#and the one who looks like star HAD to be named after megatron

[cosmicswritings]

okay my megastar daughters.

i also needed the one who looked like megatron to be unnaturally short. and it needs to be known that the short gene comes from megatron.

the tall one is megatronia, the short one is nebula. they have one brother , Atlas, and one sister, Andromeda.

they started as tfp ocs but they're also my idw/mtmte ocs. they also accidentally get stuck in a few other dimensions in trying to find their way home--they completely erase their existence in a few by accident.

also interesting fact about nebula is that when she was born she was genderless. in my aus, sparklings 'choose' a gender before emergence, meaning they give themselves specific coding. nebula doesn't choose one until a few months after she is born. she chooses to be a girl, but until then she was genderless.

[cyberrose2001]

TFP Starscream x Reader

This is for @condeeznutsfitinyomouth! Again, sorry your asks got eaten :(

They requested confessional sex with Starscream after you caught your boyfriend cheating! Hope this is what you were after, enjoy! 🫶🏼🫶🏼

Warnings: Confessional sex, cheating, afab reader, GN reader, human reader, starscream is domming but reader tops.

Word count: 869

You hate that you knew it was coming. You predicted it immediately when your calls went straight to voicemail and left you on read. And last night, that deep feeling in your gut didn’t lead you on as he did. No, because your boss had let you off early, and you came home to find some random car parked in your driveway.

You were furious, full of unbridled rage, as you stormed into your house and made a bee-line to your shared bedroom. It reeked of sex, and the look on this douchebag's face when we saw you, death staring at him from the door, was laughable. He was terrible at keeping his dirty secrets.

But you had a secret up your sleeve, too—the knowledge and companionship of a sleek alien robot jet. You met Starscream a long time ago; a total asshole who wouldn’t let you off this ship called the Nemesis. Something about being ‘live human bait for the human empath, Optimus Prime’. But you had sweet-talked him enough to let you at least have some freedom.

Over time, though, your fears of being involved with an alien fizzled out when you started to confide in one another unintentionally. You would express how much of a doormat your boyfriend made you feel, and Starscream would also express how much of a doormat Megatron made him feel. Together, you both created a home where there are no doormats. And ultimately, no regrets.

After you had kicked out your now ex-boyfriend and his little protégé in cheating relations, you contacted Starscream to meet you on the outskirts of Jasper to vent out your frustrations. What you never expected, though, was to have that deep gut feeling replaced with the gut-deep feeling of his upwards thrusts.

Propped up against a dusty boulder was Starscream, with you in his lap. His sharp silver talons tightly grip your hips, guiding you up and down on his sleek yet rigid metal spike. His scarlet optics focused on your squishy body pressed against him, as well as your face, twisted in beautiful pleasure and heated anger.

“That’s it. Tell me how much you loathe that wretched human boy.”

Oh, you wish he could see you now. To watch his ego deflate as you impale yourself on a dick that’s much, much larger than his.

“F-Fuckin’ hate him,” Your voice shakes from your rage and the inability to cohere a single sentence, “Asshole, he never loved -hggff- me.”

“He never satisfied you, didn’t he?” Starscream sneers, moving a servo to your face to squish your cheeks together. His other servo pushes your hips further down his spike to meet with his thrusts.

“N-No.”

He growls and leans close to your ear, “And I am willing to bet that my spike feels significantly more pleasurable than whatever that mere human possesses, is that right?”

“Mhmm,” You mumble, but it soon transitions into screaming as Starscream forces his spike so fucking deep in you that you start to see stars.

“I want a verbal answer,” He growls again, and it’s so delicious and smooth against your ear that it nearly sends you over the edge, “You know I don’t like to be kept waiting.”

“Yes, fuck!” You cry out, and your head rests on Starscreams shoulder once his servo returns to your hip, “F-Feels so good, so much better than him.”

“Good, little pet,” Starscream pounds into you with reckless abandon, purely focused on bringing you to orgasm. His venting is rough, full of equal zest for the anticipation of overloading in you, “Now, my dear, scream my name as if he can hear you.”

And you do. You clamp down on his spike and let out the filthiest moan of his name that actually echos off the rocks and reverbs around you, with the full intention of wanting him to hear. Your ears are ringing from the loudness and the explosive orgasm that shakes your body like an earthquake.

“There you go, let the whole world know who you -hgghn- belong to.” Starscream is close behind. The ever-increasing momentum of his hips becomes more stagnant until he groans and releases his transfluids deep inside you, vocaliser fluttering and turning into static. He’s throbbing against your walls, filling you to near breaking point, and you have no choice but to collapse your entire body weight against him.

“Fuuuck,” You mewl. Your thighs are shaking, and your voice is croaky. And your heart is booming against your ribcage so hard you’re sure Starscream can feel it.

After Starscream returns from his high, he takes the opportunity to wrap his arms loosely around you in an attempt to give you some rare affection before you can question what the fuck just happened between you two.

“There, doesn’t that feel so much better?” Starscream hums, stroking lines across your back. It’s soothing and a welcomed distraction from the welts forming on your waist from his sharp digits. You whine in reply, eyes fluttering shut weakly.

“Mmm, I thought so,” He sighs, an ever so slight smile encompassing his dermas, “Shall we return to the Nemesis?”

Let’s just say you got your revenge on your ex a few more times that night.

[in1-nutshell]

Okay, prime buddy meeting rodimus, ships collide, rodimus look at buddy w Shock of how big his ship is and crew, even buddy standing tall and spiky. Like wdym your the leader of the fallen stars….what? Your only (insert young age) and your a prime?!

I don't understand completely what the request is. So I did my interpretation of the request. If this is not what you want, please let me know.

Hope you enjoy!

Bot Buddy from the TFP universe meeting MTMTE Rodimus

SFW, platonic, Cybertronian/ Bot reader

TFP/MTMTE

This was Buddy's fault they were in this situation.

Buddy, being the ever loving technician, was helping Ratchet and Wheeljack with the newest tweaks on the groundbridge.

Wheeljack had just installed some new circuitry to the bridge and needed some help making sure everything went accordingly.

"Everything functional on your end?"--Buddy

"All clear, Wheeljack?"--Ratchet

"All good Sunshine!"--Wheeljack

"Don't call me that!"--Ratchet

A sudden beeping came from Ratchet's end near the console, Wheeljack went to go see what was wrong. Buddy went over to the bridge's opening to see if there was a problem there.

The bridge's lights flickered on and began to violently drag in all loose things around it. Including Buddy. Ratchet was holding on to the console for dear life as Wheeljack dug one of his katanas into the ground and held it with a steel grip.

"BUDDY HOLD ON!"-- Ratchet

"WHAT DO YOU THINK IM DOING?!"--Buddy

"BUDDY HOLD ON TO MY SERVO!"--Wheeljack

"WHEELJACK I'M SLIPPING!"--Buddy

"HANG ON BUDDY! IM ALMOST THERE!"--Wheeljack

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"--Buddy

The portal had sucked Buddy in right as Wheeljack's servo brushes Buddy's servo.

...

Meanwhile on the Lost Light...

Rodimus was back at his desk carving out some designs when a bright light appeared and a sudden weight fell on top of him.

"AH! WHO ARE YOU?!"--Buddy

"WHO ARE YOU?! YOU LANDED ON TOP OF ME!"--Rodimus

"WHY ARE YOU YELLING!?"--Buddy

"I DON'T KNOW! YOU STARTED IT!"--Rodimus

After a couple of minutes of hectic explaining, existential crisis, and a lot of deep venting exercises, Rodimus finally got a complete response.

"So essentially you're from another dimension were your war is still going on, only have a small group of Autobots left, and you dropped into this universe via groundbridge malfunction."--Rodimus

"And you're the Captain of this giant Star ship with more than a hundred Bots on it, are on a quest to find some mythical knights, and the name is..."--Buddy

"Oh! Rodimus, Rodimus Prime."--Rodimus

"Wait what happened to Optimus? And what about the Matrix of Leadership?"--Buddy

"Well, Prime is a part of the new Cybertronian government with Starscream as ruler and the Matrix is broken."--Rodimus

"...wait what..."--Buddy

"The matrix was broken by accident."--Rodimus

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN ON ACCIDENT?! AND DID YOU SAY STARSCREAM WAS IN CHARGE OF CYBERTRONIAN!?!?! WHO'S IDEA WAS THAT?!"--Buddy

There was a lot of explaining to do when Rodimus came out of his habsuite with Buddy in tow. Especially with how much of a difference in frame Buddy had to everyone else on the Lost Light.

Buddy made friends with many bots during their stay aboard. They had plenty of stories to tell and to hear stories from this new dimension. The only bumps in the 'road' were when Buddy saw the alternate versions of Ultra Magnus, Ratchet and Megatron.

With Magnus

"It's a good thing those shoulder pads never change in different dimensions, sir."--Buddy

"Thank you?"--Magnus

With Ratchet

"You're telling me that Rodimus flipped over the Captain and fell on his face how many times per week?"--Buddy

"I lost count after 5."--Ratchet

With Megatron

"...do you have any dark energon in you?"--Buddy

"Do I have what?"--Megatron

"Oh you don't! That's good. You're one of the better Megatron's."--Buddy

It took a while later for Brainstorm and Perceptor to fix Buddy's dimension and set coordinates.

It was time for Buddy to say goodbye to their friends and head home.

"Thank you everyone!"--Buddy

"No problem Buddy! And if you're ever in the same dimension, just give us a call!"--Rodimus

"And if you guys are in my dimension, you call me! Bye!"--Buddy

"Bye Buddy!"--Rodimus

Buddy jumped right into their dimension.

Buddy knew it was the right one because of the feeling they had in their tanks.

Also because they landed on top of Wheeljack.

"AAAHHH! WHAT'S ON ME?!"--Wheeljack

"Wheeljack it's me!"--Buddy

"Buddy?! Oh thank the Prime's! Where were you?! We've been trying to scan your signature for days."--Wheeljack

"You have no idea what happened."--Buddy

[lets-try-some-writing]

Interesting Megs practicaly dealing with his relatives and Death itself ouch. magine when Op brings the allspark back Unicron senses it and brings Meg back to life to drop at their feet for them to deal with

Starscream: Master! You're alive!

Megatron:*free of his roommates now, looks very haunted,* I'm neither that nor dead.

Starscream:.. Uh what?

Megatron: I will never be fully alive nor leave this mortal coil. I will never be able to repent fully for my actions. I am leaving now so don't look for me. Do not fight in my name because decepticons are dead just like i am

Megatron: But if i hear about you lot or anyone else making a council i will come back to personally hit whoever over the helm. Understood?

Op: I missed you

Megatron: I am trying not to have a breakdown here

Poor Megatron. He will have no peace after being released from the Unmaker's grasp. In all seriousness, I do imagine his time floating around in Unicron's mindscape where all the Titans chatter would do him some good. Being able to hear them speak in their strange tones would have to adjust his view of reality.

So many giants staring down at him like he's little more than an ant, their thoughts booming and powerful, beating down on him like a relentless force. Entities far older than him, all wiser and ancient enough to have seen the birth of galaxies. He, I imagine, reeled in their presence, unable to handle their oppressive wills. Just a few weeks under them being more than enough to force him to think, especially as each tried to speak to him.

Moon attempted to call out to him, but so many millennia dealing with entities such as Unicron dampened his ability to recognize his limits and the weakness of others. Megatron, unable to handle the great Titan's calls, screamed into the void. Moon did not try and contact him after and instead merely observed the spark of the one the Autobots feared so greatly. Megatron could always feel Moon watching and listening. There was no respite from his gaze.

Mars did not speak often, but when he did, Megatron felt the earth shattering might of a being who held no love for him. Mars knew who it was that led their world to fall into its bitter state. He knew that Optimus and Megatron were the source, and while not angry at either, his bitterness did not lend Megatron any favor in the mindscape of the Unmaker. The few times he spoke up, his words were heard by all and embedded into Megatron's very spark.

"You who tore our world apart, do you not lament the loss? Was the devastation worthwhile? Did the sacrifices of beings far greater than you mean nothing?"

"I meant to give our people freedom."

"And yet you gave them war."

"It was the only way. Nothing would have changed without conflict."

"Perhaps. But the destruction had no reason to echo this long. Tell me, how many sparklings have been wrapped into your war?"

"..."

"I see you as a mere sparkling. Small, frail, foolish, easily demolished beneath my pedes. And yet I value each child of Primus equally. Do you understand? It matters not who you are or what power you hold. Under Primus, All Are One."

Pluto spoke only in visions of violence. Megatron saw destruction far greater than anything he had wrought. He watched planets burn in the wrath of a Titan angry at the loss of so many. He saw civilizations turned to mere ash. He saw a Titan hardly bigger than Omega Supreme throwing everything into a desperate battle against Predacons in order to defend another Titan and their charges. He saw energon split and scars gained.

Pluto did not speak, but his visions told Megatron more than enough. Violence had its reason, but in the end, it was dooming. To a being who watched stars burn out, Megatron's war, while brutal, meant very little. Pluto knew his anger, and in Pluto's sight, it meant nothing. Megatron never felt so small as when Pluto looked down upon him in distaste.

Unicron never needed to speak. The fact that Megatron resided within his mind was more than enough for the warlord to see visions of entropy that left him pondering the meaning of his existence. None of the Titans regarded him with warmth, that was save for Earth.

She was used to reaching out to her fragile offspring, and so her words were soft. She called out across the void, wrapping her attention around Megatron like a cloak. He never saw her, nor did he know who exactly she was. Unlike the Titans, she had no form that he could sense aside from a vague sense that she was below the ground of the terran world he once threatened to cyberform. Surprisingly, she held no anger toward him. Instead, he felt her pity and her sorrow on his behalf. She saw his mind and his memory and she whispered of how sorry she was that he'd been burdened so long. She swept him away into dreams of places he had never seen, some on Earth, and others somewhere amongst the stars.

She was a comfort, and through her murmurs, Megatron found a degree of peace and contemplation.

"You were held in bondage. I can see the echoes of your shackles. You hold them close to yourself even now."

"I serve no master, not anymore."

"You are a slave to your past and the pain it brought."

"I am not! I am Megatron of Kaon, Champion of the Pits! I have freed myself and my people!"

"That may be so. But the things you sought to escape from live on in your actions. The scars that dug so deep into your frame have now been mirrored on those around you."

"What?"

"Your anger has infected your fellows. Your once righteous rage has turned into something dark. Sweet child, you must let it go. It is not too late to end this madness which has possessed you."

Megatron listened to Earth and shook under the gazes of the rest. He was not sure how long he spent with them, but when Unicron forced him to return to the living realm, he was changed. Seeing everything from the perspectives of such mighty beings... everything felt so much more wasteful. He had not needed to destroy as much as he had, nor had Optimus needed to drag their war on in response to his madness. The pushed each other ever onward, but free of Unicron, Megatron decided to be the first to put an end to the cycle of madness.

When he turned and faced the Autobots, he knew that one day he would have to suffer for his crimes. But for now, he needed time to think and Cybertron needed time to heal.

And so he took to the stars, guided by whispers of the Titans that guarded Unicron so diligently. His thoughts drifted to Halley's Comet, and he found a destination. Perhaps there would be merit to traveling alongside the living memorial that was the youngest of the Titans.

[cozzzynook]

IM GETTING ANYTHING I CAN TAKE 🙏🙏

shockbee or bee x elite trine?? pls. 🙏

I’d tip you but I don’t got money 😞 but your writing is so awesome!!!!!!!

Thank you so much 😭 i appreciate you i really do 😭

Small headcanon time-

Bee is most comfortable flying with Thundercracker because he never really shows off too much and always holds him the tightest out of the three. Up there Thundercracker feels like the war can’t touch them, he can think thoughts of poetry and ideas about plays aloud to bee who he knows won’t judge him. Up in the sky at night is when they mostly fly together and its up there they feel at peace and one with the stars.

Bee loves to warp with Skywarp. He enjoys the rush and loves to see the wicked grin on Skywarps face when they prank a bot and make a hasty retreat that none of the others can follow. They enjoy pranking others together and its really become their private thing that helps them both bond and speak on trauma they otherwise wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing.

Out of all three seekers Bee has known starscream the longest. Its oddly easiest for the two to connect and share problems using crude humor and words while softly touching the other with a displeased expression on their face plates. Bots outside the trine think they get along the least and that Bee made a huge mistake spark bonding to all three mechs but in all honesty Bee is closest to Star and Star is closest to Bee. Star likes to tease them about it within reason but when he does Bee pulls at his wing.

—

Shockbee tfa moment where Bee knew Longarm was Shockwave but he learned by accident.

Shockwave didn’t offline Bee because they knew each other during the war. Bee wasn’t in the war and he’s far older than the other bots think.

He dodged the draft like Prowl did but it was because he was half seeker half grounder and sparklings from such pairings were offlined even if they weren’t decepticons.

They met during battle when an autobot bomb went off even though civilians were still present and it crushed Bee’s wings leaving him stuck in too much pain to move.

Shockwave had a moment of compassion and brought Bee and his destroyed wings to his lab where he repaired Bee.

He gave Bee the ability to hide his wings by retracting them. He also fixed his horns but they would be painfully sensitive and Bee would have to keep others from touching them.

Shockwave admired how the mini could go from cocky jokes to being a sweet spark. He may have even tried coaxing bee into becoming a decepticon or staying with him.

Bee didn’t accept joining but he did stay with him for quite some time.

They were a shocking couple to those who saw them. Bee was hyper and a brat but somehow sweet and thoughtful, such a lil cutie really while Shockwave was terrifying and a cryptid that scared even Megatron at times.

Bee knew Shockwave was like this and he wasn’t naive enough to try and change him. All he asked was that he never touched innocent bots unless provoked.

