#tfp rewrite au

[cardboardmoon]

Guys hear me out but Earthspark x Prime crossover

This is after Jack meets the bots so he’s about to lose his absolute shit

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[majachee]

Omg its Stygian's adoptive brother and sister...

[gelu-the-babosa-multiversal]

*Optimus Prime is about to sacrifice himself, by staying behind to destroy the Autobot Base’s computer.

*Autobot Starscream knocks Optimus out, so Starscream can do the heroic sacrifice instead.

*Starscream convinces Ratchet to take unconscious Optimus with him.

*”You Autobots need your Leader, but you don’t need me.”

*Starscream destroys the computer and smiles, accepting his death.

*Megatron destroys the Autobot Base.

*Megatron finds a still alive Starscream and takes him back, to the Deceptions.

😈⭐😈 

[obbystars]

“THE NAVIGATOR”

Transformers Prime OC

(This is a very long post. I tried my best to read up on lore so if there are any errors, you can tell me and I’ll try to see how I can modify it so it can be more accurate to lore! Or idk I forgot to edit something and there’s a small inconsistency.)

Original Predacon, sole survivor of The Cataclysm

“The Navigator” is the name they took upon joining the Decepticons as they had discarded their original name a long time ago. It made things slightly easier by the time nameless Cybertronians began to emerge, though they did have a temporary name to go by before the war. This decision was simply for their own survival, and they chose to leave their origins unknown and left for speculation.

They are never usually seen in the battlefield and almost always assumes their position on the Nemesis. If it does come to it, “The Navigator” will engage with the intention of ending the fight as quickly as possible. Sometimes their instincts get the better of them and they extend the fight to last longer than it needed to be, most likely “playing with their food.”

When the war first started, “The Navigator” had opted for a neutral stance and hoped to flee Cybertron. They were mostly caught in the crossfire, as any Cybertronian who didn’t choose a side did, and had to do what was necessary to survive. That alone prevented “The Navigator” from escaping Cybertron. They soon abandoned the idea of fleeing once they hear about Shockwave’s projects of cloning predacons and soon joined the Decepticons for that reason alone. Since the clones would be under the Decepticons’ command, then they’d be targeted by the Autobots. They figured this just might be the best they’re gonna get.

After Shockwave was presumed dead, they remained with the Decepticons with the idea that there was still a chance the project may continue.

(“The Navigator” knows about the predacons clones that were sent to Earth and patiently waited to reunite with their brethren. Of course, many things delayed their arrival to Earth, and they were alone once again.)

“The Navigator” was aboard the Nemesis during the Great Exodus and remained there for quite a while, especially after Megatron left the command to Starscream. Around this time was when they embraced the title of navigator as their name. The Nemesis’ path would be directed by “The Navigator”, targeting planets containing energon and soon Earth once the planet was in their sights.

Before the war

“The Navigator’s” life mostly consisted of them trying to adapt to the new life after The Cataclysm. With society ever changing for better or for worse, it always pushed them back to square one. Part of them just simply wanted to walk among the others. As a result, their alt-form remained unknown.

“The Navigator” had been working in the Hall of Records before the Quintessons arrived, only once they had finally gotten more used to their bipedal form. It wasn’t something they expected and it was definitely something they had to get used to, but they soon grew to be rather satisfied where they ended up. At some point, they were known to be the “Predacon Enthusiast” amongst a few they could call their friends.

Even though they’re rather welcomed, they almost never spoke to anyone and would “just be there” in the little circle that formed around them. They just kept to themself while the others held up a conversation amongst each other. Some talk they hear is rather interesting though, while others almost caught them off guard.

On most days, they find themself simply observing as time goes on. Just watching and listening to everything around them, hoping to catch onto something interesting. It doesn’t take long for them to catch wind of a certain gladiator in Kaon. Once they had time, they made an effort to take a look for themself. As much as they were rather intrigued with the gladiatorial fights, something about the silver gladiator stole their attention. That is why they continued to come back again and again and they soon find themself more drawn to the anti-caste movement.

Design inspirations

BEL’VETH (League of Legends)

CLOUDJUMPER (How to Train Your Dragon)

Beast form has two sets of wings that act as a cloak in their bipedal form. The cloak in said form is always seen covering 90% of their body. No one ever saw the cloak come off and see it as a sign that “The Navigator” isn’t taking the fight seriously and/or they are holding back. The cloak does slightly hinder their movement and force them to use their legs to fight most of the time. Though the cloak can also act as a shield.

EDIT: One pair of wings remains tucked away in their bipedal form while the other pair acts as the cloak. The cloak itself can’t really move as wings, but they can fold them further so that the “cloak is off.”

They are taller than Megatron as well as Predaking in both forms. “The Navigator” doesn’t often assume their beast form, especially while other Decepticons are around. Privacy in order to stretch their wings isn’t exactly an option as Soundwave makes it hard to even have the opportunity to do it. Their wings simply remain as a cloak.

Due to their height, sometimes they crouch or bend down to the height of the one they’re talking to. With mechs the height of Megatron, they only look down (slightlyyy crouching).

Voice claim

MARA SOV (Destiny)

“The Navigator” almost never raises their voice, no matter the situation. The tones they use, facial expressions, and surprisingly body language are rather clear. Their current mood is always shown through it.

They are a bit expressive with their hands as they often unveil one from under their cloak. Part of it was due to some interactions with certain Decepticons.

Relationships

Decepticons

“The Navigator” sees them as just a means to an end until they can ensure the survival of their own kind. Once all is said and done, their allegiance will be with their king. But if we were to be more specific for the individuals…

Megatron knows there is something more to “The Navigator,” but what that is, he doesn’t know. “The Navigator’s” silence and reserved nature is what makes him suspicious of them and sometimes questions their loyalty even though they have done all he demands. He can’t deny “The Navigator’s” strength though. Their performance on Cybertron proved enough to him to keep them around, and as time goes on, they continued to prove their worth to him. On the other hand, “The Navigator” often wonders how the gladiator they admired all those years ago turned into what he is now. They still hold some respect to him to an extent.

As for Starscream, he only sees them as an obstacle to his plans before and after he becomes leader of the Decepticons (only to lose that rank moments later). He knows “The Navigator” will not hesitate to call him out on anything and even rat him out much like Soundwave (energon yet to be harvested). More often than he would ever admit, however, they startle him whenever they suddenly appear around the corner or simply behind him. “The Navigator” finds it amusing and continues to do it for their own entertainment. Though upon seeing how he treated Predaking, the fun game turned into something they do out of spite. In general, “The Navigator” doesn’t respect Starscream, not even calling him “Lord Starscream” after Megatron’s “death.” They make their feelings about him rather clear, sometimes wondering if it’s worth the trouble to disobey his orders or refuse.

Soundwave and “The Navigator” both have nothing to say about each other, literally and figuratively. Soundwave doesn’t bother them, and neither do they unless they require a ground bridge from him. If they were to be in a room together, the silence will be loud. They do try to steer clear of Soundwave knowing the kind of role he plays and what he’s capable of.

As mentioned before, “The Navigator’s” motive to join the Decepticons was due to Shockwave’s project on the cloning of predacons. They claim to be a fan of his work once they heard about it, but it’s very much a guise. Other than that, they keep distance from him so that he may work.

Dreadwing was one of the only Decepticons “The Navigator” actually has a good amount of respect for. He was honorable and seemed to be what the Decepticons originally were, unlike most, and that’s what initially sparked their interest. It was that and the bond he had with his brother. The two didn’t exchange many words between one another, but “The Navigator” did want to make it clear that they do quite like him. The times where they had time to talk was a pleasant time.

“The Navigator” and Skyquake haven’t had much interaction during the war on Cybertron, but they have heard of each other. Considering they respect his split-spark twin, they have a feeling they might hold the same respect to him. Upon Dreadwing’s return, there was one instance where they ask him about Skyquake, simply wanting to know what he was like.

