#as are situations where Optimus isn't the leader of the autobots

[transingthoseformers]

So... If Megatron wasn't the leader of the decepticons, who do you think it would/could be?

(none of the iconic decepticon high command are options here)

[primus-why]

Rom-Com Cliché -- Saying the Wrong Name at the Wedding

Idk why but I just imagined some post-war bonding ceremony shenanigans. Imagine the war has ended, and all Cybertronians are invited back to the planet to rebuild...

The tentative situation they're calling "peace" between Autobots and Decepticons is under constant strain, which was to be expected, but the returning NAILs don't seem to like the factions either. With tensions on the rise, Optimus and his advisors decide their best bet is to try and forge a fresh relationship with the NAILs-- after all, Optimis only ascended to the role shortly before the exodus. He'll show them that he's different than his predecessors! By extending a servo in genuine trust and a desire to understand, the Autobots and NAILs may find new allies in one another.

(Which, as Prowl points out, is a strategic military maneuver as much as it is a political one. By bolstering their allied numbers, it will make the 'Cons think twice about breaking the treaty and restarting the war.)

However, to their credit, Megatron and the 'Cons appear to throwing themselves into rebuilding efforts as much as anyone else. They even agree to share resources with the NAILs-- in exchange for labor or something of equal value, of course. Optimus can respect that. He knows Megatron believes actions speak louder than words, so it's encouraging to see the Decepticons making the effort to unify as well.

Slowly Optimus is put more at ease-- the three primary factions fall into a rhythm which sees the return of buildings for shelter and science, free-flowing energon, and nature reserves. As a result, he feels much lighter. The Matrix practically sings when he sits on a Council where they are productive!

Ironhide: Careful there, Prime. I think that grin might become infectious.

Optimus: Ha-- I keep forgetting how easy I am to read without my mask.

Megatron snorts. He was always able to read Prime just fine, even with a battle mask. The mech is too open and honest-- a quality the bit-brained Autobots admired in their leader.

But, even he had to admit, it's hard not to stare when the fool is practically beaming. It comes as a shock to no one that joy was not an emotion he often saw in his encounters with the Prime on the battlefield. 'It's natural to be curious,' Megatron reasons with himself; he simply isn't used to that bare face-- especially when it isn't weighed down by sad optics... or lips set in a hard line...

'... Scrap, what were they saying?'

Windblade: Is everyone excited for the festival?

'Ah.'

Starscream: Ughhhh...

Metalhawk: It doesn't have to be perfect.

Starscream: Yes it does. There's less than a deca-cycle to complete the spires. If they're not-- nevermind. I won't get into it here.

Megatron: Isn't the point of this Council to communicate our collective needs? I daresay Winglord-- there's no better audience to hear your party-planning woes.

Starscream: Hmph. Perhaps. But I'd sooner scan another Earth altmode than accept your aid... no offense, Prime.

Optimus: None taken.

Ironhide: In all seriousness, if you need materials--

Windblade: --or even more flightframes to assist in construction..?

'There we go.' Megatron huffed to himself in satisfaction, 'That prideful idiot.' He knew Starscream would never have allowed himself to ask for help unless he gave him a poke.

A festival. He hadn't been to one in many years-- never in Vos, and never as a free mech. The last time he attended had been on those rare occasions he snuck out of the Pits. A handful of times he had been lucky and stumbled upon a festival. Once he deliberately snuck out to orate a speech, before the authorities broke up the crowd and spoiled the atmosphere of the event.

'... Maybe I should give a speech, for old times sake-- with the added bonus that Starscream would absolutely abhor it.'

Optimus stole a glance at Megatron, who had begun to help himself to the snacks brought for the meeting. The two faction leaders were certainly on better terms with one another than at the start of the rebuilding efforts, though Optimus would hesitate to call themselves anything more than acquaintances. Which felt strange, considering how intimately they'd come to understand one another in the context of war.

'He did it again...' For someone normally so prone to posturing, Megatron was not opposed to a display of subtlety, especially when in service to others. Of course he continues to lean into grand gestures, and always makes sure he gets the credit he is owed for his work in rebuilding Cybertron... but in these small, almost inconsequential moments, he still looks out for others in his own roundabout way. He'd cede his floor time to someone who spoke on an issue he agreed with, essentially handing them a platform; he'd do what he did just now-- toss out some snarky jabs to get a conversation flowing; Optimus once even saw him purchase fancy fuel at a market, then hand half to a sparkling who had been eyeing the goods... though he tried to hide gesture.

The duplicity fascinated Optimus. Has he always been this way? Surveillance of Decepticon command and years of combatting the mech head-on suggested this was not the case. However, they held different roles now. Optimus knows he's changed since the end of the war... he can't help but wonder how Megatron has been changed too...

'... Wait, oh no, did Metalhawk just say something?'

Metalhawk: Speaking of Earth, I've been meaning to ask you about it for a while.

'Ah!'

Optimus: Yes, of course! What would you like to know?

Metalhawk: Having never been myself, I'm curious about your affection for it. You must hold it in high regard if you've maintained your altmode all this time?

Optimus: Oh! That's... well, yes. Despite the many unpleasant memories, I also made many fond ones that I will treasure. Even when I chose it, this alt just felt... right.

Metalhawk: I see. Would you be open to sharing some of those fond memories with me? Perhaps... at the festival?

'... Holy scrap. Is he asking what I think he's asking??' Despite his efforts Optimus can feel energon begin to rise to his face-- he hasn't been asked out since before he was a Prime! Distantly he is aware the room got quieter, save for Megatron coughing on a sweet that went down the wrong pipe.

Optimus: I should think there would be plenty of time, if we attended together.

Metalhawk: Then it's a date?

Optimus: Looking forward to it..!

Metalhawk takes his leave with a warm wave and a smile. Windblade and Ironhide gawk until he is gone before rushing to Optimus.

Windblade: Did you know that was going to happen??

Optimus: No, not at all!

Windblade: You handled it pretty well!

Optimus: Oh thank Primus. I don't know why I got so nervous all of a sudden. I speak to him nearly every day...

Ironhide: Ooooo, I'm telling Ratchet...

Optimus: Go ahead, it's not like I wasn't planning on telling my amica... preferable he knows before the press.

Ironhide: I was thinking more-so that he'd wanna squeeze you in, to check if your firewalls are up-to-date--

Optimus: -- 'HIDE!

Starscream: *ehem* Congratulations, Optimus Prime, you two make a handsome match. Now, if we could get back to planning the biggest event of the stellar cycle...

Fast forward-- past the festival, past the tabloids speculating on the nature Metalhawk and the Prime's relationship. The Autobots meet with Optimus once again. This time, some propose... a proposal.

That is to say-- a political bonding ceremony between the leader of the Autobots and a leader of the NAILs.

Ratchet thinks it's a bad idea-- much too soon for something so dramatic. It will seem farcical, an echo of a time long past where higher castes bonded to better their social standing. Optimus tends to agree.

But Prowl argues their festival date generated a lot of public approval. Having the people's high regard and trust is important in unstable times...

Prowl: Not to mention we'd secure our relationship with the NAILs. If the 'Cons ever stir up trouble, we'll be ready for them.

But Optimus isn't so sure of that argument anymore. Why would Megatron put so much effort into rebuilding, to personally have a servo in shaping their new world, only to destroy it again?

Optimus: ... Jazz? What do you think?

Jazz: ... *sigh* Honestly? I think a big, public-facing, cross-factional bond would go a long way towards helping things solidify. Feels more permanent... and obviously the 'Cons are off the table. So... why not Metalhawk? He's a nice guy, right?

Ratchet: Being 'nice' isn't all there is to it! Optimus has every right to bond with someone he loves..!

The 'Bots bicker, and Optimus has a moment to mull it over.

Finally, he speaks.

Optimus: ... I think... I could grow to love him. In time.

Ratchet: Optimus...

Optimus: It's okay, Ratchet. I accepted long ago that being Prime would require personal sacrifices.

Ratchet: ...

Optimus: Prowl, please prepare correspondence to Metalhawk. I want him to make an informed decision, so that I don't take this choice from him under false pretenses.

Ratchet exits without another word and doesn't return to the meeting.

Fast forward again-- to the day of the bonding ceremony. Metalhawk agreed (after making sure Optimus was of sound mind) to bond for the unification of Cybertron.

Anyone who is anyone is at this wedding. Councilmech, visiting dignitaries and ambassadors, the rich and famous. Sprinkled among them are genuine friends of the couple. Across Cybertron the event is broadcast live, and everyone waits with baited breath as the ceremony draws closer and closer to its conclusion.

Megatron made sure to sit on the end so he could beat the crowds to the open bar. In fact, he doesn't even stick around for the latter half-- why bother? He's already made his required appearance. Might as well crack open some high grade and head home early.

He eyes the solid fuel as well-- energon goodies and foreign sweets piled high for guests to choose from to their sparks content-- but he doesn't have an appetite. Hasn't for quite some time. He inspects his cube and spots the broadcast on a nearby holoscreen.

He sneers, frighteningly enough that the staff lingering in his line of sight make themselves scarce.

Megatron: I thought you were better than this. All that talk about forging our own bright future, and yet here we are. Lining up for the honor to dance in the shadows of a gilded past. Disgraceful.

On screen the couple turns to face each other, ready to recite the last portion of their fictitious vows before sealing the deal. Optimus, the self-sacrificing idiot-- still all too easy to read even in times like these if one knew where to look-- is putting on a brave face out of a sense of duty.

... He can't watch them do this. Instead, he turns back to lean against the bar and contemplate how far back this puts his plans for a free Cybertron... a world where high caste couplings are a thing of the distant past, and Primes can bond whomever they please...

Clergybot: To love and to cherish...

Metalhawk: To love and to cherish...

Clergybot: ... Until all are one.

Metalhawk: ... Until all are one.

Clergybot: ... And now I, Optimus Prime...

Optimus: I, Optimus Prime...

Clergybot: ... Take thee, Metalhawk...

Optimus: ... take thee, Megatron...

Megatron spits out his fuel and glares at the cube like it offended him.

'What the frag is in this--?!?'

But the gasps and murmurs of the crowd replacing the dull recitation alerted him to the fact that the ceremony... had stopped.

Optimus: I... I mean...

'Oh Primus...'

Cameras zoom in even closer, showing the Prime frozen in shock. The cube slips from Megatron's servo, shattering on the floor.

'Did he actually...??'

Metalhawk was stroking the Prime's servos that were still held in his own, whispering something blessedly inaudible, but the other mech eventually twisted them free.

Optimus: ... I'm sorry, I-I have to go.

Murmurs grew into a scandalized uproar as the Prime bolted from the altar and out the back of the temple. Metalhawk and the clergy attempted to placate them, but in time Metalhawk would leave to join the search party who had ran after Optimus.

Not before Megatron downed the rest of his drink and stole some snacks for the road (the reception wouldn't be needing them anyway.) He takes to the skies-- an advantage not many Autobots had on hand that would take too long to mobilize-- and opens a private comm channel.

Megatron:: Soundwave! Get me visual reports from the Westside of New Iacon, near the temple! Prime has escaped!::

After a beat, he realizes how that sounded. Old habits certainly do die hard.

Megatron:: He's fled the scene. Can you tell me which direction he's headed?::

Soundwave pings an acknowledgment. It doesn't take long to get his answer.

Soundwave:: Prime: headed towards Archives.::

Megatron:: The Archives? That's halfway across--::

Soundwave:: Clarification: The Old Archives.::

'Ah, that makes more sense.'

Megatron:: Thank you, old friend. What would I do without you?::

Soundwave:: Megatron: remain single forever.::

Megatron:: You-- wh-- that is not why I am pursuing him!!::

Soundwave:: ;) ::

Megatron hangs up and focuses on his flight instead, the impending conversation he'll need to have with the Prime looming ominously like a cloud.

