#Restoration Archivist

[atangledfate]

Original Post [x]

The strange girl offered Belle a warm smile, as she waited patiently for her to come out. In truth what shew as about to do could have dire consequences but, desperate times. The tenrec mostly was an unknown in Restoration being that she worked the Archives and didn't get much sunlight most days. But her robust knowledge has been a boon to her duties.

But this was more personal so she didn't even known if the strange bot would help her. But at least she seemed open to help her, and it was better then risking talking to Tails.

" Ah just a moment... "

She fished inside of her leather shoulder bag and produced the 3 small orbs. She placed the smooth metal into Belle's hands and looked off to one side nervously.

" I had a good friend, he was a bit of an inventor... he made these and left them in my care, and i haven't seen him in some time. So i thought i'd try to get them working again... they are sort of made as his assistants... i heard you were quite talented and i thought... maybe you could succeed where i failed "

Of course they were from 300 years in the future--- but she was fearful of revealing that information to anyone just yet. Still maybe this risk was worth it, with the bits help maybe she could find a way to find her silver... or if nothing else keep her company.

@universalzones

[atangledesire]

Butt stare surge to gold

She was HYPER aware of the Tenrec staring at her butt when she walked past! more so her thoughts about what she'd do to it! Sometimes it was hard to ignore thoughts but Surge's were exceptionally loud! it didn't help she thought she was pretty, and maybe enjoyed the fact she was looking.

Best not to speak on it--- she didn't want to disrupt the timeline at all.

[archivyrep]

Prosecutorial misconduct, case files, trials on trains, and "the truth" in Ace Attorney

Miles Edgeworth surrounded in the confidential files storage of the U.S. prosecutor’s office as he reads about the Avery Richman case While I noted in last week’s post that the 12th episode of Ace Attorney, a legal drama anime based on a video game series of the same name, included an evidence room, two episodes in the second season brings this to the fore even more directly. [1] In this post…

[audiovisualheritageday]

Audiovisual heritage links the past to the future.

Through images & sound, audiovisual heritage links the past to the future & helps us grow & understand the world around us.

[sparklepool101]

The best part about a show is the week in between episodes where everyone gets really invested in a certain theory for the next ep or a specific event that happened in the last ep

"binge-worthy show" man fuck that

i want my shows one episode followed by a whole ass week of going a little insane over it with the people on my phone, writing fics theorizing and going over every single scene through amazing gifs and meta, before the next ep drops and the cicle begins anew

[dogposts]

An archivist found a long forgotten 8mm film reel in an old metal box, marked "Philippines 1942". Thinking it was lost WWII footage, he sent it in to be restored/digitized. When he got the footage back, he found puppies instead

[colin-becher-death-countdown]

okay so I paused the podcast as soon as I heard Colin's voice and started writing down my thoughts

COLIN BECHER WILLINGLY MAKING A PHONE CALL?? AGHHHHH YES CMMMONN DIE DIE DIE!!!!

oh my god please that'd be so heartbreaking if he died rn with that final message, that would literally be a dream come true if that was how he died, like no mess, no statement, just a sorry to bother you, I'm not as important as whatever you're dealing with rn

Goodbye Alice from Colin and now a Goodbye Gwen from Lena, very circular I like it, one dead (presumed he's dead to me) one alive

Oh Gwen you've got a big storm coming

"Even if it was on the train. Which we can't be sure of" HMMMM IF ONLY THERE WAS A WAY YOU COULD FIND OUT THAT INFORMATION, IF ONLY THERE WAS A WOMAN DESPERATELY CALLING YOU TO RELAY THIS INFORMATION, IF ONLY

"WE WANT YOUR TEETH"!!!!!!

Celia channeling Joshua Gillespie and Sam channeling Jonathan Sims, and only one of those people got killed by a unicycle so not looking good for you Sam

The Dark namedrop

"I try not to see these days." Melanie King be like

That old woman was actually Agnes Montague chillin (I mean she would be in her 70's soooo)

The Custodian needs to join a union

that is not what I meant by joining a union

17 missed calls from Alice in unit 17 okay I hear you

IT'S THE LAW OF EQUIVALENT EXCHANGE!!

Hmm I wonder if Celia knows the apocalypse was reverted in the other world.

"SLICED MY WHO FROM ME" CELIA DID YOUR WHO GET TURNED BLOODY FROM YOUR WHAT TOO???

