#praxus

[minniethemoocherda]

Five Times Sunstreaker Didn't Tell Bluestreak What he Wanted to Say, Plus One Time that he Did: Chapter 3

A/N: GUESS WHO HAS FINALLY SEEN TRANSFORMERS ONE??!!!! Also the song for this chapter is Your Best American Girl by Mitski. And if you're wondering who Hoist's date was, it was Grapple. Xxxxxxx

Ao3

FF.net

The good thing about the war breaking out was that Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were finally able to escape their sponsors.

The bad was everything else.

Even though they had never fought Megatron themselves (if they had they'd be dead), they were more than aware of who their fellow gladiator was.

And as such they were also more than aware that he was a dangerously hypocritical maniac.

So they decided to throw themselves in with the Autobots.

However unlike their former sponsors, the Autobots didn't allow underage mechs to fight, so Sunstreaker and Sideswipe had been sent to a mostly civilian out post to bide their time until they were old enough to sign up.

Having never been treated like one before, it was strange to be treated like an actual child for once in Sunstreaker's life. Everyone expected him to be stupid yet at the same time act like a perfect little drone. At least the officers there gave him paint to play with.

The out post had been set up near Praxus due to the city's neutural status and the more time they spent there, the more certain Sunstreaker was that he could beat most of the adults there in a fight. He'd done so more than once, when he couldn't tell if the cries of the gladiator pit were screaming from the inside or the outside of his head.

But even then the Autbots wouldn't allow them to fight.

And so Sunstreaker and Sideswipe became bored.

And a bored set of twins was not a good set of twins

In their state, it wasn't hard for Sideswipe to convince Sunstreaker to get involved with his pranks. Pranks that quickly got out of hand when they accidently wrecked a months worth of supplies.

Apparently not being old enough for combat didn't protect them from adult punishments, as one of the officer's had no problem throwing the pair in the brig.

Not that giving them a clean space with a set of beds was much of a punishment for the twins in the first place. Being stuck in one room only succeeded in making them more bored. Which in turn inevitably lead to more pranks.

Thankfully It didn't take long for that officer, a former enforcer named Prowl, to realise the ensuing circle. So instead of time in the brig, he decided to rope the two of them into running errands.

Mostly he had them handing datapads back and forth between departments. It used up some of Sunstreaker's restlessness but frankly he didn't find walking from A to B five times in a row particularly enriching. So on the way, he started trying to decipher the encryptions on the datapads. Having never done it before, he found it inthuruatingly annoying at first. He had to resist the urge to throw the pad against the wall more than once. However, without anything else to occupy his thoughts, he didn't have any other options but to keep at it. And eventually the encryptions became easier to crack. Until they suddenly became hard again, until eventually he became better at it, where once again they would become more difficult. Not only that, but the information on the datapads became less and less secretive. And when Prowl started telling him well done after delivering a pad with a particularly hard encryption, Sunstreaker realised that the officer had been testing him on purpose.

Still, Sunstreaker kept at it, even when he knew he wasn't delivering information any more important than team meeting times. And if that reason was because it was the only positive interaction he'd ever had with an authority figure, then Sunstreaker would never tell a soul.

One day, Sunstreaker was drinking his daily ration in the rec-room when he over head a young medic named Hoist lament to his friends about the state of his finish for an upcoming date. Sunstreaker gave the rest of his cube to Sideswipe, who eagerly chugged it down, before marching over towards him.

"I can fix your ugly finish." Sunstreaker stated. Unlike Sideswipe he didn't talk much, and growing up he'd learnt that it was best to be direct than to be kind.

Thankfully, the medic wasn't offended. Instead he burst out laughing.

"Sure kid! Go ahead!" Hoist was probably just humouring him, or perhaps he thought that letting a sparkling loose on his finish would be an interesting tale for his date.

