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melishade · 1 year

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Attack on Prime Hizuru OVA Commentary Part 2

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Part 1

Alright, so Part 2 of the Hizuru OVA Commentary. There will be a Part 3, but for Part 2, I’m going to be talking about Megatron v. Mikasa and Mikasa getting gifts for the Survey Corps.

So spoilers.

So Mikasa notices how understandably exhausted Megatron is, being her bodyguard in this city and how much responsibility he’s carrying. Megatron’s feels a tad bit guilty and says that she can repay him for his services. (AKA the Fight)

Now, I’ve always wanted to write a Megatron v Mikasa fight. But I haven’t been able to write it in the first place because of the parameters. If Megatron were to challenge Mikasa on the island, he would’ve automatically been met with resistance, specifically Eren, Armin, and Optimus. Both Mikasa and Megatron are busy throughout the day, and Megatron actively avoids the humans on the island because he’s sick and tired of dealing with humans on the mainland. The only way that the two of them would be able to fight, was if those parameters are removed.

So after Mikasa follows Kenshin’s daily routine, they arrive at a training room full of traditional weapons. Mikasa goes to change and Megatron and Kenshin are alone to talk, which allows the both of them to figure each other out.

The ex-con made his way to one of the swords and picked it up. He unsheathed it and examined the blade in his hands.

“This is very light,” Megatron commented.

“That’s a fairly standard katana,” Kenshin proclaimed as he practiced some of his strikes, “They originally were used by the samurai, but after advancements in military weapons around the world and civil disagreements in regards to the Eldian Empire, they were officially disbanded. I’m assuming that you use a much heavier weapon.” (Fun fact, this is how the samurai disbanded in Japan. The more modernized the world became, the less need for the samurai.)

“I use a sword,” Megatron explained, twirling the weapon through his fingers with ease, “But not one like this.”

“So what was your combat experience like?” Kenshin asked him.

“A gladiator,” Megatron answered.

“I’m assuming not by choice,” Kenshin said, causing Megatron to look at him in surprise, “We had gladiators on this world, too. And many of them were either slaves, prisoners, or owed some type of debt. No one wants to willingly risk their life for the entertainment of others.” (There’s no way the Eldian Empire didn’t have humans go up against titan’s as entertainment.)

“I wasn’t given many options on my home world,” Megatron explained.

“Even among the stars, beings like you go through the nasty world of politics and corrupt governments,” Kenshin sighed in irritation.

“You seem disappointed,” Megatron remarked.

“I kind of expected an advanced race to have their shit sorted out,” Kenshin admitted, “Advanced technology, could live long lives, but it sounds like it’s all the same wherever I go.” (This kind of eludes to what was said during the coup by Erwin. So long as there is a huge group of humans, there’s always going to be conflict. That same logic can apply to any intelligent creature that has freewill.)

Mikasa comes back and she and Kenshin begin practicing Kendo with wooden swords. Now I had to do a bit of research on this part because I wasn’t familiar with the practice. I had to look up articles and videos on how fights were conducted. So if I made some mistake through my research, I apologize.

Anyway, Megatron comments on how boring it is because it wouldn’t last a second in the arena. Kenshin offers Megatron a chance to fight, and Megatron’s like “Nah, I wanna fight Mikasa.”

“I’m not fighting with this,” Megatron declared as he threw the wooden sword aside, “I’m using the katana, and I’m going to be fighting the Ackerman.”

Kenshin noticed Mikasa’s worried expression and walked up to the former warlord. “Isn’t your sole obligation to protect Mikasa, and make sure no harm comes to her? I would assume that would also mean it not coming from her bodyguard.”

So remember, Kenshin doesn’t know who Megatron is. All he knows is that Megatron is Matthew, and he’s the Flying Titan. That’s all the information he has, along with a few reports of Megatron fighting the Marleyan Warriors. Kenshin doesn’t realize how severe this is about to get, until he sees how scared Mikasa is and tries to disarm Megatron by reminding him of his objective in protecting her.

Megatron then turned his attention to Mikasa. “You said you didn’t know how to pay me back for my services, Ackerman. This is how you can. I want to see what you are truly capable of. No titans, no allies in the way, just two opponents going head to head.” (So I talked with @justawannabearchaeologist about this moment, and I’m glad she made the observation of Megatron’s words as a gladiator mantra, and how Megatron was a gladiator and it was something that he worked hard for and forged his identity. She even added that Megatron invited Mikasa to a gladiator match was bringing her to even footing on his domain.)

Megatron grabbed two wakizashi swords and handed it over to her by the handles. “Prove to me your worth, Mikasa Ackerman.” (It’s a simple line from Megatron, but it emphasizes the point @justawannabearchaeologist made. Also additional note, Megatron giving Mikasa two wakizashi swords was not some type of throw away. Megatron is very much aware that the 3D gear requires two swords in order to fight, meaning that Mikasa is the most comfortable dual wielding. He’s making it fair for her.)

Mikasa stared at the swords while Kenshin looked at her with concern. Should she do this? It would no doubt put her in danger. She had seen first hand what Megatron was capable of when he fought Optimus. So why…why was someone like him willing to take the time to see her strength? She knew she wasn’t skilled like him, or Optimus. Eren was still training under Optimus. What could she possibly do with no training against someone who very easily hurt her and no doubt would?

She had no idea what willed her to grab the swords, but she took them both from his hands. Mikasa stared at her reflection in the sword before looking back up at Megatron. She put on a serious face as she put one sword in the other hand and got into a fighting stance. The swords were pointed outward and her legs were spread out. (She is scared. Understandably scared in this very moment. Because she has seen first hand how powerful and ruthless Megatron is. So why would she grab the swords and accept Megatron’s challenge? Pride. Mikasa is a very prideful woman, and we have seen this. Mikasa has talked up about how strong she is when backed into a corner, and even when initially losing Eren. If she were to say no, all that talk about her strength and being strong would become mute. She would’ve just been seen as a coward. And cowards die. She refuses to die when she can fight.)

“This is not a good idea!” Kenshin declared. He raised his hands and took a step back as Megatron pointed the katana at his face.

“Stay out of this, boy,” Megatron ordered.

Kenshin grew fearful as Megatron walked a good distance away from Mikasa. He spread his legs out and raised the katana at shoulder level. Kenshin looked back and forth from the titan to the Ackerman, worried about the outcome of this fight, and realizing how powerless he was in this situation. (Now this is Kenshin understanding the bigger picture.)

So I’m not going to repost the whole fight, simply because it would take up a lot of space. If you want to read it in full, you can check out the chapter. However, during this fight, I did incorporate Mikasa’s style of fighting when she’s killing titans to this fight. Because this is still so new to her. Most of her experience is titans. And she’s pretty much the strongest human around next to Levi. She’s going up against someone she can lose to because her opponent has years worth of combat experience that just can’t be matched.

And Mikasa is still struggling in this fight, while Megatron is having the time of his life. He’s getting out his stress and frustration. Every time Mikasa does land a hit or strike, she does get surprised that she was able to do it, but Megatron automatically takes advantage of that. Because in combat, you can’t slip up like this. It will get you killed. Also, during this fight, there’s a voice calling out to her. Something, or someone, is guiding her hand and giving her instructions on how to fight and survive. Megatron does end up injuring her, and nearly kills her by pressing the katana close to her neck. Kenshin’s prepping arrows to intervene, and Mikasa is just terrified.

Mikasa grew more and more terrified as the blade inched closer. She tried to create some distance. She tried to bend her knees and push the blade upward, but that only made Megatron push down harder. It’s been so long since she’s felt this scared. She was hyperventilating; she was fully ready to burst into tears. She felt like she was going to die.

“You must fight,”

Mikasa head bent downward to the floor as sweat dripped down her face. Mikasa grunted and gritted her teeth. She couldn’t…she couldn’t.

“You must live,”

Mikasa growled as she pushed against the floor with her feet. She could feel it bend beneath her toes.

“Live, Mikasa,”

Megatron noticed Mikasa beginning to push back against him.

“Fight, Mikasa,”

“Fight,” Mikasa spoke.

Megatron was surprised to see Mikasa glaring at him.

“Fight.”

Megatron was startled when he noticed to that her eyes… had a faint tint of blue within them.

“Fight!” Mikasa shouted as her feet pressed into the floor so hard that it broke beneath her. Mikasa then broke the katana in her grip before taking the blade and thrusting it towards Megatron. Megatron didn’t have time to dodge as the blade went straight through his hand and into his his arm. His arm lost shape as the blade fell right through it. Megatron dodged two punches from Mikasa before catching the third one with his stable hand. Mikasa used her other hand to punch Megatron square in the face. Megatron used his remaining arm to grab Mikasa by her neck and pinning her to the ground. Mikasa managed to grabbed the wakazashi sword to her right and pushed it right against Megatron’s neck.

So a few things are happening in this moment.

One: this is a callback to when Mikasa first awakened her Ackerman abilities when Eren was getting choked out, which based on what we’ve seen in AOT, is activated in a life or death situation. So Mikasa is repeating this mantra of “Fight. Fight. Fight.” because it’s her fight or flight response activating.

Two: The faint tint of blue in her eyes, and the summoning of strength to literally break the katana in her grasp and jam it in Megatron’s holoform arm. That hint of blue has been mentioned before. In the Winter Anthology. Specifically, the Snowball Fight. Mikasa activated this ability before and now it’s come back. And a little pop quiz, guess where else we’ve seen blue eyes?

Three: The voice that is guiding her. Who is it? What does it want? This voice is guiding her in this moment of distress. Why? This is definitely not foreshadowing.

So the fight ends with Kenshin destabilizing the other arm of the holoform. Kenshin helps Mikasa with her wounds, and he gets more information on Megatron by Mikasa simply omitting some stuff out of fear. But oddly enough, when Kenshin tries to come up with an explanation, Megatron takes full responsibility and saves Kenshin’s ass from his dad, only to try and kill him himself because he’s mad Kenshin intervened. And Kenshin’s really trying to keep his shit together.

“That doesn’t matter,” Kenshin declared, “She was already at a disadvantage because she could get hurt while you would be completely fine. On top of that, she was putting her trust in you to protect her. Now she’s scared that you’re going to hurt me for getting involved.”

Kenshin sighed in frustration as he ran his fingers through his hair. “This is not how I was expecting today to go.”

“I just needed to blow off some steam-,”

“I don’t care what it is!” Kenshin cut him off, “That doesn’t give you an excuse to use real swords and inflict real harm! You could’ve used a bokken!”

“You better watch your tone,” Megatron warned.

“Or what?” Kenshin demanded, “You have a whole array of weapons. The broken katana is right next to the both of us. If you wanted to do something to me, you would’ve done it by now. I’m a damn politician. I know when someone is selling me a damn bluff.”

Megatron didn’t say a word at that, but he did want to strangle Kenshin. He was right though. He noticed the broken katana on the table. It would have been so easy to end his life for his insubordination.

“There was another reason I’m keeping this strictly between us,” Kenshin explained, “Mikasa is already perceived in a negative light by everyone here. The servants that know her identity see her as an Eldian devil. They gossip about her whenever I pass by, calling her insulting and degrading names. My father doesn’t want her here because she’s a threat to the throne. I’m the only one who’s willing to talk to her. So what you did would have just been an excuse for their insults and justifications.”

Megatron was taken off-guard by that. He had been so focused on keeping tabs on Mikasa that he had no idea this was going on. Primus, he was associated with Mikasa. He should've heard the insults thrown at him when he went through their supplies just by association alone.

“I don’t know your story,” Kenshin continued, “But I did read your associate’s notes on you. Your behavior: not okay. And it doesn’t help you long term because no one would be willing to trust you. I know you hate humanity, and I know you’re here for personal reasons, but do you really want to spend the rest of your life having people hate you and being scared of you?”

“I’m not answering that,” Megatron replied.

“You don’t have to,” Kenshin declared, “Apologize to Mikasa. Now.”

Kenshin immediately drops to the floor after he leaves the room. But again, there’s that theme of trust. Mikasa had been putting her trust in Megatron. Kiyomi has been putting her trust in him. So has Hanji, Optimus, the Survey Corps. They are all putting their trust in Megatron to keep her safe. And what does Megatron do? Personally injure Mikasa himself. The dumbass. But in this moment, Megatron’s not entirely worried about what the island would think. He feels guilty for putting Mikasa in that situation when she’s already in such a high risk situation. He was being selfish and he felt guilty about it, and now he feels the need to make it right because of how he’s feeling.

“…Ackerman, I’m only going to say this once,” Megatron began. Mikasa saw Megatron's mouth form a thin line. He shut his eyes and she could see his eyebrows twitch in agitation, “I…I’m sorry.”

Mikasa was completely shocked by Megatron’s response. “You’re…sorry?”

Megatron sighed in response, not really at Mikasa's confusion, but at the difficulty of the situation. “I nearly caused serious harm to you because of my own selfish reasons. I ended up hurting you as a result. You’re one of the few people I respect, and…I didn’t want you looking at me with fear.”

Mikasa saw that Megatron was struggling to say the word, but he continued. “You put your trust in me,…and I…failed you.”

Mikasa could see the conflicted and the worry in Megatron’s eyes. She could tell, that he was being…honest with her, which was something she never expected out of him. Mikasa decided to take the bag from his hand and opened it. She found there to be three Origini and two sakura mochi in the box.

“I asked the servants to make those for you,” Megatron explained, “I also noticed that you seemed to enjoy the pink desert, so I got you two.”

Mikasa was genuinely touched by the act, but part of her knew she couldn’t trust this, considering Megatron’s track record. “Is this a bribe? So that I don’t tell the Commander or Optimus what happened?”

Megatron rolled his eyes. “No matter what my answer is, I doubt that you would believe me. And you don’t have to. I respect you, and…I…don’t want you to be scared of me.”

I think I only made Megatron apologize once and that was to Eren. But this is very important because he’s literally being vulnerable and giving a sincere apology, while also getting Mikasa a gift, which was the food that she enjoyed while she’s been here. And...Mikasa does ultimately accept the apology, which does make Megatron feel better but he refuses to admit it so he’s going to take his frustration out on Kenshin for his insubordination. How dare the prince talk to him that way.

And then we are introduced to Kenshin and Taisho’s dynamic. Kenshin is someone who actively believes in change and wanting to make the world better, practicing the habit of taking risks and gambling as a Hizuru. Meanwhile, Taisho is someone who value self-preservation and survival and safety. And Mikasa threatens all of that. Taisho doesn’t like Mikasa because he sees her as a threat, and then there’s also the additional mentality of her being from the island. And despite Kenshin being more of an idealist and reflecting the views and feelings of the reader, Taisho is the one who is more grounded in reality. Taisho has a point. The world isn’t going to accept Mikasa as royalty because she is from Paradis and we know for a fact she has Eldian blood in her veins. Again, I won’t post the full conversation the two have, but I encourage you to read the chapter and their interaction to get a better idea of Kenshin and Taisho’s character.

Kenshin ends up leaving, assumes Megatron’s been listening in, and they continue to talk once again. And Kenshin drops a bombshell for Megatron that he wasn’t expecting.

Kenshin laughed. “The worst thing about all this is that Mikasa doesn’t even want the throne.”

Megatron placed a hand in front of the prince to stop him. “What?”

“She doesn’t want the throne,” Kenshin repeated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“And she told you this?” Megatron demanded.

“She didn’t need to tell me anything,” Kenshin declared, “It’s really obvious. She’s a soldier that’s fought titans and now knows that the whole world hates her and her home. She lost her parents, so she’s an orphan. The only thing she wants is to live her life in peace. If she takes the throne, she won’t be able to do that. She’ll be in the spotlight for the rest of her life. She’ll be protected and live a life of luxury. But it won’t be a life of normality.”

Megatron was surprised by this revelation while Kenshin maneuvered around his arm.

“I thought you already knew,” Kenshin shrugged, “Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow. I hope you’ll apologize to Mikasa.”

In season 4, we do learn about Mikasa’s heritage and the Azumabito clan. And Kiyomi does value Mikasa and her safety, but Mikasa values the island she grew up on and her friends more. So we know for a fact that Mikasa would have refused the throne if it was handed to her. It’s just a shock for Megatron because Mikasa is refusing her birthright. Mikasa is refusing power? Why?

Next day, Mikasa spends the whole day getting gifts for everyone with Kiyomi, Kenshin, and Megatron.

Sasha gets a bow and arrow. Jean gets a comes, since he’s been growing out his hair. Connie gets a lucky cat. Fun line to write:

“By the Allspark, how does that look more off-putting than the actual cat?” Megatron demanded.

“Oh my god,” Kiyomi rolled her eyes.

Historia and Ymir get fans. Hanji gets a microscope. Then, the all take a break for Mikasa to try some street food. And Mikasa tries wasabi for the first time.

“Take my water,” Kenshin said as he passed her his water, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Mikasa took the sushi and used it to pick up the wasabi on her plate. She stared at the food between her chopsticks and took a deep breath before eating it. The response was instant. It burned. It burned so much; it felt like her mouth was on fire. It was such a small amount. Why was it causing this much pain?! Mikasa’s faced scrunched up in pain as she hit her fist on the table.

“Mikasa, spit it out!” Kenshin exclaimed, “There’s no shame!”

Mikasa shook her head as she forced herself to chew. But somehow it made it worse. Mikasa quickly swallowed the sushi and grabbed Kenshin’s water before drinking it all in one sitting. Mikasa slammed the cup on the table and began coughing into her sleeve.

“Why would someone serve this?” Mikasa asked in a strained voice.

“At least you swallowed yours,” Kiyomi declared.

“Ha,” Kenshin drawled out.

So I know that this shouldn’t affect Mikasa given her Ackerman genes, and that wasabi made back then isn’t as reportedly as harsh as it is nowadays. But Mikasa’s diet for most of her life has been bread, stew, and rations. She is literally trying new things. Also really fun to write more of Kiyomi and Kenshin’s dynamic because it gives them more depth.

Back on the trail. Levi ends up getting tea, with Megatron suggesting to sabotage the gift out of spite for the Captain. Armin gets a bonsai tree. And Kenshin and Megatron have another conversation about learning more about the world around you and not pushing against it. Kenshin offers to get Optimus a book, since he’s on the list, and Megatron is immediately suspicious. The book thing certainly won’t come up later. And then we get to Eren, and Mikasa’s upset because thinking about Eren, means also thinking about the fact that his time is limited and that she’s going to outlive him. Megatron immediately recognizes this and forces her to take a break before explaining the situation to Kenshin and Kiyomi.

And Kenshin and Mikasa talk more, and he learns more about her.

“You are in love with someone in the middle of a war,” Kenshin retorted, “That’s not the best thing to do.”

“…I’m not even sure if it’s love,” Mikasa admitted.

“You’re not?!” Kenshin exclaimed.

“Matthew found out information about the Ackermans,” Mikasa explained, “And he brought up the notion of fierce loyalty towards a master. Am I truly in love with him, or…am I just a slave following his orders?”

Mikasa’s lips formed a thin line before she used her scarf to cover it. “I don’t want to believe that I’m by his side because I’m an Ackerman, and that it’s my duty.”

“…when you’re with him, what do you feel?” Kenshin asked.

“…safe,” Mikasa answered, “Warmth…welcoming…I want to keep on living because of him. But…every single time…he keeps on running farther and farther away. It’s becoming harder to reach him, and one day…he’s going to leave and never come back.”

