You are correct. [One cannot assume that Minimus will speak gently.] However, it would be inappropriate if I do not address the base concern.
While I cannot offer much in the way of consolation, I want to emphasize that I am available to discuss our lives on Cybertron. You should not be alone in your grief.
Understood. [Feelings are difficult. Especially when you know nothing about the death of one of your friends.] Is there anything else I should know before we are to work together?
[At least he can set boundaries. That's easier to do.]
[ A little later after this exchange and Minimus yelling at Drift, that Peter finds himself standing in front of the Cybertronian's door, knocking a coupe of times and waiting. ]
Ey, Minimus? It's Peter...ah, Star-Lord. [ He's not sure if Minimus would like to see anybody, or what exactly happened, but it sounded upsetting and he's worried, hence the visit ]. Do you have a moment?
[Minimus's body is lying on the bed, but his conscious is on on floor in the form of a 17-year-old friend. It better fits the playlist of angsty teenage music blaring over the music player. Not that he expected to have relationship troubles to be terrible enough to require this playlist, but Verity put it together for him, and he couldn't delete one of his remaining memories of Earth.
The holoform stands, unlocks the door, and throws herself back onto the carpet.]
[ Since Minimus doesn't tell him to fuck off, he takes the open door and an invitation and steps inside, closing it behind him. ]
Ah, hi...
[ Peter has never interacted much with the other Cyebertronians' holoforms, but he's seen Megatron's and knows of their existence. There's a brief confusion flashing on his face when he spots Minimus body lying on the bed, and his eyes land on the young girl sitting down in front f it.
Luckily, Minimus had mentioned Verity to Peter before, so he imagines that perhaps he chose a holoform based on her age, or looks. The guardian gives him...-Her? Her, then- a sympathetic look and moves to sit on the floor next to her. Peter brings his knees up, arms resting on them, offering silent company for a few rather than immediately pressing for answers about what had happened. The choice of songs speaks for itself, and Peter is familiar with finding comfort in songs in difficult moments. ]
[Verity doesn't answer. Speaking takes too much effort, and the moment Minimus tries to form noises through her mouth, he feels like crying. The holoform rolls her head back to stare at the ceiling.]
Mm.
[If only it were easy to apologize for behaving so foolishly.]
[ Ah, so it's that bad, uh? He is lacking a lot of context, but seeing Minimus this hurt, even when he looks different than his usual self, is downright painful.
If talking is difficult, then they don't have to do that.
The thing about holoforms, though, is that Peter has only seen Megatron's one through the network. He has no idea if they are pure holograms, or hard light, or something else. That won't stop him from trying to wrap an arm around her shoulders, to see if there's something solid there and he can bring Minimus closer for a half hug. ]
[She's not warm like a human, but she is solid, if a bit fuzzy where he touches the hologram. The Verity avatar turns her head to watch Star-Lord curiously.
It's nothing like a hug from another Cybertronian, but she sits up and curls into a ball. It's not a direct invitation for physical contact, but it gives Peter more space for his arm.]
[ Peter's kid is a tree, and not super huggable either, but that never stopped him from showing Groot affection. It's much the same now. He's careful not to come as overwhelming when he leans a little bit closer to the Verity avatar and starts to rub her back in slow circles. ]
[ Peter's lips make a silent 'oh' and he's quiet for a beat. Honestly, he always has some trouble figuring out if Drift and Megatron get along or hate each other due to their complicated past, although, he is almost sure any angry feelings come mostly from Drift.
Peter also knows that Drift, much like himself, is mourning the loss of his lover, and he thought that Megatron was seeing Minimus because that's what Drift had implied the last time they talked. To hear that whatever happened-and it doesn't take a genius to figure that it might be- involved them is unexpected, to say the least. Peter can only give a sympathetic, and still sort of surprised; ]
Fuck. [ Okay that is not much as far as replies go. ] Holy shit. [ Not better. Peter runs his free hand over his face briefly, then tries to catch her eye. ] That's shitty, I'm sorry. Where they drunk or something?
[The holoform's face furrows as it glares at Peter.] Of course not. How else could they have done this multiple times in the past few months and only stop recently due to an argument? If I hadn't come along, they might as well have continued their relationship and left me be!
[Verity-avatar throws her arms into the air, then lets them fall to her sides.]
If I was his second choice only because Drift wasn't available, he could have at least told me this before- [No. It was difficult enough to invite Megatron to his train cabin, and he isn't going to go into detail with someone he had known for a month. The avatar resumes staring at the ceiling.] It's my fault. I should have known better than to assume Megatron couldn't be happy without me.
[ He is silent for a moment, trying to assimilate what happened and why is Minimus so angry. Frankly, he would be just as pissed off if he were in the bot's skin. Metal skin. Uh, whatever applies. He frowns visibly, lips pursing when Minimus blames himself. ]
Ey no, none of that. Other people's mistakes are not your fault.
[ Peter is a jealous person. He is not proud of the fact, but he is aware that it is a bad trait he has. He also knows that the reason he got so annoyed when Gamora looked at other people, or when others showed interest in her, was that he wouldn't know what to do if she wasn't part of his life. Being loyal to your partner means a lot to him, but he also understands what it's like to be alone, to think that you'll never get to see your loved ones. When loneliness and pain claw at your chest and make an empty hole to crawl into and stay there. It never ends well. ]
I'm not sure how relationships are for you, guys, with your long lives, but I figure it's not that much different from any other sentient creature. We're not so different. [ The guardian starts, his voice conciliatory and a little careful, but honest. ] Admittedly, I don't know Megatron and Drift as well as I would like, but I know they have a complicated past together. They might have felt really lonely on this ship, with no one else they knew or trusted around, and not knowing it that would ever change.
[ Peter reaches out to touch the holoform cheek, to try and get her to look at him. ]
I'm not trying to excuse them, they should have talked to you about it when you got here. You have all the right to be furious and to never speak to them again if you don't want. I'm just trying to say that broken-hearted people would try anything to make the hurt go away. Even if it's only temporary, even if causes bigger problems in the long run. We shouldn't judge others by their lowest points, but by how they answer to their mistakes.
[The Verity avatar wipes invisible tears from her face.]
I could have done something differently! I could have asked him if he had anything important about our relationship to say about! About which to say! [He's slipped up on his grammar; he knows now that he's in far too much distress, but he can't stop himself.]
If that's what made him happy, why didn't he tell me? If it brought him comfort, why did he believe that hiding it from me was more important than what we wanted for centuries? I thought he trusted me. I thought I could trust him. I knew it was naïve for...whatever we had to work smoothly, but just this once, when I let my guard down...
[And like the last time he put his faith into Megatron, he was hurt. Feeling vulnerable is comforting only for a brief moment before the regret sets in. He knows, when Peter holds her cheek and the avatar inevitably turns towards him, that looking at Star-Lord in the eye will lead to a cascade of emotions that should have been left inside before it destroyed another friendship.]
...We're here together. It makes sense to have a professional relationship with them. [Verity's mouth twitches.] At the very least.
[ If the holoform is connected to Minimus's emotional state with such accuracy, it's no wonder she might cry. Peter wishes he were better at these things, so that he could comfort his new friend properly. As it is, he can only be honest. ]
When we first met, I've got the impression that you like things to be under control, but people are unpredictable, and our feelings hardly make sense to ourselves on a daily basis. Megatron's choices are only his fault, for good or bad, and torturing yourself with 'what if' will only hurt you further.
[ Peter is the last person who would call Magnus out for slipping up on his grammar, much less now that the poor Cybertronian is so clearly troubled. It's good, however, that Minimus is letting it all out instead of bottling his feelings up, even if he might regret it later. ]
That, I cannot tell you. Maybe he was scared that you would not return his feelings. Or maybe Megatron believed that he wasn't deserving of them.
[ As much as Peter loves Gamora, he's had those kinds of thoughts before. She is better than him in a possible way, something other people had reminded him of plenty in the past, and he sometimes wondered if she wouldn't have been happier with someone else.
When the Verity avatar turns to face him, Peter's own eyes are filled with sadness and sympathy. He's no stranger to betrayal, although not of this kind. ]
Then don't talk to him, you don't have to forgive him. Forgive them. You all might need some time, and Megatron certainly needs to work to earn your trust again. I know things are bad now, and you have all the reason to be angry and frustrated, but don't let it harden your heart to life’s other joys.
[As much as he wants to ignore Drift's messages, he does have to remain professional on a mission. He can complain to Starlord later if responding ends poorly.]
There is plenty of information, but little has been of any relevance to our mission.
Do I not have a right to be upset that I was deceived? That you and Megatron thought that it was important to keep your secret from me? Was the plan to continue your burgeoning relationship if I hadn’t arrived?
You don't have the right to dig up my murdered brothers because of something that transpired in a moment of grief
you know I actually advocated for you? Megatron is content to go home a rot and I must have brought you up half a dozen times to get him to put his head back on straight and gain some perspective but you see where that got us
There was no 'relationship'
Just like there wasn't one between the two of you because you were both so goddamn busy pretending to be 'very good co-workers'
There needs to be a relationship for me to sabotage you rules-lawering bastard
There was mutual respect and trust between us! We shared enough with each other that I believed he could share everything important with me! But apparently, if you kept Megatron happy all this time, perhaps it’s better that he goes back to you instead!
