#megatron could not blame himself more than he already does

[ask-a-bot]

Things live and die, sometimes species go extinct. It's not all Megs' fault.

Enough of it is.

Sunstreaker. He's not the only one to blame, and from what you told us about the history of things, he was trying to make it better.

If he hadn't started the war, Cybertron would still be lit! There would still be hotspots and newsparks and the Allspark would still exist! Our home would still exist! We wouldn't be stuck on this dirtball and Sides wouldn't be-

That's enough. It's not all Megatron's fault things went the way they did. Fault on both sides, it takes two hands to clap, two factions to war. If nothing changed, would you really have been happy in the old system?

I would still have my brother. We were climbing up in the world, creating a home that was ours. Until the Docks bombing sent us back to the Pit.

And Megatron blames himself enough. Come on, I'm sure Pyre would appreciate us getting a headstart on your nice long drive and quiet time before he gets home.

Sunstreaker is right. I made everything so much worse that the planet has likely been destroyed. I wanted to... to make everything better. I made everything worse. I am no better than Mandroid!

What? That's not true!

He told me that he saw himself as the saviour of Earth and humanity, Prime. He had the same delusions of grandeur that I did.

Mandroid... was not like you, Megatron. Even at your worst, you were never beyond reason. I could make you listen. Mandroid was not like you. Stop thinking like that.

[in1-nutshell]

Add this to the bottom of the barrel.

I was playing tears of the kingdom and my brain did a hop skip and a jump.

Human body that climbs everything and everyone. has killed a bot with some really archaic weapon, lord knows what they'll do with an actual gun. doesn't really talk but communicates through grunts and hand gestures.

plus

Rodimus who just wanted to get a midnight drink - ...Buddy?

cut to Buddy who just stares back at him for a moment before running into the vents.

Rodimus - HEY GET BACK HERE!

Buddy is chaos. There is no stopping them from climbing anything they can get their little hands on.

Hope you enjoy!

Human Buddy who communicates in grunts, noises and likes to climb with Rodimus Prime, Cyclonus, Nautica, and First Aid

SFW, Platonic, Human reader

MTMTE

The crew picked Buddy up from a planet’s flea market.

Buddy looked so miserable and malnourished.

The crew members were outraged seeing a human so far out in space and being treated like this.

Some go off in a corner to think of a plan to get the human without buying them.

Buying them will only make the buyer rich and chase more humans.

Whirl was the one who stole them from the buyers after causing a diversion.

For once Magnus didn’t put him in the brig for stealing them

The human didn’t speak like any normal human and was very distrustful of all the bots.

Except Whirl.

With time the human eventually warmed up to the bots, but they never really learned how to talk.

They were just fine with the grunts and noises.

It was a random name generator that picked their name since many bots had already gone to the brig for wanting to name them and others not agreeing.

Buddy was a simple name.

And they seemed to like it.

But there were some habits the bots picked up on.

Buddy loved to climb anything they could get their little hands on.

This caused much distress and amusement amongst the crew.

Buddy becomes the crew’s mascot/ friend/ gremlin that lives on the ship.

Rodimus

Rodimus likes Buddy.

He even set up a little chair for them on the main bridge in case they wanted to sit there.

He put it there after too many times seeing Buddy trying to climb the chair themselves.

And that one time they did manage to get on the seat and Rodimus nearly sat on them.

That’s why Buddy now has their own chair.

Do they use the new?

Yes and No.

They use it when they are on the main bridge for more than 5 minutes.

But they don’t sit on it.

At least correctly.

The amount of times Buddy has sat down on the chair wrong nearly glitches Ultra Magnus’s circuits.

Buddy knows this and likes to get a laugh out of everyone.

Rodimus is the loudest.

But not everything is fun and games.

Rodimus hates it when Buddy uses the vents.

He’s scared they are going to get lost up there like one of those Earth videos of families not finding their gerbil until they had to cut a hole in the wall and find it deceased.

Buddy, obviously, doesn’t listen to him.

Rodimus came back to his room after a meeting with Magnus and Megatron.

Turns on the light.

Buddy is sitting on his berth eating some chips.

“…Buddy?”--Rodimus

Buddy stares at him before running to the vent on the ground.

“HEY! NO, NO, BUDDY WE TALKED ABOUT THIS!”--Rodimus

Buddy makes some mocking noises in the vent.

“I HEARD THAT!”—Rodimus

Cyclonus

Being one of the bots on board that they were slower to warm up to, Cyclonus does find himself looking after them.

He blames Tailgate for planting the idea in his helm.

He lures Buddy in with treats and by being calm.

Buddy warms up to him eventually.

Cyclonus wants to teach Buddy how to talk so they don’t have to rely on noises or grunts like some unintelligent being.

Buddy was intelligent, they just couldn’t talk or write, that’s all.

He tries his best and sees that Buddy does try their best.

Even if they manage to make a letter sound, is plenty accomplishment for both.

“Repeat after me. Hello.”--Cyclonus

Buddy tries to say but huffs instead.

“No, like this. Hello.”--Cyclonus

Buddy starts making noises that sound like a cat hacking on a hairball.

“…Maybe that’s enough lessons for today.”--Cyclonus

Hacking noises increase.

Nautica

Nautica is one of the crew members that got along the fastest with Buddy.

Maybe it was her being friendly and kind to them.

Or it could also be the snacks she secretly gave to them after their meal.

Who knows?

Buddy has a habit of climbing on her when they want something or need to relax.

They do this with certain bots too, but she still feels honored to be chosen for this job.

All she needs to do is acknowledge Buddy, then be still until they reach the top of her helm or neck cables.

Gives them many head pats.

Buddy looking at Nautica from across the room.

Nautica was talking to Brainstorm about her new wrench.

Buddy walks over and begins to climb her leg.

“EEP! Buddy! You know better to do that without me knowing.”--Nautica

Buddy still keeps on climbing until they reach the top of her helm and just lays there.

“I guess someone wanted some attention?”--Nautica

Buddy huffs but pats her helm.

First Aid

Also, one of the faster members Buddy warmed up to.

But First Aid doesn’t really know why.

He did help Ratchet in making sure they were okay and helped them around the ship, but he didn’t do anything extraordinary for Buddy to like him.

But he is fine with that.

First Aid rather enjoys the company of the smaller human.

He knows Buddy is smart.

One day First Aid came in feeling a bit under the weather and Buddy was making all sorts of gestures and noises to get him out of his desk and to the med slab.

Even trying to carry his digit to the slab.

They knew he wasn’t feeling well and wanted to help, something First Aid found endearing.

However, …

Giving Buddy checkups were 50/50

They could come into the med bay doing everything he said to do and get a treat by the end.

Or…

They would be ‘clawing’ and squirming at everything that came towards them.

First Aid walks into the med bay.

Buddy is sitting on his desk chewing.

“Buddy? Buddy what are you chewing?”—First Aid

Buddy pauses, but then chews faster.

“NO, NO, NO WHAT DO YOU HAVE SPIT IT OUT!” –First Aid

[earthstellar]

Warlord Ratchet: A Fascinating Concept 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I cannot imagine Ratchet capable of such horrors!” 

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

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

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

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

The Doctor of Doom: How Could This Happen? 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

--

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

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

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

[smokescreenimusprime]

Hello again! I've been scrollign through some of your older au's and just- I need more GoD. I want more possible younger/older brother relationship between Smokey & Predaking, even though technically Smokey's older(he's the little brother, he's definitely more immature than Preds). Also, I have to ask: What did happen when Soundwave tried to groundbridge him off the ship?

I wanna see possible Smokey & Preds saving the other Predacons, or if they're not able to, for at least a bonding moment with Smokey comforting Predaking after he's lost his siblings. I wanna see the reactions of the team to the anonymous helper, sending them decepticon info and nothing else. I wanna see their reactions to the supposed ghost, haunting Darkmunt. I wanna see if they blame themselves. Do they think they should've been nicer to him? To the basically kid, who gave up his life to give them the chance to end this war? Who never got the chance of seeing his home planet not plauged by war and destruction? Do they blame themselves for his spark not being able to rest, supposedly stuck here on earth, not let into the allspark and haunting the ones who killed him? Do they blame themselves for his death? Do they?

W E L L >:DDDDD

with Soundwave, this was something inspired from when Smokey yote himself off the Nemesis. Specifically how when he was falling, he ended up turning the Shifter off before he was about to fall through one of the portals only to get knocked aside by Megatron

(does this kinda contradict the S2 finale and how Smokey snuck back in canon? Maybe, but to be fair 1) that part of canon doesn't exist anymore, 2) the Phase Shifter is a little broken and doesn't work the same way anymore and 3) canon broke the logic first so Therefore I'm legally allowed to do the same)

anyways, why Soundwave doesn't talk about it

just. Smokescreen cranked up his Vengeful Ghost Factor to 20. When Soundwave tried ground bridging him off the ship, he simply kept slowly walking toward the mech, straight through the portal as if it didn't exist in the first place. He was relentless in his following, but also very very careful to never be fully in sight. Aside from a few slow following attempts, Smokey just stayed in the walls and floor around him. He'd hide in the floor and grab at his feet, gently brush his hands on his plating when he found him in the halls, would seek our and destroy any and all security cameras he could to make Soundwave just a little bit more blind

Soundwave doesn't mess with Smokescreen very much after that

but on a completely different note, you're absolutely right, Smokey and Predaking have SUCH sibling energy. Smokescreen talks for hours about anything and everything, but Predaking's favorite stories are the ones Smokey read in the Archives. He loves learning about Cybertronian culture, art, history, all those beautiful things which he never had a chance to experience himself. He's also fiercely protective of the smaller bot, and sure said protection is unnecessary on account of the whole He's Already Dead thing (at least to his knowledge), he can't help it

the two also like to go on long flights together. Smokescreen will hitch a ride on Predaking's back and they'll soar through the atmosphere together, nothing but the wind holding them back and gravity bending to their whims. These flights also serve as good secure places for them to talk without any of the Decepticons hearing them since whispering directly into Predaking's ears can get a little tiring for simple conversation

it's actually during one of these flight trips that Smokescreen tells Predaking about the Decepticon's plans to kill the other Predacons, at which he understandably flips his absolute SHIT. He's about ready to go on a fucking rampage and sets a good deal of the sky on fire, and it's only through some very desperate convincing on Smokey's part that the mech doesn't fly back to the Nemesis right that instant and tear them to shreds

so they come up with a plan. Predaking will distract the Autobots and keep them away for long enough so Smokescreen can use the phase shifter to get them all to safety by leading them deeper into the tunnels. Then they'll use the CNA and Synthetic Energon being stored to blow the place sky high so the Decepticons think the Predacons are dead and that they have Predaking's loyalty secured

I'll admit, I'm not too sure where exactly to go from here in terms of that specific plot thread. My best idea right now is Smokescreen hacking the Decepticon Groundbridge controls and stealing energon to keep them all fed which he simply disguises as his usual Ghostly Shenanigans. Predaking definitely affectionately call him their "Preda-prince" but given how close the two of them are it's basically official and he's considered a Predacon in all but frame by all of them

and Y E S with the Autobots. Wheeljack's account of this "ghost" is enough to raise some eyebrows. After all, he isn't a superstitious person, and the fact he's not that skeptical about it..... well, that's a little weird already

and oh boy, wouldn't it be fun if when they tried to take down Darkmount, Smokescreen ended up giving them some help behind the scenes :)

and honestly, the aftermath of that is going to be painful, for both groups. Smokescreen because as much as he desperately wants to reunite with the other Autobots, he can't deny that being behind enemy lines like this could be SUPER useful. He could feed the Autobots information, interfere with the Decepticons plans and technology, lower their morale to make them easier opponents......

it's too tantalising to give up because the Autobots need every advantage they have, especially now, so he decides to pay dead for a little while longer

but of course....... the Autobots are still completely under the impression he's dead. The guilt is all still there, and the fact it seems Smokescreen's spark is lingering in such a wrathful way? That despite everything he's done, the ultimate sacrifice he gave, he's been trapped and tethered to this plane of existence and not allowed the relief of the Allspark

it tears them apart inside :)

[forgedcold]

👀 do you think you understand optimus?

Send my muse “👀 + a question” and they’ll have to answer with 100% honesty.

"In what sense?" Megatron frowns, considering. "As a Prime? My enemy? A friend? A fumbling, woe begotten drunk that never learned how to shrug the problems of our world off his shoulders?"

The hint of a smile lifts the corners of his mouth, disappearing and expression darkening in an instant. "Heh."

"I understand that when there is a crushing sense of bleakness, of insurmountable darkness, it's easy to look to him and have hope. I understand that sometimes when he looks at me, it isn't with hatred, but with tremendous grief for what could have been done differently. I understand he is exhausted by the opinions and hatred of others - the constant expectation of perfectionism, to do everything morally correct, to endure the blame of others while no one else is keen to hold themselves accountable for their own mistakes. I understand why he wasn't happy - why he never wanted the responsibility of being Prime and why the responsibility hurt. I understand why he wanted to die."

Around him, his workstation is silent. Idly, Megatron wonders why his honesty about Optimus even matters, not when so many minds are already made up.

"I think I understand him more than most care to. I believe he deserves the chance to be left alone to be himself - not Prime. After all, rather than perpetuating an endless cycle of violence and championing for my death, he allowed his greatest enemy a chance at something I didn't deserve and something he always denied himself: happiness."

"When looking back over the last four million years, if you were in his position for every difficult choice he had to make, would you have done it differently? What would have changed? And does it even matter?"

[terrorskies]

“do not speak as though the war was something i chased on a whim,” growls the silver mech.

there is a hint of warning there, hidden beneath a catlike growl and pointing forefinger. the dam struggles now to withhold the emotions bubbling forth; cracks in concrete begin to show. it takes all megatron has to keep it closed, to protect himself and starscream from the warlord that slumbers within.

“there are regrets aplenty scattered through the last millenia, but standing up for those in my position is not one of them. the decepticons fell. i led them to become that which we were originally fighting against, and thus led the way to our destruction. that is my greatest failure. but you and i both know, starscream, that the war was needed. something had to be done.”

shoulders quiver as memories wash forward. thoughts of home— of cybertron. the fields where he was born, the mines where he’d worked his servos to bare wire and cabling. the taste of his serial number on the foreman’s tongue, and the sweet feeling of completeness upon whispering ‘megatron’ to himself for the first time. it had been that sensation he chased; that sense of wholeness he’d wanted for all others when he first started this war.

now, they are all that is left. what had once been his noble purpose remains nothing more than a bitter reminder of the man he could have been.

but then starscream mentions croft, and that aching sorrow turns on itself. megatron is quick to follow its lead. his head snaps up, and that accusatory finger lifts once more, to point at the mech he’d kept by his side for so long. the mech who had seen it all; his rise, his flight, his fall. something in his chest cracks. emotions spew forth like water, culminating in a half-snarled,

“do not accuse me of such things!”

it is all he manages to get out before his mouth snaps shut. his hand falls to his side. propeller blades tremble with the rage he chokes back, swallowing mouthfuls of bitter rust to keep from overflowing onto starscream. it is not the seeker who holds the blame. it is not starscream whose ignorance hurt those he used to fight beside. internal fans click on. the airflow does little to cool that which is already aflame.

“apologies,” rumbles out the old mech. he runs a hand down his face, and turns those ruby optics towards the horizon. “i did not agree to a lifetime of cages, and i certainly would not have approved of watching my once-comrades endure torture. believe it or not, starscream, director croft was not exactly the most forthcoming with the truth. she did not have to be, with the leash kept around our throats.”