Kenshin felt bad for Mikasa, and his gaze shifted towards the scarf around her neck, noting that it was red. An idea struck Kenshin, causing him to stand up.

I then thought it would be nice to incorporate the red string of fate into this. It’s a later concept in Japan from what I’ve researched, but it’s a sweet one personally. Because Eren is still an important person in Mikasa’s life. I can’t just ignore that entirely in a chapter focused on her. So Kenshin helps Mikasa pick out a cherry blossom bracelet and explains the concept. And Mikasa is motivated to buy it.

Kiyomi gave a small smile as Kenshin was making the transaction. She noticed Megatron staring in disappointment and sighed.

“No matter what you say, it won’t change what she feels,” Kiyomi declared.

“Whatever she feels, she needs to be careful,” Megatron declared, “Love in a time like this is dangerous. Her spark will break when he is gone.”

“Love is complex,” Kiyomi explained, “But it can be very powerful. Many unreasonable and foolish acts can be done in the name of love.”

“Then being in love with this boy is the most foolish thing she will ever do,” Megatron declared.

Again, totally not foreshadowing future events.

So the day is done. Mikasa returns to the castle, and Megatron decides to confirm and aching suspicion the Prince told him about: whether or not Mikasa wants the throne:

“…I don’t know if I want it,” Mikasa confessed.

“Ackerman, this is your birthright,” Megatron declared as he walked in front of her and gestured to the environment around her, “This all belongs to you by lineage.” (She is gifted power and she refuses to take it.)

“But I know for a fact that I’m not wanted here,” Mikasa declared, as she walked past him, “I’ve heard what some of the people here have said. I know they would hate me.”

“Who cares?” Megatron pressed as he followed her, “There have always been bad rulers. The servants still obey.” (We know Megatron is speaking from personal experience.)

“But the public would not,” Mikasa declared, “I’m just going to be seen as a devil.”

“Then say, in theory, you had the opportunity to take the throne. Without the devil situation. Would you do it?” Megatron asked.

“No,” Mikasa answered with little hesitation.

“Why not?” Megatron asked as they passed the picture of her predecessor, “You could unite Paradis and Hizuru. There would be no need for the Rumbling. You could build relations between the island and this nation. You could turn public opinion on Eldians around.”

The two found themselves on a balcony and Megatron gestured to the busy city below them.

“All of this could be yours,” Megatron declared, “You could rule all of this. An Ackerman, a descendant of the royal blood line, a powerful soldier. If you took the crown, you would be unstoppable. So why do you not want it?” (It’s almost as if Megatron is the devil on Mikasa’s shoulder. Trying to tempt her into a contract.)

“…If I were to take this title, I would never be able to lead a normal life,” Mikasa declared.

“The Queen has the title on Paradis,” Megatron retorted.

“But Historia’s not living a normal life,” Mikasa reminded, “Levi made her go along with the coup and become the queen. She knows nothing about actually running a nation and had to learn at a fast rate.”

“You could learn faster than her,” Megatron retorted.

“She has to hide her relationship to Ymir,” Mikasa declared, “The only ones who know were at their wedding. If the public found out, there would be chaos. On top of that, Ymir has less than six years to live as well. They can’t live normal lives.” (Mikasa doesn’t want a life like Historia’s.)

Mikasa rested her hands against the railing. “I don’t want power. I don’t want this crown. I just want a normal life.”

Megatron stared at Mikasa and saw the upset expression on her face. “What would constitute as that ‘normal’ life?”

Mikasa lowered her arms against the railing, watching the birds fly away. “I live in a small cabin, maybe in the woods, or maybe in a cottage. I do remedial tasks like housework, chopping up wood, washing clothes. I would probably grow vegetables like my mother, or hunt like my father. When I come home from hunting, I…I have a family. A family waiting for me. A child runs up to me, and I would give them the biggest hug in the world. My husband would greet me and we would share a kiss. We would have dinner together. I would tuck my child in and kiss them good night. I would go to bed with my husband, and we would fall asleep in each others’ arms.”

“…What a boring, mundane life,” Megatron declared.

“But it would still be my life,” Mikasa smiled bitterly, “A normal life. No orders, and no titans. No Marley or Eldia. I just want that, but I will never be able to have it. So the only thing I can hope for is just to have the people I love by my side as long as possible.”

Mikasa rested her head on the railing. “This world is so cruel, but…it is truly beautiful.”

Megatron didn’t respond to that as Mikasa stood up fully and turned to him.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Mikasa told him before walking back into the castle. Megatron leaned against the railing and stared out at the city. He tried to process it, but he couldn’t. He…he didn’t understand. Mikasa would have all that power. She would be able to control what she wanted to be and do. She could use that to start a normal life. Why would she turn that down?

And all of this baffles Megatron. Because the crown is Mikasa's birth right. She should be able to claim it and take it for herself. Part of it because he thinks power is a way to take control of your fate, and the fact that it could help Optimus long term. But Mikasa doesn't want the throne. Sure, she wants to learn about her background and get more time for Optimus to contact Cybertron, but she had no intention of taking the throne for herself. She just wants a normal life because her normal life was taken away from her at such a young, and it was because she was different. That's why she was targeted in the first place. She's tired of being targeted and being important. She would rather spend her days hiding away in a cabin then take one step on that throne. That's someone else's responsibility.

Again, I talked with @justawannabearchaeologist about this topic. And she wrote something so phenomenal about Megatron and Mikasa in this moment.

Megatron: Mr. Destiny himself. Freedom was so important to him that, when he lost his way, he decided that his freedom came at the cost of everyone else’s.

Mikasa: To Hell with destiny. If someone else has laid your path out for you, whether it’s a path of power or not, it’s still not freedom.

And I just gotta say:

Because it also gives Mikasa more depth. Her desire for a normal life, and her pride of being a strong warrior would never allow her to bend to the will and desire of others.

And then, Wheeljack shows up. And Wheeljack showing up just after Megatron has this conversation with Mikasa is almost like a bad omen. An unanswered question in Megatron’s spark. What is wrong with gaining power? Well, too much power can corrupt. Too much power creates sin. And now, Megatron’s sins because of his desire for power has come back to bite him in the ass and he’s scared.

(Part 3 will focus on Megatron and Mikasa’s normal day.)

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arsonist4hire · 6 months

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This account portrays IDW, G1 and Cyberverse HOT ROD specifically.

G1 tag: [Reluctant Necessity] G1 or just g1

Idw tag: [Rebellious Revolutionary] IDW or just idw

IDW AU: [Almost There] Neutral

Cyberverse: [Like Molten Lead] Cyberverse

Posts that are not tagged will mainly be G1, but they may also apply for both. I am a silly guy with memory issues and I forget so often

G1 Hot Rod is portrayed after the Hate Plague. He has already been Rodimus Prime, and he hated it. Optimus is back, and he’s trying hard to adapt to being “normal” again. He’s cheerful and blunt, a little too self sacrificial, much more mature and tired than he looks. He won’t know anyone outside g1– he does not know Drift or Deadlock, and characters whose designs differ by a lot from their g1 counterparts may not easily be recognized. This Hot Rod is not from Nyon. He is quite young (around the 500 years mark) and Earth feels more like his home than Cybertron, from the way he talks about it. He’s got fucked up filters, he can’t handle alcohol, is an extreme lightweight and anything stronger than 40% alcohol is sure to give him a full system shut down. He’s still new to the whole “pure Energon” diet, having been onlined and lived for a majority of the time on what they could find in abandoned fields.

Idw Hot Rod has never taken the matrix nor has he been killed by Megatron. He has been to Earth, but did not become stranded. He mostly accompanies the Wreckers on missions— this one, knows Drift. Mentions of “Rodimus” and Prime and Matrix are met with discomfort and confusion. He doesn’t label himself a Wrecker, but he finds he belongs better among them. He’s reckless, cheerful, smart mouthed and incredibly mean. He’s also very resourceful.

He doesn’t know much about human culture, his time on Earth was brief and was mostly recon and rescue (Sunstreaker). Ironhide did not die. He’s brash, an adrenaline junkie, and a bit of a show off— especially if you’re someone not particularly fond of him, or someone from a higher rank. He’s a little oblivious but also a pretty good actor and liar.

Neutral Hot Rod is a scavenger of sorts. He left the autobots incredibly early on, stealing a small shuttle and drifting off into space. He eventually finds Necroworld and befriends Censere. Necroworld becomes a safe spot and checkpoint for Hot Rod.

He follows the war closely, but making sure he’s not known. He goes to old battlefields and heals who he can (and those he can’t, he puts them out of their misery, gathers their parts). He’s pretty reckless but a lot more quiet, he tends to talk to himself more than he talks to other people.

Cyberverse Hot Rod pretty much follows the same events as the show, but with the added tidbit that him and Drift were very close, he did not know he was heat-resistant, and he doesn't really remember Drift tried to kill him. Drift was also much friendlier and less weird, and frankly just a much better double agent, lol. Bc that was baaaad

#about;#hmmmmm #let’s see how long this sticks lol #out of the storm; ooc

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earthstellar · 3 years

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Transformers Analysis: Folklore and Folk Magic in the Mines of Kaon

thinking about Miner Megatron again, as always. here we goooo

So I've been doing some folk magic, as I usually do, and it got me thinking:

Surely, the lower class/caste bots wouldn’t feel welcomed into the more organised Cybertronian temples etc., or might even be outright banned from joining in shared spiritual spaces or rituals.

So it’s time to teach y’all some working class magic history and how we can apply that to Cybertronian spirituality:

Working Class History: Casting Spells on the Job (Just Call it Prayer so the Boss Doesn't Find Out)

Here's a quick history of rural Appalachian folk magic, for some context:

1) The Christian Bible has been used for spellcasting all up and down the rural East Coast in the USA from day one of colonisation.

In Pennsylvania you have Hexenmeisters and the Pennsylvania Dutch practices, for a well-documented example.

2) The working class has done spellcasting with the Bible from the very first day shitty bosses started

This is for several reasons, but primarily because Bibles were common and cheap, you didn't have to know how to read in order to follow along with or change the lyrics of popular hymns and prayers to fit your own needs, and it was very easy to sneak what is essentially localised witchcraft under the radar when it just looks like you're reading the Bible to everyone else.

Catholic materials were used a lot for this, because they were often provided for free by any local churches, and a lot of working class people in Appalachia were Italian (Roman Catholic) or Eastern European (Eastern Orthodox Catholic), which meant there was no shortage of all sorts of votive candles and the like to utilise for what we would now identify as spellcasting.

It's important to note that it wasn't called spellcasting outright by anybody; Sometimes it was called "hexing" or "sweet talking", among other terms, but if you called it spellcasting it was heavily frowned upon.

A lot of people were uncomfortable (and are still uncomfortable) with verbalising it or identifying it as such due to stigma from the more mainstream religious communities or their own religious backgrounds, and of course, historically if the boss found out that all the workers hated their jobs so much they were doing fucking witchcraft about it, it would not have ended well for the workers.

So, stealth it is. And that's why there are so many specific folk practices in a lot of historically working class rural regions/communities-- Not just in Appalachia, but similar things happen in similar communities around the world.

What does this have to do with Megatron?

Everything we know about the lower classes on Cybertron, the lower caste members, and the mines/industrial regions in Tarn and Kaon suggest that a similar folklore likely existed within these working communities.

And any local folk practices likely developed for the exact same reasons that this type of folk practice developed in the real world:

Workers are fucking miserable, "mainstream" religion isn't satisfying their spiritual/emotional/social/material needs or concerns, and close-knit people in small communities spending most of their time together naturally start to sort of do their own thing based on their collective situation.

People get desperate, there's nowhere to turn and nothing to do, so spirituality becomes a lifeline in that it builds solidarity and creates a more appropriate sort of support system.

For example: If we aren't allowed time off work to mourn our friend who was killed by heavy machinery, and we aren't allowed any time to process that or deal with it or take care of each other, then we will invent a ritual that allows us to grieve on the job.

This was, and still is, a common thing.

Which brings us to...

St. Barbara and the Mines + Solus Prime

St. Barbara's backstory can be summarised, roughly, as such (based on the version of this story that I know; keep in mind the details can vary):

She was kept isolated from others by her father, who became furious that she refused an arranged marriage. When she fled, he chased her; She ran into two people working in a field, the first who helped her, and the second who gave her path away to her father.

She was captured, and brought to a prominent local figure (the title varies based on different versions of this story), who had her tortured for escaping and disobeying her father.

However, when imprisoned, they tried to kill her again and again, and every morning she was healed. Fire intended to be used to burn her would cool the second it got near her skin, and daggers used to cut her would go dull when brought near her.

Snakes thrown into her room intended to bite her would then die the instant they went to approach her, and ropes intended to be used to bind and choke her would spontaneously fray and snap before they could be tied.

Eventually, she was condemned to beheading, and a special sword was used to cut her head off, which finally killed her.

Her father is the one who beheaded her, and as divine punishment, he was hit by lightning-- A single bolt that lasted so long that his entire body went up into flames, and his ashes disappeared.

Her gravesite became a place of veneration, where people prayed for protection and safety.

She became known as the patron saint of all people with dangerous jobs or jobs where the bosses don't care about the worker's wellbeing or safety, for obvious reasons: Nothing but the hands of her own father could ever harm her.

(The imagery of St. Barbara being slain only by a special sword is very reminiscent of Solus Prime being slain only by a special sword...)

Workers, especially those with particularly dangerous or shitty jobs but also just anyone working class in general, can interpret this story in several ways which can make it additionally relatable:

Her father = A controlling and aggressive boss who abuses or neglects their workers to death.

The field workers = A pro-union worker (a helper) and an anti-union worker or scab (a betrayer).

So you can see how St. Barbara became immediately adopted as a common worker's saint, and was used in a lot of regional working class folk magic practices (where such folk magic developed within local working communities).

And this is still going strong as a tradition; Crossrail tunnel borers in London consecrated the drilling site in the name of St. Barbara in 2013:

"Several hundred contractors and senior management attended the St Barbara's Day ceremony at the Thames Tunnel (pictured) which will link Plumstead and North Woolwich when completed. The site was so large, that sound engineers put in place an amplification system for the ceremony." - Article here.

"As a long-standing tradition, one of the first tasks for each new tunnelling projects is to establish a small shrine to Santa Barbara at the tunnel portal or at the underground junction into long tunnel headings. This is often followed with a dedication and an invocation to Santa Barbara for protection of all who work on the project during the construction period." - Article here.

And here's a related example of a worker's prayer for St. Barbara, from here:

So this is very much a tradition that is still going strong, and it isn't just Catholic workers who engage with these types of things!

To accommodate more diverse groups and communities of workers, folk practices (including what eventually becomes folk magic) increasingly develop even further away from any one specific religious origin, in order to become more inclusive for the majority of people who can be from all kinds of different spiritual or cultural backgrounds.

Hence, more folk magic is made-- And I believe something like this could absolutely have evolved in a similar way in working communities on Cybertron.

Cybertronian Spirituality: The Primes, The Knights, The Titans

My personal theory/headcanon, and there is not much in canon to support this particularly so please keep that in mind, is that given the average type of manual labour working environment in Tarn and Kaon (dangerous, dark, and deep), it would make sense for the legendary Titans to become worked into some kind of folk practice.

We have this concept of the Titans as these giant and very particular beings, which reminds me somewhat of the Jewish Golem of Prague, in that the Titans are made from raw materials in some kind of mystical or cosmically spiritual manner, then eventually ally themselves to at least one respective Prime who then acts as a director of their actions to achieve victory over cosmic evil(s).

The Titans then go forward and act as guardians of Cybertronian life by combating the origins of these cosmic evil(s) as protectors of their respective polities and regions and eventually colony worlds, called into action by what is essentially a metaphysical and possibly outright spiritual pull of the need of their Prime(s) and later on the needs of the Cybertronian and colony world populations in times of threat or desperation.

These details are peppered throughout canon and vary based on media/franchise, but most recently Titan lore was covered again in IDW’s Optimus Prime series, issue 10, literally titled Origin Myths.

What is interesting is that while the Golem association could be reasonably made, you could also reasonably say that the Three Original Titans (Metroplex, Chela, and Metrotitan) could be associated just as easily with the Catholic concept of the Holy Trinity.

Lots of different interpretations could be applied to this stuff!

Class Stratification Within Cybertronian Religious Institutions

No matter how you may interpret it, we know that the Titans have a similar mystical presence in Cybertronian history and cultural lore to that of the Primes and Knights, and it would make sense for those spurned and disparaged by "mainstream" spiritual practices (which were likely just as stratified by class and caste as everything else was on Cybertron during Megatron's youth) to go ahead and create a folk practice based more around Titans.

This is because the Primes would like be associated directly with their oppressive rulers and upper classes, and the Knights, who are said to be the first Cybertronians to come from the Well, thusly represent a very high class onto their own which may have repelled working class bots who were very likely sick of essentially worshipping those venerated in their class stratified society solely due to the conditions of their creation; The Knights were "born with silver spoons", essentially, and it's hard to sell that to people who suffered due to the conditions of their own creation.

Therefore, the Titans are the other most likely Cybertronian figures of historical lore that could reasonably be adapted into a sort of folk religion for the working classes and lower social caste bots.

The imagery is strong, and relatable: In Megatron's case, the manual labourers and miners all have large frames compared to the average Cybertronian, they all toil invisibly and in relative silence, and they are kept away from the end products of their labour and yet without them, Cybertron planet wide would instantly struggle to sustain their raw material demands.

They are critical workers, yet many of them have no names/designations; It is noted at least once in canon that some Titans are so old or so little known that their designations are not recorded. Yet without these unseen/unknown Titans, it could be the case that cosmic evil could have achieved victory.

While the Titans are critical, they are largely a mystery and unknown in any real detail. They do not normally engage with average Cybertronians, and when they do, it is usually indirectly-- Even though their actions actively impact the lives of nearly everyone.

And though the Primes and Knights are generally never physically present, at least not within living memory, there is real and physical proof of Titans. I feel like that aspect alone may well appeal more to people who are very physically oriented; We also see a stark realist mentality from many of the lower class/caste bots, who are sometimes realistic to the point of nihilism (which is part of why Megatron's writings were so revolutionary, in that they re-introduced hope to people who had previously concluded that there was no realistic possibility of ever rising up).

The Titans being a known, tangible physical reality may well have endeared them as a more interesting folkloric or spiritual focus to this particular cohort of bots.

Just like with St. Barbara in real life, you can see how the Titans may have been interpreted in certain ways by the lower class/caste working bots which may have made them more appealing or more easy to structure into a framework of sorts for their own practices within their local cultures.

A Little Meta: There's a Lot of Various Religious Imagery in Transformers

Like with all media, especially Western media, inevitably some Jesus sneaks in there.

Which usually sucks, because it can be alienating for literally anyone who isn't familiar with Christianity in some way (as some references or parallels are inevitably not going to be as obvious or even detectable at all to people who didn't grow up with all this sometimes very specific shit, resulting in missed thematic elements and so on due to no fault of the viewers but rather the tendency for Western shows to overwhelmingly be written and designed by primarily Western white middle aged cis straight men who tend to throw some Jesus in there when there should not necessarily be any Jesus in there, but I could yell about this all night).

Transformers as a franchise altogether is not immune to this; As with all media, it is made by people, and people are influenced by their social/cultural upbringing, and that includes religious influences.

