#I mean they didn’t have to use Airachnid

[quibbs126]

You know honestly, having Airachnid as Sentinel Prime’s loyal second in command is very interesting considering their TFA counterparts

[in1-nutshell]

Can we give TFP Airachnid an opposite personality son? We’ve played with opposite personality daughters a lot and a son would be real refreshing. Like I’m thinking of a similiar fluttershy personality for this little one, who just loves all kinds of organisms and animals and wanted to explore and observe every life on every planet possible. Who was also always scared scrapless and sad whenever he walked passed his mother’s hallway of trophies.

And just for cuteness, could he be adopted by Arcee later?

(It would also be sweet if he can have a frog theme, contrast to Airachnid’s spider theme (cause real life tarantulas sometimes keep tiny frogs around), and in this case it’ll be sweet if he is named Ranidae, cause that’s the scientific name for frogs just like how Airachnid is the scientific name for spiders)

I will be adding the name to the list!

Hope you enjoy!

Arachnid with a son with the opposite personality

SFW, Platonic, Angst, Familial, Cybertronian reader

TFP

Arachnid never thought about getting ‘attached’ to anyone before.

She lived by a code.

To live for herself, by any means necessary.

It worked for her so far, the spider wasn’t going to stop now.

Arachnid would never admit it to anyone… but she started getting a bit lonely after defecting the Decepticon’s and wondering around Cybertron’s ruins.

That when she met him.

Arachnid is walking to her newest hideout when she hears rustling. She is immediately on the offense. Arachnid: “Come out or watching me will be the last thing you’ll ever do.” An old crate’s lid opens and a small helm pokes out. Arachnid: “A… sparkling?” She holds the sparkling by his pede looking him over. The sparkling just looks at her with curiosity burning in his optics. Arachnid: “Hmm…small, light…” The sparkling smiles and tries to grab her faceplate but settles on one of her extra limbs. Arachnid: “No.” The sparkling drops the limb. Arachnid: “And obedient? Oh, you’ll be a great addition, Little one.”

Arachnid took in the sparkling a couple days before she would hijack a Decepticon ship and fly out of Cybertron’s orbit.

Having the sparkling on board gave her something to do.

She’d thank him later for being the reason she didn’t go crazy from being stuck in that spaceship for so long.

It wouldn’t take long before she started using the sparkling in her newest hobby.

Hunting endanger species.

The sparkling played the perfect part as the innocent bait.

He didn’t know what was going on at first.

All he knew was that he was helping his mother be happy, something he was willing to do.

His mother didn’t smile too much these days.

As much as he loved his mother, the bot who saved him as a sparkling, he hated her hobby.

They both had a fascination with organic life and curiosity on its works.

Too bad both their definitions of ‘study’ were different.

The smaller bot looks sadly at the newest trophy on his mother’s shelf. Arachnid kneels behind him and places a servo on his shoulder. Arachnid: “Another successful hunt thanks to you, Little one.” She stands up. Arachnid: “Maybe the next planet we go, you can pick which parts I get to keep.” Arachnind walks away. The sparkling lets a tear fall and goes back to his room.

Soon they arrived on a quiet planet called Earth.

It was time for the bot to assume his position, bait.

Maybe this time he could get some more clips of this planet before leaving.

The sparkling ran into the forest as soon as his mother gave him the signal.

The plan was just to go out far enough to get back to the ship if something big came after him.

But thanks to some cute organic creatures, the sparkling ended up going farther than expected.

Maybe staying with them a bit longer wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

The smaller bot happily follows the tiny creatures to a small body of water. He watches them go into the muddy water. Ranidae: “Don’t be afraid! I’m Ranidae, I won’t hurt you.” A one of the creatures hops onto his open servo and croaks. Ranidae: “Hmm… my scans tell me the indigenous life forms call you… a frog.” The frog croaks and blinks at him. Ranidae: “You would be a great alt mode. Powerful legs, small, and no one seems to bother you too much.” He places the frog down. Ranidae: “This won’t hurt a bit.” Ranidae scans the frog and transforms to a frog. He tests out some hops before transforming back. Ranidae scoops up the frog again. Ranidae: “Thank y—” The sounds of an explosion interrupted him. It was in the direction of the ship. Ranidae: “I-I have to go. Goodbye!”

The bot started running as fast as he could.

When he made it over the ridge all he could see was the charred remains of the ship… and a limb that belonged to his mother.

Ranidae fell to his knees at the sight, not really knowing what to do or feel.

He didn’t stay there too long though.

Ranidae hears steps behind him. They were small, but too heavy to be his little friend. He turns and sees a human. Ranidae jumps a bit at the sight. Jack also jumps seeing a smaller bot near the ex-ship. Ranidae: “H-hello there.” Jack: “Umm, hi?” Ranidae: “You spoke back! You aren’t mute like my other friend!” Arcee comes walking over the rigde. Arcee: “Jack, who are you talking to?” She sees the smaller bot and instinctively takes out her blasters. Ranidae immediately backs up to a nearby tree, shaking like its leaf’s. Jack: “Woah, woah! Arcee calm down. I don’t think he’s evil.” Arcee looks carefully at the bot before realizing how young the bot look. She put away her blasters and kneeled in front of the shaking bot. Arcee: “You got a name?” He nods a bit. Ranidae: “Ranidae… your Arcee, aren’t you?” Arcee: “Yeah?” The younger bot starts shaking even more. Arcee is unsure what to think of this. Arcee: “Hey, I’m not going to hurt you Ranidae.” The bot doesn’t stop shaking as quite little sniffles are heard. Jack slowly walks to the bot. Jack: “He’s like a little kid.” Arcee: “That’s because he is one, by Cybertronian standards.” Jack slowly places a hand on the bots pede. The smaller bot jumps a bit but relaxes seeing it was the human who touched him. Jack: “I’m Jack.” Ranidae: “…Jack?” Jack: “Yeah. Look, Arcee isn’t going to hurt you, none of us are.” The younger bot relaxes a bit but look warily at Arcee. Jack: “Do you have any parents?” Ranidae quickly glances at the limb. Ranidae: “Not anymore.” Arcee notices the lack of badge on the bot. Arcee: “what side are you on?” Ranidae looks at her confused. Ranidae: “I don’t have one.” Arcee looks around before sighing. Arcee: “Ratchet’s not going to like this… come one kid, you’re with us now.”

It was a big surprise to see Arcee and Jack to come back with another young bot hot on their heels.

Ranidae stayed glued to Jack’s side the entire time, even grabbing his smaller hand and putting it in his servo when he got nervous around the bigger bots.

Miko and Raf soon came over to greet the smaller bot.

Miko: “Dude! You’re smaller than Arcee!” Ranidae flinches away a bit at the loud sound. Jack: “Miko, inside voice. Ranidae this is Miko and Raf. Raf Miko, this is Ranidae.” Raf: “Like frog?” The young bot immediately perked up hearing the word. Ranidae: “I like frogs. Are there any frogs here?” Raf: “Not here but I have pictures.” Ranidae’s smile widens seeing the little photos. Miko: “You really like frogs, don’t you?” Ranidae nods before transforming into his alt mode. Everyone looks surprised. Miko: “You really like frogs.”

The kids and bots nearly had whiplash once Ratchet found out how old Ranidae was.

In human years, he was a bit younger than Raf.

Bumblebee is quietly celebrating not being the youngest on the team.

Ranidae decided to stay with the Autobots.

It wasn’t like he had anywhere, or anyone would miss him.

As far as he knew, his mother was offline.

Better to start a new life with someone who didn’t want to hunt for fun.

It does not take long for all the bots to grow a soft spot of the youngest member of the team.

Arcee, arguably has the biggest spot for him.

Sure, the small frog was extremely hesitant to be around her or the team, but it changed after Fowler was introduced to him.

Fowler looks at the small bot slightly hiding behind Arcee’s legs. Fowler: “And you are?” Ranidae is pushed up front a bit. Ranidae: “Ranidae…” Fowler: “And?” Ranidae: “And?” Fowler: “What do you do?” Arcee: “He doesn’t have a position yet.” Fowler: “What do you mean he doesn’t have a position yet? Sure, he’s small but he has to do something. What did he do back on your planet?” Bulkhead: “Fowler, Rani just a kid.” Fowler: “Isn’t Bumblebee your youngest?” Arcee starts getting a bit frustrated. Arcee: “Ranidae is younger than Bumblebee. In human years, he’s around Raf’s age.” Fowler: “… And his parents? Or is everyone taking care of him.” Arcee: “I am.” Bulkhead: “You are?” Ranidae: “You are!”

Arcee had said that out of frustration after seeing the smaller bot start shrinking in Fowler’s gaze.

But she doesn’t regret saying it.

