#transformers: retribution

[emperor-kumquat]

You ever want to read the Covenant of Primus or the other Transformers Prime novels or the Art of Prime? Magic link, boom

[cybertron-smash-or-pass]

TFA Beachcomber

[cablestwisted]

Transformers Retribution has me in a vice grip and both Shockwave and Alpha Trion do as well - their discussion keeps coming back to me and I felt quite inspired by it! So we have a very stylised sensory net/nervous system overlaid over some of their discussion :>

[If there's interest in prints for any one of these, let me know and I'll see what I can do!]

[novafire-is-thinking]

Idealistic and Stubborn

In TFP, one of the defining aspects of Optimus’ characterization is his stubborn belief that Megatron is not lost—that he can overcome his lust for power.

By the end of Predacons Rising, he was proven correct, but there was very little beforehand that gave any indication that Megatron would change.

In spite of this, Optimus refused to believe Megatron had fallen beyond redemption.

Potential, Potential, Potential

“Everything always fools you,” Makeshift said. “Megatron was right about a lot of things, but he especially knew you. Naive, he said. Vulnerable because you keep on insisting that the best in bots might show through even when all the evidence is to the contrary. (Exiles)

Optimus views the world and other people in terms of their greatest potential for good. He can’t help but look beyond the present reality and see a perfect ideal. He then finds it nearly impossible to let go of this perfect ideal, no matter what reality looks like.

But I Can Change Him!

Peace with the ones with whom war had been waged for eons. . .The Autobots might have believed it to be impossible, but Optimus was willing to give it a try because whatever anyone else might say, he knew that Megatron wasn’t entirely evil. (Retribution)

There was absolutely nothing anyone could have said that would have convinced Optimus that Megatron was evil to his core. This strength of conviction made Optimus a force to be reckoned with. I can only assume that after a while, those under his leadership gave up trying to change his mind. They recognized his incredible strength of will as an asset to the Autobot cause, even if they didn’t agree with him when it came to Megatron.

“Idiotic” Instincts

What happened next was pure instinct. Optimus reached out and grabbed Megatron with one arm, then used his legs and other arm to climb, pulling them both out of the rising white water. A dazed Megatron looked around.

“What are you doing?” he yelled.

“Saving your life,” Optimus told him.

“You’re an idiot, librarian.”

“Thanks for your opinion,” Optimus said. (Retribution)

This was only one of several times Optimus could have ended Megatron’s life.

However, the belief that Megatron could and would change was so deeply embedded in Optimus’ psyche that even though he may have reasoned Megatron’s death was best, his instincts overrode everything.

At that point, Optimus was operating on the old assumption that there was still a part of Megatron left untainted by the lust for power. I believe some part of Optimus hoped that the act of saving Megatron’s life would make the warlord reevaluate things. Optimus was blind to the reality that Megatron’s purely opportunistic mindset would just see it as an opportunity to continue working toward his twisted personal vision.

More than once in TFP, we saw Optimus hesitate to kill Megatron when he could have done so and ended Megatron’s reign of chaos and destruction.

Optimus did eventually snap and confront Megatron as Unicron was awakening, but by then, it was too late. Megatron had grown too powerful from giving himself fully to the influence of Dark Energon and Unicron himself.

Responsibility vs. Hope

Megatron’s obsession with Unicron disturbs me. I see that he is convinced that awakening the monster would grant him the power he’s always desired. Only I know the absolute naivete of that assumption. Still, nothing I can say alters his course. You can tow a bot to knowledge, but you cannot make it think. He has had a taste for Dark Energon for a while now, and constant exposure to it only accelerates his departure into delusions. Must I wait for one of his aides to start an insurrection, as his madness increases? What is the likelihood? Starscream is too fearful, Shockwave is served well by Megatron no matter how insane, Airachnid has failed and must be considered out of play. Soundwave—well, who knows what goes through his mind since the war? The rest are too small-minded to organize a rebellion in a tack factory. No, it will not be any of them who topple him from his throne. Rightfully the deed is mine, though I did not make him into what he is; he was my friend, and once my brother. I would not see him fall farther, but at the same time, I find no way to hold him back other than by recruiting the humans to the Autobot cause, if not for our survival, then certainly for theirs. (CoP)

Megatron refused to allow anyone but himself be the one to kill Optimus. Similarly, Optimus believed the responsibility to stop Megatron fell on him alone.

For Optimus, there was a constant inner war between his sense of responsibility telling him he was the “right” one to stop Megatron, and his instincts rooted in idealism telling him that Megatron still had the potential for change.

When Strength Becomes Weakness

Optimus’ refusal to believe Megatron had fallen beyond redemption was closely tied to his difficulty unseeing potential and seeing things as they were. This stubborn idealism was one of Optimus’ greatest strengths and one of his worst weaknesses. It enabled him to survive the most brutal of circumstances, but it also enabled him to allow Megatron’s reign of terror to last much longer than it would have otherwise.

