#SKYWARP'S WARPING ABILITY LOOKS SO GOOD

[tftomfoolery]

This fight scene from TF Earthspark lives rent free in my mind

[dacialogansuperfan]

megawarp fic under the cut

rated m

also edited and posted on ao3!

it’s hard to tell, but he thinks megatron might be obsessed with his wings. his thinking face is identical to his glaring face, which is also pretty much his default expression.

but he keeps staring. at skywarp, sometimes, but mostly just at his wings. his optics snag on every movement and linger, over the insignia in their center, the tiny twitches they make under his continued gaze. 

and okay, it could just be that skywarp’s wings are particularly expressive, especially around megatron, but he’s never seen him stare so hard at anyone else. he spends practically every waking moment with starscream, but his optics never stray too far from his face, and even then it’s only to dart down and check his servos for any active weaponry or experimental poisons. 

none of the other fliers have said anything, so at the very least skywarp is the only one who’s noticed. except maybe soundwave, who’s taken up staring at skywarp’s wings during mission briefings as well, possibly trying to figure out what all the fuss is about. 

skywarp is fairly sure megatron doesn’t speak wing, but soundwave on the other hand… 

information is his thing, but so is discretion, and skywarp hopes that if soundwave does know what all their fluttering in the war room actually means, he hasn’t told megatron about it. because it’s embarrassing, mostly, but also because he doesn’t want it to affect his assignments. he doesn’t want to be pulled from active duty, from the small pool of mechs megatron trusts to carry out the more sensitive operations, because of a stupid crush. despite what everyone thinks, he’s good at his job, and he wants to keep doing it. wants to keep helping the cause - and megatron - in any way he can. 

still, he can’t stop the tremors that run through his wings when megatron looks at him - at them - like that. 

his whole, formidable attention on skywarp’s wings, optics like the hottest part of a flame, at the very center, on every minute change.

once, he’d even lost his train of thought, trailing off in his explanation of their latest raid as skywarp’s wings flared out, puffing up under his undivided attention. 

the longer he stared, the more restless they became. fluttering, for primus’ sake, arching up and away from him before spreading out, the ailerons twitching out, then pulling back towards the body of the wing in a lascivious wink. 

megatron has no way of knowing that, of course, but his optics track the movement either way, the soft derma of his lips worried between sharp denta. 

it’s a tense, charged minute before he speaks again, optics finally leaving skywarp’s wings to study the map before them. his distraction is noticeable, but nobody comments on it. megatron’s optics remain fixed on the blueprints in front of him for the rest of the meeting. 

skywarp tries not to feel disappointed. 

the best thing about skywarp’s outlier ability is, arguably, being able to just disappear from places and situations he’d rather not be in. thundercracker has to physically walk out of the hab if he wants to escape starscream’s latest attempt at bullying one or both members of his trine into acting as test subjects for his newest experiment, but all his attempts so far have been met with starscream ruthlessly grabbing a wing and yanking him back into the room. 

with a mock salute in thundercracker’s direction, skywarp warps himself to the safest location he can think of - all the way across the ship.

- and promptly collides with something large and solid enough to be a wall, if walls could grunt.  there’s warm metal at his back, the gentle vibrations of an idle engine sending little tremors through the surface of his wings. oil and gunpowder in the air, a scent that sends his tank tumbling down into his pedes. 

megatron. he’s just crashed into megatron. the hands carefully settled on either side of his waist to steady him belong to his supreme commander, and if skywarp could travel through time as well as space and just take starscream’s stupid, untested concoction, ushering him peacefully into the allspark, that would be great. 

processor currently and entirely occupied panicking, it takes him a while to realize megatron still hasn’t let go. well, a while by his standards, anyway - the processing power required to shift his entire mass instantaneously through space is considerable, and despite certain trine-leader’s frequent - and unfounded - complaints, skywarp is usually quite quick on the uptake. too quick, sometimes. it isn’t his reaction time that’s the problem, it’s the thinking things through part, which usually happens sometime after The Consequences. 

like accidentally warping straight into your commander’s arms, because you forgot to check whether or not the hallway you intended to escape to was currently occupied. 

still, it can’t be more than a few earth seconds before skywarp comes back to himself enough to realize he should probably move. seconds where megatron’s hands remain pressed to his plating, holding him up with barely more effort than it would take skywarp to pick up a cube of energon. one of the small ones, even, the kind for personal consumption rather than the outsized ones they use for mining resources. he’s seen megatron sling those around like they weighed nothing, too, which is a thought he should really stop having while he can still feel those powerful arms bracketing his frame, the soft brush of air from megatron’s ex-vents against his wings. 

