[ti]Ep 3.5[/ti]Into Darkness [Closed]
Apr 14, 2024 23:40:02 GMT -5
Post by Thundercloud on Apr 14, 2024 23:40:02 GMT -5
Thundercloud looked between Optimus and the seam, wondering if the mech was offering the idea because he thought Thundercloud's was stupid or because he was just trying to give him another option that would be easier on his hands. Thundercloud wasn't exactly used to the Brass giving a shit about him, so the latter idea felt weird and unlikely, but he couldn't dismiss the possibility altogether. It was hard for Thundercloud to imagine a mech with the weight of the world on his shoulders being able to spare a thought for somebody like him, and he would've dismissed the possibility altogether if Optimus hadn't been so...weirdly nice to him this whole excursion.
Call him crazy, but he was starting to think maybe he was a little too focused on the power-imbalance between himself and the Prime, and that that discomfort was coloring his perception of the other mech.
Shaking his head, Thundercloud decided that was more than enough introspection for one day and did his best to switch tracks and focus on the problem at hand instead of the weird perspective shift happening inside his head.
“--Actually, now that you mention it,” he began, eyeing the small gap between the doors, “I might be able to knock this one outta the park.”
Thundercloud realized only after the fact that his choice was probably lost on Optimus, who didn't seem the type to familiarize himself with sports of any kind let alone alien ones. He could only mentally shrug and hope his meaning was clear enough as he reached over his shoulder between his wings for his mace.
The handle was well worn, his fingers having cut grooves for themselves into the metal, wearing its scoring smooth. Thundercloud had lost track of how many times the handle had to be replaced – either because his grip had bent it beyond repair or because it had snapped after being swung into something harder than it could handle.
Hopefully the doors in front of him wouldn't be added to that list. He really didn't wanna have to resort to fist-fighting the hypothetical zombies that could be lying in wait for them somewhere deeper in the ship.
“Might wanna back up, in case somethin' snaps off an' goes flyin'.”
Could be one of the spikes on his mace, could be part of the door, could be one of his fingers which had been welded back on so many times that he was surprised he still had all ten of them. Thundercloud couldn't say for sure which was more likely to break first, but it didn't really matter since all three would be unpleasant to get hit with without warning.
Giving his mace a little toss, Thundercloud adjusted his grip on the handle and acclimated himself to its familiar weight. The real trick to hitting hard wasn't just putting a lot of force behind the swing, it was having leverage. He couldn't explain the science behind it using the proper scientific terms, but he understood the concept and how the physics worked even if he didn't have the right words to explain how he knew what he knew.
He drew the mace up over his shoulder, both hands gripping the handle, his wrists angled for a double-pendulum swing. Took aim for the sliver of a gap between the doors, twisting at the waist as his forearms rolled and his wrists unhinged into the correct contact position. He transferred all his bodily force to his lead-shoulder, using it as the pivot point for the lever he had made of his arm.
The head of the mace crashed into the door with a thunderous bang, the gloom was illuminated for the briefest of moments by a shower of sparks, and the reverberation from the impact was strong enough to be felt through the floor – or at least it was from where Thundercloud was standing.
He let go of the mace's handle, gave his hands a shake and rolled his shoulders just to make sure everything still seemed like it was fully attached, before reaching for the handle once again. The mace didn't want to come back out as easily as it had gone in, but Thundercloud was talented at nothing if not brute-force, and so he managed to yank the damn thing back out after doing a bit of manual convincing.
He whistled at the sight of the damage, impressed with himself for having managed to make so much progress with just one swing. The edges of the doors had buckled, rolling on themselves at the point of contact. The gap between the two was barely enough for Thundercloud to get his fingers through, but he worried a second swing might curve the doors and make it impossible for them to slide on their tracks.
Deciding to give the doors a try, Thundercloud wedged his hand in the newly widened gap and gave an experimental pull. The door didn't want to give, so he decided to replace his hand with the handle of his mace instead to see if he couldn't use it as an impromptu crowbar. It was awkward trying to hold into the mace head, since there wasn't really a comfortable way to avoid all the spikes, but once again utilizing the power of leverage proved more useful than trying to bare-hand things.
The door creaked, or maybe the mace handle did. There was an ominous groan of metal from somewhere, which prompted Thundercloud to stop trying to pry the doors open after getting just a few extra inches of clearance. His curiosity got the better of him and he peered through the gap in the doors, trying and failing to see into the room beyond. It was too dark to make out anything, which was ominous as hell, but at least nothing had seemed to wake up or be alerted by the sound of the door getting hammered on.
