VIDEO | Few days prior to prom

[orerrible]

[ Who doesn't love a massive yellow eye peering into the screen as though at any minute you would expect it to be followed by a harsh static beep and a pre-recorded message from your chipper dystopian spokeswoman. Shockwave lost his flare for camera angles so it's just him glowering (if that's a thing) into the feed at a severe angle with what appears to be a lab behind him. ]

It has been something of a long weekend side project, but humans in the habitable areas within the city should take note that there are now small mechanoids similar in appearance to Insecticons but with a vastly different purpose within the city. There are antiquated, single minded drones I've created for one simple task: Retrofitting human inhabited areas with basic amenities. Indoor plumbing along with access to treated water and rooms with temperature control, for one. The planet itself was hasty to say the least in bringing you all here as this is not an environment suited to even your most fundamental needs. Allow the drones to do their work as it also expedites more long term objectives such as energon transport and establishing a stable infrastructure.

[ Among other things you get showers and shitters now, fleshbags. You're welcome. ]

That said I would like to take the time to be transparent with any Cybertronian listening in: Expunge from your hardware any ingrained anti-organic sentiment now while you're ahead. I am not speaking out of the goodness of my spark but from the most simplest of truths. The planet itself demands this change and I will not entertain disruption to this nascent planet. A significant number of these humans are not baseline and share my intolerance for the unnecessary.

That will be all.

Comments

[orerrible]

Roller.

[ That flat lack of inflection that just screams. Oh, this again. ]

video;

[orerrible]

And submit myself to the idling nature of a yet to be established Autobot ethics board? Unlikely.

Some of us don't have two hands to sit on, Perceptor.

[video]

[orerrible]

Without a diverse pool of tissue samples it would take more time to manufacturer something non-toxic and safe across the board, but...

[ It HAS been a while since he touched organic chemistry. Let alone something that wasn't meant to kill you in an endless number of terrible ways. ]

I would require a consultant.

[video]

[myownbestfriend]

[It doesn't have to be safe for everyone, just her. (And Miranda, she guesses.)]

I could be persuaded. My calendar is wide open.

[orerrible]

Muhammad had more than one mountain to climb - contact was inevitable. 'Your' Cybertron - how did that that thinking fare exactly?

[ Ignore the fact that in this instance Cybertronian presence on Earth was absolutely, entirely Shockwave's fault. ]

I have no 'stance.' And as for my association with the Decepticons it was one of convenience and since severed.

[orerrible]

[ (Thanks) ]

My door is always open.

[officerjuicebox]

[Look, he's trying to be civil and make chit-chat here.]

Yeah, hi.

So uhhh... humans. You're a fan?

[Oh my god Roller stop.]

[orerrible]

[ In attempt to circumvent a guilt trip - this sure is the express lane into a guilt trip. ]

I merely don't undermine their significance. You're...well before they factored in but I will spare you the details.

[ Shockwave you threatened to destroy Earth out of spite, but hey - we all change. ]

Neither do I wish to see Cybertron's evolutionary change die in its infancy. Additionally, I've never seen this diverse of genetic pool. Not all of them would be considered 'baseline' they're...

[ Outliers. ]

[justskidding]

Okay, I can't be the only one who finds it weird that you're taking a sudden liking to humans.

Planning on making some sort of biomechanical gestalt? You've always had a liking for fusing things together when destroying the universe wasn't at the top of the to-do list.

[Yeah, sorry. He's met other you, and he's hard-pressed to believe everything that happened after could be all absolved because of Shadowplay.]

[academybot]

I'm afraid I don't really understand that reference, but contact with organic planets has been banned since the end of the Great War. Not that there weren't.... a few incidents of Autobots exploring banned planets. Most of them didn't end well. It's safer to assume all organics are a potential threat. [Let's change the subject please.]

Sounds like a lot of bots here are starting to ignore the Autobot-Decepticon line. [He's a little unsure on if that is a good thing, or not.]

[orerrible]

Skids.