[presidentofthelipglossclub]

Please, tell me more

About Heatwave and Bumblebee siblings dynamic

It sounds stupidly fun

And with lots of shenanigans

Tell me👀

YESSSS OK.

listen this just started out because i had the passing thought that we all joke about heatwave being optimus's kid and it's been a pretty popular joke for a long time to say that about bumblebee as well. it was just a joke headcanon. but then i got to thinking.

heatwave and bumblebee are actually a really interesting duo (even tho they barely interacted in canon) for a lot of reasons, but the main one is that they're functionally narrative foils. in case anyone doesn't know what a foil is, foils are characters who are opposites in ways meant to highlight specific qualities each character possesses. in some cases, the foil for the protagonist is an antagonist, but not always. also, when i say narrative foil what i mean is the development and storyline the characters follow are opposites.

the narrative foils between heatwave and bee are more easily drawn between rescue bots and robots in disguise, because in rid bumblebee becomes team leader, like heatwave. because of that all the stuff i'm saying is about them post war, during rid.

firstly, heatwave starts out as team leader, while bumblebee we see growing into the role. this creates an interesting dynamic because optimus has always known heatwave as a leader, while for a very long time bumblebee was someone under his command. the differences in how optimus treats their decision making could cause some sibling rivalry. bumblebee is jealous of heatwave because optimus trusts him more, and because optimus isn't constantly hovering. heatwave is jealous of bumblebee because optimus actually spends time with him, and because they know each other better.

another interesting thing about them is their backgrounds. heatwave's dream was to be on optimus's team, because he wanted to prove himself. he loves fighting, and wanted nothing more than to help by joining in on the action. to heatwave, bumblebee is living the dream. but bee would much rather live like heatwave, away from cybertron where everybody expects him to just move on. of course they both understand that the other's life isn't perfect, but they're both seeing through rose colored glasses. the grass is greener on the other side, so to speak.

also, bumblebee loves earth, like, a lot. in rid he's constantly talking about how beautiful it is, and how interesting humans are. heatwave is the complete opposite. even after cody convinced him to stay, he was still the least interested in earth. to him, it's just another mission, which makes sense because he'd been to plenty of other planets for the same reasons. earth isn't anything special to him. but for bumblebee, someone who rarely had the chance to explore the life of other planets, earth is unique. the autobots were too busy fighting to take in the sights in the earlier days of war, and by the time they moved to new planets the old ones were usually destroyed anyways. being able to just exist on another planet is something he hasn't done, and especially not in a post war situation.

i think bumblebee would harbor a lot of negative feelings towards heatwave (especially in the beginning) just because he's known optimus for way less time but earned his trust much faster. also because heatwave has a lot of potential? i guess? because of his quadruple changer status and as the last rescue bot leader. and since i headcanon him as a psychic, heatwave is really a golden child, so to speak. bumblebee resents him, but then he feels guilty for resenting heatwave because even if he's jealous that's still his brother.

heatwave is less resentful of bumblebee (although there is still a level of resentment) and more openly admiring of him. to the rescue bots, who have been kept from knowing anything about the war, bumblebee is a hero. i mean to a lot of people he's a hero, but the rescue bots get most of their info about everything that's going on from bumblebee because optimus doesn't want them to know. heatwave wants to fight, but optimus won't let him. he feels weak and unworthy (serious survivor's guilt btw), and so he sees bumblebee as what he needs to become.

a lot of this stuff is kinda angsty which i didn't intend because i genuinely do think they would also get along really well and could become close. but also there would be a LOT of sibling rivalry between them just because of the kinds of people they are.

(also important to note: i personally see bumblebee taking on an older sibling role especially during rid because it fits his character arc of maturing and growing into leadership. this adds another layer of complicated to their already weird relationship because heatwave has always been the one responsible for others while bumblebee is very new to it. but as bee gets more comfortable exercising his own agency and heatwave gets more used to trusting others, they settle into a sibling dynamic that actually works.)

[koukouture]

I think everyone has their own Transformers continuity living inside their head so here's mine:

(technically I have two I but think this one is more interesting)

Okay first of all I'm flipping things a little- experienced leader and soldier Optimus and a younger, more inexperienced Megatron who's a prodigy. Do you see the vision??? Optimus who leads by example and wisdom vs Megatron who has the fire of youth and wants to revolutionize everything but lacks experience and humility.

For this hypothetical universe- Orion Pax is a police officer and Megatron is an aimless youth who recently earned his freedom from the Gladitorial scene via a sponsor (Starscream but I'll get to that later) On that- Megatron has his name already because it's a nickname he got during his gladiatorial days and now he's just kinda rolling with it lol. Orion is kind to a fault but undeniably wise and is set for a promotion to chief of his precinct and Megatron is the rookie who gets to shadow him.

(Note: The age disparity isn't extreme like Orion isn't Megatron's dad it's more of a senior/junior or older brother/younger brother type situation. I don't like these two having such a large gap between them because they're yk rivals. Equals. That doesn't work when there's a power disparity. And I think Megatron's rough life has made him quite mature anyways)

They work together for a time and the most interesting part of this whole thing (at least in my opinion) is that Megatron is the much more effective fighter. So it becomes this cute buddy cop thing for a while where Megatron is the brawns and Orion is the brain which will eventually parallel how Megatron becomes the weapon or instrument of destruction while Optimus is the reason or guiding light.

So when they inevitably have their disastrous split Orion is actually horrendously outmatched and dies. But you know, Optimus rises from the ashes and his strength as a Prime gives him just enough leverage over Megatron.

This will lead to Optimus shutting down his emotions- not necessarily becoming cruel or cold but just very distant as he believed that his kindness made him weak. Megatron meanwhile isn't exactly kind- but he has compassion and conviction. He's a good public speaker and a relatable figure to many people who are oppressed. That is how he rallies people to his cause.

What's interesting about Starscream in this AU/continuity is that he's almost Megatron's mentor. Starscream is a noble who sponsored Megatron's last fight and essentially bought him his freedom. Why? Starscream is a hedonist- everything he does is in pursuit of his own pleasure and enjoyment. He frees Megatron because even as a gladiator he was outspoken and it entertained Starscream. He joins and funds the Decepticons because he enjoys the revolution and carnage. He helps Megatron initially because Megatron's ideas entertain him. Starscream doesn't actually believe in anything; that's why he's chosen to be a follower. As for his eventual and inevitable betrayal of Megatron- he does so because he felt like it. I think the moral dilemma of "what does it mean to have a "good" reason?" is very interesting because is chasing after your own pleasure hollow or is it a worthwhile endeavor? (yes it's because of final fantasy Zenos sue me)

To parallel Starscream we have Shockwave who is a nihilist. Shockwave also believes in nothing and joins Megatron's side on a whim because the Decepticons approve and would fund his inhumane experiments. My running idea here is that Shockwave was originally a pretty upbeat, cool guy who was also after his own pleasure but eventually fell into depravity which may or may not be an indicator of where Starscream ends up.

I don't have much on the Autobots for this continuity, however I will say that Sentinel and Optimus are at odds for a while as the last two Primes. Sentinel is much more morally ambiguous and desperate while Optimus is more firm in him beliefs. It's this odd inversion of Orion and Megatron's dynamic where Sentinel is spineless and impulsive and Optimus is one again the voice of reason. But you can't exactly say that Sentinel is wrong- he is willing to do anything to survive which has earned him his status as a Prime while Optimus wants to minimize sacrifice. It's this push and pull of "you cannot save everyone" and "I have to try and save everyone." Yes, even though Optimus tries to shut down his emotions he is still incredibly sympathetic and not as unfeeling as he's like himself to be. Sentinel is the same but only suppresses his negative emotions and tries to put on a brave face for the Autobots. So when Sentinel dies and Optimus becomes the last Prime standing and the sole leader of the Autobots they take a blow to their morale.

Anyways yeah that's all I got because if I say anything else stupid shit will come out of my mouth and I will also never shit up

[raptorfae53]

TFA SEASON 4 CONCEPT/EPISODE LIST.

OK so after a bunch of you liked my post regarding Arachnus prime and with all the new info revealed at tfcon 2024, I think it'd be right to show off the plan I concocted for the rest of TFA season four surrounding it:

Episode 1+2 - The Trial of Megatron

Now considered heroes team detroit are joined by some new faces as megatrons trial commences ,but a visiting travelling show unmasks itself as a surprise jailbreak! But theirs more than meets the eye to this seemingly chaotic scene.

Tldr: Megatrons trial gets Interrupted by the stunticons trying to bust him out of prison and the verdict of which has him thrown in jail indefinitely, Megatron himself isn't too displeased with this however and intends to manipulate everyone around him to get out, starting with the new magnus,Sentinel.

Episode 3 - A Devestating plan.

DirtBoss is back,and with the promise of free oil has roped some new bots into his latest scheme,one involving getting that troublesome Bulkhead out of the picture for good,or rather putting him to better use...

Tldr: Dirt boss cronenbergs a combiner out of Bulkhead,Scrapper,Mixmaster, and four other bots (the animated versions of Scavenger, Longhaul,Hook and Bonecrusher).

Episode 4 - Planet of the Micromasters

After Bulkheads disappearance,bee is acting more sullen and avoidant at the rest of team detroit. So when a jaunt through Detroits new spacebridge leads him to a planet full of tiny Cybertronians who immediately take to him as their leader,it's going to take the whole team to pry him back home,especially since his "subjects" aren't ones for sharing...

Tldr: Bumblebee understandably isn't taking the respective disappearance and death of two of his friends well, and team detroit open up about how the situation has affected them too to get him back from the micromaster horde.

Episode 5 - Triple trouble

Sentinel unveils a new team of autobots to deal with the decepticon menace,the triple changers! Stronger than the average bot with three distinct modes,but these new supersoldiers have a dark secret that causes chaos their grand unveiling...

Tldr: sentinel buys the blueprints for blitzwings triple changer tech from lockdown (who has his own plans for the tech...) to build new Autobot triple changers, and it goes terribly and predictably wrong.

Episode 6+7 - I think I'm a clone now

New autobots are popping up all over detroit,causing trouble and chaos regardless of intent across the whole city,and they all look like Optimus Prime! What or who could be behind this?

Tldr: Blackarachnia clones optimus multiple times (four to be precise, resulting in tfa versions of optimus primal,toxitron,pyro and nemesis prime) in order to figure out how to purge herself of her technoorganic side,only for them to escape and wreak havoc across the city.

Episode 8,9 and 10 - Sideways in spacetime

Thrown through a rip in spacetime by a spacebridge accident, Optimus and Blackarachnia and pals find themselves in a parallel world where their fates were switched and Blackarachnias attempt to get home unleashes a whole new breed of monster into their reality!

Tldr: this previous post.

Episode 11 - It came from Cybertron

In optimus and ironhides absence, Sentinel sends a new bot, Cosmos to keep tabs on team detroit, but when a chance encounter leaves this bot thinking he's an actual alien invader,trouble follows...

Tldr: desperate to keep in control of everything Sentinel sends his secretary to keep team detroit in line and overworked as is,it pushes poor cosmos over the edge and he goes crazy,and the optimus and Ironhide-less detroiters have to catch him before he's hunted for sport by Master Disaster and Nemesis Prime.

Episode 12+13 - Transform and Rise Up!

"Megatron" unleashes his superweapon,a machine that turns cybertrons metal surface into a beast infested jungle!!!, leading to Sentinel Magnus to finally give in and unleash Megatron to deal with this "predacon" insurgency as a last resort, It doesn't end well...

Tldr: Sentinel finally snaps,makes a horrible decision in the heat of the moment fueled by stress and prejudice and all of Cybertron pays the price as the autobots are forced into exile on earth.

I hope you like this long-in-the-works post regarding tfa season four, I do have plans for a season five to wrap everything up once and for all (as well as introduce tfa versions of even more characters including the other maximals and sixshot) but I'm still considering how exactly to structure and plot it,in turn I will probably do some more writing and possibly some art for the characters and scenarios introduced here, so do watch this space!

[lets-try-some-writing]

Immortals

Cybertronians are ancient beings, but even they age. Their frames deteriorate, and if that isn't what puts them in the grave, then eventually their sparks grow weary and fade. It is the way of things, and with time, every Cybertronian reaches the end of their road. All accepted this reality, but with the passage of time, a few mecha have found that they simply do not suffer as the rest.

Megatron more so than others.

