posts: 175
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Post by Jazz on Mar 16, 2008 18:08:19 GMT -5
Weapon of Choice!
"Perf'ct" Jazz gives Firebolt the thumbs up. "Hey, they're dancin'. If we move, the party goes with us--"
Oh! Action. Xaaron 1 is getting clocked, and supervising a minor skirmish. Interest peaks for a moment, however the old golden 'Bot seems to have everything fairly under control. And the other golden-- Whoa. Dancing with Mirage. Huzzah. "See? They're startin' to unwind, little by little." Jazz spies another flash of red. Didn't he go somewhere? Apparently not!
"Hey Swerve!" Jazz is half skating, half dancing over between Kup and Swerve, and grabbing at his shoulder. "Hey buddy! Good t'see you---" And with a tug, Jazz pulls at Swerve, with the huge grin. Is he trying to get Swerve to... dance?
Yup! Not just that, though. Seems like he's singing along.
"Don't be shive by the tone of my voice It's the new weapon, the weapon of choice"
And Jazz twirls around Swerve to the front, still tapping the floor. Guess the internet was good for? Yeah. Dance lessons. At least there's no fear of him jumping over the balcony and swooping around.
"You can go with this, Or you can go with that, You can go with this, Or you can go with that, You can go with this, Or you can go with that, Or you can throw with us--"
And release. Jazz will spin off towards the next 'Bot he sees, unless Swerve decides to join him. In which case it might be just a little longer.
<OOC: Grabbing done with Permission of Swerve-3>
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Ironfire
Cadet
Baron von Troperton
Posts: 68
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Post by Ironfire on Mar 17, 2008 20:04:40 GMT -5
Ironfire nods. "That sounds excellent, Firebolt. Great choices!" She takes another sip of her drink. "I'd be go for finding a better spot, sure. Things can get confusing with multiple conversations one place. Especially"-she raises her glass-"When drinks are involved."
Kup's reaction seems to indicate something good is going down, but Ironfire missed Nightbeat's punch. A shame, but unless security cameras or somebody at the party recorded it, she'd not see it. Ah, well. This is a party. Surely there're more entertaining happenings to come.
----- OOC: Not sure if we're splitting off or not. Either's good with me
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Post by Kup on Mar 17, 2008 20:33:59 GMT -5
Ah, Nightbeat has passed out. That's one problem resolved, if not in the ideal manner, and Kup can focus on the task at hand.
Swerve is relieved of his glass. Kup, being in on The Plot, should probably offer to replace it, but he's also in on at least one Swerve's heating problem, so he doesn't. The change in music has the elder clamping his hands over his audials as best he can without dropping his own near empty drink, and he's about to shout out to ask Swerve if he wants to move to another area of the roof, maybe one with a better cross-breeze.
He does still shout, but what comes out is a startled, "Hey!" as Jazz zooms between him and Swerve and spins the constable around. "What, in the name of mini-microchips, d'you think you're doing, Jazz?!" is what he wants to shout next, but he gets no farther than the 'mi' in 'mini' when a started and unbalanced Swerve is finally released by the dancing skater, forcing Kup to drop his drink in order to catch the ex-racer and keep him from toppling to the floor.
"Of all the fool-headed, crank-cracking..." Kup mutters as he helps Swerve back up to a fully upright position. No onlooker would realize that he is paying careful attention to how warm the smaller mech's metal is as he rights him.
Once he's sure of Swerve's balance, Kup brings his hand to his forehead and heaves an exasperated sigh. "Y'allright, lad?" he asks.
OOC: I'll wait until there's a natural break. Right now the Kup-grills-Swerve-3 subgroup are still interacting with the Dancy-Music-Lover subgroup, but if one of the other move off, we'll go ahead and split.
