[ OPEN LOG ]

[buffthis]

Who: Knock Out and YOU!!!
Where: All around L.A.
When: All day, TODAY
What: That talking sports car who is actually a giant space robot people have been talking about lately is out and about in L.A., being way less discreet than a Decepticon should.
Warnings: Inappropriately sensual is Knock Out's game. Approach with caution.

It's been only a few weeks since Knock Out arrived in L.A. after an extended tour in Europe, but he likes it already. He hadn't expected the vehicles around here to measure up to the ones he'd grown fond of in Italy and Germany, but the luxury car expo he'd tracked in L.A. had been a sight to behold. Admiring the glossy, flawless finishes on all of those perfect automobiles had nearly had him in fits of jealousy.

And the roads here. Knock Out can drive for miles, endless stretches of black asphalt that positively sing under his tires for hours on end. Yes, he thinks he could get used to this...he could stand to stay here for awhile.

Five years lounging around on Earth has made him slightly careless, and he hasn't been as discreet as he ought to be. But it's hard to contain himself when there's so much entertainment to be had on this planet. He can be found screaming down the California highways or cruising around the city -- occasionally, he'll send his holomatter avatar out to interact with the local life forms.

Comments

[superball]

You would think Eusine would be extremely distressed that the car he believes has been following him for years doesn't even recognize him.

You would think wrong.

It's not that he's completely incapable of imagining a world where everything doesn't revolve around him, no. His brain merely has the uncanny ability to translate other people's speech into things that suit him and in this case? Why, it's no surprise the car has trouble recognizing him! It's been a while since it last saw him up close after all, and he's grown so much more incredibly handsome since they had that one conversation. Maybe artificial alien life forms (if this is indeed the car's true identity) need time adjusting to slight changes in organic faces, and no one will say Eusine isn't considerate.

Which isn't to say he doesn't wince at all at Knock Out's comment. It's just... a bit on the theatrical side.

"Come on, is that any way to treat an old friend?"

[buffthis]

Knock Out's rearview mirror adjusts slightly to catch a glimpse of Eusine in the passenger seat. He's never seen this human in his life -- and he'd remember one dressed like that.

"You and I? Don't know each other. I don't do friends with fleshlings. Now you've got exactly ten seconds to get out before this gets ugly."

[superball]

This is a bit worrying, even for someone as optimistic as Eusine. Could it be... there are TWO identical mysterious cars? And that he somehow found the wrong one?

(It couldn't possibly be that there's only one car and it wants nothing to do with him, no.)

"Weren't you in Saint-Tropez a couple of years ago? French Riviera? Surely you haven't forgotten the lengthy conversation we had that day! *I* know I could never forget such a gorgeous car!!"

[buffthis]

Knock Out is so ready to forcibly eject Eusine -- so ready -- but his comments give the Cybertronian pause. How does this human know where he's been? He thinks he'd remember some kind of encounter, but if this human's been keeping tabs on him...

Well, at least the fleshling has a proper appreciation for handsome vehicles.

"How do you know that?" Knock Out says slowly, his tone highly suspicious. "Have you been following me?"

[superball]

Well, now that's a question Eusine wasn't ready for.

"Following you?! I thought you were following me!!" he blurts out, slightly frantic. "You kept showing up, wherever I went!"

Or well, wherever he went that wasn't the butthole of the universe. Now that he thinks about it, the few times he glimpsed Knock Out were in fancy, popular towns. But still... it can't possibly be a coincidence, right?

[buffthis]

"Why would I waste all of my time following around some flashily-dressed skinjob?" Knock Out retorts derisively. "I have better things to be doing. Now you'd better start talking, human, and tell me how it is you found me here -- before things get nasty."

rude ko, you're the car equivalent of "flashily-dressed"

[superball]

He looks extremely ruffled for a second, before crossing over into eerily calm territory. It's like a switch got flipped; one second he's on the verge of panic, the next he's leaning back into the seat with a carefree smile, having apparently decided (though maybe not consciously) that the best way to be in control of a situation is to act like you're in control.

"No need to get angry!" he says, and when he next speaks he has the good sense to sound at least somewhat apologetic. "Listen, perhaps I was a bit hasty -can you blame me, really, it's not every day you see such a beautiful automobile- but what I told you before is a hundred percent true. If you really did come here because of unrelated matters, well... It appears our meeting today is purely accidental! Oh, how mysterious the tides of fate!"

There's a hint of sadness here, but it's drowned under the sheer fruitiness.

hush human the rules don't apply to cool sports cars

[buffthis]

Knock Out is slightly mollified by Eusine calling him a beautiful automobile -- at least this human's got some sense -- but he's still quite ruffled at Eusine's sheer presumptuousness. It seems like a suspicious coincidence indeed, but there's no way this skinjob could be lying. No one could fake being that earnest and doofy.

