#oh and the ‘old mech’ = ironhide

[typewritingyip]

The Arcturus Missions

Part Twenty Six - Feelings

Part Twenty Five

———

Pilots seem to come from all walks of life, it really depends on how or who recruited them. As the death tolls rose, they started scouring the Earth for compatibility in every place that was reachable by both government agency and private industry. 

Compatibility testing is not standardized across the planet, across agencies, or private companies. 

Those first few years a significant portion of pilots were underage, found more compatible than older people, the youngest pilot back in the start of the program was registered at thirteen years old. After years of regulation, it was made mandatory that pilots must be of the same age to enlist to become a pilot. 

As the number of attacks increased and the number of pilots was rapidly decreasing, many of those regulations were repealed in certain countries; namely the US. 

It is legally viable to become a mech suit pilot as young as fifteen in the United States if they are found compatible. One private company accepts people that young for compatibility testing, while the written test is now given with the selective service paperwork to boys once they turn eighteen. 

The written test is offered with voter registration, but not required. 

—

Archa Three was in a system with two nearby stars, the one the planets actively orbited around and one of an extremely close system. At night the sky would shine with the distant planets and stars, Bluestreak was enjoying the night sky in the quiet. Arm around Sunstreaker’s shoulders, staring at the stars reflecting in the water. 

It had only been a few minutes from when Bluestreak went quiet to Sunstreaker falling asleep, the suit slumping just enough to alert him. Ex-venting slowly, he kept his arm comfortably around Sunstreaker, staring at the horizon.

Until his comm buzzed and he nearly growled. Answering silently, “What?” The bite in his voice would have been enough to scare most people, but the voice on the other side of the comm laughed. 

Though he was still laughing, it took Prowl a moment to clear his voice, “I apologize, I didn’t realize you were so invested with your overnight watch.” Bluestreak’s face burned, “Oh just shut up, fragger.” Prowl chuckled lightly again, shaking his head a bit.

Prowl and Jazz were on the edge of Paraxus, as Jazz had left Iacon sometime during their hectic day, leaving Sideswipe and Breakdown on effective lockdown in the Iacon apartment. Paraxus though the city was still rebuilding from the war it had become a tactical hub at the start of the battles with the Quintessons, realizing it could not and would not remain neutral to destruction again. 

“How is Sunstreaker handling the change in command?” Prowl was keeping his voice down, likely meaning even on internal comm that Jazz was asleep somewhere nearby. Glancing down at the sleeping mech, Bluestreak smiled a bit, “It’s going like you thought it would.” Humming, Prowl fell quiet for a moment.

Bluestreak leaned his cheek against Sunstreaker’s helm, turning up his sensors. Checking the perimeter cameras and sensors with a quick scan, humming then, “He’ll be fine, just has to communicate.” He could almost feel the teasing from the other end of the comm, “That’s why I paired him with you and Ironhide.” Rolling his optics, Blue tucks one servo against Sunny’s side.

“He’s been angry, really angry then so calm. Is that normal or something that’s just Sunny?” Prowl ex-vented slowly, and Blue knew he shifted his weight. One of the mechs few tells, “So, not just Sunny?” Humming again, Prowl shook his helm slowly, “When Jazz went through overuse, it wasn’t this bad. But for him it was fight or die, he couldn’t show who he was. With Sunny and the others, they are out of their suits enough that every time they go back in it’s worse, but this is how they do things on Earth.” Venting shallowly, Blue shifts closer to Sunny, who seemed to move closer and lean more into him.

Looking back out at the ocean, Bluestreak stared, “They're more stubborn than a miner from Tarn.” Prowl’s comm cut out briefly, likely to choke back his own laugher which brought the slightest smile to his face, after a moment Prowl returned, “That is certainly one way of phrasing it, so then, how are things going for your relationship?” It took everything in Blue to not make a sound, gears grinding painfully as he adjusted in his seat.

Prowl just waited, probably wearing his stupid smirk on his faceplates, “It’s fine. Thank you for asking, you slagger.” The chuckle rang through the comm, “These things change and grow, human relationships are different from ours, not horribly so but different enough.” Venting slowly, Prowl stared out the window of the habsuite he was in, Jazz sleeping on his shoulder like Green would, “You have to have meaningful conversation, not just talking at him.” Blue rolled his optics.

The sand was warmed from the suns in this system, but even now away from the heaters it was starting to cool quickly, “We talk.” Prowl hummed, “Sunstreaker is the quietest human I have ever met, versus you.” “Hey!” Trying to hide his grin, Prowl cleared his vocal components briefly, “I am just saying, you two are different. That’s not a bad thing, it just means you both have to have patience.” And Bluestreak’s face burned, glancing down at Sunstreaker. 

Though he could see him, he knew the real Sunny was asleep somewhere safe, tucked inside the suit and away from the toxic and corrosive things this planet seemed to be blanketed in, “Yeah, patient.” He vented before looking back out at the ocean, nodding a bit, “I’ve gotta get back to watch, say hi to Jazz for me.” Prowl glanced over at his own companion who was sound asleep, “I will once he wakes up, keep a vigilant optic Bluestreak.” Bluestreak hummed before disconnecting the comm. 

He checked over the cameras and sensors, nodding a bit before going back to scanning the horizon. The way Sunstreaker reacted to the Quintesson ship was more than instinct, it was personal anger. 

It would be something that they’d have to talk about some cycle, but Blue figured it would be the same one where he explained the so-called inside joke, “Ah, Primus.” he chuckles lightly and shakes his head a bit. 

—

Staying connected to the suit while asleep was not smart or safe, but many pilots had done it before and many would do it after Sunstreaker was gone. It exacerbated overuse symptoms and increased the chances of the crash, but sometimes it was easier than dealing with the after effects of disconnecting.

The suit jolted at the same time Sunstreaker did, still connected even in his sleep, and he was gasping for air. He couldn’t see as his cockpit was shrouded in darkness. 

A hand collided with his chest and he tried desperately to grab it, “No,” his voice was choked, struggling to get air in and out, the hand on his chest shoved him down, “Relax!” Sunny wasn’t familiar with whatever the muffled voice was saying. Finally, he hits the emergency start up for his visual feed. 

Ironhide was over him, pinning him to the sad, practically snarling at him, “Online! Fragging online!” Sunny’s visor brightens just a bit as the rest of his external feeds kick online, sand was spraying all over them, “What the hell?” Ironhide pulls him up and points, “We’ve got company!” He stared for a moment before swearing and online the rest of his suits systems, “Damnit, damnit!” He grabs hold of the controls and adjusts the suit to standing.

The beach was in chaos, it was just shy of morning and there were craters everywhere. It looked so much like the field in Santa Monica. Sunstreaker finally got his head up and stared for a long moment, it was only one ship but it was doing a lot of damage, meaning Sunstreaker had probably pissed them off.

Ironhide still had him by the shoulder and pulls him back behind cover, “When I put you on overnight watch that doesn’t mean give it to Bluestreak so you can recharge!” Hitting the sand again, Sunny groans slightly, “I didn’t mean to fall to sleep! Fuck, alright, just let me handle this.” He slowly rolls and pears over their cover at the ship that was shooting at them. 

He could just see Bluestreak tucked in cover, holding his shoulder with his rifle leaned against his side, “Goddamnit, I can’t even get a decent nights sleep.” With a deep sigh, he adjusts the extension for his bracers before going over the cover and towards the gunfire.

—

Sand was still blowing against his suit and it had been hard to sleep, but it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. Hound had disconnected from the suit for the most part, but kept a screen up with the external feel along with a hold on Mirage’s arm.

He was sitting on the floor, helmet off and eating while watching the outside for the clearing of the storm. Every few minutes Mirage would shift them both and send him tilting the other direction. If he got motion sick, it would make the experience only mildly unpleasant. Right now, he didn’t mind.

The external audio was turned down, mostly wind noise, but some of it was Mirage’s murmurings. Some of it even sounded like praying. Sighing slowly, Hound leaned against the side of his piloting chair, adjusting again as Mirage’s grip shifted again. Grabbing his helmet, he pulls it on before turning on his comm and pinging Mirage.

It took a second for Mirage to answer, “I thought you were asleep.” Hound smiled a bit and leaned his head back against the arm of his chair, “I slept for a bit, but after a while the wind isn’t just white noise anymore.” With a hum, Mirage shifted again, “Are you comfortable?” He chuckled lightly, “Yes Mirage, I’m alright.” Hound sighed slowly. 

The wind was still howling, “How close to sunrise are we?” Hound closed his eyes for a moment, breathing slowly, “Only a few klicks or so, least it should be.” Hound nodded then hummed, realizing his mech wouldn’t move, “And then we find the source of the storm?” Mirage chuckled lightly, “If there is one, yes.” he sighed slowly and held Hound that little bit closer.

Hound slid a bit on the floor and tried not to laugh as he adjusted, “I really am fine Mirage, sandstorms happen on Earth too.” But the mech remains quiet and Hound’s breath caught, “Mirage?” There was a moments pause, “Yes?” Sighing slowly, Hound stood, “Do they have storms like this on Cybertron?” And Mirage sighed shakily, “Not where I’m from, no.” Hound stared at his visual feed for only a moment longer.

Back in his chair, he connected with a bit of a jolt and moved quickly, trying not to hurt Mirage while he moved them both. The wind was trying to shove his suit back to the ground and Mirage wasn’t much help, wiggling and thrashing before finally they had switched places.

Hound was now pinning Mirage to the ground, though not face first in the sand, and Hound’s mech was cradling the poor man’s head, “You should have said something.” He really couldn’t see Mirage, the sand was that dense in the dark, but he had him on infrared, “You were asleep when the storm hit and I couldn’t wake you. I was fine.” Hound scoffs and shakes his head, “You’re insane.” But he continues to hold Mirage’s head away from the ground.

To be fair, Hound knew if he wasn’t in his mech, it would be incredibly awkward to hold any person like this. Watching Mirage’s face get warmer on infrared was proving that fact, but he just held on as still as the suit would allow, “Back home, I’m from essentially a desert. I only lived there a few years but it’s still home.” Mirage’s optics turned towards his visor, though Hound wasn’t sure if he could see him through the storm.

“We didn’t get storms this bad and there wasn’t a ton of sand, but we’d still get them. We’d also get the densest fog you’d ever see.” Hound just hoped that his talking would help keep the poor guy calm, he sighed slowly.

Clearing his throat a bit, Hound lowers his head slightly and closes his eyes, “On Earth, more specifically back home, out in the fields on the really windy days we’d get very weak tornados that would really only move the dust around. They were small and harmless, but they’d still send sand and crap into your eyes. Uh, they were called dust devils, I think. But it could be the most clear and beautiful day and it would be ruined by the fucking sand.” His helm lightly touched the edge of Mirage’s chest plating.

Mirage was staring, just able to see Hound through the sand and to say the least was deeply embarrassed. It was one thing to be frightened by a sand storm, it was another to be comforted by the most oblivious mech in the universe. His own hands had been stiff at his sides, as Hound’s had held his head just above the sand, the poor mech's elbows buried in sand. Slowly, painfully slowly he’d rested his hands back around Hound who just kept rambling on about Earth.

It really was a comfort to listen to him, and Mirage smiled softly, brushing a hand lightly up Hound’s side, “Earth sounds so nice.” Hound looked up, visor brightening, “I miss it, sometimes.” He sighed slowly, shifting slightly in his chair while keeping the suit as still as he could. His implants felt like they were burning and the skin around them was swollen, “But the work is here. I wouldn’t wish to be there, when there’s so much to do here.” He smiled a bit, “Do you feel better?”