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Swerve-3
Rookie
Maintain the Light
Posts: 169
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Post by Swerve-3 on Mar 18, 2008 2:13:21 GMT -5
Swerve is probably about as happy with being ineffective at shielding Emirate Xaaron from the rest of the party as is Emirate Xaaron. Maybe it's a good thing, then, he's somewhat convinced Emirate Xaaron is at least willing to tolerate contact long enough to enjoy a dance; a little less worrying for Swerve to do in one respect. Emirate Xaaron really deserves to enjoy himself more often, muses the constable to himself even as he murmurs a quick "You're welcome" while his leader takes a drink. The entire drink, in fact. He quietly takes back the empty glass with a nod and a warm sliver of a smile and watches while Mirage escorts his leader to the dance floor. He'd be more worried now if he hadn't spoken as much as he has with Mirage and wasn't relatively sure the spy wouldn't do anything stupid; as it is, the distraction of watching them keeps him from noticing Kup spiriting away his glass.
He doesn't get to watch them for too long, though, before the world suddenly bursts into noise and reels around him in a wild 360° that leaves his gyrostabilisers spinning so desperately to catch up he's too dizzy to realise until he's been released and the silvery Autobot is moving on that the arms around him for those whirlwind seconds – and the voice possibly trying to serenade him – belonged to Jazz.
It's Kup, however, catching him to keep the rooftop from sliding out beneath his feet, and Swerve leans gratefully into that support for a split-second before he gets hold of himself, breaking away to stand on his own. If he hadn't had those drinks, he could've avoided this minor inconvenience, he's sure.
"Thanks all the same," he says, forgetting that Kup isn't privy to his train of thought, then nods. "I'm fine. A little… unsteadied," quite the understatement with the sky still weaving lazily about his head, "but nothing I can't recover from. I'll be fine." He carefully pulls his composure back into place before adding, "Sorry about that."
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Firebolt
Major
Brutal Gladiator, Scarab Lord Firebolt of the Shattered Sun
Moving Violation
Posts: 575
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Post by Firebolt on Mar 18, 2008 12:22:43 GMT -5
The songs reel their way through the playlist, varied as the types of people at the party. Firebolt is just damn glad to play DJ, instead of just watching. "Wow, who'da thunk that I'd be so happy here," she said half to herself as she threw her arms up behind her head and leaned back a bit. "I kinda miss Earthers being crazy though..." She cocked her head to the side, eying the odd version of Swerve who was all nonthreatening and such nearly falling over. How bizarre! "OIIIIIIII who wants to to another place and f'kn break dance! Or just attempt to dance if you suck!" She declares. "Don't make me go alone~." After a moments waiting, she starts 'dancing' to the next song that's playing, out of boredom. If that's a song to be bored and not get stuck in your head... Caramell Dansen... Example of the absolutely annoying dance and music Firebolt is playing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs6GYBPNrrU
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Shanodin
Major
The Chamberlain, Her Chivalrous Immensity, Lady Botanica. The Unyielding Vanquisher of Weed Killer
This is NOT her field of dreams
Posts: 700
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Post by Shanodin on Mar 18, 2008 22:46:08 GMT -5
It takes a few moments for Botancia to pinpoint Kup's location, and she hesitates on heading that way when she sees that he was with Swerve. Rodimus and Xaaron's words came back to her and she wondered perhaps if Kup was also in on that little plot. Though somehow, she doubts groping Swerve was part of the plan, frowning a bit as the constable is twirled/dropped into Kup's arms.
However, Kup is now lacking in beverage, as is Swerve- something easily remedied by a quick stop at the table where....Tiny! Oh, this is not good! Botanica quickly scoops Tiny up and sets her back on the floor. The mecha dragon sways, hiccups, then, scenting the air, trundles off in the direction of Long Haul and company.
Well, there went the high grade.
Botanica fills her glass and two others with the basic mix, then makes her way over to Kup and Swerve. She greets them with a smile, "Kup, if you've a moment and the inclination, I need to talk a bit of shop. Hopefully, my bringing you both beverages will make up for my interruption?" To Swerve she says, "I hope you're enjoying yourself?"