[Please note this is a solid 10k nightmare that was also posted on Ao3 so be ready to READ if you click on the read more.]

━━━━━━ ⊙ ❖ ⊙ ━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⊙ ❖ ⊙

Death was by no means a new concept for Megatron. He was raised amidst it, lived relishing in it, and now wandered through the remnants of places that once flourished. In a way, it was part of him just as much as he was part of it. He brought death wherever he went, as such it was only fitting in a rather poetic sense that death spared him its embrace. He offered so many sparks to satisfy the appetite of the void, why would it not reward him by refusing him the chance to perish in peace?

For several long vorns, all he did was wander the stars after being freed from Unicron’s control. He had no purpose without his cause, and he had no desire to see any suffer as he did under the great devourer. Whatever urge to conquer once plagued his spark was long gone. In its place… he felt the desire to instead try and find himself again. So much madness and devastation. He forgot who he was, and he desperately wished to recover that lost sense of self. 

He wasn’t entirely sure when the decision was made, but at some point during his wanderings, not even a millennia after he fled to the stars, Megatron meandered his way back to Cybertron. There was no hiding who he was, nor did he really bother trying. What was the point of that? Everyone was bound to know him based on his face alone regardless of whether or not he went through the trouble of filing down spikes and rusted armor plates. He fully expected to be met with raised blasters and blades, however, he was instead greeted by familiar faces and smiles.

 ━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

“Look who crawled in from the asteroid belt. While you were off doing who knows what, I Starscream was given a senatorial seat!” Starscream stood as proudly as ever, a slag-eating smile on his face as he gestured toward the badge on his shoulder. Megatron could only be thankful it wasn’t a crown or gaudy cape the seeker had chosen as his designator of profession and rank. 

“I can see that, Starscream” Megatron hissed as the seeker continued to preen with pride. Beside him, Soundwave and Optimus stood. The former refused to even look at Megatron, an unsurprising reaction when all things were considered. The latter merely smiled as kindly as ever, his frame still bulky and unsightly, no longer the smaller more mobile form that he possessed before their Primus forsaken war. 

“It is good that you have returned Megatron. I believe there is much to discuss.” The Prime stated simply as if Megatron hadn’t fragged off for almost a millennia and then sauntered back to Cybertron still carrying the burden of the many lives he ended. Then again, if the Prime allowed Starscream of all mecha to have a seat of power, perhaps Megatron being greeted kindly was not totally out of the question. Optimus was always a soft sparked fool.

“You aren’t going to try and blast me to bits, Prime? One would think after a war as bitter as ours that the people would demand justice.” Starscream scoffed, Soundwave twitched from where he was looking over a datapad, and the situation as a whole grew somewhat tense until Optimus replied. 

“The war is over Megatron. You are no longer leader of the Decepticons, nor am I the sole leader of the Autobots. Things have changed, amends have been made. I will not say there is no lingering bitterness, but there is a second chance for you if you wish to take it.” A long silence reigned as Megatron considered. The world around him was not the one he knew or wanted, but it was Cybertron, it was his home. He had no intention of lingering for long, but what was the harm in remaining for a time?

━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

Arrangements were made and Megatron took up a job as a simple poet. His spark demanded he climb the ladder and try to wrestle some form of control away from the senate that formed in his absence. However he did not trust himself to not abuse that power should he gain it, not when the power of Unicron still tainted him. He remained quiet, contemplative, and docile as he worked on his various philosophical writings, largely uncaring of the world outside. Too many new faces, too many strange places with new names that were once locations he considered ‘home’.

Most only recognized him from their history lessons and thus treated him fairly normally. A few of the older bots wandering around sneered or hurried away in fear, but as a general rule, Megatron was left alone when he did go to the cities for whatever reason. He had no need for fuel, Unicron’s taint made the inherent necessity of energon null and void. It was disturbing at times, but he preferred it that way. It meant he was not required to head to cities often to restock. The newness of Cybertron was unsettling, and he was perfectly content to remain far away from the cities out in the renewed spire forests near what was now titled New Kaon. He didn’t want to or rather didn’t trust himself to get involved in the changing state of his homeworld. Thus, he kept quiet, held his helm low, and focused on himself. 

The only ones he interacted with were old companions and enemies, mecha he knew well from war. He never left his hideaway out in the woods save for when Optimus dragged him away to do something or other or give his opinion on a legislation. The Prime seemed to have made it his life mission to redeem everyone and everything if his growing collection of reformed Decepticon and Autobot advisors said anything. Still, it was a comfort in a way. It made Megatron feel… normal, especially once he finally began dealing with old wounds. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

“Megatron: Abandoned the cause.” Soundwave sat beside him on his porch, looking up at the stars above. He had not spoken to his former second-in-command since his arrival on Cybertron. Neither was willing to speak to the other despite how much it ate away at them both. It hurt too much.

“I know,” Megatron replied simply. There was little else to say. What could he say? Soundwave gave everything to their cause, believing in Megatron and what they fought for. Then without warning, Megatron abandoned that cause, leaving all their efforts to waste away and Cybertron to fall under Autobot rule, at least technically. The senate was composed of mecha from all factions. Optimus was a fool, but he and his inner circle were good about trying to have a wide variety of opinions. 

“Megatron: Left Soundwave to rust. Left Shockwave in Autobot servos. Left loyal followers to be captured and imprisoned.” Again, his oldest friend spoke and Megatron repeated his prior phrase.

“I know.”

 Soundwave sat still beside him, his visor keeping Megatron from knowing what expression he was making. They said nothing for what had to be at least a long thirty or so kliks, both lost in their thoughts. The stars shone above them, a testament to the glory of their world when the skies were not blackened with smog and the fumes of burning cities. He could still smell the plasma in his olfactory sensors, he could still hear the screams in the dead of his recharge cycles. Despite that, there was peace to be found just… sitting and observing with his dear friend as if they were both still young and hopeful. 

“Will you stay? Will you abandon us again?” A soft and grim voice called out to him in the gloom of the cycle. Megatron hummed, feeling his thrusters warm a degree as he considered again retreating to the stars. This world was not home anymore, but those he cared for remained. It would not do for him to leave them for good, not after the torment he dragged them through in the name of freedom.

“I will Soundwave. Until there are none who care for me, I shall remain.” Spindly digits reached out and gently touched him. Megatron did not need to look to appreciate the weight on his arm where Soundwave offered a degree of comfort. They needed each other, more than anything else, they needed familiarity.

 ━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

Time was something Megatron did not often pay close attention to in his quiet dwelling. His servos were occupied with his written works, his mind consoled by the occasional queries sent to him by Soundwave and Optimus, and his spark was eased as he watched the forest around him thrive. The anniversaries of Cybertron’s restoration were his only true method of keeping time. First, there was the 691st, which Optimus dragged him off to in order to show the people how much old wounds were healing. Then there was the 843rd where Starscream threw a tart at his helm and spurred on one of the most impressive fuel fights Megatron had ever seen.

The 927th where Soundwave scared Optimus’s favored medic so badly that the spymaster was nearly met with a blade. The 1034th where the Earth team Megatron fought against during the last days of the war threw all their collected blackmail at one another. Then there was the 1130th where a whole batch of younglings managed to convince Megatron to tell them a few stories…

Vorns passed and yet not once did it seem that anyone he cared for changed at all. Starscream was still a glitch, Soundwave was as dutiful as ever assisting the Prime and his senate in handling internal affairs, and Shockwave remained a genius in science once he was allowed to roam on parole. Knockout was doing something or other and evidently making a great profit off it, and the Autobots Megatron recognized seemed to be doing just fine. The world changed, but the mecha he knew stayed the same for the most part, that is save for the odd paint change such as Starscream’s botched attempt to sport gold for a short time. 

They were constants, stable reminders of who Megatron was and what influence he had aside from the pure devastation he wrought. But of course, that mindset did not last. Not once he made the decision to visit the rebuilt city of Iacon on a whim. When he arrived, Optimus sat with the elected senators discussing policies and other things that Megatron had little care for. However, as he looked around, concern and a degree of shock were quick to worm their way into his spark.

 ━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

“Did you really invite him to assist in these matters, Optimus? I can’t exactly patch you up like I used to if he goes off the rails!” Ratchet, the Prime’s loyal lap dog, raised his cane into the air with a scowl as he gestured toward where Megatron stood in growing horror near the door. He hated the fragger with a vengeance, yet he couldn’t help but wonder… When did the medic get a cane? When did his plating dull so much? At what point did his joints begin cracking every fourth step?

“I did not invite him, old friend. However his presence is welcome, he has much he can contribute.” Optimus smiled gently and gestured for Megatron to take a seat in an empty chair a few seats down from him. Megatron obliged, albeit with a degree of hesitation as he examined the rest of the senate members. 

Most were new faces he did not know well aside from what he gathered from the data Soundwave occasionally sent him for review. However, those he did know were… different. Perhaps the celebrations clouded his judgment, but now that he saw them without the atmosphere of cheer and remembrance, their differences were stark and clear. 

“Finally done with your self-imposed exile Lord Megatron? I am sure there is some position I could have you fill serving under one of my officers.” The urge to chuck something at the arrogant seeker was strong, but any retort died on his glossa as he observed his former officer. Starscream had gotten a frame change long before Megatron returned from the stars, and it never really struck him how drastic the differences were until that moment when he really looked. 

Starscream’s plating was darker, no longer lustrous, and a sure sign of nanite failure. His wings, which he religiously held high throughout all of his youth, now dipped to a degree due to tiredness in what were once strong cables and hydraulics. His face was sharper, still polished and shining, but covered in small nicks and creases in the metal from long vorns of continual activity. What was most startling to Megatron was the way in which the seeker sat. No longer did he hold himself as if he were attempting to impress everyone, instead he sat perfectly composed, still proud, but with an air of earned respect. Shockwave and Soundwave were not much better off. Both sat slightly hunched in their seats, their armor dulled and any exposed components appearing far frailer than they once were. 

Where had his proud warriors gone? Megatron had not experienced any signs of wear and tear, so why should his officers be dealing with it so seriously? If they were being overworked, he would have words for the Prime…

And yet, seeing how Ratchet all but hobbled along with his cane as he grumbled his way to his chair, Megatron began to doubt it was Optimus’s doing. The others at the table were perfectly fine, almost exuding youthful energy with how vibrantly their plating shone and with how energetic their voices were as they put forward ideas and debated. 

“Let us continue, shall we?” Optimus guided the conversation along with expert precision that left Megatron slightly bewildered. The Prime was always an excellent speaker, but now he seemed older, wiser perhaps. His optics were tired even as he maintained his smile and welcomed the late arrivals. 

Megatron sat in silence throughout the meeting for the most part. All he could do was watch and finally see how much those he knew had degraded. He struggled to believe it, especially when his armor still glinted and his spark hummed with power. This wasn’t right, it couldn't be right. How could those he knew be falling to pieces while he endured? Perhaps he was overreacting. Optimus seemed fine after all. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

After the revelation of his compatriots' degradation, Megatron made far more frequent trips to the cities to visit them. Death was nothing new, and yet he could hardly comprehend it in those he once saw as functionally immortal. Cybertronians did not wither as other species, it was not in their nature. However, given time, their frames would break down, and should that fail to bring them to their end, their spark would weaken and putter out at some point, regardless of the newness of a frame. 

Most simply never bothered trying to hold themselves together once their frames started to fall apart if they lived long enough to reach that point. Self-repair systems could keep a mech up and running in prime condition for millions of years. As such when they finally started to show signs of aging, it was often taken as a sign and allowed to be. No matter how many components were replaced or how many times mind and spark were transferred, once the original frame started to crumble, it was only a matter of time. Some like Ratchet could last far longer than others for any plethora of reasons, but sooner or later, death would come for them, one haunting step at a time. 

After that meeting, Megatron knew it would happen eventually. He knew sooner or later those he cared for would start to fall one by one. Even still, when he came to visit Shockwave and found the mech dead in his laboratory, his spark long had gone out and his frame undisturbed due to his lack of friends… Megatron found it hurt more than he thought it would. 