A Bouchard in charge ain't that just the way, balance truly is restored

Oh Sam and the Archivist are gone, perhaps they are in the Magnus Archives world now, the Archivist has a recorder to keep them on track, or maybe they will also Unionise

[in1-nutshell]

Hey, with Soundwave now having an opposite personality daughter, could you do Shockwave with an opposite personality daughter?

Already thinking of a name for her, it will be on the CANON NAME LIST as soon as I figure it out.

Hope you enjoy!

Shockwave with a daughter with the opposite personality

SFW, Platonic, Familial, Cybertronian reader

TFP

Shockwave met Buddy while he was still a senator.

Her parents were fellow senators who hosted a party that night.

The family unit was famously known through the Senate for having many sparklings under their care.

Shockwave felt sorry for most of them, it was clear most of them were going to be used as pawns in their parents’ plan to keep their influence in the government.

Buddy was one of the eldest younglings in the group and often ignored by her parents.

Shockwave had heard her voice more than once in the halls asking archivist and elders questions.

A curious little thing, sadly many didn’t have the patience to deal with.

Shockwave spots Buddy in one of the corners of the room. He walks up to her. She looks up in surprise. Buddy straightens her backstruts: “Senator Shockwave, sir!” Shockwave smiles: “At ease, Buddy.” Buddy looks at him shocked: “You know my designation?” Shockwave: “Of course I do. You’ve made quite a name for yourself with your questions around the Halls.” Buddy’s helm looks down a bit. Shockwave: “Its not bad to ask questions you know. It shows a bot wanting more knowledge, a smart one too.” Buddy shyly looks at him: “You think I’m smart?” Shockwave looks around: “How about we sneak into the Halls for a while? I believe I can answer some of your questions, if not we can always go into the records and look for it.” Buddy’s optics widen in surprise and excitement: “Really! I’d love—I mean—I’d greatly appreciate it Senator Shockwave, but what about my unit?” Shockwave: “Hmm… if anyone asks, you’re my assistant.” Buddy stifles a giggle and nods following the Senator out the door.

Buddy’s parents didn’t even notice one of their sparklings had left the party, they were too busy showing off their favorite sparkling to the crowd.

Meanwhile, Buddy was having a blast asking questions left and right.

Shockwave did his best in answering them all to the best of his abilities.

They did eventually return to the party just in time for the parents to start leaving.

Shockwave was happy to give this youngling a moment of happiness.

What surprised him was Buddy returning to his office the next day asking if she could hang out in his office with him.

The pair soon enough fell into a comfortable routine.

Everyday Buddy would arrive at Shockwave’s office, they would quietly work on whatever they had on hand, have refueling time together and have the rest of the day to do whatever they wanted.

Shockwave loved having this bright optic youngling around, definitely better than the corrupt senators.

Her parents never questioned where Buddy went off to.

Shockwave eventually introduced Buddy to Megatron and Soundwave.

Shockwave: “Buddy this is Megatron and Soundwave, these are some of the bots that want to help Orion and I restore balance in the Senate.” Buddy immediately shakes servos with both the mechs. Buddy: “Its nice to meet you! I’ve read all your works! They truly are inspiring Megatron! Have you ever thought of writing something else for—never mind that was rude of me, how was your day?” Megatron blinking trying to process this little ball of energy. Megatron: “I am doing quite well.” Soundwave nods in agreement. Buddy just smiles wider holding Shockwave’s servo. Megatron: “So this is your sparkling Shockwave?” Shockwave: “Oh, Buddy isn’t—” Buddy: “He’s not my—” Megatron and Soundwave share a look as the two try and explain their ‘not father/daughter relationship’.

Things were going great

Until Buddy didn’t come to his office one day.

She had never been late before, and it was worrying him.

Suddenly the door flew open and shut just as quickly as they closed.

Buddy was panting hard and heavily.

Shockwave was immediately on his pedes and ran towards her asking what was wrong.

Before she could respond, someone kicked in the door.

Shockwave immediately takes her in his arms and away from the mech.

The mech had blasters out and pointed at the pair.

There was no way the security was going to arrive.

When the blasters clicked, Shockwave shielded the youngling with his frame.

Only hoping that none of the blast hit her.

She screamed as the blast sounded.

But the blast never hit them.

The three shots were floating in front of them.