So Sunstreaker collected his paints from his room before marching straight back to the rec-room to get to work. Sunstreaker wasn't lying when he said that Hoist's finish was ugly. Despite being a medic, was rusted and bruised from lack of care. Sunstreaker hated that Hoist obviously thought so little of himself to let his finish get to this state. Sunstreaker was no professional but he did his best to buff out the rough surface until it was smooth as a newspark's behind and cleaned the armour until he could see his own much prettier reflection. Sunstreaker mixed colours together until he got a near perfect match to Hoist's base before he etched swirls of his own golden yellow onto the mech's cheeks to enhance the glow of his eyes.

And Sunstreaker's efforts seems to have payed off as he heard that Hoist and his date became official. The medic even gave him a bag of energon treats to say thank you.

Word of Sunstreaker's work quickly spread and soon he had half of the base coming to him for his talents.

For the first time in his life, Sunstreaker felt like he had a purpose besides keeping Sideswipe alive. He tried not to let it show, but he loved being able to use his skills to brighten the light that each mech brought to the world by capturing their inner beauty on the outside.

Prowl even let him paint the hallways too. Until too many people were disturbed by his interpretation of the gladiator pits that they sent him to the base's physiatrist. But he was allowed still to paint his and Sideswipe's room.

It was small, with two twin beds bolted to each side of the room and barely enough space to stand between them. But after the streets and the pits, it was the first place that the twins could truly call their own.

At Sideswipe's request, Sunstreaker painted his brother's side of the room in a blazing red and gold. And on his own he painted everything else. He built layers and layers and layers of paintings from the city to the streets to the faces that he saw every day.

And of course he tried to paint that smile. But no matter how hard he tried, Sunstreaker could never quite capture the light of that sight.

Being so close to Praxus, Sunstreaker often found himself thinking about the sparkling. He wondered what his life was like. If despite the war, he still had to go to school, or if he found their brother to be as lovably annoying as Sunstreaker found Sideswipe. Sunstreaker wondered if they even lived there at all. And of course thought about what he would say to them if they did.

Many times Sunstreaker had entertained the idea of sneaking out to find them. Something Sideswipe was more than happy to aide with. They'd actually tried to once. But Prowl had caught them and somehow sealed all their secret exits, before throwing them in the brig for a week.

Then the Decepticons destroyed Praxus. And Sunstreaker worried that he had forever missed his chance.

The seekers came from nowhere and blow everything to shit before anyone had time to react.

All they could do was send in rescue workers as the seekers sped away.

Sunstreaker stayed awake for days, waiting for them to bring back the injured. But nobody came.

Until one did.

Once again fighting against his own recharge protocols, Sunstreaker wasn't sure if the sight was a dream. But no, there lying limp in Prowl's arms was the body of a sparkling, the dark layer of ash indistinguishable from the grey shade of its skin. The only sign of life was the blue of their eyes. But even they were so void of light that it took Sunstreaker a moment to recognise the sparkling as the one who had saved his life.

It wasn't safe on the base anymore. Everyone was being moved in the morning. But Sunstreaker had to see the sparkling before they left.

For once Sideswipe didn't tease him, instead offering to stay on lookout as Sunstreaker crawled through the rec room vents that bridged the gap over the corridor directly into the med-bay.

As he crossed the corridor, he glanced down the grate bellow to where Prowl had stationed Brawn to stand guard outside the med-bay doors. Sunstreaker resisted a snort. Prowl would be so pissed if he found out how easy it was get around their defences.

When Sunstreaker jumped down the shoot, into the room itself, he realised that Prowl was going to be even more pissed when he learnt that the sparkling had manged to get his hands on a gun.

"Where are you going?" Sunstreaker asked, so surprised by the sight that he'd forgotten the speech he had prepared to say.

In the middle of the empty room, the sparkling opened and closed his mouth as though expecting words to come out and didn't understand why they didn't. After a few more tries, he finally spoke.

"I...I-I'm going to kill them." The sparkling said, although it came out more as a question than a statement.

Sunstreaker didn't hold back a snort this time.

"Who? The guy who killed your family? Megatron? The entire Deception Army?" He said, his voice coming out harsher than he intended. What was the sparkling thinking? He was just a kid! The gun was nearly the length of his body! He could barely lift it let alone use it to take on the Deception army and -shit this was what the adults thought about him and Sideswipe wasn't it?