“Megatron has fallen, Optimus.”

“I cannot bring myself to believe that.”

✧ ✧ ✧

series master post

[leafdragon16]

Okay not a question but I’m finally starting the aligned novels (I’m using my laptop as a kindle at work) and the first few chapters have me HYPED! And the tragedy of knowing how it’s going to end, but being able to see how it starts just

Oh my god I can tell I am not mentally prepared for how this is going to break me : )

YEAAAAAAAA I HAVE FINALLY LOOPED SOMEONE ELSE INTO THE ALIGNED NOVELS GET AMBUSHED

Exodus is very fun and very painful :) But seriously, all jokes aside I really hope you enjoy it!! Every book has a ton of lore (even if some of it is a little inconsistent) and I had a blast reading them so I hope you do too!

[pollsonmorenichetopics]

Disproportionate Retribution Poll Round 4 Side A:

Foxy Loxy's (Chicken Little) Disproportionate is:

"She was basically just the school bully and star baseball player and a KID and. Not only did all of her efforts to get the team to the final game get completely forgotten when Chicken Little's FLUKE won the game, but when aliens invaded and she tried to fight back she got ZAPPED AWAY and then LOBOTOMIZED when being zapped back at the end. And the aliens could have fixed that but then Runt goes "no, she's perfect" AND SO SHE STAYS LOBOTOMIZED. FOR BEING MEAN TO THE PROTAGONIST. THAT WAS SO FUCKED UP"

"She was mean to Chicken Little (just like the rest of the town) and just generally self-absorbed. At the end of the movie one of the aliens says that there has been “an error in reconstitution” which caused her brain waves to be scrambled, completely changing her personality. The aliens do offer to turn her back, but Runt likes her better this way and she just stays like that forever I guess.

She was a bully, but I think being completely brainwashed is a slightly over the top punishment (especially since the rest of the town, including the adults, were also pretty horrible to Chicken Little and they got of scot-free)"

"The crime: bullying Chicken Little along with the rest of the town. The punishment: being physically rearranged into having a more "feminine" personality and one of the main characters refusing to let the aliens fix her because he wants a girlfriend. Why it's over the top: aside from the obvious, the rest of the town gets off scot-free for some reason, it's ONLY the tomboy bully who gets rearranged like this."

"She bullied the main character. But her getting lobotomised permanently in the end was way too far, especially since it could've been fixed. The only reason it wasn't was because a boy wanted her to stay that way because he liked it. Also she was a kid and literally the whole town was made up of bullies. She was just the only one to be punished so harshly, and in such a creepy way."

"Okay, in the original story there's a chance she could've deserved bad due to being a much bigger antagonist, but in the Chicken Little movie, she's just a bully and a kid who is mean but also committing zero crimes beyond being mad that Chicken Little won the baseball game or being too mean in her bullying. Naturally, this means that, later in the movie, she's zapped but revealed later to be doing fine, but as a completely different person, her entire identity replaced into someone more girly than her tomboy self and cheery to a fault. An offer is made to bring her back to who she was, but good ol Runt decides that she's perfect like this and lets her entire identity not be restored in favor of having a perfectly palatable girl for himself. They are portrayed romantically after and this is not treated as something awful for her because at least she's not mean now"

"I know she’s a bully to Chicken Little and his friends, so she’s an a-hole for that, but despite this, I honestly don’t think that she deserves her brain staying permanently SCRAMBLED by aliens. It’s so bad to the point that people say that Foxy Loxy experienced a literal lobotomy from the aliens. And Runt of the Litter, one of Chicken Little’s friends, told the alien that they should keep her the way she is and that “she’s perfect”, probably so she can be his girlfriend. Foxy Loxy’s entire personality was warped, turning her feisty competitive sport-loving tomboy self to a partly-crazed feminine girlfriend for Runt."

Wasp's (Transformers Animated) Disproportionate Retribution:

"He was a bully to two of the main characters, Bumblebee and Bulkhead, in boot camp. But specifically Bumblebee because he kept messing up in a way that looked like he was trying to prank their instructor, leading said instructor to give them group punishments.

So in the narrative he got framed as a spy by the actual spy which Bumblebee fell for so he helped imprison him. There, he got tortured for at least 50 years to the point his mind is fractured and his speech impacted.

One of the nicest characters responds to him accusing Bumblebee of ruining his life that he was never a nice bot, implying he deserved it.

Then he gets tricked into becoming techno-organic (an insect hybrid when he was previously entirely mechanical) by the first person he trusts. His story ends there"

[artificial-absinthe]

So far, Retribution is the best book out of the Aligned trilogy. I had read opinions that said it was the worst, and given that Exiles was already boring and poorly written to me, I wasn't even willing to give it a chance. How wrong was I! The style is elegant and beautiful, and the action scenes actually feels like it. The soliloquy by Trion already had me enthralled (he's written to express himself in such a poetic manner... this part is so beautiful:

"...all those pages containing words of the future crashing like ocean on the jagged shore of now. I stand upon that shore and yearn for days when I was younger. "

" … an epic inferno to echo all the way to the day in which you (in a happier time, a sunnier time perhaps) sit here and read, and wonder.")

