#and also be salty over autobots and decepticons

[nonsscrapheap]

i blame @lovckett or this, spawned by their SI!Armada!Starscream appearing in TF: Prime Idea

random scene of armada starscream rescuing breakdown from mech's first capture. (let my boy have BOTH his optics pls and thank you)

===== Armada x Prime =====

"Open him up."

Breakdown would never admit to feeling fear at the sight of the drill coming closer to his optic, but he won't deny that he was feeling something akin to it. Which was fragging natural considering this was a drill about to take out his optic!

Suddenly, the tunnel he was being kept in shook. Breakdown gritted his denta as the tip of the drill shook and scratched along his faceplate instead, the shaking missing his optic by inches.

"What was that?!" The fleshling, Silas barked as the drill was reared back and powered down. The screen suddenly shifted to a closed entryway, the start of the tunnel.

The metal shutter was dented inwards with the metal gleaming red as if something hot had exploded against it. The armed humans at the closed shutter seemed hesitant but had their guns aimed at the dented and idly melting entryway.

Breakdown squinted his optics, wondering what was going on- had Lord Megatron or someone else sent Decepticons to rescue him? Great, if a little embarrassing considering he'd been captured by organics of all things.

The tunnel shook again as the metal shutters exploded, a violet beam cutting through the giant dust cloud that came from the explosion, miraculously it didn't hit any humans but it left a series of small explosions in its wake.

"Jetstorm, Runway, Sonar, go!" A voice, a mech's voice, commanded. A voiceprint that Breakdown was unfamiliar with.

From the dark cloud, three small jets, smaller than even the average Earth vehicle, emerged. The humans were stunned, but not stunned enough to not react- they shot at the flying vehicles but were chaotically rammed into by said jets, they cried out in surprise as the three jets flew around and aimed for any human nearby.

"Unfortunate, but intriguing." Silas said before he motioned for the other to follow him. "A shame to cut this short, it would have been a lot more interesting cutting open a live cybertronian instead of sifting through the leftovers of those lesser Decepticon ones that the Autobots love going through. Another time then, Breakdown."

His spark dropped, did he mean the vehicons? Was that why they had less body parts to retrieve lately? How dare they-

Three thumps interrupted his rage, and his optics flickered at the sight of... minicons? Minicons? Here? On Earth? "What the frag."

The three minicons beeped in their private little minicon language, Breakdown had never really bothered to learn about it or more about minicons. The little espionage bots throughout the war were more of the Intel and Communications part of stuff while Breakdown- well, obviously he was not that.

Reminds him of the minicons that Soundwave used to have. (He wonders if those two are okay, Soundwave has never been the same without them and Ravage)

The minicons looked up and waved their arms, beeping and chirping cheerily and with pride.

Pedesteps.

"Yes, yes, good work you three. You cleared the way and made it to- well, this poor gentlemech." That voiceprint... Breakdown strained his helm to see who it belonged to.

It was... a seeker? Big one, bigger that Starscream.

Bright red with white, and- orange optics? Strange. He doesn't know this mech. No Decepticon brand... but no Autobot brand either. Neutral?

Pretty thing though, the red finish reminds him of Knock Out...

Was that another minicon on the seeker's shoulder? Four minicons?

"Who are you?" Breakdown asked suspiciously, optics narrowing at the seemingly Neutral seeker (who was neutral nowadays? He didn't know there were any neutrals left...)

The seeker huffed, "Your savior." He deadpanned in reply before reaching back and detaching his wing??? What??? The??? Frag??? Could seekers do that?

He watched in stunned silence as the wing folded thinly into a blade-shape, before gleaming red with energy. A fragging laser sword?? Again. What the frag??? Could Starscream do that??

The minicons jumped off of his restrained body as the unknown seeker stepped closer, raising the sword high, was he going to—

Breakdown flinched as the sword was brought low in a swift, yet beautifully efficient movement. Not a klik later, his restrained were sliced open. Breakdown had no knowledge of swordsbotship, but damn had that been cool.

"Come on, we need to go." The seeker barked, turning on his heel. The minicons beeped and chirped, motioning Breakdown to get up.

Breakdown was quick to do so, "Hey! Wait!" He and the minicons quickly caught up to the seeker who was now jogging through the tunnel. "You didn't answer my question."

"Yes I did."

Breakdown frowned, "You didn't tell me your designation."

"You asked who I was, not for my designation." Was the seeker's smart aft reply. Breakdown held back an annoyed growl. "Call me... Armada."

Breakdown's optics narrowed again, Armada? He doesn't recall any mech or seeker going by the name. Clearly a fake designation. Before he could even ask or demand the seeker's actual designation, they ended up at the entrance- where more of those pesky humans were.

Breakdown didn't bother holding back his growl this time, servo shifting to his hammer while the seeker dropped into a defensive stance with his sword, shielding his faceplate from the annoying fire from the smaller creatures.

The minicons took shelter behind them, the one at Armada's shoulder moved behind Armada's helm and tapped it insistently, bleeping and chirping rapidly. "Absolutely not! Just get down with the others Swindle!" Armada growled.

Swindle?

How fragging hilarious, the minicon shared a name with that money-grubbing conmech. He can't wait to tell KnockOut later on.

Swindle, hah, bleeped even harder but reluctantly dropped to the ground with the three other minicons. Just in time Armada to swat away an incoming missile with his still glowing sword.

Missiles were being launched from helicopters above while cars of humans were shooting annoying yet distracting bullets from below, moving around like the chaotic insects they were.

Breakdown used his canon to shoot at them, and his hammer to pound down any car that dared to come close enough.

Armada was using his sword to gouge the earth and cut cars in half, using one half of the car to lob at the helicopters- direct hit. Breakdown grinned, following his lead and grabbing a smashed car for one of the other copters.

One of those copters had a strange electric canon thing, it charged and narrowly missed Armada who had dodged just in time with a incensed growl.

Breakdown was a little more distracted, trying to smash every car in his wake so he was very surprised when Armada suddenly tackled him from the side- he was less surprised as the spot he'd been standing at suddenly exploded thanks to that electric canon.

The seeker was quick to get back on his pedes while Breakdown stared up at him with wide optics. Damn.

Usually, between him and KnockOut, it was KnockOut who liked to bring mechs into their open relationship for a good time. Breakdown rarely did that on his own, content with his conjunx but Primus, was this new seeker making him think—

He suddenly hears blaster fire, and from the distance, he sees blue blaster fire shooting at the helicopters from the ground. "You called the Autobots for backup?!" He hissed but was surprised by the glare he got from the seeker.

"No, I did not." He growled back, looking displeased and annoyed. "They must have been in the area and heard the noise."

Breakdown doesn't know if he should believe that, but as much as he hates the fact the Autobots were around. At least their presence was useful, with the added numbers of threats growing, the humans- MECH- decided to retreat.

Leaving Armada and Breakdown behind to deal with the Autobots. Or, well, Autobot.

Turns out it was just Bulkhead.

"Well I'll be, if it isn't Bulkhead." Breakdown sneered as the former Wrecker came forward, blaster smoking. "I'll admit, didn't expect to see you here alone. Again. Ready for round two?"

"Breakdown." Bulkhead growled back, optics narrowed, "Should'a known you of all mechs didn't need rescuin'... Who's your friend?" He glanced over to Armada but faltered at the sight of the four minicons that were peeking from behind Armada's legs. And then double-taking as he watched Armada's sword de-activate, fold back into a wing shape and reattach it back on his back. "Uh..."

Honestly, not even Breakdown can blame him because that was the exact reaction he had watching the whole thing. "I'm not his friend." Armada replied with a scoff, "Just someone who knows it's a bad idea for Cybertronian biology to end up in the hands of humans like MECH. It's trouble no one wants." He said, crossing his arms.

"You're a Neutral?" Bulkhead muttered, a bit awed as he sees no brand on the seeker. "Didn't think you guys were still around."

Armada sent him a sharp look, "And whose fault is that exactly?" He snarked before shaking his helm, "I'm done here. You two can go back to your war and your fighting. Try not to destroy this planet like Cybertron and countless others."

Both bots flinched at the scathing tone the seeker had, "Hey! That's not fair- it was the cons who destroyed Cybertron not us Autobots!" Bulkhead protested and Breakdown glowered at him.

Unfortunately that was true, however- "It was you 'bots who forced us to do that!"

They both readied their hammers before a loud, angry jet engine growl interrupted their fight. "Both of you can shut the frag up! As far as I see it, both of you Decepticons and Autobots ruined Cybertron! It's always you two! No matter what uni—" Armada cut himself off, inventing sharply with a bitter and pained look. "... Cybertron is dead, thanks to this Unicron-damned war. Autobot, Decepticon... You both have energon staining your servos. Don't act as if the other side is the sole blame for everything."

There was a silence in the air as Armada seemed to hug himself, his minicons beeping and chirping sadly at the seeker who avoided looking at both ex-Wreckers.

Well... seemed like trying to coax Armada to either side would be difficult if that was his mindset over everything. Breakdown had to wonder if Armada had sided with either during the war, or was he neutral all along? Hard to say.

Suddenly Armada's wings perked and he looked up to the sky, "Scrap." He said, spotting lights in the distance in a formation. His wings twitched again and he looked off to the side, more lights in the distance. "Scrap." He repeated.

"Swindle! Jetstorm! Sonar! Runway! We're leaving, now!" Three of the minicons immediately transformed into their jet alts, taking to the skies while the fourth, Swindle, climbed up Armada's leg. Armada turned to Breakdown, glaring at him determinedly. "You owe me for this Breakdown, remember that."

"Armada—" Breakdown was interrupted when the mech jumped into the air, transforming into a jet with Swindle in his cockpit. Soon, he, along with the three other little jets, were off. Flying as far and as fast as they could.

By the time both Decepticon and Autobot back up returned, it was just the ex-Wreckers left behind.

And though there would be an ensuing fight, said Wreckers would have quite the tale to tell to both sides.

===== Armada x Prime =====

this is definitely not canon to Hound of the Stars since i have no idea WHEN hokori is going to drop Armada in, in the Primeverse timeline. just a separate snippet about Armada saving Breakdown that i had to write bc it was itching at my brain.

why did armada save breakdown? because he hates MECH and Breakdown should've had more screen time. VERY bitter about cybertron's fate in nearly all the continuities they know of, its added by armada!starscream's own personal memories as a child soldier who probably never saw cybertron's golden age and stuff. all he knows is war and he hates it.

that's this armada though, i am very much looking forward to whatever hokori is cooking for Hound of the Stars.

also yes, those are the names for the minicons who make up the star saber- i had to dig for those. swindle is the laser canon. ive implied a lot of stuff, also made breakdown and knockout conjunxes bc yes.

honestly i have another scene in mind of dreadwing meeting armada and immediately falling helm over heels for the seeker. bright paint, good at minicon care (sparklings anyone??) and strong warrior? oomf. likewise, i kinda want soundwave to be lowkey obsessed with armada bc of the minicons. and oo, wheeljack? fellow swordfighter hello???

look i just want armada to be hot and be sought out for by both sides.

i hope you enjoyed!

[mychlapci]

https://www.tumblr.com/mychlapci/756908995494723584/ok-there-is-a-sfw-tfa-megop-idea-i-really-like

You're so right tumblr user Milan the moon Is still unclaimed. Sorry, Lord Megatron sir, but it's not like your consort's name is on it. Megatron has to go through worse trials of dominance than when he fought Megazarak to become leader of the Decepticons to keep this stupid little dinky moon for his consort.

Blitzwing wants the moon for bumblebee. (after the 4th time bumblebee has to patch him up after his Stupid but flattering scuffles with Megatron, bumblebee lies and says his favorite planet is Not earth, so he doesn't really want this moon, you should have asked him first, blitzbrain! but blitzwing starts pressing him. So bumblebee blurts out not Venus or Saturn, he says a planet wayy closer to Cybertron and now blitzwing is MIA halfway across the Galaxy claiming a pretty moon for his bug. )

Lugnut does not fight Megatron directly but he does stand Frozen as strika and Megatron duke it out, because she knows that lovely bulkhead will be convinced not by pretty words or shows of force but a display of affection in the form of his favorite planets moon. Megatron faces a revolving door of cons trying to fight him for the moon for bulkhead of course. but strika is the one that he dreads most

Prowl and lockdown keep trying to steal the moon (lockdown is doing it for a client, prowl wants the decepticons to stop fighting over the moon before tjey blow it up) their heist turns into a fake dating romantic comedy , because the only way to stop Megatron from blowing them up is lying and saying they're stealing the moon cause they wanna get bonded on it .

Megatron sees deadlock for the first time in millennia cause if Anyone is giving their conjunx their planets favorite moon, it's gonna be him. Nevermind drift being an autobot now, this is a non partisan issue! Ratchet tries to get his extremely embarrassing lovely conjunx off of Earth by saying his fav planet is the one they met on, which is a lie becuz that planet was a hellhole

(also I'm eageryly awaiting those tfa megop thoughts after this week....staring at you with my big brown eyes.)

everyone wants Earth's moon... And an especially huge horde of decepticons are coming by to try and get it for Bulkhead, specifically. No one thought that his suitors would end up rivaling the likes of fucking Megatron. Bumblebee is especially salty... maybe he shouldn't have sent Blitzwing away.

All of this is giving Optimus a headache. They're turning this into an intergalactic incident and he really hopes the autobot PR office won't catch wind of it...

Also, plot twist, Megatron hired Swindle to steal the moon for him, Swindle managed to tie Lockdown into it without giving him all the facts, so when Lockdown ends up teaming up with Prowl to keep everyone's hands off of the moon, Megatron knows they're just fucking with him about the bonding thing. But he lets it go because he kind of wants to check in later and see how that went for them.

[nebulae-d]

current Transformers OC reference masterpost! (these references have been made over the course of the last year, so there’s some style changes)

Zephyr - the adoptive son of Ironhide, who’s got a penchant for taking in strays. Everyone is convinced he’s Bee’s kid, but no one talks about it. Scout who’s absolutely fascinated by the world around him. Has been taught a lot of bad habits by the twins, who were other foundlings of Ironhide. Is constantly trying to modify his visor to allow him access to things his visor shouldn’t have access to. Once dated an undercover Decepticon for like 3 months. His siblings won’t let him live it down. Has an electrical based outlier ability and can shock people through his hands and feet. The wiring on the side of his helm sparks when he’s frustrated.

Oracle - the son of Ratchet and a special op’s bot named Savvy (who has since been offlined in duty). The pseudo little brother to the Protectobots and Aerialbots - he is incredibly close to First Aid, as he has played a large role in his training. Sparked medic, and damn good at his job. Primarily works as a field medic. Tries to act serious and professional but he’s really, really not good at it. Will turn his emergency lights on to piss bots off when they’ve scorned him. Often is getting hauled around like a toddler by his older brothers. Courting Blitz, to the disappointment of Ratchet (Oracle does not care)

Blitz - Foundling of Bulkhead. Has also partially been raised by Wheeljack, as the two are close friends. Was also raised around the Autobots’ combiner teams, but the Aerialbots took much more of a shine to him due to his general attitude and behavior. Heavy hitter with a love for making pun jokes. Thinks the Wreckers are cool as all shit. Isn’t good with emotions, but will give hugs if you need them. he gives good hugs. Absolutely in love with Oracle, and thinks it’s hilarious that Ratchet is salty about them courting.