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Jazz
Rookie
SugarSugarBoozeSugarSugarBoozeSugarSugar!
Posts: 175
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Post by Jazz on Mar 18, 2008 22:59:09 GMT -5
And now that Swerve has regained his balance, the hyperactive silver ball of goofiness is zipping around the newly arrived Botanica towards the far too sober fellas over there.
Yes. That's right. Jazz is coming around for another pass... still singing. "Organically grown Through the hemisphere I roam To make love to the angels of light, yeah and my girl I guess you just don't understand It's gone beyond bein' a man As I drift off into the night I'm in flight!"
Except instead of slipping in to dizzy Swerve again, Jazz is facing someone else. Grabbing Kup's hands, where the old guy just steadied the little guy after the first pass, the hyperactive, and most certainly drunk Jazz leads into an extremely sloppy tango.
One, and two and Dip!
And once Kup has recovered from being startled, and is no longer a mobile dance partner, there was a word that caught Jazz's attention...
Breakdance? Someone said a magic word, didn't they?
"Heyhey you got some breakdancin' music there?" Ligthning fast expression change to gleeful. "I think I got some if you don't." Just as suddenly as he intruded upon the conversations, Jazz is off and running after Firebolt.
At least it's obvious that someone is unwound, and having a good time, right?
<OOC> Out of thread! (grabbage by permission!)
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Post by Kup on Mar 19, 2008 18:51:28 GMT -5
'Thanks all the same'? Strange phrasing, that. "Don't mention it, lad," Kup answers amiably. The term 'lad,' so often used affectionately by Kup, would be, perhaps, a bit more worrisome coming from his alternate. That Kup tended to use it a bit too affectionately.
The veteran considers. From what he can tell, Swerve might be running a bit warm, but he's certainly in no danger of heat shutdown. Perhaps he doesn't share that particular glitch with the Swerve that Kup rooms with?
He forces a smile to return the plant-lady's greeting. "Eh, sure, no problem, lass," he answers, though he is beginning to get a bit frustrated with all these interruptions. He is in the process of reaching for the beverages she's providing when gets interrupted yet again.
"What th- hey!" sputters the elder, optics wide in shock as his surprise allows Jazz to get in two steps and a dip. By the time Kup is righted once more, shock has turned to anger. "Get out of here, you loose-bolted looney!" Kup shouts, waving Jazz off. Once he's clear, however, Kup's shoulders slump and his right hand goes up to cradle his forehead while he sighs. Finally, he drops his head, turns towards Botanica, and reaches for her, saying, tone weary, "I do believe I could use that drink now, Botanica."
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Swerve-3
Rookie
Maintain the Light
Posts: 169
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Post by Swerve-3 on Mar 20, 2008 20:59:10 GMT -5
Swerve pauses for an instant and stares in spite of himself, having almost expected not a friendly "don't mention it" but a suggestive "now what are you gonna do for me?", then dips his head ever so slightly in gratitude. He'd say something, but Firebolt suddenly blares something high-pitched and fast-paced and… chirpy is the only word that comes to mind. The words don't even sound like anything in the English language patch he downloaded ages ago. The earlier music, he could tolerate, but after getting swung around without so much as a "how do you do" and practically thown at someone, he isn't feeling quite so charitable.
Quite the boisterous one, this Jazz, Swerve decides at length, cycling air slowly and reminding himself to stay in control. At least Jazz seems decent. All over the road, but decent. That said, he'll be grabbing an armful of air if he tries again to drag the constable into a reel with him. Really, being abruptly seized like that is far more unsettling than being called "lad" by a Kup who is so little like his more familiar and creepy counterpart that Swerve can't bring himself to worry about it.
Instead, he turns his attention to Botanica as she approaches. She's definitely headed this way… with drinks in hand… oh, no. It's like these people are trying to get him overcharged and doing it so slowly he'll just spend the night in a vague haze.
