ask-smokescreen

[ask-smokescreen]

Smokescreen starts to shift his frame almost immediately upon starting the staring contest, struggling to stay still. Now that he thinks about it, Soundwave does have a bit of an unfair advantage, with the visor and all.

Lost thinking about this, it's all to easy to catch him by surprise, beeping as Soundwave flicks him. With a pout, Smokescreen is trying to bunt Soundwave again in revenge.

"Rude! I've got so much in there! And ask anyone, I'm full of thots!"

Soundwave bunts its helm against Smokescreen's for only a nanoklik before immediately pulling away and acting like nothing happened.

Wait. What just happened? Did Soundwave just... Headbutt him? Did he imagine it?

He can't help but stare at Soundwave, debating something quietly (for once), before stepping close, and trying to headbutt Soundwave's arm. Revenge.

[ask-smokescreen]

Okay, fair, a head bunt. Smokescreen doesn't need to rattle his processor too much, after all, or gain new piercings.

Admittedly, Smokescreen is a little surprised Soundwave jerks away so suddenly, "What, you can dish 'em out, but can't take it, Soundwave?" He teases, staring back. He'll match it if he has to!

Soundwave bunts its helm against Smokescreen's for only a nanoklik before immediately pulling away and acting like nothing happened.

Wait. What just happened? Did Soundwave just... Headbutt him? Did he imagine it?

He can't help but stare at Soundwave, debating something quietly (for once), before stepping close, and trying to headbutt Soundwave's arm. Revenge.

[ask-smokescreen]

Soundwave bunts its helm against Smokescreen's for only a nanoklik before immediately pulling away and acting like nothing happened.

Wait. What just happened? Did Soundwave just... Headbutt him? Did he imagine it?

He can't help but stare at Soundwave, debating something quietly (for once), before stepping close, and trying to headbutt Soundwave's arm. Revenge.

[ask-smokescreen]

Maybe because your plans would hurt way more bots? Maybe that's why? Or maybe, if you guys shared your plans, we could've worked together to get the planet alive again?

Do you really like riding Megatron's aft this much? You can say he's got some big, amazing plan, and that poor Megatron had to stick dark energon into every hole he could, but I don't think that's true. I think Megatron's doing it all for himself.

I don't think I could see what you're seeing unless I literally got hacked, to be honest.

The main reason the Autobots have been unable to do much, and the answer to all of your questions, is that Lord Megatron has deemed the Autobots a threat to Cybertron itself. No matter how many times we try, Autobot interference has always managed to drive us off course.

What you see as insanity, choices driven by madness, are- in actuality- choices that we have been forced to make. We cannot rebuild Cybertron for as long as the Autobots exist- this much has been proven time and time again. Therefore, it is our duty destroy Autobot forces.

If the Autobots had not interefered in the first place, we would not be stuck on this dustball.

[ask-smokescreen]

If you became a Decepticon, you could find out what Megatron is planning

An undercover job could make spying really easy.

But also! I'm not going Decepticon, you can't make me.

[ask-smokescreen]

Hold on a second, Decepticon efforts have all been striding towards rebuilding Cybertron? Can I ask how making dark energon zombies plays into this? Or what about taping a dead Prime's arm onto yourself?

I'm sure most Decepticons want Cybertron to be alive, I mean, I'm pretty sure that's what everyone wants. But I'm not so sure you guys are actually doing things that are helping Cybertron.

And for the record, the main reason the Autobots haven't been able to do as much is mainly just because there's hardly enough energon to even do things outside of Earth! Probably because it keeps getting hoarded by a certain other faction.

Maybe not verbally, but whose actions show more initiative into reviving Cybertron?

The Autobots had been following the Decepticons around for a millennia, trying to stop their efforts. Yet, did they ever think of what their efforts were beyond domination and conquest? Did they ever pull back to look at the big picture?

Decepticon efforts have been all striding towards one thing: Rebuilding Cybertron. Just because it won't look like what Smokescreen wants it to, does not mean that they have simply been wandering around aimlessly.

Does effort not suggest ownership of the sin in the first place? Does attempts to rectify past transgressions not suggest guilt over them?

What does it matter if one person or four will not admit their mistakes when their efforts had been poured into fixing them? They certainly have done more than the Autobots, who have just been a thorn in their side and a hinderance to any attempt to have the chips fall into place.

[ask-smokescreen]

A terrible predicament, really. Smokescreen is already starting to regret this decision, but will stick with it. He's gone this far, might as well keep a hold of Soundwave!

Smokescreen's hitting the ground first, face first, his face indented in the wet dirt. Great.

Provided he doesn't get crushed by Soundwave coming out the bridge, he will start to look around, "Pretty scenic spot, Soundwave. You toss Autobots out here often?"

What an awful predicament. Wrangled by an Autobot. He tries to shake Smokescreen off like a dog with waterlogged fur, but it doesn't provide any worthwhile results.

In fact, with Smokescreen actively aiming to pull both of them into the portal, Soundwave feels particularly top heavy. He stumbles, catches himself, then stumbles again, and into the Ground Bridge they go.