If it were only one time, I would accept that it was all purely caused by a moment grief, but this happened over months. I know you to be a mech that treats bonds with others seriously.
If Megatron preferred you over me, I have to accept that.
I told you that for full disclosure, so you wouldn't have heard it through rumor and conjecture because of that supposed mutual respect and trust!
Only you would try to tally this and ascribe some asinine ranking system that only makes sense to you. Those months left us both miserable and confused. We both saw this as the end of the line, a kinder death than burning out back home.
Although it's nice to hear apparently I'm always going to somehow still be Deadlock to you: Megatron's favorite killer, the guttermech slut. Absolutely figures. Even diminished, you still need to punch down when you don't feel like you're in control.
He didn't prefer me — he was trying to forget he couldn't have you. He was failing spectacularly, by the way.
[There are few moments in his life where Minimus wants to handle his frustration with violence. This is such one, where he wants to hurl the communicator out of the window and hopefully smack Drift in the face where it will shut him up.
But that’s stupid. Emotions are for fools, and Minimus was an idiot for ever even thinking he was ready for intimacy. So he pulls out another library book and types a slow message, taking this time picking at the keypad while avoiding reading Drift’s last message.]
If what you said is true, then I want to hear it from Megatron himself.
I’m sure you have better things to do than to talk to me.
[He’s not going to admit he’s lost this fight. Maybe he’s wrong and Drift absolutely has no sway over Megatron. Maybe he’s right and Drift doesn’t realize the power he has. Either way, he knows that there is no respect directed at Minimus, but what else is new?]
[ Drift is spitting mad and knows it's time to quit the field before he does something less civil than a screaming match over text messaging happens. ]
Comm him then.
I have more to do than try and fix your love life when I'm here because I just put my soulmate in the ground.
[It takes a few days to settle in to this city, to the pulsing beat of noise that surrounds him at every turn and it takes a second longer to adjust to the light. The searing, flashing lights that blink with loud colors as he paces down the dark street one night.
It's not just the mission that's on his mind, but the personal one whispered in to his ear as the teleportation took him away and placed them all in this saints forsaken place.
A personal mission that grates his pride no matter how he tries to ignore it. He clenches his fist around the piece of wire in his pocket, weighing options.
But walking the street helps. A bit. And he turns a corner, eyeing a familiar face from a distance. He doesn't know the man's name, but he's seen that face before on the station. It might even be better that it isn't someone he knows.
Taking a deep breath, the Darkling strides up to Minimus and sinks to his knees in front of him, right there, outside a club and the line of dressed-up natives waiting patiently to be let in to this den of sin and forgetfulness.]
Sweetheart! [His voice loud and clear, ringing out above the din of the music and small-talk around them.] Baby, darling one! Please, I hate it when we fight and I cannot go on without you.
[Pressing a hand to his chest, above his wildly beating heart, he continues, tears welling up in his eyes as emotion brims through every syllable.] I love you, I have always loved you and I want nothing else than to call you mine - in name as well as in our hearts.
Marry me. [As he pulls out a ring, made from stripped copper wire braided and twisted in to a O, adorned with a roughly polished piece of blue glass. It's nothing fancy, his skills falling desperately short on this, but it's very clearly a ring for a finger.] Make me yours and I will adore you always.
[The storefronts in one of the inner Circles display their wares that draw no attention to themselves. Minimus is alone during this mission and losing every connection he had with his home. His old doubts creeping back made it difficult to focus on research, and he foolishly believed that a walk might clear his head.
He's just as lost as before and barely notices Darkling until he shouts out a pet name.
Something Megatron might never call me, he bitterly tells himself.
...Wait.]
I'm sorry?
[It takes some time to process the situation, but he's fairly certain that this is a common Earth proposal ritual. This man he's never spoken to is kneeling in front of him and - oh Primus, humans use rings to signify marriage. Minimus is less embarrassed about the situation and more confused. Yes, the other shoppers are watching the scene, but why does Darkling have to mock him with a relationship that he'll inevitably ruin?!
Minimus regains control of himself and grimaces.] Is this some sort of joke to you?!
No- [And there is no sense of guilty conscience or of shame. This is as much pretend as the movies Peter showed him, as the mask he wears on the station and that he wore back home in front of the king.
Blinking up, eyelashes wet with unshed tears, he takes a shuffling crawl closer.] No, most dearest one, this is no joke.
After everything we've been through, how could I possibly joke about the purest and most sincerest thing in my life - my love for you.
[Petry can say this, can speak the words and sound like he means them, when the Darkling hides away in the dark shadows of his own mind. His - Aleksander's- heart, kept well away from all the emotions that he fuels in to his trembling voice.
Words he might have said, and might even have meant, had he still been able to remember what love feels like when he looks at Alina.] Most precious, don't turn me away. Please- don't let me be alone.
[The crowd look from one to the other, a scene of passion playing out right in front of them, and like always - people love to watch the ruin of others.]
[He's the center of attention, and not for a good reason. Minimus keeps replacing this man's face with Megatron - would he even accept this sort of apology, even from him? Would marriage actually solve the problem? Is an emotional declaration of love enough?
...No. This isn't something Megatron would do. And Minimus isn't going to play along with this man's fantasies, even if it would help him ignore recent arguments.
Minimus gives him a second of a scowl before he slides his hand out of that tender grip, and several onlookers gasps excitedly.] Get out of my sight. You should be ashamed of the audacity to assume I'd accept.
[Is he even talking to Petry at this point?]
Take your ring and give it to someone else. I'm done being someone else's stand-in.
[Now that... rings a little to close to home. A bell that chimes softly, a guilt he doesn't feel but knows that he should. The careful barrier he has placed around the different aspects of his life - the one lived on the station and the one he once dreamed of.
A stunned look sneaks across his face for a second, a look of hurt and shame, before he wipes it off and replaces it with one of love. Of adoration. Of hope and all the bright things that you cannot see in the dark.]
You, my dear heart, are no stand-in. There could never be anyone but you. It has always been you, even before I knew you, I saw your face-- in my dreams. I heard the sound of your voice in the wind and I knew, from the moment we first touched, that... it would always be you.
It was meant to be.
[He grabs for the hand again, pressing his flushed face against the back of it.] I don't know why you're doing this.
[Everything Minimus sees in those eyes are exactly what he misses, but he mustn't be persuaded by this total stranger. He fixes his gaze on anywhere but the man before him: the dirt on the street, the blur that is his shoe, the distant shops.
How dare he use poetry against him. How dare he refuse to take a hint. How dare he take his hand as if it were offer freely to him?
His face is warm and sickening. Without thinking, Minimus yanks his away and delivers a slap to his face.
Despite the lack of real life relationship experience, despite complaining of the cliches in dramas and romance literature, Minimus felt the best course of action was to send a direct message to him and the onlookers.] Leave me be. [He turns away, cradling his right hand, and feels himself curl into himself as he stomps towards an opening in the crowd of people.]
[The gasp ripples through the throng of people around them, the hurt and heartbreak mirrored in the faces the look at them and the whispers rise - a wave of sound that follows him as he gets to his feet, the ring held loosely in one fist.
He brushes the dirt of the street from his knees, looking for all the world like someone who just the most important thing in his world. Eyes wet and watching the man walk away, the crowd parting for Minimus like the waters parting around a Saint.]
Wait!
[Another call, another way to bring attention back to himself and away from the man roped in to this by accident.
Swallowing harshly, Petry strides through the people and after Minimus. Long legs eating up the distance until he can corner him in a darker street, away from the spectators to the failed proposal.]
[The direction Minimus stomps towards is clearly the university; there's nowhere else to where to go. Rodimus is too far in the Outer Circles, and Minimus is not familiar with the others who chose to investigate the university. There are small streets that will keep him away from gawking stares of the pedestrians - he can't tell if he's about to cry, but he knows that the face he makes betrays all of the hurt and bitterness the fake proposal brought up.
The footsteps and voice are ignored, but that alone can't make Petry disappear from the planet. He manages to catch up to Minimus with ease, who cannot believe he's been cornered for a second time this hour.]
Apologies? Think about the impact of your actions before you make a fool out of a total stranger you found on the street! [Minimus swerves on his heel and jabs a finger at Petry's face.] I don't know if you're drunk or actively malicious, but I do not want anything more to do with you!
[There's a lot more going on than merely the hurt that Minimus broadcasts all too easily in to the Darkling's face, the bitter twist to his mouth. A sour look before he even starts to speak, the words less important than all the ones the other man isn't saying and the Darkling pockets the ring before holding his hands out, palms up.]
I made a fool of myself. [The stares and the hushed whispers, all the salacious gossip about what he might have done to this man to deserve such a harsh rejection.] You were-- a familiar face in the crowd.
This would have been much easier had I been drunk.
[This man could have made things worse; he could have accepted. Tilting his head, the Darkling tries for a reassuring smile.]
[It's difficult to tell what the Darkling is conveying with this expression. For all Minimus knows, this could be another futile attempt to garner sympathy and apologize for his misbehavior. A smile doesn't mean that his thoughts match his words - he might as well start laughing at Minimus's theatrics the moment he is alone.
Damn his impulsiveness. Why did he have to get angry enough to become strangers' entertainment?
His gaze remains one that seeks danger, and with his body tensed and positioned ready to attack, Minimus comes off as an angry animal that has just been cornered.]
