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OOC Information
NAME; Fan
AGE; over 18
OTHER CHARACTERS PLAYED; n/a
IC Information
CHARACTER NAME; Starscream
AGE; Extremely old by human standards, thousands upon thousands of years. But human equivalent is roughly middle aged.
CANON; Transformers Prime
CANON POINT; Some time after the fighting's gone to Earth, after Starscream's killed his universe's Cliffjumper, and his universe's Airachnid has joined the Nemesis crew.
FAMILY TYPES; Nature Spirits, Jungle Troopers, Wind Guardians, Dragon's Roar
WORLD; Cybertron. A world populated by living and sentient robots, where organic life is unheard of. By nature, these Cybertronians are not physically static creatures--they are essentially shapeshifters with one or more set alternate forms, and even those can be tweaked. For example, a Cybertronian can transform into a jet mode, while the other robot mode is more conventionally human, typically bipedal and with arms and a face--though again with the Cybertronian aerial example, he'll probably have wings sticking out of his back. Now, the jet mode can be tweaked, such as when operating on Earth--tweaked so that instead of looking like a normal Cybertronian jet and thus being more conspicuous on Earth, it can resemble a human military jet like an F-16. Other vehicle modes can be similarly tweaked, though in general, it seems to come down that a Cybertronian is either a flight mode or a ground mode, and within those are even more subcategories (i.e. flight mode, either a jet or a helicopter; ground mode, either a four-wheeler or a two-wheeler). This transformation ability is due to their T-Cog, a biotechnological organ they carry. Without that T-Cog, they cannot transform. Cybertronians have an equivalent to a human heart, and something like a concrete soul--the spark in their torso. As long as it functions, they live; should it flicker out, they die.
Yes, despite the fact that a Cybertronian lifespan far outstrips a human life (they can live hundreds of years easily), Cybertronians aren't invincible. They can die, and they need sustenance. Energon, a native mineral substance that must be refined into a liquid state to be useable and edible, is their lifeblood, fueling both their bodies and technology. Energon can be particularly dangerous to humans, but its raw states can be volatile to Cybertronians too. There are different varieties of Energon, though only one truly safe one. Bright neon blue Energon is typically the usable Energon, and is why Cybertronian blood appears blue. Dark Energon, on the other hand, is violet, and can trace origins back to Unicron. Dark Energon is not good for use as it had the unfortunate side effects of either debilitating weakness to Cybertronians or increased aggression, instability and vulnerability to Unicron's control. Dark Energon can also reanimated the dead, and does very weird things to even inanimate metal, able to turn truly lifeless machines into chaotic and dangerous creatures. There is one instance of Dark Energon having healing properties, where it is the only thing to revive Megatron from his coma, and to probably protect him from dying in a previous explosion. Dark Energon not only makes the blood of those it infects violet, but also turns their eyes violet. Then there is Synthetic Energon, which is pretty self-explanatory: an attempt to create Energon, instead of mining for naturally made Energon. In a fight over resources, making one's own Energon would be groundbreaking. But Synthetic Energon or SynthEn similarly causes aggression and instability in those who use it, and also turns their eyes and blood green. So, SynthEn isn't that different from Dark Energon.
Unicron's been mentioned. Who is Unicron? At first thought to be one of the myths of Cybertron, Unicron is actually real. With Unicron being real, this "myth" may be true as well: eons ago, there were two great beings, Primus and Unicron, that were gripped in a great conflict. Primus won when he spawned smaller robotic beings--the 13 Primes that tipped the scale in his favor in the battle against Unicron. Unicron is banished, and essentially put into a seemingly endless slumber. But a prophecy was made (though who made it is anyone's guess) that Unicron would return when certain planets aligned at a certain time. Later it is confirmed that Unicron went on to become the core of Earth, and should he fully awaken, the Earth would be destroyed. Similarly, Primus went on to become the core of Cybertron, while from the 13 Primes descended the rest of the Cybertronian race. 'Prime' goes on to become the term for the ruling leader of Cybertron, armed with such artifacts of power as the Matrix of Leadership (the collective wisdom of the Primes) and the Key to Vector Sigma (a supercomputer on Cybertron that could recharge the Matrix). Primus and Unicron went on to become something of deities in Cybertronian culture, i.e. phrases such as 'Primus!' being the Cybertronian equivalent to 'God!', Unicron as the Chaos Bringer.
In daily life outside of the realm of battles between veritable gods, Cybertron organized itself into a caste system, strictly controlling Cybertronian lives by function and class. Essentially Cybertronian society was divided into the 'haves' and 'have nots' with no possibility of upward mobility into a better class. It was a system filled with corruption on top of this, and with a ruling body called the Council with the most power and none of the inclination to help their fellow Cybertronians. It was a system that allowed gladitorial blood sport among the lower classes, exemplifying the ruthlessness the society harbored toward those at the bottom and their willingness to use them for their own benefit, even their entertainment. Miner D-16, who became more commonly known as Megatronus when engaging in illicit gladiatorial matches, was one of the lower classes who proved most successful at demanding for change in Cybertron's caste system. He drew the attention of and inspired an archivist of Iacon, Orion Pax. The two became allies and even struck a friendship, working together to change Cybertron for the better. Some time during this, Megatronus sees fit to shorten his name to Megatron. Eventually their efforts bring them before the Council. Megatron gives a fiery and even violent speech before the Council, demanding immediate change and that the power and rank of a Prime be conferred to him to initiate that change. Orion Pax intercedes, exercising more tact and calling for a more peaceful resolution between the corrupt caste system and the actual Cybertronians who suffer under it. The Council, apparently moved by Orion, wish to make him Prime.
