#how did they manage to make a mech so attractive??

[robolvrr]

I hope you’re having a good day/night! Can we have tfa starscream and tfp starscream with a female cybertronian that’s taller than them and got the hips?😼

Also just wanted to say I love your writing!! Happy to request my brainrot here and not feel embarrassed 😖💜

she's a brick house! ◜⁠✧*ﾟ⁠+

and if i said this freak helped cultivate my voice kink, then what?

warnings: nsfw under cut. i LOVE me a skinny twig x powerhouse ship real bad.

"don't be preposterous. i don't fear you, no matter what you hear otherwise."

tfp! starscream

him and that sass of his is often too frustrating for his associates to develop anything further than a common goal oriented relationship.

the closest? knockout. and that's simply because their snark and combined chaos doesn't edge to flat hatred or harm as his other dynamics tend to.

he's not interested in your arrival at first, until megatron mentions in passing that you were a personally selected recruit. now, his pace is measured as he mutters to himself — the last thing he needs is to be fighting for a spot at the table.

not with all the aft-kissing and manipulating he's done to establish his reputation.

your introduction is short. starscream pretends not to care.

however... you don't make it easy.

starscream had always found his frame perfection. he's slender, lithe and regardless of the many repercussions with his boss, it's no surprise his metal armor is just as opulent as the nemesis itself.

there is rarely a creature or mech he has to crane his neck for.

though when he does drink you in, his intake opens, then closes, then opens once more. those razor-sharp brows are as expressive as they are obvious.

not only do you tower over him, closer to megatron's shoulder, your paint is a deep maude and your general frame is.. well. he's not complaining.

you're not as polished.. though he can tell you take hot oil baths and your curves are well-melded. his frown blooms even more. he doesn't need to be thinking about that.

wide hips. wide legs. there's an arch of ruby metal nestled at your hips that crest similar to one of these planet's filthy paradise birds.

his sneer as he realizes of course you can't fly either is enough to prevent any concerning thoughts flooding his processor.

"i see. and just what can you do?"

"what is asked of me, starscream. i do hope there won't be issues with my presence on the bridge. we are to be working close from now on, after all."

"ah, yes, o— what?! b-but lord megatron!"

turns out that megatron has had enough of his scrap. you are within the same rank but as he quickly and scornfully realizes, perform as an overqualified sparkling-sitter.

it doesn't help that you're so painfully professional. he wants to despise you, but you firmly push him from his schemes and don't have a bucket of bolts in your helm.

he's clever. you read him and his lies. he tries and fails several assassination attempts that always end with him feeling foolish and riled.

his respect, as well as his attraction, is mournfully earned. sometimes he ponders if you know this, which makes the torture of his spark crackling in your wake worse.

"oho? but of course, my sweet!"

tfa! starscream

unlike prime starscream, he is overtly flashy and unabashed with his interest. after all, what good is rule if not with competition?

he does not fear you — he did manage with sabotaging his boss and avoiding execution while doing so. the decepitcon ranks were truly mech eat mech mentality.

let's hope you're not a gentle giant, because he's got a silver glossa and isn't afraid to use it to woo.

"is it just me, or is that chrome sparkling, darling? and here i thought you were just a brute."

alright. he's just as much of a brat.

he takes pride in reaction. not only is he a skilled strategist and fighter but he knows how to ruffle feathers.

and like the boastful seeker he is, he's going to find what makes you tick.

needles for your attention just short of pushy.

walks behind you with that crooked grin of his, even though he usually likes to glide in front of his subordinates associates. hmm, wonder why?

expect him on patrols to fly above you, flaunting off in his element. what was just a simple recon turns into a full on flight show.

no personal space. he enjoys almost, just almost, pressing up against your chassis. aren't you lucky? he's wrapped around your digit.

finds excuses to touch you. never lecherously, but in the sort of a manner a feline rubs between legs.

speaking of which... he adores yours. so strong. so shapely. just how were you forged? he wants to thank primus.

nsfw headcanons.

tfp! starscream

he desires to be in control. with how much he's realistically gotten knocked around he isn't interested in getting on his knees in the berthroom.

at least... not for now. it'll take time.

imagine his surprise when you lay on your back anyways, lips curved and valve throbbing.

it ends up with him nestled and secured deep, spike bursting with transfluid between messy, sharp thrusts.

his claws dig at your frame and leave jagged marks behind, which he doesn't apologize for because you keen so approvingly he wonders just how much you'd let him get away with.

"look at you. mewling like pleasureware. pathetic."

the praise you give is music he doesn't care to admit about. suddenly he's jackhammering and his fans and vents are blasting, metal and arousal schlicking through the darkness of your habsuite.

"and here.. the mighty.. fall."

garnet optics glare down at the slope of your neck, before he's caressing up and down and nipping near your audials.

he takes you like a conquest. his, all his. and no one is taking that from him.

"for you, lord starscream. i would fall a thousand times."

interfacing is fast, uncouth but tender. you are his prized possession.

tfa! starscream

slut. that's all i have to say.

he wants you to be rough, to break him, to make him see stars. he wants you to lose your cool and force him into submission. this within itself is a sign of his obsession, for he would rather die than ever admit defeat.

his e.m. field is constantly thrumming with want. half the time you have to wear him out so he doesn't project to the entire ship that he wants to be treated like shareware.

seductive, impish mech from pit. you question if he's been sent down to drive you to insanity.

which is why he's currently hoisted over your desk, knocking over datapads and slamming into panels with a shriek that borders pain and pleasure.

your spike is bigger than his. that doesn't mean he can't keep up with you.

he will have you work for it. even when his valve squeezes and you swear he's the tightest you've ever speared, he still manages to take it.

meanwhile, he's whispering the dirtiest commands, demanding you flip him over so he can feel you.

"ha haaaa.. so easy to wind you up, commander! d-do you always have to be so cruel?"

then he's yanking you down by the hips and feeling all over, dermas stretched to an wicked smile.

"harder. don't you want to make me overload?"

you can tell he's just finding excuses to grope you, especially as he uses the grip on your aft to speed up the pace. even with dimmed optics you can feel his gaze, appreciative.

thoughts and prayers to the poor vehicon that has to wipe down after you're through.

[bones4thecats]

┗ They're Mine; TFA! Cons × GN! S/O ┛

Characters: Megatron, Starscream, and Shockwave (Transformers Animated) *characters aren't shipped together A/N: This was actually fun to write, I made the idea while ago but never had any energy to write it out. Thank goodness I did, though. I love this, by far one of my most enjoyable pieces to write. ⇘ Summary: After returning from a mission with Shockwave on Cybertron, you attract the attention of Lord Megatron and his second-in-command, Starscream. But, after becoming more comfortable around the Decepticon team, they're shocked by the realization of your status with your spy-partner.

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👑💫 Having one of these mechs on your aft is hard enough. But having both of them? Oh, I feel bad for you.

👑 Megatron doesn't hesitate to show his disdain for any of his fellow Cybertronians, or really anything in general. But, because of this quality, it's easy to tell when you likes you around. Examples of this is Shockwave.

💫 Starscream on the other hand is the exact opposite. He never really shows he likes anyone. Probably because he doesn't, but I regress.

👑💫 However, when you came around, these two changed their actions almost fully. They're still just as unstable as before, but they do try to tone it down when you're nearby. Starscream does this better than the anger-issues having warlord.

👑💫 You were terrified when you met the warlord. You may have been a Decepticon who followed him for many years through the war back home, but actually seeing him face-to-face was totally different.

🧪 During Shockwave's time on Cybertron, you were right by his side. You managed a lot of the background parts, you made sure there were records of a Longarm and Hillcrest being created and being raised on the planet. Longarm being Shockwave's alias and Hillcrest being yours.

👑🧪 When you both were revealed as traitors, you fled to Lord Megatron as quickly as possible. He wasn't happy you both failed, but the way you somehow managed to go that long and get quite a bit of information, did please him.

👑🧪 You stared up at the mech as he looked blankly at you. Shockwave looked back at you with his singular optic, before motioning for you to come closer to him. He wrapped an arm around your shoulders and introduced you to your shared boss.

"Lord Megatron, I am pleased to introduce you to Y/N. They've been my right-hand during my time on Cybertron. Their knowledge almost surpasses my own, it's quite jarring."

"My Lord." You bowed, nervously staring at the ground as Megatron stared down at you.

"Rise." He demanded, to which you obliged and looked at him with slightly-widened optics.

"So," he began circling around you as he spoke. "You're the infamous Hillcrest Prime, leader of the Cybertronian Defense. Impressive work weakening their defenses on the inside without Ultra Magnus discovering."

"I-uh, thank you, my Lord. Though, Shockwave did do quite a bit of work himself with that." You chuckled.

"Oh, I'm sure he did." He purred, making your cheeks flare with a slight blue tint.

💫 Your first time meeting Starscream was far different. You actually knew him from before the war. He was one of your best friends as you aged. Starscream enjoyed being around you because you helped feed into his ever-growing ego.

💫 He always said you were adorable when you were young, but seeing you and how you aged was shocking. You stood alongside Shockwave, trying to put a few things together before Lugnut began to spout off about Megatron once again.

💫 You looked at Lugnut and blinked annoyingly, a scowl on your face as he kept rambling. He was pissing you off and both Starscream and Shockwave knew this, but didn't bother trying to stop you. They both understood your anger far to well.

"Lugnut. Please be quiet. Shockwave and I must continue our research into the ship and getting information out of Arcee."

"Are you saying you don't want to hear about our glorious leader, Lord Megatron?! How dare you insult him in such a menner?! Why-"

💫 Your optic twitched as you, without hesitation, stomped on Lugnut's ped, kicked him on the side of his face, and pushed him out of the room.

"And if you don't want to listen, stay out!" You yelled, slamming the doors shut.

👑 Megatron heard the noise and went to the room, only to find Lugnut pouting outside of the room.

"Lugnut? What caused that loud boom?" Megatron asked.

👑 The green and purple Decepticon stood up abruptly and bowed to the stoic mech before telling him the story. Only for you to yell back that you heard him and he should stop acting like a sparkling unless he wanted you to come out and throw him out the nearest exit.

👑 Megatron was slightly surprised. When you first arrived, you were on the shy-side, not really speaking unless necessary. But, perhaps that was how Hillcrest acted around people of authority and not Y/N? Most likely.

👑💫 Megatron entered and looked at Starscream, only to see the mech talking to you like he knew you for eons. Of course he did, but the warlord couldn't give a scrap. His second-in-command really knows how to make Megatron want to cut each cable in his system, doesn't he?

"Y/N, can you grab some supplies from the back?" Shockwave asked.

"...Huh? Oh- yeah. What do you need?"

"Just some lubricants and extra cords." He answered, antennae moving around as you smiled and nodded.

👑💫 Megatron and Starscream glared at one another, but they looked at you as you whipped off your servos and laid a cloth down for Shockwave to do the same later on. Come to think of it, the only Cybertronian they saw you always positively and freely interact with was the scientist...

👑💫🧪 Just as they began to go through the few memories they shared with you in the team, you stepped up slightly and pecked the scientist on the side of his helm. His antennae moved slightly upwards as he leaned his helm on yours for a slight second before you left to grab the materials he wanted.

"Did that just... happen?" Starscream mumbled, Lugnut beside him with his jaw dropped open.

"Uh- Shockwave." Megatron called.

👑💫🧪 Shockwave looked at his leader and hummed, wordlessly asking for the larger mech to continue.

"Are you and Y/N a... couple?" He strained out.

"We started acting lovingly while undercover in Cybertron's ranks, those small actions are practically in our average movements now." He replied.

"That doesn't answer the question!" Starscream yelled, servo balled in a fist as he yelled.

"To sum it up...

They're mine."

[akutasoda]

Can I request a boothill | aventurine(separate) x chlorinde!reader that's a galaxy ranger. For boothill, I heard that chlorinde also drinks so I think that they'd probably meet in a bar. As for aventurine I can see her being the obsidian stoneheart or a bodyguard that's owned by the ipc (kinda like aventurine). Do whatever you want honestly.

But I do think there would be some funny moments when fighting. One being that headlock that chlorinde put that one mech guard in. Or whenever she's cleaning her weapons. Especially with both boothill and aventurine being such touch starved people.

the dueling galaxing ranger

synopsis - how are they with a galaxy ranger that has a few skills

includes - aventurine, boothill

warnings - gn!reader, fluff, slight crack, maybe ooc, wc - 1.1k

aventurine ★↷

↪it wasn't an unknown fact that there was alot of people out for the ipc, specifically the stonehearts and other important higher-ups. eventually, diamond starting considering hiring a bodyguard for the stonehearts

↪not that diamond didn't trust them to protect themselves, it was just more of an extra security measure so they didn't have to worry about their safety.

↪diamond didn't exactly trust hiring a galaxy ranger but diamond figured that it was the safest bet - especially because they pay was rather nice. eventually diamond landed on you, a lone galaxy ranger willing to take on the job.

↪due to more recent events, diamond reckoned that your services were more required to keep an eye on aventurine. and thus you became his bodyguard - not that he really had a choice.

↪although, aventurine quickly got accustomed to your presence. he didn't mind that you weren't exactly the talkative type and he actually liked that you were a galaxy ranger, he was determined to weasel some stories out of you.

↪you're convinced that sometimes aventurine puts himself in risky situations because he knows that his luck won't fail him and neither would you - not unless you wanted the ipc to come after you.

↪somehwere along the line, you and aventurine became more on a friendly basis than pure oblige. although you couldn't quite decide if that was a good or bad thing yet - he did become noticeably more present in your life.

↪there was no doubt in his mind that you were the most qualified that diamond could've picked. you're skills were certainly impressive and there was no doubt that you could keep him safe.

↪although sometimes you found it hard to keep professional, especially when aventurine attracted large crowds at casino's with some unwelcome guests..

---✩

it was yet another night of aventurine dragging you into a casino. anytime he went anywhere, he'd make sure you ensued because it was 'your job' or so he'd say - he wasn't entirely wrong but he wasn't entirely honest. you didn't care for the flashiness but it was your job, so you stood to the side and kept an eye on him.

however that became increasingly more difficult as he kept winning, so more people came to watch or even dare break his winning streak. you could still pick him out fortunately, but something didn't sit right with you and you knew that you would have to act soon.

aventurine's luck did sometimes attract the wrong crowds and among that group were those that were absolutely convinced that he was cheating - and they weren't afraid to pick a fight. you could pick those people oit and you could tell that they wrre the ones currently gambling against aventurine.

you hung back but couldn't sit around much longer when a few of them stood up rather furiously. one of them grabbed hold of aventurines collar and you managed to catch aventurine's eye as he put his hands up in faux surrender. within the blink of an eye, a flash of purple lighting filled the room and the next thing people saw was aventurine dusting himself off and you holding the men in a headlock.

aventurine sighed before putting a smirk back on his face amd signalled to you 'i would say it's time to leave, no?'

boothill ★↷

↪the galaxy rangers were very solitary for a group, they worked on their own yet could still stand united if called upon. galaxy rangers could call upon other galaxy rangers as only they knew how to unite the scarce group, yet that's not how he met you.

↪he had met you by pure coincidence. boothill spotted you from across the bar on some planet where he just completed a bounty - he may work on his own but he could recognise a fellow galaxy ranger.

↪and so naturally, he took up a seat next to you. you were much quieter than the cyborg but you still figured that entertaining his rambles would suffice until you two parted ways, he filled the silence you had been sat in rather comfortably.

↪in typical ranger fashion, you two soon parted ways when you left the bar not too long after. however it seemed fate would be kind enough to land you both in a similar situation not too long afterwards.

↪to boothill, it seemed like fate. you were rather indifferent towards the situation and boothill himself, butboithill had grown fond of you and thus began something unheard - two galaxy rangers travelling together.

↪he admired your skills with both a sword and a gun. they certainly were commendable and he wouldn't mind you teaching him a few tricks you had up your sleeve - he was determined to beat you in a duel.

↪any commissions taken up by either of you certainly were completed much quicker and effectively. your duo certainly made an impression on the galaxy, not just the other galaxy rangers.

↪alot of time in-between missions was spent with you listening to boithill practically talk your ear off, although sometimes he did try and match your silence.

↪although, you started noticing how much more time boothill actually demanded off you after a very long while of travelling together..

---✩

boothill watched from the doorway as you stood beside a desk cleaning your guns. it had been way too long since he last saw you and he kind of wanted to spend atleast some time with you before either of you accepted a new bounty. maybe if he waited long enough, you'd notice him and pity his boredom - he would disrupt you but last time he did so, he nearly got a bullet through his head.

he perked up slightly when he watched you put your guns down and decided this was the time to stroll into the room and pry your attention from your guns. although his loud nature quickly quietened when he saw you head to grab your sword - but he wasn't going to give up.

boothill certainly grabbed your attention but you needed to finish up before you entertained his antics. although it proved to be much more difficult when you had a mass of metal and wires invading your space. he always complained that you cleaned your weapons too much, but his didn't exactly last long enough to be cleaned - more fixed up.

you'd never seen him perk up faster than after you were done. boothill wasted absolutely no time in dragging you out of the room and to whatever he wanted to do.

[in1-nutshell]

I would absolutely love to read anything you have about IDW Rapidfire! I love how you wrote her for TFP, and I’m interested in how she would be different in the IDW ‘verse!

IDW Rapidfire is going to be a bit different from TFP.

Hope you enjoy!

IDW Rapidfire

SFW, Platonic, Familial, Angst, Cybertronian reader

IDW/MTMTE

Minimus met Rapidfire as a youngling abandoned near the end of the war.

Of course, she knew him as Ultra Magnus.

She was originally part of a N.A.I.L family unit that had been ambushed by Decepticon crossfire.

The youngling with nowhere to go decided to avenge her family and try to join the Autobots.

What better way to attract the Autobots than an emergency frequency.

Magnus was surprised at the audacity of the youngling demanding to join the Wrecker’s unit.

She was so tiny!

She would get crushed!

Magnus: “I am afraid your size will hinder you—” Rapidfire tries to puff her chassis, trying to make herself bigger. Magnus: “That is not helping your case… ummm…” Rapidfire: “My name is Rapidfire.” Magnus: “Well, Rapidfire have you factored in that you can get killed?” Rapidfire: “I know the risks. Why do you think I sent out a frequency to the Wrecker’s? I want to fight!” Roadbuster: “Oh c’mon Magnus. Look at her.” The Wreckers see the equivalent of a hissing dirty kitten. Pyro: “She has some fire in those optics. I believe Prime would bring her along.” Magnus: “Pyro—” Springer: “Hey kid, can you handle a blaster?” Ironfist tosses her a blaster. She struggles a bit to hold the blaster, which is almost as big as she is. Springer: “Hit that sign over there and you got a spot on the team.” Magnus: “Hold on now—” BANG! Rapidfire did not hit the sign, but accidentally shot down a Seeker no one had seen. And by the screaming it was probably Starscream. The Wrecker’s: “…” Rapidfire is just smiling. Whirl: “We’re keep her right?”