Easier for you. What if someone from the ship saw us? What then?
[Coming up a little short on how to respond to that - to the anger, the tight line of the man's shoulders and the thought about anyone from the station even bothering to look more closely at what they got up to.
Especially when on a mission and his tiny gasped what echoes his bafflement.]
Pardon me? If someone saw me make a complete fool of myself, you mean. Depending on who it was, I would guess the result would be either indifference or laughter. I can think of only one who would film it to use it against me later.
[Hands coming down until he can clasp them behind his back.] You did nothing wrong. And thank you for that, by the way. For not punching me in the mouth.
[Clearly, everyone would laugh at Minimus - the uptight spoilsport who doesn't understand "fun" - and make jokes about his horrid love life. How he can't learn to relax and play along, how he's unfit for the mission, how he shouldn't be taken seriously. All old, old thoughts that had persisted throughout most of his life; these weeds were taken out of his processor with time and positive experiences, but the roots remain and grow in certain circumstances.]
Don't assume with whom I associated. And you are fortunate that punching you would have painted me in a worse light.
Did you-- [A small pause, studying the flash of emotions that seem to chase each other across the man's face] want me to mean it?
[It's still baffling to met with anger, not at the presumption of intimacy but apparently the attention that he brought on them with his spectacle.
Being the Black General of the Second Army meant that he was also looked on, was used to the stares and the quiet judgements. As a Grisha in a country that wanted to sell them all in to slavery or shuffle off where they could not be seen, having fought- tooth and claws- for every speck of recognition and respect he has, this is... new.
A reminder of a distant time before the Little Palace when he had counted on the veil of anonymity to survive.]
I'm sorry. Who do you associate with that would judge you for making a man fall in love with you?
[That gets Minimus to stiffen and go silent. His internal processors struggle to confirm if he wished to play out a fantasy right there in public or not.
No. Not in front of everyone. The point wasn't that people were learning details of his intimate life. The point was hearing something that he knows will never happen. He crosses his arms and keeps his eyes steady on the Darkling.]
I am not in a position to give any thought to romantic entanglements. [This the most detail he wishes to share. Megatron doesn't deserve to be further ostracized, even if there is a voice in Minimus that wanted him to burn in hell for a week.] Even if I was, you don't know me well enough to truly mean such a thing.
That is true. [But, head tilted he grins - a flash of warmth, there and gone, like rays of sunlight breaking through the thick clouds- he was good at faking it.
But that wasn't the personal mission, and the Darkling wipes the humor and heat off of his face, blinking slowly at the other man for a short moment.] I don't know you at all, actually.
But that can be changed. Hello, I'm Petry Stardust. [A breath, as he holds out his hand, eyes rolling up to look up at the dark sky, where he imagines a space station might be, if Ximilia was even in this world.] Here. My name is Petry here.
Hello, Petry. [As hostile as his tone is, Minimus can keep a professional front while he gets familiar with a teammate.] I am Minimus Ambus, one of the Cybertronians. If you have seen a green mech on the ship, that is my true form.
[Who was usually found in the common areas cleaning after the others.]
And I do not have a good initial impression of your character.
[His eyebrow goes up as his hand falls down between them, untaken and he clasps them both behind his back once again.]
A mech. That is the true you, the metal one. Well, if we're going to talk about the station as if it's not suspicious at all- my name is General Kirigan.
[So unlike Drift with his history stitched in to his skin, so different from Megatron, as well - who looks kind, even if he does claim not to be. Living metal, with a spark hidden somewhere inside of them, with enough power to fuel their lives for millions of years- and just enough power to fuel a hungry orb for a month.]
You didn't like the proposal? It was a bit rough, I admit. The last one I did was-- a very long time ago. And it didn't involve quite this much drama.
[It didn't involve anyone but Luda and him, in a quite spot in the woods. The creek babbling close by and sharing sweet bread in the soft rays of fall sunlight filtered through the canopy of orange leaves.]
A minesweeper, to be exact. [He can't stop himself from briefly interrupting to correct Kirigan.]
I'm not a fan of these announcements of sensitive feelings. It's all nonsense. Cybertronian customs focus on the pair's relationship, not...[He waves a hand at the street.] whatever that is. Unless overcoming one's fear of public speaking is part of the bonding ritual. [He understand the ring - it's similar to the Act of Profference, but the Act of Devotion is usually a private affair.]
[The pause between words is calculated, eyebrow going up as he stares at the man. Lips twitching with a small smile as the words keep coming.]
The ritual in my world are nothing like this, I'm afraid. A lot of the time, it's for practical reasons, and for anyone with station near the throne, it's political. Asking in public is not done at all, but the announcements are, of course, a matter of public record.
[For the otkazat'sya. Grisha were held to a different standard, most thinking that they tumbled indiscriminately and stole children from unlocked houses.
Prejudice and lies, all done in the name of keeping them ground down in to the dirt and treated as such.
But they had their own traditions, their own vows of affection and words of devotion. The face they have seen in the Making at the Heart of the world.] I saw something like this is what is called a movie.
[Sidestepping any mentioning of the other half to his whole.]
If we do run into a situation that calls for it, then I can call it useful. As it stands, I'm too small to carry anyone, and it's obviously out of place if I were to drive down a street in this form. [There's a twitch in his mustache betraying his frustration. This is why he prefers researching; it's too dangerous for him right now. Plus, he doesn't want to run into the man that caused him to react so strongly to a fake proposal.]
Movies aren't all that accurate to life. [He's seen many on Cybertron, even those from Earth, and he's well aware of how fiction embellishes the drudgery of reality.] I don't know why anyone would want that sort of speech given to them. It's a rotten apology and a manipulative tactic to attain an official relationship.
But- [The small smile is exchanged for a look of puzzlement] you are a car. How could you be too small?
[Petry agrees to that assessment, that the whole show of it was a blatant attempt to sway the recipient in a certain direction, the pressure of the public yet another way to push a 'yes' from unwilling lips - but it's a crude one, and for that reason alone, he would never use it himself.
Unless
The little voice in his head on departure requested it. But that is not the focus of this conversation for him-]
I was shrunk upon arrival. [Which might not be an issue for Drift but for a little guy? Even less space.] And no I'm not that small.
[He seems irritated to be referred to as something do diminutive. Granted, his size is already referenced in his name, but the grief given to a small mech trying to act big is too familiar.]
And no, I am not offering to let you fit inside. I cleaned inside recently.
I-- [for the first time since he dropped to his knees in the dirty street and professed his love, Petry looks... strange. Something between laughter and confusion flitting across his face] that--
I was not asking to be-- fitted inside of you [and doesn't that just lend itself to lewd jokes and Drift, talking about his stick shift while he had been too busy trying to breathe as the hot sands of Scorpion's Bend whizzed past the dark windows] I... was not mentioning your size as a slight. I was merely baffled at the possibility. Of something smaller. Than the Grand Palace.
[Which probably means nothing to this man.] Smaller than very, impossibly tall.
[Minimus takes a few minutes to wonder what is so funny. Does Petry think he'll wear Minimus as a suit of armor? Was he commenting on how Drift and Megatron were more spacious that he?
...No, he doesn't know just how lewd Drift has been with the humans, and Minimus honestly has no clue.]
There are a variety of sizes other than small and enormous.
I am learning as much, yes. Now. And thank you, for telling me about this.
[Was this what talking to him was like, before he learned the words to describe the network and the station and the automatic doors? He has a moment of horror, of shame, a hot flash of it that burns in the pit of his stomach before his smile is back.]
I don't believe I will forgive you for some time. [Worse than a beating, Minimus was humiliated, and pride takes longer to heal than a physical wound..] You are fortunate that no one we know witnessed that scene, so I believe that we should work on forgetting this ever happened.
You feel ashamed. [A shot in the dark, since he's still teetering on whether or not Minimus and his whole species can feel it - was that another one of the universal constants of the multiverse?
That emotions ran deeper than the bloodlines they came from, and the hereditary traits of shared guilt.] Forgiveness is earned, and I respect your decision.
Perhaps we will meet again, and I will try to stop myself from kneeling before you.
I can when we get back after he's had time to burn off some energy. [ This is going to suck. ] You didn't do anything wrong, but I was hoping he would have heard it from Megatron. I don't know I just figured...it would have been easier that way.
Would you want to put him in that position? [ There was enough blame to rest on Megatron's shoulders to fill the annuls of Cybertronian history, but what Rodimus felt wasn't his fault. Even Drift had to admit that. ]
Last we spoke...Rodimus wasn't in a good way. I got him to spend the not watching movies with me in my room instead of drinking, but now? I don't know what kind of headspace he's going to be in.
And...that night I might have gently tried to nudge him towards Thunderclash.
Envy? I don't know about that, but this is Rodimus. He's been aimless for the better half of the last few centuries, and suddenly Megatron is back in his life. You're either competition, something he's going to meticulously compare himself to looking for his own shortcomings, or both.
[ Drift makes a noise that's almost pained as it was tired out ] Either way what he thinks is that he lost.
[The similarity to Minimus's thoughts months ago does not go unnoticed. Minimus had a lifetime of comparing himself to others, and Megatron having recently been with Drift was immediately seen as just another part of that pattern.
But Rodimus? Feeling that Minimus is the better one?]
