mission 1: thinking important thoughts.

[soccerdrills]

Drill Boy's been hanging out in the Nexus for a little while now. And his opinion? Just about the coolest place ever! You could meet people from other planets! Other dimensions! Heck there were even a bunch of other giant robots hanging out around here.

Granted those guys were aliens and not built on Earth like him and may have possibly INVADED their version of Earth at some point... But they seemed fine now so it's probably okay.

Today though his thoughts are not on the wonders of the multiverse as he plods carefully through the plaza, mindful not to step on anyone or anything important as he ponders things.

A couple of weeks ago the other members of the Build Team celebrated their first birthday... which meant... It was nearly time for his. He's done, and accomplished, and learned so much since the day he was activated it seems like it should be way longer then just a year!

Anyway, very exciting. And he wants to be able to celebrate it as best as he can! He's only been to a few birthday celebrations so far... his teammates mostly. They were all relatively low-key affairs. A day off and a small party with some cute decorations... Drill Boy is just a very extra lad though. He wants to go a little wild! Were fireworks acceptable?

"Heeeey!" he waves excited to someone passing by after blinking out of his contemplations, "What's your ideal birthday party? Or like, what was the best one you've ever been to maybe? I'm trying to get ideas!"

He'll compile a list of the best ones and submit it to the chief and they'll CERTAINLY get approved.

Comments

[silverseeker]

Silverwing and Viridian started giggling when they realised that Drill Boy was out in the plaza. He's practically one of their teachers--he's their soccer coach! And he's just about their favourite teacher, too. He's been great about adapting the rules and tactics not only for the little seeker, whose alt-mode isn't so different from his, but also for the adolescent quadruped.

And he's not the least bit fussed because Viridian doesn't talk out loud--he doesn't even freak out when she sends him thoughts, although she usually uses comms, because not everyone can hear telepathy.

The two girls put their heads together for a moment, and then they nod determinedly.

"We don't know what a [birthday] is, Drill Boy!" Silverwing says. The Nexus translation field has provided them with the concept 'date of birth'. But they're not sure what that means. They've gathered it is something like 'spark emergence date', or 'construction date' or 'forging date'.

But people don't even talk about stuff like that. It isn't nice to ask if someone was 'built', rather than 'born', so Silverwing giggles a little even asking the question. Especially since the two of them aren't typical of their frametypes; both Seekers and cougaraiders are usually constructed cold, but it's obvious from looking at the two little femmes that they were forged, because their frames are small and are expanding as they grow--mechs that are cold-constructed have to learn to control adult-sized bodies as soon as they're kindled.

[soccerdrills]

He has so much fun being a coach too! It's ALMOST a dream come true in a way that's not really possible in his own world. Yet. He still wants to be the star striker of an international Robot soccer league someday... And maybe someday it'll happen! Until then it's fun just teaching all the kids here how to play! And as much as he'd love to compete even he realizes that would probably just be... wildly unfair.

"You two don't know what birthdays are?" Optics wide he crosses his arms behind his helm as he takes in the alarming statement, "That's just about the saddest thing I've ever heard..."

Especially considering how excited he is over his upcoming one!

"It's, you know, the day you were born? And you have a big party to celebrate it with your friends and family!" his arms drop back down and he rubs his chin thoughtfully, "I mean I guess for someone like me it's more like my Consciousness Activation Anniversary date? But that sounds lame and dumb and complicated."

[silverseeker]

Both of the girls shake their heads.

"But we're not sad! If there's a new excuse to have a party we should have one though. You should take us to yours so we know what it is! You know," says Silverwing, thinking, "is this like the party my mother has to celebrate when she brought me home from the clinic? My adoption day? I've only had one. And we both have only one more to go before we're almost grown up. I'm going to start getting bigger soon. My mother says I'll be almost as big as my father."

She glances at Viridian, and nods.

"Viridian hasn't had an adoption day yet because her parents didn't get to meet her right after she was finished. But that's a story we can't talk about out here? Anyhow..."

Silverwing scratches her head right behind one coolant line.

"Anyhow, it's kinda rude to talk about being..."

She lowers her voice a lot.