Magnus is forced to bring the scruffy youngling with them.

A very chatty scruffy youngling who looked comical holding the large blaster.

Magnus tried to get her in inventory duty.

It worked… for a bit.

Rapidfire wasn’t that dumb.

She knew someone would try and put her into more ‘safer’ positions because of her size and age.

So, she made sure that every moment she had, it was to begging Magnus to train her.

Magnus was a bit confused why Rapidfire would choose him to train her than any of the other Wrecker’s that had a bigger soft spot than he did.

The youngling simply stated she wanted to learn from the Commander himself.

He isn’t flustered.

No way.

The mech does eventually starts to train Rapidfire.

He is not immune to her enthusiasm when she jumps for joy and tells the others.

Is relatively surprised how well Rapidfire manages to use his own frame against him, but she is still no match for the Magnus armor.

Nothing seems to quell her spirit.

An admirable trait.

Magnus brings Rapidfire and some of the other Wrecker’s to a shooting range. Magnus: “Rapidfire, your assignment is to blast all 5 targets in the center dot.” Rapidfire squints at the tiny targets in the distance. Magnus: “You can see the targets from the scope better.” Rapidfire nods her helm. Ironfist: “Isn’t this a bit advance for her?” Magnus: “She must learn one way or another Ironfist.” Rotorstorm: “But she’s just a—” BABANG! BABANG! BABANG! BABANG! BABANG! The Wrecker’s freeze as they see Rapidfire barely flinch. She hops from her high seat with a proud smile. Rapidfire: “Done!” The mech’s take out scouters to see the targets. All had perfect holes in the center. Magnus: “I��umm, well done Rapidfire.” The youngling beams brightly. Rapidfire: “Its all thanks to Perceptor!” Rapidfire high five’s the Wrecker. Springer: “That… explains a bit.”

Rapidfire found out about Minimus on accident.

He had crawled out of the armor to deal with a set of gashes he had when his door opened.

Minimus swore he locked it, until he remembered that he had given them to Rapidfire for emergencies.

Both bots stare at each other. Rapidfire carefully closes the door. Minimus then realizes that she had a medkit in one of her servos. Rapidfire: “Looks like you need a bi of patch work, huh Magnus?” Minimus and Rapidfire are quiet as she patches him up. Minimus: “Are you going to—” Rapidfire: “Tell the others? Nah.” Minimus looks at her confused. Rapidfire: “If you haven’t done it yourself there has to be a reason. Its also kinda not my business.” Rapidfire finishes the patch work and starts to leave. Minimus: “Rapidfire.” The Youngling stops. Minimus takes notice that she looked a bit taller but brushes it aside. Minimus: “My name is Minimus Ambus… and thank you.” Rapidfire smiles at him before leaving the room.

Rapidfire loves Verity.

Verity becomes her ‘older’ sister.

Magnus thinks that maybe they will be good influences on each other…

Next thing he knows the Wrecker’s are scrambling to catch Rapidfire and Verity from ‘group’ trust falls.

They were both sent to the time out corner after that.

Eventually Rapidfire gets sent on an away mission from the Wrecker’s.

The first mission trip that she didn’t know when she would return to the Wrecker’s unit.

Magnus was not happy with her leaving, which led to her teasing him a bit, but he could see through the excitement, she wasn’t too happy leaving him either.

Rapidfire is walking to the space pod. The Wrecker’s are there to wish her good luck. They all notice a small growth spurt in the youngling but brush it off as a trick of the light. Springer: “Give them your all Rapidfire.” Rotorstorm: “Blast a Con will ya?” Perceptor: “Be careful.” Kup: “Trust ya gut kid.” Whirl: “Make sure they know why you’re a Wrecker!” Verity: “Punch a Con for me!” Rapidfire smiles at all of them as she turns to Magnus. Magnus: “… Safe travels Rapidfire.” Rapidfire: “I will Commander, I’ll be back before you know it... Dad.” Magnus smiles a bit. …Wait, what’s a dad? And why does Verity look so happy? Rapidfire smiles before waving at everyone as the pod’s door started to close. Rapidfire: “I’ll send a post card once I get to Garrus 9!”

A couple months later, Magnus receives a call from Prowl telling him about the Overlord takeover of Garrus 9.

Magnus is about to have a panic attack.

Overlord does not leave Bot prisoners unless he wants them to tell how they escaped or because he keeps them as toys.

There is no telling if she survived or not.

Magnus can’t go on this mission but the rest of the Wrecker’s can.

They are going to bring their youngling back.

Verity is out for blood.

The group find Fortress Maximus before Rapidfire.

It was Perceptor who found her in a highly dense cell.

They open it and first believe they have the wrong bot. This bot is a unit. Probably big or bigger than Ultra Magnus. Impactor: “Who’s there? State your designation.” The helm of the bot slowly moves up. The dull lighting of the bots optics is the only source of light in the room. It looks like the bot is squinting. Rapidfire: “V-verity?” Verity drops her blasters and starts running to the bot, flashing a bit of light from a small flashlight. Verity: “Rapidfire?” Rapidfire: “That’s my name… ain’t got another one.” The Wreckers light up their flashlights and start helping her out of her chains. Kup: “You know when we said you have to grow up we didn’t mean this.” Rapidfire chuckles painfully. Rapidfire: “Didn’t really have a say in this.”

It takes multiple bots to get Fortress Maximus and Rapidfire to escape pods to head to Delphi for repairs.

Magnus just gets notified that she made it to the medical facility and would be notified when she woke up.

Timeskip Lost Light and Delphi.

Both Maximus and Rapidfire are woken up by First Aid’s jump start on their sparks.

Rapidfire protects the medics.

Ratchet is surprised to see them both awake.

She stays with First Aid while everything is going down with Pharma.

Joins the Lost Light with the others.

Magnus stands up so fast that Rodimus fall off his chair.

Magnus hurriedly makes it to the medbay. Fortress Maximus was sleeping on one of the medical slabs while Ambulon and First Aid were taking care of him. Ratchet was patching up a dent on Rapidfire’s arm. She looks over to who entered and freezes. Magnus slowly walks over and gently holds her servo. Magnus: “Rapidfire?” Rapidfire gives him a watery smile, tears leaking from her faceplate. Rapidfire: “Sorry I’m late Magnus. Something came up.” Magnus lets out a shaky vent as she gently squeezes back. THUD! Rapidfire and Magnus jump at the sudden noise. Whirl is panting heavily looking around. Whirl: “WHERE IS SHE!? WHERE!?”

Rapidfire and Magnus at some point before her growth spurt.

[moonlight-tmd]

Sorry for spamming you but au where minibots are treated like hell hounds from helluva boss servants at best and pets at worst. Many of them see the military as their only chance at a stable life though more often then not they end up treated more like police dogs than actual elite guard soldiers. Wasp is a "purebred" raised by a wealthy family where as bee is a street mutt.

That's very interesting...

See, I've seen many takes on minis being treated as "lower beings" on Cybertron. I would guess in this AU they are not taken as seriously as normal full-sized bots/cons, therefore the laws for them are kinda harsh- some of them end up as pets for some high-placed individuals, others become slaves. Scout frame minibots are often used in military as track houds or even kept as guard hounds in places with low security (just pack that smol boi with high voltage stingers and let them roam the outside).

Bee was a scout frame, so it was high chance he'd get into the military. Although he was less than welcome when Sentinel laid optics on him- Bee knew the look, one that many gave him on the streets; he was contemplating whether or not to keep Bee as his personal pet. Bee made sure to make him not think about it a second time in his training.

Many cadets and students treated him poorly- whether it was taking his belongings like he didn't own them or not letting him refuel properly at the cafeteria. He was one of few minibots there but there was one mini that stood out significantly.

Wasp. He wasn't taller than Bee but he certainly made up what his frame didn't give him with violence. He was feisty and even forced few of the students to be his "servants". He wasn't shy with bragging about his "family" and how powerful and wealthy they are- they practically bought him the training and Wasp barely did anything other than boss others around to do the job for him- a spoiled mech like Bee ever seen one.

Bee wasn't so lucky, as he grew up in carequarters before running away due to neglection thanks to his frame type. He wandered the cities and picked up some side jobs here and there- more often than not he worked with thieves or other minor criminals for some credits.

Still, even tho he managed to do fine on physical tests and courses, the other classes that required knowledge had turned out to be tougher than expected. He also found it unfair how Sentinel graded him lower than the rest even though he got all the courses right- Bee took it as "revenge" for not letting him touch him when he arrived.

From all the bots that mistreated minis, one stood out- the giant green mech who was known as Bulkhead and took the rumour of being the only one nice to everyone in the camp, including minis. Bee was lucky enough to meet him and even become friends with him, from then on Bee has some sort of protection around Bulkhead. Then Bulk introduced Bee to Longarm, Bee could almost feel like a normal mech around them, it was the first time someone has ever considered what he said important.

Of course, Wasp's spoiled rotten spark shined brightly with his character- he not only considered himself more important than the normal mechs but he also looked down on fellow minis just like one. Bee turned out to be one of the more attractive/cute ones therefore he got a lot of stares... Wasp wasn't happy that this "dirty street hound" took his attention and purposely targeted him in his bullying.

No one liked him and officers didn't even bat an optic at the stuff he pulled on other students, all courtesy of his family's money. Longarm had enough of this and already existing rumours had been edited to point at Wasp. As soon as it got out and placed evidence of it was found, not even his family with connections could help him- in fact Bee heard he got disowned as soon as he landed in stockades. Ouch... but Wasp deserved it.

He couldn't savor this little victory for long before Sentinel decided to invite himself into his assigned room to try and "claim" Bee for himself as a pet... the other officers didn't even let him speak and he was charged with attacking an overseer for "no reason" and kicked out. Luckily Bulkhead was kind enough to help him hide around camp until he graduated and got them both into a repair crew.

It wasn't what Bee had expected but at least he wasn't on the streets anymore. When he first saw the other bots he would be working with, he knew he'd have to prepare himself to be treated like lesser being again and knowing the captain was a former Prime he steeled himself for the worst... but to his surprise Optimus never made any move to claim him as a pet nor personal servant. Even if he was a "tracking hound" in the team, neither of the mechs treated him as such. In fact, Optimus specifically told him he didn't see Bee as a lower mech one time when he ended up injured and Ratchet took a long while to reach the both of them. So that was nice to know.

Then they met Prowl, another minibot (cuz i headcanon him as such, c'mon he's a motorbike) who's paintjob spoke for himself- another one from a wealthy family. Bee expected him to be as spoiled as Wasp, and he kinda met his expectation when he started complaing about his ship being destroyed and the crew taking so long to get back to Cybertron. Prowl was as pretty as he was deadly, it proved to be so when they ended up on a planet with not so friendly life forms roaming about. Bee hated to admit he was quite impressed with this.

I'm not quite sure what to write past that so i'll cut to the events on earth-

Decepticons, although more violent and law-neglecting, were open about differences and mechs and femmes of all shapes and sizes were treated according to how useful they were. Many minibots in their ranks took care of files or stationary tasks while warframes and bigger folks took the front in fights. If anyone took Bee seriously in fighting, it was the 'cons. Bee was lucky to have a guard hound job before so he learned few tricks to use on bigger bots.

Although it went to slag once Elite Guard found them. Sentinel once again laid eyes on him and Bee tried his best to stay away from him... Most of his time he stuck with Jazz out of all Elite Guard, who supposedly came from the same house as Prowl. He was a nice fella and also didn't view minibots as lesser than him. The Jettwins were on the thin line between fun and annoying- they loved to spend time with Bee and pull pranks with him but they also seemed to view him as more of a play pet than a mech.

Even tho Bee made it clear he wants nothing to do with Sentinel, the mech was persistent and often went out of his way to harass him. He even went as far as offering to pay Optimus to let him have the mini. Optimus, of course was disgusted at Sentinel's lack of morals and scolded him. One thing Bumblebee was grateful for once he heard the rumours of what happened. He couldn't imagine the dread of being someone else's possesion and being forced to do all sorts of things against his will or consent... the mere thought made him shudder.

He was lucky to be on Earth now.

[ask-one-orion-pax]

One of D’s posts recently said ya’ll go into rut. What’s it like, and any embarrassing stories from you or D being in rut that you’d be willing to tell?

blushes

He, uh...he said that...? Primus, this'll be a long one...

clears his vocalizer and smiles

Okay, um, well...it's really not as embarrassing as you'd think, at least for cog-less bots, so long as willpower is exercised. It's much more intense for mechs with cogs. We get pretty tame symptoms, like raised internal temperatures, difficulty speaking, increased risk-taking behaviors, and so on...during the onset, anyway.

Really, with cog-less bots it's very easy to confuse a rut with a virus at first, since it takes a few hours for the, uh...urge to mate...to kick in. That's when it gets hard to manage. Every Cybertronian's frame has an internal system dedicated to the...interfacing function. When a mech's in rut, this interface system goes into overdrive, and if it isn't actively resisted...well, it basically throws his processor into the smelter.

Now, if it does that...all bets are off. And I mean all of them. A mech in this state will be driven purely by the instinct to mate and it won't go away until he does, or...gets himself off unintentionally via the extremely inappropriate methods of attracting a mate...the most common being the imitation of interfacing with an inanimate object, within view of his desired mate...

laughs nervously

That's never happened to D or me, thank Primus! But...don't tell him I told you this...when D's first rut came, it hit him all at once out of nowhere, and he truly believed he was dying. Medic told him he was fine, he resisted it well enough that he stayed fully lucid until it passed, but I did notice him looking quite affectionately at his mining grinder a few times. I thought it was so funny, but I knew D was feeling really uncomfortable, so I didn't tease him about it until he was feeling better again.

As for me...I did actually embarrass myself one time... It's okay, you can laugh. I was right in the middle of hauling ore toward the refineries when the brunt of my rut hit me, just before Elita walked by. My engine has never revved so loud in my life! It was mortifying. She almost chewed me out for it, but she noticed how flared out my armor was - my rut makes me overheat pretty bad - and pardoned me from punishment since it was an uncontrollable response. Heh...yeah. That's it.

[happy-beeeps]

Slip of the Tongue

WC: 1.3k

Pairing: PoexMando!reader (Mando a la Sabine, not Din)

Prompt: “You look so pretty” “What did you say?” “I said you look shitty.” from @ghostofskywalker fic exchange because I saw someone write Tech with this prompt and it changed my life.

Warnings: language I guess, but that’s it! Pure fluff~

A/N: This is a oneshot, but I’m gonna start writing more for this pairing soon, I think!

“My favorite thing about you is that you continuously surprise me every day with the new ways you manage to be so stupid.” You say, barely audible over the sound of the power tool Poe is using on one of the open consoles in the Falcon. He cranes his neck over to where you’re at, suspended by a harness working on the ceiling of the ship, head angled towards him.

“And you surprise me everyday with just how romantic you can actually be.” He chirps back, sending you a wink as he gets back to work. You’re grateful he can’t see your expression now beneath your helmet, the glare you’re shooting at him and the rising blush on your cheeks.

Your work on the Falcon seems to neverend, and despite you and Poe’s mutual deep seeded hatred for one another, he’s begrudgingly told you that he “respects your craftsmanship” and refuses to take the Falcon to any other mech in the Resistance. You, in turn, get the immense privilege of working on the ship of your childhood dreams, learning the ins and outs of the hunk of metal. Besides, with Poe comes BB-8, Rey, and Finn, and you much prefer his team to the pilot himself. Today, unfortunately, Poe’s fancy flying has not only placed the Falcon in need of medical attention, but Finn as well, and you’re left alone with Poe to work on the fried circuitry and damaged hyperdrive. 

“What was it this time? Hyperdrive jumping?”

“Correction. I was avoiding hyperdrive jumping by gravity launching, you know, going in and out of the different moons and propelling myself forward with it.”

“Both an impressive technique and an impressive failure.” You sigh, and he pokes his head out to peak at you. 

“What’s it gonna take to impress you, huh Mando?”

You cringe at the nickname. Well, not as much cringe as you do blush, but still. “I’ll be impressed when you can get her back to me in one piece.”

He smirks, “Yeah, but then I don’t have any excuse to come see you.” When you don’t respond at first he continues, “I bet your helmet is getting steamy just thinking about me.”

He narrowly avoids the wrench you throw at his head.

Poe is remarkably frustrating, he has the unique ability of getting under your skin more than nearly anyone you know, and you’ve worked with Mandalorian coverts and Imperials. It also doesn’t help that he’s sickeningly attractive, and knows it, and you can’t help but wonder if you didn’t hate him so much if you could love him. He’s clearly got a soft side, BB-8 is the most precious droid in the world and follows him around like his shadow, and you’ve never known Finn or Rey to be a bad judge of character. Still, there’s something so aggravating about him that you can barely stand to be in his presence. Then, just as he steps back from the spot near the wall to admire his work, you see him in all his glory, and it dawns on you. Poe is remarkably beautiful. His sleeves are pushed up past his elbows, and his curls are flopping haphazardly around his face, partially slicked back with sweat, and despite it you have a fleeting feeling of wanting to run your hands through his hair. His shirt hangs open in the front and clings to his chest, and he has grease coating his hands and running up his arms, and it makes him look even more ruggedly handsome, as if that was possible. 

“You are so pretty” you whisper, then clamp your lips together and pray it was soft enough that it doesn’t get picked up by the modulator in your helmet. Fate is not on your side today, however, and Poe glances at you with wide eyes and a smile.

“What did you say?”

“I said you look shitty.” You respond, voice hurried and nervous. 

He doesn’t buy it, not for a moment, and walks over to where you’re suspended, placing a grease covered hand on the cheek of your helmet. “You sure about that, mando?” Before walking down the ramp of the ship and towards the base. You let go a sigh you hadn’t realized you were holding before removing your helmet, and sure enough, inspecting the large grease-print he’s left on your beskar. 

“Dank ferric, Dameron.” You hiss, but he’s already gone.

* * *

You’re in your quarters, scrubbing away at the stubborn mark Poe left on your helmet, mumbling to yourself, when you’re distracted from your work by a tap on the foot. BB-8 is in front of you, beeping excitedly and rolling around your quarters. “Hey buddy,” you smile, setting your helmet down beside you to pat the little droid. 

“How's the cleaning?” comes a voice from the hallway, and you whip your head back to the doorway to see the insufferable pilot looming in it.

“Come to admire your handiwork?” You say, gesturing to the still spotted helmet beside you.

