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[For a while after the pages thing, Four found it hard to get himself interested in anything. After all the chasing he had done, he's still all alone. His family isn't here, and he wonders if they'll ever be here. He knows that if he doesn't give himself something to do, he'll slowly drive himself crazy by sitting in a corner and going through every moment he had spent with each of his family members.

It doesn't take him long to give himself a project. He has made a few friends here, so maybe it's time to appreciate them. This is way better than sitting around and moping all day.]

Jetfire Elita Mirage Starscream Thundercracker Soundwave Kay Wing Raf Ratchet I have a present for you. I made them myself :) Also I have a question for everyone else: What makes something beautiful?

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Four! That's incredibly sweet of you. I feel honored that you would go to such efforts on my behalf.

Also, may I ask your own question of you? [He smiles.] It's different for everyone, so what makes something beautiful for you?

It wasn't too much trouble! I've been bringing lots of things into my room for a while now, and I thought I should make something out of them. Now I have gifts for my friends!

[Four blinks a little at that question. He's always surprised when people ask him his personal opinion of things. After all, he's just here to collect information, not give his opinion about it, right?]

I think there's beauty in a lot of things... but mostly I find beauty in knowledge, music, and art. Above all I find love to be the most beautiful, because it inspires music, art, and other kinds of writing.

That's a wonderful thought Four! I think it's lovely that you repurpose the things you find. Creativity can breathe new life into almost anything!

[Wing grins, because he feels you have a unique perspective on things, purer and broader than anyone he's ever met, which is why he loves talking to you.]

Four. I could not have said it better. I feel that beauty starts in ourselves. It's born within us when we experience something and feel a certain way. That's why it's subjective, because not everyone has the same experience...

But things like art and music often create those experiences, so I absolutely agree. And yes. [An avid yes.] Love can create some of the greatest beauty of all.

When you're my size, you have to be creative and adapt to your surroundings. It's hard, but it definitely gives you an interesting perspective of the world.

[Hearing someone agree with his point of view makes him feel embarrassed in a good way. He's pleased with the compliments, as the few he's gotten so far are mostly directed at how cute he is.]

What happens to people who can't see how beautiful things are? I wonder what it's like to be them. I think love is the base of most beauty when it comes to humans. Many create art and music to express how they feel, and because artists and composers love to do what they do. My favourite thing about them is that you can often see or here the passion they put into their work, even when they're not around anymore. Some of them wanted to share their love with the world, which is a beautiful thing. Maybe someday I will create something beautiful like that.

I imagine it does. Actually...I'll admit it's a little hard to imagine actually. Being your size.

[Four is unrepentantly cute, but that doesn't hold a candle to his gentle sophistication. A tiny little philosopher.]

I think that happens when they are so closed they can't feel it. That is...also hard for me to imagine. Because even sadness can be beautiful. Here... [He takes a short moment to connect a datapad to his communicator.]

Let me share this with you, it's by a human composer. It touches me in ways I can't entirely describe...

I think that song exemplifies much of what you said, yes? [He grins.] But yes, Love is a very moving force, quite profoundly in creative arts. Love, like anger, is an emotion that's hard for us to contain. It just wants to get out. But unlike anger, love by it's very nature encourages sharing. And I think it is beautiful both for one to be able to express their love for things, and have others experience and share in it.

[He smiles warmly, and maybe a little shyly.] I think the most beautiful of all is unconditional love. ...because it has wings.

Four...maybe you already have?

Tragic beauty. The beauty that exists in misery and destruction. I'm less fond of this as lovely beauty though, but I appreciate it's value just the same, as terrible as that might sound.

[He pauses for a moment, his eyes clicking as he memorizes the rise and fall of each note. As with most music, it fills him with some unidentifiable emotion. The music itself is different from what Four has heard, there's a bit more of a beat to it, and the use of violins is different somehow. Still, it fills him with a passionate curiosity to know more about it, and everything associated with it.]

This song feels hopeful and sad, like someone who wants to escape. I am not a music expert, but I do like how it rises and falls as delicately as it does. Anger frightens me. I've seen anger in the faces of humans, and it's terrible. Anger starts from pain, from what I've read, and I see less beauty in it than other things. I can't imagine what it'd be like to be angry all the time. I know what unconditional love is. I love our Creator more than anything, and I only met him once. He treated us well before he let us loose in the world, and I love him for how he gave us a chance to experience the world. Even though that world died completely not long after our creation. Before now I never got to see how beautiful living things were with my own eyes. ...? I have never created anything beautiful before, at least nothing like music or art.

Edited 2012-09-30 07:14 (UTC)

I don't think it's terrible. I actually think it's heartening that something like beauty can still exist in the context of tragedy and despair. It might not be nice to think about or our preferred way to experience it, but I think that shows what a strong and moving force true beauty is, that it still moves us when weighed down by terrible things.

But yes, I prefer lovely beauty as well.

[Wing nods, the song effects Four in much the same way it does him.]

It...reminds me of my old home. And my time there. It was beautiful too, but sad because we couldn't share it with anyone.

Well...except one. [A chuff of air as he smiles suddenly.]