All three bots looked at them in disbelief.

The mech clicked his blaster again, this time Buddy stared at him hard, and the blasts suddenly went to him knocking him unconscious

When the guards arrived, Shockwave was holding a sobbing Buddy in his arms.

It was found out that Buddy was an Outlier with telekinesis.

It scared her badly.

Buddy sniffling in her seat pulling her pedes closer to her frame. Shockwave quietly sat by her side. Buddy fearfully scootched farther away from him. Buddy: “I don’t want to hurt you! Stay away!” Shockwave just offers her his servo. She hesitates but shakingly holds it. Slowly she gravitates to his side. He carefully pulls her into his lap, Buddy curls slightly on it. Buddy: “… Are you going to leave me too?” Shockwave looks at her surprised. Shockwave: “Why would you say that?” Buddy roughly wipes the incoming tears from her face. Buddy: “THEY left me as soon as I showed them… this.” Shockwave buries the anger in his chassis and gives Buddy a good squeeze. Shockwave: “Well… they just gave up an intelligent, energetic youngling with a special gift.” Buddy: “A gift?” Shockwave: “Yes Buddy, your powers are a gift. Imagine all the good you can do with a bit of practice.” Buddy stares at him for a bit. Buddy: “You’re… you’re really not going to leave me?” Shockwave gently rocks her back and forth. Shockwave: “I’d be a down right fool to leave my daughter because of who she was.” Buddy starts full on sobbing holding him tightly. The pair levitates a bit off the ground, but they are too busy hugging to notice.

Shockwave was the one who stood by her side and convinced that this was a gift and not a curse.

This would lead to Shockwave trying to create an academy for Outliers to learn who to control their powers.

Buddy and Shockwave only grew closer as he helped her control her powers and use them.

Life finally seemed to be turning around for the best.

…Until Shockwave was taken.

Buddy was frantic trying to find where he had gone.

Even going to Megatron and Soundwave for help to find the Senator.

She didn’t trust the guards or police.

When Shockwave was released from the empurata procedure, Buddy’s spark broke seeing him like this.

So emotionless and cold.

Shockwave didn’t understand why this youngling was crying over him, but he couldn’t find it to remove her off his frame.

Shockwave stood stiff as the youngling clung onto his frame. Buddy: “I-I-I’m so sorry! I’m so-so sorry!” Shockwave: “…That is illogical.” Buddy turned to look at his singular optic. Shockwave: “You have nothing to do with my frame. It is illogical to say you had a say in this.” Buddy stares at him and once again hugs him tightly. Buddy: “I’m never leaving you alone again. Never again��Dad…” Shockwave: “… Illogical.”

When Shockwave defected to the Decepticons Buddy was right by his side.

She vowed to never leave his side as long as she could help it.

Her powers only grew stronger.

From being able to redirect little blasts, to being able to throw back bots several miles back, to completely taking control of certain parts in a bot’s frame.

Shockwave constantly scheduled tests and experiments for her.

Somewhat… a bit more painful and caused some sickness at times, but she tried her best not to complain.

He had been there for her at her lowest, it was only right to sit with him through his.

Buddy soon earned a reputation amongst the Autobot and Decepticon ranks.

A strange ally for the Decepticons.

A terrifying monster for the Autobots.

The Autobots knew many unspoken things about the war.

One being to never interfere with Optimus and Megatron when they fought.

Another, if Shockwave was nearby, his little Monster was close by.

  Sadly, for her, she would get separated from Shockwave during the fall of Cybertron.

It had taken Megatron knocking her out to avoid the destruction of the Nemesis.

She mourned for her father for a while.

Soon enough, after Megatron’s disappearance, Buddy would become the Chief scientist on the Nemesis.

She didn’t display her powers too much, only using them whenever Soundwave brought her out to train.

The more time passed in this ‘stalemate’ the more Buddy let loose.

She started getting to know more about her fellow Vechicons.

They all grew to love the bot.

She was nice company and empathetic, something that was rare to see now a days.

Knockout and Breakdown walking into one of the hallways. They both stop. Knockout: “Er… what is going on?” Buddy was smiling using her powers to make some of the Vechicons fly around the halls. Breakdown: “Let’s not question it. No harms being done unlike last lab visit.” Knockout cringes a bit. Knockout: “It took me weeks to get that slime out of my vents.”