He laughs and lets himself into your quarters, looking at the various discarded armor pieces and ship pieces lying around before letting his eyes fall back to you. “Something like that, yeah.”

You feel tiny underneath the intensity of his stare, and now worry that you may have 

offended him with your comment earlier. “Look, Poe, I-”

“I was thinking about what you said earlier.”

You wince. “Oh?”

“I think you look shitty too.” He states, walking towards you and picking up the helmer from the floor. “I think you look so shitty with your helmet on.” He brushes a hand over it delicately, so carefully that you stand up immediately.

“Ok, listen, I didn’t mean-”

“You look super shitty when you’re in a flight suit too, when you join us on a mission.” He’s looking back around your room now, and your mouth is opening and closing like a fish. 

“Excuse me?”

“You look even more shitty when you meet Rey for a drink, and you wear that one green top with the,” he moves his arm across his chest to indicate a cutout, you think, when you imagine the green top he’s thinking of.

“Poe.”

“But,” and he moves to stand in front of you, his chest rising and falling quickly now, and you realize how red his cheeks are when he’s standing in front of you. “I think you look most shitty right now, with your hair like this, in your rec clothes, hanging out with bb-8.” And then Poe Dameron does the most unthinkable thing. In a quick movement, he runs his fingers over the hair by your ear, pulls his other hand up to meet your face, and cups your cheeks to bring you in for a kiss.

And oh. Oh. You get it. You get absolutely every good thing that’s ever been said about Poe Dameron before. He tastes like sweets and a little bit of alcohol and smells like fuel and something warm and musky, is it amber? He kisses you with the slowness of a nervous man and the hunger of a starved one, before pulling back and looking at you.

“Did you get it? The shitty thing? Because you said I was pretty and then shitty?”

“I got it, Poe.” You breathe, arms draped around his neck. You haven’t moved since you both pulled apart, and neither of you wants to break the moment first, worried you’ll scare it away. 

He makes the first move, going to play with a piece of hair that slipped free from your braid, running it between his fingers. “You really are pretty, Mando,” he mumbles, and you blush before opening your mouth to respond. He doesn’t let you, instead pulling you in for another kiss. Poe Dameron doesn’t need you to tell him you think he’s pretty. He already knows.

[siberat]

Dinner Date

ch 10 (conclusion)

Just feeling those soft lips brush against his, gently exploring and sucking, sent shivers down his struts. Those servos worshiped his tummy in silent praise. Just feeling the adoration that spilled from the flier left the Combat.icon in a state of awe.

How did he manage to snag this mech?

It was shallow to state the aspects of attractiveness based on appearance, but Bra.wl couldn’t deny the alluring mix of sharp lines and slender curves of the flier’s frame. But there was more than physical beauty emanating from Wi.ng: he was kind. He was compassionate. Most of all, he was patient and understanding.

The whole package.

But what did such a fine mech see in a lowly, overweight slob of a ‘Co.n?

“I… ahhh…” That passionate kiss sucked the words right from his mouth.

“Yes?”

“Well… erm….” He could feel his cheeks warm as an excited tickle jolted through his frame like electricity.

“What makes you think you aren’t worthy of my adoration?”

Those lips returned to brushing against his cheek and helm. If this continued, the tank would never manage to get any words out! “I… just…. Dunno…”

“Are you not interested in what I have to offer?” Wi.ng rested his helm against the grounders.

“W…what exactly are you offering?”  His spark sputtered. When did such a big, burly Decep.ticon melt into a pile of goo over such attention?

“What do you want?”

Brawl flinched. “I…look… that’s not fair.”

“Hmmm?” Wi.ng attempted to lavish more kisses, but the dark helm pulled away.

“I… I’m not sure of what you are asking…”  A sigh was forcefully huffed out. “I… ahhh…”

“Allow me to clarify.” Those arms gently hugged the larger frame. “I am looking for companionship. Someone to spend time with.” The flier paused. “Before I sound like I am moving too fast, how much time depends on several factors.”

“What kinda factors?”

“Well, what you are desiring in return.” The hands returned to exploring the belly, spreading that warm, tingling sensation across its vast surface. “Are you looking for just a good time…. Or something more serious…”

“Like.. serious as in what?”

“Proper courting. Seeing how well we fare for the long term.” The jet’s engines purred. “I would like to spend my time with you.”

“Why?” The hands roaming over his frame froze. “I mean…. I just don’t understand what someone like you would see in someone like me.”

“Someone like me?”

“Wi.ng….You are amazing….like, in a too good to be true kinda way.” The tank sighed; speaking his feelings was always a challenge. “Like, you could have any mech here-“

“I want you.”

“AH…. W-why?”

“Because you are real.” The jet spoke. “True to yourself. You didn’t pretend to be anyone else just to try to impress ‘someone like me.’ Sometimes mech’s put on a show, you know? Make them sound so good and nice, as well as everything you’d want in a partner. But that’s all it is: an act. And when that veil comes down, you realize the mech you fell in love with was just a façade…. And you don’t really like the real entity that they are.”

“But…my past… I was-“

“Vile. Brutish. Had such a lust for violence-“

“It was.. ah…”The Combati.con scratched the back of his helm.

“Disgusting.”

“But that just proves my point.”

“It’s your past.” Wi.ng pressed his lips in a solo kiss to the other’s cheek. “Do you still feel the same way?”

“No… no, I ah…. actually I am glad the war is over…” The memory of gripping fear of death clawed at his frame. “Just knowing how it feels…. The lives I took…. It’s overwhelming… its… well, disgraceful. Like, I am ashamed of how careless it all was.”

“What do you desire now?”

“Just to move on with my life.” Bra.wl returned his gaze to the skies. How miniscule did his problems feel when looking at the vast globe of stars. “Do things right this time.”

“And I would be honored to stand by your side as you achieve this goal. If you accept me, that is.”

The tank’s mouth opened and closed a few times, the words never quite forming. The mere shock of the words the jet whispered was breathtaking. His spark swirled faster in his chassis, and this time, those cooling fans could no longer be stilled: they roared to life as his frame simply relaxed into his lover's chest.

Yes, his lover.

There was no denying his wanting of the other’s offer. How could he turn someone down who wished to lift him higher- to stand by his side, helping to rise above what he once was? Wi.ng was like a guiding light, leading this lost mech out of the darkness with the promise of something better.

“Can I take that as a yes?”

“Yeah..yes…ah….” Bra.wl stuttered, every inch of his frame buzzing with the excitement of happiness. “I…. kinda at. You know. Um. Loss of words.”

“Ahhh, so now I know the key to silence such a loudmouthed, rowdy mech, hmmm?”

“Ya..I guess..I….” A second set of cooling fans joined the mix, as well as the rhythmical purring of engines. Just feeling that strong frame wrapped around him in a giant hug and those teasing little kisses returning to neck cabling was overwhelming, causing his frame to shutter.

Bra.wl’s optics shot wide open- as well as his interface paneling. Talk about bad timing!

“AH… scrap… S-sorry-“

Wi.ng tisked. “Why, Bra.wl, do you mistake me as some kind of prude?”  A husky voice whispered as servos traveled downward. “Because I can assure you, I am not.”

master post

[eitherlyingorstupid]

I've been having like. Zero energy in my body this past week and couldn't finish kinktober, but I got this, instead.

TFA Tracks/Beachcomber, public sex, voyeurism.

Tracks strolled through the bustling market of Hedonia's capital, his optics scanning the vibrant array of stalls. The planet's two suns cast a warm, amber glow across the landscape.

Hedonia, as the name suggested, was a place filled with luxuries and pleasures beyond measure. The stalls were filled with exotic treats, dubiously legal drugs, and all sorts of sensual stimulants.

It was paradise for Beachcomber, who was forever chasing novel sensations.

"Hey, look at that. That's one of those public interfacing booths." Beachcomber pointed to a square structure with reflective walls. "It's made of one-way mirrors, so whoever is in there can see out but nobody can see in."

"You're not going to go in there, are you?"

"Nah. I wanna see if I can find a reverse booth. The mirrors are set up the opposite way, so everybody can see in but whoever's inside can't see out."

Tracks grimaced. The reverse booth sounded even more perverted than the standard one. "Why would anyone want that?"

"Some mechs like to watch. As for the inside… I hear it's pretty hot to watch yourself and your partner reflected infinitely in every direction." He gave a lopsided smirk. "We should try it."

Tracks' engine nearly stalled. "What makes you think I would ever touch you?" he sneered, his voice meaner than he intended.

Beachcomber's smile didn't waver. "You're just jealous that I've got the guts to live a little, Tracks. To let go of all that high-class nonsense and hang loose." He punched Tracks lightly on the arm, a gesture that seemed more intimate than usual.

"You have no sense of self-preservation."

Beachcomber just chuckled at Tracks's remark. "You say that like it's a bad thing. But hey, I've got an idea. How about we make a little bet?" He leaned in closer. "If you find an empty reverse booth, I'll give you a free wash and detail. With wax. But if I find one first, you've gotta join me in it."

Tracks grimaced. "Why do you think I would ever agree to that?"

"Because you're vain, but also, like, really broke."

Tracks's optics narrowed at Beachcomber's smug grin. He had a point; keeping up with the latest fashion trends put a hefty strain on Tracks' wallet. His alt-mode was also much faster than Beachcomber's, so he was bound to win. "Fine. But if I win, you stop with all this… this lewdness for the rest of the trip."

Beachcomber's visor lit up. "Deal! Time limit's two megacycles, comm me if you find one. Ready, and… go!"

Moving faster than Tracks had ever seen him, Beachcomber transformed and zipped through the crowded marketplace.

Tracks sighed. "I'm only doing this for the wash," he said to himself.

It wasn't really the truth. He'd always been… somewhat interested in Beachcomber. He was cute, in a kind of "opposites attract" way. On the slim chance he did lose, he would take be angry at having to interface with him.

But as the nanokliks ticked away, the market grew more crowded, and the search grew more futile. Tracks managed to find one or two booths, but they were always occupied. He didn't stay to watch — the thrill of the chase was starting to wear off, and the reality of the bet was sinking in.

Finally, his comm beeped. "Got one!" Beachcomber's voice was filled with triumph. "Meet me at the northwest corner, under the giant neon yellow octahedron."

Tracks rolled his optics but headed in the direction Beachcomber had specified. The northwest corner was a maze of alleyways lined with the seedier side of Hedonian entertainment. He found the yellow octahedron, a garish beacon in the dimly lit area, and saw Beachcomber waving at him from the entrance of a narrow alley.

"I've never seen you this excited," Tracks said. He transformed and walked up to the smaller Autobot, who was practically vibrating in place.

Beachcomber waved his hand dismissively. "It's not every day you get to see the high and mighty Tracks in a situation like this. Now, let's go. I've already paid for the booth." He grabbed Tracks' servo and pulled him into the alley.

The reverse booth was a simple, fairly small structure. There was a cushioned stool inside, just large enough to sit on, or to bend a bot over. Several bystanders hovered nearby, eager to see the show. The thought of what they were about to do in there made Tracks' circuits buzz.

"Don't look so down, Tracks. Just think — everybody will be looking at you. And you'll be looking at yourself. Isn't that like, why you spend all that time and money on looking good?" Beachcomber chuckled as they approached the booth.

"I'm not doing this for your sick enjoyment," Tracks grumbled. "What do you get now that you've won, anyway? Besides interface with me?"

"Nothing. This is enough of a reward." Beachcomber opened the door and stepped inside.

The interior was covered with reflective surfaces, creating an infinite series of reflections that stretched into oblivion. The booth was cleaner than Tracks had expected, the cushions on the stool plush and new. Beachcomber's grin grew wider as he turned to face Tracks.

"Close the door." Beachcomber said.

Tracks did so with a hiss of hydraulics. The outside noises muffled, the alley's chatter replaced by their own echoes. He watched his own reflections, admiring his sleek form and trying to ignore Beachcomber.

"Alright, let's get this over with," Tracks said, his voice tight.

"Man, don't act like that." Beachcomber looped his arms around Tracks' neck. "This is for fun. Besides, it's not like we're strangers." His grip was surprisingly firm for a bot his size, and his touch sent a shiver down Tracks' spinal column.

Tracks' panels felt hot as he considered Beachcomber's words. They weren't strangers, not really — they'd been roommates for stellar cycles. They were opposites, sure, but they had their moments. The way Beachcomber looked at him now, though, was uncharted territory.

The smaller mech's hips pressed against his frame, and he slowly started to rub against Tracks' thigh. "Relax, I won't break you," Beachcomber murmured.

Tracks swallowed hard, his systems racing. He didn't know if it was the thrill of the bet, the novelty of the situation, or Beachcomber's unusual energy that was getting to him. He felt the beginnings of a response from his spike. The crowd outside grew louder, the whispers and giggles growing more intense.

"You want to spike me?" Beachcomber said.

"You don't mind?" Tracks asked.

Beachcomber gave him a knowing smile. "Why would I? It's what we're here for, right?" He sat down on the stool, spreading his legs wide. His valve was exposed already, soft and powder blue.

Tracks took a deep intake of air, placing one hand on Beachcomber's cheek. "Your visor is the type that comes off, isn't it? I want to see your optics."

Beachcomber complied, his visor popping off with a click. His eyes were a deep blue, with tiny patches of static dancing across them. "Better?"

"Much." Tracks leaned down, his spike already at half mast. He paused for a moment, taking in the sight of Beachcomber's eager face and exposed valve. "You look more…"

Beachcomber interrupted with a smirk. "Don't say 'vulnerable', say 'hot'."

"I was going to say 'expressive'."

Beachcomber blinked lazily. "Sure you were." He leaned back on the stool, his arms folded behind his head. "But you can think I'm hot if you want. Just remember to tell me later."

Tracks couldn't help the smirk that tugged at his lips. Despite his initial reluctance, he found Beachcomber's confidence alluring. He stepped closer, his spike now fully erect. "Turn over."

Without missing a beat, Beachcomber flipped around. The sight was surprisingly tantalizing, and Tracks felt his circuits pulse with anticipation. He gripped Beachcomber's hips, the smooth metal warm under his fingers.

Tracks got to his knees, pressing his hips against Beachcomber's. He glanced at their reflections in the walls, and felt a pulse of satisfaction at the image of dominance.

He leaned in, his spike nudging Beachcomber's valve. The smaller mech hummed, his optics closing in pleasure. Tracks watched him closely, taking in every little reaction.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready," Beachcomber answered.

Tracks took a deep vent and pushed in, feeling Beachcomber's valve part around his spike.

He was tight and wet and so soft inside, and Tracks had to fight the urge to just pound away. He took it slow, watching Beachcomber's reactions in the mirrored walls.

"Ah… ah, Tracks… that feels so good…"

Tracks couldn't tear his optics away from the reflection — the sight of his own powerful form, copied over and over in every direction, was oddly mesmerizing.

Beachcomber's moans grew louder as Tracks picked up the pace. His hand slid down Beachcomber's body to grip his spike, which was now hard and glistening with lubricant.

He squirmed underneath Tracks, his legs shaking slightly as the pleasure built up. "Faster," Beachcomber panted, his voice echoing around the booth.

Tracks obliged, his engine rumbling softly.

"Oh, Primus, Tracks…" Beachcomber whined. His spike was throbbing in Tracks' hand, leaking pre-fluid.

The crowd outside was cheering and whistling, and Tracks found it thrilling. He did love to be looked at, after all. Even if he was sharing the metaphorical spotlight with Beachcomber.

He flared his doorwings, watching his reflection as he arched his back.

Tracks' thrusts grew more intense, the booth's walls echoing with the sound of metal on metal. His hand tightened around Beachcomber's spike, stroking in time with his movements.

Beachcomber's vents grew ragged. "Please, Tracks, I'm so close…"

Tracks' circuits were firing at maximum capacity, the sensations from Beachcomber's tight embrace overwhelming him. He could feel the smaller bot's walls fluttering around his spike.

Beachcomber twisted 180 degrees at the waist to face Tracks. "Kiss me," he said.

Tracks leaned down, pressing their mouths together. It was a bizarre sensation to be kissing someone while also fragging them cyberdoggy-sryle, but it was novel.

Beachcomber wrapped an arm around his neck, purring contentedly. "Dude, you're good… really good." His words were muffled against Tracks' lips.

"Scratch my paint and I'll kill you," Tracks murmured against Beachcomber's lips, his own pleasure building to a crescendo. He could feel Beachcomber's spike pulse in his hand.

Beachcomber chuckled into the kiss, his hips pushing back to meet every thrust.

The crowd outside was getting louder, with laughs and cheers coming from the onlookers. Tracks' fans, in other words.

"I told you you'd be into this," Beachcomber said. "You're practically glowing."

Tracks pulled away from the kiss, his optics bright. "I'm glowing because I'm about to overheat." He pushed Beachcomber down onto the stool, his spike still buried deep within him. "Don't think I find you irresistible," he said, though his voice was thick with arousal.

Beachcomber swiveled his lower half, partially transforming so he could wrap his legs around Tracks' waist. "You don't have to," he panted, "but I wouldn't mind if you did."

Tracks' engine were revving at full throttle now. He didn't know how Beachcomber could keep his cool, especially with the audience they'd drawn.

He ex-vented harshly as he overloaded into him, making a rather undignified noise. The crowd outside was going wild, and Tracks couldn't help but feel a thrill at that. He released Beachcomber's spike.

"Don't stop," Beachcomber begged, his voice strained.

"Or what?" Tracks said.

"Or I'll tell everyone about this," Beachcomber said with a smug smile. "How you couldn't resist the chance to spike me in a public booth, and how much you enjoyed it."

Tracks imagined what Sunstreaker would think, and suddenly the thrill of the bet was nothing compared to the potential damage to his social image. "You wouldn't," he breathed, his spike still lodged deep within Beachcomber.

Beachcomber's smile grew wider. "I might," he said playfully, his voice strained with pleasure. "But only if you don't make me overload."

"Fine, fine," Tracks said. He pulled out, his spike glistening with Beachcomber's lubricant. He grabbed Beachcomber's spike again, stroking it with renewed vigor.

He sighed in contentment, letting his legs splay open. "Yeah, that's it. Like that."

Tracks watched Beachcomber's face, enjoying how his optics squeezed shut and his lips parted with each stroke. The smaller bot's vents were shallow and quick, interrupted by a choked noise.

"Oh, oh, oh!" Beachcomber's body tensed and quivered as he overloaded, transfluid spurting over Tracks' servo.

The crowd outside went wild. Tracks felt a mix of embarrassment and triumph. He had spiked Beachcomber, then stroked him off. In public.

"Never speak of this again," he said.

"Yeah, yeah. Like the old saying… 'what happens on Hedonia, stays on Hendonia'."