Sunstreaker sighed. He marched over to the sparkling, placed his steady hands over their shaking fists. He'd never felt hands so cold. Not for the first time he wondered if the sparkling truly was the living dead.

"If you go out there now," Sunstreaker said "The only the person you'll end up killing is yourself."

He pointed the gun to the ground.

"But one day you'll be able to prove that you're more than what they did to you. And on that day we can kill them all."

Sunstreaker wasn't sure what any other bot had said to him. Although he would bet money that it hadn't been to promise them future death and violence. But it was the only thing Sunstreaker had ever had to offer. He hoped that it would be enough.

The sparkling stared at him and for once Sunstreaker felt like someone wasn't just seeing him as the kid they thought he was and actually saw the person underneath.

"Promise?" They asked.

Sunstreaker squeezed their hands.

"Promise. Now let's get you back into bed before Prowl kills us both."

Sunstreaker helped the sparkling climb back into bed. They were asleep before he'd even tucked the blanket of tarp around them.

Sunstreaker gazed down at their sleeping form. They didn't look peaceful. Sunstreaker doubted that they truly ever would again. But for now at least, he was glad that they would get a break from whatever pain was currently cursing through their circuits. In that moment, he would have tried to kill Megatron himself, if he knew that it would make them happy.

But that dream would have to wait for another day.

He traced a black finger down the soft grey of their cheek, before grabbing the gun that the sparkling had clutched against their chest.

He handed the gun to a confused Brawn as he walked out of the med-bay.

Sunstreaker hadn't told the sparkling what he had wanted to say.

But he had said what the sparkling needed to hear.

And now Sunstreaker had a personal reason to stop the Decepticons. So that they would never snuffed out that light again.

[thegoldenshi-shi]

Fleshed out some more of my personal designs, this time for the Praxian trio.

Prowl, Bluestreak and Smokescreen from top to bottom.

[askvectorprime]

Dear, Vector Prime.

How did Megatron acquire Pinpointer and Lionizer? What happened to their partners Crosshairs and Rad?

Dear Battle Befuddled,

The Megatron of that universe was typical of many Megatrons, believing Decepticonism was the only philosophy that could and should exist—even if he'd have to warp the minds and sparks of others to make it so. You may recall his fiendish plan to reformat all Autobots into Decepticons, but that was just one in a long line of schemes. The Battle Masters arose from a previous plot of his, which saw him abduct several Micromasters—including Pinpointer and Lionizer—in order for Shockwave to create a type of weapon which could be powered by a living spark. The experiment was technically a success, but to Megatron’s disgust, the so-called Battle Masters retained the ability to transform—and with it, a degree of autonomy he viewed as unacceptable.

Naturally, the Autobots fielded a strike force on a rescue mission. When Megatron knocked away Crosshair's W-35 LR Doomblast Forge Launcher with his HPR Telescopic Laserstrike Launcher blade, Pinpointer leapt into the fray, transforming into his new Dual Rocket-Propelled Grenade Launcher mode to grant Crosshairs some heavy ordinance. The blasts' effect sent Megatron reeling, enabling the Autobots to escape with their rescuees, and return to the Ark.

Optimus Prime saw what Megatron had done to the Battle Masters as an atrocity, and sought a way to reverse the procedure, but most of the Battle Masters instead wanted to follow Pinpointer's example in using their new power to fight back, eagerly partnering up with Autobot soldiers. Lionizer teamed up with Rad, adopting a new color scheme, and the two joined Prowl's recon mission to Praxus in the waning days of the Siege on Cybertron. Rad had actually started out as a researcher in Praxus, eventually reaching the rank of Space Command Engineering Sergeant, but he got along with the short-tempered, brooding Lionizer surprisingly well.

[xenahikart]

My TFP OC, Hoverfly !

Part of the first wave of sparklings to emerge from The Well after Cybertron was restored.