Now that there was enough of a gap for him to fit both of his hands, Thundercloud took a wide stance, bracing his boots against the floor as he curled his fingers around the edge of one of the doors and pulled it toward himself. It screeched and groaned as it was dragged along its tracks inch by painstaking inch, signaling that it absolutely was not designed to be opened by force and did not appreciate being manhandled.
Call him crazy, but he was starting to think maybe he was a little too focused on the power-imbalance between himself and the Prime, and that that discomfort was coloring his perception of the other mech.
Shaking his head, Thundercloud decided that was more than enough introspection for one day and did his best to switch tracks and focus on the problem at hand instead of the weird perspective shift happening inside his head.
“--Actually, now that you mention it,” he began, eyeing the small gap between the doors, “I might be able to knock this one outta the park.”
Thundercloud realized only after the fact that his choice was probably lost on Optimus, who didn't seem the type to familiarize himself with sports of any kind let alone alien ones. He could only mentally shrug and hope his meaning was clear enough as he reached over his shoulder between his wings for his mace.
The handle was well worn, his fingers having cut grooves for themselves into the metal, wearing its scoring smooth. Thundercloud had lost track of how many times the handle had to be replaced – either because his grip had bent it beyond repair or because it had snapped after being swung into something harder than it could handle.
Hopefully the doors in front of him wouldn't be added to that list. He really didn't wanna have to resort to fist-fighting the hypothetical zombies that could be lying in wait for them somewhere deeper in the ship.
“Might wanna back up, in case somethin' snaps off an' goes flyin'.”
Could be one of the spikes on his mace, could be part of the door, could be one of his fingers which had been welded back on so many times that he was surprised he still had all ten of them. Thundercloud couldn't say for sure which was more likely to break first, but it didn't really matter since all three would be unpleasant to get hit with without warning.
Giving his mace a little toss, Thundercloud adjusted his grip on the handle and acclimated himself to its familiar weight. The real trick to hitting hard wasn't just putting a lot of force behind the swing, it was having leverage. He couldn't explain the science behind it using the proper scientific terms, but he understood the concept and how the physics worked even if he didn't have the right words to explain how he knew what he knew.
He drew the mace up over his shoulder, both hands gripping the handle, his wrists angled for a double-pendulum swing. Took aim for the sliver of a gap between the doors, twisting at the waist as his forearms rolled and his wrists unhinged into the correct contact position. He transferred all his bodily force to his lead-shoulder, using it as the pivot point for the lever he had made of his arm.
The head of the mace crashed into the door with a thunderous bang, the gloom was illuminated for the briefest of moments by a shower of sparks, and the reverberation from the impact was strong enough to be felt through the floor – or at least it was from where Thundercloud was standing.
He let go of the mace's handle, gave his hands a shake and rolled his shoulders just to make sure everything still seemed like it was fully attached, before reaching for the handle once again. The mace didn't want to come back out as easily as it had gone in, but Thundercloud was talented at nothing if not brute-force, and so he managed to yank the damn thing back out after doing a bit of manual convincing.
He whistled at the sight of the damage, impressed with himself for having managed to make so much progress with just one swing. The edges of the doors had buckled, rolling on themselves at the point of contact. The gap between the two was barely enough for Thundercloud to get his fingers through, but he worried a second swing might curve the doors and make it impossible for them to slide on their tracks.
Deciding to give the doors a try, Thundercloud wedged his hand in the newly widened gap and gave an experimental pull. The door didn't want to give, so he decided to replace his hand with the handle of his mace instead to see if he couldn't use it as an impromptu crowbar. It was awkward trying to hold into the mace head, since there wasn't really a comfortable way to avoid all the spikes, but once again utilizing the power of leverage proved more useful than trying to bare-hand things.
The door creaked, or maybe the mace handle did. There was an ominous groan of metal from somewhere, which prompted Thundercloud to stop trying to pry the doors open after getting just a few extra inches of clearance. His curiosity got the better of him and he peered through the gap in the doors, trying and failing to see into the room beyond. It was too dark to make out anything, which was ominous as hell, but at least nothing had seemed to wake up or be alerted by the sound of the door getting hammered on.
Now that there was enough of a gap for him to fit both of his hands, Thundercloud took a wide stance, bracing his boots against the floor as he curled his fingers around the edge of one of the doors and pulled it toward himself. It screeched and groaned as it was dragged along its tracks inch by painstaking inch, signaling that it absolutely was not designed to be opened by force and did not appreciate being manhandled.
Thundercloud grit his teeth and manhandled it anyway, not seeming to notice that the jagged edge of the door was cutting into his fingers as he dragged it along its tracks - or if he did notice, he certainly didn't seem to care.