#I'm so sorry this took so long!

[dragqueenstarscream]

Personally, I'd kill for a Starop fic/ onshot where Starscream finally manages to cut ties with Megatron and it's just fluff of Optimus comforting him and assuring him it was the right thing to do, that everything will be ok for the both of them

-💌 anon

i wanna scream at the top of my lungs

tfp starscream x optimus prime

i've been waiting for an excuse to write something like this! i already have a fic like this planned for my monsterformers continuity, but let's do one for tfp because i just really want starscream to stick it to this particular megatron.

title comes from "lost in the ocean" by glass animals.

contains: established relationship, starscream leaving megatron, implied abuse, angst, fluff, optimus being a supportive partner

the night sky stretched on endlessly over jasper, nevada as the town slept below. apart from a few busy establishments, the people had turned in for the night. the same couldn't be said for the autobots, who were living it up in the omega base, passing around high grade and celebrating a hard fought victory.

away from them, though, sitting on a cliffside, sat one bot in deep contemplation.

starscream looked a mess. though ratchet had patched up his injuries, he still had filth packed into his seams and a smear of energon along his jaw. his thick brows were furrowed in concentration, as if pondering some impossible question.

but one thing stood out above all else.

starscream was alive.

he couldn't believe it himself, the more he thought about it. sure, the evidence for him being alive was right there; he could see the sky above him, feel the ground beneath his pedes, hear the night breeze swirling around his wings. but he felt as if it shouldn't be real. this existence, this reality was obviously nothing more than the dreams of a dying bot, and they would fade any minute now as he joined with the allspark.

but they never faded, and he never died.

the planet turned. the stars above passed by. the night grew shorter. the world moved on.

but starscream still felt stuck in place. mentally, whenever he lost focus of his environment, he found himself back outside the nemesis, daring to look megatron in the eye while his leader held his fusion cannon to his head. he couldn't bring himself out of that standstill. how could he? he was about to die. how could he move on when he was staring death in the face?

the stars drifted by overhead like ships on a glassy black ocean. a lone car drove by on the highway far below. the world moved on.

the sound of heavy thumps tugged starscream out of his thought spiral. for a moment, he thought that megatron had come to finish the job, but he knew the sound of his leader's steps from anywhere.

former leader. he had to keep reminding himself that.

"starscream?" a familiar rumble of a voice said from behind him. of course. it was optimus, doing his team leader duty, as usual.

"what do you want?" starscream grumbled, pulling his knees closer to his chest.

"ratchet told me i'd find you up here," optimus said. he came up on starscream's right and took his seat at the cliffside. the two bots stayed quiet for a few moments until optimus broke the silence. "how are you feeling?"

"how do you think i'm feeling?" starscream snorted derisively. "i'm now public enemy number one of the entire decepticon legion."

optimus only nodded, and his silence allowed starscream some more time to vent. "i can't believe i did that. i can't believe i actually did that. what kind of glitchhead says something like that?"

"what do you mean?" optimus asked, turning to look at starscream.

"what are you- i told megatron to go frag himself!" starscream exclaimed. "no one does that unless they have a death wish!"

"starscream," optimus started to say, but starscream wasn't done rambling.

"i should be offline," he said bluntly, getting up and starting to pace back and forth. "i shouldn't even be here. i told him off, and now, the entire decepticon legion will come for me."

"starscream," optimus spoke up, but starscream had more to say.

"why am i still here?" starscream asked, shaking his head, optics turned skyward. "i don't even know how i'm still online! primus, optimus, he had his cannon to my head! i can still feel it! and yet i told him to his face to stick it up his aft! how am i still here? how am i still online?!"

"starscream."

the stern tone of optimus' voice made starscream jump. he fell silent as he looked over to his partner, whose face was now fixed in a hard countenance. after a minute's quiet, optimus' face softened, and he began to speak again.

"you're scaring yourself with things that never happened," he said. "there's no need to be saying that you should be dead, because you aren't. you survived."

"but why?" starscream asked. "i still can't process it."

