[Accidental Video] [Backdated to the 22nd]

[kungfugeek]

 [So...that date didn't go as planned, and it's just sinking in now that it was even a date at all. The fact that he'd worked hard to get up the courage to ask, let alone show up...that was enough for his A.I. to handle. But this planet...much like back home, found a way to make that a false hope. Something he'd never really get.  It's a bit of a downer, really.

Enough to make him pout at the junkpile. Why the junkpile? So he could toss things around in his power shovel form if he needed to release his anger externally. This way...no one got hurt. As for right now, though, he's curled up, sitting among a bunch of odds and ends, starting into the distance.]

...

[It'd hurt less if he hadn't arrived her moments after Lua.]


Hate this place.

Comments

[kungfugeek]

[His hands grip the junk beneath him, eyes cast down.]

Half the people here. I'm made by humans...I wasn't exactly 'born' like you guys were.

[whatbedsidemanners]

What a load of nonsense.

[Her eyes narrow ,and for the first time in a while she's genuinely angry.]

How can anyone look at you and think that you're not alive?

Morons.

Where you come from and how you were made doesn't make you any less than any of us. Has everyone like you been told this? Because if they have, then I'll need to have a word with everyone.

[kungfugeek]

...Wait.

[You have his attention now, Red Alert. If only because you're speaking this and you're a physician. Technically by default you seem like the most likely candidate to say he was just a machine.

So...consider those eyes widened.]

We got programs that tell us how to think. A.I. We're just 'toys'.

[Even now, other!Arcee's words sting.]

A lot of you guys say different. That because I fought with you I'm just as much alive and an Autobot as you guys. But some...yannow. That minority.

[whatbedsidemanners]

[Red Alert is a lot of things, and most of them aren't obvious. Strangely enough, she's not completely sparkless, she just doesn't like wasting time, which was why she was so short with him before.]

...Does this really hurt you, Power Joe?

[Her eyes darken, as if pondering something.]

You're alive to me. I don't know if that means anything to you though.

[The last bit seems to embarrass her, realizing that she let her emotions run off on her.]

[kungfugeek]

...

[It's not something he's openly proud of. Deep down, he hated feeling weak, and the fact that this gets to him so much makes him feel that weakness more than anything.]

Y...yeah. I mean, what if someone told you that you were less than everyone else? Over something you can't even control.


That you're...'fake'.

[But that last part makes his head tilt up, wide.]


You think that? You? As a doctor?

[whatbedsidemanners]

I'd feel terrible about myself. I might even feel compelled to do things in order to fit in. Maybe after a while I might end up believing it myself.

[She glances away for a moment. Why had she not noticed this mistreatment earlier? She spends all of her time trying to make things better, yet things like this slip her notice. But then again, all she is is a medic, what could she possibly do in this situation?]

As a doctor, I believe that you are real. If you are injured, I will repair you just like anyone else. It's my duty to heal you, all of you, when you need me to.

I can't fix everything though.

[kungfugeek]

Heh, yeah. Like...go on a date.

[Which brings them to their current situation. He's glad Red Alert can sympathize with him--it helped more than she would ever realize, no matter how much he could tell her. Just the fact that she doesn't discriminate is enough for him.

And it's enough to bring a smile to his face, the light in his eyes slightly brighter. More...alive.]

Heh, you're not too bad at it, lady. You're fixin' me pretty well.

[whatbedsidemanners]

I... but I haven't done anything?

[She seems genuinely confused. All they've done is talk]

I'm glad that you're feeling better.

And please, my name is Red Alert, not 'lady'.

[kungfugeek]

We've been talkin', yeah? That's somethin', as much as I hate admitting it. I'm not too good with that stuff...

But I guess it works.

[He's just as surprised as you are, Red Alert. All he knows is that he feels slightly better.]

Oh, got it. I'm Power Joe.

[whatbedsidemanners]

Talking has never been my forte either. I don't possess a lot of people skills.

[But you don't need people skills to save someone's life.]

It's nice to meet you, Power Joe.