Ranger - Son of Optimus Prime and Elita One. Youngest sibling of Arcee and Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime. His spark separated way too early, and as such many essential systems failed to online or develop properly. He cannot take energon by mouth, and must have it introduced to his system via tubing, as well as requiring a form of ‘pacemaker’ to keep his spark working properly. His ventilation system often needs recalibrating and working to keep them cooling him properly. Too sweet for his own good, and sees the good in everyone. This often gets him into trouble. Got stranded with Stormshot of the Alpha Trine once, and helped save his life - leading them to fall helplessly in love with one another. He bullies Oracle relentlessly due to how often he is in the medbay (but they’re very good friends)

Nightlock - the oldest of the Alpha Trine and Megatron and Starscream’s sparklings. Was created as an attempt to combine the twos’ best qualities into a super soldier, but their seeker genetics caused the spark to split into the trine, spreading the traits among all three brothers. The golden child, and Megatron’s favorite. Keeps his mouth shut and does what he’s told. An absolute nightmare on the battlefield due to how adept he is at his job. Harsh and rough around the edges. 100% brainwashed by his sire. After his brothers left, he loses an optic to one of his sire’s fits, which frightens him into rethinking his entire life, enough to where he offers to become a double agent against Megatron. Changes his name to Nightwaker after the war

Stormshot - The middle mech of the Alpha Trine and Megatron and Starscream’s sparklings. Created as an attempt to combine the twos’ best qualities into a super soldier, but their seeker genetics caused the spark to split into the trine, spreading the traits among the brothers. Typically forgotten about by his creators. The hard hitter of his brothers. Absolutely massive in both height and weight. Despite it, he’s not fond of violence, and if it is not necessary he will not engage. He wanted to be a dancer, had he not been sparked during the war. Almost killed Prime’s kid when they got stranded together out of fear of being taken prisoner by the autobots. When Ranger let him go, he would end up forming a friendship that later turned to love towards him. Defects from the Decepticons to the Autobots to be with Ranger after his sire threatened his life one too many times. Would do anything for his brothers.

Crossfire - The youngest of the Alpha Trine and Megatron and Starscream’s sparklings. Created as an attempt to combine the twos’ best qualities into a super soldier, but their seeker genetics caused the spark to split into the trine, spreading the traits among the brothers. The scapegoat of the family. Has an outlier ability that affects his voice. The volume of his voice correlates to damage that can be done, almost akin to a sonic boom combined with directly damaging ones’ audials. He cannot shut it off, however, and wears an inhibitor device that will shock him if he raises his voice above an ‘acceptable level’ without being permitted by a higher ranked official, usually his creators. Speaks primarily in a whisper. Incredibly anxious, and suffers from panic attacks and severe self isolation. Defects to the Autobots after Stormshot does, when Megatron begins getting extremely violent with him and attempts to take his life. Has bouts of nonverbalism as a result of his trauma. Loves astronomy, and would like to learn medical skills, to save lives rather than take them. Small dude.

[silkling]

I have the weird headcanon that TFRB Cody could adopt Lazerbeak brother, Buzzsaw. I haven't read a lot of TF comics so I don't know he's current status, still I always saw Cody as a typical animal owner, and I think it would be kind of cute too. Could you write some scenes of theme meeting and become friends

Come Home to Roost

Buzzsaw was tired. He was so, so tired. He missed Soundwave. He missed Laserbeak. Pit damn it, he also missed the those infernal twins and that Pit-spawned cat. They had been family for so long. Had been home. It had been them that he returned to every night to roost. It had been them that he had built his nest among. It had been them that he had come to call flock.

Now though…how could they be flock, when they had left him behind? Even his sister had left. He had thought Soundwave cared more than that. Apparently not, though. It had been a miracle that he’d made it off Centauri-12 after being abandoned. But he had, and he’d wandered the cosmos, stowing away on any ship he could find. He didn’t know what his goal was. To survive, he supposed. Find a new roost, though knowing how Primus had abandoned him thus far in his life, he doubted their “benevolent” Creator would have such kindness to direct towards him.

And perhaps he should not be surprised, really. He had been one of Soundwave’s most vicious Cassettes, after Ravage. But was that really something to be punished? He had had to be vicious. His sister had refused to be, and before Soundwave that meant he’d had to step up to keep her safe, to keep them both safe. Cybertron had not been kind to Cassettes, after all. Under Functionism, Cassettes had been viewed as little more than slaves, pets, property. He’d had to be vicious, then. It had been the only way they’d kept their lives, kept their freedom. After Soundwave, he’d had to continue to be vicious. Whereas Laserbeak had been the Host’s spy, Buzzsaw had been the attacker from above. Where Ravage had killed and torn from the ground, Buzzsaw had swooped in and brought death from the skies. After Soundwave, he’d been vicious because his new Host had needed him to be a protector still. And with Soundwave there had been Megatron, and he’d gone from protector to soldier.

Now though…now he wasn’t much of anything. Left behind on an uninhabited world that had drawn the War to it due to its energon mines, forgotten by the very one who had vowed to shelter and care for him, by his kin, by the family had come to call his own. He didn’t even feel them over the bond they’d shared anymore. They’d known he was alive when they’d left Centauri-12. He knew they had, the bond had told him as much. But they’d left anyway. And so he’d broken it. It had almost killed him. Cassettes were hard-coded for loyalty. It was part of their very core. To break the bond when he’d sworn his loyalty to Soundwave….it had made his spark burn with agony. But what other choice had he had? They’d left him behind, cast him aside, and left him with nothing.

He’d had to hitch a ride in the Autobot ship, which had left the planet later then his former allies. He’d been discovered when they’d landed again, and had had to flee. He’d continued like that, going from ship to ship, Neutral, Autobot, and even Decepticon, always fleeing when he was found. He’d even hidden away on the ships of organic species. It seemed his luck had finally run out, though. He’d been on the ship of a species called the Kaminoans, but after they’d found and attempted to capture him he’d been forced to flee into the vast expanse of space. It had almost killed him. He wasn’t space-faring. His armor couldn’t stand the pressure for long. Thankfully, his long-range sensors had detected a habitable planet in the nearest star system, and he’d fled as fast as his tired, starved frame could take him. The Kaminoans hadn’t given chase.

He remembered his first view of the planet. It was blue, with large green landmasses. Then he’d breached the atmosphere, and his systems hadn’t been able to handle the stress. He’d offlined, and come to surrounded by some sort of extremely salty liquid. He hadn’t been able to fly, and had had to go on foot, hoping to make his way to land. He didn’t want to rust on the floor of some massive salty pool of liquid. So he’d forced himself to move, and eventually he’d dragged himself onto some tiny, rocky shore. He’d only had the energy to cast out his sensors for one look around, enough to realize he had dragged himself onto some sort of island, and then his systems had dragged him into an emergency shutdown.

Blissfully, Buzzsaw knew no more.

——————————

When his systems pulled him from his forced recharge, Buzzsaw knew he was in trouble. His optics onlined with a dull glow, and his focused briefly on his HUD, taking in the messages flitting across it. After a moment, he chuffed and forced himself to stand. His self-repair had healed just enough damage to drag him from the edge of a stasis lock, but then the system had shut down in response to low energon. He was at 15% right now, which meant he had the rest of this orn to find fuel before his frame went into emergency stasis. After that..it would be too late for him.

The only way for a Cybertronian to be pulled out of emergency stasis was for another bot to fuel them enough that their systems kicked back online. Otherwise, the stasis would keep the bot in question under, only the bare essential systems running in order to keep the spark alight. Eventually, even those would give out, and the bot would die. Buzzsaw had heard claims that it was a peaceful way to go. That after entering stasis, you wouldn’t be aware of anything, which meant death was just like slipping under. You wouldn’t actually feel pain, wouldn’t feel your spark gutter.

Personally, Buzzsaw didn’t believe that. He thought dying like that was frightening. How could it not be? Feeling your systems fail and shut down, one by one, until you didn’t even have the strength to vent on your own. Your frame shutting down slowly, a klick at a time, until your awareness and consciousness was the last to go, but able to feel each and every one of your non-vital systems go offline. Your processor slipping under, your spark forced to still and shrink to conserve energy, your last thought either a prayer to be found or the grim knowledge you’d die where you lay.

No, Buzzsaw didn’t see the peace in a death like that. He looked around, taking in his surroundings, and then started walking. His wings were folded, and he made no attempt to fly. It would take too much of his energy. So he had to stay on the ground to conserve what precious little he had left. He only hoped he found an energon source. If he was extraordinarily lucky, this planet produced it. His best chances were at finding a underground mine. Liquid energon wells weren’t found anywhere but Cybertron. Other planets only produced the fuel in its crystalline form.

He hobbled along, and it wasn’t long before he was stumbling across a cave. He felt the faintest stirrings of hope as he hobbled in, sending out a faint ping of his sensors. Maybe he would find energon after all. Distracted as he was, he didn’t notice when the ground under him crumbled, and he fell into the deeper caverns below. He hit the ground hard, and his HUD threw up frantic damage warnings.

He dismissed them dispassionately, resignation settling in his spark. The fall had taken out his left leg, and his right wing was bent. He wouldn’t be able to move. This was it for him. He was going to slip into stasis lock and die here. As his systems started to shut down, he only had enough energy for one last action. Just before his consciousness was stolen away, he thought of the family he’d lost, and the life he would no longer be able to live.

Buzzsaw lifted his head and released a haunting cry, the caves all over the island echoing with his grief and regret. Then his optics went dark, and his helm fell to the dusty ground with a soft clang of metal on rock.

In the tunnels around him, his death knell echoed on.

——————————

Optimus shuttered his optics and tilted his head when the haunting cry floated from the tunnels leading out of the bunker. The Rescue Bots and their partners, who were also in the Lounge area, paused what they were doing and looked up. The Prime frowned, concerned. Young Cody was in the tunnels. Was he perhaps hurt?

“It must be a bird.” Graham said after a moment. “That’s what it sounds like, anyway. It might be lost in the tunnels and calling for its flock.”

That reassured Optimus. Now that he stopped to think, the cry HAD sounded more animal than human.

“Should we go help?” Boulder asked, clearly concerned.

“No.” Chief Burns said after a moment. “Let’s give it a bit. It might get out on it’s own. If it’s still crying like that in an hour, then we can help.”

“Got it, dad.” Graham agreed, and then he and his partner were returning to their previous task.

The other Bots and humans soon followed suit. Optimus was left staring at the tunnel entrance, lips twisted in a frown. Something was tugging at his processor. That call had definitely been animal in nature. But it had also sounded just faintly mechanical. His audials had barely even picked up on that aspect of the eerie wail, but he had heard it, he was certain of that.

The buzzing of the comm. system tore him from his thoughts. It was Cody.

“Uh, Dad? Guys?”

Chief Burns was answering in less than a minute. “We’re here, Cody. What is it? Do you need help?”

“No. Well, kind of. I don’t need help, but I found someone who might.”

Kade scoffed. “What, is a lost bird flying around in a panic? Just try and scare it back towards the entrance, it’ll be fine. We heard that call, I’m sure it was just calling for its friends.”

“Um, no.” Cody was blunt. “It’s not a bird. Not an Earth one, anyway.”

“Can you repeat that, son?”

“It’s not an Earth bird. I think it’s Cybertronian. And it looks like it’s hurt pretty bad.”

Optimus froze. A Cybertronian bird. That wasn’t possible. The only types of Cybertronian avians he knew of were Cassettes.

“Cody.” he cut in. “What color is it? Is it red and black?”

“No, Optimus. It’s black and…brown, I think? It’s really dirty. I can’t see what the other color is very clearly. It might not be brown.”

Not Laserbeak, then. But he didn’t know of any brown and black avian Cassette. Maybe one had escaped Cybertron on its own? It was extremely unlikely, but he supposed it wasn’t impossible. Cassettes were perfectly capable and intelligent.

“Oh, wait. I have a towel in my pack. I can see if I can clean some of the dirt.”

“Why do you have a towel in your bag?” Kade snarked. “You were just exploring the caves.”

“Sure, but I wanted to go to the beach right after. Hang on, I almost got it…” there was a pause. “There. It’s black and yellow. It’s still hard to tell because the grime is really caked in and the paint is old and fading, but I think the other color is yellow.”

Optimus froze. Black and yellow. But how? Buzzsaw had been lost on Centauri-12. Except…that wasn’t quite right either. He vaguely remembered a report that Jazz had found the Cassette stowing away on the Ark after the Autobots had left that planet, but that he’d been chased off before he could be captured when they’d been near a space docks. Had the little avian really survived on his own so long? It seemed almost ludicrous to even think it, yet he knew there was only one black and yellow Cybertronian bird who had left Cybertron.

“Hold on, Cody. I believe I may know who that is. Tell me, is he awake?”

“It’s a him? And no. I’m almost not sure if he’s even still…” Cody trailed off, but Optimus understood.

“I see. Stay where you are. I am coming now. And be wary. If I am correct, then that is Buzzsaw. He is a formidable foe, and if he wakes you must stay away from him.”

“Alright. I’ll be here.” the boy agreed, the the comm. cut off with a click.

“Wait, foe? Is this one of those Decepticons you mentioned, Optimus?” Chief Burns asked.

“He is indeed.” The Prime informed him.

“Then why should we help?” Kade asked. “If he’s one of the bad guys, shouldn’t we leave him there?”

“No.” Heatwave stood, crossing his arms. Glancing around, Optimus could see the same resolve the fire truck was showing in the rest of the Rescue Bots. “‘Con or not, we aren’t leaving him. We’re Rescue Bots, we save anyone who needs it, regardless of who they are. If you won’t help, we’ll do it on our own.”

“You are correct, Heatwave. It would be wrong to leave Buzzsaw to perish.” Optimus agreed. He looked down at the humans. “If he is truly as injured as Cody says, then he will be of little threat. So long as you are wary, he will likely be unable to cause you harm.”

“Are you certain, Optimus?” Chase asked.

“Yes. Buzzsaw is a Cassette. He is far smaller than any of you. He is also very young. I believe that he is the equivalent of a human teenager, if my memory is not mistaken.” The Prime soothed.

That was clearly the key to convince the Chief. “Go.” the human said. “If we can help, we will. It wouldn’t be right to leave him there.”

Optimus nodded, and then folded down into his alt-mode and drove. He had not told the humans, but he was certain that the call they had heard earlier had in fact been Buzzsaw himself. He had not wanted to mention it, to avoid distressing the others too much. But he was certain of it now.

That haunting cry hadn’t been a call for help, it had been a death song.

——————————

Optimus pulled up alongside Cody, shifting to root mood as his optics found the still form lying limp on the ground. Primus, it really was Buzzsaw. He crouched down, one large hand slipping under the too-light form of the downed Cassette. This wasn’t right. Cassettes were smaller and not as heavily armored as a normal mech, but the avian shouldn’t be this light. Looking at him now, the Prime was starting to realize that Buzzsaw had likely been on his own and in a state of gradual starvation ever since Centauri-12.