Mirage really wanted to punch the oblivious idiot, “Yeah, I do.” Hound smiled, “Good, I’m glad.” He lowered his suit’s head back down, “Get some rest Mirage, I’ve got you till the storm breaks.” Mirage stared at him like Hound had grown a second helm, the mech was insane and oblivious. Rolling his optics a bit, he vents out.

Tapping a few things in the controls, Hound locks up the suit, keeping it in place. He doubted it was the most comfortable thing for Mirage, but it might be the most comforting. Yawning, he removes his helmet and tosses his legs over the arm of his piloting chair, “God, it had to be the middle of the night, didn’t it?” Mirage chuckled in the dark, “That is the way things go.” And Hound smiled, closing his eyes.

—

The room was pleasantly dark and the bed decently comfortable, his arm thrown over his eyes. Since it was just himself and Sideswipe, the apartment was almost pleasantly quiet. It had been hard, the first few days of bed rest but his overuse symptoms had been limited before the concussion and he had yet to be back in the suit since. 

Almost all overuse symptoms were gone, though Breakdown had experienced them in the past. His were slightly different from the Americans, as his implants didn’t bleed or drain, as most of the skin around them had been cauterized. It was only once on loan to MECHA did any of his integrated hardware get updated. 

Almost all of the new stuff was still in fact new. For the twins, their implants and things were only a few years old, Hound and Jazz had had them for almost or around ten years, as had Breakdown with his original integrations. The ones for the upgrades though, those only came about in the last year or two, they would still itch and burn.

Right now his right arm was burning and he thought about getting up to get some water to put on it, but Sideswipe’s music was being played at unbearable levels in the living room. 

So, Breakdown just turned over and tried to go back to sleep. 

Sideswipe was playing his music while checking through part of the wiring on his suit, nodding along to the few familiar sounds from home that were withstanding. At the end of the week, if Breakdown was cleared by Jazz, he’d be shipping out to join Megatron and Hound while Sideswipe was still wondering who on earth this Elita-One person was. 

They couldn’t be that bad, most of who he’d met had been nice enough. Sometimes a little scary but he doubted anyone reached Megatron’s level of intensity. 

The little comm on the wall started to ping, which would go ignored until Sideswipe could get his helmet microphone working again, so it would just sit there and ping. He swore loudly as the wires he connected burned his fingers lightly, kicking his assistance suit off the table.

Breakdown covered his ears and turned into his pillow.  

— 

It wasn’t particularly hard to disable its small shuttle craft, these were run of the mill and more typical back home than they had been in the nearly seven months that they’d been among the Cybertronian’s. Then again, they were fighting an army of these freaks compared to the one or two that was able to topple an Earth city.

Sunstreaker was breathing heavy, mask back on as the air in his tanks was starting to drain with the exertion, “Fall back!” He throws his arm behind him a bit, tangled with the Quintesson, whose ship was above them and still laying down covering fire through the cybertronian camp, “Sunstreaker, don’t be stupid!” Ironhide was behind him, just barely covered by an overturned crate and holding his arm.

It was singed and sparking painfully.

Barely sparing a glance over his shoulder, Sunstreaker drags his blade across one of the tentacles of the Quintesson, splattering his mech in that familiar disgusting green, “Ironhide, fall back and get the others to a safe distance! That ship isn’t going to be able to stay up there if it uses up all its energy on the covering fire!” The Quintesson quickly tugged him back and screamed, trying to pry at his plating. 

Someone yelled loudly and several blaster shots came incredibly close to Sunny’s visual feed, one camera cutting out with a flash as he swung around, foot colliding with the beak of the enemy. It shrieked and reeled back, Sunny bringing one of his bladed bracers down on it again, splattering more green across the light sand. 

There was no more yelling behind him and he could finally focus on just the fight, Ironhide pinging him to alert him of their retreat location. With a bit of a smile, Sunstreaker dove at the monster again, pulling at its limbs with a horrific squelching noise. Wrapping its limbs around his arms and pulling, tearing them away from the alien and cutting them when they wouldn’t give, it screamed and tried to get hold of his legs again.

He stomped on it and headbutted the thing, though he thought for a second he heard his visor crack, another camera was quick to pop offline, which he doubted was a good thing. Sunstreaker was still able to maintain his entire visual feed, resorting to auxiliary cameras.

This particular specimen had denser skin than other Quints he fought, harder to pull apart and nearly impossible to cleave in two without Sideswipe there, but he was still trying. Spraying the beautiful beach in green as the ship above lets out its final pathetic shots on the distant sand, its menacing hum turning into a pathetic whine. 

It started to let out an alarmed sound, which caused the Quintesson to look up and gave Sunny the perfect moment to jump forward, arm going half way deep into its body. It gurgled briefly, spraying the front of his mech greener still, before its tentacles fell from around Sunstreaker and it’s body gave way. It almost dragged Sunny to the sand too.

He hardly had a moment to catch his breath before turning than diving the other way, the absurdly large scout ship crashing onto the beach where it’s energy cells were quick to explode upon impact. Spraying the once beautiful organic paradise in a horrible mix of technological and organic shipwreck. Leaving the beautiful beach on fire. 

The concussive wave hit last, slamming into Sunstreaker’s suit like a perfectly placed punch, enough to knock the wind out of him.

Laying in the sand, the water comes up and brushes over parts of his mech and Sunstreaker tried not to laugh. There, on the beach, staring up at the brightening sky, it really did remind him of home for a long moment. 

Chuckling and sitting up, he rubbed a hand over his covered face, moving to remove the oxygen mask before stopping. Starting. The hand of his mech had glass sticking in its seams, a light blue glass, “Oh shit.” He didn’t know how bad it would be, but that would be a part that would be incredibly difficult to replace or explain having to replace.

With a shove off the ground, he pulled up the coordinates sent to him by Ironhide and started that way, a few mechs already appearing from around the area to try and start putting out the fire. A few had upgrades that were able to put down extinguishing agents.

Sunstreaker kept walking, even as a few people he knew stopped to gawk at him, which was not a good sign to be able to explain this away.

It got even worse when Flatline came running up to him, the mech was large and intimidating but an incredible medic, “Sunstreaker, you need to stop, just hold still!” His hand lightly grabbed Sunstreaker’s suit, and Sunny pulled back, holding up his hands lightly, “It looks worse than it is, I swear.” Poor Flatline looked horrified, “There are going to be mechs who actually need your help, cause of the explosion and stuff.” Sunny added lamely. 

This was not going to help his case, even as he kept backing up, now in the tree line and edging close to where Ironhide had ordered the retreat to. More mecha were gawking at him or even gasping, this was bad, “Sunstreaker, it is more than just appearing incredibly painful, your optics,” “Are fine! I swear, it’s just the visor, I think. I can see.” He tries sidestepping the medic, when sends him colliding with his commanding officer. Today was just turning into the perfect mess.

Ironhide looked ready to yell when Sunstreaker turned to him, before going pale, or cold, Sunny wasn’t entirely sure which to describe it as for a mech, “Sweet primus, how are you still standing?” Sunstreaker winces, “Is it really that bad?” Ironhide gawked at him as someone nearby was sobbing.

”That bad? Kid, your visor is shattered and you’ve got a graze that took out part of your finial.” The sobbing got louder, “Oh Blue, he’s alive! Calm down, for sparks sake.” Ironhide sighs slowly, staring, “Does it hurt?” Sunstreaker could only offer a shrug and the truth, “I don’t feel a thing, but I was designed that way.” Flatline made a strangled noise and Ironhide looked ready to either pass out or murder mankind, he wasn’t sure which at the moment, “Come on kid, sit down, let Flatline at least, at least cover it.” Nodding a bit, Sunstreaker slowly sits.

Flatline filled most of his visual feed in the next second, “I don’t have the parts to replace this,” “I don’t think you could if you wanted to. A lot of your stud won’t integrate with our systems.” Flatline looked to Ironhide, who could only nod, then Flatline swore and started to put god knows what across his suit's visor.

It went quiet for a bit after that, Ironhide disappearing out of Sunny’s field of view and Sunstreaker couldn’t move without being growled at. Intimidating indeed. 

It was only once the shattered visor was mostly covered and Sunstreaker had adjusted his cameras did Ironhide reappear, with Bluestreak to his left looking horribly distraught. Sunny smiled and realized that Blue wouldn’t see it before sending him a ping, which opened far faster than would be humanly possible. He still offered a smile, but it didn’t seem to improve Blue’s mood.

Ironhide cleared his throat a bit, “Sunstreaker, I gave an order to Bluestreak here to fire on the Quintesson when he had a clear shot.” He pauses and looks at Blue then back at Sunny.

It honestly looked Sunny way too long to put two and two together, he paused before staring with a slightly slack jaw, “Wait, Blue shot me? In the face?” Bluestreak made a pained noise, “To be fair, he was shooting the tentacle that was trying to wrap itself around your face that you were ignoring. The second shot just hit your face since the first one severed the thing.” Nodding slowly, Sunstreaker goes to rub his face in thought and three mechs were quick to grab his arm.

”Don’t touch it! It’s only a cover till you can get it repaired.” Flatline was glaring now, so Sunstreaker slowly lowered his hands. Ironhide sighed deeply, “This could have been a lot worse, if we were using the weapons from the war.” Nodding for a moment, Sunny looked to Ironhide, “You’re not using the weapons from the war?” “Primus no, those things were designed to kill us. To go through cyber-mater. We only use the new stuff now.” He nods a bit, clearly worried but unwilling to show it. 

Bluestreak’s hand lightly covered his mouth, “It’s… It’s only supposed to-to hurt organics.” His voice wavered and rose, but Ironhide’s hand came down, “See? It’s nothing personal, kid. We all get shot by an ally at some point, though it’s usually Mirage as the high caste bastard can turn himself invisible.” Bluestreak looked at Sunstreaker, clearly still distraught and horrified, but Sunny nodded a bit and moves over, taking his hand, “I’m not hurt, I swear.” Ironhide and Flatline shared a look.

With a deep sigh, Ironhide rests a hand on Sunstreaker’s shoulder, “I think it’s fair to say you're off punishment Civi, just, get some rest while we try to recover anything from camp. Try to recall Skyfire and the shuttle to get the pit out of here.” He nodded a bit before going off, barking orders again.

Sunstreaker stared after them, “That Quintesson comms station was at camp.” Bluestreak took his hand and held it tightly, “That doesn’t matter.” Looking at Blue, Sunny shakes his head lightly, “I’m not hurt Blue, it just busted up a camera or two.” But the pain on Bluestreak’s face wouldn’t be going away any time soon, “But you look hurt and I caused it.” Sunstreaker sighed, leaning his head against Bluestreak’s shoulder.

Even though they were in the tree line, the waves were still audible, “I’m human Blue, whether I was hurt or just my suit, we both know this is what I was made to do.” Bluestreak’s grip held tighter, “I hate that you pilots feel the need to live and die for this.” Sunstreaker smiled sadly, “What else would there be to live for? When your world would die if you didn’t at least try.” He sighed slowly, running diagnostics.

They sat there, silently, Bluestreak looking both at the suit and the human in the corner of his visual feed, unable to stop thinking about the fact that his gun was re-designed specifically to kill organics. 

———

A/N

So I basically wrote this all tonight, cause I lost track of time and forgot it was Monday after posting an earlier chapter on Ao3. I was busy today anyways.

It’s not likely that I’ll have part 27 for you guys on Friday, just cause I have to write some personal statement for applications this week.

Also also, earlier when I mentioned it being action and fluff? Yeah, I have written up till Sunny was just starting the fight with the Quint, I did not anticipate the later part of this chapter.