Knockout is almost always about to blow a fuse with Buddy.

Not because she is a bad kid, far from that.

It’s just ever since Buddy found some paint and a mop, she had been doodling or taking notes down on her frame.

It’s not uncommon to see Knockout dragging Buddy by a piece of her kibble to the medbay to clean her paintjob.

Breakdown makes sure that any important notes get replicated on a data pad before Knockout gets the hose.

Knockout: “What in Primus’s name possessed you to use that horrific color to do notes on your frame!” Buddy looking at the neon yellow paint. Buddy: “It looked nice.” Knockout about to have a stroke. Breakdown: “I have all the notes on the data pad.” Knockout: “Good.” The medic puts the giant hose on the Jet setting. Knockout: “Now hold still…”

Starscream sees Buddy as a threat no matter how well she treats him.

Already has several plans to eliminate Buddy, but there are two things stopping him right now.

Soundwave and Lazerbeak.

Lazerbeak was often seen hovering in areas Buddy would normally hang out.

Soundwave had taken up the role of being Buddy’s guardian in the absence of Shockwave.

He could never replace Shockwave, but Buddy was grateful to have him by her side.

Buddy is ready to bash some bots helm the second she finds out they are back.

[katakaluptastrophy]

Can we talk about Juno Zeta?

You're living the dream, Master Archivist of the Sixth House. The Archaeology department hates you. The secretaries love you. Your son has risen to the very top of the absolutely unproblematic meritocracy of the House to become Master Warden. Sure, you treated him as a colleague when he was 7 too, but this is much more intellectually satisfying and much better for your publication record (suck it, Archeo). You sit on the Oversight Body, making decisions for the 3 million strong House of the Sixth.

Then the Master Warden gets summoned by god to become a Lyctor. (No civilian has seen a Lyctor for thousands of years. But the information you do have speaks of astonishing power. Are you intrigued? Do you regard it as an even more stellar opportunity for the Master Warden? Do Lyctors have access to interesting material for the archives? Does the possibility of your son becoming an immortal finger and gesture of god ever feel strange?)

A few months later, some fragments come back in a box. There's nothing left of Camilla at all. No one will tell you anything. Every House but the Third and the Ninth has lost its head or heir (the poor girl your son loved is dead. You're never going to get another overly-formal letter from the Fifth begging for Lyctoral documents from your archive.)

Then the Master Warden makes contact from beyond the grave to tell you that the saintly founder of your House left a plan in place in case it ever became necessary to betray god. He tells you why god should be betrayed.

Suddenly, the Oversight Body has to make a decision. To take your home and 3 million people away from the Dominicus System (away from its thanergetic soil, no more necromancers will ever be born). To break the contract of tenderness made on the day of the Resurrection. Do you have time to call back your soldiers in the Cohort? Do you have to leave them behind? Has the Oversight Body ever felt unanimously about something before? And how frank can you be with the House? You have visiting scholars from almost every House, and who knows where the Bureau have eyes and ears.

There are calculations to make. How to transport a whole House? How do you work out that it takes five hundred and thirty-two obselisks? That there are deleterious effects past five hundred and sixty? How do you find a stele that would anchor such a big thanergy transition? (Only the Fifth make stele. Do you try to do it yourselves? Who do you trust on the Fifth to help with that? Is that why Kester Cinque left Koniortos?)

The Master Warden, who is dead, lives inside the body of Camilla, who is not. He picks you - in your capacity as Master Archivist - to be one of the negotiators. How do you integrate 3 million people into a completely alien society with whom your people have been at war for millennia? How does negotiating with terrorists feel compared to academic committees?

What happens then? One day you just...lose it? The sun rises too bright and too blue and you are in agony, unconnected from yourself, screaming and writhing. And when the thing in the sky is at its furthest orbit from you, in some exhausted moment of clarity, you nearly kill yourself using necromancy to restore your sanity. You blind yourself. Do you think beyond that moment? As someone who deals in documents and artefacts and forms in triplicate, do you mourn your sight alongside everything else you have lost? Your son, your home, your god, your sanity...

And now you are a hostage. Sixteen of you in the back of a sweltering truck, held at gunpoint, always moving. The only thing keeping you alive is the possibility of selling you back to the empire that you've betrayed. Your captors have signed a 'no torture' clause, and perhaps they do stick to that. You're needed for providing proof of life and are probably better off than most. But it's too hot, there's not enough water, you can't see, and the only way out is either that the Master Warden gives Blood of Eden a Lyctor or being released to the mercies of the Kindly Prince. You sit in the dark and do mental maths with each other to stay sane.