“Optimus? Is he going to be okay?” It was Cody, and the boy was frowning up at him.

He hesitated, then folded into his alt-mode, carefully ensuring that Buzzsaw ended up in his cab. He opened his door, letting the human climb in, and then he was driving back to the bunker. He was silent for a lone moment before he finally spoke.

“I will not lie, Cody Burns. Buzzsaw’s status is…not promising.” he said after a moment.

There was silence as he drove, and then-

“You said he was a foe. Does that mean he’s a Decepticon?”

“Yes.” He answered simply.

There was more silence.

“Optimus?”

“Yes?”

“Why did the Decepticons start the War?”

Optimus was silent for a long moment. The boy truly was perceptive. But how could he answer that?

“Cybertron…was not kind to all its children.” he said after a long moment. “There were many policies in place that kept those of high status in power, and left those of lower social classes struggling.” There. That should be a simple enough explanation.

“And the Decepticons were those lower class bots?”

“Many of them, yes.” Optimus paused. “You must understand, Cody. Cybertron was not the utopia some of my Autobots may believe it was. There were many who suffered greatly. However, while the Decepticons may have risen from a just cause, that does not justify the depths they have since fallen to.”

Cody hummed. “I get it.” he said softly.

Optimus relaxed. Good. He didn’t want to lie to Cody, but he didn’t want to boy to think that the Decepticons were harmless. He feared that if that were the case, the young human may do something foolish in the future. No, it was better he understood the War for what it was.

“Optimus?”

“Yes?”

“What’s going to happen to Buzzsaw?”

Ah. “I…do not know. If he is able to recover, I cannot allow him to go free. It would cause immense trouble for my team and my Autobots if he were to rejoin his Master.” he sighed.

“Master?”

“Buzzsaw is a Cassette. They do not often live their lives independently.”

“Why?”

“…perhaps that is a detail best explained with all the others.”

“Okay.” Cody tilted his head. “So you can’t let him go. Can you take him with you?”

Optimus winced. “That would not be wise. I am afraid my team would not understand. I am all too willing to give Buzzsaw a chance, but if I were to bring him to my base I fear the others would argue in favor of his…deactivation.”

“Deactivation.” A pause. “You mean they’d want to kill him.” he whispered.

“The Decepticons have caused my mechs a great deal of pain, Cody.” Optimus said softly. “They would not do it to be cruel, but I know there would be more than one among them who would believe such action justified. An eye for an eye, as the earth saying goes.”

“It doesn’t make it right.”

“No.” Optimus agreed. “But it is War, and those who suffer the effects of it long enough do not enough grasp right from wrong any longer, only what hurts have been inflicted and how best to return them.”

“It’s a cycle.” Cody said sadly.

“A cruel, bitter one.”

Optimus could see the light of the bunker up ahead. He drove towards it in silence, spark heavy.

“Optimus?”

“Yes?”

“Do you think…Buzzsaw could stay here? On Griffin Rock, I mean. Maybe I could help him. The team too. He looks like he’s been on his own a long time. At least, I think he has been. If he has a “Master” like you said, I don’t think they’d let him get this bad off.” There was a pause. “Maybe he’s tired enough to not want to go back to the War? It’s worth a try, right? I want to help him.”

And Optimus, for the first time since he realized who the downed Cybertronian was, felt the faintest stirrings of hope.

——————————

Buzzsaw was resting. Blades had prepared a large crate on which to treat the injured Cassette, and as soon as Optimus had released the avian the small copter bot was scanning him and bustling around to repair him. He’d gotten an energon line started already, and currently his digits were transformed into the medical tools he needed to repair the damage to the Cassette’s internals and armor. As Blades worked, Optimus shared everything he had told Cody in the tunnel with the others.

“So he can’t go with you because your team might kill him, and you can’t let him go because he’d go back to his Master and cause trouble for your team.” Heatwave sighed. “I suppose that means his Host is here on Earth?”

“Soundwave is here, yes.” Optimus hummed. “He is Megatron’s Third in Command and Chief Communications Officer.”

“Ah, yes. I can see how that would cause issues if such a mech were to regain access to his Cassette.” Chase said.

“Cassette.” Cody said slowly. “You called him that in the tunnel too. It’s important. Why?”

Optimus hummed. “First, you must understand that Cybertronians are divided by our frame-types. There are flight frames, and among them you have Helios, Jets, Shuttles, and Seekers. Among the ground frames, there are cars, two-wheelers, trucks, and even more. There are even aquatic frames, though they are few and far between. Beyond them, you have triple-changers, bots who naturally have two alt-forms rather than one. There are also those with non-vehicular alt-modes. And finally, you also have mini-bots, and alongside them there are Cassettes.”

The humans were staring, focused intently on the overly simplified lesson. The Rescue Bots didn’t pay it much mind, however.

“Among all those frame-types, barring Cassettes, it was not uncommon on for some bots to have additional abilities on top of the normal abilities granted to them by their frames. Host mech are one such example. They can be any frame-type, but they are set apart because of their ability to bind their sparks to those of Cassettes in order to form a symbiotic bond.”

Cody blinked. “What do they each get out of the bond?”

“The Cassettes gain protection. Cassettes were…not a well-regarded class. They were found on the streets or in the wilds, and often forced to struggle for their very survival. Most Cybertronians viewed them as simple-minded or feral. They were not thought of as having much intelligence, or even sentience.” Optimus forced himself to continue at the disturbed looks the humans wore. “So for Cassettes, a bond with a Host was a chance at safety. They relinquished their freedom to their Host, and in return they would be given fuel, shelter, care, and above all else, safety. In return, the Hosts received the obedience of their Cassettes, and the Cassettes would help them with any task, function, or job they required.”

Cody was sitting next to Buzzsaw, and the Prime saw him extend a hand to lay it on the avian’s head. “That…that doesn’t sound very fair, Optimus.”

“Perhaps.” he agreed. “But most Hosts treated their Cassettes well and were very fond of them. Such a bond was necessary for many. Cassettes get their name because they do not have an alt-mode capable of movement. Their alt-mode is always a cassette tape or something else very similar. When the bond is formed, a Cassette gains the ability to dock within the armor of their Host while they are in their alt-mode. It is an added degree of safety.”

Chief Burns hummed. “I think I get it. The important bits, anyway. The cultural stuff…” He trailed off. “That I have a harder time wrapping my head around, but I get why our guest being a Cassette matters.”

“Oh?” Optimus had little doubt he did. The Chief was an intelligent man.

“He’s going to want to return to his Host. Because Soundwave is synonymous with safety for him, right?”

“That is likely.” Optimus agreed.

“But you said Hosts usually care a lot about their Cassettes. If that’s true, how did Buzzsaw get like this?” Cody cut in.

The Prime tilted his head. “The last reports of Buzzsaw’s location are many years old. He was last seen on an uninhabited planet that briefly became a battlefield for the War. The Decepticons fled, and the last reports on Buzzsaw are from after Megatron took his army off Centauri-12. It is likely the damage he sustained is a result of him being on his own.”

“So he might have been abandoned?”

“That…seems the most likely scenario, yes. Though Soundwave’s fondness for his Cassettes has always been well known, so I am at a loss as to why he would be left behind thus.”

“Does it matter why?” Cody asked.

“What are you thinking, little brother?” Dani sounded amused.

“If Soundwave abandoned Buzzsaw when he was supposed to be caring for him, then would Buzzsaw really want to go back?”

Optimus reset his optics, startled. “I…had not considered that.” he said after a moment. “I do not know. That is something you will have to ask him yourself.”

Cody perked up. “So you think he would benefit from staying, then?”

Optimus turned to Chief Burns. “If your father agrees, then yes, I do believe so. I have seen the effect you have on bots, young Cody. I believe you can soften even the hardest of sparks. If you are willing to put forth the effort, then there is a chance that you maybe able to help Buzzsaw.”

Chief Burns crossed his arms. “Will he be dangerous in any way?”

Optimus turned to the copter bot still treating the avian. “Blades. Can you disable his weapons systems and battle protocols?”

“Already did.” The young bot sounded distracted. “I disconnected his turbines and anti-gravs too, so he won’t be able to fly. Though I don’t recommend keeping that second part a thing for long. He’s a avian, he needs flight as much as any other flyer.”

Optimus nodded, then turned back to the oldest human. “With those measures in place, I believe that he will be a minimal threat. If he turns out to be a greater risk than you are willing to take, you can always call me.”

Chief Burns considered it, then nodded. “Alright. He can stay. It’s only right to give him the chance.”

Kade frowned. “Is that really so smart? Optimus said it himself! He’s one of the bad guys!”

“But how much choice did he have, if he fought the War his Host joined?” Graham asked.

“Does it matter? The ‘Cons still hurt people!”

“Our War is not so black and white, Kade Burns.” Optimus warned.

“So some political policies and social perceptions sucked! That’s bad, but is it really a reason to start a war?” Kade demanded.

“The Senate used ritual disfigurement as a punishment.” Blades’s voice carried over, sounding distracted.

All heads snapped to him. Kade gaped, and the other humans looked horrified. Privately, Optimus winced. Perhaps that wasn’t the nicest detail to share, but it was too late now.

“What?” Kade sputtered.

“The Senate were the political rulers of Cybertron. They controlled pretty much everything.” Blades mumbled, still focused mostly on Buzzsaw. “When a bot went against them, even in a minor way, they’d use punishment called empurata that involved surgically removing the bot’s face and hands and replacing them with one large optic and a pair of claws.”

Kade swallowed. “Okay. So it was really, really bad. I guess I was wrong.” he said, sounding too sick to care that he’d just admitted to being wrong.

The other humans also looked horrified. Cody looked like his entire worldview had been shaken.

“Cybertron was not kind to all its children, before the War.” Optimus said quietly. “The Decepticons were more than justified in rising up to fight for their freedom. But they took things too far, and now their original cause has long been lost.”

Chief Burns was the first to recover. “That’s often the case, with wars.”

Optimus nodded solemnly.

“We’ll take care of Buzzsaw.” Cody’s voice carried over. Despite how horrified he’d seemed earlier, now he just looked determined. “We’ll show him there’s good in the world. Maybe he doesn’t want to fight anymore. I want to help him.”

The Prime smiled, them dipped his helm. “And so you shall.” he agreed. “When he wakes, tell him that I am leaving him here. I recommend you tell him that Soundwave is on this planet. If you withhold the information, and manage to befriend him, then he may feel betrayed if he learns you hid the fact from him and return to Soundwave on his own.” he warned.

Cody nodded. “I’ll tell him.”

Optimus hummed. “We cannot set him free at this moment. But if you feel it is right, you may also tell him that his other option is that he will remain a prisoner in the Autobot base, but that in that scenario I will have difficulty guaranteeing his safety.” he warned.

Cody tilted his chin up, clearly displeased. “That won’t happen.”

The large bot chuckled. “I hope you are right, Cody Burns.” he nodded at the other humans, flaring his field in a good-bye to the Rescue Bots, and then he was folding into his alt-mode and driving out through the tunnels. He’d get the mainland and call for a ground bridge from there.

He truly hoped Buzzsaw could find happiness. Primus knew the Cassette had earned it.

——————————

Awareness came to him slowly. At first, Buzzsaw was confused. He was fairly certain he’d slipped into emergency stasis. He hadn’t onlined his optics yet, but the messages blinking across his HUD didn’t help his confusion.

Fuel Level: 37%

Warning: Low energon

Movement not recommended

Energy Level: 12%

Warning: Energy rerouted to essential systems

Cause of Energy Drain: Starvation and damage

Recovery time necessary

Internal Communication System: Disabled

Sensor Array: Offline

External Spacial Sensors: Online

Transformation Cog: Offline

Weapons Systems: Disabled

Battle Protocols: Disabled

Self-Repair: Online

Fuel System: Online

Wing Turbines: Disabled

Anti-Gravs: Disabled

Warning: Unknown medical access to internal systems detected

Warning: Unauthorized medical access to combat systems and flight capabilities detected

Self Diagnostic Report: Severe damage and starvation

Low Fuel: Addressed

Armor Integrity: 49%

Fuel Pump: Functional

Fuel Tanks: Shrunken, functional

Intake: Minor rust detected, addressed

Fuel Lines: Damaged, patched

Wires: Damaged, patched

Conclusion: Frame in need of full recovery

Rest recommended

Strenuous activity not recommended

Warning: Presence of unknown Cybertronian and unknown organic life forms detected in proximity.

Well. That last warning certainly warranted some degree of alarm. Red optics snapped online and the avian lifted his helm. His gaze immediately found the aforementioned Cybertronian. It was a small orange and white copter bot, and immediately clear was the Autobot insignia on his chest. For a moment, Buzzsaw tense, his vocalizer releasing a sound halfway between a screech and a growl. He made to stand, to fight off the perceived threat, when the bot pressed him down with a hand between his wings.

“Easy, easy. You’re okay.” He soothed. “My name is Blades, of Rescue Team Sigma-17. You’re on a planet called Earth. My team and I just want to help you.”

His words made Buzzsaw pause and take another look. Huh. That was right. The badge on his chest wasn’t the Autobrand after all. But how? He was fairly certain that Megatron had destroyed the Rescue Force and killed all its Teams. How had this lone team survived? He cocked his head sharply, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“You’re Buzzsaw, right? Optimus Prime was here earlier. He told us about you.”

Well. There went his hopes of his Decepticon status going unknown. And the Prime was here, on this planet? That meant Megatron was doubtless here as well. But who else was?

Blades shifted under his gaze, then sighed. “Just stay still, okay? I patched up what I could. Now your self-repair needs to handle the rest. You need to rest if you want to recover.” He made to leave, then paused. “Also, Optimus told us to tell you your options. You’re on an island called Griffin Rock. You can stay here and stay out of the War, or he can return and keep you prisoner in his base. He said if you go with the second option he’d have a difficult time guaranteeing your safety.” Buzzsaw could see that the small mech was clearly uncomfortable with that last series of statements. He didn’t seem fond of the idea of violence or what amounted to keeping someone against their will.

After another beat, the bot nodded at someone else in the room. Buzzsaw snapped his helm in that direction and saw a small organic. He heard Blades leave, and then the organic was looking up at him. The small creature beamed, and them he was climbing up onto the crate that the avian found himself confined to.

“Hi! I’m the one who found you. My name is Cody.”

Buzzsaw stared, optics narrowed.

“I’m sorry about your choices here, I know they aren’t the best. Optimus doesn’t want you going back to Soundwave though.”

That made him freeze and perk up. Soundwave was on this planet too? A part of him was excited and wanted to seek out his Host. He remembered the kindness, the affection, the gentle treatment. He remembered the safety and security that had come from being bound to the spymaster.

He also remembered the abandonment. Remembered the years of fear and pain and hunger that had followed. Remembered the loss and betrayal, the desperation that his Host would return only to be forced to come to terms with the fact he’d been cast aside.