Competition? For Megatron's attention? [But they're already friends. They are already partners with complimentary leadership styles. It's not like Minimus demands that they spend time throughout the entire day. They spend time together like they used to on the Lost Light; their nighttime schedules are the only ones that have changed.]
...Oh no. [A terrible realization.] By "lost", do you mean in the sense of.......
[His voice strains until it settles into a whisper.]
[It's like a plot from one of his romantic novels that he locks away in the deepest of files. Would that mean Rodimus will attempt to sabotage Minimus's life as revenge for "stealing" his man? Does that mean he has to watch out for seduction plots?
He does feel a horrid twinge of pride at feeling that he's "won" at being someone's favorite.]
[ yet another flyer ends up on every orber's door, evidently by the same culprit as last time, except now it's a more colorful display:
the back of the flyer features more details about the play and its characters, and soon enough, an announcement from rita herself goes public, giving more context about the event, which all can sign up for. ]
[Finn walks up to the box, squinting down into it thoughtfully. Apparently, gift giving was the custom around here. A human custom, as far as Finn could tell. The thought gives him a weird fluttering in his stomach as he focuses on one of the new people he's met -- human or not -- racking his brain for what they might want...]
MA loves cleaning. Like, loves cleaning. [Finn hums, as if waiting for divine insight from the box itself.] Maybe this is kinda out there, but I feel like the best gift he could get is more stuff to clean. But not like, laundry, like something super old that he'd be into...? Is that enough to go on, box?
Later...
[This month's supply drop has arrived and with it, a little something special for Minimus. He'll see a box wrapped in pearlescent white paper, a coral-colored bow, and a small glittery gold tag with 'From Finn' printed on it. The wrapping job is too neat to be from Finn himself, clearly created by the ship's replicator based on his gift request.
Inside the box, he will find a very old copy of The Canterbury Tales. It is severely damaged and in need of profound restoration, but the illuminations look original. Projects make good gifts, right?]
[The damage horrifies Minimus, but the artwork is too beautiful to abandon. It's a unique cleaning project that will take up much of his time in the near future, so now he has something else to do than to police everyone that doesn't clean up after themselves in the common area.
As a bonus, he has his hands on a new piece of classical Earth literature. Time to be scandalized by some of the stories!]
[Clayton has to think really hard about this one. Most of his go-to gift options seem like they'd only be appropriate for humans - he can't even settle on food, noting that the Energon on offer during Newt's recent movie night didn't come in a lot of unique or interesting forms. Eventually, after a lot of puzzling and kind of creative brain-twisting, Clayton puts together something that he hopes can be appreciated, even if it's only by intent. The car polish kit is packaged together and wrapped, left at Minimus's door like he did for Clayton's gift earlier this week, except this one comes with a messily handwritten note.]
[With so many of his friends on other ships or otherwise not around, it's been easier for Wei Wuxian to conceal his mood, but occasionally he still needs to get away to somewhere quieter. It's why he seeks out the library from time to time, and why he's entering now, pleasantly surprised to see Minimus in his human form sitting at one of the tables.
He wanders over with a smile, waving in greeting.]
I should have known you'd be spending most of your time here.
[Minimus looks up from his fort created from dozens of books, a notebook outlining his organizational system, and a stack of papers arranged in a complex grid that only he understands.]
This is the best place to seek information about the planet, after all. [The books he's paging through is undergoing a bookmarking process; he can't put it down now.] I have the captains' permission, and I trust that the others can work on the ground while I'm here.
I'm looking into the history of the royal line, but if you have another idea, go ahead. The details of the uprising are potential sources of information.
[He nods and selects an assortment of books that he brings back to the table, dutifully beginning to flip through one of them and managing it for a few minutes before he sighs dramatically.]
How is it that when I'm around you I always end up doing something studious? [There's teasing affection in the question and he smiles mischievously at Minimus as he asks.]
It's not a bad situation in which to be. [He highlights a section of his notebook.] And to be honest, I prefer to study with you out of the rest of the crew.
[Wei Wuxian's eyes widen and he stares at him for a long moment, cheeks taking on the faintest pink flush. Minimus what the fuck, you can't just say really nice things to him like that?}
Aiya, don't say that! [He laughs and shakes his head.] I'll get a big head and then where will we be? [He beams at Minimus though and reaches out to playfully shove his shoulder.]
[He groans and reaches up to cover his face. Seriously Minimus, people saying nice things about him gives him hives. After a moment he lowers his hands, trying to appreciate his friend's sincerity.]
I haven't done much, I mostly just talk a lot. [He laughs.] But I appreciate you too. I appreciate your wisdom, friend, and your reminders to see things outside of just my perspective. I'm glad we got the chance to meet here. I'm better for it.
That's more than what most people I know have said about me. There's plenty of complaining when they think my back is turned, but I can't punish them for voicing their thoughts. [As much as he wishes he could discipline them for being rude to a superior officer.]
But surely, you were just as intelligent before you met me.
Who's complaining about you? Are they here? [He will Lecture them Minimus, give him names! The rest makes him snort though and he shakes his head.]
I don't know about intelligence. I'm clever and sharp at some subjects. But there are important things that need to be learned outside of studying and books.
No, no, I mean in general. When I was second-in-command of a crew, I tried my best to enforce order only to be seen as a joke by everyone. [His shoulders hunch.] Or they were complaining about my putting a stop to dangerous activities, or offering advice [read: correcting their grammar], and other such things.
I think I figured out how to make myself liked by a group, but it's not entirely enough.
[It's the echo of a struggle he's heard before, that of someone seen as too serious and set apart for that reason. It isn't exactly the same, but it's close enough to tug a little at his heart. Minimus is perhaps the kind of person who takes some rules very seriously, but he's a hell of a lot more than just that.]
Well, you give me homework, make me study, and sometimes tell me about rules and I like you just fine. If that's not enough for others, maybe the problem is theirs.
You're right. [It makes so much sense when someone else says it.] Megatron was one person who liked me for those qualities. So did Verity, and a few others. They're rare but they exist.
It's just difficult when everyone else around me has an easier time making friends.
[It isn't a sentiment he can relate to as it's always been a simple thing for him to make friends, but it is a familiar sentiment, having heard angrier, grumpier admissions of the same sort from his brother for his whole life. Jiang Cheng had always struggled to be likable and even Lan Zhan struggled to convey himself to people. He pauses for a moment before he speaks again.]
I don't know if I ever told you this, but when we first began to get to know each other, you reminded me a lot of a man back home who was my most precious friend.
He's quiet and reserved, and he'd been brought up to uphold following the rules above all else. People respected him, but he didn't have any friends aside from his elder brother. [And he remembers how he'd seen something else in Lan Zhan right from the start, something more than just the rule enforcer. Someone who wanted friends. Someone who wanted to be understood.]
I wanted to be his friend and eventually I bothered him into it. And as I did I learned that he was kind, patient, and that his love of rules was driven by a deep desire to be just and to be good. [He turns a warm smile on Minimus.]
That friendship was the most important one I ever had back home. If there are people in your life who appreciate you for you, then that is all that matters. Hold onto them.
[Minimus lowers his eyes and grows quiet at the mention of an older brother. As frustrated as he was with Dominus's popularity, he was his only friend - and vice versa. That changed when Dominus met Rewind and fell in love, then his time was devote to fighting for his soulmate's freedom. Rewind became his research partner; they spent more and more time together until Minimus couldn't reliably socialize with him.
And he assumed he wasn't needed anymore. He drifted away from his brother, and their last words to each other were meaningless pleasantries, and Minimus's brother-in-law was furious when they met each other again.]
It's eerie how similar he sounds to me. [Minimus folds his hands on the desk.] The brother, too - I wasn't close to anyone else apart from Dominus before the war. Much to my detriment, I didn't think it was worth sharing anything about myself with anyone else.
[Before the war. He knows only a little of Minimus's world and knows that there had been a war, but almost nothing about the causes or the stakes. For a moment shame passes over him for how little he's asked after his friend's world, but he sets it aside for another time. Another time he'll ask Minimus to share more if he's willing, but not now.]
Do you think it's a simple thing to cast fault one way or another? [The question is sincere and his eyes drift to the window in the library overlooking the sky.]
Maybe a part of it was you, and maybe it was circumstances, and maybe it was a dozen other things too.
But I don't think that's who you are anymore, do you? We're friends, aren't we? [He grins.] And you are worth knowing. Do you think I make friends with just anyone? [Despite his overall friendliness, there were precious few Wei Wuxian felt truly close to. It was easy to share drinks and a laugh with someone.
If only the world was as black-and-white as I wished it to be. It was easy to think there was a simple solution to every problem. Joining Rodimus and getting close to Megatron taught me much about the greys of the world. Metaphorically. [He sure learned about a certain grey mech in a worldly manner.] It's a change that I was required to undergo if I were to be more comfortable around others.
[A shrug.] I guess you make friends more easily than I do. You have the personality for that.
I make more enemies too. There are two sides to everything. And as for that change, isn't that just the way of things? When we're young we see the world one way, and the more we grow and the more we experience the more we understand our own limitations.
It would certainly be easier if the world was black and white, but I suspect if it was, you wouldn't like me at all. [He dips his head, smile losing some of its mirth.]
I've made a lot of mistakes in my life. A friendly personality can't make up for that.
[A laugh gets caught in Minimus's throat.] "Young" - I was alive longer than humans existed when the war began. It's our nature as Cybertronians to stagnate for eons and change in a matter of years. You've done better than most of my kind.