Shockwave could agree with that and Bee was happy with it.

Of course they merged sparks but not long after they were separated because autobots infiltrated their hide out and Bee was literally ripped from Shockwave who was holding onto his neck and back cables during the retreat.

Since he didn’t have a brand the autobots figured he was captured especially since they saw Shockwave with him. Bee was able to play his fear of the autobots into fear of his “captured days.”

He was able to slip away during transfer and went looking for shelter and a way to contact Shockwave.

He wasn’t able to find safe shelter he could permanently stay at for years.

Bouncing from place to place with no shanix made him resort to working in shady places he would like to forget.

He lived like this for almost two million years until the autobots launched a “cleansing” that got rid of shady bots and used the others for their military.

He was able to escape once again but it came at a cost.

He caught the attention of a bot named Sentinel who frequented the bakery fueler he worked at.

The mech did not take no for an answer and often tried to corner him. He was thankful for his quick pedes and flexible frame but it could only do so much when the mech followed him to the run down half broken building he recharged at saying there was no record of him.

That got his spark thumping and his processor buzzing only to plummet when the mech said that could just be a systems error so long as he joined bot camp and helped service him.

Bee managed to get out of servicing the mech but he couldn’t get out of bot camp.

So they slapped a life cycle on his new record, gave him the designation B-127 and forced him into camp.

He did his best to get kicked out and keep Sentinel from having an interest in him but that was quickly ended when Wasp and Sentinel himself cornered him and taught him a lesson.

For a long time he just laid in berth in the medical bay recovering and missing his mate. There was one sweet bot he could be himself around and that was a bot named Bulkhead. He considered him a friend and even agreed to be enlisted as a space bridge technician since Bulkhead could tell he had no interest in being apart of the elite guard let alone fight for the autobots.

So when he’s released from the med bay and hears of a new bot joining that wants to he apart of the prime council he rolls his optics and decides it best to stay away from them. He waits for Bulkhead back in their barracks and falls into recharge knowing the next day would be long.

Its in the middle of the night cycle when every bot is in deep recharge does he feel himself be touched and he onlines quickly darting a servo out to punch the offending bot thinking he was on the streets again.

Only he’s met with the sight of a bot he’s never seen before. Teal, gray, white and black with an oddly familiar red orb on his helm above his optics.

He can’t help staring at it for longer than he knows is safe before realizing he wasn’t in the barracks and the bot was holding him close like he knew him.

“What the -”

He’s cut off by the mech smiling at him with a leaking optic.

His blue optics didn’t leak but the red orb above them did.

He watched mesmerized as the mech set him down so gently and he felt himself lean forward for that warmth he didn’t even realize seeped into his frame before watching the mech before him shift and change into the very mech his spark pulsed for.

“Shockwave!”

Bee didn’t know he could jump that high or move without even realizing but he did.

He wrapped his arms around Shockwave who wrapped him tight in a hug. His corrupted spark beating for the mech in his arms that he couldn’t bare to put down.

“I’m so sorry my love.”

“I’ve missed you, shocky.”

That nickname made the one opticed mech laugh and he nuzzled Bee as if to kiss him and Bee did it back before kissing his lower jaw.

“I didn’t know how to call you. I didn’t know how to get in contact with any of you without it alerting the autobots! Wait..Shocky what are you doing here?”

“Undercover my love. I took this mission to find you. I’d heard word of you being here and I came as soon as I could. I’m so sorry it took me so long to find you my dear but now that I’ve found you I’ll never let anyone bot come between us.”

His lone red optic glowed and Bee knew his mech did something terrible to the mech who separated them. But he couldn’t bring himself to care or want to know any of the details.

“I dodged the autobots for as long as i could but…”

“I’m proud of you my spark. You dodged for millions of years and they don’t know who you really are. I am so happy.”

Bee looked Shockwave in his optic and kissed him.

That led to Shockwave touching the tip of Bee’s horn which made Bee full frame shiver before they became a mess of slick and transfluid.

A carefully crafted note from Shockwave who posed as “Longarm,” and the two had a few days working somewhere else in the camp. They had far more private time and they were able to catch up on what they were doing during their time apart. Among other physical things that left Bee stuffed with a small belly and limping slightly. Nothing desk work couldn’t cover, even though he hated sitting for so long.

Their return to bot camp was far too soon but Shockwave was happy to know Bee would be out of danger when he graduated earlier than himself and the others.

Meeting the others wasn’t as bad as he thought it’d be. Optimus was definitely a carrier hen judging by the way he fussed over them and especially Bee himself. Ratchet was a grump but Bee could tell it was from the war leaving its mark and Prowl, well the silent mech seemed like he was in pain a lot so Bee didn’t really bother with him.

More than anything he just tried to stick with Bulkhead and occasionally mess with the other mechs with pranks but nothing serious. Oddly enough Prowl came around and pranked him back which he was completely surprised about but it was welcome.

He spent a lot of time on a personal datapad talking to Shockwave. He made sure to be alone and off ship in an open area to see any bot coming.

Things were going well until they landed on a rock where the space brushes malfunctioned and they found the All spark.

Bee didn’t have any time to try and tell Shockwave because a large familiar ship entered the atmosphere and Megatron came abroad ready to take it.

Of course they recognized each other and of course Bee played off being too terrified to move when Megatron grabbed him and the all spark.

When they were far away enough he told him where the ancient relic was hidden and that he better give him and Shockwave plenty of time alone after this.

Megatron gave him a little shake but rolled his optics in a manner that was almost fond.

“You’ll get your time yet little bee.”

Megatron was almost out of the ship with them both when Optimus came and took both the all spark and Bee back.

It happened way too fast for Bee.

One nano klik he was with Megatron about to be with his spark bonded the next his servo was out reached towards Megatron who was falling to his death.

Optimus brought Bee into a stasis pod where they spent fifty years in recharge.

The first thing Bee did when he onlined was purge his tanks. None of the other bots did and Ratchet assumed it was because of his run in with Megatron and processor shock.

Bee tried to scramble to find his data pad to call Shockwave but Ratchet wouldn’t let him leave the med bay and then they had to help a species called humans.

By the time things settled, it was a few days into their arrival on Earth and Bee waited until he was alone at night to call Shockwave.

The mech answered immediately and Bee broke down at the sight of him still in disguise.

Telling him everything that happened and delivering the news he knew would crush his spark bond.

None of the other bots bothered him when they saw he was on his data pad.

When he came back they assumed they would need to comfort him and that his mechfriend had moved on but when he said his mechfriend hadn’t they were more than surprised.

Bee really didn’t like calling his conjunx his mechfriend but he couldn’t arouse suspicion.

But his plans to keep things low were completely thwarted when the elite guard came down and with them was his spark, Shockwave.

Or should he say,

“Longarm.”

[melishade]

Attack on Prime New Age Anthology: Explanation

Main Story

Quarantine

Chaos

Examination

Jack, Miko, and Raf get an explanation on Optimus and Megatron.

"Okay. Spill. Who's gonna fess up?" Miko demanded from her quarantine room, hands on her hips.

There was silence among the Survey Corps before Armin decided to speak. "Optimus was the first to arrive on our world. He came four years ago, during the Battle of Trost."

"You guys have a time stamp for the day?" Jack asked.

"Our months might be different than yours," Armin insisted.

"What season then?" Jack asked.

"Around the spring?" Armin guessed.

"...what happened next?" Rafael asked, "How did Optimus act?"

"Optimus saved my life," Armin explained, "He saved me from getting eaten by a titan. I took a gamble, and I told him about the titan's weaknesses. He helped us and E-!" Armin froze, not wanting to speak Eren's name in front of these people. "He helped us stop the titan invasion in Trost. Many of us survived because of him."

"Optimus has also been shown to be very compassionate, if you're worried about that," Hanji added, leaning against the wall of their quarantined room, "Besides providing us with knowledge and technology so we could protect ourselves, he protected us on missions, helping reduce the death toll among the Survey Corps. And for those that did die, he helped prepare their bodies for a proper funeral."

"...Optimus and I talked a few times," Onyankopon spoke, "Our first conversation, we talked about forging a path to peace, and how a world of different people was beautiful. Later, I was accused of something that Yelena and a few others had planned, but Optimus was willing to come to my cell, talk to me, and show me mercy. His influenced helped be get a second chance to prove I wanted to help the island survive."

"Optimus told us stories," Sasha added, "He told us stories about his adventures. He helped us survive during the winter and introduced us to new experiences."

"He's also been gentle with children whenever he's been around the orphanage," Historia chimed in.

"Also, Optimus was willing to barter Cybertronian technology and resources to try to prevent the use of the Rumbling while giving us time to become just as advanced with the rest of the world," Hanji added.

"It's true. Hizuru has been making those negotiations with Paradis," Kenshin informed.

"Well, it sounds like Optimus," Miko addressed Jack.

"Besides, don't we already have the confirmation that it's him with the Star Saber?" Rafael asked.

"Better safe than sorry," Jack explained, "Anyone have anything else to add on Optimus' behalf?"

"...I was mean to him," Gabi forced herself to speak. The girl was curled up into a ball in her room, "I was cruel to him. I refused his help and called him a devil. But...he still treated me with kindness. He was even willing to save my life. After everything I did, he still wanted to save me."

"We're gonna circle back to you being mean to Optimus later," Miko warned.

"Hey, she's been through enough!" Colt yelled at her.

"Optimus and I have never had a formal conversation," Kenshin decided to speak up to get the attention off of Gabi, "We wrote each other letters, but they were insightful. He made me feel like peace could be attainable without the use of the Rumbling."

Willy thought about confessing his sins, about how he vilified Optimus in order to unite the world against a common enemy. But he was afraid of what would happen. These children, this place, held Optimus in high regard. How would it look when they find out he was the one who made Optimus look like the enemy?

"Guess there's not really much left to ask about Optimus," Jack assumed.

"So what about Megatron?" Miko coldly demanded.

"What about him?" Hanji asked, "He came in when we learned the identity of the Colossal and Armored Titan. A month after Optimus arrived on our world. And you saw how differently he was acting."

"Well, Buckethead has tried to kill us multiple times and you!" Miko pointed to Armin, "Beg Bumblebee and Wheeljack to save his life!"

"Whoa, what?!" Jack exclaimed.

"That was you?!" Rafael shouted in anger.

"I'm still quite the outsider. What exactly are Megatron's war crimes?" Kenshin asked.

"You mean poisoning me with dark energon and taunting the Autobots about it?" Rafael asked bitterly.

"Or kidnapping us and using us as ransom for the chance to restore Cybertron and destroy Earth?" Miko added.

"Or holding our planet hostage with Darkmount and destroying the only home that I've ever known?" Jack stated.

"Tearing out Bumblebee's voice," Rafael seethed, "And took over his body!"

"Tried to take over our world with undead Zombie 'Cons," Jack added.

"Stabbed multiple people in the back, and you decided to defend the ex-con who killed his own planet and tried to destroy ours at least five times." Miko pointed to Armin. Kenshin couldn't help but grow tense while Willy, Colt, and Gabi looked visibly terrified. Megatron did...all of those cruel things?

"...Do you think that I've been brainwashed by him somehow?" Armin challenged Miko, not wavering at Megatron's war crimes.

"Maybe." Miko crossed her arms.

"Sounds more like Stockholm syndrome," Rafael assumed.

"I chose to defend Megatron of my own free volition," Armin declared, "No strings attached."

"What made you decide to defend him?" Jack questioned, "The fact that you're willing to do that knowing Megatron's background means more negative things for you."

Armin was ready to speak, but...many of their conversations had been private and personal. Back then, Armin was afraid of saying anything out of fear of what Megatron would do to him. But Megatron did trust him now, so much so that he willingly gave his name to him. But how could Armin defend Megatron without exposing his secrets. There had to be something. Armin's thoughts wandered back to Eren, and he hated how bitter he felt thinking about his former friend. He hated how hypocritical he was feeling in that moment. Armin was willing to defend Megatron but couldn't feel anything but resentment towards his childhood friend. The time spent, their childhood dreams...Megatron saving Eren's life...and Megatron comforting him...

"Megatron saved my friend's life," Armin declared, "He tried to take his own life, but Megatron stopped him before he could do it. He noticed the signs long before I ever did."

"And your friend was-!"

"Human," Armin cut Rafael off. "He was human."

Armin noticed the way that Jack, Miko, and Rafael looked at each other in disbelief, giving him the courage to continue. "And...when I had found out that my friend was going to die because of the titan curse, I tried to find a solution through books. Megatron tried to get me to stop spiraling, but instead I just threw books at him. He didn't hit me, or try to kill me. He...he comforted me in my moment of grief."

Jack slowly shook his head. "I don't believe you."

"I'm telling the truth," Armin declared.

"We've seen Megatron be cruel and ruthless," Jack retorted, "It's going to be a little hard believing you when his cold-heartedness is all we know."

"Fine!" Armin stood up on his feet, "Megatron was a spy in Marley for four years, pretending to be a human, just to get us information on Marley so that we could survive an impending invasion! Megatron let me have a book on the ocean, which has been one of my interests for years and he knew that! Megatron created a secondary plan that got us out of trouble when Eren started to go against us! He saved your people and ours during the Rumbling!"

"Oh no, a few good deeds sprinkled in here and there when Megatron's killed a whole planet!" Rafael exclaimed, "Where was Megatron's 'compassion' when I was slowly dying?! Because to him, I was just a bug!"

"I'm speaking from my own experience! Megatron has changed!" Armin emphasized.

"So far, only one account to back that up!" Rafael retorted.

"I blackmailed Megatron," Hanji chimed in, earning all eyes on them.

"...what?" Miko said.

"I blackmailed Buckethead," Hanji repeated, "To his face I might add."

"N-....no....," Miko was at a loss for words.

"Oh yeah, I totally did that." Hanji couldn't help but grin at their accomplishment, "And Buckethead couldn't do anything about it because I was the Commander of the Survey Corps and an ally to Optimus Prime. Although he did try to choke me out, I still managed to get him to back off with my words."

"There's no way you blackmailed Megatron and lived," Jack proclaimed.

"If Levi makes it out alive, he's my star witness," Hanji declared, "Also, I've also had a few instances where Megatron was showing just a hint of compassion."

"You too?!" Miko screeched.

"Yep," Hanji answered with a pop, "See, one of our temporary allies killed one of my closest friends and I wanted blood. Megatron said no because it would have jeopardized the mission, and in my drunken state, I threw two bottles of whiskey at him."

Jack, Miko, and Rafael's mouths dropped.

"And pulled on his hair...and bit him...well, his holoform, but still," Hanji listed off, placing a finger on their chin, "What else have I done to screw with Buckethead?...oh! I called him a coward to his face, and this was before I rejected his apology to me about his piss poor attitude."

"YOU CALLED HIM A COWARD?!" Jack shouted.

"HE APOLOGIZED TO YOU?!" Miko screamed.

"To all of us actually," Sasha added in defeat.

"What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck?" Rafael repeated as he clutched his hair with his hands and began pacing in his room.

"And don't get me wrong, he's still extremely violent in nature and has no issues killing or using low tactics against us," Hanji explained, "But the Megatron now is drastically different from when I met him four years ago. He's been the most proactive in trying to stop the Rumbling before it could start. And he managed to figure out a ploy that would have compromised our entire military."

"No! No no no no no no!" Miko immediately shut Hanji down, "I need a counterpoint now!"

"He was actually pretty mean to me," Gabi confessed.

"HA!" Miko shouted at Hanji.

"But...I wasn't actually listening to his advice when he was pretending to be Matthew," Gabi added.

"Advice?!" Miko yelled.

"Megatron cared about us!" Colt declared, "I don't care about the war crimes! I know he cared about us!"

"Oh yeah?!" Rafael demanded.

"Yes! He found a cure for an unknown illness that I had and saved my life!" Colt declared.

"HE WHAT?!" Rafael shouted.

"There's no way!" Jack denied.

"I'm telling the truth!" Colt retorted, "He had no reason to save me! If anything, it would have been better for him to let me die because I was a Warrior Candidate! I was next in line to become a Warrior and be an enemy to him! But he still went out of his way to save me!"

"Um! Ummm...." Miko's attention fell onto Historia, "You! You talk to Buckethead?!"

"I asked him to kill me if I ever became a cruel ruler which he agreed to, and he rescued my wife, Ymir, when I had asked him to," Historia explained.

"What is happening?!" Rafael yelled at Miko and Jack.

"Hey, I think you guys are going to break them," Kenshin commented.

"Nah, this is the kind of fun that I need," Hanji insisted.

"You!" Miko pointed to Kenshin, "C'mon, you gotta give me something!"

"He volunteered to be a human's body guard as she came to visit my home," Kenshin explained.

"What?!" Miko yelled.

"He did challenge her to a one on one fight too," Kenshin added, "He did injure her, but she did managed to break the katana he was using. He actually apologized about it later. And-!"

"No! No! No! LA! LA! LA!" Miko covered her ears to block out what Kenshin was saying.

"Never mind, this actually is kind of fun," Kenshin smirked.

"Who was this person?!" Rafael demanded.

"Mikasa," The Survey Corps said in unison.

"Oh, you mean the psycho that tried to kill Jack!" Miko pointed to the room Jack was in, "That explains everything!"

"Hey, she was the first human he ever tolerated," Hanji retorted.

"Is she a murderous psychopath like he is?!" Miko demanded.

"Hey!" Armin shouted, "Mikasa's been through enough! I don't care if she's not here! Stop trying to insult her!"

"She tried to kill my friend! I have a right to be pressed!" Miko declared.

"Okay, hold on! Where is she?!" Jack asked, "Because I haven't seen her at all!"

"I!....I don't know," Armin confessed.

"What?!" Sasha screamed.

"What do you mean 'you don't know'?!" Rafael demanded.