Starscream scoffs -- he can't help it. As always, Megatron has learned absolutely nothing, and instead spent the last decade a bumbling buffoon with zero awareness beyond himself. Clearly. Had he been paying a single iota of attention during the entirety of the War, he would've noticed that this is exactly how Starscream has always operated, Decepticon morals be damned.

"Please spare me your ideas on morality. We all know where that got us the last time you spent too much time wallowing in it."

Nothing will ever be easy for Megatron, should Starscream have any say in the matter.

"You speak of growth as if it's something I've had a chance at, when I spent the last fifteen years locked in a cage, watching whilst you gallivanted about putting my allies, my family, in those same cages with me. They only listen to me because I actually give a scrap about them -- something you clearly never learned to do for each of us."

Servos rise and fall with his words, and he finds them held into petulant fists at his sides before he tucks them again across his chest. He turns away, sensors still tuned and focused on Megatron but needing that space to continue.

"Did you know that Croft used us for her nasty little experiments? Did you even care? She enjoyed our suffering." He turns back to Megatron then, the accusation in his optics cutting. "You stood by and let this happen to us. Weave your pretty little poems as much as you like, but trust is something you have yet to earn from me, or anyone calling themself Decepticon."

[libermachinae]

[ID: Screenshot from Robots in Disguise 29. Prowl, in profile, looks to the right. Prowl: “I lost my best friend, Prime. Megatron stood at his side and only one of them walked away.” End ID.]

I’ve never stopped thinking about this line, so! What the fuck is up with Prowl and Bumblebee’s relationship? (Spoiler alert: I do not think Bee is another ex 😔)

They first met millions of years ago when Bumblebee went to Orion Pax for help regarding horrible dream he’d been having, and from there remained in each other’s orbits, though not really friends.

[ID: From Robots in Disguise #32. Prowl and Bumblebee stand with their backs to the reader, watching Metroplex lift off in city form while a battle rages in the sky around him. Bumblebee: “Nobody said war’s logical, bud.” Prowl: “That’s my point. We’re going to do stupid things until we die.” Bumblebee: “Primus, Prowl. Lighten up. We’re not like the Decepticons!” End ID.]

During the war, they got along fine, but in the one snapshot we see there’s not a lot of friendliness between them: Prowl is talking about the futility of their war and Bumblebee happens to be someone nearby. There’s a familiarity to the way they talk to each other (I doubt many people would bother or could get away with calling Prowl “bud”), but it’s more like coworkers who have been stepping on each other’s toes for a long time than real friends. The conversation begins and ends with Prowl’s internal monologue, while Bumblebee’s perspective is just a device used to draw out more of Prowl’s thoughts. Little is shown of their relationship because at this point, it just isn’t there.

[ID: Screenshot from The Transformers #21. Optimus stands with his back to the reader in the foreground, with Bumblebee and Prowl in the Background. Prowl’s caption: “That’s when Prime filled in the ‘Bee. He took it better than I expected. Smart questions. No whining. Focused the anger. He’s going to be a great leader one day. If he gets the chance.” End ID.]

(”the ‘Bee” lol Costa’s Prowl is a specimen) Half a million years later, they’re on Earth, Bumblebee has been elected and then demoted, and Optimus is leaving with most of the Autobots while assigning them to investigate the illegal weapons trade. Prowl has thoughts on Bumblebee’s leadership, which will be the ongoing theme of their relationship for the rest of the series. In typical Prowl fashion, he will never speak these particular thoughts aloud. (continues under the cut!)

[ID: Screenshots from Spotlight: Bumblebee. Panel 1: Bumblebee points offpanel with his cane and at himself with his thumb. Bumblebee: “No, wait, hang on, Prowl—I’m in charge here.” Panel 2: Prowl points a stern finger at Bumblebee, offpanel. Prowl: “What? Come on. This isn’t about being in charge, it’s about being right.” Panel 3: Prowl, flanked by two other Autobots, walks away from Bumblebee. Prowl: “’I’m in charge.’ Optimus Prime would never put up with that kind of procedural nonsense.” End ID.]

Spotlight: Bumblebee is basically a story about Bumblebee trying to impress Prowl. It opens by showing us how little respect Prowl holds for Bumblebee, ignoring his orders and taking bots he had already assigned to different tasks. We already know that Prowl is no Optimus fan, making the dig at Bumblebee extra cutting. It also doesn’t hurt that Bumblebee’s whole story so far has been about trying to live up to Optimus, Prowl’s words coming as long-anticipated confirmation that he has failed to do so.

[ID: Screenshot from Spotlight: Bumblebee. Prowl smiles. “Means the little guy’s got more spark than I gave him credit for, these last couple million years. Taking down five bad guys on his own— and blaming himself for not stopping a hundred more? And then coming home and taking control?” End ID.]

“That’s what Prime would do.”

Recklessly endangering himself for the sake of taking down a few “bad guys”? Yeah, that actually sounds exactly like Optimus.

Bumblebee proves himself taking command and earns a little respect from Prowl, even finding the confidence to bite back for Prowl’s “procedural nonsense” comment. It marks a big shift in their relationship, and by the time they’re back on Cybertron in time for Death of Optimus Prime, they’re working together by choice rather than decree. If we’re looking for a point where they become friends, I think this is it, a whole three years before the “best friend” panel above. All it took was a “couple million years” of just tolerating each other.

And this takes us into Phase 2!

[ID: Screenshot from Robots in Disguise #1. Bumblebee waves a cellphone-like device in Prowl’s face. Prowl: “They’re not my friends.” Bumblebee: “Whatever they are—you keep them in line or I will. You understand?” End ID.]

And also into an ongoing conversation about friendship! 

The pair is back on Cybertron following the events of Death of Optimus Prime and trying to figure out how to bring order to their home, and immediately disagree about the best way to do that. Bumblebee refers to the newly deputized Decepticon enforcers as Prowl’s “friends,” using the word to highlight the unprofessional, independent nature of what is essentially Prowl’s personal anti-neutral militia.

[ID: Screenshot from Robots in Disguise #1. Bumblebee: “Rodimus and his crew died. They were our friends—we can’t—can’t not eulogize them.” Prowl: “They were my comrades—dammit, my friends, too.” End ID.]

This leads into a conversation about the recently-departed Lost Light, for which Bumblebee thinks a memorial should be held. This time, when the word “friend” is used, it’s more sincere. Bumblebee also doesn’t say “my friends”—he extends an invitation that Prowl accepts, albeit clumsily.

Does he mean it, though? Prowl is not so socially bankrupt to not understand how friendships are supposed to look. Even if we dismiss his attitude to the Lost Light as general Prowlishness, this scene is followed by a conversation with Arcee in which he says he doesn’t trust anyone, which is a pretty major hurtle to get over. It’s not a stretch to assume Prowl is lying.

He never makes a move like that without a purpose, though. By referring to the Lost Light crew as his friends, he gets Bumblebee to relax and see things from his own perspective, giving him an opportunity to talk about the more pressing security issues they are facing. This, in fact, is Prowl’s go-to strategy: identify the person in power and get close to them, thereby giving him the ability to watch over how that power is wielded.

[ID: Screenshot from Robots in Disguise #1. Prowl speaks to Bumblebee over his shoulder. Prowl: “Look. every day, I watch the sun go down and wonder if we can make it another night without them. If I even want to.” Bumblebee: “Huh. I mean, yeah. Me, too.” Prowl: “I’m not emotionless, Bee. I care about Rodimus and Magnus and the rest as much as you do. But look at the situation logically.” End ID.]

That said, I don’t think Prowl is lying here. Despite how warped his worldview becomes, I do believe that at his core, Prowl wants what is best for Cybertronians (well, Autobots). Many of his darker plans were created with the intention to keep people alive, so regardless of his personal feelings to them, he is not “emotionless” and does feel something over their deaths.

[ID: First screenshot from Robots in Disguise #2. Bumblebee smirks at Prowl, holding up his electrocuting cane. Bumblebee: “Heh—same old Prowl. Wheeljack whipped it up the other day.” Prowl: I’ve got to have a talk with Wheeljack.” Second and third screenshots from Robots in Disguise #3. Panel 1: Bumblebee frowns at Prowl. “Enough! Prowl—shut up. Metalhawk has a point.” Panel 2: Prowl looks furious. Bumblebee is holding him back from lunging at someone off-panel. Prowl: “Bad move…” Bumblebee: “Down, Prowl.” End ID.]

I don’t have much to say about these scenes, except that I like them as an illustration of their dynamic in this part of the story. Cold, confrontational, and yet with a degree of familiarity I would’ve thought more fitting to a much older connection. I really can’t imagine the Prowl from half a million years ago, talking at Bumblebee about the folly of their commander, allowing himself to be held back and calmly talked down. Through their work together, something is developing that we might almost mistake for genuine friendship.

[ID: Screenshot from Robots in Disguise #4. Arcee: “Come on. I know you didn’t destroy it. You’re not that hard. But you are cold and calculating. Enough that even Bumblebee—even your only friend—thinks you might’ve.” Arcee: “Bee won’t say it. But you know that’s what he’s thinking.” Prowl: “It doesn’t bother me. Bee doubts everything. Even himself.” End ID.]

“Even Bee—even your only friend—thinks you might’ve.”

“Bee doubts everything. Even himself.”

The same phrase is used twice in the conversation to distinguish Bumblebee as an outlier (not the superpower kind, though maybe his ability to tolerate the Worst People should be considered). For Arcee, it’s in his proximity to Prowl. Prowl’s use of the phrase is a little more ambiguous, though. Is he saying that one should have faith in oneself if nothing else? It definitely fits in his worldview. Or is he saying Bumblebee is worthy of being trusted, believed in?

If so, what does that mean? Bumblebee would take Prowl’s endorsement as faith in his abilities as a leader, but we already know Prowl doesn’t view leadership that way. He needs to get an Autobot elected, and Bumblebee specifically, because he needs someone in power he can get close to and control. Bumblebee’s leadership, though perhaps not Bumblebee himself, offers Cybertron a path towards peace. So, actually, Arcee and Prowl mean the same thing: Bumblebee is special because he’s the person Prowl is closest to.

This is also the first indication we get that Bumblebee does not trust Prowl so fully as Prowl wants. As sneaky as Prowl is, it’s easy to forget sometimes that Bumblebee is his own agent with his own ability to measure the facts. He wants to trust Prowl, but that doesn’t blind him to Prowl’s reputation.

[ID: Screenshot from Robots in Disguise #5. Ironhide and Prowl cluster around Bumblebee, who looks contemplative. Prowl: “Think about what they’re say about you in the future, Bee! The Autobot that let the Decepticons go free?!” Ironhide: “He’s right—a little. Think about what the future can be. Cybertron’s our world,and tomorrow’s our day…” End ID.]

We get to see more of Bumblebee soon after, since Prowl gets cerebroshelled. Bomb-Prowl is much more ruthless than the genuine article, expressing little care for the lives of any Cybertronians, but nobody notices it around Prowl’s standard prickly persona. Bumblebee experiences growing unease with Bomb-Prowl’s methods, though interestingly does not dismiss him for it. Consider the above scene: a fight has just broken out. To resolve it, Ironhide, Starscream, and Ironhide recommend removing the Decepticons’ ID chips. Prowl is the sole voice of dissent, and Bumblebee chooses to ignore him while also maintaining their partnership.

Bumblebee can think for himself and say no to Prowl. This situation is not just Prowl manipulating and taking advantage of Bumblebee: the latter is fully capable of making his own decisions.

[ID: Screenshot from Robots in Disguise #11. Bumblebee stands on the left and Prowl on the right. Bumblebee: “Am I wearing blinders because you’re my friend? Are you even my friend?” End ID.]

When Omega Supreme is attacked, Bomb-Prowl accuses the Decepticons, opening himself up for scrutiny: Metalhawk accuses him of killing Ratbat. Bumblebee starts to express his doubts openly and he questions not only Prowl’s innocence, but their relationship altogether. (Also, though literally Bumblebee is asking, “Can I consider you, Prowl, a friend?” his question can also be read as, “Are you who you say you are?”)

Bumblebee’s question doesn’t imply he trusts Prowl. He doesn’t even trust himself: he’s wondering if their friendship has installed in him an implicit bias in Prowl’s favor. There is a possibility his feelings regarding Prowl are strong enough to warp his perception of reality, and he’s worried that he can’t see what's obvious to everyone else. In contrast to previous leaders Prowl has watched over, Bumblebee is aware of his ability and willingness to manipulate those around him. He’s not under any illusion that Prowl is honest with him all the time, but he also isn’t confident enough in himself to remove Prowl’s influence.

[ID: Screenshot from Robots in Disguise #11. Bumblebee: “Then I want to get back to finding Ironhide and the others, because he’s my friend and friends look out for each other.” End ID.]

There is also the matter that he does consider Prowl a friend. Not a good friend (as in caring, respectful, thoughtful), but nevertheless one he does not want to lose.

[ID: Screenshot from Robots in Disguise #14. Panel 1: Bumblebee shoves Metalhawk aside and reaches for Prowl, who is collapsing to the floor. Bumblebee: “Prowl—I—” Panel 2: Prowl lies on the floor. Prowl: “Bee�� it wasn’t… wasn’t me… How could you not… see that?” End ID.]

I think the feeling is mutual. Prowl’s not angry at Bumblebee for falling for the Decepticons’ trap.

He’s hurt that his friend didn’t notice he was gone.

[ID: Screenshot from Robots in Disguise #16. Ironhide helps Prowl up. Prowl: “…I’m me.” Ironhide: “Got too much of an ego ta be anybody else.” Prowl: “I—I needed to hear—” Bumblebee (off-panel): “Later, Prowl…” End ID.]

Their relationship starts to go downhill from here. After breaking free from Devastator, Prowl actually tries to talk about his feelings, and Bumblebee dismisses him. To be fair, there are other things going on that need their attention, but Prowl is never given an opportunity to process what he has been through. Bumblebee, who excels at talking to people and helping them through their problems, never offers a space for Prowl to open up about his experience, and it’s the internalization of his trauma that leads to Prowl’s emotional degeneration through the rest of the series.

[ID: Screenshot from Robots in Disguise #18. Panel 1: Bumblebee hunches over his cane, struggling to stand. Bumblebee: “It’s *kaff*… Well, I don’t want to know *kaff kaff* what’s going on in his mind, but… Prowl didn’t do any of the *koff* terrible stuff.” Panel 2: Bumblebee stands in front of Prowl, facing the reader. Bumblebee: “He was *kaff* being controlled by Bombshell. I mean obviously he didn’t *koff* kill you guys—he didn’t blow up the Decepticon pen. He *kaff kaff* wasn’t running a secret war. He didn’t *koff* have Ratbat eliminated.” End ID.]

I don’t think Bumblebee is being intentionally malicious, though. Consider all the times Prowl has had to say outright that he feels things and has emotions: I think it’s more accurate to say Bumblebee didn’t believe him. The doubts he felt about Prowl were never with regard to his intentions, but rather the way he interacted with and understood the world around him. Bumblebee, going by the reputation Prowl made for himself, doesn’t believe Prowl processes events the same way he does, and as a result falsely assume that his mind control and forced combination will have no greater impact on Prowl.

And then even Bumblebee’s faith in Prowl’s intentions is shaken when Arcee reveals he did call for Ratbat’s assassination. Bumblebee is so betrayed he passes out.

[ID: Screenshot from Robots in Disguise #18. Panel 1: Ironhide grins to the side while Bumblebee holds a fist to his mouth, coughing. Ironhide: “Aw. An’ everything was goin’ so well…” Bumblebee: “Prowl. Why—what—*kof kofff* *koff kaf*” Panel 2: Bumblebee’s hand reaches up as he collapses. Bumblebee: “*kaf kaf* Nnnggggh…” End ID.]