This caused a rift between Megatron and Orion, later Optimus Prime. Their rift eventually exploded into a civil war between Megatron's Decepticons and Optimus Prime's Autobots that not only toppled the Council in the process and the caste system, but effectively 'killed' the planet, so ravaged was it by the fighting that it could no longer naturally produce Energon. From there, the surviving Decepticons and Autobots did a mass exodus from Cybertron, yet still continued the war. A number of the Energon resources left were hidden on alien planets, such as Earth, which now hosts the battle between the main leaders of the war, Megatron and Optimus Prime. On Earth, the Cybertronian war isn't entirely a secret: the U.S. government and a native rogue organization called M.E.C.H. are in the know. While the U.S. government is aligned with the Autobots and oppose the Decepticons, M.E.C.H. ultimately plagues all Cybertronians, regardless of function.
But in this Starscream's alternate dimension, things go a bit differently, while some stay the same.
In his dimension, even Megatron is moved in a certain way by Orion's. His thoughts of revenge against the Council and the corrupt system they perpetuated, his thought to make sure that system was abolished and Cybertron bettered by any means necessary, were shaken as he was reminded that an all-out fight may risk what had truly motivated him from the start--to help Cybertron. Too much fighting would end up endangering Cybertron in the end. And Megatron trusts Orion, and believes his friend has a point, and has proved to be more worthy of a Prime, and thus supports and encourages him.
But this Orion...is a very convincing actor. It probably helps that he had believed in a more peaceful resolution. But that was before. At this point, Orion's witnessed enough of what the caste system does to make him drop all thoughts of mercy against those who perpetuate it...even worse, it's started to twist him in other ways, to even doubt just a little the value of right and wrong.... In any case, Orion intends to play the innocent, believing that luring the Council into a false sense of security and then assassinating them will be more efficient. Orion thinks it an unfortunate necessity to keep his friend Megatron in the dark about this, and even planning for Megatronus' lack of tact to make him look more appealing to the Council. But Orion does feel particularly concerned how Megatron seems to be more willing to listen to the peaceful solution after all...but Orion figures it is a minor detail and that he has better things to focus on, such as best plotting murder.
At least both Megatron and Orion see the Council's offer as still probably given with the intention of making Orion a figurehead, but both work together to ensure Orion is actually in charge. (Though Megatron is actually thinking more negotiation, Orion more along the lines of Kill them All and hide the bodies and evidence.)
So this Megatron never protests Orion being seen as the better Prime, and Orion was never genuine in wanting a peaceful resolution to the caste system problem. Orion Pax becomes Optimus Prime, and names Megatron as his High Lord Protector--essentially his Second-in-Command. And for a time, things seem to be going well. Then the Council starts dying one by one. Optimus has started his assassinations, and quietly and anonymously so, even having Megatron investigate their deaths. Optimus miscalculates in thinking Megatron will find nothing, and underestimating how skilled Megatron's friend, Soundwave, has grown. Megatron confronts Optimus, they talk...and at first Optimus can persuade Megatron to do nothing and let this happen. Optimus argues that at this point, it would cause too much scandal if Cybertron knew what their Prime was doing, and to take out the Council that still more often than not made their work more difficult than it had to be was much more expedient, and did Megatron still not loath them for what they had done?... Megatron is disturbed, but reluctantly goes along with Optimus.
But the power is steadily going to Optimus' head and unhinging him further, and rather than taking Megatron's compliance as loyalty and friendship from Megatron, and Megatron still trying to put a peaceful and protected Cyberton first, Optimus sees it more as him having power over even Megatron. Megatron will let him get away with it. So Optimus decides for a more bold assassination that will take out the rest of the Council at once, an explosion at some public gathering--what of any personnel there that may get caught up and die? The greater good is more important. Optimus' power and efficiency is more important.
Megatron catches wind of this plot and quickly stops it. Then things start going downhill fast. Something snaps in Optimus, perceiving Megatron's emergency response to thwarting his scheme as betrayal. Things quickly escalate into violence--Megatron hesitates to strike a killing blow against his friend, fighting against gladiator instinct and believing his friend could still be reasoned with. Optimus takes advantage, severely injuring a caught off guard Megatron and ending the fight. Optimus orders Megatron to be quietly locked away, and tries to come up with a plan to cover up what just happened with his High Lord Protector and still eliminate the rest of the Council without anyone realizing he's the culprit.
Megatron escapes, Optimus kills the Council, Megatron brings Optimus' less-than-clean schemes to light, and Optimus essentially freaks out even more, declaring Megatron a traitor of the highest deception to Cybertron, and Public Enemy #1, and clamping down hard on Cybertron and tightening his control over the planet. So, the civil war between Optimus' Autobots and Megatron's Decepticons still break out, though it's more about the ruling Prime's forces versus the rebels.
The war escalates, eventually claiming the life of literally an entire planet. Cybertron becomes a dead world, unable to function or produce Energon to sustain Cybertronian life. The Autobots and Decepticons leave Cybertron on a mass exodus, but the war is not entirely abandoned, the conflict shifting even more to other planets.
Eventually the main leaders and even the originators of the war, Optimus and Megatron, wind up on Earth, one of the many alien planets they've been stockpiling Energon on, and continue their eons-long stalemate.
APPEARANCE;
As a human, Starscream still has a relatively slender build, and he retains a lot of his coloring and heels--boots with high heels in this case. His hair is tri-colored--dark in his goatee, eyebrows, and along the sides of his head, but then lighter on top, and then that has a streak of red down the middle. He has a silver, gray and red jacket over a dark shirt, with matching dark gloves. He has a simple belt and slender gray pants.
Basically he looks like a mix of this (by arctg) and these two (by redmiel).
Except his eyes are blue.
PERSONALITY;
Deep down, many people harbor contradictions, conflicts within their character. Starscream is particularly contradictory and conflicted.
