Ultra Magnus
Major
Disappointing Fellow Autobots Since the Age of Internment
Posts: 565
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Post by Ultra Magnus on Apr 2, 2011 9:36:10 GMT -5
OOC: Timeskip then; not like this thread is inappropriate, right?
Magnus, like Sentinel, prefers to keep himself busy. When he isn't on duty, he's instructing others who've taken an interest in his offer of Diffusion training. He's quite pleased with Clipper's progress but Holi hasn't even inquired yet and Magnus wonders if he should approach the little captain personally. Self-defence lessons seem like a mediocre start and odds are the Micromasters will never really need them or be in a situation where any of the techniques would be useful to them – then again, these two seem to get involved in combat quite a lot for a secretary and a rescue worker – but it's a start nevertheless.
Now he has to make a start with Sentinel Prime. He's early by a few minutes when he palms open the training room door.
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Apr 2, 2011 12:15:17 GMT -5
Sentinel Prime is one of those annoying people who tries to abide by the concept that if one is not early, one is late, so he isn't long after Ultra Magnus in showing up.
He did, for once, get some decent rest, so he'd be fresh, because Ultra Magnus seems concerned about that issue for some silly reason or other.
Ugh, if only he didn't dream. Sentinel Prime's dreams are the worst. There'll be Oil Slick laughing at him, and he'll feel this spark-chilling terror as a cloud of purple rain opens up on him and... the terror won't latch, and he'll wake up. Then he'll fall back into defrag, and he's on trial for war crimes for beating some blue Seeker to death instead of putting stasis cuffs on him, and he tries to tell them that he didn't have any stasis cuffs, that the Seeker was going to kill Perceptor, but Perceptor's there on the jury and stares at him impassively from behind those shades and... he wakes up. There's Blackarachnia and he wakes up. There's Elita-1 and he wakes up. Optimus. Jazz. Botanica. Freaking Misfire. Zombies. Spider-humans. Jetstorm dying...
Sentinel Prime can't even get a nightmare right.
He greets Ultra Magnus with an attempted tap on the - well, elbow, because reaching way up to that shoulder would be a bit of a stretch and a seemingly friendly, cheerful, "Well hello there! And how are you doing today?"
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Ultra Magnus
Major
Disappointing Fellow Autobots Since the Age of Internment
Posts: 565
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Post by Ultra Magnus on Apr 4, 2011 10:16:13 GMT -5
Magnus peers down at Sentinel when he feels that brief tap at his elbow and musters up something like a smile to be polite. After all, a cold reception to that greeting is hardly appropriate.
"I'm well enough," he answers readily and turns to the younger Autobot once they're both into the training room. "And you? You're certainly in high spirits, at least."
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Apr 4, 2011 11:55:57 GMT -5
Oh, look at that smile! It's okay to fake it, Ultra Magnus. Who isn't faking it, these days? Just barely making it.
"Well, I think it's a good day to be me, and since I'm the only here who is, I believe that makes me the authority on the subject," Sentinel Prime blusters.
He looks around the training room. Yeah, seen it before. One of his favourite places to get his face ground into the floor. Nothing a good buffing and polish in front of the mirror after won't fix.
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Ultra Magnus
Major
Disappointing Fellow Autobots Since the Age of Internment
Posts: 565
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Post by Ultra Magnus on Apr 6, 2011 9:48:37 GMT -5
"Fair enough," says Ultra Magnus, making a small, shrug-like gesture with both hands, turning his palms outward without raising his arms. "Now," he goes on, "you mentioned you already have some mêlée training. Is that strictly with weapons?" He tries to picture an Autobot wielding stasis cuffs in one hand and a sword in the other. It looks clumsy to say the very least.
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Apr 6, 2011 11:33:30 GMT -5
"I'm Academy-trained," Sentinel Prime protests, indignant. It's something he'd do, he remembers. He'd get all riled at the slightest slight. He still has to do it sometimes, just to make sure no one thinks something too strange has happened to him. "Of course we cover basic unarmed combat."
"I'm not a ninja-bot, though," he does admit, more reluctantly, and he finally adds, "and I rely on my mods too much." A pause. "My Skyboom Shield especially."
That is why Kup keeps taking it away from him whenever Sentinel Prime trains with Kup. Kup is good at seeing crutches like those.
"But uh, maybe someday, could we do some unit-scale tactics in the sim room? Not now, but I was just thinking..." He gives Ultra Magnus a sidelong look that is almost hopeful but does not quite dare so far.
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Ultra Magnus
Major
Disappointing Fellow Autobots Since the Age of Internment
Posts: 565
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Post by Ultra Magnus on Apr 8, 2011 10:21:31 GMT -5
Magnus ignores Sentinel's question for now, instead favouring him with a cool look, corners of his mouth turned down and one brow slightly higher than the other.
"It was just a question, soldier," he says in a lightly reproving tone. "Not an attempt to call your training questionable." He pauses briefly to consider, head cocked at a slight angle, arms crossed. Then he shifts his hands to his hips. "But while we're on the subject of your training," he adds, "since you have trained bare-handed, let's start with seeing what you know."
He eases into a loose defensive posture, thinking that maybe he should have chosen a sim room so he could watch Sentinel against a holographic opponent. He makes a note to himself to slot in some time there for the next session – if there is a next session.