"because you were right," optimus said, "and megatron knew it. you may have been his second in command, but you were also his tool."

"what do you mean by that?" starscream asked.

"he used you to instill fear in the others," optimus explained. "you were an example he would set to the other decepticons. he needed you to exert his authority over them. now, with you gone, he doesn't have that weapon anymore."

"how do you know any of this? you weren't even there to witness it," starscream huffed.

"because i know that side of megatron very well," optimus sighed. "i know how ruthless he can be. you are not the only one he has hurt."

starscream didn't say anything. he knew the history that optimus and megatron had once shared. of course optimus knew what megatron was like. arguably, optimus knew him better than anyone else.

"i suppose you're right," starscream mumbled after an awkward silence as he sat back down, knees curled to his chest. it was the closest thing to an apology that he could muster at the moment.

"this was a long time coming," optimus said.

"too long," starscream grumbled, resting his forehead against his knees.

"either way," optimus said, "you did the right thing."

"by what? running?" starscream barked out a laugh. "i just did what i've always done."

"starscream, i was there with you," optimus said. "i saw what really happened. i saw you stand before megatron and choose to live for yourself, rather than him."

"optimus, i could've offlined where i stood," starscream snarled. "he had his cannon to my head!"

"and yet you stood your ground," optimus continued. "you made him back down. that takes incredible courage."

starscream huffed and turned his head away. "the only reason he left was because you were there to kick his aft if he tried anything," he sneered. in a quiet tone, he added, "that's the only reason i could stand up to him at all."

"starscream, no one else could've done what you did back there," optimus insisted. "and there is no shame in having someone to support you. i couldn't have made it as far as i have in this war without the autobots by my side. none of us have gone through this war alone, and no one is expecting you to do so." he reached out and wrapped his arm around starscream's waist, an invitation for a hug. "though we all have our own battles to fight, it doesn't mean we have to fight alone."

starscream sighed and moved closer to optimus, leaning into his touch. optimus gently squeezed his waist and turned to kiss him on his temple.

"do you remember what you told him?" optimus asked. "right at the end?"

"of course i do," starscream snipped. he took a deep invent, then said, in a calmer tone, "i told him, 'you need me, but i will never need you again.'"

"you said the right thing," optimus reassured him. "you won't ever have to go back to him again."

"you know he'll come looking for me," starscream huffed. "he doesn't like it when his prey gets away."

"if he ever comes back," optimus began, but starscream interrupted him.

"when he comes back," starscream corrected him.

"if he ever comes back," optimus insisted, "we're here for you." he squeezed starscream's side and said, "i'm here for you."

starscream chuckled and laid his head on optimus's side. "i know you are."

optimus smiled and kissed starscream again. "i'm proud of you, sweetspark. i love you."

"the feeling's mutual, you overgrown sap," starscream smirked, which made optimus chuckle warmly.

"the others are inside awaiting your presence, if you'd like to see them," optimus informed starscream. "i have to say, they're rather impressed with your bravery."

"as they should be," starscream joked. "not many people have told megatron to shove his cannon up his aft and survived."

optimus shook his head and laughed as he rose to his pedes. he reached one servo out to starscream, who gladly accepted and pulled himself up. together, the two autobots made their way back into the base, ready to return to the party bulkhead had set up for them.

the stars turned as the night passed on. wispy clouds drifted by. insects flitted back and forth along the wind. the world moved on.

and starscream knew, deep in his spark, that he would, too.

[sailforvalinor]

For the Christmas drabble, how about Howl and Sophie & Christmas caroling or Fitzsimmons & The Twelve Days of Christmas, if either strikes your fancy?

