#like after all those times optimus tries to help them they still never bother to thank him unless its to mess with his emotions

[gritsandbrits]

I dont care if i get hate I dont like optirachnia or sentiop. Sure people can say "they just need to talk it out" but that's the problem: they wont. It's not fair on optimus to do all the emotional work while they continue to belittle him with no accountability on their end. tbh, it'll probably take until optimus gets seriously hurt or even DYING for them to get their heads out of their asses. i dont want to see it get to that point. They should make amends while he's still alive and healthy. And if not he's within his rights to cut them off.

[erimeows]

Happier (Sentinel Prime x Optimus Prime)

Optimus was nervous as he sat in the cafeteria with Elita One next to him, a cube of energon in her strong servos. She listened to him rant about Sentinel, who was wanting to take Optimus on some escapade to sneak into the brigades’ locker rooms that night with no other explanation than ‘it’ll be fun’. 

They were done with their training for that cycle and were given the next deca-phase to eat, get their things situated, and recharge in their cots before the next day of training... But of course, Sentinel wanted to sneak off and drag him into trouble- right before Elita’s birthday, no less!

But, as Optimus sat there mid-ramble, he realized just how much he missed the older bot. Sentinel had been preoccupied with one thing or another that kept him from making it to their lunch, and while Optimus was grateful for the opportunity to buy Elita fuel to celebrate her birthday early and have some quality time with her, he couldn’t help but crave that familiar strong arm over his shoulder like it usually was. 

Still, he continued talking to Elita One like nothing was wrong, half-heartedly slamming his palms down onto the table. The bustle of other bots in training and commanders around them getting their energon and oil filled the large room with so much noise that no one else could drop in on their conversation, so he didn’t act embarrassed- after all, Elita knew his qualms with Sentinel as well as… Other things to do with him and Sentinel, those of which he wasn’t so proud to admit. 

“I just don’t see why he has to take me with him!” Optimus exclaimed with a huff. It was true- Sentinel was constantly taking him on risky ventures for Primus-knows-what, sometimes with Elita One, and sometimes without her. While he enjoyed the time with Sentinel and felt special for being the one chosen to go with him, it often confused him. 

“Oh, come on, don’t act like you don’t like the attention from him,” Elita quipped back and playfully pushed his shoulder-plating. Naturally, the femme forgot how much power she had and accidentally pushed him a little too far, but he managed to sit up and look at her with a sheepish grin. Her tone was accusatory, because of course it was- she knew about his crush on Sentinel, she was the only one Optimus could talk to about it. “You know why he does it, don’t you?”

“No idea,” The red and blue bot confessed. 

“It’s because he wants an excuse to spend time with you but won’t ask you out on a date,” Elita One winked and slammed down the rest of her energon cube in one big gulp. Meanwhile, Optimus hadn’t touched his, too caught up in his thoughts to bother with it and even more caught up in what Elita had just said.

Yes, the blue and yellow femme had always supported him and listened to him vent about his hidden feelings for Sentinel, but she’d never once insinuated that it might’ve been mutual. Not able to believe it, Optimus gasped. 

“W-What? No way!”

“Yes way,” Elita grinned and reached for the younger bot’s energon cube. He didn’t object, letting her chug that one down too. After she was done, she stacked the two empty cubes on top of each other and continued talking. “Have you seen the way he looks at you?”

Optimus tried to think back to how Sentinel had looked at him, and… Well, he assumed it was the same way Sentinel would gaze at any bot; a grin on his face, aquamarine optics filled with mischief and something soft and youthful, faceplates dusted the same light pink that typically adorned his sharp cheeks.

“I mean, it’s the same way he looks at every-“ Optimus had started to answer, though a bit unsure of himself, his friend cut him off with a groan. 

“No it’s not, you dolt!” Elita One raised her voice enough to catch the attention of some of the others in the cafeteria, but when they had the nerve to look at her, she glared at them, effectively scaring them into looking away and returning to their previous activities. Then, she continued. “The way Sentinel looks at you… He looks at you like you put the stars in the sky, Optimus.”

She sounded genuine, so for once, Optimus knew it wasn’t some cruel prank from her and Sentinel’s end, but… It just felt so sudden! Since when did Sentinel return his feelings? Why did Elita know about it, and how did Sentinel look at him in such a way without him even noticing? 

No- it had to have been a joke… Right? It was just too good to be true. Surely it was a cruel, messed up prank from Elita’s end.

“I, um… I think we’re just close friends,” Optimus murmured and moved to scratch the back of his neck with his digits. There was a moment of silence between him and Elita where he averted his gaze from hers. “Yes, that’s it, at least in his optics. You might be misreading things.”

“Have you ever noticed how much he touches you?” Elita asked with a tilt of her head, sounding ever so sure of herself. She did have a point, of course, but Optimus had always assumed Sentinel was just the touchy type- shoulders bumping shoulders, servos on servos, servos on shoulders and on thighs, legs tossed over legs, chin resting on top of his helm… The way Sentinel touched him was affectionate and friendly, or so he had assumed, but maybe it was something more? Still, just to be sure-

“I thought he was like that with everyone?”

“Nah,” Elita brushed him off with a giggle and a shake of her head… Now he was starting to feel plain stupid. The way she talked about it made it seem like Sentinel had blatantly obvious feelings for Optimus like he had for Sentinel, and he was wondering, if it was true, how much time had he wasted skirting around everything? “He might throw an arm over my shoulder when he goes to hug you so he doesn’t seem suspicious, but he doesn’t have servos on my servos, on my back, and on my thighs all the time. It’s not as normal as you think it is for him to treat you the way he does, Optimus, he’s just in love with you.”

The older bot blushed at the thought. It was true, everywhere they went together, Sentinel always had a protective servo resting on his lower back, and every time they sat together, there was a palm lingering over his thigh or one of his servos if there was a table to cover it. 

He thought back to his earlier complaints and felt somewhat guilty. If what Elita was saying was true, and Sentinel loved him back and just wanted an excuse to spend time with him… Then he shouldn’t have been complaining about it. 

“Then…”

“He always takes you to the riskier things because you make him feel less scared to do them, and he wants to spend time with you and impress you,” Elita’s tone grew softer as she gently placed a servo on his shoulder.

It was a lot to process. The charming, strong, mischievous bot he’d been in love with since the moment they met had the same feelings for him, and he’d been completely oblivious the whole time.

All Optimus could do was nod. 

“I see.”

“Do you? Honestly?” Elita One asked, sounding skeptical of him. 

“I’m not sure yet,” The red and blue bot admitted with a blush, earning a shake of Elita’s head in return. 

“Oh, Optimus, you poor, sweet, innocent little mech… You’re a fool.”

-

Later that night, Optimus��s processor was racked with thoughts of the discussion from lunch as Sentinel held his servo and led him into the locker rooms. It was dark and empty with all of their commanders and fellow trainees recharging peacefully in their cots, and though he could have opted out of doing it, Optimus allowed himself to tag along- and he was currently hating himself for it.

One, he was nervous about what would happen if he and Sentinel got caught doing whatever the hell Sentinel was taking him to do. They could get in serious trouble, get kicked out of training or have to put up with some other severe, grueling punishment. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d gotten fragged over because of Sentinel’s schemes. 

And two, he was still unsure of what to do with the information that Elita One had given him earlier that day. Him acting like everything was fine and normal between them when he was slowly realizing what Sentinel’s feelings were was impossible as they entered the room, Sentinel’s headlights on his shoulders turned on to light their way. 

“Sentinel! Out of all of the places we could’ve snuck into, why the locker rooms?” Optimus demanded and linked his digits with the older bot’s. 

“That’s simple, Optimus,” Sentinel looked back at him with a cheshire grin and pulled him towards one specific locker. “While you were having lunch with Elita One today, I went through her bag and found her locker combination written in her password book.” 

“W-What?” Optimus spat, dumbfounded. Their normal pranks consisted of dousing their commanders’ dormitories in oil and putting clear wrap on entryways in common areas, not going through their friends’ belongings and finding out personal information about them. “Harmless pranks on our superiors are one thing, but invading Elita’s privacy and-“

“Calm the cooling fans, buddy! You know what’s tomorrow, don’t you?” Sentinel knelt down in front of the locker he had gone to, still holding Optimus’s servo. The red and blue bot sat down on the floor next to Sentinel- close enough for their knees to knock together. “You bought her lunch today and everything-“ 

“Oh, yeah! Elita One’s birthday,” Optimus let out a sigh of relief and looked at Sentinel’s free servo, which held a small, heavy looking black gift-bag in it. It was rare that they got much of anything where they were at, so he wasn’t sure of how Sentinel got it, but then again… That bot had always been resourceful. “Is that what the bag’s for?”

“You know it,” Sentinel’s grin grew wider as he (unfortunately) let go of Optimus’s servo and turned to unlock Elita One’s locker. 

“What is it?” 

“A card and some high quality oil that I, uh, concocted under my cot.”

“You… You aged oil under your cot? Is that scientifically possible?” Optimus sputtered, optics wide. 

“Who cares, it’s a fanfiction and the readers are more focused on the romance aspect than they are the specifics of oil drinking.” 

“Anyway,” Optimus cleared his throat and sat there quietly. He managed to keep himself occupied by watching Sentinel put the gift bag in the locker and shut it back, but his nerves were getting the best of him. “That’s… Very nice of you. I’m glad this is actually something productive for once and not one of your usual schemes.”

“Oh, hey!” Sentinel laid back on the floor and moved to hold Optimus’s servo again. The younger mech laid down next to him, a bit unsure of his movements as he rested his helm against Sentinel’s shoulder. “Speaking of that, there’s this organic planet that I heard has a ton of energon, I think the three of us should go!”

“That sounds like an awful idea, but…” Optimus trailed off. He was unable to say no to Sentinel, which might’ve been his fatal flaw, so he gave a weak nod. “I suppose if you and Elita One are both there by my side, it couldn’t hurt- maybe. I’ll have to think on it some more.”

“That’s the spirit! Remember how you were when we first met?” Sentinel laughed and grabbed his servo again.

Optimus only sighed, thinking back to when he and Sentinel initially encountered each other. Though he’d been smitten from the start, Optimus had been reluctant to spend much time with Sentinel, as he was a strict rule-follower, terrified of getting himself into trouble. Somehow, though, Sentinel wiggled his way in, starting with eating lunch and training by Optimus’s side to now getting the younger bot to sneak out at night with him. 

“I do recall,” The red and blue bot hummed and stared up. The ceiling was an indestructible glass that allowed them to see into the night sky, so while the locker room may not have been the most romantic place to be, it was a good view. Little did Optimus know that rather than staring at the stars like he was, Sentinel’s optics were glued to him instead. “You wore me down.” 

“Nah, I’m just that great to be around.”

Usually at this point, Optimus would clap back, saying something about how stupid Sentinel was or how he himself was just too nice to put up with the older bot, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it this time. 

“You truly are, dear friend.” 

At that, Sentinel quickly sat up and offered a nervous laugh. He dropped Optimus’s servo, but seemingly unconsciously, rested a servo on Optimus’s thigh seconds later. 

“We should probably leave since we’re done with that and all... I forged your signature on the card, too, so she thinks it’s a gift from both of us.”

They were about to leave, he figured, but Optimus couldn’t bring himself to just let everything go- he had to address what Elita had told him earlier while they were still alone or he was going to go insane. 

“Why do you always take me with you, Sentinel?”

“Huh?” Sentinel started, but Optimus knew immediately that it was a facade, as Sentinel always made a certain face when he was lying or trying to put up a front; lips desperately twitching in an attempt to not smile, optics trained on the ground, face bright red. “What do you mean? We’re buddies, aren’t we?”

“No, I mean-“ Optimus cut himself off, quickly becoming flustered. “I don’t know if I can explain this in a way that makes sense to you, but there are plenty of other mechs who are more willing to do all of your crazy plans with you… I always need convincing. Even Elita One wants to go with you most of the time, but usually, you take me on these more intimate outings, I… Ah, forgive me, I lost track of what I was saying.”

“I’m not sure I’d call this intimate, the only reason Elita isn’t here is because it’s a surprise,” Sentinel defended, using his spare servo to scratch the back of his neck. “Plus, you being the tightaft you are, you keep me out of trouble. If I took any other mech or femme with me on my escapades I’d be dead by now.”

“Is that really it?” Optimus spat, now getting fed up with Sentinel’s dodging. 

“There’s more, but… That’s all that’s important.”

“Then what about last quartex when you pulled me out of my cot in the middle of the night and snuck us off base so we could go watch the stars? Elita One sleeps right next to me, we could have taken her to that,” Optimus argued, and he could tell that Sentinel felt he was being backed into a corner just by the expression on his face. While the stargazing was a good memory that he didn’t regret by any means, it served his argument, so he didn’t mind bringing it up. 

“She’d had a rough day at training, thought I’d let her rest…” Sentinel sighed and met Optimus’s gaze once again. “Is there something you wanna say to me, Optimus?”

“Is there something you wanna say to me, Sentinel?” Optimus challenged, which had the blue and gold bot letting out an indignant huff. 

“I think you know what I mean, Optimus…” Sentinel finally cracked, a frown taking over his face and lubricant filling his optics- clearly, he was embarrassed, and it made Optimus feel guilty for beating around the bush and making the older bot anxious about it instead of just being direct about what was going on. “Why do you torture me like this?”

“What’s that supposed to mean? You’re the one touching my thigh right now.”

At that, Sentinel jerked his servo back, but Optimus stopped him. At that, the older bot hesitantly rested his servo back on the large expanse of heated metal, gently squeezing. Optimus could only lean into the touch as the other mech let out a sardonic laugh and shook his head.

“That glitch!” Sentinel cackled and rolled his optics. “She told you, didn’t she?”

“I figured it out, but me telling you didn’t mean that I want you to stop.”

Optimus felt Sentinel’s intake hitch, the room going dead silent. They met each other’s gaze, aquamarine pouring into aquamarine, and almost as if all at once, there was a mutual understanding between the two; they loved each other, and for once, everything was okay. 

“Optimus…” Sentinel stopped and moved his servo from Optimus’s thigh, up to the red and blue bot’s cheek, settling there with a thumb running over his cheek’s apex. Optimus nuzzled into the warmth with a sigh. “Are you trying to say what I think you are?”

“I’ve always had feelings for you, Sentinel, and if you share the sentiments, I’d like to make something work.”

“Be mine,” The words from Sentinel were simple but clear, enough for Optimus to know what the older bot wanted, and enough to flood him with relief. Still, the two continued to stare at each other like they had no idea what to do. 

“O-Okay, um…” Optimus trailed off again, wordless before Sentinel finally used the servo on his cheek to pull him in for a heated kiss. Lips molded into lips quickly, Optimus gently moving his in rhythm with his best friend’s and taking in the taste of energon, fine oil, and something uniquely Sentinel. After just a moment and a brief swipe of his glossa over Sentinel’s bottom lip, Optimus found himself pulling away, bashful. 

“Wow,” Sentinel gave an uncharacteristically soft smile before raising his eyebrows. “I didn’t think innocent little Optimus would be so good at that.”

“Shut up, you dolt!” Optimus scolded and stood up in a hurry. If he was being honest, it was to get Sentinel to his cot so they could kiss more, but did Sentinel need to know that? Absolutely not. “Let’s just get out of here before we get caught.”

With that, Optimus took Sentinel’s servo in his and stood up, pulling the older bot up and along with him as he walked. They quickly exited the locker room, nothing but a mess of giggles and roaming servos as they tumbled back into the dormitories, and oh-

Optimus had never been happier. 

[my-writings-and-musings]

Could you do TFP bots (or just a few of them if you have charcater limit or just don't feel like doing them all, as long as Wheeljack is ingluded I'm good) with a human they just recued and they're like "I'm gonna call my dad hold on" and if they protest they're like "nah you'll like him I promise, just give him a minute" and her dads their old bot friend who went MIA (you can decide who the dad is, or go with Ironhide if you're as indeciceve as me lol)

I miiiiight just have to do this as a short story I hope that's okay! Got my Wrecker boys Wheeljack, Bulkhead, Smokescreen and Ultra Magnus.

Dust was still settling as you realized the threat was over, the collection of vehicons having scattered long before the cave had finished it's partial collapse and leaving you under the gathered team of bots who'd come together to shield you from falling debris. Rubbing off the powdered rocks covering your face, as well as coughing up the taste of dirt, you took a moment to gather yourself as your new giant allies did the same. It wasn't worth thinking about what would have happened if they hadn't come along when they had... In your defense, that ambush had come out of nowhere.

