We are a literate, intermediate to advanced AU Transformers RPG Based off of the first season of TFP with dashes of other incarnations sprinkled here or there. Characters from any continuity are welcome however must be restyled to match the TFPrime universe.
Active, with ongoing plotlines, we are always willing to integrate new characters into storylines once incorporated into the setting.
Post by Cassandra Cassidy on Jun 12, 2023 21:52:14 GMT -5
"I have no vehicle of my own, sir," answered the cleaner, frowning. "Usually I walk to where I need to go, or I hitchhike. I don't think that'll be a safe option for coming to the base."
As if the obvious needed to be stated. Still, it was honest: Cassandra spent a great deal of time on foot to wherever she needed to get to. The woman had walked lone highways and lonelier roads, through back alleys and down darkened streets. It was too expensive for her to get a car, and she liked the exercise that walking allowed her to have. It kept Cassandra's legs strong, muscles hard and ready for running that parkour tricks once brought.
(Oh, how she missed those days of running and jumping from roof to roof, cliff to cliff, and tree branch to tree branch. She couldn't remember the last time she'd indulged herself with a few tricks, though her last visit to a national park scratched the itch for a good climb.)
"Are you sure it wouldn't be too inconvenient for someone to drive me, sir?" Butch asked after Optimus's second comment. "I understand if it takes too much time away from the base."
Post by Optimus Prime on Jun 24, 2023 0:40:17 GMT -5
"I don't think that'll be a safe option for coming to the base."
"It would not."
The distance between Jasper and Omega was rather notable, it effectively a long stretch of a two-way freeway that was joined by a single trail of power lines on rough wooden poles. There were no sidewalks, or even a compacted path, so it would be a trek over uneven gravel and stone, or on the pavement with a keen ear for the rare oncoming vehicle. Even without these issues, however, it was a great distance that was not reasonable for a day visit in the slightest if it were to be taken on. No, walking would not be safe, even if it was technically possible.
"It is not inconvenient, depending upon location."
It went back to the concern of just where she was, though that was easy enough to find out.
"Where is your residence?"
Optimus truly hoped it was somewhere convenient, that fate would be kind to them and give him a little win among a sea of recent failures and disappointments. With his luck she would be thirty minutes in the opposite direction of the children's school, adding that much more effort to those who played transport for their human companions. If Cassandra integrated well and got friends, then they likely would not oppose too greatly, though it depended on just how well things went. If she was an awkward outcast, then the journey could be just as uncomfortable for all involved.
The distance would also decide just how she would get home this day.
Post by Cassandra Cassidy on Jul 3, 2023 19:58:55 GMT -5
"It's in Jasper, sir," Cassandra said. "It's not too far from the highway...."
The woman went on to describe a two-story apartment complex, shaped like an upside-down U. Its bright, white walls were sharp in contrast to the red of the Nevada landscape. A striking black roof that could cook eggs on a summer day topped the simple building. A parking lot sat in the middle of the U, waves of shimmering heat rising off of it to stifle the upper apartments. Butch's apartment was one of these, with a simple wooden door and the number "24" on it in iron letters. It sat towards the outer edge of Jasper's residential area, and was one of the few larger, multi-story buildings outside of downtown.
"There is one complication I feel may arise, sir," Cassandra said at the end. Here, her tone shifted to one of embarrassment. "My colleagues...I need an excuse as to why I've been gone a few days. I was supposed to arrive at work the day the jet showed up. I worry that they may have called the police or are otherwise looking for me. I would ask your help in creating a reason for them not to be suspicious, if possible. The, uh...the government has contingency plans for that...don't they?"
God, did she hope they had a contingency plan for concerned coworkers and a potential missing persons report. Cassandra's go-to was going to be that she was lost in the desert because of a sandstorm, but she wasn't sure how well that would fly. She was good at following the road, and though sandstorms could be annoying, they weren't always as fierce as the one she'd walked in. The visibility would've cleared up eventually, and she could've seen the glint of cars from far away....