Sunny’s visor for his suit has a small chunk taken out of it, right near where his right eye would be, and it had spider webbed the glass. It’s not a pretty picture, plus the tip of his finial thing had been sheered down. I promise if you look at @cosmique-oddity ‘s art for Arcturus you’ll know what I mean.

Uh, anyways. I hope you enjoy this late chapter. P. 25 didn’t do great last week so we’ll see?

Also I have no idea who Flatline is. I know he is a decepticon medic from IDW and I needed a medic that could be on Archa three with them.

TAGS!

@lunarlei68 @whirlywhirlygig @loop-hole-319 @pixillandjester @alek-the-witch @not-a-moose-in-disguise @goddessofwind8water @neurologicalglitch @dersereblogger @pixel-transformers @mrcrayonofdoom @wireplaces @twilightfreefaller @original-blog-name-2 @devilangel657 @robbin-u @childofprimus @miniartistme @starwold @tea-enthusiasm @valeexpris606 @celticdoggo @bird599 @agentsquirrelsgotrobots @aquaioart @dimencreasatlas @thatwandercat @artdagz @seisha974 @starscreamloverfr @halenhusky309 @leethepiper @cat-cassette @blue-wrens @sirassban @cosmique-oddity @garbageenthusiast @osqindaxend @xervias @azulabutterfly @fryseem @spring-mc @echo-circuit @aghostsnail @wooblewooble @ask-glory-haddock-and-others @nonsscarpheap @magichats @iminahole247 @omgflyingderpywhale @pour1tin @thetrexartist @naaaafam @elegantmantaray @emichusai @waterlilykitty @diabolichare

And once again thank you to @keferon for this amazing AU

[numberonetribble]

TF One Piston's official design.

This design is based off the Chinese trading cards for the TF One movie. Big shout out to Hound's card for the background and text colors.

As we know Breakdown does not have an official design in TF One (but is there, I found him!) so when I redesigned Piston I pulled from his G1 design. One this I found very fun is seeing how other artists translated G1 Breakdown into future designs, take the coin shape on Piston's helm. That triangle-ish design is present in all Breakdowns.

I had the pleasure of speaking to a former Transformer's Designer about how to translate Piston's normal design into the TF One design and helped me solve the issue with their waist. Originally I kept Piston's square glass stomach but realized that it wasn't conducive to movement. I still wanted to keep the white line design but took his advice and re-hauled it. Now they have Sideswipe's waist while keeping the glass.

Overall, I kept the design principle the same. Piston has Bee's cheeks, coin shape, chest vents, and legs. They have Breakdown's chest piece, coin design, groin and arms. I kept the shoulder tires B-127 as it works well enough. White lines on Piston are very important to me so no matter what design I draw them in, the lines stay. They do loose their chest stripes but the I think it's fine.

I decided to keep the wings as I like the wings despite B-127 not having wings. This was a lot of fun to do, there's somethings that are beyond my artistic level to fix but over all I'm very happy with how this turned out!

Lore in the undercut!

Piston's catchphrase no matter what continuity they're in is, "I do whatever I want!"

In Earthspark, "I do whatever I want!" is cutesy and a bit naïve and over all forgiving. They were born after the war, the danger isn't real. They don't take anything serious because they don't need to. Baby can not be contained.

In TF One, they're born near the beginning of the war. The love from B-127 is there, but it isn't enough to keep their whimsy in tact. "I do whatever I want." is now a hardened battle cry. Baby can not be contained.

Piston is a combat mech and second best scout as B-127 doesn't want to see his baby turn into something so vicious. They are quick, ruthless, and are someone Decepticons are wary of as they lack Autobot values. Piston sees their family being destroyed and doesn't believe Optimus has the conviction to end the war. (Big Elita SB vibes)

This version of Piston is also several cycles old, mid 30s vibes. B-127 never told anyone, including Piston, that Breakdown is their Sire. They have a body count, in combat and romance. They are interested in anyone red. Sideswipe, Ironhide, Cliffjumper etc. (which makes Optimus all the more irritating (their white whale)).

Piston is particularly fond of Sideswipe as both mechs have a reckless edge to them. Piston does not get a lot of positive attention from other mechs in the Autobot base as time goes on and Sideswipe encourages their behavior. They're a combat pair. On occasion, he's seen Piston smile, their optics soften when no one else is around. Piston for all their rough edges, has a sly side to them. They have a whole, "Oh who me? No, I'm innocent, I've never done anything bad in my life!" wounded animal routine (works great on the battle field too) where they lower someone's guard. Once that mech leans in, Piston bites. Baby has strong hands that don't let go.

So, this is where I must tell you something important.

Piston offlines Breakdown.

All of this culminates into a scene which I wanted to storyboard but, I'm tired. Thusly!! I shall describe the scene for you.

Context: Stunticons launched a surprise attack on an Autobot outpost which injured B-127 who at this point can not verbally speak. Piston visits him in the repair bay and swears vengeance. B-127 refuses and insists on Piston staying with him. Piston looks at their Carry signing desperately and with all the hatred in their voice say, "I can't hear you."

Later:

Main Autobot base, a bit busy as scout teams are reporting in on enemy movements, mechs are trying to pick up the slack where damaged mechs would normally work. Optimus is at the big war table with all the usual suspects, plotting and planning and whatnot.

Suddenly there's a loud noise at the front entrance. Two engines fighting each other like car tug of war. Yelling and metal crashing together, everyone rushes to see what's going on. It's Piston dragging in a very mangled and nearly unrecognizable Breakdown.

When Piston found him, he was alone repairing a misalignment in his shoulder. The suprise attack had been successful but an argument caused the team to temporarily separate. He hadn't been paying attention to a vaguely familiar bot sneaking up on him. Breakdown had heard of the Green Terror, yet that coin, that chest piece were all details he'd seen in a reflection a thousand times before.

Optimus: What is the meaning of this?!!?

Piston: While you and your little entourage sat holed up in here like the frightened mechs that you are, I took it upon myself to see justice!

Optimus: Justice? This isn't justice! We don't treat prisoners like this, that makes us no better than the Decepticons!

Piston: Then I'm doing what you can't!

Without hesitating, they turn, and fire their Stinger at Breakdown's helm. Who, this entire time had been sitting on his knees, leaking Energon and stealing glances at a B-127 he had not seen in a very, very long time. An unfortunate victim of circumstance. He's dead before he hits the ground.

Piston: -I'm ending this war! Even if I have to wipe out each and every last Decepticon myself!

The crowd pulls away in utter shock and Optimus recognizing the situation grabs their arm and crushes it. After that Baby goes to jail for awhile, they're too dangerous to be let go. This Piston can not be forgiven. It's too much. B-127 still rallies for his sparkling, despite everything, he takes the blame. Maybe if Piston had been born at a different time, they could've been different.

[xaythefreak]

"OLD MECHS SURRONDINGS AROUND YOUR AREA" TIME!!!!!!!!!!! NOT CLICKBAIT!!!!! IT'S FREE!!!! NOT A VIRUS!!/silly

We're talking about— Megatron, Optimus prime (i could be wrong him in idw/mtmte but ldk hes canon age) Rung, Ultra magnus, Cyclonus, Tailgate, Ironhide, Kup, drift, and Ratchet. 👅👅👅👅👅👅😍😍😍😍😍👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅😍😍🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

(I might forget other older bots but rn my brain couldn't fart to think any🥀)

Building your old man harams dream....... is a dream come true and living a bliss 👅

I like how in any harem we cook up Rung is by default the most sane one in each of them /hj

but also IDW IMPLIED MEGOP??? IN THIS ECONOMY???? OH YES PLEASE!!!!! I would gladly take the cuck chair if it's megop /hj

also can we PLEASE talk about Ultra Magnus more here I love him he so desperately NEEDS to be pegged. /hj

waiter!!! more old man harem please!!!!!!

[cozzzynook]

TFP Shockop Angst Anon back with more angst.

It has been a few months since Optimus find out he was sparked with twins. Despite Rachet's reassurance that he will keep the truth about the Sire a secret and that he had everything prepared it did so little to calm Optimus nerves. With a heavy sigh the Prime quietly walked down the hallway lost in thought about what he was going to do and what he was going to say to everyone when he can no longer hide his carrying or his sparklings. Carefully placing a servo over his chest he let out a gentle hum he could faintly feel his bitties sparks beat in sync with his own. He gave a small smile before placing the servo on his tanks the bump was small meaning hiding it was easy but he knew with time it would be a lot bigger at the protoforms develop.

"Oh! Optimus!" A familiar voice called out making the Prime turn around with a smile "Greetings Prowl how was the scouting mission with Jazz and Ironhide?" Optimus slowed his stride allowing the police mech catch up who was carrying a stack of data pads likely on his way to his office. "It was fine, however Jazz got his pede tangled in some lose wires and ended up spraining his ankle." Prowl gave a tired sigh but he had a small smile on his face. Optimus gave a low hum giving his own smile "Glad to see everything is fine and I wish Jazz a quick recovery, I know how much you two care for each other" Prowl's door wings gave a quick flutter as the police mech lowered his gaze hiding the slight flush on his face before gazing back up at Optimus. "If I may ask sir, are you doing well?" The police bot's visor dimmed in concern "You seem to be in pain..."

Prowl was in in fact right, ever since they started talking Optimus has felt a sickly burning in both his spark and tanks that grew more intense with each passing moment. With a slight wince he braced himself agents the wall with a servo shocking Prowl who was already rushing to his side helping the Prime to stay steady. "I-I might need to see Ratchet...something is wrong" He let out a hiss as pain suddenly shot through his spine and into his tanks making the larger mech shake as he struggled to remain standing. "Right, On it..." Prowl had already pulled out his Comm link and judging by the sudden yelling on Ratchet's side it seemed it will only be a few minutes before the medic arrived. Meanwhile Optimus shut his optics as another wave of pain washed through his frame, He also prayed that it was just a old wound acting up again and not something happing to his sparklings.

Couple hours passed and Prowl was still guarding the Med-Bay due to ratchet's orders, thankfully Jazz had hobbled out of his hab to join up with the police bot despite Prowl telling him he should be resting. "So, what happened...you said he suddenly looked pale then...collapsed?" The black and white mech looked at the police bot while carefully leaning on the wall not putting any weight on his wounded ankle. Prowl let out a sigh flicking his door wings anxiously "Yes, we where just talking about the scouting mission then...Prime was bracing himself on the wall holding his chest where his spark was." The police bot then turned looking at Jazz with a worried look "You don't think The Matrix is rejecting him or..." Prowl lowered his helm as Jazz carefully placed a servo on his partners shoulder "Nah, I don't think so Prowler otherwise Optimus would be his old self. Besides I know Prime is a lot stronger than we give him credit for" Jazz gave a warm smile trying to comfort his partner, Prowl gave a small smile before placing a servo on Jazz's servo. "I know...I'm just worried about-" Prowl suddenly stopped speaking when the sound of muffled crying came from the Med-Bay. The pair looked at each other with a shocked expression unsure what they were hearing was just a illusion or really happing. "Is that a sparkling crying or is my audials playing tricks on me?"