"She was alive after the power of the titans were wiped out! And I went to go check on Megatron and when I tried to find her!...she was gone," Armin explained.

"Great so we have someone who might be carrying a disease running around doing god knows what," Rafael groaned.

"Not much we can do about it now," Jack proclaimed before turning his attention to Willy's room, "Hey, Blondie!"

Willy raised his head and looked through the glass to see all eyes on him.

"You got anything to add? You've been pretty quiet," Jack remarked.

"I don't have much to say," Willy proclaimed.

"You mean besides the fact that you were the one who decided to declare war on Paradis, including Optimus," Kenshin snitched on Willy with venom.

"You declared war on Optimus?" Rafael demanded.

"It was a politically charged situation!" Willy retorted.

"You mean it was easier for you to vilify Paradis instead of forging a path of peaceful solutions and trading agreements!" Kenshin yelled.

"You've been in this political realm long enough to know just how the world felt about Paradis and the power of the titans!" Willy shot to his feet.

"Well, my father, despite his own hiccups, was willing to listen to Paradis and give them a chance to prove themselves!" Kenshin declared, "What have you been doing?! Living a lavish life while having everyone else grovel at your feet over a goddamn lie! Who knows how many people from our world are dead now?!"

"Okay!" Jack clapped his hands together, "We need to know about Optimus and Megatron. We'll ask about your world's politics later. Do you have anything on either of them?"

Willy sighed before looking away. "I never met Optimus. I only heard accounts. It was actually when he used his powerful blade that I got a good look at him for the first time. But..."

"You've met Megatron," Jack assumed.

"...he went by Matthew Hayes when I met him," Willy explained, "And when I did, he...saved my life and the life of my family. But...looking back...I think it was a ploy to try and get close to me and my family. And out of curiosity and intrigue and finally having a moment of being treated like a normal person, I let him in. I let him into my home, I let him train my sister, Lara, into becoming a better fighter. He's been near my kids. The titan that managed to take on the power of the titans, including ripping out the heart of the Colossal Titan, was near my children."

Armin noticed the way that Miko and Rafael seemed satisfied in hearing that. That their superstitions and accusations were right, but Jack...he seemed to notice something in Willy's words.

"Sounds like there's a 'but'," Jack noticed.

"He asked me for books to save his life." Willy pointed down to where Colt was, "He willingly entertained ideas like going to a party. I mean, all of those could have still been ways to gain my trust and secrets, but...I vilified him on that stage, when I addressed the world. I said Optimus and him were cruel monsters that needed to be stopped. And he was there behind the stage when I said those words....I was fully expecting to die that night. And when I talked to Megatron then, I had hugged him and told him to run away from the danger to save himself. Hell, he probably helped plan the Liberio invasion. But...he had no real incentive to save me. It would have been better for him to let me die, even after I insulted him. Instead, he pushed me off the stage as Eren crushed his human form."

Willy covered his eyes with his hand. "I don't get it. Why would he even do that? He showed disdain for me when he was lying about his identity and had every reason to want me dead. Why...why would he save me?"

Rafael looked visibly sick to his stomach while Miko looked tense. They were so disgusted and in denial about all of these different accounts of Megatron that were...positive!

"I'm going to the bathroom." Rafael walked away from the glass and to the back of the quarantine room, where he opened the door and shut it right behind him.

"Pillow." Miko walked over to the pillow on her bed and grabbed it before shoving her face into it and screaming. She fell back on the bed, kicking her legs up furiously before slumping in defeat, pillow still over her face.

"M-megatron was the one who saved you?" Armin asked Willy in surprise.

"Wait, why are you acting surprise?" Jack asked him.

"Well, we heard from Kiyomi that someone pushed Willy off the stage, but...Megatron never told us about it," Armin explained.

Jack didn't respond. He merely walked over to the bed before sitting down and covering his mouth with his hand.

"Still don't believe us, I'm guessing," Hanji assumed.

"It's hard," Jack confessed, rubbing the back of his neck, "Considering the amount of things Megatron's done to us directly and indirectly...I don't know."

"...I'm not going to ask you to forgive him," Armin stated, "Megatron's already stated that he doesn't deserve that. He knows where he stands. But...if you can give him a chance to show how much he's changed-!"

"Even if we wanted to, it's not up to us," Jack interrupted, "The Autobots are going to want to put him on trial. Execution's his only path forward now that he's in their hands."

Armin felt he heart drop. Wait...in trying to save Megatron's life...did...did he condemn him? Was he...was he going to lose someone else?

"It's been a long day." Jack lied down on the bed, "I think it's best we all get some rest."

Hanji turned their attention upward to the corners of the glass. "You do that."

(Well, there will be more conversations in the future, and the Autobots are definitely going to talk about it, especially since Wheeljack committed treason by helping out Megatron.)

[kalahannikolai]

My glorious, beautiful boy, Bumblebee! Based on his '07 live-action design, but simplified and with my own personal flourish on top. I am VERY proud of this, as simple as it was compared to Megatron and Soundwave. I'm especially proud of the most unique aspects of him: his head, antlers, and face.

And now, another bout of lore beneath the cut!

Long before the Civil War even began, Sentinel Prime had begun a project in secret. Performed by his confidential science division, he ordered the creation of a breed of Super Soldier to enact his will across the stars. Where Sentinel's predecessor, Nova Prime, sought to–stifle and erase the predacons from Cybertron, Sentinel saw a way they could serve his own ambitions. Thus did he have many captured and experimented upon in secret, and used as the base to create his Super Soldier.

Cybertronians forged from the protoform stage to become his greatest warriors, and so many protoforms were created in his science division's labs and artificially aged to maturity and deployed at once.

Among their number was B-127 and C-127, two individuals made in the 127th batch under Jhiaxus' supervision. While C-127 thrived amidst the violent missions they were sent on across the stars, B-127 came to realize something was wrong. Always keen and observant of his surroundings, he quickly realized something was different between him and his battle brothers, and their commanding officers. While they all looked bestial and strangely out of place, their officers looked near regal and poised in comparison. Subtle differences in how their armor was shaped, their faces were formed, warned Bee that something was wrong.

One day, he convinced C-127 to sneak out with him to investigate. They broke into their general's private quarters on a colony they'd just settled, after a grueling battle that took many cycles. There, they found their first traces, and eventually went AWOL entirely and snuck their way to Cybertron for the first time in their known lives. Once there, they were shocked to see the rest of Cybertron's inhabitants, and even more so the khadracons; those with odd, bestial faces just like theirs. But their excursion soon brought them to Iacon wherein they met Orion Pax and Alpha Trion.

The Prime and his apprentice quickly noted something off about the two, and took them to a freelance doctor named Ratchet at once. It was soon discovered that they were hardly old enough to have alt modes let alone fight, and yet they looked the part of fully mature beings. Furthermore, they looked the part of predacon descendants, and yet Ratchet could find no genealogical record within their CNA at all. It was then that Alpha Trion realized what was going on here, and so too did Orion Pax; who knew that if Megatron learned of this, he would declare war immediately...and chose not to tell him, for fear it would come true.

But Megatron would find out regardless, as an ambitious Shockwave—one of Jhiaxus' own colleagues—would blow the whistle directly into the gladiator's ear. But while most of the experimental soldiers rallied to Megatron's cause, C-127 and B-127 would not be fooled into following another tyrant into war. Instead, they hid away with Orion Pax and Alpha Trion within the archives of Iacon. When Orion was uplifted as Optimus Prime, and formed the Autobot Resistance, they both enlisted at once to PROTECT rather than to destroy. Thus were they christened with true names, as C-127 called himself Cliffjumper, while B-127...called himself Bumblebee.

[skylarkking]

"One In The Same"

A TFA Blitzwing x Mech!Reader

Word Count: 1.1k

Chapter 2: Crash Meeting

“Thanks Sari.” I said quietly as the little girl inserted her key into my side, the surge of power mending my wounds until it looked like nothing had happened. 

“Those Decepticons did a lot of damage on you, huh?” She said quietly.

“Only the green and purple one, Lugnut I believe was his name.” I said. My expression became puzzled as I remembered the incident,both Ratchet and Sari noticing it.

“What's on your processor?” Ratchet asked.

“There were two Decepticons,” I said as I looked to the ground. “And one of them… was like me.”

“Like you?” Sari asked.

“A triple changer named Blitzwing.” I said as I turned my attention to Ratchet. “Ratchet… why didn't you tell me there were others like me?”

“Because there weren't any Y/D.” Ratchet said. “You were the only one on both sides.”

“So that bot is a mystery to you too?” 

Ratchet nodded in response.

“Wait, so there aren't other triple changers?” Sari asked.

“No.” Ratchet said. “Y/D was a… surprise.”

“A surprise?” Sari asked with even more confusion than before.

“I was created by accident in a lab.” I said. “It's a long story, one i… don't want to talk about.” I paused a moment to think before speaking again. “But… wouldn't that mean the Decepticons made the same mistake the Autobots did?”

“We won't know for certain Y/D.” Ratchet said. 

“Then I'll have to find out.” I said as I tried to stand only for Ratchet to stop me.

“Y/D, I don't want you going anywhere near the Decepticons for a while.” He said sternly. “You had a shutdown, and the risk of it happening again is too high.”

“But-”

“No buts young bot.” He said before his expression softened. “I don't say this just as a medic and your caretaker. I day this as a friend as well. If another shutdown happened so soon after this one…” the medic's voice wavered a bit as he struggled to maintain his composure. “It could lock you in stasis. Forever.”

“But what if they attack again?” I growled as violet crept into my optics. “Am I supposed to stay behind and let you and the others get their cans kicked?!”

“Y/D.” Ratchet said. “That's not what I mean, and you know it.”

“Then what do you mean?” I asked as the violence returned to blue.

“I mean, it would be best if you took a break for a bit.” My expression saddened a bit at his words, and a quiet sigh left me in response. 

“Fine.” I murmured.

-with the head of Megatron-

“Fascinating aren't you.” He murmured to himself as he watched the video feed of the events between the Decepticons and Autobots, particularly the parts where I was in view. “Yet you seem familiar in a way I don't recall.” He then zoomed in onto the scene where I was laying on the ground battered and broken, mostly focusing on my face. 

Megatron recognized who I was. Who I really was.

“So, it seems he's escaped my clutches only to be back in my reach.” Megatron sneered to himself. “I knew I should have melted his corpse down when I had the chance. No matter, those modifications won't save him from what I have in store.”

He then opened a link to Lugnut's mind and gave an order that would dictate the course of my existence. 

“Lugnut. I have a special task for both of you. A task that is just as important as finding the Allspark.”

“What is your command mighty Megatron?” Lugnut asked.

“The Autobot triple changer. Bring down, but do not kill him. I would like to do the honors.”

“My lord, may I ask why you wish to bother with this Autobot?”

“Consider it a… personal matter.”

-with Y/D-

“Kid? What are you doing?” Ratchet asked as he found me staring out into the star filled night sky. I looked back at the medic with an odd expression on my face, almost as if I had seen something the others hadn't. 

“You're making that face again.” Ratchet said as he stood next to me. “It's the same one you had when we first found the Allspark.”

“Something is going to happen soon.” I said grimly. “And it will involve the Allspark… we need to get it off this planet. Now.” I stood up and quickly headed inside, Optimus looking up and seeing my expression.

“What's wrong?” The Prime asked.

“We need to move the Allspark.” I said. “It's not safe.”

“I agree.” Optimus said. “But we are going to need Sari's key if we are to move it.”

“There isn't time!” I snapped. “We need to move. Now. I'll go on ahead and secure the ship.”

“Whoa whoa easy kid!” Ratchet said as he stopped me from bolting out.

“Ratchet, I need you to trust me on this one.” I said. 

“Just… be careful.” Ratchet said. I nodded and quickly took to the skies. 

I made a direct beeline for the sunken ship only to slam directly into someone, the impact from the collision forcing both of us to shift forms. We tumbled out of the skies and crash landed not far from the water’s edge, myself resting on top of the other bot’s chassis.

“Nnngh.” I grunted as I opened my optics and looked down to see who I had crashed into only to immediately jump back with a yelp.

“WHOEVER JUST SLAMMED INTO ME BETTER HOPE ZAT-” Blitzwing started to shout in his, as I dubbed ‘Hothead’, persona only to immediately switch to his cool ‘Icy’ one with embaressment “Oh, it's um… it's you.”

“Um… yes?” I said awkwardly. 

‘Frag frag frag! What do I do?!’ I thought to myself in a panic. I could feel my face flush up as Blitzwing looked me over with a strange curiosity. 

Apparently, Blitzwing noticed my expression and seemed to retreat with an odd sort of shyness I wouldn't expect from a Decepticon. In fact, his hesitation was oddly... adorable. He then stood and offered a servo to which I hesitantly took, allowing him to pull me back onto my pedes.

It was a strangely tender moment, especially when he tried to cup my face with his massive servo only for him to get interrupted by the loud thud of Lugnut landing not far.

“YOU! AUTOBOT!” Lugnut bellowed, forcing me to jump away from the triple changer and take on a defensive stance. “BLITZWING! GRAB HIM!”

“You'll have to catch me first!” I said as I shifted to my ground mode and took off in a plume of dust, the two mechs chasing close behind.

--------

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Next Chapter: Click Here

[transingthoseformers]

Part 7

Warning for religious themes because Star Saber is going through some stuff.

Rodimus isn't doing the best, though he has been slowly piecing together a layout and planning because Rodimus can plan. He  is clinging to his positive interactions with Pharma and Magnus's letter to keep him stable. But he is also wondering if Magnus knew what he was sending Rodimus to. It hurts to consider, but he doesn't believe Magnus knew (has to believe), and sometimes Tyrest talks about Magnus sending him to him and Magnus himself, and the tone isn't good. Enough that Rodimus gets defensive.

A scathing comment about Magnus and his "fall from grace" is actually a breaking point for Rodimus, who manages to burn through his restraint and punch Tyrest. He feels good for all of three seconds before a gun goes off, and he's down because Lockdown has arrived with Tyrest's latest request. Tyrest is getting up, and the Decepticon is getting ready to fire again, only for Star Saber to break his arm and step between them.

Lockdown bristles and curses and Rodimus is using his own knowledge and Pharma's polishing to stave off bleeding out. Tyrest interferes telling Star Saber good job and Lockdown Rodimus is not to be harmed as he is and here Tyrest pauses to smile a "Prime research subject".

No one laughs.

Tyrest, barely looking at Star Saber, orders him to take Rodimus to "the doctor" and looks over Lockdown, thoughtful, asking for updates. Star Saber stiffly scoops up Rodimus and is careful not to jostle him as he rushes to Pharma. Pharma instantly starts working. Things are tense, and Lockdown comes in whining and rolling his eyes at Pharma, snapping at him to wait. He gives Star Saber  a wary look and waits leering at Rodimus, and then his expression changes, and he goes.

"No way. It's fragging Hot Rod."

Lockdown says no hard feelings, but he can't have him punch the meal ticket.

There is some back and forth mention of things Hot Rod did in the war like single handedly breaking one of his squad out of prison by riding down on a meteor and taking a Decepticon warship with high command and Megatron alone to get the Matrix. Rodimus confirms and mentions taking a fusion cannon to the Spark, which Lockdown whistles at. Pharma finishes, and he and Star Saber have a moment of understanding, and Rodimus is scooped up and hurried off with Lockdown, looking him over and saying he may come visit and flinching when Pharma squeezes something.

Star Saber puts him down as they walk at Rodimus's insistence. They pass the colorful guy like always, and Rodimus notices the hand signals again. They'd finally found a shared hand sign language recently after showing each other different examples and had been going back and forth. Rodimus knows his name is Getaway. And is pretty sure he's a spy.

Status? Concern. Visible blood. 

Clear. Medical attention received. Enemy agent ambush. L-O-C-K-D-O-W-N.

[RUDE GESTURE] 

Report next rendezvous. 

Confirmed.

Star Saber leads him somewhere else, though. His own rooms for Rodimus to clean himself. Then, he takes Rodimus back to his cell until he is summoned by Tyrest.

Rodimus assumes it will be more of the same, but instead, Tyrest smiles tells Rodimus to sit and offers him food. Rodimus is thrown and disturbed, and it only gets worse when Tyrest explains it was time to explain the reason for everything.

He tells him the plan, and Rodimus gets more and more horrified as Tyrest explains this, like it is something obvious and normal and good. He reacts as he does in Canon, and Star Saber drags him away, clearly irritated and nowhere near as gentle.

He drags the handcuffed Rodimus somewhere private.

Then Star Saber confronts him, saying the Chief Justice has an idea to fix things for their species, and Rodimus should hear him out. 

They argue which Rodimus knows he shouldn't with a captor but they do and Star Saber reveals a bit of his own trauma with blaming lack of faith for the war and society failing and loathes his former leader his cowardice and how it led them to losing too much and acting too late and only for a murderer and not others. They shout because Rodimus is definitely not about killing groups on a large scale. Star Saber shouts that didn't stop the Decepticons and how they treated those who believed anything other than Megatron.

I have specific Victory themed ideas about Star Saber's backstory since we don't actually know a lot about him. Hero decay Star Saber who lost everything until all he had left was the Circle and religion and he despises Dai Atlus and Wing and Drift for opening the city and letting the outside world in but only did it for Drift, a Decepticon and killer but not others. It was too little, too late.

Star Saber says if Rodimus really is a Prime, then what is Primus's answer? What does the wisdom of the Primes share? Why the death and sacrifices of the most innocent first?

Rodimus says that he doesn't know. He doesn't have those kinds of answers. He never heard from Primus directly. He is here because he is a failure as a Prime.

Star Saber says he hardly believes he was ever one to fail as and they'll find out.