Like Starscream, Knock Out also gets startled whenever he sees them in the halls or suddenly appear behind him. He always questions how such a large bot can be so sneaky, especially if that bot is larger than Megatron. Still, he sometimes tries to strike up a conversation with them when he sees them but it’s often one sided. “The Navigator” tends to just stare at him and he takes that as a sign to stop. In reality, they just don’t know how to reply to half of the things he tries to talk to them about.

“The Navigator” is aware that Breakdown is interested in knowing more about them (likely due to Knock Out) and they decide to indulge him. They actually don’t mind him at all and finds him rather interesting. He doesn’t treat the vehicons as just cannon fodder which caught their attention the first time they noticed. They don’t care about the vehicons themselves, but for a moment, he changed their mind for a while. Unlike Knock Out, he can actually somewhat hold a conversation with them. Sometimes it is one sided for the same reason as Knock Out, but Breakdown seems to know they just have trouble finding the words.

Airachnid + Insecticons

They do not care for her or the Insecticons in the slightest. If anything, they are exactly what they perceive them to be. Just a bunch of bugs waiting to be squashed. “The Navigator” sees them as nothing but a minor bump in the road.

There was one moment where “The Navigator” and Airachnid had conflict where she demands “The Navigator’s” exile or even their extermination. A fight between Airachnid and “The Navigator” occurs, ending with Airachnid yielding. The cloak stayed on.

M.E.C.H.

“The Navigator” didn’t care about them until word reached that Breakdown got captured by them. While they didn’t mind Breakdown and enjoyed his company, they had no objections when Megatron said he was on his own as his capture was his own fault.

That was until their leader came to the Nemesis while inside Breakdown’s corpse. They didn’t share the same hatred towards CYLAS as Knock Out did, but seeing Breakdown’s body being controlled by a human disgusted them. The idea of it was revolting. They wanted to rip out CYLAS from the body to get a better look at him, and perhaps crush him in their servos.

After CYLAS was sent to deal with the Autobots’ humans, “The Navigator” brought up the idea to Megatron that Silas may intend to control others aboard the Nemesis, which he kept in mind. There was already enough infighting with the Decepticons, and the last thing he needs are his troops destroying each other because a human snuck inside disguising as a vehicon. Luckily, should CYLAS fail in the mission and Project Damocles be destroyed, he’ll belong to Knock Out. Project Damocles was the best thing he could offer, after all. In the end, Knock Out got what he wanted.

Autobots

Before the war, “The Navigator” does know Orion Pax due to their jobs in the Hall of Records. He did know them as the predacon enthusiast and that is how they officially meet. The discussion left a pretty good first impression as it allowed “The Navigator” to begin speaking more and participating in more discussions much like this one. The two would continue to meet time to time to discuss whatever was on each other’s minds, one of which concerning the caste system. Despite their close relationship, “The Navigator” never actually knew what happened with his meeting with the council alongside Megatron.

(In the Orion Pax episodes, Orion would actually refer to “The Navigator” as the name they once assumed before they were “The Navigator.” This would lead to a rather serious discussion with Megatron later.)

“The Navigator” has had little to no contact with the Autobots on Earth, but when they do, they attempt to negotiate first. Once it leads to conflict, which is all the time, they hold back on their strength. The cloak always stayed on, only ever unveiling one arm and firing a shot or two.

On Cybertron, however, they have killed plenty of Autobots under Megatron’s command. A good portion were “accidental,” while others were allowed to escape with serious injuries. Some likely died due to those injuries. As for the others, they were meant to die by their hand or they were the ones they killed while stuck in the crossfire before they joined the Decepticons.

In general, they know almost nothing about “The Navigator.” They only suspect they are not displaying their full power. “The Navigator” did engage in a fight against Optimus Prime on Earth once. As much as they welcomed the opportunity to fight him, they wished it didn’t have to be because of their affiliation. That fight alone made them aware of how strong “The Navigator” actually is.

As for the humans they guard, “The Navigator” actually kind of likes them even though they haven’t had many encounters with them. Sure they’re supposed to be enemies, but they can’t help but want to hold the kids in their hands whenever they see them. They think they’re adorable, especially Miko. They quite like her feisty nature.

Predaking

Before Predaking became aware of his abilities, “The Navigator” was a common friendly face to him. They didn’t like the way Starscream was treating him and would sometimes “steal” his job. Of course, not without startling him by sneaking up behind him.

To Predaking, something about them was oddly familiar. He would listen to “The Navigator” and sometimes follow them around the Nemesis. This earns them some odd looks until “The Navigator” manages to nudge him back to where he needs to be. Sometimes Predaking would allow them to lay on him until either of them had to go to work. Before recharging, “The Navigator” would tell him a few things they know of predacons and in turn, he’d learn something new about himself.

“The Navigator” can understand Predaking in his beast form. Predacons are capable of speech in said form, but Predaking seems to be unable to talk and often huffs, growls, and perhaps a roar. Regardless, “The Navigator” could still understand what he was trying to say.

“The Navigator” does eventually reveal their origins to Predaking after he transforms for the first time. They simply saw no other reason to hide it from him. “The Navigator” managed to convince Predaking to keep this knowledge to himself.

“The Navigator” assumes the role as his guide and trusted that he’ll lead the developing predacons once they emerge. They don’t see themself fit to rule over them as they see these predacons as the “next generation” even though they are still just clones of their old brothers and sisters. They see Predaking as the best and only candidate for the role. That, and they did know the original Predaking.

There is mutual respect between the two, although Predaking at first questioned their choices in the past to keep quiet about their identity especially with the fact they are an apex predator. There are a bit of mixed feelings when they tell him why, but ultimately, it’s not too different when he himself is loyal to Megatron.

“The Navigator” had once mentioned that Predaking shares the face of an old friend. Having no memory of that previous life, he questions who he was to them. Their only response to that question being, “Someone I once held dear.” Even if Predaking were to question further, “The Navigator” has no intention sharing who the original Predaking was as to not interfere with his own growth and to see just how much of the original Predaking remains.

This does not mean “The Navigator” and Predaking would eventually become Conjunx Endurae. “The Navigator’s” relationship with the original Predaking is left vague and is never brought up again, and “The Navigator” and Predaking’s relationship strictly remains that of a mentor and student.

Divider credits - @cafekitsune

[ivycorp]

Riot's TFP AU: Megatron as a patient, or how Soundwave tries to not go insane with his leader's unfortunate addiction to a certain Prime

From the moment Megatron left his quarters knowing that Soundwave was really cross with him, he knew there would be more consequences than just the communication blackout. Walking to the bridge he was barred from entering by the TIC, who simply pointed him in the direction of the medbay.

There were battles to be picked in one's life - and usually the warlord picked them all - but this time the guilt from disappointing his most loyal friend (beyond acceptable parameters) could not be stopped. It flooded his circuitry, making him flinch away and nod; he turned away from the door and followed the path to Knock Out's domain. Soundwave followed him like a shadow, most likely to ensure he reached the medic and stayed there for whatever reason he deemed necessary.

Megatron doubted he would like the outcome, but he knew that the blue mech was not actually plotting his demise - if Soundwave wanted him dead, he would already be melted down for the Cause before he stepped out of his room.

He wouldn't even blame him - TIC did not wish to lead, so it would not even be a selfish decision to climb rank. If Megatron ever became unsalvageable, Soundwave would put him down, simple as that. But before that ever happened, he would exhaust all the other options first.

Which, apparently, included getting the warlord examined. 

Knock Out turned towards the opening door, unsurprised to see their leader sulk inside, nor to see the company. He gestured towards the berth the warlord was repaired on just a day prior.

"Hop on, my Lord, I have been informed you require a full physical," the medic began, as he took a relevant datapad in his servo to take notes on.

Megatron shot a look at his TIC, and upon seeing a small motion of the helm indicating the direction of the berth, he crossed over and laid down his tired frame. When he felt a gentle tap and heard a firm but polite 'please open the mediport for me, sir', he allowed a rarely used panel to reveal the port entrance, feeling oddly vulnerable. He didn't have to worry about Knock Out doing anything dangerous in Soundwave's presence, but the multitudes of professionals had taken a look at him and either gave up at once, or did the same just after a short while - when they realized how uncooperative of a patient he was.