Who knows if we would be enemies? If we agreed upon the rules of what is right and wrong, we could have become friends. Some laws are consistent across cultures. [Murder, theft...but the details differ.] Actually, no, we might not have.
How old are you? [Wait.] Are you an immortal then? [It would make sense, he supposes, considering his non-organic nature. Still, he's never known this about his friend before and he's delighted by the knowledge.]
Regardless, age is relative. What is young for me might not be young for you, but you were still young once.
[He grows quiet then, thinking on the rest of Minimus's words.]
We'll never know. What I do know is that no matter the mistakes I've made, or your difficulty making friends, we are friends, and I'm glad for it. We met exactly when we were meant to exactly how we were meant to.
No, not immortal. We can die of age-related illness if we aren't killed. [Even if he hadn't experienced it, Drift notified him of Ratchet's funeral not too far in the timeline. Not even a great medic can stop old age.] I'm over five million years old. Some of my colleagues were only a few hundred years old. Few remain from the earlier days of Cybertron. But compared to many organics, it does seem like immortality.
[Unfortunately, this does not translate to maturity and many Transformers are stuck in dramatic teenager and young adult mindsets.]
Better that we met now than earlier, I take it? Or could we have changed knowing each other?
Most humans tend not to judge us by our age, so we don't tell them. [But he supposes the same could be said of Wei Wuxian.] Speaking of ages, how old are you? I assume that your are a young adult, but I have trouble with the exact year. We Cybertronians mature quickly.
Me? [He laughs and shakes his head.] Certainly not five million.
I'm twenty years old. [He pauses.] Though I'll be twenty one soon.
[Which is weird as hell considering he'd died at nineteen. It's always felt strange counting the time that passed after, but it's still time lived isn't it?]
I'd be considering an adult where I'm from, if a younger one as you guessed.
And at 15, a teenager is considered not to be fully independent. How quickly things change for humans. [Makes sense, for how short their lives are.] For years, I traveled with a runaway of that age who I believed was mature enough to live on her own. It was quite a surprise to learn later that her stowing away on my ship should have been cause for alarm.
[But they became good friends anyway, and Minimus misses Verity dearly centuries after her death. How quickly humans age.]
[He raises an eyebrow at that. It's true that fifteen is still young, but it's not that young. Plenty of people that age struck out on their own and he'd been on the front lines of a war at sixteen years old. Then again, Gwen seemed to have different ideas on age so perhaps that sort of thing was perceived differently in different places.]
I didn't know you'd met humans before! Is your world shared between Cybertronians and humans?
[She seemed very mature, if brash, but the adults around her were concerned for her safety and expressed how she should have had a guardian for more of her life. That, and she was in the middle of an Autobot-Decepticon warzone. So, she picked Ultra Magnus to look after her.]
We share the same universe, but not planet. Earth is just another inhabited planet, like those the Ximilia encounters. Whether Cybertronians are friendly or hostile to smaller organic life forms depends on the individual. From what I can see, humans are a constant across all of our homes universes. Odd, since they inhabit only one planet.
Ah, I see. [Like some of the others whose worlds already incorporated space or universe travel. It's a concept he can picture a lot better now but one that is still very difficult to imagine for his own world.]
Definitely odd. [He agrees.] Of all the lifeforms and sentient beings out there, that humans should be the most common...I wonder why that is.
They aren't the oldest life form in existence, nor are they the most powerful. Humans haven't mastered interstellar travel in my universe, they were just fortunate enough to live on the planet where our war ended.
[Perhaps the war was about to end anyway, and the abundance of Ore-13 on Earth sped up the dissolution of the army structures. Perhaps it was a coincidence that so many parties converged onto the same place.]
Perhaps this ship picks up life forms with with is is familiar - particularly human.
It does make walking the halls and blending in on most mission easier I think. [He throws Minimus a sheepish smile, aware that the man often has to disguise his true form like he's doing now.]
Practically speaking, it makes sense.
You know in my time on Earth, we don't even have automobiles yet. We use horse pulled wagons. [He chuckles at it, a strange idea now that he's been exposed to so much more.] They're slower but I can't say I mind very much.
They're charming, in a way. [A vehicle pulled by animals is unique when most of your kind can turn into vehicles.] You humans learned to adapt quickly despite the situation. We Cybertronians are stagnant beings. Perhaps that's why your kind survive in almost every universe.
Hmm maybe. Who knows. [From where he's sitting, humans don't have anything more going for them than any of the other people he's met know, but then he knows he's probably biased, what with all of the terrible ones he's met. In a way it's nice to hear that maybe they have something going for them after all.
His eyes fall to the books beneath his hands and he runs a hand along one of the open pages.]
Here I promised to actually work and all I've been doing is distracting you, isn't it? [He laughs.]
But distracting you with good conversation I hope. [He knows he's enjoyed it at least.]
Energon. [The same thing that the ship dispenses for all of the Cybertronians.] Or engex, if the aim is to be inebriated. It works the same way as your alcohol does.
[And they can get drunk the same way, unfortunately.]
I am messaging you all in hopes of returning to something that we have not had the luxury of aboard the R2. I do not judge the lack of it, but change needs to occur. I feel that we should take the laws that govern our society aboard the R2 and do more than simply imprison those who break those laws. We need to train at least two residents aboard the ship as lawyers, as well as instituting court proceedings that include a jury, when necessary.
I believe we have a duty to those we serve to ensure that they are represented fairly, that they are allowed a voice, or else we are only repeating the actions that harmed many of us.
I will be unavailable to return messages on this topic for the rest of the day, but I shall respond when I can. Thank you.
You bring up a critical issue in our peacekeeping infrastructure. While I myself am a lawyer, I find myself lacking in assistance when we are seeing multiple cases at once. The existing system in place was enough when we were a small crew, but as our community grows, a stronger bureaucracy is needed.
I am willing to join you in a meeting to discuss the changes to be made. Our security team numbers have dwindled, and we must attract new members to take part in running the court system. I will prepare an outline for the ship-wide process for our review.
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audio | username: goodvibes
Ambus? I wanted to apologize and see how you were doing.
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I am recovering. I will be fit for the mission .
[He's not sure if he's ready to accept that apology, but-]
I, too, apologize for unintentionally mocking your grief, though I would have preferred a less severe warning.
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You didn't know. It's not an excuse.
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While I cannot offer much in the way of consolation, I want to emphasize that I am available to discuss our lives on Cybertron. You should not be alone in your grief.
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Please don't. I don't want to grieve. I want to fix this.
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[At least he can set boundaries. That's easier to do.]
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[ A pause. ]
Too soon?
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Action
Ey, Minimus? It's Peter...ah, Star-Lord. [ He's not sure if Minimus would like to see anybody, or what exactly happened, but it sounded upsetting and he's worried, hence the visit ]. Do you have a moment?
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The holoform stands, unlocks the door, and throws herself back onto the carpet.]
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Ah, hi...
[ Peter has never interacted much with the other Cyebertronians' holoforms, but he's seen Megatron's and knows of their existence. There's a brief confusion flashing on his face when he spots Minimus body lying on the bed, and his eyes land on the young girl sitting down in front f it.
Luckily, Minimus had mentioned Verity to Peter before, so he imagines that perhaps he chose a holoform based on her age, or looks. The guardian gives him...-Her? Her, then- a sympathetic look and moves to sit on the floor next to her. Peter brings his knees up, arms resting on them, offering silent company for a few rather than immediately pressing for answers about what had happened. The choice of songs speaks for itself, and Peter is familiar with finding comfort in songs in difficult moments. ]
That's a good playlist.
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Mm.
[If only it were easy to apologize for behaving so foolishly.]
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If talking is difficult, then they don't have to do that.
The thing about holoforms, though, is that Peter has only seen Megatron's one through the network. He has no idea if they are pure holograms, or hard light, or something else. That won't stop him from trying to wrap an arm around her shoulders, to see if there's something solid there and he can bring Minimus closer for a half hug. ]
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It's nothing like a hug from another Cybertronian, but she sits up and curls into a ball. It's not a direct invitation for physical contact, but it gives Peter more space for his arm.]
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Do you ...want me to go punch someone for you?
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[He's certain Megatron and Drift are in enough emotional turmoil. He wants them to feel enough shame.]
Physical violence might distract them from the core issue.
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[ See, Peter can also be petty, so he totally understands this reasoning. Not like Minimus doesn't have plenty of justified reasons, of course. ]
So, uhm...Them?
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[It only takes several seconds for Minimus to decide to share names.]
Drift and Megatron.
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Peter also knows that Drift, much like himself, is mourning the loss of his lover, and he thought that Megatron was seeing Minimus because that's what Drift had implied the last time they talked. To hear that whatever happened-and it doesn't take a genius to figure that it might be- involved them is unexpected, to say the least. Peter can only give a sympathetic, and still sort of surprised; ]
Fuck. [ Okay that is not much as far as replies go. ] Holy shit. [ Not better. Peter runs his free hand over his face briefly, then tries to catch her eye. ] That's shitty, I'm sorry. Where they drunk or something?
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[Verity-avatar throws her arms into the air, then lets them fall to her sides.]
If I was his second choice only because Drift wasn't available, he could have at least told me this before- [No. It was difficult enough to invite Megatron to his train cabin, and he isn't going to go into detail with someone he had known for a month. The avatar resumes staring at the ceiling.] It's my fault. I should have known better than to assume Megatron couldn't be happy without me.