In addition, Megatron is a delight. He's so hateful and mordant, I love him.

[delaneywuzup700]

Fottle Barts when Clogstopper was scanned out (Base off of Toy Story)

Fottle Barts: Gone! He’s gone, Clogstopper’s gone, bye-bye, whoo hoo, see ya.

Ulf: What happened to you?

Fottle Barts: One minute you’re swooning for a plunger and suddenly you find yourself suckin’ down darjeelin’ with.. Lady Macaron and the other Sugar Shocks.

Ulf: I think you had enough tea for today,*Takes away her teacup* let’s get you out of here Fottl-

Fottle Barts: Don’t you get it?! You see the hat?! I AM MRS. NESBITT! *Laughs*

Ulf: Snap out of it Fottle! *Knocks off her hat and slaps her*

Fottle: I-I-I-I’m sorry, I- you’re right I’m just a little depressed that’s all. 

(Both walk out of Sprinkles)

Fottle Harts: I-I can get through this... OH HE’S GONE FOREVER! 

(Ulf spots Dave nearby)

Ulf: *Shushes* Quiet Fottle!

[iamanemotionaltimebomb]

Genuine question.

What is the purpose of TF: Retribution? Because all it really seems to do is fuck up the established lore and timeline that Exodus, Exiles, WFC, FOC and the TFP show had already established at this point.

yes, I know that the books, the games and the show had a lot of problems with consistency, but they still followed a basic premise of world building (particularly about the Ancients), timeline and lore.

Retribution fucks this up by ripping up a giant hole in the lore and shoving in this unnecessary Quintesson shit and saying "All these characters like Megatron, Orion, Ratchet, Jazz, Soundwave, etc. have been alive LONG before the Age of Rust and in fact, they took part in both the Age of Wrath and the Golden Age, they just got REALLY BAD AMNESIA".

and apparently they regain their amnesia straight afterwards because the Quintesson shit NEVER comes up again post Retribution. The book tried to hand wave a lot of it as "oh the Quintessons are dead now and won't cause any problems for anyone ever again" but we all know that's a fucking lie. Were they meant to come up in S3 or S4 of TFP or something?

[your-compadre-infinity]

Tfw u vividly remember this while in school so you desperately pull up Tumblr to find it and try not to get caught by teachers.

The best thing Optimus has ever said to Megatron

TFP 3rd book Retribution page 321

[cablestwisted]

Transformers Aligned Novels - Shockwave's obsession with the Thirteen Primes

So I've been doing some digging on my various readthroughs of the novels and Covenant of Primus, and I've stumbled across something very interesting.

Many of Shockwave's experiments directly mirror the Thirteen Primes. He tries to imbue attributes of the primes into his victims. Notably Amalgamous, Nexus, and Onyx - triple changers, combiners, predacons, and dinobots. Similarly with Quintus Prime, how he created life by creating Trypticon - and with Solus Prime, all of his devices and weaponry mimicking her talents.

We also see how he works with memory and knowledge with the Cortical Psychic Patch. It's my belief that he intended to use it on Alpha Trion, in order to attempt to access the memories of Cybertron.

I propose that he was attempting to mimic the powers of the Primes in order to mitigate their abilities, and perhaps to experiment with the fabric of reality itself. He knew that one he had their power he could start looking into the metaphysical and warp reality itself to his whims.

Gives Alpha Trion's quote a hell of a lot of weight;

"You would bring down all of creation just to satisfy your own ambition."

[yandereine]

Transformers novels with fandom brainrot moment

[shamballalin]

The Difference Between Biblical and Christlike ~ Which "God" Are You Following?

God Bless Everyone Everywhere

[pollsonmorenichetopics]

Disproportionate Retribution Poll Round 1 Side A:

Cozy Glow's (My Little Pony) Disproportionate Retribution:

"Crime - primary antagonist of S8/9, frequently uses manipulation as a tactic, escalates from a schoolyard bully to scheming with the rest of the series' villains and shoving them aside to steal all magic for herself.

Punishment - First imprisoned to Tartarus, and later sealed in stone.

Defense - It might be mentioned that she is a child, although you wouldn't be faulted for forgetting that. As the series' final antagonist, she is built up as evil beyond evil, and beyond the kind of redemption afforded to earlier antagonists. Whereas her fate and treatment by the narrative would be at least within the realm of understandability if she was an adult character doing the things she does, as it stands the show's decision to take an absolute stance on her in particular, already a shift in tone from a show about the power of friendship, is even more jarring given that she is a literal child, who is somehow already the worst of the worst with no capability to change."

Wasp's (Transformers Animated) Disproportionate Retribution:

"He was a bully to two of the main characters, Bumblebee and Bulkhead, in boot camp. But specifically Bumblebee because he kept messing up in a way that looked like he was trying to prank their instructor, leading said instructor to give them group punishments.