Somehow, the Master Warden has done it. Without a Lyctor, he's turned his own cell commander against her fellows and you have been released. Most of the Oversight Body can't even walk out of the truck without help. But you're free, and the Master Warden - now in the stolen body of a Lyctor's cavalier - has the sort of mad scheme only he could come up with. Those mental maths will come in handy. The cell commander isn't bad either...

You can't see your son die again (the last time he speaks to you, from that borrowed body, he calls you 'mum' instead of 'Master Archivist'). But you can smell Camilla’s flesh burn. Perhaps the Commander, holding your arm, describes it to you. You follow this new person, your child, now something else, back into the truck where you were held captive and watch as they drive it into the River.

The Tomb is open. Your child is part of a being of strange and unimaginable power. The House Formerly Known as Sixth is on the other side of the universe. You are on the Ninth with a dead cavalier in the body of her necromancer, the Emperor’s construct, legions of demons, and a very mysterious dog...

Anyway, I'm very excited to see what havoc Juno gets to cause in ATN. She's there to be snarky, do psychometry, and be a romanceable MILF. Let her yell at god. And for goodness sake, let her get some peace at the end.

[atangledfate]

“Tell me Gold, do you ever think you were meant to help the timeline like Silver?"

" No, we can't predict the effect a change will have on the future. Even just talking to someone could ripple through history and tear it apart... it's to risky. "

She fidgeted in place looking down at her ands nervously

" Besides, i'm not really the hero type... everything i touch turns to dust in the end. "

[valleyfthdolls]

Onyx's cringe ass horror recommendations for Halloween: so you like the idea of mascot horror, but most mascot "horror" makes you wanna kill yourself

I personally love the concept of mascot horror, at least in the idea of childish horror, combining childlike and nostalgic things with actual horror, etc. I don't love Garten of BanBan.

So here's some "mascot-esque" horror I think is a good sort of replacement, that utilizes the contrast of cute and childlike vs disturbing without just pretending to as an excuse to open a merch store.

1. Petscop (2017-2019 YouTube series) Basics: A man discovers an old Petscop disc in his mom's house and uploads a series of videos of him playing it to prove to a "friend" that it's real. Not outright scary, but cryptic and eerie. Content warnings: Child abuse and allusions to suicide

2. Shipwrecked 64 (2024 video game) Basics: A cursed "lost N64 game" created by a slighted developer with the intention of exposing the covered-up crimes of the company that commissioned it. One of the most outright scary on the list. Content warnings: Graphic violence, self-hate, self-harm (brought up by ralseibinary because I forgor)

3. Mr. Hopp's Playhouse (2019-2023 video game series) Basics: A girl's dying gift from her grandmother- a creepy toy rabbit named Mr. Hopp- turns out to be housing a demonic entity. Not very scary, but an entertaining game with an interesting story. Content warnings: Emotional abuse against children and implied violence (both in Mr. Hopp's Playhouse 2)

4. The Walten Files (2020-present YouTube series) Basics: A series chronicling the disturbing incidents and supernatural occurences around the now-defunct Bon's Burgers. My personal pick for the scariest on the list. Content warnings: Harm against/death of children, extreme/graphic violence

5. Harmony & Horror (2019-?? YouTube series) Basics: A mad toymaker traps his family inside a series of grotesque living dolls in a search for the perfect toy. A somewhat disturbing and scare-heavy series. Content warnings: Religious/satanic themes, graphic violence, domestic and child abuse

6. The Nursery (2024-present YouTube series) Basics: My own horror series. A girl returns to her hometown years after leaving to investigate the urban legend of "The Thing" and an unidentified Jane Doe. Not so much childlike, at least, not yet, but designed to be Petscop-esque, sort of nostalgic. Content warnings: Implied child abuse and abandonment, graphic violence, harm to and death of small children, religious themes, body dysmorphia

7. Welcome Home (2023 "ARG") Basics: A website detailing the restoration and preservation of the fictitious lost Sesame-Street style show Welcome Home. Not really an ARG. The opposite end of the spectrum from The Nursery, Welcome Home is less horror-based and more rooted in the nostalgic, childish aesthetic. Content warnings: None that I know of

8. Amanda the Adventurer (2023-present video game series) Basics: A Dora-the-Explorer-esque public-access TV series houses at least one demon and the trapped souls of children who have been lured in by the show. Content warnings: Religious/satanic/cult themes, implied harm to/death of small children

9. Choo-Choo Charles (2022 video game) Basics: A giant spider inhabiting a defunct train terrorizes a remote island, and an archivist and monster hunter is tasked with finding the spider's eggs. Different from most mascot horror and basically all horror on this list, but in a way that felt worth honoring with its inclusion. Content warnings: Religious/cult themes, animal death?