Buzzsaw clacked his beak, then looked away and forced down the sad coo that wanted to escape him. He felt something on his armor, and looked over to see the organic–Cody–pressing a small, soft hand to the plating of his neck.

“He left you, didn’t he? Optimus told us a little bit about Hosts and Cassettes, and about Centauri-12. You got like this because your Host left you.”

Buzzsaw stared, not knowing how to respond. A part of him, the part that was vicious and angry, wanted to rip off the organic’s limb. The larger part of him was just tired, though. After a long moment of staring, the avian sagged, optics dimming. What was the harm in telling this organic anyway? It wasn’t like he was really a Decepticon anymore. Not really. It also wasn’t like Cody would be able to cause him much harm, anyway.

He nodded, his beak clacking and his wings rustling as he let out a gust of air from his vents. That hand hadn’t left his neck, and it moved to stroke up and down the plating.

“I’m sorry.” Cody said softly. “No one deserves to be abandoned by their family.”

Buzzsaw stared for a moment. The organic had said they’d only been told a little bit about Hosts and Cassettes, yet it seemed he already understood the bond was fairly deep. Either he’d been told more than he let on, or he was just very perceptive. Either way, a part of Buzzsaw couldn’t help but be grateful for the understanding.

He knew he should be lashing out and trying to fight. But what was the point? His weapons systems and battle protocols were disabled, he couldn’t fly, he couldn’t walk, and his fuel levels were too low for him to have the energy to do anything significant. Even without all that, he was just tired of fighting. True, he’d always enjoyed a good, honest fight, but he’d only ever used his more excessive forms of violence because that was what had been demanded of him. He’d had to be violent to survive the wilds before Soundwave, and after he’d had to be violent to fight for his new Host. But he hadn’t wanted life as a fighter, as a soldier. And now, confronted with everything he’d learned, and the last few years of his abandonment…he was tired. He didn’t want to fight this organic. He just wanted rest. He could figure out everything else later.

Besides, the gentle contact didn’t feel so bad. It wasn’t heavy enough to hurt, and it was more reminiscent of the preening he’d used to do with his sister. His optics dimmed, and he let his head come to lay on the crate. Cody didn’t seem offended at his lack of responsiveness. Instead, he felt that small hand move up to stroke over the top of his helm.

“Get some rest, Buzzsaw. I’ll be here when you wake up. I want to help you get better.” the small organic murmured.

Buzzsaw didn’t know what to do with that sentiment. A part of him scoffed at the weakness of it. The other part was too tired and beaten down to care. He released another heavy vent of air, and let his optics slip offline. Moments later, he was slipping into recharge, even the brief moment of consciousness having drained what little energy he had.

——————————

Cody was indeed there when he woke up. It was only for a few moments though, because then the organic had to go to school. Apparently, this planet also has educational institutions. Buzzsaw didn’t have much of an opinion on that. While he was gone, the rest of the Rescue Bots introduced themselves, as did their own organic partners, and he was informed that the organics were called “humans”. Again, Buzzsaw didn’t particularly care. It was useful information, he supposed.

The others left him to himself throughout the day, except for the brief moment when Blades came to remove the energon line feeding fuel into his frame and replace it with a small cube of energon that was set in front of him. After that, he was left alone. Perhaps they sensed his mood, perhaps they were busy, perhaps they didn’t want to talk to him. He didn’t particularly care. It did give him time to think on his situation, though. Obviously, they wouldn’t let him go free. Even if he did promise to not return to Soundwave, he knew he would have difficulty hiding here. Since, apparently, it was very important that the human race didn’t learn about the Cybertronian presence on their planet. One would think they’d have figured it out when the alien war came to earth, but he wouldn’t question it. Still, it meant he couldn’t just be let loose on his own.

He also refused to be an Autobot prisoner. As for returning to his Host…he was torn. A part of him wanted to. But the larger part of him was still hurt. And after his distance from the Decepticons…he wasn’t sure he wanted to return to the faction itself. Pits, he didn’t even have his brand anymore. He’d come across a Neutral medic sometime after Centauri-12, and he’d offered up his services to locate energon in return for the medic’s services to remove the brand. It had been a thin sheet of metal painted purple and welded to his chest, so it had required the aid of a medic to remove without damaging his armor. But it had been done, and then they’d gone their separate ways. He hadn’t worn the Decepticon badge in years.

So where did that leave him? He couldn’t escape in his state, but even when he recovered, what then? What was there for him on this little island? What was there for him on this planet itself? Would it be worth staying?

He must have drifted into recharge at some point, because he was startled awake by Cody’s loud greeting to the others. He jerked, optics flashing on as he lifted his helm. The human blinked when he came around the corner, then smiled.

“Buzzsaw! You’re up!” he called out. He walked over, pulling himself up onto the crate beside the avian. “So, I had an idea! Blades told me you don’t have to be hooked up to anything anymore, and I noticed how your armor seems pretty dirty, so I was wondering if you’d like to get clean?”

Buzzsaw blinked at him. The human gestured to the corner, and he looked over to see a large tub and a bucket that hadn’t been there before. There were rags in the bucket.

“Boulder offered to help. I figured you might feel better if you can get the grime off?” He offered.

He stared for a moment, and then he dipped his head in a nod.

Cody grinned. “Great! I’ll get Boulder. I have to change clothes really quick.”

Buzzsaw cocked his head sharply at that. Clothes?

Cody interpreted the curious gesture for what it was. “Clothes are what humans wear!” he plucked at the colorful things clinging to his frame. “We don’t have metal armor like you guys, and we don’t need it, but we wear clothes to cover ourselves because it’s not considered decent to go without them.” He tapped his chin. “Chase once told me it would be like if a Cybertronian went around without any armor at all.”

Buzzsaw jerked his head back, optics shuttering. Ah. That, he understood. So human had their own version of a protoform underneath their clothing. He did not want to see a fully bare fleshy protoform, thank you very much. He lowered his helm, bumping his beak into Cody’s back to encourage him to go. The boy laughed, then jumped off the crate and trotted away.

A moment later, Boulder came around and smiled at him. “Hey, Buzzsaw. Cody said you accepted our offer to help you clean?” He nodded at the tub. “Is it okay if I carry you there? You shouldn’t be putting weight on your leg.”

Buzzsaw grumbled, but after a moment he nodded. He didn’t exactly want to be carried like a helpless sparkling, but he couldn’t get there on his own. Not in his state. Boulder paid no mind to his grumbles, and instead stepped forward to slip a large hand underneath his frame. The avian was lifted up, then carefully cradled in gentle hands. He was brought to the tub, then lowered into the liquid that filled it. He cooed in pleasure upon realizing it was warm, frame relaxing every so slightly.

Cody chose that moment to return, his lower half covered in something very colorful and the rest of his form bare. He climbed into the tub with Buzzsaw, then dragged the bucket in after himself. On the outside of the tub, Boulder grabbed a larger rag and dipped it into the liquid in the tub.

“Is the water okay? Not too hot?” Cody asked.

Oh, right. This was water. He recognized it now. Other planets had it too. He nodded, watching the Rescue Bot soak the rag in the warm water and hold it out towards him.

“Boulder is going to take care of your armor, and I thought I’d use my smaller size to get in between everything and get all the dust and muck out from your armor seams?” Cody suggested.

Buzzsaw stared for a long moment. That was…rather intimate. But he also hadn’t been able to have such an in depth cleaning since before Centauri-12. He could feel the dirt and grim in between and underneath his armor plates. Even if he didn’t trust these people, he did trust they wouldn’t hurt him. They’d have done so already if they were going to hurt him at all. He could bear some rather intimate grooming if it meant getting clean. He nodded.

Cody beamed, and then Buzzsaw felt the gentle pressure of Boulder wiping off the surface of his armor. While the bot worked at that, Cody chose a rag from the bucket that Buzzsaw now saw was full of cleaning cloths and brushes. The human soaked it in the water, then lifted it and started wiping it along the edges of his armor plates. The avian let himself relax into the warmth of the water, optics slipping offline. He didn’t know what to make of his situation, and he wasn’t sure he liked being forced to stay, but for now he’d enjoy the moment of comfort.

He didn’t realize when he slipped into a state of half-recharge. He was barely aware as the bath finished, and then Boulder transferred him to a large towel which was used to dry him off. Cody went to get blankets while Boulder did so, using the soft fabrics to make a comfier “nest” on the crate that Buzzsaw was returned to a moment later. The avian cooed as he was set into the soft nest, optics offlining fully as he rested his head in the fabrics.

Clean, warm, and comfortable for the first time in years, it didn’t take him long to slip into the most peaceful rest he’d had since he’d lost his flock.

——————————

A few days passed in much the same pattern. Cody would go to school, Buzzsaw would be left alone, and then the boy would return and spend the rest of the day talking with him. The avian never responded, content to listen and learn all he could about this world and the species that dominated it. Things fell into a routine, and he came to be comfortable in it. He even stopped minding the way Cody would touch him and stroke his plating as he talked.

And then the routine changed. Cody came to him after school one day and told him he wanted to have a “movie night”. Apparently, he believed that showing Buzzsaw human entertainment would be a good way for the Cassette to learn about human culture. The avian made no protest. Cody talked to him for the afternoon, then went to have his nightly meal with his family. After that though, he returned for the “movie night”, enlisting the aid of Boulder to move Buzzsaw’s crate in front of a large vid screen.

Cody then joined him on top of the crate, settling into the nest of blankets and wrapping himself in one of his own. He was dressed in clothing that he informed Buzzsaw was called “pajamas”. Then, the movie started and the avian let himself be distracted story unfolding on the screen.

The movie was about two humans under a curse, one who turned into a creature called a wolf by the day and the other who turned into a hawk by night. It was a fairly simple story, and while Buzzsaw certainly found some of the attitudes of the characters to be irritatingly soft he could understand the appeal. He might even say he enjoyed the movie. It was fun. Maybe human entertainment wasn’t as bad as he thought.

And then Cody put on a movie that he said was “animated”, and Buzzsaw was very quickly insulted. The movie was about living cars, except they had no other form to transform into. The main character was a cocky, irritating fool, the tow-truck was the most annoying creature he’d ever been forced to watch, and the mentor was a smug, pompous aft. Buzzsaw hated every character in the movie. If that wasn’t enough, even the setting was insulting.

“What the frag.” he hissed. “How is this garbage supposed to be entertaining? There’s no way those insufferable creatures would have successfully built a civilization. They lack any appendages that would allow them to hold, build, or invent anything. Temporary gripping attachments don’t count, those lack dexterity. Primus, those things would have all died out within the first few generations of their species existence. They certainly should have.”

The movie was paused, and Buzzsaw turned his help to Cody to find the reason. He saw the human grinning brightly, looking thrilled. His plating bristled, and he narrowed his optics.

“What.” he snapped.

“You finally talked.” Cody was beaming.

Buzzsaw shuttered his optics, tilting his helm. Ah. So he had. “Did you think I couldn’t?” he demanded.

“No.” Cody shook his head, smiling. “I knew you could. I didn’t want to push to make you talk to me before you were ready though.”

The avian paused, staring uncomprehendingly. That meant that Cody hadn’t actually thought of him as a simple minded beast. He’d known Buzzsaw was more than that. And he hadn’t tried to force his will on him to make him speak before he wanted to. He had been content to wait. Seemingly as long as he needed to, if Buzzsaw understood the subtext of this conversation correctly.

“Why?” he asked wearily.

“You deserve to be treated with respect.” Cody said seriously. “Just because you look like a bird and don’t have a vehicle mode doesn’t mean you aren’t deserving of being treated like an individual with your own thoughts and feelings. It would have been wrong to push my own wants on you. I want to help you get better. That means going at your pace.”

Buzzsaw twitched. “Many Cybertronians would not agree with you. They would argue I am little more than a beast and thus deserve to be treated as one.” he paused. “My pace?”

“Then it’s a good thing we aren’t on Cybertron, isn’t it?” Cody pointed out. “And yeah. Your pace. I want to help you recover from the things you’ve experienced and discover your own path, discover the things you want to do and the life you want to live. But I know that sort of recovery won’t be immediate, and it may not even be as fast as I want it to be. But that doesn’t matter, because it’s your recovery, not mine. So we go at your pace.”

Buzzsaw stared at the organic for a long moment. “…I don’t understand you.” he said.

Cody smiled. “That’s alright. As long as you understand I want to help.”

He stared for a beat longer, then grumbled and turned back to the movie. He needed to process this. Cody seemed to understand he was done talking, because the infernal movie started up again. Buzzsaw wasn’t paying attention, though. Instead, he was lost in thought, turning over the things he’d learned.

He didn’t notice as the movie ended, and another one started. He did feel it, however, when halfway through the next move is a slight weight settled against his side. He looked down to see Cody had fallen into his own recharge and had slumped against Buzzsaw’s side in the process. The avian didn’t move to wake him. He stared at the slumbering human for a long beat, then heaved a sigh and lowered his helm to rest it on the lip of his makeshift nest. He refocused his optics on the bid screen, paying half attention to the new movie playing. It was something about singing cats. Buzzsaw wouldn’t pretend to understand.

He relaxed, Cody’s warmth curled against his side, and his optics dimming slowly as recharge crept up on him. By the time the movie ended, it had claimed him completely, and he and his odd little companion both slept on peacefully as the credits rolled.

Neither of them woke as Chief Burns came down to retrieve Cody. He paused when he saw the scene, and he turned off the TV, dimmed the lights, and left the sleeping pair to their rest.

As Buzzsaw slept on, his hardened spark cracked just a little. Maybe there was hope for him after all.

——————————

Buzzsaw was watching Cody. He did that a lot as of late. The little human still talked to him a lot, though the avian didn’t always talk back. Most of the time he was content to listen. In the past few days, he’d learned a lot about the odd little organic. In that time, his legs had also fully healed, and his nest had been moved to the floor and tucked into a corner of the bunker so he could maneuver on his own. His wing was still injured, but even if it wasn’t his turbines and anti-gravs were still disabled.

Right now, Cody was quiet. The boy was sitting on a box a bit away from his nest, working one something he’d called “homework”. Judging by the frustrated expression he wore, he was having some degree of difficulty. His curiosity piqued, Buzzsaw stood and stepped out of his nest, walking over to see what the human was working on. He sidled up behind him, tilting his helm to peer over his shoulder.

Oh. It was math. Buzzsaw could work with this.

“You’re missing a two.” he grunted.

Cody paused. “What?” he asked, turning to look at the again standing over him.

“You’re missing a two.” he repeated. “In the third problem. You’re missing a two. That’s why the first part of your answer isn’t matching up with the second.”

Cody blinked, then turned back and looked over his work. He made a noise of triumph, perking up and correcting his work. Then he returned his attention to the Cassette.

“Thanks, Buzzsaw!”

He only grunted, helm cocking sharply.

Cody smiled, used to his non-verbal communication by now.

“So you know some math?” he asked.

“Sure.” he Buzzsaw grunted, folding his legs and settling down. “Laserbeak and I never received a formal education; Cassettes weren’t allowed to. But Soundwave taught us some things after he bound us to him. He wanted us to have a greater knowledge of a variety of fields.”

