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✘ 9 | 4

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The Badlands were fascinating until I got stepped on. I'd rather not repeat that experience.

[Actually, it's surprising that it hasn't been done before, considering that Four is a tiny doll in a land full of giants. Dying a second time would just suck all around. Still, the Badlands was an interesting experience, and she got to be useful while she was there.]

I have a question!

[Big surprise.]

What sort of things make you smile? Why? Are there every any circumstances when those things wouldn't make you smile? Do any of you have a favourite poem?

[That's more than one question Four.]

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A single poem?
Unacceptable limit!
I have scores of them.

You've survived being stepped on remarkably well.

As for smiling, it is fine poetry that personally engenders that reaction.

That's what y'get fer thinkin' someone the likes of you could fight.

[huff] Too bad ya came back.

What makes me smile...hmmmm...let's see...

[Such a serious question deserves a serious answer. After all, Crow T Robot can be half-serious when he wants to.]

Comedy always makes me smile--except when it's Jim Carrey or Adam Sandler. And there's puppies! Who couldn't go for puppies? But most of all, there's Kim Catrall.

[Dreamy sigh.]

Oh Kim.

I'm quite fond of one of my crewmates getting one-upped and proven wrong, on the rare occasion he is. [grumbles] Romulan ale is also known to put a grin on my face.

As for poem... Well. How about this? I have a friend quite fond of "Sea-Fever" by John Masefield. Or was it Herman Melville? I can't remember. But I do remember the one line he quoted: "All I ask is a tall ship, and a star to steer her by." [slight smile] Yeah, that's it.

I never thought I could fight. I came along because Megatron himself invited me. Your communicator didn't fix itself, if you remember.

I'm just glad there was someone small enough to repair me. Do you have a favourite poem Tarn? I know you know lots of them!

Oh oh! That's a haiku right?

Oh, you like to laugh! I've never heard of Jim Carry or Adam Sandler before. What are they like?

So you're the doll that's supposed to be on my committee. I was beginning to wonder if you were a myth or something.

...An interesting experiment makes me smile.

Well Jim Carrey makes contorted face and talks out of his butt and Adam Sandler's a big manchild who always screams.

[Thundercracker was just heading back to the room anyway when his comm picks up Four's post. Rather than reply on the network, he just continues, intending to do so in person.]

["What sorts of things make you smile?" - You . . . your enduring innocence and your tireless questioning and exploration - but he's not going to have anyone accuse him of being a sap or something, so...he won't admit as much, just gives himself the luxury of thinking it for a moment.]

[Then he reaches the room. The door slides open and he spots her immediately. He crosses to the table and crouches down on his heels, arms folded on the table surface and chin resting on his wrists.]

I saw your post. That was "a question" plus three.

[Yes, he's lightly teasing her.]

Who?

Megatron's poetry is among my favourite as you know. He was the one you've met, of course. In Towards Peace he writes:

"My weapon is my burden:
a reminder of the path
I was forced to take.

When the word 'weapon' is
emptied of meaning;
when the purpose
of a weapon is impossible
to grasp;

when the rejection of my weapon
is of significance to no one
other than myself...

only then shall I remove it from my arm.
Because only then
will I have earned the right
to rid myself of my burden.

A stunning work.

Can you do another?

Oh! I know that one! I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by, And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking, And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking. I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied; And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying, And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying. I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life, To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife; And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover, And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over. An interesting poem. I wonder why your friend likes it.

I am indeed on the committee! I'm sorry if I haven't been around that much. Hm, what kind of experiments? Science? Social?

I find it difficult to limit myself to just one question.

[Even getting stepped on hasn't dulled her sense of curiosity in the slightest. She smiles up at him as he approaches, delighted as always to see him. In the absence of Three, it feels nice to have someone close to her that she can always count on.

With his face so close, there's no way she can't go over there and check it out. She knows that face better than her own by now, but she still loves examining it whenever she can.]

My capacity
For haiku is almost
Immeasurable.

I recall your help -
Gift of communication.
You have my deep thanks.

Don't worry about it. The girl hasn't been around much either lately.

Science.

Then ya went jus' t'be an annoyin' pain in the aft? I see.

Hmm. Nah, I don't remember nuttin' like that. Maybe yer squishy cotton brain is leakin'.

((ooc: I'll have to try to draw some sometime.))

[He holds still for her for several minutes, except to free one hand to brush a fingertip down her back – the immense size difference keeps him from being able to do much else. She is, after all, not even as tall as his thumb. He lets her touch and explore, even shifting his gaze here and there from time to time, letting her watch how his optics shift and recalibrate with the changing focal points. Finally, he looks back down at her.]

So what did you learn in the Badlands, little one?

[Personally, he'd have preferred that she stay home, but he couldn't deny her the opportunity to learn about the threat firsthand. Nor did he dare argue with Megatron when the powerful warlord himself had granted her request. He was just really glad she'd made it back all right. Especially since he'd not been able to remain with her to protect her.]

[Ever the charmer, he completely ignores nearly all of what 4 has said, mostly because he arrived after the whole Badlands thing happened and as a result, everything she said regarding the expedition means nothing to him. So you have a big blue bot who's leaning into the screen and squinting at you. Enjoy!]