“uh, boss?” stupid, skywarp. if there was a ranking for terrible times to address your commanding officer informally, mid-accidental bear hug would definitely make the top five, possibly even top three. before he can correct his mistake, though, megatron answers in the form of a noncommittal hum. skywarp can feel it vibrate all the way down his back strut. 

“are you alright?” his usual gruff, curt tone softened to a murmur, megatron sounds distracted. which is better than furious, but with the threat of retaliation for his mistake gone, skywarp wishes suddenly he could see his face. 

he starts to step away, out of the loose circle of megatron’s arms to face him, saying “yeah, um, totally fine! all good here, sorry about…” he trails off when megatron’s hands tighten around his waist. not painfully, just enough to keep him in place. still with his back to megatron, wings pressed close against a broad chest. 

he hasn’t really been paying attention to what they’re doing, too busy being mortified and terrified and then just… confused, but he’s horrified all over again to find that the damn things won’t stay still. skywarp’s processor might have decided it was time to pull away, but his traitorous wings have decided to protest that idea, loudly, by jolting suddenly and forcefully outward. megatron has to pull skywarp closer to himself, trapping them against his chest to avoid getting cold-cocked in the optic. 

skywarp starts to apologize, but the words die in his throat when he feels a hand leave his waist and carefully, touch so light as to be almost nonexistent, trace the bottom edge of a wing. it goes ridged under his hand, along with the rest of skywarp’s frame as his vents stutter to a stop. 

fingers find seams and trace them, softly, the rough calluses on megatron’s digits leaving tiny sparks in their wake. skywarp’s held vents come out in a small, hiccuping sigh, and slowly, scared of shattering whatever fragile moment he’s literally fallen into, leans a little more of his weight onto megatron. 

for a brief, spark stopping moment megatron stills, palm flat on the surface of skywarp’s wing, the fingers of his other hand curling reflexively on skywarp’s waist. then he shifts, wraps the arm supporting him more securely around skywarp’s middle, fingers just brushing the edge of his cockpit. like this, crushed to megatron’s chest and trapped under the weight of his arm, he can feel the way megatron’s fans have kicked up, not yet audible but running fast enough to shake his frame lightly. 

not really sure what to do with his hands, or just what to do in general - he’s so far outside predictable events his decision matrices are just throwing up errors, and one lone suggestion to warp both himself and megatron somewhere private (and more horizontal) that he ruthlessly dismisses before he has time to think about it, and give his frame the chance to embarrass him farther - skywarp brings one up to rest against megatron’s forearm guard. the metal is hot under his palm, and he follows it’s slope down to megatron’s scarred knuckles without thinking about it. 

this seems to be the signal megatron was waiting for, because his other hand starts moving over his wing again. it follows the edge, fingers catching on bolts and swirling around them in a way that is definitely, and highly suggestive, ruining all of skywarp’s attempts at dismissing increasingly urgent demands from his hud to online his cooling fans. the sound of them spinning furiously is amplified by the nemesis’ curved hull, but with his helm so close to skywarp’s audial, he doesn’t miss the small, pleased noise megatron makes when they click on. or the tightening of his arm around skywarp’s waist, pulling him impossibly closer to megatron’s front. 

he really, really shouldn’t say anything. the careful exploration of his wing feels good, really good, and in his millennia of experience skywarp saying something is usually the precursor to things going horribly, catastrophically wrong.

of course, knowing that hasn’t actually stopped him in the past. 

“so, is this like, a wing thing?” this time, when megatron pauses, skywarp is there to thread his fingers through the larger ones cupping his cockpit, gentle encouragement to continue and also possibly ignore everything he just said, because it was stupid. 

but, after a few seconds mulling it over, all the while his fingers are doing absolutely devious things to the hinges nestled in the center of skywarp’s back, megatron answers. “is that…” skywarp is more than a little gratified to hear the huskiness in his voice, gravel over a road that was already hewn from stone. gratified, and a lot turned on, “what you think this is?” 

it takes him a second to answer through the shaking, tremors rocking his frame back, into the long strokes megatron is making over the tops of his wings, thumb tucked into the front and applying just the right amount of pressure, and forward, into the hand teasing over his pelvic plating. 