We could read some of this into the TFP/Aligned Continuity, in regards to the idea of the Thirteen Primes and how that concept is interpreted in TFP.

Transformers Prime: Alpha Trion is Essentially Paul the Apostle

The TFP Primes resemble both the Apostles as well as various Saints, and especially the Fourteen Holy Helpers; These fourteen Saints in particular are elevated above the others in many cases and contexts-- Similar to how the Primes are held up as elevated over other Cybertronians and other figures in Cybertronian history and presumably within certain Cybertronian spiritual practices as well.

For example, Alpha Trion is strongly reminiscent of the Christian figure Paul the Apostle, who was a writer/scribe known for documenting early Christian concerns of faith in his letters, which became extremely important to theological historians in regards to determining early Christian discourse and attempting to create a timeline of early Christianity.

His letters are included the New Testament in thirteen (!) sections called epistles, which are archived forever in various iterations within the Christian Bible.

Now, let’s take a look at the symbolism, using the TFP main illustration of Alpha Trion as featured in the Covenant, and a popular Icon image of Paul the Apostle:

Beard, cloak, book-- Even the pose they are in here is very similar, look at the feet and the way they are both standing. Even the halo of Cybertronian glyphs around Alpha Trion’s head resembles the gold filament of Paul’s halo.

And much like Alpha Trion's questionable ability to write/re-write history and determine events through some kind of cosmically divine power of foresight, the timeline of Paul's letters will likely never be fully verifiable, and of course, there are so many translations and interpretations of these letters along with the rest of the New Testament that while key points remain fairly consistent, there is still no "true" version or exact outline of events or discussions as recorded by Paul-- Primarily because in at least a few cases, Paul's letters are the only allusion to certain events or conversations.

This is extremely similar to how Alpha Trion states outright in the Covenant that he himself doesn't know if what he writes is actually factual anymore, or if he has changed things so many times to try to construct a more favourable narrative of actions and events that reality itself may have been warped by his Quill, either forwards or backwards in time...

You could also argue that Alpha Trion is presented as a God-like figure in TFP (especially when he appears to Optimus in the form of an echoing voice and shimmering spectral figure in a vision caused by what is essentially the equivalent of a holy relic), and Orion Pax would then be comparable to Jesus pre-Crucifixion, with his reformatting into Optimus Prime post-Matrix heavily resembling Jesus in the eyes of his followers post-Resurrection.

The main cast of Autobots in this comparison would then roughly correspond to the Apostles, of whom there were twelve, with Optimus then making Thirteen... And of course, canonically, Optimus is the resurrection of the Thirteenth Prime.

You can also see visual similarities in the depiction of Thirteen in the Covenant; It reminds me heavily of the Divine Mercy image of Jesus:

Both have their right hands raised, their chests emitting a holy/cosmic light.

I'm just saying, it is totally possible to make connections between fictional lore/spiritual figures and real world ones, and TF is loaded with content that can be re-contextualised in this way.

(I also want to point out at this time that it is not my intention to offend anyone with any of this analysis; I am writing from the point of view of someone who grew up with folk spirituality, and I am also a Quaker Attender, just so you are aware of my own personal background. I would love to hear any other interpretations of any spiritual imagery in Transformers media, because there’s a ton of possible ways to read into this stuff!)

In Conclusion: Cast a Hex on Your Boss by Calling Upon the Titans

Just for fun, as someone who has actually done folk magic for my entire life, I've adapted a hex against bad bosses to fit this headcanon. I think this is something that lower class/caste bots would absolutely engage in; It's common in real life as well.

The original I'm basing this off of was actually something I found in one of our old family Bibles before I moved out, and was written in Girard, Pennsylvania sometime between 1920-1930. I believe it was written by a relative of mine who worked either on the farm or on the railways.

Remember that folk magic like this is for and by working class people, so there are no fancy supplies needed; Don't ever buy shit to do magic, you can do it with anything laying around you. No need to spend money.

If you have a shitty boss, please let me know if you hex your boss with this. I always encourage witchcraft, fictional or otherwise.

Here's what you do, if you want to actually try this:

1) Using any old paper that you have lying around, cut it roughly into a square (doesn't need to be perfect.) It doesn't matter what type of paper it is.

2) Grab any pen you like, it can be any type of pen, any type of ink.

3) Draw a square outline on the paper, making a border on the page. This can be big or small as you like, and you can decorate it if you want; Just leave enough space to write inside the square.

4) Fold this paper into a square, any way you'd like as long as it's a square, and take this paper while it's still blank to work in your pocket.

Carry the paper with you for at least one full day at work. If you can, place it in a chest pocket or a pocket where the paper will be fairly close to your body.

It doesn't matter if the paper gets dirty or smudged or torn; In fact, that's even better.

(Some people who do variations of this spell in real life even use the paper to wipe dirt off their hands etc. throughout the day, to really get the energy of a work day settled into the paper. As long as it can still be written on, you can do this if you'd like.)

5) At the end of the work day, take the paper out, and write the following:

Where I have put [X], the word "Lord" was in the original version of this hex which was in my family Bible, but to contextualise it within the fictional headcanon lore here, you can replace this with the word "Titan". (Or you can replace it with anything else that may be appropriate as well, if you would like to actually use this hex!)

"Give us pay for our work, or the poor will plea to the [X] against you, and you will be struck down, cast down.

If you do not give to those who give to you, you will be cursed coming in, and going out.

Just as the [X] can raise you up and lead you to prosper, so too can the [X] turn away from you, and you will be left to have your walls destroyed, your fortress ruined.

Us servants will rejoice, but you will cry out in anguish, you will be put to shame.

Without the toilers, the land is made desolate, the haunt of jackals.

[X], turn your gaze to us, we labourers of all kinds, see our tears and our sweat.

Lay curses upon those who use their hands to hold us down; Kept below water, our tears lost in the flood.

Raise the waters, and surge the shores of their ill-owned kingdom; Bring forth to their memory that the [X] stewards the land, and that all among the land are equal in spirit.

The [X] will cast fury upon the unrighteous and conniving, cast rage and stand among us mightily, each motion casting winds against the oppressor who weakens like fractured stone under the onslaught of rain.

The [X] will make a storm from our anguish, which brings us higher, raises us from desolation. Our tears, become the rain that withers the false tower looming high above us.

Our hands will raise from our tools and duties, and offer high praise to the [X], who guards the disparaged and lowly, who enacts justice against those who have done wrong against us.

Let us be brought high, and those who revel in our struggle, may they be cast down."

6) You may flip the paper over once the ink is dry, and on the back, put three Xs in the upper corners of the paper. You may also add three more XXXs to the centre of the paper, where the crease in the paper is from folding it.

7) Re-fold the paper, and put it in the bottom of your right shoe. If this is too uncomfortable, carry it in any pocket on your right side.

You can also place it in your wallet for safe keeping, as your wallet contains money and possibly a work ID or something similar, which are all tied to work and working.

And there you have it! Fuck shitty bosses, both fictional ones and real ones. Join a union, do some witchcraft.

This post was long as always, but I hope it's interesting to someone out there! <3 Thank you to anyone who actually reads through all of this! <3

#megatron #transformers #tfp #transformers prime #alpha trion #transformers meta #transformers analysis #long post #idw transformers #idw 1 #miner megatron #young megatron #maccadam #tw religion #working class history #witchcraft #spellcasting #hexing #solus prime

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stawscweam · 3 years

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A New Golden Age | MegaStar

Hello! This is my first ever fanfic! I’ve loved MegaStar since I was a kid, so this just feels like fate, you know?

I dedicate this jumble of words to my darling friend @sivictis uwu 💜💜💜

Here it is on AO3!

A new dawn settled on the recently rebuilt city of Kaon. Citizens stirred online as rays of light flooded their berth-chambers. As they awoke one-by-one, excitement coursed through all of their circuits for this day was of great importance; it was the coronation of Megatron and Starscream as the supreme rulers of Cybertron.

The official ceremony had been put on hold for quite some time after the resolution of the Great War. The restoration of their war-torn planet held upmost precedent after the execution and imprisonment of the defeated Autobots.

Justice was dealt swiftly to their high command and the helm of Optimus Prime decorated the entrance to the grand capitol. The remaining Autobots were used as prison labour to bolster the ranks of the reconstruction effort.

Cybertronians that had fled when the civil war destroyed their world returned upon news of the war’s end and were challenged with two choices: assist their new Decepticon brethren in rejuvenation or face the consequences. Most chose the former.

The damage dealt upon their planet was great, but the mechs of Cybertron were determined to make their leaders’ dream of renewal a reality. Unity and hope flowed through their processors as they tirelessly worked to birth a new Golden Age.

As their work bore fruit, Kaon surpassed the prestige of Iacon of old. Its streets bustled with activity and purpose as pubs, medical centres, cultural hubs, and businesses of all kinds blossomed into fruition. Emancipated from the archaic nonsense of Functionism, bots from all walks of life were free to choose their vocation and hobbies.

At the epicentre of the great city-state stood Kolkular, the headquarters of the Decepticons and now proud capital of Cybertron. The metallic walls of the fortress shone brightly as the sun continued to rise. Its residents already up and about to prepare for the big day. The grand hall needed to be pristine and magnificent for nothing but perfection was acceptable in the optics of a certain Seeker.

----

In his shared berth-chamber with Megatron, Starscream fussed in annoyance as his aides fumbled in polishing him, their servos teeming with nervousness and joy at being chosen to assist one of their leaders. However, the prime reason for their joint clumsiness was due to them ogling the new frame of the jet.

Sleek, aerodynamic lines of gold and scarlet graced their vision, causing their cooling fans to awkwardly hum in the spacious room. A rush of apologies left their mouths as they quickly calmed their anxieties, submerged their amorous thoughts, and properly applied the polish to his body.

Megatron shook his helm in amusement at the antics of his Conjunx as he overheard the commotion from the balcony of their room. With his arms clasped behind his back, he peered across the waking city and mulled over the state of his own body.

He still possessed the Ore-13 empowered frame that assisted in their victory over Optimus Prime and his accursed Autobots. The peace he had dreamed of in Towards Peace would soon be achieved and then and only then would he rid himself of the rail gun currently attached to his right servo.

The scars and dents that littered his body were a grim reminder of the pain and loss his Decepticons endured during the long course of the war. This battered frame of his would be a living symbol to represent an era of hostility and strife that will never ravage their world and his people again.

Cybertron would flourish under the combined rule of Starscream and himself. After all, it was their mediation that had led to the destruction of their steady rivals. Optimus Prime and his cohorts could not have foreseen the both of them working together in perfect unison and that was their fatal mistake.

Megatron knew long ago that with Starscream at his side, no goal was out of their reach and that the universe would be theirs to conquer.

“Are you finished brooding or should I come back?”

Megatron’s helm turned slightly to the beautiful sight of Starscream glistening in the sunlight as the jet strutted up to smirk at his beloved bondmate. Dainty claws grasped the balcony’s railing as he settled beside Megatron.

By the unmasked hunger in those piercing optics, Starscream figured the bumbling fools must have done a somewhat decent job at polishing his frame. He might have even thanked them if he had not already dismissed them.

“I wasn’t brooding,” Megatron clarified. “I was thinking.”

“About?”

“You.”

“Oh, really?” Starscream raised an optic ridge. “And what about me? Do tell.”

“It was your brilliance and cunning that secured our victory, our future. Look, Starscream,” Megatron gestured to their view of the city. “Look at our world. Cybertron has never experienced true freedom of this magnitude. We did this and we will crush all those that stand before us. Together.”

“You big sap.” Starscream snorted with a roll of his optics but could not suppress the smile forming on his face. Megatron leaned down as a silent request, tilting the Seeker’s chin up with his servo. Starscream obliged him by lifting himself up on his heel struts and locked their lips in a passionate kiss.

Their EM fields intertwined in a swirl of fierce love as they parted slightly, helms resting comfortably on each other. Their optics shut as their sparks pulsed in tandem, their bond strengthening with each beat.

Despite his lover’s affinity for the dramatics, the jet could not object to the results of their reconciliation. How comical it was for the war to end simply when they ceased their incessant bickering and acknowledged each other’s faults and strengths.

They both came to understand the other’s solution to their four million stellar cycles old problem and devised a devilish plan that utilised their shared prowess in deception. Their union produced a harmonic serenity that washed over their troops and solidified the complete annihilation of the Autobots.

A give and take entity slowly formed between them that burst into a cohesion they had not experienced since the beginning of the war. Their mutual commitment to the Decepticon cause culminated into the Cybertron that laid before them.

No want, no unhappiness, no dissent.

Peace through tyranny.

“My Lords, it is time.”

A humble Decepticon scout bowed in reverence to the now reluctantly parting couple. Megatron reached down to grasp Starscream’s servo and placed a gentle kiss upon it. The jet huffed in faux indignation, still unaccustomed to such blatant expressions of affection. However, he could not deny how it warmed his spark to immeasurable degrees.

Servos clasped; the two leaders followed the scout to the grand hall of Kolkular. It was clear to Megatron—much to his chagrin—that no expense was spared to lavishly decorate the hall to the specific demands of his Conjunx. The subtle grin resting on the face of Starscream was proof enough that their aides had satisfied the exceptionally picky Seeker.

As they walked to their designated positions by their thrones, Megatron and Starscream waved to their subjects still servo in servo. The hall was packed to the brim for no mech of Kaon was barred from witnessing the crowning of their beloved rulers, the roar of their cheers deafening all in attendance.

Starscream had mused that after their long and arduous effort to reconstruct a portion of their planet, the mechs of Cybertron deserved a lively respite. Megatron steeled himself for the inevitable boasting of his mate after the event transpired.

Arriving at their destination, the two lovers stood before their thrones and faced the crowd. The previous thunderous cacophony settled to a hush of whispers and soon complete silence. Those who could not physically attend the ceremony also muted their conversations as they watched the televised proceedings.

“Citizens of Cybertron and the Constellate,” Megatron began. “This past stellar cycle has been a gruelling journey to restore what was once lost. Today, we commemorate your valiant efforts in rebuilding Kaon!”

“Though there is still much work to be done,” Starscream added gently with a practised smile. “The full revival of Cybertron is well within our grasp now!”

“Hone this fervour, this drive and Cybertron will be the shining beacon of our glorious Decepticon Empire! We will continue our dominion over the lesser species and take our rightful place as masters of the known universe and beyond!”

“Under our united might and brilliance, we will lead you all to a new galactic order that will crush the anti-mechanical prejudice that has swept across the cosmos. Stand with us for it has never been a better time to be a Decepticon!”

“All hail Cybertron!” They declared as one.

A wave of applause and hollers rumbled across the masses in the grand hall and all of Kaon. Pride and determination charged their frames as they repeated the final message of their lords with ecstatic zeal. No longer subjugated to a cruel caste system that oppressed their liberties, they were free to usher in a new era of Cybertronian supremacy and they owed their full gratitude to Megatron and Starscream.

The cheers and adulation of the crowd continued as the rulers of Cybertron seated themselves on their thrones. The two assistants that had polished the radiant Seeker, returned on each side of Megatron and Starscream, both holding a bejewelled crown resting on a tasselled pillow. The duo’s shaking servos successfully crowned their lords and the persistent ovation erupted into a booming uproar.

With a deep bow, the twin mechs left the stage. As they departed, Megatron shifted his discerning gaze to his Conjunx. A buzz of electricity surged through Starscream as he felt the heated attention of his beloved once again and lessened his posturing for the crowd and cameras to address his other half.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because you’re stunning.”

“Would you quit that!?” The jet hissed, failing to stop energon from tinting his cheeks. “You’re insufferable, you know that?”

“Only for you, my dear Starscream.”

“Is that so? Well, two can play at that game, dear Megatron.” Leaning over and up to the much larger mech, Starscream cupped Megatron’s face between his claws and kissed him. Hoots and whistles reverberated everywhere as the corulers of Cybertron shamelessly canoodled.

The bonded pair separated slightly, crowned helms mere centimetres from each other.

“I love you, you sentimental oaf.”

“I love you, too.”

#megastar #baby's first fanfic #i like corny ass shit what can i say #i referenced a lot of my favourite idw issues if that wasn't blatantly obvious. i'm not a subtle individual *wheezes*#shoutout to Goosey for helping me come up with their coronation speeches! we're still fighting at the Dennys tho #tf shit #my fic

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mk-wizard · 4 years

Text

Proof that the Autobot Way is Flawed

Now, before I start exploring this Transformers theory, I want to make it clear that I do not think that Autobots are secretly evil. You can be part of a flawed system and be a good person. Heck, you can be part of a flawed system and even be aware of how flawed it is. Autobots have long since proven that they are good, well meaning people who want to keep their society clean and want to do good for the world, but it is NOT a perfect society. It has flaws that are glaring, feudal and in fact holding Autobots themselves back. And there are many instances which show that the Autobot way has flaws. Also, many of them are from Animated which I give honours to @auraturner for bringing up in her article here as many others did too. Here they are;

If you want to live in an Autobot society, you MUST identify as an Autobot yourself or you are not truly a part of the society and cannot live among Autobots. - Ever noticed that on Cybertron, EVERYONE identifies as an Autobot? And I recall in the G1 series, when Spike and Carly were given the ultimate honour among Autobots, what was this honour? Being called an Autobot. In other words, they were not true allies or equals up until that moment. While we would find being an Autobot cool as a kid, as adults, this feels off and kind of disturbing. Then there was the issue of Jetfire in G1. Why should he HAVE to be an Autobot to prove that he is good? He was good even when he identified as a Decepticon! He could have kept being a Decepticon and just fight alongside the good guys. What if a Decepticon wants to continue being a Decepticon, but just doesn’t agree with tyranny or Megatron’s way? What if a Decepticon was a good person, wasn’t even a fighter, had no criminal record and only wanted to live a quiet private life on Cybertron? Unless that Decepticon is willing to change their faction, the Autobots will deny them the right to live on Cybertron.

They have no trouble conscripting and imprisoning kids. - While we find it cute that Bumblebee is a young teenager, this implications here are actually very dark. What is a teenager that young doing in the army and going to war? Also, in the Animated series, Wasp was arrested and sent to the stockades and he was no older than Bumblebee. This is not ok. You do not give a kid and adult sentence.

Autobot society works almost like a hive mind or at least under the thumb of the Prime. - While Optimus and Rodimus were good and kind Primes who care deeply for others and allow personal freedoms, a large majority of the Primes were not like this. It is implied that Autobot society is a borderline communist society in which everyone plays a role to keep the system as it is forever and it is very rigid towards new ideas and such. This is why Megatron resorted to war in the first place. Nobody would listen to him. They listened to Optimus (as Orion Pax) in Prime, but the problem with this is that Megatron knows the problems better and knows the solution cannot be negotiated. Optimus doesn’t get that because he hasn’t walked in those shoes. Might I also add that the Autobots shot and used aggression first when Megatron start proposing change. That doesn’t look good. Moreover, you all have to believe in the same thing without question. Nobody is allowed free speech and speaking out against the Prime is considered as stepping out of line and if you question the Autobot way or point out that it has flaws, you will be accused of heresy.

While the Autobot faction came to be, their ancestors deleted a lot of the records. - This chilling fact is official in the actual Allspark Alminac. I don’t think I need to say much on this one. Anyone who throws away part of their own history is obviously hiding something.