"Here we come a-wassailing among the leaves so green--" Sophie sighed irritably--she was already feeling harried and irritated by the prospect of going to visit Howl's sister, having to wear strange, scratchy clothes (though seeing her husband being forced out of his usual finery and instead dressed in dull colors admittedly amused her), and the idea of having to ride in that loud metal box again, but now Howl's annoying cheeriness was threatening to be the last straw. "Howl, why are you singing?" Howl grinned, undaunted by her mood, as he fitted her in a garment he called a "coat" (which she had to admit, did seem very warm). "Because, my dear Sophie, that's what we're doing tonight. I'm warming up." Sophie's eyebrows knit together. "What are we doing tonight?" "Wassailing." "Wassailing?" Sophie echoed. Was this some sort of spell? She thought Howl avoided doing magic in his sister's world. "Indeed," Howl said, with an irritating matter-of-factness. "I wassail, you wassail, he she it wassails--" "--Howl," Sophie cut him off warningly, levelling him with a glare. "Not another word of your ridiculousness." Howl stared at her for one second, as if considering the risk of disobeying. Two seconds. "--wewassailyouwassailtheywassail," he blurted as quick as he could manage. "Howl!" "Singing, my love," he said placatingly, throwing up his hands. "It's one of that world's holiday traditions. You go around in a group to people's houses and sing songs." "I won't know any of the songs," Sophie warned. "You'll catch on, I have no doubt," Howl said, wrapping a scarf around her neck. "Why are we even going?" Sophie asked grumpily. "Firstly, because it will be fun," Howl said, turning the dial on the door to black. "Secondly--" he suddenly was standing very close to her, giving her a look that looked something like adoration, "--I have to introduce my sister to my lovely new wife," he said in a low voice. He chuckled. "Won't she be surprised?" Flustered, cheeks suddenly very warm, she closed her mouth and found she had no more words left to give. Howl took her silence as acquiescence, turning the knob and opening the door. He offered her his arm with a grand, unnecessary flourish--which was made slightly less impressive by his lack of flowing sleeves. "Shall we?" Sophie cracked a smile and took his offered arm. But then, it suddenly faded. "Wait," she said. "What do you mean, 'surprised'? Did you not tell your sister you got married?" "Um--" "You DIDN'T! Howl, you foolish, stupid, cowardly--" "I--" "--good-for-nothing SLITHERER-OUTER!" The door closed behind them.

[emilykaldwen]

ok hear me out with the relationships ask: rodrik and myranda 👀👀👀

I don't remember what meme this was in regards to but I'll figure it out!

There's so many ways this could happen and none of them start out well by any means. Is she abandoned on Bear Island during her first raid, found hiding in the forest half freezing to death and thus "captured"? Is Rodrik taken in a raid and hauled to the Iron Islands and Briony talks Dalton into binding them and putting their blood on Bear Island?

Regardless of how the situation happens, there's always going to be a contentious start. Myranda is not a caretaker figure: she's a feral cat who will pull a dagger out of her titties if you get too close, and Rodrik is like 'what is soft touch?' that's not transactional. I do think he'd do his best to be kind - Rodrik doesn't strike me as abusive, but there's absolutely 'She's feral and an Ironborn and I'm not sticking my dick in that because there's a lot of weird there not just a 'I don't want to do my duty'.'

But also she's pretty, with big dark eyes and despite her sullen appearance, when she encounters green and flowers and living things?? I think a bond can be found there. A chink in both their armor.

So it's definitely a slow burn, not quite enemies to lovers sort of deal just a Bear and a Feral cat trying to figure shit out

[wildskissed]

Prompt I Can't Find - @bloodiedsails mused: "what have you discovered?"

The question made her pause, but she supposed that at this point she really needed to share with the class as it were. After all, where were they going to be if they couldn't figure this out together?

"This place," Eve gestured around them, "is actually the final resting place of the young woman that wrote this..." she explained. Which meant that what they were looking for here was probably more likely to be cursed and not enchanted. So much for that, but at the same time...where would you hide a body here? "This isn't exactly a crypt, so perhaps, we should be on the lookout for traps..."

[nearest-dearest]

Halloween! #1

Oc belongs to @cornfieldsrambles

I'M SO SORRY FOR NOT POSTING IN A WHILE! College started and I promised myself I won't post anything until I feel like my art has shown improvement. But Spooky season is around the corner and I don't want to keep those who sent me their ocs to wait any longer! So here you go! Hope you like it Corn!