[ Shockwave actually had to put effort in that sounded impervious to a more emotional response. All this time he knew they were here but he never... There were barriers now. Hard lines that a sudden bout of conscience and genuine empathy drew that prevented him from attempting contact. ]

'Like.' You keep saying that.

[ Maybe he had been spending too much time with Emma or their last mental timeout created some sort of bleeding effect, but the bristling huge bitch act suited him just fine. Not that it didn't always, but this time it was a higher risk social encounter. What with actually caring and all. ]

Neither have I been given to inaction. After the lot of became indolent; so damn pleased with yourselves because you found the light switch - quite literally running before you could walk. That it fell to me to oversee establishing a foundation for a more pragmatic approach to keeping this planet habitable.

[gimmicky]

[Should he even bother speaking up? He's no genius on the subject--in fact, Shockwave speaking just seemed to just highlight just how little Trailcutter knew. A small part of him wants to just shy away right now, not even bothering to try speaking to...his old mentor.

Remembering who Shockwave was is easy. Dealing with who he is--what happened to him...another part of him wonders just how much fighting Shadowplay actually saved.]

Because it's logical. That's why, right?

[Water is wet, apparently. But he could always hope that it was for a mutual partnership. That there was something other than calculations at work.]

[orerrible]

[ This is fine. Shockwave is okay with the events that are currently unfolding. Even without the rapidly shattering effects of Shadowplay, he is still an adult and therefor well versed in doing and this ballistic screaming on the inside.

What do you even day-

What does he even say. ]

Very good, Trailcutter.

[ Top marks. You always make top marks. ]

[gimmicky]

[His head tilts down, slightly. A finger tracing along the palm of his forcefield generator. The pure stoic-tone Shockwave gave was a familiarity. Maybe too familiar.

The alcohol buzz had drowned it out before. Now it's like a lump in his throat as he tries to branch for conversation.

Please...let him be in there.]

Logic's good! I like logic. I mean...you're--

[What are you trying to say, Trailcutter?]

I'm glad we agree. Really. It feels like a first in a long time.

[officerjuicebox]

[CHOO CHOO CHOO HERE COMES THE GUILT TRAIN EXPRESS.]

How significant are we talking?

[Hey, he's curious, what can he say?]

Having humans here is... evolution? I thought it just turned up this way. [Pause.] They're 'weirdos', you mean.

[Stop calling them that, you big idiot.]

[orerrible]

Global. Perhaps even beyond that as the Cybertron itself shows evidence of rapid change to support new life - evolutionary markers that otherwise would have taken eons to take hold that...

[ Wait. Wait. ]

[orerrible]

[KILL BILL SIRENS]

[orerrible]

Roller.

[ Voice thin. Like glass broken into pieces manageable enough to stab you with. ]

[officerjuicebox]

[well, yes, that's very interesting, and it's something definitely to keep in mind but -- wow. What the hell did he even say?]

What?

[officerjuicebox]

[WAIT.]

[SHIT.]

[officerjuicebox]

-- I didn't mean it in a bad way!

I like them! The ones I remember!

video;

[sciencetank]

Oh, psh. Everyone is entirely too busy squabbling about old nonsense to form something so organized as an ethics board.

Mm, observant as your counterpart, I see. Complete with insectoid fixation, no less.

video;

[orerrible]

I would have said as much, but I'm perfectly content to let you drag your own peers through the dirt than exhaust myself doing so.

A mass production design well-suited to the task at hand. If you're familiar with the concept.

video;

[sciencetank]

Oh please. The only such committee I'll ever be interested in is one devoted to bettering the sciences, instead of what color it's "ethically" appropriate to paint your left leg.

Of course. Though it hardly negates the fact they can be exceptionally disconcerting when one isn't expecting to stumble upon them.

[justskidding]

I'll send you a thesaurus if the word makes you that anxious.

[Skids knows which hills he wants to die on.]

In any case, this is still a little too philanthropic for your usual style of convoluted plan. Not that it isn't appreciated, assuming the water isn't laced with self-replicating nanomachines, but I'm getting the feeling that there's something bigger than this other than productivity.

And I right now, I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.