The next time they interact is in Dark Cybertron. Getting close to the end, here!

[ID: First screenshot from More Than Meets the Eye #23. Bumblebee points his gun up to the off-panel Titan. Prowl stands beside him. Bumblebee: “What?!” Prowl: “You talked a good game with the Dinobots. But you need to act, too. When you were in charge of the city, you were paralyzed.” Second screenshot from Robots in Disguise #23. Panel 1: Prowl, yelling: “You’re hesitating again! Look at us! We’re teaming up with the enemy and letting Starscream do whatever he wants?!” Panel 2: Bumblebee, with a steadying hand out, stands in front of Soundwave. Bumblebee: “Prowl, shut up for once. All your attitude ever got us was… was the Constructicons.” Soundwave: “The Constructicons stand with you?” Bumblebee: “Long story, Soundwave. And this isn’t a team up. We just happen to have the same objective.” Panel 3: Prowl points at Soundwave. “Then do something! Don’t just let this—this—Decepticon control you!” End ID. Third screenshot from Robots in Disguise #23. Prowl holds up a struggling Arcee while yelling at Bumblebee. Prowl: “You let this happen, Bee! We attack now!” Bumblebee: “Prowl, get your priorities in order—” End ID.]

Evidence of Prowl’s trauma starts to become more visible. The comradery they shared before is gone; Prowl’s methodical approach to problems is gone. Instead, he is scared and impulsive, and he takes out his new anxieties on his “only friend” because Bee is the one thing he’s supposed to be able to control.

[ID: Screenshot from Robots in Disguise #26. Panel 1: Bumblebee and Prowl stand amidst flaming wreckage. Hound (off-panel): “Where’s Megatron?” Bumblebee: “He’s… I think he’s gone. He took the thumb and ran.” Prowl: “Dammit. You should have never done back for him, Bee.” Panel 2: Bumblebee grabs Prowl’s neck. Bumblebee: “Prowl, you smug piece of—” Prowl: “Uk!” Panel 3: Bumblebee releases Prowl. Bumblebee: “I’ve had enough of your self-righteous second-guessing…” End ID.”

But he can’t. Bumblebee has gotten used to ignoring Prowl or refuting him. Add to that Prowl’s heightened emotional state, and Bumblebee responds to his criticism with open aggression. Stuck in crisis mode like they are, there is no way for them to reset and calm down until the Titan is finally taken down and everything comes to a standstill for a moment.

[ID: Screenshot from More Than Meets the Eye #27. Prowl leans close to Bumblebee, gesturing to his head. The Constructicons linger in the background. Bumblebee: “Oh, good. I was hoping your friends would could out of hiding.” Prowl: “They weren’t—I mean, they’re not—They just shared my memories. The Decepticons exploited my—my—my head!” End ID.]

And with this, we cycle back to their first conversation in Robots in Disguise. Before, Bumblebee used the word “friends” to criticize Prowl’s Decepticon enforcers and the freedom they were granted to terrorize the neutrals. Prowl, known to circumvent the chain of command, decided to forgo it almost entirely in that case, creating a violent, lawless group that did not fit into the military structure the Autobots still relied on.

Now, he uses “friend” to refer to the enthusiasm the Constructicons have for Prowl. Prowl’s deceit has been brought into the open, legitimizing Bumblebee’s fears and forcing him to question all over again his role as a leader. The doubts he had in himself and Prowl are tied together, so that even with the knowledge that everything that happened to Prowl was out of his control, he still feels threatened by the Decepticon presence Prowl now carries with him.

And even though he’s met with this kind of hostility, Prowl still comes back to Bumblebee to continue work as his advisor. He’s got a group of bots literally right there who trust him and support him without reservation, but he chooses Bumblebee because he still believes in their power to do right by Cybertron.

[ID: Screenshot from More Than Meets the Eye #27. Prowl stands on the left, Bumblebee on the right. Prowl: “Bee—we stopped his plan, but Shockwave is still out there.” Bumblebee: I know, and you’re totally right, and anything less than a perfect attack plan and we’re sunk—so I need you to come up with one. In the meantime—mingle. There has to be somebody you want to say ‘hi’ to.” Prowl: “Actually…” End ID.]

This is the last time they talk to each other. Prowl reminds him of the impending danger, Bumblebee is grateful for his expertise, and then he encourages Prowl to go relax. There’s something to be said for the fact that upon leaving Bumblebee’s side, Prowl immediately seeks out his ex, but I think it’s mainly just that he’s lonely rather than anything nefarious. He’s lonely, and despite their distrust and criticism and generally poor treatment of each other, Bumblebee is someone who accepts his company, a rare thing that’s he’s going to lose very soon.

When I first read the words “best friend,” I assumed Prowl was lying. I also assumed, even if that was true, it would not hold in the reverse. I think I’ve changed my mind on both counts. Prowl didn’t pursue Bumblebee with genuine intentions, but they both ended up getting something out of it. It’s not a healthy relationship, but at a tumultuous time in their lives it might literally be the best they can do and in their own ways, they trust they’re going to look out for each other.

[ID: Screenshot from Robots in Disguise #18. Bumblebee, with his cane, leans on Prowl as they leave the ruins of Iacon. Their plating bears obvious damage, and ash and dust float through the air around them. End ID.]

[baebeyza]

"For you, always" aka my Transformers Oblivion AU

Doing more and even less effective promotion for my MegOP fic by talking about what inspired the fic in the first place - The RPG The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion! <3

I just wanna point out what beats and plot points are from the game, what I added and what I left out, that kinda stuff :D

Say GO! (Will include spoilers up to chapter 19)

I could start by saying what the game is about, but that would take too long, so I will simply get to that when explaining everything else.

First, what characters are inspired by the game?

Some of the characters are directly inspired by characters of the game, some are not, so let us start with those who are!

1. Megatron - Player/Hero of Kvatch

Oblivion is an RPG, meaning you, the player, are part of the story, a role I gave Megatron.

Just how Megatron starts the story as a prisoner having a strange dream, so do you when you play the game.

A lot of people told me that they love the personality I gave Megatron here, and that is half-inspired by his personality in the Prime Wars Trilogy (since he is the hero in that story too), as well as the way I myself imagine the Hero of Kvatch/player character to be like.

There is one big change I made within the story, and that is how the player and Megatron differ in their place within the world.

In the game, you as the player don't know the world, and the world doesn't know you. Which makes sense, since it's an open world RPG that wants you to explore everything.

But since this fic isn't an RPG, I decided that Megatron should have an already established role within the world. So he got an explicit past as a crime lord, and other characters recognize him as such.

2. Optimus - Martin Septim

Just like in the fic, it is the task of the Player to find the only person who can fix the upcoming Apocalpyse. In the game, it is the bastard son of the late Emperor, who never knew of his heritage.

It was the scene in which the Player goes to the first destroyed town to save Martin, and Martin refuses to come until everyone is saved that made me want to write this fic. I fell in love with this character instantly.

The role Optimus and Martin have is practically the same - Only they can use the one powerful object to defeat the world-destroying threat.

The one difference between them is their age. Optimus is referred to as being young a lot of times, while Martin is probably in his late 30s. This change does bring a lot of differences in personality with it.

Optimus is stubborn, totally willing to flirt and make dirty jokes, and makes hasty decisions.

Martin is never seen like this and is more wise and mature. But what I did keep in mind is that Martin is said to have been the equivilent of a demon-worshipper in his own funky past, the demon god in question being the slutty god, so there is that :D

But overall, the heroism and compassion should be the same between the two characters, and I do hope to catch the soft dynamic for MegOP that you get between yourself and Martin.

2. Alpha Trion - Emperor Uriel Septim

I was torn between using Trion or Sentinel for this role, but decided to go with Trion as a character who is generally viewed as a good person compared to Sentinel.

Since he is only in one chapter, he is hardly different than his game counterpart, Uriel Septim.

3. Ultra Magnus - Baurus

Just like in the fic, Uriel Septim has three bodyguards at the beginning and two of them die while the third one comes back later into story. That is Baurus in Oblivion, and I gave that role to Ultra Magnus.

Baurus is the one guy who decides to let you help, and who you speak to after the Emperor dies.

I wasn't that invested in the game details when writing the story, so I was pleasantly surprised to read that Baurus took the death of his emperor personal and blames himself for not being able to save him, which is why he is very protective towards Martin.

That is exactly how I wrote Ultra Magnus :')

4. Kup - Jauffre jam

Like in the fic, Jauffre is the person you are sent to first, who you give the magical object to and who tells you where to find Martin.

While they serve the same role, they don't have the same personality. I went with Kup's personality from G1, the grumpy old dad vibe, while Jauffre is more a sweet old grandpa.

5. Unicron - Mehrunes Dagon

As said, Oblivion is about a world-destroying threat, and it comes from the Daedric Prince of Destruction, Mehrunes Dagon. (note: Daedra are immortal beings from another dimension and their Princes are practically gods)

Mehrunes Dagon himself hardly features into the story as a character, and neither does Unicron.

6. Sideways - Mankar Camoran

Since the big guy ain't an actual character in the story, the game used a mortal worshipper and his evil cult as the bad guy. I personally don't give a single fuck about the bad guy and I don't even know if I spelled his name correctly.

The reason I chose Sideways for this is because it would be a perfect fit for the role!

But during writing I ran up to the problem of having no feel for either Camoran or Sideways, so I apologize if he feels a bit stiff or uninspired!

That about covers the characters lifted straight from the games!

Next up, some concepts!

1. The Matrix - The Amulet of Kings

In the game the threat comes from portals to the Dimension of Oblivion, the place the Daedra come from. Why do they appear? Because the mortal world is usually protected with a magical barrier that is held up by the dragon fires. Why aren't the dragon fires lit? Because it takes a person from the Septim bloodline to light them with the Amulet of Kings.

That is why the bad guys kill the Emperor and his sons in the game, and why Martin is the only one who can save the world.

Now, coming up with a way to translate the whole "this is my bastard son" thingy from the game was a bit difficult, and I had to come up with a reason why Optimus was the one to wear the Matrix and why Alpha Trion knew of it.

I guess it makes sense.

The one thing I added was a reason why Megatron should hand the matrix over to Kup so it can be stolen later. The game doesn't tell you why you have to hand over the Amulet except for it to get stolen later xD

2. The portals

As said, in the game, the portals lead to another dimension. The daedra are coming through them the destroy everything, because thats what they do.

I took some inspiration from TFP for this and came up with my own role for the portals.

3. Kalis - Kvatch

The town you find Martin in is called Kvatch, and the title "Hero of Kvatch" for the player comes from saving the town. When thinking for town names, I just went to TFwiki section town names and chose one that started with K.

4. Iacon - The Imperial City

The Imperial City is the capital of Cyrodiil (the country the games takes place in) and the place where the Emperor lives. In the fic, it is where the Prime lives.

However, unlike the fic, The Imperial City doesn't have a section full of criminals and unfortunate people-

5. Siege Engine

The Siege Engine is something that appears in the dream you start the game with, showing the danger.

In the game, the town that gets destroyed with the Siege Engine is Kvatch - The town you find Martin in.

I changed this because at the time of writing, I forgot about this detail. So instead, Downtown Iacon got to be destroyed! :D And I think it served me well to have that happen on-screen after some nice escape story, instead of having that happen off-screen as it does in the game.

6. The Elite Guard - The Blades

The Blades in the game are the organisation tasked with protecting the Emperor.

Normal guards, as referred to in the fic, are just the guards you find in the game who yell "You violated the law!" when you violate the law.

All the politics about guards and the Elite Guard and all that is my own creation to get more juicy drama.

7. Mysterium Maximo - Mysterium Xarxes

It's a book in the game, and I made it a puzzle box in the fic and slightly changed the name, inspired by Liege Maximo because I assumed Xarxes was a name. I am not sure if that is the case.

8. Red datapads - Mythic Dawn Commentaries

In the game, you have to find these four different books with which you can find out where the evil cult meeting is.

I made up my own story about how the heroes aquire them and how they work in the end, though.

That about covers most of the things that are lifted straight from the game - Let us get to the things that aren't!

1. Pyra Magna

A character who is very critical towards the system and Martin doesn't exist in the game.

The reason I added someone like her ties in with the changes to Megatron - Since he is a known criminal and everyone knows that, I thought it would add some needed drama to have someone actively challenge that.

I had some trouble deciding on which TF character I should choose for such role though.

My first idea was Prowl, but I didn't read the id/w comics and didn't want to write someone based on fandom knowledge alone.

Other characters I had thought of were Dinobot, Blacker or Depth Charge.

In the end, I decided on Victorion from Prime Wars, but took Pyra Magna as a single person instead of the Combiner.

I was told by a friend that Pyra Magna in the comics isn't hot-headed, but Victorion in Prime Wars is, so that is where that is coming from.

2. Arcee and Greenlight

They are more minor characters in the story. They techincally are from the game, but the other monks in Jauffre's priory don't actually have much to say.

The reason I chose those two is that I have two friends who love GreenCee and I wanted to do something nice <3

3. Strongarm

I decided on her on the whim while writing, and she was supposed to die alongside Inferno and Bulkhead. However, I liked her interactions with Megatron so much that I decided to let her live :D

And I do plan on bringing her back as main character!

4. Overlord

Oh boy! The bad bitch himself. At some point I had decided that I want a team of main players for this story, and I had Optimus, Megatron, Ultra Magnus and Pyra Magna, and asked myself: Can I add another Decepticon character???

And so I tried to think of a Decepticon and I can get into this, and I kinda stuck with Overlord.

My first idea was to write his version from Masterforce who is very kind, respectful and loving of his minions. The idea was for him to join the team after his henchmen get killed.

But then I thought that I wanted a story of a complete evil ass to join the good side, simply because I thought that would be more exciting and add more drama.

So, I decided to keep Overlord, but write him like is Prime Wars version! :D

Still added a little nudge to Masterforce by mentioning Hydra and Buster as his minions :) As well as add Blackzarak, another Masterforce character.

5. Thunderblast

I wanted another lady in the good guy team, and had initially chosen Arcee to become more important.

However, I couldn't figure out how Arcee would fit in with the others and what kind of dynamics she'd had, so I decided to scratch her after all.

Instead, I thought why not add another Decepticon? And because I didn't want to replace a girl with a guy, I wanted a female Decepticon. And the one I personally like the most and thought would be most fun to write was Thunderblast!

I would have used her japanese name, but I already had the Autobot Chromia die in chapter 1, so the english Thunderblast it was xD

6. Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge, Nightbird

They are all part of my decision to give Megatron a solid backstory.

I thought I could add some more Unicron-related characters and added Nightbird as a plot-device. Also, I do love me the idea of Galvatron and Megatron as brothers and was glad I got to write it here UvU

7. Hot Rod

I really loved Rodimus Cron in Prime Wars, so I wanted to add him into it! That is all there is to him, really

So much to characters, what about the plot?

Let's get into it-

Chapter 1 - First Quest

Chapter one is very close to the game. How it starts, the annoying prisoner from across floors talking shit, the three bodyguards, the ruler recognizing you, all that.

Plotwise, this chapter doesn't differ much from the game, apart from dialogue changes. Uriel Septim talks more about the gods and asks you RPG elements.

The final talk between Megatron and Ultra Magnus at the end is also different from how the player and Baurus interact. Ultra Magnus shows more frustration and active distrust towards Megatron for the simple reason that he acknowledges the fact that Megs is a criminal.