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Ey no, none of that. Other people's mistakes are not your fault.
[ Peter is a jealous person. He is not proud of the fact, but he is aware that it is a bad trait he has. He also knows that the reason he got so annoyed when Gamora looked at other people, or when others showed interest in her, was that he wouldn't know what to do if she wasn't part of his life. Being loyal to your partner means a lot to him, but he also understands what it's like to be alone, to think that you'll never get to see your loved ones. When loneliness and pain claw at your chest and make an empty hole to crawl into and stay there. It never ends well. ]
I'm not sure how relationships are for you, guys, with your long lives, but I figure it's not that much different from any other sentient creature. We're not so different. [ The guardian starts, his voice conciliatory and a little careful, but honest. ] Admittedly, I don't know Megatron and Drift as well as I would like, but I know they have a complicated past together. They might have felt really lonely on this ship, with no one else they knew or trusted around, and not knowing it that would ever change.
[ Peter reaches out to touch the holoform cheek, to try and get her to look at him. ]
I'm not trying to excuse them, they should have talked to you about it when you got here. You have all the right to be furious and to never speak to them again if you don't want. I'm just trying to say that broken-hearted people would try anything to make the hurt go away. Even if it's only temporary, even if causes bigger problems in the long run. We shouldn't judge others by their lowest points, but by how they answer to their mistakes.
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I could have done something differently! I could have asked him if he had anything important about our relationship to say about! About which to say! [He's slipped up on his grammar; he knows now that he's in far too much distress, but he can't stop himself.]
If that's what made him happy, why didn't he tell me? If it brought him comfort, why did he believe that hiding it from me was more important than what we wanted for centuries? I thought he trusted me. I thought I could trust him. I knew it was naïve for...whatever we had to work smoothly, but just this once, when I let my guard down...
[And like the last time he put his faith into Megatron, he was hurt. Feeling vulnerable is comforting only for a brief moment before the regret sets in. He knows, when Peter holds her cheek and the avatar inevitably turns towards him, that looking at Star-Lord in the eye will lead to a cascade of emotions that should have been left inside before it destroyed another friendship.]
...We're here together. It makes sense to have a professional relationship with them. [Verity's mouth twitches.] At the very least.
But I am not ready to talk to him.
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When we first met, I've got the impression that you like things to be under control, but people are unpredictable, and our feelings hardly make sense to ourselves on a daily basis. Megatron's choices are only his fault, for good or bad, and torturing yourself with 'what if' will only hurt you further.
[ Peter is the last person who would call Magnus out for slipping up on his grammar, much less now that the poor Cybertronian is so clearly troubled. It's good, however, that Minimus is letting it all out instead of bottling his feelings up, even if he might regret it later. ]
That, I cannot tell you. Maybe he was scared that you would not return his feelings. Or maybe Megatron believed that he wasn't deserving of them.
[ As much as Peter loves Gamora, he's had those kinds of thoughts before. She is better than him in a possible way, something other people had reminded him of plenty in the past, and he sometimes wondered if she wouldn't have been happier with someone else.
When the Verity avatar turns to face him, Peter's own eyes are filled with sadness and sympathy. He's no stranger to betrayal, although not of this kind. ]
Then don't talk to him, you don't have to forgive him. Forgive them. You all might need some time, and Megatron certainly needs to work to earn your trust again. I know things are bad now, and you have all the reason to be angry and frustrated, but don't let it harden your heart to life’s other joys.
Pushing it
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[As much as he wants to ignore Drift's messages, he does have to remain professional on a mission. He can complain to Starlord later if responding ends poorly.]
There is plenty of information, but little has been of any relevance to our mission.
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We're seeing how that's going.
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I hope to have something about the origins of the planet's disease before it's too late.
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Teamwork is super terrific
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I look forward to the results of your work.
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Interesting choice of capitalization there that I'd pretend was a grammatical error if it wasn't coming from you.
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I knew you were upset but poking at that is just low
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You’re misspelling that word on purpose.
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you're not exactly sly as a fox when you want to be petty
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*your little swipe
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You're being vindictive.
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1/2
Alright.
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you know I actually advocated for you? Megatron is content to go home a rot and I must have brought you up half a dozen times to get him to put his head back on straight and gain some perspective but you see where that got us
There was no 'relationship'
Just like there wasn't one between the two of you because you were both so goddamn busy pretending to be 'very good co-workers'
There needs to be a relationship for me to sabotage you rules-lawering bastard
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If it were only one time, I would accept that it was all purely caused by a moment grief, but this happened over months. I know you to be a mech that treats bonds with others seriously.
If Megatron preferred you over me, I have to accept that.
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Only you would try to tally this and ascribe some asinine ranking system that only makes sense to you. Those months left us both miserable and confused. We both saw this as the end of the line, a kinder death than burning out back home.
Although it's nice to hear apparently I'm always going to somehow still be Deadlock to you: Megatron's favorite killer, the guttermech slut. Absolutely figures. Even diminished, you still need to punch down when you don't feel like you're in control.
He didn't prefer me — he was trying to forget he couldn't have you. He was failing spectacularly, by the way.
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But that’s stupid. Emotions are for fools, and Minimus was an idiot for ever even thinking he was ready for intimacy. So he pulls out another library book and types a slow message, taking this time picking at the keypad while avoiding reading Drift’s last message.]
If what you said is true, then I want to hear it from Megatron himself.
I’m sure you have better things to do than to talk to me.
[He’s not going to admit he’s lost this fight. Maybe he’s wrong and Drift absolutely has no sway over Megatron. Maybe he’s right and Drift doesn’t realize the power he has. Either way, he knows that there is no respect directed at Minimus, but what else is new?]
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Comm him then.
I have more to do than try and fix your love life when I'm here because I just put my soulmate in the ground.
Action - Fox and the Hare mission
It's not just the mission that's on his mind, but the personal one whispered in to his ear as the teleportation took him away and placed them all in this saints forsaken place.
A personal mission that grates his pride no matter how he tries to ignore it. He clenches his fist around the piece of wire in his pocket, weighing options.
But walking the street helps. A bit. And he turns a corner, eyeing a familiar face from a distance. He doesn't know the man's name, but he's seen that face before on the station. It might even be better that it isn't someone he knows.
Taking a deep breath, the Darkling strides up to Minimus and sinks to his knees in front of him, right there, outside a club and the line of dressed-up natives waiting patiently to be let in to this den of sin and forgetfulness.]
Sweetheart! [His voice loud and clear, ringing out above the din of the music and small-talk around them.] Baby, darling one! Please, I hate it when we fight and I cannot go on without you.
[Pressing a hand to his chest, above his wildly beating heart, he continues, tears welling up in his eyes as emotion brims through every syllable.] I love you, I have always loved you and I want nothing else than to call you mine - in name as well as in our hearts.
Marry me. [As he pulls out a ring, made from stripped copper wire braided and twisted in to a O, adorned with a roughly polished piece of blue glass. It's nothing fancy, his skills falling desperately short on this, but it's very clearly a ring for a finger.] Make me yours and I will adore you always.
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He's just as lost as before and barely notices Darkling until he shouts out a pet name.
Something Megatron might never call me, he bitterly tells himself.
...Wait.]
I'm sorry?
[It takes some time to process the situation, but he's fairly certain that this is a common Earth proposal ritual. This man he's never spoken to is kneeling in front of him and - oh Primus, humans use rings to signify marriage. Minimus is less embarrassed about the situation and more confused. Yes, the other shoppers are watching the scene, but why does Darkling have to mock him with a relationship that he'll inevitably ruin?!
Minimus regains control of himself and grimaces.] Is this some sort of joke to you?!
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Blinking up, eyelashes wet with unshed tears, he takes a shuffling crawl closer.] No, most dearest one, this is no joke.
After everything we've been through, how could I possibly joke about the purest and most sincerest thing in my life - my love for you.
[Petry can say this, can speak the words and sound like he means them, when the Darkling hides away in the dark shadows of his own mind. His - Aleksander's- heart, kept well away from all the emotions that he fuels in to his trembling voice.
Words he might have said, and might even have meant, had he still been able to remember what love feels like when he looks at Alina.] Most precious, don't turn me away. Please- don't let me be alone.
[The crowd look from one to the other, a scene of passion playing out right in front of them, and like always - people love to watch the ruin of others.]
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...No. This isn't something Megatron would do. And Minimus isn't going to play along with this man's fantasies, even if it would help him ignore recent arguments.
Minimus gives him a second of a scowl before he slides his hand out of that tender grip, and several onlookers gasps excitedly.] Get out of my sight. You should be ashamed of the audacity to assume I'd accept.
[Is he even talking to Petry at this point?]
Take your ring and give it to someone else. I'm done being someone else's stand-in.
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A stunned look sneaks across his face for a second, a look of hurt and shame, before he wipes it off and replaces it with one of love. Of adoration. Of hope and all the bright things that you cannot see in the dark.]
You, my dear heart, are no stand-in. There could never be anyone but you. It has always been you, even before I knew you, I saw your face-- in my dreams. I heard the sound of your voice in the wind and I knew, from the moment we first touched, that... it would always be you.
It was meant to be.
[He grabs for the hand again, pressing his flushed face against the back of it.] I don't know why you're doing this.
