A formal dance.

[pendragon]

WHO: Everyone!
WHERE: The Atrium, Haven's Hub.
WHEN: Today! The dance will go on from the late afternoon until the early hours of the morning.
WHAT: Have your top hat and cane? This is a formal ball. The origination is a drunken Vandal and battle-worn Saber.
WARNINGS: Could be anything from bar fights to drunken swearing to people tripping over their own feet or people making out in a corner.

Welcome to the dance!      The Atrium will have its doors open in the late evening. For the first two hours, Vandal and Drift will be acting as receptionist and bouncer. After that, the doors close. At the reception desk, you will be required to sign your name and also hand over any weapons that you are carrying. (Within the building there is an inhibitor placed. No one will be able to use any weaponry on their person.)      The Atrium is decorated in royal purple and black, with accents of white and pearl. The decorations are standard fair for a ball. There's hanging draperies, table clothes, and colored lighting. Towards the outside of the circular Atrium, everyone will be under a glowing white light. Towards the middle of the dance floor, there is a much softer lavender that illuminates the immediate area.      Vandal and Saber organized and planned, and then helped with decorations. They will also be over seeing the event throughout the entire night. Vandal will be handling the reception desk and registration. We have Frenzy as our DJ in the Atrium, and Miko will be playing electric guitar for those who decide to visit the bar. Saber, Ironhide, and McCrane will be acting as security. They would be the best to contact should you have any.. safety concerns. Our bouncer, Drift, will be "on call" for security once his primary assignment is done. Kay organized and lead the decorating, and Ravage and McCrane helped with placing them. Melan and Joe gathered needed materials. Skidaddle is the one to blame for having the supply of available hats at the doors for any Cybertronian who tries to get past the one piece of attire rule.      Feel free to post in any sub-forum area you think your character would be present in (with or without an opening post), or merely tag others. Prose or action-spam is okay (and you may want to include this in your initial posts if you want others to tag you). Bonus: include links to garments your character may be wearing. This is entirely up to you! Have fun!      Make sure to add your character to the tags! (That's the registry.)

SHORTCUTS TO THE SUB-FORUMS:
Reception Area
Dance Floor
Lounging Areas
Bar
Walls

Comments

[redshirtrobot]

"I do. Shockwave, the really tall and scary one. But he's really not all that bad."

At least, he's not all that bad to Fracas, which was a shock and a novelty when he first arrived and it still surprises him now. Plus, Driller. He cannot complain about being friends with a giant metal tentacle-worm.

He dips his head slightly and laughs.

"I guess so, but... you're the first person to notice. In, like. Ever. Without me taking it off in front of you, I mean."

The number of times that happened was precisely One.

"Even the officers back home didn't notice. I don't think."

[skidaddle]

At the name, Skids visibly tenses. He'd heard whispers that there might have been a Shockwave present, but nothing concrete, and they certainly didn't tend to advertise. This, however...meant there was one.

There was one, and he'd be here tonight.

"Is he from your universe?" He tried to act casual about it, and handed the other a new pair of magnets for the second hat.

"I'm starting to think people there aren't very observant. Especially since. Well. You'd think you'd notice what the guy handing you your reports looks like. That kind of helps if you later have to identify the body."

It wasn't a bad mask, though. He could definitely say he'd seen much worse.

Whirl's face, for example.

Whirl's face did make expressions somehow, though.

"How come you're wearing it tonight?"

[redshirtrobot]

"No. A different one. But... not yours, I don't think. His armor is a lot different than yours is." He does notice how Skids tenses, and Fracas shuffles his feet a bit. "He's. Not as bad as he sounds, I promise."

At least, not as bad to Fracas as other Decepticons have been. Which makes a huge difference in his one functioning optic.

"Oh well... heh. I'm kind of obvious here, but... there's thousands of mechs back home that look just like me. It's hard to tell us apart. And they weren't. Particularly concerned with identifying our bodies, anyway."

Vehicons have a high turnover rate.

Actually, that's an understatement. It's astronomical.

"And I always wear it, in public. I guess I'm just kind of used to it."

[skidaddle]

"Not mine. Right." He relaxes somewhat when given this information, trying to consider what he'd even do if his was here. It...would have been awkward.

At the feet shuffling, though, he shakes his head. "Sorry. It's not that. It's...complicated. My first mentor was Shockwave."

And, given the fact that he's an Autobot and that Shockwave was, as far as he knew, not an Autobot...that's where the complexity comes in.

"So you were just numbers to them? Hah, the only surprise there is that they didn't actually paint the digits on you." There was just the mask.

"And here, ironically, it makes you stand out more. Good for the formality, though."