“um, kinda?” a breathless laugh tumbles out of his mouth, along with a rush of words he’s far to distracted to stop. “you’re not exactly proving me wrong here, boss, but…” thankfully, megatron stops him before he can say something really stupid, catching a particularly sensitive spot on the underside of his wing. unfortunately, he stops talking to gasp, and then moan when megatron doesn’t let up on that spot, which is arguably worse. 

“but?” megatron asks, and then he does stop, when skywarp doesn’t answer. which almost prompts the most humiliating noise of skywarp’s life by far to leave his vocalizer. he only just manages to turn it off in time, which has the added bonus of giving him time to think about how he’s going to un-dig the hole he’s made for himself. 

by the time his vocalizer clicks back on, he’s decided on frag it, might as well go all in. if it backfires, he can blame half his processor being so far down his interface protocols it’s become functionally useless.

“but, i was thinking…” he’s become so accustomed to it, he’s actually surprised when this isn’t immediately met with a derisive snort, “it’s not just a wing thing?” it comes out like a question, which it is. 

skywarp takes a cautious step forward, out of megatron’s arms because he thinks he should probably see his face for this. seeing how it’s become, disgustingly, a feelings thing now. maybe. skywarp, at least, is starting to have an uncomfortable amount of them. 

this time, megatron lets him go, but his hands are back on skywarp’s hips the moment he turns around fully. it’s reassuring, as is the look on megatron’s face. softer than he’s used to seeing, optics over-bright with charge. it’s a good look on him, and skywarp is overcome with the desire to kiss him. 

it would have been a ridiculous idea, before, but the only reason skywarp doesn’t, before he loses his chance, is because he’s fairly certain he won’t. 

“it’s a me thing, too?” he still sounds hesitant, unsure, but megatron nods, optics darting to skywarp’s lips like he’s having the same thoughts. 

skywarp grins, relived the talking part is over. although megatron didn’t technically talk, and he looks almost surprised, optics cycling wide when skywarp leans up to actually, finally kiss him. the supreme leader of the decepticons is surprisingly cute when he’s confused, but skywarp recognizes the slack shoulders of relief before he’s lifted the rest of the way up to the press of megatron's lips. 

seconds, minutes, or hours later, skywarp has to warp them both out of the hallway before the entire constructicon gestalt finds them with their panels half open, doing things with their mouths that are far superior to talking. 

[logos-primes-pr-guy]

Earthspark Skywarp is Rekindling my Appreciation for TF Fight Scenes

Yes I'm rewatching Earthspark for the 994035th time. You can't comprehend how much I love this show, but especially the sheer creativity going into the animation, and especially Skywarp's teleporting. I'm just so glad they not only remembered to bring that back, but actually added to it. The 2D effects are gorgeous, and the way she interacts in partnership with Nova Storm is just plain awesome, and it's actually exciting to look at!

I often struggle with fight scenes due to my visual processing difficulties, so my brain tends to just phase-out excessive explosions and gunfire that most TF media opts for. But I can actually watch Earthspark, and enjoy it! The TFs use their powers and bits of their kibble and actually do interesting and fun things, they fight like how Cybertronians should fight, conveying their power, their difference, their alien nature. Everyone praises the Seekers vs Megatron + Optimus fight, but it's because it's so fresh. Earthspark promised it would bring us something new, and it really has. I don't think any other show has done such a good job of showcasing exactly why humans fear Cybertronians as well as that one shot of Skywarp clashing with OP as Dot desperately tries to get her family to safety. They're giants, with technology far beyond human understanding, almost mythic. Most of the humans there have military training, including Dot, but they all just scatter as soon as the Seekers touch down. There is absolutely nothing they can do against these monsters.