"Good evening," he says to her, reservations aside. "And I suppose I am. Everyone's been… very kind." He tries to be subtle about eyeing that glass and he tries not to look utterly unenthused to see it, but there's only so much he can do. His ventilation fans are already at a fever pitch, probably quite audible now that the source of the music has moved away, and he isn't eager to test them much more; it's been a while since his last maintenance check.
Jazz makes an inadvertent save, however, coming back and grabbing Kup for a go. At first, Swerve can't help staring, optics wide and dimming repeatedly in a series of blinks as he watches Kup get dipped, protests and all. And as much as he shouldn't – as horribly rude as it is – the constable can't help himself. He laughs. As quick as the burst of laughter comes to him, it's gone again when Jazz breaks off and follows Firebolt and Ironfire, and Swerve, looking horrified with himself and duly repentant, claps a hand over his mouth.
"I'm sorry," he murmurs when he finally lowers his hand.
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Shanodin
Major
The Chamberlain, Her Chivalrous Immensity, Lady Botanica. The Unyielding Vanquisher of Weed Killer
This is NOT her field of dreams
Posts: 700
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Post by Shanodin on Mar 20, 2008 22:56:57 GMT -5
Swerve is not the only one laughing at Kup's discomfiture, and the lightness and almost melodic quality to her voice is a sharp contrast to the harsh laughter Serve may have heard from her counterpart. She hands the Security Chief a glass, then turns to Swerve. She starts to offer him the extra, then frowns as another sound becomes audible.
She knows the plan. That's why she brought the drinks. But even though she is not really a medic, it is in her nature to nurture. This odd Swerve is now one of her brood, and his ventilation is running too high. She sets the drink down, at the same time snaking a vine up behind Swerve to check the heat output from his hood vents.
"Tsk. Perhaps it's a good think Tiny disposed of all the high grade. You should be fine, if you stick to the standard drink and don't guzzle it." She shakes her head, "I'm still not used to the normal operating parameters for you people, but I know an overtaxed ventilation when I hear it. Blasted high performance engines."
She turns back to Kup, "I was wondering if you'd be willing to spare Makeshift and Evac to train with Holi and First Aid? We've the makings there of an excellent responder unit. Goldbug has already agreed to lending Holi, if he's agreeable."
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Post by Kup on Mar 21, 2008 8:22:06 GMT -5
The veteran shoots them both a quick glare for the laughter, but then he shrugs it off. Eh. It is a party, after all. He'd just prefer to be laughing with than laughed at. He doesn't answer Botanica's request right away. Even if Kup had missed the whine of Swerve's fans, Botnica's follow-up reaction makes matters obvious. Swerve hadn't seemed that badly overheated when Kup caught him, but he's still making progress in that direction.
"Y'know," Kup observes, gesturing with the hand that holds his drink, "I do believe that area of the roof gets a nice cross-wind most the time, and you'll still have a good view of the folks dancing." Here, he waves towards the dancers, and specifically, towards Mirage and Swerve's Xaaron. "Should be a bit farther away from that blasted racket, too," the veteran growls. He will not dignify what Firebolt is playing with the term 'music.'
Kup begins walking, assuming the others would agree with the benefits of this other area of the roof vice the current one. As he walks, he downs his current drink, finishing over half of it in a single, extended guzzle - he does not really have what most would consider a 'high performance engine,' and he can hold his energon quite well. It's only after his drink that the elder finally addresses Botanica, "And that sounds like a good idea, Botanica. I'll talk it over with those two, see what they think."
Then he adds, "You bring this up with Prime or Xaaron yet?"
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Swerve-3
Rookie
Maintain the Light
Posts: 169
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Post by Swerve-3 on Mar 21, 2008 19:24:51 GMT -5
Swerve isn't overheating. Not just yet. Running hot and ventilation keening, but not overheating and grateful for that. His embarrassment for having laughed, even if Kup seems to have brushed it off, isn't helping him much. Neither is his mortification and upset at having that problem addressed so off-handedly by Botanica. For a mere tenth of a second, a glimpse of the old Swerve sneaks through as a scowl flashes across the constable's face and is gone just as quickly, replaced by a stern frown as he recoils from her proximity.