The silver mech didn't really mean to be so difficult - but nearly every piece of medication tasted so bad to him that he would end up throwing it up or away instead of taking it. His body was in a permanent state of screaming, and his coding had not been updated in eons. Because of this, there was a limited patience to explain to yet another doctor that:

Yes, he couldn't recharge regularly;

Yes, he was very sensitive to the bright lights, and it made his helm feel like it was splitting apart at times; 

Yes, he was aware his optics were no longer working as before.

No, he was having enough exercise;

No, he was not trying to off-line himself from lack of maintenance;

No, he would most certainly not discuss his self service schedule.

Meds, injections, operations - and, of course, therapy. The standard result. 

This only meant he would be purging his tanks for a month trying to follow any instruction and fail from the distasteful residue from the medicine - all of this causing him to lose hope of the diagnosis being correct. He would feel let down at the lack of effect, get angry, and the cycle continued. There were periodic attempts to get this addressed - until he finally went out to get Dark Energon and was under nobody's care for a couple of years.

Not that he needed somebody to take care of-

An image of smiling Optimus crossed his mind, and he scratched out that last thought.

Knock Out used his distraction to plug into the exposed port, completing handshakes with his old programming and starting the check-up procedure. He raised the datapad, frowned at it, and took a look at the warlord.

"My Lord, when was your last full frame medical check-up?" Knock Out inquired, tapping the empty log on the patient file.

Megatron muttered something quietly. 

"I didn't catch that, sir, you need to speak up, please," he asked again, a bit less patiently.

"I think it was before we left Cybertron," the mech answered without looking at the medic. He knew what to expect by then - a huff of anger, an exasperated sigh, or a combination of both.

Instead, Knock Out grew silent. 

The red bot turned towards Soundwave, clearing his intake to catch his attention. TIC flashed a questioning glyph on his visor, as the medic asked:

"Is there any upcoming operation that requires Lord Megatron's presence or particular skill set?" 

The blue mech paused, visor flashing with a flurry of images as he cycled through the upcoming plans and schedules. When the screen blanked once again, Soundwave shook his helm negative.

"Lord Megatron: not critical to operations before next rota generation," he added in a short burst of combined recordings. Knock Out nodded thoughtfully, still connected to the silver mech, and reached out to another datapad, filling it up and passing it to the TIC.

"That would be probably enough, if we don't take too many breaks," the mech said matter-of-factly, as the blue mech read up the contents of the form - before adding his own signature. 

"Splendid, that's taken care of," the red mech smiled, and added as an afterthought prompted by the newfound professional concern:

"Some of the tests will take a while, so I believe we could turn this into an opportunity to check up on the entire staff," Knock Out observed the TIC for a moment, and after receiving a tired nod, waved the mech politely away.

"Fantastic, I will send over the list for the worst offenders and for the necessary shopping - or specialists to start looking for," he added, as he already was opening up a call to his conjunx to get cracking on the personnel's files.

Megatron was slightly confused at the odd exchange, but when the form was passed back to the medic, pieces fell together. 

The rota is generated every six Earth's weeks. He could vaguely recall seeing the update warning a few days prior. The fact that the TIC signed anything the medic gave him, meant he was officially approving something.

They benched him.

As Soundwave turned to leave, Megatron blurted out a short chirp of distress, but remained in place when the visor turned to look at him one last time. 

If it had been anger, he would have understood, possibly tried to overwrite the signature with his own - but he knew his loyal friend for a long time, and this was not that. 

No, Soundwave was trying to hold onto hope. That Megatron could still be 'fixed'. The door slid shut, and the warlord felt hollow as his CPU supplied him with a number estimate of that happening. 

It was depressingly low.

"Well, My Lord, your file is currently very patchy, I will need to check everything," the medic's voice drew his attention back, as he stared at the smaller mech blankly. He tilted his helm curiously, but his silence was taken as a permission to speak more. Knock Out started explaining the details, the plan of a lengthy cycle of checks and possible treatments, when Megatron raised his servo to cut him off.

"Why do you bother telling me this?"

The implied 'it's not like I can disagree and leave' hung in the air. 

The red Con looked at him with a mix of worry and hesitation; putting the data pad he was holding on the side table, he decided to respond:

"Because you are not a subject to be studied, sir; you deserve to know what am I going to ask you about and why, especially since I would rather we worked together instead of me having to fight you on providing you medical care," said the medic, looking Megatron straight in the optics. Normally, it would make the bigger mech tense up, sensing competition - this time, he felt it was more of a look of careful wish for cordiality. 

He sometimes forgot that Knock Out was an actual medic that could do his job well. And apparently, for some inexplicable reason, decided to employ his skill fully in his case.

Megatron nodded his helm, and tried to focus on what his old-new doctor was saying. It seems he would be in for a long haul. 

*****

The check-up took a long time. As the warlord and medic were cooperating to help get a complete picture of what was out of the acceptable norm, Knock Out cursed not being able to discuss this with another professional - he was sure even Ratchet would not scoff at the multitude of issues he kept on adding to the file.

Lord Megatron was a medical disaster. 

The silver mech had been riddled with pain that became such a norm that only the strongest pain relief would have made any difference. He did admit that the Dark Energon provided a dampening effect, and the medic immediately pushed the internal fluid check to highest priority. 

Contamination from the use of the mysterious substance was spread out across the frame, lingering despite lack of external exposure at surprisingly active levels. Knock Out noted with alarm that the normal Energon digested was being tainted, most likely keeping the warlord sedated without his knowledge. 

To remove the influence of the Unmaker would be to remove the only relief - and Megatron was still in a lot of pain despite its presence. 

The red bot called for Soundwave's support when he had to share this particular piece of diagnosis, afraid of a possible lapse in the arrangement he managed to turn this situation into - worried it would cause the warlord to lash out. In an unlikely turn of events, Megatron's face blanked out, before he tersely agreed to get the flushing procedure started.

When he woke up afterwards, he stared at the ceiling of the medbay for a long time and turned to Knock Out:

"I severely underestimated just how much the Dark Energon numbed the pain," he said, gritting his denta, and the medic took the hint, excusing himself for a moment.

The low wail of pain could be heard through the walls. When it stopped, the red Con let a couple of short, measured in-vents out, before he got back. The silver mech was back to his stoic expression, but the curled servos indicated he was still struggling to get back to living with the actual amount of pain he knew he managed to suffer in silence before.

The return to the prior state of things was way harder than he expected.

Knock Out did not hold any viable alternative that could have rivaled or surpassed the effects of the substance they just purged from Megatron, but he was going to try to get one - or possibly get some of his patient's aches away. 

One of the easier identifiable issues came to when the red bot examined the warlord's optics. When the silver mech flinched away at the passing light, Knock Out nearly dropped his tool - he knew there were going to be problems connected with them, the medic himself left some notes with a string suggestion for corrective action, but it never went beyond a temporary measure in form of shaded corrective visor.

Mostly because Megatron kept on 'forgetting' to wear it. 

This time around, however, the access to mediport allowed the smaller mech to see the intense flare of pain, suggesting a helmache forming. He hummed before reaching out and deactivating the light, and ordering the other lights to dim. 

The ache receded, systems noting lower strain.

"My Liege, I know we talked about this, but you really should be wearing the shaded visor we prepared for you," Knock Out mentioned, putting the tool away on a prepared tray table. Megatron grumbled a bit, but the medic had grown to know by then that it did not mean he reached the end of his tether, but that the mech was reluctantly listening. 

The warlord not doing some sort of token protest usually meant he tuned the conversation out. Knock Out learned to sense those moments, usually waiting for the mech to get out of this particular tactic from sheer boredom.

"Do you still have the old one we made you?" asked the doctor, and seeing the shake of the silver helm, sighed. 

Another thing to make. 

"I will get one more done for you, sir, but if you don't use it, I'll have to wield the next onto your frame - your optics are set for much darker surroundings and no matter how many times I fix it, it shifts to pre-sets every time, causing you helmaches," he promised, putting a note down on the file. The medic could see Megatron was observing him, trying to gauge the seriousness of the threat; and at that point, Knock Out was very serious.

