re_alignment_logs

Entry tags:

Failure

WHO: Rung, Open~
WHERE: He's wandered into Alpha Trion's Quadrant.
WHEN Sometime after the bad session with Fortress Maximus.
WHAT: He failed at the only thing he's ever truly been good at and he feels miserable because of it.
WARNINGS: N/A

Rung felt like a failure; an absolute failure in what he was supposed to be good at. He was supposed to help Fortress Maximus, do what he could because that's what his function was, and yet he'd completely fallen apart when the other had gotten upset and instead of helping he'd probably caused more harm than good. He'd lost his composure, let his emotions come through too much, and hadn't been able to keep his own haunting memories at bay.

It was everything that therapist wasn't supposed to do.

A small voice in the back of his head reminded him, as he walked along lost in thought, that the incident was still fairly fresh--recent enough that at times he could still feel the sting of the blow to his head--but a larger voice, the more stubborn one that Rung was letting have control at the moment, argued that it didn't matter. He should have been able to put it all aside and not let it get to him. He should have been able to calm Fortress Maximus down and helped him instead of freaking out.

He'd thought about retracting his offer for the time being, since he didn't feel like he was a good enough doctor to help anyone now, but he'd already made steps with several and he couldn't--wouldn't back out on them now.

But he'd never really felt more worthless in all of his existence really.

Rung had been so lost in thought that he didn't really realize where he'd ended up until he finally caught sight of a lake, the therapist's optics flickering as he slowed to a stop, staring out over the waters before finally looking around. It was very serene in a way, peaceful in a way that reminded him of what Blurr had said.

This must be Alpha Trion's quadrant.

Hesitating for a moment more, Rung's vents cycled softly as he pushed forward, heading down closer to the lake to just sit and..stew some more. Berate himself some more? Something like that...

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"Something like that," Starscream grumbled a bit and then stiffened instantly at the question about Jetfire.

Why did everyone have to bring him up?! Was he wearing a flashing neon sign that said 'please ask me about Jetfire'?!

He let out a long and mostly exaggerated annoyed sigh. Maybe the good doctor was just making conversation. Unfortunately, Jetfire had to butt himself in before and so Starscream couldn't just ignore the issue.

Well, he could, but he imagined the psychiatrist would point out that he was dodging the question and other annoying things.

"Cybertronian Academy, before the war. He was a big, irritating nerd then and that obviously hasn't changed. Show him a shiny rock and he'll be fascinated for hours."

Rung noted the stiffness, having been expecting a similar reaction considering the way Starscream and Jetfire had interacted over the comm unit.

"He seems nice enough though," Rung said thoughtfully, lacing his fingers together behind his back. "We all have our interests. There's nothing wrong with science being his."

A part of him had to wonder what it was Starscream was at the academy for, again out of sheer curiosity and nothing more, but he was hesitant to ask in fear of irritating the seeker if too many questions were thrown out on the table.

But..still...

"...I'm assuming he was there for the sciences..what about yourself, Starscream?"

That question certainly got a reaction, but it might not have been the one Rung was expecting. Starscream turned sharply and placed both hands on his hips.

"Are you trying to imply that he's smarter than me?! Because I assure you, I was a much better scientist despite everyone underestimating my abilities. And he besides, he mostly makes stuff up. Lots of techno-babble that doesn't even mean anything."

He then reached out with one finger to poke Rung on the chest.

"You have no idea about his ego either. He always has be right -- back then and even now! Do you know what its like being an exploring partner with someone like that?!"

The easiest way to get Starscream to talk was just to get him started on a tangent.

"N-No I meant--Starscream I didn't mean anything by what I asked. I just wasn't sure if you were into the sciences as well," Rung said in a bit of a stammer, holding his hands up slightly, squashing down the urge to back up really quickly in favor of just swaying back a touch as his chestplate was poked.

He let the other continue on his little rant, slowly but surely lowering his hands as he realized the other wasn't about to do anything more to him.

"...I can't say that I've ever had an exploring partner so I really have no way to compare," the therapist murmured, giving the other a bit of an uneasy smile. "But he seemed nice enough to me.."

Starscream was about to go on, but stopped and stared at Rung for a moment as he suddenly realized he might have frightened the smaller mech. He didn't particularly care if he did or not, but that hadn't been his intention.

"Oh stop it. As much as I want to blast something, you really aren't worth it."

He did pull away and fold his arms across his chest to almost make a point.

"Besides, its only amusing to shoot things when they fight back, which I doubt you could do very well."

That sly smirk returned, but otherwise, his tone was rather neutral.

"... As for what you said before, you only think Jetfire is 'nice' because you don't know him very well."

Rung made himself relax a bit more, keeping that fear squashed down tight as he smiled faintly, trying to make light of the entire situation.

"I am not a fighter, no," he admitted, a sheepish look to him before he schooled it again, slowly tucking his arms behind his back. "Maybe so, but I have had nothing but good interactions with Jetfire so I can't imagine what's so bad about him."

He tilted his head towards Rung as the secret words were said. What is bad about Jetfire.

Starscream, of course, was biased in many different ways, which Rung would probably figure out sooner or later. But for now it was time to talk about Jetfire's dark past.

"Even if I told you he was a Decepticon? As in following Megatron's evil band of conquest? Did he tell you about that one yet?"

He shifted his optics back put to the water, surveying the surface.

"But I'm sure he has his moments." Which was the closest Rung was going to get to 'yes, Jetfire is an okay guy.'

"..There are many that have a history of being a Deception--" Like Drift, for example. "--and they turn out to be very good bots in the long run. You can't judge another based on the past they left behind."

Because that wasn't fair, in the least.