So in the narrative he got framed as a spy by the actual spy which Bumblebee fell for so he helped imprison him. There, he got tortured for at least 50 years to the point his mind is fractured and his speech impacted.

One of the nicest characters responds to him accusing Bumblebee of ruining his life that he was never a nice bot, implying he deserved it.

Then he gets tricked into becoming techno-organic (an insect hybrid when he was previously entirely mechanical) by the first person he trusts. His story ends there"

[rafayelxsylusho]

How do the LADS men react when they see you without panties under your skirt/dress Part 2 (Sylus)

TW:SMUT

Notes: First time bj for our 🐦‍⬛

Zayne and Xavier will be in part 3

Part 1 (Caleb) (Rafayel) here

Sylus's eyes darken with hunger as they rake over your form, taking in every exquisite detail. The way the rich crimson fabric clings to your curves is sinful, a delicious temptation. He feels an urge to reach out and touch, to confirm that you are indeed real and not just a dream.

"Kitten," he murmurs, his low voice rough with restrained desire. "You look...ravishing. That dress, it's as if it was made for you, designed to drive a man to the brink of madness." He takes another step closer, invading your personal space, the heat of his body radiating against your skin.

His gaze locks with yours, and in the depths of his eyes you see the reflection of your own face, flushed and beautiful. "I must say, I'm looking forward to seeing you out of it even more," Sylus confesses with a smirk, his intentions clear. "But for now, let's not keep our reservations waiting." He offers you his arm, an invitation for you to take, and a silent promise of the pleasures to come. "Shall we, sweetie?"

As Sylus leads you into the restaurant, the hostess greets him with a nod and a flirtatious smile. "Your table is ready, Mr. Sylus. Right this way, sir."

The restaurant is filled with the soft murmur of conversations and the clink of glasses. You pause, gently but firmly removing your hand from Sylus's grasp. His brow furrows slightly at the sudden separation, a flicker of confusion in his eyes. You meet his gaze, your own expression soft.

You take a step back, putting a little distance between your bodies, and allow your gaze to travel the length of Sylus's impeccable outfit. From his polished black dress shoes, up the line of his tailored trousers, over his crisp white dress shirt, and finally settling on his tie a deep, rich red that nearly matches the shade of your dress.

"You've forgotten one small detail," you tell him, a slight smile playing at the corners of your mouth.

He watches, intrigued and mildly amused, as you rummage through your purse and take out a small, delicate piece of cloth. His gaze follows the movement of your hand as you fist the fabric and lean in towards him. With a playful smile, you reach into the breast pocket of Sylus's dress shirt and tuck the cloth inside. As you do so, your fingers brush against his chest, feeling the firmness of his muscles even through the thin fabric of his shirt. Sylus inhales sharply at the contact, his heart rate quickening beneath your touch.

You step back and admire your handiwork, your eyes sparkling with mischief. "There," you say with a satisfied nod. "Perfect."

Sylus's fingers brush against the delicate lace hidden in his breast pocket, and in that instant, his expression transforms. His eyes widen, and a deep crimson blush spreads across his cheeks, a rare display of color that you've never seen before. For a moment, he appears almost flustered, caught off guard by your bold and unexpected gesture.

Recognition dawns on his face, and his lips part slightly in surprise before curling into a slow, sensual smile. His gaze locks with yours, and there's a new intensity burning in those eyes, a mix of admiration, arousal, and a dark promise of retribution.

The hostess clears her throat, "Your table is ready, Mr. Sylus," she repeats and gestures towards a set of ornate double doors, beyond which lies your private dining area.

Sylus's gaze remains locked with yours for a heartbeat longer, the air between you crackling with unspoken tension. Then, with a smile, he turns to the hostess and nods. "Of course"

As the hostess led you both through the bustling dining room, Sylus placed a possessive hand at the small of your back, guiding you through the maze of tables. His touch left a trail of heat through the thin fabric of your dress, a silent reminder of the intimate secret tucked away in his pocket.

Upon reaching your table, Sylus held your chair for you. As you took your seat, he leaned in close, his lips brushing against the shell of your ear. "Clever girl," he whispered, his voice is low and it sent shivers down your spine. "You'll pay for that little stunt later.

As the waiter took your orders, Sylus leaned back in his chair, his eyes never leaving yours. He listened intently as you browsed the menu, occasionally making a suggestion or offering his own preferences. Throughout the conversation, you couldn't shake the feeling of his gaze on you, intense and penetrating, as if he were trying to decipher the secrets hidden behind your eyes.

You thought the panties had been forgotten, a fleeting moment of playful mischief between the two of you. But Sylus would occasionally reach into his pocket and run his fingers over the delicate lace, a smile playing on his lips.

Just when you had convinced yourself that the panties were nothing more than a distant memory, Sylus leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table, and fixed you with a penetrating stare.