So he drags Rodimus by his spoiler out of the building and transforms around him before dropping him from the air to a barren field. Star Saber transforms again and confronts him shouting for Rodimus to use that Gift said to belong to the Primes. If Tyrest is so wrong surely Rodimus can do better? Maybe bring back their dying race like Primes are supposed to; the Matrix is for life too after all. Where is the apparent forgiving God of Life Rodimus believes in when the warrior aspect has been all they've known and proven to be capable of, violence has been everything for four million years. The only thing listened to.

Rodimus shouts back, which doesn't even make sense and is pissed and shouting, and then he sees Star Saber cut off and stare at him, looking like he'd been stabbed. There's a weird glowing, and Rodimus sees light slowly spread as the field of New Sparks ignites around him. 

Rodimus is kind of struck because he isn't focused on retrieving a walking Magnus Mayne Zombie and instead has the capacity to take in the fact that holy shit he ignited a Hot Spot.

Star Saber drops to his knees.

Oh definitely Star Saber is absolutely going through it here

Makes sense considering what I'm seeing of Rodimus, and yeahhhhh. The knowledge that UM sent him here willingly and thinking it would be a good thing is a 💫thing💫, but good that he's hoping Mags didn't know™️

Tyrest that might be a shit idea it is a shit idea, Rodimus is not happy with him. (An understatement)

Mmnn. Fuck, it's Lockdown.

Current Star Saber w

Tyrest it is not the time for puns

No yeah Hot Rod / Rodimus is not to be underestimated!

Oooo on him interacting with Getaway

Tyrest you have shown us at every opportunity in this timeline you are not to be trusted with jack shit

"fix a thing for their species" Star Saber, babygirl, he's talking about genocide of a notoriously discriminated group in IDW

Damnnnnnnn

Your Star Saber backstory you're suggesting makes sense, and damn that's some consequences alright

oH and he's asking the heavy questions

Saber: "oh yeah? If you're really a Prime, show me us. Show us the Life that's supposed to come with a Prime, show us. Show us you're not a fraud."

Roddie: *proceeds to impregnate the ground*

I will never resist the opportunity to refer to a Prime igniting a Hot Spot as impregnating the [blank]

[nevis-the-skeleton]

tfp starscream ! (cosmics-beings!)

First impression :

So, to contextualize, before watching TFP I watched Cyberverse, and I was just starting to discover Transformers. I still had trouble remembering the names of the characters, or recognizing them. So when I watched the first episode of TFP and found that Starscream didn't look like this anymore:

But like this:

I gone crazy. Also, I found him terrifying at first XD (not to mention Soundwave). I remember asking my sister to press pause, and I cried saying that Starscream and Soundwave scared me XD. It was especially the claws and the look of Starscream that terrified me. I also yelled that they changed the colors which caused me to be lost (because I spot a character or image mostly with the colors). Don't judge me I was discovering Transformers, I was still a novice X).

Impression now :

I love Starscream TFP! Without contest ! He is the most complex and the most brilliant character of the series in my eyes! He's the one who made me love Transformers and the others Starscreams! That's mean a lot! His character, his way of thinking, there's so much to do with this character that he's a real goldmine. I like characters with a strong character, and he has a character that is just incredible XD. Also, he's really cool! We sometimes forget it because Season 3 made a gag of him. But in fact he is incredibly determined, and really strong. Also, he's really pretty X3.

Starscream supremacy !

Favorite moment :

I have a lot of favorite moments with Starscream, but I'll make the effort to name only five X) (that's a lot already… Shhhh…) 1- When he saves Arcee. In fact, I wasn't expecting it, so much that it almost moved me. It really showed me that this character could show pity, when they had never really given him any. It made me really appreciate him. 2- When he flees from Megatron, and manages to fly into a collapsing cave. Do you realize the skill it takes to do that?! It's just impressive! 3- When he goes to look for Breakdown, despite Megatron's orders. I know they're presented this as if he did it for his own benefit. But we must not forget that at the beginning of the episode, he tells Megatron that it is not right to leave Breakdown to his fate. It proves once again that he is much more "empathetic" than the others. Megatron doesn't care, and we never see KnockOut worry about it. 4- His many infiltrations in the Nemesis, which apparently is not very well monitored XD. But one in particular is the chase with the Vehicons, he once again has so much flow in the air, really it's magnificent! 5- The episode in Antarctica, the scene with the Apex Armor is really great. And also it made me happy to see him let off steam a little, knowing that he had been roughed up during the whole episode. And above all, he wins for once! He's the one with the Apex Armor at the end!

Idea for a story :

I had a lot of stories ^^. There is of course "The Polar Star" (of which I am already writing Part 5 in French and Part 4 in English). The novel tells a version where Skyfire exists, and is found by Starscream and Optimus (during episode 13 of Season 2 precisely, with the Apex Armor). I just wanted to give Starscream some love, after being particularly frustrated with Season 3 and the movie. Summary :

Starscream was never very lucky, he knew it... But he didn’t think he was that lucky! He did not think that going to the Arctic to look for a relic would cause him so many problems... He had already had to avoid being destroyed by Dreadwing, and now he found himself prisoner by Optimus... Really, it was pure bad luck... Besides, because of his inability to fly, because of the damn MECH, he was more than destitute... This day could hardly be worse... When they found themselves in front of the ice block containing the relic, the Seeker noticed that it was not a relic inside... But, someone?! And this person is none other than... Skyfire! The ghosts of the past always end up coming back, often bringing back things that were supposed to be long gone... Things that could well change the future itself...

* My other story idea was a novel called "We are the same," and that version takes place at the start of Season 3. Starscream is devastated by the destruction of the Omega Keys, and gives up all reason to live. He then left the Decepticons, and hid in an old military hangar, to let himself starve. But what he didn't know was that a young human named Adler, who also often thinks of death, always takes refuge in this hangar when he's sad. They will each then meet someone who looks a lot like them, and try to enjoy life together (no ship of course, Adler is only 12 years old!)

Unpopular opinion :

Ok... Ready...? I hate Season 3 and the movie!

And, it's not just that I don't like it, I hate it. I know it's violent, and I wouldn't go so far as to hate for Season 3 (thank you Predaking). But the film is a definite no! There was so much injustice towards Starscream it was heartbreaking to watch! And Season 3 may be less hateful than the movie to me, but that doesn't take away the fact that the violence against Starscream was just awful. He really never had a break, and I had to put up with that, and not show anything because I wasn't watching alone…! I showed TFP to a friend, until Season 2, we watched together. Then I asked her to watch Season 3 on her own (I really don't want to watch this season again), and I advised against the film.

Favorite relationship :

Skyfire x Starscream without a doubt! I know that this ship is not possible normally, because Skyfire does not exist in TFP, but I don't care X). For me, no TFP character deserves Starscream, they were all too bad with him! Except maybe Optimus. Skyfire was just the touch of sweetness that was missing, and that Starscream needed in my opinion.

Favorite headcanon :

I like to think that Starscream isn't interrested by sexual stuffs or things like that, despite the fact he's looking very "sexy". I like to think that it's embarrassing him to talk about that.

Thanks for you ask ^^ @cosmics-beings

[of-nyon]

was going through my wips and unearthed the decepticon X AU that fizzled out cause I don't know how to finish it, and...I still don't know how to finish it, lol. So here's what I got.

vvvv CLICK BELOW to see Soundwave having a nice night out, X getting to be just a little bit manipulative (as a treat), and Zero having a bad time.

There had been some terrible mistake.

From Soundwave's briefings and his own research, X had fully expected an invitation to a performance as the Decepticon diplomatic envoy to the Vynhar, a species that above all else loved dramatic performance and passion, and also had been identified as having useful resources that the Decepticon Army was stretched too thin to justify a full-scale invasion to acquire. And also, X tended to dislike that approach, and with Soundwave surprising him by backing him up, Megatron had agreed to send him out here instead.

But, it seemed, the Autobots had the same idea. And the Vynhar were either playing for drama, or had simply decided to lump the Cybertronians together in the audience.

The red-and-yellow mech next to him was ramrod-stiff in his seat, his EM field tightly pulled against his frame. Awkwardly sat between the lone Autobot and the reassuring presence that was Soundwave, it was near-impossible for X to focus on the opera, a well-loved Vynhara tale about forbidden, star-crossed lovers.

Something pinged in his inbox. The Autobot – Zero, or so he called himself during an awkwardly stiff introduction – was requesting to open a comm channel. X checked in with Soundwave first.

:he wants to comm me. Do I accept?:

Soundwave was silent for a moment. Then, a file packet of info was sent over to him, which X opened curiously.

:Autobot Zero: potential recruit,: Soundwave explained as X scrolled through the mech in question's personnel file, some of it plucked straight from Autobot data networks. Soundwave truly lived up to his well-earned reputation. :Recent disagreements with Autobot high command. Unsure why they have sent him, but still an opportunity.:

:I see,: X replied. :thank you: He accepted the request, noting recent disciplinary action in the file. Brig time, extra chores. Not very Autobot-like -

:Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you right now.:

X blinked.

That was one way to introduce yourself.

:Well, it would cause a scene. Vynhar hate interruptions. They wouldn't look kindly on the Autobots afterwards. And, maybe you could take me. I'm not much of a fighter. But Soundwave is. I suppose that's two reasons.:

Zero didn't reply. On stage, the hero sang out his anguish at the prospect of being separated from his lover, who he'd met about ten minutes ago.

There was two more hours of this.

:My name is X,: he tried, bringing to bear his greatest weapon: the principle of sheer, grit-stubborn politeness that even Starscream wasn't unaffected by when meetings ran long and everyone was tired and grumpy.

The Autobot stared ahead. X didn't expect a reply, but a few moments later, his inbox pinged again.

:You're not a warbuild. You don't even have any visible weapons. You're tiny. You look like an accountant. Why are you a 'con?:

:Well, why are you an Autobot? Seems you get in trouble with them an awful lot.:

The red mech somehow stiffened even further. Finally turning to face X, his Autobot-blue optics shined in the low light with startled accusation.

“How do you know that?” Zero hissed, ducking in closer. His hands gripped the sides of his seat. X just smiled and tipped his head upwards at the not-actually-that-monolithic-once-you-got-to-know-him block that was Soundwave, who was currently doing an amazing job of pretending to be utterly unaware of the miniature drama playing out next to him, appearing totally focused on the stage. Zero cursed under his breath and sat back.

:Can he actually read minds?: Zero's uncertain gaze darted from one Decepticon to the other. X gave a reassuring smile.

:I can ask him not to! We're having a private conversation, after all. So why all the brig time? Don't you agree with them?:

Zero said nothing, turning to once more watch the stage. Well, that was fine. No need to push this early. X decided to give him some ground:

:Well, if you must know, you were close. I was a clerk. But…two of my older siblings were created as domestic helpers. Disposable-class.: Even if their creator had never intended it that way, there had been no escaping the chokehold of Cybertron under Functionism, not until Megatron had stood up and said enough.

Even then, X had still had to smuggle them out, Blues dropping in with a rare reappearance and an ultimatum to get them to safety. The fees had been exorbitant, and, discovering the perceived betrayal, X's good graces with their creator finally ran out. He wasn't the all-powerful outlier he'd been intended as – just a normal mech. A clerk.

:…I don't know much about that stuff,: Zero admitted. :I was made for the war.:

So, the Autobots weren't teaching their history, then, at least not the parts that didn't suit them. X and his siblings had technically been illegal, their creator thinking that his genius put him above something as mundane as the law. No doubt Optimus Prime, then known as Orion Pax, an Enforcer, would have without question upheld the law had he ever become aware of -

:I think Prime thinks he's doing the right thing,: Zero continued, interrupting X's internal pity-party. :He's either being deliberately kept in the dark about how bad it is, or he does know and just doesn't care. I don't know which option's worse.:

:How so?: X asked curiously. He would have thought that worshipping the ground Optimus Prime walked on came standard with being an Autobot, especially one being spoonfed a carefully abridged history of Cybertron, but he was always ready to learn new things.

:…the MTO factories. I have some fancy ability that means I get to be a real person. The rest of my batch got sent out to die before they were an hour old.:

X's face paled. Of course, something had to sustain planet-wide battlefields and uncountable atrocities. The Decepticons used up every scrap they had, up to and including prisoners. The Autobots simply created their own warm bodies – Made-To-Order mechs, stripped-down versions of Cybertronians who had guns put into their hands and were pointed towards the enemy sooner rather than later.

X tried his best. Sometimes Megatron could be swayed; sometimes he couldn't. But surely it was the better option than the Autobots, defenders of the old regime.

It was there in Zero's file: the facility was hidden away in the middle of an asteroid belt, but when he cross-checked it with current data, it had in fact been targeted and destroyed two centuries ago.

He wondered if Zero knew. He wondered if anyone had bothered to tell him.

:So you didn't get a choice?: X asked, seeing an angle. :You were just made an Autobot, that's that?:

They were both distracted when the heroine on stage screamed, forced unwillingly to strike down her beloved. There was dramatic, booming music, and the curtains closed to polite applause from the audience. The first of three intermissions – the true appreciation was expected to be saved for the curtain-call finale.

:That…happened fast,: Zero said. Avoiding the question, perhaps, but it opened up another opportunity: the reveal that he'd been paying attention.

:X: requires refreshments?: Soundwave pinged, standing up.

:Oh, I'm fine, thanks.: He smiled and nodded his appreciation. Out loud, he said: “Zero, do you want anything?”

“Huh?”

“Soundwave's offering.” He was not, but the idea of trying to recruit Zero had been his, so X figured he wouldn't mind.

“O-oh.” Zero's optics darted once more between them. In the better lighting, with X able to get a proper look at him, he didn't look half-bad, especially for a cold-constructed MTO. Maybe the Autobots had given him a frame upgrade? His outlier ability was listed as classified, so they had at least some backend security that Soundwave couldn't pass through with barely a thought.“No. No, I'm good.”

“Acknowledged.” Soundwave turned to leave. :Request: please contact me immediately if you require assistance.:

:Acknowledged,: X teased lightly back. :Go and let your little terrors out. I bet they're bored out of their processors.:

:Rumble and Frenzy: unappreciative of finer arts,: Soundwave agreed with a sigh, then began to stump his way down the aisle to the stairs. “He's not that bad once you get to know him,” X said. “A bit of a softspark, honestly.”

“That's Soundwave,” Zero said disbelievingly.

“He's a carrier model. He has five cassetticons that depend on him,” X replied. “He's-”

“Ah, gentlemechs, I believe the term is, how are you enjoying the play?” The Vynhara representative that had met X and Soundwave when they first disembarked approached them, taking the empty seat next to Zero.

“It's a very interesting production!” X said brightly. “The lighting in particular, it's very cleverly done!”

“Oh, our Chief Technician will be pleased to hear that,” the Vynhara trilled. “I will be sure to pass on your compliments.”

“I liked the fi- the choreography,” Zero offered. “The. Main actor? He does some good stuff.”

“Ooh! Glint will be thrilled! A Cybertronian, complementing him!” Their feathers ruffled in glee. The Vynhar were an avian race, of about a height with X and Zero – not minibot sized, but smaller than the average mech. X's creator had handcrafted him as a personal project and only had so much material to work with; Zero was taller only by a head.

“Save it till the end, though, yes?” X said – it was a traditional Vynhara saying, meaning to wait until a story was finished in its telling to fully judge it. The representative dipped their head in understanding, crest-feathers falling about their face.

“Of course, of course! I do hope you continue to enjoy it! I will pass on your complements to the relevant parties~” with an extravagant bow, they left.

“They will want to know your thoughts, so you might want to start putting your review together ahead of time,” X advised. Zero looked at him, then sighed and shook his head.

“I'm not the kind of guy you want doing something like this. I feel like I'm being set up to fail. Prime called it a vacation.” Zero grimaced. “He was smiling, too. He's not taking it seriously.”

“He takes the battlemask off?” X asked, surprised at the notion.

“No, but – you can tell. The derma under his optics kind of crinkles. I think Prowl might have put him up to it to get me out from under his feet for a few cycles.”

“Oh, him.” X instinctively tensed, his plating pressing closer to his frame at hearing the name of the Autobot Second-in-Command.

Zero raised an optic ridge in question, but X didn't feel like elaborating, not with memories of the interrogation threatening to claw in at the edges of his mind. He was grateful Soundwave had come back for him, and that was that.

Speaking of, the large mech chose that moment to return, Laserbeak – usually the best-behaved of the cassettes in situations like this – perched on his shoulder. She warbled a greeting at X, fluttering her wings lightly at him. He smiled in return, nodding to his superior officer as he sat down once more.

:Progress?: Soundwave queried as Zero looked away.

:It's going well! He only threatened me once, at the beginning. He's been talkative since then. He thinks Prime and – and Prowl have set him up. That they don't think he'll succeed.:

:Noted.: Music began to play, signalling the second act. As the lights dimmed, Soundwave's red gaze looked past X to size Zero up. :Continue if you wish.:

:Noted,: X mimicked back, reaching out to pet Laserbeak, who leaned into his touch happily.

:Is he your boss? Why are you both here?: Zero questioned as the play resumed, starting with an energetic dance number meant to tonally clash with the drama of the close of the previous act.

:Oh, he insisted,: X replied, turning his focus to the less-than-perfect Autobot. :I proposed diplomacy instead of invasion. Soundwave backed me up.:

:…must be nice,: Zero said. :I think Prowl would eat his own arm before he agreed with me on anything.: He gave an audible sigh. :I'm telling you too much. No-one's actually sat down and had a conversation with me, you know? Prime tried, but it didn't really work. It was after I got picked up from the facility and had a proper badge given to me instead of just paint. I'd only just found out my batchmates all died.:

X made a noise of sympathy, catching Laserbeak's attention. She trilled quietly, moving over to his shoulder to butt her head against him in her own way of showing solidarity.