From staying out of Arcee’s sight to practically clinging on her back.

This does not exclude alt mode, especially after Ranidae found out that he could stick to certain objects, including bots.

Does the smaller bot get on her nerves from time to time?

Yes, but give her a break.

She never thought she’d be a parent, especially at war.

Arcee is quite protective of her little frog, and it is no secret to the others.

Arcee finishes brigding out Bulkhead and Bumblebee. Arcee: “Rani, I need you to help me out here.” Jack: “Rani isn’t here.” Arcee: “What?” Raf coming into the room. Raf: “Has anyone seen Miko?” Arcee: “… Raf do you know anything about ‘everglades?” Raf: “It’s a huge ecosystem filled with all sorts of animals, reptiles and…” Arcee, Jack, and Raf: “Frogs!” Meanwhile… Ranidae carefully carrying Miko through the marsh. Ranidae: “Are you sure there’s frogs here?” Miko: “Sure, sure, but we have to keep up with Bulk and Bee.” Ranidae: “Okay!”

[nsokolow]

Transformers One: Charoite

Chapter Six

Charoite woke up to her name being called, along with knocks on her door.

“Char, you ready for your first trip to the surface?” Sentinel asked.

Charoite burst out of her sleeping pod, out the door, and into Sentinel’s arms. “Morning, Sen! Yep! I was born ready!”

A hint of fear flashed in Sentinel’s eyes. “Good to hear. Just remember what I told you last night: What happens on the surface stays on the surface. Okay?”

Charoite’s eyes darted from side to side. “Okay!”

Sentinel picked Charoite up and kissed her. “Fantastic. Let’s go!”

Charoite followed Sentinel, Airachnid, and the guards to the balcony.

“Okay, everybody ready?” Sentinel enthusiastically shouted.

Airachnid and the guards gave Sentinel a single, firm nod. Sentinel chuckled at Charoite’s hyper, wide-grinned nod.

“Okay, gang!” Sentinel stood on the balcony and spread his golden wings. “Let’s fly!” Sentinel fell backward and flew off.

Charoite flew off the balcony with the rest of the crew.

The sky on the surface had to be the most gorgeous thing Charoite ever saw. It had teal steaks of light, and the sharp rocks on the ground glowed a bright orange.

“This is gorgeous!” Charoite said as she flew up closer to Sentinel. “I can’t believe you’ve seen this so many times!”

Sentinel nodded. “Yep! This is one of the perks of coming to the surface! One of the few for me, actually.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask, how come we’re bringing trains with us? Are they carrying weapons to be used against the Quintessons or something? Then again, they haven’t been around in fifty cycles…”

Sentinel’s face froze. “Well, the crates are used as part of a bargain I have with the Quintessons.”

Charoite felt a painful shock in her stomach. “Wait���what? You have a bargain with Cybertron’s greatest enemies? Why?”

“Relax, Char! It’s fine! It’s just a little way of taking control of my destiny and making sure they stay away from us!”

“Well, I mean, thank you for protecting us, I guess.” Charoite felt some relief. Sentinel was merely keeping Cybertron safe, and that was the most important thing. “So, what do the Quintessons want with the crates? What’s inside—”

“Look, Char.” Sentinel held up a hand. “The most important thing is that I’m still a hero, and that you all are kept safe.” He touched her cheek. “Especially you.”

Charoite felt mostly better. She still felt like something was wrong. Surely, Sentinel wasn’t doing anything that wasn’t in Cybertron’s best interests, right?

“Okay! We’re here!” Sentinel announced.

Everyone landed. The trains came to a stop.

An enormous ship, which somewhat resembled a dusty purple beast with multiple heads slowly flew above them and landed. Quintessons exited the ship and stood in two straight lines. One of the green creatures, evidently their leader, flew out of the ship and headed straight for Sentinel.

“Sentinel!” Charoite cried. What was he going to do to Sentinel? Why was Sentinel just standing there expressionless?

Sentinel knelt. In the direction of the Quintessons.

Charoite felt her stomach drop. She frantically looked around and saw Airachnid and the golden bots doing the same.

“What in Primus are you doing?” Charoite yelled.

The Quintesson leader let out an irritated vibration and puffed out pink smoke.

Charoite was so horrified she didn’t care. She grabbed Sentinel’s shoulder. “Sentinel, what’s going on?”

“I told you I had a secret on the surface!” Sentinel exclaimed. “What happens on the surface stays on the surface!”

“Sentinel, what’s in those crates?” Charoite asked with a tremble in her voice.

Vessels extended from the ship. Cubes of energon levitated from the crates and were sucked up into the vessels.

“W-What?” Charoite backed away. “How…how could you do this?”

Sentinel reached his hands out. “Char, I’m sorry, but this is how I’m able to stay Cybertron’s hero and live my life!” He grabbed her hands. “To live our lives, together, in my tower, with everything we could ever want.”

Charoite’s throat hurt as she nearly cried. She jerked her hands out of Sentinel’s grip. “No! Not like this! You’re not a hero!”

“Yes I am, Char.” Sentinel frowned. “I was scared you’d get like this, so I kept putting off telling you. The truth is what I make it. I’m Cybertron’s beloved hero, and you’re my co-hero who will be with me forever!”

The Quintesson leader growled a pointed a tentacle at Charoite. He flew closer to Sentinel and growled louder in his face, surrounding it with pink smoke.

“Charoite, he wants you to kneel.” Sentinel looked at her nervously. “Come on!”

Charoite was so upset she wasn’t even scared. She crossed her arms and frowned. “No! I love Cybertron too much, and I want it to be the real truth someday that I’m their hero! Whether I’m your co-hero or not!”

The Quintesson leader approached her and growled.

“Leave me alone!” Charoite yelled. “You have our energon, so why do you care?”

The creature grabbed all of Charoite’s limbs with his tentacles, picked her up, and threw her onto the ground. He let out a louder, longer growl. He flew towards her.

Charoite screamed and flew away. She looked back at Sentinel.

Sentinel held out an arm. He slowly shrunk it back as the fear on his face morphed into anger.

Charoite’s pace stalled. She almost stopped flying. She might as well have been dead anyway. She lost her home, her dream…

She lost Sentinel.

Charoite felt something pierce through her chest as her vision glitched and went black.

“She’s waking up.” A somewhat deep voice said.

“Finally!” A high-pitched, distorted voice replied. “Maybe she can tell us who she’s working for in exchange for a quick death!”

“Quiet, Starscream.”

“But the Sentinel decal—”

“You think I didn’t see that stupid thing? I remember this girl! I know she worked for him! She might be of use to us!”

Charoite opened her eyes and saw a shiny silver bot’s face peering down at her, his face pensive, his eyes red. He was a transforming bot with sharp cheeks and a long helmet. She thought he looked familiar.

Charoite gasped and sat bolt upright, causing the silver bot to cautiously hold his hands out to her. It couldn’t be!

The silver bot sat back up. “Charoite, right? You may remember me. I was D-16. Call me “Megatron.”

A/N: I realize Sentinel betraying Charoite may come as shock to some of you. It broke my heart. As much as I, most of the time, enjoyed writing about their relationship, I never planned on it lasting, and I had the betrayal in my head for a while. Although it had some good in it, the power dynamic was uneven, and, well, it’s Sentinel. He did care about Charoite, but sadly, he cared about himself more, and chose himself over her.

Anyway, Megatron! Woop woop!

[kazuchuu]

i don’t know if this has ever been theorized before but i’m back on my tfp hyperfixation and i’m making it everyone’s problem now. while re-watching the show i could not for the life of me understand why the decepticons kept sending knock out, their only medic, on missions. (this excludes the instances where he personally asks to go)

think about it: he’s not equipped for combat. he has no long-range weapons. his best bet is the electric rod, which can only do so much until it’s broken. sure, he’s fast, but that isn’t much when most missions inevitably involve physical clashes. what’s more, as far as we know, knock out is the only doctor aboard the ship. sure, there are probably other scientists, but their speciality is likely not cybertronian medicine. what were the cons going to do if knock out got killed? the vehicons are replaceable but there’s no guarantee that higher-ranking officers wouldn’t need medical attention at some point.

of course, there are some plausible explanations we can think of, and that are even likely! the most obvious one is that he works with breakdown the best (hence why they’re on a bunch of missions together. the brawn and the speedster<3). but after rewatching the human factor episode, it hit me that knock out wasn’t even told that breakdown had died (which is why he says “breakdown, where have you been?” upon seeing him instead of something like “i thought you were dead”). which likely means that, when breakdown goes off on a mission, knock out has no idea when he’ll be back because no con will update him. knock out simply has to wait until breakdown steps into the medbay again.

so what if. WHAT IF knock out personally volunteered to accompany breakdown on his missions because he didn’t want to wait for him? because he couldn’t stand the swarm of “what-ifs” in his mind, because a part of him knew that one day, breakdown might not come back at all, and knock out would be none the wiser. because at least, if he was there, he could watch breakdown’s back, because let’s be honest, the cons aren’t about to risk much for him, are they? he could at least perform on-sight medical treatment if breakdown gets seriously hurt. and most of all i think knock out wouldn’t want to hear of breakdown’s death and live with the regret that he could have saved him if he was just there. (and let’s be honest, airachnid is incredibly strong, but knock out would have probably been able to keep breakdown’s anger in check. ironically he also could have been incredibly useful on that mission because his buzzsaws could slice through the webbing.)

anyway just some kobd brain worms that i had to put out into the void. apologies if i missed something :’)

[keef-a-corn]

Dat’s right, people, it’s time for ‘Keef watches TFP and you just get the notes!’