Post by Optimus Prime on Aug 26, 2023 0:52:26 GMT -5
Jasper may be comparatively small, however, it was still a city, and Optimus' expression did not change at all when such a vague clarifier was dropped out initially, though it soon transitioned as she continued on. The moment the address and location were brought to the surface, as well as the building itself described, he believed that he had passed it at some point or another as it sounded somewhat familiar. While the Prime did not cruise the city as others may trying to learn or explore, it did not mean he hadn't gone into the area at all when doing something else, and a stark white apartment complex with a jet-black roof certainly stood out among taupes, concrete, and dried greenery.
From what was detailed, and his own recollection, this residence was quite favorable as it would be an easy pop on and off the central highway as a simple enough detour. As minimal as this may seem to others, as traveling a couple of additional streets over may not seem that grandiose, it did soothe a portion of a wound that had otherwise formed the second Kup had the audacity to get involved with a human enough so that she was brought back to Omega. It still angered him... it still was something he hadn't wanted... yet any small blessing offered would be happily taken.
Rocking his weight back onto one heel, Optimus turned and took a couple of steps over, his footfalls making a heavy thrum of the concrete below due to his overall mass. This casual gait landed him in front of the Control Room terminal, where he started to key in commands upon the Cybertronian system. While he started to type, a map would form on one of the numerous screens, its image zeroing in on the location in question from a topographical view. While he could seem otherwise busy with his new task, Cassandra was positively not being ignored, her following concerns taken to heart, and as such he spoke with more care in his reply verses his earlier stilted words.
"I am certain Fowler will be able to assist you in creating a probable story."
Optimus was not profoundly knowledgeable in just how Earth functioned on a more fine-tuned level, however, everything seemed similar enough in some form or another. An inability to reach out due to a broken phone and taking sick days sounded in theory like a simple enough solution, ignorance in play with having thought communication was sent when indeed it had not.
This was not his conclusion to come to, however.
Something had to be out there, and if anyone were to know of a proper solution? Then Fowler would, and if he did not? He certainly had access to another who did.
After having zoomed in on Cassandra's apartment complex, the map would subsequently pull back out, small data in the Cybertronian language scrolling to the left as Optimus searched for the best point in which to form the bridge.
Post by Cassandra Cassidy on Aug 26, 2023 15:41:45 GMT -5
"Thank you, sir," Cassandra said. "I really, really appreciate all of this...."
The terminal was looked at with a cocked head and an expression of curiosity, Butch trying to see what was on screen. The many glyphs that whizzed across its interface were unknown to her; the map of the world was not. It zoomed in on Jasper, and on a building complex of some kind. It looked vaguely familiar to Butch, the layout similar to that of the apartments she rented in. Were they sending her straight home from the base, then? No, wait, he said someone would drive me. Use your thinking here, Butch - don't get caught up in the "aliens are real" thing now.
The cleaner would remain silent as Optimus worked, her line of questions over. She stood in anticipation, waiting for an order or confirmation of some kind that Optimus was to do.... Something. The great robot was intense in his aura, though gentle in his voice. He almost seemed resigned to the entire situation that was going on - and probably was. Butch wasn't supposed to know his kind existed, and now that she did? She could be a liability. She wouldn't try to be, but the fact still remained that one more person knew the Autobots were on Earth.
Post by Optimus Prime on Sept 15, 2023 22:53:50 GMT -5
"Certainly."
An individual of very few words, Optimus didn’t articulate anything more, not finding it particularly needed. While to some this abrupt drop into silence could seem standoffish and rude, if not uncomfortable, it simply was what it was and he wasn't the type to fill a gap with something just to have a topic to speak of. As such, he focused on his task instead, eyeing over the maps carefully.
Finding an offshoot from the main road that was much closer than driving from Omega One, Optimus tapped a couple of keys quickly, letting the system calculate the last final parameters before he reached over and grasped hold of a larger handle that was attached to the terminal system. It was almost a cliché lever of some kind, a two-pronged knife switch that was firmly pulled down with a solid thrum. This simple action started a chain effect, the nearby tunnel flickering with illumination.
The path was a short walkway of sorts that was lined with metal rings that led to a dead end of stone. Each of the rings themselves seemed to hum with electricity while powering up, before a rapid reaction occurred, and where there was once nothing, a sort of gateway had manifested itself. It was a curling portal of some kind, its outer edges spiraling slowly while flicking out white particles of light. It danced with teals, purple, and blues, an abstract thing that's other side wasn't directly observable. As chaotic as this may appear to one who had never seen it, Optimus seemed completely unphased, instead drifting his focus upon something else.
