INDEPENDENCE DAY | open log

[engrishdetective]

WHO: Gunmax & OPEN AS HELL
WHERE: The Haven area -- a clearing's been picked out.
WHEN JULY FOURTH AWWWW YEAHHH AMERICA.
WHAT: Gunmax has stated that there will be FIREWORKS. So here is the place to celebrate the fireworks going off! Completely open and anyone is welcome. Chances are the Brave Police will frown upon any scuffles between 'Con and 'Bot, so if something comes up, they will probably escort your afts. This is an opportunity to socialize a bit the best you can BEFORE THE IMPENDING ATTACK.
NOTES: For those that Gunmax promised to pick up on his motorcycle, assume that he already has, for your own convenience!
WARNINGS: AMERICAAAA.



Granted, he knows. He gets it, the Brave Police are in a bad situation because this place is all about the freaking Cybertronians, so they don't really have much fuel to pass around in order to be comfortable.

Heck, at this moment, they're barely scraping by.

Usually, the cheering up portion is left up to Yuuta and on a normal basis, he'd probably just watch fireworks on a TV and call it good because no one in Japan really gives a damn about American customs. That's fine, whatever. But then there's the lack of Yuuta and he knows how that's affecting Deckerd and this entire place is a mess, so Gunmax feels like he needs to do. Something. For all of them.

This isn't normally his place to do that sort of thing, but Deckerd's long since earned his trust and friendship and so has McCrane.

It's why asking for a thing like fireworks isn't an easy choice -- they do have important things to do -- and making this next decision is even harder.

Gunmax parks the motorcycle and steps off. Almost affectionately, he pats the seat before crouching down.

"Sorry girl," he says with a sigh. "Just some of your gas, all right? It means I can't take you out as often as I'd like, so don't get too lonely."

He pops open Gunbike's gas tank and starts to drain some of the gas into one of his containers.

"Thanks for understanding," he muses to the bike, eventually closing off the tank when he's satisfied. The motorcycle isn't empty, but he'll have to be even more stingy than usual in using her.

Poor thing.

He gives the bike one more pat before he heads out a bit further into the clearing.

Time to start the show, he thinks.

Comments

[engrishdetective]

It's a good sight. A bit meager for the Fourth of July, but hey -- he'll take it. And quite frankly, it's less about the holiday right now and more about a little entertainment.

They've had enough to worry about, quite frankly, and this is a good way to make it... lighter. If possible.

He catches sight of McCrane and lifts a hand as he approaches him. With a short laugh, he comments, "You look a bit more like yourself, but still a bit off. I don't think my rag's gonna do much for those burns."

Gunmax pauses, then jerks a thumb over his shoulder. "Deckerd's back there. We might as well sit back and enjoy the show, right?"

[patokichi]

Lo and behold, Deckerd is, indeed "back there". Should they turn to look, he's sitting, and he lifts a hand to wave a greeting before getting up to come say hello.

"Ahh, McCrane. Feeling any better?" He tries not to draw attention to the leftover smudges.

Turning to Gunmax with his usual patient smile, he actually seems excited, "I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what you prepared, Gunmax."

Doing something pointless like this...

Is actually kind of nice.

[mccrane]

"I am still grateful for it, Gunmax." At this point, any extra cleaning would have been better than none. He was sure that if they could just manage to survive, they would be able to live here. Somehow. It was just not what he ever expected to have to do.

Between Gunmax's greeting and Deckerds, though, he could't help but smile one of his soft smiles. Even on the hardest days, they'd always managed some time to themselves, and denying it hadn't been helping anyone.

He was looking forward to this.

Trudging toward Deckerd, he sat down on one side, leaving the other side for Gunmax. It was almost comfortable, here, though he didn't have any inclination to 'sit back.' His backside was still too sore for that.

"Korra makes for an efficient car-wash, even if she didn't understand at first to wait for me to get in crane mode." He's still not sure how he felt about being washed like this by someone who was not his team. It seemed too personal.

"What are we celebrating tonight?"

[engrishdetective]

At the other side of Deckerd, Gunmax plops back down and folds his arms behind his head as he leans back, peering up at the sky. There's a small snort; while the others feel more comfortable getting washed in their vehicle modes, Gunmax doesn't exactly have that choice.

Not a discussion he'll really get into.

"Well, she's still learning about us." Gunmax shrugs.

Celebrating. "My excuse was the Fourth of July. But I think it's about something else right now."

[patokichi]

With McCrane on one side, and Gunmax on the other, Deckerd feels almost at ease for the first time since he arrived. Sitting in the usual, very 'human' way that he had picked up from Yuuta in his early days, le just listens to the meandering conversation. He'd be content to just let them converse, the comforting sound of familiar voices, but that wouldn't be terribly nice of him.

Deckerd laughs at the thought of Korra trying to wash McCrane in his robot mode. It must have been awkward.

"That is true," he agrees with Gunmax, "She's a very nice girl, though. I think she is also an important ally."

His chin meets his hand.

"Fourth of July... what does it mean in America exactly?"

[mccrane]

"She seems to know everyone here," McCrane agreed, finding all the information she'd given him incredibly useful. She'd been there to help him out, more than once, and she was human.

That was significantly more familiar to him than all the other robots they'd been talking with.

Still, it wasn't as familiar as this. Being here. Talking about work, and about each other. He could almost imagine that this junk pile was on earth, if it weren't for the Lambda's looming presence and the lack of Build Team at his side.

"We could all use a wash, though." He reached out, rubbing a smudge on Deckerd's arm. "When we're fueled, we should visit one of the temples. I have heard mentions of robot-sized showers." The offer was specifically directed toward Gunmax, only belatedly realizing that the situation must have been even more difficult on him.