This is for season 1, episode 16: Operation: Breakdown

I write down the timestamps, but I watch Transformers Prime on Stan (an Australian streaming service) so they may be slightly off.

ALSO! I try my best to note points for every character, but tend to get a little caught up by Bee (although I think I do a pretty good job with the notes regardless) so do be warned.

These notes are really critical and may give you whiplash + not many screenshots for this episode, sorry.

~~~~Transition~~~~

00:07 - first up, this visuals, the audio, really makes the place seem eerie. It’s perfect.

00:23 - Breakdown manages to keep it creepy.

00:38 - All things considered, decepticons calling humans ‘pets’ is not so much an insult as it is an interpretation.

00:47 - Once again, not so much an insult as it is a statement. Miko is a soft spot for Bulkhead (she’s also a weakness and a strength.).

00:51 - A ‘damn right’ would’ve been more suited, but go off

00:55 - beautiful spin. + I much prefer the rivalry between Breakdown and Bulkhead to Arcee and Airachnid. On paper both rivalries are the same. The decepticon is physically stronger, but also talks a lot during fights to get in the Autobot’s head and it totally works. It’s just that Bulkhead responds less to Breakdown’s taunts and doesn’t get as heavily affected by them (compared to Arcee).

01:10 - I may have laughed a bit too hard. + It feels like Breakdown has more respect for Bulkhead than Airachnid does for Arcee. One thing that makes an amazing rivalry is when there’s a level of respect.

01:46 - Aside from plot, why would they take Breakdown? As much as it increases their chances of dealing with the autobots, he’s in worse condition than Breakdown and they have an understanding of how much Bulkhead can endure.

~intro~

02:37 - I had the same reaction as Bulkhead.

02:46 - Not liking the theme of ‘charge not recognising when something’s wrong with their guardian and what they’re doing is not the solution’. I can’t quite remember if it happened in Predatory, but I do know it happened in Out of His Head.

03:04 - Bee’s doing it again.. + For anyone else the phrasing Optimus used would be putting it nicely, for Optimus it’s harsh. Bulkhead has a very different dynamic with Optimus compared to the others so I think it’s more caused by Optimus not knowing how he’s supposed to talk to Bulkhead.

03:08 - now what Optimus said makes it feel victim blame-y. It isn’t, but it comes off that way.

03:12 - Something about the ‘stay still’ felt so.. correct. It was firm and assertive, but in the way instructions should be given.

03:14 - Miko’s probably got something that means she can’t pick up on cues, probably ADHD (this is an observation, not an insult.), with that in mind, I will still say it’s frustrating to see her hyping him up while he’s injured and in trouble.

03:16 - One of the reasons I don’t like Miko and Bulkhead’s dynamic is the same reason as to why I hated the way Raf was acting when Bee was being controlled by Megatron, but to a worse extent. Miko, on purpose or by accident, puts pressure on Bulkhead to act a certain way for her. You can see he’s upset because he didn’t do it and that’s heartbreaking.

03:23 - Bulkhead woke up alone, why would the others have come, dealt with Breakdown, but left Bulkhead behind?

03:33 - I understand that it was a guess and that Bulkhead ain’t the smartest, but why would it be Fowler?

03:34 - I believe this is the first time Agent Fowler’s shown up and I haven’t wanted to punch him.

03:47 - Odd that Starscream would be the one to recognise it. Feels like it would’ve been more accurate for Knockout to have noticed.

03:54 - Rude and highly unnecessary.

04:07 - Love that confidence for Starscream.

04:20 - big talk from someone that was tricked into saving Optimus.

04:46 - that shot was confusing. It implied that it was from Breakdown’s perspective but quickly changes.

05:08 - Kinda vibing with that description of a human.

05:10 - That was weirdly passive.

05:22 - breakdown deserves better.

05:30 - do they though? I thought they only wanted parts.

05:46 - Agent Fowler really stepping up rn.

06:00 - I have no clue what he could’ve possibly said.

06:07 - Seeking Validation from Miko.. Not how the dynamic should roll and really hurts to witness.

06:09 - Prime holding onto his values. Finally someone’s got their head screwed on. Throughout the delivery of his command, he was jolting slightly. Not heavily-animated, but certainly not ordinary.

06:15 - ‘h-what??’

06:17 - has everyone just forgotten their Values?? (Maybe- I seriously am in the dark on what Bee’s saying) Their whole thing is about rights and freedom. + They know MECH is smart and dangerous. Obviously they’re going to use Breakdown as a reference for Cybertronian Technology.

06:37 - This scene is so weird.. Why is there so much pushback??

07:02 - Fowler really showing change rn by admitting that MECH is dangerous to humans too, clearly in contrast to how he acted during Convoy.

07:11 - Glad that was addressed too.

07:14 - MECH’s location really ain’t impressive in the slightest.

07:27 - aw, no.. ;-;

07:43 - That’s.. horrifying you hear.

08:05 - Breakdown’s reactions are making me cry. Since he works with (and dates-) Knockout, you can imagine that he’s heard some of these lines before, but it’s a whole different thing to have them told to him.

08:18 - This is heartbreaking. I thought the scene would’ve ended sooner, but it didn’t and that makes it so much worse.

08:29 - there’s something so.. perfect about this shot.

08:32 - deary dear de I’m gonna loose my mind with the way Optimus (aka Peter Cullen) pronounces each character’s name.

08:33 - There’s something so unbelievably confusing about Bulkhead’s relationship with Optimus.

08:36 - MMMM YES! DELICIOUS! LOVE ME SOME RESPECTFUL LEADERS.

08:38 - the stutter- I can’t breatheee

08:40 - My school should learn a thing or two from Optimus rn. History with people can make things complicated. Optimus is making the right call, for Breakdown, for Bulkhead and for everything else that’s at stake.

09:18 - Go off, Fowler. Really behaved this episode and proved useful… Miko’s giving me whiplash.

09:30 - cover poster potential.

09:43 - Why would that be the right call? Tracks are clues in a situation with vehicles involved.

09:47 - I feel like that isn’t actually a direction.

09:52 - Height difference- also colour palettes got me laughing fr. Like Arcee and Optimus have darker colours, better for blending in. Ratchet’s white and orange, but because of the blue hue he blends in a bit, meanwhile Bee’s just neon. He looks like a highlighter.

09:55 - that’s an unfortunate concept. There’s a little part of me that wants to say that it’s a ploy (honestly cannot remember much of this episode) as it could be the same energon signal Bulkhead and Breakdown were responding to at the start and that’s why there was a focus on the tracks.

09:56 - Kongs vs Godzilla

10:12 - TFP didn’t have the rights to ‘Godzilla vs King Kong’

10:31 - translation: we’re exes. But in all seriousness, rivalries are always looked on in some sort of light but this is a prime (Hehe) example of what they can also be like.

10:45 - heavily animated Bulkhead

10:46 - Miko really just used ‘bromance’ and decided not to explain.

11:17 - Bee running like a child while Optimus just walks is an incredible visual despite the darkness of the episode.

11:21 - Arcee and Bee aren’t in sync but their movements are clearly practiced.

11:33 - Bee’s wings are sticking out. SERIOUSLY HOW DOES THIS BOT HIDE??

11:38 - They’re like dogs when you take them on a walk with the leash more relaxed.

11:41 - wouldn’t they benefit more from Optimus being behind Ratchet? Incase they’re attacked from behind and all.

11:52 - Horrifying and gross.

12:41 - under appreciated line right here.

12:47 - Optimus didn’t move, while everyone else reacted.

12:50 - Wouldn’t Silas have seen Ratchet first? Granted he wouldn’t know Ratchet.. or any other bots’ names, but he should’ve waited a moment to spot Optimus before addressing him.

12:57 - Optics- not eyes.

13:01 - all bots acting very calm.

13:16 - if Optimus had finished that line with ‘a lil bitch.’ I’m certain the show would’ve won thousands of awards.

13:19 - they’re not like other girls.

13:39 - it’s very heavily implied that there’s bomb. Why aren’t they moving??

14:15 - poor baby’s so confused.

14:27 - except that he warned the bots so odds are they are safe. (I know we know they are, but he doesn’t)

16:08 - proper rivals know when their differences must be put aside.

17:05 - incredible aim.

18:36 - That was awesome. Points to Starscream, amazing trick and amazing execution.

18:54 - Some points taken away. They’ve got an unspoken truce going and until they both walk away, it’s still in play.

19:18 - That was beautiful.

20:05 - Damn Optimus, couldn’t even wait until you got home, huh?

20:11 - Nevermind- still do not understand their relationship though. + heavily animated Optimus.

20:18 - that’s the way a child explains how they one tip/tag at school

21:17 - Why would they use Breakdown as a reference for Optimus?? There are so many differences by physical structure alone.

———————

And that was Operation: Breakdown.

Ignoring the fact that this episode would’ve gone very differently if Ratchet hadn’t dismissed Bee after he pointed out the tire tracks it’s a pretty good episode. Not a favourite, but still a good watch. Fowler really stepped up this episode, which was good. I liked the focus on Bulkhead, even when it came at the price of Miko.

I liked the way it portrayed Bulkhead and Breakdown’s relationship. Got thoroughly confused by Optimus and Bulkhead’s though.