Would technically be 12 yrs old

I'll add more of their story when I get a clearer vision

They're Smokescreen’s ward

Kid looked at Smokey went "Alright bitches this one's mine!" And proceeds to go absolutely feral to those who gets close to Smokescreen

Devcon and Red Herring (vehicon oc) are the one who teach her how to fly

[keferon]

Hiiii! So I saw you mention SunnyBlue in that post you made about Blue and the twins and I wasn't sure if you were actually into that ship but if you are I would like to offer you my favorite fic of those two. It's Saturated Sunlight by @inkfamy It's honestly the greatest characterization of the two, and on top of it being a romantic fic of the two, it dives into Blue's ptsd and how he earned the title of the best sniper in the Autobots as well as the issues Sunny and Sides have and it's just so fascinating. Idk, it seemed like something you would enjoy based off of the other fics you like.

I absolutely adore your art and sorry if I'm bothering you 😅 Have a lovely day/evening

HOOO GOD YOU WERE RIGHT I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS FIC EHEHEHEHEEMHMHM

The characterisation of Blue?? And the twins?? Muah~ Absolutely wonderful. The emphasis on Blue being a really fucking good sniper is so interesting. Like I've never seen sniper programming being used in that way.

Despite being fairly short this fic still managed to make me love them so much ehehe I crave more now

Thank you for your recommendation🤍

Saturated sunlight

[shrimpscream]

13-Horizon

[v-exian]

[decepti-thots]

would you be down to give me a rough outline of how Prowl has been characterized over the publication history of the tf comics? I mean, in as far as you know about it. Every time you mention the costa stuff it makes me curious

I can try! I can't really drill down well without a thing to focus on specifically, but here are some general highlights.

Furman (and stuff that directly draws from Furman's run, like AHM as a whole) characterizes him basically as he did when writing Marvel G1, and gives him so little to do that not very much really comes out even then. Uptight, stick-in-his-ass, still a basically Good Guy TM and while he puts people's backs up a little, he's not under any level of suspicion. This is the closest to continuity-agnostic "fanon Prowl" you get in IDW, because that fanon figure draws quite a lot on the Marvel G1 characterization (when it isn't simply making things up wholesale, anyway). Furman copies his own homework, basically, lmao.

Roche is the guy who wrote phase two Prowl into existence as we know him. Rather infamously because he thought it was an interesting take on the character to er, ignore all the above stuff and make the Autobot SIC a rat bastard, lmao. Roche and Barber's interpretations came to dominate the character in IDW going forward, but they do differ. Roche's Prowl is more isolated from other characters (one does not really imagine Wreckers Prowl calling Bumblebee his best friend sincerely, as exRiD Prowl does), and people treat him as disliked by default. Even before the worst of what he does comes out, his reputation precedes him. Also, Roche's Prowl speaks fairly neutrally, whereas exRiD Prowl speaks more casually than fandom tends to admit to! Finally, Roche's Prowl is less spontaneously, outwardly emotional than Barber's is later on, and tends to fit the fanon stereotype of "always restrained" more.

Costa came in post-AHM but pre-Wreckers and hated all that, so he retconned it. LMAO. His Prowl is the archetype of the "good cop" protagonist surrounded by corruption, combined with surface level noir tropes that sort of work in tandem with those but lacking any grit. (Costa seems to understand what noir looks and sounds like, but none of the underlying narrative devices that make it function as noir.) This Prowl is specifically supposed to be (here's the retcon) someone who used to be more deliberately cold, removed and logical but who has specifically decided to change to be different following his experiences on Earth. (Spotlight: Prowl is a good one-issue explanation of Costa's perspective on Prowl, which is not the same as being a good comic.) As time goes on, the sheer unpopularity of this take pushed Costa to undo it a bit, and reintroduce some level of ambivalence to him... but by and large he remains kind of the "good authority figure who objects when the systems are misused" type, almost? His conflict with Spike is very much over the fact he expected better of Spike, see.