Other than that, however, he was quiet. He wanted to know what the Fourth of July meant, too.

[engrishdetective]

It's the oddest thing, at least to Gunmax; he hasn't opened up to many outside of the Brave Police. But Korra's behavior seems to accommodate all of them in some way. For him, her impulsiveness but also her sense of loyalty has touched him a bit. It helps too that they bear the same mark. For all of his unspoken concerns of the glyphs, it brings him some comfort to know that maybe it doesn't really mean a damn thing.

So, thus far, the Avatar's been a great asset to them. Like McCrane, much easier than most of the other robots here that just seem too bizarre or alien to him and rather unimpressive.

"Robot-sized showers. Well, that's a thing all right." Gunmax snorts. "Figures the temples would have running water. Still no gas or oil around, I bet."

He'll get that resolved a bit with Swindle, though.

At their insistence, Gunmax cracks a grin and lowers his arms. "All right." He first hands over a canister to McCrane; the rest of the fuel has been saved for him.

"So, it's probably good Duke isn't here for this." Gunmax smirks broadly. "The Fourth of July is America's Independence Day. That was the day in which, a little over two hundred years ago, America declared independence from England after America won the war between the two countries. America wasn't interested in being bossed around by England, basically, so they had a falling out. I know it doesn't mean much for Japan, but there you have it."

[patokichi]

"Ahah yes we could all use a good wash," Deckerd seems a little embarrassed at the smudge McCrane draws attention to- but he's covered in dirt and grease anyways, so it's kind of futile.

The thought of washing himself, while he's sure he's plenty capable, is odd. He's already missing the talks he would have with Yuuta and his sisters.

"Hmm. I think Duke would take it in stride. He's got such a good nature."

Deckerd is of course, always the first one to have a good word in on the knight. They've become such close friends. Like everyone on the team, Deckerd really doesn't have a bad thing to say about any of them.

"So that's what this is... interesting. Though history is interesting, even if this isn't earth."

[mccrane]

It's hard to be bothered by any of their dirtiness, especially in respect to his own. If they were in a different situation, he might have been, but dirt came second to survival.

He just doesn't like to see the team in this state. "Oil, yes." He reaches out to accept the offered canister, staring at it for a moment, knowing where it came from and what it means to Gunmax. It isn't diesel, but he will live. Inefficiently, but he will live. "The Cybertronians use it. But not gas." He looks down to his refueling hatch on his side, and flicks it open carefully. "A robot named Drift brought me a small amount before I came, but I don't know how long it will last." It would be something, though. Maybe enough to refuel Gunmax's bike, and use that for a while to get around.

"So it's about freedom," he says, softly, agreeing with Deckerd that the story is interesting to hear. "I hope we can do as well on our own as America did." It's not quite about that, he knows. This isn't a freedom that he imagines any of them want, but they'll manage, he's sure of it. They're cut off for the first time, but they've survived worse.

He looks up, watching the fireworks paint colors over the cloud-less sky.

"I'm glad that you did this, Gunmax," he says, after a moment. Weathering this situation together has been more of an accomplishment than he's realized. Seeing the fireworks is already making him feel better, somehow.

[engrishdetective]

"I'm sure Duke would like to pontificate on the nitty gritty bits of history, too." Gunmax waves his hand a bit. "He's a bit of a detail-orientated guy."

When McCrane opens the hatch on his side, Gunmax snorts and covers his mouth for a moment, trying not to laugh at the appearance. He's already given Deckerd crap for that old-fashioned method previously. Seeing McCrane fuel this way doesn't make it any less funny to him.

He debates giving him a hard time. He decides to go easy on the crane for now, considering all that they've been dealing with.

"I think we're doing okay so far," the biker comments, tone faint. "I mean, it's just the three of us, but we're managing."

One of them needs to be the confident one. Might as well be Gunmax.

At the last comment from McCrane, he laughs. "Well, I'm glad I did this, too. But it's nice you're both agreeing."

[patokichi]

"Well, if we figure out a way to refine it, we might be able to work something out. I'm going to keep asking around to see if anyone knows anything. While it is nice to see such charity amongst these robots... we cannot sustain ourselves on the kindness of others forever."

They'll have to sort something out, and that, Deckerd tasks himself with, quietly.

"For now, I suppose let's not worry, though. It will only wear on our nerves, and that's the last thing any of us needs."

He laughs to punctuate his point and leans back a bit more, watching the haphazard fireworks.

"You did do a wonderful job with this."

If he just looks at the explosions, he can imagine he's back on earth at some festival with Yuuta.

[mccrane]

"Duke would clarify..." McCrane nodded, letting his thoughts wander. "And Power Joe would tease him for it." He finished refueling, catching Gunmax's expression for a moment with surprise, and glancing down to reseal his hatch, feeling strangely embarrassed but handing the can back nonetheless. "Drill Boy would take the gasoline when nobody was looking, and Dumpson would fetch it back, while Shadowmaru muttered under his breath about how it didn't matter, and watched the fireworks with that sad look he sometimes gets." McCrane smiled, a little, thinking on it.

It would be like home, if they were here.

It wasn't bad, though, like this. "Ratchet says he may be able to dilute the energon so that we can ingest it. If he can't, however, we may need to consider getting our engines overhauled."

[engrishdetective]

The description that McCrane lays for their missing members is specific and on the dot, he imagines. He can see it easily, with Yuuta looking on with his eyes wide in wonder and innocent laughter. With all of them, it'd be nice.

This is just going to have to do.

He accepts the can back from McCrane, giving him a side glance in amusement before turning his attention back to Deckerd. "Much appreciated. It was some hard work."

Back to the topic at hand, though. Lovely. This energon business seems to be getting them into an odd fix, doesn't it?

"You mean replacing them?" That oddly discomforts him.