"I must say," he began, his voice a low murmur, "your little gift has been a pleasant distraction. But I haven't forgotten our earlier conversation. And I promise you..." Here he paused, letting the anticipation build. "I intend to make you pay in the most exquisite way imaginable." His eyes glinted with a dark, sensual promise, and you felt a flutter of anticipation in the pit of your stomach. The evening was still young, and Sylus had already made it clear that he intended to take it in a direction that would leave you breathless and craving more.

Just then, the waiter arrived with your dinner, breaking the moment between you. As the aroma of the gourmet dishes wafted up to your nostrils, Sylus leaned back in his chair, a grin playing on his lips.

"Bon appétit," he murmured, raising his glass in a toast. "To new experiences and old desires."

Sylus watched you intently as you reached for your fork, ready to begin your meal. Just as you were about to take your first bite, he leaned forward, his voice dropping to a low, commanding whisper.

"Get on your knees," he ordered, his tone leaving no room for disobedience. His crimson eyes bore into yours, a dark intensity smoldering in their depths. You blinked in surprise, your fork hovering over your plate. For a moment, you were certain you had misheard him. Surely he couldn't mean... here? Now?

But the intensity in Sylus's gaze confirmed that he was indeed serious. He watched you expectantly, a dark smile playing on his lips as he waited. His hand tightened around the stem of his wine glass, the crystal glinting under the soft glow of the candlelight. 

"I thought you wanted to play, kitten," he murmured, a hint of challenge in his voice. "Or have you already grown tired of our little game?" His hand drifted to his pocket, fingers brushing against the lace hidden within. A silent reminder of your earlier boldness, and the consequences that would surely follow.

Sylus noticed your nervous glance around the dining room, a flicker of uncertainty in your eyes. He could see the wheels turning in your mind, the internal debate as you weighed the risks and rewards of obeying his bold command. A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth, a hint of dark amusement in his eyes. He knew all too well the layout of this exclusive restaurant, had ensured that this very table was positioned in a secluded area, hidden from prying eyes.

He could have put your mind at ease, could have whispered a reassurance that no one would witness to your obedience. But Sylus held his tongue, allowing the uncertainty to linger, to add a thrilling edge to the power dynamics at play. Instead, he simply raised an eyebrow, a silent challenge in the arch of his brow. "Well?" he murmured, "Are you going to keep me waiting?"

His hand moved to his lap, fingers splaying across the fabric of his trousers. A silent invitation, a promise of rewards to come if you dared to be bold.

"Show me you can follow orders," his eyes glinting with a hungry, anticipatory light. "Be a good girl, now. On your knees."

Sylus watched as you slipped down from your chair, disappearing beneath the white tablecloth. He felt your fingers at his belt, the leather strap cool against your skin as you began to undo the buckle.

Throughout it all, Sylus maintained an air of nonchalance, acting as if nothing out of the ordinary were happening. He cut into his steak with precise, measured strokes of his knife and fork, bringing the tender meat to his lips. The rich, savory aroma wafted up to his nostrils as he chewed, a flicker of appreciation in his expression.

All the while, he could feel your trembling fingers working at his trousers, the zipper lowering with a soft hiss. He had to bite back a smile, the contrast of your nervousness and his outward composure a delicious contradiction that served to heighten his arousal.

Sylus took a sip of his wine. The alcohol burned a pleasant trail down his throat, adding a new dimension to the heightened sensations he was experiencing.

"Good girl," he murmured, his voice barely audible over the clink of his silverware against the plate. "You're doing well."

He could feel your warm breath ghosting over his now exposed skin. The anticipation was maddening, the wait for your touch almost unbearable. But Sylus was a patient man, and he intended to draw out this moment, to savor every second of his newfound control over you.

Sylus's eyes met yours as you emerged from beneath the tablecloth, your face flushed and your lips parted in anticipation. He paused, his fork hovering midway to his mouth, as he took in the sight of you kneeling before him, your expression a mix of nervousness and desire.

For a moment, Sylus simply stared, drinking in the exquisite sight of you, your hair tumbling around your shoulders, your skin glowing in the candlelight, and your eyes wide and trusting as they gazed up at him. Then, slowly, he lowered his fork back to his plate, his gaze never leaving yours.

As you leaned in, your breath warm and soft against his skin, Sylus felt a surge of anticipation that sent a jolt of electricity through his body. He watched, his heart pounding in his chest, as your lips parted and you pressed a gentle kiss to the tip of his cock.

A low, groan rumbled in his throat as your mouth made contact with his flesh. The sensation of your soft lips against him was exquisite. He had to resist the urge to tangle his fingers in your hair, to guide you further and demand more from your inexperienced mouth.

Instead, Sylus forced himself to maintain an air of composure, even as he felt his body responding to your tentative touch. "Good girl," he praised, his voice a low, approving murmur. "Such a good, obedient girl you are."