Autobots have no respect for other factions or beings. - While the Autobots showing a lack of respect for the Earth or Decepticons is played off for laughs, such things are actually quite despicable. When Autobots mine for energon rather than produce it using alternative sources (like the Decepticons did in G1), it does a heck of a lot of damage to the planet. And you know what else does damage to Earth’s property and environment? The Autobot’s war and often at times their own clumsiness. I recall one episode in RID where the Autobots carelessly destroyed and entire golf course in seconds while duking it out amongst themselves and while this moment got passed off for comedy, I didn’t find it funny. It takes a lot of work to set up a golf course and even more to build a building, make a car and don’t get me started on how many injuries bystanders can endure. It is any wonder Prime’s Agent Fowler didn’t like them? I would be mad to if I gave amnesty to people who showed a lack of gratitude through a lack of respect for my home. Also, since the days of G1, the Autobots have mocked and objectified their prisoners either by taunting them or by taking pictures with them. Moreover, Autobots call Decepticons racist terms like “Con” or “Decepticreep”. I have never seen a Decepticon mock a captive except for Starscream and Megatron chastised him for it calling him childish and saying he shamed himself. Also, I have never ever heard the Decepticons call the Autobots a racist slur. Heck, Autobots including Optimus himself have used the term “Decepticon” as another word for “evil”. I also want to throw out there that Autobots do not take prisoners very often nor do they show a lot of mercy. Yes, Starscream is a sadist and a half, but the other Decepticons will not kick someone when they’re down or kill if they don’t have to. In fact, sometimes, their honour drives them not to. As for Autobots, they are not so nice and sometimes, even the noblest ones (including Optimus himself) have been known to take getting even too far.

They do not allow alt mode autonomy. - If you don’t know what that means, it means you are not allowed to choose an alt mode you want. It has to somehow relate to your job or the Autobot way. I know this is all fiction, but wouldn’t the right to choose which alt mode you want be a form of bodily autonomy? And how does your alt mode relate to your job especially when you can only do your job in robot mode? We see Autobots sneak this lack of letting a bot pick and choose the alt mode they really want even in Rescue Bots. When Blurr and Salvage join the team, he takes them to a hanger full of vehicles that are exclusively trucks or automobiles of some kind. In other words, everything four-wheeler. And even in Rescue Bots Academy, this sneaky tactic of guiding the bot’s hand towards a specific alt mode is still there. The bots play up how much the recruits admire them and almost all of them choose alt modes that are similar to their teachers. In the episode where Hotshot choose a fire truck, if Heatwave was a bigger bot, he would have encouraged Hotshot to stick with the rocket like he wanted to be because there’s a reason he wanted to be that and he already changes into a four wheeler of some kind. I think Autobots only allow dinosaur forms because they have proven to be useful, but if you compare the amount of diversity of alt modes among Autobots to that of Decepticon, it’s a night and day difference. I mean... they allow a warrior Decepticon to change into a CAMERA (REFLECTOR) and no one mocks or judges the guy. Now that I look at it, how many Autobots out there change into things that are not trucks or automobiles? Not many. In fact, even Blades wasn’t originally a flyer. It worries me to think what would have happened if a jet flew by in the air and Blurr requested to change into it as it is fast. Or if either he or Salvage didn’t like any of the trucks or automobiles.

They delete feelings and memories. - This is just creepy and the more I think about it, the more it frightens me. A society that considers amnesia acceptable as way of coping with trauma makes me think this society is very crooked and only looks at short term solutions. Not to mention, the concept of dealing with problems is by forgetting them is also telling. It makes me wonder if they apply this as a treatment for all trauma victims or anyone they consider as a heretic. And by any chance, do they use this as a means of ensuring that a former Decepticon becomes a proper Autobot? Holy cow, this is scaring me... And it’s making me wonder how many Autobots were actually once Decepticons, but even they themselves don’t even know it because their entire identities were deleted?

They don’t allow misfits and freaks. - The most disturbing aspect of all. All Autbots are physically perfect and none are beast types with the exception of the Dinobots who are also deemed openly as the exception. I also don’t notice many handicapped Autobots with the exception of Fixit who became handicapped after his accident. I highly doubt he would have gotten a job if he was handicapped from before and even currently, he is treated like an invalid even though he isn’t. They won’t even allow him to fight or inform him of his fighting capabilities even after discovering that he can hold his own. As for Decepticons, you will see tons who do not fit into some perfect mold or have ailments like having psychological issues or other handicaps, and most importantly, you’ll find diverse beast types. It is not for nothing that a large majority of the misfits of society rebelled against the Autobot way. The Autobot way outcasts the flawed and imperfect.

#transformers fandom #transformers fanfiction #transformers fanart #fanfiction #fan theory #rescue bots #robots in disguise #transformers prime #transformers animated #transformers robots in disguise #tfa #rid

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pastelpaperplanes · 4 years

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Calling in a Favor part 4

Ultra Magnus was not having the best of cycles.

The cycle had started with him waking up with a crick in the neck, and it had been joined by a headache caused by the presence of one Sentinel Prime.

He reminded himself that everyone grieves differently, but the ego of his second was honestly starting to grate on his patience.

Half way through reading a report, he caught the sound of a commotion not far from his ground floor private office, taking a long suffering sigh, he got up, poured himself a cube of high grade, and stepped out to deal with whatever Sentinel was likely upset about this time.

Had some poor bot put the filter in upside down in the general energon dispenser again?

Was there a tiny crude drawing scratched into a surface he spotted?

Maybe his attempt to flirt with First Aid had backfired in his faceplates again and she was giving him the what for…

Or perhaps his second in command was having his faceplates smashed in by the business end of a wrench that a familiar pseudo retired medic was wielding.

Ultra Magnus let the shock show on his features for a few moments before he schooled them and spoke up, using his ‘I’m in charge’ voice that he knew carried well enough to get everyone (hopefully Ratchet included) to stop what they were doing and shut up.

“What, in the infernal pits of Kaon, is going on here?!”

Everyone froze.

Except Ratchet who got one more good swing in past Sentinel’s feeble attempts to prevent it.

He looked between Sentinel and Ratchet, expression furrowed into a frown. “Ratchet, this is not like you, what has happened?”

Sentinel, who was pinned under the older, smaller, supposedly not as aged as he looked mech, growled. “What does it look like Sir?! This maniac attacked me!”

Ratchet got up, but kept a pede firmly planted on Sentinel’s chassis, likely leaving a dirty footprint on his shirt. “Oh, you don’t know, I’ll tell you, and every bot here what happened.” He paused, the dramatic effect was certainly felt. “This morning, I heard a ruckus above my clinic, I go to investigate, only to find one of the tenants, Bumblebee, in hysterics and screaming at his apartment mate Bulkhead, it took me getting two cubes down him and four trips to the can to purge before he spat out what happened.”

Another pause for an effect, but this time it felt more like the medic was taking a moment to compose himself before trying to continue, the look in his optics suddenly becoming haunted.

“Optimus is dead. The mob got him. Bee was a bartender at one of the clubs apparently, one of the goons told him why one of his best friends hadn’t shown up. They took him to the Docks last night and he never came back.”

The words hung in the air for a time no one present really thought to keep track of.

What broke the silence was the cube of high grade Ultra Magnus had been holding, the cube smashing on the ground just ahead of him, spilling its contents across the floor.

The sound of the cube shattering snapped Magnus back to the present. “My upstairs office. Now. Sentinel, you too.”

Sentinel grumbled as he got himself upright and trunched after the two senior mechs, barely squeezing into the lift between Ratchet and Magnus before the doors closed, having chosen to turn around at face the doors along with the two so as to avoid optic contact with the medic who’d just been trying to rearrange his face with the wrench he was still holding, he could feel energon dribbling down his faceplates.

Once they were all behind the soundproofed and locked door of Ultra Magnus’ entire upper floor spanning office, did he turn and address Ratchet. “Ratchet… I understand your distress, I was of the impression you had taken Optimus under your wing so to speak… But… You are aware you just assaulted my second in command with a wrench, correct? I really should be arresting you for that, but I have a sneaking suspicion you had a rather good reason for targeting Sentinel, correct?”

Ratchet’s gaze locked on Sentinel and turned murderous. “Looks like you never told your boss, how about you tell Magnus now what you’d been holding over Optimus’ helm?”

Sentinel, with his now rather smashed in faceplates, still managed to look like a mechabuck caught in high beams.

Magnus turned to look at Sentinel as well, an incy disposition falling over the head of the Elite Guard.

“Sentinel Prime… What in the name of Primus… did you do.”

It was at that moment that Sentinel knew… he was slagged… and Optimus wasn’t alive anymore to take the fall for it… not again.

The Polaris

Optimus waved Shrike and her younglings goodbye, they’d been paged by Shrike’s lieutenant about a fight breaking out in the main engine room, not a joor after they’d finished touring that area.

Apparently her way of dealing with such issues was to, and to quote Rumble, a youngling, directly ‘Bea’ tha bolts ou’ ah those slag suckers!’

He distinctly remembered that some of those slag suckers were the twins sparkling sitters when Dust managed to catch Shrike and attempt to put the femme back together.

Optimus shook his helm at the whole thing, making a personal note not to take a trip to the engine rooms unannounced, as lovely as all those giant oil and grime caked mechs and femmes had been, they were all rather quick to brawl, and some of their fists he swore were bigger than his whole helm.

He turned to regard the door Shrike had left him standing outside, and after a moment, knocked, Shrike had said something about him finding his direct supervisor inside.

The door swung open after a swift ‘Coming!’ and he was brought faceplates to faceplates with a pure white armoured femme who came up to about his chassis, who had a metric ton of vibrant organic plumage sticking out from one side of her helm, specifically around her audio.

The femme looked up, took in the sight of him, and tutted. “Orion right?” He nodded. “Goodness Shrike took you to the engine rooms! You’re filthy!”

He jerked his helm down to look over his casual attire. “Oh! Oh no this was just the first stuff I grabbed out of my r-”

The femme didn’t let him finish, promptly dragging him by the collar into the room. “Everyone! Calipso! Get me a dressing gown! Eion put down the optic liner and help me get this mech to the showers!”

Mechs and Femmes alike, all of them arguably some of the most beautiful and gorgeous bots he’d ever seen all spun in their make up chairs to look him up and down, some of which still applying make up to their features as they did so.

Two jumped up, a mech who was mostly soft greens with a red highlight colour that framed his lithe figure, and a femme of soft lilac and blue who looked half dressed if the fact she was only wearing a form fitting dress and nothing else was anythign to go by, she wasn’t even wearing shoes.

All of this he was able to take in in the few short moments he had until the mech, he assumed to be Eion, pulled him into what he guessed was the mech shower room, and began setting up a stall for him.

A dressing gown was tossed at him before the doors were shut to the shower area, leaving just him and Eion.

The mech chuckled and offered a servo. “Eion, Orion right? Congrats on getting the spot.”

Optimus’ jaw was hanging a bit. “Um… what? I’m sorry I’ve been told… very… very little about what’s going on here… where am I?”

Eion laughed. “You’re on level four, and this chunk of the level is set aside for us Entertainers, the femme who dragged us in is our supervisor, Jadarite. The rest of us, you now included, all work in the main entertainment district of the Polaris. Dancers, wait staff, table jockeys, that kind of stuff… got any experience with dealing out tables?” Eion asked.

Optimus shook his helm. “Um no… I was just a waiter and danced back at the club… sometimes I also sang, sometimes.” He flushed the full way through the admission of his previous roles.

Eion smiled, hopped up and patted Optimus on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you get up to speed, but Jadarite was, well, right, you are filthy, c’mon, showers work like any other shower, but be careful, the max temp is only the max temp because we have some sadomasochists on board who get their jollies off going to Dust for scalded plating!” He grinned and giggled as his own apparent joke, whacking him on the shoulder quickly.

Optimus knew his jaw was hanging a bit, it felt like it was going to be a permanent expression on his features for quite a time to come. “Why do I feel like… at least half of this ship is on their way to going insane?”

Eion really laughed then, waving the mech off. “Comes with the territory! I’m assuming you’ve never been off the home world before?”

Optimus shook his helm.

Eion grinned. “Then don’t worry, you’ll be one of us in no time in that department too! Now wash up! And dump those clothes in the hamper over there, they’ll be given a proper wash and sent to your new quarters long before we’ll be done with you for the cycle!”

And with that, the green and red mech slipped back out, closing the door behind him and leaving Optimus to stand alone in the mechs showers holding a dressing gown and wondering what fate Megatron had thrown him to.

Tentatively, Optimus got to undressing, spotting the hamper Eion had mentioned and dumping them all inside and silently hoping he didn’t loose them, he hadn’t had time to pack anything at all, not even a spare change of briefs.

He didn’t bother to don the dressing gown just yet, putting it up on one of the hooks a safe distance away from the showers next to where a number of unbelievably plush towels were hung, they were so soft…

Before he even knew what he was doing, he had one of the towels and was just rubbing his face against it, it was so soft and fluffy he could just melt!

He supposed otherworldly soft towels was a good quality he could chalk up to working here.

Knowing he’d get to wrap himself up in at least two of those towels once he was washed, he moved over to the showers and inspected them, the controls looked simple enough, hot and cold were colour coded and he just needed to lift the lever like nob up to increase the pressure.

Picking a temp a bit below the ‘you sadomasochists’ engraved plaque that was over the dashed part of the red, Optimus braced himself and turned on the shower head he’d found himself under.

HOT.

He jumped back, luckily the tiled floor was dry so he didn’t slip, but Primus!

Oh right, he’d not had a hot shower since his cycles at the academy, wanted to avoid paying a high heating bill.

Steam was already starting to billow out from around the spray, bringing up the humidity of the area.

He reached past the spray and notched down the temperature and tested it again with two digits, still warm, not scalding.

Bracing himself, he stepped back under, and got to work trying to get himself presentable, making use of a handy little solvent dispenser that was mounted on the wall in a little wire basket just to his left.

Eventually the suds and solvent were all washed away, and the water running off his frame was just as clear as when it hit his helm and the broad span of his back.

Turning off the faucet Optimus looked out at the steam filled room, and carefully, mindful of the now wet floor, stepped over to the towels and where he’d left the dressing gown.

The first one he used to rub down his frame to get the water that was taking it’s time vacating the panes of his frame, the second smaller one he used to rub his faceplates dry, as well as focus on the harder to reach spots.

All done with drying off, he slipped the dressing gown on.

And oh he was never getting out of this, the inside lining was even more soft, and fluffy!

He gave himself a few kliks to just melt into the softness before he moved back to the door that led back out to where all the other bots were.

He cracked the door open, and found many of the bots from before were gone, Eion was still there, as well as Calipso and Jadarite, but only two others remained, and they seemed to be just finishing the last of their apparel.

Jadarite turned to regard him and smiled. “Much better darling, c’mon out, there’s no need to be shy.” She coaxed, she was an older femme who had apparently perfected the ‘soothing frightened bots’ voice, because the moment her servos took his, he was more than willing to step back out into the main area, despite only wearing a dressing gown, he should feel more… not ashamed, he’d done nothing wrong, embarrassed? No… considering how communal everything in this area was, he couldn’t imagine these bots around him being very prudish.

Jadarite patted his shoulder once he was seated at a vanity that was much more barren than the rest of those in the room. “Alright dear, let’s see how we can gussy you up right pretty with what we’ve got here.”

He nodded, and just let them do what they wanted.

Three joors, a number of rambles about Knockout’s skill of being better than him at this sort of thing, and a whole reel of measuring tape, and the, dress prep? Was complete.

Jadarite clapped her servos together, and spun his chair to face the mirror.

Okay, he’d bite, he looked good, the eyeliner in particular was really framing his optics well while also defying the laws of physics to a truly astonishing degree.

Calipso, who was a rather timid thing, gave him a small smile. “We’ll figure out stuff like what colours work best with you and if plumage works next cycle, do you wanna keep that stuff on and wash it off later or do you prefer us getting it all off now?”

He glanced to the three who’d laboured and experimented away at his features for the last three joors to get him looking this good. “Um, I’ll keep it on? So… what next?”

Jadarite beamed at him. “Now’s the fun part, the shows over for the night, so everybots gonna be coming back to finish up for the cycle, and from there, we’re all hitting our private bar here on deck four. If you want to come along, I’m sure Unverlo will be able to lend you something comfortable, he’s a bit bigger than you so you shouldn’t have any issue with fitting into something of his.”

“You’re sure he won’t mind?”

Apparently the mech in question didn’t mind at all, and had an apparently love for big, fluffy and baggy jumpers, which hung off one of his shoulders no matter how many times he tried to adjust it while he found himself sitting at the Entertainers private bar and had conversations struck up with him by basically everyone he was going to be working with.

The Bar was, Optimus couldn’t describe it in a single word, but everything seemed to of been designed for relaxation and winding down.

There was dim mood lighting that pulsed around the room, the only stron light coming from the vibrantly coloured tanks of energon that bubbled and churned behind the bar.

The opposite side from the bar was where the tables were, built into the wall around circular tables, the padded seats had enough room for everyone.

Opposite from the entrance, and passed a small dance floor, with a familiar pole mounted in the centre, was a floor to ceiling window out into space, the stars beyond providing a stunning backdrop to the bots dancing.

Unverlo, the mech he was currently sitting next too at the bar was a soft spark with a love for neo-felines, he apparently had four in his own suite and he had maxed out three data-pads image storage with pictures and videos full of the brightly coloured, highly affectionate things.

Unverlo admitted he spoiled them all rotten with treats and affection.

Optimus had cooed over every picture and goofy video he’d seen, even asking at once point if he could be taken to see them one cycle.

Unverlo was more than happy to accept, setting a date and time right there and then before taking a cube of mid grade, he apparently wasn’t too fond of high grade, something about his tanks not agreeing with it, before he vacated the seat next to Optimus and let someone else quickly take it.

Which turned out to be Calipso, who struck up her own quiet conversation with him.

The rest of the night cycle continued like that until Jadarite announced it was time for everyone to retire, which many did without too much grumbling.

Some left in pairs, others in small groups, Eion offered to show him where his room was and he gladly accepted, Unverlo had already left so he assumed the soft baggy clothes would be returned to the mech the next cycle when clothes more suited for him were ready.

Admittedly he’d miss the jumper.

Eion led the way to his new room, providing some idle chatter about this and that as Optimus took the time to appreciate just how, luxurious everything was.

Him bumping into Eion’s back was what snapped him out of appreciating the decor.

Eion held up a key, not a key card, but an actual key and passed it to him. “Don’t loose it, okay? The smith here on the ship doesn’t like it when bots loose his keys.”

Optimus nodded in understanding. “I understand, thank you Eion… would you be willing to collect me tomorrow? I fear I may get lost a number of times before I get proper bearings of this place.”

Eion smiled up at him and nodded. “Sure thing! I’ll come pick you up before morning feuling, see you then Orion!” The mech waved goodby as he walked off, heading towards his own suite.

Optimus watched him go for a few moments, before turning his attention to the door and sliding the key into the keyhole.

A quick twist and the sound of a needlessly complicated locking mechanism coming undone later, and he was stepping into his suite.

The moment the room registered to him, he did a double take.

It was larger than his shared apartment back in Iacon!

His jaw was dropped once more as he took in the sprawling open plan suite.

A glance to his right revealed a modest kitchenette, fridge, oven, energon dispenser, sink, a number of sleek engraved cabinet doors…

A glance to the left revealed the open door to a lavish wash rack, there was even a bath large enough for him to submerge in completely!