Prowl suddenly whipped around when the Med-bay doors opened allowing a less grumpy Ratchet to leave. "Alright you two, you can go back to your habs now, and Jazz don't think I won't be keeping an optic on you" Jazz gave a nod but crossed his arms still having a confused look, Prowl wasn't any better the police bot looked like he had a thousand questions to ask all at once. "Wait, wait Ratchet what happened? What's going on? Is Optimus alright? We swear we heard a sparkling or two" Ratchet gave a grumble quickly scanning the hallway outside his bay for any spying bots before answering the police bot's burning questions. "Yes that was a sparkling you heard twins exactly. And yes Optimus was sparked but he is fine...the sparklings decided to arrive much earlier than they were supposed too. As for now don't tell anyone Optimus doesn't want to cause panic while he recovers." Prowl let out a sigh seemly thankful that his worries were for nothing. "Understood Doc bot, we'll keep our intakes shut. Oh and tell Optimus me and Prowler send our get well wishes for him and his bitties" Jazz had a wide smile who was already dragging Prowl away from his guard post and down towards the hall likely on their way to his hab. Once they were out of sight Ratchet re-entered the Med-Bay with a sigh as he went to check on Optimus and the sparklings.

Optimus was laying on med berth with a sombre look on his face. Carefully he turned his gaze to look at the now two tiny sparklings that lay sleeping in a medical cradle with small wires carefully attached to their sparks. Despite their plating still being light grey hints of colour have started forming giving them a splotchy look. Optimus gave a smile as he carefully placed his servo on the glass of the cradle imagining the day he would be able to hold them in his arms when they are big enough. "How are you feeling Optimus?" Ratchet spoke quietly trying not to wake up the bitties from their nap. "Tired and a little sore, other than that I'm fine old friend..." The Prime turned to give the medic a smile before gazing back at his sparklings. Ratchet gave a low hum in agreement before pulling out a data pad and reading through it it quickly "Well the test results look promising, despite being early and small I see no complications with the sparklings. Hopefully in a few weeks to a month they can leave the Med-bay and start living as normal bitties." Ratchet placed his data pad back onto his desk before turning to look at Optimus "Oh and Jazz and Prowl send their wishes...they also promised not to tell anyone else until you're ready " Optimus let out a sigh thankful that his bitties would be okay and that there wouldn't be a mess to clean up while he recovers. "I...just wish their Sire was here to meet them...it just feels...wrong not telling him about them" Optimus lowered his gaze while Ratchet gave a low grumble seemly disapproving "Optimus, we both know the Shockwave you knew before and the Shockwave now are not the same mech...It would be pointless to try and inform him that he Sired sparklings, let alone risky" The red and blue mech lowered his helm while his finnals drooped as his sparked beat painfully. "I Know, a part of me just wishes things were different" He let out another sigh before he laying back on the berth still unable to look Ratchet in the optic. The medic gave a low grumble glancing between the new carrier and the sparklings, suddenly an idea popped into his helm hoping it would lighten the mood a little. "Well, what are you going to name the little troublemakers?" Ratchet gave a playful smirk "If they are anything like you we are going to have our servos full" Optimus gave a soft chuckle before pausing to think for a long moment. "Hmm...what do you think about Cliffjumper and Bumblebee?" Ratchet gave smile before answering "Naming them after your favourite heroes in those fantasy novels you like to read I see?" Optimus gave a bashful expression making Ratchet let out a quiet laugh "I think they suit them just fine"

(I want to give a bit of a hurt/comfort vibe at the end. Hope you enjoyed :> )

Oh my gosh i am in love

[autobots-in-training]

Question for the big kids. Why did the war started?

Sideswipe- UUUUUUUGH i hate history class. Sunny, you take this question.

Sunstreaker- idiot.

Sideswipe- I heard that!

Sunstreaker- I meant for you to hear it. Now shut up, the smart twin is talking!

Sideswipe- Neither of us is the smart twin.

Sunstreaker- Theres only two of us! One of us has to be the smart one, and its me!

Sideswipe- Yeah yeah whatever, just keep it down, im gonna play Zelda.

Sunstreaker- ANYWAY! Basically, the Functionists were in charge, we were split into castes, poor bots and anyone in the lower undesireable castes weren't allowed to procreate or even have romantic partners, cause romance leads to sex or whatever. Some bots were sterilized for speaking out, others were sterilized because the Functionist council couldnt risk them having kids even on accident. We were actually the kids of an upper class mech and lower class mech. They kept us hidden for a few years but they were found out.

Sideswipe- Can you just skip this part? I hate it.

Sunstreaker- The anon asked a question, I'm just answering it, go back to your game.

Sideswipe- Yeah yeah...

Sunstreaker- They were able to help us escape, our creators were killed by the council and we were on our own well into the war. Ironhide found us when we were... I think we were close to Springer's age.

Sideswipe- We were closer to 12.

Sunstreaker- Oh yeah, 12,000, so a bit younger than Springer and the other two. The war started because bots weren't allowed freedom of... pretty much anything. The further down in the caste system you were, the less rights and privileges you had. Even upper class mecha were restricted on some things, so even they weren't free. Frame types couldn't mix. It was a whole fucking mess.

Sideswipe- They started "decommissioning" "undesirable" mecha too. Decommissioning meaning killing and undesirable meaning old models.

Sunstreaker- It was fucked up.

Sideswipe- Hey Sunny, Mirage was from the Towers right?

Sunstreaker- Yeah, he mentioned that in class last week.

Sideswipe- How do you think he and Hound met? Hound was in the Cybertronian Army. Army mecha and high class mecha didn't really mix before the war, he said so himself in class.

Sunstreaker- For someone that hates history class, you sure know a lot.

Sideswipe- Oh please, it's just random stuff that i remember, i dont actually remember whole timelines of historical events like you.

Sunstreaker- And thats why im the smarter twin.

Sideswipe- Oh shut the fuck up.

Sunstreaker- No, im going to keep going.

Sideswipe- Fine by me.

Sunstreaker- D-16 who later became Megatronus who even later became Megatron and Orion Pax who later became Optimus Prime, teamed up, and rallied a bunch of mecha that were sick of the rules of the council. They were pretty quickly overthrown, more people hated functionism than the council realized.

Sideswipe- And then Megs and OP couldn't agree on how to go from there, and they started bitch fighting, and have not stopped since then, the eeeeend.

Sunstreaker- Can you be more articulate!?!? ... Also yeah, thats basically what happened. They kept disagreeing on how to build a new government, people took sides, and the rest is... well, history.

Sideswipe- Ugh, the beginning of the war took like, 6 months to get through, Hound just went on and on and ON. This was so much faster.

Sunstreaker- Because i left out a bunch of details!! Details which are important to know!

Sideswipe- Why do i need to know them?

Sunstreaker- Because the war isnt as black and white as some of the adults make it out to be!

Sideswipe- I mean, i get that, but it took so long to just get through the events leading up to the war.

Sunstreaker- Because it was thousands of years of unrest that lead to the revolution and the war to happen!!

Sideswipe- yeah yeah. Hey, wanna play mario kart?

Sunstreaker- *sighs* Yeah, sure. I call peach.

Sideswipe- That's who you always pick, I know not to touch her.

Sunstreaker- Good.

*end transmission*

[nobodys-hekatonchires]

Hek's TF Fic Masterlist

(as of Jan 2025)

| Main AO3 | Old AO3 |

| Main Fic Masterlist | Master Post |

(Chronological or series order)

One-shots

Just To Get Closer To You | 1,697 words |

Megatron saved Optimus from Unicron. Then the Warlord does something the Prime would never have expected.

Difficult To Go Through, Yes, But Beneficial | 5,154 words |

Angstober 2024 - Day 8 Growing Pains Ratchet calls Ironhide and Jazz to his apartment after something awful happens.

Sleeping In | 1,348 words |

Optimus shows up too early for a meeting with young Bumblebee in tow, the latter deciding to get a little nap in before more 'bots show up. Optimus, on the other servo? A Prime would never be caught recharging during a meeting...right?

Multi-chapter

Get You Home | 3/3 | 22,980 words | subject to additional chapters |

Unicron has been sent back to stasis and now the Autobots have to deal with the aftermath: recovering their Prime before the Decepticons can get their claws on him. However, there is no telling what using the Matrix has done to Optimus, not until he boots up again.

Post-OP | 1/? | 9,115 words | WIP

Ratchet intends to spend the evening enjoying his new medical text, however a mech claiming to be Orion shows up and– Wait… is- is that the Matrix?! Or Ratchet has a very unpeaceful night thanks to the new Prime, the Enforcers show up to ruin it even further. Then they're forced to flee to…Wheeljack's

Series

How To Get Over Losing 100,000 Credits (series)

Any and all stories linked to my TFP AU (JazzHide for short) - will include SFW and NSFW

1. Iron Deficiency With A Side Of Jazz Hands | 14/? | 81,467 words | WIP

Ironhide did not envision arriving to Earth in such an awful shuttle which has one pede in the scrapyard, and whose fault is it? Jazz's. And Prime's. And Megatron's. And whoever let him play astro-poker! They'd get to Earth finally, but who knew how many pieces they would be in... Or: Ironhide and Jazz have found their way to Earth after hearing about Optimus Prime's broadcast from another Autobot. It is not the smoothest landing, nor is their time on Earth a vacation either as they face Megatron and his 'cons, M.E.C.H., and more. A rewrite of Transformers Prime from the Season 2 onwards, including more 'bots and 'cons, a different Season 3, and so much polyamory.

2. Roller | 1/1 | 4,092 words |

It turns out that the Matrix did more than just restore Optimus Prime's memories. It takes a few days for Team Prime to realise, but the surprise is a pleasant one.

JazzOP Is The Right Of All Sentient Beings (series)

It is my mission to bring as many JazzOP fics to AO3 as there are MegOP and JazzProwl - will include SFW and NSFW

1. The Simplest of Comforts | 1/1 | 1,325 words |

TF Rare Pair Fest 2024 - 24th Gentle Touch Optimus gains a new home after becoming Cybertron's new Prime, Jazz is interested too.

2. Highly Important | 1/1 | 3,578 words |

Late during the recharge shift, Jazz visits Optimus to discuss their relationship and figure out some things, including the highly important task of: how to kiss without a mouth.

3. Get It Hot | 1/1 | 910 words | NSFW |

With no mouth or glossa, Jazz instead tests Optimus' battle mask

4. A Transformation of Hope | 1/? | 7,192 | WIP

Witwicky is a quaint little place, if you ignore the gigantic autonomous robots that turn into cars and planes and tanks and a- a boom box? Jazz finds he quite likes the place they're stranded on, even if it can't compare to Cybertron in its Golden Age. However, everything gets throw out of wack when two new sparklings show up out of nowhere, meanwhile other mecha are disappearing. It falls upon Jazz, as Autobot commander, to deal with everything while Croft busts his tailpipe for every minor mishap she can find. An Earthspark rewrite with changes to the cast, changes to the story, and changes to Optimus' ugly face. Oh, and I've made everyone polyamory again!

[cybertr0nian]

A relic? How cute.

" You may be...well seasoned Kup, but you're not a relic....I'd say you're just right." Blurr smiles unable to hold back the chuckle that escaped him at the others question " Only a select few of older mechs tickle my fancy~ Let's see...there's...Ironhide, Springer...mmhh and then there's you. I do enjoy the crotchety old mechs, they're fun to tease. Although I can't say that I've always felt this way about older mechs, then again before everything I used to think I was the top dog, the only one that mattered."

Blurr absolutely loved how confident Kup was " That is true, you have a lot of experience...but I have my own experience. Maybe we should compare them sometime." he suggested as he watched Kup raise his servo towards his lips, the speedsters engine revving slightly as Kup nibbled on his digits.

" Oh don't be so certain Kup, I'd love to see where you usually go for a drink, but if you prefer a more secluded spot I know a nice place we can go. We'll have a corner all to ourselves and we can enjoy our dinner and drinks while you tell me more about yourself~"

"You won't want for any shanix"

Where the frag is Terminus to point and castigate Blurr for being a Sugar Daddy? Nevermind that...

