(no subject)

[camwyn]

Started in on the initial AU stuff the other day & I realised I hit a small snag. Even when I'm writing characters I don't like- say, Father, from Equilibrium- I have to be able to do one of two things to get them right:

1. Think like them
2. Respect them

And, um, well... Starscream. Havin' some trouble mustering either.

Shockwave? Shockwave I can do. He's easy for me to get into, from either direction. TV Starscream I always just wanted to throttle, and movie Starscream either has next to no characterization (movie 1) or is a cringing suck-up (movie 2). I have little to no interest in buying the Reign of Starscream comics that came out between the movies; I'm going to have to come up with some respect for the mech from somewhere before I go any further...

I'm gonna see if I can watch a couple of old kung-fu movies, I think. Screamer kind of reminds me of the guy who's planning on running the kung fu school as soon as the sifu gets too old or too tired to hold his position, only the hero of the movie gets in his way. Maybe I can get something out of that.

Comments

[argonautilus.livejournal.com]

I don't know if this helps, but according to the genre, Starscream was a brilliant scientist before he became a Decepticon. (Yes, he changed sides, shocking!) I always thought of him as that super smart guy who believes that intelligence in a particular field made him superior to all the dullards around him. Yet had no real social skills, which is why Megatron who was not dumb but probably not as high an IQ as Star could tool him physically or socially any time he chose.

[camwyn]

... ow ow ow Starscream is not an Internet Aspie* ow ow ow....


*By which I mean someone who justifies his lack of social skills to everyone else on the Internet by claiming a disorder he does not actually have and then demanding everyone else accommodate him.

[argonautilus.livejournal.com]

Just a suggestion. :>

[ebony14.livejournal.com]

Starscream, from what I remember, is one of the best fighters that the Decepticons have. He's supposed to be their crack fighter ace, their Von Richtofen. The bio from the original toy described him as a coldly ruthless killer of the skies, which of course is completely at odds with the cartoon and much of the canon.

So here's my interpretation: Starscream is really, really good at fighting. He's fast, he's agile, he's got that killer instinct that makes him a gunfighter of the skies. But he's a jet; he's built for speed and fast kills, not slugfests. Megatron, on the other hand, is a juggernaut; he can really take a punch and give it right back. This wouldn't be a problem, except that Starscream's skill has gotten him promoted into Megatron's inner circle of officers.

It's the Peter Principle at work. Starscream sucks at command. At the head of a squadron in combat, he's glorious. Put him on the ground, working tactics and long-term plans, and he fucks it all up. The problem is, he's been in the command staff for so long that he thinks that he's good at it. And he doesn't take criticism well (and Megatron's pretty bad at giving constructive criticism, which makes for a bad combination). So, here's this crack fighter pilot, who makes a decent wing commander, trying to interject his suggestions into command decisions, and his boss tells him to fuck off. And then the Decepticons lose at their engagement, and Starscream thinks, "Well, if only Megatron had listened to _me_...." Repeat this cycle a couple dozen times, and you have a lieutenant who thinks he should be in charge.

[camwyn]

Gotcha. Yeah, I can see that. And it'd explain the guy-at-the-kung-fu-school vibe, too.

[tundra-no-caps.livejournal.com]

Hm, how about changing (1) to "Know what they are thinking"?

For example, imagine lil kids, or really stupid people. You know what they're thining, and it's so plain, which is part of the reason you don't respect them.

Though I take it this is not really the issue in this case. *Twiddles his thumbs*

[camwyn]

No, no, I know what Starscream's thinking, and I can write that easily enough. It's just that it's hard to get over a lifetime of thinking 'Starscream is a whiny, untrustworthy bitch who Megatron should've shot in the face at the first opportunity'.

[tundra-no-caps.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Starscream's voice is also so annoying. I remember him.

He was still cool, as a mech.

[midnightlurker.livejournal.com]

Someday, someone will write a fic in which Starscream becomes the Master-partner (Target, Head, whatever) of Arnold Rimmer.

And the universe will implode. :)

[camwyn]

Dear God, the amount of smegheadedness in one place....