Not much else to say.

[witchofthesouls]

I don't think that “June” is human at all, but simply something that looks and kinda acts like a human. But whatever she is, pissing her off would be a very bad choice, so, what would happen if she finds out that a certain spider tried to kill her son? The forest would be unwelcoming to the spider? Do you think hell would break loose when she finds out that her babies ended up as bitlets without any way of reversing it? Also, what do you mean that June doesn't remember what she is?

God damn, if Jack got killed. It would honestly really depend on the why. An accident is honestly an accident. She can’t control all the factors in his life, and mortals have short lives. But from negligence? Intentional harm? A form of punishment? A way to harvest him?

My god, depending on how bad it was (because humans once walked between the miraculous and the monstrous, who’s to say that Leland Bishop wouldn’t take after those steps?), she will go after everyone and everything related to it. No one will be safe. “June” has a haunting persona, it’s her very nature to devour in her pathway. She would gun after MECH and their associates and not even their families would be safe. (You will lose your kin, your legacy. Your very name shall be erased.)

Not even the Autobots and Decepticons would be safe from her horrifying wrath. She would hunt after the Decepticons for allowing Airachinid’s partnership with MECH. She will hold Airachnid for special placement, a threat and warning to others: she will crush and reforge her. Shame that her alt-mode was a helicopter, "June" will lovingly craft her new form: methodically peel away all those layers of circuitry and protoform, break and reroute the Energon and coolant lines, and keep her spark alive with her own blood and enchantments. (Airachinid will wish for death. She will not be granted that mercy.)

Airachnid is a headhunter and an avid collector of the exotic, "June" will use that to her full advantage. The Decepticons would slowly, systematically be picked apart and eaten by their own hunter. She sees poetic justice in that.

She would turn on the Autobots if they refused to punish them for that collaboration. War? They will have it. Many things sleep beneath the Earth’s surface: in the forests, under the sea, out in the deserts, even below old cities. She will wake them up. All of them.

In general, magical beings treat forms as a guide rather than a hard rule. There are many tales about creatures turning into other random objects or other species, humans even. So a change in race isn’t something to bat an eye over. “June” would simply have to tap into the kids' Other-ness to get them back into human forms, and worst case scenario, spirit them away for a few decades or centuries for them to get a hand over themselves. If anything it would be far more upsetting that a foreign deity tried to claim them, especially for a species dwindling to extinction under active, cataclysmic warfare. 

As for the question of whether or not “June” remembers herself, things happen. Who’s to say something didn’t go wrong with an accident or an execution? Maybe an attempt to hide had gone sideways. Maybe there's something else behind her lost memories...

[bots-and-cons]

(I am resending this one) I was scrolling through your page and encountered the posts of the autobots (+Knockout and Megatron) finding their (s/o)'s body, and I got curious to see how would the other decepticons react? (let's say for example Breakdown, Dreadwing and Soudwave)

The mentioned posts can be found here and here. Also I saw a post saying Soundwave is telepathic, so I used that in this since I liked the idea. I didn’t write Dreadwing, because I couldn’t come up with anything I was happy with.

~Soundwave~

You hadn’t called, you hadn’t texted and you hadn’t come to the Nemesis in days. Soundwave was starting to get worried, since you weren’t answering his messages either. He decided to ping your phone in an attempt to get your location. You were probably just at home, and he was worrying over nothing but he wanted to be sure. Maybe he had accidentally made you mad and that’s why you weren’t answering, even though that didn’t really sound like something you would do.

He didn’t get your location by pinging your phone, which had him really worried, because that would mean your phone had been turned off, and you never did that.

Had he known what was going on with you at that time, and where you were, he would’ve come to your rescue, but now it was too late. Soundwave was standing in the middle of a wrecked M.E.C.H base they had just raided, and looking at your body on one of the rather crudely put together examination tables.

Soundwave hadn’t known you were there, if he had he obviously wouldn’t have had the vehicons destroy the whole place. He was standing over you and he felt like he couldn’t move, because if he did, his legs would give out from under him. So he just stood there, quietly, watching, waiting for some miracle to happen that would bring you back to him.

Nothing like that came, no matter how long he stood there, still as a statue.

“Sir, we should return to the Nemesis, Lord Megatron will want a report on-”

Soundwave didn’t even blink, he just extended his arm and dug the poor vehicon’s spark out of his chest with one swift movement.

“Anyone else want to disturb me?” his voice rang through all the remaining vehicons’ minds.

The vehicons returned to the Nemesis and Soundwave was left alone in the wreckage. Now that he was alone, he allowed himself to collapse, he dropped to his knee plates and took off his visor.

“This is my fault, if you had never come in contact with us, with me, you wouldn't have met such a cruel fate. I am truly sorry and I want you to know, I will cherish your memory forever” he said out loud.

He wanted you to hear that, he really did, but it was too late now, you wouldn’t be answering, you couldn’t hear him anymore, you were gone and he would never hear your voice again.

~Breakdown~

“What-what is this?” Breakdown asked with his voice breaking.

“I’m sorry, I found them like this outside the medbay, there-there was nothing I could do” Knockout said.

Your battered body was laying on the medbay’s table. You were wrapped in the blanket you had brought to the Nemesis with you. If he didn’t take into account all the blood, it almost looked like you were sleeping. There were also some burn mark looking things on your face.

“Airachnid” Breakdown whispered with a low voice.

That had to be it, who else would do this? She must have somehow gotten to the Nemesis and taken her revenge by killing you. Those burn marks looked like the acid from her claws too.

“I’m going to kill that spider bitch” Breakdown growled and hit the examination table.

Breakdown marched out of the medbay, but on his way to the ground bridge, he stopped. He leaned against the hallway wall and just sighed. What the hell was he going to do? He wasn’t even able to protect you when you were alive, how was he supposed to protect you now? How was he supposed to avenge you? You were somewhere far away, somewhere out of his reach and he would never hear your voice again. He would never feel the warmth of your hands on his cheeks when you kissed him, or hear you whisper sweet reassurances in his audial while you were sitting on his shoulder. You were gone and nothing he would do to Airachnid would bring you back, but that wasn���t going to stop him from killing her. Even if he couldn’t get you back, he would avenge you.

[thenamesblurrito]

I think you mentioned that Snap Cheetor has carnivorous instincts, at least with Scraplets. is this ever brought up in the story itself? like, is there a support group for carnivorous beastformers? an underground "ethical" farmers market? (sure, mechanimals live for a Long time, but a long time isn't Forever, and accidents do happen, its better to use the resources than waste it)

yea, Cheetor does have predatory instincts, and even powered down as Blurr he has to deal with it! i actually mention that here with Airachnid too: suddenly an apex predator in a world of chattel, and those instincts, much like Blurr, are going to give her some interesting compulsions.

the interesting thing here is Blackarachnia didn't have that prey drive prior to bonding with the Liegian Darts. Blurr certainly didn't, the closest thing he had was a sort of chase instinct as a racer frame. Abominus doesn't have a prey drive, neither do Soundwave's minicons, nor do any normal people. other beastformers with predatory alt modes are already sniffed at for being monstrous, bloodthirsty, dangerous. Predaking has had more than one instance of a grown adult claiming he, a youngling, was threatening them just by being around. but no mecha, not even beastformers with predatory mechanimal alt modes, have beastformer instincts. it's a terrible false stereotype and regularly used to leverage public opinion against them.

so. why the frag are Blurr and Blackarachnia affected???

for Blurr, he figures it prooooobably has something to do with the fact he's pretty sure he maybe might in fact be possibly turning into a literal mechanimal. how else is he going to explain how he can speak to mechanimals, disney princess style? for Blackarachnia, she wants to deny it, to ignore it, but when push comes to shove and she's willing to hunt down an actual person for the thrill, she's going to have to admit that Airachnid may have a mind of her own, outside of Blackarachnia, and a mind much crueler, bloodthirstier than she'd like...

now, as for the worldbuilding part of your question!