The aerial Cybertronian takes his job as Megatron's Second-in-Command very seriously. To the point where he's rather tightly wound up about it, something that at times doesn't suit an emotional creature like him. Stresses of the job can add to him at times being generally irritable with everyone and everything, complicating residual bitterness over the entire war. But despite making him rather caustic at times, such emotion still helps make Starscream approachable to the Nemesis crew, when the emotion is more positive rather than negative. When not in a particularly foul mood, he's generally friendly and caring with his crew, though not without an occasionally sarcastic sense of humor. But that emotion can get the best of him when he witnesses his crew or leader in danger and can't retain his composure over it, risking a mission's larger goal to ensure their personal safety, or crossing moral lines to, at best, protect them--at worst, avenge them. And Starscream does have a vengeful streak against those who've hurt or killed those he's cared about, and will sometimes impulsively pursue revenge against his better judgment.
This revenge and ruthlessly protective streak stem from Starscream's previous failures: he could not save his trinemates Skywarp and Thundercracker or his friend Skyfire, nor countless others, and he knows damn well that their murderers are still at large and haven't paid for what they did. In the face of that possibly happening again with someone else he cares about, Starscream is willing to do whatever it takes to remove the threat. The unresolved issue of past hurts only makes him more vicious in situations reminiscent of them.
But that revenge and ruthlessly protective streak still doesn't fit him that well. In the heat of the moment, Starscream is willing to dirty his claws and unleash great violence, but afterward he'll tend to feel a certain dissatisfaction and even disgust with himself. Starscream is rather neurotic deep down. He is able to plan and calculate his actions--such thoughtfulness can manifest itself as brooding and perhaps overly critical assessment of himself and the world around him. Though Starscream is too determined to quit entirely, he feels he's only had a string of failures, and as a result he's deeply insecure, though often times he's able to recognize situations where it's better to hide such weakness and put up a more confident, prideful front. Starscream is fearful, but part of that is the fear of inflicting pain on others. It was a fear amplified during Ratchet's experimentation, where Starscream could hear his trine and the rest of his squad being tortured, and that proved more unbearable for him to helplessly listen to rather than withstand his own torture. Not that Starscream is stoic under torture, even if he remains tight-lipped; it's that witnessing others in pain can be more triggering for Starscream. But again, even that trigger is overriden by other triggers of comrades in danger and seeing chances for revenge.
Without those triggers, Starscream's first instinct despite of (or more because of weariness and bitterness with the war) is to try to nonviolently resolve any situation by words of negotiation or trickery, or to neutralize it as painlessly as possible. Doesn't mean he won't fight brutally, and he has done that before as the war demands. Of course for him to even attempt such negotiation or guile, equalling the times when Starscream has been impulsive are the moments when he's been able to bide his time and weigh his options, something he's better able to do when less emotional or making a concentrated effort to block emotion.
The losses Starscream has suffered haven't convinced him to close himself off from others, but rather seek others to try to fill those losses. Part of this unconscious outlook is due to the fact that Starscream was isolated for a rather long time with only Terrorcons hunting him for company in the abandoned and locked down labs. When Megatron crash landed and didn't attack him, and actually treated him well, the first person in a long time to do such things, Starscream immediately latched onto to him. And in that environment, Starscream and Megatron had to work together to escape, further discouraging Starscream from thinking he had to isolate himself, but rather encouraging him to seek others out...eventually. Even after escaping, Starscream's instability was at its zenith and he only trusted Megatron; gradually he regained some stability and opened up more to other Decepticons that reached out to him: medical officer Knock Out in charge of him and his assistant Breakdown, Megatron's closest comrade Soundwave. And so Starscream grew attached to them, as he had done so with Megatron, and they are attachments he'll fiercely defend and be influenced by. But Starscream's loyalty doesn't mean he's subservient to Megatron, he can be very defiant with his leader. He'll speak his mind to Megatron--and that's part of why he was made Second-in-Command. Some of Starscream's defiance with Megatron is not only due to disagreements between the two, but a deep-seated accusation; though mostly loyal to and affectionate with Megatron, Starscream can't entirely shake the idea that Optimus Prime is Megatron's fault.
Normally with complete strangers, Starscream tries to be polite and observant and cautious, but it's not that difficult to make an ally or even friend of him, as he's more interested in being that rather than an enemy, much more interested in avoiding more fighting. Starscream's curiosity is another handy gateway, he enjoys gaining new knowledge. The regard and empathy he has for his Decepticons can be extended to virtual strangers who've not done harm as far as he can see, i.e. he does agree with keeping the humans out of the Cybertronian war as much as possible, not just for logistics reasons, but also since he thinks it deeply unfair to involve them in a fight they had never been involved in at all before. But this can be pushed--Starscream could be willing to harm even innocents if the Decepticons' safety depended on it, though he'd still be trying up until the very last second to find a way that would save both interests. But the Decepticons will remain Starscream's higher priority.
HISTORY;
Starscream and his trinemates Skywarp and Thundercracker were born lower caste, but their ancestry and the rank of their birthplace, the Crystal Sector, used to be higher. The Crystal Sector was once better off, and with a ruling lineage that Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker are descended from, but after getting on the wrong side of the Council, Crystal Sector and its ruling lineage fell, far before Starscream and his trine were born. The Crystal Sector ran rampant with crime lords fighting for control, while Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker struggled to survive and maybe reclaim their lineage's former security. The trinemates subsisted on thievery and mercenary work.