“Oh, no, I'm all right,” he murmured quietly, using a finger to stroke her head in a way he knew she liked.

In the play, the hero, thought dead, made a dramatic return, the effects and lighting technicians truly going all out. With all the booming distraction, X reached out, daringly, to take Zero's hand.

:We're all just mechs in the end,: he said.

Zero said nothing, but he didn't pull away, either.

[newwavesailor]

Thoughts on the upcoming Garfield Movie (2024) [SUPER LONG POST]

Chances are, unless you've been living in a remote cave in the mountains, you are aware that there's a new Garfield movie coming out in 2024. Yes, that's right. Twenty whole years after the disastrous live-action movie, and seventeen years following that film's sequel, and we are treated to the fat cat's antics on the big screen once more -- In full animation, no less.

However, you're probably aware of another quite notable aspect of this upcoming popcorn flick. An aspect of the film that has drummed up endless controversy, and it's the fact that the titular feline is voiced by none other than the internet's favorite punching bag, Chris Pratt.

Now, something like this isn't new. I remember when The Super Mario Bros. Movie was in the works, and they announced the cast, hearing the fact that this far-from-Italian man was going to be playing one of the most prolific video game characters of our time no doubt turned many people off. (It certainly didn't help that the trailers for said film showed him speaking in a so-called "normal voice") But once the film actually came out people had already started to warm up to him playing Mario.

But him playing Garfield somehow broke the entire internet, and it looks like people aren't going to be warming up to it the way they warmed up to Mario.

I personally think it boils down to the fact that Chris Pratt is already an pretty well un-liked name in the movie industry. First and foremost, there's his political controversies. I'm not going to go into too much detail, as I like to avoid talking about politics on my Tumblr, but Pratt has a well-documented history of racist actions. In 2019, he once wore a Gadsden flag on a T-shirt, a flag designed during the American Revolution which has been co-opted by white supremacists. He has also worn a Betsy Ross star baseball hat, which although not widely considered as racist, has been tied to other racist controversies, most notably one with Nike that same year. And let's not forget that Chris' brother, Cully Pratt, may be a member of the far-right supremacist militia Three Percenters, and Chris himself has alleged ties to the Zoe Church, a church in Australia that practices anti-LGBTQ+ conversion therapy.

So, yeah. He's not exactly what I would call a clean individual. On top of all this, he's seen as a rather boring individual by some, and upon reading up on these controversies, it sort of soiled my enjoyment of his other films, such as the aforementioned Mario and the Lego Movie.

Going back to Garfield, the other thing I would like to bring up is the fact that Garfield really only has two genuine voice actors (or three depending if you consider the live-action movies canon)

Without a doubt, the most well-known voice actor for Garfield was and still is Lorenzo Music, who portrayed the cat in numerous animated TV specials and the animated series Garfield and Friends. (1988-1994) He is the voice most people think of when they think of Garfield, but sadly, he passed away in 2001 at the age of 64. He also played other roles such as Peter Venkman in the The Real Ghostbusters, and Super Pac-Man in the Pac-Man animated series.

But it was Garfield that gave him stardom, and to this day, there are some people who say Garfield just doesn't sound the same unless it's done by him. But here's the kicker - He's been dead for 22 years. So, we need to find replacements.

Garfield's most prevalent voice actor for the past few years (while not the only one) has been Frank Welker, a voice actor who has acted in countless cartoons, but is easily best known for his long-running role as Fred Jones in the Scooby-Doo franchise, as well as voicing Megatron in numerous iterations of the Transformers franchise. Welker's role as Garfield has also been the source of controversy; You either love him or hate him, so I'm told.

Long tangent over. Back to the movie. What do I think? I'll give you my thoughts in the form of a checklist.

✅I like the trailer.

✅I don't like Chris Pratt's voice. (Or, just him in general.)

✅I think this film may will still be somewhat decent.

One of the defining (and probably most jarring) bits of the trailer to me is unfortunately, Chris Pratt's voice. As someone who grew up accustomed to hearing either Lorenzo Music or Frank Welker coming out of Garfield, hearing this distinctly human-sounding voice seemed rather odd. It worked with Mario, I think, because Mario himself is a human. Garfield is a well-fed tabby cat with the personality of a grumpy old man. And hearing Chris Pratt's rather upbeat voice coming out of him sounded rather jarring.

But in a way, I kind of liked it... at first. I thought it sounded not too far off from Frank Welker's Garfield voice, just with a slightly higher pitch. So, what made me change my mind?

Hot take incoming!

I think it may have had something to do with me learning about Chris Pratt's racist past and right-wing ties. That might have soiled it for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm still probably going to see the movie. But I feel that if you do go out to see this movie, at least be somewhat aware of who you're giving money to. I know the people who watch Guardians of the Galaxy aren't necessarily bad people because they watch Chris Pratt as Star-Lord. But they need to be somewhat aware of the kind of people getting royalties.

So now, whenever I hear Chris Pratt's voice coming out of one of my cartoon icons, all I can really think is "This guy is a piece of crap in real life." And it's a shame too, because there's one part in the trailer that shows Pratt can deliver a decent, Garfield-y sounding voice.

In the part where Vic (Garfield's father, played by Samuel L. Jackson) asks if Garfield has ever jumped out of a train, Garfield responds with "I've never jumped." And this phrase is delivered in a deep monotone that sounds perfect for Garfield. I figure if the entire trailer had been done in that voice, it would have had a far less negative reaction from fans.

As for the rest of the trailer, it honestly looks good. I particularly like the character designs, and yes, Baby Garfield is just precious. Forget Baby Yoda, this one wins the award for cutest marketable character.

I'd also heard some people complaining about Odie's design. I previously made a post talking about how Odie's design may have been based on his original 1978 version, so I won't bring it up here.

Personally, once you can get past the confusing mess that was Chris Pratt's vocal performance, you get what looks like a decent film. I imagine it will end up a lot like the Mario movie -- Not a real critic pleaser, but I'm sure fans of the franchise will like it okay.

So, to put if brief, I'm somewhat excited. But I'm also in a conflict of interest. I honestly don't mind other people doing the voice of Garfield. I personally believe that people can be so bound to their nostalgia that to hear something that looks familiar but sounds different can come across as somewhat uncanny.

I grew up with Garfield. I had the Garfield and Friends: Behind the Scenes DVD as a child. I loved that DVD, and the free mini Garfield plush that came with it. So growing up, I knew Lorenzo Music as Garfield, despite being born after his death. So hearing Lorenzo's voice is nostalgic to me. But I refuse to let nostalgia get in the way of criticism. Just because something's new doesn't instantly mean it's bad.

With that being said, Chris Pratt as Garfield isn't terrible. He's just not a great Garfield. If the folks at Alcon Entertainment could replace him with a better voice actor, that would be great. But sometimes, it's not that easy. We are so close to May of 2024, and by then, the film will already be out. It would take a good while for them to scrounge a new Garfield voice. The first Sonic the Hedgehog movie had to be delayed a good few months to tweak the character design, and I imagine it would be the same if they were to find a new Garfield.

So in closing: Chris Pratt as Garfield? Big, fat hairy deal.

(Edit 1/1/2024: I reworded part of the ending to reflect my feelings about the voice a bit better.)

[pabsterthelobster]

Legend Convoy is a Maximal who debuted in the BotCon 2016 script reading "The Hot Rod", which is set in the Beast Wars comic book continuity published by IDW. A compatriot of Lio Convoy and Big Convoy, the protagonists of the Japan-exclusive anime series Beast Wars II and Beast Wars Neo, Legend Convoy is a Maximal commander who can transform into a cervid form of some kind (either a Caribou or Reindeer, not really made clear).

She (voiced by Blackarachnia voice actress Venus Terzo) joins with Lio and Big (voiced by David Kaye and Gregg Berger, who also voice Megatron and Grimlock) in secret to discuss the Vehicon occupation of Cybertron as seen in Beast Machines. By analyzing the logs of Autobot legend Hot Rod, the three Convoys realize that Megatron has been growing his forces through the use of a transformation virus, and Legend recalls that Lio recently went with Grimlock to Earth and asks him if Grimlock had any answers on how to fix things (Grimlock having previously been restored to normal after being forced into stasis by a super-intelligent AI version of himself). Lio then reveals that, unfortunately, he was infected by the transformation virus himself. Legend has Big send out a distress signal to Hot Rod via the secret Wrecker frequency, hoping for reinforcements.

Legend Convoy fascinates me because she is completely original to the script reading and has no basis in the Japanese continuity, unlike her pre-existing fellow Convoys, who simply receive semi-official English voices for the first time. She only appears one other time in Beast Wars: Uprising under the name Legend Majora as an administrator for the city of Lower Petrohex and nowhere else. It'd be interesting to know what she looks like, and more importantly, what she would be like in the Japanese continuity. Would she be the star of her own anime-worthy storyline?

[nerdfins]

"Go away, Starscream!"

This is from something I've been just writing for myself mostly, but this fic has grown into a monster. 88k words and counting. After going through creating Beat Sheets ala the "Save the Cat!" novel writing guide, I had to split most of it off into three different books, each with different storylines. The first one is pre-war/early war, the second is middle war, and the third is late war. One of the main characters is an OC named Ricochet, who is a Triple Changer and Ground Commander of the Decepticons. This is from the Early War when Ricochet is checking on the progress of the Darkside being built.

------------

“What an ugly design.”

Ricochet rolled her optics as the seeker walked up next to her. She had stopped in to check on the progress being made on constructing the new flagship of the Decepticon fleet; the Darkside. Also, she needed some time away from listening to Lord Megatron and the Second in Command argue. Again. Soundwave was supposed to do the check-in but was more than willing to let her do the task instead when he saw she had That Look on her face. The look of “I need to get the frag out of here before someone gets smacked.” Unfortunately, her problems don’t tend to stay away for too long. Starscream had some magical ability to know to be around her when she wanted to see him the least, like now. He craned his neck to try and look at the schematics she was holding, and Ricochet was tempted just to hold it high above his head. The last time she did this he had to jump up and grab what she was holding, and it amused her how mad that made him. Sometimes it was fun to be tall, especially when dealing with an easily-annoyed jet. However, she wasn’t in the mood to goof around, and certainly in no mood to deal with Starscream.

“It’s not supposed to be elegant, Starscream,” she replied. “It’s supposed to look dark, ominous, strike fear into the hearts of Autobots and those who oppose us. Not be pretty.”

Starscream tilted his head. “I was hoping it would be at least better looking than this. Also, the name is terrible.”

“What? The Darkside is a good name.”

“It’s not a worthy title of a ship holding such important members of the Decepticons.”

“Meaning you?” Ricochet asked, putting her hand on her hip and looking at him.

“You said it, not me,” Starscream grinned.

Ricochet shook her head. “Okay then, what would you have named it?”

Starscream put his servo to his chin and looked thoughtful. “I would have called it...the Shooting Star!”

Ricochet just stared at him with an optic raised. “What?”

“Or the Supernova!”

“A play on the word ‘star’,” Ricochet said. “Those are stupid names.”

Starscream looked offended. “They are not!”

“Are too. They’re stupid fragging names and you just like them because they sound like yours.”

“Humph, you should show more respect to your superiors, Ricochet.” Starscream stuck his nose up.

Superior in what? Ricochet thought to herself, but instead of saying it, she looked back at the schematics. “I’m not doing this today, Starscream. I’m not in the mood to argue ranks and hierarchy again.”

“But-”

Ricochet waved a servo. “Go away, Starscream.”

“How dare-!”

Ricochet looked up and pointed behind him. “GO AWAY, STARSCREAM!”

Starscream frowned and puffed up his chest and wings before spinning on his heel and strutting away. Ricochet sighed in annoyance.

Scrapper walked up to her. “Bad day?”

“Just a tiring one,” Ricochet admitted.

Scrapper leaned in. “Just an FYI, we were ready to merge and throw him out if you ordered it.”

The thought of Devastator picking up Starscream and yeeting him made Ricochet grin. “And if he overrides my order? You heard him talk about hierarchy after all.”

“Oh gee, this construction site is SO LOUD, Commander Ricochet. Sometimes orders get lost in the noise.”

“I’ll keep that in mind next time I need a specific seeker thrown into the sun. Excuse me, the nearest star.”

Scrapper burst out laughing and continued laughing as he returned to the rest of the Constructicons.

[reel-fear]

🦴 Nightalon 👀?

OH GOSH,,, welp here we go down the rabbit hole bc Nightalon is actually one of the oldest ocs I have!

How old? Well here was their original design when they were a tfp/YB character who was a Megatron Soundwave baby, purely bc I liked their designs. This design? Is over 3+ years old.

They were actually Just based off their name at first, I liked the name and thought it'd make a cool oc, in this first iteration their character was basically big goof who had an incident where their nodes were fried so hard they never felt pain, but were NOT indestructable. So they would walk into the con base bleeding from the arc and with no idea what was going on.

After that they became a StarSound baby I believe? Though I still barely touched their character. However when it came to figuring giving Radio a girlfriend in TFA I realized that I hadn't touched Nightalon in forever and found an interesting alt mode for them to take and hey I liked Lugwing so why not make them a lugwing baby... thing is this nightalon changed designs but not much in terms of personality.

OOF, yea but hopefully now you can start to see the basis of the modern Nightalon I settled on. I loved the idea of the triangle pattern suggesting stars without being too direct about it. I liked the general concept too but it needed working. So another design came along

So a while after designing that, I had watched a ton of video essays going over crappy romance media, from fifty shades of grey to the kissing booth to other ones, I started really wanting to explore more of the idea of how those kind of stories can warp the minds of young teenagers and lead to more unhealthy ideas of romance and dedication for them.... Then? I grabbed Nightalon and realized I could do something with this... I also really wanted to explore some more themes surrounding being trans n such and that all combined made for a much more interesting version of Night... One that was also HEAVILY based off Rebecca from Crazy Ex Girlfriend.

That leads us to modern Nightalon! With a backstory that faces struggles with her peers and a resentment towards her family. She threw herself into the very media and fiction I just mentioned.

If you've read Just A Girl In Love [If you look up the song lyrics, you'll see why I chose that song to be the title of her debut fic, its just too fitting-] you'll knew where this headed, she sees Radio, falls in love and while I really want to elaborate more on this in the form of another fanfic from her perspective I might as well spell out more of the subtle parts of that fic.

Nightalon is entranced in the idea of finding someone who she percieves as "Broken" and "Fixing" them, but the fiction she consumes has not given her any healthy ideas on how to do that. As her and Radio grow closer, Nightalon feeds into Radio's worst traits, she wants Radio to embrace her emotional instability, because it plays into her fantasies. It's not malicious but it is unhealthy, Nightalon thinks that Radio is perfect, that she doesn't need to change but instead just needs to run away with her forever and embrace who she is. Night does not trust the adults around her to help Radio due to her own truama too, and therefore tells Radio not to as well. She's not intending to, but she's treating Radio, her relationship with her and the world generally as a big novel where she is the main character and has all the answers. Where her delicate female touch will cure Radio of her depression and her issues and the adults around them just need to catch up with that fact. She's stuck up, views most of her family as somewhat beneath her due to their brutish and dumb nature, and sees herself as the protagonist with all the right ideas.

But reality will hit her hard and what will she do when it does? She didn't mean to hurt anyone, so does she double down on her innocence, or come to terms with having hurt the delicate rose no, the Person she loved more than anything in the world?

[melishade]

I feel sorry for whoever Ymir decides to date in the peaceful timeline because they're gonna have deal with Optimus and Megatron

Peaceful Timeline Pilot

Ymir's Cybertronian Name

You have no idea what you've unleashed! YOU FOOL!

Shout out to @justawannabearchaeologist @echoblaze5 @legitconcrusher @letslipthehounds @favesgrave I think! for listening to me bitch about this shit for months at this point and putting their own input! Let's go!

TW Death. TW Blood.

So let's start off with Oshern. Oshern is someone born in the highlands. He has red curly hair he ties into a bun because it goes past his neck and he needs to keep it tied for work. He's got green eyes, pale skin. His build is somewhere in the middle because he does a lot of grunt work when it comes to his work, like hauling supplies and what not. No facial hair, angular face. And his hands are really calloused from all the stuff he's done in the past.

He used to have a family. A mother and father and two younger brothers. While his brothers loved to fight and roughhouse, Oshern who was someone that enjoyed care and precision. He helps his mother out, who was a baker for his old village. He picks up the craft and listens to his mother's advice about being kind and taking care of others regardless of where they come from. Even when there is darkness in the world, try to not contribute to its never-ending cycle.

He and his father always had disagreements. Oshern was warned about the cruelty of the world, and how he needed to become stronger and harden his heart in order to survive in it. His mother might preach about kindness, and he himself might have been named after the god of peace and love, but not everyone was going to be kind. People do what they must to survive, and he needs to be careful. Oshern knows that his father means well. He's helped his mother out whenever he can and loved his brothers, but there was a lot of responsibility being placed on his shoulders simply because he was the oldest.

One day when he's sixteen, he's asked to get supplies from a neighboring town. He does, but when he comes back, he can only stare in horror as his home has been burned to the ground and ransacked. He abandons his horse and wagon and runs towards it, calling for anyone who might have survived. He's in despair when he sees his mother and father dead on the ground, their throats slit, but his brothers are nowhere to be found. Oshern's at a loss, he doesn't know what to do. He investigates further and is mortified at the sight of large handprints and footprints in the ground outside the village. Oshern steps on something metal and picks it up to see a star with nine edges on it. Oshern realizes that his brothers might still be alive and grabs the wagon and runs after them. It takes days, but he finds them...

on the ground. One of them already dead, the other bleeding out. Oshern goes to the one who's still alive, and his brother tries to speak, but is horrified to see that his tongue is gone. There's nothing he can do though. Oshern can only hold his brother's hand and apologize as he dies in his arms. He looked over at the other corpse and see an axe in his hand. They both had tried to fight their way out, and they failed.

