Apr. 9th, 2010 07:24 pm
we need to stop meeting like this
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justboltsLast night, the household watched Traitor, the quintessential Cliffjumper/Mirage G1 episode.
It sent me into a ramble of why I think Cliffjumper is doing the robot version of pulling Mirage's pigtails (except for that whole planning to shoot at him part). Finally, I decided that if Mirage and Cliffjumper ever show up in "Teaching Young Bots Old Tricks", it'd go like this:
Cliffjumper rounded a corner and suddenly, Mirage was there. He stood -- suspiciously -- in a completely empty corridor and stared at a wall. Or the piece of human art hung on it. Whatever. The important part was that Cliffjumper's long range scanners hadn't picked up even a blip of Mirage's presence, which meant the annoying glitch had his signal dampeners on. Just like he did the last time they were stationed together. On their own base. Around friends and fellow soldiers.
And Optimus Prime always wondered why Cliffjumper had never trusted the mech.
Cliffjumper drew up short and felt his armor flare and his back struts straighten. Being around Mirage gave him this urge to be bigger -- and that was weird because Cliffjumper didn't consider himself small. His model class may be in the lower size range, but that just meant he could get into things easier and didn't have to compete with all the higher range mechs for space. He liked it that way. He wouldn't upgrade into a larger frame if you held him at gunpoint.
But being bigger around Mirage was important. Being noticeable around Mirage was important. He had this way of looking at you like he was really contemplating the wall just beyond your head and it drove Cliffjumper crazy. It made him want to be the size of Metroplex, just so Mirage couldn't look anywhere without having to see and acknowledge him.
Up ahead, Mirage had decided to register his arrival and was turning toward him with polite body posture and distant gaze firmly in place. In a klik he was going to say something harmless and nice -- "Hello Cliffjumper, it has been a while" or "I was glad to learn you are still functioning" or "is it not nice that we will be serving together again?", all cultivated courtesy and not a single ounce of actually giving a slag -- and Cliffjumper was going to say something that would land him in a long chat with Optimus Prime.
But then something interesting happen.
Mirage looked at him. Really looked at him. Cliffjumper saw the telescoping lenses in Mirage's optics visibly rotate and zoom in before returning to the traditional polite viewing range. At the same time, the armor along his shoulders settled back down on their hinges.
Relief.
It lasted all of a second, but it happened. Mirage was, honestly and truly, relieved to see him alive. He couldn't remember the last time Mirage had expressed concern or interest that was more than just lip-service to anyone and he'd sure as slag never done so toward Cliffjumper.
In reaction, every single component of Cliffjumper's still-new interface equipment abruptly switched into the "on" position.
----
Five minutes later, Red Alert decided to check the monitors in that corridor. "Figures those two couldn't go one cycle without fighting, I better tell someone to---OH MY PRIMUS."
It sent me into a ramble of why I think Cliffjumper is doing the robot version of pulling Mirage's pigtails (except for that whole planning to shoot at him part). Finally, I decided that if Mirage and Cliffjumper ever show up in "Teaching Young Bots Old Tricks", it'd go like this:
Cliffjumper rounded a corner and suddenly, Mirage was there. He stood -- suspiciously -- in a completely empty corridor and stared at a wall. Or the piece of human art hung on it. Whatever. The important part was that Cliffjumper's long range scanners hadn't picked up even a blip of Mirage's presence, which meant the annoying glitch had his signal dampeners on. Just like he did the last time they were stationed together. On their own base. Around friends and fellow soldiers.
And Optimus Prime always wondered why Cliffjumper had never trusted the mech.
Cliffjumper drew up short and felt his armor flare and his back struts straighten. Being around Mirage gave him this urge to be bigger -- and that was weird because Cliffjumper didn't consider himself small. His model class may be in the lower size range, but that just meant he could get into things easier and didn't have to compete with all the higher range mechs for space. He liked it that way. He wouldn't upgrade into a larger frame if you held him at gunpoint.
But being bigger around Mirage was important. Being noticeable around Mirage was important. He had this way of looking at you like he was really contemplating the wall just beyond your head and it drove Cliffjumper crazy. It made him want to be the size of Metroplex, just so Mirage couldn't look anywhere without having to see and acknowledge him.
Up ahead, Mirage had decided to register his arrival and was turning toward him with polite body posture and distant gaze firmly in place. In a klik he was going to say something harmless and nice -- "Hello Cliffjumper, it has been a while" or "I was glad to learn you are still functioning" or "is it not nice that we will be serving together again?", all cultivated courtesy and not a single ounce of actually giving a slag -- and Cliffjumper was going to say something that would land him in a long chat with Optimus Prime.
But then something interesting happen.
Mirage looked at him. Really looked at him. Cliffjumper saw the telescoping lenses in Mirage's optics visibly rotate and zoom in before returning to the traditional polite viewing range. At the same time, the armor along his shoulders settled back down on their hinges.
Relief.
It lasted all of a second, but it happened. Mirage was, honestly and truly, relieved to see him alive. He couldn't remember the last time Mirage had expressed concern or interest that was more than just lip-service to anyone and he'd sure as slag never done so toward Cliffjumper.
In reaction, every single component of Cliffjumper's still-new interface equipment abruptly switched into the "on" position.
----
Five minutes later, Red Alert decided to check the monitors in that corridor. "Figures those two couldn't go one cycle without fighting, I better tell someone to---OH MY PRIMUS."