#the autobot/decepticon war is still not something he can comprehend

[healix17]

Not sure if you're still taking requests (this would be my, what, fourth? XD) but figure I'll shoot you this fresh idea. KOBD fic where its post Prime and RiD15 where Breakdown comes back to life and arrives on cybertron due to the timey wimey unicron shenanigans of that one japanese manga (or something else. tbh the canonicity of that is up in the air but fans have been writing "breakdown comes back" fics since he died so yeah) and about the rough and rocky transition of him adapting to a post war cybertron.

Stuff like Knockouts defections and later exile from cybertron as well as anything to do with Wildbreak and the stunticons could be brought up. Though really the focus on the idea is him and knockout trying to rekindle their relationship.

I'm actually in love with your ideas and I don't mind the ideas.

And I apologise for this being kinda different from your idea you had in mind, this is an old fanfiction I have in my files that I didn't have the motivation to post; so I hope you like it.

Rebuilding the Bonds

Breakdown's optics flickered online, his vision blurry and his processor sluggish.

He lay on the cold, metallic ground of Cybertron, the familiar hum of the planet's core beneath him.

Confusion clouded his mind. The last thing he remembered was darkness, an endless void after his death. How was he back?

He pushed himself up, looking around at the ruins of an old Decepticon base.

It felt like home but different—silent, devoid of the constant tension of war.

He stumbled to his feet, every joint aching, and began to wander, searching for answers.

As he moved through the deserted base, memories of battles fought and lost flooded his mind.

He had given his life for the Decepticon cause, for Megatron, for a future that no longer seemed to exist.

What had happened?

And where was everyone?

A faint sound reached his audio receptors—footsteps, voices.

He followed the noise, his spark pounding in his chest. He turned a corner and saw a group of bots, some familiar, some not.

One of them, a sleek, red and white medic, caught his optics. Knockout.

"Breakdown?" Knockout's voice was a whisper, disbelief and shock evident on his face. He took a hesitant step forward, then another, until he was standing right in front of Breakdown. "How... how are you here?"

"I don't know," Breakdown replied, his voice hoarse. "One moment, I was gone, and the next, I woke up here."

Knockout's optics shimmered with unshed tears. "It's been so long... So much has changed."

Breakdown nodded, feeling a lump in his throat. "What happened, Knockout? What's going on?"

...

As they sat together in a quiet corner of the base, Knockout recounted the events that had transpired after Breakdown's death—the exile of Megatron, the end of the war, and the rebuilding of Cybertron.

Breakdown listened in stunned silence, unable to comprehend the enormity of it all.

"And what about you?" Breakdown asked, his voice barely a whisper. "What happened to you after the war?"

Knockout looked away, guilt and shame etched on his face. "I... I defected to the Autobots. I couldn't stay with the Decepticons after everything that happened. And after the war, I was exiled from Cybertron for my actions."

Breakdown's spark clenched. "Exiled? For what?"

"For betraying the Decepticons, for my part in the war. But mostly, it was for trying to find a new path, for trying to survive," Knockout admitted, his optics downcast. "I've done things I'm not proud of, Breakdown. But I did what I had to do."

Breakdown reached out, placing a hand on Knockout's arm. "We all did things we're not proud of. The war changed us all. But we're here now. We have a chance to make things right."

Knockout looked up, his optics meeting Breakdown's. "Can we really? After everything that's happened?"

Breakdown nodded. "We can try."

...

Breakdown's return was met with mixed reactions. Some welcomed him back with open arms, while others eyed him with suspicion.

It was a strange new world, one where Autobots and Decepticons coexisted, working together to rebuild their home.

Then he met the most unexpected being held never knew would be a possibility.

Wildbreak, the young sparkling who looked so much like Breakdown, was a source of both joy and confusion.

The sparkling had been born during Breakdown's absence, raised by Knockout and the Stunticons.

Meeting his child for the first time was overwhelming, and Breakdown struggled to connect with the young bot who didn't know him.

The Stunticons, however, were a different story. They had been Breakdown's comrades in arms, and now they were his support system. They helped him navigate this new world, offering guidance and camaraderie. Despite the changes, their bond remained strong.

But it was with Knockout that Breakdown faced the most challenges. The war had left deep scars on both of them, and their relationship was strained.

They argued, they clashed, and yet, they couldn't stay away from each other. The love they once shared was still there, buried beneath layers of pain and regret.

One evening, after a particularly heated argument, Breakdown found Knockout sitting alone, his shoulders slumped. Breakdown approached cautiously, unsure of how to bridge the gap between them.

"Knockout," he said softly, "I'm sorry. For everything."

Knockout looked up, his optics filled with unshed tears. "I just... I don't know how to do this, Breakdown. I don't know how to move forward."

Breakdown sat down beside him, reaching out to take his hand. "We take it one step at a time. We'll figure it out together."

...

The Stunticons welcomed Breakdown back with open arms. They had missed him, and they were determined to help him adjust to this new world. They shared stories of their adventures, their struggles, and their triumphs. Slowly, Breakdown began to feel like he belonged again.

Wildbreak was a different challenge. The young bot was wary of Breakdown, unsure of this stranger who had suddenly appeared in his life.

Breakdown understood, but it still hurt. He wanted to be a father to Wildbreak, but he didn't know how.

One day, Wildbreak approached him hesitantly. "Are you really my sire?" he asked, his voice small and unsure.

Breakdown knelt down, looking into Wildbreak's optics. "Yes, I am. I know it's strange, but I want to be here for you. I want to get to know you."

Wildbreak studied him for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. But you have to promise not to leave again."

Breakdown's spark ached. "I promise."

...

As Breakdown and Knockout tried to rekindle their relationship, the past loomed over them like a dark cloud.

They argued about the war, about Knockout's defection, about Breakdown's absence. It was painful, but it was necessary.

One night, after a particularly harsh argument, Knockout broke down, his shoulders shaking with sobs. "I thought I'd lost you forever," he cried. "I didn't know how to keep going without you."

Breakdown pulled him into his arms, holding him tightly. "I'm here now. We can't change the past, but we can build a future together."

Knockout clung to him, his sobs gradually subsiding. "I love you, Breakdown. I always have."

Breakdown pressed a kiss to Knockout's forehead. "I love you too. And I'm not going anywhere."

...

With time, Breakdown began to find his place on Cybertron. He worked alongside the Autobots and Decepticons, helping to rebuild their world.