For a client, Starscream tried to infiltrate a science lab in one of the higher sectors and steal some data for the right price. Starscream did manage to succeed in that, though along the way he met and befriended a scientist named Skyfire, a generally kind Cybertronian that sparked Starscream's scientific interests. But Megatronus' (later shortened to Megatron) and Orion Pax's calls for a more equal Cybertron and an abolishment of the caste system enflamed the fighting back in the Crystal Sector, and Starscream left Skyfire's side to return home and help his trinemates. The Crystal Sector continued to fight even as Orion Pax was declared Optimus Prime, and essentially ignored the entreaties of him and his High Lord Protector Megatron's. The Crystal Sector still focused on their own fighting even when Optimus Prime had labeled Megatron an enemy of the state and condemned his Decepticons. Optimus Prime approached the Crystal Sector again; their answer was a refusal to ally with Prime's Autobots and claimed they would remain neutral and stay out of the Autobot-Decepticon conflict. Refused for the last time, Optimus Prime declared a siege on the Crystal Sector. Finally with a common foe, the Crystal Sector called for a truce among all their internal competing interests and focus on defending against Prime's forces.
Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker led one of the Energon Seeker squads looking for resources to sustain their beleaguered home while under siege. They and their squad are captured by Prime's Autobot forces and given to Ratchet's labs for experimentation in Dark and synthetic Energon. The experiments at the space station left all but Starscream as the only survivor, and Ratchet tested out the reanimation properties of Dark Energon on the dead. Eventually the reanimated fliers, the so-called Terrorcons (including Starscream's trinemates) overran the labs, and Starscream was left behind and trapped as the facility was abandoned and locked down. Megatron crash landed in the abandoned lab, and teamed up with a very traumatized Starscream to escape. But the Terrorcons escaped in the process. Starscream learned the Crystal Sector had been razed to the ground on Optimus' orders. Without many options left, thirsting for revenge against Ratchet and Optimus Prime, and given that Megatron saved his life and was the first figure in a long time to show him any sort of care at a point in time where his mind was very vulnerable and fractured, Starscream swore allegiance to Megatron and his Decepticons.
Starscream reunited with Skyfire, who had also joined Megatron after what Optimus had done to the Crystal Sector, and believing Starscream had died. Meanwhile, the freed Terrorcons attacked indiscriminately, not distinguishing between Autobot and Decepticon targets. Eventually normal Energon was weaponized in such a way that it could cancel out the Dark Energon reanimating the fliers and leave them truly dead. Eventually they were neutralized, Starscream essentially forced to watch his trinemates and squad die again.
Eventually, Starscream was captured by another Autobot, Cliffjumper. Unaware that Starscream was one of Ratchet's experiments, Cliffjumper only interrogated Starscream for intel as originally intended. Though Cliffjumper mocked him for vocally living up to his name, Starscream wouldn't actually give him anything useful under the torture. Eventually Cliffjumper brought in a captured Skyfire, who had been looking for Starscream. Then Starscream started talking, admitting he knew nothing. Cliffjumper, skeptical, killed Skyfire. Finally the rest of the Decepticons found Starscream, and Cliffjumper fled.
Some time after Skyfire's death, Megatron made Starscream his Second-in-Command. And a longer time after that, the Cybertronian civil war had escalated to the point that their planet was unlivable, and Autobot and Decepticon alike left on a mass exodus, still carrying their war to other alien planets. Currently Starscream stands by Megatron's side on Earth against Optimus Prime. Recently, Starscream avenged Skyfire's death by killing Cliffjumper. Not long after, Airachnid joined their ranks.
SAMPLES
FIRST PERSON;
http://dear-mun.dreamwidth.org/7397455.html?thread=231670095#cmt231670095
http://outsiders.dreamwidth.org/16554.html?thread=1043882#cmt1043882
http://dear-mun.dreamwidth.org/3800616.html
http://ink-city.dreamwidth.org/530929.html
THIRD PERSON;
Starscream woke up in pain.
He groaned, his vision still blurring as it tried to focus. He raised a claw, could feel the wetness on it. When his optics refocused completely, they saw that claw first, up above and dripping blue mech fluid.
Well, scrap.
The seeker felt wet all over, actually. He wasn't entirely sure if all of it was his mech fluid, though it certainly felt like it. Hissing, Starscream tried to get up. He swore when the first attempt failed, and one of his claws came to rest against his side, exceedingly wet and still leaking. Not good at all.
Comm the ship. "Nemesis, this is Commander Starscream, requesting immediate groundbridge." Try to glance around. Processor still fuzzy, actually. The pain didn't help with a clear head. "Location unknown. Can you identify?"
And nothing but static. Not good.
Starscream coughed out mech fluid, heaving and gasping. Though his body protested, he turned on his side, so as to avoid choking on his own mech fluid.
He couldn't remember what led him to this situation, wounded and separated from his crew. Tendrils of panic began to creep up on him--no. Wait, yes. Perhaps he was regaining energy if had enough of it for starting to panic. But don't panic, he desperately told himself. He had to stay calm, panic was not going to be much help.
The seeker tried the comm again, and still received no response. He tried to get up again. Still no success. Starscream kept switching between trying to comm his comrades and getting up, until he finally struggled to his knees. Taking a shaky breath, he climbed up from his knees and onto his feet. He took a step--and almost fell flat on to his face. Through a mix of flailing, yelping, before finally catching himself on his knee, Starscream managed to not entirely fall back down. He stretched back up, and advanced more slowly. Running a quick self-diagnostic, Starscream judged he could still fly. One good thing. His nav sensors on the ground weren't picking up anything that could determine where the frag he was though. It was some forested area, with gold, brown, orange and red foliage.
"Nemesis, come in."
Again, the comm returned only static.
Starscream transformed, inwardly wincing. It wasn't easy on his wounds, but he managed it, and immediately he felt more comfortable in jet mode. He blasted off--and hissed, then slowed his speed, and the pain eased somewhat. Less good that he could not go fast in his current injured state. Starscream broke through the tree line, and began flying over the area.
Try the comm again. Nothing, nothing.
Fine. Starscream flew slow but determined. He'd find his way back to the ship.