"You okay there?" A deep voice above you rumbled with concern, encouraging you to tilt your head upwards at the big green bot looking down at you. His optics were friendly, and despite his absolutely massive size and hands that transformed into wrecking balls, you immediately trusted him.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks to you guys." You said gratefully, looking to each of the gathered team as they brushed the dust off themselves.

"Protecting organic life is the primary responsibility of Autobots, think nothing of it." The largest of them said, somewhat gruff as he meticulously picked off the worst of the rubble that had showered down upon them. Immediately, you knew he was the one in charge. Towering above the others and with shoulder pauldrons thicker than two of you, he gave off the energy of someone who took no nonsense and had the firepower to back up his authority, yet his gaze was mostly just annoyed as he looked down to you again. "Our second responsibility, however, is remaining hidden from the denizens of this planet. Saving you required us to break cover."

"Give the kid a break, sir. They managed to escape a whole squadron by themselves before running into us. I think we can cut them some slack." A far gruffer voice said, cutting in as the battle scarred mech in question took a protective step your way. Quite immediately the colors on his unique build were familiar to you, but you decided to stay quiet on that fact, reaching for the cellphone thankfully still secure in your pocket. While you hadn't found what you'd been looking for in this mine, at least you had something far more interesting to report.

The big blue bot looked to the other with an impressive frown, unintentionally cementing your thesis as to the scarred mech's identity. The back and forth continued more or less without an acknowledgement of your presence. "They've been seen in our company, Wheeljack. By the procedure Optimus established, we must now secure their wellbeing, and that will be quite the undertaking."

The only one who had not yet spoken, a smaller but solidly built blue bot who seemed the youngest of the group, chose that moment to jump in with a quip. "Doubt docbot will be too happy about another human in the bunker."

"He's all talk. Ratchet wants these little guys as safe as the big guy does, he won't put up a fight." The gruff one, who you were starting to like more by the moment, said with an amused but reassuring smile in your direction. Unable to help smiling back, you suddenly felt that this turn of events might have been more than you could have ever hoped for. If only you could get a word in edgewise...

"You're purposefully missing the point, soldier. We-"

"If it's gonna be such a hassle for you, I'll take 'em myself."

"Jackie..." Once more, the gentle green giant spoke up, looking quite concerned at his friend's purposeful egging on of the bot in charge. You got the sense that this kind of thing happened often by his tone, but personally, you were getting a little tired of being ignored. None of what they were discussing was necessary, and if anyone would have bothered to ask you they'd know that? Finally fed up, you took a breath and raised your arms to draw attention to your tiny self.

"Um, hello? Excuse me!" You shouted, mercifully ending the bickering and securing four pairs of optics on yourself. Relieved for the silence, you pulled out your phone and held it up, projecting your voice to ensure you were heard. The shocked expressions didn't cease when you started to explain, but you didn't let that stop you. Sorting this out would make everything easier for everyone. "I think there's a bit more going on than any of you know. Let me call my dad really quick, he'll set this straight."

The first to reply was the one you knew had to be the rookie of the group, who awkwardly cleared his vents and broke the silence only hesitantly. "Uh, bringing more humans into this really isn't our goal-"

"Who said anything about him being human?" You cut in, grinning from ear to ear at the looks they all gave you. Now that you had their unbroken attention, it was only a matter of summoning your dad and waiting for him to arrive. Dialing his frequency into your phone, you prepared to share just as much information as it took to get him here fastest, wanting to see the look on his face when he arrived and saw who you'd found. This was going to be fun...

----------------------------------------------------

The roar of a familiar engine had thankfully silenced the second round of bickering to break out amongst the two argumentative bots, who had gone back and forth between listening to you and calling for their superior. It had been entertaining at first, but by the time that roar had echoed down the tunnel you'd been relieved to hear it, and had hopped to your feet from your seat on a convenient rock. The bots had reflexively drawn their weapons, but there hadn't even been any need for you to stop them. A worn red paint job skidding around the corner had made them all hold fire.

In a rush, you'd run out to greet the massive off road vehicle just as it began to transform, and in moments had been embracing the offered hand of a hulking bot who kneeled before you with an expression of happy relief.

"Ironhide!"

"Wheeljack!" Your adopted dad cried out in absolute joy, letting you move safely to the side before approaching the bot who's identity you'd properly guessed. Ironhide had told you so many stories about the Wrecker, it made sense that you'd been able to tell who he was by appearance and mannerisms despite having never met. The two bots greeted one another with an earth trembling chest bump, after which your beaming father turned to the green bot with just as much enthusiasm, shaking hands and crashing their fists together with overwhelming power. "Bulkhead too? Where have you guys been?"

"We might ask you the same thing, soldier." The big blue bot said, cutting in with the same serious look that appeared to be his only expression. On a closer inspection, however, you could see a certain light in his optics. He wasn't altogether displeased to see a new arrival. Standing somewhat awkwardly to the side, the young blue bot appeared delighted if not quite confused.

"Uh, long story, Ultra Magnus sir. I've been on this planet for some time. Found this little troublemaker when they were half their current size, and I've been raising 'em to help with our cause." Ironhide said affectionately, stepping back and dropping to one knee to be more on your level. Before you could puff up proudly at the praise, a single digit tussled your hair as he often did to tease, and you sputtered before playfully pushing him away and undoing the damage. Chuckling, he turned back to his comrades. "Never figured I'd bump into you all here! Jackie, Bulk, and uh..."

The attention turned to the young bot, who only smiled with a wave and a not offended clarification on his name.

"Smokescreen."

Wheeljack gave your dad a playful punch, still buzzing at seeing his old friend alive. The friendship you'd so frequently heard about was clear as day before you. "Glad to see you in one piece, old Rusthide."

"We've been here for years, Ironhide. How come we didn't detect you?" Bulkhead said, looking just as happy but burdened by the question at hand. Ironhide tapped his audial with a somewhat glum smile.

"Communicator's been busted for ages, all I've got is an earth link for cellphones." He said, recalling an injury he'd endured long before meeting you. The line he'd built relied on earth technology, and you still remembered how many tries it had taken to get it right. It was impossible to imagine a whole other team of beings like himself had been out there the whole time... Yet he didn't look at all regretful as he glanced down at you. "If I'd known I wasn't alone, I would have introduced myself and the kid ages ago. Looks like we've got my little one to thank for bringing us together."

You pouted and crossed your arms at the comment. "I'm not little anymore, dad."

"They did alright in a scrap, but how about we get you two back to base? I'm sure the other's will want to hear the story." Wheeljack said, easing your damaged pride with the compliment. You had indeed evaded those Vehicons for a good long while before being rescued... speaking of which, you could use a bit of rest somewhere secure.

Once more, Ultra Magnus stepped in to halt the festivities. "First; I shall communicate with Optimus and let him know what has transpired. He will likely want to meet you in person before we make any rash decisions."

"Seriously? Come on, Mags! Let's get this bot in an actual base!" Wheeljack replied in a huff, bringing back the arguing from before as if it had never stopped. Looking quite amused, Ironhide merely chuckled and offered you his hand, allowing you to get a lift onto his shoulders as was your custom. Clearly not phased by what he was seeing, the only parent you'd ever known let you get comfortable before following the group out of the partially collapsed cave. Who could have thought your simple little scouting mission would end like this?

"Come on kiddo." He said softly, watching the bickering with an expression of nostalgia. "I have a feeling things are about to get pretty interesting."

[secretsolenoid]

A belated Secret Solenoid gift for psymon on twitter!

“You don’t have to stay here, you know.” 

Ratchet grunts, his attention on the space bridge controls. “What?” 

Arcee, standing by the gate of the bridge, gives him a knowing look. “You don’t have to stay trapped on Earth forever.” 

“I’m not trapped here,” Ratchet says stiffly, gesturing towards the bridge. “Minor ah--hiccups aside, the space bridge is fully functional. I do not require some--of some rescue, Arcee. There is work to be done and liaising to manage with Agent Fowler. Unless you would prefer to take over management of the Earth Base yourself? Have you perhaps gained a new skill in engineering while you were away on Cybertron?” 

Arcee rolls her eyes and crosses her arms in front of her chassis. “That’s not what I meant,” she says, “and you know it. You can take a day to go to Cybertron if you want. A week, even.”

“I certainly can not,” Ratchet huffs. “Even if I weren’t busy today, it is hardly advisable to travel through the space bridge with it unattended, as you well know. With no one to take over the controls other than, perhaps, you, I cannot leave my post. Until someone else decides to station themselves here on Earth, I am going to remain.”

“You could ask for someone to stay here in your stead for a few weeks,” she points out. “I’m sure Bumblebee would be happy to send someone your way.” 

“Someone like Bulkhead, who would be better placed on Cybertron to help with the rebuilding?” Ratchet scoffs. “No, I will stay here, thank you.”

“You don’t have to,” Arcee says. “But, fine. Any messages you want me to take back? For anyone in particular?” 

Ratchet goes stiff. “No,” he says. “Just pass on my well-wishes to the team.” 

Arcee presses her lip plating together to hold in a sigh. “Ratchet…” 

“Ahp-ahp-ahp!” Ratchet says sharply. He presses his hands down on the edge panels of the space bridge’s controls. “I already told you what I’m doing, and I won’t be talked out of it. If anyone is interested in “catching up” with me, they can comm me, or come visit themselves.” 

Arcee shrugs. “Well, I tried,” she says. “I’ll let them know you said hi.” 

“You can choose to do so,” Ratchet says stiffly and does not look up from the controls as she passes through the gate. 

-

He is busy, is the thing. There are a million things to take care of around the base, even with Agent Fowler bringing in some degree of funding from the U.S. Government and Rafael to handle the programming. 

There’s still plenty of manual labor to do and plenty more specialized tools that Ratchet has to figure out how to cobble together out of materials from Earth and the few that can be spared from the rebuilding efforts on Cybertron. He is, after all, still one of the Autobots’ best medics, and that expertise means he’s the only one with the familiarity of some of the methods of repair that used to be popular in the hospitals and universities of their planet. Most medics now know how to reattach a limb or close a bleeding wound, but few know how to recalibrate a spark chamber or rewire an optic as good as new. 

Ratchet will probably have to teach them how to do it-- eventually. For now, he can’t. 

And he certainly can’t return to Cybertron when that-- that Wrecker--

“Slag it,” Ratchet curses and brings his hand to his face. He can’t blame Drift for joining up with the Wreckers. He’s had more than enough time to get over the idea of his lover in that group and has confirmation from both Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus that he didn’t do too badly in the group-- though that bothers him on its own. He knows what the Wreckers can be like. Wheeljack is a perfect example of it. Rough around the edges at their best and occasionally actively bloodthirsty when driven to it. Knowing the environment that Drift came out of, Ratchet is sure that the Wreckers were familiar, but he’s not sure if they were the best thing for Drift. 

But Drift chose to go, and Ratchet chose not to follow, and now it’s been eons since they last saw each other. And now Drift is on Cybertron, and Ratchet is here on Earth. It’s the closest they’ve been since that fateful split, and here Ratchet is, staying right where he is. 

He’s always been a stubborn fool, is the thing. He knows that, even where it counts, he is likely to shoot himself in the foot, say something he’ll regret, cling too long to what’s comfortable rather than doing what’s best for him. Maybe it’s age that’s made him so intractable. Maybe it’s the war. Whatever the case, when he thinks about going back to Cybertron to find Drift and say--something, anything--to him, he can’t bring himself to make the call. 

So instead, he’ll stay here on Earth with his anger boiling and his spark aching, and refuse offers like Arcee’s, to help. 

-

It is only two Earth days later when he receives a message from Cybertron. It isn’t a video-- they rarely have time or the bandwidth for those these days, even with the space bridge. It’s just a list of provisions in the delivery, a request for whatever tools are finished, and a note that whoever they’re sending over will need to be introduced to Earth and the humans. Another new arrival from the depths of space who doesn’t know Optimus Prime’s team and the planet where the final days of the war were fought. 

Ratchet feels a frisson of nerves at the prospect, a tingle of static that runs all through his haptic net. He pushes it aside. He’s never been the type to see conspiracies around every corner, and he refuses to see one here. It’s not the first time this has happened, and while he finds introducing other Autobots to the organic planet singularly irritating, he did sign himself up for it. He has no one to blame for it but himself.

It’s a simple delivery run. Ratchet might not like it, but he can handle it. He sends back a confirmation to Cybertron, runs the time conversion, and discovers that he has a few Earth hours before the delivery from Cybertron. Just as well. Diving into his work will give him a chance to wipe these nerves out. 

It’s probably not Drift that they’ve sent to make this delivery. And if it is, Ratchet will deal with it then. No use worrying over it when there’s nothing he can do to stop it. 

-

He manages to finish a circuit diagnostic device in those few hours, but it doesn’t stop him from feeling jumpy and on edge the entire time. He runs a whole battery of tests once the device is finished, then does them again. When the only thing that does is leave him with an instrument he can’t justify fiddling with further, he turns his attention instead to the space bridge. Running more diagnostics gives him something to do with his hands, but it doesn’t give him anything else to think about-- he’s run these tests so many times he can make the adjustments while hardly thinking about it. 

Instead, he starts thinking about the very thing he was trying to avoid. What will he do if it isn’t Drift? What will he do if it is? 

He tries to think of something to say and finds his processor simply stalling. Nothing he could say seems particularly worth saying, especially when he can’t think of what Drift might have to say to him in turn. 

When the appointed time comes, it’s a blessing from Primus. 

Ratchet receives his first warning in a message from Bulkhead. It starts with a ping, then when Ratchet answers, a video opens. It fuzzes with static due to the distance, but Ratchet can make out Bulkhead’s grinning face all the same. 

“Heya, Ratch!” Bulkhead says with his usual ebullience. “How are you doing?” 

“Just fine, Bulkhead.” Ratchet responds. “What do you have for me?” 

Tellingly, Bulkhead’s optics slide away from Ratchet’s face. “Just, uh, some supplies. And, uh, a visitor! To carry the supplies.”

“Anyone I know?” Ratchet asks. 

Bulkhead clears his throat loudly. He’s still not looking at Ratchet. “Uuuuuh, maybe,” he says. “You know what, I’ll just let him through; you two can talk about it.” 

Ratchet can’t hold back a scowl, but he manages to hold back from barking at Bulkhead, who isn’t exactly innocent but is not deserving of Ratchet’s irritation at this situation. No one is, but Ratchet can’t help the way his nerves shunt themselves in bursts of outrage at every small thing. Maybe it will be better if he gets this over with. 

He huffs but lets Bulkhead get away with it. “Send them over, then.” 

Bulkhead’s shoulders sag with relief. “Starting bridge sequence, Ratch,” he says, and the video flicks off. 

Ratchet runs one final check, lets the bridge confirm coordinates, and steps back from the control panel when the bridge powers up and the glowing blue-green vortex appears. Everything looks stable, and there’s no reason it shouldn’t be. Ratchet could operate the panel, just in case something goes wrong, but Rafael’s programming is robust in that regard, and…

He needs to see. 

A figure starts to emerge from the glowing lights. Ratchet recognizes Bulkhead’s silhouette first, particularly with the shape of the supply trailer hitched to him. Bulkhead has been making most of the heavier supply deliveries. 

There’s another figure next to him, a much sleeker shape that Ratchet recognizes as a Cybertronian alt-mode. If he didn’t know better, he might mistake the form for Wheeljack having given up his Earth mode. 

But although the frame is red and white, it has none of the green stripes that distinguish Wheeljack. Ratchet recognizes this frame, too. 

There’s a patchy quality to his paint that speaks of recent repairs. Dents, the pucker of scarred weld lines, everything Ratchet spots on Drift’s frame maps a history of damage repaired. Ratchet steps forward and traces each one, energy singing electric along his lines in a way that he knows translates to a deep scowl. He rests his hands on his hips and waits for the two to halt and transform. 

Bulkhead does so first. “Hey, Ratch,” he says, still sheepish. Ratchet hardly spares him a glance. 

When Drift transforms, it’s… 

He looks the same. 

There are changes, of course. He’s cybertronian. Of course, he’s changed his frame, through preference or necessity or both, sometime during this Primus-forsaken war. Even with the changes to his paint and some of his outer plating, his faceplates are the same. He’s kept the blue optics. He’s still got that sword, even. 

And when he looks at Ratchet, there’s something warm in the glow of his optics. 

“Hey, Ratchet,” he says. 

Ratchet can’t get his vocalizer to work correctly. Instead, he grunts and nods and steps forward. Vaguely, he is aware of Bulkhead saying something about unloading. 