Easing his right leg forward, Optimus balanced himself enough that his left leg started to dip, the wheels on its outer edge pushing away from the central mass to start to swing forward, though they weren’t permitted to complete the action. Paired with this, some of the plating elsewhere on his frame would peel from his central mass, from a piece on his forearm starting to rotate up and forward, to his shoulder guards splitting some.
The latter was the part he was paying attention to.
He was testing the waters in a way, trying to see what things felt like should he move onward with a transformation. It was perhaps overly cautious to stall as he was, though his shoulder plating had been banged in pretty bad, and there was no saying if a transformation would split the internal cuts or rip something off. While it was all sore, and there was a level of pain involved, it was not enough so that he was concerned, and as such he would cut off his propped posture so his left limb fully swung down, his mass ramming onto the lower leg that had already started to take new shape.
The sound of transformation was as familiar as it was unique, each individual following the same rhythmic flow while adding their own tones and accents along with it. This noise was accompanied by numerous plates and panels rupturing fully away from the Cybertronian's central mass, spinning about and re-lining back up to reassemble. In what amounted to only a couple moments once the action was fully triggered, a truck now sat, final pieces settling down with lingering clicks.
Rough damage streaked and smeared across the passenger side of the cab, blistered paint and mangled metals more than apparent visually, though nothing seemed broken off, and no dapples of blue were to be seen. Due to this, the door simply opened in waiting, hoping that Cassandra would head down so that they could get her home.
Post by Cassandra Cassidy on Oct 2, 2023 20:58:25 GMT -5
Cassandra flinched and moved back as Optimus's leg began to unfold. The clanking of metal sliding into place was loud and sudden, and there was still a nervy edge to the woman. She watched closely, observing that Optimus seemed to be testing out something in his leg. This was followed by the deep timbre of plates sliding, rearranging and clicking into place, along with other bits and pieces of himself swinging into place. Cassandra marveled at the sight, lips open a little in an "o", her face a mix of surprise and awe.
This would probably never be normal for her, or at least not for a long time.
The truck-that-was-Optimus roared to life, and what a battered-looking truck it was. The damage that had been on Optimus's shoulder was even more brutal in his vehicular form. Butch approached slowly, one hand raising as if to touch it, but that hand quickly fell to her side. She was wordless, and remained so as the door to his cab popped open. Cassandra hesitated, then clambered in and shut the door gently behind her, settling into the passenger seat.
Post by Optimus Prime on Oct 20, 2023 14:01:17 GMT -5
When Cassandra approached and lifted her hand as though she were going to touch the damage that streaked across the passenger side door, an unseen gaze shifted over to watch her pointedly. To their kind, it was akin to an individual walking over to simply touch a wound or bound injury that had a cast or bandages across it, which was rather invasive and unwarranted, and could even have caused discomfort beyond psychological. While his tolerances were high, and the fact it was mostly armor itself negated any impact it may have, there could still be an invasive feeling in play and was one more marker that highlighted how vehicles were seen as objects rather than entities by the native population.
Optimus understood this. There was a social shift due to the fact that humanity wasn't introduced to mechanized entities, whether Cybertronian or otherwise. This made a large divide and was plainly seen at its most extremes by what MECH was doing to them. It was something they had to simply swallow down and try to understand, even if it was a pointed reminder they weren't always considered to be living even by those who knew what they were.
"So, if you guys are robots, who made you?"
"Robots with emotions?"
"Robots who can die?"
As Cassandra opted to not touch and instead just get into the passenger side, Optimus' focus shifted forward, starting to drive once she was secured in place. With no hesitation, he went through the Ground Bridge, completely used to the transition, moving onto what was a more obscure road on the opposite side of the freeway from their target apartment block. It was vacant, which was the purpose of why it was chosen, the risk of witnesses to the gateway low, an anomaly that quickly closed behind them.
Without a word, Optimus would continue to drive onward, the asphalt beneath them worn and rougher from lack of maintenance like the more frequently run alternatives closer into town.