I'm surprised anyone let you go anywhere. You're tiny.

[Seriously how can something that small even be alive]

Shockwave likes science too! Do you know him?

And this is funny?

[Sorry Crow, that seems kind of strange without context.]

Lord Megatron sure is a gentleman. I wouldn't have guessed that from him considering what I've heard.

[She's really impressed actually. Four leans against his finger and cheerfully allows him to pet her. Physical contact is comforting and she takes whatever she can get. If someone had told her a year ago that she'd close to a robot three hundred times her size, she wouldn't have believed them.]

The bladed monsters were odd. I wonder what they're out there for.

Were you invited by Megatron? If not then he officially likes me more.

It was my pleasure To be helpful to others Even though I'm small

[Ooooh already she doesn't like you Mr. Chin.]

And you're big. What is your point?

...to the lowest common demonstrator mostly.

[What IS context.]

You mean denominator right?

Same difference, really.

Hmm, do you mind if I ask another sort of question, Crow?

Is it personal and invasive? Because I prefer to get my glasses on for that one.

Why did you become a Decepticon? I have been told over and over again that this was a bad decision. What made you do it?

Why? It looked fun! I mean, the logo's way cool!

Besides, what else am I gonna do? Wait for the bus?

[I TRIED SO HARD AND GOT SO FAR BUT IN THE END IT DOESN'T EVEN MAAAATTER]

No, I mean like... isn't it dangerous for you to be around those that could step on you and not even notice?

[You're only digging yourself into a deeper hole here, Sentinel.]

Which one? I've met one of them before.

Most certainly! But often new and interesting things are dangerous. It is often necessary to take that risk.

[Had anyone told Thundercracker he'd be sharing room – and honest companionship – with a creature half the size of his fingers, he'd not have believed them either. But he's glad.]

[The first comment does…but doesn't surprise him. The mech still made him nervous, but he wasn't so blinded by his own eons of experience that he failed to recognize more than half of it being just his own problems. The mech was powerful and demanded respect and obedience, but he'd yet to be the abusive, quick-tempered, and often unreasonable tyrant that the Seeker had grown so used to. He nods.]

He is and yet . . . is not anything like the Megatron from my own timestream. I understand this one is from still very, very early in our war. He'd be from way back in my past if we were from the same world. I've heard that my Megatron was once . . . much like this one, though obviously he didn't stay so. [He sighed, air expelling from his circulation vents.] Let's just hope this one takes to spark what he's learning of his other selves and what they become.

[He considers the observation about the bladed monsters.] That's a good question. Did you get pictures of video of them? [He himself kind of missed out on the "fun", since he and Ventus got grounded during their scouting mission.]

Mm.

[Oh my god you're so tiny and slightly adorable but seriously how are you any help at all at that size]

So, uh. What can you do?

Size is relative.
Bullets are frequently small -
Let someone diss those.

I am a chronicler. I am designed to remember everything I see. As you can imagine, this allows me to be useful during big expeditions. My size doesn't dictate my skills or my intelligence. Oh, my name is 4 by the way! Nice to meet you!

[Just wait until Sentinel finds out that Four's a Decepticon.]

He does not seem like an evil person. In fact, he seems very thoughtful at times, and a strong leader. He can also sometimes be a bit aggressive and distant, but those aren't necessarily bad traits. Oh! I did! Look Thundercracker!

[She sets down her communicator and directs her gaze towards the wall. There's a loud click and whirr as a coloured projection starts up. Thanks to tinkering from Shockwave, Four's projection abilities have been greatly improved.

Thundercracker gets to see different bots from different angles, obviously Four had shot a few of those while riding on someone. The clips move on from travelling through the haven to the unfriendly badlands. Four jumps eagerly from clip to clip, not being too particular about the order, when she finally stops on an image of a large bladed monster.

That's the one that stepped on her. Interesting, isn't it Thundercracker?]

Heck, yeah! Me an' Megatron are total best buddies! I'm like his right hand gun! You ain't nothin' but a talkin' sack of scrap.

I'm surprised he can put up with you considering how unpleasant you are.

That must... be annoying sometimes.

[Shrug] Some of the most skilled combatants I knew... know are tiny. I suppose that gives you an advantage if they underestimate you because of it.

Uh, hello. [Awkward wave] Sentinel Prime, of the Elite Guard.

[Oh no and he was just starting to find you tolerable!]

That sounds important! What does the Elite Guard do?

Back in my universe we were basically the military of Cybertron. The, uh, elite. Obviously.

A lot of it involved guarding Autobot colonies.

[He rolls his opics] What a shocker that being in the Elite Guard involves being a very skilled guardian. Who would've guessed it?

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

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[audio] hey it's this guy

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[text] don't do it four. he will do this all day. he CAN do this all day.and his haiku are terrible.

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[Action] - Damn, I just don't have enough icons appropriate for their interactions... XD

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[Text] Yes do it she's very interested

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[Text] four you have unleashed a monster just so you know. also this is his way of being nice. sry

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