Tracks stepped back, his spike now at ease. Beachcomber slid off the stool and put his visor back on, a lazy smile adorning his face. "What now?"

"We leave," Tracks said firmly. He was eager to get out of there before anyone he knew saw them.

But Beachcomber just chuckled, not moving. "You're worried about your reputation, aren't you?"

"Of course. You wouldn't understand it if you had one," Tracks said. He turned to leave, but Beachcomber's hand on his doorwing stopped him.

"Look, I'm not going to tell anyone if you don't want me to. But you know what? Maybe we could… I don't know… play around some more."

Tracks scoffed. "In your dreams."

Despite his words, Tracks wasn't entirely averse to the idea.

[lord-overlips]

I want to see what’s behind your walls. I have seen glimpses of the real you, and it seems sensitive and caring… I want to know more about that side of you.

But you hide. You always hide. And I’m not sure of the reason.

But I’m sure one day I’ll manage to gain your trust. You’ll join me and my teammates against a common enemy… and you’ll get to enjoy the perks of having several mechs that love and worship you.

Because you’re a big mech, with a lot of stamina. I’m going to need their help to fully satisfy you. Have them take turns to please you in every way possible, valve and spike… until you think you cannot take anymore, and when that moment arrives and you feel like you’re about to go into stasis… I will use my special ability on you, send pleasure and lust directly into your spark, triggering an overload like you have never experienced before.

Of course you’ll end up passing out, but don’t worry, we’ll take good care of you until you wake up.

And then you’ll forget about that lone wolf life… and come to live in our pack.

The way this mech spoke unnerved him. He didn't... did he? Hide... he was always so open. So then how... how could he be hiding? It didn't make sense to him.

He mulled over that, remembering the microseeker, Sie, who was assigned to him many years ago, monitoring his mental state while he was enlisted. They accused him of similar... dodging questions... avoiding honest answers. So? Most bots were more interested in speaking about themselves anyway. What did he have to gain by pouring his spark out to another?

Oh. There was more to the message. Oh yes... this- this was far more enticing... he thought he knew who it was at first, feeling certain of it now, dreaming of those glorious scenarios painted for him in wondrous detail. Several mechs... all powerful in their own way... all attractive. And that mention of their ability... Oh Tarn... such a tease. The bot must have known how badly Overlord wanted to experience that. Just a little taste...

Was all this a prank? Was Tarn overcharged? He wanted to contact the tank, confront him but... it didn't feel right. This was a private, sincere offering of sorts... maybe a tease... he didn't know. But it felt like the spell would be broken if he called it out, the unspoken promise of what could be shattered. If he behaved... if he controlled himself... maybe it could come true?

Muddled feelings assaulted him. He felt aroused, vulnerable and alone, reading the latter part of the message over and over to soothe himself. One day... maybe.

[ivycorp]

The battlefield shifted since Megatron stopped showing up.

The Autobots had to admit that they had encountered a very odd dilemma - on one hand, they were glad for the reduced tensions, as the most obvious source of contention had been removed. On another, the Decepticons were way more difficult to handle without the warlord’s presence; he usually was a good indication of the general state of their side of the struggle.

If he fought on, they usually did too - and when he stopped, they most often followed suit.

Now, without him, the fights became more unpredictable, and the Autobots were at the disadvantage once more. The Nemesis was maintaining communication blackout, which mostly irritated Agent Fowler, who has grown attached to the regular updates from the ship’s crew chat and had to learn how to deal with getting a rush of notifications at random intervals instead, as the Vehicons went outside of the jamming range, making him miss out on important details.

They were faced again with the nagging sense of being left out of the loop - they were learning about operations being carried out days after they have already been completed, which reminded them of the silent years before Megatron returned from space to unleash on them the Dark Energon madness.

This meant that Starscream was back in the driving seat of the Decepticon forces, but not yet as the actual leader - all of them knew they would have heard from the seeker had the silver mech actually meet his demise. There would most likely be some sort of an elaborate ceremony to keep up appearances before the jet would take control over the faction into an iron grip; this time most likely without Soundwave’s opposition, since he must have initiated and kept the communication jam for a reason.

All of this, combined with a gradually worsening mood of their Prime, made the prior status quo appear slightly appealing - even with the horrible embarrassment that came with seeing their leader engage the enemy in a more intimate way than they all preferred.

At least it was familiar.

Optimus was growing steadily more incensed in a frightening way to the rest of the Autobots, obviously affected by the prolonged separation. Initially the quiet was not causing any outward impact on the mech, but a few days later, when they would normally expect to see Decepticon movement, there was nothing.

It continued to stay silent for another week.

Then another one after that.

They only realized there had been a change of management when Fowler mentioned that there had been an accident at one of the mining operations - which should have attracted their attention. The fact that it didn't meant it has been kept very well under wraps - and that was not Megatron's usual concern.

They scrambled to try and gain insight into any Decepticon-related activity - and kept on drawing blanks. While the locations they already knew about were unguarded and thus easily accessible, providing opportunities for raiding, there were not enough traces to see where the enemy actually was.

There were odd signs of other involved parties, but no concrete details - so instead of gaining insights, they were met with even more questions.

Finally, after nearly a month, they managed to pinpoint a minor Decepticon operation in progress by luck alone - Bumblebee was out on patrol and managed to spot a familiar alt form of the seeker in the sky. Following the jet with caution proved fruitful, as the scout pinged the base with coordinates of the active site, asking for backup.

Moments later, part of the Autobot crew came out from the portal, peering over the distance in hopes of scoping the field before engagement. A couple of Vehicons, lots of Energon and Starscream - risky, but manageable.

Arcee pointedly ignored the way Optimus curled his fists at the prominent lack of the warlord on site.

Finally motioning them to approach closer, they tried to keep out of sight, hoping to maintain an element of surprise. Unfortunately, there wasn't much cover available; with a sound of alarm, one of the Vehicons pointed towards their position right as they tried to surround the Decepticon SIC.

Optimus lunged at the seeker, leaving the rest of the enemies to be handled by his team, as he had his servos full with trying to not get his optics scratched out.

"Starscream, what happened to Megatron?" he asked with a hint of worry, keeping the jet at a distance that prevented the effect of intimidation he intended for.

Starscream looked at him and blurted out:

"Fell into a coma after bad Energon he got as a gift from Tarn, it was way past expiry date."

Optimus leveled him with a look that clearly said 'I don't believe you', and was about to say the same, when a shot to his side started him. One of the Vehicons got away from the fray, risking gaining Prime's attention to rescue the flight commander.

Starscream took the opportunity at once, squirming away and calling out to the Nemesis under the cover fire from now three Vehicons.

"Soundwave, open the bridge, we have company!" snapped the seeker, and then, with a look of pleasant surprise on the faceplates, grinned.

"Well, if you think so, then I won't be a nay-sayer," was the clue for the bigger mech that instead of an escape, he would be now faced with an additional enemy, as swirling lights appeared with additional Vehicons…

And Soundwave.

The Decepticon TIC was carrying something in a container, but he set it down on the ground the moment the bridge blinked out, as he chose to stand tall, the entirety of the bot screaming 'challenge'.

This made matters significantly worse in Prime's opinion, but he had the best chance of surviving the encounter out of all of his team, which was fighting with more enemies than before - they would not be able to help out anyway. Optimus turned away from the seeker, expecting to be engaged by the blue mech and bracing for it.

A swipe of claws came out of nowhere and nearly connected with his side, right when the data cables raised to strike. His optics widened in aperture, as he realized his mistake - he would not be fighting the TIC.

He was going to be attacked by both Starscream and Soundwave at once.

He swore internally, as the fight began in earnest, as he tried to ignore the whispers of memory with regards to the Pits - and how Megatronus found the blue mech an impressive opponent of formidable skill.

If he listened to them, he would panic - and then for sure he would slip up and most likely die, if the angry field of the mech was any indication. The fact that Soundwave allowed those emotions to show was a warning he knew not to ignore; the intent to kill was present in every motion and he could not allow any of these to reach his spark or helm.

The data cables were trying to either trip him or trap him, with the way they kept on curling around his pedes, as he tried to cover his vitals from a combined strikes from his opponents. Prime was not used to the lethal skill of these two, as they were way faster and smaller than Megatron, making it harder to counter in time.

They worked well together, to his horror - whenever Starscream retreated to find a better angle of approach, the TIC would slide in, allowing not even a moment of rest. Optimus's processor was working overtime trying to keep up with the unfamiliar setting, frame growing warmer with the exhaustion; it was doing its best to survive the onslaught.

There was no time to think about winning, truly, as the combination was deadly: what the seeker lacked in strength, the communication officer would supply in spades; when Soundwave would lose the upper hand, Starscream interrupted with a vicious exploration of vulnerability, whatever it might have been.

Optimus was suddenly very grateful for having his usual enemy in Megatron, who was ruthless, but usually engaged him alone.

If these two tried to gang up on him before - or worse, had they managed to cooperate with Megatron as a third power - he would have been dead ages ago.

When Soundwave's servo nearly stabbed him through the chest armor, he finally caved in and sent out a distress call to the base. The most recent additions to his team, including the three SICs that were getting used to the odd dynamic on Earth, were all responding affirmative.

He was relieved when he noticed the portal shimmering into existence, while he strained against the cable that threatened to cut off his arm if he allowed it even a bit of leeway. The claws of the seeker already left gauges in his plating, but his major Energon lines were not compromised for now - he only hoped it would remain true long enough for the others to reach his position.

A familiar voice of Jazz reached his audials, and the seeker withdrew hissing in pain, as a shot caught his wing. Soundwave did not let go, but Prime noticed the calculating pause, as the Decepticon turned his visor to check the battlefield. The Vehicons were losing ground with unfamiliar enemies, and Optimus had taken the opportunity to free himself of the data cable, throwing it away to the side, creating distance between them; his vents were working overtime to cool him down, now that he had a moment of respite.

Starscream snarled in anger, but motioned to the TIC to fall back, and as a portal to Nemesis opened, he shot out a quick command to the rest of the army to withdraw. Cover fire allowed Vehicons to get back to safety, keeping Autobots at bay.

Soundwave pointed towards the box he carried over, and the seeker smiled with malice, gesturing to it as well.

"A farewell gift, Prime - or rather, a return to the owner in this case," Decepticon SIC gloated, laughing as they both disappeared into the portal.

There was a silence across the battlefield, as the Autobots turned to eye the container critically.

"So… everyone else is also in favor of burning this to the ground from a safe distance?" Elita asked, taking aim.

"No, I will check it out - do not approach it now, though" disagreed Optimus, stopping her with a raised servo. Her face twisted, but in the end she lowered her blaster, watching critically as their leader approached the container.

"If it explodes, I am going to tell him off for a week," she muttered to Jazz, who was watching the mech with concern.

"I will join you in that," he replied quietly, as Prime's digits brushed the top of the box.

He lifted it open and peered inside - and froze.

"What is it?" Arcee asked, taking a tentative step closer, but as the optics of Optimus met hers, she stopped as well.

Prime was pissed off.

"It's nothing of concern," he answered, taking another pained look at the contents of the box, letting it close shut. He took a glance at the sky, in-venting loudly, and consciously relaxed his frame, signaling an all-clear.

The Autobots approached him, and Bulkhead risked a look inside the container. He saw the ruined remains of another box in there, charred beyond any chance of salvaging.

Whatever was in the box was burned down too, leaving only traces of pieces that looked suspiciously like…

Bulkhead decided it was better to stop thinking about it. Jazz, who sneaked a peek also reached this conclusion, and they both shut the outer container with more force than necessary.

"Prime, I swear, if this was what I think it was…" he started, just as their leader was finishing his comm to Prowl at the base to open a bridge back for them. He shot out a quick request to Elita to blow the container up, which she gladly followed through on, sensing it was a more personal issue than he tried to make it look like.

"It doesn't matter any longer," countered Optimus, not looking at anyone in particular.

Mostly avoiding the direction where the container exploded into smithereens.

"It matters, if you are pulling the same slag again," argued Jazz, but his complaints fell onto deaf audials.

Prime already crossed over to the base.

When they arrived, the mech was glued to the console, pouring over the data at a rate faster than they could keep up with. Prowl was looking at him with worry, unsure how to deal with sudden takeover from where he spent the last few days compiling reports up to his own standards.

"Optimus, please, stop, talk to us," Elita asked, placing her hand on one of his shoulders, only to have it shaken off with a displeased sound.

"I have something to take care of, please, let me do it, Elita," he managed to reply in a more civil tone, optics fixed onto the screen as his fingers flew across the buttons.

"Just this once, you hear me? When you calm down, I expect us to have a long talk, are we clear?" she warned, deciding to let him work his frustration out with whatever mission he set himself on. She would take care of the rest in the meantime.

"Crystal," Prime promised slightly distractedly, as his processor turned the energy priority away from his senses and more towards the data. She sighed, and waved at the others to join her to go to the medbay, where both resident medics were waiting for them.

Optimus stood at the console, lost to the world aside from an occasional refueling for over eighty hours - with a breakthrough in his search occurring when others were recharging.

His joints creaked from lack of use, as he moved towards the ground bridge controls. Hastily typing in the coordinates, he set it for a quick turn on and shut off. After consideration, he put a tracker on himself, and prepared an emergency message on a timer; he would need to hurry, and retrieval would be necessary.

He doubted his team would let him do this again - or anything at all - when he returned, so he needed to make this count.

The bridge onto Nemesis opened, and Optimus crossed the threshold.

***********

Inspired by @paraxodicalundressing post, continued on this and this, follow up to the consequences of this.

[silverspleen]

Completely Coherent Mech Dream

Had a dream about a mecha video game that was also like, my real life I was living.

First I was a video game character and me and a bunch of other colorful people were in a spaceship. It was vintage style, lots of off white rounded paneling and very tight quarters. Our commander was an older woman who was manipulative and borderline cruel. I think she gave a little voiceover intro to our group about who she was and why we were there (to fight our enemies) and then I went into character creation.

Character creation involved plugging into my brain (where the mech suit connected) and had a little gritty anime thumbnail for my portrait based on gender and personality. But the personality traits were off and weird. It had defaulted to male, and when I switched it to female it said “a sacrifice” underneath it. I forgot what the default male said, it was something about being manipulated or being ignorant or stupid. There was also an alt male with a different, slightly less attractive anime guy portrait that said something else, but still rude and cruel (I think it was calling him a neckbeard). I did not want to be a sacrifice. I went with the default male. I was a generic handsome video game guy with dark brown/black hair.

Then our group just kind of hung out on the ship. But not really, because every time we slept plugged into our crèche the commander woman would shuffle around our gender and personality traits with the other squadmates? We sort of realized this was happening but couldn’t do anything about it. She never explicitly said she was the doing it but we all knew, as every day people were different, and if I check my character info in the videogame HUD it wasn't what I originally selected. She changed my gender and personality at least once (and I physically changed appearance because of this, it wasn’t just pronouns). Eventually I was back to my defaults, or at least I thought I was. I felt like many people weren’t though. I knew one guy was very loud and stereotypically southern, and I couldn’t remember if he had always been like that.

Eventually we came to the planet we would be fighting on. Our commander woman made a physical appearance and gave a speech. We were all kneeling on the ground while she did, heads bowed in compliance like she was some sort of religious figure. I realized how creepy it was but still felt compelled to do it anyway. By the end we were basically groveling in child's pose, bent over on the ground listening to her give her speech with our hands outstretched towards her.

Then we were waiting to go into battle in a large bay room. None of us had our mech suits (I can’t remember how I learned to use mine, I think it was implied I knew how before being recruited to this ship), only a gun and a solid-color jumpsuit. What we had to do was run, while under enemy fire, out the bay doors and head to the “wings” of the ship where our suits were held in flight and put them on. It was a given that many of us wouldn’t even make it to our suits. My suit was the second to last on the right, which meant I was almost the farthest out. I had already accepted that I was most likely to die.

Even before the doors opened we could hear the crack of laser fire against the door. When the door opened, there was a mad rush to get to our suits. I remember running past enemy soldiers in armor shooting guns at me. Everything seemed to slow, and I dodged a few headshots with my protagonist skills and shot back with a simple gun I had. I made direct eye contact with the two people who almost hit me, one of them was in a truck with other soldiers. Somehow, I managed to make it to my mech, but getting into it ("putting it on" in the dream) was difficult. It was a smaller suit, built more like a exosuit but still called a mech for some reason. My brain was partially exposed while I was getting syced up, and I remember being upset that it was taking so long and that I didn't like being vulnerable.

When I finally got completely into the suit I got straight to fighting. I was bigger, faster, and more powerful than the enemy grunts in their armor, but not as large as the commander of their force, who was out on the battlefield in a large, more properly sized mech suit. Our commander didn't fight. I remember that the fighting area was a wide expanse of concrete with some generic gritty scifi buildings. The enemies' armor was purple. I somehow got close enough to the enemy commander to hear him. It almost sounded like he was talking to our commander, and that they were laughing together. I got so angry I attacked him without thinking of how much stronger he was than me. I raked him with my claws, and slashed though the left side of his face so badly it was going to scar. I knew he may loose the eye too. but it wasn't enough, so I tried to beat him with my fists and clawed at his face. At one point I put my fingers in his mouth and grabbed him by the jaw to try and rip it off, but his face was reinforced by the mech suit and I couldn't. It felt very visceral.

I couldn't beat him despite my efforts, but we won anyway and he left the battlefield. I was still kind of crazed from my fight, and when I saw a group of enemy soliders being transported to our ship in a big clear plastic holding box I tried to shoot them. But my commander stopped me, saying something like "they'll be reeducated, they're useful." I thought back to her laughing with the enemy commander, and began to understand that there were no stakes in this battle. I didn't know why we were fighting. I realized that I was being manipulated by me commander, and that she and the enemy clearly had something going on where they were just fighting to fight, trading soldiers like their lives meant nothing. As the rest of my group helped move prisoners onto the ship, I just… didn't. I left instead.

No one came after me, and eventually everything on the battlefield was quiet. I realized that I could hear the ocean. We had been by the beach the entire time, and everyone had been so busy fighting that no one had noticed. I left the concrete scifi area and walked down to the shore. The beach was dark rock, with huge island boulders in the dark water. Some of the boulders were so large that dark-needled conifer trees were growing out of them, and wooden scaffolding had been built to connect them in a walkway. I went to the water and stared out into it. The waves were almost a dark teal, and I knew it was cold though I couldn't feel it. At the very end of the boulder islands was a tall island with a tall wooden gazebo on it. I though about how much I wanted to be out there.