"To talk about being 'born'. Or 'built'. Sometimes we say 'kindled' which is when the spark goes into the frame. Or 'finished', which is when you can leave the postnatal centre or clinic or wherever it happened. But we don't talk about when people are 'born' or 'built' or how that happens. Only when people are adopted or sent to their families or sent to their work."

She worries her lip-plate with a tiny fang.

"I mean it's just rude. Some born people look down on those who were built. And they used to be really mean, when our parents were young."

[suomi_thunder]

Aaarne spent a lot of time in the Nexus just mucking around and honestly looking for things to get into, and new food. The chef he wanted to be was overwhelmed. This is why his energy is off the charts this afternoon. He spent the morning learning cooking from some alien people in a resturant at the skirts of the plaza. Nothing can taint his good mood. Thankfully, he is also acquainted with giant robotic looking people so he doesn't even flinch.

"HELLO!!!!" Aaarne screams up and his voice carries, loud from all his time screaming in stage. He's also tall for a human but still has to crane to look up. "I LIKE ALL OF THEM. I LOVE PARTIES."

Maybe screaming wasn't polite but as he stands there he is bobbing on the balls of his feet and twirling a drumstick in the right hand. "The best parties are lots of people doing what you like and getting crazy!"

There's a pause and then more loud. "I NEED TO PICK ONE TOO!! My birthday is in a few months."

[soccerdrills]

Drill Boy is more then capable of adjusting the volume of his audial sensors so he's not too bothered by all the shouting. And hey! Maybe it's a cultural thing. For all he knows this guy comes from a world where it's polite to always yell. He seems friendly enough. Bystanders on the other hand... Well that one guy there was startled enough that he spilled his ice coffee all over himself. He didn't look too happy.

"I love parties too!" he nods eagerly, swept up a bit in the excited vibe the stranger had, "Well the few that I've been to at least! I haven't been to many but they were fun! Kinda. I feel like they were lacking something!"

Something that he was going to pin down and figure out!

"It's possible I just haven't been to ENOUGH parties too. I've only been alive for a almost a year now and my size makes going to some difficult."

[suomi_thunder]

Aarne doesn't care about the bystanders who can learn to deal with him as far as he is concerned.

"I've been to hundreds. Sometimes we have one every night." The life of a rockstar was crazy when it wasn't exhausting and he spent days sleeping. "What were the parties like?"

Maybe he could think of what was missing because surely fun was a universal even if people enjoyed different things.

"I've invited people your size to some of our parties. Food can be a problem because the others like you can't eat human food but otherwise we have fun."

[soccerdrills]

"Parties every night? Don't you have to worry about work the next morning?" the robot whistles lowly. He's clearly speaking to the ambassador to the PartyWorld here. Maybe parties WERE his job. That sounds fun but also kinda tiring.

"The ones I've been to are small. Mostly with just the other Braves and a few members of the Tokyo Police who work with us. There were some decorations and music and Power Joe rigged up a karaoke machine," he frowns a little. They were rather lowkey affairs. Which probably suited the others just fine but he was such a high energy individual he just wanted something More.

[suomi_thunder]

"We party after work and sleep in, in the morning." Aarne lifted up the drum stick he was twirling. "I'm a drummer in a band, the Hammers."

"You party with the police?" Aarne looked very surprised. "No wonder they're shit. You can't do most of the fun stuff with the cops there." He couldn't imagine a cop being... well Howlback. "I suppose if they are cool cops that break some of the minor laws for fun or laughs it wouldn't be so bad."

Aarne bleeds energy standing there while gazing up at the sad partier. "We're never lowkey!"

[guitar_voodoo]

Mick was now looking up at the Cybertronian, wondering which one this could be since he knew a few but hadn't met this one yet. At the question the blond couldn't help but offer a beaming smile as he craned his neck up. Why were most of these Cybertronians so huge?

"Good question, mate. I'd say decent music, a good food spread and lots of booze. You can't go wrong with any of that. The best one I've ever had? It would have to be spending the first night in the hotel with my band mates celebrating our album release on tour. Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. I'm Mick Ronno, Ziggy's lead guitarist."