Shockwave’s funeral was a short and sweet affair. Those who knew him from before the war bid their final goodbyes, a few loyal Decepticons offered condolences, and surprisingly, the Predacons who had taken to ruling over the still undeveloped west came as well. They knelt before Shockwave’s gray and lifeless frame and offered quiet words of thanks to the scientist for giving them life. As Shockwave left no will behind, there were no objections when Predaking took the body of his creator to be laid to rest in the lands he had dominion over. A great scientist, a master geneticist, and once upon a time, a true friend. 

  ━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

“Thank you for all you did Shockwave. I do not know if this is what you would have wanted, but I doubt you would have minded this outcome all that much.” Predaking had taken care to ensure that Shockwave’s memory was properly upheld with a memorial engraved with abstract images of the scientist weaving life from mere bones. Megatron appreciated the effort, especially once blue crystal flowers began to grow around the headstone of his old companion. 

He hoped Shockwave would have at least found a degree of satisfaction in knowing that his creations endured. The reforged Predacons held little love for their creator, but Shockwave was the one who gave them life, and their appreciation was quite clear in their efforts. The memorial was spotless and the newly emerged Predacons that climbed from the Well were all brought before Shockwave’s grave at least once.

Megatron liked to think Shockwave would have been pleased to know that his life served as an example to his creations. Last Megatron checked, there were a few Predacons who had opted to follow in the pedesteps of their creator, aiming to be scientists and researchers like Shockwave. There seemed to be an underlying urge to surpass him amongst all of the newly forged Predacons. Megatron personally found it rather amusing. None would ever be as brilliant as his head scientist.

“Rest well Shockwave. I will return to visit you soon.” Megatron smiled as he watched younger Predacons meander around, observing him in silence. He sighed and patted the memorial once before turning to leave. A growing heaviness weighed down his spark, but he paid it little mind. His old comrade would want him to be strong. Shockwave always despised it when emotions overcame rationality. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

It really shouldn’t have surprised him when the old bag of bolts finally offlined. But it did despite the fact that it was a long time coming. Ratchet’s death was devastating for many of the Autobots, but Optimus more so than any other. It had been a rather sudden thing apparently. According to Soundwave, Ratchet had bid Optimus a good recharge cycle and then passed quickly sometime during the early groons of the cycle without warning. No one suspected much until he failed to arrive for his shift in the clinic. At that point, it was Ratchet’s apprentice and caretaker First Aid who came to check on him only to find his frame lifeless but still warm to the touch. 

Ratchet was a cranky glitch who, while often right in matters of science and medicine, was not the most pleasant to be around. Despite that, hundreds of former Autobots came to his funeral. Ratchet was buried in the forests of Southern Iacon, as per his will. Optimus was too large to be part of the procession carrying the medic’s coffin, but that did not stop him from bidding his companion farewell with the most saddened and sorrowful song Megatron had ever heard from the vocalizer of his former foe. 

The medic was given military honors and his will was seen to. Megatron only came to the funeral partially to spite the fragger with his own continued functioning but largely so that he could be there for the Prime. Bumblebee and other mecha Megatron knew were close to Ratchet stayed for several groons, but they eventually left after their coolant stores ran dry. Despite that, when the other Autobots cleared out and the last came to bid their farewells, Optimus Prime did not move from where he stood at the side of the freshly made grave, his sword dug into the ground and his expression firm as he gazed resolutely ahead. 

Even when acid rain rolled in from the Rust Sea, Optimus did not so much as twitch. He remained quiet, standing guard over the grave of his comrade in what Megatron could only imagine was one final act of loyalty. The rain did not hurt Optimus much, not with how sturdy he was built, but as his paint melted and was washed away by brutal winds, Megatron decided to linger.

━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

“These rains will continue for cycles, Optimus. How long do you intend to remain here?” Megatron stood beside the Prime as the wind howled as the rain assaulted his frame. It didn’t hurt, his armor was touched by the Unmaker. Next to nothing save for the strongest of weapons could damage him. However, Optimus was not the same. The Prime was hardy, that much was true. But he was still mortal in the end, at least in frame. The rains chipped away at his paint and had to be aggravating with their sting as acid puttered against increasingly sore plating. 

“I will remain until I have fulfilled my promise.” Megatron raised a brow at the Prime’s words, watching on curiously as Optimus started to hum quietly, his blade still driven into the ground and his stance firm. 

“And what is that promise?” He questioned cautiously as the wind picked up in severity, battering his and Optimus’s frames with a greater vengeance. The Prime remained quiet for a long few kliks, seemingly lost in thought before at last, he replied.

“It was one of our rites we performed during the war. We made many promises that cycle, not all of which we were able to fulfill. But one of them was that should one of us fall… the other was to stand guard one last time.” Megatron said nothing as the Prime continued to stand, his expression stoic and strong. Optimus and Ratchet’s relationship was something Megatron never fully bothered to look into. It was not relevant to the war, and after his return to Cybertron, it simply was not important. Whatever their connection, they never made a show out of it.

Still, it was quite clear that their bond, regardless of its type, ran deep enough for Optimus Prime to wish to endure the long watch, unmoving until their final rite was complete. It was sweet in a sense, but Megatron found himself more uncertain than anything else as he observed the slight crease around Optimus’s optics. Reaching up to touch his own face revealed nothing of the sort, and for that reason, Megatron worried.

Optimus’s frame was biologically far younger than his due to his reforging at the behest of the other Primes. Combined with the Matrix ensuring the Prime could not die due to his spark puttering out… there were worrying implications. How was it that Optimus and so many others were aging when Megatron did not? Was he like the old medic in that death was taking its sweet time getting to him? Or was there something else, something far grimmer to be concerned with?

━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

After Ratchet, things seemed to fall apart far faster. Almost as if a switch had been flipped, suddenly Megatron could see the differences in everyone. 

Soundwave became frailer, even reaching the point where he physically required the aid of symbiotes to function. His sight grew weaker and his senses poorer so that he could either find himself confined to using a cane or getting symbiotes. Soundwave was quick to choose the latter. Megatron’s former spymaster was not pleased in the slightest when he was offered a few young symbiotes without carrier units, but he accepted them begrudgingly. Often he would shoo them away during Megatron’s visits, usually complaining off and on about how energetic they were. Deep down though, it was quite clear Soundwave cared a great deal about them. They were too high energy for his tastes, but the former spymaster tended to them dutifully and they in turn showered him with assistance when it was required. 

Even still, Megatron was always somewhat distraught when he visited. It was not hard to realize that he simply… did not age. It had been millennia and Megatron felt no weaker in spark, body, or mind. He had no need to visit a medic to confirm it. He could sense it in his very core whenever he took Soundwave’s arm to help him walk. They were almost the same age and yet Soundwave had a cloud of death lingering above him at all times. It was harder to accept than he thought it would be when he watched Soundwave trip and break his leg for the first time from a simple fall.

Speaking with his dear friend in the hospital was optic opening for him to say the least.

 ━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

“I apologize for not catching you, Soundwave. I was not paying close enough attention. I thought the fall would not have affected you so greatly.” Megatron stood by the berthside of his former spymaster. Soundwave for his part lay still in the berth with his arms placed at his sides and his venting was so shallow that it was downright disturbing. He looked so very thin from where Megatron towered over him. His wrists especially seemed two kliks and one stiff breeze away from breaking like a rust stick. 

“Soundwave: Understands. Megatron: Has not fully comprehended situation.” Megatron gave his companion the most befuddled look he could manage, and in response, Soundwave laughed. 

It was a broken and raspy sound that led his vents to hitch in what had to be a painful manner. Soundwave’s symbiotes were quick to flock around him, wiping down his vent filters and adjusting his berth settings so that he was sitting up a bit more. The little things were worried sick, but Soundwave merely hummed and waved them off with one stick-thin arm. They obliged and stepped back after a moment. It hurt Megatron somewhere in his spark to watch the scene. Less than a millennia ago he wouldn’t have put it past Soundwave to be able to eliminate him in the arena. Yet now he laid in a medical berth, his leg welded back into place but his frame so small and fragile looking as to make the repairs seem far from satisfactory. 

“Megatron: Has not aged a cycle since Cybertron’s restoration. Forever youthful. Frame still strong. Mind still sharp. Spark still powerful. Megatron: Untouched my time.” Soundwave gestured toward Megatron’s shining armor, particularly his shoulder plating and his optics with one painfully thin digit. The symbiotes made noises of agreement from where they huddled nearby but otherwise said nothing as Soundwave continued. 

“Soundwave: Not like Megatron. The others: Not like Megatron. We age. We decay. We will die.” Megatron paused as the words registered. His spark flared in his chassis in denial. Logically he knew Soundwave was right. He was different on a fundamental level now. Whatever Unicron did to him changed him, made it so that unless he was cut down, nothing would touch him. Shockwave had already fallen, it was only to be expected that others would soon follow… 

“That won’t happen yet, not for some time. You still have strength in you, my friend. I know you can endure.” Reaching out, Megatron was as gentle as he could be in taking Soundwave’s servo and holding it. The former spymaster shook his helm slowly as he grasped Megatron’s far larger digits with such pitiful strength that Megatron felt true fear worm its way into his spark. Soundwave had always been by his side, ever since the beginning. To lose him-

“Perhaps. Perhaps not. Soundwave: Will one day offline. Megatron: Will be left alone.” Soundwave lifted his other arm and with both servos held Megatron’s far larger one. There was a hint of desperation in Soundwave’s field as he pulled himself up as much as he could and began to speak again. 

“Soundwave and others: Will not be here forever. Megatron: Will endure?” Silence reigned for a long moment as Megatron’s spark flared in pain and grief. He did not even wish to consider losing Soundwave… but now he knew it would one cycle be reality. It was going to tear him apart, but he refused to leave Soundwave without comfort.

“I will try.” 

 ━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

It hurt to think on Soundwave’s words, even if Megatron knew he was right. His fellows were aging, younger mecha were taking their place. Soundwave was quickly forced to retire after the incident with his leg, and a younger model bearing the same designation was swiftly pushed into the vacant position. The original Soundwave taught his younger namesake as much as he could, but he was weakening and many of his cycles were spent in his hab in the center of Iacon where he could still be of use if need be. 

Starscream was not much better. 

Over the vorns, he and Starscream had largely reached a strange agreement that bordered on true friendship. Megatron would visit Vos off and on, and in return he would be welcomed and treated as a guest, sometimes even helping Starscream run the city he had dominion over. But it became painfully clear that Starscream was weakening. He still looked his finest at all times, but more tasks were delegated to his younger assistants, and his flights were shorter and less in sync with those he traveled alongside. Starscream’s steps were slower, his wings held lower, and his voice deeper and with an undertone of wisdom, Megatron never expected to hear in his former officer. 

At some point, Starscream had Conjunxed a Speaker from a colony world, one whom Megatron only knew as Windblade. Megatron missed their ceremony since no one informed him of it, but from what he knew, she was far younger and tended to handle rulership when Starscream could not. Supposedly the Conjunxing was merely political, but Windblade seemed to genuinely care for the ailing Lord of Vos, if only in a manner not too dissimilar to an Amica. They even took on a whole gaggle of sparklings of their own to raise, a surprise to Megatron who all but expected Starscream to try his best to be an immortal ruler for as long as physically possible. 

The named Aerialbots were highly skilled due to Starscream’s training, but their existence and excellence only served to further show Starscream’s age. Every vorn his sparklings grew stronger and his Conjunx took more control. It was a slow and sad decline, one that Starscream surprisingly handled with grace. By the time he actually sat down to speak with Starscream one-on-one around Cybertron's 5491st anniversary of restoration, Megatron found himself even more distraught.

━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

“Thank you for coming to visit, Megatron… I worried I would not be able to see you again.” Starscream’s voice was deep and rumbling from long vorns of use. His usual snark was nowhere to be seen as he gazed up at the skies, taking occasional sips of his energon as he observed the Aerialbots performing feats of flight above. His optics were dim and his plating dull, and yet he still smiled softly as he watched his five sparklings soar through the skies in perfect sync. Megatron wanted to be awed by the display and pleased with Starscream’s success in teaching, but he couldn’t let go of Starscream’s words. The seeker he knew would rather find him dead in a gutter than talk to him for any reason that did not have an underlying benefit.