Chapter 2 and 3 - Second and Third Quest

I added a lot of "in-between" stuff that isn't technically part of the story in the game. What Megatron did during his journeys, for example, or his interactions with Arcee and Greenlight in the temple.

I added Arcee and Greenlight as his companions, but the player character travels to Kvatch on his own.

I also added the optional quest of freeing the town from the monsters as a sidenote.

Chapter 4-9 - Fourth Quest

Here we are getting to big stuff-

1. Again, I added the whole logisticial part of journeying to places, giving Megatron and Optimus time to bond.

2. Ultra Magnus appears here, while Baurus in the game re-appears later for the 5th quest.

3. As you can guess, everything about Pyra Magna is made up.

4. A lot of stuff I added is purely there for character interactions and exposition, as well as keeping up with all the changes to the world and characters I already made, mostly Megatron. If I went with this going only by the plot, you just wouldn't get much of a story - What works in an RPG doesn't translate 1:1 to a written story.

Chapters 10-19: Fifth Quest

1. The biggest change here is that Optimus is part of it. In the game, you are tasked to go to the Imperial City and meet Baurus there (which is where he appears for the first time after the first quest). Martin stays behind with the Blades, and he will remain there for a LONG time.

I decided to bring Optimus along though, simply so he has more screentime - Again, Martin staying at one place and you doing all the quests worked for the game, but it makes a horrible story for the love interest to just rarely ever be there.

2. Technically, the plot of the 5th quest ends after that cult meet-up. I the game, you steal the Mysterium Xarxes, and that's it.

So everything after chapter 10 is my own addition.

So much about that :D ~

And to end it off, a few lists of references to the game or minor details:

1. Overlord's gladiator ring is a reference to the Arena in the game. It is not part of the main quest, but you can enter the Arena and become it's champion

2. As I hinted to earlier, Starscream is technically inspired by a character in the game, but I forgot his name. When you start a new game, there is always another prisoner across of you talking shit about you.

3. Forgot to mention this before - Optimus starts as a priest because Martin is a priest.

4. I had friends tell me that my OTP Megatron/Magnus bleeds through xD

5. If you ever thought I am laying it thick with the believe in Primus- It doesn't hold a candle to the weight the gods (mostly the main boss Akatosh) has over the story in the game.

6. Some dialogue's are based on dialogue from the game.

Chapter 1 - Alpha Trion: "You are the one from my dream." This is meme-level in the TES fandom

Chapter 2 - Optimus: "I always believed in Primus’ mercy, but after this night of nothing but horror, I wonder if he had enough of us." This is a ref to something Martin says: "I'm having trouble understanding the gods right now. If all this is part of a divine plan, I'm not sure I want to have anything to do with it."

Chapter 4 - Ultra Magnus: “I promise you by my name and honour, no creature will take your life as long as I draw breath!” Baurus says this to Martin when you listen in to their conversations

Optimus: "I put myself into your hands." He says this to Ultra Magnus, but in the game, Martin says it to the player

Chapter 12 - Ultra Magnus: "...don't defile my corpse." Okay, this one isn't a reference to Oblivion, but to the previous game in the franchise, Morrowind. I censored it though - In the game, there is a quest in which you have to taunt a monster into attacking you, and when you succeed, it says: "After I kill you, I will rape your corpse." Not all PG in these games :/

That would be it! <3 Cya!

[fandomoverdrive]

Okay I just need to go on a rant about Whirl because I love him he might just be the most tragic character in the entirety of MTMTE and considering the candidates that’s a pretty hard position to cinch. Some of this is gonna have mentions re: self harm, suicidal tendencies/ideation, overall bad coping mechanisms etc so if that’s not your cuppa please scroll on. 

This gets long so here’s the obligatory read more. 

Let’s write “tragic” in flickering neon letters with the fact that Whirl’s first appearance in MTMTE, dropping the titular “how to say goodbye and mean it,” is a personal soliloquy delivered as he’s in the midst of constructing his own funeral pyre. Whirl is lost, directionless, trapped and unwilling to be such in a postwar environment. But how did we get here? 

Whirl is without a doubt a driven character. In the prewar functionist society, he had no qualms switching careers, risks be damned. Whether he’s always had a knack for disobeying authority or was simply driven by passion or both isn’t elaborated on, but he’s got a hell of a hardheaded streak that’s impossible to ignore. When destroying his business wasn’t enough to deter him from further rebellion, the Senate was happy to turn him into an empuratee and destroy not only the opportunity but the capability of continuing to rebel by pursuing his passion. This is what I’d personally consider the big ‘whump’ moment, less so the use and abuse as a pawn that followed but the point of trauma at which we begin to see Whirl’s psyche begin to twist.

From this point forward we see Whirl in and out of prison, let loose when he can be useful to someone else’s ploy and otherwise incarcerated for a buffet of offenses. No longer able to be constructive and having little if any control of his life, Whirl becomes aggressively destructive. In response to having everything he aspired toward ripped away from him, permanently, he builds a mental defense of bitterness and anger and paves over his black hole of self worth with a veneer of outright assholery. It’s here that he bares his metaphorical fangs and pushes - with gusto - anyone who might even suggest they’re trying to appeal to reason or get close to him as an individual. 

It’s hard to imagine, given even subtly different circumstances, that Whirl would not side with the decepticons for the war. While he’s single-handedly responsible for radicalizing Megatron towards violence, the ‘con intent at the start of revolution - that movement in society should be possible and a caste system based on alt mode is unethical - aligns quite nicely with what he’d already aspired to do with his life. His conscription to the side of the autobots is just another instance in which his autonomy is cast aside. 

Whirl is a tool. Whirl had a passion for watchmaking, but now he can’t, so his new passion is violence. Whirl is a gun and someone else has always told him where to point and all he’s ever been given for his cooperation is the blame of pulling the trigger. Whirl is an asshole, Whirl is unpredictable, Whirl isn’t a mech anybody would ever think twice about saving - the answer would always be no. Whirl wants to die. Whirl only wants to die on his own terms and he’ll be damned if he’s going to keel over under the orders of someone he doesn’t respect, for a cause he doesn’t believe in. 

A few years of this sort of treatment would be enough to drive anyone insane, let alone the millennia of warfare he suffered through. Worse yet is the one time he found a group, a team that was known for the unorthodox and taking on the big messy challenges, the Wreckers kicked him out. Whirl was too much for the mechs that were too much and there’s no way in hell that doesn’t still sting. 

That’s how we get here:

Whirl defends himself through isolation from others. He can’t be hurt by others if he never lets them close enough to be hurt by. In a hypersocial society, he has no close long-term friends, he is one of the few with no roommate aboard the Lost Light. He made himself as unpalatable as possible. He’s crass, he’s volatile, he makes it clear with every word and action that Whirl is first, you don’t mean anything, I’d leave you for dead in an instant..... But that’s not true, is it? 

Whirl is shown being completely, dramatically, self-destructively caring throughout the series. Between risking his life for the scraplet colony disguised as a protoform, participating in an untested spark jumpstart to save a life, coming up with a plan to rejuvenate Tailgate’s spark, and performing a spark transplant surgery on Megatron - without whom the world would never have been even a fraction as cruel to Whirl as it had been - Whirl is far from the most selfish character in the series. It’s in his nature, however, to deny such, to the point where he more than likely believes his own narrative that he’s irredeemable, self-absorbed, invincible, degenerate, and neither capable nor deserving of close interpersonal relationships. 

It’s also how we get here:

Whirl is one of the characters that we more frequently see in a state of disrepair. He fights passionately and recklessly, with no regard whatsoever to whether or not he makes it out of a scrum with all his limbs intact. Injuries like these, and those that he experiences elsewhere in the series, would put other mechs out of commission through pain alone, but as long as Whirl is conscious he doesn’t stop until the fight is over. 

As depressing as it is to think that Whirl is simply at this point accustomed to extraordinary pain, it’s even moreso to think about the more likely concept that he wants to be hurt. Whirl doesn’t have control of a lot that happens to him, but do you know what he does have control of? Who he chooses to shit-talk. More often than not we see Whirl being blatantly disrespectful of his superiors, and some of the more dangerous mechs aboard the LL. While obviously his intent when insulting Ultra Magnus isn’t to start a fight, harping on Drift (and subsequently getting cold clocked) or Cyclonus is a little more self-destructive in nature. 

While Whirl has been in therapy, we see during the encounter with Fort Max that he’d shared very little of what he actually considered traumatic with Rung. With no material to work with, Rung wouldn’t have been able to give Whirl instructions or advice as far as a healthy coping mechanism, and so I’m firmly of the belief that Whirl goes out of his way to get himself hurt as a way to have a vague sense of control. 

On his actions and guilt:

Whirl is immensely guilty. When he’s overcharged, he admits that everything feels like his fault - and unfortunately a lot is. Whirl believes he’s the bad guy, and he’s willing to take the fall for actions that others might find immoral. There’s a lot Whirl has done that he’ll likely never forgive himself for, even if he garnered the ability to start forgiving himself for the small things, but the character he’s created for himself has been part of him for so long that it’s near impossible to tell where to draw the line between caricature and his genuine self. 

At this point in time, Whirl is not capable of improving himself without external assistance. 

He has accepted (however wrongfully) that he is not cared about, trusted, wanted, or respected. 

His assumptions become self-fulfilling prophecy as he - consciously or not - works to perpetuate his image. Whirl is a dick, he’s unfazed by anything anyone says about him, if someone is insulting him they’re probably right, why bother arguing unless it’s with the intent to get in a fight? He doesn’t pay attention to others, he doesn’t pay attention to himself, nothing that anybody could say could possibly make a difference. 

Right? Right?

Wrong. Part of what makes Whirl so heart-wrenchingly tragic is that it is so incredibly clear that nobody has ever told him he mattered. Rodimus throws out what could be interpreted as a snide remark, “even the crazy bastard makes a difference,” and that aside sticks with him. Millions of years of warfare, of being a tool to use, an expendable soldier, a rabid dog to throw at their enemies, and not once did someone turn around and say he was anything good. He’s been thanked for saving lives, for contributions, for individual acts, but his reaction to Rodimus really cements in my mind that nobody has ever said that he, that Whirl, was important. 

Whirl is a broken character. He’s subsumed by his own self-hatred that he perpetuates and justifies with a mask of cruel indifference and aggressively abrasive snark. He’s alone, by what he thinks is his own choice but is really a horribly misguided attempt to keep himself safe. He’s got no potential for growth unless someone wants to force their way through his defenses in order to help him find the line between who he is and who he pretends to be in order to keep from being hurt. Whirl is terrified of abandonment, and guarantees that nobody will ever be able to leave him by never letting them come close to begin with. He’s not a good person, he’s violent and callous and has little regard for the consequences of his actions, but he is that way because of the life he was forced to lead. He falls into consistent patterns because he craves control, even if those patterns are self destructive. It’s proof of the little growth he was allowed during the course of MTMTE/LL that after their quest was over, he didn’t attempt suicide again but instead got into the revolving door of incarceration for petty offenses. 

All in all, Whirl is one of the saddest characters in any media I’ve consumed and please someone get this despicable bastard helicopter a new therapist and a stiff drink 

[artsy-hobbitses]

If you want, could you please tell us more about Windscream in your world?? I’m sorry but your version of it is one of my favorite ships in the world. I could just evaporate of joy looking at your drawings and writings and I wanna know more of the story behind them, if you’re willing to share.

Shsjdddf DO I EVER I’d talk all day long about them given a chance, you’re in good company!

So things to take note of;

- They meet much earlier in TTB, some time near the end of the war rather than post-war.

- The power dynamic is a little more balanced: Windblade is not an ingenue, rather, she actually has political experience from being a small-time district representative on Caminus. The issue is that earth’s political playing field is so much more toxic than she’d wagered it would be (Caminus is a lot more utopian) and she’s got to decide whether she wants to roll with the pigs in the mud or stay true to herself.

- Initially, she’s put into a position that is directly clashing with Starscream, as the Autobots’ Head of Outreach, which means she’s in charge of building diplomacy between the ‘Bots and communities either aligned to them or non-alligned. Trying to win over the non-aligned communities is where she and Starscream cross paths.

- She ends up being the one supporting Starscream’s desire to leave the Decepticons and strike out in his own (This after she’s privy to how badly he was treated by Megatron while he was there—-via Starscream’s ‘worst nightmare’ taking the shape of Megatron—-and while Starscream likes to brush it off as him and Megatron just being toxic for each other and him being his power-hungry self not knowing when to stop lipping off to the man, she asserts that no one deserves to be hurt the way he was).

- Despite her anguish later at having uncovered the extent of Starscream’s crimes, she trusts him to do the right thing and he does, in confessing to them openly. And even when he’s in prison, he makes it clear that he doesn’t really blame her for anything (he says it actually feels a little liberating), and she promises to visit him for weekly chess games.

- And when he seemingly breaks out of prison and rejoins the Decepticons, going against everything he promised her, she’s the one who knows from tell-tale signs he leaves behind that Something Is Up. He trusts her to know him better than anyone else at this point (and to know when he isn’t being ‘himself’) and she’s the only one of the Autobots who initially believes that there’s a lot more to him rejoining the Decepticons than it seems/that he’s not just being the usual lying, manipulative scum they believe him to be.

- Which turns out to be true when it’s revealed that with Shockwave having ‘gotten rid’ of Megatron and breaking him out of prison to gang-press him into taking up the role as the Decepticons’ new figurehead, he’s actually playing a double agent trying to uncover what Shockwave’s plans are (and who Shockwave seemingly has an agent on the Autobot side, because Shockwave does insinuate that if Starscream made things hard for him because of a little bird on the Autobots’ side having gotten into his head, then he had someone close to the little bird who would take care of the problem). He ends up trading crucial information with Windblade when they clash on the field (and pretend to despise each other again) which becomes integral to saving Prime’s life from a traitor.

Other random bits of non-story info:


- Starscream teaches Windblade to dance. After teasing her about her not knowing how to, despite growing up on Caminus where performing arts was a huge thing, and she says she knows how to dance, just with swords, not with people.

- Whole-ass Way of the Househusband shit going down this lane at 120kmph, he’s the one dealing with PTA meetings, doing most of cooking and sometimes you’ll catch him driving to her office like he’s about to commit a drive-by shooting because she forgot her lunch again god damnit he spent all night making this lasagna too.

- Starscream is not used to Good Touches. At all. So Windblade freely offering them makes him kind of like a cat in her presence at home where he’s just leeeaaaaning in while she working for a pat or a kiss, or sprawled out next to her/on her lap if they’re doing research/reading in bed so she can stroke him. The more intimate stuff is great but it’s these casual, gentle touches that he can’t get enough of.

- Windblade is the one who proposes. Mainly because she knows Starscream is full of himself in many aspects, except for one and that is his relationship with her, in which he’s constantly like “Are you sure...?”. Because are you sure, you, the First Delegate would want to be involved with an ex-con Cold Construct criminal like him? Are you sure he’s worth the trouble the world is going to give her if they were together, like officially? Are you s——shut up and kiss her already.

[nikki-ships]

I had a shittttyyyyyyyy week, so here is NikkixRatchet for coping lol

On AO3, too, if you prefer to read there

Chapter Text

How common is it for Nikki to arrive at the base stressed out?  Ratchet would say it’s pretty common.  Being this stressed, however, is surprising.  The moment she stepped out of her vehicle he could tell something was bothering her.

One might not be able to tell based solely on how she types at her laptop.  Fingers fly over the keyboard as her eyes scan over multiple open documents – both on her laptop and on her phone – and her handwritten notes off to the side.  The only time she stops is to take a sip of her cold-brew coffee.