Drift keeps walking towards him. Ratchet can’t look away, can’t do anything to stop him when Drift reaches out and, with a moment of hesitation, takes his hands between his. He feels the contact like a spark in his plating. 

“You look… like you’re doing well,” Drift says, but it seems like more of a question than a statement. He’s looking over Ratchet’s hands, searching for signs of wear and tear, of maintenance. He knows that their hands are a medic’s livelihood because Ratchet taught him that so long ago. 

Ratchet knows that the hardships of the war’s end are written across his hands, visible to anyone who cares to look. 

“You look like you’ve gotten into a few scrapes, yourself,” Ratchet says. It comes out stiff and distant, more than he means it to, and he sees it register with Drift in the way he winces and lowers his optics. 

That shakes something loose in him. He’s lived through the war; he’s lost his oldest and dearest friend. If he’s to live on, will he do it alone? Will he push away this one thing that’s come through the war alongside him?

“I’m glad you made it through,” Ratchet says before he can begin to question himself. It’s still gruff, still stiff, but he hopes Drift will see the awkwardness for what it is, this time. 

It’s enough to get Drift lifting his helm, his optics bright and vulnerable. “Ratch…” 

“Come here,” Ratchet rasps. He grabs Drift by the shoulder, pulls his slighter frame in to wrap arms around him, and Drift goes with the motion, wraps arms around him right back. 

He’s trembling, ever so slightly, as he holds on to Ratchet. They stand there, so long that Ratchet loses track, just the two of them, together. 

Eventually, Ratchet tunes back into his surroundings to the sound of Bulkhead resetting his vocalizer. 

“Sorry, Ratchet,” he says. “I just, uh…” 

Ratchet has to reset his vocalizer as well. “I’ll just send you back through the space bridge, shall I?” 

“Great,” Bulkhead says. “I’ll talk to you two again later.” 

-

After Bulkhead is gone, things lapse back into silence. Drift lingered close through the process of starting up the space bridge, and while Ratchet had always grouched about clinginess before, now he feels the need for closeness just as acutely. Now that they’re alone, and the initial spell has broken, though, he isn’t quite sure what to do. 

He resets his vocalizer (if he does much more of this today, he’s going to break it, he thinks to himself wryly) and turns to Drift. “Well. We can get you settled in. We’ll need to introduce you to the local Earth authorities at some point, but Fowler is due later in the week… and we could get you an alt-mode to scan, unless you’d like to watch the highway for whatever comes along.” 

Drift fidgets, glancing away and then back to Ratchet. “Honestly, Ratch,” he says, “I just… want to spend time here, for a while. Talk.” 

He reaches out for Ratchet’s hands again. Ratchet lets him. He’s the heavier of the two of them, and Drift couldn’t pull him over if he wanted to, but Ratchet lets him lead. Drift guides them until they’re standing toe to toe, and tips his head up toward Ratchet’s. 

Feeling like a magnet, Ratchet tilts his head down until they’re pressed together, forehead and lip plating. It’s awkward but so gentle, and familiar as his own spark. However long Drift meant the kiss to last, it lasts longer, and when they finally draw apart, Drift is smiling. To his chagrin, Ratchet is too, but he can’t find it in himself to squash it. 

“Talk, huh?” he says with a chuckle. “All right. We’ll talk.”

[whatudottu]

Because I've held this off for too long, once again it seems that @nukeli has beaten me to the punch with colour schemes. Damn my procrastination or whatever, but I only just realised that I didn't put any mention of the 'fodder' classes (Vehicons, Insecticons and I suppose Autotroopers since I'm including them) and wanted to put down my thoughts before writing this up.

An added bonus here is that certain character have different alts (based on character changes and even the heavier focus of 'robots in disguise' that these Decepticons are after) so it's not just me ranting about colour schemes.

Yes, this was why I was complaining about the wiki altmodes, so deal with the vehicles I found instead. May or may not be due to me using images as references haha.

The Autobots (you are here)

The Decepticons Part 1

The Decepticons Part 2

Going in order of my notes, we begin with Cliffjumper. He’s obviously a 1970 Dodge Challenger and what colours I’ve given him are on the image below. Nothing much to say about a definitely dead character other than I didn’t just wanna make him blue.

Next on the list is good old Doctor Ratchet. I’ve had it in my mind ever since Nuke’s one post that SG!Ratchet was like Medic from TF2, so I guess I took it and ran.

To play an opposite to regular Ratchet, he comes across as affable and friendly but is really just doing the things he loves to people he hates. Autobots, Decepticons, hates everyone. He despises Optimus Prime too, but he can’t do anything unless he wants to be cooped up in his berthroom reattaching his limbs for it. Believe him, he tried.

As for altmode and colours, I spent way too long finding that he resembles a Mercedes Benz G-Class ambulance that I was ticked to find out he wasn’t at all. I special looked for the green coloured ambulance because Synth-En, duh!

Breaking in after the Doctor comes our local wrecker Bulkhead. I don’t have much of a read on this guy, other than the fact that I thought it’d be a cool idea for him to lose a lot of his memories after ‘TMI’, ya know, from the Synth-En recipe? Certainly not set in stone, but it could very well contribute to my accidental theme of memory (which only has some small links in the posts I actually created).

With the help of my car enthused cousin I have given our not so loveable mech a Terradyne Gurkha, a little more military than the wiki’s off-roader Lamborghini that I’m too annoyed to bother to look at. I thought that the military origins and the black colour scheme sorta allude to something something mindless military man. yada yada.

Following him is our ever wonderful Optimus Prime, or maybe Lord Prime? Haven’t thought too much about that. What I have thought of is this master manipulator who mayhaps also be a little bit delusional idk we’ll decide in the car.

I always loved the idea of a smiling SG!Prime, as if there’s still hints of this benevolent leader that the original has, but it’s warped and meant to add fodder to the war, encouraging mechs to fight to their deaths all in the name of not only the Autobots, but their Prime. Also as a warped version of the original, I wanted Shattered Glass Optimus to be deluded in the fact that Megatron will change, change at least, to submit to the real leader. Ain’t happening. That’s sorta there with Ratchet too, but well, you read Ratchet’s piece didn’t you?

SG!Prime is consistently purple and black, and whilst I have found a Peterbilt Semi Truck with that wonderful colour, it comes with white instead. Think about it, this typically evil colour paired with often innocent white, that’s like perfect for what I’m going for.

Fitting that he’s next, it’s time for Prime’s Second In Command Ultra Magnus. I’ve... really got nothing for him. Maybe he’s still by-the-books but like he finds loopholes just to commit atrocities? I don’t know.

I’ve given this boy a Mack Trident alt instead of Prime’s Peterbilt, just for differences sake.

After Magnus, we got our little bug Bumblebee... or is it. Because I wanted to change his colours a bit without going into Beast Hunter territory, I wondered if bees come in different colours and, low and behold, they do!

As for the boy himself, I think he was one of the bots manipulated by Prime himself to join the cause and, given his almost rewritten personality, has only lived through to this point in the war by sheer luck. This mech is an absolute menace, feral and powered by the need for Prime’s approval, tearing others with denta and servo more often than with stingers and blasters.

Now you’ve noticed I haven’t been using his name? That’s because he’s now Blue Band (I just realised he’s still bb haha)! He gets his name from the Blue Banded bee, and I found a Chevrolet Camaro to match.

In line with BB’s younger status, feast your eyes on Shattered Glass Smokescreen! Oh boy isn’t he a delight. His hero worship has essentially turned him to a prime (pardon the pun) candidate for Optimus to form into his perfect super soldier, who already would die for this deranged mech even before laying optics on this grand Prime.

So, he’s an absolute suck up, a straight up spoiled brat that has it harder than Blue Band for Prime’s acknowledgement, and is actively showing off and bragging that he’s Optimus’ favourite (he’s not, he just encourages it because that’s the easiest way to get Smokey to do what he wants).

Almost to reflect that (perhaps another pun) I found this gaudy Chameleon Chevy Corvette that absolutely SCREAMS show off.

Regrettably partnered up with him after the passing of Cliffjumper, Arcee has run out of patience. Not everything she does is motivated by Airachnid (what kind of character would that be? not a fun one) but she does often enjoy killing those connected with her. After Tailgate, she’s gotten a little mad, but her effectiveness otherwise increased so others never bothered to ‘fix’ her.

Having lost both of her partners, when she absolutely hates another (read; Airachnid and Starscream because he still kills Cliff) the best kind of revenge is putting her opponents in her own pedes. Oh, that mech’s growing attached to one of his comrades? Slice and dice them before their optics. Oh, that femme is finally coming out of her shell and making friends? Gore out their spark and hope that humans don’t decide this would be the perfect time to practice what they preach and save the life of that same mech with a hard to perform surgery that may or may not have been lost to time.

Okay so she’s obviously a Kawasaki Ninja (haha that’s kind of fitting) and I was tempted to make her pink like other Arcee iterations, but look at this fancy stuff right here. He hoo glowy look pretty!

Almost in leu of an Airachnid archetype, Wheeljack comes in. Though still quite the wrecker and ever the bomb enthusiast, instead of actively celebrating his impacts and going solo to stop the rust settling in, he’d rather be offed whilst mechs are distracted by his pretty explosion and lay forgotten in the dirt.

I may have accidentally rooted the unintentional memory theme deeply with the wreckers (Breakdown included) and maybe just took it and ran, giving everyone else a little connection, but Wheeljack is probably the most explicit in this idea. He hates nicknames (which i super Ratchet uses to mock him here in Shattered Glass) because that’s like... naming something you’re going to keep to quote that specific fic which, honestly, I can’t remember. Wheeljack split from others to stop them from remembering him and put himself closer to a situation where he can die alone, as morbid as that sounds. No grand death, no stupid death and no straight up suicide (generally that’s a VERY impactful kind of death) so just a mediocre end is what he’s been looking for for a little bit too long.

As for his colours, I apparently have no taste and should not have a car because I really like what this image has going for it. This C3 Corvette is probably one of the few cars that fits the straight up box of a sports car that Jackie’s got, so I’m sticking to it, so no, don’t show me the wiki I’m ignoring it this was too painful to give up dang it!

Okay, finishing off the bots, I have the Autotroopers. Sure, I’m not using a reference of a car to show off the colours, mainly because there’s also going to be flier troopers too, maybe... surely... definitely. Most depictions of them are white, you know, goodie goodie, and I’m tempted to just laze around and do just that. Instead, I think a goldish colour would be fun.

Aside from sharing a key colour with Ultra Magnus, essentially a war lawyer, which is perfect for subjects made to obey, a nice glimmering finish almost feels like they’re all manipulated by Prime to believe in the Autobot cause. I suppose the special devision, if there is one, would be a nice Prime purple, sorta like if it’s Optimus’ personal guard if he actually had any belief they would do their jobs.

Oh boy this is so long...

[juniaships]

Yall Some Fake Ass Friends: Malina ficlet

The one where my OC/quasi SI defends TFA!Optimus by setting the record straight for latter's former friends. Warning: Long text, character bashing. Script form.

Black Arachnia *to Sentinel*: I wouldn't look this way if you & Optimus had come and saved me! It's his fault I'm stuck like this!

Sentinel: Optimus ran back to try to save you if anything that's his fault!

Malina: Hold it! *flies up right in front of their faces on her jetpack*

Malina: I've held my tongue for a while now but you know what, I don't care so let's get something straight! What happened to you was not Optimus's fault! He sacrificed a lot to get where he is now.

Sentinel: Oh look the organic is trying to preach to us.

Malina: Well as this organic will preach I haven't seen a single instance where you've made a sacrifice for someone's sake. Especially not for Optimus!

Sentinel: Whaddya mean? I've made plenty of sacrifices for him! I sacrificed my head yet he laughed at me twice!

Malina: Surely you had to give up your prospects of Elite Guard for Optimus right? I mean, he had gave up his rank so you wouldn't get in trouble for sneaking to Archa Seven.

Sentinel: Wait, how do you know about Archa Seven?!

Malina: Your friend told me. In fact he tells me a lot of things see *flaunts the autobot pendant Prime gave her many months ago* But I want to ask, when have any of you ever sacrificed for anyone else?

Blackarachnia: I lost my true self and freedom! You think I liked being in this hideous form? You think you know so much about us when tou have no idea how cruel fate can be.

Malina: Oh I know. Just enough to know that you and Sentinel share something in common

Sentinel: At least I don't join a bunch filthy warmongers *glares pointedly at Arachnia, who hissed back just as venomously*

Malina: I'll give you that but still, none of it would've had happened if you'd just listened to Optimus. He told me he never wanted to break protocol.

Sentinel: Even if I had listened it still would've been the same! Gah I don't have time for this!

Malina: Still not seeing the big picture huh? I guess that giant crown must be giving you vision problems. And I doubt you want to be lost in a stinky, organic-infested jungle so it's better for you to stay riiiight here.

*Sentinel pouts*

Malina: Look what I'm trying to say here is, Optimus sacrificed everything for you yet how do you thank him? By picking on him, picking on us, his team, his real friends, constantly shaming him by bringing up every little mistake he ever made. I bet you didn't even thank him for taking the heat for you! Nor did you even say "I'm sorry for getting you kicked out of Autobot Academy because I was too caught up in my own self"! Your a terrible friend.

Sentinel: Now you're just talking some scrap! I am the perfect friend for him! His BEST friend! The best bot for him!

Malina: You're not a good bot, much less a good friend. In fact I think maybe you weren't friends with him at all. Just someone who wanted to ride on his coattails.

Sentinel: Now that's not true! I did things on my own back at the acadmey! I mean help me Eli- I mean Blackarachnia, tell this stupid organic I was a fantastic student back in the day!

*Blackarachnia remains slient; her ex starts getting nervous*

Sentinel: I have a great personality! When my best friend comes back he'll tell you! I make great rules so that Cybertron can go back to the way it was! No even better, a brand new Golden Age!

Malina: Your poor decision-making reflects your poor personality, Sentinel Magnus. You tricked your own citizens by accepting bribes from some Decepticons, you know, the enemy faction. You don't bother to learn my planet's culture or traffic laws for that matter. At least I try to learn Cybertornian ways so that I can communicate with your people better. You on the other hand? Always make messes for someone else to clean up while you slink away lying about how great and competent a leader you are. You talk down to my kind as if we're too stupid to understand the world. Not even giving us a chance. If that's your idea of a Golden Age I'd hate to see your idea of a Dark Age.

Blackarachnia *grinning at her ex being roasted: Hm. Maybe this little organic got more spark than I thought.

Malina: Oh no you don't Miss Spider! Don't act like you're all innocent! That first battle all the way back on Halloween you tried to kill my sister. Yes Sari's my sister.

Blackarachnia: I did warn her. She shouldn't have gotten in my way.

Malina: So she could stop you from destroying our city! All that noise for a cure that could've harmed you more than it would've helped you.

Blackarachnia: It would've worked if it hadn't been for certain interruptions. Besides I wasn't waiting on Megatron, I wasn't even aware of his presence.

Malina: If that's the case how come none of the Decepticons ever tried to help you find a cure? Seems to me they only said that to take advantage of you. Before you start to think I'm being heartless no. I'm sorry for what happened to you. Truly I am. If there was any way to reverse it I would try! But if you think I'm going to tolerate one more second of you trying to guilt Optimus you got another thing coming! Either that or Waspinator.

Sentinel: Wapsinator? That traitor that snuck into our ranks?

Malina: The Autobot recruit you threw in the brig to waste away for probably I dunno, hundreds of years all because of flimsy evidence.

Sentinel: How would I know that the accusations were baseless? Bumblebhead told me and I'd trust the word of an Autobot even one as clumsy as he!

Malina: Bumblebee, and he regrets ever accusing Wasp. Bee's been kicking himself in the rotor and wants help the guy he indirectly hurt! That's what makes them so different from you lot. You two always blame Optimus or others for your problems, you hurt others with no remorse, you redirect your self-loathing towards anyone who nothing to do with your pain. We have to heal from our pain so we can be better! Do better! All the while the two of you whine and complain about how horrible the world treats you or how awful you feel about the past or how much of a failure Optimus is when he's the one who had to LEARN from failure. All of us did! You two ungrateful protoforms never learn anything!!!

*Sentinel & BlackArachnia stare in complete silence*

Malina: And you know what hurts the most about all this. Optimus told me the reason he stuck by you after all those years was because he thought that, maybe you'd forgive him and be his friend again. That maybe the two of you would come to terms with what happened and maybe reclaim the friendship that was lost. I was completely on board with that because guess what? He's my friend and friends are supposed to trust each other! So why can't you? Why after all these solar cycles have you refused to put your faith in Optimus after everything he's done?