He took another sip of his wine, he could feel the heat of your mouth, the way your tongue flicked out to explore his tip with curiosity.

"More," he commanded softly, "Give me more, kitten. Show me what that pretty mouth can do."

Sylus took another bite of his steak as he felt your tongue begin to explore his length. He could feel the way your lips and tongue mapped every ridge and vein, your inexperienced touches igniting a hunger that threatened to consume him. The scrape of your teeth against his skin, the wet heat of your mouth enveloping him, the gentle pressure of your hand stroking what you couldn't take in, it was all serving to drive him to new heights of arousal.

And yet, despite the intense sensations you were evoking in him, Sylus maintained an appearance of calm indifference. He continued to cut and savor his steak, bringing each piece to his lips with grace.

His eyes flicked down to meet yours as you glanced up at him, a glimmer of amusement in his crimson gaze as he took in your furrowed brow. He could see the confusion, the uncertainty in your expression, and he had to bite back a smirk.

"You're doing wonderfully, sweetie" he murmured, his voice a low, soothing rumble. "Don't stop now. Take more of me into that sweet little mouth of yours." He could feel your hesitation, the way your grip tightened on his thighs as you leaned in further. "Yes, just like that."

He shifted in his seat, a subtle movement that brought him closer to your kneeling form. The tablecloth rustled, a whisper of fabric against fabric, as Sylus allowed his thighs to part just a little more, giving you further access to his most intimate area.

"Don't neglect a single detail," he whispered "I want to feel that pretty mouth worshipping every part of my cock until I'm seared into your memory." Sylus raised an eyebrow, a silent challenge in his gaze. "Think you can handle that, kitten?" he taunted softly. "Or do you need a little more... encouragement?"

He could see the determination in your eyes as you gazed up at him, a glimmer of defiance in your expression. It was clear you were intent on proving yourself, on showing him the depths of your dedication to his pleasure. And Sylus was more than happy to let you try.

As your kisses trailed lower, Sylus felt a sharp inhale catch in his throat. The soft, reverent way your lips traced the heavy vein running along the underside of his shaft was maddening, a teasing caress that spoke of an innocence and naivety that only served to increase his desire. He watched, his grip tightening on his utensils, as your mouth drifted lower still. Sylus's breath hitched as your lips brushed against the sensitive skin of his balls, your tongue darting out to taste him with a boldness that belied your inexperience.

He took another deliberate bite of his steak even as he felt the heat of your mouth scorching his flesh. His eyes flicked down to where your hand gripped his thigh, your nails digging into his flesh with a desperation that spoke of the strain you were feeling. Sylus could see the way your knees wobbled, the slight tremble in your limbs as you maintained your position.

Sylus's fingers tightened in your hair as he felt your lips wrap around the swollen head of his cock again, your tongue swirling and flicking with confidence. The sensation of your mouth working over his sensitive flesh was overwhelming, the wet heat and soft suction threatening to undo him entirely. He could see the way your eyes widened as his hand grabbed your head, a flicker of surprise and a hint of excitement. He could feel the gentle vibration of your hum as you lapped at his precum, the sound sending a jolt of electricity straight to his cock. "Fuck, just like that," Sylus growled, desperation creeping in his voice. "Your mouth feels incredible sweetie"

He could feel the way your fingers tightened around him, your grip sure and purposeful as you stroked him in time with the bobbing of your head. The combination of your hand and your mouth was rapidly pushing Sylus to the brink of ecstasy, his body coiling with a tension that demanded release.

As he guided your head lower, Sylus could feel the tip of his cock pressing against the back of your throat. He paused for a moment, allowing you to adjust to the intrusion before applying a gentle pressure, urging you to take him deeper. His eyes never left yours as he slowly, pushed your head down until your nose was pressed against his pelvis and your lips stretched taut around his thick girth. He could feel the way your throat closed around him, the muscles fluttering and massaging his sensitive flesh.

"Good fucking girl," Sylus praised, his voice a low, ragged rasp. "You're going to make me come. I can feel it. Don't stop, sweetie. Take every last drop." He could feel his release building, the heat and pressure in his balls growing. Sylus knew he was close, teetering on the precipice of a shattering climax. He let out a loud moan as he felt your tongue twist along the underside of his cock, the muscle massaging his most sensitive spots with a newfound skill. His thighs clenched beneath your fingertips, the muscles taut and trembling with the effort of holding himself back from bucking wildly into your mouth. His eyes fluttered closed, his head falling back as he lost himself to the sensations your clever mouth was inflicting upon him. But then, just as quickly, his eyes snapped open, his gaze locking with yours as you slowly, torturously, dragged your lips up his shaft. The sight of you, your mouth stuffed full of his throbbing cock, your eyes dark and heavy lidded with lust, was almost more than Sylus could bear. A deep, rumbling groan tore from his chest as he felt your tongue press against the leaking tip, your lips wrapping around him tightly. And then, with a sharp tug on your hair, Sylus came undone.