Feel free to add in in reblogs!

[archivyrep]

Vitality of public record, demons, museums, fiction, and preservation

Two panels from the series finale In last year’s series finale of Mage & Demon Queen, a fantasy comedy yuri webtoon by Filipino artist Color-Les, set 25 years in the future (from when the original story takes place) the reporter Toby Verniloy, who works for The Gunhilde Daily, is impressed by a museum which traces history back to the first demon lord. It includes a statue of Malori “Mal” Crowett…

[audiovisualheritageday]

Exhibit on vintage audio playback devices.

Basement Tapes Day provides the public with access to vintage audio playback devices so they can listen to the home recordings on open-reel tapes, cassettes, and microcassettes that have been sitting in their attics or basements for years. The annual event is staffed by volunteers from Los Angeles’ audio preservation community — archivists, engineers, collectors, restoration experts, conservators, and graduate students from UCLA’s Media Archival Studies program.

Attendees can hear and publicly share their tapes, while learning about the history of recorded sound, common deterioration issues with magnetic audio formats, and how to best store and care for their collections. If you would like to have your tapes digitized before the event, please email basementtapesday@gmail.com by October 16, 2023. Otherwise, bring your tapes to the LA Archives Bazaar from 1-3pm to have them inspected and played back at the event.

Basement Tapes Day (affiliated to ARSC)  28 October 2023 Doheny Memorial Library, USC University Park Campus. Los Angeles, United States

[earthstellar]

Warlord Ratchet: A Fascinating Concept 

“And to think, the Doctor of Doom’s mad quest for power continues...! His marauders pursued us to this planet’s orbit.” 

What gets me about Megatron telling Orion Pax that the current dilapidated condition of Cybertron was brought about by the Warlord Ratchet, Doctor of Doom (aside from the concept in and of itself) is that he also states that Ratchet has a legion of marauders who carry out his bidding 

and because marauders are raiders, and Megatron states they were “pursued by marauders” to Earth, the implication is that Ratchet is not on Earth himself--

-- which is smart on Megatron’s behalf, because this would deter Orion from potentially attempting to leave in order to confront Ratchet and instils a concern that perhaps marauders may appear at any time (at this point, Orion Pax does not yet realise that he is armed and is operating under the belief that he is still an Archivist and therefore not Warrior Class) 

but also, this gives us the incredible mental image of Ratchet milling around in some kind of rusted fortress made from the remains of several different Cybertronian buildings, quite possibly the remnants of Iacon -- maybe even the central hospital there, converted into a hive of terror 

still living on an otherwise uninhabited planet, with a loyal band of raiding troops who scavenge the remains of their world and possibly other planets as well (as we know these marauders supposedly have space capable vessels), quite possibly doing so in order to source spare parts and other various salvage -- Ratchet is a medic, who knows how he’s been having to piece together his army, repairing them from the remains of random citizens? 

and he supposedly, presumably either from his makeshift base in the shadows of Cybertron or from a war ship of some kind, commanded an army of raiders to chase Megatron and his followers as far away as Earth 

“I cannot imagine Ratchet capable of such horrors!” 

I can only guess at what Orion Pax was thinking in this moment, aside from his immediately stated disbelief: What drove Ratchet to such lengths? What happened to turn his compassionate, caring friend into a warlord capable of carrying out inconceivable destruction? How could such a thing occur, especially at the hands of a respected medic, someone he thought he knew so well? 

Would Orion Pax start to blame himself, for what was clearly the brutal decline of one of his greatest friends? I can imagine him starting to wonder if there was anything he could do, any signs of discontent, any indication that Ratchet was headed down a violent, dark path. 