[redshirtrobot]

It takes Fracas a moment to get it. "... Oh. Oh. I see. That could... definitely be pretty awkward, yeah. Unless we go with the whole... we're all just Cybertronians thing, some people have said."

Which he's pretty sure is the most hazardous thing some of them could possibly think about this place. All those old grudges and what-not, carrying over.

He laughs a little. "We have numbers too, just... well, most of the officers just address us by calling us 'hey you' or 'you there'. The numbers have gotten pretty long since I was sparked."

The way the Autobots mowed through them, it really didn't surprise him.

"Yeah, it is kind of ironic, isn't it? But most people really don't seem to notice. Not that I mind, it's hard to explain."

[skidaddle]

"Being from the same planet doesn't make it any easier to relate to someone who has been trying to kill you for millions of years. Not Shockwave in specific, I mean, but in general. There is going to be tension. I'm still not comfortable around Decepticons."

Which, it suddenly occurs to him--this is. Of course it is. Working for Shockwave, black and purple, being treated like slag? It has to be.

Not that being an Autobot is always sunlight and crystals.

"You were manufactured during the war, then, weren't you? Officers wouldn't expect you to last long if you were going right into battle."

Which had been another problem. How many Autobots were left? How many Decepticons?

Primus, tonight wasn't supposed to get this depressing.

"In my universe, losing your face--its kind of a punishment. Not everyone had one to start with, and sometimes faceplates were fashionable, but...it has a status to it. Maybe its something you've got to earn? Being comfortable with taking it off, I mean. With not being part of the crowd."

[redshirtrobot]

"Yeah, I know. A lot of Decepticons... aren't really that pleasant to deal with. Especially for Autobots. Though I've heard a lot about Shockwaves, especially. They get a lot of talk."

From Blurr, from Skids now... from the Vehicons that had worked with him and lived back home.

Ironic that he was the first one to step up and offer to help him.

"I was. Pretty early, honestly... I've gotten lucky. I was injured and someone sympathetic got me a transfer to maintenance on the Nemesis and I've pretty much been there since then. Until I got here, I mean."

He's seen a lot of bots come and go... which would be sadder if he hadn't gotten used to it.

"They punish bots by taking their faces? That's... that's awful. And... well. There's not much of a crowd here. I mean, I'm the only one like me here. I've just kept it on so long around company that it. Feels kind of weird taking it off. Not as bad as it had when I first got here, though."

[skidaddle]

"You're pretty understanding, for being one. Not a fan of the war?"

Not that he can imagine anyone--save Whirl--being a fan of the war per-se, but he's still trying to get used to talking to Decepticons.

"That's the same sort of cushy job I got settled with. And now...I'm going to venture a wild guess and assume you're doing something similar as Sen-- as Shockwave's lab assistant."

He managed to catch himself there, for which he's glad.

"Yes. It's awful." And its absolutely not related to Shockwave in any way. "That must be part of learning to be an individual again. Or...for the first time. I don't think you're the only soldier to deal with it, though--some of the other war-born bots I know have been going through a lot of trouble adapting to a post-war environment."

Try Fortress Maximus, for example. He went insane and almost killed five people.

Six. Six people.

[redshirtrobot]

"Not the biggest fan of it, no. I... well, pretty much everyone else I was sparked with has been offlined." He shrugs a bit.

Definitely doesn't like the war, but what's he going to do about it? He's just one mech.

"Cushy enough. I got to work and the officers mostly left me alone, so... Ah, yes. I help him with some of his projects. He's been training me to fight, too."

Don't think Fracas didn't notice that near slip. For now, he will let it go.

"First time. And I'm kind of glad it's not just me, but... still kind of terrible that anyone else has to figure out how to deal with not having the war. I guess I've been pretty lucky with that, so far. I'm used to the war but I'm really not much of a soldier."

It makes it that much easier for him to continue not killing anyone.

[skidaddle]

"That doesn't bother you?"

Only a Decepticon could take it so casually, he supposes. Which is probably the sort of thinking that it's going to take eons to overcome.

"So he's working on projects, here. That...doesn't surprise me. Anything interesting?"

He mostly wants to know if he needs to be avoiding any explosive areas anytime soon, but he's also curious. What does Shockwave focus on, these days?

"Huh. Yeah, I can see why that would make it a little easier, but I'm still going to wish you good luck. You might need it."

[redshirtrobot]

"Of course it does. But there's... nothing I can do about it, honestly. Vehicons are completely expendable."

He may not like it, but he kind of has to accept it. Even if it means that he doesn't get to keep friends and mechs he likes.

"Mostly I've been trying to get this ground bridge he has working. It kind of spits things out in front of random temples right now."

Nothing explosive, at least? Not if Fracas can help it, at least.

"Well thank you. And good luck to you too, though I hope you don't need it."