His climax crashed over him like a tidal wave, his hot seed spurting and pulsing down your throat as you swallowed around him. Sylus's body shuddered and jerked, his hips rocking forward to push himself deeper into your mouth, chasing every last drop of his release. As the final spurts of his come tapered off, Sylus slumped back in his chair, his chest heaving with the force of his breathing. He looked down at you, his expression one of utter disbelief and raw, primal satisfaction.

But then he watched, enraptured, as you rose up from your knees, your lips glistening with his essence. The sight of you reaching for his glass of wine, tipping it to your mouth and draining it in one long, greedy pull, sent a fresh surge of lust coursing through his spent body.

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

"I could have taken you right there on that table," Sylus murmured, his lips brushing against the shell of your ear, his hot breath sending shivers down your spine. "Could have hiked up your dress and buried my face in your cunt, letting everyone in that restaurant hear the filthy sounds of you coming on my tongue."

Sylus's hand slid down your body, his fingers skimming over your ribcage, your belly, before coming to rest at the apex of your thighs.

"But I wanted to hear you sing for me here," he continued "Wanted to feel you writhing beneath me, wanted to make you scream my name until it was the only thing echoing through my room."

Sylus's fingers brushed against your folds, teasing through the wetness, gathering your arousal on his fingers. He brought his hand to his mouth, his tongue darting out to lick your essence from his skin, his eyes never leaving yours as he savored your flavor. "I could spend hours with my face buried between your thighs, feasting on your sweet little cunt until you're nothing but a boneless, mewling mess."

To emphasize his point, Sylus ducked his head, his shoulders pushing your thighs further apart as he settled himself between them. He could feel the heat radiating off your core, could smell the intoxicating aroma of your arousal, and it made his mouth water with anticipation. He leaned in, his breath hot and heavy against your flesh, and then he was tasting you, his tongue parting your folds in a long, slow lick. He groaned at the first contact, the sound vibrating through you, making your back arch off the bed. He could feel the way your hips canted upwards, seeking more of that delicious friction, silently begging him to fill you, to take you.

"Not yet, sweetheart," his breath hot against you. "I want to taste you first. Want to feel you come apart on my tongue before I let you sink down on my cock." He sealed his lips around your clit, suckling the sensitive bundle of nerves, his tongue flicking and circling until your cries reached a fever pitch. Sylus could feel your thighs trembling around his head, your fingers fisting in his hair as you held him tight against you. His hands gripped your hips, his fingers digging into the soft flesh as he held you still, keeping you spread wide open for his hungry mouth. He could feel your walls fluttering as he pushed you closer and closer to the edge of ecstasy.

He knew every inch of you, every sensitive spot that would make you gasp and shudder, every secret place that would unravel you. And he used that knowledge mercilessly, his tongue and lips and teeth working in tandem to push you to the brink of oblivion. Just as he felt your walls starting to flutter, your breath hitching in your throat, Sylus pulled back. He released your clit from the suction of his lips, his tongue sliding away from that perfect spot that had been pushing you closer and closer to your release. He could feel your body jerking, your hips bucking upwards desperately seeking the friction and pressure you needed to tumble over the edge.

He placed a series of soft, teasing kisses along your inner thighs, his lips brushing against your skin. His hands slid up to your breasts, cupping the soft mounds, his thumbs teasing your nipples into stiff peaks.

Sylus rolled the hardened nubs between his fingers, pinching and tugging gently as he felt your body squirm beneath him. He could see the frustration in your eyes, could hear it in the needy whimpers spilling from your lips, and it only spurred him on, only made him want to tease you more.

"Please," you gasped, your voice ragged and hoarse. "Please, Sylus, I need...I need..."

"I know exactly what you need, sweetheart," Slowly he dragged a single finger up your slit, gathering the slick evidence of your arousal. He brought it to his lips, his tongue darting out to lick it clean, his eyes never leaving yours as he savored your unique flavor.

"Mmm, you taste even sweeter when you're desperate like this," Sylus growled, a note of dark satisfaction in his voice. "I could get addicted to your taste, to the way you quiver and shake and beg so prettily for my touch."

"What do you say, pretty girl?" Sylus murmured, his voice a low, approving rumble. "Tell me, how do you want to come undone tonight?" He pressed a lingering kiss to your clit, his tongue flicking out to tease the sensitive bud, drawing a sharp gasp from your throat.

"I'm going to give you a choice," he continued, "Do you want to come screaming my name on my tongue, or do you want to sink down on my cock and ride me until you can't take any more?" His fingers dipped into your dripping entrance, scissoring and pumping, teasing your fluttering walls. He could feel how close you were, ready to snap at the slightest provocation.

"Since you've been such a good girl tonight," he purred, his fingers curling to press against that perfect spot deep inside you, "I'm going to let you pick your poison."

"I want your cock, Sylus. Please, I need you inside me..."