"Yer flattery is gonna give me a bigger ego than ah've already got. It ain't every day a turbo revvin' youngster like yerself takes an interest in a relic like me. But ah like it. Tell me Blurr, have ya always felt this way? Got a thing fer older mechs?"

He tilted his helm - it was a genuine question brought about by curiosity.

"'Course ah know who ya are kid - said so yerself that ah've saved yer aft a time or two. And ya may be fast, but ah've got experience on mah side."

He smirked slyly as he brought the servo that hooked his chin up to his lips where he offered those slender digits a playful nibble.

"Dealer's choice. Ah don't think yer wantin' tah visit mah little hole-in-the-wall dive bars. Somethin' a little more classy, a little more private."

[blackgirlfandomwriter]

Baby Preferences❤️(Requested Bots)

Bayverse Ironhide:

His old a- Finding out about your pregnancy shook Ironhide to his spark💀. It also shook you at how gentle he became with you. Now don't get me wrong, he was still pretty grumpy and headstrong around the team. But with you was just, gentle. I'm telling you Ironhide went into full-on caretaker mode. When it was time, you gave birth to a gorgeous baby girl named Jessie. Oh, and she definitely has her daddy's attitude😂.

Chase:

When you told Chase that you were pregnant, he didn't know what to do💀. He was super excited and said "I love you" at least a thousand times that day🥺. But on the other hand, this mech was racking his processor trying to figure out how to prepare for the newborn. Chase always kept a close optic on you during your pregnancy and supplied your every need😊. In the end, you gave birth to two beautiful daughters. Chloe and Brooklyn 💙

Boulder:

“You’re pregnant!?!😲” Was the question running through both you and Boulder's minds when you found out about your pregnancy. Let me explain. A long time ago, doctors had told you that you were incapable of having children BUT HERE YOU WERE NOW. During your entire nine months of pregnancy you two, especially Boulder, we’re very careful. He wouldn't let you eat/drink certain things, touch heavy things, or even stress. All out of love for you and the unborn baby ofc🥰!! Don’t worry cause at the end of it all, you gave birth to a handsome baby boy. Meet Nathan💞!!

Blades:

Blades...... Oh my god, Blades😂. Let's just say that very happy tears came from this mech when you told him you were pregnant😊. During your pregnancy Blades happily waited on your hand and foot. Anything you asked for, he got it. Blades was also extra affectionate towards you and wanted to be with you at all times. You gave birth to a lovable baby boy named Ashton and he was definitely Blade's son.

Heatwave:

When you and Heatwave found out that you were pregnant nothing really changed. For the first few months, he let you be completely independent..... until you started showing and it finally settled in that you were PREGNANT!! After this Heatwave stays by your side as much as possible. He wouldn't even let you train or workout unless he was doing it with you🥺. After a few more months with a very overprotective Heatwave, you finally gave birth to a baby girl😊. Meet Kaitlyn🤎, Another one who definitely has her daddy's attitude💀.

[battlexworned]

🍷💖

@thee-forcefield-guy

This contact was slightly old, but untouched. His intoxicated processor tried to connect the dots as to how he got this mech’s code. Oh yea! It was one of the Lost Light bots. If it wasn’t for the name being registered, Ironhide would have a hard time knowing who exactly was. Trailcutter… or- Trailbreaker? Eh, Ironhide’s memory was too fuzzy to know which was right.

:: heyyy so ::

:: so yr the Traily guy right? I don’t think we talked much but I’m definitely gonna change thatt ::

:: I always thought ya had good looks ::

:: especially tha chassis o yourss nnnsdkkdkk ::

:: god frag it fell agin ::

[tarklesbehindthescenes]

A young woman and an old soldier

Pairing: Ironhide/Carly

Continuity: G1

Prompt: Old Holidays

AO3

Carly was laid on her back atop Ironhide’s shoulder, a library book in hand, reading to him while he meticulously cleaned the Autobots’ arsenal, one gun at a time. It was a book that gave summaries of a variety of holidays that were no longer in practice and the two of them were finding it particularly intriguing to learn about past culture that had been dropped.

“Oh no, I’m so going to butcher this one,” the young woman lamented as she eyed the name of the next holiday covered.

“It can’t be that bad, surely?” Ironhide mused.

“Let’s see… ‘Lugh…nas…adh… is an old Celtic—’ Oh, I know I pronounced it wrong, now. Celtic is never pronounced in the way that it looks. ‘—is an old Celtic holiday that marks the beginning of the harvest season and honors a three-faced god named Lugh. One of the most peculiar celebrations is the trial marriage ceremony.’”

“What in the name of Alpha Trion is a trial marriage?” the red bot inquired.

“It says: ‘for one day only, by joining hands with your beloved through a hole in a wooden door and exchanging vows and gifts, you would be married for just one year and one day. At the next L…Lugh…’” She lowered the book upon feeling and hearing Ironhide giggle as she struggled with the word. “Shush,” she admonished with a grin before returning to the book. “‘—Lughnasadh, if you don’t want to be married anymore, you could just call it off without consequences.’ Fascinating. I can see the pros and cons of that. It would probably be well-suited for finding out if two individuals would do well in a married environment. If they don’t, then having the ability to break that with little to no consequences would be ideal.”

“This practice don’t exist no more?” the red mech asked curiously.

“No. Marriage is usually seen as a long term thing. And getting out of a bad marriage is so messy, it’s little wonder why some of the weaker-willed people don’t go through with it.” Carly shook her head. “It’s sad, really. The divorce mess, not the long-term marriage. I think if we had a system that allowed people to have a trial-run of marriage before fully committing, there would be a little less broken people and relationships in the world.”

“Wonder how many people agree with ya,” Ironhide commented as he put the gun he was cleaning back together and set it aside before he reached for the next one.

Carly was silent for a moment before she jokingly posed, “Want to go through a trial marriage?”

The red mech’s lips stretched into a playful smirk as he replied, “If you find a big enough wooden door for us to use, I’ll find you some gifts, and we’ll give it a go.”

The young blonde laughed and sat up a little. “Wait, really? Don’t make any promises you don’t intend to keep.”

“I said what I said,” he insisted, turning his head slightly to look down at her with a flirty waggle of his optic ridges.

“I’ll get a hold of my local woodworker,” she grinned in return.

[typewritingyip]

"Ironhide nearly collided with him, taking his shoulders, "Just, hold still Sunstreaker.""

Oh, awwwwwww. This so cute.

""Just so you know, Elita is pissed."

"Comms kept failing.""

Love it when your mom calls you, but your Phone is dead, and then is to late when you realize you have +50 missing calls. Am even though your phone was actually dead, you know she's gonna kill you.

"but the minute that Megatron got an injury even if it was so much as a scratch, it was as if the entire universe revolved around it."

Old men in love, you're not better KO

"Though each step made his helm wobble precariously and it sent Knockout into a near panic."

He's gonna have a spark attack when he discovers his boyfriend is a tiny organics.

"The poor mech looked horrible,"

Hound you look like a zombie revived by Satan himself to them.

""What? What? Did a wire zap you?" Turning to look at his shoulder, he frowned, there shouldn't have been anything there to cause Mirage pain,"

This men is dissociating so hard.

""I can feel you. Your field.""

I'm just here asking myself how tf are they gonna fix their suits. Bc they must be, er, like shit, for lack of a better word.

JazzProwl having their moment for themselves, and Hide w Blue comforting Sunny. It's just so, awwww. Like everyone seems like shit but, awww.

Love the chapter! Thanks for posting and have a great night.

Take care <3

Heheheheh. This makes me so happy. Okay. Going thought each, as always.

I’m glad you found so much of this chapter cute btw, it wasn’t my initial goal but I’m glad it turned into that.

Oh yeah, the phone being dead and it finally turned back on to missed calls and texts? Yep, that’s bad, but Sides was also rejecting half her pings. So…

Old men in love! Mecha in love!

Oh yeah.

Hound probably looks the worst out of any of them. Missing an arm, lack of paint and plating, it’s brutal.

1000%

So, Hound and Jazz both know how to repair the suits, but Knockout is going to insist on helping again. So it won’t be so bad.

And yeah. They all look like death, but still. They all get their moment to breathe, for now. ☺️

[heliopauseentertainments]

Oh then, can I request the prowlstar one where Prowl has to work in Starscream's administration? If Starscream's gonna lead at least Prowl is gonna make sure things don't go to hell.

I had a lot of fun with this one. Thanks!

Title: 9-To-5AM Continuity: IDW1 Rating: Teen Relationship: Prowl/Starscream Characters: Prowl & Starscream Warnings: Canon divergence, vaguely suggestive situation Summary: In which Prowl finds he rather likes his new job and unfortunately also his new boss. Crossposting: In a reblog. Fic under cut.

Prowl hadn’t been sure what to do when Optimus expelled him from the Autobots, after his so-called “betrayal.” It hadn’t even been a possibility that had occurred to him, so he had never taken it into his calculations. The rending of the surface layer of his armor plating when his Autobrand had been physically revoked all those weeks ago still echoed in his processor, even now as he sat at a new, sturdy desk in one of Iacon’s refurbished administration buildings, centrally located within Metroplex’s frame.

What he’d certainly never been expected was Starscream, of all mechs, offering him a job.

Of course, it made sense. Starscream was no fool. He was running a new, nominally “neutral” administration as the legally elected ruler of the planet. He needed the most experienced and competent functionaries to make everything go smoothly. Riots and mayhem and chaos would do him no favors. It would go without saying that he would be ready to headhunt and recruit valuable personnel, regardless of prior faction affiliation. No sense letting skilled potential subordinates go to waste.

If Optimus wanted to throw away millions of years of Prowl’s unerring loyalty, then Prowl would simply take practical advantage of his free agent status. It wasn’t his fault that Optimus had decided to be blind, to not see the big picture. If Starscream was willing to see it, then Prowl could learn to work with that. Prowl was, if nothing else, adaptable.

It wasn’t just about defeating and eliminating the Decepticons—a moot point now anyway that had really only ever been the superficial goal—it was about Cybertron’s well-being.

The fuel warmer on the corner of Prowl’s desk, nestled between datapads and light-pen holders, beeped cheerfully, telling him that his hot beverage was ready.

And besides, after all, Starscream’s offer was sensible, despite being delivered publicly in a grand gesture. Prowl had been dragged out of his less-than-ideal hiding place, plopped in front of Starscream’s garish, gaudy throne. Instead of being executed for supposed crimes against the state, he was given a job.

Good salary with periodic retention bonuses. Excellent benefits. Nice office with a modest plaque stating “Head of Intelligence Bureau.” Centrally-located apartment approval to minimize his commute. Access to the burgeoning, non-factional informant network that was being developed. Prowl could even add some of his prior Autobot contacts, of flexible affiliation, of course, to the network to boost it. His record had even been wiped clean.

Best of all, Starscream had explicitly included the removal of wanted posters with his face on them in the offer, revoking his fugitive status.

Now Prowl was doing what he had wanted to do all along, behind all of the schemes, behind all of the secrecy, behind all of the projects, behind all of it. Now Prowl was working for the betterment and safety of Cybertron.

It had just been a shame that Optimus couldn’t see it and that the one mech who could… was Starscream.

The curtains behind Prowl were drawn over the large windows looking out onto the city’s skyscape at night. There was no need to work this late anymore, but old habits were hard to break.

It wasn’t like he had any reason to be at home anyway.