We don't get to see if Nova Storm has her outlier ability (or whichever term they might use in Earthspark), but I hope she does, and I hope we'll see the other Rainmakers (and the other Seekers!) She does notably take some significant knocks, including Megatron's fusion cannon piledriving move, and yet only Skywarp comes away with the slashed wing, so I have high hopes. They were a good pair to choose for this fight, because their abilities are formidable, but not so much that they couldn't be easily defeated by OP and Megs. It *feels* like a dramatic, high-stakes fight, because we see how afraid and vulnerable the humans are. Skywarp's flashy power gives us a glimpse at the more frightening aspect of Cybertronain nature - their unpredictability. Some of them can just do things even other Cybertronians can't replicate, let alone protect against. Optimus denies that the humans fear them, but how can they not, when even the Autobots can't explain or replicate every aspect of their species' technology? It would be easier if they could just be seen as machines, but outlier abilities are nearly supernatural, they show the Transformers to be so much more than that, and therefore, not trustworthy, not reliable, not easily defined or categorised in terms of threat level and hazard assessment.

And the fact is - Skywarp isn't even the worst of the Seekers, let alone Cybertronians overall. She looks like a top-tier threat, able to warp in close to Optimus and hack at him before he can stop her, to jump around faster than he can fire a blaster, making twists and air manoeuvres no human made jet would ever manage, but he so easily knocks her aside, he's more surprised she and Nova Storm are even trying to attack in the first place. Imagine how much devastation someone like Sunstorm could have wrought? The humans would have likely been killed immediately by one of their radiation bursts. Or, if Skullcruncher is here, imagine the horror of Mindwipe's ability? Overlord?

GHOST are established as throwing around their power over Megatron and the Autobots, but the moment a couple of beaten-down Seekers show up, who don't even have the benefit of working with their original trinemates, they're totally out of their depth, relying on Prime and Megatron to fight. The mystery deepens as to just how they're managing to hold any kind of sway over Megatron at all, and what happened to Skywarp and Nova's trines. We know Starscream is captured, but what of the others?

And why are the Decepticons in such bad shape in the first place?

I need the rest of Season 1 beamed into my brain now. I love Skywarp and Nova Storm's friendship so much, they're such an unlikely duo for mixing up trines, and yet it works so well.

I'm for sure gonna make more posts with some specific analysis of mythology and folklore in Earthspark and also Nova Storm and Skywarp's relationship because I have a LOT of thoughts but for now, watch Earthspark. Please, if you haven't already, support the show. It's so good, the writing is fun, it's visually stunning, please watch it.

[skywarpmyblorbo]

I have watched all the available episodes of Earthspark and it's sooooo good. This show is so clearly about family and friends, and seeing the Malto family expand it makes my heart all fluttery.

As a Skywarp simp, I think she's perfect. I love that they show her warping abilities, and it's so cool to look at!!! I'd die for her. I've watched the last 2 eps so many times on repeat now. I'd write so many Skywarp and Nova Storm fics if I could. I need more of them!!! I need more of her!!!

P.S: I'm looking for more Megatron/Soundwave divorce arc. Please gimme more please.

[grayseekerswritinglife]

Warp and TC Relationship Journaling

(Illustration by @whirlandco)

ThunderWarp Week is coming up, and frankly, I've been a bit stumped. I love this pairing to bits, but have been struggling to get a feel for their dynamic. I devoted this morning to doing some journaling on their relationship, and thought I'd share what I've come up with so far, just in case anyone else is in the same boat. To start with, I came up with a set of journal prompts. I haven't used all of them (yet), but here they are:

What do I know about each of them? (Canon, fanon or headcanon; all are fair game)

In what ways to they: Need each other? Complete each other? Balance each other?

What fears or insecurities does each of them have: Internally? About the other/the relationship?

How do they make each other feel: Safe? Happy? Loved?

What are their respective love-languages? (Love languages: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Acts of Service, Gifts, Touch)

What was the initial spark of attraction?

What has made their relationship so enduring?

I started with the basics: What do I know about each?

Skywarp is playful. He pulls pranks on people. In my personal headcanon, Starscream took away his slingshot (which would fit with the 'toys' prompt). He is loyal. He believes in the Decepticon cause, and looks up to Megatron. He likes to eat (headcanon), and his favorite snack is gold - which is not necessarily a healthy snack, at least in large amounts. He can appear irresponsible at times. (Maybe more than just appear.) A lot of people say he isn't that smart (fanon, I think?), but I think he has a high emotional intelligence quotient (EQ) and is good at relationships (headcanon). Nevertheless, he and Rumble seem to despise each other (canon), though the reasons for this are never explained. Guardian Robots give him "the creeps," and he has the ability to teleport.