*Sentinel and Arachnia continue to stare in silence*

Malina: Now I see that it's impossible. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say you richly deserve each other.

*Sentinel and Arachnia still stare in complete shock at the audacity of the "organic's" callout. Malina smiles. She is right.*

[poptimus-prime]

Here is what the kids call my highly disorganized, half-baked list of stuff that could have been done with Jack to make him a better character.

@yeetmetothehell I am sorry if you are disappointed by my ideas.

“Optimus was more like...Jack.” OK…so show us that.

In my opinion...Jack seems like he was intended to be written to be almost a parallel to Orion’s journey to becoming Optimus Prime, at least how he is used in the plot. Jack is described as “smart and responsible”, which can also be read as “hardworking and responsible” and really this can be achieved in narratively using a few points, IMO:

Long hours in his room/the library studying outside of work and school. 

Filling out the background of the garage more with sketches/print outs of motorcycle blueprints (to keep the idea that Jack really wants a motorcycle and show hints of extreme dedication, but they’re kept in the garage rather than his room to metaphorically show that distance he’s put between himself and what he wants)

“Man of the House”/”Grew up too fast” (This will be discussed more later but TL;DR “I’ll handle the electric bill this month, Mom”)

Somewhat fragile work/school/life balance that Jack somehow perfectly maintained before meeting the team

Orion was very physically passive. Jack seems to be intended to be written as passive but it comes off as an apathetic reluctance that Orion doesn’t possess (Orion may not believe in violence but he clearly wasn’t unwilling to communicate his thoughts; it’s how he got the title of Prime in the first place.) However, Orion had to learn to become more outspoken over time probably, so we can keep him as being aloof/reluctant at the start of the series.

“Man of the House”/”Grew up too Fast”

It’s no secret Jack came from a nonconventional home; June is very explicitly portrayed as a single mother with a dad nowhere in the picture. However the situation surrounding Mr. Darby is unknown. The way June talks about it makes me personally feel like Jack’s dad either ran out or divorced June and doesn’t bother with his kid. Dysfunction in the family really just goddamn changes you TBH. (can confirm bc hi, I come from a dysfunctional home) Sometimes you just grow up super fast. Jack probably spent his childhood missing his mom as she worked shifts at the hospital and seeing how lonely and hurt she was. He maybe went out and got a job the first day he could and helps with smaller bills (“I’ll handle the electric bill this month.”), or maybe other expenses like groceries and his own phone bill. June probably makes enough to comfortably support her and her son, especially given her job and the cost of living in rural ass desert Nevada. But Jack still does this anyways--it’s how he copes with his issues after what happened with his dad. Doubling down and trying to be what he thinks is the bigger man because his dad couldn’t be fucked. 

This would make the disruption him letting the bots into his life creates more staggering; June doesn’t expect her son to pay bills, but the sudden change in behavior (skipping out on work) would be a cause for concern because sudden shifts like that are Usually Signs that Something is Very Wrong. Especially because Jack is usually responsible and open with his mom; he would have told her if he was gonna cut hours at work, theoretically.

Jack feels like he has to constantly put his own wants aside to contribute to his household. Even if June doesn’t force this expectation upon him, it’s a feeling that he will have, especially if he watched his dad just abandon him and June. Maybe he has resentment towards his dad for this and that is causing some anger he’s keeping tightly under wraps? And maybe the bots give him an excuse to do something he actually wants to do for once or some excitement in his life and that’s why he goes along with it? Lots of options, people!

Clothing Choices: The Hoodie™

You are going to have to deal with me being a whore for costuming choices and what they can mean. The show has a problem with the humans wearing the same shit every time they’re on screen and I’d love to rant about all of them (yeah yeah I get it saving money) but I’m focusing on Jack right now. Give Jack a hoodie 2020. A grey one or some other dull and drab color. And make him actually always wear the hood (except like in scenes where he is working bc workplace dress codes obviously) As time progresses, the drab hoodie is changed to a more vibrant color, but he still always has the hood over his head. And then, at a pivotal moment, the boy takes the hood off. (You could even throw in Miko cracking a joke about Jack actually having hair if you really wanted TBH.) Why this? The narrative is that Jack is constantly holding himself under wraps because of his self-imposed responsibilities. As he starts to become more into his own, he decides to express himself more with brighter colors, but still has some reservations. When he takes the hoodie off, that’s when he’s fully realized himself in this process and thus completes the parallel.

Actually make him interact with Optimus in a meaningful manner.

Arcee can still be his guardian in the field and I think working on strengthening their relationship is vital. But also, if you’re gonna make Jack the confidante holding the key to Vector Sigma, there actually has to be...meaningful interaction. Optimus asking Jack what he’s so engrossed in reading and Jack explaining the book he’s got with passion before shutting himself up and saying “it’s kinda dumb though” or something. And Optimus just responds “I don’t think it’s dumb, tell me more.” Coaxing him towards more self-discovery and expression. Optimus maybe sees more of his old self in Jack and starts attempting to be a quasi-paternal figure without really thinking about it because he is, after all, Dadimus. Jack maybe lashes out about how he doesn’t need Optimus to be his dad and that makes the space between them tense for a while. Eventually Jack comes to apologize and maybe there’s an important Talk.. Just a few ideas I will expand on later. I feel like forgiveness and lack thereof is a good theme--I know I was held back for a long time because of how convoluted the concept of forgiveness is with family.

The Character Arc

 So, what would Jack’s character development throughout the events of season 1 be? My basic idea for a Jack arc that mirrors Orion’s self-realization and coming into Prime-hood without being a carbon copy is essentially: 

Jack is portrayed as a responsible, hardworking, studious teenager who constantly turns down chances for fun and excitement to handle his responsibilities. Has clear dreams for after high school and for his own personal life; but he’s constantly contemplating and changing his mind about whether he will or not because he’s extremely dedicated to helping his mom and all that. However, he still gets super curious about Arcee and gets swept up by her in the Vehicon chase, and he still has whispers of courage and protects Raf during the altercation. He first tries to ditch Team Prime because he’s concerned about his responsibilities, but eventually returns because he’s drawn to the opportunity to finally go buck wild for once in his life (even if he spends his time being hesitant about everything.) His hesitancy and dedication to severe self-imposed responsibility is a result of his inability to move on from what his dad did to him and his mom; he’s under the impression that he 1) Has to forgive someone to move on, and thus 2) He cannot move on because his dad isn’t there to bother to say sorry and take on his position as Dad. In essence, he becomes less the character telling Miko to stop and more the character being pushed by Miko to be more adventurous. In lulls in action, Optimus starts to take interest in him when he notices his constant hesitance to express himself and is just being dragged along rather than going willingly. Has a conversation with him about a book Jack’s reading, which Jack attempts to shut down because it’s “dumb and childish,” but Optimus urges him to continue. The idea that June knows about Arcee as a bike and Jack explaining that he bought a motorcycle as a fixer-upper for dirt cheap can stay. (He probably still is saving up for his motorcycle.)

The longest portion, after Optimus starts interacting with Jack on a level of bonding and gently coaxing him to be himself— Jack becomes more outspoken and he’s shown as curious, analytical, quick witted, and has a deep sense of justice. Being young and craving a childhood lost to his trauma and self-imposed obligations to help his mom with running the household, he suddenly starts spending more time at the base pursuing hobbies and going on missions rather than studying and work, which concerns June. She tries to press Jack, and is met with what can be described as typical teenage headbutting that gets progressively worse. She grounds Jack after the fight, MECH takes her, the rescue happens. (That makes sense to stay in this narrative IMO.) Around this time, Optimus has effectively started becoming Jack’s own Alpha Trion—teaching him things that he’s picked up that he may feel apply to Jack. Jack interprets one of these lessons as Optimus trying to be “dad” and he’s not having it. Makes it VERY clear that he does not need a dad (“didn’t need one before and sure as fuck don’t need one now”) and definitely snaps at Optimus, which then pushes his progress in the arc closer to the end. He eventually comes back to apologize, and Optimus forgives him. He and Optimus have a heart-to-heart about one of the hardest lessons Optimus has had to learn—how to let go of the past without forgiving those who have hurt you and refuse to make amends, so that you may determine your own future. It’s very clear he’s talking about Megatron, even though he never says his name. Jack takes this lesson to heart.

His final bit of development before the hood removal thing probably happens during the events of “Rock Bottom” and reinforces that hard lesson, right when he’s faced with the option to off Megatron. Maybe there’s some taunting about how Optimus preaches softness and forgiveness too much when Jack refuses to kill him. Jack gets angry, and he’s about to fucking do it. But then he stops, takes a breath, and says “Optimus doesn’t preach forgiveness, he preaches moving on from those who refuse to move on themselves. He will never forgive you, but he’s learned to live on despite what you’ve done.” Soon after this, when Megatron comes to the base, Jack takes off his hood, stares Megatron right in the face, and says “This is not forgiveness, Megatron. Don’t you forget that.” Later, when Optimus gives him the key, he tells him something along the lines of “you have grown since we’ve met, Jack, and even though there is still a long way for you to go...” he hands Jack the key. “...Remember that even I am a work in progress.”

Anyways this is again, half-baked. And needs lots of polishing. But it’s something.

[kagebros]

For Better For Worse

Summary: Wing survives. Drift dies.When Wing died, Drift changed for the better. But what if it were the other way around?When Drift dies. Wing changes for the worse. Warnings: Major Character Death, Suicidal Ideation Word Count: 1448

But where there is death. There will always be death. - Men in Black 3

Deep down, in the dark recesses of Wing’s mind, he knew Drift wasn’t ready. A shadow of a doubt that lingered in the background until it was brought to fruition right in front of his optics. But still he fought with such a ferocity, such intensity. 

The smell and the energy of battle charged him up as he swept through the enemy, having little trouble as he slashed down the slavers who threatened his city. He hears a thud beside him as Braid comes into view. 

“You,” he coaxes. And the two fight viciously, Wing feeling like he’s finally met his match. One false move, one false misstep and it’s all over. Wing knew that for himself. He continues to fight, trading blows until that fateful misstep happens and he’s down on the ground at the mercy of Braid. 

Then within a matter of seconds, Wing’s pushed out of Braid’s reach and he’s stunned until the dust clears. And he sees him. Drift, who so valiantly rushed in and pushed Wing out of the way just in time only for the spear to be stabbed right through his chassis. The entire time, Drift’s optics are on Wing. Despite everything he’s looking right at him, those bright blue optics on him before flickering as if his spark was failing. He gives Wing a weak smile. At that moment, Drift collapses onto the ground, motionless. 

“NO!” Wing yells out. He gets back up immediately, the feeling of rage entering his EM field for the first time in decades and he loses control. His greatsword is already out, crackling with a ferocity that intimidates Braid. And within a matter of movements that Braid doesn’t even manage to foresee, he’s cut in half, the spear he used to kill Drift shattering. Wing doesn’t stop at that though. He stabs the greatsword right through Braid’s chest just like he did Drift and twists. He sheathes his sword shortly after, exhaustion threatening to overtake him. Wing gives out a final plea to Dai Atlas as he kneels on the ground. “Dai Atlas, if not for him, do it for me.” There’s rumbling. And soon the city that was hidden underground rises, the gates opening as Dai Atlas leads a charge that sweeps through the rest of the combatants and the battle is over just in a flash. All that remains is Lockdown. Wing, despite having used so much already, stands up and looks sternly towards him, his greatsword unsheathed once again. 

There’s an aura around Wing that reeks of death and utter hatred as he stares down Lockdown and the greatsword crackles to life once again as he steps forwards is if to tell him “Fuck around and find out.” Lockdown backs away and retreats. Wing’s greatsword powers down and he sheathes it once again, approaching Drift’s lifeless frame. 

Only a couple people are surrounding Drift’s frame, Axe and Redline specifically. After all Wing knew that the rest of the Circle of Light avoided him. He was a Decepticon. There’s a slight simmering rage within him as he knows that if it were him in Drift’s place, he’d be surrounded. The sound of heavy pedesteps comes from behind.  

“This could have been prevented,” Dai Atlas says as if to comfort Wing. He places a servos on Wing’s shoulder and he immediately brushes it off, putting some space in between them. 

“If only you had listened to him! You HAD the opportunity to make sure this wouldn’t happen but because of your cowardice, he’s gone,” Wing yells. “All he wanted to do was help. He sacrificed himself to save me.” Dai Atlas doesn’t respond. His mouth is only drawn in a tight line as Wing glares at him. Wing stays with Drift’s body for hours, the battlefield eventually devoid of any living thing. It’s only when Redline comes out and places a servos on his shoulder in comfort does he coax Wing back inside the city. 

“We’ll do a ceremony for him,” Redline assures, trying to comfort Wing. 

“Don’t bother,” Wing replies. “No one’s going to show up anyway,” he says, optics dim as he looks out in front of him, dissociating much more than he’s ever felt. He goes back to his apartment feeling hollow. It feels so much colder and empty than before. He sits down at the edge of his berth and spends the next few hours sobbing his spark out. His grief and anger is washed over with the one revelation: “I never told him I loved him.” 

He wishes it was him. He wishes he died instead.

Wing tries to go back to his normal life. But after every attempt, it’s in vain. The mediation he participates in makes him more restless than ever, the sparring sessions with Redline fail to fill the hole in his spark and don’t feel like the same it used to be. Eventually he stops participating in any Circle of Light activity. He barely refuels, he barely goes out anymore. For the first time in his life, the city looks dull and lifeless. And he begins to feel trapped just how Drift felt when he first spent his time in New Crystal City. The greatsword in his room now lays against a wall and Wing refuses to look at it. It only serves as a reminder of his failure, of how that one mistake led to Drift’s death. His sacrifice. At this point all Wing does is sleep. He dreams of him. Desperately reaching for some semblance of Drift’s presence. After a week of relentless nightmares, Wing finally snaps out of it. 

And he leaves. 

He commandeers a ship with supplies, reluctantly taking his greatsword with him to serve as a reminder of the burden he carried and leaves New Crystal City for good. He leaves without a word. There’s no words to say goodbye to a family that ultimately failed him. The only thing he leaves is a note to Axe and Redline. “Don’t look for me.”

 Wing first spends his time freeing the slaves and returns all of them to their homes just as promised when he first met Drift. He joins the Autobots, knowing that’s what Drift would have done and he fights for them but he’s unhappy. He doesn’t find any joy in what he does, he just knows he’s doing the right thing. Solitude becomes second nature to him. Ever since what happened his sense of community was shattered and he became known as the lone swordsman among the Autobot ranks. He rarely interacts with the others and eventually becomes an enigma that the rest of the Autobots grew to respect. They just figure he has very little to say. A mech named Hot Rod for some reason took to Wing though. Out of everyone he seemed to interact with Wing the most. He didn’t exactly understand why. But some parts of Hot Rod reminded him of Drift, so Wing didn’t exactly mind. 

“Wow, I didn’t know you smiled,” teases Hot Rod at one point. 

 But Wing was lonely, terribly lonely. As much as solitude was second nature to him, he hated every single nanoklik of it. There was a moment when Optimus Prime had brought in a map inscribed the Matrix of Leadership. Immediately Wing recognised it to be Cyberutopia. It was only Rodimus at the time who had listened to his stories. Yet the way Wing told stories of the Knights of Cybertron, the truthfulness of said stories, but his voice was sombre and reluctant. He reveals that he used to be part of the Circle of Light and shortly after refuses to speak more on the matter unless it was for information. Every story that Rodimus asked for was quickly shut down by Wing simply falling quiet and shaking his head. It was still too painful.

The war was over. And he was left with that hollow feeling again. Cybertron was being rebuilt and the least Wing could do was help in rebuilding it. It’s almost immediate that he strips himself of the Autobot insignia and goes back to being seen as neutral. He’s not an Autobot at spark. He never was. 

Rodimus contacts him fairly early on in the rebuilding. Telling him that he’s managed to get a ship called the Lost Light and is planning an expedition, a quest for the Knights of Cybertron. 

“Come on, you’ll be my third in command,” Rodimus says. “It wouldn’t be right if you weren’t there for this quest, Wing. You gave me that inspiration after all.” 

Wing accepts. 

And eventually he tells both Ratchet and Rodimus about Drift.

[primroseprime2019]

Convoy

"PRIME!" Agent Fowler called out from the screens as Optimus, Jazz and Prowl came into the room.

"Prime!" Fowler called again. "Agent Fowler, to what do we owe-?" The Prime began to ask.

"What else? It's Cons! I chased them off with some hard ordinance! But not before they blew me out of the sky!" Fowler exclaimed in frustration.