His momentary suggestion to check out the entire ship had ended up with way more work on his servos than he expected - worse yet, the mechs he was treating needed help beyond his skill. 

Soundwave was updating him daily on the procurement and negotiations, but the millennia of war effort meant there were not many who would be willing to provide help to Decepticons - unless, of course, they paid a hefty fee.

Starscream was handling the budgeting, and seeing this supplied his recommendation: they needed to call Swindle. He would be most likely to get the results despite the cut he would be taking, so they allowed the mech to search the markets for their targets. 

The shopping list grew every day. 

Swindle was ecstatic.

Knock Out additional concern was the odd disposition of their supreme commander - namely, the distaste for one of the most common additives there existed. It was nearly in all of the medications as a stabilizer, and it was very rare to have any perception of it in the Cybertronian population.

Obviously, Megatron had an extreme case of it.

At first, when the medic realized his patient was very reluctant to take the meds, he tried hiding it in refueling rations.

It was also the last attempt of this solution pathway.

Megatron was able to feel the slightest presence of it in whichever substance he consumed, making it impossible to hide. Knock Out had to go apologize to the SIC who got accused of trying to poison the warlord that day.

For some reason, however, when the medic found colored glass in a similar pattern as the meds, the warlord ended up loving them - crunching on the marbles happily. Bribing the mech into taking more medicine became slightly easier with the promise of getting more of these in return.

Luckily, this time around the oddities of the Decepticon commander's frame came in handy - the glass didn't cause any issues, instead processing them easily. Knock Out checked a few times for possible residue buildup which occurred in some mechs with foreign substances, and noted with relief no adverse effects. For all he cared, Megatron could eat as many as he wanted, if it meant he would take the medicine. 

Especially that they were still battling his insomnia… 

The silver mech's recharge logs were all over the place - with no rhyme or reason, and an alarmingly low average time of rest. 

There were, of course, exceptions - but the analysis of those, run in tandem with the known occurrences of loud music being played in particular quarters made it clear why that would be. 

Knock Out cringed inwardly; since they were trying to solve this problem too, that was not the answer they could utilize. 

*****

Solar cycles passed, and the life on Nemesis carried on. 

With the warlord confined to a rigid schedule and the SIC at the helm, everyone seemed to lose some of the tension that came with Megatron's return from space.

Dark Energon was now fully isolated in Shockwave's lab, behind three different access codes held between Starscream, Soundwave, and Knock Out - their commander was banned from approaching the substance under threat of getting Tarn as a round-the-clock minder. As the DJD's leader volunteered readily to do it, the warlord kept far away from the lab.

The peaceful time was met with enthusiasm: the Vehicons were thrilled to have time to indulge in their hobbies and getting slagged less, thus the sense of community grew. The trinkets that got collected from around the Earth started showing up in shared spaces, colors and soft lights getting incorporated into spartan decor of the Nemesis. The dimness remained, as per Knock Out's insistence, but the variety of the glittering points strewn across the halls provided enough coverage in a pleasant manner that even the officers found appealing.

As the majority of the crew had been either dragged or came in willingly for a check-up at the medbay, the morale improved; who knew that showing concern for the troops would make them feel better?

The communication blackout was still in effect, but there were exceptions added to the list, allowing the troops to be contacted on operations outside of the ship; the ongoing income streams have been re-opened too, due to the increased spending estimates.

The Nemesis has changed - but none of its inhabitants could say anything negative about it.

*****

After the first three weeks, both Soundwave and Knock Out were satisfied with Megatron's progress - to the point they found it fitting to provide positive reinforcement. 

Namely, returning the access to his private room for recharging.

Releasing the warlord from the all-cycle supervision was done on a condition that he would still show up at scheduled times so the medication could be monitored, but the privacy of own berth and trinkets was to help facilitate a gradual adjustment back to the normal daily routine. They couldn't shut him in medbay forever. 

Though it seemed Soundwave wouldn’t mind this idea, if it kept him away from Optimus.

For a while, it worked as intended - Megatron followed up on their agreement, coming on his own volition to see Knock Out before he would be escorted by Soundwave to the office, where he would be finishing up on the reports back-log. He was not yet allowed back on the bridge, but there was not so much happening with the operations schedule keeping things on the down low for at least another couple of weeks. Starscream had a good hold of matters, so he couldn’t even have an excuse to be more involved - it was annoying, but as the medication went on, he appreciated having time to deal with the most irritating of side-effects at his own pace, without multiple witnesses.

Coming back to his own quarters was odd, at first - he didn’t miss the sounds of resident medical staff getting it on, but that was mostly because he couldn’t reach the same level of completion in his own self-servicing due to his odd arrangement with Optimus; not to mention that he couldn't deny the couple their happiness when one of them was his direct physician which could (and would) leave Nemesis at the mere suggestion of this sort.

He got used to the red mech, and would rather avoid having to lose the one medic they have around - or at least the only one they had that did not look at every patient as a science experiment.

As he closed the door and started getting on the berth to rest, he sighed, feeling the buzz under his plating come to the forefront of his mind yet again. In the medbay, it was easier to avoid the temptation, but in the privacy of his room, it came back in full force. The warlord was trying to wait the desire out, already sensing that he was fighting a losing battle. He could not allow himself to overload, his mind reminded, indulging into it would only drive the frustration higher.

Megatron managed to wait it out for the entire three days.

As his systems reported increasing signs of struggle, on the fourth day he found himself stepping over the threshold and going automatically to the interior sound controls.

He didn't think consciously about what he was doing - his servos moved in a well-known pattern, familiar music filling the space, as he turned to resign himself to losing himself for a bit in another fantasy. 

A small explosion rocked the ship, stopping him from arranging himself in a preferred position on his knees. Momentarily distracted, he went to check it out, his combat systems greedily hoping for something to punch. When it turned out to be nothing major, he took off back to the room, where he was stopped by Soundwave standing by the door.

The music was still playing, only fractionally muted by the walls.

Megatron's plating tightened defensively, but when the TIC pointed him away with an air of disappointment, the silver mech sagged and obediently dragged himself to the medbay.

*****

The Decepticon leader had known payment for his relapse was due - the reinstated ban of his quarters was proof of that, but even he couldn't expect what his friend would choose as a revenge tactic.

When he heard the news of Autobots showing up to Starscream's operation, he was understandably curious, but as the fighting occurred during his scheduled medbay visit, he didn't pay it much thought.

Until the message arrived later on with two attachments. No words. Just the files.

But they came from Soundwave.

Megatron braced himself, and opened the first one.

The recording opened to his quarters, quickly led towards the storage compartment. The silver mech was mortified when a slim servo reached inside the closet and pulled the box with interfacing toys out. There was no looking around - Soundwave knew where it was and came for it directly. 

As he watched the path of the TIC lead to the incinerator in Shockwave's lab, he started to panic. 

The warlord was in denial the entire time, until he saw the box get tossed inside, opened slightly to allow the heat to reach the interior. The blue digits turned the settings lower - the container would not incinerate completely, but it would be greatly damaged nonetheless.

As the fire raged, Megatron's spark filled with anguish so visceral, he let out a noiseless cry the entire time the box burned. When its charred remains were moved into another container, his throat hurt despite him not uttering even a whimper. 

The recording ended.

He didn't want to see the other one, but he knew that if he didn't see it, Soundwave would force him to watch it the next day in the office. He resigned himself to being mortified beyond what he already felt.

Megatron was not disappointed in that regard.

It must have been the fight earlier this cycle, as they didn't get to face the Autobots in the meantime; he could see that the TIC emerged from the ground bridge carrying the same box he saw on the previous file. 

The warlord was initially alarmed that the blue mech would just give it to the Prime, but instead a fight broke out, the box forgotten.

Seeing Optimus struggling against his top lieutenants was difficult, but he could not stop feeling proud of his crew - he knew they were capable, and seeing it was always fantastic to witness. As much as he didn't want the Prime dead, he couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of Starscream and Soundwave partnering up. 

At least if they off-lined him in the end, he knew that they could take on anything. 

He was surprised to notice the newcomers to the field, recognising the frames easily from memory - nearly forgetting what this all was about.