...And he wasn't there for his family. Now they were gone.

Oshern returns to the village with his brothers' in tow. It smells of nothing but death in his old home, but he gathers what's left of the residents that haven't been picked off by scavengers and buries them.

Oshern is lost for about a year and a half. He has nothing but the wagon, the horse, and the supplies he was asked to carry. He scavenges the remains of his home and finds his father's knife and takes it with him. He's aimless and depressed. He falls into himself, and he grows to despise the world around him and its cruelty. He learns from chatter of others about the strength and might of the Eldian Empire and grows even more spiteful. They were the ones that took everything from him, but there was nothing anyone can do. The Empire had this devil, this demon, that was pillaging and destroying everything. Humans were using a monster to do their bidding, and they themselves had become monsters altogether. And Oshern hated it! He hated them! He hated everything! Why the hell was the world like this?! Why did everything have to be taken away from him?!

One day, Oshern is sleeping off a hangover in his wagon, when he hears something. Someone's trying to rob him. Oshern ends up going on the attack and punches the guy out. Oshern's just feeling really pissed off and he's ready to stab him. He's never killed anyone before, but he's been really itching to do so! But someone calls out to thief, calls him brother! Oshern sees the kid, same age as his youngest brother that died in his arms, staring at him in fear, like he was the monster. And he can't....he can't do it. His mother's words ring out to him, about being kind and not contributing more hate into this world of darkness. If he killed him, his younger brother would no doubt end up like Oshern...and he didn't want anyone else suffering like he's been suffering. Oshern puts the knife away and demands to know what they want. The younger brother quickly explains that they're trying to get to a town in Marley. Away from the Eldian Empire! They wanted his wagon, or at least his supplies!

And Oshern does something kind: he offers to take them to the place, which the younger brother accepts, but the older is suspicious. But Oshern offers the both of them food and it seems to ease concerns. They make it to the town in two days, and Oshern has never seen a place so big and bustling with life. The brothers thank him for his help and ask him to stay. They think it would be good for him. The people outside are vultures. They came here to build a new life, so maybe he should too. And Oshern is surprised. It was a simple act of kindness that led him here. Maybe...maybe he should find a new meaning for his life. Oshern ends up discovering a bakery in the town and offers his services. He explains that he can bake and has the resources to travel outside. Little by little, he makes a name for himself in that town. He takes his mother's lessons of being kind, but also his father's caution. The people like his bread, and his boss thinks he's doing a great job. He learns some new techniques while incorporating his mother's recipes. It felt good. But there was still that looming threat hanging over him: the threat of the Eldian Empire and their monster. Would Marley fall, and would this town full of people be next?

But they get an announcement from Marley forces, about a year since Oshern came into the town and made a name for himself. The Eldian Empire has been defeated, the monster was slain, the king was dead. They made a treaty with them, but there was finally peace. The people cheered, and Oshern broke down sobbing. They were safe. They were all going to be okay. A huge weight was finally lifted from his shoulders.

About four years later, Oshern decides to move out of the town and into a small village at the base of the mountain. A quiet life like he used to when he lived with his family. He would make bread as his services, but he could still go to the town if need be to help out at the main shop and get supplies. The people of the village seemed nervous at the idea of welcoming an outsider into the fold, but an old woman decided to advocate for him. A herbalist called Solveig. She says to give the man a chance, and he gets a place of his own in the village. A two-story place. The top was his living quarters, the bottom was his bakery. He enjoys it there. It was calm and quiet. He was glad he moved out here. Solveig is still fairly nice to him and informs him that if he needs help with repairs or supplies to ask for Matthew or Orion's help. He's seen them both. They were dressed rather oddly, and while Orion was kinder to the people, Matthew tended to get into arguments and spats with some of the others. But he does the work properly, so it works out.

A year later, Oshern is working on a new recipe his boss had taught him in the past, when he spots someone's eyes peering over the counter. A little girl with blond hair and gray eyes was looking at him with curiosity. Her hands gripped the edge and she stood on her tiptoes to get a better look. She starts interrogating him, asking what he's making, where he's from, what bread even was. Oshern's endeared. She reminds him of his siblings. Oshern finishes making the bread and decides to offer some to her. She says that she shouldn't take something without paying for it. That's what her Papa told her. Oshern insists that she take it, but then she starts eyeing him with suspicion.

"My other Papa says that people offering things for free usually have nefar-!...naf...evil purposes!"

Oshern almost starts laughing at how cute that was. He knows she's supposed to be intimidating, but oh man that reminded him too much of his brothers. Oshern is a little thrown off by the 'two dads' situation, but asks that maybe she could call one of them over for a trade. She then spots someone and calls out 'Mama', and before Oshern can even question the living situation even further, he spots her. He can feel his face grow red at the sight of the woman. Her child looked like her, the gray eyes and the blond hair. She wore a headband and was in a nice yellow dress and her hair was tied in a low ponytail. She...she looked absolutely stunning. Oshern quickly shook his head. She was probably married! She had a kid! Focus!

Her daughter asks for some bread, and Oshern explains he was willing to offer it to her for free since she never tried it. But the mother pulls out a potato from her bag and offers it to him in exchange for the bread. Oshern takes it, but he can't stop looking at her like a love struck idiot. Oshern offers the bread to the daughter, and he's happy to see that she enjoys it. The two leave, and the girl waves goodbye while saying 'Thank you, Nice Bread Man!'

Oshern can't help but lay awake that night

So they become regular customers for his shop. And Oshern notices a few things. One, the woman doesn't really speak. She writes stuff down in a notebook she carries with her. Two, the child's name is Maria, and she hangs out with either Orion and Matthew whenever they're in the village. Hell, Maria looks at Matthew without fear and crawls all over him.

Three, based on the gossip in the village, the woman (called 'Ymir'), wasn't married. Oshern breathed a sigh of relief and no longer felt guilty. Maybe there was a way to talk to her or something? Introduce himself properly? Oshern is then invited out for drinks with the villagers. The men start asking him questions, about any of the single women that might have caught his eye. The women tell them to stop acting like pigs, but Oshern start blushing and admits there is. After some goading,

"Well." Oshern rubbed the back of his head, "It's...Ymir."

The music immediately stops playing and all the adults look at him with horror. Even the calm and collected Solveig was staring at him like he lost his mind. Oshern's eyes start darting around, confused at the sudden change in atmosphere, but then the screaming started.

"Are you fucking insane?!" half the men had yelled.

"He's gonna get himself killed! Oh my god, he's going to get us killed!"

"It's just a simple crush!" a woman reassured, "Nothing more!"

"That's how it starts!" another woman yelled.

Oshern yelped as a man grabbed him by the collar. "You might have a death wish, but don't drag us down with you!"

"W-what?! Why?! Why?!" Oshern could only muster in fear.

Solveig gets them all to calm down before explaining the story of 'the odd family that lives in the mountains'. A few years ago, a man under the name of Orion comes into the village and asks the women about pregnancies and labor. He explained it was for his daughter Ymir, and that he wanted it to be a private yet safe delivery. They're more than happy to provide, but a lot of people assumed the worst. They haven't even seen Ymir. A few months after Orion arrives, Matthew makes an appearance, trading a goose for a bag of fruits. They mostly kept to themselves, and the village couldn't help but wonder what was happening up there, but no one's gone up there to check. They were too scared. Sometimes they would hear the sounds of thunder even though the sky was a clear as day. But they did see Ymir show herself in the village months later, holding a baby that looked nothing like Orion or Matthew. It didn't even have a name until Solveig suggested the name 'Maria', which ended up sticking.

Oshern doesn't see what the problem is, but he is quickly shushed by some of the men. Solveig then explains how two years after the child was born, a group of men attacked the village. Orion and Matthew defended the village and with their combined forces killed 19 men. Oshern grows tense at that, and the villagers see it. But Solveig explains that the last man alive said that the 'Eldian Empire would rise again'. They didn't know what to make of that. They've never even heard of it. But Orion did, because the kind man grew so furious, he nearly choked the man and dragged him away from the village to his comrades to do god knows what. It was the first time that any of them had seen Orion that angry. And it was the first time that they saw fear in Matthew's eyes, because he even blocked their path and told them to not follow. They don't know what happened to this day, but when Ymir came to see the village before Orion returned, she started panicking at the name of the Eldian Empire. So they all assume that it had something to do with her and why she doesn't really talk in the first place.

Oshern feels empathy for Ymir, remembering his brothers and his parents. But the villagers go right back to warning him about getting involved with Ymir. If he valued his life, leave that family alone. Oshern can't help but feel dejected at that and drops it for a good few years. He still takes them on as customers, and still engages with Maria for small talk. She was a good kid, but any feelings he had for Ymir, he completely squashed down.

And then Maria kicks the ass of kid who's been bullying her. It makes a huge scene. Oshern ends up see a circle around the fight and is stunned to see an eight-year-old Maria shoving her bully's face in the mud, telling him to eat it. Orion comes to break up the fight, and Oshern manages to catch a brief glimpse of Matthew smirking. However, Oshern's gaze falls onto Ymir and sees how mortified and embarrassed she is, and everyone starts loudly whispering about it to their faces. Oshern feels pity. For the next few weeks, Ymir is just looking away in embarrassment. The woman had completely shut down around everyone else as they kept whispering on. Orion gave them looks of warning to shut up and Matthew threatened to not do repairs, but it still wasn't enough. Even when they were gone the chatters still continued, and Ymir was practically being shunned by the village. Oshern was proud that Maria stood up for herself, but he couldn't help but feel bad for the family. When she comes to his shop one day, Oshern does his best to engage in small talk, and reassures her that this will all pass in time. Oshern decides to give her extra bread that he had made. Ymir notices, and the next day, asks why he did using her notebook. Oshern explains while cooking that she deserved a little kindness. Everyone does. She didn't deserve to have the villagers talking about her like that. She was a good person.

And Ymir is touched by those words. She...was never told that by anyone down here before. Ymir offers him an extra potato in response to his words. Oshern tries to say no, but she takes his hand and places the food there. And Oshern's feelings for Ymir come hitting him hard like a storm. They continue trading with each other, giving something extra in return, but they communicate with one another, they enjoy each other's company. And the villagers fucking notice it and are panicking! How is he still alive?! Does Orion and Matthew even know?! Oh god they were screwed! Solveig does confront him one day and reminds him of what he knows. Oshern hesitates but proclaims that he just wants to show kindness to others. He knows what it's like to be alone and he doesn't want that for anyone else. Solveig shrugs and tells him good luck, but not before informing him that the village has started a betting pool of how long he would survive.

Oshern leaves one day to get supplies and returns to try a new recipe; however, he ends up butchering it and starts burning the bread. Ymir sees this when she comes by and jumps over the counter to help him put it out before an actual fire starts and burns his home. Ymir ends up using her hands without thinking to put it out and realizes her mistake, but Oshern notices her hands after he stomps out the burnt bread. He checks her hands, but she quickly snatches them away and brushes them behind her dress. He thanks her for his help but sits on the ground, lamenting the loss of his product and the end result. Ymir sits down next to him. He picks up the burnt loaf and shows it to Ymir, but Ymir, wanting to make Oshern feel better, takes a bite out of the crust. Oshern panics and sees Ymir's face scrunch up in disgust, but she still chews and swallows, refusing to spit it out. Ymir smacks the tongue on the roof of her mouth to get rid of the taste. Oshern apologizes, but Ymir notices the inside and scoops it out before eating that. He sees the way her face lights up before she gestures for him to try. Oshern tries it, and is stunned that it actually tastes good. So tasks failed successfully? And the two begin to share the bread, hollowing it out until the burnt crust remained. Oshern, not wanting to waste it, takes it out back to his horse, and offers Ymir to come with him. She does, and Oshern introduces the woman to his horse. He explains how this horse has been by his side since he left his village a long time ago. Oshern is relieved to see the horse eating the bread and offers Ymir to try to feed it. Ymir is hesitant, but Oshern helps her. He asks for her hand, and...Ymir lets him take it. He guides the hand to the mouth and it eats. Oshern sees the way that Ymir's expression goes from surprise, to admiration for the horse. Oshern quickly lets her go before reassuring Ymir once more that the horse is friendly, petting it alongside the neck.

Oshern and Ymir end up the front of his shop, and Ymir writes to him 'thank you' for the bread and letting her see his horse. And Oshern's elated at that. He thinks now is as good a time as any. Ask her. Ask if they could spend more time outside of work and-!

"Hi, Mama!"

Both adults snapped their heads to see Orion and Matthew visibly panicking with a delighted Maria who was waving at them. Matthew quickly covered her mouth before the two run off with the child in tow.

"O-oh," Oshern stuttered before turning to Ymir, "That was-!"

Oshern paused when he saw a look of concern in those grey eyes. She turns to him and quickly bows her head before walking away. Oshern reached out to her, but...he knew that the moment was gone. Oshern felt eyes on him and turned to see the villagers snapping their heads away before pretending to do work.

One of them: Get the funeral pyre ready.

Now to shift to Ymir's perspective.

Ymir is enjoying her life of freedom. She has Maria. She has Optimus and Megatron. She found a new name for herself (IronSpark). She couldn't ask for anything else.

Well...except for one thing.

Ymir doesn't have friends in the village. She has a few acquaintances. She looks up to Solveig as a wise elder. But friends her age was out of the question, and everyone saw her as part of the odd family. She couldn't help...but be lonely. She sees the way that couples act in the village. All the sweet gifts and marital spats. The desire to get married and have someone to call her lover...it was a desire she's had ever since the Eldian Empire.

But she knows that she wasn't going to get that. She was certain she was never going to get that. Not after all the killing and destruction she's done. Who would ever love a monster like that? Like her? The ostracizing only got worse after the fight Maria had. It hurt. It hurt so much. She wasn't sure Optimus or Megatron would understand what she felt, and she wasn't going to burden her daughter. It was just...one of those things she'd have to carry with her for the rest of her life.

But she's surprised that the baker, Oshern: the outsider as the village called him (even though he's lived in the village for a few years now), is still treating her with kindness. She had memorized the voices in the gossip and chatter, but his was never among them. She asks him why, and Oshern simply says that she deserves to be treated with kindness because she a good person. And...oh...oh....no one...no one here has ever called her that before. She sees the way he smiles at her with those green eyes, and her heart skips a beat. She offers him the potato, and the two start their exchange. That night, Ymir his holding her notebook close to her chest, treasuring his words so deeply in her heart.

Now their exchange and interaction doesn't go unnoticed by the villagers. And it especially doesn't go unnoticed by Maria. She likes Oshern. She thinks he's nice and funny. Maria has noticed the way her mother would look at the other couples in the village and how unhappy she looked. She wanted her mama to be happy. She deserved that didn't she? So when she realizes that Ymir and Oshern are talking, she's ecstatic, and thinks he'll be part of the family.

One day, Optimus and Megatron are watching Maria at the cabin, and are surprised that Ymir is running late. She's never like this.

"She's probably talking to the 'Nice Bread Man'," Maria commented absentmindedly as she continued writing.

Both titans in their holoforms pause before snapping their heads at Maria.

"Who?" Megatron demanded.

"The Nice Bread Man," Maria continues without a care, "His name is...Oshern! And he has red hair and green eyes. I've never met someone with red hair before! It's pretty. They've been talking for a while now. He's the only one who's been nice to her after...after what I did."

Optimus and Megatron both share a look, and are both calculating the possible risks that have come with this unprecedented scenario. Optimus walked up to the table Maria was sitting at before kneeling down.

"Firelight. Sweetspark," Optimus began, "Where exactly is this 'Oshern'?"

Megatron and Optimus take Maria down to the village to spy and to get her to point him out. They do find Ymir, having a one-sided conversation with a red haired, green-eyed man. But before the two could hear what he was trying to say, Maria yells 'Hi', blowing their covering, causing them to grab her and run.

Megatron: Firelight, the point of that mission was stealth!

Maria: I wanted to say hi.

Ymir returns to the cabin, feeling embarrassed. It only gets worse when she sees Optimus and Megatron sitting at the table, silently gesturing to an open chair. And they grill her on who Oshern is and how long they've been talking for. But she keeps her composure, writes down her answers. They don't have enough evidence to pass judgement on him, but letting this stranger into their lives would no doubt put them in danger. However, Ymir has made it clear that she's still going to see him, for both business and personal reasons. And she doesn't want either of them trying to hurt him. She leaves the room, but Optimus and Megatron agree that they need to figure out everything and anything about this man!

For the next few months, Oshern is constantly feeling eyes in the back of his head. He notices Optimus in visible view most of the time, pretending to occupy himself. Meanwhile, Megatron is hiding somewhere in the trees spying from afar. No one in the village can find him, but they know he's there!

Except for Solveig, but she found him on accident while foraging.

But the two titans find nothing. He's polite, he's respectful, he's dedicated to his craft. He was just an overall nice person...which frustrates them both! They both think that something is wrong for different reasons! Megatron because he's naturally suspicious of everyone, and Optimus is just worried for Ymir's safety and doesn't want her getting hurt! Or worse!

Megatron does advice Optimus to not spy on him one day because he's shit at stealth! Optimus relents and Megatron sees that nothing has really changed in his routine! Or his conversations with Ymir! They talk! They trade extra items! Megatron nearly screams when Oshern offers her a flower not native to the region as a kind gesture! Ymir returns to the cabin and both grill her on the flower, but Ymir ignores them and places the flower in a vase against the window.

Megatron's tempted to destroy it but Optimus has to pull him back.