"Again?" Miko giggled. "I don't think the Decepticons like him," Paige said. "I heard that!" Fowler exclaimed, "they tried to smash and grab for the DNGS."

"The whatsit?" WhiteRain repeated in confusion. "Dynamic Nuclear Generator System. A.K.A., DNGS," Fowler said. Fowler tapped a button and the video visual shifted from him to a view of a metal crate, held down with several straps and ties.

"It's a prototype energy source I'm transporting to the coast for testing," he said. Ratchet scoffed, "that's absurd. Why would Ember bother themselves with primitive technology?"

"I'm guessing to make a big fat primitive weapon of mass destruction. If this baby were to melt down, it would irradiate this state and the four next door," Fowler said. Raf nervously looked to his friends, "did Agent Fowler say what state he was currently in?"

"I'm a sitting duck here, Prime," Agent Fowler said, "I need you to spin up a bridge and send the DNGS through to its destination before the Cons come back for it."

"I'm afraid that sending such a volatile device through a ground bridge is out of the question. If there were to be an accident during its transmission, the radiation of which you speak could propagate through the ground bridge vortex and harm all 50 states. And beyond," Optimus said warily.

"You got any better ideas?" Fowler asked, furrowing his eyebrows. Paige looked to Optimus, "can I come with you this time?"

"No," Optimus said. Confused, WhiteRain looked to Primrose curiously. "The Decepticons don't know about her being a Galatrian and we'd like to keep it that way," Primrose said firmly. Paige frowned and she walked down the stairs, muttering that she never gets to go anywhere.

“This is for your own safety and you know it,” Ratchet said gently and Paige only grumbled in response.

◊◊◊◊

Optimus, Bulkhead, Primrose, Prowl, Jazz, Firestorm, Nightwalker and WhiteRain were in the forest that Fowler was in. After making sure that the DNGS was locked and loaded in Optimus' trailer, Fowler sat in the driver's seat and he was about to place his hands on the steering wheel until Optimus stopped him. "No need, Agent Fowler. I will handle the driving," he said.

Fowler frowned before he leaned back against the driver's seat, crossing his arms over his chest and muttering, "it's going to be a long trip."

The Autobots started their engines. "Autobots, roll out," Optimus Prime said and with that, the Autobots started driving.

◊◊◊◊

On a long two lane highway, Optimus drove in front of the Autobots. Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Firestorm drove behind the Prime while WhiteRain, Jazz, Prowl, Nightwalker and Primrose drove behind the three mechs.

◊◊◊◊

The console screen showed nine Autobot signals on a map. "We are locked on to you coordinates, Optimus," Ratchet said as he and the kids stood in front of the screen, "barring any complications, you should reach the drop off point by sundown."

◊◊◊◊

An old rusted pickup truck was travelling slowly down the road. Optimus came up behind it and his horn suddenly blared. Fowler was hitting the horn. "Move it, gramps!" He snapped, hitting his fist on the steering wheel.

"Poor Optimus," WhiteRain chuckled and Nightwalker snickered as Prowl and Primrose let out exasperated vents.

The pickup truck moved to the side of the road, allowing Optimus and the Bots to pass. Fowler still pressed on the horn as they went by.

"Agent Fowler, is that really necessary?" Optimus asked. "Ah, don't tell me you're one of them textbook drivers. Hmph," Fowler huffed as he sat back again, his arms crossed over his chest once again.

A light and dark green helicopter flew through the air, it's blades clearly audible. A man started to speak over a radio.

Bumblebee moved ahead of Optimus. The helicopter followed after the Autobots. "Send in the ground units," the man said.

Fowler had relaxed a bit, a hand on the steering wheel and an arm in the open window. "You know, you're saving my bacon here, Prime," he said.

"I am proud to be of service," Optimus replied. "Course, not like I'd need your help if you and the 'cons had stuck to tearing up your own corner of the galaxy," Fowler said with a small chuckle.

"Are you suggesting that no evil existed on your world before we arrived?" Optimus asked. Backtracking a bit, Fowler stammered, "of... well, it was a... different evil. How about some radio? You seem like a Nashville-sound kind of guy." He reached for the radio dial only to see the helicopter in the rearview mirror.

"That's the one! The con who shot me down!" Fowler exclaimed, "who is he? Wingnut? Dingbat? Skyguy?" "Those are stupid names and you know it," Nightwalker huffed.

"I'm guessing!" Fowler huffed back. "Watch your rearviews," Prowl said through the commlink.

Three lime green and black sports cars came up behind the convoy, boxing in Jazz and Bulkhead. "Feeling a little constricted without the use of my fists here, boss," Bulkhead said.

"Remain in vehicular mode unless absolutely necessary," Optimus said firmly. One of the lime green cars cut in front of Bulkhead, right behind the trailer.

"A whole team of Cons," Fowler gasped.

"What? I'm not picking up anything," Ratchet said, "they must be utilizing a cloaking technology."

◊◊◊◊

Two more cars joined the other three that were already boxing in Bulkhead and Jazz. One car passed Optimus and Bumblebee, cutting in front of the convoy. Bumblebee tried to pass them but they move with him to stay in front. Fowler noticed another car trying to pull up on Optimus' driver's side. Once even with the Prime, a sunroof opened on the car and a masked man- a MECH agent- stood up, aiming a gun at them.

"Pull over!" The agent said. "Well I'll be dipped!" Fowler exclaimed, his eyes widening in shock.

◊◊◊◊

"Our assailants are not Decepticons- they are human," Optimus said. "Human?!" Jack, Paige and Raf repeated in shock.

"Oh please. Taking on our bots? They're roadkill!" Miko scoffed.

◊◊◊◊

The man that had spoken into the radio from before, was now smirking. He had close cut blonde hair and several scars. "Gentleman... stop their engines," the man said.

The agent standing in the car prepared to fire and Fowler braced for impact. Optimus pulled to the side, attempting to drive the lime green car off the road. The force caused the MECH agent to shoot the ground and an explosion rocked the trailer as Optimus pulled away.

Fowler looked out at the MECH agents, "who are these guys?"

"Autobots, maintain your cover and apply minimal force," Optimus instructed, "disarmament only."

Another car with an agent on top tried to pull up on Optimus' passenger side but WhiteRain dropped back and rear-ended them. They tried to pull ahead but WhiteRain slammed into their side and sent them skidding and weaving, until they hit some fallen rock and the car flipped, the agent just ducking back into the car in time.

The convoy drove around the side of the mountain with WhiteRain in lead, and the remaining cars being right behind Jazz, Bulkhead and Primrose.

The man looked at a screen that showed the Bots and the MECH cars. "Those are not civilian drivers," he murmured.

◊◊◊◊

The Autobots took the turns of the highway as fast as they dared. Fowler was becoming nauseous from the sudden swinging. "Could use some air," he groaned.

Optimus opened his window for the agent and he stuck his head out before he noticed one of the MECH cars had pulled up alongside the trailer and a MECH agent was climbing on the roof of the car. The MECH agent jumped onto Optimus' trailer hitch and used a laser saw on his gun to try and cut the couplings.

"Prime! Bear right!" Fowler exclaimed and the Prime immediately did so, jostling the MECH agent so he nearly fell off the coupling. As the driver tried to help, he was run off the road by the trailer and over the side of the cliff. The car rolled as it hit the bottom, but the agent managed to crawl out.

The agent on the coupling regained his balance and got to work, but Fowler opened the door and climbed on the side of Optimus and grabbed the agent, making him drop his gun and held him over the road by the back of his coat. "You're gonna tell me everything I want to kno-" Fowler was cut off when a tree branch knocked the MECH agent out of his grip.

Fowler climbed back into Optimus' vehicle form and buckled up just as the radio came on. "I do hope you take better care of the DNGS than you do your captives," the man from before spoke.

Fowler looked up at the helicopter and realized that the caller was up there.

"Special Agent William Fowler here. Identify yourself," Fowler snapped. "I am Silas. But of greater consequence to you, we are MECH," the man said, "fair warning- we will be helping ourselves to your device, even if it means inflicting casualties."

"Is that so?" Fowler asked, his eyes narrowing, "tell me, Si, what's the market price for a DNGS these days?"

"What makes you think we intend to sell it, Agent Fowler?" Silas asked. The Autobots kept driving as one of the MECH cars pulled up on Optimus' bumper and Silas' helicopter kept the pace.

"There's a war brewing between the new world order and the newest," Silas said, "the victor will be the side armed with the most innovative technology."

Fowler noticed an agent standing in the sunroof of the car right behind Optimus. The MECH agent shot the door of the trailer with explosive charges, which he detonated with a button on his gun. They blow open the latches holding the door shut, causing it to open. The agent started climbing out of the car to jump onto the trailer. Fowler looked into the side mirror, "so, Si... you think MECH has all the most radical tech?"

The agent made it to the hood of the MECH car, but before they could try to get into the trailer, Arcee jumped out in vehicle form, landing on the hood and knocking the car back while the agent went flying with a scream. The car tipped as Arcee turned around, and a second MECH car ended up flipping over the crashed one, hitting the ground and exploding.

Silas' helicopter avoided the fumes of the smoke as the pilot stared down at the highway. "Definitely not civilian drivers," he remarked.

◊◊◊◊

"Later, Si," Fowler said with a smirk as he hung up the radio. "Agent Fowler, do not take your "Silas" lightly," Optimus warned, "Megatron preached the very same ideology before plunging Cybertron into the Great War that destroyed our world."

"Optimus, prepare to initiate phase 2," Ratchet said through the commlink, "five miles ahead, to the south, you will reach the rendezvous point."

◊◊◊◊

On the Nemesis, Soundwave replayed Ratchet's last message on his screen. "So the Autobots are outside the confines of their base," Ember mused, "and they seem otherwise engaged; which means they will never see us coming." She turned to a group of Eradicons, "find them and scrap them."

"Yes, Mistress Ember," the group said and Ember smirked.

◊◊◊◊

The Autobots continued down the highway, which now ran alongside two sets of train tracks, with a train coming alongside them.

"There's our destination point," Fowler said. "Autobots, keep a tight formation," Optimus said. With that said, the Autobots jumped off the highway and onto the open train tracks, the MECH vehicles following. But as the Autobots entered the tunnel, Nightwalker transformed into his bipedal form and blew up the entrance so the MECH cars could not follow.

The Autobot warrior transformed back into his vehicle mode and caught up with the team. The Autobots drove alongside the train with Arcee sitting in the trailer, and Bumblebee transformed into his bipedal form before he flipped onto the roof of one of the train's boxcars, and he tapped on the door.

◊◊◊◊

Silas watched the tunnel, "tactical error. Only one way out."

Not long after the train emerged from the tunnel, so did the Autobots. They continued to drive along the train for a few meters before eventually driving up the small hill and finding themselves back on the road.

Silas' smirk grew bigger only for it to fade away in surprise when he saw black and purple jets fly past him.

"Air support? Ours or theirs?"Fowler asked Optimus.

◊◊◊◊

"Optimus, you have company," Ratchet said.

"Decepticons?" Primrose asked.

"Who else?" Ratchet huffed.

◊◊◊◊

One of the Decepticon jets fired missiles at the Autobots. Silas watched with shock and amazement. "Military fired on one of their own?" He murmured.

The Autobots swerved to avoid the attack, which caused the trailer to detach from Optimus.

"Sir, the DNGS!" The MECH pilot exclaimed in alarm. The Autobots drove away as the missiles hit the trailer and it blew up.

"Sir, I'm not reading any radiation," the MECH pilot said, "the DNGS didn't melt down."

"No... it did not," Silas said.

◊◊◊◊

The Autobots managed to lead the Decepticons towards a clearing in the local forest. The Autobots skidded to a stop near a cliff and the Decepticons transformed into their bipedal forms and landed in a line before them.

"Agent Fowler, I'm afraid that if you and we are to survive, it has become absolutely necessary to drop our cover," Optimus said before he transformed around Fowler and the liaison was in his servo. The other Autobots transformed as well.

"So the rumors are true. Living technology stands before us- though perhaps not very long," Silas said with a grin as the helicopter circled around in the air.

Optimus placed Fowler on top of a boulder, "remain here." "Will do," Fowler said.

"After a long road trip, it feels good to get out of the car, stretch my legs," Bulkhead smashed his fists together, "and kick some tailpipe!"

With that, he and the other Autobots charged at the Eradicons and Silas watched from the helicopter.

The MECH pilot looked at him, "sir, if the DNGS wasn't in the truck..." "Yes, that," Silas said and he pressed a button, "Special Agent Fowler, "you lead a charmed life, walking among titans."

Fowler picked up the radio, "come on down. I'll introduce you." "All in good time. But at the moment, I'mvtoo busy wondering how the DNGS might have vanished into thin air without a trace."

Fowler narrowed his eyes.

The Autobots were inside the tunnel, driving next to the train. Bumblebee transformed into his bipedal form and jumped on top of the boxcar and knocked on the door. A military soldier opened the door and blinked in surprise as Bumblebee waved at him.

The trailer walls disappeared around Arcee and the DNGS. Arcee lifted the DNGS into her arms with ease and she passed it off to Bulkhead who was laying on top of the train along with Bumblebee who placed it inside the boxcar.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have a train to catch," Silas said. Fowler glared at the radio before he looked up to see Silas' helicopter flying off before Fowler spoke into the radio again.

"Prime! Silas got wise of phase 2!" He exclaimed. Optimus punched a Eradicon aside and paused in the fighting, "I understand."

Suddenly, another Eradicon had grabbed a tree and hit Optimus hard in the face. The Prime fell down the side of the cliff and landed hard on his front. He tried to get up but seemingly passed out.

"Prime, do you read me? Prime!?” Fowler exclaimed in concern, earning no answer.

Primrose charged at the Eradicon who had the tree trunk and she rammed into him, the force of her attack sending the Decepticon flying back. Nightwalker got out his shield before he whirled around and tossed it. It flew into another Eradicon, slicing it in two.

Jazz ran forward and he punched a third Eradicon with WhiteRain leaping over his helm and she punched a fourth. She took out her whip and once it tangled up around a fifth Eradicon, she yanked back hard, whirling around and sending the Eradicon flying across the air and slamming into the ground.

◊◊◊◊

"Optimus is down!" Miko exclaimed. "MECH's gonna grab the DNGS! We need to think of something quick," Jack said, alarmed.

"You mean like a phase 3?" Raf asked. "Well if MECH wants the DNGS, they need to get on the train," Paige said.

"What if we get on first? Y'know, run some human-on-human interference?" Miko asked eagerly.

"Absolutely not!" Ratchet said firmly. "Yeah, that would be suicide," Paige said nervously. Miko placed her hands on her hips as she gave her friend a look, "hello, the United States of meltdown! Lives are at stake!"

"Yes- yours!" Ratchet exclaimed, "you want me to bridge you not only into a confined space, but one travelling at 90 miles per hour?! I can't even count the number of ways that can go wrong: mass displacement trauma, twisted limbs, metal burn-" "Ay! We're made of flesh and bones, dear!" Paige exclaimed, "not metal!"

"Well... maybe not the last one," Ratchet muttered, "regardless, it is nearly impossible to fix ground bridge coordinates on something moving at that speed."

"Would it help if we had access to the train's coordinates?" Raf asked as he typed some commands into his laptop to bring up the train's coordinates.

"Well... alright," Ratchet said. Jack attached something to his cell phone before following Miko and Paige through the ground bridge. The three jumped through and landed on the train, mainly on their butts.

Getting up, Paige widened her eyes when she saw the unconscious soldier on the ground. Jack looked around nervously before he put his phone up to his ear, "we're in."

"I read you, Jack. The cellphone commlink patch works!" Raf said. The three managed to open the carriage door and saw Silas' helicopter preparing to land on top of the train.

"Raf, MECH's landing on top of the train," Paige spoke into Jack's phone, "please tell me you have a way to stop them."

◊◊◊◊

"In about 20 seconds, you're gonna come to a fork," Raf said as he typed in various commands, "brace yourselves."

The helicopter was hovering even lower, slowly coming even closer to the top of the train as they approached the fork. After finishing typing in his commands, Raf managed to change the tracks. And instead of going one way, the train went another way. It successfully knocked the helicopter off of the train top. The pilot managed to regain control of the helicopter.

"What happened?" Silas demanded. "Hacker," the pilot said before he pressed a button, "former hacker."

◊◊◊◊

The train monitor was once occupying the big screen and Raf's laptop. Suddenly, it was replaced with a moving picture of cross bones and a bomb with a lit fuse. Before Raf could even wonder what was going on, the internal bomb went off and fried his laptop, causing it to literally smoke. Raf had to shield his face from some of the sparks that jumped out.