“Laserbeak? Is that another Cassette?”

“Yes.” Buzzsaw paused, his optics dimming. “My sister. My twin, actually.”

Cody sat up, eyes wide. “You guys can have siblings?”

“Yes. It’s a rare occurrence, but it happens. Though Soundwave did have another set of Cassette twins besides us, too.”

The human stared, then seemed to realize something. “She’s…gone, isn’t she?”

“No.” he huffed. “If she was, I would have felt her loss in my spark. But she left me when Soundwave did. I cannot entirely blame her. If he told her to leave, she would have had to obey. Still, it does sting.” Buzzsaw admitted, unable to keep the bitterness from his voice.

“I’m sorry.”

And Buzzsaw didn’t understand, but the human did seem genuinely upset on his behalf. He sighed, shaking his helm to get rid of the memories.

“It’s whatever.” he grunted. “It happened. I can’t change it. Gotta live with it.”

“You miss her.”

Buzzsaw froze, his optics snapping on to the human. He stared, then couldn’t stop himself from slumping. “I so. I miss all of them. Primus help me, but I really do miss them.” he hissed, hating himself for it.

Cody put a hand on his chest. “I’m sorry they left you. You didn’t deserve it.”

He went still, then jerked his gaze away and focused on the paper. “Yeah. I suppose. But you have work to finish, don’t you? I can help.”

He seemed to understand that the avian was done with that topic of conversation, because the human dropped his hand and nodded, returning his own attention to the paper. “Sure. Thanks!”

Buzzsaw scoffed. “Don’t thank me yet. Now, let me see those problems. Tell me how you think you need to solve them, I’ll say something if your approach needs an adjustment.”

——————————

Buzzsaw was alone when he woke up. That struck him as odd, especially since his chronometer cheerfully blinked up on his HUD to inform him that it was only midday. He’d checked twice. He dismissed the notice with a grumble, hopping out of his nest and wandering around the bunker. His wings were folded away, the damaged one finally having fully healed the day before. It was a relief to be able to relax it fully now.

He looked around, sending out a ping of his sensors, and picked up the signals of the Rescue Bots above him. He walked over to the large pad they used as an elevator, tapping the console with his beak and letting the platform lift him up. As soon as it stopped, he was walking out of the open doors of the building he’d been informed was called a “firehouse”. He picked up on some unidentifiable noises, following them to what ended up being a court for some sort of ball game. The Burns family and the Rescue Bots were all playing. After a moment of observation, Buzzsaw realized the objective of the game was to get the small ball into the small hoop that the opposite team was guarding. It reminded him just a little bit of Cube.

He made his way over to where a bench was sitting to the side of the court, hopping up onto it. It was just low enough he could manage that much without his wings. Then he turned his attention back to the game, watching curiously as the ball was tossed around. After a few minutes, a stray toss sent it in his direction. Buzzsaw tilted his helm up, catching the ball on the tip of his beak and bouncing it once, then he tipped his head, letting it roll to the top of his beak before he tossed his head to send the ball back towards the others.

Blades caught it, smiling when he saw the avian. “Good morning, Buzzsaw.” He greeted.

The Cassette nodded, turning his attention to Cody as the boy padded up to him.

“You’re awake!” he smiled. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I didn’t expect you to wake up so soon from your nap.”

“It’s fine.” Buzzsaw dismissed. “What are you playing?”

“Burns Ball! It’s version of a popular earth game we adapted for our own rules!” Cody said brightly. “Do you want to play a game?”

“My legs aren’t as efficient as all of yours and I can’t use my talons to grip when I’m on them.” he answered dryly.

Cody frowned, considering. “What if you could fly?”

“Is that really a good idea?” Kade interrupted.

Cody shrugged, then turned back to the avian. “Are you going to leave if we give you back your flight?”

“Where would I go?” Buzzsaw scoffed. “I refuse to return to the Decepticons, and I’d sooner eat my own thrusters than join the Autobots.”

Cody blinked, then beamed. It as clear he understood what Buzzsaw was really saying. It made him want to groan. He was getting soft. When had he gotten so easy to read? And by a tiny organic, no less.

“You won’t leave.” he translated. Then he turned to Blades. “Can you do it?” he asked hopefully.

Blades hummed, already walking over. “Are you sure?

“I’m sure.” Cody confirmed.

“I’m not going anywhere.” Buzzsaw offered in a low drawl. “Cody wanted to fix me, so now he’s stuck with me.”

Blades and Cody both giggled, but then copter bot got to work. The Cassette didn’t move as his turbines and anti-gravs were reconnected with his main flight system, and then Blades was stepping back.

Buzzsaw stood, wings spreading fully. He crouched, then leapt up and activated his turbines. They roared to life, his anti-gravs clicking on, and he let out a victorious shriek as he flew in a wide circle around the ball court. After another few circles and dives, he glided down to land next to Cody.

“So.” he hummed. “How about a ride?”

Cody jerked in surprise, and grinned. “Seriously?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, I lack hands. I have no way of holding on to the ball, and my talons and beak would pop it.” he sniffed. “You’d be doing me a favor, honestly.

“Noble!” Cody breathed.

Buzzsaw had learned what Cody meant with that odd phrase in the last few weeks. He lowered his helm and bent his legs, letting the human clamber in to his back. He had a set of thrusters lower down on his back, but unlike Seekers, Jets, or Shuttles his only served the purpose of granting him a speed boost in the air. He didn’t actually need them to get airborne.

Once Cody was seated securely at the base of his neck, Buzzsaw straightened and took to the air. He circled the court, and with a toss of the ball, the game began.

——————————

The rescue missions weren’t unusual. At least a couple times a week, something happened on the island that required the whole team to mobilize. Most of the time though, it was simple. An earth cat stuck in a tree, a lost hiker, a damaged traffic light. The type of thing that only required one or two of the Rescue Bots to handle. Today, it seemed, would not be one of those times.

It had started out peacefully. The Rescue Bots had been out of the bunker, taking care of various things around the island. Boulder was on a “nature walk” with Blades and their partners. Heatwave was with Kade at the school teaching a fire safety class. Chase and his partner were out on a patrol. Cody had remained behind, and he and Buzzsaw were seated on the couch of the lounge watching what the human had called “cable TV”. Buzzsaw didn’t get the point.

Then the program they’d been watching had been taken over by a news report. There was a massive landslide in the mountain that was threatening to bury the whole town. Immediately, the rescue alarm sounded and Cody was racing to the command center. Buzzsaw stayed where he was, as he usually did when an emergency occurred. On the screen, he watched the chaos unfold. Thankfully, the human reporter was there with his camera to record everything.

It didn’t take long for the Rescue Bots to get to the site. It seemed to be progressing well, from what the again observed. Then Blades flew too low, and a stray rock took out his tail rotor. He was forced to land, and the team lost their aerial view. Blades could still help the team on the ground, but without proper “eyes in the sky” as Cody had called it, they would doubtless miss things.

Buzzsaw didn’t really think before he hopped off the couch. He flew to the lift, tapping the console that raised it, and as soon as he had space he was flying up and out of the firehouse. He flew around to where he knew the command center was, noting that the main window was open. Good. He landed on the ledge, optics locking on the screens Cody was viewing. Yes, things were definitely going badly.

“Just hang on, everyone! I’ve called Optimus, he said he’ll be here as soon as he can!”

“Yo don’t need Prime. You need an aerial view. That’s why you’re missing things.”

Cody whirled around. “Buzzsaw!” he cried out. “That’s not possible. Blades is down and there’s no way he can fly with his tail rotor damaged.”

“I know.” the avian straightened. “I’ll go.”

Cody froze. “Buzzsaw, are you sure?”

Before the Cassette could respond, the comm. burst to life. Clearly the others had heard their discussion.

“There’s no time to debate this! Lives are at stake! Cody, do you trust Buzzsaw?” Chief Burns demanded.

“Yeah, Dad. I do.”

“Then give him a communicator and send him out here. He’s right. We need eyes in the sky.”

Cody looked up at him, then nodded. He dug around a drawer, then walked over to Buzzsaw with a comm. unit in hand. He let it magnetize itself to the side of the avian’s helm, and quickly returned to the command console. Buzzsaw would definitely need the comm. His internal comm. system was still disabled. He didn’t say anything to the human, and instead turned and took to the skies.

It didn’t take him long to reach the disaster site. Immediately, he could see where he was needed.

“Heatwave, around the corner from you there’s a boulder baring down on a human couple.” he said sharply.

The firetruck replied with an acknowledgment and went to take care of it. Buzzsaw didn’t pay any mind. He was already focusing on the next issue that needed addressing.

“Boulder, mud and stone are about to take out those houses behind you.”

The bulldozer quickly went to take care of it, digging a trench in front of the houses to keep them from being hit. Buzzsaw moved on.

“Chase, down the mountain from you there’s a human youngling trying to outrun the landslide.”

The police car was quick to move and save the child. Buzzsaw didn’t pay much more attention after that. He couldn’t afford to. He needed all his focus on finding the smaller emergencies within the larger landslide before they could happen. Cody trusted him. He was the first in many years to do so. Buzzsaw refused to let him down.

The boy had earned his loyalty, though damn him if he didn’t know when. He didn’t intend to disappoint the one who had so much faith that he could be more than what he had been. Failure here wasn’t an option.

It never was.

——————————

By the end of the whole ordeal, Buzzsaw was reeling. He’d been part of a team again, even if only temporarily. It had been…nice. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed it. But now the job was done, and he was on his way back to the firehouse. The others had remained behind to do cleanup work, and apparently Chief Burns would also need to explain his presence to the political leader of the town with an excuse.

He made his way back to the firehouse, his processor starting to calm after the excitement. As he neared, his sensors picked a Cybertronian signal in the courtyard where the basketball court was. It only took a moment to realize who it was. Cody had called in the Prime for help, but that help was no longer needed. That didn’t mean the message had gotten to Prime in time, though.

Sure enough, when the firehouse came into view Buzzzsaw saw Optimus Prime standing in the courtyard. Cody was at his pedes. The avian flew down, alighting on the back of the hoop in front of the larger bot. He would ordinarily have landed next to Cody, but he’d spent too long seeing the Prime as an enemy to put himself on the ground in front of the large mech.

“Buzzsaw.” Prime greeted. “I was told you provided aid to the Rescue Bots.”

Buzzsaw didn’t say anything.

“Tell me, what would you do if you were able to leave?”

“I can.” he snapped. “I’ve got flight. I’ve had it for a while.”

Prime’s lips twitched. “So you have.” he agreed. “Then what are your intentions?”

“Cody decided to get into my business. As far as I’m concerned, he’s stuck with me now, whether he likes it or not.” he scoffed.

Prime’s lips twitched again. Clearly, he had been able to read between the lines to understand what Buzzsaw was saying.

“In that case,” he rumbled. “How would you like to join the Rescue Bots here on Griffin Rock?”

Buzzsaw shuttered his optics. “What.” he deadpanned.

“Would you like to become a Rescue Bot, Buzzsaw?”

“I don’t believe that’s up to me, Prime.” he pointed out. “Or you, for that matter. You don’t lead the team.” he sneered.

“Oh, for Primus’s sake.” Heatwave’s voice came over the comm.

Oh. That was right. Buzzsaw was still hooked into the team’s communications system. The Prime must have opened the previously silent comm. line to Heatewve for at least part of the conversation.

“Choose for yourself, Buzzsaw.” Heatwave continued. “If you want to, we’ll all be happy to have you. You proved to be a good teammate today. No one will have a problem with it. Pit, I’m the one who told Optimus to make the offer before you got there.” Then the comm. clicked off.

“Oh.” Buzzsaw said.

“Indeed.” Prime seemed amused, the fragger. Buzzsaw hoped he got slagged. “What Will it be, then?”

The avian cocked his head sharply. “Ugh.” he made a noise of disgust. “You know what? Fine. The soft idiots need all the help they can get.”

Prime chuckled, then lifted his hand. The armor in his palm shifted, and then a laser was shooting out and hitting Buzzsaw’s chest. There was no pain from it, and he watched as the Rescue Bot badge was put on his armor. The laser stopped, and the Cassette spent a moment staring at the new mark emblazoned on his chestplate.

He looked up when he heard Prime move. “I must leave now, I’m afraid. I am needed elsewhere.” the mech said, inclining his head towards them. Then he walked to the road, folded into his alt-mode, and drove off.

Buzzsaw stared after him, and after a moment he fluttered down to land next to Cody. The human smiled up at him, then lowered his gaze to the new badge on his chest. He lifted a hand to press it over the black lines, looking pleased.

“You’re sure?” he said softly.

Buzzsaw scoffed. “I wouldn’t have agreed if I wasn’t sure. Like I told Prime. You made the decision to get involved with me, so now you’re stuck with me. I’m not leaving, no matter how much you want me to.” he said, his sneer lacking all its usual bite. He paused. “Besides,” he continued, his voice just a notch softer. “You really aren’t all that bad.”

Cody blinked once, then beamed.

Buzzsaw had to look away, feeling almost embarrassed. He hadn’t dared to hope for so many years, but it seemed Primus had deigned to show him kindness after all.

He’d finally found a new roost.

———————————————————————————————————

Well. That’s done! That was long. It took me multiple days to write. But! It’s done!

I had fun with it. Buzzsaw is a grumpy asshole and Cody is very indulgent of his dramatics. And yes, I made him capable of speech. I know he and the Laserbeak can talk in the comics, so.

Also, please excuse my liberal use of headcanons for some of this. Anyway. I hope y’all liked it! I’m sorry it took so long to get out.

Until next time, folks!

[artobotsrollout]

Transformers: Harbingers

The Pirate Scream AU

Before I talk about it you guys are the best thank you for indulging me and my AU from this post xjdjd. ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

@badlydrawntransformers @cosmic0de @warrioroffandoms @measlyfurball13 And a bonus thank you to those encouraging me in the tags as well ❤️

I plan to do art for it as well as accompanying written bits and maybe even an animatic but till then have some general info under the cut.

Also there is transformers: Prime spoilers below so open at your own risk.

TRANSFORMERS: HARBINGERS

So this AU comes from the same place many AUs heavily involving TfP Starscream come from: the unfulfilled potential in our boy Scream. Now deeper discussion of that is not gonna be in this post. It'd be a whole essay.

It also comes from just how salty I was that the Team's kindness never really benefitted them much and they kept getting slapped for it. And OP really wanted to win over a con and Starscream kept wanting a partner. ALSO ALSO Optimus was portrayed as keeping his emotions in check and then never really gets a message that it's okay to be emotional so... I'm doing that here.

And the Starscream Pirate AU was born...

Aka Transformers: Harbingers (maybe idk if it's catchy enough djjsw)

Why Harbingers? ''It's just a SHIP Starscream chills in for awhile in the show' ' I hear you say. WELL HANG ON!! I got two very good reasons!! .

First off: Starscream, with the help of some Cybertronians who he wins over one way or another (Ill get to that), help him essentially use the remains of the Harbinger to put together their own functional ship. It's smaller than the Nemesis and will take some pirate ship inspiration. While it is a hardy beast it's a bit jury rigged.