But Megatron does realize that the Baker leaves the village to get supplies from somewhere and forms an idea. He tells Optimus he'll be back before leaving the cabin in dramatic fashion. As Oshern is packing for his trip, Megatron makes himself known by calling him 'Baker' causing Oshern to jump. Megatron interrogates him and asks him where he's going. Oshern explains and the villagers are spying on this, ready to win or lose something from their bets. Megatron decides to 'offer' his help with supplies, thinking the baker will say no. And Oshern remembering what his mother said...says 'yes'. Throwing everyone off, including the former warlord!

Megatron: Did...did you just say yes?!

Oshern as he continued packing: Well, yeah! See, I have an extra shipment of grains coming in because my orders have been increasing, and I just need help hauling it in. You're strong, so I figured I could use the help if offered.

Megatron: No one offers something without wanting something in return.

Oshern: So that's where Maria gets it from.

Megatron: Excuse you?

Oshern, jumping onto his wagon and patting the side: I don't mean that as a bad thing. You're her dad and she looks up to you. So are you coming?

Megatron:...fine.

The villagers are shook as Megatron jumps in the wagon and they head off. They're arguing about what this means for bets, but one of them says that Megatron might just kill him and leave him on the side of the road.

What the hell-?!

It's very likely with him!

Oshern tries to make conversation on the way there, but Megatron is very quiet, only answering yes or no questions. They arrive a few hours later, and Megatron actually quite shocked at the sight of the bustling town. He's actually never seen this many humans in one place. They arrive at the bakery, and Oshern is excited to greet his former boss. The boss is thrown off by the sight of Megatron, but Oshern reassures that he's here to help. They work together to make trades, and Megatron observes the way Oshern interacts with the community around him. And how they really enjoyed his company. He was...respected. Megatron was offered food, but feeling self-conscious about the situation, and actually not wanting to ruin this guy's relationships with the town folk, respectfully declined. Oshern is surprised to see that Megatron isn't acting hostile towards the people. Megatron decides to look around the area out of curiosity, thinking that he could probably bring something back for Maria, but then he sees it.

A fresco in the middle of the town, depicting the scene that he saw when he first arrived here, of the Savior of Heaven coming down from the sky, slaying the Devil of the Earth. The story of how Optimus saved Ymir. Oshern finds Megatron and mistakes Megatron's staring for admiration. Oshern explains how many of the people in this Marleyan town are refugees and victims of the Eldian Empire, coming here for a better life. Oshern states when they heard the news of the Empire falling and the devil being slain, he broke down with tears of joy. Whatever this god was, he hopes that one day he would be able to thank him for freeing this world of tyranny.

Megatron:...I'm sure he knows how grateful everyone is.

Oshern then runs into the two brothers that helped guide him to the town and hugs them with joy, briefly managing to catch up on what they've been doing. The two got jobs and a roof over their heads. They were finally secure. The three continue catching up, so Megatron decides to load the remaining supplies while he does. Oshern says his 'goodbye' and is surprised to see that Megatron has everything ready. The boss does offer Megatron some food to take, and he accepts, simply for Maria and Ymir to try and they return to the village and they head off.

As they head back, Megatron can't help but ask who the two brothers were. Oshern explains that they tried to rob him, but instead of killing them, he decided to show mercy instead. Megatron says that was completely stupid of him and demands to know why he did it. Oshern says that he's just following what his mom used to tell him, about not contributing to the hatred of the world and being kind. Megatron calls him foolish and sentimental, but he can't help but think that's what saved him and brought him here.

The villagers are in stunned silence and both Megatron and Oshern return. Megatron then hands Maria the food provided by the boss, which she's delighted about.

And it's progress. Megatron eases up, but not that much. This time when he spies on Oshern, he intentionally makes himself more visible. Oshern waves whenever he's nearby, causing Megatron to storm off. He hates it! Stop being nice!

Optimus; however, does not ease up. He's in shock that Megatron is actually being nicer to Oshern. Megatron retorts by saying that he can't find anything negative about him! He's tried! There's nothing! Optimus argues to check again, and Megatron retorts by saying he's already done that! Maria asks them why they were acting like this? Mama was happy now. Well, happier. Don't they want her to be happy?

They both nearly cave at Maria's question. Damn it Firelight! Stop using Megatron's tactics against him!

Maria's annoyed at their insistence on spying on Oshern, and just straight up complains to the Baker. (Oshern lets her hang around his shop and shows her how he bakes). Oshern reasons that they just care about Ymir and her. He wasn't going to fault them for that. He missed his father, despite their disagreements. But Maria states that they don't know how happy Ymir's been since they've started talking to each other. Maria tells him about the way Ymir looks at the other couples in the village and how she always looked unhappy. Maria doesn't like to lie, but she asks Oshern not to tell anyone about her thoughts. She doesn't think that her parents would understand. Oshern pats her on the head and reassures her that he won't, and thanks her for feeling comfortable enough to share. He does ask if she feels awkward with him here, but Maria says no, because he makes her mother happy.

Oshern can't help but feel happy at that, but Solveig cuts into the picture when Maria leaves. She tells Oshern she and the other villagers are surprised that Megatron and Optimus haven't killed him yet. Oshern brushes off the comment, trying not to let discouraging words get to him. He...he tells Solveig that he really likes Ymir, and he does want to try and have a relationship with her. He doesn't care how long it takes, or how Orion and Matthew act. He knows that they mean well; they just want to protect them.

"Are you prepared to venture into the unknown?" Solveig asked him.

"I've done that since I was sixteen," Oshern informed as he cleaned out the oven.

"That's not what I meant," Solveig declared, "There's a reason that family has stayed up in the mountains for so long. Why interaction has been limited and why Orion and Matthew have been watching you for so long."

Oshern paused, glancing over at Solveig.

"The longer you entertain this, the more secrets you'll find out. Dark secrets. Words that aren't supposed to be said. Tell me: are you really willing to continue this?" Solveig demanded.

"...yes. I am,"

"Then good luck, Oshern,"

Oshern and Ymir's relationship continues to grow, while the villagers are shocked that he's still alive! HOW?! Oshern still notices the way Optimus and Megatron spy on him, but he's learned to ignore it this time. The two spend time together during work and after. Ymir actually helps Oshern with his writing, while Oshern tells Ymir about his travels and tells her some of his recipes. Ymir even offers him some other products so he can experiment. Their feelings grew, and the more it grew, the more crushing weight fell on Ymir's shoulders. If she let him in, truly let him in, would she have to tell him about her power. What about Optimus and Megatron? What would happen if...she was wrong about Oshern's kindness?

One day, Oshern decides to tell Ymir about his past and how he ultimately ended up in the village. He thinks that she's a victim of the Eldian Empire, and she is, and he thinks telling her will allow them to become closer. But...Ymir is completely and utterly terrified. It's written all over her face. Oshern thinks that she's mortified because of what he went through and tells her not to worry about it. But Ymir simply bows her head, and leaves without a word. But when she gets to the cabin, she rushes to her room before she breaks down sobbing. Of course! Of course it was too good to be true! She was finally able to have a moment of happiness, but now, it was never going to happen! The Eldian Empire attacked his home! She attacked his home! She probably killed his parents and took away his brothers! She would never be forgiven! If she told him the truth now, she would be killed and exiled for it! She....she was a monster! And monsters don't deserve happiness! ...They deserve death.

Optimus and Megatron return to the cabin the next day, but are surprised to see Maria looking at the door to Ymir's room with concern. Maria explains that Ymir was fine yesterday, but she came home crying last night. Optimus wonders why, and immediately assumes that Oshern brought some kind of harm to her. He storms out the cabin, and Megatron follows after him, recognizing that look of rage in Optimus. Oshern is baking, concerned for Ymir's wellbeing in the back of his mind. And then Optimus is grabbing Oshern by the collar and throwing him over the counter and out into the ground. Optimus grabs the still, hot spatula and spins it in his hand and point it at Oshern. He demands to know what the hell he did to Ymir. Oshern's trying his best to explain to him as he crawls backwards, but Megatron quickly grabs his collar and forces him to stand up. Oshern is not liking the look of anticipation in Megatron's eyes as Optimus continues to demand and explanation! What did he do?! Oshern tries to explain as the villagers see this shit go down! Someone quickly alerts Solveig as Optimus is ready to cause some actual harm but-!

Solveig clapped her hands as loud as possible. "ENOUGH!"

Everyone turned their attention to that commanding voice. Optimus and Megatron stop their assault on Oshern, and the Baker looked visibly relieved at the herbalist's arrival.

"Put the Baker down," Solveig ordered, "And all three of you are coming into my house to settle this."

"Sol-!" Solveig raised a hand to the villager that tried to protest this plan.

"This isn't your concern, woman," Megatron proclaimed.

"You didn't even give him a chance to explain himself and jumped right to conclusions!" Solveig explained, "The boy has been kind to the both of you despite your insistence on spying on him every other day! He makes one mistake, and suddenly he has to suffer for it?!"

Solveig points to her home. "House."

"Solveig, you don't-,"

"NOW!" Solveig yelled at Optimus.

The villagers are shook to see Optimus and Megatron comply.

The three men are now sitting at Solveig's table and gives Oshern some tea, but he cannot drink it out of fear of the two titans staring him down. She immediately turns her attention to Oshern and asks what happened, earning protests from Megatron. Solveig tells him be quiet. Megatron says fuck you. Solveig tells him to sit down, and he begrudgingly complies. But Solveig does demand Oshern explain properly or she will let them have their way with him. But Oshern is confused. He only told Ymir about his life story and how he was a victim of the Eldian Empire! That was it! But that gets a visible reaction out of all three of them. Megatron is looking concerned, Optimus is both horrified and guilty, and Solveig can't help but feel annoyed at the completely fucked up situation she was finding herself in. Solveig tells the two to leave, but tells Oshern to stay, and they comply. Solveig reminds him of her warning to him, and how he's falling deeper under the rabbit hole of secrets, but now there was a chance of being unable to turn back. Oshern insists he needs to know if Ymir is okay, but Solveig advises Oshern to let Ymir come to him. And he accepts this advice.

It takes a few days. Optimus tries to comfort Ymir, but nothing he does is enough. She's practically relapsed. Both Megatron and Maria are worried, but they don't know what to do. They were stuck. Ymir is sitting one evening, holding some bread that they managed to save in her hand. And...she can't stop thinking about him and how kind he was. She knows...she knows for a fact that he was going to hate her once he knew the truth, but...she loved him too much to hide it from him. And if she died...then so be it. She would be allowing someone some much needed justice. Ymir goes to Maria's room and peers inside to see Optimus and Maria talking to each other, the titan trying to reassure her daughter. Ymir then turns to leave with her notebook, exiting the cabin and going down to the village.

Oshern is in complete agony over this wait. His heart can't take it. He's been waiting for days, and the people have been talking. Hell, no one from the cabin has been down in the village! Oshern closes up shop, getting ready for bed, when he hears someone speak his name in a whisper. He turns and is both shocked and elated to see Ymir standing there. She...she could talk? And she said his name? Ymir speaks once more, and it's to apologize to Oshern. She's says that she's not good. That she's horrible. Oshern immediately reaches out to reassure her that she's not, but she takes a step back, not allowing herself to touch him or be touched. Ymir asks if they could go somewhere to talk, and...Oshern agrees. He grabs a lantern and his wagon, and the two ride off together into the full moon night. Oshern sees how nervous Ymir was, holding her notebook so tightly he was certain she was going to break it.

Ymir then pulls the reigns to tell the horse to stop. Not once does she touch his hand. Oshern is confused as they arrive at an open field. They both jump off and Oshern tries to ask her what's wrong, but she's still speaking to apologize. Repeatedly. It's the most he's heard her speak, ever, and she was using it to apologize. Ymir tells Oshern to stay there. To not come near her. He tries, because she still hadn't explained what was going on, but she finally touches him, only to actually push him to stay back. She gestures for him to stay there, and he complies. Oshern sees her walking farther and farther away from him before stopping. Oshern manages to see her biting her hand, and lightning comes down from the sky. Oshern has to grab his horse because it got spooked, and Oshern sees a giant forming, almost as tall as the sky. It had bones sticking out of his chest and a skull for a face, and...blond hair. Oshern grips the reigns tighter and stares on in fear, remembering the fresco in the town, depicting...the Devil of the Earth. Ymir...was...was the Devil? The weapon of the Eldian Empire?!

Oshern gasps when Ymir falls over, causing the ground to shake and the dust to rise. He sees Ymir pull herself out of her titan form, and trudges over to him before falling to her knees in submission. He doesn't see her face, and her hair has come undone from its ponytail. Now, Oshern doesn't know what to think. The child in him, the one that lost his family all those years ago, was screaming at him, telling him to kill her. She was there. She was part of the group that took your home! He still had his father's knife on him. Kill her! He's never killed anyone before, but he moves his hand towards the knife.

"Kill...me...if you must." Oshern's hand stopped when he heard Ymir speak.

"...I'm...monster....devil...demon," she continued, "murderer...I don't...deserve kindness...or...love...I deserve...death....but...sorry....Oshern...sorry..."

Oshern could see her body trembling. He could hear her trembling breath, but not once did she raise her head to face him. Oshern's hand slowly fell back to his side. The adult in him, the one that grew past the Eldian Empire, only remembered Ymir's kindness and patience. He remembered how much she loved her daughter, and how much Maria adored her. He remembered how Ymir constantly helped out wherever she can in the village. And no matter how often the village scorned or ridicule her family, not once did she use her power to harm or kill anyone. She was bowing before him, giving him permission to end her life!

Oshern looked down at his trembling hands. What...what was he supposed to do?! Should he listen to the logic of his father?! Should he listen to the kindness of his mother?! Oshern then remembered the two brothers, and how he decided to show them mercy. It saved all three of them, and it helped them build a better life. He did not contribute to the hatred in the world, and it brought him here. If he killed Ymir, he would no doubt be doing irreparable damage. He would leave Maria without a mother. He would leave Orion and Matthew without a daughter. He would be killed or hunted for the rest of his days. He would...he would destroy a family. And that was the last thing he wanted to do: he did not want to contribute to the hatred in the world.

Oshern slowly kneeled down in front of Ymir. "Ymir...can you please look at me?"

It felt so strange asking a powerful deity for permission to look at someone like him. She had the power to crush him. He couldn't help but think it to be so surreal. Oshern grew tense when she raised her head. He wasn't sure what he was going to be looking at, but...his heart stopped. Her face was covered in red markings that went down from her eyes to the bottom of her cheeks. Steam still arose from her body; he could feel the heat radiating off of her. But...her eyes never changed. Her beautiful grey eyes, filled to the brim with tears, still glistened as brightly as the first day they met all those years ago. She was still...the same person...that he fell in love with.

"You're..." Oshern couldn't find the words, "You're beautiful."

Ymir's eyes widened in shock, and her mouth hung open. Beautiful? Why would he call her that? She wasn't beautiful. She was a monster. A slave. Why would after knowing the truth, would he call her that? She shook her head and covered her eyes with her hands. No! No, that was wrong! This was wrong! There's no way that this could be real!

"No..." Ymir's voice trembled, "No...not...not!" Her breath hitched in her throat, her lips trembled, and more tears fell. "Not!"

Oshern couldn't help but feel terrible for Ymir. What had she gone through, to make her not believe those words? He was expecting something cruel and heartless, but she was just as much of a victim as anyone else. Oshern raised both hands, and rested them on Ymir's cheeks. Ymir froze at the sensation of his touch, removing her hands from her face and staring at him. Oshern felt how hot her skin was to the touch. He felt the grooves of the markings in her skin. He felt her tears staining his hands.

"You are." Oshern leaned in close, confusing Ymir greatly. What...what was he doing? Ymir gasped as Oshern placed a small, feather-light kiss on her lips. He remained there, choosing not to pull away, but also giving Ymir enough room to move if need be. He didn't want to frighten her, but she needed to know how he felt. Ymir...couldn't comprehend. She...she was being kissed. Like...the others couples she saw. Not once has she been kissed. She'd never been kissed before. Now this man, who was hurt by her actions, not only called her beautiful, but was kissing her. This beautiful, kind-hearted man, was still choosing to show her love and affection.

Before Ymir could even consider reciprocating, Oshern released her lips and let her go. Oshern smiled at her, and Ymir raised her fingers to her lips, the burning and electrifying sensation still lingering. The tears started to even more now, and before Oshern could ask what was wrong, Ymir wrapped her arms around him and hugged him so fiercely. She sobbed in his shoulder, still trying to come up with words of apologies. Oshern only hugged her back in response, cradling her head and pulling her closer. He wasn't going to let her go. He wasn't.

Oshern does say that he has questions before carrying her to the wagon. They both lie down in there, and Ymir gives him her notebook. He reads her life story. How when she was younger, her village was burned to the ground, and she was taken as a slave. She was drugged, physically abused, and had her tongue ripped out of her mouth. She was forced to become a slave. (Oshern is thinking about his brothers in that moment. They must've tried to fight back in order to free themselves.) She let a pig escape one day, and the slaves blamed her to save their own neck. She had her eye gouged out, and she was hunted for sport in the woods. She then came across a tree, fell inside the root of it into some liquid. She felt something connect with her back, and she was granted this power. So, she was forced to return, because she had nowhere else to go, even if she did try to escape and kill her captors. She was still abused and ostracized in the Empire, called a slave or a monster. She was...she was violated by the Eldian king. And then...Orion came into her life. He had called for her, showed her mercy, and promised to protect her. And...she let him save her.