Thundercracker is serious. He's also short-tempered (canon) and can be vindictive (toward Starscream, at the very least). On a personal level, though, he's quiet and thoughtful. He writes (canon) and would like to be a screenwriter when the war is over (headcanon). He and Skywarp both like movies, but have differing tastes (headcanon): Skywarp likes action flicks with a lot of explosions, while TC likes romantic movies, aka "chick flicks." TC is not sold on the Decepticon cause. Perhaps he was at one time (speculation), but has seen the Decepticons stray from their original purpose and the war devolve into a personal feud between Optimus and Megatron. He thinks Earth is too flat (canon), and has the ability to make sonic booms.

The next question that seemed important is: What fears and insecurities does each have?

Skywarp might be insecure about his intelligence. Then again, he might not be! (It is just fanon, after all.) It takes planning, creativity and deviousness to pull off elaborate pranks, so if anything, I prefer to think that Skywarp downplays his intelligence because it allows people to underestimate him. But Thundercracker, on the other hand, might get angry when people call Skywarp 'stupid,' or talk down to him as if they think he is (hello, Starscream!)

Thundercracker feels uncomfortable on Earth because it's so 'flat.' I can't help thinking this comment speaks to an insecurity or fear about feeling exposed. It could be innate, since it's easy to imagine that Seekers prefer to be up high, or to have deep canyons they can dive into, but TC's remark might also be rooted in a negative or traumatic experience from the past. Something to think about. Same thing goes for Skywarp's fear about Guardian Robots. They're inherently terrifying, yes, but he might also have had a bad experience.

If Skywarp likes to eat (headcanon), that might be a self-soothing behavior that helps him deal with the anxiety of being on Earth. Perhaps he's been overdoing it lately, since the Decepticons are under a lot of pressure. They are, after all, losing every single battle no matter how well-prepared they are, or how poorly prepared their opposition is, and this is bound to have a demoralizing effect on the entire crew. If Skywarp is sensitive to emotional dynamics (also headcanon), his pranking behaviors might also be a coping behavior that enables him to distract himself and others from their increasingly grim situation. Since he's a Megatron fanboy (canon), he might also be doubling down on his Faith in the Cause, and feeling extra-sensitive about any criticism of Megatron's leadership (speculation).

So those are some thoughts about them as individuals, but how do Warp and TC balance, care for and complete each other?

What stands out for me is that they are very, very different personalities; a classic odd couple. It would be interesting to explore how they navigate those differences, since they probably need to do so on an ongoing basis.

Their views about the war are one obvious area of difference, and probably the most important one. If TC's doubts have been building over time, and Skywarp's views have *not* changed, they might be arguing about this more than they were in the past. (I'm thinking G1 Earth era, of course.) Perhaps Skywarp fears, deep down, that Thundercracker will abandon the cause and that Skywarp will be forced to choose. Maybe he has legitimate fears about an Autobot-controlled future, especially with the Decepticons losing every single battle lately, and despite his outward protestations, he might be having his own personal crisis of faith about Megatron's leadership.

On a more light-hearted note, their differing taste in movies (headcanon) might be something they playfully argue about. Relationship moments might include the way they help each other feel safe and secure in an inherently unsafe, insecure environment. They both need an anchor, and even disagreements between them might serve to provide that.

And that's as far as I got today! I hope my thoughts are helpful, or at least interesting. I have a better feel for them after doing this exercise. I have farther to go (note unanswered prompts at the top of the post), but this feels like a solid starting point. What do you think? I'd love to hear.

[thanksjro]

Polyhex Wars, Book 2 Part 1: Optimus? Oh, You Mean Super Space Christ!

We thankfully get a resolution to that cliffhanger ending from Book 1 right off the bat. Turns out this place is just swarming with Decepticons, who are tending to those nuclear-powered, planet-moving rocket thrusters we heard about back before Red Alert and his team got sent out to almost die.

There’s less than thirty Autobots in Hound’s party, so obviously waging an attack wouldn’t go so hot. They’ll have to get in touch with Optimus. Of course, some of our Autobot friends aren’t feeling terribly reasonable at present.