Second of all:

Imagine being a fictional character living in a ship with a name that basically means 'Foreshadowed bringer of change' and then going back to Megatron and his bullshit. I'm gonna grab this and run all the way with it. Highway to Hell just came on my Spotify so... That may be an omen.

---------

NOW LISTEN

I feel like Starscream and Optimus could really have had such an interesting dynamic but we never really got to see that in TfP and I feel cheated. Also both could have mutually benefitted a great deal.

So what do I do? I shove them together to be sorta begrudging Co-Captains. As a result there's a lot of shenanigans to be had!

How this happens OP has some run ins with cons and, through a way I'm still deciding, has the opportunity to extend a hand to Starscream. Starscream, being kindness starved, doesn't entirely know what to do about Optimus being nice to him one whole time with no sarcasm or ulterior motive and sorta starts trying to get his attention.

Starscream and his crew are a bit of their own team at this point. MEANING sort of new LOGOS!

I'm yoinking the crossed out Decepticon logo from the Dark Energon Starscream and Dark Energon Knockout toys cause I mean... It's right there and also kinda like a skull and crossbones. It fits too well guys.

Starscream essentially manages to win over the autobots enough so they can sorta make a mutually beneficial, if strained, alliance to aid their aligned goal: killing Megatron and revitalizing cyberton. This is aided by some slight changes to the plot of course. It's also a benefit, much to Ratchet's delight, since they finally get some cybertronian tech to work with.

And so they gotta work together to take Megatron out and there's much bonding moments esp later when the autobot base is destroyed. Starscream extends his hand to them and offers them a more permanent position onboard. (rubbing in how unfortunate their situation is and how this is such a big favour but he's paying Optimus back.)

And insert team dynamic stuff!! Like cons teaming up with Bots, Starscream and Optimus trying to stick with it leading their own teams but keep accidently backseat-leadering one another. I will write some other ex-con and bot dynamics cause there's a lot of chaos to be had.

Optimus doesn't open up to his crew for morale sake and masks his emotions well, and Starscream is... well Starscream is Starscream so he masks what he truly feels a lot and doesn't share a lot of personal stuff besides complaints with his team either. So there's a lot of tension.... That is until Starscream has had it at just how good a poker face Prime has.

Because he's absolutely paranoid got a harmless curiosity about Optimus's ulterior motives and wants potential dirty secrets he can use as blackmail to have power over the Prime, he essentially puts cybertronian booze (but kid friendly version of course fbejek) in Optimus's energon heavily expecting him to spill the beans when heavily drunk. What he doesn't expect is that Optimus is just... LIKE THAT to his core. He's smart but very sad and guilty. And maybe a bit weepy and exhausted cause this man has not shown an emotion for eons now. /s. Starscream doesn't know wtf to do but swayed by how earnest Optimus is he sorta softens up and does open up. Might have helped that he took a swig of the tainted energon to get on his level though. But it also helps that neither is the others subordinate so they don't need to maintain their image as badly with the Co-captain as they do their team.

The ex cons sorta accidently absorb some of the autobot's morals over time. The cons help the autobots have some fun. There's a lot of stuff learned both ways. Also the cons realize how cool humans can be and after a lot of argument and forced time spent with the kids, they want to protect earth too.

Starscream, helps Optimus open up a bit more and allow himself to be emotional. He also shows him how to be a little selfish. Optimus in turn helps him with self confidence and making friends. Both help each other with the shit Megatron put em both through and overall boost one another up. (This also does change the start of the war a bit but I'll get to that in another post.)

Miko tries to fight all of the cons at first but quickly changes her tune cause "BOOYAH PIRATE CONS!!"

Other bits about this AU:

Starscream will eventually get a slight design change. It'll be less scrappy and look more confident and put together. It'll be minor

Because they are on a flying ship but have less energon than the Nemesis, everyone gets equipped with mods for flight. There is a jetpack upgrade one can get or Knockout can straight up help change their alt mode surgically.

I'm working up a list of who gets what flight mod but... Ya'll should know that Wheeljack dares Knockout to make him into a flying car. Largely cause I just got the image of Wheeljack flying above vehicons and just turning into a car and dropping on them. That and driving up the side of the Nemesis and confusing the fuck out of Megatron. Out of all the characters you know that would be a Wheeljack thing.

Arcee and Knockout grieve together.

Knockout loves bugging the hell out of Ratchet. It's extra fun for him cause Ratchet often can't do shit about it since they both need the room and tools.

Knockout and Wheeljack become an insufferable duo with the nicknames they have for everyone.

Wheeljack won't leave Starscream alone and keeps coming up with worse and worse nicknames like he did with Ratchet.

Starscream and Ratchet become complaining buddies.

STARSCREAM'S SEEKER SQUAD REJOINS. Well some of them. Skywarp, Thundercracker and maybe other peeps.

Miko manages to befriend Skywarp and Bulkhead now has to watch both Miko AND Skywarp. Wheeljack refuses to help Bulkhead round them up.

Raf hits it off with Thundercracker.

Knockout: "FINALLY a team with fragging MANNERS!"

Instead of Beeftimus Prime from the forge, Optimus actually gets access to a third alt mode and.. Idk something else primely. So he actually gets wings.

Starscream and the other fliers are greatly amused because Optimus, as great as he is at his poker face most of the time, hasn't yet figured out how to not emote with the pair of wings he gets from the forge. Thundercracker is the one who eventually informs him while the rest of the crew are booing loudly in the background.

I actually do have designs of TFP Skywarp, Thundercracker, and Ironhide in the works.

Fowler and Starscream have insult battles. Oddly both grow a weird almost fondness for these verbal sparring sessions

They frequently raid the Nemesis

Miko keeps talking in a pirate voice. Smokescreen has joined her.

AND A LOT OF OTHER STUFF I'LL GET INTO WITH MORE DETAIL AND ART. I'll also talk more in depth about some of these things that isn't a ramble like this post is. xnwjskw.

Feel free to ask about anything you're curious about.

[seeking-the-stars]

💖 TOP 5 FAV TFP EPISODES:

Darkness Rising Part 1: 

*Probably the only episode where Starscream is treated with respect and dignity, which ironically goes away after Megatron regains leadership by the next episode! (After the ‘Darkness Rising’ arc, Starscream seems to be taken less and less seriously over the course of the show...)

*I like Jack’s terrified reaction to the Transformers, it’s more realistic compared to Raf and Miko would usually roll with what’s happening like it’s no big deal. It’s always kinda frustrates me that Jack was the only kid that actually cared that they almost died later on. I actually like that trait Jack had, trying to the only sane man of the team but then they mostly got rid of that trait after ‘Darkness Rising’!

*It’s super ironic that Miko aka the kid that wishes to go on the Autobot adventures the most, is the kid introduced last and missed out on the show’s first battle that Jack and Raf saw! (Well, second battle if you count Cliffjumper losing to the vehicons...)

Scrapheap:

*The scraplets are one of the many things that basically become wasted potential in TFP Season 1, but they’re still horribly awesome.

*I love that Raf wanted to keep the scraplet as a pet at first until it attacked Bubmlebee then Raf did not hesitate to destroy it and apologized to Bee for what happened, even though what happened wasn’t Raf’s fault.

*Half of the fandom talk about how badass Miko can be sometimes that they’re usually forgetting that Raf and Jack are badasses as well in their own right; all three kids managed to take down half of the scraplet swarm all by themselves. Meanwhile, I like how Optimus and Arcee comforted each other and were about to accept death with dignity. We all know they were going to live, but it’s still both heartbreaking and heartwarming.

Predatory:

*This is the episode where I like Jack the most, cause it feels like he actually has a personality other then liking motorcycles and girls. Also, his partnership with Arcee has greatly improved and feels more interesting compared to ‘Speed Metal’. I also like how Jack becomes rivals with Airachnid like Arcee did.

*This is one of the two episodes (the other being ‘Crisscross’) where I actually like Airachnid’s character (before she became female Starscream) and I like the war flashbacks Arcee has throughout the episode, even though the writers could’ve given her a more creative past with Arcee instead of repeating the losing partner tragedy with Tailgate. Maybe replace it with Airachnid killing Arcee’s sister? 

*Like I said, some people are so focused on Miko that they forget Jack can be a total badass too sometimes. In fact in this episode, I think Jack was more badass then Miko cause unlike Miko who relies on cybertronian technology to take down her enemies, Jack uses what little supplies he already has on himself (multi-function pocket knife and magnesium fire-starter) to destroy Airachnid’s ship. Now that was pretty smart of him.

Shadowzone: 

*Even though Starscream never had a proper chance to use the power of dark energon, he still looked pretty awesome when he tried.

*It’s pretty creepy how Terrorcon Skyquake’s severed hand is way faster then him.

*Jack was almost as awesome as he was in ‘Predatory’. Jack actually felt like the leader of the kids that TFP was trying to make him into. Also, even though I felt pretty annoyed with how bratty Miko was in this episode and how she’s the reason they got trapped in the Shadowzone in the first place, she did risk her life to get Raf his glasses back and it was great that she did take responsibility for her actions after they were free from the Shadowzone. (If only she didn’t repeat her mistakes in the future episodes...) 

Stronger, Faster:

*Ratchet only wishes to help his team and this episode shows how much he cares behind the grumpiness.

*Even though Ratchet becomes a jerk after taking the synthetic energon, he does raise some great points about how Optimus would rather risk the lives of his fellow Autobots, then end it by destroying his former brother Megatron once and for all.

* Ratchet truly shined in this episode, even though he lost the battle against Megatron, cause I still believe Ratchet was right in wanting to destroy Megatron. (And it shouldn’t have taken Raf almost dying later for Optimus to realize this...)

💔 TOP 5 LEAST FAVORITE EPISODES: 

TFP Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising:

*They should’ve ended at ‘Deadlock’...

Partners:

*If only Starscream kept his mouth shut and the Autobots weren’t such hypocritical jerks...

Rock Bottom/T.M.I.: 

They’re tied because they’re basically both the same story; Miko’s recklessness almost getting Bulkhead killed and she’s sad about it and takes responsibility, but she never properly learns her lesson and it’s by pure luck that Bulkhead is still alive... 

Metal Attraction: 

*I feel sorry for Jack in this story, he keeps getting pushed aside by June and Arcee. He helped save his Mom last episode and yet June treats him like he’s a little kid and is a bit condescending towards him near the end. (At least Jack stands up for himself near the end of season 1.) I know June means well and she’s only trying to protect her son, but I can understand Arcee’s frustration. Speaking of Arcee although I get her being salty about June, I dislike how she flip-flops; she lets June keep Jack in the base, but after she learns Miko sneaked out, Arcee allows Miko to stay with her and Bulkhead... (At least Arcee makes Miko return to the base when things got more serious...) 

Speed Metal:

*I’m sorry, but almost everything about this love triangle drama Jack is a part of is stupid. I also dislike how strict Arcee was in this episode, but at least she gets better by the end of it. The only thing I truly liked about this episode was the Decepticons... 

[justmenoworries]

Different Megatrons As Rated By Me

G1:

The original. The man, the myth, the legend. Classic, hammy over-the-top cartoon villain. Look at all those angles. I love him. Will I ever get tired of seeing him just get utterly clowned on by Autobots and Decepticons? No, I don’t think I will.

10/10

Transformers Animated:

Great design, great voice. A big brain guy. Actually gets shit done. But also a massive jerkass who kills kids. Not cool. Done with everyone elses bullshit 90 % of the time. Interesting backstory. Doesn’t give a crap about Optimus Prime and it’s great.

8/10

Transformers Prime:

Cool design, fights good. That’s it. Spends 50 % of the time snorting space cocaine and the other 50% beating up his own troops. Thinks he knows what he’s doing, but he doesn’t. Could have been an interesting, revolutionary kind of morally gray villain but the writers just made him evil for the sake of evilness. He gets a snap-shot redemption at the end and it’s horrible. A great, metal hunk of wasted potential.

5/10

Transfomers Cyberverse:

Look at him. This fool. This absolute rat-bastard. Who in their right mind would think he has leader-potential? He’s that one toxic ex that constantly guilt-trips you for breaking up with them. He’s not just a clown, he’s the whole fucking circus! Legit once ran off to mope in the middle of a war instead of leading because he wasn’t the center of attention anymore. Probably a homophobe.

3/10

Transformers: War For Cybertron Siege:

A salty bastard. And honestly, he has every right to be. A revolutionary Megs that actually still cares about his revolution? Thine swine dost fly! He took all the braincells when him and Optimus divorced and it shows. Badly allergic to bullshit. We stan. But points removed for the lips. Seriously, the fuck are those things?

7/10

[afterspark-podcast]

G1 Episode 42: Transcript

[This can also be found on AO3!]

[Stinger]

O: But that's because he acquired a dog!

[Intro Music]

O: Hello, and welcome to the Afterspark Podcast, an episode by episode recap of the Generation 1 Transformers cartoon. I'm Owls!

S: And I'm Specs.

O: And today we're going to be talking about episode number 42: The Autobot Run. Let's talk about giant robots today, shall we?

S: Yeah!

O: So once upon a time... on a racetrack.

S: Spike and Chip get a brilliant idea: What if the other boss participated in racing? 

O: Bumblebee arrives and says, “One limo-bot at your service,” uh, which is adorable, might I add?

S: Spike asks Bee how he feels about racing.

O: Bee is decidedly not a speedster as he seems down for it as long as it's under the speed limit, which also amusingly, goes against the fact that he totally got pulled over for speeding in an earlier episode but whatever. 

S: Yeah, yeah that's true. Laserbeak overhears this exchange.

O: I'm not exactly sure how any of this is going to help the Decepticons but all right.

S: The Decepticons are just- they're here to gather all the information they can. 

O: It's Laserbeak's job. I- I am just imagining him picking up on the most mundane information and, like, having to pass it off to Soundwave because it's his job.

S: Yeah, oh god, they probably have terabytes of information stored someplace. 

O: [Laughter] Probably.

S: Yeah. Elsewhere, in a weirdly well-preserved old west town, the Constructicons are finishing the dumb 80’s weapon of the week. The, um, Transfixatron which sounds like could be a lot of things, but probably not what you're expecting.

O: Uh, which is, of course, a purple gun mounted on a weird stand thing. 

S: Yep. Laserbeak's arrival causes Megatron to go off model and resemble Homer Simpson for a split second in the mouth department.

O: Which is very unnerving.

S: Yeah and I- I keep envisioning it right now and it is definitely very unnerving.

O: Very, very, very unnerving. Um, Laserbeak hops into Soundwave’s chest compartment and reports on the doings of the Autobots’ human allies, and the Autobots too, I guess. Since Bumblebee was there.

S: Yeah, Megatron is going to make good use of this information about the, uh, proposed Autobot race. 

O: Again, not sure how but okay, buddy! 

S: Yeah, but, uh, first he's gotta test out his new toy! Much to the chagrin of Starscream, who really does not approve that they're not beating up the Autobots right now.

O: You know, I think he's just salty that Megatron had the Constructicons build his new toy instead of him.

S: Yeah, that sounds- that sounds on brand. He calls it an idiotic contraption.