Ratchet doesn’t intend to bother her.  He’s familiar with the stress of deadlines, even more so with projects being given by utter imbeciles.  Nikki’s complaints about her professor still ring clear in his processor, “She did a shit job of explaining this project, is what she did.  We just found out yesterday that half of the group research paper is due TOMORROW.”  Oh, the ranting and raving that came out of her.  Dare he say it, he doesn’t think he’s ever seen her so livid.  Not even at the face of Megatron – and she does tend to get very angry at him.  He can’t blame her, of course.  Were he able, he would have more than a few choice words for this professor.

Nikki’s hands tremble as they lift off of the keyboard and pluck her earbuds out, leaving them to dangle around her neck; angry music continues to blare out of them.  her shaky breathing does not go unnoticed.

“Is it done?”

She shakes her head, stuttering over her words.  She giggles between them, too, and he’s not sure if it’s a caffeine high or sleep depravity… maybe even a hint of a mental break.  Working on this paper nonstop for the last four and a half hours has left her utterly exhausted.  “I need to take a little break.  Get the space set up for my exam that starts in an hour.”

“You’re working yourself this hard before an exam?”  Ratchet asks, tone incredulous.  Honestly, she’s as bad as he is.

“Did you not hear me before?  The deadline for this paper is tomorrow and we are woefully unprepared.  The work on it can’t be done tomorrow, because I have another exam that I cannot miss studying for during my free time between classes.  It’s been a hell week.”  She takes a moment to rub at her face.  It’s a rare sight, but she’s without makeup today; usually this means she looks like a normal human.  Right now, though, she just looks dead.  “I just want to get this exam over with, cry in the shower, and pass out.”

Without saying anything more, she puts her earbuds back in and starts getting her little work area on the couch set up.  Notes for the paper get put away, replaced now with a textbook and notes.  Normally, Ratchet would scold her for using her textbooks on exams, but she’s so stressed…

It’s a single test, he tells himself.  He’ll let it slide.

Staying focused on his own work proves to be difficult while she’s sitting behind him, keyboard tap tapping once again.  The way she whispered pleas, on the verge of tears, to her screen when her connection glitched and put her behind five minutes when starting the exam somehow made him anxious.  It doesn’t make sense.  Her grades and these classes have no effect on him.

But the do have an effect on her mental health, which is already so fragile right now.  That he does care about.

Despite what she said about wanting to cry in a shower and pass out after the exam, though, she gets right back to finishing her essay once it’s over.  Ratchet heaves a sigh, muttering that he’ll be back shortly.  She didn’t hear him leave, and she didn’t hear when he came back.

The click of her laptop closing rings though the base upon his return, her trembling sigh of relief not far behind.  Seconds later, tears are pouring down her face.  Tears of stress and relief roll off her cheeks as she shakes almost violently.  She initially flinches when a weight presses against her back, but she doesn’t hesitate to lean into it.

Nikki doesn’t know when the paper bag containing chicken nuggets found its way into her lap, now where it came from, but it doesn’t stop her from stuffing them in her mouth.  Little morsels of serotonin.

They taste like victory, but also make her stomach roll in a most unpleasant way.

Ratchet’s relieved to see her eat something, though.  Seeing her sipping on the water he put next to her is a small victory of his own.  He watched her slam back more coffee than she normally consumes in a month just today.  He hadn’t though about it before, but the coffee was all he’d seen her consume today.  It was about time she actually eat.

Once Nikki’s done crying all she can, she’s completely exhausted.  There’s no way she’ll be able to drive home in this state, and if she’s honest she really doesn’t want to.  She doesn’t want to be alone right now.  Bleary eyes look up at the Autobot medic, a silent request for comfort and affection.  He rolls his optics, thinking about how far behind he already is in his projects.

But he does not refuse.

Nikki sleeps restlessly on his chassis, kept still only by the weight of his servo resting over her like a weighted blanket.  He watches her silently, thinking back to how concerned he’s been for her all day.  Her stress levels were well above what they normally are, which is still pretty high.  No study breaks, and if it weren’t for him she wouldn’t have eaten today at all.  How could she live like this?

And then it all clicks.

She’s lived like this a lot, she isn’t shy about saying so.  Nikki knows what negative effects high levels of stress and low levels of sustenance can have on the human body; she experiences them time and time again for various reasons.  Maybe… that’s why she fusses over him the way she does.  She knows that she sometimes needs help taking care of herself when she’s overworked.  In her eyes, he probably isn’t any different.

[the-odd-job]

Close Your Eyes to This Disaster Chapter 1: The Jolly Sound of Chiming Bells...

Rating: Explicit Warnings: Chose Not to Use, Rape/Non-Con Category: Other Fandom: Transformers G1 Relationships: Megatron/Sunstreaker, Megatron/Sideswipe, Sideswipe & Sunstreaker Characters: Sunstreaker, Megatron, Sideswipe Additional Tags: Dubcon, Sticky, Abusive Relationships, Mind Games, Manipulation, Gaslighting, Canon-Typical Violence Words: 7812

It isn't so much his past catching up with him as it is returning to him with a lover’s embrace, but with who that lover is, Sunstreaker isn’t sure that is any more preferable. Now would be the perfect time for a firm “no”.

The expectant thrum of the crowd was deafening even before the fight had begun. Bright lights beamed down on the rusty arena floor, and on Sunstreaker.

As well as his opponent, of course, but by the end of this, no one would remember his opponent. The only one on their minds would be Sunstreaker, that much he promised himself. Let his performance speak for itself and burn his name into their memories.

Not that he didn’t already have a reputation, and not that it would do him any good to get ahead of himself and cocky. This wasn’t for practice, this wasn’t for fun, and this wasn’t intended to be a mismatched fight. The stakes were real, and the loser?

The loser would die.

Sunstreaker gripped his sword just that bit tighter when that thought only managed to excite him further, staring down the mech he was pitted against this time, and having the same done to him. They sized each other up with bloody intent, until…

Until the ring of a bell was transmitted into their comms, passing the noise of the spectators, and the fight began by the grace of that signal.

Focus, pain, and focus through pain. It looked like they were as evenly matched as they were meant to be, that neither could quite get ahead. The exhilaration of being one mistake away from losing his life to a worthy foe pulsed in his lines as they clashed. Metal screeched as it was torn through, sparks flew into the air, broken wiring crackled, energon spilled. It was everything it should be: a violent show for an audience that was thirsty for bloodshed and death, as well as a true challenge for him with his very life on the line. He could scarcely hear his own thoughts over the cheer, holler, and stomping of the crowds, only getting progressively louder with every brutally delivered injury.

But in the end, it was Sunstreaker, bleeding and broken but alive, that stood over the greying husk of his opponent. His vents ran ragged, fans stuttered from how many of them had been damaged, he hurt–

But he was on his pedes and his spark still rotated in its casing.

He thrust his sword into the air to the loud and enthusiastic approval of those that had witnessed his victory, letting the feeling of it sink into him–

Before he turned and left the Pit floor to give someone else the chance to test their mettle.

Sideswipe peeled himself from the wall he had been leaning against when Sunstreaker walked through the gate that opened to let him into the arena’s underbelly, and together they would have set down the dim, dirty, winding corridors towards the medical bay, had there not been an… Obstruction in their way. Sunstreaker’s helm tilted back, far back as he met the piercing red gaze of one champion.

Megatronus. Everyone had surely heard of him, seen him fight, but this?

“A fine victory,” the silvery mech commended him with an incline of his helm. Sunstreaker’s lips drew into a smirk, the haughty kind he knew many hated, the kind that made them think he was nothing but full of himself—arrogant, easy to play and take down.

“Were you expecting something less, champion?” he asked, sidestepping to get past the far larger mech. Megatronus merely mirrored his motion, though, still standing in his way.

Sunstreaker’s spark shivered with just the barest hint of irritation as he cocked an optical ridge at the other that, apparently, wasn’t intent on letting him leave just yet. “Was there something you wanted?” he asked mildly.

And like the most awful flirt in the world, Megatronus responded with, “You,” his gaze intense on Sunstreaker. Had to give it to him, he got straight to the point if nothing else, and admittedly that single word brought back some of the excitement of the fight he’d just finished.

Yet Sunstreaker merely snorted and again stepped to the side to move past the obstacle the mech had made himself. “Get in line.”

But again Megatronus moved to block his way. When Sunstreaker frowned, it was no show. Next to the quickening rotation of his spark, there was true annoyance—but indeed, also a flutter of something else. This was Megatronus, a mech of exceeding name and fame, best of the best, powerful to the last.

And he was talking to Sunstreaker. Could he be blamed for finding it a bit… Exciting?

“Go out with me,” Megatronus near purred at him. Sunstreaker blinked in genuine confusion, because certainly this level of courtship shouldn’t have needed to precede the fragging he expected Megatronus was after.

But once he recovered from his momentary surprise… “No,” came Sunstreaker’s response. When Megatronus still wouldn’t allow him to leave, Sunstreaker planted his pedes instead, crossed his arms across his chassis, and glared.

Megatronus beat him to any words. “You will.”

“Really, now?”

“Tomorrow, eighteenth cycle. Beat’s bar. Don’t be late.”

With one last look that roved from Sunstreaker’s helm to his pedes with something akin to approval, Megatronus turned around and simply left. Sunstreaker frowned after him as Sideswipe stepped up to take his place beside him again.

Turned out the champion was a presumptuous asshole. Fancy that.

“Repairs,” Sideswipe noted their need. Sunstreaker shook himself off and together they continued to their intended destination.

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

And yet, he showed up exactly on the eighteenth cycle of the next day, at Beat’s bar. It was loud, dim, and crowded as always, the weight of the hot, stenching air hitting him like a physical force when he stepped through the door. A glance around the establishment, and… There he was. Megatronus, sitting alone at a table, browsing a datapad. Waiting, by all appearances.

Why was he doing this, again? Agreeing to getting ordered around? But he couldn’t deny he was intrigued. A date wasn’t in the usual script. He only wanted to find out what this was about. He could leave any time—tell Megatronus where he could shove it and be done with it.

But for now, his curiosity plagued him and Sunstreaker wove his way through the miners and gladiators to the table Megatronus had claimed, sliding into the seat opposite to him. The silver mech glanced up as he did so, and didn’t look the least bit surprised to see him.

Bastard.

“Punctual,” Megatronus commented, pushing one cube towards him. There was a second one he seemed intent on keeping for himself.

Sunstreaker ignored the cube he was offered, and instead grabbed the other one. The move earned him a raised optical ridge and Sunstreaker couldn’t tell if he imagined the slightest hint of annoyance in the champion’s field, but nothing else came out of it.

“Well, I’m here,” Sunstreaker said after taking his first sip of the sludge that passed as high grade here in the lower decks of Kaon. It was gritty, the taste was as horrid as usual, and it promised to give you one hell of a hangover, but he didn’t know a mech who wouldn’t have been fond of the slag. He didn’t know if Megatronus was any exception, but at the very least the other cube was full of the same stuff and the larger mech went to drink it without hesitation, as he should have. Time to make some demands, then. “Now what the slag do you want?”

“To get to know you, simply,” Megatronus responded, as direct as before.

Sunstreaker raised one artfully crafted optical ridge. “Get to know me? What did I do to deserve a slagging honor like this?”

“Your reputation precedes you. Exquisitely beautiful, but temperamental and dangerous—a rising gladiator no one can claim to be friends with… How does one survive with no allies? Can you fault me for my curiosity?”

“I have a twin. What do I need friends for?”

“Ah, yes, Sideswipe. Quite different from you in his conduct, is he not?”

“I see you’ve done your research.” Sunstreaker leaned back in his seat, cube in hand. Exquisitely beautiful, he said? Well, Sunstreaker wasn’t going to complain about that description. Getting called dangerous by the likes of Megatronus was admittedly gratifying as well, and temperamental… Well, he knew he was. “Should I count you as another one of my stalkers?”

“I know nothing that isn’t out in public,” Megatronus waved his slight accusation away. “And I would rather confirm the truth of matters for myself.”

“Is this just a friendly date, then?”

“Not quite. Should the things I have heard be true, I am… Interested.”

Sunstreaker smirked at the world of suggestion behind those words, setting his cube back onto the table and leaning forward to prop his elbow on the surface, and his chin on his servo. He had the interest of a champion, now? And not just any champion, but Megatronus himself? He had to consider himself flattered. “What if I say the rumors don’t do me any damn justice?”

“Then I would call you even more arrogant than they say you are.”

The twin laughed, tracing the edge of his cube with the tip of his claw. “You’ll have to try harder than that if you want to insult me.”

“Let us talk, then, so that I may learn to insult you properly.”

“Deal.”

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

The twins were already skilled at the art of fighting and learned more every day, and in large part they had trainers to thank for that. They directed sparring with a heavy hand and gave instruction to coach everyone into the best showmech they could become. Sparring without their supervision was fruitful too, of course, not to mention necessary to ingrain it all into their spines until the violence was etched into their very being, so instinctual they didn’t need to question what they could and couldn’t bend their frames to.

Aside from the trainers’ teachings, there was also much to learn from others, when you squared off against them even just with practice in mind. That was all the more true when your opponent was someone more skilled than you were, and when it was Megatronus that offered to train with him? Pit, there was no way Sunstreaker was going to turn that down. Not only for the learning opportunity it was, but also for the status boost sparring with a champion provided.

And not just any champion. The champion, the mech that was talking about a revolution, taking a stand against inequality and the lower castes’ suffering, and fearlessly earning himself as many enemies as he was gaining supporters.

That mech was now sparring with Sunstreaker, and oh boy, they were not matched. The twins were good, they wouldn’t have gotten to the point they had if they weren’t, but they simply were not on the level Megatronus was.

Yet, where Megatronus could’ve simply beaten him over and over again, he instead toned down his own ability and gave Sunstreaker an honest chance to learn. He gave tips, instruction, pointed out when something Sunstreaker did could be improved upon, when he made a mistake—how to correct the mistake. It was unexpected, but far from unwelcome, and Sunstreaker ignored the overlookers they were gaining on the edges of the training ring to instead focus on the spar and only the spar. Sideswipe was among the audience, his optics sharp as he added that frame’s perspective into the mix, giving Sunstreaker a second view of what he was doing. A few times he was quite sure they even managed to catch Megatronus off guard by predicting a move Sunstreaker shouldn’t have seen coming, but that Sideswipe could catch.

But Sunstreaker couldn’t forever ignore his appreciation of Megatronus’ raw skill. The fluidity and speed of his motions even when he held back, the contained strength in everything he did, every shift of heavy plate on the frame that moved so much more smoothly than it had any right to with its sheer size in mind. As both of their systems heated from the exertion, Sunstreaker was sure his optics weren’t the only ones that progressively brightened until there was another reason for why their fans were running high.

That was all confirmed when Megatronus knocked him off his pedes like he had quite a few times already and successfully pinned him before Sunstreaker managed to move out of the way or get himself in a better position, but then, instead of releasing him so they could continue…

He brought a servo up and traced the side of Sunstreaker’s face.

Sunstreaker ignored the way his vents wanted to stutter at the deceptively gentle contact at such odds with what they were doing only seconds ago, and instead raised his optical ridges at the larger mech. “Find me as irresistible as everyone else does, huh?”

Megatronus growled, but there was an undercurrent of amusement to the sound. “Are you opposed?”

Was he? “Can’t say I am.”

“Then let’s take this elsewhere, shall we?”

Sunstreaker arched up, freeing one of his servos only because Megatronus allowed him to and dragging his claws along the larger mech’s seams. “Shy?”

There was another deep growl before Megatronus’ lips descended on his. Sunstreaker laughed into the rough, rough kiss that followed—one that made his lines sing.