He lived alone. His best friend was dead. Most of his former comrades wanted nothing to do with him. Even Ironhide, who headed Starscream’s security division, only begrudgingly worked with him out of necessity. The Constructicons had, although reluctantly, turned their collective backs on him when Scoop replaced him in their gestalt.

He reached out, pouring himself a mug of warmed, stimulant-infused fuel from the carafe. With nothing but the blue glow of his optics and the purple light of the fuel itself to guide him, the only thing preventing a spill in the darkened office was his skill at working in conditions like this.

There was… one other reason that kept him here at these hours. A, perhaps, self-indulgent reason.

There came a sharp, rapid knock on the door, one that Prowl had come to know well in recent weeks.

“Come in.”

The door slipped away into its recess in the wall. White and red seeker wings slid into view as the door retreated.

Starscream stepped into the office without fanfare. In the daylight hours, this would be odd as the self-styled emperor loved drawing attention to himself, but late at night, Prowl appreciated the relatively subdued visit. Apparently Starscream was also a night owl, preferring to stay up through the dark hours to work. It was a strange sort of common ground they had found with each other, a point for a growing sense of kinship.

At first, Prowl had been disgusted with himself, when he had started looking forward to these quiet hours spent discussing intelligence reports. Starscream had plenty of insight to share, both generally and the specifics he brought from having been intimately familiar with the inner workings of his former faction. Yet from one mind with a million machinations to another, there was something unsettlingly comforting in being known and understood.

“You know your fixed salary exempts you from overtime pay, Prowl,” he said, leaning a hand on the desk in a relatively uncluttered spot. Oddly, neither of them had moved to turn on the lights.

Over time that disgust had faded away, leaving only the strange warmth of what… what Prowl thought might have been friendship. Or maybe…. Had Starscream always held his wings like that? His own doors fluttered on involuntary impulse.

“Enemies never sleep, Starscream,” Prowl said, optics dropping to that hand on his desk before tracking the motion of the seeker swanning around the side to approach his chair in the dark. “You know that—“

“True. Sleep is for the weak.” Even in a whisper, Starscream’s voice was sharp but not unpleasant. “Luckily neither of us sleep.”

[earthstellar]

Rewatching Transformers G1 S2: Episode 1: Autobot Spike

Yes, this is where the Surprised Ratchet meme image comes from:

This episode has a lot going on including near-death of a human character on screen, body horror/a Frankenstein plot, and some genuinely unsettling scenes mostly made creepy due to the combination of some interesting dialogue/voice acting and typical G1 Quality. 

And Spike shoots Starscream in the ass mid-flight, which is fantastic. 

He also shoots his dad, which is less fantastic. 

Being a horror nerd, I love this episode, so here we go! 

Gonna put this below a cut because I’m taking a lot of screenshots here:

You can watch the whole episode on YouTube here in 4 parts, if you want to watch along! 

Alright, so it opens with Sparkplug trying to create “Autobot X”, which is straight up just a Frankenstein’s Monster of autobot parts. It’s weirdly creepy, and vaguely reminiscent of the infamous Ratchet-Megatron fusion in the Marvel comics.

I want to point out that Sparkplug says “I wanna see what I can do with a lotta spare Autobot parts and some human ingenuity” before the reveal shot above, and that’s horrific if you think about it for more than like, three seconds. 

It also may have been the origins of the MECH plot line in TFP, actually! Very similar body horror type thing going on. Anyway.

It works briefly, but it flips out and has to get shut down. 

Ironhide fires a laser, problem solved, nobody’s worried. They put Autobot X in storage, because surely a rampantly aggressive seemingly sentient pastiche of random Autobot parts is nothing to worry about. It’s fine. 

Wheeljack is like, hell yeah, I’ll help you work on it later. Which is when we get the Surprised Ratchet image, because yeah, I bet Ratchet’s freaked out a little since this thing is made of SPARE AUTOBOT PARTS. 

Then we’re swept immediately into a fight with Megatron, as many Seekers as you can fit in frame at one time, and Soundwave. 

For whatever reason, Bumblebee shows up driving through a bunch of partially blown up missile/rocket components, with Spike in the driver’s seat. Even Spike is like, dude, why are we here? And Bumblebee is just like, I mean, we couldn’t NOT show up. lmao

Unsurprisingly, Bumblebee gets shot-- In alt-mode, with Spike inside. Uh oh. 

Megatron leaves, because Frank Welker can only voice so many characters at once, and our attention is turned to the carnage. 

Ratchet is like, sure, I can fix Bumblebee right up! Meanwhile, Ironhide is like oh god, oh my god, is this how you hold a human??? Is it dead??? Optimus is gonna be pissed. 

So Optimus rolls up like, listen, take him to the hospital, come on. Ratchet lets him in the back of his ambulance mode, and Prowl goes with him so that he can throw his emergency lights on to give the illusion of a police escort, ensuring the drive is even quicker. 

(I miss the days when Prowl wasn’t a total asshole.) 

It cuts pretty quickly to Spike in an operating theatre; Apparently getting shot by alien space lasers isn’t conducive to human health: 

It cuts again to the attending physician standing at Spike’s beside, presumably in ICU although they appear to be in a private room, with Sparkplug on the other side of the bed. 

The doctor says “Hmm, if only there were a way of separating Spike’s mind from his body while we work...” Which, uh, what? What surgeon says that? You can sort of already do that in actual human medicine, it’s called an induced coma. 

But sure, we need exposition here, I get it. The screenplay here is tight. Sparkplug says he has an idea...

Back at the Autobot hangout, things seem fairly chill, considering. 

Ratchet is welding Bumblebee’s ass in alt-mode, while Bumblebee complains about how long it’s taking. lol 

Meanwhile, Wheeljack and Sparkplug somehow have Spike hooked up to a Ghostbusters colander helmet, which will hopefully transfer his mind into the malfunctioning/in stasis Autobot X frame. Yikes. 

It works! Spike is now also Autobot X. We will call him Spike X for short. 

And for some reason, Spike saying “D-Da-ad?” with this faceplate expression is incredibly funny to me, while also being really weird and creepy: 

However, this is only cool for like two seconds, at which point Spike X truly starts to lose his shit. 

It gets real creepy here, with Spike X saying in a very oddly flat inflection “Why? Why did you do this to me? Why?” and it’s pretty wild. There’s even a mild strobe effect for a few frames. 

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker try to help calm him down, but Spike X throws them both across the room. 

Optimus is like, oh shit, we made a giant metal teenager. Stop him, but use low power, because if the Autobot X frame is damaged too much, then Spike’s consciousness may not be able to be returned to his actual human body. 

Note that Optimus says this in a pretty relaxed way, then levels a shoulder mounted cannon straight at Spike X, which is incredibly funny. 

It quickly gets deeply weird and creepy again when Spike X is temporarily able to talk with his dad, and states that “it’s hard to think, like something is telling me to do... bad.... things!” Yiiiiiikes. 

He gets it under control again, apologises to his dad for the outburst (I think it’s OK, Spike), and Optimus says that he’s cool to stay at the base and he’ll be taken care of while his human body heals up. 

However, oh shit, the Decepticons have found out that Spike now has an Autobot frame-- And they know he’s unstable. 

Starscream tries to roast him, but Megatron’s like, shut up nerd, we’re gonna make Spike X turn against the Autobots! It’s a good plan, I’m serious! 

Back at the Autobot base, Ratchet is still welding Bumblebee’s ass, and Bumblebee is still complaining. Wheeljack hooks up Spike X with some network television, and he’s watching... Frankenstein. Because the six year old kids who are the intended audience of G1 may not be familiar with the source material for this episode’s plot, I guess, which is fair. (Frank Welker nails it here as Dr. Frankenstein, but that’s unsurprising, because he always nails it. I think he’s also voicing Frankenstein’s Monster, but I haven’t checked the credits.)

Obviously, this isn’t a great thing for Spike X to be watching at this particular moment, so he freaks out again. 

Wheeljack and Sparkplug come running, and somehow Sparkplug is covering ground faster than Wheeljack. It’s fine, don’t worry about it. 

Ratchet’s progress on welding Bumblebee’s ass is interrupted by Spike X breaking through the wall and seemingly flying away. lmao 

They just sort of stand there, like, well, we lost him, I guess. 

Bumblebee is like, alright, gonna go get my boy. 

So he drives out of this massive crater, and Ratchet is like, wait! Your radio transmitter still doesn’t work. (Apparently their radio transmitters are located in their asses. Fascinating.) 

Spike X sits on a cliff and says “what a drag”, which, yeah. Being a Frankenstein space robot would be cool if not for the immense psychological damage this is absolutely causing. 

However, he also calls himself a “walking garbage can” in a completely genuine put-out tone of voice, which absolutely sells that this is a teenager in a giant robot body and I laughed, I won’t lie. 

Some of Megatron’s cronies locate him and hold his position. 

At the same time, Bumblebee shows up and tries to talk Spike X down from a random destructive rampage. 

He throws Bumblebee off the cliff! And Megatron’s squad is rolling up. (Well, flying up, anyway.) Uh oh! 

Spike X is like, hell yeah, bring it. More ass to kick. And it turns out his arm mounted cannon works, because he shoots Starscream directly in the undercarriage and says “YEAH, MAN!” and it’s so genuine. 

This is the perfect reaction to being a teenager in a giant robot body and just suddenly being able to shoot lasers and kick ass. Look at how happy he is, that he just shot Starscream in the butt mid-air. It’s awesome.

Unfortunately, the Seekers do actually beat him up, although Spike X puts up a good fight. 

Megatron then takes advantage of his further weakened state, and swoops in to pitch a classic “Join Us” speech. Spike X calls him “Megacrumb”, which is probably acceptable because he’s absolutely concussed by this point. 

Megatron is willing to overlook this for the sake of teaming up. 

Bumblebee eavesdrops, and drives away-- But Spike X gives Megatron a handshake, and agrees to “make them pay”. Oh shit! 

For some reason, Optimus and Ironhide are back at the rocket facility to watch a launch. Because I guess whatever, this whole situation is chill, let’s go watch rockets? IDK 

But either way, Optimus roasts the inferior quality of human technology, while Bumblebee just drives up on site despite Military Police levelling sniper rifles at him in order to report that Megatron is taking advantage of Spike X’s inability to think clearly. 

Optimus says “I feared something like this might happen”, which, if that were the case, why not take actions to prevent it, maybe? Not the strongest Optimus episode. 

To be fair though, Ironhide transforms and is already driving off before Optimus even gives the order to roll out, so I guess Ironhide either really wants to kick some ass or cares slightly more about Spike X’s wellbeing. He has no dialogue here, so we can only guess. 

They get there, with even more Autobots who showed up at some point in the rapid scene cuts here, and Spike X is super unhinged-- Charging his weapons, he starts speaking in a more strained and angry way, and engages the Autobots! 

He hits Optimus with what appears to be a chest laser? It’s hard to see. But it’s super effective: 

Optimus pleads with Spike X to calm down, but Spike X straight up pulls MEGATRON IN GUN MODE out of his sub-space and shoots Optimus directly in the faceplate. Damn! 

The Seekers and Soundwave drop in, and start rapid firing on all the Autobots present. 

We get some great shots of Megatron in his gun alt-mode as he tries to convince Spike X to keep attacking. Optimus and Bumblebee hide behind cover, attempting to bring Spike X to his senses long enough to disarm him. 

Suddenly, Wheeljack and Sparkplug roll up; Sparkplug attempts to talk some sense into Spike, too. 

Optimus and Bumblebee are at a loss; If they take out Spike X, the damage might take him out for good. 