When a sharp order to retreat came, he noticed Soundwave pointed towards something, prompting Starscream's goading towards the Prime, who was barely holding himself from overheating from exhaustion.

The box. 

The TIC stepped through the portal, but he looked back towards Optimus one more time.

Megatron knew he saw it too.

The wide blue optics filled with dread.

Optimus suspected what was inside - and if the warlord knew his lover as well as he hoped, he would have confirmed his guess. 

Prime knew their collection was gone.

The silver mech curled in on himself, his spark pulsing with sadness and humiliation.

*****

Megatron was devastated - and it showed.

The progress made with Knock Out, the changes to Nemesis, the general improvement of morale, even increasing the rate of victories - all of this didn't matter.

Their box was destroyed. There was no fixing it. 

And Optimus knew about it. They gave it to him, after all. Like a cursed gift.

The warlord felt unmoored - carried only by the routine he had complied with so far, missing at least a solar or two from his memory. He was mostly staring into nothingness, barely acknowledging anyone. 

At least Soundwave did not act like he didn't know why he behaved like this. The TIC was waiting him out, as the silver mech would not even speak to his friend, communicating in nods instead. Megatron still followed the schedule they set up for him, but the balance has shifted - the repetitiveness of his days was grating, instead of grounding. 

He felt trapped inside his frame.

Lying down on the slab in the medbay, he idly noted Knock Out's presence - he opened the medical port without prompting, and the red bot plugged in while maintaining a bit more distance than before. 

The warlord couldn't explain why it bothered him, so he kept his mouth shut; with the other monitoring his systems, it was hard to avoid confrontation.

"There was an odd spike across your multiple processes right now, my Lord - would you be able to tell me why that happened?" Knock Out asked tentatively, more carefully than he used to. Megatron didn't think he actually needed to provide an answer, but something in the medic's posture prompted him to say:

"You are acting differently."

The red mech startled at the reply, expecting another session of complete silence. He weighed his options, and sighed.

"Lord Megatron, your recent behavior led me to believe you wish to be left alone - as your physician I am unable to comply with this preference, but I will not force my presence on you more than necessary," Knock Out explained, tapping idly on the pad in hand. 

"I do wish to be left alone, but this has nothing to do with you, doctor," Megatron's words sounded perplexed, but honest. The title had been slipping into their conversations before, so the medic was pleasantly surprised it was not rescinded.

"I will take that as a vote of confidence in my skills then," Knock Out smiled, letting himself slide back into a more relaxed stance, as he pulled closer the tray with assorted meds for his patient. The frown on the warlord's faceplates did not go unnoticed, but there was little to be done there.

He needed to get the alternative medications soon, the rate at which they were going through the marbles collection was concerning.

Megatron took every pill into his servo and as fast as possible swallowed them in one go - the taste was dreadful and the quicker it went down, the less suffering would be there to experience afterwards. The worst was when something got stuck and he could not flush it down - he would rather claw his throat out at times like that then let it stay there to dissolve on its own.

The silver mech started to power down, knowing he should try to allow the new concoction from the Pit to do its job. Knock Out let out a quiet sound of relief, as the evening routine went by the easy way this time around. He bid his commander a quiet farewell and locked the door to the medbay behind.

*****

Megatron didn't realize when recharge claimed him, but an undefined time after he laid down, he found himself being shaken awake by a pair of familiar servos. 

He scoffed, unwilling to wake up, because he must still be asleep.

There was no way it was actually Optimus - he wouldn't do something as stupid as come onto Nemesis, so he must be dreaming.

The touch became more insistent, so he lazily on-lined his optics.

Red and blue filled his vision.

"Hello, love - you're finally awake, I was worried I wouldn't have a chance to talk to you," said Optimus with a smile, as he stood right by Megatron's shoulder like this situation was completely normal for them.

"What are you doing here?" Megatron hissed out, starting to get up, when a servo on his chest pushed him down. 

"No, don't get up - I need to leave soon, it took me a while to get around the lock and I'm expecting alarm to be raised pretty soon," rushed the Prime, patting the silver plating pacifyingly, placing a kiss onto the other's helm. 

Right as the warlord was about to say something, the shrill sound of intruder alert sounded out throughout the ship.

The Autobot cursed, as he fumbled around some item in his servo, before he pushed it into Megatron's hold. 

"Here, I got you something - I had some time and well… couldn't stop thinking about you, and suspected I was not the only one like that," Optimus chuckled right over his audial, so he could be heard over the sharp sounds filling the medbay. 

Megatron, who could not comprehend this surreal situation while still fighting off the effects of interrupted recharge, just nodded and curled his digits around the gift. He was rewarded with another kiss, and a thrilling purr of "thank you, darling," as Optimus stepped away, watching the door to the medbay.

The warlord sat numb, observing as lights of a ground bridge flickered in the dim room, and loud shouts were heard through the walls in the corridor. 

Prime lunged into the barely formed portal right as at least ten Vehicons, Breakdown and Starscream burst into the medbay, nearly falling over Knock Out's short frame as he keyed the entrance open. The shots they sent towards the source of light never reached the mech going through it, instead leaving scorch marks on the walls. 

"Lord Megatron, have you been injured?" Starscream inquired after it became obvious they came too late. The silver bot shook his helm negative, as he kept his field tucked in tightly. 

"Move the ship and check how he had been able to pinpoint our location," he ordered, shifting focus away from himself towards the security of the Nemesis. The seeker shot a suspicious look towards his leader, but nothing seemed out of order - and the concern raised by the mech was valid. They needed to understand how the Prime was able to get onto the ship and so far inside before the alert went out. 

They couldn't let it happen again.

Decepticon SIC nodded, offering an acknowledgement of the order back to the warlord, and waved everyone out. The seeker had to find and talk to Soundwave - the TIC would be most likely the only one who would be able to trace Optimus's path, and who could counter it.

Megatron watched them all go away, and when the doors closed with a soft whoosh, his field unwound itself, spreading around the space like an explosion.

He was filled with so many contrasting emotions, there was no way he would be able to recharge again.

Curling his digits around the small item in his servo, he pondered:

Perhaps he could spend the time on something more… pleasurable.

******************************

Another ficlet inspired by @transingthoseformers's TFP AU, a direct follow-up to this and running parallel to this - and fleshed out by these posts about Nemesis time wth Megs as a patient.

[transingthoseformers]

There's this trope you see occasionally of purebred dog owners being upset that the neighbour's mutt is the father of their dog's litter.

For some reason, my mind applied it to the TFP au, and it made me giggle.

Yes

Soundwave wouldn't have been as frustrated about Silverlight if their sire hadn't been Optimus. Soundwave would've been fully and enthusiastically supportive of the wedding if it wasn't with Optimus. He'd've loved that his Amica found someone special, if that special someone was not Optimus.

Soundwave just does not like Optimus.

[whatudottu]

Something about Altered Loyalties CYLAS just really makes me want to include him in the first place but also makes me really really REALLY think that with the more supernatural elements of AL based off of the original TFP pilot (or just first episode/s?) that CYLAS as a ‘dead man walking’ would actually let him stay around longer AND also be a very significant contributing factor to Megatron’s downfall in Decepticon favour!

Of course it’s not as if I have the pieces of the TFP rewrite au firmly put into place, CYLAS in canon shows up just over halfway into season 2, and many of my most established changes occur in the first like… including all the parts of ‘Darkness Rising’ 8 episodes of season one; I have no idea if the environment CYLAS presents himself in is the same one canon CYLAS does.

But with the dubiousity between s1 e8 all the way to s2 e19, I’ll establish the basic context… I think in story mode maybe…

Looking at the general timeline for the Aligned Continuity, it says that the first contact of cybertronians on Earth is dated to about 500 years before the show, give or take a decade. I’ve been listing Skyquake’s little EHP pitstop to have existed at least 50 years before the war reached our planet, but what if I pushed it all the way back to 500; if a vorn is 83 years, that’d be about 6 years on an entirely different planet not knowing truly if your twin is going to make it, a planet which by the way presently has no established radio systems that it’s horrifically quiet for a terrestrial environment.