Sometime later, minutes or hours, I'm not sure, I heard someone calling me. Two other mecha pilots had also defected, and were waving me down. We spoke on the radio, and one said that she had called and found a rescue ship unaffiliated with the battle to come pick us up, but they didn't know exactly where we were on the beach, so we had to flag them down. I realized that this was the perfect excuse to go the the gazebo boulder. While she and the other pilot climbed the largest boulder partially on the shore, I followed, but instead of staying on the big boulder I began to jump across the islands to the other one. The gazebo island was only connected by by a single long plank to the island before it. I knew that the plank wouldn't support my weight if I walked across it. Instead, I figured I could use my jet boosters to keep myself going forward, and only touch down gently with one foot to keep myself on track, in a sort of controlled, very light taps in a glide to get over them, with one big one at the end to jump on top of the gazebo. I succeeded, and stood out watching the ocean just in time to see the rescue ship come by. I waved it down, and it landed close to the other two pilots on the shore. I needed to head over as well, but for a moment I though maybe I could do the same glide across the water, as though I were flying across it like a skipping stone, but knew I couldn't without risking drowning. I wanted to very badly.

But instead I headed back normally the way I came, and the dream basically ended there.

All I remember about what my mech suit looked like is that it about doubled my height, my face was exposed, and that it was a like…. very serious gray color. There were four jets that I could use as jump boosters and to glide limited distances. It was less beefy and more like… a sleek, kind of athletic style design, with fins. I had claws too I guess.

[leakinghate]

Lets B-b-b-break it Down

I got me a cam vid of that NYCC trailer for VLD s8. Wanna tear it apart with me?

Cool.

Major SPOILERS below the cut. Not joking. This is like, all the spoilers. Every single spoiler that currently exists regarding VLD s8 is discussed below the cut.

1. The trailer starts with rainbow colors flying by as if we’re traveling through a tunnel in space. Honerva fades into focus center screen, her eyes are closed and she’s outlined with a purple-pink glowing aura. The colors in the background transition to a starscape. A few scenes transition in and out overlapping with each other and this one in visibility.

2. Honerva/Haggar in a hospital bed - reminiscent of her flashback from s5e2. Two figures stand at the foot of the bed, probably Zarkon and the doctor from the s5 flashback. Kova sits atop her where she is reclined.

3 .The doctor is holding baby Lotor; he is crying. It appears that the doctor is attempting to prompt Haggar to hold her child, but she is turned away, eyes open and unresponsive. 

4. Adult Lotor is on his knees, his back to us, watching a planet explode. The view draws back and Haggar and Zarkon can be seen watching him. None of their faces are visible. It seems likely that this is the destruction of the mining colony Lotor told Allura about while they were in Oriande.

5. The screen whites out and we’re in a new scene. A Galra cruiser can be seen in the Patrulian Zone, approaching the White Hole.

6. A crowd of at least 23 Alteans are in Oriande, standing on the walkway in front of the temple, facing it. The walkway is framed by 4 (possibly 6 with 2 partially obscured) visible White Knight mechs.

7. A White mech is crouched, holding its spear vertically, surrounded by a pink glow. It fills the screen.

8. A shot of Honerva from the chest up, her arms out to the sides, face stern and teeth grit in concentration. Pink energy rushes around her, partially obscuring her at times. She flashes through four different faces of herself: her Haggar look from the end of s6, Honerva pre-rift, what is apparently her new look for s8 as the Altean Commander, and one we have yet to see in context. Her unknown look is potentially herself as Empress of Daibazaal; she appears to be wearing a pre-rift empire uniform with a prominent ‘V’ on the chest, and she wears a crown reminiscent of Allura’s with a large, dark, diamond shaped crystal in the center and two extra points in the band above her temples.

9. Allura stands on the deck of the Atlas at a teleduv terminal, back to us. A wormhole sparks into existence out the viewport in front of her. The image fades into one of a different Altean - probably Honerva - standing in the same position in Oriande. They appear to be on the walkway in front of the temple facing away from it. The walkway appears to descend down a set of steps in front of them with a crowd of Alteans at the base of these steps watching on.

10. Two paladins are flying through space into something that is spilling out streams of blue-white light. Their feet are towards us and it is difficult to see them clearly. The one on the left is Hunk, the one on the right is probably Lance but may be Allura. The view zooms into the light. it resembles, but is not identical to, the phenomena encountered by the paladins in s7e6 - that ultimately transported them near to Earth.

11. Honerva in pink light flickering between her forms is briefly on screen again.

12. Voltron is diving downwards through several rings of clouds along the path of a bright pink-white beam. there are floating rocky islands viewed from above going past in the background. The scene is pink tinted. This may be in Oriande.

13. The Green Lion is dodging pink-white laser blasts in the foreground. The landscape is rocky and grey with a large base of some sort taking up most of the background. The base appears to be the same color scheme as the white mechs we have seen. It is white with pink lights reminiscent of the ones found on Empire structures. The base is mostly low-lying with a large double pointed tower in the center. Several large claw-like towers surround it in what looks like a ring, the curve inwards towards the center. At the very end of the clip the Blue Lion can also be seen.

14. A low view below a group of 4 people watching Voltron ascend upwards towards a large glowing pink-purple vortex. The people’s pointed ears mark them as Alteans. The sky is starry behind the clouds. Voltron disappears in a flash of white light.

15. The Robeast Myzax from s1e3 ‘Return of the Gladiator’ appears. Four of the lions, Green, Red, Yellow, and Blue, fly past it from right to left, firing and dodging its attacks. The lions appear partially transparent and phantom-like. The Robeast is solid, but shaded predominantly purple. This looks like it takes place in the astral realm or something akin to it.

16. From inside the Atlas the doors open, showing a figure silhouetted against a landscape far below partially obscured by clouds. The figure is wearing a spacesuit and helmet that look reminiscent of Garrison tech in color scheme. They have something across their back from their right shoulder to lower left side with lights on it. The landscape below them is green when visible and dominated by a base with a white and pink color scheme. It looks like the same base from the clip with Green and Blue; we see the same double pointed tower in the center of a ring with four spokes leading to it. One claw-tower is briefly visible.

17. The Atlas in robot form swings its arm forward and an MFE fighter launches from it. The camera follows the fighter as it flies across space towards the White Hole where it joins several other fighters in combat with a White Knight mech. The mech is firing pink lasers and holding its double ended spear. It appears to be guarding the white hole and a circular glowing pink structure that has been built around it. The circle is firing three continuous beams out into space from equidistant points along its circumference.

18. Voltron is fighting in the pink and purple sky of Oriande bearing double swords. It launches ten missiles, five from each leg.

19. A White mech is crouched, plunging its spear into the ground in a green field full of pink flowers. The field looks like the juniberry one we have seen in projections of Altea and in the Dome Romelle was found in. Pink light glows from the spear’s point of contact with the ground and the edges of the green field grow dark.

20. Eight blue-white object rocked across space trailing light, they converge in a circle where they halt in a circle surrounding a much smaller object too far away to make out. There is a structure of some sort floating in the far background in front of a glowing pink-purple vortex in space.

21. Five of the space pirates from s6e3 ‘The Way Forward’ stand atop a cliff looking cool. The one at the front is Zethrid. Immediately to the left of Zethrid is a cloaked figure dressed differently from the pirates. The figure appears to have a tail. The figure appears to be the bounty hunter that Pidge and Matt fought in s4e2 ‘Reunion’.

22. We see Honerva from behind with her hood up; she’s inside a structure of Empire build, with purple walls and pink lighting. She lowers her hood and turns around; she’s wearing a crown made of dark material with a large diamond shaped yellow crystal in the center. The crown itself is reminiscent of the headgear Zarkon wore in s1 & s2. She is glaring and looks displeased.

23. A pink-white laser beam is impacting a rocky planet causing boulders to float into the air. A person is mostly obscured in the foreground; the brown cloak and longer shaggy light-brown hair suggest that this person is Matt.

24. Two paladins in the middle-distance stand in a grey and dead looking forest, skeletal trees rising around them. The paladins appear to be Pidge and Allura. Pidge sinks to her knees on the ground, leaning forwards with her hands on the Earth.

25. Three aliens of an unknown race kneel on the ground, their eyes are closed and their hands in contact with the earth are glowing. The landscape is rock spires with veins of glowing blue crystal. An enormous blue crystal glows in the background. It looks similar to the scenes we observed on the Balmera back in s1 and s2.

26. The Altean from the end of s7 sits on a hospital bed, knees drawn up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them. Her head is bowed and her gold eyes are open. She is wearing her space suit and has a sheet covering her legs. Wires run from her arms and back going off-screen.

27. A large crowd of mixed garrison and Coalition members is gathered around the table in the conference room at the Garrison. Shiro and Veronica stand at the head of the table. At the side of the table best visible sit, from right to left, Keith, Allura, Hunk, Lance, Coran, Romelle, and Iverson. Behind them stand the MFE pilots; Rizavi, Leifsdottir, Griffin, and Kinkade. Pidge can be seen leaning in on the opposite side of the table, but most of the others on that side are either obscured or have their backs to the viewer. Slav and Bezor are on the near end. Other recognizable characters in the crowd are Krolia, Kolivan, Vrepit Sal, Nyma, Olia, Matt, and Matt’s mysterious masked girlfriend.

28. Voltron is floating in space in front of a wrecked and derelict Galra cruiser. It appears to be a debris field of some kind with something large glowing in the background.

29. Allura and Lotor are somewhere inside a Galra structure with purple walls. Allura is in the foreground, slightly out of focus, facing forward, and only visible from the neck up. She is wearing a Garrison uniform and her expression is shocked/horrified with her eyes wide and her mouth closed. Lotor stands behind her, in focus, he is turned to the side looking towards Allura and down. His expression is resigned and sad. As the shot pans, Allura is more to the right side and Lotor is more central.

30. A section of a transformation sequence of a purple-toned mech we are as yet unfamiliar with.

31. A clawed hand comes to rest on a glowing ball of light secured in something. This looks like it may be part of a control interface.

32. Honerva is in a spacesuit looking determinedly into the camera. Her eyes start closed and when she opens them her irises are glowing yellow-orange like fire.

33. The Black Lion is flying towards an enormous mech that is silhouetted and partially whited out by a blinding light behind it. The mech is really huge, it reaches out a clawed hand to either grab or block Black and the hand is the size of the Lion itself.

34. A panning shot of Shiro looking heroic in a new black and white Garrison-styled uniform. He looks really good. There are at least five people standing behind him but two are obscured, the other three are Coran, Veronica, and Romelle. They are in front of grey-white panels - probably the Atlas.

35. The Atlas in ship form is floating horizontally across the mouth of a cave which people are exiting out of. Our view is from inside this cave which is a dark rock veined with glowing blue crystal. Small full crystals litter the ground. There are at least 23 people in the crowd, and they look to be from an as yet unknown alien race. They all have their backs to the camera.

36. Five Alteans are inside the Atlas around the ship’s crystal, one hand each stretched towards it. The crystal is shooting a beam of light upwards and the Alteans’ eyes are glowing yellow. The Alteans’ hair is blowing back from the force of the energy radiating off the crystal. Two of the Atlas’ crew are also in the shot, braced watching the action. Both are wearing Garrison uniforms but one is human while the other is a Unilu coalition fighter than has been seen but unnamed in prior seasons. The Alteans in the shot are the five in white and green uniforms in the NYCC poster that was given out. This is very interesting, as these five are unambiguously allied with Honerva according to the poster, yet whatever they’re doing in the clip is apparently in accordance with the crew of the Atlas. Seems that at some point these characters are convinced to switch their allegiances.

37. A very brief shot of eight large objects arranged in a circle floating in space. Glowing, sparkling light connects them and a beam is being shot from each towards the center of the circle. It resembles the spokes of a wheel. Whatever is a the center of the formation is glowing too brightly to be seen.

38. Five lights illuminate and flare on the headpiece of a new, previously unseen mech. The shot zooms into the largest, central light before it changes.

39. Several shot in quick succession that look to be happening in an astral realm of some kind. Pidge’s face looking alarmed. Allura swinging her whip to block a laser blast. Hunk holding his bayard weapon as the screen floods with yellow light. Lance firing his gun repeatedly while he screams.

40. Keith in the Black Lion’s cockpit as he’s hit by something. The ship rocks and pink-purple lightning flashes all around him. He recovers and shoves the right hand control arm forward.

41. A pink shield parts and an ominous pitch-black haloed mech extends an arm with massive scythe-like claws. It fires a blast of pink energy from its hand. Sincline is visible partially obscured on the left side of the screen, at the black mech’s right hand side. Something is not right with it, as all of its external lights apart from its eyes appear to be dark. A white diamond shaped structure reminiscent of the architecture in Oriande floats between the two mechs, with a second one just barely visible at the bottom of the screen.

41. Honerva appears in a cloud of black smoke between the feet of a mech. She is wearing a space suit. The scene is painted orange by what looks like a sunset. The mech may be Sincline, as it has a tail, but the design looks slightly different than what we saw in s6 - though it’s possible that time spent in the rift may have altered it. This scene was luckily released as an HQ screencap for promotional purposes!

42. Voltron slashes through two structures orbiting a planet with its double swords. The two structures simultaneously explode. Interestingly, it appears to have both it’s booster wings and the double swords activated. Combinations which have, in-show, required Keith & Lance, and Lance & Pidge respectively to use their bayards. On closer inspection, the ‘swords’ may in fact be a single spear, similar in design to the ones the White mechs have been observed to wield. What combination of paladins this requires has yet to be seen, but if I had to guess I’d say it may be Pidge & Allura - as Allura was shown to have proficiency with a staff in season 2.

And that’s the trailer!

How exciting. Let’s see what we can make of this, shall we?

43 scenes, I’ve numbered them for easy reference.

Some of them are fairly self-explanatory - the Garrison ones are likely first or second episode and connect with the end of s7. Those would be 27 and 34. I’m also going to include 26 in this group, as the surrounding architecture seems to be in the Garrison color; it also makes sense that the Altean would be placed in a hospital-like setting after being freed from her mech.

For the rest, first off, it’s obvious that 8 and 11 are just one scene split in two; they might very well even be the same scene repeated.

But that’s not the only group of clips that might go together; there are actually several that seem to be part of, if not the same scene, then the same episode.

Starting with 19, 7 looks like it could be that same mech seen from the front. And that’s not all. We know from s7e13 that those mechs drain quintessence with their weapons - likely what’s happening here. So what happens when you drain the life from something? Well, it could very well look like the scenery depicted in 24. Which of course shows Pidge and Allura on a mission somewhere. And since VLD doesn’t usually repeat character teams multiple times a season, it’s likely the same mission we see the Green and Blue Lions on in 13; which features the same structure seen in 16.

Here’s the hypothetical sequence: 16, 19, 7, 13, 24. This order is based on both a logical sequence of events and the time of day shown in the image.

It’s also plausible that 10 might belong to this episode as well, probably the paired plotline - since it features Hunk and Lance apparently alone.

Taking the visuals and the characters into question, it looks like the setting for this string of clips is a colony - whether it’s one of Lotor’s or a new base built by Honerva is yet to be seen.

Speaking of Honera, she’s got both new duds and a new ride. I’d bet good money that 30, 31, and 32 are all part of the transformation sequence for the spooky black mech showcased in 41 - we also see its headpiece light up in 38.

Also in 38 is Sincline, apparently retrieved from the rift. But, there’s something not quite right about it. The mech is partially obscured, but from what can be seen it appears that the external lighting that was visible in s6 has all gone dark. The eyes alone appear to still be alight. Whatever it means, it doesn’t bode well for Lotor. Who, by the way, also makes an apparently present-time appearance in the trailer; in 29. I TOLD YOU SO YOU FUCKERS I TOLD-

There has been much speculation as to whether or not Lotor is really there or if the brief clip is part of a flashback. In my own opinion; it’s both. Lotor is not an illusion as he is the character in focus in the clip, but as it is Allura’s reaction that is initially front and center it appears that the scene is equally between the two of them. If anything, I would guess the specific clip we have is transitory in nature; Allura is reacting to something off-screen and Lotor is now about to offer some commentary on the thing in question. Notably though, the architecture this scene happens in is the dark purple of the Empire; and I would argue that if anything this is the part that isn’t real.

While it’s certainly possible that 4 is a part of Honerva’s flashback, I think it much more likely that this is a memory of Lotor’s as the event shown was referenced as having been a formative experience for him. We already have two examples in canon of one person viewing another’s memories ( when Haggar revived Zarkon and when Keith and Krolia traveled through the Qunatum Abyss) so it wouldn’t be a stretch for it to happen again.

Even so, since we do unambiguously see Sincline, debating exactly how ‘real’ 29 is is a moot point: Lotor’s back, baby! All you haters leaving anon messages in my inbox can suck it, who’s delusional now assholes? I doubt we’re off the pain train yet, but vindication station is in sight! don’t count your chickens before they hatch don’t count on anything oh GOD this train could yet derail. Fuck. Fuck! But this looks good. It does. So far this is exactly what I expected, stay calm.

Anyway.

25 and 35 seem to feature the same landscape and new kind of aliens. It looks similar to the Balmera, and might simply be another one and its residents. Or, it could be a different kind of crystal-producing creature altogether.

And it looks like we’re in for some fun times in the astral realm! With both 15 and 39 pretty unambiguously set in the nebulous ‘quintessence vision’ we’ve seen a handful of times throughout the series. It looks like some previously defeated foes have come to visit as well! Only time will tell if they’re constructs of flesh and steel or mere memory.

But we’ve saved potentially the most interesting clips for last. First, 20 and 37 are definitely the same structure, showing respectively the formation and activation of it. Eight objects arranged in a circle around a central point. But what are they? It’s admittedly very difficult to make out, and we probably would deed access to a HD trailer to say for sure, but I’ve got a good guess. What else shoots through space trailing a tail of light but a comet?

Hey! It’s the right color scheme and everything!

Huh. Y’know what else shares that color scheme? That dark rock with thin, green-blue glowing veins?

This place.

Now, I’m not saying they’re all the same thing. But I wouldn’t rule out a connection. Balmeran crystals are what Alteans historically used to power their ships and likely are rich with quintessence, trans reality ore is associated with the rift, which is full of quintessence. There exists a plausible connection.

Also in 20 is a swirling purple vortex-like gate. I call it a gate because we can actually observe Voltron entering a similar looking structure in 14. And, while it’s easy to miss, it actually seems to be what the Black Lion and the huge unknown mecha are in front of - and possibly falling into - in 33.

I’d like to thank @legendofcarl for pointing out in this post that Honerva is actually piloting the temple in Oriande (in 9 here) as opposed to opening a wormhole. Because taking that into consideration, the white pyramidal structures in 41 are not just reminiscent of Oriande, they are Oriande. Specifically, the temple: it’s a ship. And it’s what is floating in front of the purple vortex in 20.