He bonded with Wildbreak, slowly earning his trust and love. And with Knockout by his side, he felt like he could face anything.

The Stunticons were a constant source of support and laughter. They helped Breakdown adjust, offering guidance and camaraderie. Despite the challenges, their bond remained strong.

...

As Breakdown and Knockout worked on rebuilding their relationship, they shared moments of vulnerability, love, and hope. They talked about their fears, their dreams, and their future. They laughed together, cried together, and held each other close.

One evening, as they sat together under the stars, Knockout leaned against Breakdown, his head resting on his shoulder. "I never thought we'd get here," he said softly.

Breakdown wrapped an arm around him, pulling him closer. "Neither did I. But I'm glad we did."

Knockout smiled, his optics shining with love. "Me too."

...

Breakdown fully integrated into the post-war society, finding a place for himself and his family. He worked alongside the Autobots and Decepticons, helping to rebuild their world. He bonded with Wildbreak, becoming the father he always wanted to be.

And with Knockout by his side, he felt like he could face anything. They had been through so much, but they had come out stronger. Their love had survived the war, and now they had a chance to build a future together.

As they stood together, looking out over the rebuilt city, Breakdown felt a sense of hope and renewal. They had a long road ahead of them, but they would face it together. And that was all that mattered.

[megamaster64-comms-open]

6000 years ago, a civil war broke out on the planet Cybertron between two factions: Autobots and Decepticons. The Decepticons and their leader Megatron wanted to take the planet for themselves, using it as an epicenter for galactic domination. However they were stopped by the Autobots and their leader, Optimus prime after 200 years of war. With Megatron dying in combat, and his ideals dying with him over the next few generations, the remaining Decepticons were declared war criminals and rounded up over the next few years. After the war a scientist by the name of Shockwave, who was working on a project to produce bio-mechanical soldiers in a hope to bring his faction back, was forced to leave the planet as he was eventually found by a new task force known as the Maximal Coalition. 

Unable to fight in his old age, the cyclops stole a ship, taking several protoforms with him, eventually landing on the planet earth on September 15th, 1982. He would spend the rest of that year setting up his lab and working on his experiments. Shockwave didn't want an earth altmode, as he could find nothing of comparable size to him so he just used a large piece of cloth as a cloak and hood.

He would go around the outskirts of the town he landed next to, collecting materials he needed. Although, as more and more towns folk saw him he became a sort of urban legend. Enter 1983:

Evan Afton was a very frustrated child, his home was more comparable to hell. Everyday he would be bullied by his older brother, Michael, abused by his father, William, and ignored by sister, Elizabeth. Michaels friends didn’t make things much better, always helping his older brother with his pranks, and throwing constant jabs at him, be it verbally or physically. The night wasn’t any greater for him; he could only go to sleep at 6:00 am after surviving a set of monsters created by hallucinogenic gas. All of this left him bitter, angry, vengeful, but he knew he was powerless in his current position. And he knew for a fact that his older brother was going to make his birthday hell too, still, he couldn’t do anything. That was until he heard rumors about the StitchWraith, a wizard that could give you any kind of forbidden knowledge you wanted or grant any wish your heart desired. On top of that there was speculation that Henry Emily and Evans' own father had visited the StitchWraith before and that's how they made their animatronics so life-like. However, there was a catch, you shouldn’t go looking for the wizard, you should let it find you. For only then will you be considered worthy of its power, you don’t want to end up like ‘Scary Susie’. He knew all about ‘Scary Susie’ the girl that supposedly went insane after learning something from the wizard she was not prepared to hear. With that information he went home and asked his father about it wanting to learn more. Instead William yelled at him and told him to never ask about the wizard again. Knowing that neither his brother or sister would be of any use he waited until the night to put his plan into action. And he did just that once he had the cover of darkness. Running out of the house and into the woods, roaming around for a short while. Just waiting, and waiting, and waiting some more. He was starting to think that the wizard was just that, a myth, a rumor. That was until he saw a bright yellow light beaming at him in the distance. The light got closer and brighter and before he could even comprehend it, there stood the wizard. A large metal being covered with a dark gray tarp, it had found him. “You humans…” it spoke with a gravelly tone. “So addicted to your myths of magic, when in reality it is simply science beyond your comprehension…” Evan tried not to sob in terror at the enormous being, putting on a brave face and asking it one question. “C-can you make me strong?” He quivered, despite this fearful tone of voice The wizard looked down at the boy with intrigue. “For what purpose?” The wizard said as he looked closer at the boy. Evan told him everything about his life up until this point, seeing an opportunity the StitchWraith took him under his wing and told him to follow. Leading him to a hovel with a large hornets nest seeming to take over one side, the inside was lined with metal plating and pipes. On the walls were pods containing big blank, gray figures with empty eye sockets. The wizard walked over to one of the pods, taking out one of the figures and placing it inside of a large chamber that was next to a computer. He gestured for Evan to get inside, and Evan did just that. Standing next to the blank being while the wizard began typing on his computer. “How will this make me strong?” The boy grunted. “You will see in time my dear boy…” The wizard reassured him. As The StitchWraith finished what he was doing on the computer he pressed a button and the chambers door closed. But before it closed all the way a bald-faced hornet found its way inside. Landing on the gray figure. The chamber was sealed and everything inside began to glow, and Evans bones began to feel heavy. He stumbled and fell on the gray body and the hornet fell on him. Still buzzing. Seeing the insect Evan panicked and tried to get the bug off of him. But found that it was stuck to his shirt, and his shirt and other articles of clothing were stuck to his skin, and he was stuck to the gray figure.

HORNET!!!! This is a thing I'm going to be doing for a bit! Taking peoples takes on certain fnaf characters and combining them with Transformers! Why? Because I think it's fun! Starting with the vengeful Evan au! Vengeful Evan au belongs to @cookieruma29 The Story behind this piece is in the reblogs!

[smileforsmilez]

TFA Underground City AU Part 5 (Decepticons)

Megatron

- The warlord couldn’t comprehend how such a meager little Autobot could best him, HIM- in battle. There was no way any Autobot could’ve known about his blind spot. Unless this little Prime was the next Magnus-to-be but not even Ultra Magnus knew of his blind spot. He wasn’t familiar with the fighting style either. It was a mixture of that repulsive Autobot training and something more. He’s fascinated by the masked Prime even more by it.

