Seeker's Muse Hub

Apologies for missing pages! This is a selective blog run by Seeker for various, often unafiliated side muses, available for interaction upon request (or offer) only. Sideblog to perpetualxfire.

[paleobird]

"I accepted my fate weeks ago," Caspian grumbled. He was hoping he would tan... eventually. Until then, he would occasionally turn red as a Crawdaunt and suffer in grouchy silence.

Caspian took a moment to follow her gaze towards--yep, there was the Minior. Kind of weird, seeing it floating so close to the ground without a care in the world. It was kind of hard to tell if it was even paying them any mind, what with the rocky shell and all.

"Er, yes, that is indeed a Minior, isn't it?" Astute as always. "Do you think it might be... tired? Being so close to the ground, and all."

[intangiblexambitions]

"... No? A healthy Minior lives close to the ground; it's an indication that they've successfully developed a sturdy shell." That's where meteor showers came from- at least, the ones here, for the most part. Rather, Minior showers, as groups of them mature at around the same time and fall to the ground.

"They usually only go back up into the atmosphere to develop their shell again, but they're vulnerable up there to flying predators." Like the Fearow in the area, which were well known to be strong fliers; most Fearow in Alola ate fish, but apparently Minior Cores were very tasty.

[thestupidmeanone]

"Relax, I'm not gonna stab you," Church grumbled, though he eventually relented. Maybe she was just stiffening up as a... bird instinct. She did the same thing as a hummingbird whenever he picked her up. Besides, he didn't seem to feel anything out of the ordinary.

Once that was done, he stood up and shook his hands dry a bit, before turning off the shower.

"Alright, c'mere," he said, gesturing for her to stand up. "Might as well get you in some dry clothes..."

[intangiblexambitions]

To be fair, she is standing. She's just... Leaning. Still, point taken. She still didn't really understand english- or any other human language, for that matter- but she understood he wanted her to follow. Gestures were easier to process.

Stepping out of the shower, still fully clothed, she would leave a sopping mess on the floor of the bathroom that he'd have to clean- but at least she was clean(?) and warm. The warmth was really the thing- she felt cold all the damned time. She would chill pretty quick under the AC vent with sopping wet clothes, though.

[intangiblexambitions]

(gonna be moving this entire side-blog to its own primary blog at some point (over the next week or two) fyi;;; So, uh. If there's anybody you're interested in seeing here tell me now?)

[paleobird]

Autobots and Decepticons... well, at least that name screamed 'bad guy' to her. Hopefully she'd be able to tell them apart before she got shot at. Ugh, this is not the sort of thing a 20-something grad student should be worrying about...

"Energon?" she parroted, briefly glancing down at Microscope-Perceptor. "Is that your fuel? Why would someone need to 'seed' it anywhere, if you can make it from other energy sources?"

[intangiblexambitions]

"Whoever seeded the samples we've been seeing likely did it long before our current planetary occupation. This sample showed evidence of prolonged particle emitter usage; I'm concerned that there may still be an active device somewhere." When you can live for potentially millions of years, you build your gadgets to last.

"I should elaborate. Refined crystals are a much cleaner, more efficient energy than refining most other energy sources; other sources tend to be slow to collect, relatively, and energy is lost in the conversion process. There has been discussion about using Plasma as a stand-in, but it's often too unstable to properly generate and utilize; production cost, once again, exceeds viability. Seeding a planet was considered as a long term solution, once upon a time, given the length of time it takes to generate a viable source, but we simply don't have the numbers anymore to follow up on these 'seeds'- nor the information on where all had been selected. There still being active nodes on Earth, though, suggests that planetary defense is even more complicated than it was before."

He had the mind for tactics, absolutely, but that didn't mean he enjoyed that fact. They were spread thin as it was; Earth might be smaller than Cybertron, but they were still reacting more than anything else.

[paleobird]

"Right. Holomatter. Uh, I knew that." She did not.

Okay, so he was an alien, and she could only assume that other robot was as well. Alien robot war? Sure, wouldn't be the weirdest thing she'd ever heard in her life, shockingly enough.

"So, um... what was that fight all about? Who's Megatron?"

[intangiblexambitions]

"That fight specifically I'm still figuring out. However... Overall? There are two primary factions of my people- Autobots, as just referenced, and Decepticons. We have been at odds for..." Longer than intelligent organic life has existed on Earth, but he didn't need to go into that particular detail, "a very long time."