He walked into the washrack and felt his lower jaw threaten to fall off, it wasn’t just a bath, it was a Primus be damned jacuzzi!

He found four dressing gowns hanging by the door, and soon discovered his alias designation of ‘Orion’ had been stitched into each on the breast pocket in cursive text, in golden thread no less.

He found some make up wipes in a draw under the mirror in the washracks, and after a bit of hesitation, wiped off the makeup he’d been wearing, he was planning to locate the berth and pass out, and he didn’t want to make a mess of the pillows he had a hunch were going to be just as lavish as everything else.

Finished with cleaning himself up, Optimus stepped back out into the open plan living area, there was a number of pieces of furniture dotted about with little tables and table lights next to them, perfect for some light reading under soft light.

He’d have to see about acquiring some data pads from the Library Neolock had mentioned earlier, apparently it was two floors down nearby that floors branch medical bay.

Walking through the door into the berthroom, he had to do a double take.

That berth could fit four of him!

He was hit by a sudden wave of exhaustion, and suddenly he didn’t care that the berth was massive, wider than his old room in Iacon was, he reached the end, fell into a crowl, kicked off his shoes, and slid face down onto the covers and just took in the smell of freshly washed sheets.

Running his digits over it, he marveled at the texture, cool to the touch, but promising to trap heat…

A bit of fumbling later and he was under the covers, snuggled into one of the ludicrously plush pillows.

Recharge claimed him before he could even turn the rooms lights off.

A few moments later the lights flickered out, and an airy giggle came over the speaker nestled in the wall.

“Sleep well new crew.” An autotune voice whispered, as the lights in the rest of the room shut off, and the door left unlocked deadbolted itself shut.

#:’)))))#i love this little series ahh #cops and mobs creations #fic #submission

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ckret2 · 5 years

Photo

anon: Something for TFP StarWaveWave conspiracy AU you talked about on tumblr?

I would like to personally thank this ko-fi commissioner for ensuring that I was incapable of thinking about anything else at all today; and secondarily thank @kurxo for accidentally indirectly inspiring this by drawing Starscream being friendly with Soundwave and Shockwave. Fic based on that fanart and some posts I made a few days ago about a potential Starscream + Soundwave + Shockwave conspiracy to overthrow Megatron; this fic is a setup for how such an alliance could come to be. The related posts are tagged #starwavewave conspiracy

If he’d stopped to think about it beforehand, Soundwave would have expected the hardest part of starting a mutinous conspiracy to be convincing himself that he wanted to help Starscream to overthrow Megatron. Certainly, that was the slowest part. Convincing Shockwave had been much easier. But no—it turned out that the trickiest bit of the whole thing was convincing Starscream that he wanted to overthrow Megatron.

###

“Thank You For Listening, Soundwave”

###

"Legend tells that it holds the power to revive the dead," Starscream said.

Megatron replied, "We require only a cadaver to be certain. Are you willing to make the ultimate sacrifice?" and Starscream cringed away from him, laughing nervously, deflecting the question.

Soundwave recorded.

Soundwave hadn't realized until that moment that so much of what he disliked about Starscream was how he shrank and shriveled and cowered in fear.

He hadn't realized until that moment that—even faced by the most highly-trained Autobot guerrilla force in history, by energon shortages and hungry soldiers, by carving out secret strongholds for the Decepticons on an alien world—he hadn't seen Starscream cringe once in the last three years.

Until now.

###

"Megatron's greatest mistake was ever allowing you to live, Prime!"

It was true. Soundwave didn't like the thought of Megatron making mistakes—but when he allowed himself to dwell on his leader's flaws...

Watching a dozen camera feeds from a bank of screens on the Nemesis, Soundwave recorded. He recorded, spark rising in hope and disbelief and delight, as Starscream dove toward the defenseless Prime. He recorded, spark sinking back down into the dark, as Megatron intercepted Starscream before he could destroy their greatest enemy.

He recorded.

"But the Autobots—Optimus—right there, waiting for you!"

“My greatest mistake? I've made a few. But there is one I do not intend to make again!”

That should have been how Megatron announced that he was correcting his mistake by ensuring that the Prime did not live.

When that wasn’t what Megatron did, for a moment Soundwave didn’t understand.

He turned a camera toward the Prime, who was helpless and totally ignored. He turned another toward Megatron, hauling away the Decepticon that had nearly killed the Prime to thrash him instead.

Soundwave had a good idea how Starscream had earned Megatron's wrath. He told himself that Starscream deserved this beating. He told himself that it was a punishment proportionate to his crime.

He told himself this to avoid wondering why Starscream was a higher priority than their greatest enemy.

"N-no! Master!"

The Decepticons rose up to throw off their chains. Soundwave wondered why they called Megatron "master."

###

"I have been a fool. Made mistakes. Monumental ones. I now realize I was never destined to be leader, or even an equal partner. And, I am at peace with that. I have gained a clear understanding of my place in the universe. Of who I am. Of who I was always meant to be. Starscream: second in command, humble servant to Lord Megatron."

At Starscream's request, Soundwave recorded.

Soundwave told himself that this was as it should be, that this was something Starscream needed to learn. He tried to ignore the bitterness rising in his throat at Starscream's resignation to servitude.

The Decepticons rose up to escape servitude.

He told himself he only felt bitter because he knew Starscream was probably lying. He tried to ignore the slight comfort he felt at the thought that Starscream might still be hiding a defiant spark.

"Thank you for listening, Soundwave."

No one ever thanked Soundwave for listening.

###

"I know you can hear me."

Starscream's fugitive voice floated like a ghost through the halls of the Nemesis. Yes, at the other end of the labyrinth of halls, Soundwave could hear him.

"I'm only hungry. All I’ve come for is fuel. Merely a few cubes." He was so, so quiet. "Please, I beg of you, do not betray me. Recall how many millions of years we have been fellow officers—I'm sure I've never said it, but I truly hold you in the greatest esteem, and were the situation reversed I would certainly not betray you. And remember who gained you—gained all of us—that energon."

Soundwave thought of all the energon mines Starscream had located and established in three years, and all the mines Megatron had lost in half that time.

Soundwave thought of how they had convinced themselves that Starscream would be easy to replace; and how his replacement had challenged Soundwave to a fight, something Starscream had never dared nor desired to do, even when they had disagreed during Megatron’s long absence.

Soundwave thought of how Megatron had come home with Orion Pax unharmed and protected; and just as easily as Starscream, Soundwave had been replaced.

Soundwave recorded Starscream's whispered plea. And he told no one.

###

When a whole flock of Starscreams crept on board, and one whispered into the air, "I am, of course, still grateful for last time," again he recorded, and again he told no one.

When the flock attacked Megatron, Soundwave still wasn't entirely sure he'd made the wrong decision.

###

"Do not ever make me regret which one of you I spared."

Soundwave recorded.

So many of Megatron's recent changes to the chain of command seemed to be a notable step down. Airachnid over Starscream. Orion Pax over Soundwave.

Choosing Starscream over Dreadwing would have been a step up, if it had been the Starscream who led them calmly and competently for three years, shrewdly preserving their numbers and bolstering their fuel reserves, quietly respecting Soundwave’s competence and perspective even as he loudly complained about his specific opinions. But this broken, scared thing, who seemed more interested in winning Megatron's approval than winning the war, was just another step down.

Strange, but Soundwave hadn't thought Starscream had seemed so broken when he came home with the Omega Keys.

He reviewed his recordings.

###

"What should I call my new domain? New Kaon? Or perhaps 'Gilded Earth.'"

Soundwave recorded as the Prime sliced off Megatron's arm.

He recorded as the Prime’s blade swung down into the Omega Lock, so close that Soundwave could have reached out and touched it.

He recorded from where he had crashed to the ground as Cybertron's one hope of resurrection vanished in a ball of flame.

He recorded because he was too horrified to look away.

When Soundwave was on his feet again, too dazed from the blast and from sudden grief to begin to think about what to do next, he drifted, automatically, to stand at Starscream's back.

It was Starscream who snapped to his senses and seized control of the situation. Starscream who commanded Knock Out, "Attend to our master. He requires medical attention!" Starscream who sought the Autobots just in time to watch them retreat, and snarled, "Prime! He will pay for dooming Cybertron to remain a lifeless husk." Starscream who put a voice to the rage Soundwave couldn't speak. Starscream who, Soundwave realized, easily buckled under the threat of pressure, but always stood strong once it was actually applied—as he stood strong now.

It was Megatron who laughed. Megatron who said, "They can run, but they can never again run home." Megatron who spoke like he thought this was a victory.

Soundwave felt like he was standing at the correct mech's back.

###

Soundwave played back his recordings over and over. Megatron's every moment of charisma and heroism, his every moment of spite and malice. Starscream's every moment of cunning and caution, his every moment of self-doubt and self-interest.

Soundwave was grieving for Cybertron. He knew that. He wasn't thinking clearly. He didn't know whether his shaken loyalties were founded in a fair assessment of the current state of Decepticon leadership, or in the frustrated feeling that everything was slowly falling apart. Despite their new stronghold on Earth and the scattering of the Autobot forces, he felt like they were on the losing side. He feared he was being irrational.

But he didn't know what he alone could do to figure out the rational course of action. So he did what he'd always done: remain silent.

"I find myself in urgent need of good news, so please, Knock Out, tell me that you found something useful."

"Some things, my liege. And someone."

Enter the most rational mech Soundwave had ever met.

###

“But you will be pleased to know that I avenged your seeming demise by personally terminating the Autobot Cliffjumper.”

“Careful, Starscream. You may dislocate a landing gear patting yourself on the back.”

Soundwave found himself, again, standing just behind Starscream. When Megatron had been gone, he’d stood at Starscream’s back for years without thinking about it. Now that Megatron was back and he could compare, he was finding himself more and more comfortable standing at Starscream’s side than Megatron’s, and he could not quite identify why.

When they had left the room, Shockwave turned to Soundwave. “I am certain Starscream did not go out of his way to avenge me.”

Soundwave gave him a slight nod.

“Then if he performed, as it were, a mere incidental execution, why does he consider it so notable that he killed Cliffjumper?”

Soundwave displayed a graph on his face, with a label identifying it as a chart of every Autobot the Decepticons had killed since coming to Earth. The graph was empty. He zoomed in on the only month with a bar displaying a kill count higher than zero: one.

“Ah,” Shockwave said. “So he’s the only one who’s gotten anything done on Earth.”

Soundwave was relieved Shockwave thought so too.

###

From the exit to the flight deck, Shockwave watched as Starscream argued futilely with Predaking, who continued to do absolutely nothing that he ordered.

Soundwave lurked behind him and echoed Megatron’s words. “‘Starscream, assume command of my beast.’ ‘Starscream! You have failed me enough for one day.’”

“No, he hasn’t met with any success.” Shockwave turned slightly to glance at Soundwave. “But you wouldn’t expend the effort to point out something obvious like that.”

Soundwave shook his head; no, he wouldn’t. No, that wasn’t his intended meaning. He tried to rearrange the statement. “‘Starscream! You have failed me enough for one day.’ ‘Starscream, assume command of my beast.’” Was that clear enough? “‘You have failed me’—‘assume command.’”

Shockwave tilted his head back as he puzzled over Soundwave’s meaning. “It is possible that Megatron anticipated Starscream’s failure before giving him the order?”

Soundwave nodded.

“Rather… self-defeating,” Shockwave said. “You think Megatron is deliberately sabotaging one of his first lieutenants.”

“‘It is possible.’”

“I have not witnessed Megatron displaying such self-destructive tendencies.”

“‘Wouldn’t expend the effort to point out something obvious.’”

“Hm. True.” Shockwave watched silently for a moment as Starscream shrieked and cowered back from the Predacon’s enraged snarl. “You’ve been here longer than I. And see more than most. I will observe Megatron closely.”

Soundwave bowed his head. “‘Thank you for listening.’”

###

"Soundwave. May I speak with you about our energon supplies? There appears to be a significant discrepancy in our record keeping."

Soundwave nodded warily to Shockwave, already wondering what new crisis they were about to face.

"For over two years, our quantity of energon mines—and, correspondingly, output of energon—has steadily declined. However, records indicate that our store of reserves has remained consistent. Do you know the reason?"

Soundwave slowly shook his head. He couldn't imagine. Who would tamper with the records? Surely he would have noticed any unauthorized meddling. And he could see their energon stores on his cameras; now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember noticing that they were any lower than usual. Yet they should be. Were his cameras compromised?

"Strange," Shockwave said mildly. "I will investigate further and update you on my findings."

When Shockwave found Soundwave later, he was pouring over old computer logs, looking for any indication that anybody had touched the inventory system who shouldn't have.

"I have found the reason for your consistent energon stores," Shockwave said. “Our Eradicon fatality rate has remained inversely proportionate to our energon production rate, such that the dwindling amount of fuel available to consume and the dwindling amount of soldiers consuming it have remained roughly equal."

Soundwave nodded, then remained still until Shockwave had moved on.

He punched a hole through his computer monitor.

For the first time in his life, he deleted some of his own surveillance footage.

###

“Even now, you do not criticize Starscream,” Shockwave commented, examining the mutated head of a Terrorcon Eradicon.

Soundwave shrugged. Did he have to? Soundwave felt that this debacle spoke for itself; it didn’t need Soundwave speaking for it.

“I am beginning to believe you are trying to persuade me of Starscream’s worth.”

Soundwave didn’t reply. He was doing no such thing; but he wasn’t trying to dissuade Shockwave, either. He was only reporting all of the little things he’d noticed—all of the little things he’d recorded—all of the little things that were otherwise so easy to overlook in the face of Megatron’s commanding presence and the way Starscream repeatedly fumbled under Megatron’s gaze—and waiting to see Shockwave’s judgment on how they added up.

“His recent behavior has been erratic,” Shockwave said. “And stupid.”

Soundwave remained silent.

Shockwave carefully set down the mangled head. “However, Starscream is not alone in that,” he said thoughtfully. “Perhaps he’s not even the worst offender.”

“‘I have been a fool. Made mistakes. Monumental ones.’ ‘My greatest mistake? I've made a few.’”

“Then you are measuring them against each other.”

Soundwave nodded slowly. “‘I find myself in urgent need of’—’a clear understanding of’—‘Starscream!’—‘And,’—’Lord Megatron.’”

“Hm.” Shockwave didn’t say more. But Soundwave remained, listening, all the same. Just in case.

###

“He left me for dead on Cybertron,” Shockwave said. “I am convinced that his reasons for doing so were logical enough—for the position he was in. However, I am not convinced that that they are sufficient for someone who would be the leader of an army.”

It was the first time Shockwave had directly broached the subject of Starscream hypothetically leading an army.

Soundwave almost suspected Shockwave resented Starscream for leaving him. He answered in Megatron’s voice: “‘If Breakdown allowed himself to be captured by those smaller than him, weaker than him, he deserves whatever fate awaits him.’”

“I see.” Shockwave remained silent a moment, musing on that. “No, I don’t suppose Megatron would have been any more likely to rescue me than Starscream was.”

Soundwave played a video on his visor: Starscream speaking to Megatron, “‘But Breakdown is a key player in our…’“ and flinching back from Megatron’s snarl, “‘uh… Your wisdom reigns supreme, Lord Megatron.’” Then the footage sped up, cutting between different cameras as Soundwave traced Starscream’s path through the Nemesis until he got outside and flew off without telling anyone.

Shockwave watched evenly. “No doubt, Starscream considered Breakdown a resource of some sort.”

No doubt. But Soundwave didn’t know that for certain—Starscream had never utilized Breakdown in any significant way.

Shockwave said, “I would far prefer the leader who does not consider his resources so quickly disposable over one mistake.”

Until the relief washed over him, Soundwave hadn’t realized how much he’d hoped Shockwave would lean in that direction.

“In your measuring of Lord Megatron and Starscream’s flaws… what do you intend to do if you conclude that Starscream is the better option?”

“‘If you conclude,’” Soundwave corrected. “‘Your wisdom reigns supreme.’ ‘I am’—‘an equal partner.’”

“Then I shall consider the matter carefully.”

###

Soundwave approached Megatron, and in Knock Out’s voice, said, “‘My liege, we’ve located another of Shockwave’s Predacon energy signatures.’”

“Have you?” Megatron glanced at the map displayed on Soundwave’s face, then turned to glower across the bridge. “Starscream! A chance for you to redeem yourself after your string of recent mishaps.”

Starscream sucked in a sharp breath when Megatron shouted his name, but rallied quickly. “Yes, of course, master. I shall not disappoint you—you have my word.”

Megatron scoffed. “I don’t intend to give you the chance. Knock Out will be accompanying you, to see that you behave yourself.”

Soundwave tilted his visor back into Megatron’s view and displayed a new image: a range of steep mountains, with the red dot flashing atop one of the peaks. No place for a car. Megatron frowned, but said, “You’ll go then. I trust that you are more than capable of keeping Starscream in line.”

Soundwave bowed his head. Megatron had always had great faith in Soundwave. Soundwave had always been proud of that.

But he still remembered how quickly Megatron had shifted from venting his ire on Starscream to venting it on Knock Out once Starscream became unavailable.

And he still remembered how quickly Megatron had replaced Soundwave with Orion Pax.

He wondered how far down the line of officers Megatron would have to go before Soundwave became the next acceptable target; and how much was Megatron’s faith in him really worth, then, if it was conditional on maintaining a buffer of punching bags between them?

When they were well outside Megatron’s hearing range, Starscream turned to Soundwave and said, ”I assure you, I do not need to be 'kept in line.' The very thought is ridiculous!" Starscream laughed; it wasn't convincing. "It's the Autobots that we need to be wary of. You keep your watchful optics peeled for them while I retrieve the fossil, and we'll have no trouble at all!"

Soundwave thought Starscream was doing enough talking for the both of them, so he made no reply.

He transformed and waited for Starscream to follow suit before he opened a bridge; flew through; shut the bridge, immediately transformed back, and landed; and waited for Starscream, who’d shot off into the distance, to realize that Soundwave had stopped and circle back. “What’s the matter? Autobots?” Starscream looked around at the empty grassy plain. “Where’s the mountain range?” He transformed and landed as well. “Soundwave, are these the correct coordinates?”

Soundwave nodded.

A second bridge opened and Shockwave approached. Starscream took a step back, wings shooting up in alarm. His wings had been telegraphing his every mood since he came back from exile. “What’s going on?” he snapped. “Soundwave? What is this?” He crouched, clearly ready to spring into the air and transform.

Soundwave couldn’t fault Starscream for being wary. He’d had experience with being lured out alone to be tortured. Soundwave held up a hand toward Shockwave, gesturing for him to stop.

Shockwave halted. “We wanted to speak to you where Megatron can’t overhear.

Starscream looked between them nervously. “Okay,” he said, uncertainly. “Why?”

“We have been analyzing the last few years of the Decepticons’ progress,” Shockwave said. “Or, rather, the Decepticons’ decline. We've been bleeding energon, soldiers, resources, and advantages. Our conclusion is that, without new leadership, the Decepticon Army will soon perish.”

Starscream flinched. “No, that’s impossible,” he said. “There’s—there’s hardly half a dozen Autobots. We’ve all but won the war on numbers alone.”

“‘For over two years, our’—‘amount of soldiers’—‘has steadily declined.’”