"And what have I been saying all along about earth technology?" Ratchet asked, rolling his optics. "Ratchet, be nice," Paige said.

"Yes Paigey," the medic said with a small smirk.

◊◊◊◊

Jack, Paige and Miko heard the familiar clang of a helicopter landing on top of the train carriage. They looked up at the ceiling and saw a cackling, sparking laser cutting a hole in the roof to give MECH access to the inside of the carriage as well as the objects and people currently occupying it.

"So what would that buy us?" Jack asked Paige nervously.

"Ten seconds?" Paige guessed nervously with a shrug.

"Raf is losing his touch," Miko remarked.

◊◊◊◊

Primrose punched an Eradicon. Optimus slowly regained consciousness. He looked down the mountain into the canyon and saw the train with the helicopter on top driving away.

◊◊◊◊

"They're not taking this thing," Paige said before she grabbed the gun and cocked it. She wasn't surprised that it was still loaded. Jack and Miko stared at her in shock. Paige looked at them deadpanned, "I know how to handle a gun; I did it in the country with my dad's side of the family."

Miko spotted a fireman's axe on the wall and grabbed it. Jack grabbed a fire extinguisher. MECH finished cutting the hole and the panel dropped into the car. Three MECH agents looked into the car.

"You want a slice of this? Well do ya!?" Miko demanded. "What she said," Jack said. Paige aimed the gun at the MECH agents and fired purposefully at the side of the hole, making the MECH agents nearly jump back.

"That was a warning shot, gentlemen," Paige said, "next time, I won't miss."

The MECH agents exchanged glances before they quickly disappeared from view.

"Sir!" The pilot said to Silas and he saw Optimus running along a cliff ledge. The Prime transformed into his vehicle form and took off.

Silas narrowed his eyes, "retreat." With that, the other three MECH agents climbed into the helicopter and the helicopter took off.

Jack, Miko and Paige poked their heads out, seeing the helicopter fly away. "You're pretty fierce," Miko commented.

"First rule of combat: never leave the enemy with the spoils," Silas remarked as he loaded his own weapon.

He stuck his head and torso out of the helicopter and aimed his gun at the train tracks in the distance. He fired a single missle at the train tracks. Jack, Paige and Miko watched helplessly as the missle whizzed past them and the train in general. Then the missle made contact with the tracks. That area of the tracks was destroyed in a large column of smoke, rock, dirt and metal debris.

"Whoa!" Jack yelled.

"Ratchet, MECH has blown the train tracks. You need to bridge us out of here! The soldier too!" Paige spoke into the phone desperately.

◊◊◊◊

"We've lost access to the train data," Ratchet said urgently, "I can't bridge you back without your coordinates."

◊◊◊◊

Jack, Miko and Paige exchanged nervous glances. Paige looked back outside and bit her lip.

Optimus drove as fast as he could after the train.

"Optimus, Jack, Miko and Paige are on that train and MECH's blown the train tracks," Ratchet said urgently in the commlink.

"I'm on my way," Optimus said, "maximum overdrive!" With that, he kicked it into high gear and drove up alongside the train.

"M-maybe we should jump?" Paige asked.

"At 90 miles per hour?" Jack asked in disbelief. "It's the impact or the meltdown, take your pick," Miko huffed.

Jack groaned, "what were we thinking, volunteering for this?" "Next time you need to do a better job of talking us out of these situations," Miko said.

“Next time,” Jack sighed.

“You think we could buy a few extra seconds in the back of the train?" Miko asked.

"Guys, at least we're in this together," Paige reminded them before Miko snatched the phone.

"Raf! This is important! Make sure Bulkhead gets my guitar!" Miko requested. Paige heard a noise before she poked her head out.

"I wouldn't exactly read the will just yet," she said. Jack and Miko poked their heads out and saw Optimus.

They watched as Optimus transformed into his bipedal mode and skidded alongside the train, grasping it as he tried to slow it to a stop. Sparks flew from the friction between the train wheels and the track. Jack, Paige and Miko clung to the sides of the open door as the force of the train threatened to knock them down. Eventually, the train stopped not far from the edge of the blown track.

Optimus walked towards the carriage with the DNGS, Jack, Paige and Miko in it. Jack, Paige and Miko raised their left arms up, signifying they were okay.

"Optimus, are you and the children intact?" Ratchet asked through the commlink.

"Intact, Ratchet. Crisis averted. But the world we live in is a different one than previously imagined. One that has spawned its own Decepticons in human skin," Optimus decreed.

"Never again will I ride a train like this," Paige said, "especially if it's in Chicago."

"What matters is that we're all okay," Miko huffed. "Can't argue with that," Jack chuckled. Paige walked over to the soldier and she gently woke him up, shaking him a bit.

He mumbled softly and she transformed into her wolf form before huffing in his face. He yelped as he jumped awake and looked at her and the others.

"You alright?" Paige asked. The soldier gave a nervous nod.

Optimus turned to the other Autobots and Agent Fowler as they hurried over. Then something else caught the Prime's optic. There was a figure standing in the trees.

He wore red and gold armor and he was gazing at them. He must have noticed that Optimus was staring at him so he stepped back into the shadows.

Optimus narrowed his optics before he followed the others into the ground bridge.

When they came into the base, Raf hugged Paige. "What, no hug for us?" Miko asked playfully.

"Nope," Raf said with a smirk and Jack gave a dramatic gasp before the four laughed. Paige smiled at Ratchet and she walked over to him.

He knelt down and she wrapped her arms around his digit. "I love you Ratchet," she said with a smile.

Upon hearing that, everyone turned to them. Ratchet smiled softly, "I love you too, Paige."

Primrose watched the two before she walked down into the hallway. "Hey Ratchet won't be as grumpy anymore!" Bumblebee exclaimed and everyone laughed and chuckled.

Ratchet huffed but he smiled nonetheless. Paige giggled and she nuzzled the medic- her medic's digit happily. And a part of her felt complete.

[writingtoomuchtrash]

Heatwave’s Doubt

Seeing the firetruck angry or grumpy seemed normal. He was a bot to act all tough and bothered by the slightest things. He had a reputation to uphold as leader.

After the last mission, Heatwave was bothered to the point you could see steam blowing out of his vents. The whole team was worried, maybe not Kade. 

Blades tried to get the bot to sit down and watch a movie. When something didn’t go right in the movie, Heatwave got worked up and started to yell. He left the poor helicopter questioning why he even liked the series.

Chase tried to get him out of patrol with him and Chief. That was nice until Kade decided to pull over and start flirting with some girls. The bot was fed up with the human who used him as a ‘wingman’ or whatever that meant. Kade got home soaked and Heatwave was worse than ever.

Boulder got farther than everyone in helping, but it still didn’t solve the anger. The green mech decided to play towards Heatwave’s likes and trained with him. It went okay in the first half before Boulder started to go slack on him, afraid to try and hit the bot. Heatwave pushed him too much and caused the bot to stop training. 

Heatwave drove off later. He needed to blow off steam. Finding a place in the middle of the woods seemed like an idea. No one to bother him or need him. He couldn’t do any harm to anyone and no one couldn’t try to solve his problems.

The day drove on slowly, leaving the bot to his own thoughts. Perhaps he wasn’t meant to be a leader. He was too angry for the team and he let these emotions get in the way. Maybe he should take after Optimus Prime and just stop showing emotions. He was a true ideal leader. 

“Heatwave?” his name snapped him out of his thoughts, quickly reeling him back to the world. He looked down to see the Chief. The older police man was smiling softly up at him, brows furrowed a little.

“Did you need me?” Heatwave asked, a strike of worry flushing through him. What if there was a call he missed?!

“No. Just wanted to talk to you. I know you haven’t had the best day and what happened with Kade, well, I wanted to apologize for my son’s behavior.” the older man found a spot in front of the red bot and sat down himself.

“There’s no need to apologize, Chief. It’s just who Kade is.” 

“Your feelings matter too Heatwave. Kade needs to learn to respect that.” 

The two went silent as they sat in the green grass. What seemed like hours, Heatwave finally spoke up.

“How do you act like such a good leader?”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t let your anger get to you. You are able to lead your team with ease. I just… I don’t think I can do this whole leader thing.” the bot choked to get the words out. He truely meant everything he said. 

“It’s hard to be a leader. You have to put everyone before you at times, but to be a good leader is to know when you need support. You have to know your limit and when you have to rely on your team. It’s a hard lesson but a lesson every leader needs. You are a good leader Heatwave. We aren’t all perfect, even bots like you have flaws.” 

Heatwave really didn’t have word, but he could feel himself almost crying a bit of transmission. Having the Chief say those things struck a chord with him. The bot never really relied on his comrades, always feeling he needed to bare these problems on his own without fail. 

“Thank you Chief.” was the only thing he could muster in that moment, trying his best to collect himself.

“Of course. We’re apart of the same team, aren’t we?” 

Special thanks to @darklinespectra​ for giving me motivation to write some Rescue Bots! - Mod Shy

Come join our server and give us some wonderful ideas like this! We love chatting it up with people in our server and getting awesome ideas from them!! 

Link: https://discord.gg/ZMSHTEH

[the-entertaining-spacemans-club]

Insulting Romance

A/N: Let’s kick this blog revival off with a holiday appropriate shitfic eh? It’s an old one from the depths of my google doc hell, and it’s involving a mixed up ship mess from a very old dead multi-fandom roleplay forum.  Characters involved: Dean (SPN Canon), Sam (SPN Canon), Maebh (SPN OC), Deadpool (Marvel Canon), Fives (Star Wars Canon), SD-630 (Star Wars OC). Warnings: none, there’s mild threats of bodily harm and sexual jokes but nothing actually happens.

“Hey, you ready to go yet? Sam is freaking out being alone with Maebh.” His voice echoed up the stairs with mild annoyance etching his words.

“I don't get it, isn't this weird earth holiday all about couples? Shouldn't he not want you there? Why am I being dragged along?” Her questions barely preceded her down the stairs as she asked them in rapid succession.

“It is, it’s a dumb ‘earth holiday’ but Sam likes her and I'm just in it for the free lunch and to keep him from being… Well, Sammy.” Shrugging he leaned against the lobby wall and occupied himself with his obsolete car keys oblivious to being watched from the stairwell.

“Doesn't explain why I'm going… I don't want to be stuck in some pink plastered café surrounded by grotesque displays of adoration and happy couples.” She made a fake puking sound as she came into view to emphasize her point.

“You jealous? That's cute coming from little miss ‘let me introduce your face to my fist’. C’mon, we’ll cash in on a free lunch, make fun of all the happy couples, and then go drown our loneliness at the bar. It’ll be fun.” Alerted by the proximity of her voice he looked up in time to provide a lop sided convincing grin before ducking to avoid the boot thrown at his face.

“I'm not jealous!” Closing the distance between them she grabbed her boot and stepped back to sit on the steps to put it back on. “I just like to keep my food in my stomach where it belongs. Republic Clones and Jedi are bad enough on their own, Republic Clones and Jedi in love, out in public, on a romantic holiday? Throw me to a sarlacc please.” She couldn’t have rolled her eyes any harder as she let her thoughts stray to the blonde Jedi that had stepped in and shoved her out of the picture with a certain clone captain that she had since been avoiding.

“Uh huh… Either way, let’s go, I'm starving.” With that he opened the door and stepped out of the apartment complex into the sunny streets of the island's main town.

“Still never answered me. Don't you have any other friends you could drag along to this torture?” Catching up to him she nudged him playfully.

“None that are single, and I'm sure Jett would just love if I invited Teal along.” Rolling his eyes and dragging out Jett’s name unfavorably he continued, “Which leaves Maebh, who’s already there, and, oh look, you. So can you lighten up just a little and have fun for a change? Or are you programmed to not have fun?” 

“I'm a stormtrooper not a droid, I am perfectly capable of having fun.” With an almost growl like reply she nearly shoved him into a wall as they walked.

“Right, prove it then short stack.” Stopping at a door covered in hearts he grinned and opened it to a cacophony of slow soulful music, giggling chatter, and a familiar red masked mercenary singing along to Frank Sinatra’s The Way You Look Tonight. 

“Damn, Wade outdid himself this time…” Ignoring the jab at her height, or lack there of standing next to the 6’ giant beside her, she scanned the crowded diner until she spotted the date they were crashing. “Look, there’s Sam and Maebh, so glad they took the corner booth, no one has to see me here with you on this puke worthy holiday.” 

“See you with me? I’m the embarrassing one? Didn’t you wreck your chances with a certain clone by being the embarrassing one?” Swaggering along beside her he nodded and grinned at each person that looked up at the pair of them with expressions of confusion or shock. 

“I did not! He was a pushover and that saber wielding witch used her damn dirty jedi mind tricks on him I know it.” She hissed as she slid into the booth seat opposite Sam and Maebh before narrowing her eyes at him for additional confirmation that he was being an idiot in her opinion. “You really know how to treat a lady don’t you?”

“A lady? Where?” He slid into the booth seat and immediately doubled over to rub his shin under the table. “Dude, ow.” His previous grin was replaced by a look of shocked indignation as he glared at his brother sitting across from, ignoring the muffled chuckling coming from both women at the table.

“That's not a very clever pick up line, no wonder you're single.” The blonde managed between her stifled laughs.

“I'm single. You're single. Coincidence? I think not.” he leaned over closer to her smiling broadly with a wink.

“Ok, if you are going to start that right now, you two are going to have to find your own table.” Sam coughed drawing their attention back to the collective group.

“Hey, you asked me to be here, I wasn't going to suffer alone. Besides, I figured maybe you could tell me, you ever danced with her?” His usual cocky grin secured in place as he asked.

“No… Why?” Sam, as well as Maebh and SD, stared at him with mixed looks of confusion and worry.

“I just figured someone that’s hot as hell, had to have danced with the devil a time or two.” The trio of groans were accompanied by howling laughter from the next table over, garnering their attention to see who was listening in on their conversation.

“Oi, Fives, unless you want to eat blaster bolts and leave your date with the check, act like this entire table doesn’t exist. Got it?” SD glared between Sam and Maebh at the clone trooper sitting behind them.

“Don't be like that SD, I'm sure your date wouldn't enjoy you taking time away from him to kick my ass today. I think it’s kinda sweet you found someone to share this earth holiday with.” Fives smiled while draping his arm over his own dates shoulder smirking back at her.

“My date?!” the rest of his words fell on deaf ears as her eye twitched in aggravation. “Move your ass Dean, I'm going to make him eat those words.” 

“Ouch, shot down by the droid captain herself. Knew you didn't have a heart SD.” With a wink he turned back to his table and continued to focus on his date.

“I really hope you got health insurance Fives, cause you're going to need an entire hospital to help you when I'm done with you!” Trying to physically push Dean out of the way she was determined to at the very least punch the clone in the face a few times if not outright stab him.

“Hey, if you were a droid, at least you'd be a HOT-obot. Can I just call you Optimus Fine?” Wiggling his eyebrows in a jesting manner he tried to defuse the situation before SD really did get up to start a fight with Fives.

“Wow Dean, and I thought we would be the ‘gross cute couple’ present. That was just, wow man.” Sam shook his head as Deadpool sauntered over with a tray of drinks in hand to take their order.

“So what can I get the barbershop quartet of murder and mayhem today?” Setting down the tray, he handed a beer to Dean, a glass of water to Sam, and a soda to either SD and Maebh. Tucking the now empty tray under his arm he smoothed out his apron. It was a baby pink thing with red hearts printed across that worked better than Dean's latest pick up line as both women at the table started laughing, even Sam and Dean couldn't help but chuckle.

“We all know you don't do menus, so what's the special today?” Maebh asked after composing herself.

“I'm glad you asked! Today we've got every assortment of pasta you could imagine, I highly recommend the spaghetti to share,” even with his hood on, his eyebrows raising suggestively did not go unnoticed, “as well as all the usual dishes. I focused more on the desserts than the entrees. Sundaes, giant brownies, cheesecakes, basically anything you can imagine is being whipped up!” 

“I don't know what ‘the usual dishes’ are… I'm assuming Earth food?” SD asked with one brow quirked displaying her obvious confusion at everything being said.

“Do you have Alfredo in that ‘every assortment’ of pastas? Been awhile since I had a good Alfredo. You'd probably like it SD, it’s just noodles and sauce.” Maebh gave her order and offered her suggestion to SD.

“Actually that sounds pretty good, make that two please.” Sam chimed in before Deadpool had a chance to answer. Without bothering to verbally confirm their order, he pulled a notepad from his apron pocket and jotted down before looking at Dean and SD.