That means that Skyquake’s EHP Comms Array has been transmitting a signal long before humans had developed radio, which also means that what might’ve been blatantly an anomaly in the system if discovered 50 odd years previous to 2012 (which would’ve been in the 60s give or take which would not have been good in the literal middle of the cold war era) has been going for centuries because it had always been there, there is no anomaly because it is a signal that has existed ever since humans were able to manipulate radiowaves into sending messages and translate them into detectable noise. It helps that cybertronian language and code (both code lang and like literal programming code) is a system unknown to humans developing their own language.

And you may be asking, why did I divert this post from talking about CYLAS and how he’d outlast his canon alternate to radio shit? Well, if you were a paramilitary organisation who is pretty good at erasing signals and you discovered a signal that has been actively running for the entirety of human radio has suddenly been silenced, what would you begin to suspect at that?

Aliens may potentially be a stretch but MECH didn’t just name themselves after the cybertronians fighting war on their planet, and once the cybertronian conflict touched down on Earth, the Decepticons hadn’t a need for an intergalactic communications array and in fact was specifically instructed to switch it off in an effort to prevent the Autobots from using it. That would’ve been about maybe 6 years ago for the show (wow just enough equivalent time to match what Skyquake felt he spent grounded to one radio tower look at that) and though MECH would not encounter their first cybertronian until ‘Convoy’ (haha wait that’s s1 e9 the next ep to cover - if necessary - for Altered Loyalties lmao), they would’ve had 6 years to find that missing signal and stumble across some very definitely alien technology.

That is one of the reasons why the rewrite of ‘Masters and Students’ which is less masters and students focused - rather the point is Skyquake, a team of Nemesis stationed vehcions and Starscream investigate the comms array and set it up manually - why the radio tower wasn’t switching on from a remote position.

The other reason was because the Guardian unit stationed at the comms array - the very ones that had accompanied Skyquake all those stellar cycles ago - had gone missing. Why?

Because of Megatron’s flagrant use of Dark Energon.

Points 1 and 2 listed above leads to the explosion of the comms array, the death of Skyquake, and MECH either being alerted to the point of alien contact or just in general going to the site for more study only to find a dead specimen. After the discovery of the Autobots with the body of Skyquake, MECH begins their initial study and dissection of cybertronian physiology, though without a live subject they couldn’t exactly see what parts function in what way, especially the t-cog.

The discovery of Skyquake led to the discovery of terrorcons which lead to the discovery of how to take down a cybertron and how to take it apart without it screaming. MECH would learn the programming of a cybertronian through vehicon terrorcons since, even with DE corruption, their processors are still somewhat being maintained. While probably not able to access memories (they are fickle things, memory centres, easy to damage storage or to corrupt files) there are still systems responsible for pain and other more processor based responsibilities that aren’t centred in a physical organ that reads in fine print it’s function.

Breakdown being MECH’s first fully functional living mecha for their study is so exciting for them (even if Breakdown is very much less enthused) because they can put what knowledge they’ve pieced together to be far more efficient with their time and focus on the elements they could not decipher from either corpse or zombie and potentially try and prod at Breakdown’s brain for some cohesive coding. Good think Bulkhead still shows up when he does even with Breakdown walking away with the dreadful thought of ‘how the hell do these fleshies already know so much’ boring into his head… mainly through the optic that was still drilled out-

Whether or not MECH needs to get another living cybertronian to get caught up in their understanding of the biomechanics of them (aka would 'Operation: Bumblebee' take place as it does) or they skip right onto making a remote control Prime having gotten a headstart on their knowledge and scaring the scrap out of any bot unlucky enough to be unconscious around them, eventually Silas gets smooshed and MECH scientists are reliant on their alien dissections to get the human puree back to the land of the living.

I'd assume that this was the case in the original since if Silas' biomatter was able to be collected from a pile of robot drone induced rubble the RC truck would've been able to be recovered as well, but MECH discovers that using Nemesis Prime as a lifesupport system does not work given all it's functionality is focused on visually replicating another cybertronian, rather than using it to create life. There's a lot of parts and systems to a cybertronian's biological ecology that wasn't put into consideration for a mimic toy that prove detrimental to creating a suitable ah... skin suit essentially for Silas' blood pudding, but MECH has an abundance of corpses ready and raring to be used just so long as they piece them back together again.

Amid MECH's collection would no doubt be a mass of vehicon bodies - some untouched by energon others taken down explicitly by MECH because they were terrorcons - some terrorcons made up from the bodies of the previous conflict pre-show (and not just a hypothetical ancient war, but explicitly the conflict that culled a lot of Autobot and Decepticon officers amid the show expected vehicon death), and the very first cybertronian sample they started studying, Skyquake himself! Being at the origin of the blast at the EHP Comms Array he wasn't kept in perfect condition for one, the arm he loses as a terrorcon in the Shadowzone is still lost - it's been buried under rubble after being severed with radio tower pieces - and the monochromatic glass over his optics has long since been shattered so you can see the 'pupil' aka sensor, but seeing as how CYLAS makes Breakdown's corpse somehow look worse than what Airachnid left it as MECH probably has to suture that fucker back up because there's not way his organs have been left untouched!

And once CYLAS has been successfully integrated into his new cybertronian shell (some sort of arm, either being a loaner from another corpse or straight up just one MECH invented, it could even be a copy of the missing arm but where's the fun in that) instead of getting all high and mighty about 'being of a superior species' Silas actually bloody thinks on MECH's plans going forward. With a literal army of paramilitary personnel, from the scientists that melded human flesh with cybertronian wires to the average grunt soldier fighting between the battles of iron giants, CYLAS has something that Megatron (at least the Altered Loyalties Megatron I have written previously) has wanted from the start of the series...

An undying force.

For as large as cybertronians physically are their numbers can never match the scale of humanity, I can't remember if the books mentioned only thousands of the dead or up to a million over the course of like... a long fucking time but, that's not even the number of the human population if you're caught up with the number (nearly 8 billion alive today). And with the dead of previous battles already roaming the Earth, in a world where Megatron still being only like one dude can't command a planet wide population of zombies, the only reason he doesn't turn his blade to the weakest denominators of his forces in his plagued state is because their conscious decision to serve him is worth more than mindless servitude.

CYLAS introducing himself and MECH as a solution to this issue, and providing a show of bountiful body horror, makes not even the Decepticon high command quite as safe as they had been; not that it's been proven to be safe standing by Megatron's side given his track record of wanting his SiCs beaten or killed but...

The fact that CYLAS just so happened to have given and then promptly brutalised Dreadwing's hope that Skyquake may have been actually alive, just severely damaged (and, bond weakened from distance and prior injury, clinging to the last shreds of 'my spark didn't kill me with him' reasoning) and broke him out of the spell of blind loyalty to his once great leader.

CYLAS in this version has a little bit more longevity to his existence within the Decepticon forces, not actually a Decepticon soldier as the canon CYLAS pledged himself as but 'The Human Factor' the episode so calls itself akin to the way the American government and the human children are to the Autobots, but being able to physically go toe-to-toe with cybertronians. Megatron might be a little tired of dealing with independents after Airachnid's escapade (I do intend to make her more into a poacher/torturer type character than another Starscream so she might act out a little differently), but Silas isn't one for licking boots anytime soon and as CYLAS, Megatron is no different; you'd think he wouldn't have even done that in the first place given he's already an ex-military 'take-no-nonsense' bitch, but the Breakdown in him probably made him a lapdog...

Anyway that's a whole big post about Altered Loyalties CYLAS... or at least the in depth reasoning behind why he could still integrate himself into the story and why he'd probably have more opportunity to lasting- i prommy it's not bc i like torturing skyquake likers *wink*

I guess this is now a canon event or at least I'll try to make it canon ;)

[residenttf-nerdandstoryteller]

Absolutely. Part of the reason I'm writing my tfp AU with beast wars elements is because I get to re-watch tfp to find good ways to implement my characters.

people talk about “comfort shows” and I would never understand what they meant. I think tfp and beast wars are that for me

[sunset-synthetica]

Couple designs for a TFP au, specifically a season 3+4 rewrite.