This is the kind of behavior that makes Optimus wish everyone would just get killed in the space-holocaust. Also, Getaway’s whole role for this story has been “quietly polite and somewhat dull voice of reason.” Such a removal from the character he would end up being.

And before anyone caught in the problematic fave thirst-trap asks, no, he’s not hot in the Marvel comics. He has a face, and as everyone knows, giving characters not intended to have faces faces makes everything worse.

First Aid still can’t seem to pick a spot to exist in, and he’s currently helping the other ‘bots who reentered the stratosphere back to their feet.

The boys have landed in the Rust Pools of Polyhex, and are starting to feel the day, as it were. Still, there’s no time to rest, because they’ve got to find Hound and his crew, and contact Optimus about these rocket thrusters.

The thrusters that he already knows about.

But first let’s check on that flaming wreck off in the distance, the one that Starscream ought to be laying in the middle of.

They take one glance at it, write him off as dead, and then immediately are punished for their sloppy detective work. Leave it to Nightbeat, fellas.

The scene description here is good, even if the dialogue is a bizarre mix between baby’s first screamo band and a synergy seminar.

Back with Optimus, the ship he created with his mind and some fairy dust just entered warp space. He briefs his troops, explaining the situation in Polyhex and how shit will most likely go down once they hit Cybertron.

You can admit to using TFWiki, Optimus. No judgement here, we all do it.

After the briefing, Ratchet and Optimus have a private chat.

No fucking shit, duderoni.

Neither of them seem to be able to figure out just why this is all happening to Optimus, only that it is. Optimus seems to think that there’s something deeper, darker to this, and I can’t help but agree, considering all this started happening right aft he got back from an extended stay in a place with shag carpeting made out of the dead.

Back over with Hound, the Decepticons have decided it’s time to shoot the ceiling, because they know the Autobots are here. A frag grenade pops in to play, and Punch takes one for the team, throwing himself over the bomb and saving his friends. Hound doesn’t take this well, but his righteous indignation is upstaged by Ammo, who uses his obscenely large selection of weaponry to blast a hole in the ceiling for them to escape through.

They pour through the hole, likely singing Ammo’s praises as they do, until the last guy notices that Punch isn’t actually dead.

Well hot dang, wonder who that could be?

Meanwhile, Red Alert and company are running themselves ragged trying to get the hickiddy heck away from Starscream, who is just so unbelievably hot and bothered for murder it’s honestly a little concerning.

Red Alert tries shooting him a few times, but that doesn’t really phase the guy who’s already on fire. Slapdash rushes him, probably because he’s a violent panicker, and is immediately thrown like an empty soda can off into the distance. Starscream’s body has taken the opportunity to start exploding, and Hot Spot starts shooting to take pieces off with a gun. People are still trying to reason with Starscream, as if that were ever an option in this scenario, but he’s so incredibly down for killing everything in sight he’s straight-up lost the ability to hear and rationalize. He rips the gun out of Hot Spot’s hand and pistol-whips him in the face so hard his jaw comes off and his eyes burst into flames. Don’t ask me how exactly that happened, because I couldn’t tell you, but it’s pretty sick.

Red Alert decides that it’s time to retreat back to the Rust Pools, then clocks Starscream in the face before booking it.

Hound and friends are currently climbing an elevator shaft, because we haven’t hit our vent quota for this story yet. They’re doing this in the dark, wary of detection from the enemy. Getaway seems to be beginning to wear thin on this whole “Hound’s in charge” thing, not really appearing to believe that they’ll be reaching the end of this situation without any more issues.

Then the elevator starts up.

Man, don’t you just hate it when the asshole has a point?

Red Alert orders his team to jump into the pools, grasping at straws at this point, as Starscream continues to tear ass to get to them. There’s a rumor that some forgotten base is at the bottom of one of these pools, and that’s about as far as planning’s gone. Luckily any and all rumors in fiction turn out to be true in at least some capacity, and they all fall through the ceiling after a few well-placed blaster shots.

They hole up in an air lock, and after a bit of pontificating, Red Alert makes them aware of just where they’ve ended up- Emirate Xaaron’s old hangout.

Hot Spot is dying, by the way. Just throwing that out there. He’s dying while Red Alert does this.