- He tries spying on them but he was found out sooner than expected, by the scout no less. He swore those blue optics zeroed on his spy cam the moment he entered the room.

- He has a certain fascination towards the Tunnels Mechs, stories of them only grow rarer by the era and he’s seen the Tunnels Mechs aided both Decepticon and Autobot at rare moments. Moments such as a pair of mechs catching Starscream from falling, an arm pulling the Autobot Medic out of firing range, so on and so forth. His respect stems from such events and Shockwave’s personal recount when he was allowed through one of the tunnels just once to get out of a collapsing building. They might’ve been foolish to allow outsiders through their tunnels but they had reason for it. Would anyone have stopped them from keeping their planet alive?

- He wonders where were they now and what happened to them to simply be erased from history. He’s wondered before if Cybertron could survive without both the All Spark and the Tunnels Mechs.

Starscream

- He doesn’t care too much about those tunnel dwellers but like any other sensible Decepticon he has some level of respect for their efforts, the Autobots would truly be fools if they had rid of them.

- A mech he knew long ago was a Sea Jack. Kind fellow, dead fellow.

- He hadn’t expected whatever relation he had with Skyfire would save him after he was gone. Certainly not in the form of two Sea Jacks saving his aft after his wing was shot off. “ We owed him.” Was all they had said before disappearing again.

- He never told anyone what he knew of Sea Jacks or any Tunnels Mech. Personally, “ It’s our secret, Star”

Lugnut

- He had once thought of them as cowards for not taking up arms to fight the war. Strika had been the one to tell him what they were truly doing and after Megatron unofficially approving of their efforts, he has some respect for them.

- He had killed an Ice Mech once and unfortunately injured dozens more, he had mistaken the slightly larger civilian frames for a regular Autobot’s. He didn’t know, he truly didn’t until a frost covered pickaxe came flying at his biggest optic. The injury made his new optic itch still, unable to integrate properly into his frame.

- He’d been more careful with badgeless mechs since.

- The Autobot Prime had removed his badge some time before the Elite Guard showed up so he’s not sure how to react to that.

Blitzwing

- He doesn’t know anyone who was a Tunnels Mech. The stories seemed rather a bit far fetched in his opinion. It was rather absurd to think mechs could be living beneath Cybertron.

- It became more plausible when the Prime broke out of his ice so smoothly. Of course he knew the ice doesn’t kill mechs. But the way he moved showed a familiarity to the cold substance. Each hack with that axe was precise, he knew exactly where to hit to shatter an entire chunk with one hit.

- The hummel proved insecticons were real so why not Tunnels Mechs.

Blackarachnia

- She’s never heard of these tunnel dwellers before joining the Decepticons. She didn’t get why these bots were respected or special in any way. It’s not like only they knew how to run the cores and temperatures on Cybertron....oh shit, they are the only who knew.

- Is the planet going to die? Can they be replaced? Autobot society is so screwed up.

- Can they be recreated? Apparently not. There were too many details and specifications to be able to recreate anything like them. Word has it that they fled the planet after some sort of event during her academy years. She recalled how upset Optimus had been one cycle, he wasn’t even talking anymore. She brushed off the memory, like he’d actually know anything about the Tunnels Mechs.

- Giving up on the Tunnels Mech stories mostly due to how vague they were, she focused on her own goals.

- She’ll have to decide something one day when she sees Optimus again.

Shockwave

- His time as a senator had been one of the reasons he was still standing. It had given him the chance to meet the fabled Tunnels Mechs.

- They had foolishly allowed him passage and he sought to make note of the routes and use them for the Decepticon cause. “ Cybertron’s chaging.” His guide had told him as he walked down the passage. He waited for anything else but was met with silence. The silence was broken once again by a humm, soon joined by several voices as they sang in Whisper, the rhythm of their work as they moved reminded him when he had visited Megatron in the mines all those years ago. “ Goodbye, Senator.” The guide mutters before leaving.

- When he returned to infiltrate the Autobots the sight of the sealed tunnels devastated him. Every single entry was completely sealed. He tried opening one at Rodion but was greeted with a mountain of dead frames just rusting there, they were trying to escape.

- The discovery was broadcasted throughout the Decepticon network, caught on by a few Tunnels Mechs who were secretly among them and spread to every known Tunnels Mech network until it reached the Tunnels Mechs travelling at the edges of the universe and back to the ones on Cybertron.

The news of what happened to the Tunnels Mechs were intercepted by a rather hated enemy to all of Cybertron. They wanted to use this opportunity to invade Cybertron now that the primary system protecting its core has been eradicated.

[yourfavmagicpiano]

“Regret”: Mini Chapter

((No POV

((Listen to “Loving You is a Loosing Game” for extra sadness

“Hey, Ratchet said you wanted to speak with me. Is everything alright?” Persephone smiled at her partner, walking towards him and taking his hand.

Optimus couldn’t meet her gaze. He had known this would be hard for them both, but it was the only way to keep her safe...even if it crushed her spark.

“I...I have been doing some thinking regarding our relationship in these trying times...” He stared down at the floor, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. He could feel the ring he’d proposed to her with on her finger. Those had been happier times.

Persephone sighed, gently cupping his chin to make him look at her. “My love, I know that it’s hard, but I swear that I will always be here by your side as long as you want me.” She smiled, kissing his cheek.

The new prime shut his optics closed. Well...might as well get it over with.

“I don’t want you by my side, Persephone.”

“W-What?” She let go of his hand, looking back at him in shock and confusion. “H-Have I done something wrong?”

“No, but...” He hesitated, searching for the right words. “You...you are not safe with us being as close as we are. It would be better if we were to part ways.”

“But...but I thought that we were going to get married after the war? That we would start a family?!” She blinked back tears. “Orion...I love you.”

“I’m sorry, my wildflower...” He places his hands on her shoulders, trying to keep his cool despite the ache in his spark. “I cannot ask you to put yourself in harms way for my sake. Please forgive me.”

The femme stared at him for a long time, tears running down her cheeks. Finally, she slid off her ring, placing it in his palm.

“I...I understand. My apologies...sir.” She removes his hands from his shoulders, keeping her optics down as she walked out of his office.

Optimus stares after his now ex fiancé until she softly shut the door behind him. He looked down at the silvery ring, blinking back tears of his own. He placed the ring on the corner of his desk, unable to bear the sight of it any longer as he sat back down.

