ic inbox; savoru

[heelys]

"Hey! I'm not here right now because I'm probably doing something awesome but leave a message and I'll get back to you when I get bored enough!"

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[harderfasterwrecker]

[ Whirl goes back to poking at the piece in his hands, and then turns it over to check the other screws as Bee talks. And then Whirl catches on to what Bee is saying and oh. Well. That explains why he's hearing about this and not Riptide. Ah. Okay.

Right.

Jeeze. Organics are gross. They're still in his plating. ]

Do you want me to tell it like it is or do you want me to lie to you.

[A beat.]

Cause the truth is, protecting life or protecting anything means something loses. People make the hard calls and people die. There's no good guys in this stuff. Never is. The good guys end up dead, or they end up not being not so good anymore.

[heelys]

[Bumblebee goes quiet as Whirl talks again, venting a shaky sigh. Everybot has been saying that it's okay, that there was nothing he could've done to stop it from happening. But nobody actually explained why in a way that made sense. Whirl was making sense, which isn't something that apparently happens often..]

Y-yeah. [his vocaliser cracks as he processes what Whirl said. He droops further down against his arm, settling to get more comfortable.] Man, the universe sucks.

[harderfasterwrecker]

[Whirl is still checking the screws, each one of them takes a full moment of his attention, making sure it's even and level and tightened. One thing wrong can mess with the whole aesthetic and function, and then where are you? When Bee speaks again, Whirl makes a sound that's probably more like a crackle than anything else, but it's a laugh.]

Now you're getting the picture.

[Whirl sounds surprisingly calm as he continues.]

I thought you couldn't be as dumb as you looked.

[heelys]

And you're not as much of an glitchhead as you looked. [It's not said with any particular malice or weight, he's far too exhausted to give Whirl a proper fight right now. The way that he's fixing the clock is sort of hypnotic to watch, and Bumblebee finds himself slipping closer and closer to recharge. There's a long silence as Whirl works, Bumblebee still thinking.]

Will it ever--... [He cuts himself off, burying his face into the crook of his arm.] Does it ever stop hurting?

[harderfasterwrecker]

Nope.

[That answer is immediate.]

Things never stop. Why would they?

[He pauses, and then points at Bee with the screwdriver again.]

There are just periods of things sucking less in between periods of the universe being a horrible place.

[There's a beat, and then Whirl taps him on the helm with the end of it.]

But you're not dead. So, there is that. Things could always be worse.

[heelys]

[Bumblebee looks up at him from the crook of his arm, frowning when he's poked with the screwdriver.]

Gee, way to fill me up with hope.

[harderfasterwrecker]

[Whirl vents, and there's another one of those crackling half laughs.]

Do you want me to lie to you?

[heelys]

[Bumblebee droops further into the crook of his arm.] Not really, no.

[harderfasterwrecker]

[Whirl's head tilts and he pauses.]

Good.

You're learning.

[Whirl pauses, freezing, and then his antenna moves on it's own for a moment. Then switches tools, screwdriver being switched for the auto-oiler, in a perfect world he'd be using a well but his claws aren't steady enough for that really even if he can get close. If it's automated he can at least get close to the right amounts. As he works he sort of begins humming tunelessly as if he isn't really aware that he's doing it, now completely fixated thanks to noticing something he could fix.
]

[heelys]

[Bumblebee gives a small noise before settling again, watching Whirl work sleepily. If Whirl checks on him after he's finished the latest repair, he'll notice that the small bot has fallen into recharge, right on his berth. He really was exhausted.]