Starscream studied Soundwave’s visor, then Shockwave. “You’re serious about this?” he asked. “But—no. You can’t possibly be. Are you?”

“Have you ever known me to play practical jokes?” Shockwave asked.

“‘We require only a cadaver’—‘Megatron’s.’” There was no point in mincing words. Starscream needed to know they were past the point of mere hypothetical musing. The words Soundwave had just spoken were grounds enough for execution—if he was willing to risk saying them, then he was willing to risk putting them into action.

Starscream reeled back like he’d been struck, and started pacing. “You are. No. You can’t be serious.” He wrung his hands together fearfully. “You can’t! Especially not you.” He glowered at Soundwave. “You stopped me when I wanted to pull the plug on him—now, now you want him dead? Impossible.”

“‘I have been a fool.’”

“Don’t you dare use my words against me! Why are you ready to betray him now when you weren’t when we had the chance?”

“‘Megatron’s greatest mistake was’—‘dooming Cybertron to remain a lifeless husk.’”

For a moment, grief and rage flickered in Starscream’s optics—the same grief and rage that Soundwave felt every time he replayed the sword cutting through the Omega Lock—but then he squeezed his optics shut and shook his head, pacing faster. “This is all behind me. I am loyal to Lord Megatron, now! I’ve no interest in being a party to any—any attempted usurpations! I don’t know why you’d want me anyway,” he laughed a shade hysterically, “I can’t seem to do anything right lately—“

“‘Megatron is deliberately sabotaging one of his first lieutenants.’ ‘You’—‘see more than most.’”

Starscream’s optics flashed back on. He froze, face twisted in pain. For a moment he didn’t speak.

Soundwave took a step closer. Starscream stepped back. “You’re mocking me,” he hissed, voice thick.

“Your confidence has been damaged,” Shockwave said. “Deliberately and systematically, I believe, from my review of your recorded session with the cortical psychic patch.” Starscream flinched. “Nevertheless, we both believe that you are capable of recovering and would serve our needs where Megatron would not.”

“‘Starscream is the better option’—‘for’—‘the leader of an army.’”

His wings lay flat and trembling along his back. His face contorted through several expressions in rapid succession—confusion, hope, fury, despair—but settled on distrust. “This is clearly a trap. You’re trying to lure me into saying something compromising so you can snip the recording out of context and tell Megatron I’m up to my old tricks.“

Soundwave tipped his chin up, catching Starscream’s attention so he’d notice the little red dot he’d started blinking in the corner of his visor—yes, it was true, he was recording as always—then unfolded Laserbeak just far enough from his chest to extract a slim data drive with a tiny microphone. It had a matching blinking red light; it was still recording.

“We had thought you might fear that,” Shockwave said. “An offering of mutually-assured destruction.” Soundwave held out the drive. “Should you agree to assist us and we betray you, you can present your own evidence to Megatron. We will go down together.”

Starscream took one step toward Soundwave, hesitated, then took another, hand stretched out to slide the drive from Soundwave’s fingertips—as though he was afraid to get too close to him. “And if I go and present this recording to Megatron right now?”

“If you’re right that this is a trap, then you will win Megatron’s favor for passing his test,” Shockwave said. “If our offer is sincere, you’ll still win his favor for exposing two traitors.”

“And if this is indeed a test and I keep the recording, I doom myself.” Starscream’s hand squeezed tight around the drive. “Then there’s no reason for me not to take it to him right now, is there?”

“‘A chance for’—‘personally terminating’—‘Megatron.’”

He continued to stare at the drive in his hand, expression still dark and distrustful.

Soundwave was sure Megatron hadn’t broken him all the way. Somewhere in him, he still wanted this—whether for a chance to lead or just for a chance to get out from under Megatron, Soundwave didn’t know. But he did want it.

But he couldn’t trust it enough to take the chance.

And Soundwave didn’t blame him.

Soundwave took a slow, cautious step closer, and whispered, as soft as a ghost carried on a breeze over the plain: ”’Please, I beg of you, do not betray me.’”

Starscream sucked a breath in.

“‘Recall how many millions of years we have been fellow officers—I'm sure I've never said it, but I truly hold you in the greatest esteem’—”

"Don't," Starscream hissed. "I said whatever I thought I had to, you can't blame me—"

“—‘and were the situation reversed I would certainly not betray you.’”

Starscream fell silent.

He stared at Soundwave, then at the drive in his hand.

"No," he said softly. "You didn't betray me."

He slid the drive away into a wrist compartment, and looked up at the two of them. "So. If we go down, we all go down together—is that the deal?" He spoke now with some facsimile of the bravado he used to be able to wear before his exile—it was a haggard, worn, jaded bravado now, but it was reassuring to see it back on Starscream all the same.

"That seems the most mutually acceptable arrangement," Shockwave said.

"'Acceptable.'" Soundwave nodded. "'Deal?'—'Are you willing to make the ultimate sacrifice?'"

Starscream shuddered at Megatron's words; but, all the same, he nodded. "As long as I don't have to risk making it by myself."

With Shockwave’s voice, Soundwave promised, "'Starscream is not alone.'"

###

#soundwave #starscream #shockwave #transformers #maccadam #tfp #fanfic #my writing #starwavewave conspiracy #(warning for uhhh clip show style examination of all the shit Megs put Screamer through in a manner highly sympathetic to Screamer)#(it's like the anti Patch)#(also why did nobody tell me that constructing soundwave's dialogue out of other people's dialogue was so fun)

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transformers-art-showcase · 6 years

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P.A.T.C.H. #06: "Life After the Big Bang"

There’s a common rule of thumb when it comes to comics: you can jump in when you see a new #1 on the cover. If not, be wary –you’re not gonna get it, you’ve skipped episodes, you’re missing out. Well, you know what? Nuts to that! We here at P.A.T.C.H. like to stick it to common sense and provide a halfway decent explanation for it! So here we are, presenting a story from possibly the most popular “Transformers” comics title ever that is not a number 1 and provides a satisfying, complete story with connections to more! Enjoy! ... No, seriously, did it take us that long to talk MTMTE?!

“LIFE AFTER THE BIG BANG”

“The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye” #4-5 (2012)/ “Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye” Volume 2

Written by James Roberts, pencils by Alex Milne, colors by Josh Burcham, letters by Shawn Lee The amazing sogn for this wondrous edition of P.A.T.C.H.: https://youtu.be/tvqlt7OWTOk https://open.spotify.com/track/4p82pfEa4cayPqXLN6Rhzm

SO WHAT’S IT ABOUT? After receiving a cryptic, worrisome message, Autobot medic Ratchet, turncoat Autobot Drift and bad luck magnet Pipes land on the medical outpost of Delphi on the planet Messatine to investigate. Faced with a motley crew of doctors and patients and a deadly epidemic, our heroes have to rush both against unexpected enemies and their own worsening health... Oh, and Tailgate and Red Alert aren’t doing so hot on the ship, either. WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW? The opening blurbs mostly fill you in on everything: the recent end of the Autobot-Decepticon War, the proposal to search for the fabled Knights of Cybertron (“Death of Optimus Prime” one-shot), the open invitation by captain Rodimus into the starship “Lost Light” and its disastrous launch (“More Than Meets the Eye” #1). Other than that, the rest are character threads picked up from previous issues of the series and can be ignored for now, to focus on the stand-alone nature of the thing. Still, let’s go over some major ones. In terms of pre-existing character development, the most pressing issue would be Drift’s dramatic arc(s). Although he first appeared in “All Hail Megatron” #5, he already had a pretty long history behind him, mostly outlined in the first “Drift” mini-series. In those four issues (written by Shane McCarthy, penciled by Alex Milne, colored by Josh Perez and lettered by Chris Mowry), it was revealed that Drift started out as destitute and homeless before the War, and so the Decepticon vision of equality appealed to him greatly. (Not to mention giving him an outlet for his pent-up rage.) He was renamed “Deadlock” and garnered a reputation of cruelty and efficiency. That is, until a disobedience episode, an escape attempt and a brief stint with the Circle of Light, a group of pacifist warrior-scholars, changed that. Following that, he bumped into the Wreckers (“Spotlight: Drift”, written by Shane McCarthy, penciled by Casey Coller, colored by Joana Lafuente and lettered by Chris Mowry) and started associating with the Autobots, with whom he stayed for the next few years, up to the second confrontation with the Dead Universe forces (“Chaos”, written by Mike Costa and James Roberts, with art by Livio Ramondelli and letters by Chris Mowry, which we’ve briefly talked about here). One near-death experience later, he emerged as a cheerful spiritualist, much to one famous medic’s annoyance. Just this once, Ratchet’s wrong –this latest rendition of the character is one of his most popular ones, and even if you’re not interested in his pre-history, you can go by what is said about him easily. Though Tailgate is (rather famously) one of the breakout stars of the series, it’s not he who has the more extensive history, but his roomie Cyclonus. An ancient warrior and comrade of deranged megalomaniac Nem-, excuse me, completely stable individual Nova Prime’s, he was an undead creature under the sway of the Dead Universe for a long time (“Revelation”, written by Simon Furman and drawn by various artists). He later joined fellow Golden Age survivor Galvatron and his reformed army against Cybertron (“Chaos” and “Heart of Darkness”... I think so, at least). Following the betrayal of his commander for the love of his home planet, he joined the “Lost Light” after a misunderstanding (and beating up Whirl, but that’s perfectly normal). He’s been warned at least one on his violent tendencies by Rodimus and has expressed his doubts over the entire War; can he really make a fresh start with these people? Finally, and although that could be considered a bit of a spoiler, certain details –locations, characters, even phrases– first appeared or were mentioned in “Last Stand of the Wreckers”, and specifically its trade paperback editions. Click here to get there immediately and (hopefully) get a few good reasons to check out the book yourselves! WHERE DO I GO FROM THERE? To all of “More Than Meets the Eye”, obviously! These two issues, apart from being stand-alone, plant the seeds for so much more down the road, it’s dizzying! Keep up with the series, where all the characters mentioned here receive further development, and when you’re done, be sure to jump in on “Lost Light”, its continuation. If, however, you want to go to specific arcs from the first season of the series based on individual elements (most by the same team as this issue), I’d suggest “Shadowplay” (issues #7-9 or Volume 3) for Ratchet’s past with Drift (and Red Alert’s troubles), “Remain in Light” (#17-21 or Volume 5) for the comeback of Ratchet’s antagonist, “Before and After” and “Cybertronian Homesick Blues” (#12 and #13, both in Volume 4) for Cyclonus and Tailgate’s continuing development and “Under Cold Blue Stars” (issue #15 or Volume 4) for Pipes’ shining moment. Reader discretion is advised: at least one of these stories is known to cause intense pain in the feels. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. Finally, make sure to pick up the dual 2012 Annuals for “More Than Meets The Eye” and “Robots in Disguise” (both contained in Volume 3 of their respective trade collections). Both are split in two. One half of their stories are the adventures of the present cast interacting with a Titan, a huge Transformer from the distant past. The other half, drawn by artist Guido Guidi (who also colors his work) in the style of the old Marvel “Transformers” series (as well as various “cosmic”, high sci-fi titles of the publisher), provides added world-building and backstory for the entire universe. While seemingly unrelated, the origin stories explain a few holes in the pasts of key characters (Cyclonus was young once?! And he knew Dai Atlas, too?!) and become vital later on, especially in the finale of “Lost Light”. IS IT ANY GOOD? It was a satisfying mystery that showcased how unique this world and its characters are. It featured the evolution of a true master artist. It introduced about a trillion things in 44 pages. It provided us with proof that Ratchet is, and shall forever be, one of the greatest things we have ever produced in this miserable world. WAIT, WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY ANYTHING ABOUT DRIFT?! Oh yeah, he’s there, too! Did I forget that? Never mind, song, playlist, go!

AND YOU THINK YOU'VE FIGURED OUT EVERYTHING | PLOT AND DIALOGUE While the format of this story isn’t unfamiliar, even for this feature (this is our third mystery, after “Windblade” and “Punishment”), what separates this one is how dense it is. Within the first three pages of the story, we’re introduced to three characters, one location and an impending threat, all unrelated to the main cast so far. Various techniques –unreliable journal narration, dialogue insertion, two-page spread– are mixed to give everyone as much character as possible and make everyone suspect for what’s going on. And the onslaught of detail doesn’t stop there. This is the kind of story that would’ve been impossible with any other type of property, even a sci-fi one: the very idea of transformation is integral to how it works. Alt-mode details, in-universe cultural views, even having the ability to change shape are used both as world-building and clues for the mystery. This is the kind of story that makes the casual, vaguely interested reader into a devotee and forces them to go back and reread it to get all the foreshadowing. This applies to the dialogue, too. Roberts’ language, which we’ve seen before here, has been praised as snappy and quotable (Ratchet and Drift here, full stop), but it also shows a deep appreciation for all “Transformers” lore. The famous joke on the best names being taken, for example? Done at the expense of an obscure character from a previous generation reusing the name “Prowl”. If there’s one downside to all that, it’s that some scene transitions can be a little clumsy (Red Alert’s scenes, though important for later, come a bit out of left field), but it’s a small price to pay for the excellence on display.

Hark! What is that I see? A vessel is leaving the port! The sirens of the “S. S. Dratchet” are blaring! All aboard! FEELING SPACED BREATHING OUT LISTERINE | ART And speaking of excellence, the team of Alex Milne and Josh Burcham are on fire here. The amount of detail, fluidity and expressiveness on all pre-existing characters is incredible, but the new designs are a triumph on their own. Most will be distracted by Pharma (I know I was!), but it’s Ambulon’s story-important form that’s the real star here. In general, however, there’s incredible synergy between the art and the story. Background details (First Aid’s badge collection) and actions (again, First Aid’s fiddling in the second issue) are as important as anything else to solve the mystery, so make sure you read slowly and pay attention. In general, Milne’s able to pack an incredible amount of information into very tight pages. The best example is probably Drift attacking another character and transforming in a single, enlarged panel and a few mini, inserted ones. Lastly, the backgrounds need to be highlighted. The arrival to the outpost and the climax excluded, all scenes are set indoors, but the art doesn’t feel constrained by them. Instead, it has two different approaches to interior spaces. Everything in Delphi looks used, dented, past its prime –even the very walls feel grimy. This makes it the polar opposite to the brightly lit, spacey rooms of the “Lost Light”, full of inviting light blues and pinks (the violent outburst in Cyclonus’ room is the exception). Burcham’s richly textured work favors faded browns, sickly greens and rusted reds –the liquid of the mysterious disease looks eerily much like blood. Two flashback-montage sequences (Tailgate’s narration and the final explanation for the outbreak of the epidemic) are much freer in panel construction and dreamier in color pallet, but are once again tight and informative. Add to this some splashes of robo-gore and the unobtrusive lettering (Pharma’s silent speech bubble and use of a laser scalpel is another small miracle) and this is an artistic five-course meal.

Pssst. Nobody tell Pipes “corpse-pile” isn’t an actual game. Let him figure it out on his own. YOU'D KILLED THE BETTER PART OF ME | CHARACTERS AND THEMES But, if you’ll let me get personal for a moment, despite all the above gushing, my favorite element in this story is still its protagonist. Ratchet’s arc in IDW has been one defined by his old age, not a unique element in the franchise –same goes for his “Animated” and “Prime” incarnations, after all. Where this medic separates himself, however, is how he’s tied to the larger themes of reconstruction and moral grayness. The characters of this universe are no strangers to morally questionable actions –we have already seen one such early demonstration from the Autobots on this feature–, but the culprit behind the Delphi disease really takes the cake. He claims all sorts of survivalist justifications for his criminal actions, but the one that rubs the worst are his similarities to Ratchet –he calls attention to them to buy time and out of a need to show off, in traditional “baddie” fashion. And that hurts. After all the effort to end the war, there’s still rot, (literal and figurative) disease and evil. How long can anyone hold onto their ideals in such a world? Won’t these ideals be corrupted, sooner or later? Why not just copy the bad guy’s tactics? If such violence is justified, why not snap and kill the bastard already? Why remain selfless and sacrificial –isn’t it tiring? The villain’s charm and Ratchet’s moral dilemma play off of each other wonderfully through Roberts’ snarky dialogue, and the final stinger remains uncomfortable. In the b-plot, this theme is further emphasized with Tailgate and Cyclonus’ scenes, where the senior bot berates the younger one on choosing a faction knowing little of their world. The younger characters introduced do offer another view –that there can be hope for the future-, so there really is no final closure offered. Instead, I wish to end this paragraph with the words of another great author: “Life persists”.

Even beaten down, rusting from the inside out and minutes before death, Ratchet is still cooler and more presentable than all of us at our best. BUT I CAN'T STILL FOCUS ON ANYTHING | FINAL THOUGHTS While reading this story again for this feature, I had flashes of my first time reading it a few years back. At that point, I hadn’t been completely sold on “Transformers”, but processing the facts and the details and the character beats here, I started seeing that there was something great about them. “More Than Meets the Eye” is a special book, the perfect gateway to a rich, complex, beautiful universe and introduced me to one of my faves. This wasn’t the story that blew me away (that might come up later), but it definitely was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

#maccaddams #tf comics #IDW #MTMTE #james roberts #alex milne #josh burcham #Shawn Lee #P.A.T.C.H.#p.a.t.c.h. 06 #all aboard the dratchet #all the best names are taken #first aid mah man!#hey guys remember pipes??#might solve a mystery #problematic faves #the medic of our hearts #the precious weeb babe #the transformers are all dead

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transformersaesthetics · 4 years

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Transformers: Robots in Disguise

Hey gang! Today we’ll be talking about a favorite line of mine; it’s Robots in Disguise, the TV show that was on the Fox Box when I was very little. It’s stupid and anime and has a haiku writing shark and it’s just objectively the greatest thing. Hope you enjoy the essay!

Transformers: Robots in Disguise returned Transformers to its roots, at the same time breaking sharply with the previous Beast Era lines while setting important precedents both in terms of fiction and design. When Hasbro abandoned plans for Transtec, the successor to Beast Machines, they made the decision to import the then current Japanese Car Robots line.(Saix) From a fictional perspective, this would prove to be a taste of things to come. Robots in Disguise has no fictional ties to Beast Wars or the Generation 1 cartoon continuity whatsoever, making the series the first full reboot in the history of the brand. After RID, almost every new transformers franchise would be a reboot of some sort. From the perspective of toy design, RID was much more traditional. Although it still included several characters with animal alternate modes, most of the cast transformed into real earth vehicles, ranging from cars to trains to construction vehicles. For a toy line as small as it is, RID has lots going on. Although the franchise itself is often considered somewhat forgettable, especially when compared with such titans as Armada and Beast Wars, it manages to explore with many intriguing concepts and achieved considerable influence on subsequent lines.

