[OPEN] We do this every time...

[vosseeker]

WHO: Starscream & OPEN
WHEN: Throughout July
WHERE: Garage, R&D Labs, Library, various
WHAT: Starscream is keeping busy this month. And hopefully staying out of trouble. Maybe.
WARNINGS: A corpse? A corpse! Otherwise, just his normal sour disposition...
NOTE: Will match prose or brackets, your choice!

A. Garage & Mechanic Shop

Starscream goes outside of the colony regularly, every few days. He has less to fear than most from the radiation, and the thin atmosphere doesn't bother him since he doesn't need to breathe. Of course he's just as susceptible to the red shifts as anyone, but he counts himself fortunate that he's only fallen afoul of them a couple times. Usually he returns with a crate of glowing energon crystals to convert to fuel, but today he's returned through the decontamination process dragging something very, very different: the rusted out corpse of another mech.

The body is unmistakably the same species as Starscream, although their body structure isn't too alike: this is (was) a land-based frame, shorter and stockier than the Seeker's narrow, lanky physique. Though the corpse is heavily rusted, even on the less corroded patches the dead mech is unnaturally, uniformly grey, as if all the colour had been sucked out of them. They're also considerably heavier, if the way Starscream is huffing and heaving to get the body up on a flat slab usually used for vehicle repair like it's an autopsy table in any indication.

... it appears he is absolutely planning to use it for an autopsy table.

B. R&D Labs

This is most often where Starscream is found, having converted one of the larger but unused indoor rooms to his own housing. Old equipment has been shoved aside, the door repaired, the lighting upgraded. It's not much to look at, to glimpse inside: what appears to be some kind of nest in the corner, a
low metal table that he's pillaged from one of the labs, a slowly growing stack of refined energon cubes piled in the corner.

Sometime later after he has dealt with the other mech corpse, he's back in the R&D section with a new crate of energon crystals from the crevasse out in the wastes that he'd located some months ago. Lacking the resources (and the cooperation) to undertake any kind of mining operation, he'd been making do by retrieving small batches for processing. The distiller looks... well, exactly like a distiller, with an unrefined chunk encased in the top portion and a slow drip of liquefied energon — blue and luminescent — slowing trickling down into the lower tank. It's a tedious process, but it has to be done. That doesn't mean Starscream isn't tapping one frightfully long bladed talon shiing-shiing across the workbench surface, leaving little curls of metal piling up like shavings in boredom.

C. Library

When he needs a change of pace however, he takes on a project which — for anyone who knows him — would probably not have been expected. After surveying the collapsed portion of the library, making some notes for himself (literally he'd just carved the notes right into the nearby wall), Starscream starts digging out the toppled area. He doesn't offer any explanation, nor request (or demand) assistance.

It's still slow going, even with his size and strength. Sometimes he'll start on a section and it'll be unsteady, so he has to move off and try somewhere else. The removed debris has to be carried out and dumped in an unused corridor, so there's a lot of going back and forth, dragging material that easily weighs several tonnes. He grumbles a little, low and pitched, but it's not the theatric complaining that one would usually expect from him.

Still, progress is being made. When he finally stops for a break, perhaps just noticing that he's gained an audience, he flicks his wings irritably to knock the dust from them. "What?"

D. Wildcard

Anything that doesn't fit in the above prompts, or poke me on Discord or at sojourney for other starters!

Comments

[vosseeker]

Starscream could get very used to this kind of open appreciation. "A Seeker is a specific subset of flight frame," he replied. "We are unparalleled in the air, along other superior features. And yes, I am."

Modesty? Starscream ain't never met her.

[tsuyoi_ame]

Without drastic action on Starscream's part to change it, Yamamoto will probably stay an avid fan. Sure, he has seen some cool things in his life. The teenager can bring his resolve to being in the shape of dying will flames and has traveled back and forth between the past and future. Fought humans that weren't human anymore. Trained with a baby who wasn't a baby, he has seen things. Yet, the mech still comes up way high on the list of the best ever.

He is a rapt audience through the explanation. He gets the gist of it if not all the words and they don't matter. It's basically confirmed, Yamamoto is a fan.

"There's more like you? Where are you from?" That must be the coolest planet, he wonders if maybe next time he gets dragged through dimensions he could up somewhere like that. Forgive his questions, he is naturally curious and can not help himself.