“They remind me of Skywarp and Thundercracker.” Starscream mused as the Aerialbots performed a perfect roll, leaving twisting trails of smoke behind them. Following his gaze, Megatron had to admit it was impressive. And yet… it wasn’t Starscream and his trine. They were new, not mecha that Megatron cared to know or was particularly attached to. 

“You have taught them well.” Megatron settled on commenting as the Aerialbots performed a few twists that Skywarp and Thundercracker performed with far more eloquence alongside their trine leader. If Starscream shared that opinion, he said nothing as he merely hummed and continued to watch for a long few kliks. 

“They are good mecha, Megatron. They are young and just as arrogant as any other seeker, but with time, I know they will do well.” Confusion radiated off Megatron in waves until he saw the wistful smile Starscream had plastered on his face. It seemed so… wrong for the ambitious fragger that Megatron both loved and hated to be bearing anything close to a smile of contentment and peace. He seemed older, wiser, and more ancient than Megatron despite the fact that their ages leaned more in Megatron’s favor in regard to experience. 

“Why did you call me here, Starscream? You have always been ambitious and a pain in the aft. Seeing you like this is unsettling.” It took a moment, but as Starscream registered what was said, he chuckled in what was almost a fond manner before he put down his energon cube and turned to face Megatron properly. Starscream had always been a spindly thing, but seeing him so small was a bit of a shock, especially so soon after really seeing Soundwave’s state. The cape the Lord of Vos wore did give him a bit of extra bulk, but beneath it all, he was thin, weak, and aging. 

He was no longer the Air Commander Megatron relied on for so many millennia during the war. 

“I doubt you’ve noticed much until now considering your circumstances, but I’m old Megatron. All of us are. Even Prime is getting on in vorns. We are all tired, and all those little things that meant so much even a millennia ago simply no longer matter.” The Winglord coughed somewhat harshly, causing him to grip the table and shake for a moment. Megatron reached out to assist but was waved off as Starscream collected himself and continued. 

“I’m out of time. Windblade will be the next Winglord and my sparklings will assist her in leading. I tell you this because I want you to keep an optic on them, just to make sure they stay on track. The Aerialbots are arrogant little glitches just like I was. They will need someone to remind them of their place every now and then.” As if to prove his point, the five Aerialbots hooted and hollered as they flipped overhelm, diving toward the ground and shooting up at the last possible moment. Pretentious and arrogant indeed.

“I understand. I won’t be soft with them though.” Starscream laughed again, this time with more of the gusto Megatron recalled. Only it lacked the malicious undertone he was used to, a fact that threw Megatron for a loop despite being well aware that Starscream lost most of his aggression vorns upon vorns ago. Megatron just hadn’t been able to see it amidst the cloud of his thoughts. 

“Give them a few beatings. The little glitches will need it once I am gone.” No more words were exchanged between them as Megatron abruptly stood and marched off. Starscream frowned but did not stop him. A hint of regret prodded at his spark, but he paid it no mind. He had no interest in hearing his former Air Commander discuss his death, not when Megatron was not acutely aware that he would likely never be faced with such a prospect.

Not anymore. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

Starscream’s prediction was right. Within the next half vorn, the Lord of Vos passed away quietly in his gardens, held aloft by a thin hammock so that he could feel the wind gushing past his wings as his spark, at last, went out. Megatron attended the funeral alongside Soundwave and Optimus. Both his companions offered words of condolence for the loss and offered Windblade their sympathy. Megatron followed in their pedesteps and even went so far as to give Starscream’s grieving widow a few old trinkets he’d kept around from his former Air Commander.

He was unsure if it did anything, but Windblade offered her thanks all the same. Megatron merely felt… nothing. Even deca-cycles afterward, he was void, cold, and unfeeling. He didn’t want to feel. It hurt too much to think about the newest absence in his life. Shockwave was one thing, but Starscream was another. 

He tried not to contemplate the loss of another familiar face or the increasing number of new ones that took Starscream’s place at the odd meeting he attended. Instead, Megatron spent more of his time with those who remained, clinging to Soundwave and oddly enough even Optimus as much as he could. Occasionally he would fly to Vos, and as per Starscream’s final request, beat around the Aerialbots to remind them that they were not in fact as amazing as they thought they were. It was humorous to a degree, but largely sorrowful above all else. The defiant look in the optics of the Aerialbots was far too similar to Starscream for Megatron’s liking. 

He tried to only come to Vos when required, but when he was there, he always made sure to walk past the statue dedicated to Starscream, usually leaving some random piece of jewelry behind as well. He liked to think that a younger Starscream would have been both pleased and offended, and that alone made the effort worth it. 

Then as if to pour acid into the wound, a mere twenty vorns after Starscream’s passing, Soundwave passed away in the comfort of his home, surrounded by his symbiotes. Megatron hated himself for not being there, he despised that he was not made aware of Soundwave’s passing until he returned to his residence and only became concerned due to a lack of messages, resulting in him reaching out to Optimus. His spark screamed in denial, grief, and rage. However, there was nothing he could do aside from bite back tears when Soundwave’s funeral was held and his last will and testament read out. 

Soundwave wanted his frame to be cremated and his ashes turned into gemstones to be given to each of his symbiotes and to Megatron. It was such a small thing, but when the eldest of Soundwave’s symbiotes came to him and offered him a small black jem already within a pendant and ready to be worn… he wept softly and held it close. He didn’t want to believe that Soundwave was gone, not while he remained pristine and not so soon after Starscream. Optimus was his only comfort in the following few vorns. The Prime took up the position Soundwave left in Megatron’s life, and soon enough, Megatron retreated to his hab in the forests and received reports once a deca-cycle.

For a long time, Megatron could not bear to leave his place hidden away in the forests. He warded off wandering mecha who came too close and convinced Optimus to give him the land so that none could intrude and break him from his reverie. He hated the new faces, he hated the new sights. It was so different and always changing on the surface of the world he once called home… and yet he did not change with it. Forever a remnant, a relic of a war that ended millennia earlier. 

He did not weep when he was informed of Knockout’s passing, then of Arcee, Bulkhead, Wheeljack, and countless other names that he recognized as both Autobot and Decepticon in origin. He did not attend their funerals, nor did he visit what remained of his former comrades. No, instead he stayed hidden away, unwilling to deal with it all and instead trying to comfort himself by wearing the pendant made of Soundwave’s ashes. 

He managed to get away with his behavior for roughly a dozen vorns before Optimus seemed to have had enough as the next thing Megatron knew, the Prime was on his doorstep and promptly invited him to visit Iacon. The prospect caused his spark to ache, but the familiarity of the one he once knew to be a foe and long before that a friend…

He couldn’t find it within himself to object, not after seeing the weariness around Optimus’s optics. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

“You are the Master Archivist now? How are you managing such a position alongside being the head of the Council?” The archives were deep and dark, just as they were back when Megatron was still but a gladiator and Optimus not yet a Prime. In the back of his processors, he was nearly certain the archives would have been renovated to match the newest trends, but it seemed Optimus had kept the pre-war aesthetic. It was a comfort despite the mix of good and bad memories that befell him in response.

“I imagine you have not been keeping track of current affairs, but I have not been head of the Council since Ratchet passed. I handled some affairs for them from here, but otherwise, I have focused my efforts on keeping our history preserved.” The Prime walked softly despite his towering frame almost matching Megatron’s. Many of his gaudy outer plating attachments had thinned and his frame overall seemed somewhat weaker, but it was nothing as prominent as the frailty Starscream and Soundwave showed before their deaths. Optimus’s words almost didn’t reach him amidst the storm of it all, but Megatron still found it within himself to feel a degree of shock.

How out of touch was he?

“What of your scout and the rookie you took a liking to? How do they fare?” Megatron asked, partially to try and distract himself but largely to try and get Optimus to speak on something Megatron actually knew. The yellow nuisance and the elite guardsmech rookie were two mecha that Megatron despised for their efforts during the war but also held respect for due to their show of skills. He didn’t care for them, but if they got Optimus talking and discussing subjects that didn’t cause Megatron’s spark to flare in distress and loss, he would take it. 

“They are just fine. Bumblebee has long since risen to the upper echelons of the ranks of Enforcers and Smokescreen has been focused on integrating the Wreckers, DJD, and Elite guard all into one cohesive unit. He’s had limited success so far, but he is trying his best.” The Prime smiled as he led Megatron to the heart of the archive and stood before a console. For a moment, he looked just like Orion Pax, the brother Megatron thought lost to him so long ago. It hurt, it ached. 

“I brought you here because I do not wish to see you suffer alone. This burden you bear is great. As such, if you would allow me, I would be here to help you endure it for as long as I am able.” Optimus reached out and gently grasped his arm, pulling him a little closer so that he could see the screen. On it was an image of him, Orion Pax, Soundwave, and Ratchet before everything went to slag. They were all smiling, save for Soundwave who projected a smiley face on his visor. Tears he had long tried to suppress clouded his optics as he clutched Soundwave’s pendant, unable to hold back any longer. 

“I do not desire death, but I do wish that I would not be left in this state, untouched by time while all I know fades away before me.” His words came out between harsh sobs. Optimus merely held his servo and drew him into a comforting hug, understanding filling his field. Why was it that all he had left was the mech he once hated the most? Why did his companions have to wither while he did not?

“All will be well Megatronus. This reality that plagues you is not one you need to endure alone. I am here, and I will remain until my end draws near.” Optimus’s ominous final statement flew right over Megatron’s helm as he wept and truly felt the grief of all he lost for the first time. His cause, his Decepticons, Shockwave, Starscream, Soundwave, Knockout, and so many others. All of it was gone, and nothing remained save for echoes, shadows, small trinkets, and the odd mention of them in the history books. 

He hated this, but at least he was not alone.

━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

He took comfort in Optimus for many long vorns. The Prime understood him and was the only one who really knew who Megatron was. Often his routine for the following few millennia amounted to retreating to his abode in the forests where little ever changed and going to Iacon a few times a vorn to visit Optimus and teach the sparklings his former foe gave lessons on history to. Surprisingly, the little ones did not fear Megatron when he stood before him. Whatever anger from the war still remained only seemed to linger among the first generation of forged bots who came from the Well. Most war veterans were dead or too old to care, and for that reason, Megatron did not mind teaching at the archives as required.

Time was a blur for him for the most part, a mess of emotion that largely consisted of grief, reminiscing, brief flares of joy, and apathy. Lots of his time was spent in his hab, writing down his experiences, his poetry, and his wisdom. Those things he brought to Optimus who in turn published them under Megatron’s name. He would have preferred he remain anonymous, but the Prime insisted, and Megatron did not have the spark to say no when Optimus was all that remained.

There were moments of joy and comradery, but overall his life was a mess. Optimus helped and proved to be an anchor, but the way of the world meant that when Megatron finally saw, it was too late to do much of anything.

As with his old comrades, Megatron remained unblemished whereas Optimus suddenly grew to be frailer. Optimus was a Prime, the Matrix kept his spark ablaze and youthful, but it did not maintain the vitality of his frame. As such Optimus rather quickly deteriorated. At first, Megatron said nothing. It was not his place to speak on such matters. He assumed that Optimus was merely biding his time, enjoying the familiarity of his frame for as long as possible before going to get a new one, as was customary amongst Primes who lived long.

They were functionally immortal. Why would they not wish to continue on when all it would take was a quick frame change? Megatron understood better than ever why immortality was a curse more than a gift, but despite that, he still could hardly believe his optics when Optimus continued on, never getting a frame change even when he obviously needed it. The Prime’s armor fell off in droves, leaving him thin and emaciated to the point of requiring one of his younger archivists to guide him around. Then his vision began to fail so much that whenever Megatron visited, he often needed to read things out to Optimus if the print was too small. 

Even still, he said nothing for vorns. He was positive Optimus had a reason… up until the Prime tried to go fetch a datapad for Megatron to review only to instead trip, fall, and break his hip in three places. That was the final straw for Megatron. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

“Why won’t you get a fragging frame change?!” Megatron demanded as he marched into Optimus’s office, noting with grief the stabilizer that was now welded onto the Prime’s hip to keep it in place. 