“I don't even know what pasta is in the first place…”

“You wouldn't like Alfredo, it’s basically vegetarian. You’ll want something with red sauce, more meat.” Dean interjected knowing that someone with a love for carnage like the captain sitting beside him would not be a fan of anything even remotely vegetarian. 

“So the spaghetti to share for the killer couple, got it!” Deadpool didn't give them time to reject his choice for them before he skirted away from their table shouting towards the kitchen “I NEED TWO GREENS PEACE PLATES AND ONE LADY AND THE TRAMP!” 

“Oh hell, he better bring that out on separate plates I swear.” Dean sighed as he took a drink of his beer, grateful the mercenary always magically knew what everyone wanted to drink at least.

“Don't count on it.” Sam chuckled from his side of the table.

“While we're waiting, I got another question for you.” The second the words were out of Dean's mouth Maebh hung her head knowing no good was going to come from his statement.

“Uh, what?” Already not looking forward to whatever stupid thing he was about to say.

“Is that a mirror in your pocket?” With one brow raised and his shit eating grin back in place he waited for her answer.

“No?” Looking down at her pants oblivious to the punch line she wondered why he would have asked that.

“Because I can practically see myself in them.” His other brow raised as he mimicked Deadpool earlier suggestive eyebrow wiggle.

“You'd have better luck seducing her blaster man!” Fives chimed in between laughs.

“Both of you can shut your mouths right now!” She hissed as it dawned on her what he said. “I only came along because you sounded so pathetic and desperate when you asked. This isn't a date, we are not involved romantically or casually, cut it out Dean.” 

“Oh come on, lighten up!” Playfully nudging her shoulder trying to get her out of the sour mood she was in he added, “I just like to stay on top of things. Want to be one of them?” 

“You're going to get stabbed-” Sam started up before Maebh interjected.

“Or shot.”

“Yes, or shot, and ruin the day for everyone here. I'm sorry he's like this SD. He's never had a woman actually say yes to spending Valentine's Day with him and it's clearly gotten to his head.” Sam explained trying to justify his brother's behavior and lower the tension. 

“How sad, makes sense though.” She didn't elaborate and even looked out the window when she caught the confused look on Dean's face.

“How the hell?” He asked looking from SD to Sam and Maebh completely bewildered.

“Because on a scale from one to ten, you're a one, and I'm the nine you need.” A slight smirk crept across her face as she refrained from looking back at him in a poor attempt to keep from laughing. Maebh cracked up though at her retaliation and in turn she couldn't help but start laughing as well.

“Oh! The stormtrooper thinks she's got jokes! That's pretty cute coming from someone who must've sat in a pile of sugar.” He almost started laughing when she scooted over in the seat to see if he was being serious or not. “Because you've got a pretty sweet ass.” 

“Tell me something I didn't know Darth Obvious.” With an amused snort she picked up her soda before noticing Deadpool coming back towards them with a tray of food. “Oh good, at least if your mouth is full you can't make anymore dumb jokes.”

“I got something that could fill your mouth.” He muttered quietly as he watched her start choking on her drink. 

“What the kark!” Having nearly snorted out her drink through her nose she had to take a moment to get her breath back as Deadpool set out their plates.

“Alfredo for you, Alfredo for you, and please wait until you're back at your own place before you start choking on things that are hard to swallow SD, my other patrons don't need to see that.” Setting down their large shared plate of spaghetti he made a quick exit away from their table to go check on other lunch dates before SD could retaliate amidst the rest of their table laughing heartily. 

Still coughing on her drink she could only glare at him as he walked off before she could reply or at least throw a knife at him. She knew it wouldn't have done any real damage to him, but it would have made her feel better that even he had gotten a jab in at her expense. 

“Hey, calm down, you'll want to save your energy for tonight after all.” Dean grinned as Sam and Maebh groaned. 

“Can you at least keep it clean so I can keep my food down?” Sam pleaded as he took a bite of his food and mumbled about how good it was, to which Maebh mumbled back around a bite herself. 

“I make no promises, it's hard to keep it clean when you've got a health hazard sitting next to you.” 

“Hey Dean?” The almost innocent nature of her question was concerning all on its own.

“Yeah?” Watching her nervously he had a nagging thought in the back of his mind to get out of the way but he stayed sitting anyways.

“You dropped something.” Looking past him at the floor beside their booth she kept up the casual tone and calm façade.

“What?” Following her gaze he didn't see anything and became confused. “No I didn't?”

“Yeah, you did…” taking advantage of him leaning towards the floor, she shoved him out of the seat before adding “your standards.” While he flailed futility to try and keep himself from falling, she took a bite of the weird mess of food sitting before her and grinned. “At least your taste in food isn't terrible.”

“You just called yourself low standard, you know that right?” He asked as he got back into his seat.

“I never said mine were great either.” She muttered as they continued to eat their meals with minimal conversation. 

When their plates were mostly empty, and after a short battle for the last meatball, Deadpool came back around with drink refills. “And what can I get you all to satisfy your sweet tooth? Brownies? Ice cream? Both? Cake? Pie? -”

Almost simultaneously SD and Dean's faces lit up at the mention of pie as they perked up and asked “Pie?” Gaining them a chuckle from Sam and Maebh who both knew Dean loved pie more than any other food except maybe burgers. Looking from Deadpool to one another skeptically they spoke up at the same time again.

“You actually know what pie is?!”

“Pie is an Earth food?!”

“If I hadn't already met God, I'd think he was real now. A woman after my own heart.” He wiped away a fake tear as Deadpool took the moment to throw a handful of candy hearts in the air above them bringing both out of their shock to glare up at him in annoyance as the hard candies pelted them mercilessly. 

“What the kark Deadpool! What are these things?” SD hissed as she picked one up and saw that it had words on it. “Cutie Pie? Is this some kind of joke?” 

“The only joke here is that you might have actually found someone SD.” Fives piped up after being silent for too long. “Ouch! Those things hurt!” He ducked down before she could throw another one at the back of his head.

“So I think it's obvious they want pie, but can we get a Sunday please?” Maebh interjected before SD and Fives started up again.

“Of course! All the toppings?” He asked, looking at Sam and Maebh ignoring SD and Dean shaking candy hearts out of their shirts.

“Yeah? Sam?” She asked not sure if he had any allergies she should be considerate of.

“Anything you want, I'm not a big dessert person anyways.” Seeing the slightly dejected look at his words he quickly added “I'll still have a few bites though.” 

“HEY SLADE I NEED A BANANA BOAT AND A COUPLE SLICES OF YOUR GRANDMA'S BLUE RIBBON!” He shouted as he started down the row of booths to take other dessert orders and shower more unknowing patrons with hard sugary treats.

“Seriously though, what are these things?” SD asked the rest of the table as she picked a few more up to read them. Pulling a disgusted face at one that read 'soul mates’ before flicking it away from her.

“They're candy with silly messages printed on them,” Maebh answered as she picked a few up to read as well. “Though there's some X-rated ones mixed in… not surprising coming from Deadpool though.” 

“Hey, SD…” Dean held out a heart that clearly Deadpool had somehow managed to make and mix into the regular cutesy ones that read ‘nice ass’. 

With a grin she picked through the ones on the table and held one up in reply 'eat me’. Of course she had meant it in a 'go fuck yourself’ kind if way not knowing it was intentionally one of the dirty ones mixed in.

“If you insist, we'll need that pie to go though.” Leaning closer to her he held out another ‘lets bang!’.

“I may not have a heart, but know a few other ways to get blood pumping.” She grinned as she spoke up enough for Fives to hear. The resounding sputtering of a drink was all the response she needed to start laughing her ass off. For additional effect, added for Sam and Maebh's benefit, while pushing Dean out of the booth she tacked on a “Sorry to have to bail on you guys early, but I can think of better places to enjoy a slice of pie among other things.”

“Wait, seriously?” Stunned by what was going on he didn't really have the mental capacity to object or question her as she flagged down Deadpool and dragged him along. 

“What just happened?” Maebh asked Sam, equally confused.

“Dean just met his match is what just happened.” He chuckled as he leaned back into the booth seat to relax.

[spacebagfullofstars]

Have a short fic between Optimus and Hot Rod placed in Cyberverse season 3 episode 7

Fifty-seven loops.

Hot Rod spent fifty-seven loops trying to get Optimus out of his and everyone else's nighmare.

Try after try after try and he still wasn't there. It was getting tiresome, but the black Autobot kept trying.

And now, when he finally got his leader's attention, instead of thanks for not giving up he received a punch in the faceplates.

Hot Rod fell down the platform hitting his head against it's metal, letting out a painful groan.

"What are you doing?" Optimus Prime asked coldly, looking at him with a frown.

"Optimus!" The young Autobot cheered. Despite the way he was treated, he was overjoyed that he finally managed to get his leader's attention. "You remember me!"

"You are the one who keeps telling me the parade is not real."

"Yes! That's right! Exacly!" Hot Rod felt hope rising in his spark. After such a long time, he finally received a different response. His leader recognized him and even understood what he was saying. "But..." However this hope was quickly fading away during Optimus's silence. The older mech always was silent before answering with the same terrifyingly bland response. The young Autobot tried to stay positive. Maybe he succeeded this time. Maybe he snapped his leader out of his trans. Maybe, finally, he won't have to be alone in this. Unfortunately however...

"It is the perfect day for a para-"

"DON'T SAY THAT!"

Before Prime had a chance to finish his sentence, Hot Rod stopped him. The confused leader looked down and saw a broken expression on his young solider's faceplates.

"Don't. Say that... not again." Hot Rod whispered harshly, grunting his denta. That caught Optimus completely off guard. That caught everyone completely off guard. The crowd began murmuring, glancing at the two from time to time.

"Please, just don't..."

"Hot Rod, I..." Optimus walked down the platform, competely forgetting about the current event and kneeled before the fallen mech. "I'm sorry. Perhaps I shouldn't have punched you so har-"

"Why won't you just listen to me?!" The black Autobot felt metal crunching under his digits.

"Listen to yo-?"

"I'm trying to help you! I'm trying to help everyone! But I can't do this on my own!" Hot Rod's voice began cracking as he spoke. Optimus' expression softened with worry.

"Hot Rod..." The Prime helped the other on his knees, putting his servo on his shoulder. "I think we should discuss this after everything's over."

"This will never be over!" The Speedster furiously shook off Optimus' arm. "You're trapped in here! And I'm the only one who can help you! And I just... I just..." The young Autobot grabbed his head, trying to hold his sobs. "I don't know what to do!... I'm not a leader, Optimus!... I need you more than anything right now... I need you!..."

It was painful to watch Hot Rod like this during such perfect day. Optimus couldn't understand that. Why was he upset? What happened to him to bring him to such state? Why did he believe that they were trapped?

The older Autobot didn't understand it, but he wasn't going to let Hot Rod suffer like that.

Optimus lifted the black Speedster's chin so he could see him better.

"Is this about the conversation we had during the battle for Cybertron?" His voice was calm and comforting. Just like it used to be. If Hot Rod didn't know any better by now, he'd suspect that he made some progress. Nonethless, he really needed to release his pain. He spent too much time in here to just waste it.

The young warrior bowed his head, shutting down his optics as he ex vented heavily. "I did everything you asked me for. I tried to learn cautiousness. I learned it, but I'm still not a leader they need, nor deserve. I'm just not ready..."

Optimus listened patiently, bringing Hot Rod a bit closer, encouraging him to go on. The black Autobot looked up, optics painfully horrified.

"I need you, Optimus... Everyone is counting on me, and I just can't help them on my own... I need your guidance."

Considering that Hot Rod wished to speak with him then rather than later meant that he was being serious about this. Maybe even desperate.

"I see." Optimus responded thoughtfully. "I've been going through the same thing you know. Leadership comes with experience and requires a lot of responsibility. I've seen great potential in you for a long time."

"But... but I'm not... So far I've made only bad decisions which led to even worse situations."

"Have you gotten out of those situations?"

"Yes, but... if it wasn't for my friends, I wouldn't have made it."

"Friends are very important, even for leaders. You can learn from them and they can learn from you. Together, you can achieve your goal."

"I tried so many times by now... is it any worth continuing?"

"As one wise mech said, your goal might take you even thousands and thousands of attempts until it's achieved. During those attempts, you have to learn from your mistakes, and with time, you'll get there. I know that whatever you're struggling with is bothering you, and you can count on me to help you. On all of us."

When Optimus pulled him closer again, Hot Rod felt like he couldn't take it anymore. Without any warning, he jumped on Optimus, wrapping his arms around him and letting out all of his frustration and worry in form of lubricant streaming from his optics like an Energon waterfall. The Autobot leader was surprised at first, but slowly he embraced Hot Rod back, patting his yellow spoiler. Everyone was staring at them in shock.

"Wasn't Hot Rod red before?" Windblade noticed in the background.

"Well, yeah." Bumblebee replied, tilting his head. "Strange. I get a bit sad when I look at him for some reason..."

"I can't believe he made all this mess just to get a hug from Optimus!" Rock n' Ruin commented, picking up their fingers from the ground.

"I'm really happy that you see me Optimus..." Hot Rod sobbed softly. "I'm really really happy."

"I'm happy to see you too." Optimus couldn't help but chuckle. "And I'm glad I could help you. But now I'm afraid we have to clean up this little mess you've made. After all, it would be such a shame to let this perfect day for a parade go to waste." Suddenly, the young black Autobot's timer began beeping, informing that soon the next loop will begin. He gasped. Immediately, Hot Rod pulled back and looked at Optimus with widened optics.

"Optimus, you have to transform!"

"Transform?" The Autobot leader rose an optical ridge. "Why?"

"I'm going to explain it later! All of you have to transform now before everything will rese-!"

Suddenly, Hot Rod disappeared in a flash.

"Hot Rod?" Prime widened his optics, standing up. The crowd started looking around, searching for the mech. "Hot Rod?!"

"Incoming!" Just then, three yellow jets crossed the sky. And so, the new loop began.

[writeyouin]

For the Halloween requests, can I please have TFA Optimus experiencing a Halloween night with human s/o? Like they make his costume together and they have a nice Halloween party at the base with the team?

Optimus Prime (TFA) X Reader – Painting Faces

A/N – If Phillip Pullman can leave me on a cliff-hanger IRL with The Secret Commonwealth then I can leave you guys on one. That is the true power of Halloween, mwa ha ha.

Warnings – None.

Rating – T

You clambered on top of Optimus’ chassis, glad he was cooperating by laying down. You had already painted over his usual red and blue colour with an orange undercoat which would come off in the wash racks after Halloween. Now, you sat painting a giant black bat which would eventually be accompanied by a jack-o-lantern and a trio of ghosts.

As you painted, you waited for Optimus’ usual questions about your odd human traditions, or even some of his regular enthusiasm for trying something new. Instead, his lips remained firmly pressed together, revealing nothing of his thoughts. It didn’t take a mind reader to guess what was bothering him. You could tell he was uncomfortable by the ridged way he held himself, the way his servos were clenched at his side, and most of all his silence; if you didn’t know any better, you would guess he was a statue.

Naturally, you didn’t blame him for being so out of character. He had been the same way last Halloween; apparently the holiday reminded him of Elita-1 and her transformation into Blackarachnia.

You paused, the tip of the brush a few inches from him. “I can stop if you want me to,” You said solemnly.

Optimus snapped up, accidentally throwing you from his chassis into his lap. You stood up bemusedly, removing the brush from your arm which had been subsequently painted black.

Optimus cringed, “Sorry (Y/N). I can lay back down if you need me to.”

You shook your head, jumping to the floor where you put the brush into a bucket of water, cleaning it of its temporary colour. “You don’t have to do this Optimus. Me and the others… We know this isn’t your favourite night.”

Optimus looked to his left, unable to face your astute gaze. You could so easily sense his discomfort; he wondered what else you could sense in him. Was it possible you also knew how much he loved you, but weren’t letting on? He wouldn’t be surprised if you did, but he prayed that you didn’t.

“Why are we doing this?” He asked, secretly referring to the way the two of you constantly danced around a relationship that couldn’t happen.

If you caught on to his subliminal message you didn’t say so, instead opting to explain the Halloween party. “Sari’s father is missing, she’s lost just about everything normal in her life, and she’s being raised by five Cybertronians and me. She deserves to at least have the enjoyment of a proper Halloween; every kid should get that. All the same…” You paused in thought, “You shouldn’t do this if it’s too much for you.”

Optimus blushed and felt his cooling fans start up at your consideration. He coughed to cover the sound and tried to shut them off in case you figured out what the sound meant. It wasn’t fair; how could he be expected to stay calm when you were always putting him before yourself?