A year later...

Jazz was reluctant to answer the incoming call from the Autobot leader. He was still processing the events that had taken place no less than an hour ago. He let out a long sigh, and turned on the device.

“Optimus Prime.”

“Jazz, what is your status?” Optimus spoke formally, his expression unreadable.

“The mission was a failure, sir. The relics were lost to the Decepticons.” Jazz clenched his fist, not bothering to hide the hurt in his voice.

“That is unfortunate, but I’m sure you did your best. Did we loose any Autobots?”

“Just one, sir.”

“And who may that be?”

Jazz retracted his visor and looked his leader in the eyes.

“Persephone, sir.”

The room fell dead quiet, aside from the light hum of the machinery. Optimus was wide eyed in shock, not able to fully comprehend what he had just been told.

“I...I beg your pardon?”

Jazz but his lip, looking away from the screen. “I’m so sorry. She went after this freaky mask from her people, and had a run in with a Decepticon seeker. None of us know anything about her, but...Seph kept the glitch distracted. She gave us the chance to escape.”

“I...I understand. This...this is a tragedy. You and your men may take time off to rest. I understand that this is upsetting.”

“Pax...cut the act, man. She meant more to you then she did to me. Y’all were going to get married.” Jazz sighed once more.

“She...meant a great deal to me...but I can assure you that I will be fine. Please, do not worry about me. Take care of your men.” The Prime tried for give a reassuring smile.

“If you say so, big guy. Jazz out.” The feed was cut.

Optimus stared at the darkened monitor, his shaking hands clenching into fists.

“N-no...” His optics flooded with tears. “No...no...NO!” He slammed his fist into the wall with a loud crunch of metal.

“Persephone!” He cried, falling to his knees. “Damnit! You said you’d always be by my side!” All logical thought was over written with pain and grief. Was she truly gone? It didn’t feel possible. It didn’t feel REAL. It felt like a horrible nightmare, one that he couldn’t wake up from. She was gone...and it was his fault...

Persephone walked down the streets of the city, clinging tightly to the cloak that covered her helm and frame. She winced with every step, still feeling the aches and pains from her battle with her once former Kore, Nightshade. For a seeker, that girl really packed a punch.

The kunoichi felt her side, ensuring that the Kijo Mask was still safely concealed inside her cloak. Even now, she could hear it start to whisper her mind, trying to seduce her into putting it on.

She shrugged it off, returning her focus to the task at hand. She needed to find a ship, to get the accursed item off planet and find a way to destroy it. It was far too evil to be kept around and would be even more dangerous in the hands of the Decepticons.

“Ay, never seen you ‘round, stranger! Ya lost?” A rusted older bot called to her from his shop. He wore no insignia, indicating neutral ground in the war.

She turned towards him, covering the lower half of her face in her cloak and looking the old mech in the eyes.

“Somewhat. I’m actually in the market for a ship. You wouldn’t happen to know anyone that I could buy from, sir?”

The mech chuckled. “Ya came to the right place, ma’am! Name’s Ol’ Vulcan! I sell old ships for a decent price.”

“I’m more than willing to pay whatever you want. It’s...urgent that I acquire a ship.” She walked towards the shop, stopping by the door.

“Aw, that ain’t necessary. ‘Bout a thousand shards’ll suffice. I just got one question for ya, missy.”

“And what would that be, Vulcan?” She raised a suspicious brow at him.

“Whats yer name?”

“...Desponia. My name is Desponia.”

[transtech-zine]

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Episode 4: “Dark Web” Written by: Ian Weir Broadcast: 7/7/01

Blackarachnia patrols the city at night when the Autobots get notified of a silent alarm being set off.  Blackarachnia, nearest to the crime scene, swings in alone, and discovers Megatron and a team of Decepticon volunteers stealing supplies from a refinery.  She stalks through the shadows and the machinery, observing the Decepticons’ actions and waiting for backup.

Suddenly, Blackarachnia is attacked.  She whips around to face her opponent, finding herself up against a shadowy doppelganger of herself.  She’s unable to put up a good fight, as her double hits stronger and reacts faster than she does.  Blackarachnia is flung into a silo, which collapses into rubble on top of her.  Debris above her shifts and moves, as if her double is coming back to finish the job…  But when she is freed, ready to retaliate, she finds Silverbolt.  She passes out.

While unconscious, Blackarachnia dreams of her doppelganger stalking through a twisted world of spiderwebs.  In this vision, it uses Blackarachnia’s telekinetic powers and deadly weapons to eliminate her friends one by one; then it comes across Silverbolt…

Blackarachnia wakes up in the medbay, with Silverbolt at her bedside.  He gently explains to her that the Decepticons got away, and while he did find signs of a scuffle, he never saw the thing that attacked her.  She discharges herself from the medbay, refusing to rest until she has come up with a strategy to defeat the monster and protect her friends.

Blackarachnia locks herself in her lab and refuses to see anyone – not even Silverbolt.  Her inner voice keeps telling her that neither she nor her friends will be safe until she has created a weapon powerful enough to destroy the shadow creature.  Over the next few days, Blackarachnia creates a series of guns.  Every time she falls asleep, she tests her latest weapon in her dream; it is never enough to defeat her double, spurring her on to make deadlier and more dangerous weapons when she wakes up again.

Silverbolt knocks on her lab door to show her something, but Blackarachnia pushes him away.  She has finally completed her most powerful design: the Vamparc Ribbon, a weapon that leeches spark energy from its target as a power source for a violent energy blast.

The shadow manifests again, and her fight with it takes her out of her lab and into the Citadel.  Here she finds that similar doppelgangers lurk around every corner, trying to contain her.  Feeling under attack, Blackarachnia makes her way through the building, firing off pot shots at each assailant.

Overwhelmed by the shadows’ numbers, Blackarachnia dives into a surveillance room, where she finds the tallest doppelganger yet.  Though she threatens and attacks the creature, it keeps evading her attacks.  With no interest in fighting her, the thing slams a button down on the surveillance console, revealing to Blackarachnia that since leaving the lab, she’s been fighting Autobots and Maximals – and security camera footage from the refinery shows that there was no assailant that night.  With new clarity, Blackarachnia turns to see that her latest opponent was Silverbolt himself.  The two embrace, with both worried about what’s happening to her…

From Blackarachnia’s voicebox, Starscream vaingloriously explains that he has been haunting her from inside her mind as part of a revenge plot to destroy everything she loves for her part in ousting him from the Beast Wars.  He throws her around using her own telekinetic power.