“Because I have no need of it,” Optimus replied simply as if he weren’t using reading glasses and didn’t require three pillows just to sit upright in his chair. Megatron growled in outrage, anger boiling within his core to cover for the fear and sorrow that threatened to break loose. 

“You are falling apart, Orion!” He all but screamed, his fists shaking as he tried to make his point. Optimus merely put down his glasses with a sigh and turned to face him, suddenly looking so much more tired than Megatron remembered. His old foe always had an air of exhaustion around him, even when they were both still young. But the mech before him was wearier, darker, and seemingly so done with it all that even his spark lamented life. 

“I know, and I allow it to be. I am tired Megatronus, I have lived long enough and I want nothing more than to rest with my loved ones in the Allspark.” White hot rage ran through every fuel line and processing unit in Megatron’s frame as he marched forward and grabbed Optimus’s servo, holding it gently despite the way a dark part of him wanted to crush the weakening limb. 

“You want to abandon Cybertron? You archivists? Your position? Do you really want to leave it all behind? Are you truly so selfish as to have me endure this reality alone!?” He wasn’t sure when his tears began to fall, but as his wrathful questions poured from his vocalizer, he knew Optimus had already made up his mind. The Prime met his gaze calmly and squeezed his servo in that fond manner only Orion did back before the war.

“I take no joy in this, but I wish to make this singular choice for myself. I want to rest.” Sorrow, rage, denial, and so much more drowned out all logical thought as Megatron tore his servo away and fumed. Memories of the High Council and Orion’s ascension to the rank of Prime plagued him as he marched off, saying only one final thing before he left the archives for what was going to be a very long time.

“FINE THEN! FRAG OFF AND DIE FOR ALL I CARE, PAX!” He slammed the archive doors behind him and took to the skies in a rage, unwilling to heed the messages Optimus sent to him. He couldn’t handle them, not right now. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

Megatron retreated back to his hab and fervently refused to so much as look at any messages from Optimus for vorns on end. He didn't want to hear it. He didn’t want to listen to Optimus’s slagging reasoning for essentially offing himself.  The Prime was a selfish fragger and always had been. He could be the one to wait until Megatron was good and ready to come back, at least, that was Megatron’s thought process as he fumed. 

Optimus wanted to leave him alone. The Prime was the only other living mech who could essentially go on living forever just like Megatron. Why did he have to decide to abandon him? Why did that hurt so much? Why couldn’t Megatron move on already?

Thoughts plagued him, his anger simmered into remorse, and by the time Optimus contacted him again after a lull of a whole three vorns… he, at last, returned to Iacon. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

“Orion…” His voice echoed in the near-silent room. The only other sound was the tortured venting of the mech before him. Optimus Prime lay on a simple berth in a small hospital room. There was a pile of audio recordings beside him that he had evidently listened to quite frequently if the marks all over them were any indicator. But aside from that, the most notable and startling part of the situation was just how far Optimus had fallen.

He was stick thin, even slimmer than Soundwave was before his death. His plating was all but gone and his limbs were so frail that Megatron doubted the Prime could raise his arm for more than a half klik at most. Despite that, he seemed content as his dull and useless optics remained uncycled while still managing to look in Megatron’s general direction.

“You came…” Optimus murmured, his voice so gravelly and filled with static that it was hard to hear at all. Megatron moved to his ailing companion’s side and gently took the servo that reached out for him. This time he held no anger in his spark, and instead he felt nothing but regret. Vorns he could have spent enjoying the closeness of a former foe and friend were lost because of his bitterness, and now all he had was a few short kliks at best. 

“I did. I’m here Orion.” A weak smile met his words and never more did Megatron wish he was capable of aging. He wanted to have been able to age alongside his fellows, to banter about the woes of growing older, and to have the slagging peace that all of his fallen fellows seemed to have right before the end. 

“Thank you… for coming… one last… time.” Optimus’s optics flickered and his field crumpled. He was out of time. 

“Sire, rest easy, we will take care of things.” Bumblebee came forward from wherever he was previously loitering in the room and took up Optimus’s other servo. The former scout was aged as well, but it did not show with how kindly he cradled the dying Prime’s servo in his own. Megatron did not even bother trying to fight back tears as Optimus continued to smile so hopefully as if he were but a youngling again, just so pleased to be with those he loved.

“I know… you will both… endure… I know… that one cycle… we will… meet… again.” Optimus’s voice started to fade and Bumblebee began to sob. Megatron held himself upright, wishing he could spill out the millions of apologies that he had rehearsed during his trip to Iacon but knowing he had no more time to utter them. Optimus was fading, and if he could hear the words Megatron wished to speak, he would not have the chance to respond.

There would be no comfort from his dear old friend, and so all Megatron could do was listen and obey. 

“One day… an Autobot shall rise… from our ranks… and use the… power of the Matrix… to light… our darkest… hour.” The Matrix pulsed, its light shining through Optimus’s thinned armor and causing his optics to glow.

“Until that day… till all… are… one…” And just like that, Optimus’s frame went still, his venting ceasing and his spark chamber opening so that the light of the Matrix could bathe the room. Megatron did not stay. He carefully allowed Optimus’s lifeless servo to rest at his side and allowed Bumblebee to do whatever he wanted with the slagging relic as he stepped outside and flew back to his hab in the forest.

He did not care to linger, and as soon as he was home and the door firmly shut, he collapsed against the wall, weeping and clutching Soundwave’s pendant as if his life depended on it. 

“Forgive me Orion… forgive me….” 

━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

Megatron stopped bothering to keep track of time at all after Optimus’s passing. He stopped writing, he stopped doing much of anything. He left his hab with only Soundwave’s pendant and a datapad Optimus gave him vorns prior to read from. Once he had those two items, he merely… wandered. 

He contemplated ending his life by blaster or blade, but he found that reprehensible considering how pathetic it was compared to his comrades who died content and with honor. And yet he also had no desire to really continue living. As such Megatron fell to marching on, wandering the forests, seeing the sights of Cybertron, and avoiding cities like the plague. On the off chance he met another mech, he was quick to fly away. 

Loneliness ate at him, but he disregarded it. He could have left Cybertron and fled back to the stars, but he couldn’t bring himself to. That felt… disrespectful in an odd way, especially after all his comrades did to care for the world he walked. A strange sense of duty kept him firmly planted, and the rational part of his processors explained it away as him keeping his promise to Starscream. He was, by continuing to be present, ensuring that if things really needed to be looked at, he could come to handle the issue. 

At least that was what he told himself as cycles bled into one another and countless deca-cycles were spent laying flat on the ground staring up, unmoving and uncaring of the world around him. 

He wanted to be left alone to wallow, and for what could have been but a handful of vorns of countless millennia, he was allowed to do just that. But of course, Optimus’s final words had a way of following him, and eventually, he was greeted by a new and old face while resting along the edges of the Rust Sea. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

“You’re Megatron, right? Megatron of Kaon? Lord of the Decepticons, the great and mighty slag maker, the Herald of the Unmaker, and Champion of the pits? Do any of those ring any bells?” A young mech, one likely not older than perhaps millennia, stood above where Megatron lay on the ground uselessly. He sat up quickly and waved a servo dismissively, agitation blooming in his spark as he moved to gather his datapad and leave. But that didn’t seem to be enough for the pesky thing to leave him alone as quickly the orange, gold, and red youngling stood in front of him, stopping his path.

“Got any time to spare for an adventure?” The youngling asked with a big smile that seemed slightly unnatural to Megatron. He grunted and tried to sidestep before Bumblebee of all mecha hit his leg with a cane the former scout had evidently acquired. 

“Been looking for you for quite some time Megatron. We have a situation on our servos that requires somebody with actual experience to deal with.” The yellow scout scowled as he glared at the youngling who sheepishly whistled, seemingly uncaring of whatever distress he was causing. 

“Something’s gone wrong with Cybertron’s core. The Well is turning up empty with less and less sparklings every vorn. We found some of Optimus’s old texts talking about the ‘Knights of Cybertron’ and we could use your assistance hunting them down.” Surprise was quick to override agitation at the mention of the fallen Prime. Megatron stopped trying to get away as Bumblebee tried to speak only to be interrupted by the youngling before him.

“Bee’s got it mostly summed up! My designation is Rodimus Prime! Just got the Matrix, not all that long ago and I’ve already got a crew ready to go and find these Knights!” A Prime? Megatron could feel his brow raising in cautious curiosity as he looked the mech over. He didn’t at all match any prior Prime Megatron knew of, but then again, it was a time of peace. Odd things happened during peace just as they did while at war. 

“According to Bee, you’ve just been wandering around for the past few millennia since you can’t die. So what do you say? Want to go on an adventure and shake things up? I’ve got stickers!” The stupidity was astounding, and yet Megatron found himself compelled. It had been so long since he’d really attempted to connect with anyone, and quite frankly, Cybertron held too many painful memories to continue hanging around. He kept his promise to Soundwave and Starscream as much as he was able. 

Maybe it would do him some good to leave for a while. If nothing else, he might find someone out there to kill him in an honorable fashion.

“Only if I can be co-captain of this expedition.” He settled on a compromise, not fully trusting the so-called Prime before him. Rodimus seemed only partially let down before he gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up and grabbed Megatron’s arm. 

“Then let’s get going! Cybertron won’t save itself!” Rodimus smiled, Bumblebee grumbled, and Megatron sighed. Whatever was going to happen, at least he wouldn’t be alone.

[lord-squiggletits]

For your MegOP conundrum:

What are your thoughts on MegOP romance in forced truce situations eg. Quintessons attack, or everyone on the battle feild was taken by slavers type thing. Do your thoughts vary on continuity TFA vs Prime vs IDW, etc?

Hope this helps

Bookwyrm

I think Forced Truce as a trope is probably one of the easiest/most convenient ways to create an alliance/eventual reconciliation between the factions without just sidestepping the issue altogether. I think it's especially cool to have there be a temporary truce BUT the issues between the factions are still messing up communication, causing trust issues that make units work together less cohesively, etc. It's really great because it forces the factions/Megatron and Optimus to work together, EXCEPT if they fail to cooperate, it doesn't just mean a continuation of an endless, tedious war, but it could spell out the end of their species altogether. There's a ton of stakes inherent to it; if we're talking MegOP romance, then what's at stake isn't just the emotional pain of their bad relationship/breaking up because they can't make it work, but the physical consequences of them failing to defeat a greater foe. It lends the romance/truce particularly heavy symbolism-- that this temporary truce isn't merely a convenience, the blooming love isn't merely an emotion, but that both of these things could be the key to life itself. And I'm always a big sucker for that kind of theme where reconciliation/hope/cooperation/etc save the day.

I can really only comment on IDW since that's my bread and butter, but it's an interesting discussion because there's actually at least three times where Megatron and Optimus (and their factions by extension) did a forced truce where, obviously, it wasn't enough for them to reconcile afterwards:

Autocracy: Orion and Megatron team up to beat Zeta, ends with Megatron shooting Orion and the Autobots being imprisoned

Stormbringer: Mostly kept off screen, but the Bots and Cons have to keep up to try and defeat Thunderwing(?), who's basically a walking natural disaster created by all the environmental devastation of the war

Dark Cybertron: Teaming up to stop Shockwave from putting the whole universe in a singularity. Famously the series where Megatron became an Autobot. Has a really underrated/never talked about scene where Megatron and Optimus actually speak together in a quiet moment before going out to face everyone (and presumably Megatron is taken into custody in preparation for the trial).

Stormbringer is actually the most interesting one to me, because I love it when TF stories in general explore the environmental devastation of the war. I love it when Megatron and Optimus are punished for their war by the very planet dying, or in this case, creating a monster that both of them combined can barely stop. They disagreed on whether to basically bomb the whole planet to ash to stop Thunderwing (Megatron) or to keep the planet intact and hope to beat him some other way (Optimus), which I think if it were the focus of a story, is a really interesting example of what I mentioned above where differences in faction/philosophy don't vanish simply because they're temporarily working together.