The most defining feature of the 2001 Robots in Disguise toyline is its diversity. Although many of the primary show characters were new mold figures drawn from the Takara Car Robots line, many others were redecos of figures from almost every other franchise in the brand; “Robots in Disguise included molds from Generation 1, Generation 2, Beast Wars, Machine Wars, and Beast Machines—in other words, every American toyline that had been produced to that point.” (Saix) What this means is that the line includes a huge variety of gimmicks, complexity, and articulation in its figures. At the simpler end of the spectrum were the Spy Changers, many of which were imported directly from the Generation 2 line. (ZacWilliam) These figures featured 3-4 step transformations from a hot wheels style car to a very simple robot with articulation only at the shoulders. On the more complex side of things, we find the massive Super Class Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus figures, which have very involved, partsforming transformation schemes, intricate weaponry, and also combine with each other.(Derik, ItsWalky) While it makes sense to talk about some overarching features of the line, many size classes don’t have unifying elements. Because of the widespread use of multipacks, for example a pack of two basic figures from Machine Wars and G2 sold at the deluxe price point, it is also difficult to say exactly what constitutes a size class.(Saix) As a result, our basic unit of analysis will not be the size class, but rather the loose groups of toys that share similarities. For example, the Autobot brothers all share real car alternate modes and intricate, shellforming transformation schemes, while their fellow deluxe class toys, the build team, feature similar designs on account of their flexible combination mechanic.(Interrobang, Omegalink)

One of the other consequences of the diversity of molds present in RID is a corresponding diversity of factions. Instead of the usual two, there are three factions present in the Hasbro version of the show; the Autobots, the Decepticons, and the Predacons. (Saix) The series marks the first use of the iconic original factions since the end of G1. (Nova81426) In many ways, this return to the origins of the brand is intuitive, as it is accompanied by the aforementioned realistic vehicle modes found on many characters. Although there are more factions, each of them has fewer members. There are a mere five Predacons present, and six Decepticons. (Nova81426) Despite the presence of both Autobots and Decepticons, the initial conflict is between the Autobots and the Predacons, a completely unprecedented pairing. (Nova81426) Moreover, the Predacons and Autobots are completely unconnected with any of their previous incarnations. Although Megatron is a Predacon, his motivations and character are completely distinct from Beast Wars Megatron. (DrSpengler, Megatron) Similarly, none of the other predacons are pre-existing characters. (Nova81426) The use of different factions in RID is an excellent microcosm of the franchise as a whole; it uses old elements and recombines them into something unprecedented.

As mentioned earlier, one of the defining characteristics of RID is the return of earth based vehicle modes. Although Beast Machines had reintroduced vehicles to the brand the previous year, all of them were cybertronian.(Monzo) RID is the first time since the end of the initial G1/G2 lines that transformers characters turned into recognizable cars.(Saix) Although much of our discussion of Beast Wars was centered around its lasting influence, it did not manage to fully transition transformers away from vehicles and towards animal based alternate modes. In returning to the more traditional cars and trains and construction vehicles, RID laid the groundwork for what would prove to be a permanent pivot back to vehicle focused lines. However, even in this traditional move, RID demonstrated its characteristic willingness to use successful elements from multiple points in the brand. As we have already noted, RID featured the Predacon faction; these figures were, with the exception of Megatron, redecos of Transmetal 2 figures from Beast Wars. (Saix) RID did not dedicate itself entirely to vehicular figures; rather, it opted for a mix of vehicles and robotic animals, much as G1 had so many years earlier. In many ways, this would prove to set the tone for most subsequent toylines. Although primarily focused on cars and such, lines such as Armada and Universe left themselves the option of including more animal themed characters if that became appropriate. In this, RID’s mix and match philosophy of toy design would prove very influential.

Like Beast Wars before it, once RID proved successful, Hasbro sought to pad the end of the line with other figures. Unlike Beast Wars, this primarily took the form of exclusives, such as KB Toys exclusive Destructicon Bludgeon, a redeco of G2 Megatron. (Saix) However, RID did employ two of the other strategies Beast Wars used, namely redecoing figures from earlier in the line and revitalizing unreleased molds for which much development had already been done. For example, many of the KB Toys exclusives were redecos of the already released Spy Changers, and figures such as Air Attack Optimus Primal and Megatron Megabolt were Beast Machines figures that had gone unreleased due to the truncation of the line. (Saix)

The three ‘Autobot brothers’ are among the most iconic molds and characters to arise from the RID toyline. The three deluxe class molds each employed intricate shellforming to achieve hyper accurate earth vehicle modes. These molds, Sideburn in particular, are notorious for their high level of transformation difficulty.The Autobot brothers represent the first time that the strategy of shellforming had been applied to cars. In some respects, these figures presage the complexity of the subsequent 2007 movie line, and the widespread use of that same technique of shellforming to achieve hyper-realistic licenced vehicle modes. Although influence is often conceived as having elements of a design present in subsequent works, these molds are arguably the most influential in what they caused to be omitted from subsequent designs. Although the Movie figures would rely heavily on shellforming, the highly asymmetrical designs of the Autobot brothers are notably absent. Similarly, one of the most difficult features of the Autobot brothers is that it is often unclear or unintuitive where a specific part is supposed to end up in vehicle mode; later movie figures developed a coherent design language (eg. arms go on the side of the car) that made it much easier to figure out a figure’s transformation simply by fiddling with it. It could be argued that these figures represent Takara’s designers beginning to learn their way around these sorts of designs, providing both the tools and ability to execute the movie line successfully all those years later. Even here, RID mixes two preexisting design elements, namely shellforming and car based alternate modes, to create something novel.

After the 1997 Beast Wars line, combiners had been largely absent from Transformers toylines until RID. RID featured no fewer than three different combiner teams. The first of these Team Bullet Train, a set of three robots with shinkansen altmodes that combined into Rail Racer. They were among the last toys to use the Mega price point; after RID, the size class that had struggled throughout Beast Wars and Beast Machines was discontinued entirely as part of a revamp of the size class structure.(Singularity) Even Team Bullet Train themselves were not fully in this size class; “The Bullet Trains, which were developed with Takara's flexible pricing structure, really did not fit into Hasbro's more rigid existing price-points, budget-wise. They cost too much to be sold as Deluxes, but weren't really up to Mega-costs.” (M Sipher, Railspike) They are also one of the vanishingly few novel combiner architectures in the history of the brand; most combiners are of the ‘scramble city’ type, where four interchangeable limb robots are attached to a central body. (Steve-o) Three robot combiners are comparatively uncommon. (Steve-o).

The second group of combiners from RID were the deluxe class build team. Three of the four team members shared much engineering, as any two of them could form the legs of the combiner, with the third forming the arms.(Omegalink) This architecture is also extremely uncommon. (Steve-o) It is of particular note that the Build Team represents an entirely different concept of interchangeable combiner, completely distinct from the scramble city architecture. Unlike much of the rest of the line, the Build Team does not turn into any specific earth vehicles; rather, they turn into generic construction vehicles of no particular make or model.

The third and final combiner team present in RID were the Decepticon Commandos. (M Sipher, Commandos). These figures are noteworthy for being essentially the only Decepticon characters in the show; aside from that, they are straightforward redecos of the G1 Combaticon figures.

Aside from the Commandos, there was one other Decepticon figure present in the line. In the cartoon, Scourge was a Decepticon based on Optimus Prime; in the toyline, he was a redco of the G2 Laser Optimus figure. ()Scourge is the earliest mainstream figure to sport a deco that would become infamous over the history of the brand. After the release of this figure, it became common practice to rerelease Optimus Prime and other Autobots in black, teal and red decos to represent an evil version of the character.(Andrusi)

Three mildly interesting asides; First, RID is one of the more show accurate toylines around. (williamjames-88) Second, it contains the mold with the most alternate modes of any in the history of the brand; the Galvatron use of the Megatron mold clocks in at 10 official alternate modes. (DrSpengler, Megatron) Third, RID introduced one of very few characters in the history of the brand to become arguably as popular as G1 staples; Sky Byte, the comic relief villain. Everyone’s favorite charmingly inept, haiku composing flying shark has appeared in subsequent franchises and comics, and, unlike almost every other minor character from obscure franchises, continues to receive figures to this day. Not too shabby, all things considered. (M Sipher, Sky-Byte)

Although Robots in Disguise is not the most famous Transformers toyline, nor the most fondly remembered, it did make its share of contributions to the brand as a whole. RID was able to combine many existing elements of the brand, such as Decepticons, shellforming, tail end exclusives and others, into something new and effective. Although it featured Autobots and Decepticons, it shared effectively no characters with any previous continuity. Although alternate modes were now vehicular, the complex engineering of Beast Wars and Beast Wars Neo found its way into the designs. Indeed, in its capacity as the first reboot in the brand, and because of its tendency to poach successful elements and figures from other lines, RID paved the way for almost every subsequent Transformers franchise.

Works Cited

Andrusi et al. “Black repaint” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Black_repaint Accessed 6/13/2020

Derik et al. “Optimus Prime (RID)” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Optimus_Prime_(RID)#Robots_in_Disguise_.282001.29 Accessed 6/13/2020

DrSpengler et al/ “Megatron (RID” TFWiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Megatron_(RID) Accessed 6/13/2020

DrSpengler et al. “Scourge (RID)” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Scourge_(RID) Accessed 6/13/2020

Interrobang et al. “Autobot Brothers” TFwiki.https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Autobot_Brothers Accessed 6/13/2020

ItsWalky et al. “Ultra Magnus (RID)” TFWiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Ultra_Magnus_(RID)#Toys Accessed 6/13/2020

Monzo et al.“Beast Wars:Transformers(toyline)” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Beast_Wars:_Transformers_(toyline) Accessed 4/25/2020

M Sipher et al. “Commando (RID)” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Commando_(RID) Accessed 6/13/2020

M Sipher et al. “Railspike (RID)” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Railspike_(RID) Accessed 6/13/2020

M Sipher et al. “Sky-Byte (RID)” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Sky-Byte_(RID) Accessed 6/13/2020

M Sipher et al. “Team Bullet Train” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Team_Bullet_Train Accessed 6/13/2020

Nova81426 et al. “Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 cartoon)” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Transformers:_Robots_in_Disguise_(2001_cartoon) Accessed 6/13/2020

Omegalink et al. “Build Team” TFWiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Build_Team Accessed 6/13/2020

Saix et al. “Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 toyline)” TFwiki.https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Transformers:_Robots_in_Disguise_(2001_toyline) Accessed 6/13/2020

Singularity et al. “Size Class” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Size_class Accessed 5/5/2020

Steve-o et al. “Combiner” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Combiner Accessed 6/13/2020

William-james88, “Top 5 Most Show Accurate Transformers Toylines”, Seibertron, https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/top-5-most-show-accurate-transformers-toylines/43441/ Accessed 4/25/2020

ZacWilliam et al. “Spy Changers” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Spy_Changer Accessed 6/13/2020

#Transformers #Aesthetics #Robots #In #Disguise #transformers robots in disguise #skybyte #sky byte #Tfwiki #Tl;dr #2001

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melishade · 2 years

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Hey! This is for that “Random Writer Questions�� post you reblogged a little while ago. I wasn’t sure if that was another Ask Game or not.

If not, please ignore this. I’ll get the memo. 😅

Anyway, I’m really curious about 8 & 9. 🎶

I posted my own writing playlist a while back, so I’ve been wondering about what other people listen to while they’re putting a story together—if they listen to anything at all.

Oh, that was an ask game. Kind of bummed no one asked me those questioned initially, but-!

8. What songs do you listen to get in the writing mood?

The songs I'm listening to in order to get into the writing mood really depends on what type of scene that I'm trying to write. And even as I'm writing these scenes, I will picture the soundtrack in my head.

For example, actions scenes like Optimus and Megatron vs Reiner could be the same soundtrack used when Levi faces the Female Titan in the show. (The name is slipping my mind at the moment.) Sometimes another action scene might just be something that'll just really get me pumped. Like Fall Out Boy's Centuries.

Quieter moments like Optimus' confrontation with the Survey Corps about Bertholdt's death is slower music. The song that particularly came to mind when I was writing Optimus' own opinion about what to do next is Daniel Caesar's Streetcar.

I would picture it like this: Optimus sees the Survey Corps looking to him for a positive answer, or some reassurance on what to do next, but Optimus admits that he doesn't know. When he says "I wish I had a positive answer' in Grief, that's when 'Streetcar' starts to play in my head. And as the music plays and Optimus continues speaking to the Survey Corps, Megatron is setting up a burial site for Bertholdt.

I actually have a lot more songs planned for the 18 chapters I have left, specifically from 'The Paths I' onward. The songs I have planned for that, in no particular order:

Tessa - Steve Jablonsky (Extended Version)

Woodkid - Guns for Hire

Your World Will Fail - Les Friction

Light and Shadow - Hiroyuki Sawano feat. Gemie

A Million Miles Away - Belle Soundtrack (English)

balance (mufasa interlude)

Bigger - Beyonce

What Could've Been - Sting

Rue's Farewell - Hunger Games Soundtrack

Guren no Yumiya- Amalee version

No Matter Where You Are - The Samuel Kim version

Attack on Titan OST - T-KT | Hiroyuki Sawano

I'm certain this is not all of the songs I picture for 'The Paths I' onward, but I will come up with a much more comprehensive playlist when I get to that point.

(BTW, The Paths I onward will destroy you emotionally. I promise you that.)

9. Do you have songs that you associate with certain characters?

I mean...Imagine Dragon's 'Enemy' can be applied to at least half of the characters in Attack on Titan. Let's be honest.

But I don't necessarily have a set song that I would associate with a certain character in Attack on Prime. Maybe a song for certain character moments, but a character, don't have a solid one. Which is unfortunate because I'm certain there are songs that would apply to certain characters in my story.

If you have certain songs that would apply to the characters in Attack on Prime, I'd be more than happy to hear, but I'm drawing up a blank.

(I do recommend giving some of those songs I've mentioned a listen to if you haven't yet. might give you an idea of what to picture in the future for Attack on Prime.)

#tfp #transformers prime #attack on titan #snk #aot #shinkgeki no kyojin #attack on prime #crossover #asks #send me asks #ask game #I'd be more than willing to answer questions!

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earthstellar · 3 years

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TFP Megatronus x Orion Pax Experimental Concept Playlist: The Timescale of Cybertronian Lives + Music from 1890 - 2021

I know there are tons of playlists for these characters out there, but I’m trying to do something a little less conventional with this one; Please hear me out!

Two Playlists in One: Love Throughout The Ages

The first half of this playlist is almost all new music mixed in with some hits from the 60s, 70s, 80s, etc. to give variety, plus tracks from different genres so that hopefully everyone has a song they can enjoy in there somewhere.

For the second half of the playlist, I wanted to emphasise the idea of how long the war on Cybertron has been going on for, and just how old this conflict and the people involved actually are.

Cybertronian Timescale: Long Lives and The Perception of Time

We think of the Orion Pax / Megatronus stage of their relationship as being relatively brief, which it was in comparison to how long the war has been going on for as of TFP, but these are people who live for centuries. The scope of that is staggering.

Optimus Prime and Megatron have known each other personally (either positively or negatively) for longer than modern human civilisation has existed.

So to me, the best way to touch on that idea of time, musically, is to have the first half of the playlist be modern music, remixes, etc. and then the second half is well known and lesser known hits throughout early radio/TV (with many tracks on this playlist pre-dating those forms of media as well).

What’s on the Playlist, Then?

My grandmother was born in 1914, and her music collection spans nearly 100 years. It’s all good stuff.

I have included some of her favourites, which she always called her “sweetheart jingles”, on this soundtrack. I think many of them work surprisingly well for the Megatronus/Orion Pax relationship.

Many of these songs will probably be unknown by the vast majority of people who might want to listen to this playlist, which is also appealing to me. (I hope if this is your first time hearing some of these, that you enjoy a few of them!)

My parents were born in 1944, and I remember all of the classics they would play; Some of those tracks will be more recognisable as this was the era when radio and TV became far more common and accessible, but I picked the tracks that I think best apply to the pairing and the relationship between the two characters at that point in their lives.

The link to the playlist is below after some notes on Cybertronian language evolution!

Quick Thought: Cybertronian Language Over Time and Era Specific Speech Patterns

While thinking about my grandmother’s music collection as I assembled this playlist, I thought about some of the words and phrases she used commonly that are now totally non-existent in modern conversational English.

She had what would probably sound to most people like “1930s radio voice” or a more Trans-Atlantic Accent way of speaking; She grew up in the Northeast USA and so she had a very distinctive way of stressing the vowels in words. It’s not just the words themselves, or how they were pronounced, but the tone and pace of speech was also very different.

This got me thinking about Cybertronians, age, and speech:

Bots as old as Ratchet may have grown up with a totally different spoken language version of Cybertronian, and we already know that there are regional dialects, multiple written forms (glyphs), and era-specific types of Cybertronian language.

But the way they speak, as I mentioned above with the stressing of vowels and the tone and pace of speech, might still be different due to the different eras, even after language packs/programs are downloaded and updated periodically as needed. We already know Cybertronians have regional accents, so it stands that generational accents would also possibly exist as well.

Such a difference in speech patterns could possibly be used as a primary indicator of relative age on Cybertron, as physically they don’t age in the sense human beings do.

Back to the Playlist: Link + Track List + Notes on Audio Prior to 1930

The playlist is here on YouTube.

Scroll down to get to the second half (oldies section) if that’s what you’re here for!

Please note that the songs are not arranged in any particular order aside from the first half being newer music and the second half being far older music.

Also note, where original recordings are available on YouTube for some of the older songs, I have used those original recording versions.

However, keep in mind that there may be a couple seconds of “fuzz” at the top (start) of those older tracks, because they have been recorded from records or wax cylinders, which are formats of music that typically had a “pause” on the track to allow for needle and speed calibration when playing them manually. Modern records don’t do this in quite the same way and nobody uses wax cylinders anymore, but older records typically did. If this bothers you, skip ahead about two seconds or so, and it will resolve.

Tempo may seem slightly “fast” on two of the tracks due to difficulties with the medium and modern recording tech/methods, and one track has some persistent “fuzz” throughout due to the original recording being rare and therefore it is a “best copy available” type archival recording, but otherwise I’ve managed to find the clearest audio possible for the vast majority of the older songs!

(Fun music note, the “click track” in modern digital music was partially inspired by the clicking of the needle hitting the “countdown grooves” on old cylinders and records, which creates an audible mild clicking sound as the needle finds the groove and provides time for usually a half rotation or full rotation of the record before the track actually begins to allow for adjustment before the music starts! If the clicking is too fast, dial down the rotation speed, for example.

This itself was inspired by classical metronomes as well as the actual physical method of playing the music in this way, but it’s cool to see how this persists throughout musical history even now when we don’t need the click for digital production for quite the same reasons/applications. It’s all about timing, no matter the medium or era!)

Due to the method of how some player piano rolls were credited, often by roll company and not by individuals, the actual artist name is often not available for those tracks. Where possible and where known, I have included credits to the artists/musicians. I have done my best to research and find the artists in these recordings.

I have also included orchestrions and other “automated” music in addition to a player piano track as I think it’s interesting; These are often very old compositions being played on these machines, and as such are designed to reflect the earliest days of their relationship.

Songs range from the years 1890 to 2021, and I will add more as I manage to find YouTube videos with some of the older songs I’m still looking for.

By the way, if you need a love song for like an actual partner or crush that you have, I’m just going to say it now and point out that a lot of these classics are great to use in real life for cute purposes. My partner of ten years agrees, and my grandparents were married for over 60 years and sang many of these daily, so obviously something here works well. You’re welcome. ;)

Below the cut is a track list of the second half of the playlist, as it’s 7 AM and I’d like to emphasise the “classics” section here as it’s the central theme of the concept.