NAME; Fan
AGE; over 18
OTHER CHARACTERS PLAYED; n/a
IC Information
CHARACTER NAME; Starscream
AGE; Extremely old by human standards, thousands upon thousands of years. But human equivalent is roughly middle aged.
CANON; Transformers Prime
CANON POINT; Some time after the fighting's gone to Earth, after Starscream's killed his universe's Cliffjumper, and his universe's Airachnid has joined the Nemesis crew.
FAMILY TYPES; Nature Spirits, Jungle Troopers, Wind Guardians, Dragon's Roar
WORLD; Cybertron. A world populated by living and sentient robots, where organic life is unheard of. By nature, these Cybertronians are not physically static creatures--they are essentially shapeshifters with one or more set alternate forms, and even those can be tweaked. For example, a Cybertronian can transform into a jet mode, while the other robot mode is more conventionally human, typically bipedal and with arms and a face--though again with the Cybertronian aerial example, he'll probably have wings sticking out of his back. Now, the jet mode can be tweaked, such as when operating on Earth--tweaked so that instead of looking like a normal Cybertronian jet and thus being more conspicuous on Earth, it can resemble a human military jet like an F-16. Other vehicle modes can be similarly tweaked, though in general, it seems to come down that a Cybertronian is either a flight mode or a ground mode, and within those are even more subcategories (i.e. flight mode, either a jet or a helicopter; ground mode, either a four-wheeler or a two-wheeler). This transformation ability is due to their T-Cog, a biotechnological organ they carry. Without that T-Cog, they cannot transform. Cybertronians have an equivalent to a human heart, and something like a concrete soul--the spark in their torso. As long as it functions, they live; should it flicker out, they die.
Yes, despite the fact that a Cybertronian lifespan far outstrips a human life (they can live hundreds of years easily), Cybertronians aren't invincible. They can die, and they need sustenance. Energon, a native mineral substance that must be refined into a liquid state to be useable and edible, is their lifeblood, fueling both their bodies and technology. Energon can be particularly dangerous to humans, but its raw states can be volatile to Cybertronians too. There are different varieties of Energon, though only one truly safe one. Bright neon blue Energon is typically the usable Energon, and is why Cybertronian blood appears blue. Dark Energon, on the other hand, is violet, and can trace origins back to Unicron. Dark Energon is not good for use as it had the unfortunate side effects of either debilitating weakness to Cybertronians or increased aggression, instability and vulnerability to Unicron's control. Dark Energon can also reanimated the dead, and does very weird things to even inanimate metal, able to turn truly lifeless machines into chaotic and dangerous creatures. There is one instance of Dark Energon having healing properties, where it is the only thing to revive Megatron from his coma, and to probably protect him from dying in a previous explosion. Dark Energon not only makes the blood of those it infects violet, but also turns their eyes violet. Then there is Synthetic Energon, which is pretty self-explanatory: an attempt to create Energon, instead of mining for naturally made Energon. In a fight over resources, making one's own Energon would be groundbreaking. But Synthetic Energon or SynthEn similarly causes aggression and instability in those who use it, and also turns their eyes and blood green. So, SynthEn isn't that different from Dark Energon.
Unicron's been mentioned. Who is Unicron? At first thought to be one of the myths of Cybertron, Unicron is actually real. With Unicron being real, this "myth" may be true as well: eons ago, there were two great beings, Primus and Unicron, that were gripped in a great conflict. Primus won when he spawned smaller robotic beings--the 13 Primes that tipped the scale in his favor in the battle against Unicron. Unicron is banished, and essentially put into a seemingly endless slumber. But a prophecy was made (though who made it is anyone's guess) that Unicron would return when certain planets aligned at a certain time. Later it is confirmed that Unicron went on to become the core of Earth, and should he fully awaken, the Earth would be destroyed. Similarly, Primus went on to become the core of Cybertron, while from the 13 Primes descended the rest of the Cybertronian race. 'Prime' goes on to become the term for the ruling leader of Cybertron, armed with such artifacts of power as the Matrix of Leadership (the collective wisdom of the Primes) and the Key to Vector Sigma (a supercomputer on Cybertron that could recharge the Matrix). Primus and Unicron went on to become something of deities in Cybertronian culture, i.e. phrases such as 'Primus!' being the Cybertronian equivalent to 'God!', Unicron as the Chaos Bringer.
In daily life outside of the realm of battles between veritable gods, Cybertron organized itself into a caste system, strictly controlling Cybertronian lives by function and class. Essentially Cybertronian society was divided into the 'haves' and 'have nots' with no possibility of upward mobility into a better class. It was a system filled with corruption on top of this, and with a ruling body called the Council with the most power and none of the inclination to help their fellow Cybertronians. It was a system that allowed gladitorial blood sport among the lower classes, exemplifying the ruthlessness the society harbored toward those at the bottom and their willingness to use them for their own benefit, even their entertainment. Miner D-16, who became more commonly known as Megatronus when engaging in illicit gladiatorial matches, was one of the lower classes who proved most successful at demanding for change in Cybertron's caste system. He drew the attention of and inspired an archivist of Iacon, Orion Pax. The two became allies and even struck a friendship, working together to change Cybertron for the better. Some time during this, Megatronus sees fit to shorten his name to Megatron. Eventually their efforts bring them before the Council. Megatron gives a fiery and even violent speech before the Council, demanding immediate change and that the power and rank of a Prime be conferred to him to initiate that change. Orion Pax intercedes, exercising more tact and calling for a more peaceful resolution between the corrupt caste system and the actual Cybertronians who suffer under it. The Council, apparently moved by Orion, wish to make him Prime.