Blackarachnia gives Silverbolt the Vamparc Ribbon, urging him to shoot her with it.  Starscream guides the two of them into a dramatic standoff where he threatens to force Blackarachnia to shoot herself in the head.  Silverbolt is first on the trigger.  The Vamparc Ribbon drains energy from Starscream’s spark.  The Decepticon is shocked; this is the first thing in millions of years to have hurt him.  He is forced to retreat.

Blackarachnia is back in the medbay, recovering from the physical trauma.  She tells Silverbolt that in future she’ll listen to him when he tries to help.  But she rests uneasy, knowing that Starscream could strike again at any time.

Meanwhile, Starscream returns to the Decepticons, presenting Megatron and Shockwave with the blueprints for Blackarachnia’s new weapons.

Episode 5: “Field Test” Written by: Len Wein Broadcast: 14/7/01

While planning their next move in combating the Decepticons, Autobot High Command receives a transmission from Shockwave.  Shockwave, apparently

Page 13:

wearied by having to fraternise with the unintelligent Scavenger, offers him as a prisoner to the Autobots, giving them co-ordinates to where they can pick him up.

Optimus Prime immediately suspects a trap.  Cheetor agrees, but with no leads as to where the Decepticons are hiding, he suggests that triggering the trap is the best way of tailing them back to their base.  In the meantime, he tasks Rattrap and Nightscream with triangulating the origin of Shockwave’s transmission.

Cheetor leads a strike team of Optimus, Blackarachnia, Silverbolt, Botanica, and two Maximal Security Force officers (MaxCops) to the rendezvous point, which turns out to be Kalis, a ghost town now overgrown with technorganic plants.  Blackarachnia explains that during the Great War, Kalis was a minor township that was used by the Decepticon Science Division as testing grounds for experimental weapons, before the area had to be abandoned for safety reasons.  Optimus Prime obliquely hints that there is more to the story than Blackarachnia knows.

The team comes across a containment cell in the town square.  As they cautiously approach it, suspecting a trap, the container collapses open, revealing not Scavenger, but a bulky, armoured, heavily armed robot.  A viewport lights up on the interior of the cell, from which Shockwave introduces the robot as an Immorticon, first of a new race of sparkless Decepticon soldiers.

The Immorticon steps forward and executes the two MaxCops, causing the rest of the Autobots to duck for cover.  While it advances, a strange wave of energy pulses from underground, washing over the team, but seeming to have no effect.  Silverbolt squares up against the Immorticon, but as he readies himself for his steel skin ability, he instead receives a precognitive vision of being flung aside by its fist – a vision that comes true in short order.  As Cheetor tries to receive his own flash of foresight, he is enveloped in vines, and he realises that the energy wave has swapped their Transcendence powers around!

While the Autobot team scrambles to evade their new foe, back in Cybertropolis, Rattrap and Nightscream have made no progress discovering the Decepticon hideout.  Instead, they’ve discovered a series of unusual transmissions being sent and received from Kalis.  To investigate further, they head towards the town on a shuttle.

Optimus Prime has paired up with Blackarachnia, and they talk each other through their swapped powers.  While Optimus quickly masters her telekinesis to attack the Immorticon, Blackarachnia struggles to activate his energy weapons.  Optimus tells her that Kalis was really abandoned because it was being used as a burial site for disused doomsday weapons; he suspects a still-active device underground is responsible for their power swap.  The Immorticon fires a charged shot at them with its powerful beam distributor ray – and in the nick of time, Blackarachnia uses Optimus’ ability to fashion an energy shield, protecting them, but levelling the building around them.

The Immorticon breaks out of the rubble and falters briefly, before transforming into vehicle mode and setting off after Cheetor, Silverbolt, and Botanica.  Blackarachnia reasons that the Immorticon has only rudimentary intelligence, and that it is being shepherded by Shockwave.  Cheetor, who has been listening in via the comms, tasks Optimus Prime and Blackarachnia with going underground and locating the power exchanger.  Meanwhile, Cheetor and the team are going to try and survive long enough to understand the Immorticon’s full capabilities.

As the Immorticon trundles towards them in tank mode, Botanica acts as bait, reflecting its bullets and beams.  Cheetor attempts to ensnare the Immorticon’s treads with vines while Silverbolt gets in some hits; the flyer manages to sever its ray gun, but he is distracted by an unexpected premonition, and the Immorticon blasts them with its pulse cannons.  Underground, Optimus Prime and Blackarachnia explore the disused weapons storage facility.  While she advises the Autobots on how best to counter her own weapon designs, Optimus surreptitiously plants detonation charges around the area.

Rattrap and Nightscream arrive on their shuttle.  Rattrap discovers the coded transmission through which Shockwave controls the Immorticon; Nightscream emits a sonic scream on the same frequency and Shockwave is immobilised.  The team watches in suspense as the Immorticon freezes… and reboots on its most basic programming: find and destroy Optimus Prime!

As the automaton pursues them, Blackarachnia asks Optimus how to identify the ability exchanger.  Optimus admits that the only thing he knows is that the entire cache of weapons is too dangerous to fall into Decepticon hands; maybe in destroying all of it, he’ll find the right device.  Blackarachnia is shocked by his self-sacrifice, but Optimus insists that, with the Immorticon following him, his being at the centre of the explosion is the only way to take it down.

Blackarachnia returns to the surface and the Autobots flee in Rattrap and Nightscream’s ship to a safe distance.  Inside the facility, Optimus Prime has a showdown with the Immorticon, giving it a dramatic speech about the choices one can make to change the path of one’s life… but the Immorticon is sparkless, and doesn’t comprehend what he is saying, so Optimus pulls the trigger.

The demolition charges are detonated, and explosions spread throughout Kalis.  The Autobots wait with bated breath as the city is levelled by the collapse of its foundations…  But an orange bubble of energy emerges through the debris.  Optimus Prime has survived thanks to the shield technique he learned from Blackarachnia, and his use of his own power signals to the team that their abilities have been restored.  The Immorticon’s armour is melted and its circuits fried; they’ve won.