Once they get through the air lock, they can get to a teleport that will take them to the Primus chamber, where they can get the medical attention they so desperately need. They better get moving though, because Starscream’s started banging on the door, and absolutely nothing has stopped him so far, so what’s a little steel going to do?

Hound’s reached the top of the elevator shaft, but he’s towards the front of the line, so that still doesn’t bode terribly well for the guys behind him, especially since the elevator’s catching up. In a fit of desperation, he blasts a door open and more or less starts throwing his buddies through it to safety. The last one in the line is Multibot.

Yeah, Multibot doesn’t make it. He gets crushed between the elevator and the ceiling of the shaft, exploding on impact. So much for that corpse he had tucked away for safekeeping. The elevator doors open, and we get a look at someone we haven’t seen Roberts take on just yet.

That is a positively MASSIVE elevator.

Starscream seems to have forgotten his original plan here- y’know, the only constant in his life i.e. killing Megatron- and is doing his absolute best to tear through the airlock door and get at these Autobots. Red Alert’s two seconds from having a conniption as Transit tries to work the teleport and get them out of there. Problem- the darn’s thing’s busted. Not enough to be totally useless, but they can’t program in where they want to go. They’re at the mercy of whatever the last coordinates were.

They end up in the catacombs. Fun fact about the catacombs- they’re really, really, REALLY big. They could walk around basically forever and never get anywhere useful. At this point, y’all should just go back to bed and call this day a bust.

Luckily, they actually aren’t terribly far from their creator god’s chamber, and they all enter to find the eternally sleeping face of Primus. Then he starts moving.

And lo, whoev'r is deem'd w'rthy shalt ascend to the vore throne to ruleth all of Cyb'rtron, f'rev'r and ev'r.  Amen.

Looks like someone’s already been crowned king of vore, though, because, as it turns out, Megatron’s already sitting on that throne.

Which… makes sense, if you know enough about the Marvel comics.

Back over with Hound, it looks like it’s his turn to friggin’ snap, as our sweet, compassionate boy boils over into full hateful bastard-mode. He still doesn’t kill anyone though; it’s made very clear that he’s still maintaining that one personal rule. What do you want to bet that Courier’s going to make him toss that little caveat right out the window once he’s found out?

Shockwave’s surprised to see the Autobots doing so well despite being outnumbered and outgunned. Knowing when to call it quits, he orders a retreat to regroup under the mindful wing of Mama Megatron. He’s about the only one who gets away, the others tied up and at the PG-rated mercy of the Autobots.

There’s one guy who’s had his legs torn off and been bashed in the head bad enough to cause a stutter, who begs for his life. Hound, ever compassionate, orders he be treated for his wounds and then tied to the others. Fistfight has other ideas.

Oof, looks like we just got upgraded to a PG-13!

I mean, he’s a Decepticon Action Master partner accessory parading around as an Autobot here for some reason. This is sort of something you should have seen coming.

Hound pushes Fightfight down on the ground and gives him a stern warning to not try anything like that again, otherwise he’s going to tell Optimus, and then you’re gonna be in so much trouble! I worry that Hound perhaps doesn’t quite understand that administering punishment is part of the whole leader thing, and that in for for it to be effective, you need to actually use it as opposed to just threatening someone with it.

The Autobots get moving again, with Hound making a comment to Blaster to keep an eye on Fistfight.

It’s been a minute since we’ve checked in on Optimus, so let’s see what he’s up to. His magic mind ship has just reentered regular space, and they’re going to reach Cybertron in just a little while. Once they land, they’ll go find the rest of the Autobots in Polyhex and then take this whole Decepticon operation down.

Hot Rod makes a cameo, but there’s no time to indulge in whatever he’s trying to tell Optimus, because the ship is suddenly shot in the butt and starts crashing towards the surface of the planet. Optimus takes the opportunity to pull a Skywarp with his new powers, disappearing in a beam of light like it’s the friggin’ space-Rapture. He winds up outside the ship, floating above the planet, and mind-slaps the turrets that had been causing the ship so much trouble.

Red Alert’s day just keeps getting worse; Hot Spot’s still dying, Slapdash might actually be going insane, Megatron’s here, and they’re all being strapped into electric chairs. Where did the electric chairs come from? Why are they in the Primal chamber? What purpose do they serve here? Not a clue, but maybe we’ll get to it next time.