He waved a little and then wondered what this one's name was. Also, what he could transform into.

[soccerdrills]

"Ugh... no booze. I can't really process that stuff. I had one encounter with some stuff that the Cybertronians have and it almost killed me!" he shudders. Glit was working on adjustments and upgrades to his systems to improve his quality of life and ability to process other fuels... but still it's not a great memory.

"Mick huh? It's nice to meet you! I'm Drill Boy," he smiles back, and then his lips tug down a little as a thought crosses his processor, "Just tell me that Spiders from Mars is just a band name and there are no actual spiders from Mars. Because it'd be my luck that a bunch of aggressive Martian Spiders attack Earth on my birthday and then I spend the whole day just fighting a bunch of them. That would be SO lame."

[guitar_voodoo]

"No booze, eh? Of course I keep forgetting you metal lads can't drink human booze. Well, I'm sure you can drink something else."

He nodded, understanding it might be some sort of oil since that's what robots and mechanical creatures drank wasn't it? Not wanting to be presumptuous of course. As for the name, that just got Mick thinking about the word "drill." Did he change into a drill?

"Drill Boy? Do you turn into a drill, mate? Because that could be really handy."

Mick thinking practically here. A giant drill? That was both frightening and impressive at the same time. Smirking a little at the name of the band, he wanted to reassure Drill Boy that there weren't any actual spiders from Mars. Not that he knew of anyway.

"It's our band name since Ziggy is from outer space. He's an Anthean. We're his band and there's me, Weird, who's our bassist and Gilly, who's our tarty drummer. No real spiders."

[soccerdrills]

"As long as he comes in peace that's pretty cool! My friends and I have to deal with hostile alien invaders on practically a monthly basis," but still, he looks reassured. The few friendly aliens he's met have been really cool! It's nice to talk with them instead of engage in combat.

"I'm not JUST a drill!" he sounds just a touch offended and some of his armor plating fluffs up a bit, kind of like an annoyed bird, "I'm a drill tank. And also a jet. With a drill mounted nose cone."

He is WAY cooler then just a simple drill okay.

"I'll forgive you just once though. So just don't go making that mistake again."

[guitar_voodoo]

"He's a symbol for peace. His whole race are pacifists and his mother, Aletayria, is here in the Nexus too with Tom, Ziggy's father too. Don't worry, there isn't about to be an invasion of the spiders unless it's me and the lads playing for you all."

That had already happened at Ziggy's album party and hadn't that been amazing in itself. Mick then felt a little awkward because he hadn't meant to have offended his large friend. It was more the name caused him to jump to the first thing he could think of. A drill tank and jet sounded really impressive.

"You're all that? That's quite something, mate. I also notice that football symbol on your chest there. Do you like playing football too?"

A drill tank/jet that could also play football? Mick was really impressed now.

[soccerdrills]

"Yeah? That's awesome! Most aliens I've encounters just wanna take over the Earth or blow it up or turn my team mate into a weird goth," he nods. He knows of exactly ONE truly nice alien and even that guy was brain controlling a human host body. He's encountered some strange things, "...Unless the giant panda was an alien. He was kind of destructive but like, he didn't want to hurt anyone, he was just lost and wanted to play.:

He wonders how that panda is doing now. There haven't been any sightings lately so he's probably just being lazy and doing panda things.

"I love playing! It's only one of my FAVORITE things in the world," his wings flick excitedly and it's probably pretty easy to tell this is one of the things that can get this kid HYPED, "I don't get to play much because back home there aren't enough people like me though and my size kind of gives me an unfair advantage."

[guitar_voodoo]

"I love playing football too or soccer I guess you'd call it. Been playing ever since I was a lad. Used to come home covered in mud."

Was Drill Boy really good? The ball was massive though so Mick wondered how he'd kick it without doing damage to his legs. As for his size being an unfair advantage? Yeah there was that too. It still didn't deter the guitarist from wanting to have a go though.

"Maybe I could have a kick about with you. Or try to. Your ball must be bloody massive for you lads to kick about. Even though I love guitar, football is something I've always loved too."

This was true enough.