O: Of course the moment Megatron threatens to use it on Starstream, as his first test subject, suddenly Starstream changes his tune on if the device might work or not. “After all, what's a test without a guinea pig-atron.” Yes, Megatron said that word for word.

S: Guinea pig has clearly entered the Decepticons lexicon.

O: Yes, so Megatron picks up the entire gun which, again, I remind you is on a base, uh, and, uh, shoots Starscream.

S: Why does it have a stand at all? Maybe just get a shoulder strap or a harness or something for it? Or a table? Do they not want to draw a table? This is a very stupidly designed contraption.

O: Which, you know, is per the norm for 80's cartoons. At first, it appears that the gun has done nothing to Starscream.

S: Starscream responds just about how you'd expect, mock-mocking Megatron for his high-tech garbage.

O: But Megatron tells Starscream to try and transform, which, of course, he can't because that's the entire function of the Transfixatron.

S: Transfixing you in your-

O: Alt.

S: Altmode, yeah. And so Shockwave suddenly appears standing next to Megatron despite not being in any of the previous shots?

O: I also don't think he shows up again in this episode. He certainly doesn't have any lines.

S: Yeah, he just- poof. He's just taking a mini vacation.

O: Assumably he wanted off Cybertron for a while.

S: [indistinct] Yeah.

O: Uh, Starscream begs Megatron to return him to normal. 

S: They bicker, there's some back and forth. Megatron threatens to leave him this way forever.

O: Starscream says, “But I'm too valuable to you!” I'm too good of a lay, boss you can't do this.

S: Megatron tells him to stop whining and, uh, returns Starscream to normal. He then monologues a bit about how they're going to use the Transfixatron on the Autobots and then commands the Constructicons to, “Get started on the second device.”

O: So we don't just get one silly 80’s weapon of the week, we get two in this episode!

S: Gee, I wonder what it looks like.

O: [Laughter] The answer to that might surprise you! 

S: This inexplicably involves Hook plunging his namesake into the ground to begin excavating- with his hook. The Constructicons, well, the other Constructicons begin digging in a much more sensible manner.

O: Now at the Ark, uh, Chip and Spike are on the cusp of convincing Optimus Prime of their charity racing idea.

S: The other Autobots all seem pretty for it.

O: Ironhide wants some action or he'll rust. I'm not sure if I had Ironhide’s alt that racing would be my first choice of a leisure activity, but more power to you buddy.

S: Obviously he's just going to use his multitude of weaponry to booby-trap the track. I mean, who knows? Maybe he's got some sort of rocket booster? 

O: [Laughter] More of the rocket-powered fist! 

S: Yeah, or at least everybody but Huffer is into the idea. Frankly, I have to wonder where Red Alert is because he'd probably be having a conniption.

O: Okay, he is locked up in his room monitoring things, probably. And it's like, “I don't see it, I don't hear it, it does not exist,” I imagine. Uh but, of course, this means Huffer is voluntold that he gets to stay and watch the base.

S: Yep, ah, Huffer who gets to be responsible today, but Brawn, Ratchet and Wheeljack stay behind to keep him company. 

O: Which is weird, because isn't Wheeljacks’ alt a race car?

S: Yeah, he's a Lancia Stratos.

O: You’d think he'd be more into this. 

S: Maybe he's just not that big into going around- around- around- around in a circle. It's just not so exciting for him.

O: I-I do like the idea of somebody who definitely does not have the personality of a race car being put into the body of a racing car like- you know, he's a scientist in all- all reality he should be like, uh, um, a sedan or something, but- but he got stuck in the body of a race car!

S: Optimus leads the rest of the Autobots out with the call of: “Roll for the show!”

O: At the racetrack, with our celebrity guests, the Autobots.

S: Our roster for today is: Cliffjumper, Bluestreak, Jazz, Prowl, Sideswipe, Ironhide, Hound, Sunstreaker, Optimus, Trailbreaker, Mirage, Windcharger, and Gears.

O: Huffer was too cranky to come but Gears is just fine with this today.

S: He's a sporty little car, he can have a little racing, you know, as a treat.

O: [Laughter] Uh, one man from the audience jumps up and says, “Hey! Where are their cars?!” 

S: Honey, honey, they are the cars.

O: Has this man been living under a rock for a year or so, or however long they've been there and missed the whole giant transforming alien robots bit?

S: Very probably.

O: Jesus!

S: I'm going to go with a ‘yes’ here.

O: Where do you live, man? I-I would like directions because I would like to not be in society right now. Um, so we see Bumblebee chilling off to the side with Chip and Spike as the two- ah, the three of them, rather, watch the race. 

S: He doesn't really seem like he cares for sports.

O: He likes the speed limit just fine, thanks. That's what he said to the- I know, it's funny. 

S: Mostly I'm just wondering if he was involved in that episode where Optimus plays basketball or whatever.

O: I can't remember. I- like, I'm remembering like Sunstreaker and, I think, Sideswipe but I don't- I don't remember if Bee was involved with the basketball or not.

S: I feel like he wasn't, but yeah, I don't remember so, yeah, he's just- Bee does not care about sports, yeah. Ah, the Autobots, predictably, transform and line up at the starting line. 

O: The race begins!

S: Ironhide and Trailbreaker rib each other a little bit as neither of them seems terribly quick.

O: Sunstreaker leaves the rest in the dust, taunting them as he goes by. Oh, my beautiful idiot.

S: Mirage being an actual Formula One race car also pulls ahead and Jazz decides they need a soundtrack. 

O: Which I would think driving around in circles would be boring so, I don't know, that seems like a very good call to me.

S: Yeah, Optimus Prime is inexplicably close to the lead, I mean, maybe everyone is-

O: Too afraid to pass him?

S: Maybe, or they're all just chill and this is their equivalent of jogging around a track.

O: [Laughter] Okay, that's kind of funny. Suddenly! Skywarp appears overhead, transforming into his root mode and pulling the Transfixatron out of his ass. 

S: Subspace, hammer space, wherever Optimus hides his trailer. 

O: Skywarp hits all of the Autobots on the track with the Transfixatron. 

S: Spike sees this and says, “What was that?”

O: Bumblebee responds with something about energy evaporation from all the speed.

S: Bumblebee responds with bullshit. 

O: [Laughter]

S: Let's just be straight about this.

O: Skywarp teleports away, meeting back up with the Decepticons

S: Megatron actually praises him.

O: Again, he really seems to like Skywarp.

S: Back on the racetrack, Ironhide asks Trailbreaker if he felt anything weird.

O: And then Trailbreaker, again, ribs him because Ironhide’s in last place and, really, when you get down to it they are in a race of two and are really only up for who's not in last place right now because they are both very slow.

S: Yeah, the group approaches the finish line with Jazz and Mirage out in front.

O: We're not really told who wins but it's safe to assume it was either Jazz or Mirage or, maybe, both of them.

S: Yeah. On to the next event on the docket for today: The Autobots’ incredible car stunts.

O: Sunstreaker has all the other Autobots line up so he can jump over them off, you know, jump off a ramp over them, rather. 

S: Ah, time to be a daredevil. Some of the Autobots dislike this idea more than others, but they all, you know, comply and line up. 

O: Optimus tells Sunstreaker he won't be able to make it.

S: Spoiler alert: Sunstreaker does not make it.

O: But! Sunstriker is saved by some quick thinking by Windcharger, who catches him with his magnets.

S: And the crowd seems to love it anyway, so: Mission accomplished! 

O: Mirage catches sight of the Decepticons and the Autobots attempt to transform. Of course Megatron lands in front of them and gloats.

S: It's Megatron, I mean, that's what he does, it's what he loves.

O: It's what he lives for.

S: Then Megatron uses- utilizes some eye lasers to chase the humans away.

O: When did he get eye lasers!?

S: He's just had so much stupid shit installed.

O: [Deadpan] Help the Autobots are in danger, cut to commercial. 

S: Is this a facelift for Decepticons?

O: I don't know. 

S: The Decepticons attack and with the Autobots in car mode they aim for the tires.

O: Bee gets Spike and Chip out of there before they're noticed and heads back to the Ark. 

S: Ironhide tells everybody to, “Push past that flat tire,” but they start taking hits from Thundercrackers’ incendiary blasts.

O: Ironhide says, “I'm getting sunburnt on the inside!” Push past it, Ironhide, push past it! 

S: Soundwave then disables the Autobots communicators and Megatron says to, “Take them away.” 

O: Bee’s plan actually worked quite well and the Decepticons never noticed them at all and they were able to get back to the Ark and tell the remaining Autobots basically all this shit went down.

S: Yup. Huffer bitches and moans before Brawn threatens to put his, “Footio into his audio.”

O: That's not even clever.

S: It isn't.

O: I know what I'm watching. [Laughter] Uh, Chip uses Teletraan I and he, Wheeljack, and Ratchet are very quickly able to come up with a hypothesis for what could have caused the Autobots to not be able to transform.

S: Ratchet and Wheeljack get to work. They got some business to take care of.

O: Good thing, too- they left two of the scientists behind. Where's Perceptor? 

S: Yeah, and Beachcomber? I mean-

O: They're just off today, apparently! 

S: Maybe Beachcomber took the- the Dinobots out?

O: Yeah, that's just the right recurring joke at this point is he- he babysits the Dinobots in his downtime.

S: Beachcomber and Perceptor took the Dinobots out on an expedition-

O: So, Ratchet and Wheeljack could have a nice, quiet couple's day at home and then this happened.

S: Yes.

O: Gotcha. Back in the old west, Megatron unveils his second bullshit machine.

S: Guess what it does? Guess what it does? It's gonna eat the Autobots!

O: That's what he says but that thing has fucking tentacles. Remember what I said, is what you didn't expect? It has fucking tentacles! And, you know, it makes me think, remember that episode of the giant supercomputer, TORQ III, and the weird kink machines he was using against the Autobots? I am just saying he did that after being corrupted by Megatron. After!

S: Yeah.

O: Megatron! Has a thing! For kink machines!

S: Yeah, the machine is really dark purple-

O: Of course.

S: It has a large grabby claw and a crusher at the top and also, weirdly enough, smaller tentacles.

O: Don't know what to do with your machine? Add more tentacles!

S: Apparently. Well, I mean, the whole theoretically them coming from the Quintessons, kind of makes that all really-

O: It does make a little bit more sense with that, doesn't it? Hmm.

S: Yeah, time to shudder.

O: [Laughter] Ironhide cuts off Megatron with the sentiment of, ‘Oh, just kill us already,’ rather than have to listen to him talk.

S: Then, of course, Megatron wants to demonstrate to them exactly how they're going to die but so the Cons toss in some stuff to show the Autobots how they're going to get crushed. Did they just go off and grab some junk for this?

O: I assume? Maybe it was spare parts from the machine- or like, they didn't use when building the machine? 

S: Maybe.

O: While all this is going on, Hound is able to transmit a single image to the Ark, despite their communicators being disabled. 

S: Teletraan I is able to triangulate their exact location based on this one image which, I guess, is not out of the realm of possibility.

O: It still seems kind of silly.

S: Yeah.

O: Um, Soundwave being, you know, the only competent one here realizes that something's up pretty quickly and shoots Hound's gun that was also acting as his transmitter?

S: He's the guy who does the... holograms! 

O: Yes.

S: That was what I was... yeah, so yeah. Who knows what the fuck Hound can do. Megatron's new machine spits a tiny little block of crushed metal out so apparently he was concerned with how much space his enemy's corpses would take up.

O: At least he's not littering?

S: I guess? I mean you can always recycle material but I guess he's an evil villain so, uh, yeah.

O: [Laughter] He's going to build a house out of his enemy’s corpses is what I'm getting from this, okay. It's gonna have an entire fortress of Autobots. 

S: I think, more likely to do a chair out of corpses.

O: That's true, there aren't that many Autobots there.

S: Yes, but I think there's also a weird precedent for that in the comics.

O: Yeah, probably. 

S: Megatron tells the Constructicons to make Ironhide the first target and the Autobots surround him like circling up the wagons and the- but the Constructicons just sort of casually pick them up and toss them over to the side and get to Ironhide anyway.

O: Because, again, they're all stuck in car mode.

S: Yea.

O: Uh, back at the Ark, Wheeljack and Ratchets’ labors have produced, the Holy Hand Grenade!

S: [Laughter] This will apparently create energy waves that will allow the others to go back to normal.

O: Unfortunately, there's no time to test if this will work so off they go to try to save their friends.

S: Back with the Cons, Ironhide is in the grasp of the purple, chompy machine and about to be eaten but Optimus sends out Roller. It's Roller time, guys!

O: Duh-duh-na-na!

S: Jazz hands.

O: Jazz doesn't have any hands right now. [Laughter] Sorry.

S: Jazz speakers, then!

O: [Laughter]

S: Uh, Roller begins, uh, weaving between the Decepticons’ legs as they all start shooting at him.

O: The rest of the Autobots arrive just in time.

S: And Ratchet gets to be Ironhide again because he's miscolored. Again.

O: So, Ironhide is about to get eaten and is also driving up to himself.

S: Good times, good times, guys.

O: [Laughter]

S: While the Cons are distracted, Optimus rams the machine causing it to drop Ironhide onto the ground.

O: Megatron's pissed and fires on Optimus and Ironhide. 

S: Ratchet is uh, Ratchet again before turning back into ironhide for three sec- three seconds later.

O: Soundwave, his cassettes, Skywarp, and Thundercracker begin attacking them.

S: But at least Spike brought his personal protective equipment today.

O: Yay. 

S: Wheeljack is running in an attempt to protect the grenade in what can only be described as a Scooby-Doo-esque sequence.

O: Which is very applicable considering how many Scooby-Doo voice actors were in this show but anyway, I have no idea how the Cons know that Wheeljack's the one they should target right now but they are targeting him.

S: Yeah, two Thundercrackers appear to be chasing Wheeljack before one disappears, presumably Skywarp, uh, you know, teleporting and reappears as Starscream before yelling in Skywarp's voice.

O: So everything went wrong in that scene that possibly could. [Laughter] 

S: Well, aside from just completely forgetting to color characters at all.

O: Yes, yes but- but I think because the Seekers are all the same model it's almost worse when they're- they're colored the wrong color.

S: Yeah, the grenade is knocked out of Wheeljack's hand before Spike catches it.

O: Soundwave then makes a beeline for him and Soundwaves like, “Get the human microbe.” 

S: Spike then tosses the Holy Hand Grenade to Chip who begins wheeling away like there's absolutely no tomorrow. Soundwave sends out Ravage who knocks Chip over just as he throws the grenade to the Autobots.

O: Ravage, apparently, just leaves him alone after he does this instead of, I don't know, mauling him. 

S: He's a considerate cat. Thankfully the grenade does indeed work, pissing off Megatron who orders the Constructicons to combine.

O: And they seem quite happy to have something to do that isn't work on Megatron's pet projects.

S: Finally! Conflict!!! Hit it!!

O: Devastator then tosses the Autobots around.

S: And, surprising the hell out of us, the propulsion via hand thrusters makes a surprise second appearance with Wheeljack.