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

At first Megatronus’ interest was directed at Sunstreaker and Sunstreaker only, but the more time the veteran gladiator spent in his presence, the more time he also spent in Sideswipe’s presence. As it happened, the twins were never far from each other, and never apart for long. They were drawn to each other as if caught in each other’s gravity wells, incapable of escaping, not to mention unwilling of doing so. They were split-spark. They were one with so much meaning behind that one word.

Of course, a whole-spark like Megatronus wasn’t going to understand that, at least not instantaneously, and the misguided efforts to get some alone time with Sunstreaker grew tiresome very fast.

“Would you like to come back to my room?” was another time Megatronus spoke only to Sunstreaker, giving a look in Sideswipe’s direction that made it clear he wasn’t included in the invitation. Both of the twins gave him matching frowns, and this time Sunstreaker couldn’t not address the matter.

“We’re twins. Split-spark twins,” he stated flatly, “and every time you’re only inviting one frame?”

Megatronus frowned too, clearly and unsurprisingly not really understanding the point.

Or so they thought. “You’re a package deal?” And there Megatronus was, catching onto at least some of it with minimal prompting. It was a pleasant deviation from what they’d expected.

He probably didn’t get it all the way, but whatever. This was a start. “Trust me, threesomes with both of my frames are the best,” Sideswipe leered, then snickered.

“Both of your frames?” Megatronus repeated, but instead of incredulous, he mostly seemed… Fascinated.

The twins shrugged. “One spark. You don’t get two persons out of that.”

Megatronus stayed quiet for a good moment, glancing between them as if he was trying to pick their inner workings apart with his gaze alone. The twins waited him out, curious themselves over where Megatronus’ thoughts were going with this. Usually they were simply dismissed if they tried to explain themselves, others incapable of seeing over the fact they had two frames—or even when some effort was made to understand their nature, it fell flat and the end result was no more enlightened than what was started with.

They didn’t expect much better success from Megatronus, but then it wasn’t as if they needed to be understood for some casual fragging to be perfectly enjoyable. It would just be mighty nice if they weren’t constantly separated because of it.

“There is some difference between your halves,” Megatronus eventually mused. “You don’t act identical to each other. Why is that?”

Most oddly, it didn’t sound like arguing them on how their own goddamn life worked, more just stating an observation—and following it with a presumably genuine question. Did Megatronus actually want to get them? He’d probably fail miserably in that attempt, but what harm was there in humoring him, hm?

“The frames portray different aspects of my spark,” Sideswipe answered. “Think of it like… A split personality or something.”

Sunstreaker added, “The frames have to maintain separate awareness or they wouldn’t be able to function separately, but the spark-halves are tied.”

Again Megatronus stayed quiet for a while, and again when he spoke up it was with observations. “Sparks are emotion and baseline thought,” he stated the basic truth of their race’s life force, then made a good guess, “you share those?”

The brothers nodded their confirmation.

“I never see you argue,” Megatronus went on to note. “Can you argue or disagree?”

Definitely unusually astute and for the life of him Sunstreaker couldn’t say where Megatronus was pulling these not incorrect assumptions from, when he was a whole-spark like almost every damn mech out there, not even bonded as far as they knew, and simply shouldn’t have had any of the basis for understanding them. Not if any of their past experiences were to go by.

Here he was anyway, though. “Can you argue or disagree with yourself?” Sunstreaker asked in return.

Megatronus gave him a shrewd look. “Only in a sense. Not in the way I can argue with another.”

“That’s me,” Sideswipe confirmed. “Not even the frames have different opinions, and my spark doesn’t have two perspectives. The spark is united.”

“You are a strange creature,” Megatronus said after another moment of thoughtful pause. “I doubt I can ever fully understand your experience, but allow me to try.”

They blinked at him, their turn for utter confusion. When had someone even verbally dedicated themselves to understanding them? Never, that’s when.

The confusion was followed by suspicion. “Why do you care?”

“I seek to understand this world,” Megatronus answered. “All parts of it that I can. I will never grow as a person without knowledge.”

“I’m not exactly important in the grand scheme of things,” Sideswipe pointed out. “You won’t gain much by understanding me.”

“You never know. It will provide me with an additional perspective. That, and will I not earn your approval with my genuine interest?”

Sunstreaker huffed. “So that’s your angle? Worm into my good graces?”

“Am I wrong to want that?” Megatronus asked, reaching to trace Sunstreaker’s jawline—but his optics were on Sideswipe, calculating, as if he was thinking about how to do the same to him.

“It’s almost like you want more than a casual fragbuddy.”

“I am curious about you and find you attractive, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Megatronus smirked.

Sunstreaker rolled his optics, but Sideswipe clicked for attention, mischievous and lecherous with the suggestion he made, “How about that threesome, though?”

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

It was a rare treat to leave the lower decks, the areas beneath Cybertron’s surface where all the gutter trash inevitably fell. However, Megatronus took them up after one of his victories which apparently gave him enough credits to splurge just a little. Considering Megatronus had already bought his own freedom despite all odds, he could actually spend the credits he now earned on himself—or on another mech of his choosing, if he was so inclined. The twins barely saw a penny of their winnings, entirely at the whim of their owner.

He should probably count himself lucky Megatronus was choosing to entertain them with his newly found funds. For sure Sunstreaker wasn’t opposed to the change in scenery as they took a transport to wherever exactly Megatronus was taking them—he refused to tell the specifics. The twins could have simply driven, or at very least they assumed they could have, depending on where they were going, but Megatronus’ alt-mode was a little less road suitable. So, transport it was.

It turned out Megatronus led them to a tower, one that the twins couldn’t see to be special in any way, but inside they went all the same. The lights here were far brighter than the twins had come to expect after however long they’d spent in Cybertron’s underbelly, speaking of the fact they weren’t in low class areas anymore. A large portion of the mecha around here were comfortably middle caste.

They had polished themselves well and good, though, so they didn’t particularly stand out and didn’t get that many looks as they walked past the stores and service fronts. Upward they traveled with the help of an elevator, until they were at the highest level of the public areas. From there Megatronus led them back outside, onto a balcony that circled the tower at this level.

They weren’t the only ones around, but that wasn’t what the twins focused on. It was the view that stole their attention. Even through the smog the city was covered in, they could make out the outlines of Kaon’s towers all around them and the lights in their countless windows, breaking through the constant pollution. Above them dirty clouds swelled and rolled, their sickly oranges, yellows, and greens reflecting the city’s lights. Fliers zipped by this high up, the sounds of traffic rising from below instead of coming from around and above.

“Slag,” Sideswipe breathed as he spun in a slow circle to take in it all. Their awe was probably reflected all over their faces and their fields, but they didn’t even care. Megatronus chuckled at them as Sideswipe rushed to the railing next, Sunstreaker on his heels, and together they leaned on it to drink in everything they saw. The smells were different up here, too. There wasn’t the same stench of oil and grime, nevermind that of spilled energon no one bothered to clean, that they were used to in the lower decks and the Pits.

Here there was only the smog.

And Sunstreaker knew exactly what he wanted to do with this. He had another look around to confirm there were benches nearby, then went to plop himself down on one and pulled out his drawing tablet. This he could capture, and would do so with eagerness.

Sideswipe didn’t particularly give a damn, but Megatronus came over to him, curious. “You draw?”

“Paint, technically, but yes.”

“Show me.”

Sunstreaker gave him a nasty glare for what was functionally an order, but he wanted to do this. Megatronus’ desires played no role in that, but he might as well watch if he wanted to.

So, the golden twin set to work to capture just what he was seeing in the city around them.

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

Well… He won, but that was about the only thing that could be said about that. Walking out of the arena on your own two pedes was a must, but that was all he had managed before collapsing to his injuries. Sideswipe was the one who had moved to help him first, but Megatronus had brushed his twin aside and picked him up himself.

And here he was in the medical bay of the arena, now, with Megatronus still next to him, looking vaguely concerned. Sunstreaker had to wonder if his injuries really had been that severe, but Sideswipe confirmed that he’d nearly offlined for good a couple of times during the repairs.

Sunstreaker rolled his optics at the questioning look Megatronus gave him. “I’m tougher than I look,” he rasped, frowned at the quality of his voice, then recalled his throat had gotten quite effectively crushed. His vocalizer not working quite like it was supposed to wasn’t much of a surprise, that in mind.

“You won,” Megatronus said mildly, and Sunstreaker nodded.

“I did. Happy?”

“Quite, considering the alternative.”

Sunstreaker snorted this time, but when his gaze shifted back towards the ceiling, he caught another frowning figure a few steps away on his other side.

None other than their owner. Sunstreaker glared and would have loved to deliver some waspish words, but the slave coding silenced him. The mech’s presence wasn’t welcome, though. They far preferred when he took the hands off approach and left them to their own devices as long as they performed well enough.

“That was pathetic, Sunstreaker. Yes, yes, you won, congratulations, but you were not on your usual level,” the mech growled at him. Sunstreaker would have rolled his optics, were he capable of such disrespect. An evil optic was all he could give, until, “Don’t give me that look, Sunstreaker.”

At once his expression smoothed itself out, but only for there to be a thunderous growl that certainly didn’t come from him. Sunstreaker glanced back to Megatronus to see him rising from the seat he had been occupying, and although he was barely inches taller than their owner, he managed to loom with… Titillating effectiveness. Sunstreaker swallowed as he watched the glare Megatronus directed at their owner, who shrank back despite himself. “He won. You got your payment. Now I suggest you leave.”

The grinding of their owner’s denta was audible, but the mech nodded briskly before stalking out of the room with just a hissed, “We will have words later,” directed at the brothers.

Megatronus growled after him, but sat back down. Sunstreaker reached for his face, brushing the claw of his thumb across the larger mech’s lips with a wry smile. “You know I’ll be the one who’ll get in trouble for that.”

“And if you do, you come to me and I will set things straight,” Megatronus snarled in answer, catching his servo in his far, far larger one and giving it a squeeze. Sunstreaker huffed a laugh and Sideswipe padded over to drape himself along Megatronus’ shoulders.

“Thought’s appreciated,” the red twin said with a grin, planting a kiss on the side of Megatronus’ helm. Their lover rumbled almost softly.

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

Megatronus had gotten in the habit of treating Sideswipe quite gently, and they weren’t opposed to that. From anyone else it may have been unwelcome, too touchy-feely coming from just any random mech, even a friend, but they were sort of beyond that point with Megatronus—much to everyone’s mutual pleasure. It was never more apparent than now, with Sideswipe moaning softly below Megatronus, slow, deep thrusts driving the larger mech into his brother’s frame over and over again. It was a slow climb towards an overload, one Sideswipe was rather enjoying with a blissed out expression, and from his look, so was Megatronus.

Sunstreaker barely managed to keep his face neutral where he sat in a chair to the side, drawing that very scene—his twin nearly hidden under their lover’s sheer bulk as they interfaced, slow and steady. There was so much strength contained in Megatronus’ frame, yet in the moment he chose to use barely any of it, his hips just cautious enough in their motion and his arms braced on either side of Sideswipe, keeping him off of him. Sideswipe could have wiggled free any moment, but why would he have? He stayed right where Megatronus could herd his wits to the four winds with nothing but the motion of his hips.

It was a moment worth capturing.

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

“Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

Megatronus’ growl was a vicious thing and Sunstreaker had to glance back just to confirm it was directed at him. Not that there was anyone else present aside from him and Sideswipe, but frankly, Sunstreaker had no idea what they would have done to earn a tone like that.

“Notice what?” Sunstreaker asked with a frown, going back to viewing his reflection from the dim mirror in their room. It was a near useless thing, but combined with Sideswipe’s optics it still provided him with a good enough overview of his frame, and more importantly, his finish. He was shining now, though that never lasted long in the environment they were in. All the work that went into maintaining his dear looks…

“Don’t feign ignorance,” Megatronus continued in that same voice that promised nothing good, drawing Sunstreaker’s attention from the mirror properly. Before he could again ask for some fragging clarification, Megatronus had already closed the distance between them, looming over him and spitting his accusation. “Do you make a habit of encouraging others’ advances where I can’t see it?”

Oh, for frag’s sake… Sunstreaker turned around fully, facing the larger mech and landing his servos on his hips. “Listen here, you ass,” he growled, “I have no pitting clue what you’re talking about. I haven’t ‘faced anyone else since we went exclusive, as we slagging well agreed.”

Megatronus forced him back a step until he was nearly pinned against the mirror, the larger gladiator’s servo slamming into the wall next to it and him. Sunstreaker’s optics narrowed, but Megatronus showed no signs of calming the frag down. “So you only lead others on?” Megatronus hissed at him. “Let them grope you a little, but it’s alright because you don’t full on interface with them, hmm?”

Sunstreaker threw his arms up in frustration. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m hot as fresh slag, and some take that as too big of an invitation,” he snarled right back at their clearly a little too jealous lover. “I make a habit of punching them somewhere painful for it, but I can’t always prevent it ahead of time. That’s not satisfactory? The pit more do you want?”

Megatronus leaned down and Sunstreaker met his burning gaze without waver all through the larger mech’s growled response, “You belong to me, and I don’t like others touching what is mine.”

At that point Sunstreaker’s lips drew into a sneer and he copied Megatronus’ move and leaned in. “If you haven’t noticed, we already have an owner, and it’s not you,” he pointed out, voice cold. Oh how he would have preferred to not belong to anyone—not even Megatronus. Not in that way. What he wouldn’t give to be his own master and not have contracts or possessive lovers telling him otherwise.

He wasn’t sure what he was expecting for a reminder like that, but he wasn’t sure it was Megatronus closing the rest of the distance between them and crashing their lips together. Sunstreaker grimaced when the larger mech’s denta came into play immediately, painfully grazing his dermal plating. It distracted him enough that he wasn’t fast enough to dodge when Megatronus’ servos closed around the arms Sunstreaker brought up to push the massive bastard away. From there he was no match to Megatronus’ strength and size and could do little when he was slammed against the wall—next to the mirror instead of against it, luckily—and lifted until his pedes didn’t meet the ground, but where he would’ve been in the perfect position to wrap his legs around Megatronus’ middle.

Was that where this was going? “Let the slag go of me,” Sunstreaker growled, but the parting of his lips only had Megatronus’ slagging glossa shove in.

He bit down on it without fanfare, earning himself a roar from Megatronus’ engine. The grip on him shifted until Megatronus could securely hold him up with one arm only, the other slipping between his thighs and… This was definitely going there. The roar of Sunstreaker’s engine fought to match Megatronus’, even if it never could.

Megatronus pulled back from his mouth enough to growl a simple, “Open.”

“Go frag yourself,” Sunstreaker hissed at him, fury surging all the higher when Megatronus’ claws pressed against the seams of his valve cover with painful force.

The only response he got was another growl and those claws sank into the seams. Sunstreaker’s helm fell back against the wall with a pained grunt, but when Megatronus twisted with the apparent intent of ripping the whole damn panel off, Sunstreaker hurriedly transformed it aside before it was bent so far out of shape it couldn’t have done that anymore.

There was no preparation. No preparation whatsoever, just Megatronus releasing his spike and thrusting in with one uncaring stroke. Sunstreaker squirmed between him and the wall, hissing at the tearing pain at his insides when his lover’s always a little too big spike scraped against barely damp walls. His claws dug into silver plating, as much as he knew that wouldn’t do him any good, not with the thickness of Megatronus’ armor. The only good reason for it was to ground himself on something when Megatronus set to frag him, hard. It tore at his inner sensors until there was barely even the slightest hint of pleasure left. His ventilations became ragged from anything but arousal.