[sioraiocht]

~ @darkestredemptives || Semi plotted starter || From Greg ~

Greg's eyes dropped to his watch, looking at the time before back to the notes he'd scribbled down. Between Sherlock's last case, the general rise in crime around the festive season, and the fact that he was working 18 hour days - The last thing he needed was to add more to his workload. Still, for some reason Scotland Yard thought that he'd be the best person to work with the MI6 liaison. They probably assumed that if he could work successfully with Sherlock Holmes then he could work with anyone.

Hands lifted to fix his tie, straightening it as he spotted someone approaching his office door. Pushing to his feet he moved forward, hand extending. "You must be the bloke from MI6 - Greg Lestrade, good to meet you."

[tattoobird]

@unicornacopia requested a drawing of her adorable OC Georgina Petalpusher! She's off to collect mushrooms ^w^

[crescentmarked]

hayley sits in a plush chair across from elijah. her eyes linger on his before searching his face. she notes the slight wrinkle of his brow—pensive. she eyes the straight line of his lips—stoic. her gaze wanders back to his, and she sighs. ❝ i just... i don't understand why you keep forgiving him when he's been so awful to you and rebekah. ❞ she leans forward, maintaining eye contact. ❝ i get that he's family. don't get me wrong. i would do anything to see my family... talk to them. anything. but... ❞ her eyes speak the rest of the thought for her: help me understand.

@deceptivemorals / sc.

[thorinds]

1000 Books You May Have Actually Read

[lovefvcked]

@malevolism // continued from here !!

"chaperoning sounds like so much fun." river said with a small laugh as he looked at the beautiful woman. the man pressed his lips together and sighed, "so, you're just here with chaperoning and probably not having much fun." he said with another small laugh.

[gotchibam]

Silly little Spheals ko-fi doodle for Nova! ❄️

[egophiliac]

hello! i wanted to say first that i'm a MASSIVE fan of your work hehe. but i'm curious if you've ever said it before-- who are your favorite twst characters and why?

thank you! 💚💜💚

honestly I like pretty much all the characters a lot, but diasomnia definitely holds my heart (and my art). all four of them are my special little guys. episode 7 has been such a delightful treat for me and me specifically. >:)

pre-episode 7 I would've said I couldn't choose between all of my beautiful morons, but getting Lilia's backstory did shoot him up into the #1 favorite-of-the-favorites boy slot! he's an old man who's done with all that war and tragedy business and is now focused on the most important part of life: playing video games and wearing cute outfits! he's 5'2" and built like a twig but he can suplex anyone in the room! he's really bad at pretending to be an Average Teen! what's not to love

also I just. really enjoy how main story Lilia is all:

and every-other-story Lilia is more like:

the duality of grampa. it's real good.

THAT SAID I am also extremely fond of our esteemed headmaster-slash-horrible bird dad. he's a fancy goth with the soul of a harried accountant. he might be the mastermind behind the entire plot, or he might just be an idiot. he might be both at once. he's awful. he's magnificent.

[space-bowl]

Unconditional love.

Based on this meme, shoutout to whoever made it (I saved it a while ago so if you see this and it's you, please let me know!):

[wildskissed]

Pride & Prejudice Prompts - @darkhxntrxss mused: ''Don’t look at me like that!''

Eve hadn't meant to stare, and she did have a habit of letting her curiosity get the better of her in the worst of times. So, the look she had been giving her was certainly not of any judgment, it was just trying to figure out what she could gleam of her by looks alone. Hard to know someone without actually getting to know them, but she honestly had no nefarious intention.

"I'm so sorry," Eve shook her head a little. "I'm not judging or anything, I swear. Just trying to figure you out, I suppose."

[thatnununguy]

PLEASREE PLEASE SHOW MORE EQUIGAM ART PLEASE!!!!!!

When in doubt — post yaoi art. Or however the saying goes. Perchance.

[forgettable-au]

FORGETTABLE-AU (Page 48-52)

FOUND.

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