"The part that's most relevant in this circumstance is that a part of that schism involves how we respond to and handle intelligent life throughout the galaxy when it comes to resource acquisition. The majority of Autobots hold life sacred- or at least respect that any sapient creature should have a right to choose their own fate. That was why I was so concerned about that rock sample- that is raw Manufactured Energon. Typically Decepticons will resort to seizing powerplants and converting human generated energy into the substance; finding seeded unrefined crystals so close to a settlement is... Concerning."

[paleobird]

"That's... fine. I already know my Professor's actually a giant robot, hearing you talk as a microscope isn't that crazy." Relative to everything else, anyway. "So I'm guessing that was more than just... I dunno, a hologram?"

Honestly, the more she drove, the more she thought, the more she realized she had way too many questions for him and not enough time to worry about them all right now. They had to find some place private to talk. Still, there was at least one question she needed an answer to.

"....what are you?"

[intangiblexambitions]

"Holomatter. Though it takes some time and a lot of refinement for it to feel natural." Organic faces were weird and squishy and their rules didn't translate directly to their muscle memory, even if the expressions didn't seem that terribly dissimilar.

"I am an Autonomous Robotic Lifeform from the planet Cybertron. An Autobot, for short." Technically, all of them were Autobots- but the Decepticons had cast that name aside a long time ago.

"Much like most life you are familiar with is organic in nature, most life on my home is more.. Metallic in nature." In short: she's just as alien to him as he is to her; he's just had a significant amount more time to get used to the concept of organic alien life than she has of... Any alien life.

[paleobird]

Right, one step at a time. Maybe they could just... stop at a diner or something. Ideally before the cops showed up. Ava fluttered down to the ground as Perceptor transformed again, lifting up the microscope--no wonder it was so weirdly heavy--and scampering off.

As luck would have it, her Jeep was, in fact, unharmed; the Decepticon must have been in a real hurry if he just scanned it and ran off; the harpy had no context as to what was going on, but it was clear this was an unusual incident, to say the least. Placing Perceptor in the passenger seat, she hopped into the driver's, turned the car on, and drove off, heading out of the parking lot and onto the street. She could already see sirens in the distance, but no one would even notice them in all the chaos, she was sure.

"Okay, uh, we should be alright now," she said with a sigh of relief. "Can you... talk like that?"

[intangiblexambitions]

Forgive his silence, he's running through how bizarre that entire situation was. The Decepticon's lack of concern for human life wasn't new, nor was it surprising- but he was under the impression that this one was either operating on their own, or... Something deeper. As quickly as they'd gone down, Perceptor was inclined to believe they were already weakened somehow; frankly, he would have handed the crystal over if he'd asked- he believed nobody deserved to starve, and he doubted anything of severe consequence would happen with a single unrefined crystal. Without an opportunity to do a proper 'biopsy', however (something he generally found distasteful with battlefield finds), he may never know- or, at least, he may not for quite some time.

"I am perfectly capable of vocalization in this form, yes. Most biological intelligent life finds it... Disconcerting." He was also capable of a limited form of body language, as well, but most of his avenues of doing that were still a little sore from being dropped on the floor.

"Unfortunately, it will be some time- and some repair work- before I can project the face you are more familiar with. My ability to do that is a prototype upgrade to a tool occasionally employed by my more vehicular peers." Only occasionally, though; he tended to feel like they slept on that particular feature. "Most of the time we aren't able to actually use it to properly interact. Not without a deeply uncanny affect."

[paleobird]

Ava instinctively shrank back a bit as Perceptor approached the building, if only because his large size wasn't doing her nerves any favors at the moment. She'd get over it eventually.

"Oh..." So the vehicle thing was commonplace, and he was an exception to the rule, noted. She stared down at the fallen Decepticon, frown deepening at the sight of her Jeep's distinct red-and-white Jurassic Park wrap that still decorated some of its body. Motherfucker, that had been expensive! Maybe it just copied her car?...

"Okay, um, I'll hop down and get you out of here... but, uh, where? Is my apartment fine?"

[intangiblexambitions]

Maybe. Possibly. It could be a copy of her vehicle, and that wasn't entirely unheard of, but they all tended to take more individualistic approaches. That said, most 'cons he knew, especially for short snatch and run missions like this one, didn't go for the long con- not if they weren't sure what they were here for. This one had been surprised at his own presence and scrambling for scraps; statistically, that did alter the odds that Ava's actual personal vehicle was separate- but not the odds that it was still intact. That... Would be a separate concern.

"Any off-premises location should prove sufficient, though any location tied to your personal life may... Complicate my ability to present myself to you with the face you are more familiar with; it's generally frowned upon for an adjunct professor- or any professor, really- to join his students in their domicile." And he didn't have his own home- he lived in his office space, for better or worse. He found many of his needs could be met just as well- or just as poorly- in that space as they could anywhere else.