Which would indicate that the fight involving Sincline and the black mech in 41 is probably happening in front of that vortex and the wheel of comets as well. And those Alteans seen in 14? They’re likely on the Temple ship.

Why not tie some more in? The shots of identity-shifting Honerva clearly powering something off-screen in 8 & 11? They’re not the black mech from 41 - we see the inside of that one in 31 and 32. It might be that she’s inside the unknown mech from 33.

And it might be the robot she’s standing in front of in 42, because the more I look at it, the less it looks like Sincline.

For one, the colors are wrong. It’s not possible to tell the true colors because of the orange tone of the image, but Sincline’s legs are grey, its feet blue, and the pointed edges on the feet are bright orange. This mech clearly has the same color feet and legs, and the edging on the feet looks to be a lighter silver-white of some sort. The shape of the ankles and feet is off as well, if this was sincline there should be an extra piece incorporated into the joint at the front where the foot and leg meet. The ankles also look too narrow in proportion to the feet as well. Finally, Sincline’s tail is opaque, and we shouldn’t be able to see the sunset between the segments. The end of the tail, while indistinct in the screen, also looks to be either the wrong shape in general or have one fewer points than it should.

Can mechs fuse? Because if you meshed Sincline and the black mech together this is about what I’d expect. Darker color scheme, familiar yet different designs - and if it’s the same one as in 33, approximately twice the size of Voltron.

There’s a lot of exciting things in this trailer, and much to consider. But after laying this all out? I think this is probably all from the first few episodes. Because when you string it all together, there’s only a very small collection of scenes here. This probably doesn’t even include the mid-season event.

Oh Boy! I’m Excited!

I can’t wait for December 14th!

But I can’t leave you all without a few predictions can I? Just based on what we have here, what would I project for this section of the plot?

Well... The first episode should be spent on Earth, seeing how our paladins lives have been now that they’ve reconnected with their families, getting filled in by Matt and the rest of the coalition fighters on what exactly has been going down in the wider universe. Either the tail end of that or the beginning of the next episode should throw the Altean and whatever info she brings into the mix, and that info should be what prompts the team to return to space.

I’d wager they’ll head for the Altean Colony first thing - at least Allura will. This may be where the shots of Allura and Pidge on a mission will fit in, and on the flip side where Hunk and Lance will once again pair up and tackle something else pressing. That section with the pink and white base is probably the/an Altean Colony.

This is also where we will begin learning the truth about what is actually going on. That will put everything that I and the rest of the Lotor-fans have been theorizing to the test. No idea as of yet what side of this Romelle will shake out on, but here is where it will happen.

Oh, but whatever they find at the colony, it looks like Honerva’s already taken all the Chosen Alteans to Oriande. Oops, Paladins, you’re too late.

Honerva is out to retrieve Lotor from the rift.

She had Sendak attempt to capture the Lions in s7 because she needs a trans-reality comet as well as Altean Alchemy to access the Quintessence Field. Sendak was fine with this because he needed to prove Lotor was dead to enable someone else (himself, yo) to become Emperor, and Lotor has kinda been Shordinger’s Cat in this situation: simultaneously alive and dead because you can’t know for sure until you open the rift.

Honerva was probably watching through Sendak the same way she had been Shiro and Narti; when she saw he’d failed she sent the one mech she had prepared in attempt to catch the paladins while they were still weak from their battle.

But she lost that too.

Now, she’s either got herself some more trans-reality ore, or she’s found a substitute that just might work if you put enough of the stuff together. That’d be that lovely space-wheel we see.

The paladins realize she’s already left Oriande and catch up to her just in time to see Honerva rip open a hole in reality and haul her son back into the plot. That’s why Sincline appears to be powered down in that shot; it’s just been removed from the rift.

We’re missing some major pieces here, but SOMETHING happens during that showdown to split the Alteans’ alignment away from Honerva, change the appearance of her mech, and probably prompt Voltron to follow her through the spooky purple vortex in the sky.

And hey! What’s on the other side of a Hole in the Sky?

Other realities of course.

...

OMG OMG! Lotor is back, guys! He’s back! YEESSSSSSSS!

[bluerose5]

First Impressions (Part 1)

Word Count: 1,726

Rated T (Warnings for Swearing, Canon-Typical Violence)

Summary: What if, after receiving that call from Garrus while he was pinned down on Omega, Castis tries to track him down?

"Are you sure it was him?"

"I'm sure." Alec's smile turned mocking, the vitriol directed more towards himself. "I'm no Shadow Broker, but I still have my list of contacts here on the Citadel, even if it's dwindling by the seconds."

"Alec—"

"I don't need your pity, Castis." His smile fell, a subtle frown curling at the edges of his lips. "Besides, I'm doing this as a favor for a friend. Father to father. You know how it is."

"Yeah," Castis Vakarian sighed, "so I do."

It had been quite some time since the elder Vakarian graced the Citadel with his presence, but ever since he received that call...

"You finish up what you have to do there, and then you come on home to Palaven. We have a lot to sort out."

Even now, the echoes of gunfire rang in his ears, but not as much as the resignation in Garrus’s voice.

"Target practice," Garrus had called it.

As if an experienced C-Sec officer with common sense couldn't tell the difference between target practice and an all-out gunfight.

Even now, Castis's chest tightened.

The thought of losing Garrus now, especially when his mother's condition wasn't showing any signs of improvement—

Castis couldn't stand the thought. He couldn't lose both his wife and his son all at once.

When Garrus never reported back, he had to do something. After he spoke with some old friends on the Citadel, Alec Ryder put out some feelers of his own at his friend's request. For a while, there was nothing.

Then, they got a hit.

The Normandy SR-2, arriving to the Citadel from Omega. A ship flagged by Citadel Control's security algorithms for having alleged ties to the pro-human extremist group known only as Cerberus.

It was under the command of no other than Commander Shepard.

Why was Castis not surprised?

Between his and Alec's contacts, they had been able to discern that there were indeed aliens listed as part of the ship’s crew. A surprising move, given the organization's history, but Castis was far from calling them friends. Just because they expanded recruitment beyond their own species did not make them allies.

Add in a Spectre miraculously back from the dead, and the whole situation reeked of trouble.

Alec agreed, so they approached the matter with caution.

Thankfully, Solana understood when Castis had to drop everything and go. All that she asked was that he return home with the knowledge that Garrus was safe. That's it.

Of course, that wasn't enough to satisfy him.

Castis knew that Garrus was alive now, but that wasn't enough.

The next time he and Alec were pinged, they received intel stating that Garrus was spotted poking around the shipping sector of Zakera Ward with Commander Shepard, seeking out a notorious forger. For what? Spirits only knew.

The only other info that they had was that there was a drell and a quarian accompanying them as well.

While they awaited positive IDs on those two, they continued following Garrus’s trail, questioning the loose-lipped volus who was more than happy to give up Fade's position after his lousy bodyguards wandered off for a break.

Eventually, they were led to Harkin's position. It wasn't exactly hard to figure out that Garrus had already been there, what with the trail of bodies and mechs they left in their wake.

Seeing Harkin curled up on the floor, the bastard took one look up at them, then swore under his breath.

"Oh, you gotta be fucking kidding me," he spat. "First your son, and now you? Haven't you Vakarians done enough?"

"Heh," Alec chuckled. "We're just getting started, tough guy."

Tapping at his omni-tool, Castis sent out an alert. While he dealt with Harkin, Alec approached the open console nearby, downloading all of its content, including the most recent call to a client.

"Have fun explaining yourself to C-Sec, Harkin, or is it Fade now?" Castis paused, crossing his arms over his chest as he peered down at him. "You can't resist making a fool of yourself for even a second, can you?"

"Hot take, coming from you." Harkin sneered. "You can't even keep that hot-headed son of yours on a leash. Bet C-Sec was glad to finally have his insubordinate ass off the force."

Castis saw red.

He took a step forward, but Alec's hand came down onto his shoulder, stopping him in his path.

"He's not worth it," Alec reminded him gently. As C-Sec swarmed the area, Alec jerked his chin in the direction of the door. "Come on. Let’s go find him before it's too late."

They strolled out together, heads ducked close and voices kept low.

"Did you find anything?" Castis asked.

"More than enough," Alec assured him. "Garrus is looking for a turian by the name of Lantar Sidonis."

"Can't say I've heard of him."

"Hmm..." Alec hummed thoughtfully to himself. "There was a location sent to set up a meeting. Orbital Lounge."

"Good work," Castis said, but Alec shrugged off the praise. "Let's go."

They stopped to make a quick change in a clothing store along the way. They got dressed in casual attire, posing as a couple of friends enjoying the sights.

By the time they made it to the lounge, Castis was already getting antsy. He struggled to maintain his cover, his eyes darting this way and that.

Alec elbowed him in the side.

"Calm down," he warned. He turned towards a random window display to glance over the selection of model ships. "Maintenance walkway above. Over your shoulder and to the right."

Castis snuck a peek as soon as he had the chance to.

He felt all of the blood drain from his face.

Turning quickly back towards the display, he hissed under his breath, "He has a rifle."

Alec shushed him before they could attract too much attention.

"I know, but do we really want to announce that little fact to the entire plaza?!" he whispered frantically.

Right.

Taking a deep breath, Castis composed himself. Usually, he wasn't this bad at remaining undercover, but the stakes were too high —too personal— to ignore.

It was hard to remain calm when your son was about to make the biggest mistake of his life.

Killing in a public place...

What happened to make him fall so far?

"I spotted someone up there with him," Alec said, breaking Castis of his reverie. "Shepard, maybe?"

Looking around at the crowd, Castis shook his head a moment later.

"No, not Shepard. Look. To your left."

Alec followed his line of sight, then ducked his head back down.

"Her, the quarian, and I'm assuming that's Sidonis," Alec said, counting them off one by one. "Which means that might be the drell up top with Garrus. A lookout, perhaps?"

"Hmph."

That was when Castis noticed the spotting laser.

His pupils narrowed into thin slits.

"No."

Alec stopped him again, stepping out in front of him with his hands spread wide.

"Wait, wait, wait," he ordered. "Let's see how this plays out first."

Castis turned on him with a glare.

"My son is about to commit a murder in plain sight, and you want me to wait?" he snapped.

"I want you to think clearly," Alec corrected. "Take another look at who the spotting laser is trained on."

Staring him down, Castis huffed impatiently, but quickly complied. They couldn’t afford to be stuck at an impasse at such a crucial moment.

One look was enough to clear up the image that had been blurred by emotion.

What in the—

"No." Castis shook his head in disbelief, but that didn't change what he was witnessing. "No, Garrus is too fond of the Commander. He wouldn't hurt her."

The conviction with which he spoke surprised even himself, but Garrus's attachment to Shepard was undeniable, as much as he was loath to admit it.

Even then, he couldn’t deny what was right there in front of him. The spotting laser was focused on the back of Commander Shepard’s skull, clear as day.

However, it wasn’t hard to put two and two together.

When Sidonis moved, Garrus followed him, but the Commander was instantly there to block his opening.

There were a few tense moments where words were exchanged, far too quiet to hear from where Alec and Castis were positioned. They went back and forth for a bit, and Castis admittedly feared for the worst when both Shepard and Sidonis started to leave.

The second Garrus had a clear shot at Sidonis, Castis held his breath.

But the shot never came.

"Well," Alec muttered, "that was anticlimactic."

Castis glared and punched him in the shoulder.

"Ow!"

"That's my son, Ryder."

With a grumble, Castis dragged Alec along. Their hunt wasn't over yet.

"You should meet mine. I feel like if Scott would've let him go, then he would have somehow managed to pull the trigger by accident. A real stroke of bad luck, that one."

"Spirits."

Strolling through the crowds, they laid low for as long as they could.

By the time they found Garrus again, he was talking with the others by a skycar terminal, presumably waiting on a cab.

A whole flood of emotions came crashing down on Castis at once, and there was no holding back. Not anymore.

Ignoring Alec's warnings not to do anything rash, Castis stormed off in their direction.

Insane how, after so many years of being friends, the N7 was only choosing now to try to be the voice of reason when Castis wanted to be anything but.

Out of everyone, the drell noticed him first, regarding him with suspicion.

Before he could warn him, Castis called out, "Garrus!"

The other three instantly froze, right before they turned to face him.

Garrus’s eyes widened, his mandibles falling slack as he gaped.

"Dad?"

"'Dad?!'" Shepard and the quarian echoed, shocked by such an unexpected turn of events.

The drell, on the other hand, didn't seem the least bit perturbed.

"Ah, his father," he hummed, nodding in understanding. "Your presence in the lounge makes sense now."

Alec's brow furrowed.

"Hold up, you knew we were there?" he asked skeptically.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call you two 'subtle.'"

"That doesn't matter!" Castis snapped.

Clenching his jaw, his mandibles were clamped down tight.

Time to get this meeting back on track.

"Garrus, we need to talk."

[razorblade180]

Interdimensional Moms pt4

Part 3 here! <-

The tales had be interesting. The tales had even been emotionally gripping, yet all of them so far didn’t seem to register at the moment as Ruby’s teammates looked at her with the same excitement she used to give her own mother during story time. Ruby couldn’t help but give a little smile.

Ruby:I take it you’re ready for my turn? You do know it’s not exactly a sunshine and rainbows story, right?

Weiss:We figured as much, but....

Yang:You’re so different! From the moment you showed up I could just feel it in my gut. You have this...presence about you. Not to mention intsene confidence.

Blake:Yang is right. You said you beat your Salem when your seventeen. That’s...scary if I’m being honest. Such a drastic departure from any of our worlds.

Ruby:*red* Hehehe ummm I guess I’m just awesome? Really I don’t think it’s the most outstanding feat. At least by my worlds standards I suppose. I mean sure, I’m consider cream of the crop there too but there’s talented people and challenges all over that would put me through my paces still. I’m just...me.

Weiss:Sigh...honestly, I suppose that means our own skills must pale in comparison to our counterparts.

Ruby:Mmmm I wouldn’t say that for sure. My Yang would kill me if she heard this but there’s something about the one right here that has spark I dig.

Yang:Really?

Ruby:Uh huh. Can’t put my finger on it but I think you take her if you want it bad enough. As for Weiss....couldn’t tell ya. Haha, I know better than anybody to not underestimate the power of mother, and you pumped twins out.

Weiss:Not sure if those are pity points or real ones but thanks either way.

Blake:You don’t even have to tell me I’d lose. Just gave an entire story about me an my condition.

Ruby:Don’t feel too bad about it. I can’t imagine much reason for you two to fight for any reason. You’re both too reasonable to not reason with yourself.

Blake:Aw I’m touched.

Yang and Weiss:We aren’t....

Ruby:Hahaha I’m just saying! So, I guess I take things from the top like you all? From what I learned from all of you our Beacon experiences really are more or less the same, not counting certain interactions between a bookworm faunus and an adorkable blonde knight. Enrolled early, blew up the entrance, Weiss was rude, Yang ditched me, all the same beats.

Yang:There’s no super badass change like you beating Cinder the night of dance and making our entire lives easier?

Ruby:Ha! I wish I was that legit. No, I was very much the young girl tripping in heels that night. Vytal festival came around and was attacked, then Beacon fell. Pyrrha was lost and so was Penny. Difference being that was my last time seeing her, unlike Weiss’s story apparently.

Weiss:Yeah that...that’s a little bit of shock to be frank. Sorry.

Ruby:No worries. Not like you did anything and it was decades ago for me now. After that day is when I started to get a bit more serious I think. I had always taken being a huntress seriously and never slacked of in trying to live my dream. However, my perspective may have honed in on just how do or die life his when you’re the one choosing to walk into unknown danger. Team RNJR’s first and only mission, save the world!

Yang:Sub mission: Flirt with Jaune Arc.

Ruby:*blushing* We do not choose who we fall in love with it. But yes, that may have been a personal pseudo mission for me. He’s my first friend at Beacon for crying out loud and I you know.....thought he was cute then too.

WBY:Yeah that checks out.

Ruby:What does that mean!?

Weiss:Ruby, even my Ruby admits to finding Jaune attractive and having a crush on him back in the day.

Blake:Same.

Yang:I already went into enough detail on how my little sister feels about Jaune. Your just the reality where you pounced on the opportunity and never let go. Struck when the iron was hot and none of us were around; sly fox.

Ruby:Gee you make it sound underhanded. It isn’t like I intended to actively pursue him. Everyone was really sad and stressed traveling to Anima. There was a tension in the air. One that really strained us. I did my best to keep focus, but a leader is only as put together as team. Ren and Nora confided one another as usual and I tried being there for Jaune because seeing him emotionally shut down was rough; so I did my best to be there for him. Then...he ended up being there for me and I was the one who needed comfort. All the airing out and late nights just...led to....*red*

Blake: “Breaking the tension?”

Ruby:I guess that’s one way of putting it. We were lonely. I hid my feelings best I could under the veil of comfort in the moment. Not that needed to. He made it pretty clear that he wanted me in the same way I wanted him. I just the two of us were too scared to ask for promises we weren’t sure we could keep so we loved in the moments we could, so to speak.

Weiss:If it wasn’t under dire situations, all that sounds oddly romantic.

Ruby:Right!? Looking back at it makes the entire thing seem romantic but I definitely wouldn’t wish a similar experience on anybody! I guess it’s what I wished for when I fantasized huntress life huh? Things obviously got better along the way. Our relationship got a bit more serious right before we got to Haven. Then Tyrian and other crazy stuff happened that threw all of us into panic mode again before slowly getting better again by a lot.

Yang:We showed up?

Ruby:Bingo! You and Weiss, met Oscar, and then eventually Blake came back. Things were on the up and up.

Weiss:Uh, Haven attack?

Ruby:We lived, up and up. Yeah you got stabbed but you know...that’s not new I’m sure.

Weiss:Yeah I have the scar and I’m still little pissed.

Ruby:Valid. Anyways, so my Atlas experience was different as hell. There was no formation of Remnants armies like Weiss spoke of or even between two kingdoms like Blake. Yang, what happened yours again exactly?

Yang:Nonsense. Cinder showed up with lackeies but not Salem’s lackies. Those people showed up separately, then Adam came back from wherever the hell he- a lot! A lot of people showed up for different reasons but also the same reason and to be frank, we all almost got shot by the military for being in bases that quote unquote, “didn’t exist.”

Ruby:Man I wish we traded. That at least sounds crazy enough to be fun. Just a rollercoaster in the dark basically. My experience was probably as hectic, but also way more streamlined. We showed up, and then all hell broke loose. Specially a mass grimm invasion lead by Cinder and her annoying associates. We were there for about three weeks updating General Ironwood and getting our barrings together when it happened. I wanna call it a hit and run tactic but it was clearly planned in advanced. Mechs were hacked again, traitors in the military, grimm lying in wait before hand; it was chaos! All for the relic.