[vosseeker]

Don't worry, Starscream will find a way to turn that fascination to his advantage before long. It's what he does.

Yamamoto's question about others draws a faint but noticeable hesitation before he replies. "There are others. There were more, once. And I am from Cybertron— though I doubt, as a human, that you will have any recognition of my planet."

(The way he says "my", like he actually owns the planet, rather than merely hailing from it.)

"I am Starscream, lord and commander of the Decepticon empire," he adds arrogantly. True, said empire was presently in shambles (or it had been, when he'd arrived here) but he was sticking to his blasters about claiming rulership of it!!

[tsuyoi_ame]

That is alright, Yamamoto is happy to help others as long as it does not compromise his integrity of course.

He is rapt attention if his teachers had been mech's maybe he would not have fallen asleep and needed Gokudera to tutor him so much. He clearly is intelligent enough to get it but it was so boring. This, however, coolest thing ever. He knows there are other worlds out there, it's why ending up on Anchor was no shock to him. But a world full of mechs like this and this guy is their leader?

"Nope never heard it." He's just a kid from Japan of course he hasn't, then it hits him what else the guy said and Yamamoto, not one to always be polite drops into traditional hands to his sides, fingers splayed against his legs bow at the waist out of respect.

"So you're a King? Amazing!" Yup, totally believing in that ownership, clearly he is the boss and it's his kingdom.

[vosseeker]

When Yamamoto bows, Starscream's optics widen comically and his wings hike in startlement. If Yamamoto had sprouted Seeker wings and courted him to trine, he would not have been more taken aback. It takes him a moment to find his wits, reset his vocalizer, and respond.

"That's-- yes. Yes, just like a king. You're absolutely right. I am the rightful ruler of Cybretron, after all! I appreciate your recognition of my status."

[tsuyoi_ame]

Yamamoto is full of surprise, as Starscream is now fully aware. It is also without a doubt going to take hard in his face evidence from someone to convince Yamamoto that this mech is not the King of Cybertron, let's hope no one tries. He may have to defend the king after all.


"Gokudera is going to freak when I tell him I met a real King!" Especially when he explains that said King is a massive, cool ass, wing having Mech.

[vosseeker]

Well this might just be the most pleased that Starscream has looked in his six month tenure in Anchor, so Yamamoto has that going for him. Is he preening? He's definitely preening.

He glances back at the rubble he's cleared from the collapsed library section; it can wait. "I don't believe you've introduced yourself yet."

[tsuyoi_ame]

Preen away you big beautiful piece of machinery, this teenager is happy to stand here in his presence as he does so and not think anything is wrong with it.

He grins again, really does the smile ever leave his face in this interaction except when he chuckles. No, because this is going down as one of his top ten best moments in life ever. " Oh! I'm Yamamoto! Nice to meet you."

[vosseeker]

"Now if only the others here had a modicum of your good manners," Starscream sighed.

"Though if you were looking for access to this portion of the library, you will have little success. There's only one section that's usable."

[tsuyoi_ame]

"Really? Thanks, everyone I've met so far has been nice."

Yamamoto shakes his head, giving a sheepish grin "Libraries are more Gokudera's thing, I was just out to stretch my legs and saw you here."

He has been doing that to people, if he is out and sees someone he makes an effort to stop and chat even if for a few moments. This makes him realize he interrupted the mech "I can help or let you get back to work if you want!"

He is good either way, not that he can lift near to what "King" can.

[vosseeker]

Well, Starscream is not so oblivious to realize that his presence doesn't always being out the best in people's attitudes, so he does not challenge Yamamoto's assessment of the colony's residents.

"Another of the new arrivals," Starscream commented when Yamamoto mentioned Gokudera. "I met him aboard the ship, and he was after books there as well. You two knew each other prior to arriving here?"

[tsuyoi_ame]

Yamamoto also has a tendency to think the best of everyone until he is given an absolute reason not to. He befriended and is mentored by the first guy he ever really battled with his sword. The Vongola tend to turn enemies into Allies if they can.

"Yeah, we got here the same day." It does not surprise him, Starscream is just the kind of person Gokudera would be drawn to. "He is smarter than looks." He sounds proud here and he is, his friend may come off as a bad attitude but he's a damn smart guy "We do, we were friends before we got here."