Last Edit: Oct 20, 2023 14:01:33 GMT -5 by Optimus Prime
Post by Cassandra Cassidy on Nov 7, 2023 17:00:46 GMT -5
Silence. Awkward, total silence. That was what would fill the truck as Butch sat with her hands in her lap, quietly observing the dials and buttons of the dash but never touching them. The interior of the truck resembled one of Earth's quite a bit, albeit with more chrome, more lights, and an Autobot insignia on the wheel. Butch thought back to riding in Kup, and observing the chromed-out interior he had as well.
Part of her wanted to ask questions, but didn't know what questions to ask. Maybe why sentient vehicles had passenger seats in the first place? Was there a smaller alien population they lived in symbiosis with, somehow? But the words never left Butch's lips, and she continued to sit there. She tried looking out at the landscape, staring at the scrub and rock formations that flicked by, but her mind wandered back to the Autobots. She looked over at the driver's side, unnerved by how empty it was.
Finally, after a long stretch, Butch said, "Thank you for protecting me. You and your people. It means a lot." She awkwardly shifted in place, not sure if the sentiment was too...well, sentimental. It was mostly to break the silence, to say something in such a strange place and connect with this great metal being she rode in.
Post by Optimus Prime on Nov 17, 2023 19:12:47 GMT -5
"It is the least we can do-"
"-given I brought such unrest to your world to begin with."
Optimus left out the last portion deliberately, not wishing to dive into the reasoning for why he had chosen Earth to begin with. It was as much an abstract answer as it was tactical, and that was often not enough to truly excuse what horrors he may have brought down. While Earth had already been seeded with Energon well before humanity had become a brief flicker of a thing, he could have still chosen a different world to turn to once the Ark got in close enough range to note that it was inhabited. Perhaps this was excuse enough, knowing the Decepticons would not care of such details and would have established a base here otherwise, though in truth there was something beyond it, a ghosted feeling that compelled him to even guide them in this direction initially when they fled Cybertron as a whole.
Should he have been in his root mode, Optimus' expression would have dulled further, a somber edge woven behind his gaze, though luckily it was masked entirely from Cassandra.
As they neared the freeway, lights would flicker in the driver's seat, his Holoform starting to activate with some broken shapes and colors that would puzzle together. They would become opaque seconds after placing, a sort of chunking manifestation that finished as quickly as it had started, creating the figure of a man who was operating the supposed vehicle. The individual was nondescript in any real way, somewhat older, though not holding any distinguishable features that could make it recognizable from across a street. Simple brown hair and eyes, jeans and a plain shirt with a coat overtop. While others appeared to put their heart and soul into creating something that felt like 'them', there was no effort put into play here.
Optimus didn't really know what he identified as 'himself' in such a state. Did he represent Orion who had been buried below expectation and regrets? Did he try to figure out what a Prime should look like and take that as his own even if it didn't feel like his real self? There was no way to win, no way to make something that fit when what it was trying to fit was an abstract gray that moved from moment to moment. It is why it was so basic and empty... soulless in its standard simplicity. Whatever the case, it worked, and that was what truly mattered.
Nothing was said as this formed, braced for Cassandra to potentially express alarm should Kup have not used such a thing in front of her.
Last Edit: Nov 17, 2023 19:13:05 GMT -5 by Optimus Prime
Post by Cassandra Cassidy on Nov 25, 2023 17:21:18 GMT -5
Butch flinched away as the holoform came together, but as soon as the avatar settled into shape, she calmed. Brief fascination crossed her features as she observed Optimus's holoform, a quiet, So that's how they do it... forming in the back of her mind. The figure he'd chosen was quite ordinary-looking: an older man with brown hair and eyes, a coat, and a simple shirt and jeans. Butch wouldn't have been able to pick him out from the street, if he was among regular humans. Her good hand lifted as if to reach out and touch him, but settled back into place within a fraction of an instant.
She wondered what it said about Optimus Prime that this illusion was so plain-looking. She didn't realize it was made without much thought - something about it spoke deeper to her. Perhaps, on his home planet, he was just another face in the crowd before their war broke out. Perhaps he was something as ordinary as a store clerk, or an accountant, or an attendant at whatever their version of a gas stop was. It was a somber thought to her, thinking about an entire civilization uprooted by conflict. Earth had enough wars already, but for the entire planet to be engulfed in them....
She turned away, and stared silently out the window.