the real issue here is cultural norms. Cybertronians would never dare to eat a living thing, that's barbaric! that's a spark of life forged from Vector Sigma, designed and set forth by Primus himself, how could you! that's so much worse than messing with innermost! even if mechanimals aren't people, they're alive, and thus inedible, even when dead. now, plenty of mechanimals and cyberflora produce things and take part in the energon cycle that creates edible material, and this is obviously harvested for food. i mean, just look at all this fruit.

so if you present the average mech a singlehorn sandwich, they'll be horrified, and might just lose their appetite. the notable and widely derided exceptions to this cultural norm are Carcerians and spacers, the former of whom spend enough time bullied by cassetteowaries, roobots and their joAIs, and data drop bears to want a little tasty revenge, and the latter of whom spend the majority of their time away from any semblance of civilization and decent fuel, so scraplets and barnacles are valuable snacks. Ariel cheerfully tells her roommates about what delicious baloney she could make of a beryllium boar and spends the next hour cackling about how queasy they all look.

[megadoomingir]

Hello everyone! Yes, look at me! Doin’ a little posty-post here! And it’s a good’n, I promise! ^^

I hope everyone has been able to take some much needed deep breaths as it comes to the end of the month. I decided to share this as we come upon the edge of a new year; I hope he is received pleasantly. Though I have been asked on many occasions as to what he looks like and have seen fan art made for him, I did not take it upon myself to give him a proper face until recently. So, please allow me to offer you all C.Y.L.A.S. for your viewing pleasure~

This is just after his construction. He is battered, torn to pieces, and put back together as best as MECH was able to manage. You can SEE the pieces Airachnid had stolen from her donated. :3 I said ‘donated’. Such a nice gesture... It’s clear to see which parts originated from Airachnid’s frame and which they were able to solder back together on the clone. Though clearly damaged, the early version of C.Y.L.A.S. is still a point of pride for MECH. ... For all of two minutes.

MMM. YES. THE HUMAN BEING WITHIN THE CHASSIS. Or, at least, what’s left. The clone’s frame is small to begin with and I have a LOT more to say about this last remaining part of ‘Silas’.

Firstly, because I know it will be asked: Why does he have less damage to his human body/why is he less gross? Well, in the canon TF:P, the fake Optimus chassis was what fell on him, along with the roof. The fake Starscream chassis was smaller, lighter, and had more large angles to play with that allowed for less ‘overall’ damage. ... Yes. This means MECH may not have, necessarily, probably... most likely... needed to remove his arms and legs. ... They were probably fine. But. Yeah...

This moves onto the next question I know will be asked: Dear LORD, then why did they amputate- Look. Starscream is... he is smol. Small boy. Baby. But he does know ABCs. Which means, of course, that the clone would be just as lithe and narrow. And they took the limbs for spacing. Mostly. The bare minimum of Silas was used for implantation within the clone’s chassis. I should do a post on the Cybertronian frame/protoform that I’ve noticed regarding TF:P. Another rant entirely, really.

Third question, for those who may understand the human body a little bit more: His bruises look like they’ve been healing, why is that? (I did my best on the bruises, I didn’t use references, only personal experience from some of the worst bruises I’ve had in life.) Well, he was better able to care for himself as a Decepticon soldier than a test subject. He was allowed to stay within the clone chassis longer without being experimented on or forced to endure more pain and suffering. The human part of him was granted some time to heal... just not a lot.

His final form. The frame we have now in the story! I’m excitedly pleased with how this turned out! His dark coloration emulates a black widow spider. Look at the red cockpit. Ok. I have a confession. I wanted the cockpit to be red as soon as I started coloring him. I had no idea how ‘black widow spider’ it looked until I finished and then said to myself ‘dang, a spider!’ as I had unconsciously went with what I knew to be familiar in the real world and what translated well artistically. I still love it, even if I only made the correlation afterwards. Sometimes, these things just happen beautifully. :3

I also have a reason for the yellow-gold colors on the heels of his peds and the ends of the spider leg attachments on his back. The eye/optic is trained to follow the brightest, fastest moving thing in moments of extreme alert. The distraction is used in the wilds of our own planet by predators that distract their prey so they can move in closer to complete the kill. The reason for it here is very similar. Anyone fighting C.Y.L.A.S. will have a lot to handle, made doubly more difficult if they find themselves distracted by his brightly colored peds or spider legs. This makes him well adept at ambush attacks and fighting in the dark. And the display can easily catch new opponents unaware of how big and menacing C.Y.L.A.S. truly is.

[weenwrites]

TFP Arcee and Airachnid Reacting To a Body Swap

Pairing - Adversaries Category - Headcanons Trigger Warnings - None

They were just out on a battle field, fighting each other as usual, when SOMETHING hit them.

They don’t know what, probably just a weapon that the Cons didn’t know they had on the Nemesis, though.

It knocked them out cold for a good while, and when they woke up in the enemy’s base they were just too shocked to say anything at first.

For Arcee, she’s absolutely horrified at being in her worst enemy’s body.

I mean, wouldn’t you be horrified to wake up and find out that you’ve swapped bodies with someone who’s caused you so much pain and traumatized you?

Airachnid’s certainly startled by this new development…

Airachnid sees this as an opportunity to take the enemy down once and for all, and be in Megatron’s graces, so she essentially TRIES to be Arcee.

Arcee also sees this as an opportunity to sabotage the enemy, and does exactly that while trying to pretend to be Airachnid, although she absolutely hates it.

She screws up the Nemesis’s weaponry and nearly gets caught once by Soundwave!!

They BOTH have to think about how they’re going to convince the other side that they’re who they say they are after their cover’s been blown…

GOOD LUCK WITH THAT!

Also for as long as the swap lasts, they have to get used to each other’s alt-modes and such.

Arcee doesn’t particularly have the best time with Airachnid’s extra legs or helicopter alt-mode, but hey! She manages to deal with it somehow.

Arcee nearly tripped while she was using Airachnid’s extra legs, but managed to catch herself in time.

Airachnid on the other hand has to deal with the fact she isn’t able to shoot webs, and has to use a motorcycle alt-mode.

Sure she’s screwed up once or twice and all the others got a bit suspicious of her…

Luckily she managed to play it off as “I caught a rock in my tires and tripped” when she struggled to drive around and eventually fell over in her new alt-mode.

Yeah… Suuure you tripped…

Literally everyone notices that there’s something off about them, and Soundwave’s only a little ways away from finding out about the body swap.

[seeking-the-stars]

💖 TOP 5 FAV TFP EPISODES:

Darkness Rising Part 1: 

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

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

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

Scrapheap:

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

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

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

Predatory:

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

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

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

Shadowzone: 

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

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

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

Stronger, Faster:

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

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

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

💔 TOP 5 LEAST FAVORITE EPISODES: 

TFP Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising:

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

Partners:

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

Rock Bottom/T.M.I.: 

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

Metal Attraction: 

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

Speed Metal:

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

[chronosabyss]

Chapter 1 of Decadence is live!

Summary: Starscream has instated himself as leader of the Decepticons while the Autobots deal with the aftermath of their attempt to take down Megatron. With the chain of command shaky on both ends, it's up to those remaining to pull their teams together to work past hurt feelings and decide which ideals are still worth pursuing. (Rated T for mild violence.) Story will be updated once a week until completed.

Below is a small part of ch 1. You can read the rest on Archive of Our Own. https://archiveofourown.org/works/28850817

---

"Status report?"

 "Same old, same old. A full diagnostic of the ship is still in the works, but I have Breakdown running a complete structural survey as we speak. So far there are a couple of holes here and there, but nothing that needs immediate attention."

 "And the crew?"