When they come out, it's next to some random lake in the middle of nowhere.

[ask-smokescreen]

I never said the Autobots were free of sin, either. Megatron didn't singlehandedly tear Cybertron apart and stick dark energon in its core, after all. ... I know Optimus has a role in all this, too. And, I mean, once the dust settles, I hope everyone steps up to fix up the planet.

But Megs sure wasn't owning up to it, either. You can't say Decepticons are owning up to their crimes when Megatron wasn't.

@ask-smokescreen said, "Well, sure. But Megatron himself had more of a direct cause of the planet being like This than I personally did."

Hmm, that is true.

Though it was not only Megatron. Soundwave, Shockwave, Starscream, and plenty of others had their roles to play.

As did- oh, look at this!- Optimus, Prowl, Jazz, Ironhide... Soundwave could go on.

Acting as if your side is free of sin, simply because it is a sin you did not commit, is far more damning of one's true values and motivations than those who readily admit their faults.

At least the Decepticons own up to their crimes. They don't hide behind their moral righteousness to erase them.

[ask-smokescreen]

"I mean, yeah. Neither of us are exactly innocent from all this. But, like, if you're representing the whole faction, you can't just pretend not to be responsible. I'm sure Optimus has that same guilt on him."

He does pause, saying that. It doesn't sit right with him when it's Optimus... "Shouldn't they take that responsibility so they have extra motivation to stop the war that's been going on for so long, then? I know it sucks and all, but if a bot isn't willing to shoulder that responsibility, should he really be a leader?"

" It takes one to spark a war. However, to sustain the war as long as it has, it takes at least two or more oppositions. There is no one without guilt on the matter after 5 million stellar cycles. "

" No leader will want to take responsibility. If they did, what good would it do? Apology should be in the form of ending the transgressions rather than stringing it along. "

[ask-smokescreen]

"I don't mean just the presentation. The passive voice. He's talking about fixing mistakes that were made, but won't even say it's his mistakes. Like, I can imagine any of those senators doing the same thing in an apology video."

@ask-smokescreen —

"He's fun to mess with! And he's talking about it like some kind of pre-war senator."

​" Pre-war senators present more articulate than he does. "

[ask-smokescreen]

If nothing else, catching Soundwave by surprise feels like an honor! There's an undeniable smirk as he manages to grab onto Soundwave.

But even if he's about to get dumped into the ground bridge, Smokescreen is attempting to make one last grab for Soundwave. If he's going into a ground bridge, he wants to drag Soundwave with him.

What could Smokescreen possibly be-

Wait.

Wait, wait, wait!

Smokescreen is leaping at him before he even has a chance to react. There is very suddenly an Autobot in his face, followed by a servo, and-

Soundwave promptly opens a ground bridge on the floor in front of him, then attempts to dump Smokescreen into it.

[ask-smokescreen]

Is that a challenge? Is Soundwave challenging him to just do whatever, too? "Well, if you're going to do whatever, so will I!"

Smokescreen is taking several steps back, before he charges at Soundwave, trying to leap onto the bot. If he has to climb the bot to reach his visor, so be it.

@ask-smokescreen Continued from Here.

He does, in fact, think he can do whatever he wants. It's not like Smokescreen can stop him. Not with those little legs.

The servo trying to pap him on the visor is regarded with amusement. Soundwave simply stands to his full height and cocks his helm to the side. Try reaching him now.

"Just do whatever- Just do whatever," he echoes. What a silly little Autobot.

[ask-smokescreen]

"Hm. I wonder if you're just saying that because you don't have any plans you can act on? I mean, if you could do them, they would have already happened, right?"

"But I'm excited to see what you do after the Autobots win!"

"Spoken like a true politician, Megs. What exactly is this "whoever" doing?"

[ask-smokescreen]

"Spoken like a true politician, Megs. What exactly is this "whoever" doing?"

"It really was, wasn't it? I think whoever's responsible should really be working on fixing their mistakes."

[ask-smokescreen]

Smokescreen is receiving a very condescending pat on the helm from Soundwave. The smiley face displayed on his visor is meant to be intimidating, rather than a friendly gesture. How Smokescreen takes it is anybody's guess.

Smokescreen can't help but frown as Soundwave suddenly pats him on the helm out of nowhere. "Hey! You think you can just do whatever, Sounds? Hold on, let me just..."

Smokescreen's stepping closer to Soundwave, in an attempt to pat Soundwave on the visor in return.

His attempt to be just as condescending is, perhaps, weakened by him having to stand on the tips of his pedes just to have a chance of reaching.

[ask-smokescreen]

"It really was, wasn't it? I think whoever's responsible should really be working on fixing their mistakes."

@ask-smokescreen replied:

Oh yeah? So, who's responsible for Cybertron being a dead planet in the first place, hm, noble Megs?

“It was a regrettable turn of events, in retrospect.”

[ask-smokescreen]

If you could either change one event in the past or guarantee one opportunity in the future, which would you choose?

Change something in the past! I mean, I can basically guarantee things in the future on my own, anyway! I'm just that good, after all!

I want to keep Optimus from dying.