One of the biggest reasons I love MegOP is because the two faction leaders are kind of like the King Arthur of their respective factions: whatever befalls the commander/king is a reflection of what happens to his army. So forced truce + unresolved tension (political, personal, romantic) is fucking fantastic because it means that whatever Megatron and Optimus do trying to deal with each other could fuck over their factions as well. And I really like the idea of MegOP struggling together in a relationship NOT because of personal differences or even emotional issues, but because they have some sort of obligation to their factions (fulfilling their goals, bringing their idea of justice) that means that coming together romantically would be betraying their factions.

Sorry for the rambling answer; hoped this had at least a few interesting ideas in it!

[tfp-lover]

Hi there, I saw your prompt and I like to ask a hc request on 44!

Megatron, Starscream, and Soundwave (from tfp) caught human reader with a small key file containing important decepticon files, turns out we’re a double agent who let themselves kidnapped by the Cons’, then hunted down by them.

The thing is, they have conflicted feelings, before the discovery, they were close friends, impressed with reader’s deception, and it would ashamed if they punished them.

Now it’s up to you to decide the endings! :)

Ooh, I like this ask! Thank you very much for the background info, kind Anon!

BETRAYAL HEADCANONS

Megatron:

~~ At first, he couldn't believe his optics. There was no possible way that you would have done this to him knowing a) his position as the LEADER of the Decepticons and B) your close friendship

~~ Once he realizes that this isn't a hallucination from dark energon, though, he is pissed

~~ Memory sequences of Orien's betrayal don't help the situation. If anything, it feels like it's rubbing a gallon of salt into it, then dousing the whole thing with lemon juice

~~ Despite this, he is slightly impressed. He never thought a human could make him feel like how he did so many eons ago

~~ That small feeling doesn't change your fate, however, and he picks you up with his servos before slowly closing his digits together, similar to how you crush a bug

~~ During his next battle with Optimus, he throws down a tiny bottle filled with your remains at him

Starscream:

~~ When he sees you with the small key file, he instantly knew what you were doing

~~ He berates himself for not listening to his paranoia about letting people close to him. After so many years of similar things like this happening to him, he should have known better

~~ He is impressed with how you convinced him to trust you though. Not everyone can do that, especially a human

~~ Starscream keeps you in a small cell until he decides what to do with you. He doesn't know if he should kill you for betraying him, or use you as a leverage towards the Autobots

~~ Ultimately, his decision is death (since he doesn't want to be seen as weak for letting you live) and you are brought to the next battle with him, where the Autobots watch him slowly step on you

Soundwave:

~~ He's more upset with himself than you

~~ He's also got trust issues, but he decided to let you close because a) you were good at your job and b) you reminded him of his deceased cassettes

~~ You try and reason with him, but your pleas are fall on deaf audials. He quickly scoops you up with his data cables and knocks you out

~~ He doesn't kill you though. He doesn't kill unless he has to, and he's found a better purpose for you

~~ Don't mistake this for mercy, though. He chains you up against the side of one of the terminals in the center control room and lacerates your vocal cords. Now, any Decepticon can come up and torture you. No matter how hard you try, though, your soundless screams don't garner any mercy

[nervousspacerobot]

love the Magnus art and the buster response :D very cool! I’ve kinda run out of things to say lol and my weeks been packed. here’s a question: What is a standout G1 Episode or Marvel comics moment for you?

#gl

Thank you!

Also, hi, gl, haven't heard from you a bit, don't worry about running out of things to say, because I always figure out something to yap about.

Anyway this one's a bit long, because I have to tell you about something that happened on Twitter with my response to you and tell you about cartoons and comics

Also I would like to tell you that I posted the strawpage gimmick and response on Twitter and my response got over 5000 likes and your strawpage to me got like over 1000 likes and a fanart, and I wanted to let you know that because it's your art and I'm sorry that it went viral I didn't mean that lol if you want me to shout you out I will, but don't feel pressured to break the anonymity

Okay, so back to the question at hand.

Season 1

Episode 7 "Fire in the Sky"

It is good. Fun Jazz bit at the start. I like Skyfire and I really like Starscream in this one. I like how it shows his ambitiousness and how he sees others but how he puts his ambitions first and how he doesn't hesitate to hurt people he cares about for his goals. I think he's an interesting villain and I like it.

I love Episode 8 too. "S.O.S. Dinobots."

It has everything good in there. Wheeljack ans Ratchet's ingenuity. Autobots learning about Earth things, Spike and Bumblebee once again, getting in situations they shouldn't. The stubborn nature of the Dinobots. And of course my favorite bit

"Inhibitor shells... my equilibrium... destabilized... OUGHHHHH!"

"Megatron has FALLEN! I Starscream am now your leader! Decepticons, follow me!"

Season 2

Episode 4 "Attack of the Autobots"

I just like it. I like how all the Autobots care for eachother and are careful not to hurt eachother and I love the Bumblebee and Prime moment at the end. And I love Ratchet and Sparkplug in it too

Episode 16 "The Master Builders"

Optimus playing Basketball. Also Hoist and Grapple are great. I love Grapple. He's so real.

Episode 27 "Make Tracks"

I love Tracks. Him and Raoul play off of eachother so nicely. It's so fun.

Season 2 Episode 30 "The Secret of Omega Supreme"

I love Omega in this and it's a touching episode and I love how Optimus is so compassionate towards him

Episode 34 "Triple Takeover"

So fun! Love Astrotrain and Blitzwing

"Coach! It's a tank! What do I do?"

"Give him the ball!"

Episode 37 "The Search for Alpha Trion"

Establishes a lot. Introduces the Female Autobots. I love them. Elita is such a good leader and I love that it's implied that they managed to survive 4 million years even with so many bots away.

I LOVE THE MOVIE, but the question isn't asking about the movie, is it?

Season 3

Episode 4 "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4"

Rodimus is... so depressed, so done with everything. The bit where he short circuits himself. Get therapy man. Also love the lore drop. I think it's very interesting. I think the Quintessons are interesting.

The next episode, the fifth part of the Five Faces of Darkness Quintology has a quote I like from Rodimus:

"We Transformers have looked into the face of our creators... and seen the face of an enemy."

It's just cool. I could talk about it more but I already talked so much and I haven't got to comics.

Episode 8 "Dark Awakening"

Just messed up. And Rodimus was so willing to give up the Matrix and just... Ough

Episode 28 "The Burden Hardest to Bear"

Rodimus just struggled the entire season didn't he? God. At least Kup's trying to help

Okay, comics now

US Issue 5/UK Issues 22-23 "The New Order"

You know, the one where Shockwave shows up and everyone is dead? That was so cool. A really strong start to the comics. I feel like it really sets it apart from the cartoon.

US Issue 7/UK Issue 26 "Warrior School"

Ratchet and Buster save the day! God I love Ratchet in this, I love him, I'm so normal about him.

UK Issues 42-44 "Crisis of Command"

US Issue 8/UK Issues 27-28 "Repeat Performance"

The Dinobots YAYYYYYY! Also Ratchet is GREAT once again!

I love that the trauma of what happened the Optimus with Shockwave stuck to him. I love that he doubts his command so Prowl tries to come up with solutions that make it worse. I love Bumblebee's self esteem issues. I love it.

US Issue 16/UK Issues 57-58 "Plight of the Bumblebee"

Bumblebee can't catch a break ever.

US Issue 17/ UK Issues 66-67 "The Smelting Pool"

Blaster and Scrounge my beloved...

UK Issues 96-97 "Prey"

Optimus is worried that the Autobots wouldn't make it without him. His solution is stupid.

US Issue 24/UK Issues 105-106 "Afterdeath"

This shook me so much that I had to talk to my mom about it

US Issue 26/UK Issues 109-110 "Funeral for a Friend"

Ratchet, it wasn't your fault you have to listen to me.

UK Issue 132 "Kup's Story"

KUP!

UK Transformers Annual 1987 "Vicious Circle"

I really love how in the comics, the things that happen to the characters stick with them and it can take multiple issues to resolve/never resolve

UK Issues 160-161 "Salvage"

Ultra Magnus and Megatron VS PTSD very cool

UK Issues 166-167 "Legion of the Lost"

This story arc is really cool and interesting and I like the amount of robot body horror in this series. Springer...

UK Issues 168-169 "Meltdown"

Impactor... It's just cool. Read it.

UK Issues 199-205 "Time Wars"

Iconic

US Issue 60/UK Issues 252-254 "Yesterday's Heroes"

Hot Rod is so stupid that Optimus's grief-driven suicide is postponed

US Issue 61/UK Issues 259-261 "The Primal Scream"

What if god was under your feet the whole time? What if while all this death and destruction was happening to you for millions of years, he was there the whole time and he just slept. What if you died twice and you found god and he was asleep and uncaring? Anyway, Bumblebee yells at god.

US Issue 70/UK Issues 309-310 "The Pri¢e of Life!"

OUGH OUGH OUGH OW OW OUGH OW

Anyway sorry that my words on them vary, but those are my favorites overall and I can talk more in depth out of all of them, sorry it took so long

Also these are just some of the ones that stand out to me! There are a lot of good moments that I missed!

[autobot2001]

Feeling Helpless

Author: Autobot2001 Genre: Fanfiction Fandom: Transformers Rating: T Warnings: Depression Pairing: Drift X Jamie Description Drift feels helpless that he can't help Jamie.

For @febuwhump day 1; helpless

"I don't know what we're going to do," Drift sighs, looking at Jamie asleep on the bed across from the one he's sitting on with Crosshairs, "we've been trying to help Jamie for twelve years, but every year she gets worse, and now…" Tears roll down his face as Crosshairs hugs him. Crosshairs doesn't know what to say as he also worries about Jamie. The other Autobots and human friends know Jamie struggles mentally, but Crosshairs and Drift don't tell their friends about everything Jamie deals with. Not even to their leader, Optimus, the medics, or the Autobot psychiatrist, Rung. The two sit in silence until they realize it's midnight. They sat on the bed for an hour. The two go to bed. Hoping their worry about Jamie doesn't cause nightmares to return for either of them.

The mood is not good the next morning as the three friends get ready for the day. Jamie suddenly learns she must return to her dimension, but Crosshairs and Drift cannot join her. The way Jamie is treated angers everyone who is aware. Being an adult isn't helpful for Jamie to deal with the issue. It's gotten to where a few Autobots agree with Sunstreaker, who wants to deal with the situation. Optimus has had to lecture him several times, and it's one reason he's not allowed to go to Jamie's dimension unless there's a special event planned. Both mechs worry as Jamie walks through the portal to her dimension.

"She's not even back home for twenty fragging minutes!" Crosshairs rants, reading Jamie's text to Drift, "there's nothing we can do. Having her stay with us isn't helping when she must return home." Drift isn't listening as he worries about how upset Jamie will be this time. He feels Crosshairs hugging him. The two know there's nothing they can do until Jamie returns, and there's little they can do when she returns.

As Jamie thought, the day out turns into a reminder she's supposed to think she's helpless and needs a lot of help because she has disabilities. She knows she can't say anything. She's just asking for a lecture on how she's playing the victim, overreacting, or making things up.

"She should have been back," Drift worries, seeing it's midnight. Crosshairs also worries. The two don't think Jamie is being prevented from leaving. With how Jamie's mental health has been, the two can't think she'll return tomorrow. They can open a portal in their room to avoid anyone else finding out what's happening.

Jamie is awake, watching the Livestream she watches when the streamer is live. Despite the TV's dim light, the mechs notice Jamie's distress. She also changed to her cross-dimensional appearance, which seems unusual. "You don't think….?" Drift trails off, not wanting to finish his sentence. The fear Jamie is now going to stay away from them. Crosshairs also worries Jamie wasn't going to return. He hugs Drift, hoping to calm him before Jamie notices. He does question why Jamie changed her appearance but doesn't say anything to Drift. The two decide to stay. Drift lies on Jamie's bed as always and takes Jamie's hand. Jamie moves closer to Drift while watching the stream.

By two in the morning, Drift notices this isn't Jamie's typical staying up late. She's struggling to fall asleep, and it's not because the TV is on. He turns it off and hugs Jamie in his arms. Jamie keeps turning while in his arms, but not because she doesn't like being in his arms. Drift moves Jamie onto his chest. He rubs her back, hoping to get her to relax and fall asleep. It's been a while since she struggled to sleep. Drift worries.