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How dare he use poetry against him. How dare he refuse to take a hint. How dare he take his hand as if it were offer freely to him?
His face is warm and sickening. Without thinking, Minimus yanks his away and delivers a slap to his face.
Despite the lack of real life relationship experience, despite complaining of the cliches in dramas and romance literature, Minimus felt the best course of action was to send a direct message to him and the onlookers.] Leave me be. [He turns away, cradling his right hand, and feels himself curl into himself as he stomps towards an opening in the crowd of people.]
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He brushes the dirt of the street from his knees, looking for all the world like someone who just the most important thing in his world. Eyes wet and watching the man walk away, the crowd parting for Minimus like the waters parting around a Saint.]
Wait!
[Another call, another way to bring attention back to himself and away from the man roped in to this by accident.
Swallowing harshly, Petry strides through the people and after Minimus. Long legs eating up the distance until he can corner him in a darker street, away from the spectators to the failed proposal.]
Apologies.
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The footsteps and voice are ignored, but that alone can't make Petry disappear from the planet. He manages to catch up to Minimus with ease, who cannot believe he's been cornered for a second time this hour.]
Apologies? Think about the impact of your actions before you make a fool out of a total stranger you found on the street! [Minimus swerves on his heel and jabs a finger at Petry's face.] I don't know if you're drunk or actively malicious, but I do not want anything more to do with you!
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I made a fool of myself. [The stares and the hushed whispers, all the salacious gossip about what he might have done to this man to deserve such a harsh rejection.] You were-- a familiar face in the crowd.
This would have been much easier had I been drunk.
[This man could have made things worse; he could have accepted. Tilting his head, the Darkling tries for a reassuring smile.]
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Damn his impulsiveness. Why did he have to get angry enough to become strangers' entertainment?
His gaze remains one that seeks danger, and with his body tensed and positioned ready to attack, Minimus comes off as an angry animal that has just been cornered.]
Easier for you. What if someone from the ship saw us? What then?
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[Coming up a little short on how to respond to that - to the anger, the tight line of the man's shoulders and the thought about anyone from the station even bothering to look more closely at what they got up to.
Especially when on a mission and his tiny gasped what echoes his bafflement.]
Pardon me? If someone saw me make a complete fool of myself, you mean. Depending on who it was, I would guess the result would be either indifference or laughter. I can think of only one who would film it to use it against me later.
[Hands coming down until he can clasp them behind his back.] You did nothing wrong. And thank you for that, by the way. For not punching me in the mouth.
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Don't assume with whom I associated. And you are fortunate that punching you would have painted me in a worse light.
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[It's still baffling to met with anger, not at the presumption of intimacy but apparently the attention that he brought on them with his spectacle.
Being the Black General of the Second Army meant that he was also looked on, was used to the stares and the quiet judgements. As a Grisha in a country that wanted to sell them all in to slavery or shuffle off where they could not be seen, having fought- tooth and claws- for every speck of recognition and respect he has, this is... new.
A reminder of a distant time before the Little Palace when he had counted on the veil of anonymity to survive.]
I'm sorry. Who do you associate with that would judge you for making a man fall in love with you?
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No. Not in front of everyone. The point wasn't that people were learning details of his intimate life. The point was hearing something that he knows will never happen. He crosses his arms and keeps his eyes steady on the Darkling.]
I am not in a position to give any thought to romantic entanglements. [This the most detail he wishes to share. Megatron doesn't deserve to be further ostracized, even if there is a voice in Minimus that wanted him to burn in hell for a week.] Even if I was, you don't know me well enough to truly mean such a thing.
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But that wasn't the personal mission, and the Darkling wipes the humor and heat off of his face, blinking slowly at the other man for a short moment.] I don't know you at all, actually.
But that can be changed. Hello, I'm Petry Stardust. [A breath, as he holds out his hand, eyes rolling up to look up at the dark sky, where he imagines a space station might be, if Ximilia was even in this world.] Here. My name is Petry here.
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[Who was usually found in the common areas cleaning after the others.]
And I do not have a good initial impression of your character.
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[His eyebrow goes up as his hand falls down between them, untaken and he clasps them both behind his back once again.]
A mech. That is the true you, the metal one. Well, if we're going to talk about the station as if it's not suspicious at all- my name is General Kirigan.
[So unlike Drift with his history stitched in to his skin, so different from Megatron, as well - who looks kind, even if he does claim not to be. Living metal, with a spark hidden somewhere inside of them, with enough power to fuel their lives for millions of years- and just enough power to fuel a hungry orb for a month.]
You didn't like the proposal? It was a bit rough, I admit. The last one I did was-- a very long time ago. And it didn't involve quite this much drama.
[It didn't involve anyone but Luda and him, in a quite spot in the woods. The creek babbling close by and sharing sweet bread in the soft rays of fall sunlight filtered through the canopy of orange leaves.]
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I'm not a fan of these announcements of sensitive feelings. It's all nonsense. Cybertronian customs focus on the pair's relationship, not...[He waves a hand at the street.] whatever that is. Unless overcoming one's fear of public speaking is part of the bonding ritual. [He understand the ring - it's similar to the Act of Profference, but the Act of Devotion is usually a private affair.]
Or your other half was fond of your dramatics.
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[The pause between words is calculated, eyebrow going up as he stares at the man. Lips twitching with a small smile as the words keep coming.]
The ritual in my world are nothing like this, I'm afraid. A lot of the time, it's for practical reasons, and for anyone with station near the throne, it's political. Asking in public is not done at all, but the announcements are, of course, a matter of public record.
[For the otkazat'sya. Grisha were held to a different standard, most thinking that they tumbled indiscriminately and stole children from unlocked houses.
Prejudice and lies, all done in the name of keeping them ground down in to the dirt and treated as such.
But they had their own traditions, their own vows of affection and words of devotion. The face they have seen in the Making at the Heart of the world.] I saw something like this is what is called a movie.
[Sidestepping any mentioning of the other half to his whole.]
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Movies aren't all that accurate to life. [He's seen many on Cybertron, even those from Earth, and he's well aware of how fiction embellishes the drudgery of reality.] I don't know why anyone would want that sort of speech given to them. It's a rotten apology and a manipulative tactic to attain an official relationship.
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[Petry agrees to that assessment, that the whole show of it was a blatant attempt to sway the recipient in a certain direction, the pressure of the public yet another way to push a 'yes' from unwilling lips - but it's a crude one, and for that reason alone, he would never use it himself.
Unless
The little voice in his head on departure requested it. But that is not the focus of this conversation for him-]
Are you smaller than a pony?
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[He seems irritated to be referred to as something do diminutive. Granted, his size is already referenced in his name, but the grief given to a small mech trying to act big is too familiar.]
And no, I am not offering to let you fit inside. I cleaned inside recently.
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I was not asking to be-- fitted inside of you [and doesn't that just lend itself to lewd jokes and Drift, talking about his stick shift while he had been too busy trying to breathe as the hot sands of Scorpion's Bend whizzed past the dark windows] I... was not mentioning your size as a slight. I was merely baffled at the possibility. Of something smaller. Than the Grand Palace.
[Which probably means nothing to this man.] Smaller than very, impossibly tall.
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...No, he doesn't know just how lewd Drift has been with the humans, and Minimus honestly has no clue.]
There are a variety of sizes other than small and enormous.
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[Was this what talking to him was like, before he learned the words to describe the network and the station and the automatic doors? He has a moment of horror, of shame, a hot flash of it that burns in the pit of his stomach before his smile is back.]
And I am sorry. About the... scene before.
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That emotions ran deeper than the bloodlines they came from, and the hereditary traits of shared guilt.] Forgiveness is earned, and I respect your decision.
Perhaps we will meet again, and I will try to stop myself from kneeling before you.
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the orber can choose to attend or simply listen in to the meeting when it occurs, or they may ignore it altogether. ]
audio | *stirs the pot*
I just saw Rodimus tearing out of the cafe like he heard there was a hat parade he needed to go protest.
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[There's a long pause. It's just as bad as he assumed it would get.]
I informed him of my relationship with Megatron.
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[ Deep inhale, and a long drawn out vent follows. ]
Shit.
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This has all gone to pot. Again.
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Drift, is there something I should know?
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Last we spoke...Rodimus wasn't in a good way. I got him to spend the not watching movies with me in my room instead of drinking, but now? I don't know what kind of headspace he's going to be in.
And...that night I might have gently tried to nudge him towards Thunderclash.
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Do you think he envies us?
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[ Drift makes a noise that's almost pained as it was tired out ] Either way what he thinks is that he lost.
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But Rodimus? Feeling that Minimus is the better one?]
Competition? For Megatron's attention? [But they're already friends. They are already partners with complimentary leadership styles. It's not like Minimus demands that they spend time throughout the entire day. They spend time together like they used to on the Lost Light; their nighttime schedules are the only ones that have changed.]
...Oh no. [A terrible realization.] By "lost", do you mean in the sense of.......
[His voice strains until it settles into a whisper.]
----romantic rivalry?
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What's more of a zero-sum game than love?
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[It's like a plot from one of his romantic novels that he locks away in the deepest of files. Would that mean Rodimus will attempt to sabotage Minimus's life as revenge for "stealing" his man? Does that mean he has to watch out for seduction plots?