I will add to this list as more tracks are added:

You’re the Top - Cole Porter

What is this Thing Called Love - Leslie Hutchinson

I Get a Kick Outta You - Cole Porter

Puttin on the Ritz - Phil Spitalny Orchestra

What a Day - Carl Fenton

Come Fly With Me - Frank Sinatra

Earth Angel - The Penguins

Ring a Ding Ding - Frank Sinatra

In my Merry Oldsmobile - Billy Murray

Singin in the Rain - Gene Kelly

Dream a Little Dream of Me - Doris Day

Unforgettable - Nat King Cole

Can’t Help Falling in Love - Elvis Presley

Good Golly Miss Molly - Little Richard

Bei Mir Bist du Schoen - The Andews Sisters

Shine on Harvest Moon - Ruth Etting

1920s Dance Sequence from Don’t Knock the Rock

In the Mood -Glen Miller Orchestra

Dream Lover - Bobby Darin

When the Ragtime Army Goes Away to War (Artist Unknown)

After You’ve Gone - J. Lawrence Cook

My Sin (Artist Unknown)

Flick Flack by Albert Vossen (Unsure; Song + Artist Unknown; Orchestrion)

Lotosblumen Walzer by E. Ohlsen (Hupfeld Violina)

Waltz no.2 - Dmitri Shostakovich

Jupiter - Gustav Holst

Love Potion no. 9 - The Clovers (Please note, this song mentions the word “g*psy” once in the beginning of the track. Skip this song if you would prefer not to hear it; I have done my best to only include songs that are friendly to the modern listener, but where needed I will make annotations such as this one to ensure nobody has to hear anything potentially offensive, as is unfortunately often the case with older music/lyrics.)

Come a Little Bit Closer - Jay and the Americans

Sh-Boom - The Crew Cuts

Oh Boy - Buddy Holly

#long post #playlist #megop #megops #cybertronian culture #transformers #transformers prime #tfp #maccadam #maccadams #megatron #optimus prime #orion pax #music #concept playlist #megatronus

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tigressaofkanjis · 7 years

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The Sparkling Almanac (Transformers)

This is an opinionated almanac of sparklings. If you disagree with some of the facts, I understand and I will not force these down your throat as being true. If afterwards you wish to add your own facts in the comment section, feel free too. Hell, even add your OC's sparkling facts too. I will read them no matter what. :)

What most didn’t know was that Transformers had the ability to lay eggs at will if the environment or time wasn’t right for having sparklings. That put the babies in a type of stasis that could only be awoken by their creators. No one else could awake them. Every other circumstance could simply let the creators have a live birth in which the child would automatically be alert and alive completely. It was a strange reproductive concept that shocked many other aliens.

How did the Transformers tell whose eggs were whose? Scent, always scent because the scent of the eggs is imprinted in their processors as soon as they deliver the sparklings and vice versa when the sparklings are out and about. In fact, sparklings are similar to animal babies for they have the ability to know that they should never stray far from their parents and also to go to said parents if they sense danger or something unknown. They have surprisingly excellent tracking senses which can allow them to return to their creators if they get lost. But that’s another story entirely.

A clutch of two or more were very common among the different species and subspecies of Transformers as well who decided to lay eggs instead of live birth. Live birth usually produced no more than five sparklings due to the fact that they required a much larger growth than that of sparklings being delivered in eggs, which grew within the eggs even after carriage. The bigger the carrier, the more eggs that could be created and housed with no problems.

Minicons were the only exception to the rule of bigger equals more as their litters ranged from five to ten offspring. Why this was so probably had to do with the size of the sparklings or “Teacup Minicons” as some humans referred to them as. The name itself implied they were born relatively small, about the size of a Pomeranian puppy and stayed this way a good period of time even longer than other species of Transformers.

Now the “common” sized Transformers whom ranged from a little smaller than Arcee to about as big as Tigressa (Megatron stands at her waistline) have the capability to produce as many as twelve per litter depending on the combination of mechs and femmes (remember, same frame-type “gender” relationships are most common). For instance if Arcee and Megatron had sparklings in egg form, there’s a good chance the maximum might be four since the sparklings would grow quite big even when in eggs. Her body would know the limit it could take before internal damage to her reproductive organs would be inevitable.

Predacons and Dinobots could have about six to ten eggs, including when they mate with others not from their subspecies. Though the egg size wouldn’t be as massive, their CNA would most likely be the dominant type. Their babies will always be born in their alt. modes first and stay in their forms for up to a couple months before their t-cog begins to work. In which case, the adults will stay in their own alt. modes with their babies until the latter are ready to learn how to transform.

Insecticons lay up to fifteen to twenty eight eggs per clutch and they only stay pregnant for two months whereas Minicons take eight months, vehicle-based Cybertronians take about six to eight months (depending on their size), and the beast mode-based Cybertronians take about three to five months. The Insecticons are notorious for getting pregnant a day after giving birth continuously. The more, the better as they would tell you.

Titan class Transformers, ranging from Ghost (slightly larger than Tigressa) to almost Omega Supreme’s chest, have been proven to be not very compatible with live births but may still be able to do so though eggs are the normal method. It’s enormously rare for types like combiners to give birth at all though. For combiners like Devastator, three of the component mechs have to be impregnated by a member (or members) of the same combiner and fuse very often for the said combiner to transfer its eggs into one chamber. After that, the combiner cannot defuse until the egg sack is complete, which takes about a month or two, and gives birth directly afterwards. Said egg sack will contain at least ten to thirty eggs estimated.

Sentinel class Transformers who range from Omega Supreme or higher height very rarely give birth at all. When Theta Supreme became pregnant by Beta Supreme, he apparently gave birth like any other common sized Transformer but he remained pregnant for a year and five months implying Sentinel sparklings take lots of time to develop. As it turns out, their sparklings are bigger than Lugnut who towers over both Optimus and Megatron by thirteen feet. That was a Supreme sized sparkling; you want to find out how big Metroplex’s sparklings will be?

Now live sparklings were interesting: it turns out the sparklings learn how to walk and run on all fours within the first weak as crawling irritates them. They learn to walk on two legs (if designed to do so) within a month or two. It was quite common actually for a sparkling to try and flee to their parents directly after being born if held by someone they don’t recognize the scent to.

Another little fact was their sight. Their optics can open within the first minute of being delivered but they won’t be able to see clearly until a few hours later. In this case, they rely on scent, touch, and sound to get them past obstacles if they’re even allowed to wander. Unlike human children, they can be left unattended because they would either respond by following their creators or navigating somewhere to play or rest. On instinct, they won’t have any real motivation to explore unless prompted to do so.

A curious as they can be, stupid they are not. At their young age, they can sense electrical currents and know immediately not to go near it or if possible go around it. If they stray from their creators and come across another Transformer or an unknown entity, they will stay still and wait for the figure to move so they’ll know whether to run away and use a noise they imprinted on their parents to let them know if they are frightened or to just keep a watchful eye on the entity and go about their business. If lost, the same noise can be used for creators to track their sparklings for long distances.

Temper tantrums were coincidently extremely rare. If they don’t get what they want, they’ll often look for something else to do or get and come back to their original desire later. If hurt, they do not cry out but rather grow stubborn and less responsive to whomever or whatever hurt them, often ditching that person or thing for another.

The only temper tantrum they truly have is agitation which can be brought forth through their creators. If their creators are angry at something or someone, the sparkling will sense this and become aggressive towards the same thing. Sometimes creators have to pull back their babies from trying to engage the problem head on. This is also a mimic in personality the sparkling can develop overtime, making it more likely for a sparkling to have similar personas to their creators’.

These apply to all Transformer sparklings, including the Pomeranian puppy-sized Teacup Minicons whom look a bit less intimidating than their larger fellow sparkling friends.

Now Sentinel based sparklings do something most others do not: they cling to the bodies (often the backside) of one of their creators. The only other sparkling types to do this are simian based (Kanjian) techno-organics and speedster based (Velocitronian). The latter must do so because their parents travel at high speeds, a power the sparklings don’t develop until they are five months of age.

There are aquatic mermaid based techno organic sparklings that will beach themselves for extensive periods of time when sensing danger or their creator (practically all Kanjian Leviathans are femmes and are believed to reproduce asexually or through their Queen) believes there is trouble between a subspecies below the water and doesn’t want the sparkling to be a part of it. Beaching doesn’t affect them as they don’t need water to breathe. They also have two to four arms depending on the type.

Some Kanjian dragon sparklings, specifically the Titan Class Ridgeback (Demon’s breed) and Razorback, are able to use fire breath directly after birth and yes, there are reports of valves being burned during a sparkling’s exit of the womb. Speaking of the Ridgeback, half of any litter born to at least one Ridgeback creator will be half Ridgeback…as in half of the total number of sparklings will always be full blooded Ridgeback and look extremely similar to the Ridgeback parent as well as the same “gender”. Unless the two creators are both Ridgebacks in which then the coloring and “gender” is random. Why this is this way is unknown.

All flight based sparklings can learn to fly within three to six months after birth depending on the size and type of creators. The only exception to this is the Sentinel class as they can only fly in vehicle mode until they are fully grown. But fair warning, this is one of the few abilities that must be taught by the creator as it does not come naturally to the sparkling for a very long period of time.

Like some human children and animals, sparklings can detect spiritual energy not seen by adults unless said adult is lucky, has a gift, or is one of the spiritual based entities found on Kanjis whose powers are spirit related. Ghost in most infamous for this, being the guardian of the Underworlds of many planets as well as their dead. Anyways, sparklings will notify that there is something there but will treat it like another unknown Transformer or creature in which case it will either flee or watch closely to see what it does. These spirits rarely scare sparklings even if some are demonic.

Now a note about sparkling diets: most sparklings, sans lava class and acid class, can devour practically anything which can be a shocking sight at times. Unlike other baby digestive systems, their stomachs are actually not sensitive. In fact the older they get, the more sensitive it becomes. This can prove deadly for others as some like Dinobot and Kanjian sparklings might get it in their head to attack and eat others after seeing how their parents hunt (other Transformers mainly). There have been cases of cannibalism among them too though mostly seen in Kanjian class and Cybertronian class monsters like the Cybertronian Predator (around the time of the Thirteen/in stasis/distinctive primal relative to the Kanjian Ridgeback/nigh invulnerable/high intellect but cannot speak) and the Kanjian Frilled Dinobot (all terrain hunter/lacks ability to transform/CNA relative to Grimlock).

Sparklings can sleep up to nine to eleven hours a day but not in one go until they get older. Like cats though, they can sleep ANYWHERE in any position no less! They also love to bathe in sunlight as well, so watch your feet please as they might be found on the floor with their favorite toy in the sunny shadow of a window. Waking a sparkling isn’t the best idea as they tend to become very moody to the point where they can try and bite you if you reach out to handle them. Let them wake themselves.

If the cat subject is still a go, might be worth mentioning that they are extremely flexible and can sneak through small openings quite easily. Of course, their endoskeleton isn’t fully developed yet so is much more malleable than an adult’s.

Lava based sparklings will act similar to the Leviathan based though vice versa methods. When sensing danger, the sparkling will submerge under lava flows and lakes until deemed safe to reemerge. They will stick their heads out of the lava to check. They don’t know this yet but nothing can strike them while they are in the high heated liquid but instincts are instincts after all. They also have a diet of rock, yellow Energon (a high heated or “spicy” Energon that is deadly to all but fire based as it burns internal organs), and sometimes vegetation nearby during the colder seasons.

Acid based (native to Junkion only) sparklings have only been seen once and their creator was an acid mutant who everyone believes asexually reproduced. From what was studied, this type is indestructible in terms of explosions, gun fire, and predatory assaults. Being part acid, the sparklings can get into anything and severely harm anyone if picked up in which they will cover their entire body in acid as a defense mechanism. This is a pity because they do seem very friendly. What they eat or can do other than their defense is unknown so far.

Plant based sparklings (native to Kanjis only) will curl into balls and disguise themselves among vegetation while also mimicking a plant’s smell if threatened or simply wishing to be left alone. They tend to only eat meat and metal mostly as they love plant life much more than others so there’s no reason for them to eat whom they consider their friends.

Last fact but certainly not least, it is not possible to convince a sparkling someone else is their creator once born to another. Even if blind for a few hours, they will detect the scent of their keeper as not their biological creators and will be a bit off put by the keeper’s presence from that point onward. Despite perhaps getting used to the keeper slash adoptive creator, they won’t feel truly like they belong with the adoptive parent. And since they lose the ability to sense their creators’ presence after converting into a youngling, the scent of their keeper will not stay in their mindset even as sparklings. At most, they will stay a good distance away from the adoptive parent.

So what are your facts on these sparklings?

#transformers #sparklings #transformers universe #idfk #don't judge me

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verdigrisprowl · 7 years

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Recruiting Transformers Roleplayers!

Our IDW Transformers roleplay group (loosely called RoboStars) is currently looking for new players to officially join our timeline. If you’re interested in joining, you can fill out IC applications to join Cybertron or the Lost Light, or OOC talk to one of our mods, Roddy or Puff (me). If you have questions or want to know more about our timeline, read on below! If you still have questions, feel free to contact one of our mods, we’re happy to talk.

Listed below: Why you should join us! Who we’re willing to take! AU details Requested characters Current characters How to join

Why you should join us!

We've got a Transformers IDW group that's been active for two years on Tumblr. While our group has a single set universe, we also roll with the multiverse theory, which lets us interact with alternates, other continuities, etc. So our group has the benefits of formal, closed groups:

a bunch of people who are collaborating in ongoing plots

a community of people you can socialize with

a continuity shared by all the involved blogs

an agreed-upon set of group headcanons for how various historical/supernatural/anatomical things work in our verse

AND the benefits of indie blogs:

you can play with any other tumblr blogs you want, regardless of whether they're in our group or not

you can still make separate verses for your character—if you want one verse that's in our group and a dozen verses that aren't, that's fine!

if you don't like our verse's headcanons, you can say your character moved to our verse from another one and that things work differently in their home verse, so you can make up your own headcanons.

We have two active OOC Skype groups: one for discussing plots, one for both socialization and plots. We have about 1.2 in character movie nights a week: one hosted by Rodimus on Mondays, occasionally one hosted by Whirl on random days of the week, and both of these movie nights are open to people who aren't part of our group. We've also had a smattering of other IC events like movie nights and Cards Against Humanity games, and we're open to more.

We have regular large group plots that span several months, and members are welcome to participate in them as much or as little as they want. We're always eager for new players to bring in new ideas so we can incorporate them into plots the whole group can enjoy, and we're also happy to have people who aren't part of our group join in on events.

Who we're willing to take!

We can and will take:

characters native to our verse

immigrant characters from different IDW verses

AU versions of characters

characters from different Transformers continuities

characters from non-Transformers series

OCs, from any series or no series

Characters who have died, characters who are obscure or unpopular, characters from one continuity that have been adapted for another continuity... Just about anything.

We do require that new players talk things out with our group to confirm that everything is consistent! For example, if you want to play Senator Momus, we're gonna connect you to our Senator Crosscut to get your Senate headcanons consistent, and you'll also talk to the group about finding a way to explain why you're alive. The explanation could be anywhere from "vast complicated Decepticon conspiracy that stretched for four million years" to "he's from a parallel universe where he never died and one day he tripped and fell through a wormhole into this universe." It doesn't have to be complicated. We want to help you get the characters and headcanons you want.

AU details

Our verse diverges from canon at several points. We have a long post with links to some of the threads of all our plot events here, but a much shorter summary below:

On the Lost Light:

After Megatron's trial, he was put in stasis and locked up, rather than put on the Lost Light. The Lost Light is still captained by Rodimus alone. They have a space bridge that lets them visit other universes, and they regularly visit alternate timelines, talk to people in other universes, and let people from other universes come visit them.

Because of the lack of Megatron's influence, they took an entirely different route, and missed out on all the canon season 2 adventures. Instead, they've been having completely new adventures, including a crash-landing on an ancient abandoned colony with a Metrotitan, a long stay on Hedonia (with two weddings!), a short war in another timeline that involved freeing several hundred cold constructed slaves and toppling a Functionist government, and a week-long carnival/party open to all of Cybertron.

The Lost Light is about to head back into space to continue its journey to find the Knights of Cybertron, and immediately get involved in another exciting distraction quest.

On Cybertron:

During the Combiner Wars, Devastator successfully destroyed the space bridge, cutting off Cybertron's access to its colonies. The Constructicons were arrested, Defensor and Optimus Maximus never formed, and Starscream has spent the last year trying to reestablish space bridge contact with the colonies. So there’s no Council of Worlds, and Cybertron hasn’t met any colonies besides Caminus—yet.

Recently, when the Lost Light came home (and threw the carnival/party), Devastator went on a rampage, and Starscream created Defensor to stop him. Now, Devastator—headed by an unexpectedly repentant Prowl—has voluntarily joined Starscream.

Right now, Cybertron is focusing on rebuilding its most recent damage. It's beginning to try to bring the disaffected Decepticons & Autobots into Iaconian mainstream society—and new, undocumented multiversal immigrants as well. The space bridge hasn't been repaired yet, but that's just around the corner, and then Cybertron will be in contact with its colonies across the rest of the galaxy—as well as other universes.

On Earth:

Currently, we have no characters on Earth. Cybertron's space bridge has been broken since Combiner Wars, Jazz and Prowl have been primarily on Cybertron or the Lost Light since then, and Tarantulas is dead, so most of post-Combiner Wars exRID and the entirety of Sins of the Wreckers didn't happen. If you want to play a character that you want to have on Earth, you'll get to have more power to decide how much or little the plot stuck to canon. We encourage being creative and making up new plotlines.

Requested characters

We'll be happy to get any new characters! These are the ones that our current players have said they'd be particularly excited to see join. If you want to join but don't know who you want to play, you might want to check the list below for ideas. The number of people who requested each character is listed after the character.

Blurr

Chromedome

Chromia (3)

Cyclonus (3)

Five Hundred Decepticons (in other words, our verse barely has any Decepticons and we want LOTS more.)

Grapple

Ironhide (3)

Magnus

Mirage

Nautica

Nightbeat

Protectobots (besides First Aid)

Ratchet

Rattrap (2)

Rung

Skids

Swerve (2)

Tailgate

Warpath

Waspinator

Of course, you don’t have to play any of these characters, and if you’ve already got a blog with a character you’d like to join us you’re welcome to offer them.

Current characters

After deep thought, soul-searching, and meditation, I decided that I do not feel like listing all our current characters, on the grounds that some of them come and go, half of them are multiversal, many are inactive, and I am lazy. If you're curious to know if we have a specific character already, contact our mods (I’m one!) and ask about it.

Plus, we don’t want to discourage you from asking to join us with a character that’s already “taken”! Even if a character is taken, you can still play another version of the character. For example, we have a native IDW Blaster, and an AU Blaster from the Dreamwave comic continuity, both living on the Lost Light. We've also had two IDW Drifts, one who was native and one who moved in from another very-similar-but-not-quite-identical IDW timeline. So don't despair if the character you really really wanted to play is taken, we can probably make it work anyway.

How To Join

If you’re interested in joining, contact one of our mods OOC: contact Roddy on rodimusstars, or Puff (that’s me!) on verdigrisprowl, or just apply IC as the character you want to play as at one of the posts below:

Lost Light Crew Recruitment Post Cybertron Immigration & Census Post

#((feel free to signal boost!))#((especially if you're in the group or considering joining))#robostars2k17 #lostlightshipwide #cybertronwide #OOC

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