Crosshairs is up at six in the morning, which Jamie's cat likes, seeing as he headbutts Crosshairs. "Seriously?" Crosshairs whispers. "Meow." Crosshairs gets up to feed the cat and take care of the rabbit.

Crosshairs notices how Drift and Jamie sleep when he walks into the room after caring for the cat and rabbit. Crosshairs has seen the two sleep like this before and doesn't think it's concerning. He lies on his bed, waiting for his friends to wake up. He texts his sister, Lightning, letting her know where the three are. Lightning: sudden change of plans isn't like you or Drift. Crosshairs: I hate how you realized this wasn't planned. It's concerning how Jamie didn't return last night. Lightning: that's bad. We're losing her, Crosshairs. Crosshairs hates how there's nothing he can say to ease his sister's worry, and she'll have to wait until the three return. Crosshairs ends up falling asleep.

It's now eight in the morning. Drift moves to the edge of the bed, careful not to wake up Jamie. With his free hand, he wraps the blanket around himself and Jamie. Drift sees that Crosshairs is still asleep. "Meow." The cat rubs on Drift, demanding attention. With his free hand, Drift pats the cat. Crosshairs is up soon after Drift. The cat jumps off the bed, and Crosshairs sits where the cat is. "Rough night?" Crosshairs asks, seeing Drift's worried expression. "Jamie couldn't get to sleep. How long have we been accustomed to her late nights? I know last night was insomnia." "This isn't good," Crosshairs sighs. The two worry about how yesterday went. Simple time with family hurting Jamie. They know they should talk to Jamie about it but hate upsetting her.

Jamie wakes up in a bad mood. Crosshairs and Drift are used to this, but hoped she'd be in a good mood. They watch her leave the room. Saying nothing, they both follow her upstairs.

No one is home. This pleases both mechs, but they know they shouldn't be pleased no one is home. "Do you want pancakes?" Crosshairs asks Jamie. She nods and sits on the couch with her phone. "This isn't good," Drift worries. "We'll figure this out after breakfast." Drift sits with Jamie. We're already worried we'll lose her, now the possibility Jamie wasn't going to return to our dimension. Crosshairs worries. And her insomnia might be back.

The mechs are happy to see Jamie eat breakfast, but their happiness is overshadowed by concerns about Jamie's thoughts. Jamie doesn't eat much before going back downstairs. Jamie's refusal to wait for them concerns the two mechs.

The two didn't think they'd hear crying when they walked into the room. "I know we decided not to get her to talk, but I think we better," Crosshairs whispers. Drift nods. Both worry about the cause of Jamie crying already. They proceed with the routine they've established when Jamie ends up crying. Drift hugs Jamie while sitting on the bed and Crosshairs beside him, rubbing Jamie's back to calm her. Neither wants to further upset her, but they think they need Jamie to tell them what's wrong.

It's no relief to the two that there's nothing new causing Jamie to cry, as the cause infuriates them. They know Jamie has disabilities, but she refuses to show them her appearance in this dimension. Knowing Jamie can change her appearance while in her dimension isn't viewed as good when there's a reason she doesn't want to show friends who don't know her appearance here what she looks like. "… they treat me like I'm helpless because I'm disabled and I have to go along with it, otherwise I'm the problem," Jamie cries. The two are at a loss for words, as this problem has persisted for years, and Jamie's mental struggles have been disregarded. Being with the mechs in their dimension no longer provides the escape it once did, even with all her supporting and loving friends. They hate their only choice is to let Jamie cry. They don't have to say anything to know the other mech thinks they should lie on the bed with Jamie. While both mechs hate how upset Jamie is, Drift feels guilt that he can't help the femme he loves.

Crosshairs and Drift don't know how much time passed until Jamie fell asleep. Crosshairs knows Drift has been fighting back the tears while he has been reminding himself he needs to be Drift's support. After covering Jamie, Crosshairs escorts Drift out of the room and closes the door. Hoping it'll be enough not to wake Jamie.

Drift gives into crying once Crosshairs hugs him. "I'm failing her," Drift sobs. Crosshairs isn't bothered hearing this. He knows Drift is thinking as Jamie's boyfriend rather than guardian and friend. "I know it's hard watching her struggle. That we're just keeping her safe rather than helping her." By now, tears roll down Crosshairs' face. He can't fake being ok. As much as Drift hates how Crosshairs acts ok, he hates seeing Crosshairs cry. Both struggle with feeling helpless and hate how Jamie is treated more helplessly than she is.

[aggressively-crying]

Tfa Optimus prime propaganda before soundwave overtakes him:

This man is so burned out you can see smoke rising from his engine at any given time.

This particular incarnation isn't the leader of the Autobots. He's a maintenance bot that dropped out of the elite guard academy and got stationed in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. He was built long after the war ended, so he'd never even seen real action against a decepticon...

Until he ended up with the most powerful artifact in cybertronian history, the very thing that gave their species life, and was immediately hunted by the battle hardened leader of the Decepticon army for it.

Animated Optimus is literally Just Some Guy that got caught right at the resurgence of the most brutal war his kind had ever known, and was immediately forced to keep it from breaking out full-scale all over again. It's like if a college dropout working at a dinky tech repair shop had to stop world war three.

On top of preventing a fucking war, since he crashed on earth he's taken it up on himself to play first responder, too. He gets zero chance to rest ever between taking emergency calls and rebuilding any damages to the city from the fights with the decepticons. Thaaaat's right, he's working two fucking jobs on top of the autobot gig.

That alone would be bad enough, but it only goes downhill from here.

The crew Optimus has to work with, the guardians of both Earth's and Cybertron's futures, the only people between the entire Decepticon armada and the strongest source of power, are the most dysfunctional losers in existence. Half of which nearly cause more problems than they solve (cough cough, bumblebee). He wants to be a good, chill boss sooooo badly, he wants them to be able to just TALK to him but nobody on this damn team knows how to communicate or even think before they act, EXCEPT Optimus, who is consistently stuck getting the raw end of the deal whenever this inevitably goes horribly wrong. Definitely doesn't help that they don't actually follow orders either.

And unlike Soundwave, Optimus can't just conveniently carry these nerds around in cassette form in his chest, tucked away where they can't cause endless chaos, he has to live with them 24/7. Also, ya know, Soundwave's kids actually follow his orders without question. Team Prime? Fuck no.

Let's not forget the other bastard Optimus is tormented by, either.

For the uninitiated, this is Sentinel Prime. He exists to be just the fucking worst. He's arrogant, he's classist, he's xenophobic, and he's a huge smug piece of slag. Nobody likes him in-universe, few like him in the fandom.

He used to be OP's best friend. Now he calls him a grease monkey and a lowly maintenance bot every time they're forced to interact. Everyone who has to put up with him wants to punch him in his bitch face, Optimus especially. Every time he shows up to earth he fucks up the whole operation and blames anyone who isn't him for what went wrong, then takes credit if something goes right. Keeps dragging old friendship drama into work too.

Whiiiiich brings me to:

Optimus's Unresolved Trauma

As if this poor bastard didn't have enough going on, he's also being tormented by his past: specifically, the incident where he thought his (possibly?) girlfriend died to a bunch of giant fucking spiders and an explosion on an unsanctioned mission sentinel led, which he still entirely blames himself for. Except turns out said girlfriend lived, ended up a mutant that hates herself, and now blames Optimus for abandoning her, which is just cranking up the guilt to 11.

Oh and on top of all of this he's raising a kid. It's not even like a g1/prime/seemingly every tf anime situation where said kid just shows up sometimes to hang out because they're friends. No, her fucking dad went missing and she had nowhere else to go but with the robots, so he's a proper fuckin dad now too.

Tl;dr: Soundwave may be carrying the decepticons, but Optimus is carrying two worlds, three jobs, a kid, four autobots with horrible communication skills, a metric fuckton of total disrespect from some of the worst people alive, the most powerful artifact in existence, and enough guilt to drown a man. I'm astounded his spine is still intact. In conclusion, vote Optimus prime for overworked transformer blorbo.

Preliminary Poll 35: Transformers

[geek-antic]

so I started thinking about IDW1 soundwave again, and how he was blackmailed by optimus and how there was little to no resolution to that little subplot which is par for the course when it comes to the guy who wrote the robots in disguise comics at the time.

But I always keep jumping back to it because it bothers me that, from beginning to the end, it made no sense. the blackmail material that optimus had at his disposal hinges on a technicality. to summarize the situation: the autobots had the decepticons holed up in a camp with bombs in their head that would blow up at the push of a button if they ever stepped out of line or caused a threat.

bumblebee was the leader of the autobots at the time and held the remote detonator to those bombs.

unbeknownst to bumblebee and the autobots, Soundwave had discovered the frequency and made sure no decepticons got their heads blown off if the autobots ever were to use the detonator. the plan was to lay low and play along.

however, only a select few decepticons knew about this plan. most of the rank and file decepticons did not know about it. then a decepticon named horri-bull started causing trouble and bumblebee pushed the button to blow his head off. to play along as he was ordered to and to avoid rousing suspicion Soundwave had to either allow this to happen or had to send the detonation signal to the bomb in horri-bull's head to keep up the act.

but here's the thing, not only was it under orders that soundwave did it, it was still bumblebee who decided to push the damn button and kill horribull.

it's like... you know that saying that goes something like "you don't blame the gun you blame the guy who's pulling the trigger"? it's the exact same scenario! I just think this writer is bad, sure he has made some few good scenes and stories and dialogue that I genuinely appreciate but it doesn't make up for the majority of terrible stories and mischaracterization he's written for the sake of pushing the plot forward in a specific direction. it's just the worst way to write a story but I digress.

there is little to no resolution for this blackmailing subplot aside from some quick wrap up where horri-bull's romantic partner needlenose digs into soundwave when he finds out the truth. but the thing is: sure he can be pissed at Soundwave for going along with it, but bumblebee is still the one who decided to kill the guy, so it doesn't really make much of a difference. at worst it could've all been a minor dispute if they had talked it out but alas.

if I were to make a guess at anything out of that mess it would be that Soundwave allowed himself to get blackmailed because he probably felt tired, lost, and guilty all things considered. Because aside from soundwave all of the decepticon high command had gone off to fulfill their own goals, leaving the cause and the rest of the decepticons behind. Ravage who had pretty much raised Soundwave, was away to keep an eye on megatron who had not only given up but decided to change sides to the autobots, double whammy right there. the decepticons had lost the war so soundwave decides to pick up the pieces and tries to give the decepticon veterans a place where they can live in peace away from the rule of primes which happens to be earth of all places. but then he has to deal with galvatron who ended up joining them and he's looking to reignite the war all over again. god, it makes me tired just thinking about it.

point is: by the time thundercracker of all people, shows up at his doorstep with optimus prime in tow. Soundwave is probably like "yeah this might as well happen" this isn't even mentioning that ravage up and died at one point during lost light and soundwave felt that.

mostly i'm not counting that in because idk when it happened in robots in disguise on soundwaves end but whether it was before or after optimus blackmailed him makes little difference because either way the guy was already emotionally defeated at that point.

[lord-squiggletits]

THANK YOU FOR THE EARTHSPARK OPTIMUS ANALYSIS i am super sleepy rn so im not going to get super into it but I didnt even know that people were theorizing that optimus was being stupid or got replaced?? That didn't seem right and I agree with you completely. I think Earthspark is a wonderful new take on the autobot/decepticon war and the human involvement in it. There is A TON in this show about how characters perceive one another, a lot is about identity and social systems and ideology vs putting morals into practice. Optimus Prime is in a tight spot as representative autobot, transformer, AND cybertronian to humanity. Those three facets of his identity conflict CONSTANTLY, and those contradictions get challenged throughout the show. Optimus IS a good leader and he IS doing the right thing most of the time, but he isn't perfect, plus he's in a situation where diplomacy is incredibly tricky and dangerous, that just means the show gets to do interesting things with his character that previous incarnations didn't have the chance to.

.