But I understand what you mean. There has been a great amount of anger in our race in the past, and it can be terrifying to behold. Pain is a neutral thing, as uncomfortable as it is to experience, sometimes it's signs of good things happening. It has it's benefits... Anger and hatred, not so much. I suppose they exist because Love is such a powerful force and it must be balanced.

It is the grandest thing, is it not? There are no boundaries on unconditional love, no restrictions to weight it down. It soars. I'm sorry that you had so little time with your creator, but I'm glad that you loved him so much. I'm sure he knew it, before he left you.

Why does that surprise you Four? Sometimes mere words can be beautiful. And it depends on the viewer does it not?

[He chuckles, it's a warm and open-hearted sound,] But I digress, you said you had something for me? Shall I come to you then?

It's really sad that more than one of us has lost our world to war. In a universe where beautiful things are everywhere, why does it seem like war destroys it all? I can understand art, and love, and knowledge... but I don't know if I could ever truly understand war. Is there beauty in war? I haven't seen any from the point of view of an observer... Why do people fight wars, Wing? Why do they feel the need to inflict harm and pain on each other? Is it out of love or hate?

[Oh whoops, he's getting so distracted by this conversation that he's almost forgot the real reason why he wanted to talk to Drift in the first place! He smiles and switches to video so he can show Wing what he made.]

When I first saw you in person, you looked like you had a great big pain deep inside you. I'm small, and there's not much I can do... but I made this so you can think of me and maybe smile a little. I'm your friend and I want you to be happy.

Edited 2012-10-02 02:51 (UTC)

It really is Four. I understand how wars happen, the steps as they occur, but they why...it's so much more complicated. It comes from hearts and sparks darker than mine. Greed and corruption, people who want to own and covet beauty and love instead of share it. I... I think it's the only way one could turn something like love ugly.

[He looks down a moment, a shadow over his face, because he has a notion of what that ugliness is like now. He cycles a sigh and pushed the thought away.]

Beauty in war? I don't know Four...what beauty and love I have seen in the midst of war exists despite it and not because of it. The charitable care given to victims, the courage shown by warriors defending the lives of others...

My order has tried, in a way, to bring beauty to combat. We have katas: choreographed dances of a sort that use weapons. They are full of symbolism, and are beautiful, but are not real war or combat. I suppose it's our attempt to transform war into beauty...

Both love and hate can create war. I know, it seems to make little sense when simplified like that. [He shakes his head, if only things were that simple.]

Edited 2012-10-03 23:16 (UTC)

[All this introspective talk about war has made him pensive and morose. But with the introduction of the gift his gaze brightens visibly brightens. But beyond the gift itself, Four's words are touching all on their own.]

Four! How lovely! The colors, they are so lively and fun! What is it made out of? It looks so soft...

It's so sweet of you, thank you. You're right. That was not a happy time when you say me last. But seeing you did make me smile a little then, and this gift will always make me smile when I see it. You may be small but you have a great heart. [He even picks the right body part, or at least, the one most relatable to you.]

[This is giving Four a lot to think about, and he likes that. Knowledge is to Four what food and water is to organics. Deep down Four would rather not think about these things, truth be told. He'd rather continue learning about the beautiful achievements of humanity, not the dark and violent parts. His purpose is clear though: To learn about humanity in order to preserve it. Not just to remember it, but to understand it.]

It's so complicated :( I hope to understand it fully someday. Whether I like it or not, it is a part of humanity.

[Let's talk about nice stuff now.]

It's made out of some yarn I found! I'm lucky that I had enough, and that this design isn't as difficult as it seems at my size. I am glad that I can do this much for you. [Why do you keep giving him compliments, it's making him feel embarrassed again.]

Do you mind if I ask why you were so sad?

[Wing doesn't like thinking about them either, but doing so helps him guide others away from such things.]

It is. But we're complicated people Four. Think about all the emotions we can have. The things we can think up. Most things that involve us can get complicated.

[He's all for nice stuff.]

It's beautiful Four. The fact you could craft such a thing on your own is quite a marvel. I will treasure it always! [Because you deserve them of course. Hush, and take it like a stichpunk!]

[He hesitates, since this is wandering out of 'nice things' territory again, but concedes that since Four was there to comfort him, knowing what it meant to him was important.]

You know about the situation with Alpha Trion's pages? The missing ones? Because of them I became someone other myself. Like a mirror, an opposite. Everything that was good about me was inverted and turned dark and horrible. I did and said some things that hurt people.

It wasn't directly my fault. But they were all people I cared about, and it hurt me to see them hurt. I also...didn't like being that person.

[This is honestly a lot more than Four has imagined. If he was with Wing right now, he'd give him a little face hug, because it sounds like the robot needs it. It simply goes beyond Four's imagination to think about a dark and evil Wing... it just isn't possible in his mind.]

Oh the pages... I see. That must have hurt, I'm sorry. Everyone knows how much of a good person you are though, so I hope you were forgiven. I hope you can forgive yourself too...

[He would gladly accept a face hug. Or even a short moment where he could be miniaturized, and have a real hug.]

It's been a difficult process, both fixing the harm it caused and...just getting right with myself.

But thank you Four, it's nice to know people have faith in me. I'm doing what I can, time will mend the rest. [He certainly hopes anyway. And his hope is pretty strong.]

[He pulls a smile out, just for you.]

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Whoops, PermaVideo as usual...

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Still perma video, lalala~