Barber's Prowl notably does not wholly throw the Costa stuff out the window. (This is why the Spike stuff features a lot; it's really the only strong emotional hook Costa's work gives you for his version of the character to grab at.) But Prowl is back to being a morally gray figure whose moral ambivalence is very strongly tied to his role as an authority figure- and that's worth mentioning. Prowl's downward spiral being intrinsically linked to his refusal to relinquish authority, and his abuse of it, is something that is all Barber and not Roche. (In Wreckers, Prowl is an asshole because of personal arrogance. In exRiD, he's more an asshole because of his role enabling a wider system, by the end. IMO that's a big difference, anyway.) He is not starting off exRiD loathed by absolutely everyone, or a figure of preexisting serious mistrust. That's something that develops over the course of the comic as things come to light for the characters in-universe, meaning exRiD Prowl feels like he's put up a more convincing shield in front of his worse dealings over the course of the war, perhaps. His position deteriorates significantly over the comic. He is more prone to balancing his deliberate cold-heartedness with angry or emotional outbursts than we saw in Wreckers, leading to him having multiple outbursts that worsen his situation over the course of the comic. This is the Prowl who holds grudges.

Roberts' Prowl is kind of different to talk about to the above because his Prowl in Shadowplay and his Prowl in Titans Return are different genres. I can do a post on that if folks really want but it probably is its own post, haha.

IDK feel free to clarify any specific stuff you'd like a vibe on if you want, this is all just what came to my mind instinctively!

[momosartgalaxy]

I like to think that there is a superstition on Trined cybertronians.

That being: If you was to kill the majority of members of a Trine the 3rd would likely follow soon after, or they would be imensly weak making it much easier to off them.

Althought... if the 3rd did survive the culling of their mates, the weakness as mentioned before would follow them for the rest of their functioning. Some days mecha are completely bed bound with this deep seated feeling of sorrow, longing and mourning.

Starscream is a prime example and sufferer as her family trine, Thundercracker and Skywarp, we're assassinated during a skirmish in the state of Helix.

Theres so much more I wanna explore but ima keep in in my back pocket

[thegoldenshi-shi]

I finally drew a full-bodied/full color image for Smokescreen.

His traditional color-palette gave me fits, but I had some fun out of him.

[novafire-is-thinking]

Six Sentence Sunday

Thank you very much for the tag, @ivycorp!

“94.6 billion.”

“…What?” Prowl asked, startled.

“9.2 billion Cybertronians and 85.4 billion life forms from sovereign worlds. I never stopped counting.”

Prowl’s expression was unreadable as Soundwave held his gaze. “Now, tell me, Prowl…how many did you kill to see me dead?”

I said I would do it. >:)

A bit of context:

One of the key concepts I’m exploring in my AU is Soundwave as the catalyst of the Decepticon cause.

RiD15 established Soundwave as a tactical genius, and I take this to mean he was most likely the Decepticons’ Chief Strategist during the war. Megatron certainly wasn’t calling the shots. lol

With Soundwave and Prowl both serving as strategists for their side, this presents interesting possibilities for a twisted kind of shared history.

These two were each other’s tactical obsession for much of the war, and I can’t resist delving into that.

Tagging @sphnyspinspin and @prismicnexus (I know how much you love doing these, Vis. 😉)

[witchofthesouls]

Hear.me.out. martial art exist in the TFA universe, and since we have cyber-ninjas already what about...kungfu masters?

It's already canon or can be inferred that it exists based on the existence of Cybertronian martial arts. We just need to figure out or create the equivalent of Chinese martial arts among them.

Honestly, I feel that the Cyber-Ninja Corps are a marriage between the classical ninjutsu with other martial arts, especially since Yoketron is a master of many said arts.

Okay, weird thought, I wonder if Cybertron has a Kung Fu Hustle movie, or better yet!

Crouching Convoy, Hidden Seeker

[askvectorprime]

Dear Vector Prime, we know about Sideways but what's Rapid Run's deal?

Dear Ranked Run,

Clockwise, when playing Praxus fold 'em—as opposed to the other two members of Team Bullet Train, who prefer to deal anti-clockwise.