This caused a rift between Megatron and Orion, later Optimus Prime. Their rift eventually exploded into a civil war between Megatron's Decepticons and Optimus Prime's Autobots that not only toppled the Council in the process and the caste system, but effectively 'killed' the planet, so ravaged was it by the fighting that it could no longer naturally produce Energon. From there, the surviving Decepticons and Autobots did a mass exodus from Cybertron, yet still continued the war. A number of the Energon resources left were hidden on alien planets, such as Earth, which now hosts the battle between the main leaders of the war, Megatron and Optimus Prime. On Earth, the Cybertronian war isn't entirely a secret: the U.S. government and a native rogue organization called M.E.C.H. are in the know. While the U.S. government is aligned with the Autobots and oppose the Decepticons, M.E.C.H. ultimately plagues all Cybertronians, regardless of function.
But in this Starscream's alternate dimension, things go a bit differently, while some stay the same.
In his dimension, even Megatron is moved in a certain way by Orion's. His thoughts of revenge against the Council and the corrupt system they perpetuated, his thought to make sure that system was abolished and Cybertron bettered by any means necessary, were shaken as he was reminded that an all-out fight may risk what had truly motivated him from the start--to help Cybertron. Too much fighting would end up endangering Cybertron in the end. And Megatron trusts Orion, and believes his friend has a point, and has proved to be more worthy of a Prime, and thus supports and encourages him.
But this Orion...is a very convincing actor. It probably helps that he had believed in a more peaceful resolution. But that was before. At this point, Orion's witnessed enough of what the caste system does to make him drop all thoughts of mercy against those who perpetuate it...even worse, it's started to twist him in other ways, to even doubt just a little the value of right and wrong.... In any case, Orion intends to play the innocent, believing that luring the Council into a false sense of security and then assassinating them will be more efficient. Orion thinks it an unfortunate necessity to keep his friend Megatron in the dark about this, and even planning for Megatronus' lack of tact to make him look more appealing to the Council. But Orion does feel particularly concerned how Megatron seems to be more willing to listen to the peaceful solution after all...but Orion figures it is a minor detail and that he has better things to focus on, such as best plotting murder.
At least both Megatron and Orion see the Council's offer as still probably given with the intention of making Orion a figurehead, but both work together to ensure Orion is actually in charge. (Though Megatron is actually thinking more negotiation, Orion more along the lines of Kill them All and hide the bodies and evidence.)
So this Megatron never protests Orion being seen as the better Prime, and Orion was never genuine in wanting a peaceful resolution to the caste system problem. Orion Pax becomes Optimus Prime, and names Megatron as his High Lord Protector--essentially his Second-in-Command. And for a time, things seem to be going well. Then the Council starts dying one by one. Optimus has started his assassinations, and quietly and anonymously so, even having Megatron investigate their deaths. Optimus miscalculates in thinking Megatron will find nothing, and underestimating how skilled Megatron's friend, Soundwave, has grown. Megatron confronts Optimus, they talk...and at first Optimus can persuade Megatron to do nothing and let this happen. Optimus argues that at this point, it would cause too much scandal if Cybertron knew what their Prime was doing, and to take out the Council that still more often than not made their work more difficult than it had to be was much more expedient, and did Megatron still not loath them for what they had done?... Megatron is disturbed, but reluctantly goes along with Optimus.
But the power is steadily going to Optimus' head and unhinging him further, and rather than taking Megatron's compliance as loyalty and friendship from Megatron, and Megatron still trying to put a peaceful and protected Cyberton first, Optimus sees it more as him having power over even Megatron. Megatron will let him get away with it. So Optimus decides for a more bold assassination that will take out the rest of the Council at once, an explosion at some public gathering--what of any personnel there that may get caught up and die? The greater good is more important. Optimus' power and efficiency is more important.
Megatron catches wind of this plot and quickly stops it. Then things start going downhill fast. Something snaps in Optimus, perceiving Megatron's emergency response to thwarting his scheme as betrayal. Things quickly escalate into violence--Megatron hesitates to strike a killing blow against his friend, fighting against gladiator instinct and believing his friend could still be reasoned with. Optimus takes advantage, severely injuring a caught off guard Megatron and ending the fight. Optimus orders Megatron to be quietly locked away, and tries to come up with a plan to cover up what just happened with his High Lord Protector and still eliminate the rest of the Council without anyone realizing he's the culprit.
Megatron escapes, Optimus kills the Council, Megatron brings Optimus' less-than-clean schemes to light, and Optimus essentially freaks out even more, declaring Megatron a traitor of the highest deception to Cybertron, and Public Enemy #1, and clamping down hard on Cybertron and tightening his control over the planet. So, the civil war between Optimus' Autobots and Megatron's Decepticons still break out, though it's more about the ruling Prime's forces versus the rebels.
The war escalates, eventually claiming the life of literally an entire planet. Cybertron becomes a dead world, unable to function or produce Energon to sustain Cybertronian life. The Autobots and Decepticons leave Cybertron on a mass exodus, but the war is not entirely abandoned, the conflict shifting even more to other planets.
Eventually the main leaders and even the originators of the war, Optimus and Megatron, wind up on Earth, one of the many alien planets they've been stockpiling Energon on, and continue their eons-long stalemate.
APPEARANCE;
As a human, Starscream still has a relatively slender build, and he retains a lot of his coloring and heels--boots with high heels in this case. His hair is tri-colored--dark in his goatee, eyebrows, and along the sides of his head, but then lighter on top, and then that has a streak of red down the middle. He has a silver, gray and red jacket over a dark shirt, with matching dark gloves. He has a simple belt and slender gray pants.
Basically he looks like a mix of this (by arctg) and these two (by redmiel).
Except his eyes are blue.
PERSONALITY;
Deep down, many people harbor contradictions, conflicts within their character. Starscream is particularly contradictory and conflicted.