However, Sparkplug fails in his efforts to talk to Spike X; He SHOOTS HIS DAD AND KNOCKS HIM OFF THE CLIFF. 

Can you imagine if they put an ad break here? lmao 

Luckily, he has like, a claw machine arm, and he catches his dad before he becomes a human smoothie. 

This shocks Spike X badly enough that while he still has Megatron in gun mode, he takes a few pot shots at the Seekers and the Decepticons decide it’s time to bounce, so Megatron bails too. 

He apologises for almost killing his dad, his dad is like hey no beef man, and it cuts to them in the hospital: 

Sparkplug takes his son’s body back to the Autobot base (that sounds worse than it is), and they prepare to transfer him back into his body. 

What’s extra funny here is that he nervously laughs and says “Hope you fixed this thing up good, Ratchet!” And Ratchet says absolutely nothing. Not a word. 

It’s a success! Dad and son hug, totally not even addressing anything that happened this whole episode, because that’s a job for a therapist. 

Ratchet, who continues to not really care about any of this, tells Wheeljack “You know, I could probably repair that mess, but I think it’s best that I don’t.” (This is a play on what Wheeljack said earlier in the episode when he offered to help Sparkplug fix up Autobot X to begin with.) 

I love how tired Wheeljack looks. LOL

Spike, now recovered, leaves us with a great question to close out the episode: “I wonder what it’d be like for a robot mind to be transferred... to a human!” 

Depending on what kind of kid you were, his question was either imagination fuel for fun humanformer ideas, or was a blatantly bad question indicating he learned nothing and providing nightmare fuel trying to imagine one of the Autobots losing their shit in a human body the same way Spike lost his shit while inhabiting Autobot X. 

Anyway, great episode! 10/10 Scary, funny, creepy, Starscream got shot in the ass by a teenager. 

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-valves]

Haha, rereading the Blades/Dreadwing first date (WingBlades? DreadBlades?) I also remembered that Screamer gets the whole day with Skyke too-

Aside from funny monkey videos, what else they be doing?

I HAD TO RE WRITE THIS FOR YOU BECAUSE TUMBLR DELETED IT. I HATE THIS WEBSITE.

"Watch, this is the good part!"

Skyquake gestured to the screen, and Starscream tried to focus on both the manicure he was giving Skyquake, and the screen, simultaneously. They were both watching some old footage, recorded by Soundwave. They watched as another autobot was sent flying, and they both laughed.

"Oh, at least Soundwave is good for SOMETHING around here. Other servo."

Skyquake gave him his other servo, using his fresh claws to stab at an oil cake, and stuff in his mouth.

"You gotta give him that, he catches the good moments. Never liked Ironhide anyway."

"Ugh, tell me about it. He was better than Warpath though."

"That's up for debate, Warpath had some nice...canons."

They both snorted at that stupid pun, and Starscream didn't even care that Skyquake's dumb laugh made bits of energon fly from his mouth. When he wasn't with his brother, Skyquake tended to ditch the manners and formalities. Starscream shook his helm, helping himself to some energon pieces before continuing (picture them like m&m's essentially) to fix those awful claws of his.

"That's awful. YOU'RE awful. Can't believe I'm stuck with you tonight."

"I can't believe it either. And not a SINGLE text from him either. Either he's dead, or the mission is serious."

Starscream was allowed his alone time with Skyquake, on the promise that he didn't call it a date. WHY? Who knows, who cares, the point was, he got to be alone for him for ONCE since they started dating.

"Knowing my luck, it's just a difficult mission. Primus, neither of you take care of your paint."

"Yesh it's a religious thing. Mechs on Caminus can't fix their paint unless we get a medics, or fem's permission. I was never for it, but my brother insisted we follow it."

Starscream rolled his optics, letting go of his servos, letting Skyquake inspect his work as he helped himself to more snacks. They always tasted sweeter, knowing they were from Dreadwing's stash.

"I'll never understand your religion. Me doing your nails can get you in trouble?"

"Technically. But I'm just gonna say Knockout did it, that usually sates him."

Starscream scoffed, letting Skyquake have one of the marshmallow like confections.

"Does he KNOW you get work done?"

"Oh NO. No he doesn't. There's a lot he doesn't know, you could fill a book."

"Like?"

Skyquake hesitated. Secrets were secrets afterall. But of course, for Starscream, he relented.

"Like how I visited a brothel first week we were on Cybertron. Brother always saw them like any other Camian- as a place of foulness and sin."

"Talk about prude."

"Eh he's changed his tune over time. Course he'd be upset again if he knew that's where I picked up my smoking habit."

Starscream raised a brow.

"Since when do you smoke?"

"I have for ages now. I just only do it if I know I can get away with it. My brother has the nose of a hydraulic hound, he could smell it on the other side of the ship. But, frag it, he's not here."

Skyquake dug into his subspace, pulling out his cygar. Starscream watched as he lit one up, inhaled it, and softly exhaled it back into the air. Starscream crawled onto his lap, straddling him. Something about the way it entered Skyquake made Starscream feel oddly....jealous.

"I want a drag."

"Oh do you, now?"

Skyquake took another inhale, before pressing his lips onto Starscream's, stuffing his mouth with the thick, sweet smoke. When he pulled away, they both grinned, white dentae flashing amidst clouds of smoke.

"So. He'd kill you if he found out?"

"He'd kill us both. I asked a vehicin for a smoke once, Dreadwing thought he was trying to get me to smoke. Poor mech."

Starscream snorted.

"There ARE a lot of secrets he doesn't know about you. Give me another."

"Uh...I had a crush on Soundwave once."

"You're joking."

"Hey, I like a lithe, complicated looking frame~"

Skyquake reached over to cup his aft, and Starscream smacked his cheek, just a little. Just enough to get a glimmer of excitement in those optics of his.

"Suppose I should tell you a secret too, make things fair?"

"I'd appreciate it."

"Alright. I had a crush on Megatron."

"That's not a secret-EVERYONE'S had a crush on Megatron at least once, you basic glitch."

Starscream grumbled, swiping his cygar from his lips, with the clear intent of not giving it back.

"Alright, alright. How about this one-I think, out of all the autobots, Bulkhead is the less offensive to look at."

Skyquake rolled his optics.

"You like big and green, we get it."

"...oh Primus I do have a type."

"Primus for a jet, you're slow as hell."

"Well you're ugly."

"Diva."

"Brute."

"I hate you."

"I hate you more."

"You wanna kiss again?"

"Absolutely."

Tasting his lips amongst smoke, Starscream realized something. He was unfortunately, terribly in love with big green mechs.

[prince-toffee]

BumbleBee 2

Opening Scene

Same Cybertron panning shot as the one that opens the first movie, only reversed. This time we see the final battle for Cybertron from the Decepticons’ perspective.

We see Starscream, Soundwave, and Shockwave leading the battle, they’re our main villains, among the henchmen we see Thundercracker, Skywarp among all the other Seekers, maybe some Reflectors/Reflektors, of course Dropkick and Shatter, and Arachnid to parallel Arcee and because I really like Arachnid - Each has a one line introduction like the Autobots did.

We ride along with Starscream, with an over the wing view of him, Skywarp, and Acid Storm taking down the Escape-Pod Tower.

He lands on a high peak to admire his work, Starscream notices the last escape pod launching, that being Bee, and a rogue Blitzwing following it, he’s about to follow when he hears Skywarp come through on the comms.

“What is it, Skywarp?!”

“Prime didn’t take off! He took down Acid Storm, but he’s cornered! Get over here!”

“To all Seekers: Converge on Skywarp’s position, surround Prime!” He says as he flies down and we’re treated to the same scene of Prime being surrounded and piled on, it cuts at the same point.

Jump cut to a close-up of a silvery dirty stained floor, and Prime’s knees fall onto it.

Pull out to see Prime captured and cuffed, surrounded by Cons, Screamer looking down on him.

Screamer gloats, “The holy and mythic Optimus Prime, on his knees, bowing to me. Heh, oh and they said the day would never come. And yet here we are. I have done what even the great and almighty Megatron could never do! Now, where are your Autobots heading? What are you planning?”

Prime resists of course, “You are no Megatron, Starscream. I do not fear you. And none of us ever will. You have nothing to offer this fallen world, but empty words.”

“Oh?! Oh??!! Are these empty words?!!!: Dropkick! Persuade our guest to... open up a little.”

Dropkick on Optimus’ right extends his blade, his hand is shaking, he’s nervous, Prime notices, “Your hand’s shaking, son. You sure you want to do this?”

“Shut it old mech. I’m not scared of you.”

Starscream orders him to hurry up, “Dropkick, hurry it up!”

Dropkick raised the blade into the air.

Just then the door behind them turned to glass and exploded, Starscream took cover while all the other Cons open fire at the intruders, in the confusion Prime manages to knock out Dropkick with a single headbutt.

Shatter, on Prime’s left about to finish the job when the floor under her caved in.

The last Seeker fell offline, and out from the smoke came in running Cliffjumper, “Hey dad!”

“Cliffjumper what are you doing here!? I ordered Operation: Exodus, you sh-”

“You don’t really think I was going to leave you, did you?” Cliff takes the cuffs off, they duck as Starscream’s missiles whizzed past above them, they ran off, as they do Cliff mentions when he infiltrated the Con outpost he left some ‘parting-gifts’, with the press of a button on his arm the building shakes with explosions.

Shatter and Dropkick pursue.

Cliff and Prime think they’ve escaped, but don’t realise Shatter placed a tracker on Cliff.

Autobots say their farewells, “Just try not to be the hero this time, and just get your tailpipe outta here, okay Bossbot?”

“Same goes for you my friend, safe travels.”

The scene cuts from Prime’s perspective, looking through his eyes, as the stashed away pod seals around the camera, and blackness takes over as the pod shuts closed with a heavy ‘shunk’.

We jump cut to Mars, Prime’s pod crashes next to Cliff’s, we see him kneel down and hold Cliff’s corpse.

Cut to Earth, all the Bots are gathered around Cliff’s coffin, bright red Autobot insignia at the centre.

Each Autobot places a vile of inner-most energon on the coffin, all the Bots present include OP, Bee, Arcee, Jazz, Ratchet, Brawn, Ironhide, and Wheeljack.

An escape-pod seals around the coffin as a voiceover by Optimus begins, “When a spark comes online, there is great joy,” The pod launches and rockets towards the sun, “When a spark goes offline, there is great sadness.”

We cut to Cliff’s face in the coffin, it is bathed in warm yellow light of the sun, giving the feeling of Cliff ascending (to the Well of All Sparks).

Title - BumbleBee 2

The primary colours on the title screen are yellow and black, black takes over until the screen is all darkness.

Then some hexagonal circuitry detail zips around the screen, which expands into Bee’s visor display.

Bee opens his eyes.

Bee’s first sight he sees is of Ratchet and Wheeljack, Ratchet begins to check up with Bee, “Hey, buddy, how you feeling? Just finished the surgery, replaced your Voice-Box, thanks to Wheeljack’s apparent collection of spare organs that he seemingly brings with him everywhere.”

“What can I say, I’m a hoarder.” Jack said with a shrug, Ratchet rolled his eyes.

Bee tried to say something, “Woaw, easy there, your new faceplate needs to adjust to your new ‘Box.” Bee now has his G1-isk face with a nose and mouth.

Wheeljack reached for a piece of the bug alt-mode Charlie removed in the last film, “Hope you don’t mind, but we had to boot up your last save to re-synthesise your voice.”

Jack attached the part to Bee’s chest, “...No it’s okay, I like it.”

Ratchet’s hand extends to him, Bee takes it and pulls himself up.