Blake:Who was the maiden?

Ruby:Never met her. By the time we got there, Ironwood was panicking because she had vanished, taken right from under his nose. It was some young girl apparently, really young. The attack on Beacon looked like child’s play to this. Mantle got attacked, grimm were on the chains, they tried dropping Atlas to the ground; all a diversion for a relic. We all should’ve died, and yet, we didn’t. Winter and Weiss weeded out traitors, huntsman and military held the line, Yang bested Hazel with Nora, Qrow and I cut down Tyrian! Ren, Blake and Jaune helped the kingdoms while Ironwood struck down Watts. Nobody was in the mood to die that day. There wasn’t gonna be another Beacon. By all means, we were pissed. Even Raven showed up of all people.

Yang:What!?

Ruby:You can’t attack a kingdom without the world knowing. Especially when traitors leak info. Honestly she came for you though, or she never left to begin with. Couldn’t tell ya. Thanks to Maria I had a bit more handling with my eyes. That helped a lot. Without them and Os-

She stopped herself, choking on the words. The zest and excitement of recalling the heroic feats of her friends dimmed slightly with her smile. Her joyful smile became bittersweet like the memory.

Ruby:Then there was Oscar, the real warrior on that flamed filled night. That battle had to have been three days at least. We were so driven, and so tired. I was tired, but Cinder, Neo, and the others with her at the time weren’t; always showing up at the worst time. I managed to push Cinder back in a fight but grimm and others still swarmed. We were at a point that grimm very well might’ve did us in and the villains didn’t have to push any harder. But Oscar changed that. Hehe, what’s it about country folk that makes people like him and I not hesitate to grit our teeth? That dork looked at me, gave me the biggest smile on the the steps to Atlas, and then he left. His hair went white as he twirled the cane and then he left, forever. Oz came out, and he left nothing to the imagination. “Limited magic” my butt. He obliterated grimm and made a barrier aroma Atlas while everyone else cleared Mantle long enough for the world to send reinforcements. Salem didn’t get the relic, but she got the maiden and thousands of casualties. Oscar being one of them. Also, Whitley....he was in critical condition for a very long time.

Weiss:What do you mean...critical condition?

Ruby:Everything happened so fast Weiss. Panic was high, buildings fell....a piece on him. I wasn’t there but when I eventually found you, you were nearly hysterical and banged up. By some miracle he lived even though we could not reach him and he did not get aid for awhile. We thought him dead. It was only after everything we learned somebody got him. Being rich never paid off more than with medical bills. Thanks to youth and medicine he can still walk, but he can only do so much before being tired. He also left Atlas. The cold hurts.

Weiss:So, I run the company because he can’t?

Ruby:I wouldn’t put it that way, but it was one of dozens of reasons that made that goal stronger for you. Relax though, both of you get plenty of time to be witty siblings like I told you earlier.

Weiss:I know. It’s just, I guess it’s hard imagining Whitley hurt like that. I don’t think I could handle it.

Ruby:You definitely teetered in the moment. Knowing that happened though probably gave you anger and grit to fight the entire battle. You were a beast. Scarier than Winter. Anyways, that hollow victory was a real wake up call for the world. They didn’t know about Salem and we never told society in earnest. Cinder and other conspirators were enough to make Remnant work together to boost defense. Relief went to places that needed it and I, became the face of hope. Haven, Argus, Atlas, even people from Vale got to chattering of a particular group of people who always seemed to answer the call for help. Then the towns in between chattered. Yours truly had been carving a name in the history books and was only gain popularity the moment I stepped into Vacou, alone.

Blake:Alone!?

Weiss:What!?

Yang:Where were we!!!!!?

Ruby looked at surprised faces around the table, smiling tenderly. She looked down her dress and pulled out the cross she wore around her neck. Her thumb traced its edges as her mind began wandering down an old path paved with emotions raw to the core.

Ruby:I’ve always felt different. Not just because of my eyes but that there was just...a certain spark that never stopped going off for as long as I remember. There are plenty of people who can’t bare to watch others suffer, but there are fewer people I believe that truly feel the agony of other people’s pain. Beacon, Haven, Atlas, Argus; there was no place I went that I didn’t see the faces of others lamenting, and I didn’t make me want to grieve. Atlas took so much out of all of you and I just felt so....driven to stop that ache. For everyone’s sake, but mine as well. I wanted the world to finally get to the happy ending. Enough trauma had be sowed for a hundred lifetimes, so I went on ahead of everyone. I never doubted you all would follow but I wanted to get ahead of the curve and take on as much of the suffering I could do others wouldn’t. If the world wouldn’t give me a miracle than I’d be it myself for everyone else.

Yang:That’s suicidal! Salem wanted you specifically!

Ruby:It’s not like I went marching up to her door and said “1v1 bitch, I’m here” no, I just chose to move forward quicker than what we were all doing. Believe me, all of you were upset when you caught up, after I had already saved Vacou. *smiles* I really like that place. I told the people it was the next target and all they did was double down on pushing back. I managed to pin down the Summer maiden before the villains and thanks with the city on alert, there wasn’t a shift in the sand that didn’t go unnoticed. I got the jump on Mercury and Emerald, personally paying them back. Can’t say I didn’t enjoy it. It didn’t take long before they realized how screwed they were with them being outed like this and Cinder having the nerve to retreat before hand. Both of them threw in the total, outing the plan against Vacou. A wipeout of a win. Not to mention they told me the location Salem’s little hiding hole.

Weiss:We missed all of that?

Ruby:That’s what happens when I leave in the dead of night and running on adrenaline. Like I said before, people were tired. As much as all of you wanted to hoof it, other’s were relying on you. Atlas almost dropped for gods sake. Eventually when you all caught up it was at a good time. Soloing was rewarding but difficult. Fortunately Sun, Neptune, Ilia, and a few other familiar faces were close by if I needed an extra set of hands. My little stunt earned the anger of everyone for awhile.

WBY:Yeah no shit...the leader left.

Ruby:Yang was the most upset, followed by Uncle Qrow, and you Weiss. I was ready for the blowback. Jaune and Nora saw me though and bursted into tears. Hehe, wasn’t ready for that. Felt terrible and cried back. To prevent that stunt again, my Yang convinced Raven to link me. A couple days of apologizing and rest smoothed things over. It also gave time for just a few close friends and colleagues to get together for an assault on Salem’s castle. A few were apprehensive about it at first but at the end of the day I was going. That attitude was infectious apparently. You guys, actually everybody, they started getting this hunger to end it all. Maybe it was the high of victory? Regardless, it sent me racing to the end with those that I loved most.

Yang:You’re a real “my way or the highway” kind of Ruby. I don’t get how that explains what made you so...elite.

Ruby:I’m not sure what to say. A fight needed to to fought so I fought it. A cry for help was heard so I ran to it. A grimm needed slaying so I slayed it. People needed me to win so I didn’t dare think of losing. Dying was never option, even when it stared me right into my eyes. I had things I wanted to do and people I wanted see for years to come. I guess...I am strong because of the fact I want things my way. A moment I’m not giving it 110% is a moment wasted. After all, a huntress is all I ever wanted to be.

A single dream she wanted since birth. The never ending desire to be the hero in stories told to her many nights ago. That’s all it ever was. That’s all it’s ever been. Even in meadow of beautiful red roses, one would be the rose that captured the eyes of many, that bloomed stronger than the rest. As simple as it was, that had to be the answer here. Weiss, Yang, and Blake were in front of that flower. The Ruby Rose that simply bloomed stronger than the rest. The one that clung to her dream as if letting go meant dying itself. The devotion was inspiring, yet also overwhelming. If this was Ruby they had lead them that day in the Emerald Forest, could they have kept up? Could she be the leader they followed? No, they couldn’t have. Something deep down inside them gave them that answer. No matter how she looked and how much she loved, this Ruby Rose was cut from a cloth they simply weren’t off. The same as others, but oh so different.

Weiss:You’re....kinda a monster, you know that right?

Yang:Seriously, I’m so...floored. It’s intimidating.

Blake:Not to mention humbling. I used to think I gave it all I had. Now I’m not so sure.

Ruby:Oh don’t be like that you three! You’re all living proof there was more than way to go about life, this war! Everything you gave was enough because you’re done with it! Nobody failed. Besides, I...am far from ideal. The assault was challenging. Getting around hoards of grimm and making it to Salem was hell made real. Neo tried taking another shot at me but Yang held her off with help. Everyone pushed the obstacles in front of me out of the way as I went to Salem herself. Cinder had been abandoned by her and stripped of a lot of her powers. Angry and desperate, she tried killing me again as a way to prove worth. I beat her. However, I let her walk away.

Yang:What!? Why would-

Ruby:Naive, I was...naive okay? She was all spent and though I hated her, I just couldn’t. Not when I looked into her eyes and saw that same hunger I had to claw and scream at my dream until it was in my hands die inside her. We both knew from this point on there was absolutely nothing she could do where this ends her way. All she worked for turned burned to ash. So I gave her the choice to not burn up with it. Cinder swallow her pride and then fled. A part of me couldn’t help but rationalize killing her didn’t solve or justify any of my beliefs or desires. It would’ve done it because I hated her like she hated me. That was the dumb logic of a seventeen year old who never quite learned to take things slow.

Blake:....I don’t think it’s dumb. Naive for sure, but maybe that’s good? Even my Ruby, she never wanted to act on hate. She didn’t. Salem lives.

Weiss:Mine sent her soul to be at piece instead of passing a cruel judgment.

Yang:As a person who’s seen what you looked like with nothing but vengeance inside, I can say it doesn’t fit you. Before that day you had a warmth inside you to even foes that were somewhat admirable. You chose to leave Cinder’s fate up to those who had that hate and Salem was undone by her own doing at the very end. That’s what really makes you special Ruby. That’s why you’re called an honest soul. Good will is your nature.

Ruby:....Hmm, you sure know how to butter me up. *scratches head* I guess that part of me is uni-I mean multiversal. Strangely, that makes me feel better, to a degree.

Weiss:Do we even have to ask what happened to Salem at this point? I doubt the story ends with you loosing and having to retreat.

Ruby:Who’s to say it doesn’t? I could’ve been beaten to death before the gods themselves descended down to revive me with awesome power.

Yang:....Did you?

Ruby:Wh-No! Haha, I made her an immortal statue.

Blake:I-It was that easy?

Ruby:Well I wouldn’t call rushing into hell’s castle easy, or Salem. I lit her up at least a dozen times. My head pounded from each use, I was tossed around a bunch, magic is annoying, and not to mention running out of ammo. I left nothing to the imagination in that fight. If it were easy then I wouldn’t be rooting my horn and my age doing it. I was so tired I blacked out afterwards. I woke days later with a sore body and the title of “Remnant’s Savior.” Apparently beating Salem had weakened the grimm everywhere and all of you made sure who was to be thanked for it. That’s the tale of how I saved the world with my friends. Love, trust, elbow grease, and a lot of bullets. Before the final battle, Ozpin had struck a deal with everyone involved. In return for saving the world, he’d cut ties with us.

Yang:Seriously? What brought that about!?

Ruby:Good or not, he lied and was a schemer. Sure I was gonna try to save the world regardless of his interference but there wasn’t a person alive that didn’t to finally take a step towards the future after all this. All of us finally had time chase dreams and help the world the way we wanted to before all of this. Blake begin mending hate, Weiss took back her company, if Yang wasn’t with Blake then she was seeking more answers to Raven on wild adventures.

Yang:You mean Raven still left after all that!?

Ruby:In her defense, both of you made everything fucking awkward when she was around. It’s like you both wanted to talk about something but knew any subject was a land mine so you all you ever did was...stare, like weirdos. Glad that’s in the past. She just lives with dad now and you two now to hold a conversation. I dare not ask for more. I’d be a granny by the time I did.

Yang:Sigh...I don’t know what I expected. Shit it the fan several times and children were born before mom and I found solidarity and understanding. What did you do afterwards? Your goal was already met.

Ruby:Like hell it was! I started busting my butt traveling around the world, visiting every place to help in anyways I could. Ren and Nora tagged along for awhile before going off to make an orphanage in Anima near Ren’s old village. That left Jaune and I to do our hero thing.

Yang:As well as other things....

Ruby:Hey, what can I say? We were young and going up in the world. By the time I was nineteen, I was now a married to my partner and best friend.

Weiss:Uhhhh-

Ruby:He’s my partner on RNJR and you’re my BFF, gosh did I really need to explain that hehe?

Weiss:I just had to make sure. Crazier twists could happen.

Blake:Wow you married young. Not that there’s a problem but I’m surprised. Then again you also dated earlier than my Ruby. Hehe, weapons were on her brain for a long time.

Weiss:No kidding. When I learned about you crushing on my brother I was shocked to find out you liked anybody in general. Especially a person who isn’t a weapon nut in the slightest.

Ruby:*shrugs* All you’re telling me is I’m clearly the most impatient or impulsive Ruby you all know. Don’t know how that happened. Maybe I was dropped as a baby or had one too many coffees growing up?

Weiss:I’m willing to bet it’s both.

Ruby:Ruuuuude. So yeah, that’s...the story of how I saved the world and married Jaune. We even built a home just outside Vacou, overlooking the kingdom and neighboring town in the distance where Maria grew up. Yeah, that’s me....more or less. All the triumphant parts anyways. Anything later on is......

.......

Blake:R...Ruby? You okay?

Ruby:Nope, not really. *clenches cross*

Yang:......You know, I never really got religion, especially after learning the truth. It just seemed completely hollow when you learn of the real gods, ya know? However, I changed my tune a bit after being a parent and then some more when uncle Qrow died. It was never really about the truth behind if those other gods were real-

Ruby:It’s the piece of mind in believing in a better place for loved ones and having people watch over you. It’s truly based on blind faith in every sense but that’s okay as long as it gives peace of mind, to stay strong. Yeah....that’s why I wear this.

Yang:If that’s the “why” then I guess the unavoidable question is what happened?

The reaper leaned back in his chair, letting out a long sigh. Ruby brushed her hair out of her face while her face went pale. Then, Ruby’s eyes, her teammates watched a pair of stunning silver eyes dim, becoming akin to a clouded mirror.

Ruby:Being a huntress was all I wanted. The plan of having a family and settling down never appealed to me much. I feel, I felt like being in the field was where I was meant to be. It’s where I was most myself in a way. So the day I learned that I was pregnant was more than a little upsetting and terrifying, until dad and time itself filled me with the most genuine joy I may have ever experienced. Dustin Arc Rose, my first born son. He opened a door to a world and life I never knew I wanted to be apart of. Then...that door was shut minutes after, when Cinder and Neo stole him right from my arms. I couldn’t do a single thing about it other than blackout. That single act of good will I showed, it did nothing but kill me inside. The same way I did to her.

WB:.....

Yang:Ru-Ruby....your eyes.

Ruby:Hmm? Are they clouded? Funny, I would’ve thought your Ruby would’ve had a similar change. Maybe that’s a world exclusive thing, or a testament to the will you Ruby has to endure. Clouded eyes on a silver eyed warrior means the person has lost the desire or rather the mindset of persevering life. Be it their own life or wanting to end another’s life out of resentment, strife. My entire world fell apart when I woke up and learned nobody was able to retrieve Dustin. I was in pieces, Jaune was broken, nobody was the same. There wasn’t a soul we didn’t know that hadn’t tried to find a lead, but we never did. He was just...gone; and I couldn’t cope at all.

Weiss:I don’t think any mother could. Ruby, I’m so sorry that happened to you.

Ruby:I’m sorry too. I lashed out in anger, and shut people out. My eyes clouded and I dove into my work for a little over a year doing nothing but searching aimlessly as I took and every job back to back. The more time went by meant the more people eventually had to go back to their own, and it drove me up a wall inside. No one could reach me. I didn’t want anybody to. Not even Jaune. I....*teary eyed* I left him alone in house. There was no part of me that could even attempt to understand his pain because I was drowning in mine. I was told he tried his best to catch them at the hospital. I never hated him for not succeeding but I...he... I just, I can’t. I don’t know what I thought. All o knew was I didn’t even want him to touch me. How cruel is that? *hugging herself* I made him drown in despair in the same way I was. I wasn’t home so often that I never realized he eventually left it abandoned to live with dad. Yang and Blake I didn’t even show up to your wedding. Jaune did that much. Hell, Raven attended. Ruby Rose as a person didn’t exist any more. I was only a wandering huntress looking for answers or the challenge that might’ve ended me.

Blake:What changed?

Ruby:Oz, he did what nobody else dared to do. He fought me. I don’t think he thought twice about it. He was prepared to accept all the anger I kept inside until I eventually broke down into tears like I’m trying not to do right now. Thinking about that time is still, extremely difficult. Oz let me lament, encouraging me afterwards to finally except the fact Dustin was gone and that I needed to process it properly. First I went to you Yang, in order to have a my big sis to lean on. Can you guess how that went?

Yang:With me holding you tighter than I ever had before.

Ruby:*smiles gently* I don’t deserve you. You and Blake then came to patch with me where everyone else waited for me and helped me face Jaune. That may have been the hardest thing I’ve done. Grieving or not, the fact that I left him in such a state. I know what that does to people firsthand and yet I left. For the first time in over a year we embraced and finally grieved together. The next two years were spent trying to heal and cope. During my time away the world had fully acknowledged me. I even got a proper nickname, but it all felt hollow. Imagine that, achieving your dream but not caring? If that’s not salt in a wound then I don’t know what is.

Weiss:What’s your title?

Ruby:I am the person people want to see when evil comes to cut their story short. I am a symbol that their tale still has more to tell. Remnant has named me The Storyteller. Curtsey of Maria, who spread the name around. Healing was slow and most nights I felt a pain in my heart, but then everything changed. One moment made me dare to try again to open that shut door in my life. *looks at Yang* I held your son in my arms. Sweet little Kovu.

Blake:*smiles* Kovu? Now I wonder who named him?

Yang:*red* Huh...how about that? Hehehe, wish I could meet him. I know he isn’t technically mine but I can’t help but feel all warm now. Also I can’t believe I named him that!

Weiss:I can. Veronica’s middle name is Nala.

Yang:Okay, maybe not marrying Blake was a win? Clearly I can’t be trusted to not name my children after other cats.

Blake:The wrong kind of cat too. I’m a panther faunus, not a lion. Even if they’re blonde that’s still false advertising of what they are.

Ruby:Well Yang was the one giving birth so you lost a majority of the option to complain.

Blake:That is fair.

Weiss:You gave birth to Vee, so I think that solves who picked her first name.