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Apr 8, 2011 10:46:16 GMT -5
Sentinel Prime shrinks a bit, at Ultra Magnus's cool look. He wants to think this Ultra Magnus is not like his own. He's knows they're not alike.
But Ultra Magnus always had such a way of taking the wind out of his sails, of making Sentinel Prime feel insignificant and never good enough. Did Sentinel Prime really believe it, when he said he was the best, or was he just trying to convince himself?
(Depends on the day of the week, really.)
At the directive to show what he knows, Sentinel Prime moves into a bog standard basic defensive posture, exactly what he used to teach back in boot, exactly what's in the book. He might as well be the little demonstrator generic. There are more advanced forms Sentinel Prime could take, but he's not a cyber-ninja, so he doesn't know them.
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Ultra Magnus
Major
Disappointing Fellow Autobots Since the Age of Internment
Posts: 565
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Post by Ultra Magnus on Apr 11, 2011 21:59:29 GMT -5
Though it's a rather wry sort of look, Magnus does smile, seeing both he and Sentinel are on the defensive. He tactfully quashes the urge to chuckle.
"Good form," is what he says, appraising. "Solid stance, proper weight distribution. Now I want you to come at me. I'll try to block you." No more throwing students on the first lesson; it tends to be easier all around that way. He still owes Farlane an apology.
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Apr 11, 2011 22:26:37 GMT -5
Sentinel Prime would normally go for his Skyboom Shield or his lance in a situation like this. They are both effective force multipliers, and they can keep him somewhat farther away than Ultra Magnus than hand to hand can. Ultra Magnus obviously has the advantage there. He has reach, strength, and durability on his side.
Sentinel Prime has... dashing good looks? Maybe.
Ultra Magnus can probably see Sentinel Prime thinking. Without the Skyboom Shield or the lance, he'd want to go for the wrists and slap on stasis-cuffs, but he doesn't have those, either, so... slag. What is he supposed to do? He frowns as he thinks.
Finally, Sentinel Prime rushes Ultra Magnus, trying to half-twist wind an elbow into Ultra Magnus's hip, to take him off balance and down, where some of his advantages will be lessened. Offhand, it took Sentinel Prime too long to come to that conclusion, and getting in close enough to use an elbow is maybe not the best of ideas. There are likely loads of other problems!
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Ultra Magnus
Major
Disappointing Fellow Autobots Since the Age of Internment
Posts: 565
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Post by Ultra Magnus on Apr 13, 2011 23:00:30 GMT -5
Sentinel is quick on his feet. Magnus turns with his charge and swings down one forearm to deflect the elbow aimed at his hip. While it took the younger Autobot far too long to choose a course of action, Magnus finds himself forgiving on that matter; Sentinel admitted he's more accustomed to using mêlée weapons rather than going in bare-handed.
"All right," he says, for now keeping his observations to himself. He does at least try to sound approving and encouraging. "Keep going."
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Apr 14, 2011 0:04:53 GMT -5
His strike is deflected, and Sentinel Prime is knocked back a bit. He is still set on his plan of 'knock Ultra Magnus over'. So he tries to step forward and slightly past Ultra Magnus, to get just a bit behind him. Then Sentinel Prime whips his arm down in an arc, trying to hit his fist into the back of Ultra Magnus's knee to get him to fall down.
Sentinel Prime has the feeling that he's waiting for the other boot to drop.
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Ultra Magnus
Major
Disappointing Fellow Autobots Since the Age of Internment
Posts: 565
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Post by Ultra Magnus on Apr 20, 2011 22:06:30 GMT -5
Another low block made to meet Sentinel's attack, Magnus pivots with it, careful not to redirect the force against Sentinel.
"Adaptation," he says, "and practical target areas. Good, good." And he means every syllable even if he's too awkward in this situation to be more articulate about it. He drops to his hands and pushes himself back, trying to get distance between them again as a sort of reset. Compared to the smaller, lighter Sentinel, he moves like the lumbering giant he is, but his size and bulk shift with more ease than seems logical for his tonnage.
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Post by Sentinel Prime on Apr 20, 2011 22:50:22 GMT -5
Sentinel Prime basks in the praise, perking up like a flower stuck in fresh water and shone upon by the sun. Almost makes up for how he feels like an idiot right now, what with Ultra Magnus blocking everything he does. It's totally unfair for Ultra Magnus to be that agile and have such good reflexes, too.
He almost goes for his lance in frustration when Ultra Magnus puts some distance between them. The truth is, he's... not good at adaptation. What would Optimus do?
Suddenly, Sentinel Prime hits the floor and skids, fast, aiming a foot at Ultra Magnus, in his continued dogged quest to knock Ultra Magnus over, slaggit!
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Ultra Magnus
Major
Disappointing Fellow Autobots Since the Age of Internment
Posts: 565
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Post by Ultra Magnus on Apr 25, 2011 19:36:13 GMT -5
Magnus doesn't try to dodge this one, still in a landing crouch as he is and not quick enough to find his feet before Sentinel slams into him at the speed the smaller Autobot's sliding. What he tries to do instead is catch Sentinel's foot and lift, to hold Sentinel up by one ankle as another deflection. After all, he's still trying to get a measure of Sentinel's abilities, not fully spar. He could still get the other foot in his face if he isn't careful.
He saw, too, the way Sentinel responded to his encouragement and makes a mental note: positive reinforcement might work.
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