Megatronus gave no quarter before he overloaded after too long, torturous moments, Sunstreaker grimacing at the feel of hot transfluid against his abraded valve walls. Only once the charge had fully dissipated from his damned lover’s frame did Megatronus pull away, anger still in his optics. Sunstreaker’s valve was blessedly abandoned, but when Megatronus simply dropped him to the floor, the lancing pain from his core made sure Sunstreaker’s legs wouldn’t carry him and he fell to his knees.

That did nothing to help with his own anger, and Sunstreaker would have bet his optics were even more fierce than Megatronus’ when he lifted his gaze to the mech looming over him.

“Out,” Sunstreaker growled, stretching out one arm to point a digit at the goddamn door. “Get the frag out of my room.”

Surprisingly, Megatronus obeyed—without an apology, without a single backwards glance. He left.

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

It always felt like an invasion when their owner came to the room of the Pits they called their own. It was their room, and it didn’t matter slag that technically the fragging mech had a right to it because he owned the twins and everything they could possibly claim to belong to them. Their room included.

But here he was now, with the brothers sitting on their berth and their visitor in the one chair in the room.

“Megatronus,” the mech spoke, watching for their reaction.

They gave none, so he continued, “He’s becoming a distraction to you. You need to focus on your careers, not on pointless dalliances. It’s your lives at stake.”

Only because you keep signing me into deathmatches.

But they could hardly accuse their dear owner of that much. Even the truth of, “He gives us training,” was a hard thing to force past the slave coding, but Sunstreaker did so anyway.

Their owner frowned. “Enough to balance out the amount of time you spend with him? No. Your relationship with him needs to end.”

Sunstreaker closed his optics as the slave coding registered that and worked to put it in effect. It was a little too complex of an order for it to force it upon them entirely. They could work around it with some effort, if they wanted to.

He wasn’t sure if their owner knew as much, but there were always other orders he could pile on top to really make it impossible for them to stay in a “relationship” with Megatronus.

“Do you understand me?” the mech demanded still.

“I understand,” Sunstreaker said, Sideswipe repeating the same words next to him. His brother watched their owner nod in satisfaction and Sunstreaker opened his optics in time to watch him leave.

“Don’t forget,” was all they were told in parting before they had their room for themselves again.

After silence and stillness had stretched on for a while, Sideswipe stated, “Megatronus can do something about that. If I want him to.”

“I want him to,” Sunstreaker confirmed, setting his jaw. Their damn owner wouldn’t choose who they had relations with, even if they needed to fix the matter in a roundabout fashion.

Their decision made, Sideswipe pulled up Megatronus’ commlink without wasting any more time and pinged for his attention. The connection was opened almost immediately.

“Can you come by tonight?” was all Sideswipe asked. There was a brief pause on Megatronus’ end before he confirmed he could do that–

And that night he did indeed come over, the twins opening the door for him. Their lover was already wearing a frown, likely having caught onto something being off. He was many things, but dumb wasn’t one of them.

“What’s the matter?” he asked almost as soon as the door had closed after him.

Sunstreaker gushed air from his vents. “Our owner wants us to end our relationship with you,” was all he needed to say for Megatronus to understand everything he needed to. His face darkened like a storm cloud, a growl rising from his engine.

“I will have… Words with him.”

As they had hoped. The brothers nodded and Megatronus moved further into the room until he could circle behind Sideswipe, his servos landing on the red twin’s shoulders and running along his plating. “How firm is the order, currently?”

“Not very. Yet,” Sideswipe murmured, tilting his helm back to look up at Megatron. “But he can make it more specific.

Megatronus’ mouth set into a thin line and he nodded, his touch on Sideswipe turning just that bit more possessive—suggestive. They weren’t opposed to it and Megatronus went on to prove to no one in particular that they wouldn’t be parted quite so easily.

The next day, their owner came by to rescind his order, a little dinged and shaky.

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

“I could buy your contracts.”

Sunstreaker looked up from his painting. Megatronus was already looking at him and that… Didn’t sound like a joke. In fact, it sounded like Megatronus was very serious with that thought, as if he’d already considered it for a while.

The twins had nothing more to offer him than matching frowns, though. “I’m sure you could,” Sunstreaker agreed on that much, only to continue, “but you won’t.”

“Why would I not? Would you not be glad to be rid of your owner?”

Their frowns deepened. “Only to have you as our owner instead? We’d be in the exact same spot. Nothing would change. So no, thank you.”

“Nothing would change?” Megatronus growled. “Having someone who cares about you holding your legal contracts would change nothing?”

“The contracts would still exist,” Sunstreaker snarled right back. “Even if you didn’t actually use them, I’d slagging well owe you. My entire fragging life, in fact. I will not be indebted to you like that.”

It looked like their lover was quickly growing frustrated, as if he’d assumed it was a given that they would agree with… What? Joyful jumps? Grateful kisses? Thankful frags?

Well, slag that.

“You’re not thinking with reason,” Megatronus let him know, earning himself Sunstreaker’s full glare, not that it discouraged him any. “If you set aside your emotions for a moment, you would see that is the perfect arrangement.”

“Perfect for you, maybe!” Sunstreaker set his drawing tablet aside before he harmed it in his rising temper, jabbing a digit in Megatronus’ chest. “You’d fragging own me, and legally you could do whatever the frag you wanted with me.”

“Do you not trust my intentions?”

“Honestly? Not slagging enough.”

That was probably over the line a bit. Megatronus growled with his entire frame, but this wasn’t the right moment to back the frag down. Instead Sunstreaker drove the stake deeper, pressing the tip of his claw against Megatronus’ chestplates. “Let me make myself very clear: you buy my contracts and I will find a way beat it the slag out of this whole damn city and leave you behind. Mark my slagging words.”

Megatronus glared at him, an expression Sunstreaker fully matched. It wouldn’t be an easy trick to pull off, but at this point he trusted Megatronus knew them to be crafty enough that they might just succeed in it no matter the cost—and even if they didn’t, it would leave their relationship in permanent ruins, something he doubted their lover actually wanted or would be willing to risk.

That was the hope, anyway.

Megatronus didn’t answer him, at least not verbally, though the rough servo that wrapped around the back of Sunstreaker’s helm and pulled him into an equally rough kiss was probably answer enough. He wasn’t let off that easy, either, because Megatronus pulled him up and broke their kiss only to yank him around and press Sunstreaker’s chest against the nearest wall. Hard. “You are unreasonably stubborn,” was hissed into his audial and his legs were kicked apart to make room for Megatronus’ servo between them. “I try to help you, and you turn it down without any true consideration.” Sunstreaker retracted his valve cover before he was relieved of it entirely, the one and only concession he made before he was lifted for Megatronus to line up their arrays. The fact Sunstreaker had next to no lubrication was likely right according to Megatronus’ current desires—the entry chafed in the worst ways and he couldn’t entirely silence his groan.

“Do you not see my love for you?” Megatronus grunted on his next thrust in. Sunstreaker growled, but his lover continued, “Everything I would do for you? Instead you lay down misguided ultimatums and think you know best.”

“It’s my life,” Sunstreaker hissed, twisting in Megatronus’ hold as the burn in his valve worsened with every harsh thrust. “Like it or not, I should get to choose how it goes.”

“I should let you make decisions to your own detriment?” Megatronus growled, the next snap of his hips particularly punishing.

Sunstreaker’s claws dug into the wall, but he held his ground. “Yes. They’re my mistakes to make and my consequences to live with.”

“Don’t you see I only want to protect you?”

“Well, don’t. It’s—hngh—my right to live and make mistakes. You won’t take that away from me.”

“Stubborn you are, my dear,” Megatronus snarled at him. Sunstreaker’s back arched from fresh hell when his love angled his thrusts differently, and sped his pace up.

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

“You scheduled goddamn frame edits for us?”

Megatronus barely bothered to glance up from whatever he was writing and the blatant dismissal only made Sunstreaker angrier. “There are improvements that can be made to your frames,” was all the answer he got before Megatronus went right back to whatever he was working on.

Sunstreaker stalked up to his desk and slammed his servo down over his lover’s datapad hard enough that the screen splintered. “I never agreed to this. Some of them are external edits. You fragging bastard, I already like how I look.”

The look Megatronus gave him was chilly to say the least, but true to form, Sunstreaker wasn’t cowed one bit. “As I said, improvements can be made,” Megatronus simply said.

“And who defines what’s an improvement?” Sunstreaker grit out, shoving at Megatronus’ shoulder. “You? They’re my fragging frames.”

“Did you even have a look at the order?” Megatronus asked from him, aggravated. Good for him, Sunstreaker was pretty damn aggravated himself. That made two of them.

“I did, but that’s entirely beside the point.”

“Is it? Did you not like them?”

“I don’t like that you’re trying to dictate what the pit I look like!” Sunstreaker straightened to his full height and crossed his arms across his chassis, but even so he didn’t exactly manage to be taller than Megatronus. Didn’t matter. “My life, my frames, my looks. I choose them, and you’re not fragging going to play my damn owner, trying to tell me what I am or am not to look like.”

“Did you not like them?” Megatronus demanded more firmly, his glare as intense as Sunstreaker’s. Their staring contest was true, neither backing down.

“That’s beside the point. You didn’t have permission.”

Before Megatronus could answer to that, there was a ping at his door. Sunstreaker glanced over his shoulder to see it slide aside to reveal… Soundwave. That probably meant there was some important rebellion business to be discussed. Just when were Megatronus and his supporters planning to make their big move, anyway? Sunstreaker couldn’t remember, and in the moment, couldn’t bring himself to care.

“Cancel them,” he growled at Megatronus before he turned on his heel and marched to the door, “I’m not showing up anyway,” then past Megatronus’ second who moved to the side to let him through.

Frame edits his fragging ass… Not while his spark still pulsed.

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

“No. I’m fragging well going, and that’s final. Slag you.”

“I will not have who knows what manner of filthy servos pawing you,” Megatron snarled at him. His fist slamming into the wall next to him would have been more of a deterrent if Sunstreaker wasn’t able to simply slip under it. Something good out of their size difference…

But they’d been here before and Megatron made a grab at him when he tried to escape the revolutionist’s clutches—successfully escape, despite that. He danced out of Megatron’s reach, glaring the whole way, twice as hard when Megatron began to stalk towards him, angling just right to block his exit.

“It’s a party. That’s part of the drill. I won’t frag anyone as you slagging well know, and some groping? If I can live with it, you can live with it too. They’re my slagging frames.”

Megatron’s optics darkened with sheer anger, and this was one argument where it was unlikely either of them would just give, wasn’t it? The brothers wanted to go out and enjoy a nice evening with some fragging friends—let the high grade flow and music pound—and Megatron was intent on being the possessive bitch he always was. They never reached an agreement in these matters.

“Do you not find my attention enough?” Megatron asked from him, constantly advancing, and Sunstreaker constantly retreating. “Do you need to go seek the approval of strangers on top of it?”

“Pits, I don’t need anyone telling me I’m fragging beautiful, thanks. All I want is to go drink and dance. That is not too much to ask. No, wait. I’m not asking. I’m going.”

They glared at each other, but he managed to stay ahead of Megatron enough that he wasn’t grabbed and most likely ‘faced through the floor or something of equal pleasantness.

“Why is it so hard to understand I don’t want something of mine tainted?” Megatron demanded from him, his face and his field speaking of his fury. How dare Sunstreaker disobey him so, yada yada. It was the same old song and dance.

“I’d listen to that argument if I was about to ‘face someone, but some groping isn’t going to do a damn thing,” Sunstreaker growled. His optics didn’t flick to the door, he didn’t project his plan before he’d already set it in motion—dashing past Megatron when the opening was big enough, before his lover could physically stop him as he was so damn eager to do.

He made it to the door, and he made it through the door before he turned back just enough to snarl his final, vicious, “And you’ll just have to live with it, love.”

( Next )

[in1-nutshell]

IM GETTING EVERY IDEA I GOT OUT WHILE REQUESTS ARE OPEN IM SORRY

also I'm sorry i keep bringing up chaotic teen Buddy and Megatron, but i love seeing this fucker suffer through forced adoption.

I'm still kinda trucking through the comics, but i know that at some point Megatron is essentially yeeted into a whole ass different dimension and spent 300 years there (i could be totally wrong, if so ignore.) long story short, i have been stuck on the idea of Megatron getting stuck there for 300 years, mourning his funny little human child after 80 years, cause he figures even if he does get back home, they wont still be there.

Luckily for everyone involved, that 300 years was just a few months for the lost light. unluckily for everyone.

Buddy - "My father is gone, therefore I am no longer responsible for the consequences of my actions."

Hello again! Don't feel bad for asking/ requesting. Requests are fun to do for me and I can write almost anything someone asks, almost. Still, ask if you want something written. It is time for the return of Fearless Buddy!

Hope you enjoy!

Fearless Buddy reaction to Megatron coming back from the other dimension

SFW, platonic, familial, bit of angst here and there, Human reader

MTMTE/LL

Buddy had conveniently slept when Megatron had left. Don't blame them, they had been running off of little to no sleep for weeks and their body finally had enough.

Rodimus had to break the news for Buddy.

"What do you mean Megatron is 'gone'?!"--Buddy

"He left, he just up and escaped! But don't worry we'll get him back on board in no time."--Rodimus

"He... He really just left?"--Buddy

"I'm afraid so."--Rodimus

"Well, you know what? Who needs him anyways! The big sorry pile of scrap can go rust in space for all I care!"--Buddy

"Buddy--"--Rodimus

"Who needs him! Thanks for letting me know Roddy, really. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some important things to go over with Whirl."--Buddy

"What important things? What could be more important than this right now?"--Rodimus

"We are going to put a bumper sticker on Minimus saying 'Kachinga'!"--Buddy

"... Carry on!"--Rodimus

Rodimus really wishes now that he had stopped Buddy from making it to Whirl's. The ship had become the two's playground for pranks and sillies.

No one was spared from their wrath.

Many bots on board got mad at the two. But it was the bots closest to Buddy to realize something was deeply troubling them.

Their enthusiasm seemed forced most of the time. Their laughter almost seemed... Robotic almost. And their eyes... they looked so hollow and lacked the usual twinkle they had before.

Whirl appointed himself Buddy's guardian in the meantime. There wasn't much argument there as being Buddy's Amica, it was probably for the best.

Whirl lost count of the amount of times he caught Buddy going into Megatron's habsuite and crying over some of his poems. He wants to hurt Megatron so badly for the pain he inflicted on Buddy. They became Rung's most frequently seen patient after talking with Whirl.

"You really think this is going to help?"--Buddy

"I'm sure of it! If Eyebrows here can stand me, then you'll be like a walk in the park!"--Whirl

"... Thanks Whirl. I mean it, you're the best Amica a friend could ask for."--Buddy

"Hey now, don't get soft on me yet. That's Rung's job. Now get in there and punch those feelings in the face!"--Whirl

The day when Megatron comes back after everything is settled Whirl is one of the first in line to deck him across the face.

"You sorry excuse of a tyrant!--"--Whirl

"I know you're upset Whirl... Buddy passing must not have been easy..."--Megatron

"Passing? What are you talking about?"--Whirl

"Surely they have already passed it's been more than 80 years."--Megatron

"Megs, it's been a couple months since your little disappearing act."--Rodimus

"...Is Buddy alive?"--Megatron

"Of course they are! Why--Hey!"--Whirl

Megatron sprinting pass him and to Buddy's habsuite.

Megatron had never sprinted as fast as he did at that moment. For the past 200 or so years he had been in a constant state of mourning. He thought he had lost Buddy forever. The biggest regret he had was not at least telling them good bye.

Now here he was... He almost backed out of knocking on the door, but he did it. The doors opened revealing Buddy in all of their morning glory.