 "Although Breakdown is back on his feet, I advised him against any strenuous activity for the next few solar cycles. Soundwave is still absent from the ship, and several troopers found Airachnid immobilized in a back hallway. I had her placed with the others that met a similar fate." Knockout brought up a quick list of numbers on his data-pad. "I've taken a brief stock of the Vehicon soldiers and it seems that while there were 46 injured and 38 frozen, only seven were beyond repair," he announced, eyeing the numbers.

 Starscream raised an eyebrow. "That's good?"

 "You trust my professional opinion don't you?"

 Starscream scoffed. "Apparently it's why I keep you around."

 "Then considering the damage we get on a weekly basis from the Autobots on the ground, we're golden."

 "Right," Starscream said, unimpressed. "Have you had a chance to examine Optimus Prime's condition in cell block three?"

 "With the exception of minor battle damage, he seems relatively healthy. You know, aside from being a living doorstop."

 "How’s the crew taking Megatron's sudden absence?"

 The medic let out an uncertain tone, glancing sideways for a moment. "Eeh, morale could be better. You've got your typical post battle unease. Word's spread of Megatron's demise, but no one's really sure what happened."

 "Good. Let's keep it that way," Starscream finished, starting to turn away.

 Knockout sidestepped around to get in front of him. "Starscream-" Seeing the dirty glare his commander shot him, he hastily corrected himself. "      Lord     Starscream. The whole ship's on edge. Everyone's talking. The more astute bots have even drawn attention to the fact that the Autobots somehow managed to gain access to our ship while it was cloaked, something that I need not remind you should be nigh impossible."

 Starscream narrowed his optics almost threateningly. "It was the scout. Most likely he was using a concealed means of communication to contact the Autobots while he was on board. A tragic oversight, I admit, but nothing more. I've been meaning to gather the troops together to address the recent change in command. I’ll make it a point to bring up at the assembly. Is that all?"

 Knockout hesitated, wary for once at the possibility of pushing Starscream too far when he was already testy. Eventually his curiosity won out. "There is one other thing I wanted to ask you about. At this point most of the ship has been combed over by the casualty crew to gather the downed soldiers for repairs. While there are a few isolated machine levels and storage corners that still haven't been checked, there has still been no sign of our former Lord Megatron's body."

 A brief flash of alarm flitted across Starscream's faceplate which he quickly masked with a more neutral expression. "Do you really think I would have left the corpse out where any common soldier could see?"

 "Alright then. Where did you have it moved?"

 "Well um," Starscream stalled, a bit taken aback. "That's classified information."

 Knockout sighed, shaking his head. "Really Starscream? If you didn't want me privy to such mundane details you shouldn't have made me second in command. How am I to make sure your ship is running ship-shape if I don't even know where our liege's body is stowed? The crew is asking whether or not there is going to be a commemoration in his honor."

 "A commemoration?" Starscream choked.

 "An observance, a memorial, whatever you want to call it," he gestured casually. "It's been nearly a full cycle and someone had to bring it up."

 Starscream turned away, processor churning to come up with a reasonable explanation as he brought up several digits to tap agitatedly at the side of his faceplate. "Tell the crew that his body is too desecrated to be shown. Our liege suffered horrific damage at the hands of the Autobots. He would not have wanted to be seen like that," he finally said, wearing a mixed expression of both sorrow and unease.

 "Fine, but that still leaves the matter of its location," Knockout said in a matter of fact. “As the ship’s chief medical officer, I’d like to perform an autopsy.”

 "I told you, that's classified." Starscream crossed his arms childishly.

 "So what, you're just going to keep Megatron's rusting chassis in your closet?" He held up his servos defensively. "Look, I'm not one to judge, but there are certain health regulations that must be observed when dealing with the disposal and recycling of the deceased."

 "A-are you insinuating that I am keeping the whereabouts of our former Lord's body a secret out of some sort of sick fascination?"

 "I'm only saying that whatever your reasons are, it would be nice to know a roundabout area so I at least know where I should be avoiding."

 Starscream sputtered for a moment in an effort to formulate a retort. Failing to come to any sort of solid reprimand, he reached out and grabbed Knockout roughly by the lower jaw. "Why you-"

 The sound of the door opening made both mechs freeze mid struggle. They looked over to see a dark slender figure standing just inside the doorway, observing them quietly.

 "S- soundwave!" Starscream released his grip on Knockout's face, leaving the medic to shoot him an ugly glare as he rubbed a servo on the affronted area. "What a… nice surprise," he continued through a forced smile, his optic ridges drawn up in a twinge of anxiety. "Where have you been?"

[tarklesbehindthescenes]

🔥

Transformers Prime was so disappointing. As I said in tags, I'll try to be nice, but I just. I'm going to put this under keep reading. It will be lengthy. I do have some good things to say about it and I will, but I have so many complaints. Can't say I didn't warn you.

I'm going to start off with: I saw Cliffjumper in the first episode, paused immediately and told my friend that if he got red-shirted in the first five minutes to prove the situation was serious, I was going to be ANGRY. Lo and behold, Cliffjumper died to prove the situation was serious. And what was the time? Oh, around 4 minutes 30 seconds give or take. I screamed. My friend said something to the effect of, "I think they killed him off because his voice actor was The Rock and he was pricey". My response to that is, "Then maybe they shouldn't have hired him and gotten someone else."

My boyfriend came to the conclusion at one point that Optimus Prime sets the tone for the Transformer shows he's in. And I'm inclined to agree. Optimus is an absolute edgelord in this and I can't make myself like him. And the rest of the show follows. All I'm seeing is a show that tries too hard to be dark and gritty. It's like the writers were focused so much on the dark themes that the characters, their personalities and their backstories, they were all just an after thought. To me. Just my opinion.

Bulkhead... Why the heck didn't they keep Animated Bulkhead's personality? Why did they make him a generic brute? Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with the generic brute types, but Bulkhead is different. It just feels like a slight on what Bulkhead's character was in Animated. I understand that each continuity has every right to their differences. But it still bugs me.

I don't like Arcee. I don't care about her, I don't like the show's half-hearted attempts to make me care about her, she's so darn bland, and it really feels like she is looking to bring down the moods of anyone around her. "Smokescreen's too cheerful and immature. Time to berate him." Glitch, let him have some fun! Dumping hamburgers on someone's car is not something to be mean to him for. Just roll your optics and leave the mood be.

Ratchet does not hit it for me like G1 and Animated do. Maybe because he's racist? He treats the humans like vermin. And then the show just suddenly shows him with a slight change of heart when Raf gets sick. No warning or build up. Just "You humans are so annoying. Oh crap, this child I suddenly care about is dying!" I may be exaggerating, but that's how it felt to me. I guess an argument could be made that Animated Ratchet is racist, too? So if that's the case, then maybe that's not what rubs me the wrong way. But either way, I really don't care for Prime's Ratchet.

I don't care about Raf or Jack. They're just... there. Jack's blander than Arcee. Raf is just some kid with computer knowledge. How in the world does he understand Bee? This isn't G1, they can't just pass it off with "He just can". And I think you said you like Miko, so I'm sorry about this, but I loathe her. She just grates on every fiber of my being. Why is she allowed to put everyone in danger with no repercussions? If they do acknowledge it, it's usually just a slap on the wrist and she goes and does it again. I consider myself a pack animal, so if anyone was pulling stunts that endangered my family, I wouldn't hesitate to deck 'em and give 'em an earful. I'm sorry.

Starscream feels like a joke... He's so hung up on killing Cliffjumper. Like dude. Surely you killed more than just that one tired and beaten Autobot throughout the entire time the war has been going on. And if you haven't, how the heck did you get your position? People say his design is sexy and I just... don't see it. He's very expressive, and the way he moves his wings is great, but aside from that. His voice actor did a great job. But Starscream having a deep vampire-ish voice is not my cup of tea.

Soundwave really should have gotten more screen time. When I saw him slam down Airachnid, I knew I really wanted to see more Soundwave action. Megatron looks like Shredder's armor grew a face (TMNT). I can't take Megatron seriously whatsoever. From his bulging optics that can't look straight ahead, to his alt mode that shows his head and eyes peaking out at the top.