His gaze lingered on Starscream as the other looked at the water and for a moment his lips quirked into a faint smile before he wiped the expression clean, focusing on the water now as well.

"We all do. Have our moments I mean."

Starscream hoped this wasn't going to turn into a something about him being good. He tried to step around that issue as much as possible, even though Jetfire was a rather good hindrance.

... Wing too when he thought of it.

Why did all the pacifists latch onto him? He liked being a Decepticon, slaggit.

He grumbled something inaudible before waving a hand out towards the water and changing the subject completely.

"Do you suppose anything is actually in there? I don't suppose you'd want to volunteer to jump in and see if there is any sort of water-based metal eating fish thing in there, would you?"

Rung looked momentarily confused before he snapped out of it and glanced at the water almost warily, taking a step back from it now with a faint laugh.

"Ah, no--while I have touched it, that's about as far as I'm willing to take it I'm afraid. Going into it just doesn't seem like something that I'd enjoy all that much," the therapist rambled a bit, optics on the water. A part of him was curious now that Starscream brought it up but...

No.

"It's not like it can hurt you, unless there are metal eating fish in there."

Starscream had considered pushing Rung in after that, but if something bad happened then everyone would get mad and he'd have to deal with it. He didn't want that, it was too much of a mess.

Besides knowing his luck, Rung would actually get eaten by a strange creature.

He crouched down and hovered a hand over the water, doing a few scans to see if it was actually water.

"I'd rather not take the chance on finding out just to find out," Rung said in all seriousness, eyeing the water a bit before watching as the seeker knelt down.

He hesitated a moment before drifting a bit closer, curious enough in his own way about the lake--

Just not enough to want to get in it.

"What are you scanning for?"

"To see if any monsters lurk below. I think there might be one in there."

He started to straighten himself up when he suddenly moved to shove Rung into the water -- which he scans seemed to come back as just that, water.

And as far he could tell, nothing dangerous seemed to be in there.

But Rung didn't need to know that.

"Why don't you double check for me?"

Rung let out a yelp, his vocalizer fritzing some as he hit the water, arms flailing a bit. Anything else Starscream had to say was lost to him, at the moment, the therapist sputtering a bit because of the water logged sensation, looking disoriented for a moment and--

Yeahno he wasn't so sure he liked this at all.

"That wasn't funny!" he said in a not so threatening sort of way, moving closer to the shore to get himself out of the lake before--before whatever could potentially happen happened because he had no idea what was in this lake!

Edited 2012-10-10 03:36 (UTC)

"Maybe not to you." Because Starscream certainly laughed.

He crouched back down as Rung moved back to shore. Maybe he'd push him back in if he tried to get out. He'd think about that one.

"Thank you for volunteering to verify my scans," he spoke with nothing less than a smirk. "I have now come to the conclusion that the lake is indeed water and there is nothing in there that'll eat you."

Of course, he sorta knew that before. But it was more amusing this way.

"I'm glad I could help," Rung said with a tiny bit of sarcasm lacing his words, though there was no real malice behind it as he finally reached the shore, hesitating a moment before, well, Starscream was right there and could very well not let him out.

Still, the therapist moved to try and haul himself out, eyeing the seeker warily for a moment.

"It almost sounds like you have a sense of humor. Keep it up and I almost might start to like you. And we don't want that, do we?"

Starscream seemed rather sly with his remark even as he moved forward at Rung. Was he going to push him back in? Maybe.

But not really. While it almost seemed like that's what he was planning on doing, he instead went to grab Rung by a piece on his back and pull him back onto land.

The therapist tensed as the seeker reached for him, expecting to be shoved back but instead the other grabbed him.

Well...that was..unexpected.

"How horrible it would be for you," he murmured dryly as he climbed onto the shore, feeling a lot better now that he was out of the water and on dry land again.

Even if he was currently soaked.

"...Is this a usual thing for you?"

At least Rung wouldn't rust or anything. ... Hopefully.

"Is what a usual thing for me? Pushing people into water? Maybe. But only after I shoot them."

He gave Rung a look, though he wasn't really serious about that, he had done something like that before.

But he hadn't exactly killed them either, just knocked them all offline and stashed their bodies in a lake.

What can he say? It made for a useful negotiation tool later.

"That's..comforting I suppose," Rung murmured thought it really wasn't in a way. This Starscream was just so hard to read but Rung didn't necessarily feel like it was a bad thing, or that the other bot was bad.

Just that he liked to keep people wondering.

"I suppose I should thank you then for not shooting me," Rung murmured as he collected himself a bit more.

If there was one thing (and there actually many) Starscream prided himself on, it was his ability to be rather unpredictable. The less people knew about him, the better he liked it.

Which in a way, made Rung a minor threat -- considering his abilities as a psychologist and all.

But Rung also seemed rather defenseless, which meant that even if Starscream considered him a threat, he'd be extremely low on the list of those to get rid of.

He smirked at the statement about thanking him and shrugged.

"It'd be a waste of energy. Unless, you want to give me a reason to shoot you."

"Ah, no, no, I think I'm good as I am. Really not fond of the idea of being shot anymore than I already have been in the past," Rung said hurriedly, smiling weakly before pulling himself together again and edging away from the flier a bit.

"Nor would I like to go back into the water. I would just like to state that now," he added, giving the flier a wary sort of pointed look.

"You're more likely to be randomly struck by lightning than get hurt by water, ya'know," Starscream responded with an evil grin.

He also moved when Rung did, not really allowing him to distance himself much. Another scare tactic? Very likely.

Starrscream even went as to move around to the other side of Rung. He really just wanted to see how nervous he could make the smaller mech be.

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Failure

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Pushhimindoitdoitdoit

i blame you

Hahahahahaha yes xD

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