[ask-a-bot]

Ratchet told me to 'be nicer'. Here's my painting of the Praxus Crystal Gardens before the war, for Megatron's room.

The patch at the bottom was from Iacon, the display on the left were Praxian natives and the planter on the right was from Kaon. The scraplet- One of the younglings also wanted to gift Megatron her duck to keep him company. His name is Quackers.

That's really kind of you both! Thanks very much, Sunstreaker. You're a credit to Ratchet's care and guidance.

The picture of the Praxus Crystal Gardens is spectacular – I had no idea you could remember it. Great work!

[maplesyruplover]

Oops I made a Praxus' Revenge playlist. Mostly hrd/rage rock but I like jamming to it anytime 🤷🏻‍♀️

[hardygalwrites]

Originally posted to FFN on the 20th of February, 2017

Simply archiving a writing challenge I did back in 2016 up to 2017 and featuring my favourite writing pieces from each week of the challenge here on Tumblr :]

← Week 27 (SS) – Week 29 (KO) →

Cartoon: Transformers Prime / Robots in Disguise 2015

Characters: Smokescreen, Knock Out, and Bumblebee, with appearances from numerous other characters (even ones not featured in the cartoons)

Synopsis: An Autobot Elite Guard rookie, a Decepticon medic turned Autobot, and an Autobot scout turned warrior turned street cop - three very different bots with a wide range of stories to tell. And we are going to spend the next year exploring said stories through daily-written drabbles, be they angsty, humorous, gut-punching, or just plain odd! Who doesn’t love a challenge? (2016 to 2017)

—

Prepare for Trouble

"Hey, can we stop talking about work? Just for a bit? I mean, I haven't seen you for awhile. I want to hear how you're doing from you, not from some weekly message."

Before Prowl could reply, a certain adolescent sparkling ran up to the two strolling bots. "Prowl, guess what!"

"Not now, Smokescreen," Prowl said automatically.

Prowl's companion broke into a grin. "Ah, so this is the kid you've been telling me about!"

Smokescreen stared at the bot, bemused. "Prowl's been talkin' about me?"

"Yeah! Prowler's told me all about you! I'm Bluestreak, by the way."

"Oh!" Smokescreen quickly saluted. "Smokescreen."

Welcome to the Family

"So, if you're not an officer, and you're not a new squad member, then what are you?"

Bluestreak couldn't help laughing at the sparkling's utter confusion. "I'm just an old friend of Prowl's. Well, I think of him more as a brother, really."

Smokescreen frowned. "You're his brother?"

"No, no," Bluestreak laughed. "Not exactly. See, after my home was destroyed, Prowl took me in. He watched over me, helped me get better, and even trained me. So in that sense, I view him as my big brother. Which, hey! When ya think about it, kinda makes you my brother too!"

Hope It's Worth It

"And you're positive it was the Alchemor?"

Jazz shrugged. "Pretty positive. I just kinda took Bumblebee's word for it, and believe me, that bot's word always means somethin'."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Smokescreen sighed, pressing a servo to his helm. "Earth... Primus, that's gonna be real pain in the aft to get to."

Jazz tilted his helm, a sign of mild concern. "Kid, I don't know exactly what you're hopin' to do, but I can tell a lotta big bots are gettin' really jumpy about it. So whatever you're doin', for your sake, I sure hope it's worth it."

"Yeah, me too."

Marks of a [Youngling]

"Hello, sir. My name is Smokescreen. I've been assigned to be your bodyguard."

The words were practiced, respectful and to the point. The bot who spoke them stood rigidly, faceplates neutral, like one standing before a commanding officer - all marks of a trained soldier, ready to take orders and obey them.

But there was something about the way his doorwings nearly quivered in their stiffness, about the way his faceplates struggled to remain neutral, that suggested something else - a youngling who wanted to be anywhere but here.

The archivist smiled warmly. "Hello, Smokescreen. My name is Alpha Trion. I am very pleased to make your acquaintance."