Had a lot of fun with these designs, especially putting together a new look for Optimus 2.0. The official design has always bothered me a bit, so I aimed to make this one more of an expansion/evolution of the s1-2 look.

As for Elita-1, Jazz and Kup, I might change a few minor details but I'm happy with the overall looks.

[nova--spark]

TFP: TIMESKIP | RID15 AU

Set 3 Years Post Predacons Rising & 1 Month post RID15 Finale [A Personal Rewrite/AU Of the TFP Kids Post TFP/RID]

Jasper, Nevada has become a quiet place for Jack, Miko and Rafael after their final goodbye with team Prime, and with Ratchet, when word that the Medic was needed reached their comms.

For the next 3 years, it was relative radio silence. No news from Cybertron, though they tried to reach out. They sent so many transmissions to their friends, yet not a single one returned to them.

Almost as if something blocked them from them, like something didn't want them in contact.

So, in the absence of their friends, their robotic family they had loved so much, the trio of kids put their all into making them proud.

They spent every day they could at Hangar E, and every year, on the anniversary of their departure, they would visit the old Outpost Omega-1.

They would hold hope for their friends to reach out, someday.

They had to...right?

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Miko dove head first into combat training, thanks to some strings pulled by Agent Fowler. When she wasn't sparring on a mat with her teachers, she was in the hangar, cheered on by Raf and Jack as she learned to translate those moves into the Apex Armor.

After some convincing too, of her parents when she turned 18, and some more strings pulled by Fowler, Miko made the base her home, and lived in Jasper full time. She'd even had her cats brought over from Japan, a fact that made her stay in the hangar less lonely, though she'd spent many dinners at Raf and Jack's homes regardless.

She'd trained her abilities in battle to a fine tuned machine, hoping for the chance to make Bulkhead proud when he walked through the groundbridge someday. Even took to a video diary, to catch him up on everything that had happened since they'd left Earth.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Rafael excelled in his studies to little surprise of many of the others in his presence. The young boy seemed to have matured overnight, and after a letter from Fowler to some colleagues in some colleges, Raf was skipped up a few grades, and was even taking some college courses online, to further his computing knowhow.

Taking up robotics as a hobby mostly, Rafael upkept the remaining Cybertronian tech left by their robotic team members. He remembered every lesson from Ratchet, and from the many times he also tried to help with Bee's voice box, so it was of little surprise to the team when Raf not only upkept but upgraded their base's tech. No better wifi could be found in Jasper, and access to every show they wanted was at their fingertips.

Still, Raf missed Bee, especially after seeing every transmission they sent go unanswered. His best friend had promised to visit, to write them back, call...had...he forgotten them?

He hoped not. Raf could never forget the scout, the one who'd help Raf find his own voice, among the chaos of his own home and family life.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Jack changed the most and the least at the same time. He was still a gentle and quiet soul, but he was fiercely protective now, of Miko and Raf. He dove into his studies, and even skipped a grade, to the surprise of his mother. Studying under her even, Jack learned medical care for his loved ones behalf, especially with all the bruises Miko returned with after her sparring lessons. He joined, once in a while, when he had the energy to, but his energy had shifted to making sure both of his teammates were ok. For his 18th birthday, his mother surprised him with a real motorcycle of his own, after seeing how much he missed Arcee and their rides around Jasper. And Agent Fowler, who had begun dating June at this point, helped hook up Jack with a job alongside him, mainly harmless paperwork, but it would pay better than slinging burgers at KO Drive Inn did, which he appreciated.

His free time was often spent fixing up his bike, and riding out far, along the routes him and Arcee would take. He really hoped their messages would reach them someday.

-0-0-0-0-0-0

Added Notes

Takes place 1yr after the ending of RID15/it's finale

June and Fowler got married by the time Jack is 19, which Jack actually was happy about, even if it shocked him a good bit at the start that they did begin to date.

Rafael has been checking every cryptid sighting website he used to, searching for any hint that Team Prime has come back.

Knockout has been, unbeknownst to Cybertronians and humans alike, been sneaking to Earth via rogue groundbridge of his own. It was where he lost Breakdown, and he continues to race still there [Yes this is bc of RID's use of his car model]

The kids came into contact with the Rescue Bots at some point, and they too have had issues contacting Cybertron, something that they tried to work on together but it did little in the end.

The 'Autobot' High Council had put a ban on travel to Earth, and had erased the coordinates from most databanks, as well as disrupting transmission from the kids to team Prime.

Crown City is located California for this AU

Outpost Omega-1 has been abandoned yes,the kids mainly use Hangar E, but regularly visit the old base since it's destruction.

[chillerss]

Hey guys! I’m alive again! (shocker)

And I’ve been writing consistently again! (another shocker)

I kind of fell off in 2019 because I moved out west and ended up spending a ton of time outside. I hardly used my phone that whole summer, so when I tried to get back into writing by 2020, the writer’s block was heaaavy.

Recently I came back to writing reader inserts for Transformers again and I remembered how much I love it. For years I was posting everything on Quotev, but I’d really like to reach more people if it’s possible. This fic was my own escape from life and Bumblebee has always been my biggest comfort character, so I want to continue sharing it if others find some kind of comfort in it like I originally intended. That being said I’m going to continue posting on Quotev, but I’ll also be posting both stories here!

I’d love to continue the reboot of my first fic (based in TFA and sort of like an AU because instead of Sari, they find you) and the sequel fic (based in TFP). If you’re a Bumblebee lover like myself, I’d love it if you’d take a look! Feel free to check them out on Quotev, my user there is Bumblebutt. But PLEASE be aware that I wrote and finished IKYS specifically when I was like, 13 - 16 years old. It gets slightly better as you read, but overall it is still classic cringeworthy teenaged girl writing. Hence the rewrite.💀

Here are the blurbs for both fics!

₊ ⊹ 🐝 ⊹ ₊ I’ll Keep You Safe - TFA Bumblebee/fem!reader (currently rewriting) ₊ ⊹ 🐝 ⊹ ₊

Detroit was not where you wanted to move to, but it was now your only option after your grandmother’s passing. So you move in with your only living relative and soon come to find yourself infatuated with the team of giant alien robots protecting the city. They take a sudden interest in you too when their scout, Bumblebee, rescues you from a precarious incident and a close bond quickly forms between you and the young ‘Bot.

However, things take a turn when the Decepticons set their sights on you. So much so that they hire a bounty hunter to capture you alongside their efforts. Bumblebee would do anything to keep you safe, but he and the rest of his small Autobot team have their work cut out for them. His worst nightmare is failing to keep his promise to you—and with the way their circumstances keep getting tested—that just may be on his horizon.

₊ ⊹ 🐝 ⊹ ₊ Heart of His Spark - TFP Bumblebee/fem!reader (IKYS Sequel) ₊ ⊹ 🐝 ⊹ ₊

It’s been years since you last saw your best friend. You were thrown into witness protection after the Autobots’ departure and life had been so plain and simple ever since. The quiet peace was more than welcome, but the loneliness that accompanies it is almost unbearable at times. That is, until one random Wednesday afternoon when some kid from Nevada gives you a call.

Before you know it, you’re thrust back into life at his side again. The struggle of trying to balance your past trauma with what’s happening everyday in Cybertronian affairs has an iron grip on you. But Bumblebee now has two charges to look after, and you’re never going to let what happened to you, happen to these three kids—no matter what Bumblebee promises.

Go ahead and zip over to Quotev if you’d like, and thank you for reading! New chapters coming soon. :)

[gelu-the-babosa-multiversal]

Principal: “Jack! I want you to meet our new foreign exchange student – Miko Nakadai. I need a responsible, never-take-chances type to keep an eye on her, and who better than you, the ‘Safe Kid’?”… Jack: “What?! No-no-no-no! I am completely wrong for this! I'm a misunderstood bad boy!”… Principal: “You're hilarious!” 😂

...

[midday-headcanons]

Your Tfp fanfiction is about what? And, can you send me the link of it pls?