The aerial Cybertronian takes his job as Megatron's Second-in-Command very seriously. To the point where he's rather tightly wound up about it, something that at times doesn't suit an emotional creature like him. Stresses of the job can add to him at times being generally irritable with everyone and everything, complicating residual bitterness over the entire war. But despite making him rather caustic at times, such emotion still helps make Starscream approachable to the Nemesis crew, when the emotion is more positive rather than negative. When not in a particularly foul mood, he's generally friendly and caring with his crew, though not without an occasionally sarcastic sense of humor. But that emotion can get the best of him when he witnesses his crew or leader in danger and can't retain his composure over it, risking a mission's larger goal to ensure their personal safety, or crossing moral lines to, at best, protect them--at worst, avenge them. And Starscream does have a vengeful streak against those who've hurt or killed those he's cared about, and will sometimes impulsively pursue revenge against his better judgment.
This revenge and ruthlessly protective streak stem from Starscream's previous failures: he could not save his trinemates Skywarp and Thundercracker or his friend Skyfire, nor countless others, and he knows damn well that their murderers are still at large and haven't paid for what they did. In the face of that possibly happening again with someone else he cares about, Starscream is willing to do whatever it takes to remove the threat. The unresolved issue of past hurts only makes him more vicious in situations reminiscent of them.
But that revenge and ruthlessly protective streak still doesn't fit him that well. In the heat of the moment, Starscream is willing to dirty his claws and unleash great violence, but afterward he'll tend to feel a certain dissatisfaction and even disgust with himself. Starscream is rather neurotic deep down. He is able to plan and calculate his actions--such thoughtfulness can manifest itself as brooding and perhaps overly critical assessment of himself and the world around him. Though Starscream is too determined to quit entirely, he feels he's only had a string of failures, and as a result he's deeply insecure, though often times he's able to recognize situations where it's better to hide such weakness and put up a more confident, prideful front. Starscream is fearful, but part of that is the fear of inflicting pain on others. It was a fear amplified during Ratchet's experimentation, where Starscream could hear his trine and the rest of his squad being tortured, and that proved more unbearable for him to helplessly listen to rather than withstand his own torture. Not that Starscream is stoic under torture, even if he remains tight-lipped; it's that witnessing others in pain can be more triggering for Starscream. But again, even that trigger is overriden by other triggers of comrades in danger and seeing chances for revenge.
Without those triggers, Starscream's first instinct despite of (or more because of weariness and bitterness with the war) is to try to nonviolently resolve any situation by words of negotiation or trickery, or to neutralize it as painlessly as possible. Doesn't mean he won't fight brutally, and he has done that before as the war demands. Of course for him to even attempt such negotiation or guile, equalling the times when Starscream has been impulsive are the moments when he's been able to bide his time and weigh his options, something he's better able to do when less emotional or making a concentrated effort to block emotion.
The losses Starscream has suffered haven't convinced him to close himself off from others, but rather seek others to try to fill those losses. Part of this unconscious outlook is due to the fact that Starscream was isolated for a rather long time with only Terrorcons hunting him for company in the abandoned and locked down labs. When Megatron crash landed and didn't attack him, and actually treated him well, the first person in a long time to do such things, Starscream immediately latched onto to him. And in that environment, Starscream and Megatron had to work together to escape, further discouraging Starscream from thinking he had to isolate himself, but rather encouraging him to seek others out...eventually. Even after escaping, Starscream's instability was at its zenith and he only trusted Megatron; gradually he regained some stability and opened up more to other Decepticons that reached out to him: medical officer Knock Out in charge of him and his assistant Breakdown, Megatron's closest comrade Soundwave. And so Starscream grew attached to them, as he had done so with Megatron, and they are attachments he'll fiercely defend and be influenced by. But Starscream's loyalty doesn't mean he's subservient to Megatron, he can be very defiant with his leader. He'll speak his mind to Megatron--and that's part of why he was made Second-in-Command. Some of Starscream's defiance with Megatron is not only due to disagreements between the two, but a deep-seated accusation; though mostly loyal to and affectionate with Megatron, Starscream can't entirely shake the idea that Optimus Prime is Megatron's fault.
Normally with complete strangers, Starscream tries to be polite and observant and cautious, but it's not that difficult to make an ally or even friend of him, as he's more interested in being that rather than an enemy, much more interested in avoiding more fighting. Starscream's curiosity is another handy gateway, he enjoys gaining new knowledge. The regard and empathy he has for his Decepticons can be extended to virtual strangers who've not done harm as far as he can see, i.e. he does agree with keeping the humans out of the Cybertronian war as much as possible, not just for logistics reasons, but also since he thinks it deeply unfair to involve them in a fight they had never been involved in at all before. But this can be pushed--Starscream could be willing to harm even innocents if the Decepticons' safety depended on it, though he'd still be trying up until the very last second to find a way that would save both interests. But the Decepticons will remain Starscream's higher priority.
HISTORY;
Starscream and his trinemates Skywarp and Thundercracker were born lower caste, but their ancestry and the rank of their birthplace, the Crystal Sector, used to be higher. The Crystal Sector was once better off, and with a ruling lineage that Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker are descended from, but after getting on the wrong side of the Council, Crystal Sector and its ruling lineage fell, far before Starscream and his trine were born. The Crystal Sector ran rampant with crime lords fighting for control, while Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker struggled to survive and maybe reclaim their lineage's former security. The trinemates subsisted on thievery and mercenary work.
