shitposting rave 4: (almost) anything goes

(Apostasia flips her visor down.)
Hills, that just took me back to the Functionist era. Bad times. Control through fear. See, or lest be seen.
(She grins)
Didn't stop all of us.

I am Apostasia of Tetrahex, by the way. I'm working in government, and let me tell you, democracy is overrated.

 

I mean, we figured out democracy, kind of, after... the most recent ceasefire. Even if it just got dragged out until two of the three candidates got killed, but that probably wasn't actually the third's fault. (Also, to be entirely fair, I'm ridiculously oversimplifying the causes of the war in the interests of not starting yet another debate. If you see a mech about twice my current size done up in gold, gunmetal, and dark purple, you can ask her for the history lecture.)

Communication is the big problem from what you've said, I think, but Apostasia can probably help more there. Sentient spaces sound cool, as long as you can ask them if they want to cooperate...

 

Unthinking until they decide you must have the information they want, hey? [His smile is notably more bitter now.]

 

Then who do you have to rule over?

Im glad you got that all out. I don't really know what to say.

 

My mech, I'm too young to remember actual real functionists. Try "the CO who was really insistant on feeling me and my brother up".

 

"Yeah, I guess." Sloane sighed. "But it's not like humans are exactly durable." She shrugged. "But maybe someone down the line will figure something out."

"Wow. That's, uh....wow. But yeah. Communication is a big problem for us. Although if you used a Protean Charm on something and then the leader had the 'master item', we'll say, then any changes the leader made would be imitated in the other objects....of course, they'd have to be inconspicuous, but it's a start. And sentient spaces are nice--the Room of Requirement is the only one I know of, though. It's Unplottable--can't be put on maps of any kind--and you....well, you sort of think to it what you need from it, and if it...I guess, wants to help you, it'll make a place according to what you need. So like, if I asked it for a room where I could hide that supporters of The Dark Lord couldn't enter....it could provide." She sighed. "But even then, there's not much you can do from inside a room in a school teeming with students who have been brought up to support him....honestly, it would've been smarter and easier to take him down in the early days, before he gained full control, but it's not like I can go back in...." Sloane trailed off, something appearing to occur to her. "Time...."

Sloane shook herself, mentally filing away her thoughts for later. "Well, the one percent you didn't kill, of course! And....I wouldn't expect you to know what to say." She shrugged. "It's a time there, though."

 

Nah. Just gotta be smart and inconspicious. Triple meanings, codes, and plain putting stuff where they don't even think to look.

Or people they don't think to look at.

 

Sloane shrugged. "First part works. People they don't think to look at, well....that would only be people who are avid followers of his and, uh....good luck getting any of them to work with you on overthrowing him. But that said, there might be something to be done. Just have to figure out how....gotta get Alex here somehow. Or get back to her, I guess, but either way I'm gonna need her help, she's the brains of our operation, not me...."

 

Okay. So, the slag Norm was saying hit some buttons and because you're a disaster with perfectly functioning coping mechanisms you decided to kill it with fire before he had a chance to get nasty at you directly? Or is it just an 'objecting on principle' thing and your volume setting's stuck at max?

...sounds like you've got an idea there, if you can get the right materials. Hope time travel works significantly better in your universe than mine.

 

Sloane grinned. "I do indeed have an idea. Time travel's fairly straightforward in my universe--you gotta be careful not to be seen while in the past, though. Might put a little bit of a wrench in the plans....but I'm sure we'll find a way. But it's not difficult to do. Or at least, it's not if you know what you're doing....although of course the only ones I've heard of let you go an hour in the past and no more, but there has to be a way around that. Some other enchantment, something more powerful, has to exist." She bit her lip. "I hope." Sloane sighed. "Of course, you never know what's gonna come of meddling in the past....but if it ends with his death, it has to end up better than where we are now."

 

In the beginning it was the first but then it became the second because I am made 100% entirely out of spite and disgust, but y'know you can stop pretending you care about my feelings any moment now unless a negotiation on terms and conditions is forthcoming, I don't really like being indebted without getting to see the fine print first.

 

(Apostasia grins, and giggles)
Good luck either way.

 

...'better' is subjective (Primus, I can hear Nichrome now), and all I've got to run on is hearsay with weird dream-plane-knowledge filling in the gaps, but hey. Who am I to tell you what to do to your own universe? Good luck out there.

 

Sloane nodded at them. "Thank you both. And better is subjective, but....well, Alex will probably have some ideas of how we can kind of curve things toward an outcome that at least doesn't end with a bunch of people dying or a war. Which are what I would consider the two worst outcomes, so."

 

Gotta know what all involved parties want out of the deal before we start working out terms and conditions, right? I care about your feelings just about as much as anyone else's, because I'm a flaring spark and you helped Venture out earlier.

Okay, so: I can't argue against the first thing, mental triggers suck major tailpipe, but there's only one copy of anyone in any given universe, right? This place doesn't count, since it's kind of between universes if I remember the actual scientists' discussion correctly. You aren't your twin, I'm not E324.326-A, Starscream isn't Thundercracker with a new paintjob. Right?

 

Mhm. I'm not here for morality debates, and it sounds like your planet isn't spacefaring yet, so. [He shrugs.] Getting rid of a genocidal afthead sounds like as good a reason as any to try time travel.

 

Dude you are doing the thing.
You are feeling up my feelings without telling me what you expect me to do.
Stop looking at my emotions directly, they bite.

(And. Contrary to popular believe I am not an assemblage of loose contacts vaguely shaped like a glitch, I know that. And yet Fragface Mc Genie Douche decided someone who talked in a pretty unique manner and gave an entirely different name was "Cronus Ampora", just cause they looked like it.)

 

"I mean, we were getting towards being spacefaring, or at least the nonmagical portion of the world was trying to get towards that, but....well, enter genocidal--what did you say? Afthead? Yeah, enter him." Sloane shrugged. "Getting rid of him is honestly the only reason I'd try time travel. Stuff always freaked me out."

 

[Proud Captain is Proud. The lessons have evidently been effective.]

 

Oh no, I've been sorting out conflicting panic reactions for several million years and therefore have some practice looking at potential root causes rather than what someone says while they're on the defensive. What horror. [Despite his flat tone, Eclipse's wings are perked up like he's telling a joke.]

I agree that it's kind of spikeish to name someone based on their frametype, but given we have a weird situation in this place we need to adjust for the new terrain, yeah? The flip side of "infinite variation across infinite universes" is "some of the time, if it looks like a toxicougar and yowls like a toxicougar, it's probably a toxicougar and we should go get the blasters". A Scanner from some universe where... I dunno, where we're all humans for some reason would still probably act like you, right?

Got it in one. Slang for someone who's got their head permanently shoved up their tailpipe.

Turns out the universe as a whole actually turns out better for everyone but Cybertronians-- all the places that got caught in the crossfire of the interstinterstellar war-- if we stay good little slaves and never get around to the whole revolution thing, but. Gotta say I'm glad whoever fixed the time-travel shenanigans was selfish.