Cheetor has Optimus airlifted to safety, but is irritated at him for planning such a suicidal mission.  Optimus insists that it was the only way to stop the Immorticon.  Cheetor is troubled; this was only one Immorticon, and they don’t know if it was operating to the fullest of its abilities.  It killed two Maximals and was only stopped with an unrepeatable explosion – what will it take to stop an army of them?

My primary inspiration for “Dark Web” is apparently so obscure that instead of being able to link to it, I’m going to have to take a moment to explain it.  When I was growing up, I owned The Official Spider-Man Annual 1997, a 1996 UK publication featuring a handful of comic stories.  One of these comics was called “The Spider-Shadow!”; during a fight with Mysterio, Spider-Man gets his head trapped in a fishbowl helmet, which he instantly shatters.  From that point onward, Spider-Man is hounded by a monstrous doppelgänger of himself which knows all his weaknesses and nearly defeats him.  It’s only through context clues - such as passerby J Jonah Jameson lambasting his “solo acrobatics act” - that he realises that the Spider-Shadow was never there, and that the supposedly-shattered fishbowl helmet is still on his head, casting the monster as an illusion.  Spidey captures Mysterio and goes home to MJ’s spaghetti carbonara.

UPDATE: I found the annual in question, and you can read the comic here.

This came to mind when plotting out the Blackarachnia/Starscream rematch.  What could Starscream do with his ghostly powers to enact his revenge?  Blackarachnia has gone through a lot in the long, long time since “Possession”, having swapped faction, embraced her feelings for Silverbolt, and adopted her found family.  Starscream’s plan hinges on driving her paranoia to such a point that she could harm her own friends.  In earlier drafts, the double appeared in reflections as Blackarachnia’s Beast Wars bodies.

In establishing a villain that can get inside your head as an unstoppable ghost, you also need to come up with a way to stop him from doing the same thing every episode, hence the introduction of the Vamparc Ribbon.  The Vamparc Ribbon is a weapon introduced in IDW’s “Autocracy” series, though in one of this zine’s little kisses with history, I pretend like it was introduced during Transtech.  Since it draws its power from spark energy, it’s not an ethical weapon to have; consequently, Blackarachnia only goes to use it when the threat is that high.

The implication of the end is that, as part of the army-building throughline in these early episodes, the weapons Blackarachnia developed are for use by the Immorticons, and that stealing the blueprints was Starscream’s secondary objective.

The Blackarachnia art here is by the excellent Erica @transgirlsoundwave Walsh.  As mentioned before, I don’t rate Blackarachnia’s concept art designs very highly, so outside of a checklist of things, Erica was free to make her own design.  I asked Erica to create a Blackarachnia that hearkened back to her Beast Wars appearance; I provided the design for her head, and asked that Erica include a spider abdomen that becomes a helicopter cockpit for a vehicular mode, and twin helicopter rotors that form the spider legs.  While sketching out her ideas, Erica went the extra mile and came up with a transformation scheme as well:

As popular fiction will tell you, a faceless army of identical soldiers will always lose out to a small band of heroes.  With all-out warfare on the cards for episodes 12 and 13, there needed to be an earlier story establishing the level of threat an Immorticon poses, before swathes of them are cut through in the finale.  So this episode is my “Dalek”.

A lot of this episode is the “show, don’t tell” counterpart of the Immorticons’ earlier character bio.  You could tell the audience it has deadly weapons, but instead you could kill off two MaxCops.  You can tell the audience it has rudimentary intelligence, or you could demonstrate what happens when it loses its control signal.  You could say it’s tough, or you could only have it be defeated by levelling an entire town on it.  The Immorticon’s most basic programming is deliberate setup for “Rusty”, where I downplay what I think is an amazing pun in calling it the Prime Directive.

It helps the Immorticon’s reputation that the Autobots are on the back foot, having had their powers exchanged.  This couldn’t be a power innate to Immorticons, because then they could use it every week, so there had to be an outside reason for it to happen.  This dovetailed into my search for a condemned part of Cybertron to use as a battleground, so I chose Kalis.  In the Marvel UK comics, Kalis was home to the secret base of mad scientist Flame, who used an army of zombies to deter intruders from uncovering his plans to turn Cybertron into a mobile battle station.  The guy invented zombies, and that wasn’t even his primary objective.  So Flame’s two-pronged attack is extrapolated into the backstory of the Decepticon Science Division and its many doomsday weapons.  As with “Ancient Relics”, there’s lore implications here.

Silverbolt misusing Cheetor’s power is supposed to be a great comedy moment.  Optimus giving the Immorticon a characteristic speech is an odd comedic beat, but I think I was intending to show that he considers levelling the city to be a last resort.

Optimus again acts as if he’s the main hero; the Immorticons’ Prime Directive reflects that the Decepticons consider him that as well.  Though he’s on better terms with Cheetor at this point, he still seems to be ready to sacrifice himself as if every battle is the final one.  It’s a good job for him that Blackarachnia is slightly more imaginative with his Green Lantern powers.

[writeyouin]

aaaaaaaahhhh your Swerve-fic is so Good™???!?!?!?! like, every time you update, my stomach did that flippity-floppity-floop-thingy in a good way!! is the request still open? if so, can you do a fluffy TFA Wasp with bot!reader? If not, i still love you anyway since you've already a lot of wonderful fanfics! i never got bored reading them over and over and over again!

Wasp X Bot Reader – Together Again

A/N – Thank you so much, I loved looking at this message for inspiration, t was so sweet. It’s a shame I just missed your birthday but here you go @vinnycoco, I hope I did Wasp justice.

Warnings – None.

Rating – T

Wasp observed happily as you ran up to the Autobot Academy for the first day of training. In all your elation, he thought you were the one thing as perfect as him. Ever since the war with the Decepticons began, the two of you had planned to make it into the elite guard together and now you were taking the first steps towards that goal. Naturally, Wasp had planned even further ahead of that goal; when you both graduated into the guard, he was going to make you his Conjunx Endura.

While thinking of the future, Wasp lost sight of you. When he spotted you again he gritted his dentae together irritably; you were talking to that little yellow pest he’d bumped into before. He wasn’t jealous, he couldn’t be. Jealousy was beneath him, he was simply concerned because, like him, you were much too important to converse with such a lowly bot.

“(Y/N), step away from that; you don’t know where it’s been,” Wasp wrapped his arm around your waist.

“Very funny,” You laughed, waving the insult away. “Have you two met yet? Sweetspark, this is-”

“Filth is what it is. Come now, meet Ironhide, a real bot.”