"... Buddy?"--Megatron

"Ah man it's one of those dreams again. Listen fake Megs, I'm not in the mood right now. So if you'll just come back next week that'll be great."--Buddy

Megatron finally snapped out of his dazed and scooped up Buddy into his servos and held them close to his spark.

It took Buddy a solid second to realize this wasn't some fever dream.

"Megs?"--Buddy

"I'm here now. I'm here."--Megatron

"...How... How dare you! YOU LEFT ME HERE ALONE! YOU DON'T JUST CALL SOMEONE THEIR KID THEN LEAVE THEM HIGH AND DRY! WHY DIDN'T YOU TAKE ME?!? OR AT LEAST SAY GOOD BYE!? TELL ME! TELL ME WHY?!? DAD WHY DID... why did you leave me...*--Buddy

"...I am so sorry..."--Megatron

"...you better be... I will never leave your side again... You're worse than a toddler getting lost at a Walmart..."--Buddy

It wasn't an easy transition at first. Buddy had their friends always within arms length from Megatron. Buddy themselves put up some walls to avoid getting hurt again.

The two eventually decided to seek counseling to try and mend their relationship. Thank goodness that happened.

Now Megatron was sitting in his habsuite with Buddy telling him all the latest news on the ship while reviewing their latest poems.

These were the little things he missed most and was glad he had gotten a chance to get them back.

[mazamba]

Aftermath

“On hindsight, I suppose you’re too tall to be normal organics,” muttered Blackarachnia to her captors.

Granted, she didn’t know much about Earth’s wildlife, but the last time she’d heard of an ape that big it’d been from an old entertainment file. Kong King or something like that.

“Where are we going anyways?”

“Zee chief wants to speak with you.” he replied with what she recognized as a French accent.

“And who is-?”

“YOU’LL NEVER TAKE WASPINATOR ALIVE!”

“You ARE alive you idiot!”

Blackarachnia looked back just in time to see her test subject’s head, in a box with the rest of his body, look at a female hawk pensively before replying.

“Well played.”

She sighed, “If you can put a clamp on that one, I’m sure we’ll all appreciate it.”

The gorilla rolled his eyes, but nodded at the giant cheetah that was flanking her.

The cat seemed to grin, before unfolding into a robot mode to put a clamp on Waspinator.

“I didn’t know there were more like me.”

“We are not like you,” grunted the gorilla, “Where yuu see un curse, we see our lives.”

“So this is all you know?”

“Oui,” he affirmed, “Zis is how we were born.”

“You mean built.”

“Same thing.”

The group came to a stop at a metal door built into the side of a cliff, guarded by a purple t-rex. He was smaller than Grimlock, but still much taller than herself.

“Primal.”

“Dinotron.”

The greeting was curt and strained, giving Blackarachnia the idea that they may not get along too well. Something to file away from later, if the door in front of her was harder to leave than to enter.

“Chief?” called in Primal as he transformed, “We have arrived.”

She would later admit to be momentarily taken aback by the mech behind the door. 

He was probably one of the largest bots she’d ever met, dwarfing even Megatron in height. He had four arms, a large brawny set tipped with pincers and a smaller pair below that were busy attaching an arm to a white tiger. Most startling was the long, stinger tipped tail with a bead of poison primed at the point.

She couldn’t help but think she’d seen his face somewhere though.

“There you go, good as new,” he declared as the tiger’s skin knitted itself back together under the light of what Blackarachnia recognized as a Quintesson organic welder, “do keep off that paw for a few days, yes even if Cheetor is being annoying. I swear Tigatron, you’re not cubs anymore.”

“He started it,” growled the tiger as he transformed, looking somewhat similar to the cheetah from earlier, although the tiger’s head had ended up on his left shoulder instead of his chest.

“And I’m ending it,” scolded the scorpion, “Primal reported a transwarp explosion and we need all of us to be on high alert in case-.”

“Chief!” called out Primal again, “We have returned.”

“With guests!” quipped Cheetor, vaguely reminding Blackarachnia of a certain yellow sub-compact.

“You brought them here!?” he snapped, stomping over to them with his four clawed feet, “What were you thin- oh!”

He was startled at first, as expected, followed by a smile that made her extremely uncomfortable.

“As I live and breathe,” he crooned, “Blackarachnia. My very muse is before me!”

“Excuse me?”

He chuckled, a deep an somewhat unsettling sound.

“I looked rather different when we first met, so I don’t blame you for not recognizing me,” he acknowledged, “regardless, meeting you was a life-changing event for me.”

“And why would that be?”

“Madam, you are the future,” he told her, still beaming with that smarmy smile, “the second I laid eyes on you, I saw a glimpse of the future!”

He pulled up holograms, detailed charts on cellular formation and the anatomy of various Earth animals, even humans. Judging from the pictures, he had performed most of his own dissections.

“Cybertronians and organics have their own set of advantages,” he explained, “cybertronians- Pit, technomorphs in general can live indefinitely, but only with frequent repairs, patches, and upgrades. Organics are relatively short lived, but their self-repair systems are vastly superior to ours.

“Both have their pros and cons, but I believe perfection lies in a hybrid of the two. Cybertronian metamaterials and organic repair could create a truly immortal being that has no need for upgrades or patches, so long as they have a constant energy source.”

“Maybe you haven’t heard, but I’m far from perfect.”

“That is because you, and we for that mater, have not been able to achieve true hybridization,” he pointed out, “we function thanks to a very delicate barrier that keeps our cybertronian components from mingling too much with our organic ones. A true hybrid can transcend technomorphs altogether. Best of both worlds and all that.”

“And you want me to help you create a true hybrid?”

“Oh, my partner and I have already created a transcendent technomorph,” he replied, waving her off, “the problem is, Tarantulas grew a conscience out of nowhere and took off with our prototype eight years ago, and I’ve been tracking her down ever since.

“Help me bring them back, and I’ll give you everything you need to throw your gifts away.”

“This is not a gift,” she hissed, “my organic components are aging faster than my cybertronian ones and I’ve already found that they’re too intertwined for me to survive. My source-code's been infected to the point that even a spark transplant would be useless!”

“Which is why you need me,” he pointed out, “no one knows more about technorganics than me, yes even you. Bring me my prototype, and I’ll downgrade you.”

“And how do you expect me to find it?”

“You’ve already met her,” he pointed out as he pulled up an image of a very familiar-looking teenager, “I don’t know what Tarantulas was thinking when he left her with Isaac Sumdac of all people, but I was able to track her down when she upgraded to this new form. Good for her really. Without energon, she would have expired in another year or so, but this new upgrade appears to be perfect in every single way...”

There was that smarmy smile again.

“You want to retro-engineer her,” she realized, “you want to make more like her- it.”

“I would like her cooperation if possible, so bring her to me alive.”

“What makes you think she’ll help you?”

“Sari Sumdac is a unique entity, the first of her kind,” he explained, finally losing the smile, “but she soon will realize that being unique is a curse as much as it is a blessing. At this point, she must have realized that if she does nothing, she will also be the last of her kind.”

It was when the light hit him that she was finally able to see past the chitin, and she recognized who she was speaking with.

“Megazarak!?”

She felt Primal flinch next to her, immediately putting her on high alert. The giant mech, however, was much faster and his pincer was around her neck before she could do anything.

“Never call me that again,” growled the founder and former leader of the Decepticons. 

“I-I-.”

“Megazarak was weak, a wretch that couldn’t see treachery incarnate, even as we sipped cubes on the same table,” he was calm, far too calm for the rage she could see on his face, “call me that again and you won’t live long enough to dispose of your gifts. I can guarantee you that.”

“M-Mega-!”

“I MADE Megatron!” he roared, throwing her against the opposite wall, “He was nothing more than a data clerk when we first met! An aristocrat that knew nothing but his personal oil blends and polished floors! He knew nothing of what became of the Destrons after we were forbidden from doing what made us great in the first place!”

He sighed, collecting himself as he got his temper back under control.

“I apologize,” he said, picking her up and placing her on a nearby chair as if she were nothing but a toy, “but I would appreciate it if you called me by my chosen name from now on.”

“And- and what would that be?”

“Megazarak is dead,” he explained, “call me Scorponok.”

[dracoqueen22]

If your up for it, do you think you would be willing to do Flights of Fancy Verse where Ratchet gets the spotlight in the aerie, for his hawt new romance and isn't quite used to the attention just yet.

Ratchet has never had so many visitors to the clinic. 

Harpies rarely seek medical attention unless forced, and hauling them in for a yearly check-up is one of Ratchet’s ongoing, onerous tasks. 

And yet, he has had no less than a dozen visitors today, all of whom have dropped off tiny gifts or just wanted to wish him ‘Congratulations’ with big smiles. As if his loneliness had been some ailment of the Aerie and they were delighted a cure has finally been found. 

Ratchet was not that lonely, thank you very much. 

Everyone seems to think he was though. 

It is annoying enough that Ratchet throws up his hands and retreats to his office. If anyone has an emergency, they know where to reach him, otherwise he’s unavailable. He wants some peace, some quiet, and some solitude. 

Also, the collection of tiny gifts is getting ridiculous. One bara does not need that much flavored lubricant, thank you very much. No matter how many smols he intends to mate. 

Ratchet pulls the cord on his curtain so that the heavy fabric falls across the door, and hopes that means no one will disturb him. He doesn’t often miss his home Aerie, but right now, the solidity of a lockable door sounds like a luxury he greatly desires. 

He drops back behind his desk and he folds his arms over the surface, the reports from the most recent medical evaluations crinkling beneath his arms. He lays his head down, and he sighs. 

He thinks he’ll skip the evening meal tonight, no matter how much Liege Megatron fusses about community dinners and growing together as a flock. If the amount of attention he’s received today is any indication, tonight’s going to be a mad house and Ratchet is too old for all that nonsense. 

So he’s found his mates at last? So what? 

Voices float to his ears. 

Ratchet lifts his head and glares at his curtained doorway, daring some well-wisher to invite themselves inside. It’s an unspoken rule that Ratchet is not to be disturbed when he’s in his office unless the situation is dire. 

Every member of Kaon’s flock should know better, their stupid excitement is no excuse. 

“Of course he’s hiding,” Ratchet hears as another voice replies, “Can you blame him? You know how the flock gets.” 

Wait. 

Ratchet knows those voices. Adaptus bedamned. 

“Yes, I remember,” Starscream says as shadows shift visibly in the small gap between the bottom of the curtain and the floor. “We’re going to have to drag him out.” 

“Or we could leave him alone,” Blurr suggests. 

“Trust me, that’s the last thing he needs,” Starscream says. 

Ratchet sighs. 

He stands up, circles his desk, and stalks over to the door. He whisks the curtain aside and glares at his new mates, one feathery eyebrow cocked. They look back at him, Blurr vaguely guilty while Starscream is chin-lifted defiance. 

“Can I help you?” Ratchet grunts. 

“Embarrassed of us already?” Starscream asks. 

Ratchet works his jaw, tightens his grip on the curtain, and says, “I’ve never been one for attention. You know that. Embarrassment has nothing to do with it.” 

“It can’t be that bad,” Blurr says, but he’s fidgeting, like he always does when he thinks he’s run up against some Harpy tradition he doesn’t understand. “What am I missing?” 

Starscream’s lips curve. “It’s rare, but sometimes when a long unmated harpy finally finds the relationship he’s been seeking, the whole flock congratulates him.” He looks Ratchet up and down. “How many?” 

“More than I’ll ever have use of,” Ratchet drawls. He steps out of his office, letting the curtain swing shut behind him. Maybe the others will think he’s hiding in there, and leave him be. “If you rescue me, I’ll forget about the fireberry incident.” 

It’s Blurr’s turn to grin, and he curls his arm around Ratchet’s, pressing himself up to Ratchet’s side. “I’ll take that bribe.” 

“If you skip out on dinner, Liege Megatron will be disappointed. He’s planning something nice,” Starscream says, but his eyes glitter with glee. 

Stymying Liege Megatron has become something of an entertaining pastime for Starscream, who loves their verbal sparring. 

Starscream takes Ratchet’s other arm, and he and Blurr both start escorting Ratchet toward the back exit, and by coincidence, Ratchet’s nest. 

“Then again, Blurr and I would rather have you to ourselves for a bit,” Starscream says. 

“Our honeymoon isn’t over yet,” Blurr adds, and he squints. “Is that what a Harpy calls it? A honeymoon?” 

Ratchet chuckles and lets himself be led. These two might be a heap of trouble for him in the end, but by Adaptus, they’re worth every last bit of it. 

***

[artobotsrollout]

The fact that, by Megatron standards, a lot of Starscream’s backstabbing ways has been ‘let go’ go despite the amount of plotting he’s done and added on top of that how easily Megtron is willing to let a decepticon die at the drop of a hat and yet he lives really drives home to me the narrative that , as Fowler said, “Starscream’s unpredictability makes him arguably even more dangerous than Megatron.”

Like yeah he’s shown fecking up a lot in the show but the more i think about it, the fact he’s survived and also done as much as he has with so many, and sometimes even all, the cards stacked against him really is a testament to how clever the shitweasel is and how he can think and manipulate others quick on his feet.

And without spoiling things, nearing the end of season 2, the fact Megatron chose Starscream over another option tells me that Starscream is a lot more competent than he’s given credit for.

People underestimate him and he uses that to his advantage. But he’s retained second in command position for a long ass time and was a commander of seekers and out of the whole show he’s like... the only one who’s gotten anything permanently done on the con’s side so far.

Legit seems like he’s seriously dangerous when 2 conditions are met.

1. He’s not panicking and/or having his plans/reservations of a sitation ignored. Basically if he was able to have his judgement trusted (and yknow under the condition he was n’t trying to overthrow someone or was in a leadership position already.)

2. He’s not letting his preening get in the way. Megatron is guilty of letting his ego control him too the main difference to me why his team doesn’t see it as easily is Megatron has the physical presence to where his inability to reign in his ego and anger is seen as ‘ruthless’ and ‘intimidating’ whereas for Starscream where he doesn’t have the physical strength and presence he relies on wit and strategy (which is a far more respectable leadership trait might I say) he can’t quite fall back on the ‘if there’s a problem punch it harder’ method that Megatron does again and again. His failings seem so much worse as a result but arguably Megatron has fecked up so goddamn much worse and is so focused on escalating and quick victory instead of the bigger picture and just loves blaming his team for his own poor judgement.

Knockout: Uh Megatron maybe don’t stab the ship with dark energon when we know exactly jack-all about what it will do?

Megatron: You’re not my real dad *stabs ship*

Things: *Go terribly wrong*

Megatron: Ah yes time to yell at Knockout.

Somehow this turned into a TED talk that has 100% been said better a million times before I even joined the TFP scene of why Starscream could be an absolutely devastating leader of the decepticons if he wasn’t constantly backed into a corner, abused /in constant fear of Megs, and doubted/underestimated by his own team around every turn. (And if not for his own constant ego and shitweaselness of course. He’s still a major shitweasel it’s why I love him. He’s just a shitweasel with deadly potential. Like a ferret with a bazooka who is getting too excited about bragging about owning a bazooka and how much money it can get from selling said bazooka instead of the bazooka’s deadly potential if it waited for the perfect opportunity and knew how to use it properly.)

(Edit: Oh my god Starscream's excited little noise when Megatron said he would resume command in his absence was adorable djeheh. Megs 100% knows Starscream is a cunning fecker. He just can't let the team think he's more cunning and clever than himself. How sinister a way of maintaining leadership by keeping a smart asset and a good possible leader close but undermining him enough so no one else can see his potential.)