And I’m sure he would be concerned about Ratchet himself, as well. How is Ratchet faring, nearly entirely alone on their planet save for his loyal bandits, as aged and worn as he ever has been, possibly accepting a lonely inevitable death on an already dead world? 

Or does Warlord Ratchet have yet more plans in store, his instruments of destruction poised to afflict themselves upon other worlds as well? 

The Doctor of Doom: How Could This Happen? 

It’s somewhat easy to dismiss the idea of Ratchet being this “Doctor of Doom”, because it so wildly opposes what we know of the character and what we know actually occurred with the war. 

But when you think about it for a little bit, an unhinged Ratchet would very much be a formidable opponent, especially with his social position in pre-war Cybertron giving him more immediate access to higher class/caste areas than many others would have been able to reach... 

...Perhaps this Warlord Ratchet was able to work his way into the Council’s good graces, possibly after attending to one of them after an injury and restoring them to health, gradually manipulating the Senate from the inside in order to secure more power, resources, allies, and ultimately the whole of Cybertron for himself-- Leading to a violent conflict which resulted in the destruction of their world? 

With his medical knowledge, even if he started out with a fairly small number of followers and whatever troops he could finesse away from the Council, he may very well have “built” some himself-- We do see in TFP that protoforms may be possible to manipulate into certain frame types, or some types of “cloning” may be possible. 

Any version of Ratchet without morals (or at the very least without any medical ethics) is a very dangerous Ratchet. 

Repairing the injured via patching them together with the remains of fallen comrades, creating a “zombie” army. Ghoulish, lumbering soldiers, marauders held together with armour designed for other frame types. Instructing his former colleagues (who would likely have at least started out with some inclination to follow him) to carry out “repairs” in such a way. 

Warlord Ratchet himself may have chosen to ingest dark energon much like Megatron actually did, perhaps out of a desire to create a new fuel source once Cybertron began to go dark and natural fuel sources began to dwindle. We already know that our actual Ratchet wasn’t afraid to test synthetic energon on himself, with similar motivations. 

His base of operations would quite possibly be Iacon’s medical centre, turned into a horrific hive-like structure, some wards actively still in use for repairs (at least for his own followers) and other areas dedicated to terrifying research, with supply basements full of experimental tech and defensive weaponry. 

Ratchet’s more support class (as opposed to warrior class) approach to things may well carry over to Warlord Ratchet’s approach to war-- An emphasis on intelligence ops, R&D, indirect and direct manipulation, initial political manoeuvring from within the existing system, and defensive systems to counter any munitions etc. that may come his way from opposing forces. 

His initial goals may well have genuinely been intended to improve Cybertron, to help people. Much like Megatron, back when he was Megatronus and wanted a more egalitarian, fair society. 

After working on lower class/caste bots who were nearly offlined from a lack of maintenance, poor to no access to healthcare prior to being dragged to him, etc. it may have been the catalyst for his decision to start using his upper class social contacts in an effort to change things from the inside out. 

Unfortunately, in this universe in which Warlord Ratchet rose to power, things may have derailed just as severely as they did with Megatronus and his initially well-intentioned efforts. 

The longer you think about it, the more plausible it could be. 

It would be easy for Megatron to build further upon this idea to manipulate Orion Pax, that Ratchet truly could have done this. 

I’m sure Orion Pax did not recharge well, his first night on the Nemesis. 

Where did things go wrong? What happened to his friend? How could he do this to their world, a world that Ratchet loved so much? 

--

IDK I just think “Warlord Ratchet” is an incredible idea, and I would have been totally fine if they did a whole season of TFP with the Orion Pax concept lmao 

also holy shit Ratchet in a built up fortress of a former hospital with a band of marauders under his command is such a powerful mental image 

[Screenshot: TFP Episode - Orion Pax, Part One] 

[historia-vitae-magistras]

So, last anyone heard from me I was an half time archival processing tech with a shit hole apartment, 40 bucks in my bank account, no red blood cells and organ damage. Now I am a full time fully tenured research archivist with a restored 1919 art deco flat, an emergency fund, an abundance of red blood cells and significantly less organ damage. Cheers.

It's been a RIDE.

[lets-try-some-writing]

Dumb Ways to Die Snippet

I've been working on this in my free time when no other Au or fic feels like functioning. It is goofy and will turn serious later. For now though, enjoy a tired Reaper Ratchet as he is forced to deal with one very clumsy Orion Pax.