“HEY!” Bumblebee yelled. “I’M NOT FILTH YOU-”

“Easy, little buddy,” A large green mech hugged him, “let the anger go.”

“I’M NOT YOUR BUDDY!”

After the unusual introduction, the day was filled with tests of strength, speed, intelligence, and more than a few punishments thanks to the yellow bot who’d been dubbed Bumblebee. It was a relief when the group was allowed to go to the shared barracks for a much-needed recharge.

“What a day,” You rubbed your aching pedes, claiming two berths next to each-other for you and Wasp.

“You’re telling me, it was great,” Bulkhead enthused, missing the tone of your vocaliser completely.

You couldn’t help grinning, “It would’ve been easier if there weren’t so many accidents. You and Bee really scrambled Sarge’s circuits.”

“Yeah, uh my bad.”

Bumblebee sniffed indignantly, “Why are you talking to us? Apparently, we’re just filth to you.”

“Filth? Oh yeah, don’t mind what Wasp was saying, he’s just joking with you,” You smiled amiably. “He’s always been like that, I’m sure once you get to know him-”

“GET TO KNOW HIM?! ARE YOU KIDDING?”

“What’s wrong? He’s really nice, I swear.”

“Ugh, what do you even see in a guy like that?”

Wasp entered the room from the wash racks, “Charm, wit, strength; all things you lack.”

“Come on babe, go easy on them, they don’t know you’re joking… you are joking right?” You asked hopefully.

“Joking? Yes, yes, of course.” He pulled you into a hug, glaring at Bumblebee and Bulkhead behind your back. “Stay away,” he mouthed.

“See, look at all of you getting along so well. This is gonna be so great. I’ll see you in a bit, I want to get some time in those wash racks myself. Later, guys.”

Wasp waited till you were gone before openly seething at the two bots in front of him, “You two better recharge with one optic open; things are going to be rough from here on in.”

You aimed a shot over Wasp’s head, shutting down the turret there while Wasp made a leap for the flag ahead of him. The game was a pairs test to see which team could capture the flag in the quickest time; points were awarded for team-work and strategy. Sentinel blew the ending whistle; the two of you had won.

You cheered excitedly, running to Wasp who was wielding the flag proudly and planting a kiss on his cheek.

“Babe, please,” Wasp held out his servo.

“Sorry,” You laughed, “I’ll stop now.”

“Stop? No, I was asking for more.”

“You sure you want another kiss? Aren’t you afraid of looking weaker in front of the other bots?” You teased.

“C’mon, how about making ‘em jealous instead?”

“Later,” You whispered upon the arrival of Sentinel.

The two of you saluted to the senior officer.

“At ease,” Sentinel instructed. “Not only were the two of you the fastest pair on the course, but also the best team. You showed strategy, talent, and speed. You’ve worked hard, take the rest of the day off as a reward; you’ve earned it.”

The two of you walked away, hand in hand, eager for a night together.

“Hey (Y/N), I have an idea,” Wasp grinned.

“Pray tell.”

“How about a night under the stars where we can really appreciate each-others company; I’ve been saving some good energon for such an occasion.”

“You had me at stars.”

“Great, meet me at the observatory, I’ll bring the energon.”

You pecked his lips, “Don’t keep me waiting.”

That was the last time you saw Wasp. While you waited for him in the observatory, he was arrested for being a spy for the Deceptacons. When it happened, you could hardly believe it. You’d known Wasp for Vorns, he couldn’t be a spy. However, with no evidence of his innocence, you had no choice but to believe in the conviction, deciding that Wasp had probably been using you to gather intel. Spark-broken, you fell from the top of the class to the bottom and were soon sent onto the same space-bridge as Bumblebee and Bulkhead. That space bridge was where all the failures were sent. You soon met Prowl, a ninja-bot, Ratchet, an old medical officer, and Optimus Prime; how a prime had fallen so far was beyond you, especially one as serious as him.

Working on the barren station, you had all the time in the universe to forget Wasp and the pain he’d caused you, until one day on the strange planet Earth, when you found something that changed everything.

“YOU DID WHAT?” You screamed at Bumblebee who was hiding behind Optimus for protection.

Bumblebee quivered while Optimus tried desperately to calm the situation.

“(Y/N), Longarm tricked me. I swear it was an accident,” Bumblebee said.

“YOU’RE AN ACCIDENT!”

Optimus held his arms out, “(Y/N) please, Bumblebee didn’t-”

“STAY OUTTA THIS PRIME, I’M GONNA KILL HIM.”

Bumblebee ran, calling behind him, “And finish Wasp’s job for him?”

“YOU GLITCH-HEAD!” You huffed and glared angrily, trying to calm down as you did so. “Fine, I’m going out on patrol; if Wasp’s here, I’m going to find him.”

“(Y/N) wait,” Optimus said but you were already out the door in your alt-mode; an old car Sari called a DeLorean.

Wasp was shocked to be sure. In his revenge addled brain, he’d never imagined you’d ever be near the glitch Bumblebee. He didn’t have time to comprehend the situation as he fled. Bumblebee had taken everything from him, his freedom, his career, and you too; you’d defended Bumblebee, were the two of you an item now? Wasp couldn’t concentrate on that, flee now, dwell later.

Meanwhile, you were in hot pursuit of Wasp. You’d barely got back when you found out what had happened between him and Bumblebee. Swapping paint-jobs was surely the plan of a desperate bot; desperation could be reasoned with.

Eventually, the others stopped the chase, presuming Wasp had been lost once more. You, on the other hand, had tracked him to a cave off the coast where he’d stopped.

“(Y/N),” Optimus radioed you, “Are you coming back to the base?”

“Soon Prime… I just… I need some time,” You lied.

Optimus sighed, “Alright, be careful out there.”

You shut off your communicator, transforming into your bot-mode to enter the cave.

“Wasp,” You called, “It’s me (Y/N). I don’t want to hurt you, I just want to talk.”

“Wasp no talk. Wasp know this is trap,” his voice echoed around the cave.

“It’s not a trap Wasp, Bumblebee told me everything. The two of you were set up, I know you’re innocent.”

There was no reply and you feared you’d lost him once more.

“Sweetspark, please, talk to me.”

“You no love Wasp anymore.”

“Maybe, maybe not. How can you love someone who won’t even talk to you? Come out, show me there’s still the bot I love in there somewhere.”