“I uh-” Optimus cleared his vocaliser, then lay back down. “We should finish this before the others get back. The paint will need time to dry.”

Although you would rather see Optimus safe from the nightmares of his processor, you didn’t argue and instead retrieved your paintbrush to finish Optimus’ costume. Once again Optimus fell silent and stiff, though this time it was your proximity to blame instead of his guilt and insecurity.

“Okay,” Sari said amusedly. “One more time. You throw your arms above your head, make claws, then go left and then right. Got it, Bulkhead?”

Bulkhead looked at his servos, sure the three digits that formed them already counted as claws, “Uh… I think so.”

Bumblebee threw up his arms impatiently, “UGH, WHAT IS SO HARD FOR YOU? It’s just dancing.”

Bulkhead cringed, “Hey! You know this stuff isn’t easy for me.”

While the pair squabbled, Prowl knelt down to your level, “(Y/N), are you sure this dance is absolutely necessary? Sari tells me it is a cultural dance and an honour for an outsider to be invited to participate.”

“The Thriller?” You asked, barely withholding a snicker. “Yeah, it’s a… It’s kind of like those documentaries with the different tribes in Africa; a very important dance here.”

“I see. There is still one thing I don’t understand however. If this dance holds so much importance to your people, how come we did not partake last year?”

“Ah,” You nodded sagely, buying time to come up with a plausible lie. “Well, Sari showed you another tradition, trick or treating, then you were attacked. After all that excitement, we didn’t want to overwhelm you.”

Prowl’s optics widened in understanding, “Of course, that makes sense.”

“Okay!” Sari exclaimed. “Are we ready to try again?”

Each of the bots took their respective place, except for Ratchet who watched disdainfully from across the room, thinking about the antics of younger bots; the closest Ratchet got to joining in was to restart the song whenever Sari indicated he should.

With Bulkhead and Bumblebee on either side of Sari, you and Prowl in front of the trio, and Optimus in the back, Ratchet restarted the song. Throughout the dance you laughed joyously, showing the moves to Prowl who learned quickly and efficiently. Optimus’ optics never left your small form, completely enchanted with the way you moved, even though it wasn’t particularly graceful; he hated any second when his view was blocked by either Bumblebee or Bulkhead.

Ratchet watched Optimus disapprovingly. To him, Optimus should have been trying harder to hide his feelings for you. It was lucky Optimus was at the back of the group where nobody else could see that he wasn’t dancing. Heaving a heavy sigh, Ratchet opted to wait for a moment when he could get Optimus alone to have a serious discussion with him. Such a time came when Sari was explaining the concept of apple bobbing or in the bots’ case, bobbing for a rounded metal that wasn’t even remotely edible to them.

You watched fondly, waiting for the moment Sari would go and her Bumblebee face-paint would float on the water’s surface, having been stripped from her face. Sari stepped up to the wooden tub, ready for her turn, and you grinned.

“Watch this Optimus-” You stopped upon realising that the now orange and black bot was nowhere to be found. You glanced around, spotting him and Ratchet heading outside of the base. Despite feeling that it was wrong to follow the pair, you couldn’t help being worried that whatever they were about to discuss might concern Sari or perhaps Optimus’ phobia of Halloween; with that in mind, you followed the pair.

While you intended to confront the pair, who had gone around the side of the building, you stopped yourself upon hearing Ratchet speak your name. Pressing yourself against the corner of the building, you listened.

“You can’t keep doing this Prime,” Ratchet lectured. “(Y/N) is a human, it can’t work. It will only end in spark-ache for both of you.”

“I know,” Optimus said resignedly. “But what am I supposed to do? (S)he’s everywhere Ratchet, and even when (s)he’s not, I’m still thinking of-” He sighed loudly, “Ratchet, I think… Whenever I think about (Y/N)- I- I think I’m in love.”

You covered your mouth before any sound could escape, as you sagged against the wall, glad for the darkness that hid you from view. While you had always had your suspicions that Optimus might care for you romantically, you had always brushed them off as cruel tricks your mind played when you longed for something more with him.

Ratchet grabbed Optimus’ shoulder plate roughly, “Now you listen to me! You better think about what’s best for (Y/N) over what you want. You hear me? Forget any ideas of love and let (Y/N) live the life (s)he was meant to lead, with other humans.”

Not wanting to hear whether Optimus would fight for you or not, you decided to make yourself known. Straightening up, you plastered a smile on your face and rounded the corner, trying to sound casual when you said, “Here you two are! I was looking all over for you.”

“(Y/N)!” Optimus blurted, afraid you had heard his confession.

You pretended not to notice how startled the pair were, though you could feel the way Ratchet’s optics intensely followed your movements. “Sari asked if you two were going to take a turn metal bobbing, so I came looking for you. What are you even doing out here?”

Ratchet shot a warning glance at Optimus, though he needn’t have; the younger bot was practically sagging under the weight of his unheard declaration of love.

“Nothing much,” Ratchet shrugged. “I was just looking at the night sky, thinking of home. Optimus came to join me. I didn’t think these young bots cared anymore.”

You looked up at the stars as if contemplating the explanation, “Yeah… I can see why they would make you homesick. Well, don’t let me interrupt, come in whenever you’re ready. I’ll find something to entertain Sari and buy you both some time.”

Optimus and Ratchet could barely hide their relief as you left. While they thought about how lucky they had been, you were thinking about what you would say to Optimus the next time you were alone with him. You knew you had to confront the elephant in the room, but the question was, how?

‘Sari first, then Optimus,’ You reminded yourself. ‘Tonight is for her, not me.’

Like my work? Buy me a coffee and earn preview of the next fic, or commission me on the commissions page.

[imababblekat]

Imagine The Tfa Bot’s Finding Out Their S/O Has A Spiderman Alter Ego

(A/N: My favorite dreams are always the one where I get to swing around like Spiderman and even have my own Spidersona!)

(s,n)=(spider name)

~

Tfa Ratchet:

he's seen on the news about this (s,n) and the plenty of heroic things they've done

the doc thinks it's plenty strange that a human has these spider like abilities, but the most he does is shake his helm, because honestly, his team has fought several weird humans so at least this one is a good guy

not once does he ever expect (s,n) to be his s/o; it just never clicked with him until him and his s/o got into an argument one day over the vigilantly

the way she keeps defending them and deflecting his negative comments about how they should do a better job protecting Detroit got Ratchet wondering why she’s so heated up about it

that's when everything just sorta falls into the place; the times he would lose his s/o if a battle broke out only to show up unharmed when it was finished, the strange reason (s,n) would always swing away before he or his team could approach them, etc

he questions his s/o if there's something she’s hiding, and when she says no, he gives her that look, and she can only give in and tell him

Ratchet feels so much about this new revelation; proud, curious, stressed, worried

while he won't ever admit it, he's proud of the selflessness of his s/o, but on the other he can't help but be extremely concerned for her well being

he's seen live feed, back before he even knew her, of the strong villains she would fight and how she’d go crashing through walls, etc, and it scares him to think that that's been his s/o, and still very much is

Ratchet never tells her to stop what she's doing, but it's apparent that's he's very worried in the ways he bombards her with questions if he hasn't seen her in a while, or rushes out to a fight to assist and fuss over any injuries she may have gotten

the doc bot finally calms down when she pulls him aside to say that she couldn't stop, even if she wanted to, especially knowing that she could help

after that statement, Ratchet knows there's nothing he can do keep his s/o from being a hero, but while he lets her continue her work and assist when needed, he's always got a first aid at the ready

Prowl:

Prowl is very intrigued by this masked hero known as (s,n), but most of that might be in part due to Sari always faning about them

he's very fascinated by the spider like abilities of this hero, and as much as he's tried to catch up with them to talk, he's always left with a sticky trail of webs

the ninja bot has his speculations of who could be (s,n), one of which includes his s/o; it might seem silly to others, but Prowl has his reasons

he never tried testing out his theories of who they could be, till one evening when he and his s/o were supposed to meet up for a date, and a battle occurred between (s,n) and a villain

during that whole battle, Prowl sat waiting for his s/o, but every time he tried to call her, she hadn't answered or even texted

he was worried that perhaps she had gotten stuck in that area, but once she did show up, apologizing about being re routed around the battle, Prowl's close attention had caught the slightest peek of a red and blue, spider web patterned suit under her button up shirt

Prowl doesn't act for a week, just watches and pays close attention to his s/o till he feels he's got enough evidence

finally, when he feels ready, Prowl suddenly through's a disc at his s/o who has her back turned

spidey senses going off, it's no surprise that she flips right at the last second and webs the weapon against the factory wall

Prowl's s/o is staring at him mortified, while he just stares back with a smug smirk and crossed arms

the two sit down some where private to discuss this new development in their relationship; how she got the powers, when she realized she had them, when she started being a hero, etc

Prowl ask her if she had ever thought about the risk of what she does; while he is concerned for her safety, the question was really just a simple one of curiosity

his s/o nods and tells him how she had waited for a while after discovering her powers before becoming a hero, and seeing all the bad stuff go down in Detroit, while knowing that she could do something about it, is was what ultimately got her into being a hero to begin with

Prowl is undoubtedly proud of what his s/o does, and while he leaves her to her own heroism, he's always there to assist if need be

Optimus:

we all know that Optimus has a history with spiders, so hearing and seeing that Detroit has a spider-human hero sends so so many shivers up his spinal strut

don't get him wrong, he thinks what they're doing is absolutely amazing, Optimus is all for hero stuff, but did they really have to be spider themed?!

while partly disappointed, he's also admittedly glad that every time his team tries to meet them after a battle they're swinging and gone in an instant

like anyone else, Optimus doesn't have the slightest clue as to who's under that mask, and while curious about it, he's  never been bothered to find out

till he walked in on his s/o crawling through one of the windows of his berth room, exhausted and maskless and ready for some sleep

the Prime is frozen in place, because a) a spider like human just spider walked into his berthroom, and b) that spider person is his s/o!!

Optimus stays stuck there for an eternity till he's snapped back by his s/o frantically waving their hands in front of his face, and before he can stop himself, he falls back and nearly swipes at them

seeing his gut reaction and the fear in his optics, his s/o feels absolutely horrible, but not nearly as horrible as him for almost hurting her

the rest of the night is spent sharing each others past and how they got to now; Optimus and the whole reason why he's got arachnophobia and his s/o explaining how she got the powers she currently has

Optimus get's used to the fact that his s/o is (s,n) and the spider abilities that come with her, but what he doesn't get used to is the heavy beatings they get from fighting; from being shot at to being throw half way through the city

he understands that his s/o isn't like other humans, and can take some heavy hits, but that still doesn't stop him from asking his s/o one night if she ever thought about not being a hero

she very calmly explains to him that she had tried to put it to rest once after a particular battle ended up with her being sent to the ER, but during those days of recovery and seeing the crimes going on through the news, and knowing that she could help, really made her feel guilty

he's still very concerned for her well being, but Optimus doesn't try to keep her from being a hero, and if anything, is always there to lend a swinging fist or two

~xXx~

[thanksjro]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The thrusters that he already knows about.

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

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

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

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

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

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

No fucking shit, duderoni.

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

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

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

Well hot dang, wonder who that could be?

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

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

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

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

Then the elevator starts up.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That is a positively MASSIVE elevator.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[ratgirl112]

Chapter 17(Kitty's Transforming Story)

I'm glad that I went to Tailgate first because I knew that no one else would have trusted Cyclonus, that being said, I had to watch out for him, in case anyone tried to shoot him down, Sentinel is one of those people. "Trust me, Sentinel, he saved Tailgate and me from Starscream." "Nope, not even Decepticons like Starscream, he did it for himself, he's a filthy Con and needs to be dealt with." I didn't even bother listening to anything else that Sentinel had to say.

"Sentinel is an idiot.." Enough said Prowl, if Prowl trusts Cyclonus, who wouldn't. Even Ultra Magnus would trust him until the war was done and over with, after that, who knows what he would think of them.

"Kitty are you there?" Why is Optimus trying to contact me? "Yes I am, I actually just arrived on Earth via the Space Bridge, Tailgate helped me set it up so we could get here. It's a mess down here." "I know, Rodimus is here too with his team and they're dealing with some Cons as the others and I try to get into their base on Lake Erie." "I'm on my way Optimus, Kitty out."

________________________________

As I got there I saw Decepticons and Autobots spread across the perimeter, from split heads to bodies ripped in half, vertical and horizontal. It was a mess, it seemed like someone went through this place with a vacuum, as the humans call it, and wiped this place out.

I didn't know where to start to look for anyone until Optimus came running to me. "Kitty, there you are, Megatron and Kitten are in that tower, we need to get to them, but there are too many Decepticons everywhere." He wasn't lying, I saw too many familiar faces from the history books that I read back when we are Cybertron after we were on that planet, when Primal and Megatron would fight with each other, those were crazy times.

"Kitty you need to find Rodimus and his team and join them, they're right at the front gate and are ready to bust in, Bumblebee and I will distract the Cons while they get in." "Got it Optimus!"

When I arrived at the gate, I saw Rodimus and his team, but I also saw a familiar face, Blackarachnia. She was talking with them and Waspinator and Inferno were with her, they were ready to brawl. "Rodimus! Wait!" I yelled as I ran over to them. "Kitty? What are you doing here, I thought you were on Cybertron?" "I was, but I knew that Kitten was here, so I came as soon as possible." After I said that, I saw Blackarachnia give me this face, it was the same face I saw when I visited Dinobot's grave so to speak many years ago.

____________Flashback_____________

I can't believe he's gone, my lasts words were the argument that I had with him when he stole the disk, I told him that it was foolish to steal it, knowing that Megatron would steal it again. Now he's dead and I did say goodbye, but it wasn't the way that I wanted to say goodbye.

"I'm sorry," it was Blackarachnia, I never really talked to her, considering she was with the Predacons not too long ago, but now she's a Maximal, kind of odd, but Silverbolt did win her love over to the good side. "I know it's not something you want to hear, but I've never really experienced death before, I do know that it would suck if I lost Silverbolt, but I haven't known him as long as you did with Dinobot." "Why are you telling me this information?" "Because although I don't understand your pain and sorrow, I will try my best to understand your loss." I simply smiled and said, "thank you." "You're welcome Kitty"...

__________Flashback_Ended__________

"This spider is trying to explain to us that she hates Megatron and Kitten and wants to get rid of her." I was snapped out of my thoughts as Rodimus continued speaking. "She also said that she has a plan to get rid of this shattered version of yourself."

Basically, the plan went like this, Blackarachnia would take us all in as prisoners and take us to Megatron and say that she captured us. Then while she talks to him, Rodimus and I will sneak and try to find Kitten and grab her and try to throw her back into her world, but I have to beat her up for killing Perceptor. Then the rest of the Autobots would storm in and destroy Megatron.

We started the plan as the team was taken in, Rodimus and I snuck in to look for Kitty, we separated and would comm each other if we found Kitten, little did I know that it was going to be the last time I saw Rodimus Prime.

________________________________

As I was walking and looking for Rodimus since he hasn't commed me and the others were being taken to Megatron, I was commed by Kitten, I was confused why she was able to comm me, but she did anyway. "Hey little Kitty, I've got a surprise for you, follow these coordinates and you will find it." I followed the coordinates not realizing the horror I was about to see.

Rodimus was laying on the ground, not moving and he had no color. "Rodimus, what are you doing on the ground, we have to find Kitten, she should be at the coordinates with the surprise." That's when I realized what my surprise was, no. No no no no!!! It can't be! "RODIMUS!!!" I tried moving him, but he wouldn't respond, he was colorless, just like Perceptor. "Rodimus NO!! Not like this, please not lime this!! I can't lose you, I have no access to the All Spark, so I can only talk to Ultra Magnus and Prowl!! Rodimus NO!!!"

I started screaming, I lost Rodimus this couldn't be true. Next thing I knew, someone was holding me, "Kitty no, calm down." It was Optimus, when did he get here, they must have finished part of the plan when I was screaming for Rodimus. "Rodimus! Please wake up!" I started sobbing. "I know Kitty, shh, quiet, we're going to get caught." I slowly stopped, but I was still sobbing, why would Kitten do this to me, why would she kill Rodimus so easily, he must have had one frag of a fight, I lost Rodimus, he was the only thing that I was looking forward too at the end of this war.

"Kitty, we have to go, Kitten and Megatron found out our plan and someone is here to help us." "Who?" "The Decepticons." That's when I knew that they made a portal to bring in the Shattered Glass Decepticons. "Let's go kick Kitten ass and kill her," I said as we walked out of the Fortress ready for a fight...