"Very well," Knock Out concedes, though there's a dangerous edge to his voice. "Now get out, skinjob -- and this little chat we had? Didn't happen."

right, cars are inferior because they can't change paintjobs at the drop of a hat

[superball]

This is where a more reasonable person would get out, and consider themselves lucky that this encounter with an obviously pissed off sentient car didn't end in tragedy. Unfortunately, Eusine combines a tendency for reckless self-endangerment with an inability to easily let go of his ridiculous ideas, which is why his hand barely hovers over the door handle before settling back on his thigh. He can't shake the feeling that those previous "meetings" can't have been a coincidence. Maybe it had been, on an individual basis, but in the grand scheme of things? No, destiny clearly had something in mind here.

"Do you really hate humans so much?"

Maybe his fate hadn't been to team up with this car. Maybe it was to help it overcome its disdain for organic life.

EUSINE *NO*

[buffthis]

"Hate?" Knock Out sounds sort of amused, for all that he's still quite irritated that this witless skinjob hasn't gotten out of his cab yet. He lets out a low, dark chuckle that seems to resonate with the rumble of his engine. "Hate would imply that I care. As far as I'm concerned, you're nothing more than vermin -- little bugs that get underfoot all too easily. And don't flatter yourself by thinking it's just humans -- all organics are little more than a splatter on my windshield, if you catch my drift."

HE NEVER GIVES UP ON HIS DREAMS OK. HE HAS TO /TRY/

[superball]

As much as it pains him to admit, Eusine is really starting to dislike this car. Really, this is hardly the behaviour of someone -or something- heroic; he may be reckless but he's not quite stupid, and the threat behind that last sentence is more than apparent.

Of course, the fact it's apparent doesn't mean he can't choose to ignore it for the time being.

"And yet, you elected to take residence on a planet entirely populated by organic beings?" he says with a shrug, his tone a bit smarmy. "Pardon me if I don't quite believe that."

8I

[buffthis]

"Elected?" Knock Out laughs derisively, about as obnoxiously as is possible. "Please, don't flatter yourself. I wouldn't be on this planet for this long if it were a matter of choice. If certain...extenuating circumstances weren't in my way, I'd have left this place in my rearview mirror a long time ago." He sneers haughtily, as if extremely amused by the suggestion.

excuse u knock out, earth is awesome 8T

[superball]

Eusine's smarmy grin turns into an interrogative frown. That car is definitely unpleasant, but if it was serious about its dislike for "skinjobs" and it's stranded here... It might be worth gathering as much information as he can, in case it decides to take out its frustration on the local populace.

He just wishes he didn't have such a bitter taste in the back of his throat.

"So... You're stuck here for the time being. Broken spaceship?" Do vehicle people even need vehicles themselves? If yes, are said vehicles sentient as well? It's frankly a bit dizzying to think about.

THE ONLY GOOD THING ABOUT EARTH IS ITS CARS 8I

[buffthis]

"Wouldn't you like to know," Knock Out snaps impatiently, his temper rising. He doesn't like the way this organic keeps needling him, or the fact that they're stuck in traffic and he can't do a thing about it. Not to mention Eusine's getting a little too close to the truth with his wanton guessing. Knock Out jostles the cab a bit, rocking his chassis back and forth. "Now, I've been courteous enough to entertain your inane questions, but I think this conversation is quite finished. Out. Now."

earth has eusine your argument is invalid

[superball]

Reckless as he may be, Eusine can tell he's pushed this conversation as far as it could go. This is hardly a satisfying ending for what he thought would be one of the best days of his life, but oh well. He can bounce back. He always does.

"Well! It was certainly an interesting conversation." This time, he actually sets his hand on the door handle. From his tone, you'd think he was the one who had the idea to end this little chat. "And who knows? Perhaps we will meet again someday!"

He looks into the rearview mirror (for lack of a visible face), gives a quick two-fingered salute... and out he goes.

eusine pls

[buffthis]

Ugh, finally. Knock Out shudders out a sigh of relief through his vents as the skinjob finally leaves his cab, and he makes a point of locking his doors as soon as Eusine is gone. That had been...odd. Organics are always a funny sort, but this one had been particularly peculiar. Knock Out can't say he feels good about the fact that a two-bit fleshie like this guy had apparently spotted him in so many places over the last few years. He's starting to feel like he's overextended his time on this planet by a year or so.

Meet again someday...right. Like that's going to happen. Knock Out's engines rev haughtily as the traffic finally starts to move again, and the second he gets an opportunity he breaks away from the main road, tires squealing.