Can the Decepticons in general just have some more color, please? Knock Out and Breakdown are okay. Skyquake and his bro can get a pass. But most everyone else are just colored black, grey, super deep purple, etc. Airachnid should have died in the explosion caused to the Autobot base.

The Autobots are really not much better than the Decepticons. The amount of vehicon violence. They make it a game. But vehicons are filler, they're there to be cannon fodder, etc. Vehicons are so used to being killed off that the second they get punched, they lay down and pretend to be dead so they don't actually die. And the Autobots just laugh amongst themselves and treat it like some game. G1 treated Decepticon battles like a game sometimes too, I know, but they weren't actually killing their enemies. They were just thrashing their butts. The Prime bots kill off the cannon fodder, but don't kill off the main Decepticon characters when they get the chance? Oh! But Bulkhead smashing Starscream's clone to a bloody pulp and killing him! So unnecessary when the clone was clearly not a threat.

The abuse that Megatron throws at Starscream isn't really addressed in a satisfying way. Nobody tries to comfort him or help him get out of the abuse. It just happens. I haven't gone through all of season 3, so I'm only going off of what I've seen so far.

How. Dare they tease the idea of Breakdown having a change of heart and then kill him in such a stupid fashion. Just as I was getting past the fact that they turned him from a paranoid combiner in G1 to another brute like they did with Bulkhead, and beginning to like him. And he was friends with the vehicons! He was the only one that treated them with respect and gave them the time of day! And the writers killed him off! I will never not be salty about that.

...Okay, I think that does it for the negative stuff. Mostly. Now I can move on to the positive stuff.

Smokescreen is precious and I adore what they did to him. It was not worth waiting two seasons for him, but now that he's showed up, I can tolerate the show a little more. He just wants to be the best he can be and prove himself to Prime. The team does not deserve this ray of sunshine.

Knock Out and Breakdown's dynamic was adorable. It took a bit for them as individuals to grow on me, but in the end, I like them and I like their relationship.

I appreciate that the show gave the Decepticons some wins as well as the Autobots. Really made it feel like an actual war and that the "good guys" weren't overpowered.

Scraplets were a nice touch. I like the concept of some tiny terror being a predator to mechs. Makes the bots feel less indestructible. The bringing in of the Insecticons was kinda nice. Wish the design was different, but I appreciate they were even brought in. They really feel like a threat.

I liked the arc where Earth started being cyberformed. I don't think I will never not like the concept of cyberforming.

June Darby with her crush on Optimus. Oh, how I wish they explored that.

Miko and Bulkhead's dynamic is nice. They have a good friendship. I like the idea of a troublemaker dragging around their dim, but sturdy friend around and getting into trouble.

Ratchet on the synthetic energon was great. Give me more kickass doctor, please. Minus the vehicon torture and slaughter.

Predaking is precious as well. I think his fate has been spoiled for me, but we'll see. Hope I'm wrong.

I appreciate that around season 2 the humans started doing more work. They were no longer freeloading.

The vehicon that knocked Optimus' ass out with a tree trunk. He must have had direct beef with Prime and was training for that moment, because oh my goodness.

There was more that I liked about the show. Hence why I don't hate it. I'm just super bummed that I can't move past all those negative points. It had potential. And I want to enjoy it. Whoever loves Prime, like my sister, that's great. I'm glad you do. Somebody has to enjoy it. But it's not for me.

[poptimus-prime]

They/Them Pronouns when referring to me please and thank

Me explaining every episode of season one of Transformers: Prime poorly in 3 sentences or less.

Transcript below the cut

Darkness Rising, Part 1: The Rock--I mean Cliffjumper--gets absolutely FUCKED. The rest of the Autobots decide to adopt some kids who are being bullied by Vehicons, and proceed to explain they’re fighting over food after a long civil war.

Darkness Rising, Part 2: Megatron rolls up with grape flavored rock candy and wants to raise a zombie army. Cliffjumper can’t catch a break even when he’s DEAD. 

Darkness Rising, Part 3: Ratchet and Optimus, AKA the team parents™, go out to figure out what Megatron wants to do with his rock candy. The kids are left with Bulkhead and Agent Fowler gets fucked over by Robot Bird Man #2.

Darkness Rising, Part 4: Agent Fowler gets unfucked over and the Team Parents almost get eaten by zombie robots. Megatron controls the Zombie Robots because he stabbed himself with his rock candy.

Darkness Rising, Part 5: The gang has to keep the Cons from using the Bifrost Bridge to send zombie bots from Cybertron to Earth. Megatron gets fucking YEETED...or does he?

Masters and Students: Ratchet likes science fairs a bit TOO much. Starscream tries and fails to use Skyquake to make everyone onboard the Nemesis his bitch.

Scrapheap: Ratchet, Bulkhead, and Bee get absolutely fucked over by a termite-flesh eating parasitic hybrid while Arcee and Optimus slowly freeze to death at one of the poles. Raf never got his snowball, but to be honest none of them care because jeez everyone almost DIED. 

Con Job: Bulkhead’s war boyfriend is coming over to say hi. Decepticons get to him first and use his face to infiltrate the base because they have a shapeshifting friend they didn’t think to use until now.

Convoy: Optimus and the gang have to help Agent Fowler with his UberEats side hustle and it almost causes a nuclear meltdown because M.E.C.H. just really want a piece of that cake. Ratchet confirms Cybertonians can and do get thigh-burn. Fuck Silas Counter: One.

Deus Ex Machina: Bulkhead takes Miko to Greece and they find out about a vampire device. Cue Indiana Jones meets Night at the Museum style bullshit. The name of this episode gets mentioned by name AND used as a trope.

Speed Metal: Bumblebee and Jack do bad boy things and go illegal racing because Jack has a dick measuring contest with a guy from school. Knockout kidnaps said guy and everything goes sideways.

Predatory: Doc Ok’s twin robot sister, Airachnid, comes back with a vengeance. Her and Arcee have major beef that almost ends with everyone dead.

Sick Mind: Optimus gets the literal fucking plague. Ratchet encourages illegal mind hacking technology so Bumblebee can buzz around in Megatron’s head and get a cure. This is supposedly successful.

Out of His Head: Megatron is now buzzing around in Bumblebee’s head and is trying to get back to his own body. Optimus single handedly stops global warming even though Ratchet LITERALLY just told him to take it easy. Welcome back Megatwon.

Shadowzone: Miko does some bullshit and gets all 3 of the kids sent to the shadow realm with a Zombiecon. Starscream loses his arm and the game of bullshit with Knockout.

Operation: Breakdown: Breakdown and Bulkhead have big beefy boy beef until M.E.C.H. shows up. Megatron says fuck Breakdown lives, but the Autobots at give a bit of a fuck. Fuck Silas counter: Two. 

Criss Cross: Airachnid teams up with M.E.C.H. and they kidnap Jack’s mom as bait for Arcee. This goes as badly for M.E.C.H. as you would expect. Fuck Silas counter: Three.

Metal Attraction: Bulkhead and Arcee get put in the get along sweater. The get along sweater device doesn’t end up in Megatron’s hands, but Spider Bitch does.

Rock Bottom: Jack, Miko, Arcee, and Bulkhead get trapped in an energon mine because Megatron happened. Miko almost suffocates...fun times. The series would have ended a lot sooner if Jack wouldn’t have been the bigger person and just drilled into Megatron’s head. 

Partners: Starscream and Airachnid play freeze dance with the Autobots. Starscream says fuck Decepticons lives and tries to defect after Spider Bitch betrays him.

T.M.I.: Bulkhead gets to learn via osmosis, but they have to make it stop before Bulkhead just becomes a talking book. What book was it? The Autobot Cookbook: A Recipe for Synthetic Energon.

Stronger, Faster: Ratchet discovers what a sugar high is and accidentally commits a heterosexuality while under the influence. Megatron gets absolutely fucking decked by Doctor Grandpa. Bookmark this episode for later, it comes back to bite them in the ass HARD.

One Shall Fall: Optimus has a burning bush moment. Megatron makes an attempt on Bumblebee’s life that ends up almost yeeting Raf to the Shadow Realm again. Optimus decides he must, in fact, kill a bitch.

One Shall Rise, Part 1: Unicron wakes up from his dirt nap and decides to cause fuck shit. Come to find out that Unicron IS the core of planet Earth and has to be stopped if the planet’s gonna survive.

One Shall Rise, Part 2: Optimus and Megatron bury the hatchet for 22 minutes. Jack gets a souvenir from Optimus. Cue Journey to the Center of the Earth.

One Shall Rise, Part 3: Ratchet exposition dumps. Unicron can get fucked, and he does get fucked.

[keef-a-corn]

Dat’s right, People, it’s time for ‘Keef watches TFP and you just get the notes!’

This is for season 1, episode 17: Crisscross.

I write down the timestamps, but I watch Transformers Prime on Stan (an Australian streaming service) so they may be slightly off.

ALSO! I try my best to note points for every character, but tend to get a little caught up by Bee (although I think I do a pretty good job with the notes regardless) so do be warned.