[dragons-socks]

Baby Bumblebee chptr 2

Bumblebee woke up inside Ironhide. He was paralyzed with confusion and fear until the morning’s findings came back to him. He was human, smaller than Sam even. He ran his fingers against the leather of his comrade. It was smooth, but also had small textures where the seams of the seats were. Such a small detail the autobot usually doesn’t notice. Did his own seats feel like this? Lennox asked how he was feeling, but how could he explain to the human how lost he was. How could he put into words he couldn’t use that he didn’t know what to do?

He already knew Optimus didn’t want him, and while Ironhide was trying to explain what Lennox had earlier, it just made his chest ache. It took so long for them to reach Lennox’s house. He could have done it faster in his alt form. A form that was gone, along with everything else. Bee tried to get out of Ironhide but his legs were still weak and Lennox had to pull him out. It was humiliating and Bee couldn’t help but feel his eyes burn and feel wet at the same time.

“Bee, you remember Sarah, right?” Lennox asked, gesturing to his wife. Bee did remember the woman. She was nicer than Sam’s parents at least.

“Welcome to the family, Bumblebee.” The way she said that. The way she smiled and tried to touch his hair. The way that everyone just decided this is where he was going to be without him. His eyes started to leak and soft hics and huffs pushed past his mouth. Bee stumbled away, hiding behind the large wheels of Ironhide.

The mech gently transformed into his biped form and shielded the kid from the humans.

Bee chirped and tsked and tried to talk to the autobot. He wanted to go back to Optimus. He promised he wouldn’t get underfoot. He would even help Ratchet without complaining. He can be useful still.

“I can’t understand you anymore, Bee.” Ironhide said solemnly. “But I can guess. And I promise by the All Spark, I will not leave you.”

Lennox was back by Bee’s side coaxing him into his house and onto a couch that he shouldn’t be able to fit on. Bee sat there, curled up in a soft yellow blanket and cloths that didn’t quite fit him. He could hear Lennox and Sarah talking in their kitchen as the wife made food.

“We can’t just harbor a child, Will. So what’s your plan?” Sarah asked in a hushed whisper, but still loud enough for the autobot to hear.

“We’ve got people drawing up paperwork so anyone looking too hard will just find a kid that we’ve adopted. That’s the hard part, and it’s being taken care of.” Lennox replied.

“The hard part? The hard part is getting him culturized as a human. To get him into a school, and accustomed to our world on such an intimate level. The hard part is making sure we understand him, Will. At least as a giant robot he had the ability to use the radio as his voice.” Sarah ran a hand down her face.

“You don’t give Sam credit enough of showing Bumblebee human culture.” Lennox tried to lighten the mood, but Sarah wasn’t having it.

“Are we changing his name?” She asked.

“What?” Lennox jeered back. “Why would we change his name?”

“It’s Bumblebee, like an insect. Who is going to believe someone named their child after an insect?” Sarah shook her head.

“If Jay-Z adn Beyonce can name their kid ‘Blue Ivy’. Bumblebee can keep his name. Plus it’s not like he’s an actual eight year old. He just looks eight. He’s got tough skin.” Lennox shook his head. “You’re worrying too much, babe. It’ll work out in the end, just take it one day at a time. Just like we do with Annabell.”

Bumblebee huddled further into his nest in the corner of the couch. He tried to tune out the conversation in the kitchen and watch the television. The house soon filled with a strange sent. Bee beeped with urgency rolling off the couch and running to the humans, tugging on Lennox’s pant leg to get him to leave his house with his wife and kid. Something was trying to poison them!

“What’s up, Bee?” Lennox asked, not seeming to be alarmed by the sent. So Bee touched his nose, looking around, trying to get the message across. “Yeah, it does smell good. Sarah’s almost done making dinner.”

Be turned to Sarah as she put piles of steaming things onto plates and brought them to the table. While most of the smell stayed in the kitchen, the plates also carried the same scent. Which meant Sarah was either trying to kill everyone. Or this was a weird human thing.

“Come sit down, Bee.” Sarah patted a chair on their small kitchen table. He shuffled to the chair and had to sit on his knees to be able to see and reach everything properly. He watched as Sarah and Lennox began eating with the small silver things. He copied them, but found it was a lot harder than he thought as he fisted the fork and stabbed it into the meal. Once on the fork he watched as the others chomped down and mashed it up with their teeth and jaws.

The sensation was weird, hot and inside him. It turned into a sort of paste that wasn’t enjoyable to feel at all, but the taste was nice. It coated his tongue and made him feel happy. But after a while of chewing he grew bored. He couldn’t tell what was aking their food vanish and make room for more? Until his mouthful got close to the back of his throat, which convulsed automatically and the food vanished. Bee dropped his fork and started to panic.

“Hey, it’s okay. That’s normal, kid. It’s called eating.” Lennox was by his side in a moment, patting his back as Bee tried to couch his heart out. Bee let out shrieks and hisses, clinging to the man. Once he calmed down Lennox tried to return him to his dinner, but Bee outright refused to eat. It was a terrible experience. His stomach even growled and roared with unwant.

“You gotta eat, kid.” Bee shook his head, baring his teeth and growling at his food along with his stomach.

“Bumblebee, you’re tummy is trying to tell you that it needs more.” Sarah crotched down next to the child. “I promise it gets better. And you’ll feel better once you eat.” Bee shook his head again, looking away from the plate.

“I’ll let you see Sam if you eat.” Lennox said. Sam? Bee blinked, cocking his head. “Yeah, you can hang out with him and Mikaela.” Bee nodded and took another bite of the food. He didn’t want to let it down his throat but Lennox’s continual promise that this is how it worked quelled some of Bee’s anxieties. It took a whole hour to finish the plate. At the end, Bee didn’t exactly feel better, but he did feel less tired.

That was when Annabell was dropped off by the babysitter.

“Oh, it’s nice to see you home, Captain Lennox.” The girl, about Sam’s age, waved as Lennox was pulling Bumblebee out of a kitchen cabinet.

“Hello, Kasey. Thanks again for looking after Annabell.” Lennox approached, Bee held like a sack of potatoes over his shoulder. Bumblebee chittered and tried to crawl out of his capture, almost kicking Lennox in the face.

“Who’s the kid?” Kasey narrowed her eyes at the eight year old.

“A friend of mine passed. We’ve decided to look after the kid in his absence.” Lennox explained.

“Sure, just know I take double for any additions.” She threatened before kneeling down. “Byebye Annabell. See ya, later.”

“Byebye Kasey.” Annabell laughed before turning to her dad. “Who’s that?”

“This is Bumblebee, Baby girl. He’s gonna be living with us.”

“Like the car? Vroom?” She looked at the boy, who looked down at her and made rumbling noises in his chest.

“Sort of, yeah. Why don’t you go put your stuff away in your room and you two can play before bed time?” She nodded and grabbed her bag, running to her room. Be gave an irritated chirp. He didn’t want to play with a baby human. He wanted to go into the tiny dark closet and be alone. He wanted to be with Sam. He wanted to be with Optimus and the others, but that wasn’t going to be an option. “Just be nice. And don’t make her cry.” Lennox warned.

Sarah came out of her room with a hand full of toys, dropping them down in the middle of the living room before grabbing onto Bumblebee and pulling him to sit with her around the pile. She picked up each one and explained them and what she named them. Bee didn’t really care about the multitudes of plastic human females or the tiny plastic horses. He did, however, find a set of tiny cars. There was a yellow car, with white stripes and one of the wheels was missing. He picked it up and looked at it.

“And you can be the boy.” Annabell thrusted a doll into Bee’s face. He made a few chirps, lifting up the toy car. “No, we’re playing house, not cars.” Annabell pouted.

Bee pushed the human toy away and grabbed the car. He didn’t want to pretend to be a human. He was already one, and it wasn’t fun. He wanted to be a car. He said as much in his huffs and tsks. The smaller child didn’t understand morse code, not like her dad.

“No, you can’t be a car!” Annabell shouted, yanking the toy from his hands. He felt his fists ball up, but he wasn’t allowed to hurt humans. Optimus would surely never take him back if he broke that rule. So he took deep breathes like he sees Lennox do when dealing with the twins or his own men. “You have to be the human!”

Bumblebee chirped angrily, ignoring the girl and picking the car back up. She stomped her foot and snatched the car once again, forcing the doll into Bumblebee’s hand and threw the car down the hall so hard another wheel popped off. Bumblebee stood there, glaring at the stupid human doll. It was tiny, and frail, almost as humans were to Bee just a day ago. He looked at the girl and threw the toy as she did the car. It hit the corner of the wall and it’s head popped off. The girl start to wail, but Bee didn’t care. He stormed out of the house and climbed into Ironhide’s passenger side.

“I can’t take you anywhere, kid.” Ironhide said, sending a text to Lennox that Bee was safe with him if the man was looking. Bee nodded, letting out a string of wobbling chirps. He just wanted to be away from the other humans. He didn’t have to be elsewhere. Bee didn’t stay alone for long. Lennox pulled open the door, an angry look on his face.

“I said not to make her cry, Bumblebee.” Lennox’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was angry. Bee didn’t turn to the human. She was the one who threw the car first, so Bee could just claim he thought that was the game they were playing. He knew it was a lie, but what did he care? “I know you know not to throw things. You aren’t an actual child. Why did you do it.”

She did it first. Morse code took a long time to spell out, each letter having to be chirped out one at a time. It almost made Bee miss his binary-talk when his vocoder had first broken.

“She is a child.” Lennox’s arms were crossed. Bee shrunk down at that, holding his knees tighter to his body but still not turning to look at the captain. “What made you think that breaking the toys was okay?”

I don’t want to be a human. Bee chittered.

“I know, but that doesn’t mean you have to be a brat.” Lennox was still angry.

I don’t want to be a human and I don’t want to pretend-play a human. I just wanted the stupid toy car, and she doesn’t know morse code. And she was the one to throw it first. I - Bee trailed off after that, his eyes were leaking again. I’m sorry

Lennox relaxed, uncrossing his arms and running a hand down his face. He leaned more casually against Ironhide’s door frame. The mech rumbled his engines to send soothing vibrations to the kid in his seat.

“You’ve been having a rough day, huh Bee?” Lennox’s voice was soft, like he used back in the hospital and to get Bee to continue to eat. It rumbled like an engine, but was smooth and silk-like all the same. Bee nodded into his knees. He took a deep breath. “I’ll be back in a second.”

Bee relaxed a little bit as the human left. He smashed his face into Ironhide’s cool seats and let the soft rumbling lull him into a drowsy state. The mech didn’t say his concerns out loud, letting his thoughts text out to Lennox so Bee wouldn’t be so frightened and stressed. And Ironhide was no medic, but he was around Ratchet long enough to understand and make a few theories on his own. Bumblebee usually acted childish, and could be rash at time, but never like this. If the chemicals of a human child flowed through him, he could very well have the emotional outlook and developlement of what this body allowed him to have. In other words, if Bee’s body was eight, he might have the emotional mentality of his body.

Lennox came back, opening up the driver’s door and getting in.

“We’re going for a drive.” Lennox said, and Ironhide revved up his engine and pulled out of the house. Bee didn’t make any move to acknowledge the man, but as the minutes grew longer and the silence stretched one, it was either find himself falling asleep or engage with the human.

Where are we going?

“Just one a ride, kid.”

They didn’t get back to the house until the moon was already high in the sky, and Bee was this side of staying conscious. Lennox helped him through the house and back onto the couch, making a list of everything they needed to get for the kid to be comfortable. But that was a job for tomorrow.