O: Who gets the great idea of defeating Devastator with the Transfixatron and enlists Cliffjumper to help him because he cannot reach the controls without help because the gun is too tall.

S: Yeah, so they hit Devastator with the gadget of the week and Devastator falls to pieces.

O: Megatron realizes they're outnumbered without Devastator and the Decepticons retreat.

S: Ironhide and Trailbreaker knock over the Transfixatron, which then has a tiny explosion for no good reason.

O: [Laughter]

S: Ratchet groans about how many repairs he's going to have to do now and the episode ends.

O: So join us next time for episode 43: The Golden Lagoon. Skinny dipping robots, skinny dipping robots everywhere. Oh, and also the Decepticons want to be... shiny.

S: And environmental destruction. But let's not forget the shiny.

O: [Laughter] The shiny is what's important here. 

S: Okay so we have two fanfic recommendations: one wild card fic from Owls and one from myself. Mine is “Going to the Dogs” by Koi Lungfish. It's in the G1 cartoon continuity, rated K+, it's Gen, there’s no pairings, and the characters are Red Alert, Prowl, Inferno, and Jazz. In summary, “Human tourists cause Prowl and Red Alert some confusion.” 

O: I could see that.

S: And so the reason I picked this one is because the race is basically like human outreach- social outreach, more or less. They're- they're trying to be entertainers, so the fan thing about the humans effectively trying to reach out and build more of a social profile with humans by inviting tourists into the Ark and trying to be transparent is- it's a fun concept and I like it.

O: Fair.

S: It's a one shot so therefore complete, so let's go on to Owls' choice!

O: All right, my fanfic suggestion for today is “Casting for a Tape Bros Film.” It is by LittleMissSweetGrass. The continuity is IDW, it is rated G. It is slash, but very light slash, I would say.  Our pairings are CosWave and our characters are Soundwave, Marissa, Rumble, Frenzy, Buzzsaw, Laserbeak, and Cosmos. And in summary, “Soundwave gets a phone call from Marissa that he really, really doesn't want to deal with right now.” It is a one shot, it's very short but it's very cute. It's kind of, I think, Soundwave trying to sleep and getting calls that involve Thundercracker.

Both: [Laughter]

O: A sudden attack of the Thundercracker.

S: Nice, and that just about wraps it up for us today.  Remember to check us out on Tumblr or Pillowfort as Afterspark-Podcast for any additional information, show notes, or links we may have mentioned.  You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter at AftersparkPod (all one word) and various other locations by searching for Afterspark Podcast such as AO3, iTunes, Spotify, and Youtube, just to name a few.  And feel free to send us questions on Tumblr, Youtube, or AO3!  Till next time, I'm Specs.

O: I’m Owls.

S: Toodles.

[Outro Music]

[persicapink]

I HAVE TFA MAGNIFICUS HEADCANONS its wordy tho so under a cut

has a sort of sibling rivalry with Perceptor, though no one is sure when it started or why. they bicker and taunt each other, though never too seriously. they’re not outright cruel to each other, at least verbally. however, these two have some serious Cain Instinct (Tm) going on and if given the chance Magnificus would not hesitate to fucking throw down. maybe its also influenced by his whole gladiator thing, this little Con loves to fucking fight and who better to fight than the guy he’s a clone of? assert dominance right?

like his e-Hobby counterpart, Magnificus ends up framed and cast out of the Decepticons, sent away to be a gladiator for the sick entertainment of the Cons. its here that he discovers the microverse and Ga’mede, who he saves from execution. basically the same as e-Hobby. the one specific difference is that unlike e-Hobby, Magnificus was framed by Starscream, who was jealous that Megatron still liked the little clone despite him being a “failed” clone. Starscream saw it as an insult that Megatron would favor a failure over him.

Magnificus and Ga’mede travel around the galaxy using any space bridge they can get to, mostly trying to stay out of reach of any bounty hunters who wanna cash in on Mag's bounty. their ultimate goal is to track down Starscream and get revenge.

they only come into contact with Lockdown once. they don’t get caught, but that doesn’t mean the encounter went well at all.

at one point the two get to Cybertron and spend some time sneaking around the Cybertronian underground, again just trying to keep out of trouble mostly. they do briefly pay Perceptor a visit, and that goes about as well as you can expect it to with their whole sibling rivalry thing

they catch wind of Earth from someone, probably heard it in passing from some bot talking abt Optimus and co, so they catch the next space bridge they can that drops them as close to Earth as possible. its secluded with very little Con activity, so its a great place to hide for a while.

post TFA when Megatron has been caught and sent to prison, Ga'mede stays on Earth for the time being while Perceptor practically drags Mag back to Cybertron for political reasons. Magnificus isn't technically a Decepticon anymore and he's def not an Autobot, but he has a LOT of valuable info regarding Con politics, so he's an asset now that Megatron is out of the picture. a lot of bots are wary of the ex-Con Perceptor drags around with him to council meetings, but only Sentinel is stupid enough to mouth off about it

Magnificus is forever salty that he wasn’t the one to end Starscream

[dramamelon]

This is what happens when I let Sideswipe off the leash. A completely unedited NaNo snippet.

Beware, some salty language and comedic violence lies ahead. Also, long and clunky sentences. ^^;;

Megatron’s engine growled in ferocious fury in his chassis as he clutched his arm tight around the red frontliner that had landed across his torso, clambering to his feet. He kicked the other brother away from him as the yellow twin struggled to regain his own feet, crushing the one he held even tighter against him as the menace began struggling in his grasp. Reaching forward and catching the twin’s chin in his hand, Megatron yanked his face around to meet his own narrow gaze over the warrior’s shoulder. “If I were you, whelp,” he said, voice low and menacing, “I’d stop my struggling and hope it might result in my spark not being extinguished.”

He should have known better, honestly. The red twin’s reputation was alive and strong even among the Decepticon ranks. The words, in fact, quite opposite to what Megatron sought, sent the warrior into an increased fit of struggling against Megatron’s hold. From his vocalizer spilled a rapid and steady deluge of the filthiest profanity the Decepticon leader had been in the presence of since his days in the gladiatorial arena.

“You motherboard fragging slagsucker!” the red warrior howled, battering away at Megatron’s arm with ineffectual fists. When he switched them out for his piledrivers, though, Megatron flinched as small dents began to appear in his armor. They were ultimately just as ineffectual as the punches, but he did feel a bit of a sting with each jab that landed. A pair of feet banged hard against his shin plating as they flailed with the warrior’s passionate tantrum. “I’ll fucking rip your spark out of your chest and bury it at the bottom of a donkey shit pile before I set the Primus damned thing on fire! Then I’ll stomp your helm open and smash your glitch aft brain to dust particles so small a vacuum souped up by Wheeljack won’t even pick them up!”

Cranking the twin’s head back around to glare at him, Megatron opened his mouth and snarled, “Cease this useless display! I could crush your entire frame to nothing with my bare hands. Do not tempt me.”

That seemed to put some meager glint of fear into the Autobot, his energetic squirming coming to a sudden halt. His glimmering blue optics, however, spoke of something else. Something that reeked of sinister motivation. Megatron frowned at him, a touch of uncertainty flitting across his cortex. He slowly released the twin’s chin and started to pull his hand away—

And outright yelped when sharp dentals clamped down on his fingers as the obnoxious Autobot bit him like a rabid turbofox.

[machsabre]

Okay, so I decided that 2018 is going to be the year I get a little more back in touch with my old art habits self. Since I already got a new comic going again (stargazercomic.com if you've missed it), I'll focus on more fun fan art, more fun cheesecake, more comic side projects, more regular movie reviews... And more of these. (Hey, since I have a Patreon, I'm gonna start earning it!) So ever since Combiner Wars, the Transformers toys have come with these neat little trading cards. The Combiner Wars cards were a little underwhelming, but the Titans Return cards were a lot more fun I think. (For the record, I am NOT a fan of the Power of the Primes cards. The color schemes seems poorly designed, I'm not a fan of the cheaper looking gloss cardstock they used for them, as opposed to the matte finish stock for the Titan Returns, and just in general... I think they lack uniformity and class.) So I made a template based on the TR cards here. It's not 100% exact, but it's close enough I think. If you have your own custom characters, or you want a better card for any of your other Transformers... Here you go. You should be able to customize them, pop your artwork in there, print and cut them out. (If you got one of those card sleeves, they'll look nice right next to the original ones!) Uploaded to DeviantArt is the .Tiff file to work with, which you can get here: https://machsabre.deviantart.com/art/Titans-Returns-Card-Template-725212001 I recreated it in Photoshop CS5, so be aware of that. (I didn't have any crazy effects. So whether it works on an older version is unknown.) It's at a larger size, so if you want it at the actual card size, you'll need to downsize it to 2.5 x 3.5 inches. The name plates are left intact, and you'll need to have the Arial font for it. (Though I suspect Helvetica would be a decent substitute.) Also needed will be the Combatron font, which is free online. Just search with Google. The Combatron font is needed in case you want to adjust the text to say something other than Titans Returns. (Like Power of the Primes, Combiner Wars, Machine Wars, Buttpuncher Alliance, Cyberverse, Rescue Bots and so on.) I included a strip of the brushed steel texture to overlay over the text to give it that effect. (Select the text and remove the rest.) The Tech Spec lines are adjustable with the transform tool. And there's a blue set of lines underneath the red ones for the Titan Master's lines, along with a separate set of numbers along the top on different layers. (For Standard-up-to-10 or Titan Master-up-to-20 numbering.) Autobot and Decepticon symbol are in the corner, and you can swap out which ever you need. And the Hasbro logo is on it's own layer too, you can keep it, lose it or swap it out for a Tomy Takara logo if you're feeling a little extra salty at the time. Now I don't know if it'll work in Clip Studio Paint or not, as I haven't tested it. It's just a Tiff so it MIGHT... Or it might not. (I have no intention of making a Power of the Primes card template. Like I said, I'm not a fan of it. I think it looks bad and I'd rather design a brand new one. As for the Combiner Wars style of cards? It's really easy and I could do it if people are really wanting it... But I think the TR design looks a lot better.)

[the-energon-hole]

Anon Asked: Hey! Can I request Rescue Bots Boulder, Heatwave, Salvage, and possibly High Tide comforting a human s/o who's terrified of storms during one? Hurricane Irma is passing over rn and the wind is so loud it's scaring me half to death, I could use some big bots being soft and sweet. Thank you so much!

((I am so sorry you are dealing with the hurricane. Please stay safe!))

Boulder

Storms are a pretty common thing on Cybertron, the only difference is that the rain isn’t water and is mostly fire and hot winds. It’s still a very noisy and disruptive thing, but Boulder has adapted to not let the noise and the images bother him- but he can understand why this scary force of nature bothers you so heavily.

Nature can be both beautiful and cruel; he has learned that lesson the hard way. His coping mechanism is to surround himself with things that make him happy, which is why he gently whisked you away to below the firehouse to his private space. He made sure to have plenty of potted plants lining the room, with classical soft music playing in the background of calming ambiance, and he also had a stack of books he thought you might like him to read to you.

It was such a sweet show of affection that it almost moved you to tears, and you relaxed a little on his chest as he sat with you wrapped in a warm fluffy blanket on his chest as he read to you some of his all-time favorite adventure books. The music wasn’t enough to drown out the full volume of the storm, so when a loud crack or a particularly violent gust of wind could be heard, his immediate response was to place his servo around you and gently rev his warm engine to let you know that he was right there, and that you were safe, and that he won’t let anything bad ever happen to his beloved little human.

Heatwave

Storms on earth were more disruptive and annoying than anything, but this particular storm was predicted to be destructive. Most of the people have already fled and found safer shelter, but he and the rest of the family were going to wait it out in their house- after all they were the only 911 response unit on the island, they can’t exactly leave.

His idea was to just ignore it, and to continue with life as if nothing was actually happening, though that changed quickly when he noticed you were having a hard time coping with the storm.

He knew you weren’t as brave as you let on, and he was most definitely not going to gloat about it later, but for now he feels like it’s his obligation to make sure you are going to be ok. Though he is not great with all that mushy lovey stuff, he knows when to take a situation like this with a gentle servo.

He isn’t great with making comforting noises, and he isn’t great with articulation of words all the time, he is great for letting you bunker down in his alt mode as you wait out the particularly loud storm. You appreciated what he was trying to do, and it made you feel safe to be able to lay down in his fire truck mode while you just tried to pass the time with conversations and word games.

Salvage

Wow, this storm sure is causing a lot of havoc out there, he was glad that you guys were all sheltered away from the raging winds and harsh rainfall. He feels guilty for saying it is a kind of beautiful sight to see weather patterns become extreme like this on earth. It happened all the time on Cybertron, and it was kind of comforting to him to know that the planets were more similar than they were different.

Speaking of comfort.

You were huddling over in the corner there, looking more afraid than a static hound that was caught in a hunter’s trap. He might be new to this human thing, and he might be new to this relationship thing- but he knew what it was like to be afraid, to be afraid and without any friends around to let you know that everything will be ok.

He was here though, so here comes the comfort truck.

Close proximity was a good way to make sure someone was ok, so get ready for him to hold you close and tell you that everything will be ok as long as he is there. How about you pass the time by listening to him talk about how he can jury rig a space bridge if he really wanted to! Between the nice grip of Salvage’s hand and his constant chatter, the storm raging outside was just about forgotten as you couldn’t help but smile at all the things he had to say.

He might not be “good” at this relationship thing, but he will always be a good friend. In the end, that was all you could really ask for.

High Tide

Being on the rusted sea on Cybertron has caused this old salty dog to not be afraid of all these noisy and windy storms. At least on earth it was water and not hellish fire! Now that would be sight for these humans to see, fire raining down from the heavens in concentrated bursts! He won’t say that he missed it, but he just missed Cybertron in general, firestorms in all.

You were afraid of this storm though, and High Tide wouldn’t go to land to allow for evacuation of his ship- “we can ride it out; this old thing can handle anything!” Maybe he was starting to regret his decision- not because he couldn’t handle the weather that the earth was throwing at him, but because he can see how terrified you were huddled around your bunk like some kind of scared animal. Maybe he should listen to you a little more than he does, which he will apologize for later he supposes.

For now- nothing like a good war story and a warm cup of whatever it is that you humans drink- Tea! That’s it.

He would sit you down either next to him or on him, as he recalls his time on Cybertron and his fight between the Autobots and the Decepticons- his valiant efforts to single-handedly destroy the evil forces that threatened his way of life. You couldn’t help but smile at his attempt to comfort you as you sipped on your warm drink, you are most definitely going to squeeze an apology out of him later, but for now you relax as you listen to his over embellished stories of his old glory days.

[decepticondoubleagent]

☢ What fads/trends are you so over?

The salty AF munday meme

Hm.. This is a difficult one. I’d say I’m really tired of every other oc being either a triplechanger (or more) or a predacon or both. I also really hate “My father was a decepticon and my mom was an Autobot”-thing and I hate “I’m really nice and kind and shy and pretty, but when ____ happens my craaaazy side is triggered and I turn into a super dangerous psychopath”.