He does feel a horrid twinge of pride at feeling that he's "won" at being someone's favorite.]
Did Megatron know?
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[ Not that Drift can speak it only took four million years and near annihilation of the universe for him to choke out the big L word. ]
Minimus.
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[But Minimus mostly just asked because he is, once again, worried about what this means for their blossoming relationship.]
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The other one.
He hasn't been picking up and I can't find him.
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[He moves away from the café, out towards the plaza.]
I've explored most of the city, if I have a description...
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We're talking about Rodimus now anyway.
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the back of the flyer features more details about the play and its characters, and soon enough, an announcement from rita herself goes public, giving more context about the event, which all can sign up for. ]
action (kinda);
MA loves cleaning. Like, loves cleaning. [Finn hums, as if waiting for divine insight from the box itself.] Maybe this is kinda out there, but I feel like the best gift he could get is more stuff to clean. But not like, laundry, like something super old that he'd be into...? Is that enough to go on, box?
Later...
[This month's supply drop has arrived and with it, a little something special for Minimus. He'll see a box wrapped in pearlescent white paper, a coral-colored bow, and a small glittery gold tag with 'From Finn' printed on it. The wrapping job is too neat to be from Finn himself, clearly created by the ship's replicator based on his gift request.
Inside the box, he will find a very old copy of The Canterbury Tales. It is severely damaged and in need of profound restoration, but the illuminations look original. Projects make good gifts, right?]
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As a bonus, he has his hands on a new piece of classical Earth literature. Time to be scandalized by some of the stories!]
[ present ]
Moustache-buffing kit
--Clayton
Hhial: The Hawking, Action
He wanders over with a smile, waving in greeting.]
I should have known you'd be spending most of your time here.
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This is the best place to seek information about the planet, after all. [The books he's paging through is undergoing a bookmarking process; he can't put it down now.] I have the captains' permission, and I trust that the others can work on the ground while I'm here.
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Do you mind if I join you? [he glances to the table.] I won't even mess up your organization.
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Start with those.
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And what exactly am I looking for? As in is there anything specific or just anything at all about the planet?
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How is it that when I'm around you I always end up doing something studious? [There's teasing affection in the question and he smiles mischievously at Minimus as he asks.]
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Aiya, don't say that! [He laughs and shakes his head.] I'll get a big head and then where will we be? [He beams at Minimus though and reaches out to playfully shove his shoulder.]
I like studying with you too.
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I'm only being honest. I'm very thankful for your presence on this team.
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I haven't done much, I mostly just talk a lot. [He laughs.] But I appreciate you too. I appreciate your wisdom, friend, and your reminders to see things outside of just my perspective. I'm glad we got the chance to meet here. I'm better for it.
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But surely, you were just as intelligent before you met me.
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I don't know about intelligence. I'm clever and sharp at some subjects. But there are important things that need to be learned outside of studying and books.
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I think I figured out how to make myself liked by a group, but it's not entirely enough.
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Well, you give me homework, make me study, and sometimes tell me about rules and I like you just fine. If that's not enough for others, maybe the problem is theirs.
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It's just difficult when everyone else around me has an easier time making friends.
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I don't know if I ever told you this, but when we first began to get to know each other, you reminded me a lot of a man back home who was my most precious friend.
He's quiet and reserved, and he'd been brought up to uphold following the rules above all else. People respected him, but he didn't have any friends aside from his elder brother. [And he remembers how he'd seen something else in Lan Zhan right from the start, something more than just the rule enforcer. Someone who wanted friends. Someone who wanted to be understood.]
I wanted to be his friend and eventually I bothered him into it. And as I did I learned that he was kind, patient, and that his love of rules was driven by a deep desire to be just and to be good. [He turns a warm smile on Minimus.]
That friendship was the most important one I ever had back home. If there are people in your life who appreciate you for you, then that is all that matters. Hold onto them.
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And he assumed he wasn't needed anymore. He drifted away from his brother, and their last words to each other were meaningless pleasantries, and Minimus's brother-in-law was furious when they met each other again.]
It's eerie how similar he sounds to me. [Minimus folds his hands on the desk.] The brother, too - I wasn't close to anyone else apart from Dominus before the war. Much to my detriment, I didn't think it was worth sharing anything about myself with anyone else.
...I feel like not having many friends my fault.
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Do you think it's a simple thing to cast fault one way or another? [The question is sincere and his eyes drift to the window in the library overlooking the sky.]
Maybe a part of it was you, and maybe it was circumstances, and maybe it was a dozen other things too.
But I don't think that's who you are anymore, do you? We're friends, aren't we? [He grins.] And you are worth knowing. Do you think I make friends with just anyone? [Despite his overall friendliness, there were precious few Wei Wuxian felt truly close to. It was easy to share drinks and a laugh with someone.
It was a lot harder to share pieces of himself.]
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[A shrug.] I guess you make friends more easily than I do. You have the personality for that.
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I make more enemies too. There are two sides to everything. And as for that change, isn't that just the way of things? When we're young we see the world one way, and the more we grow and the more we experience the more we understand our own limitations.
It would certainly be easier if the world was black and white, but I suspect if it was, you wouldn't like me at all. [He dips his head, smile losing some of its mirth.]
I've made a lot of mistakes in my life. A friendly personality can't make up for that.
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Who knows if we would be enemies? If we agreed upon the rules of what is right and wrong, we could have become friends. Some laws are consistent across cultures. [Murder, theft...but the details differ.] Actually, no, we might not have.
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How old are you? [Wait.] Are you an immortal then? [It would make sense, he supposes, considering his non-organic nature. Still, he's never known this about his friend before and he's delighted by the knowledge.]
Regardless, age is relative. What is young for me might not be young for you, but you were still young once.
[He grows quiet then, thinking on the rest of Minimus's words.]
We'll never know. What I do know is that no matter the mistakes I've made, or your difficulty making friends, we are friends, and I'm glad for it. We met exactly when we were meant to exactly how we were meant to.
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[Unfortunately, this does not translate to maturity and many Transformers are stuck in dramatic teenager and young adult mindsets.]
Better that we met now than earlier, I take it? Or could we have changed knowing each other?
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He exhales his shock and shakes his head, chuckling.]
Maybe we would have. I do know I'm better for knowing you. [He turns a grin on Minimus and then rests his head in one hand, shaking it again.]
Five million years old. I can't believe I didn't know that about you until now!
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I'm twenty years old. [He pauses.] Though I'll be twenty one soon.
[Which is weird as hell considering he'd died at nineteen. It's always felt strange counting the time that passed after, but it's still time lived isn't it?]
I'd be considering an adult where I'm from, if a younger one as you guessed.
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[But they became good friends anyway, and Minimus misses Verity dearly centuries after her death. How quickly humans age.]
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I didn't know you'd met humans before! Is your world shared between Cybertronians and humans?
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We share the same universe, but not planet. Earth is just another inhabited planet, like those the Ximilia encounters. Whether Cybertronians are friendly or hostile to smaller organic life forms depends on the individual. From what I can see, humans are a constant across all of our homes universes. Odd, since they inhabit only one planet.
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Definitely odd. [He agrees.] Of all the lifeforms and sentient beings out there, that humans should be the most common...I wonder why that is.
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[Perhaps the war was about to end anyway, and the abundance of Ore-13 on Earth sped up the dissolution of the army structures. Perhaps it was a coincidence that so many parties converged onto the same place.]
Perhaps this ship picks up life forms with with is is familiar - particularly human.
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It does make walking the halls and blending in on most mission easier I think. [He throws Minimus a sheepish smile, aware that the man often has to disguise his true form like he's doing now.]
Practically speaking, it makes sense.
You know in my time on Earth, we don't even have automobiles yet. We use horse pulled wagons. [He chuckles at it, a strange idea now that he's been exposed to so much more.] They're slower but I can't say I mind very much.
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His eyes fall to the books beneath his hands and he runs a hand along one of the open pages.]
Here I promised to actually work and all I've been doing is distracting you, isn't it? [He laughs.]
But distracting you with good conversation I hope. [He knows he's enjoyed it at least.]
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[It's a conversation with a friend, not an annoyance. Even Minimus needs a few minutes of social interaction each day.]
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Nevertheless, I'd be remiss if we didn't get anything at all done, especially when you received special permission to do this. [He pauses.]
But we should do this more often. When we get back, we'll make plans to share a drink, hmm?
What do you drink anyways?
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[And they can get drunk the same way, unfortunately.]
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Wine for me and Engex for you. [He grins.]
What do you say?
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Text, Patokiichi, CC'd to Starscream and Gold Arm and Orion Pax
I believe we have a duty to those we serve to ensure that they are represented fairly, that they are allowed a voice, or else we are only repeating the actions that harmed many of us.
I will be unavailable to return messages on this topic for the rest of the day, but I shall respond when I can. Thank you.
Signing off,
BP-110, Deckerd
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You bring up a critical issue in our peacekeeping infrastructure. While I myself am a lawyer, I find myself lacking in assistance when we are seeing multiple cases at once. The existing system in place was enough when we were a small crew, but as our community grows, a stronger bureaucracy is needed.
I am willing to join you in a meeting to discuss the changes to be made. Our security team numbers have dwindled, and we must attract new members to take part in running the court system. I will prepare an outline for the ship-wide process for our review.
Do you have an agenda for this meeting?
- Ultra Magnus, Head of Security.