For a client, Starscream tried to infiltrate a science lab in one of the higher sectors and steal some data for the right price. Starscream did manage to succeed in that, though along the way he met and befriended a scientist named Skyfire, a generally kind Cybertronian that sparked Starscream's scientific interests. But Megatronus' (later shortened to Megatron) and Orion Pax's calls for a more equal Cybertron and an abolishment of the caste system enflamed the fighting back in the Crystal Sector, and Starscream left Skyfire's side to return home and help his trinemates. The Crystal Sector continued to fight even as Orion Pax was declared Optimus Prime, and essentially ignored the entreaties of him and his High Lord Protector Megatron's. The Crystal Sector still focused on their own fighting even when Optimus Prime had labeled Megatron an enemy of the state and condemned his Decepticons. Optimus Prime approached the Crystal Sector again; their answer was a refusal to ally with Prime's Autobots and claimed they would remain neutral and stay out of the Autobot-Decepticon conflict. Refused for the last time, Optimus Prime declared a siege on the Crystal Sector. Finally with a common foe, the Crystal Sector called for a truce among all their internal competing interests and focus on defending against Prime's forces.
Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker led one of the Energon Seeker squads looking for resources to sustain their beleaguered home while under siege. They and their squad are captured by Prime's Autobot forces and given to Ratchet's labs for experimentation in Dark and synthetic Energon. The experiments at the space station left all but Starscream as the only survivor, and Ratchet tested out the reanimation properties of Dark Energon on the dead. Eventually the reanimated fliers, the so-called Terrorcons (including Starscream's trinemates) overran the labs, and Starscream was left behind and trapped as the facility was abandoned and locked down. Megatron crash landed in the abandoned lab, and teamed up with a very traumatized Starscream to escape. But the Terrorcons escaped in the process. Starscream learned the Crystal Sector had been razed to the ground on Optimus' orders. Without many options left, thirsting for revenge against Ratchet and Optimus Prime, and given that Megatron saved his life and was the first figure in a long time to show him any sort of care at a point in time where his mind was very vulnerable and fractured, Starscream swore allegiance to Megatron and his Decepticons.
Starscream reunited with Skyfire, who had also joined Megatron after what Optimus had done to the Crystal Sector, and believing Starscream had died. Meanwhile, the freed Terrorcons attacked indiscriminately, not distinguishing between Autobot and Decepticon targets. Eventually normal Energon was weaponized in such a way that it could cancel out the Dark Energon reanimating the fliers and leave them truly dead. Eventually they were neutralized, Starscream essentially forced to watch his trinemates and squad die again.
Eventually, Starscream was captured by another Autobot, Cliffjumper. Unaware that Starscream was one of Ratchet's experiments, Cliffjumper only interrogated Starscream for intel as originally intended. Though Cliffjumper mocked him for vocally living up to his name, Starscream wouldn't actually give him anything useful under the torture. Eventually Cliffjumper brought in a captured Skyfire, who had been looking for Starscream. Then Starscream started talking, admitting he knew nothing. Cliffjumper, skeptical, killed Skyfire. Finally the rest of the Decepticons found Starscream, and Cliffjumper fled.
Some time after Skyfire's death, Megatron made Starscream his Second-in-Command. And a longer time after that, the Cybertronian civil war had escalated to the point that their planet was unlivable, and Autobot and Decepticon alike left on a mass exodus, still carrying their war to other alien planets. Currently Starscream stands by Megatron's side on Earth against Optimus Prime. Recently, Starscream avenged Skyfire's death by killing Cliffjumper. Not long after, Airachnid joined their ranks.
SAMPLES
FIRST PERSON;
http://dear-mun.dreamwidth.org/7397455.html?thread=231670095#cmt231670095
http://outsiders.dreamwidth.org/16554.html?thread=1043882#cmt1043882
http://dear-mun.dreamwidth.org/3800616.html
http://ink-city.dreamwidth.org/530929.html
THIRD PERSON;
Starscream woke up in pain.
He groaned, his vision still blurring as it tried to focus. He raised a claw, could feel the wetness on it. When his optics refocused completely, they saw that claw first, up above and dripping blue mech fluid.
Well, scrap.
The seeker felt wet all over, actually. He wasn't entirely sure if all of it was his mech fluid, though it certainly felt like it. Hissing, Starscream tried to get up. He swore when the first attempt failed, and one of his claws came to rest against his side, exceedingly wet and still leaking. Not good at all.
Comm the ship. "Nemesis, this is Commander Starscream, requesting immediate groundbridge." Try to glance around. Processor still fuzzy, actually. The pain didn't help with a clear head. "Location unknown. Can you identify?"
And nothing but static. Not good.
Starscream coughed out mech fluid, heaving and gasping. Though his body protested, he turned on his side, so as to avoid choking on his own mech fluid.
He couldn't remember what led him to this situation, wounded and separated from his crew. Tendrils of panic began to creep up on him--no. Wait, yes. Perhaps he was regaining energy if had enough of it for starting to panic. But don't panic, he desperately told himself. He had to stay calm, panic was not going to be much help.
The seeker tried the comm again, and still received no response. He tried to get up again. Still no success. Starscream kept switching between trying to comm his comrades and getting up, until he finally struggled to his knees. Taking a shaky breath, he climbed up from his knees and onto his feet. He took a step--and almost fell flat on to his face. Through a mix of flailing, yelping, before finally catching himself on his knee, Starscream managed to not entirely fall back down. He stretched back up, and advanced more slowly. Running a quick self-diagnostic, Starscream judged he could still fly. One good thing. His nav sensors on the ground weren't picking up anything that could determine where the frag he was though. It was some forested area, with gold, brown, orange and red foliage.
"Nemesis, come in."
Again, the comm returned only static.
Starscream transformed, inwardly wincing. It wasn't easy on his wounds, but he managed it, and immediately he felt more comfortable in jet mode. He blasted off--and hissed, then slowed his speed, and the pain eased somewhat. Less good that he could not go fast in his current injured state. Starscream broke through the tree line, and began flying over the area.
Try the comm again. Nothing, nothing.
Fine. Starscream flew slow but determined. He'd find his way back to the ship.