[banging fists on table] MORE ROBOT DRAMA MORE ROBOT DRAMA MORE ROBOT DR

[knaval]

Who: riptide and some other dudes
When: after magnus's post
Where: riptide's room
What: sad fish boy
Warnings: cw for possible discussion of war, violence, ptsd, generally the depressing shit you get with these metal tittybabies



a. magnus

[accepting his fate, riptide allowed magnus to drag him to his room, no longer fighting.

if he had more knowledge of the situation, he would respond differently. he doesn't, though, and all he knows is he takes part in something that results in all his friends being left for the djd. after everything he's experienced in regards to tarn aboard to moira, after everything everyone has done for him, he was still stupid and selfish enough to leave them all for dead.

what the fuck did getaway say to him?

these are things that riptide will wonder about until he's physically unable to stay awake anymore, but for now he just lets whatever's going to happen to him happen.]

b. megatron

[they didn't finish the wall.

riptide eventually gets sick of laying on his bed staring at it like a useless sack of shit and gets up, sliding off the berth to carefully press at the edges still sticking out awkwardly.

he still thinks the table looked fine where it was.

sighing, riptide gets to work. missing brainstorm and nautica intensely for a moment before telling himself he doesn't deserve to.]

c. anyone else

[you want this sad fish? come yell at him in his room. he's not leaving.]

Comments

[aminerproblem]

[He sets himself down, taking a look at the damage they had left to clean up. No matter how many millions of years he may have spent destroying, the first million were spent as a manual laborer, and that's never been clearer enough than when he quietly assumes that role again.]

[He reaches into the skeleton they've started to set up the circuitry that would sit at the core of the wall.]

Pass the solder.

[A hand reaches out expectantly in Riptide's general direction.]

[knaval]

[riptide is baffled megatron still wants to do this. maybe he's about to jam the solder into his face??? god only knows. it's terrifying.

slowly and carefully, riptide reaches out and puts it in megatron's big-ass hand.]

[aminerproblem]

[Megatron notably doesn't use it to pin Riptide to the floor by stabbing him through his fish neck with it.]

[His actual actions are far more boring, in which he calmly sits there and connects circuitry without saying a single word.]

[knaval]

[he's... entirely unsure of how to react to all this. it's deeply terrifying.

slowly, riptide crosses his legs and rests his chin on his hands, watching intently.]

[aminerproblem]

[Many minutes of silence pass as more of the wall begins to come together. Their lack of conversation, as much as he preferred it, makes one thing glaringly obvious.]

You're shaking.

[A red eye glances back at him.]

[knaval]

...

...







No I'm not.

[aminerproblem]

[He old man huffs and get backs to work. The rattling was annoying but nothing he couldn't deal with.]

Does silence really frighten you that much?

[He sets the solder down and reaches for another tool.]

[knaval]

No. I just...

[still watching, riptide frowns.]

Don't know what you're going to do, I guess.

[aminerproblem]

[He has a flat look, and points to the wall with a tool.]

I would think by now it'd be fairly obvious.

[knaval]

[riptide gives megatron the blankest look ever.

remember you are dealing with an idiot.]

[aminerproblem]

[fucking work with him here Riptide]

[he gestures to the entirety of the work in progress]

Do you think I would bother with this if I was going to kill you?

[knaval]

I don't think you're going to kill me. I don't know what you're going to do. That's why I'm nervous.

[because of the MASSIVE betrayal and megatron has historically taken betrayals really badly?]

[aminerproblem]

I meant what I said to Ultra Magnus.

If he and Rodimus and the others can find the strength in themselves to forgive me, it would be wrong to not offer the same to you.

And it wouldn't be particularly productive to press you on questions you clearly don't have the answers to.

[He turns around begin piecing together the shell of the wall.]

So for now, we'll finish this.

[knaval]

You never betrayed anyone's trust though. Like, we always expected you to kill everyone and that's basically always what you did. There were expectations but you lived to them!

[he puffs a sigh out his vent, then moves forward to help hold the metal in place.]

[aminerproblem]

You don't think I betrayed anyone?

[He lets out an amused chuff of air before beginning to weld the piece Riptide is holding.]

I promised freedom to a generation and gave them four thousand millenia of death and suffering. Then I left them all when it was over, when they were scattered and needed a leader.

[Some weariness enters his voice.]

I don't consider myself to be in much of a place to judge.

[knaval]

[he gets a grunt in response.]

I weren't around for that part. [megatron is right, though. riptide's just being too self absorbed, he feels.] I just... don't know what to do, I guess.

[aminerproblem]

You move forward and try to do better. That's all you can do.

[He finishes the weld, and waits for Riptide to hold the next metal plate in place.]

[knaval]

[he does so, shifting to hold it up properly.]

Easier said than done.

...

Are you going to start your classes again?

[aminerproblem]

[The welding torch crackles and glows as welds the second plate in place.]

Are you interested in taking them?

[knaval]

I have to have something going on.

[...]

You know I really do believe you're trying now. It probably doesn't mean much but... yeah.

[aminerproblem]

I don't have any classes right now.

[The torch flicks off. He reaches in to connect a control panel to the core circuitry in the wall.]

But I can tutor you.

[knaval]

Yeah. Pre-war, right? I wasn't around for all that.

[riptide moves his hands out the way, curling them under his chin.]

You're the expert.

[aminerproblem]

Unfortunately, the Moira lacks the available texts and maps we were using to research the Knights.

[The control panel clicks into place, and he begins to set up the door in place.]

You know the basics, Riptide. Anything in particular you are curious about?

[knaval]

You're overestimating what my education was like. It was bad is about the extent of it.

It seemed so pretty when we went back in time, you know. Not calm, but it was... a lot.

[aminerproblem]

Rodion was a pleasant rest for a miner's eyes when we were allowed topside. It had an ugly underbelly - the whole planet did - but occasionally even the most cruel societies can create something beautiful.

[he begins to connect the door mechanisms]

Rodion was also where Whirl taught me an important lesson of the efficacy of violence. I don't imagine it was the first time the officers there mistreated their prisoners.