[vosseeker]

Starscream tilts his head to one side in a motion that's startlingly bird-like. "Is he? What makes a human look smart or not?" he asked. As someone who'd come from a society where physical frames absolutely played into a heavy bias as to perceived capabilities, for the most part he hadn't noted that as a problem with humans.

"I did like that he was extremely courteous," he added after a moment. Starscream has clawed for every scrap of respect his whole existence, and too often has it yanked back away from him, so to be offered deference by a complete stranger had a bigger impact than just appreciating social politeness.

[tsuyoi_ame]

The motion seems fitting, after all, he has those awesome wings. Really, there is not much the mech can do as far as the movement that the hitman is not going to find to be absolutely cool as hell. No, usually it is attitude and actions that humans judge. Most see Yamamoto as an oblivious jock who has baseballs for brains. Because he is usually happy, keeping his deeper side so buried few see it. For Gokudera it is usually they see the sullen expression, cigarettes, and bad attitude and think he is just a delinquent.

It makes Yamamoto happy that Starscream does not think so; that is exactly what Gokudera needs, for other people to see something more Yamamoto does.

"Huh, that's great! You must have really impressed him, King! You should hang out with us sometime." He bets that would make Gokudera's day.

[vosseeker]

All right, forget duplicates of himself, if Starscream comes across anymore blank protoform molds, he's definitely cloning Yamamoto. If it were this easy to be so cordially treated by one of him, surely a half dozen would be ever better.

(Certainly better than his own duplicitous clones had been.)

The suggestion has him shuttering his optics in plain confusion though. "To do... what?"

[tsuyoi_ame]

Narration fully encourages any and all cloning of hitmen by the mech. Thus let it be noted. The rest of Anchor, Gokudera included may beg to differ but Starscream is definitely on to something here. There is not a duplicitous bone in the young man's body.

He blinks "We can hang out, I can teach you baseball or you and Gokudera could go over some cool books you both like or talk about stuff I'm not smart enough to talk about with him. We'll be friends! Maybe I can even get stuff and make sushi like my old man, maybe not but I won't know till I try."

Be his friend Starscream, look he is so puppy-dog like it is almost possible to imagine his tail wagging.

[vosseeker]

The look of sheer bafflement that crosses Starscream's features is impossible to mistake: it's not an expression of what, but of why. He gets what he's being asked, but not the reasoning for it.

"That's..." He begins, rethinks the approach, and flicks his wings back and forth like a nervous gesture.

"Yes. Well. I suppose I could indulge you," he says, striving for cool indifference and failing miserably at it.

[tsuyoi_ame]

To be friends, because Yamamoto thinks he is cool, and Gokudera sure does too. And the boys collect friends; it's what Tsuna would do so, of course, his Guardians are going to do the same.

Yamamoto grins, must be hard being a King if a simple invite causes this. He'll have to make an effort to come to see King regularly, so he doesn't get lonely!

"Really! OH, MAN, You're the best! When are you available? I know being a King, you must be busy, so we'll be ready whenever you are!"

[vosseeker]

(What are these friends you speak of? Starscream has more use for underlings, allies, and supporters.)

But Yamamoto's effusive appreciation of Starscream's agreement is such a nice change, and he'd be almost embarrassed at how strongly he reacts if he weren't busy making sure his wingtips weren't fluttering tellingly.

"My schedule is flexible — my projects are my own. If there's a preferred time, it shouldn't be difficult to attend."

[tsuyoi_ame]

Allies are friends, Vongola Style King and now he has two friendly neighborhood hitmen as friends. It's too late, he can't take it back, neither boy will let him.

It excites the ball player more that it definitely seems like the mech is into this. Man, the guys back home will never believe this. He thinks, tapping his chin for a moment.

"How about two days from now, that way I can tell Gokudera first!" They are totally going to have to try baseball too. He bets this guy would be amazing at it.

[vosseeker]

Starscream inclines his head and nods. "Two days," he agrees. "The Research level is usually where I am."

He means the labs, of course. But his converted quarters are down there too, and he's overlooked mentioning that fact, which is inevitably going to lead to an early morning awakening that he's not yet aware of.

[tsuyoi_ame]

"We'll be there!" Probably bright and early or slightly bright and early, lucky for Starscream, Gokudera does not get up quite as early as the baseball player so he won't be dragged out at the crack of dawn.

Considering how much this guy pokes around Anchor, he was bound to find it sooner or later, their friendship just means it will be sooner.