~~~~Transition~~~~

00:16 - Oh dear.. already quite bored

00:41 - One thing to note is that Silas is a mix of Megatron and Optimus. He’s on the field alongside his workers regardless of why they’re there, but he also does not care who he hurts.

01:07 - Airachnid’s always gotta have a cool reveal. Theoretically. In practice it is not achieved.

~intro~

01:57 - Average day in Australia.

02:37 - OH GAWD. This again??

02:58 - had to take a solid minute to collect myself. They don’t refer to themselves as ‘transformers’ so Airachnid saying that made so much sense, but the actual word sounded so foreign.

03:03 - honestly just hate Airachnid and Arcee’s rivalry so much. There’s no respect in it and it’s not clear (to me at least) how it happened. We get back story for the situation, but it clears up even less. Why is Airachnid specifically going after Arcee?? Why does Arcee take it so personally?.

03:13 - E X C U S E M E

03:28 - let us be clear… rn Jack’s mum is hawt.

03:46 - in Speed Metal this was proven true.

03:58 - Does Jack seriously not have any other friends? The humans are so dependent on the bots it’s frustrating.

04:26 - honestly, June’s a good mum. She’s very clear and firm, but she doesn’t yell.

04:49 - uh.. that’s honestly a weird line and feels really inappropriate.

05:06 - wait, so Arcee stays the night at Jack’s place?? But she works at night too!

05:42 - that car has the same numberplate as Jack’s mum RPI • 437 if it was a background car it wouldn’t matter, but we can see the plate clear as day.

05:55 - WOO! Beeeee

06:00 - the extended part of this scene is a luxury- oh wait… oh.. oh no… it’s a filler. This is a filler episode. That’s why Bee’s there and no one else is. If Ratchet, Optimus and/or Bulkhead don’t talk during this episode, it will confirm it.

06:08 - Hehe, the contrast. Also June listens to elevator music on her drive home.

06:34 - honestly, a little surprised they hadn’t gone with the ‘Doesn’t check the room’ trope.

06:46 - ooooh The light is a ground bridge! Thought they decided to randomly add the idea that when Arcee transforms it’s a Winx like transformation.

06:54 - gaslighting 101.

07:00 - June in denial that her son’s a frickin looser and has no friends.

07:16 - Rest in pieces Jack.

07:56 - JACK NO THAT’S A BAD IDEA.

08:03 - I mean- KiNdA

08:08 - Didn’t June get off work early to cook Jack dinner?

08:40 - kinda vibing with Silas and Arcee’s dynamic rn

08:47 - WTF- seriously tho, wtf?.

09:37 - Mech is a really weird name for a group that doesn’t like transformers.

09:45 - ‘In my bed. I slept with your mother, Jack. Call me… Papa Silas.’ Would’ve made the episode 100x better.

10:10 - Wait… so the communicator scrambles the signal, so Arcee can’t reach the autobots, but as far as they are aware she’s supposed to be at Jack’s house. If her signal randomly went out, wouldn’t they notice and go looking for her?

10:25 - they had this ability the whole time but only NOW choose to use it?? If they had it set up throughout the town, they would be able to find any bot lickity split, especially if it causes them that much pain.

10:40 - Does anyone else despise the ‘they just want me 🥺’ trope?

10:51 - Arcee’s number plate is 396571.

11:26 - Oh my gaaaaawd! When will Arcee learn that she has to maintain level headed when fighting Airachnid otherwise she’s wasting her strength.

11:34 - the way Arcee’s optics tilted backwards and got big in fear, panic and desperation is a sweet choice. But how has she not realised that with Silas standing there, putting both Jack and June’s lives at risk, that he doesn’t care about them??

11:43 - bicthless behaviour.

13:09 - Calling her ‘Spider-bot’ rather than her name is both disrespectful in not using her name, but respectful in recognising who she is.

13:13 - HE SAID THE TITLE.

13:21 - The worker calls Arcee ‘it’ - entirely disrespectful and objectifies Arcee.

13:28 - considering how long it took them to simply open Breakdown’s chest plate and remove his eye, it’s safe to assume Arcee’s got plenty of time.

15:33 - what’d I say?

15:38 - he rhymed.

16:01 - what does that mean?.

16:30 - continuity.

16:35 - Awesome shot, which also captures their power imbalance.

16:40 - significantly higher. Arcee’s strong, yes. But not nearly as strong as Breakdown + Breakdown had assistance from another bot.

17:48 - why wouldn’t they have done the concrete as soon as Airachnid fell? She would’ve been less likely to have woken up.

18:31 - Agent Fowler! Proving to be useful Y E T A G A I N !

18:54 - how did he go so long without noticing that missing??

19:04 - THANK YOU! Responsible man right here!

19:07 - No. that would’ve been a good call because Airachnid’s very dangerous and Arcee cannot handle her on her own.

19:24 - that was very funny. The line was delivered so mildly, but made so much sense as well.

19:46 - They did obtain some information, so I guess Silas got what he wanted.

20:53 - MMM YES. SEXIEST MUSIC.

21:07 - Look at hiiiim

21:11 - Ratchet turns around like an old man.

21:17 - so jealous of June rn.

21:25 - Another cover poster + Optimus looked slightly offended in the moments before the shot I got a photo of.

21:28 - Not a word from Bulkhead, Ratchet and Optimus. I wonder w h y .

———————

So that was Crisscross!

Incase it wasn’t apparent, I’m not a fan of the obvious filler episodes. I’m not a fan of Arcee and Airachnid’s dynamic either, so it made the episode worse.

One thing I will give it credit for is that it addressed the fact that June would’ve started to get suspicious.

Crisscross is better than Predatory, but I don’t like either episode.

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

How do you think Airachnid would react to her meak and shy con s/o being pestered by Acree? Like Acree is trying to “save” Airachnid’s s/o, claiming Airachnid’s a monster and that she’ll be safer with the autobots. And poor s/o is to scared to say anything and doesn’t know how to fight back. (hope your having a good day by the way)

I think I can manage something like that! Hope you enjoy it!

“So we have a sort of hostage situation going on?”

“In a manner of speaking.”

Arcee and Bulkhead were sent to check in a missing autobot. Based on what intel Optimus had, the autobot had crash landed, and was taken by Airachnid. Arcee was sent in, with Bulkhead to be her common sense, which seemed to fly out the window when...she was involved.

“They got picked up by Airachnid. For all we know, they’re dead. We’re lucky if we find their helm.”

“Regardless, we gotta make an effort. Optimus would do the same thing, if he wasn’t on a mission in the Arctic.”

Arcee shrugged. They were near the last known location, some place in the middle of the woods. They were trying to be stealthy, and they hadn’t been caught by anyone. That worried Arcee. She poked her helm around a corner of a cave, and her tracker went off. If they were alive, they’d be in there. Bulkhead trailed behind her, keeping himself armed. He hated small spaces, and this cave was barely big enough to hold him. Bulkhead suddenly stopped in his tracks, peering into a room.

“Arcee. Someone’s in here.”

Arcee looked at her tracker. It had to be them. They both looked inside, where a small bot was humming, seeming to be working on something. The cave looked like some makeshift kitchen, and it was not what they were expecting. Arcee walked in, slowly and carefully. Then they turned around. They squealed in surprise, nearly dropping the loaf they had pulled out of the oven.

“O-oh. I...had no idea we were having company. Uhm...hello. I’m sorry, are you friends of Airachnid?”

Bulkhead and Arcee shared a glance at one another. Not...the kind of sentence they thought they’d hear today. Bulkhead gave a light shake of his helm.

“Uh...no, we’re not. You’re an autobot, right?”

“Yes, actually. But if you aren’t her friends...why are you here?”

They took a step back, clearly on edge. Arcee shook her helm, trying to avoid the headache this bot was giving her.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Are we talking about the same Airachnid? Spider lady? Murderer? Absolute bitch?”

“I mean my spider sweetspark.”

Arcee looked up at Bulkhead, as if he had the answers to everything. Arcee put her weapon down, and took a careful step forward.

“Look, I have no idea what she did to you to make you think that. But she is NOT anything like that. She’s a killer, and the fact that you’re alive right now is a miracle.”

Bulkhead nodded, holding his servos up to show he was harmless.

“Look, let’s get you out of here, someplace where we KNOW you’ll be safe.”

“No thank you.”

They stated, taking yet another step back. They were a small, clearly scared thing.

“Look, you don’t know us, but you REALLY don’t know her. Please, come with us. There’s autobots that are honestly and very worried about you.”

They took another step back, until their back was against the wall.

“I-i’m asking you to please get away from me. If she comes in here and sees you’re scaring me, you’ll be sorry.”

Bulkhead looked down at Arcee, shrugging.

“I dunno, Arcee. They don’t LOOK like they’re in danger.”

“Are you kidding me? She’s clearly messing with their processor or something. Are you suggesting that we leave an autobot with that THING?”

Bulkhead hesitated. It’d be cruel to do that, now that she mentioned it. 

“I...guess I gotta just take them?”

“Hate to take that approach, but you’re gonna have to.”

Bulkhead sighed, before reaching down to grab them. They didn’t come quietly; thrashing and screaming to be out down, and even throwing their freshly made cake right at Arcee’s forehead. The commotion was settled once they heard a sound just around the corner. The way the autobot smiled unsettled them both.

“She’s home.”