"Precise location can be discussed on the move; I worry time is running short on my ability to make myself scarce without... Political incident." That's a way to put it. Generally, he was pretty well known in many international circles- particularly compared to many of his peers- but that didn't mean he was explicitly known here, or specifically as who he was.

Nodding to Ava, he was quick to fold himself back into his microscope form, shrinking down to size and sitting somewhat awkwardly on the pavement- and rolling forward and back a little as if to suggest they get on the move. He could roll- it's just... A little prone to attract attention.

[paleobird]

Ava was, unsurprisingly, still trying to process everything that just happened. Easier said than done. Maybe if they were all secretly dinosaurs instead of robots...

No, she doesn't need to know about the Dinobots, she might have a heart attack.

Perceptor's voice shook her out of her reverie, and she awkwardly began to smooth out her ruffled feathers and fix her wrinkled shirt.

"I don't... uh, relocate where, exactly? Um, can you... also turn into a car or something?"

[intangiblexambitions]

Perceptor resisted the urge to scoff- he wasn't the scoffing type, thank you- but facial ridges that passed as eyebrows to the human eye rose somewhat at that, and a bit of a grim grin overtook his features, as he approached the building to speak a little closer to face to face.

"Unlike a significant majority of my kind, my alternate mode is distinctly rather poor at managing transportation needs." He was one of a relative few individuals who still lived whose transformation cog allowed him to change size while adopting form, but without the aid of Convex, his bipedal form was rather restricted; his innate size adjustment mechanism was distinctly limited to mid-transformation.

"Which, to put it plainly," a bonefide rarity from him if you asked his colleagues, "the microscope you're already familiar with is all I've got." Technically two different versions of it- a full sized version, which was significantly more comfortable for him, and a smaller, human-scaled version- better for blending in, but neither particularly worked for evacuation purposes.

"Though I am loath to admit it, I will need to be smuggled off premises."

[paleobird]

Fortunately for Perceptor, this particular Decepticon was clearly out of his depth, because he took that beam right to the face... and toppled over backwards once his head had been blown to smithereens. That was easy.

There was a moment of brief silence (relatively speaking), before Ava finally stood up to observe the robot carnage, her feathers fluffed out so much that she looked twice as bulky as she normally did. Finally, she found the ability to speak... or squawk, as it were.

"What the hell was that?!"

[intangiblexambitions]

Too easy, actually. The Anatomist and Metallurgist in him wanted to investigate just why; sure, the light canon aspect of his scope was potent, but even at full strength it wasn't usually enough to do.. That. He wasn't going to be able to let that drop for a little while; he'd never fancied himself a killer, which, unfortunately, was an impossible luxury given the... State of things.

They could handle that later, though. He needed to get out of public eye until things settled; he couldn't assume local human authorities would know he was on their side- there simply weren't a lot of Autobots in this region very frequently. Which, unfortunately, also meant backup wouldn't be here quickly. At least, with a few potential exceptions...

All those considerations in mind, that meant he would unfortunately have to rely on Ava more than he would ordinarily have preferred.

"The details of the situation can be expounded upon in a more secure environment; I am unfortunately in a position where I must solicit your aid, if you are amenable. I intend to explain the full scope of the situation once we have relocated." Because his backup would take a while to arrive, but his opponents' might not- and with a malfunctioning primary arm and no backup of his own, he didn't want to stick around should that come to pass. He found it unlikely that they would be interested in human hostages in this situation- but he would monitor the situation remotely through his security system, just in case intervention was required.

[intangiblexambitions]

.

[paleobird]

"Huh... whaaaaa...."

Ava had a hard time finding words as her professor's microscope grew to enormous size and transformed into yet another giant robot--one that admonished her in Percival's familiar voice. She didn't need to be a genius to put two and two together, there.

"I--I'm panicking, okay?!" she protested with a squawk, flapping her wings for a moment. "Where am I supposed to even--"

Oh. Right. Bird. Fly.

Looking sheepish, Ava silently took to the air to hide on top of the building instead. Much safer, relatively speaking.

It was by this point that the Decepticon trashing the lab had realized the human inside was gone. Confused, he yanked his arm back out, turning around in surprise when he spotted Perceptor.

"An Autobot?!" he snarled, raising his arm and extending a gun barrel from it. "Fine, die in the name of Megatron!"

He probably shouldn't be wasting so much time shouting.

[intangiblexambitions]

You know, some of the Decepticons were actually capable of expressing individualistic opinions about their cause instead of clinging their misguided leader's name like some kind of king. Evidently, such was not the case here.