Meanwhile, Hound’s not feeling too fantastic himself. One of his guy’s just murdered someone in cold blood, they’ve lost a third of their party, and there’s a traitor in their midst.

At least Optimus is having a good day, I guess.

[blacknpurplewarpster]

{Short Drabble I wrote on Academy Warp and TC cuz why the hell not. It’s in my perspective of how it was back then for them, based off the three pages we learned from the Optimus Prime Annual 2018--minus the Starscream part, that didn’t happen yet. Call it a summarized drabble I suppose. This is through my Skywarp’s eyes.} 

@windnreign

Academy Warp and TC:

It was every day that Skywarp dreaded being in the Academy. Then again he never would have admitted himself in; he was forced to go. Skywarp was dragged to the Academy against his own free will—to be experimented on, to be treated poorly just for having special abilities. The citizens of Cybertron hated and feared the Outliers. It was for the protection of Cybertron and it’s people, they said. It was ridiculous. Senator Shockwave said it was a safe haven for them but no one, not one Cybertronian treated him with respect in Skywarp’s optics. Being exposed to extreme levels of radiation wasn’t all that fun either. Skywarp was a freak and everyone wanted their grubby servos in his insides. The power of teleporting was unheard of! Every day, Skywarp would lose himself to the idea of getting out. Some golden parachute.

Skywarp remembered seeing a blue flier being admitted into the Academy one cycle. Those terrified optics and expression he had  stamped on his face plating. Some would fight. Some would be terrified of who they were or what they were. The entire stigma of being different brought a heavy burden on any Outlier.

All of it wasn’t an ideal life… for anyone.

Nor was it his bright idea to be paired up with a younger flier, that blue flier he once saw cycles ago. His name was Thundercracker. He was so young in comparison to the dark flier; had a brighter look on life than him. At first Skywarp thought they were the most ridiculous team. No one had a say in this match up. Though there was an instant connection between the two flying Outliers. They were similar in many aspects. Skywarp wouldn’t say it at first--they were indeed the perfect match. 

Skywarp could teleport anywhere—and Thundercracker could use his weaponized sonic booms.

It took time for Skywarp to become accustomed to the effects of the booms. The paired team would be forced to go out and practice. Little did their captors know that they spent a lot of time and effort to training themselves to work with each other. Every boom hurt. The first far worse than the ones to come. It effected Skywarp so badly that it had dragged him from the sky down to the ground. It felt like waves washing through his systems—crashing in him. However, nothing compared to the effects of teleporting, from what Thundercracker would tell him. The sudden acceleration and stretching to the frame to any newcomer would get a bad case of vertigo. The atoms in their frames and the space around them warped; it stretched and smashed space in an instant.

As time would roll on, the two would become great partners. Skywarp and Thundercracker knew one another far better than anyone else ever would, even if they were polar opposites. Eventually, they mastered controlling the effects of their partner’s ability.

That was when the two became inseparable. Wherever one went, the other was there to follow. Together through thick and thin, through each test, through each gut-wrenching moment in the Academy. When they weren’t tested on, the two would hide themselves in the darkest corners of the academy or Jhiaxus to become something that two Outliers never should, according to the damned scientists. A shared kiss… A shared bond…Being so close made their partnership that much stronger, that much more powerful. It was all kept a secret for ages it seemed. Actually it was always a secret in fear that their directors would separate them. They couldn’t lose each other. What they had was too special to let go of.

Day after day they were told: You’re only good for fighting and transport. Only that. Nothing else.

But Skywarp wanted more than to be just that. There was more to life than this life he had. It was going to be hard to get out of that damned Academy. A small part of Skywarp was happy with just having one good thing in his life and that was his Thundercracker. Little did he know that he’d never in his life get that—to chose what he wanted to do, to live how he desired. He’d get that golden parachute but it was soiled with lies; it would throw him into a war that would make him lose everything good in his life, including Thundercracker. But that was in the future, not in the moment.

This moment here and now, he was paired with his beloved Thundercracker. They were happy together, minus the whole disrespect, hatred, and experimentation that came from being different. If this was to be his life, so be it. They were in it together…forever.