━━━━━━ ⊙ ❖ ⊙ ━━━━━━━━━━━━

“Reaper.” The Primes sat upon their lofty thrones, their gazes chilly and without emotion. Ratchet knelt before them, his helm bowed respectfully. He abhorred having to lower himself, but there was no denying the superiority of the creatures that watched him with optics so alien that it was hard to believe they were once living beings at all.

“Primus’s chosen has been forged in the living realm. He cannot be allowed to perish until his duty is complete.” Ratchet sighed as the unspoken order registered. This was one of his duties, regardless of whether or not he liked it. As a Reaper, he was not only to collect the dead and guide them home, but he was also obliged to watch over specific sparks that had divine plans that involved them.

He hadn’t actually had to deal with such a thing before. A few other Reapers had been assigned to mecha of importance, but Ratchet was new. He had only joined the ranks of the Reapers shortly after the Quintessons were driven from Cybertron’s surface. A bitter part of his mind reminded him that the reason he was probably receiving this assignment was because of his ranking amongst the Reapers. The pricks higher up on the chain had most likely seen fit to throw the work on him so they didn’t have to bother watching out for a fragile mortal for millennia on end.

Those slaggers. 

“You will watch over him and ensure his continued functioning until you are recalled.” One Prime spoke. Ratchet didn’t dare look up to see who. It was not his place.

“You are permitted to restore him regardless of his injuries so long as there is a rational reason that the order may use to make the repairs real.” Another’s voice rang out, powerful and commanding. If Ratchet were still living, he was sure his plating would be flaring in instinctual fear. At that moment, he was more than thankful for his lack of physical frame as he nodded in understanding.

“Watch over him, Reaper. He is a kind spark.” A firm but definitely feminine voice echoed. He knew her voice. She was the one who chose new Reapers to add to the order. She was the one who stood beside his dying frame and soothed him, promising him a chance to continue living in another form.

“I trust that you out of all our Reapers will tend to him faithfully.” He risked looking up so that he could see Solus Prime smile. Viewing the trust in her expression had all the anger in his spark dissipating like smoke. If it was her order that had him in his new station, then he could accept it. Surely the one she had chosen him to watch over couldn’t be too difficult to keep alive, right?

━━━━━━

“This is the third time this stellar cycle, mortal.” Ratchet wanted to bang his helm against a wall as he greeted his target yet again. Orion Pax was, once more, dying of a shattered spine after falling down the stairs in the Archives. 

“I apologize, Reaper. I promise I did in fact watch where my pedes were going this time. But unfortunately-” 

“You lost hold of your datapad and scrambled to grab it, leading to your tumble of doom.” Ratchet finished for him. Orion shuffled in the void, his expression the embodiment of embarrassment. This was not the first time they met, nor would it be the last at this rate.

Ratchet hadn’t been assigned to the Archivist for a full vorn yet, and Orion had somehow managed to die in over twenty ways in less than twelve deca-cycles. It was honestly quite spectacular. How he managed to last so long prior to Ratchet’s arrival was a complete and total mystery to him at this point.

“Forgive me. I shall do my best to improve and pay closer attention to my surroundings.” Orion bowed his helm slightly, his wispy form shifting as Ratchet rubbed the soft metal beneath his optics and prepared to do what he always did. 

“I’ve heard that enough times already. Don’t bother making a promise you can’t keep.” Sighing, Ratchet stepped forward and grasped at Orion’s spark. His ghostly form disappeared in an instant, and Ratchet exercised what control he had to build himself an avatar. It was as easy as venting for him, in large part due to the frequency of which he was forced to revive his target, but also due to his relative youth amongst the Reapers. He remembered what it was like to live, and that made entering the living realm easier.

“Slag, you really messed yourself up.” Looking down, Ratchet almost wanted to gag. He had been a medic prior to his death. He’d seen more than enough corpses to be largely unphased. And yet somehow, Orion Pax always managed to kill himself in both the most ridiculous and unsettling ways possible.

“Let’s get this over with.” Wishing he could be anywhere else, Ratchet knelt before the shattered corpse of Orion Pax and slowly eased the Archivist’s spark back into his frame. Mangled limbs straightened with painful sounding cracks, shattered spinal struts clicked into place while popping like bubble wrap. Before long, the Archivist gasped and coughed as his systems came back online. He lived again.