Now was an excellent time, then, to fire his charged shot. It... Was weaker, than it realistically should have been- the barrel was definitely messed up somehow- but it should be more than sufficient to at least leave a good mark. Given that he'd successfully shot down Seekers before, he liked to think it was a hell of a warning shot, but he didn't want to press his luck with another shot- he could only hope the beam of concentrated light struck true.

"While I appreciate the opportunity, I find myself disinclined to perish today, in his name or anybody else's." With Ava safely out of the way (he hoped), he braced for any follow up from his opponent; he was far closer, physically, than he would usually prefer, which meant he was inclined to play on the defensive.

[intangiblexambitions]

.

[intangiblexambitions]

Hey all, go ahead and Like This Post for a Starter from Perceptor!

[intangiblexambitions]

(sam: "wait you mean he (perceptor) doesn't actually have a human facsimile in any of the series that you've watched?" "n... no? it just makes him a lot easier to work with and was deemed a necessity by the last Forum I played him on so I still use it-" "I just- it's so natural to his character-")

(just catch me staring into the middle distance as I remember the Trauma from the Forum Days;;;;;)

[paleobird]

"QUIET, HUMAN!" The monster outside shouted in a mechanical roar, tearing at the window frame to make more room. "GIVE ME THE ENERGON!"

"What?!" Ava screeched, instinctively cradling the microscope in her wings. No, there was no point in yelling questions when a giant robot was trying to tear its way into the classroom. Hissing through gritted teeth, she got up and sprinted for the door, apparently ignored by the machine.

Obviously, a Decepticon transforming in the middle of a college campus and smashing through a building was bound to attract attention; alarms were going off as faculty guided confused students out of rooms and down halls. Overwhelmed, Ava darted to and fro through the growing crowd, slamming herself into a door and bursting out into the sunlight. From here, she had a better view of the monster causing all the carnage. What the hell WAS that thing?!

Whatever, she planted the microscope in the grass like she was trying to set up a bomb--because, for all she knew now, that's what it was--then darted away, hiding behind a nearby parked car and watching from a safe distance.

[intangiblexambitions]

He wasn't going to have much choice but to reveal himself if he was going to preserve life here, and that was his first and foremost duty anywhere on earth; it was an order from Prime himself, and though Perceptor was hardly a skilled combatant, he also wasn't going to lay down and let destruction rain down when he could do anything about it.

The sequence was fast and practiced as he stood up to full height, but his arm was still a little tender; folding ones physical matter into subspace to permit size reduction in transformation had the nasty side effect of making oneself sensitive- it's why he didn't always do it, if he didn't have to. Sure, a giant microscope might be a little weird to human eyes, but it did the same work- and sometimes more. Of course, he still wasn't sure about the status of his scope- he'd have to find out in the field, he supposed, given that hand to hand was not his expertise.

"Not an ideal position, Ava." Sure, it might be alarming to hear his voice from a now twenty something foot tall robot, but, again, questions could come later.

Bracing himself off to the side, a targeting aid that looked not unlike a one-eye eyepiece slide into place as he started funneling stored power into the barrel, looking for a clear shot. Precision was vitally important to him- always had been- so he'd need to line this up fast.

[paleobird]

"Oh, jeez, did someone steal my--"

Ava didn't get much of a choice to concern herself over that for very long, words catching in her throat as the Jeep outside suddenly began to transform. A twisting of gear, metal plates, wheels, and suddenly limbs, created a towering metal thing that looked only vaguely humanoid, the cars headlights suddenly giant glowing eyes glaring out of a mechanical head.

"What the fu--"

Again, she was cut off, as the mechanical monster smashed a clawed hand through the window, sending glass flying and prompting the frightened harpy to dive behind the nearest desk. The thing outside let out what could only be described as a mechanical snarl, groping blindly for a moment as it tried to reach for the rock sample under the fume hood--just barely out of its reach at the moment.

[intangiblexambitions]

"Really? One single sample? Are you that impossibly desperate?" Perceptor, for his part, seemed more annoyed than anything- at least, verbally. Physically, he was... Discombobulated, for a second, but not by the force of the blast- his facsimile wasn't as heavily impacted by something like that as an actual creature would be- before he pulled himself together, lunged across the desk he was leaning on to grab his microscope, and basically bowled it toward Ava. It has wheels on the bottom, see, and he needed to at least pretend he was deliberately rolling it; it just happened to conveniently come to a stop right next to her.

"Take that, go outside, place it upon the ground, and hide. Now. Explanations can come later." Clear, concise instructions- especially by his standards- would increase the odds that the objectively bizarre thing he was requesting would actually get done. The room was, to put it eloquently, completely scrapped.