"I appreciate the advice," he blurts out in a level, frosty tone to match his expression and completely at odds with his temperature, "but I'll thank you kindly to leave private matters private from now on, Miss. And please don't touch me." The fact that it's a private matter and Kup seems implicitly familiar with it – familiar enough to suggest moving to a spot with better air circulation – doesn't exactly make the constable happy, either. He keeps this issue very quiet; he's told no-one about it, not even Emirate Xaaron. So, then, has this reality's Swerve told Kup? Or maybe this reality's Swerve has no reason to hide it. If things here are opposite what he knows, as they seem, that would make sense. He still doesn't have to like it. "I'm afraid the same goes for you, sir," he adds, looking at Kup.
He isn't normally this skittish. It must be the high-grade and the worry setting him off; that breezy spot sounds like a fine idea, indeed. He'll follow along, glancing back to check on Emirate Xaaron as he walks, but as the conversation turns to something that doesn't directly involve him, he falls quiet and simply listens. A responder unit? With that group? They must be very different from their counterparts, and he'll get a better idea of that difference if he pays a little more of his split attention.
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Shanodin
Major
The Chamberlain, Her Chivalrous Immensity, Lady Botanica. The Unyielding Vanquisher of Weed Killer
This is NOT her field of dreams
Posts: 700
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Post by Shanodin on Mar 21, 2008 23:05:09 GMT -5
First, one of Botancia's brows shoots up. Then the other. Then both her eyes narrow at Swerve's tone and tirade. She snorts.
"Private matter? A little overindulgence in a public area? And I did not touch you, I checked your heat out-" She breaks off as Kup makes his suggestion, and a memory surfaces of Kup tossing their Swerve in the river not that long ago. The look on her face turns thoughtful. "Unless ...it's not just the quality of the energon that's kicked up your fans, then, but some sort of personal problem?" She turns that thoughtful look toward Kup as she follows him.
She answers, "Excellent. And no, I have not shared it with command as yet. The idea just struck me while conversing with Makeshift, and both Emirate Xaaron and the Prime seem preoccupied with their ladies this eve." She takes a long draught of her own drink.
It's worth pointing out that the drink she brought for Swerve is now languishing on the crate where she left it. Prime and Xaaron can go hang for all she cares; she'll not contribute to possibly damaging Swerve for their information.
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Post by Kup on Mar 22, 2008 12:22:10 GMT -5
Kup notes the brief scowl with interest, though he doesn't make it plain that he has. So there is more in common with this Swerve and the one they're used to than is obvious on the surface. There's... something disturbing in that, considering they'll be facing evil alternates of themselves. Will the reflections be truer than they'd like?
Kup brushes the thought aside. Will they, won't they, either way they'll face it, and Kup, for his part, is firm enough in himself that no slick politician alternate can overcome his sense of self.
"I wouldn't know what matters you're talking about, lad" Kup answers casually to Swerve, in the almost-innocent, mostly-convincing manner in which people have said, 'Secret? What secret?' over requests to keep something to themselves since the beginning of time. And then he lets the matter drop. He'll not be attempting to question Swerve until he's had a chance to calm down, and won't be bringing the over-heating business thing up again without very good reason.
It is, however, worth pointing out that he makes no attempt to retrieve Swerve's drink, either.
Instead, he nods agreeably towards Botanica. "Understandable. Besides, while it's a good enough idea, it's not exactly what I'd call an urgent issue. I'll hold until morning." Kup finishes the rest of his energon, another long sip that isn't quite a guzzle. "Besides, it's liable to take a back-seat to other prep work, anyway." And here, Kup does glances towards Swerve, implying that all those present should know exactly what he means.
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