Once again, there was no answer; Wasp was too busy contemplating your words.

You got on your knees, placing your hands behind your head, “Make me your prisoner, incapacitate me, do whatever you want but please, talk to me.”

“You crazy as always,” Wasp laughed, coming out from behind a Stalagmite and approaching slowly.

“Thank you.”

“Wasp want to know, what you doing with Bumblebot?”

“We work together, as friends.”

“Tell more.”

You recalled your tales since Wasp had been arrested, including those of Earth. Wasp listened enraptured, catching up on everything he’d missed; everything you could have had together. During his imprisonment, he’d thought of little other than vengeance because thinking of you hurt too much. However, with you in front of him, he longed to piece his broken mind back together; so much had fractured since losing you.

As the night dragged on, you knew you’d have to head back soon. It would only be a matter of time before your team wondered where you’d gotten to and started searching for you. You couldn’t let them find Wasp in such a delicate state; you wouldn’t.

You held out a servo apprehensively, Wasp recoiled making you pull back with a sigh. “Wasp, sweetspark, my team will come looking for me soon… that means Bumblebee too. I don’t want them to find you yet until… until you’re better. I love you. Goodbye.”

At your attempt to get up, Wasp grabbed your arm, pulling you back, “(Y/N) no leave. (Y/N) stay with Wasp. Wasp love (Y/N) too.”

Your optics filled with unshed lubricant, “It’s… It’s for your own good. I’ll come back, I promise but you have to let me go now, okay?”

“Wasp and (Y/N) together again?”

“Do you want that?”

“Yes.”

“Then yeah, Wasp and (Y/N) together again.”

[vanoodle]

WHAAAAT IIII’VE DOOOOONE I’LL FACE MYSEEELF TO CROSS OUT WHAT IIII’VE BECOOOOME

Alright, so I managed to watch all of it. And now it’s time of my summary of the first movie.

the tl;dr version is: I have mixed feelings about it, there are some things worth watching but if you put them together and cut all the crap you get like 30, maybe 40 minutes.

And now the long version:

I wish I could say that this was a wild ride from star to finish but the thing is... it wasn’t. It was not a wild ride from the start, in fact it was a very slow ride at first.

Imagine sitting on a merry-go-round. Nothing is happening, you’re kinda just chilling, ready to fall asleep. Whenever you do you get a short electric shock and you’re like “???” but it goes back to being slow and boring and then, suddenly, during the last quarter of the ride, the merry-go-round turns into a fucking centrifuge and you sit there and try not to fly off and die.

So... where do I even start? I actually kind of don’t think I can even add anything that hasn’t been said or discussed before, I have heard of all the problems even before watching the movie, I watched it completely biased.

Do I think that this movie is a good movie for Transformers fans? Nnnnno. Not very. Yes, we heard it all before, too much focus on the humans, boring beginning and packing all the action into the end which makes it hard to follow, ass ugly designs, not to mention that many of of the Autobots and Decepticons got like two lines of text. That squaking sentient coat hanger had more text than any of the actual important guys and all it said was “wirezutrzwieztttwewirsfhaerfhweruw” Starscream had one line. One. I fucking hate you, Michael Bay. (yes I know he is in the next movies, I will watch them soon enough, I’m just talking about this movie now) oh and let’s not forget the Transformations that make you dizzy just from watching. I feel like I need to get off the ride and throw up. Is this a good movie for non TF-fans? Well, as far as action movies go, this is... okay, I guess. I still think there were many unnecessary sub-plots and it doesn’t do well in introducing the viewer to the Cybertronians and who they actually are, what they do. You get a vague outline “Yeah, there are Autobots and Decepticons and they fight because Megatron is an asshole”. Wow. That is what you get from the first episode of the 80s cartoon. Just with less explosions. There are many things that are either just like brief mention, a foot note, or just never explained at all and the viewer who, we have to remember, does not know about Transformers, will have no idea what is actually going on. Of course I know explaining is tedious but if the movie has time for an unnecessary romance, it has time for some explanations.

The pacing is just so so so horrible. There were many scenes I could barely even comprehend because they were over barely after they even began and I already feel I need to rewatch the movie because did not catch everything that happened. Oh but I remember Sam’s mother talking about him masturbating in vivid detail. Because that was very important.

Personally, the main problem I took from it was that MB took Transformers and tried to turn it into something that it isn’t. And what I mean by that is that the vibe you get most of the time is that this is an “Alien invasion” movie. You know the kind. Aliens invade earth, there are some brave heroes that fight against them, America saves the day once again, image of a bald eagle. But that’s not what Transformers is. Transformers is not “aliens invade”, Transformers is “aliens fight a war against each other and the new fighting ground happens to be earth” And more than that, these aliens have character, a personality, they are no just random monsters that you give one close up where they scream at the camera and then in the next scene some irritatingly American hero shoots them in the face. I always had a problem with movies with too many strings to follow because the more characters, the less screen time for each individual character. Here you can see what happens when it’s done badly.

And Transformers is just... not supposed to be about the humans, okay? It’s not. Humans are there to support, to let the viewer imagine themselves at the side of the Autobots. But humans get replaced in every continuity the only exception being perhaps Spike Witwicky. They are not important, they are replaceable props. You don’t need to fill over an hour of the movie with just them. You could have introduced the Decepticons in that time, instead of giving them a 20 seconds montage. Aside from all of those problems, this movie was just awfully American and reeked of cliches and stereotypes and I’m just too European for this shit. Why is America like this. Okay, now that I got my frustration out, let’s talk about some good things. The humor was pretty hit or miss but there were some great moments that I really enjoyed. Bumblebee was a sweetheart and I love him oh my god. Whether or not I will like a Bumblebee in a continuity is always a bit of a gamble but this Bumblebee definitely won my heart. Even if he pees on people and lets humans make out on him. OP, please kinkshame him. Speaking of OP, I liked him, too. I liked how exasperated he was at times. Tired dadbot. Also, “Oops, my bad”, I will never forget this. As far as humans went, I actually liked Sam and Mikaela. Not necessarily as het romance but as individual characters. I know, I’m surprised, too. But I do actually have a bit of a soft spots for the human characters in TF stuff, at least some of them. I can’t think of anything else to talk about so I’ll just say that even with all the flaws and everything, it did have a little fun but now I’m a little afraid because I heard that it’s gonna go downhill from here...