Ruby rested her head in her propped up hands that rested on the table. She felt exhausted reliving that chapter of her life mentally. Still she managed to smile, then smile bigger. Her eyes unclouded and a warm feeling filling her again. What Ruby said earlier about what made her different may have reign true, but her friends could since that there was now more to it. Ruby had spiraled into an unimaginable tragedy, yet was able to bounce back thanks to loved ones. To smile as she does, it was truly a strong sight to see. Even if she wasn’t fully aware of that.

Ruby:Carmine Arc Rose, my second born and the first child to call me mommy. Followed many years later by itty bitty Garnet. He’s my little man, five years old while is big sis is seventeen now.

Yang:Damn! That’s a gap. Oh, also congratulations. Almost forgot that part. I’m glad you got to be the super awesome mom that-

Ruby:I am easily C-teir.

Yang:Oh come on! What!?

Ruby:Listen, I know I got on you all for calling yourselves bad parents, but I will hear no debate about me understand!? I flop a lot of times.

Weiss:That doesn’t make you a C-teir. That makes you a new mom, silly.

Ruby:*grumbling* I agree to disagree but thank you. It’s just a lot okay. Too much to dive into honestly.

Blake:Summarize. Give us an abbreviated version.

Ruby:Ummm so Carmine is real special kid. The absolute love I have for her is unbreakable but gods damnit if she isn’t the most... “me” I could be! In a way similar yet different from myself, Carmine has always had this sense of urgency in her and a love for the world around her. She recognizes that it’s a fragile piece we have and just how hard I’ve worked with everyone to make it. I could tell that from her when she was five. I’d sound crazy, but the fact she used her eyes at the age proves I’m not.

Yang:She has silver eyes!? Why didn’t you bring that up?

Ruby:I thought that was obvious. All of my kids were born with then. Unlike her baby brother though, Carmine was a weird little kid. She didn’t socialize well. Still doesn’t, she’s kinda comes off rude and cold because of her bluntness. She doesn’t really express all her feelings or understand others fully. One might call her a little cold but the passion she had to protect life itself is a testament to how much she cares. Carmine is also a genius fighter. To put in perspective, people use the same nickname for her that they used for Pyrrha.

WBY:Oh....

Ruby:Yeah! It’s not hyperbolic to say ever since Carmine is far beyond any skill I was at her age since she turned thirteen. You called me a monster earlier but no, I merely gave birth to a beast. I mean she could pass the huntsman exam at fifteen if I didn’t make her wait. I can’t call her arrogant, she talks with confidence because she has that right by all means. Still, besides her face, that’s where the similarities start separating; besides terrible grades in general stuff. We’ve never been in step completely. To put simply in her own words, “What I am is a hero, while she is a huntress.” That good will and mercy I try to give everyone isn’t how she rolls. It drives a real wedge that has resulted in us not going on missions together.

Blake:Is she...killing?

Ruby:She has before, and it had valid reasons entirely, but I also know for a fact she is more than capable of bringing down people without taking that step. Not all cases are that intense thank goodness. Her overall aggressiveness is the root of the problem. You don’t have to put you back into it when handling thugs. They aren’t Hazel.

Yang:Ooo okay, yeah I’m seeing what you mean now. It’s like that one comic you always read!

Ruby:Sigh...yeah she channels a bit of Batman energy and I need her to not do that all the time. I suppose being an honest soul isn’t particularly hereditary. It always feels like we aren’t enjoying each other’s company these days. I can’t blame her though. So....you know how all of you have had one serious problem that has both destabilized yourself as well as the kids and their relationship to you? *clouded eyes*

Weiss:Wait...you loosing a child wasn’t that?

Ruby:Oh it was. It just so happened that it never ended. It grew day by day. Night by night. Jaune and I were cautious with Carmine. Going as far to give her contacts and giving birth to her off the record and not at a hospital. Just in case Cinder came back. Well, Cinder and Neo came back, with my Dustin.

Nobody said anything. What do you even say to that!? All they did was let out a stifled breath and tried to gauge Ruby’s look of guilt.

Ruby:Yet again we had gotten too comfortable. It happened when Carmine was thirteen. I don’t think Garnet was even one yet. That’s when the cruelest realization hit me. My son had been alive and hearing about how his so called mother being a person who saves everyone, yet she never came for him. She had moved on, letting his eyes become clouded with such seething hate for the world she did save; the children she had after. It’s been four years since the day he attacked Carmine and helped grimm try to invade Vacou. To this day it’s been a life of staying on gaurd, searching for them as they popped up countless places to tear Remna- to tear me down and I can’t decide what part hurts the most. The amount of anger that prevents me from killing Cinder in a blink of an eye, or looking at my daughter who has told me herself that she is going to kill her older brother because I’m too weak to do so. That I’m in no way as good as the world believes me to be. *puts hood up* Like I said, C-teir mom, at best.

Blake:That’s- you can’t- there’s no way for you to reach him? Maybe if you-

Ruby:He looks at me the same way Neo and Cinder do, Blake. They raised him to hate me. Besides, he hurt Carmine. She’s just not gonna let that slide and frankly I shouldn’t either. Carmine acts tough and for the most part is, but gets terrified like everyone else. In many ways she’s still just a young girl that I wish had never chosen to become a huntress. If I had it my way she’d just be a normal girl with normal knees; but her mother’s weakness and inexperience wrapped her up in yet another war. It’s ironic. I barely remember mom and yet I ended up putting my family in very similar situation as if she lead instruction. Happy endings, I’m not sure if I get-

Yang:You’re better than mom....

Ruby:......

Yang:Yeah I said. Look I love Summer Rose but at the end of the day she wasn’t around, not that she didn’t want to be, but it’s the truth. Several years of pleasant childhood memories and a lifetime of grief is what she left me, and all you got were tales you should’ve experienced first hand. Ruby you have spent seventeen years loving your daughter unconditionally and being there for her no matter if it’s for better or worse. Yeah you might not being doing it perfectly and I have no idea how to even fathom your predicament, but at least you are there trying. Take it from me, that’s all a daughter ever wants from their mother. It’s also what makes a pretty kick ass dad. *smiles* Chin up, hero. Your story isn’t over yet after all.

Silence filled the air and Ruby’s throat ran dry. Ruby pulled out her scroll to go to her pictures and displayed one of her favorite photos for everyone to see. It was Carmine’s fifteenth birthday. Ruby didn’t lie about the resemblance. the girl had short blonde hair that stopped halfway down her neck in the back and was longer in the front, reaching shoulders. Like her mother, the tips of her hair transitioned to red. The beautiful young woman tried to her hide her smile but her gleeful silver eyes were practically twinkling with joy as Ruby hugged her tightly from behind and a tall, more solid version of Jaune was smushing one of Carmine’s cheeks with an overly dramatic kiss to it. A tiny child no older than three at most was in his big sister’s arms. Garnet had his mother’s hair and eyes but something about the chubby face definitely showed Jaune’s features. The child had red frosting on his face and was reaching eagerly for more cake somewhere out of frame.

Yang noticed the girl took page from her father and wore some regular cargo shorts, but clearly didn’t lack flair by wearing a red crop top that showed off a fresh tattoo of the Arc crest on her toroso. Knowing her sister, that tattoo was most likely practical. The family looked happy, proud; and the mother of it currently sat across the table crying with her head face down in her hands cwhile Weiss and Blake hugged her from each side. Roses may have thorns, anyone who knew roses knew a simple truth. They’re still fragile flowers.

Yang:(Carmine Arc Rose. For you and your mother’s sake, I hope things go well)

xxxx

Though Carmine seemed cold by nature, people were quick learn the opposite. The most recent learner of this was a scared little girl that held on for dear life. It was nighttime, nothing but the sound of pouring rain and the distant glow of red and the warmth of Carmine holding the girl against her body while she sprinted through a mud ridden forest. The little payed no attention to the pain in her side, but the glow of roses, eyes, and flames through her tear filled eyes.

Beowulves chased frantically but then severed immediately by something the girl couldn’t understand, but it looked like the person carrying her. The dead beasts brought no comfort. Not when more followed close behind.

Girl:I-I’m sc...scared!

Carmine:Don’t look at them sweetie, it’ll be fine. Just keep being a brave little girl.

Girl:M...Mommy was back there.

Carmine:.....I know, she’ll be just fine. Your village, there are plenty of people there that will be just fine! Huff..... You got a name?

Mary:Mary.....

Carmine:Oh that’s a beautiful name, Mary. You know I was almost a Mary? Yeah my grandma was a really amazing person and I almost got named something similar to her. Mary is a very strong name!

Mary:You’re a liar! I’m sad, not strong. I want my mommy! Everything his dark and hurts and I want her!

The girl began painfully crying as Carmine followed her trail of roses to avoid getting lost. Things were getting worse. The storm raged and she could feel this girl burning in her arms. Not to mention the unsettling warmth the mixed with the cold rain against her body and dripped to puddles below. Any grimm near by could only be dealt with by many copies of her nearby, but that would only go so far when fear was out full force. Carmine’s boots felt like cement, but she still ran.

Carmine:Mary, you know what do when I miss my mommy? I sing! Yeah, my mom sings the best lullabies that made me feel super strong when I was little! It’s a magic song that makes everyone strong. How about I sing it you and they can sing it your mommy later okay!? But you have to close your eyes to really focus on the words!

Mary:*sniffling* Okay....

Baby deathstalkers swarmed the path made ahead as small Nevermores dove at her. Out of options, Carmine broke from the path, trying to rely on memory to go towards the safe zone while also singing lyrics to her favorite song.

Dream of anything; I'll make it all come true.

Everything you need is all I'll have for you~

Carmine never wavered. No matter how badly her lungs her or nearly slipped, she kept singing all the way to her destination where several other clones were seen racing towards with more civilians to injured or young to go themselves. An orphanage where Nora and Ren stood outside rushing people in while Jaune was keeping the grimm at bay. The sight brought a little ease.

Don't worry, I've got you; nothing will ever harm you.

I'm close by, I'll stay here; through all things, I will be near~

Carmine finally reached Nora and passed off the girl who’s grip weakened overtime. A few lyrics in and Carmine knew she was singing mainly for herself.

Carmine:Get her medical attention! I’m gonna go and find more! There’s still-

Jaune:Wait, it’s too dangerous!

Carmine:I know! That’s why I have to go! That fire is spreading and there’s stragglers pinned down! Dad.....I’m pinned down!

Jaune tensed up and looked at Carmine. No scraps on her and her clothes only soiled by others. It didn’t take long to realize. The man resisted the urge to run out to the ruined town and stood firmly.

Jaune:Carmine...end it. We’ll worry about the consequences later.

Carmine:....Okay.

Across the woods amongst the flames the real Carmine stood bleeding and bruised in front of two Beringel that charged over the vanishing corpses of their fallen with more grimm, her sword stabbed into the ground supporting her weight. Behind all living people that remained finally managed to flee. All except for a woman trapped by house debris. The woman watched this young huntsman stand proudly again. She wasn’t sure what happened next. All she heard was one sentence.

“Close your eyes...” before everything went white. Next thing she knew, Carmine was lifting debris off her as rain and wind washed away any evidence. A relief she didn’t care about in the slightest. She neither had the strength, or the time too. Much like Carmine, who began to pant and teeter. It was clear to the woman that whatever just happened didn’t come without cost as she watched the girl fall to her knees. Though she tried moving, Carmine was spent.

Carmine:Don’t worry...we’re safe....let’s-

Woman:Go...

Carmine:Huh?

Woman:I...my legs. Everything...I can’t move. Just go. I d-don’t think I’d las-

Carmine:Don’t talk like that! The hard parts over! I can-

Woman:Barely walk. *smiles* It’s okay. I don’t blame you. You fought hard.

Carmine:.....I...I’m sorry. *teary eyed*

Woman:Say, I know that face anywhere. Your Lady Rose’s kid. Funny, I thought your eyes were red? My daughter, Mary, she loves your mother. Makes me kinda jealous hehe, but hey I love her too. *crying* Do you know if Mary made it? She was wearing-

Carmine:A black dress, pink ribbons in her hair...

Woman:Yes! Is she safe? I saw you- one of you carry her off.

Carmine:...She’s just fine.

Woman:Good. That’s all....that.....

The woman never finished her sentence. Carmine’s body fell limp on the ground, facing the rain. Even with the cold downpour she could feel the warmth of her own tears, containing her emotions best she could as she looked through her clones eyes to watch Nora take Mary away from the survivors and out of sight to not stir further panic.

Carmine wasn’t sure how long she layed there, but it was long enough for Jaune to find her. The man didn’t say a word. The town was in shambles. Grimm were still fading and his daughter looked tired, but not in serious condition. Unlike the those who didn’t make it. Jaune put Carmine in his arms, carrying her away to safety.

Carmine:......Does mom ever save them all?

Jaune:No, but that never stops her from trying; or mourning.

She clenched her father’s shirt and let herself be fragile, to be a Rose.

Carmine:Next time. Mom and I, we’ll both get it right next time. A happy ending for all!

Jaune:Yeah, I know you will. Together....

[my-writings-and-musings]

Fort hurts Whirl's human Amica and Lost Light knows nothing but fear for months to come. How Ratchet managed to safe Fort is a miracle and how he avoided Whirl's attacks after the fact is a even bigger miracle and everyones convinced Primus is watching over Ratch

You must love angst anon, and I respect that and love it because this was so fun to write... in between the tears of course but that's what makes it GOOD. I changed the course of the prompt a bit because I'm so overwhelmed with possibilities I don't even know how to choose asdfghjkl...

Being impaled to the floor by a solid length of pipe had left him quite helpless from the start of the ordeal. Maximus had obviously intended as much, having aimed the solid length of pipe to avoid immediate critical damage whilst ensuring that if Whirl so much as struggled he'd risk fatal injuries. For all his self loathing, that was actually not a gamble he'd been willing to take with so many people he liked at risk. Between you and Rung he'd needed to stay alive and keep the big mech talking, because damn it all the two of you had given him a terrible case of the feelings, you especially. So he wasn't about to lose you to a temper tantrum.

Talking had been a strategy he'd made use of in the past, as bots who were in the middle of a conversation were statistically less likely to shoot, provided the topic of choice actually interested them. Luckily enough his past tended to fascinate most in the same way ship crashes did; they were so horrified they couldn't focus on anything else. He'd actually managed to connect with the unstable Autobot after a while though, using their similiar troubles with life to find common ground and keep that gigantic cannon from firing. He'd had the audacity to believe things might be okay after a few hours passed and no one got shot.

The problem was the gun didn't end up being what he should have worried about.

When the big bot finally got enough processor power gathered to realize he was being stalled, all hope of a peaceful resolution blinked out of existence, and so did any effort on his part to be calm. Reality seemed to crack as he watched Maximus grab you off the table. On instinct he'd made an effort to lunge and rescue you, but had succeeded only in straining some important chassis support as he fought against the pipe impaled through him, warping the metal retaining his most vital organs. Rung had tried to calm the situation down one final time, pointing out that Max wanted something that couldn't be given because his true tormentor was dead, but his words had proved useless.

His single optic had a perfect view of the way your little body spasmed when Maximus merely flexed his digits, your eyes growing wide as the almost delicate series of cracks marked far too many bones snapping in succession, something any bot could recognise as unhealthy. Perhaps it was just the spark shattering agony giving him hallucinations, but he could have sworn your eyes flickered to him before closing, a weak wheeze passing your lips before almost inaudible coughs brought up a splash of blood. It had dribbled down your chin, stopping only when your coughing faded to silence. Then you were so still...

He'd been told later that Maximus had looked horrified at your injuries, not that he cared then or ever would how the big bot felt about his actions. Because nothing mattered more than you, and thus nothing had mattered at all as your broken body was laid back down on the table you'd previously been resting on. Seeing you dead to rights in front of him had killed him in every way that did matter, leaving a spark that flickered only in the most basic sense of living, keeping him alive purely out of biological imperative, though there had been one other thing in fact. All that was left in his meaningless husk worth feeling was a kind of anger so intense and pure and molten it made stars seem chilly by comparison. Along with a pipe through his chest that was no longer enough to hold him down.

The armor and glass of his cockpit shredded easy as he fought his way off the floor, heedless to petty physical agony or self preservation as his long limbs worked to get him vertical again. Something strong and stubborn and frustratingly important had resisted fiercely as he tried to pull his body forward, leaving him to thrash like a fish on a hook whilst Rung tried to talk him down with words he didn't care to hear. The guy was a psychiatrist, didn't he know what insanity was, like trying to talk to a bot who was no longer living? A for effort though, he'd think looking back on it.

Finally that important piece of his insides had realized it was beat, snapping with such force his entire chest cavity collapsed in one portion and he came out of impalement sideways. Pink energon had flowed more like a small waterfall than a bleeding wound as countless important bits and pieces dangled from his warped and shredded chest, including the glowing orb of his spark chamber, but he hadn't cared in the slightest. A thankfully still working arm had secured a good grip on the pipe to pull it free as he rose to his pedes, single optic giving you one final glance as he stood to face your killer.

As expected, you were motionless. Why wouldn't you be? He'd been stupid enough to hope, stupid enough to be anything other than angry, and the gigantic target that had painted on him and you had finally attracted the attention of a cruel universe. The only thing he would have said to you was sorry, but being certainly dead meant that would do no good, so thankfully he had other ways of making things better.

Max had apparently lost a great deal of his fire after injuring you, as he offered frantic apologies for his actions and reasurances that he hadn't meant what he'd done. It was a sensible reaction from a bot truly not built to handle harming the innocent.

Seeing it had only made him angrier.

What followed had been a wrathful blur of spilled energon and shrieking metal on metal, with sparks flying and the shrapnel of shattered body parts splattering across the room. There had been pain, extraordinary pain, but none of it had been connected to his physical body. Rather, the spark he needed to repeatedly push back into the mix of battered organs in his destroyed chest felt like it was the epicenter of a kind of emotional supernova. For a mech who had known so much suffering, this was an impossibility made real; a greater level of grief than even he had experienced. It had to be what dying felt like for someone destined for the Pit.

Max had been down one limb by the time the security team had flooded the room, but that number had grown to two by the time any of them had actually attempted restraint. In their defense, they were well trained enough to spot certain suicide, and thus Max had been on his own in the fray far longer than anyone wanted to admit. Energon loss induced amnesia stripped most of what followed from his memory banks.

Ratchet had actually ended the fight, of all bots, a turn of events he'd find bitterly hilarious in hindsight. By shouting out that you were alive, and that he needed to surrender if the medics were going to have any hope of performing the lifesaving aid you needed to stay alive, he'd been granted the chance to hope. Said chance had doused enough of his fire to make him collapse in a mangled heap on the spot. Just knowing you might live had been enough to convince him to stop fighting at that moment, but as his optic had closed the main course of his plan had still been clear; make sure your killer follows suit if your condition changes.

That goal was probably the only reason he'd survived to wake up later.