Oshern can't help but realize how much of that explains so much. But what about the Savior from Heaven. Was that real then? What about Matthew? And where did Maria come from? He wanted to ask more, but he sees how exhausted Ymir is, and decides to wait another time. They return to the village early in the morning, and Oshern offers to let her stay to rest, but she declines. She needs to go back to the mountains, to her family. Oshern understands and tells her to be safe, but Ymir is still taken aback by his kindness. She speaks, saying that she didn't deserve him, but Oshern proclaims that she deserved so much better. Ymir then kisses Oshern on the lips. It was unpracticed, awkward, they had bumped their noses together, but both are blushing. They didn't mind. Ymir and Oshern say their goodbyes and Ymir returns to the mountains. Oshern can't open up shop that day. He really has to sit and think about what he's learned. He knows that Ymir didn't kill his parents or the others from his hometown, but she was a force for the Eldian Empire. She had revealed her deepest darkest secret expecting death, but broke down at the slightest show of actual kindness. He supposed his father was right. People did what they had to in order to survive.

When Ymir returns to the cabin, both Optimus and Megatron are there while Maria is eating breakfast. Optimus immediately walks to Ymir with concern, asking where's she been. They'd been searching for her! Ymir closes her eyes and speaks, and confesses that she told Oshern the truth about her power. Both titans are mortified while Maria is excited. She thinks Oshern will be part of the family, but now all of them were arguing with each other. They were scolding Ymir at how absolutely fucking reckless that was! What was the purpose?! Why did she tell him?! There was a difference between dating someone and telling them you're deepest darkest secret that had a real-world impact on their surroundings! Ymir retorts with her notebook, saying he deserved to know after what she had done. Optimus then brings up the fact that he could very well tell the other villagers and they would be forced to leave their home because they would want her dead!

"What?!" Maria exclaimed with concern shooting up from the table. All heads turned to her at the realization of their mistake. They had forgotten about Maria. They should have known she was still there. This wasn't for her to hear.

"Megatron, take Maria outside," Optimus ordered before turning back to Ymir, "I need to speak to IronSpark alone."

"C'mon." Megatron walked over to Maria and grabbed her hand.

"But-!" Maria tried to protest, but Megatron shot her a look of warning, causing her to shut her mouth. Megatron took Maria outside the cabin, leaving both titan and titan shifter alone.

"You clearly were not thinking, and let your emotions get the best of you," Optimus accused.

Ymir scribbled in her notebook. "That's not fair!"

"IronSpark, you know how people would treat you if they found out about your power!" Optimus reminded, "You know how people have treated you in the past! Now you reveal your power to someone we do not know well enough or trust because you let your feelings for him cloud your judgement!"

"He was a victim of mine!" Ymir wrote down, "I helped attack his home and take away his family! He deserved to know! More than anything!"

"That decision was foolish!" Optimus declared, "Because you did not consult us about it! The village could come up here if and when he tells them, and the life we have struggled to build since that day will be destroyed! We will have to go on the run! We may be forced to hide for the rest of your lives if word got out that you were still alive! Do you want that life for Maria?! Do you want to put her in danger?!"

"That is so hypocritical coming from you!" Ymir declared.

"Excuse you?!" Optimus raised his voice, "I have done everything in my power to keep you safe!"

"What about Megatron?!" Ymir demanded, "I was weak! I was defenseless! I was pregnant! You told me that he was your enemy! You told me that he was a possible threat! He was a threat to my life and you let him be around me while I was seven months pregnant! Why did you let him stay that long if you knew how much of a danger he was to us?! Why did you choose to make excuses for him time and time again?!"

"IronSpark, I had no one else to turn to in that moment, and you know this!" Optimus reminded, "I could not consult the villagers without risking your powers being exposed!"

"He looked at me like I was vermin for months!" Ymir told him, "Like I was a disease or a pet! And you made excuses for him! Was it out of love, right?! Because that is the only reason that I can think of that Megatron stayed this long!"

"I made a calculated decision to protect you!" Optimus declared, "When people are exposed to a secret like yours, they could reveal their true nature! Show that they are monsters!"

"Oshern is not a monster!" Ymir declared, "He's been so kind to me! If anything, I'm the monster! I'm the demon! I'm the one with blood on my hands!"

"That's still-!"

"NO!" Ymir forced herself to shout slamming her fist against the wall. Optimus froze in shock, never hearing such an angry outburst from the quiet woman. Ymir pointed at Optimus with anger and sorrow in her eyes. "...no." She shook her head, "He...saw...me."

She pointed to herself. "Looked....at....me....called...'beautiful'." Ymir slammed her hand against her chest. "Never....never...called...."

Ymir wiped the tears that were starting to form in her eyes. "I...love...him. My...choice."

Ymir ends up storming over to her room to sleep, but Optimus feels so fucking bad!

The next few days are tense for the cabin. Ymir and Optimus aren't communicating. She'll still communicate with Maria, barely with Megatron, but she and Optimus are not talking at all. All of them are worried about a mob that might come up. An ambush. Megatron is waiting outside the cabin and Maria packs a bag of only her bare essentials. She's worried she can't take everything. But...nothing happens. Megatron goes to spy on the village, and Oshern, but sees the village going about its business. He sees Oshern still selling his bread, making jokes and being friendly. There was no secret code. No late night meeting about how to attack them. Oshern...didn't say a word. He kept Ymir's secret.

Megatron relays this information to Optimus, but Optimus...Optimus can't trust this. Optimus goes down there and straight up confronts the Baker about whether or not he told anyone. Oshern intentionally plays dumb, almost getting a rise out of the Prime, but Oshern explains that the villagers are watching. Optimus looks behind him to see villagers spying on the both of them. Oshern offers for Optimus to come inside his home...and the Prime accepts.

Villagers: Okay, this is where Oshern is gonna die

Optimus sees the upstairs of his home and how neat it is. Oshern offers Optimus something to eat, but Optimus declines, saying he's on business. He needs to know if what he's saying is truthful, and demands to here Oshern's life story. Oshern agrees...as long as Optimus doesn't kill him. And Oshern explains everything, and Optimus is just stunned. This...this is what his spark meant. This is what Ymir was talking about. And he had no idea that his actions that day had this far-reaching consequence. And Optimus goes from feeling bad to feeling worse. Oshern sees Optimus' visible stress and reassures Optimus that he understands why he did what he did. He gets now that he just wanted to keep Ymir safe. That's fine. Oshern is stunned when Optimus does apologize for the way that he acted, and Oshern accepts it, no questions asked.

However Optimus does warn that if he betrays Ymir's trust, he and Megatron will do everything in their power to make his life hell on earth before killing him. Oshern nods, and confesses that he does love Ymir. He'd do anything for her. Optimus doesn't reply to that and takes his leave. He asked how Optimus even saved Ymir in the first place, curiosity getting the better of him, but Optimus doesn't reply to that either.

Again, the villagers are fucking stunned to see Oshern still alive and running business! Majority of them have lost their bets at this point! How is he still breathing?! When Optimus returns to the cabin, to Ymir, no words are said, but there's an exchange of looks, Optimus gestures to the door, and Ymir runs. Maria confused, but Megatron asks if he's certain Oshern is fine. Optimus nods yes, but Megatron can see concern and fear, but Megatron is certain that it doesn't have anything to do with Oshern's kind nature. Oshern has returned to running his business when he sees Ymir running to him. Oshern jumps over the countertop to meet her and Ymir tackles him into a hug and he spins her around. Half of the villagers are fucking dead at the sight of that shit. Meanwhile Solveig is smiling with contentment.

But now that Oshern knows the truth about Ymir, it's like a weight had been lifted from Ymir's shoulders. She was happy and still overwhelmed with the idea of someone loving her completely. The two are able to spend more time together, albeit with some interference. Optimus is still watching them with concern, which is something Solveig notices. Megatron has thrown potatoes at Oshern if he thought that something was getting out of hand. But he takes it in stride which infuriates the ex-con. Maria has to constantly tell both her Papas to stop, and they have nearly buckled multiple times! She likes Oshern! He's nice and is teaching her how to bake! Stop it!

But after all the time they've spent together, Oshern fully believes he wants to spend the rest of his life with Ymir. He wants to be with her, flaws and all. He wants to be part of her family. But...he knew how much Ymir and Maria meant to Optimus and Megatron. And he knew for a fact that he was going to need their blessing. So Oshern manages to stop the two of them one day in the village (Ymir isn't there), bows to the both of them, and asks for Ymir's hand in marriage. The whole village practically pauses when they hear Oshern speak those words. Optimus' mental state fucking shatters, and Megatron is in complete and utter confusion, because the uncultured swine doesn't know what marriage is. Optimus has to pull Megatron aside and explain in Cybertronian what the hell he's talking about, which gets a much more visible reaction out of the former warlord.

Optimus in Cybertronian: It's the equivalent of a sparkbond Megatron!

Megatron: EXCUSE THE PITS OUT OF YOU?!

Now those two are having a full-blown argument in another language, with the village watching and eating snacks eagerly like it's a soap opera. Oshern is just standing there so nervously, waiting for approval or rejection. Because the two of them are discussing the fact that if they say yes, they have to reveal who they are. There was no in between. But Oshern had kept Ymir's secret, and she's the one that's done actual damage on this world. That conversation lasts a good while, but they come to an agreement and face Oshern. They are going to invite him up the mountain to discuss this further.

Villagers: Holy shit!

Oshern accepts their proposal, and the villagers are looking at him like he's fucking insane! They have to pull him later aside and tell him to not go! No one's been up the mountain before! They say its haunted! He's going to die! Solveig brings up the fact that she was invited once but chose not to go. Oshern tells them all to stop. He loves Ymir; her guardians are just concerned. That's it. They all think this man is stupid! Oh my god!

Oshern didn't know when he was expected to come, but a few days later, a nine-year-old Maria shows up. Bouncing with excitement at the idea that someone is finally coming over to their place. Oshern ends up following her up the trail to the mountain with a small gift of good will, and the villagers watch with concern.

One of them: Get the funeral pyre ready.

And Maria is continuously talking as they hike up there, the girl not even showing signs of exhaustion. Oshern can't help but feel nervous as they reach the top and go through some trees. The villager's superstitions were getting to him. They reach the cabin, and Oshern is stunned to see how nice it was. It was a simple cabin planted in the middle of a grassy field surrounded by the forest. It was so peaceful. And then he's met with the sight of Optimus and Megatron fighting with swords in their holoforms, and they are really going at it. Maria grabs Oshern by the hand and drags him along, but his eyes are glued to the sight before him. Holy shit they were strong. The villagers were not joking about that! Maria says hi to them as they're fighting, and both immediately stop, pointing their swords at their necks.

"Uh...hi." Oshern waved nervously.

"Oh, it's you," Megatron says with disinterest.

Ymir comes out to greet him, all dressed up with her hair braided. She just hugs him outright, and Oshern has to raise his hands in surrender at the sight of the two guardians holding weapons! Ymir then pulls him into the cabin with the biggest grin on her face, stunning all the men there. She shows him around the cabin she had spent the past few days cleaning top to bottom because she personally wanted to make a good impression. She then pulls him into the living room and asks him to sit down. Maria sits down next to him and starts to talk his ear off once again. Oshern can't help but notice Optimus and Megatron looking from outside the cabin. Megatron is watching him with warning, but Optimus is looking...solemn. Oshern's train of thought was broken when Ymir serves him and Maria stew and the three of them eat together. Oshern can't help but praise her cooking, and...it's a perfect moment between all three of them. Oshern asks if Optimus and Megatron are going to eat, but Maria says they eat different food, earning a shushing gesture from Megatron. Optimus places a hand on his shoulder before approaching the three. He looks at Oshern directly and tells him that he and Megatron wish to show him something.

"Megatron?" Oshern questioned in confusion. Oshern looked over to see the former warlord waving at him before looking back at Optimus.

"We're gonna tell him?!" Maria exclaimed excitedly, while Ymir stared at Optimus in surprise.

"That is...why we invited him up here," Optimus relented.

"YEAH!" Maria screaming as she ran out the door. Megatron quickly grabbed her.

"Don't get too excited," Megatron warned, but the child giggled with delight.

Oshern notices the way that Ymir and Optimus are looking at each other, and he could tell the conversations had and the words being said before Optimus leaves the cabin. Ymir takes Oshern by the hand and gives a reassuring smile before pulling him along to follow the others. Oshern is just being pulled along, watching this family be cheery and happy with one another. Megatron, apparently that's his name, is helping Maria play along the river as they go deeper into the mountains. But Optimus hasn't said a word once. He's been so quiet. Oshern is concerned for him. They get to an open area, and Oshern is definitely feeling a strong sense of Deja vu right now. Megatron then calls Optimus by his actual name, which sets him off more. And Optimus tells Oshern that he once asked him about how he saved Ymir. But before Oshern can ask, Optimus and Megatron deactivate their holoforms and reveal their true identities. Megatron comes down from the sky in dramatic fashion while Optimus drives up. And Oshern is in genuine shock at the sight of two metal titans before him. Instinct is screaming at him to run, but Maria runs up to what he assumes is Megatron, and he picks her up with so much care despite his claws. Optimus explains the basics, their names, and that they are beings from another world. And so much shit is clicking for this baker right now while he's also having an existential crisis! Ymir hopes that he's okay, but Oshern nods, despite how nervous he looks. But Megatron enjoying making him squirm. Optimus tells him that he is more than welcome to ask any questions.

Oshern took a deep breath. "I have two. Are all of you just titans?! Is that a trend in this family?!"

Maria raised her hand from Megatron's shoulder. "I'm not!"

"Unfortunately," Megatron grumbled.

"Megatron," Optimus scolded before turning back to Oshern, "And your second inquiry?"

Oshern turned his attention directly to Ymir. "Will you marry me?"

Ymir's mouth dropped open while Optimus and Megatron stared in shock. Meanwhile Maria, gasped with excitement.

"He asked!" Maria yelled.

"We did not agree to that!" Megatron yelled.

"Well you revealed your forms to me! I am assuming I am welcome in this family!" Oshern shouted at Megatron before turning back to Ymir. "I have a million thoughts running through my head right now about everything, but one thing has remained the same. I love you. I love you so much. I love your daughter. She reminds me of my kid brothers, and I love being able to teach her what I know. Despite the fact that I have been met with constant hostility from them!"

Oshern pointed to the two titans. "I respect them. And understand completely why they wanted to keep you safe for all this time. And...I love you. From the moment you walked into my life that feeling never stopped growing. You are strong and patient and kind. And I don't know how the gods brought you into my life, but I would not change the path that I have walked if it meant I got to see you again."

Oshern took Ymir's hand and held it close to his chest. "I might not be as strong or as reliable as your guardians, but I swear to my last breath, I will do everything in my power to give you a life of happiness. One you desperately deserve. No matter what comes our way, I will not leave you. So..."

Oshern felt his hand trembling. He couldn't tell if it was because of him or the woman he loved. "Will you marry me?"

Ymir could only stare. Not a single word came out of her mouth. He...he wanted to...this kindhearted man. A man so different in every way from the king, asked for her hand in marriage. He promised to love and protect her. And she....she could only dream of a moment like this. She never thought it would actually come true. And now...she had to say something. C'mon! Say it! Say your answer!

"We did not agree to you asking her for marriage!" Megatron shouted at Oshern, "Prime, tell him!" However, Megatron could only see that the Prime looked just as dumbstruck as Ymir. "By the Allspark, I seem to be the only one who has sense here! You will not-!"

"Yes," Ymir spoke with absolute confidence, causing Megatron to stop in his tracks. She raised her free hand to her mouth, almost completely blind-sided by her own response.

"Y-ymir...you said..." Oshern could only muster, in shock at her response. Ymir could feel her hand trembling, but...she repeated her answer again.

"Yes...," she started...laughing in disbelief at her answer to Oshern's question, "Yes." Her smile grew bigger as the tears began to fall down her face. "Yes." Her hand stopped trembling before she reached out for her fiancé. "Yes!" She pulled him close and slammed her lips onto his. She carded her fingers through his curls and was able to smell and taste bread and stew from his lips. Oshern felt tears streaming down his cheeks, emotional that she had said yes to him. He held her close to him, continuing to reciprocate Ymir's physical affection to him.

Megatron groaned as he ran a servo over his face. "I hate humans, so much."

"I'm gonna have a third Papa!" Maria cheered from his shoulder.

"And you're too simplistic for my liking," Megatron told Maria.

Optimus didn't know what to say. He didn't even know how to feel. He felt this churning pit in his stomach when he shouldn't have. He was supposed to be happy for his IronSpark. Why did he feel so...scared and uncertain?

The couple released each other and looked each other in the eye. They continued laughing together, wiping each other's tears before hugging each other. They were able to ignore everything else, and just focus on them.

The next morning, the villagers are extremely worried and anticipating the worst in regard to Oshern. Some are even questioning if they should go up there, but they all pause when they see Maria running down the trail with a smile on her face. They see Oshern still alive, walking in tandem with Ymir and even holding her hand. Megatron is trailing right behind them, and trailing behind Megatron is Optimus. They all meet the villagers down at the bottom, and they all can't help but want to know what the hell happened.

"We're getting married!" Oshern announced.

The villagers look at Oshern and Ymir like he's got a third eye. They snap their heads to Megatron and Optimus for confirmation, causing the former warlord to roll his eyes.

"We had no control over what they wanted," Megatron admitted, while Optimus did his best to look away and not show his face.

Suddenly, they all hear someone laughing. They turn to see Solveig using a cane to support herself, holding her side as she continued laughing.

"I have never been so happy to be alive than right now!" Solveig cackled.

And then the screaming and questions started.

BTW Solveig betted that Oshern and Ymir got together. She won that bet!

(Look I have...so much more I want to say about this, but this is officially the longest ask that I have ever written. I will write out the marriage. I've made my decision on that. And are no doubt more notes about Oshern and Ymir's relationship that I would need to go over in another ask or a personal post.

But, btw, Rose does exist in the Peaceful Timeline, she's Maria's half sister. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed.)