Sure. My TFP fanfiction is called "when you're ready, come find me" and is a canon compliant - and later divergent - oc x canon soulmate AU fic. (Mild warning: It may sound a bit weird in certain parts. I've been rewriting the earlier chapters and they don't seamlessly match with the new ones yet.)

In this AU, humans and Transformers both get marks that lead them to their soulmates. However, a human woman called Ava was somehow born with a mark instead of receiving it after puberty, and that mark causes her physical pain as well as changes shape every few years.

Turns out, her mark is connected to a Transformer instead of a human. The specific Transformer is Megatron, which she finds out the hard way during the events of the episode Rock Bottom. Both she and Megatron are trying to figure out what the hell caused this, and how they can either get out of this debacle or live with it.

TL;DR: Human lady is Megatron's soulmate. People find out. Chaos ensues.

Hope you like it.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Five Fics Friday: May 3/24

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you guys had a wonderful week and are looking forward to settling down with one of these fantastic fics to read! Enjoy!

RECENT MFLs

Hyperballad by PlantsAreNeat (G, 893 w., 1 Ch. || Angst, Feels, Drugs, POV Sherlock) – Sherlock has bought cocaine after his doubts and fears about his and John's new relationship prey on his mind. Not exactly a danger night, but not not one either.

Conductor of Light by rsong912 (E, 8,513 w., 1 Ch. || Developing Relationship, POV John, First Time, BAMF Irene, John is a Mess, Sherlock's Big Feelings, Hurt Sherlock, Angst with Happy Ending) – After the incident with Moriarty at the pool, John is amazed at Sherlock's reaction to John being in danger. He never flirted with the detective again after that first night at Angelo's, but maybe it's time to try once more. He does, with spectacular results. But when Irene Adler enters their lives, it has a disastrous effect on their budding romance.

A Midnight Clear by khorazir (T, 13,120 w., 1 Ch. || Christmas-Carol Inspired || Post S3/Post-TLD / TFP Doesn't Exist, Christmas, Angst, Fluff, Pining, Canon-Typical Violence, Friends to Lovers, First Kiss, Implied / Referenced Drug Use, Magical Realism) – It’s Christmas Eve, and Sherlock is working. Because that’s what he does. He doesn’t need Christmas, or holiday cheer, or even company. He’s fine on his own, thank you very much – until a series of strange encounters on his way back to Baker Street makes him reconsider.

Best Laid Plans by TheMadKatter13 (E, 57,366 w., 9 Ch. || Omegaverse AU || Post-TRF Rape/Non-Con, Graphic Violence, Angst, Marking, Scenting, Time Skips, John's Blog, Nesting, Hurt/Comfort, Torture, Mounting, Biting, Breeding, Bonding, Knotting, Mpreg, Mating Cycles, Alpha Sherlock, Omega John, Omega Jim, Possessive Sherlock, Alpha Moran, Kidnapping) – After the detective's suicide, anyone with eyes could see that there was no John Watson without Sherlock Holmes. Only a rare few even realized there was a flipside to that coin: that there was no Sherlock Holmes without John Watson. Unfortunately, Jim Moriarty is one of those rare few, and while kidnapping his blogger had drawn out out the genius so well the first time, new intel on the 'alpha' doctor has the omega criminal arranging a little bit of 'playtime' between his alpha and his bait while they wait for the not-quite-dead to arrive.

RECENTLY BOOKMARKED LOKIUS FICS

Are We Dating? by AindyGhosh (G, 2,288 w., 1 Ch. || LOKI SERIES || Lokius, S02E05 Rewrite, Flirty Mobius, Flustered Loki, Fluff) – Now that the thought had taken root in Don’s mind, it refused to let go, clinging on to him like a limpet. As it was, Don was infamous in his friends’ circles for his lack of a brain-to-mouth filter. Therefore, it didn’t come as a surprise to him when he just gave in, and verbalised the one doubt that had been making rounds in his head since the moment he had talked to Loki. “Are we dating?” It was only logical to deduce that. And Don couldn’t believe this God-like person had been interested in him enough to agree to date him.

[princesstarfire1234]

abt your rant on how ppl are weird towards orion pax- no cuz ure so right,seeing those fanarts at first i was like idk maybe some people have a heavy preference on making him be submissive etc? but the way they do it- it goes beyond just artstyle wise and interpretation 😭 its just fetishizing in all the wrong ways,not just that but that one comic of him being blind? it was so weird like they could of just had a diff approach where he doesnt get beaten up or is a crybaby like- wtf

not just orion pax though,for example in tfp optimus is drawn and seen as this uwu twink boy and its so?? like did we see the same series...that is NOT optimus prime that is just an oc that looks like him atp 😭

anyways,not making this any longer cuz its probs boring- but yeah,i fully agree that some artists are way too weird like borderline problematic about the way they draw orion pax/optimus prime

more ppl need to speak up on this topic tbh

Not at all boring to read lol, I like getting long asks, anyhow...

Yeaaaahhhh, like I'm not trying to say people can't draw or write Optimus or Orion as being more soft or "submissive" or whatever. Do what you want with those characters, I'm not the fandom police, but there's a point where it becomes weird.

Like you're taking a guy, you're taking Optimus fucking Prime and rewriting his character so not only is his agency just gone but his entire being revolves around being the cutesy boyfriend in a ship with a big masc man and nothing else, he's seemingly incapable of doing anything he's proven to be skillful in... despite being a very strong and courageous character...

also yeah I'm so glad I'm not the only one who feels very weird about the Orion being blind AU, I'm not against the idea, I think it could be interesting but all they really did (last time I saw it and a bunch of the art for it) was take a character, make them disabled, and suddenly they need to be coddled around and rescued by an abled person from a fight that IN CHARACTER they could've done something about or didn't have to cry like a child about it... like someone in the comments of my post said, it's bordering on ableism, but I don't wanna label anyone.

[daddymus-mamatron]

I'm looking for a beta reader for my TF stuff. English is my second language spiel bla bla bla. More details/rambling under cut

what I write; pretty wide range of things, I have an IDW AU where Rodimus is in the Cars universe and he's going to be bff with McQueen because it makes my brain go brrrr (there's also a sequel with Turbo [sue me]). There's also the TFP AU where Cylas infiltrates the 'cons by hacking Break Down and things get not nice from there for anyone.

Biggest project is my modest rewrite of Earthspark S1 for my bestie @shotimus (yas gurl, you mention~) who, not only does wonderful first read and proof reading, but is the inspiration behind this whole insane cooking.

Recurrent themes; AU's, silly cross overs (Cars and Turbo were mentioned but may I preach about Megatron and the Minions?) character(s) death(s), non/dub-con physically/mentally/sanely, BDSM, valveplug/plug n play/whatever TF do to get freaky, robogore & medical malpractice themes. Toxic Texaid and Tarnma is my perfect venn diagram of tropes.

oh and poly robots. gotta be chill about robots having it going on with all the other robots.

actual pairings I'm writing right now; TFE starscream/soundwave, TFP starscream/soundwave/knock out, TFP/TFE knock out/break down/starscream, TFE OP/Meg/Elita, anywhere I can shove drift/ratchet/rodimus in but mostly IDW so far (threat).

my process; I tend to have 3 or 4 things on the burner at the same time while I'm chopping away at the bug project. I have a general idea where I'm going usually but sometimes I veer off and things get out of hands.

I tend to write the sillier things to 'jump start' my brain so they get small burst of updates and the big project that I tend to stick to 3k to 5k updates weekly (when life is not taking over)

I tend to repeat myself, which brings me to!

my Struggles; sticking with verb tense, changing my mind about a sentence; editing a part and then the whole thing makes no sense, random french word that makes no sense and/or sentence that would make sense in french but sounds insane in english. I also, tend to repeat myself, don't know if I mentioned that.

Things I like in a beta; explains the why of the changes made when reorganizing a sentence, can help make sense or organize a rambling/brain dump, helps with what tags to put on AO3 (bane of my life), summary; what's a summary? (help!), someone to bounce off plots, ideas and words, drift compatible always a plus.

I'm very chill tho, we're all doing this for fun and I respect anyone taking their free time to help me make another friend happy!!

if somehow this rambling hasn't put you off, hit my DM's!