Without a moment's hesitation, he flipped your body over, positioning you to straddle his hips. His large hands gripped your waist, his fingers digging into the soft flesh of your ass as he lifted you up and then slammed you down on his thick, hard cock in one brutal thrust.

"Fuck!" Sylus moaned, his head falling back against the pillow as he hilts inside you, "God, you feel fucking incredible." He could feel your walls stretching around him, your softness enveloping his cock. Sylus's hips surged upwards, driving him even deeper into your core as he pulled you down to meet him, the force of his thrusts making the bed frame creak and groan beneath you. "Yes, fuck, just like that," Sylus growled, his eyes blazing into yours as he watched your face contort with pleasure. "Take my cock, pretty girl. Fucking take it."

One hand slid up your body to your breast, his fingers finding your nipple and pinching the stiff peak roughly. The other hand gripped your hip, his nails leaving crescent indents in your skin as he held you in place, forcing you to take every inch. He could feel your body trembling, your thighs shake around him as he fucked up into you with short, sharp thrusts. He leaned in, his lips finding your throat, his teeth sinking into the tender flesh. His tongue laved over the reddening skin, soothing the sting, before he pulled back to look at you with an indulgent grin.

"Ride me, baby," Sylus commanded, his voice rough with lust. "Sink down on my cock and take what you need. Fucking use me."

His thrusts were relentless, each one driving his thick, pulsing cock deeper into your core than the last. He could feel your body yielding to him, your walls clenching and fluttering around his length as he stretched you wider. The pleasure was so intense, so all consuming, that you swore you could feel it in the pit of your stomach, could feel it stealing the air from your lungs with each brutal thrust of his hips.

His hands gripped your hips tighter, his fingers sinking into the soft flesh of your ass as he pulled you down harder, forcing your body to accept him. His breath came in short, sharp gasps, his chest heaving with the effort of his thrusts as he fucked up into you.

You could feel your orgasm building, could feel the coil of heat and pressure winding tighter and tighter in the pit of your belly. Your fingers clawed at Sylus's chest, your nails leaving red lines down his skin as you clung to him, desperate for something to ground yourself against the overwhelming pleasure.

Just as you teetered on the precipice, your body coiled tight and ready to snap, Sylus latched onto your nipple with his mouth. His teeth sank into the tender, stiff peak, biting down just hard enough to send a jolt of pained pleasure. At the same moment, he slammed his cock up into you with a brutal, punishing thrust, burying himself to the hilt inside you.

The dual sensations, the sharp, stinging pain of his bite and the intense, overwhelming pleasure of his cock pulsing deep within you was the final push you needed to send you over the edge. Your orgasm crashed through you, your body convulsing and shaking uncontrollably as you you screamed his name to the heavens above.

"FUCK, SYLUS!" you wailed, your voice cracking and breaking as ecstasy consumed you. Your cunt clamped down around his length like a vice, your walls rippling and fluttering as you came harder than you ever had before in your life.

Wave after wave of pure, bliss surged through your veins, stealing your breath and robbing you of any semblance of coherent thought. Through the haze of your climax, you could feel Sylus's cock throbbing and pulsing inside you, could feel his own release dripping out of you to pool on the sheets beneath you. The combination of your mixed juices created an obscene sound as Sylus's hips continued to rock into yours.

Finally, with a groan, Sylus collapsed back against the bed, pulling you down on top of him. His arms wrapped around your trembling body, holding you close as the last tremors of your mutual releases subsided.

For a long moment, neither of you spoke, both lost in the hazy afterglow. You could feel Sylus's heart pounding against your cheek.

"The panties are mine now," Sylus declared, a smug grin spreading across his face

You couldn't help but join in his laughter, shaking your head in disbelief at his audacity. "You're unbelievable," you giggled, punching him playfully on the arm. "Keeping my panties like some sort of sick trophy. You really are a dirty, dirty man, Sylus."

[classychassiss]

omg hiii Earthstellar hiii *waves*

This is an excellent write up!! I'm so glad, its something worth exploring I think. I think once you start to examine the narrative through this lens, it highlights and shifts a lot of things in such a way that it starts to feel like you can't ignore those bits. I hope this summer I can really do the video essay I want to about this (and thank you by the way for your advice and links in the DMs, I apologize for not getting back sooner!) to go in depth about specific characters like Optimus and Megatron with some real world concepts and the Matrix as well and its treatment (and mistreatment) throughout, and the grappling of TF transformation being something both intrinsic but also tied to the Quintessons, and trying to navigate and reclaim that.

I do think part of the answer to my original query does come from both differing experiences of TF Fans and also the fact that Sci-Fi is chock full of colonization narratives and tropes that don't always get expanded thoughtfully (true for the first two novels I think because Woof)

I really love that you brought up the cycle of colonialism though I think thats really important, Aligned has a lot about cycles going on: cycles of violence, of abuse, of colonization, the breaking of cycles etc etc. Like, their Golden Age was only 8000 years long before the Age of Rust hits. Its one of the smaller details in the lore book that I think stands out, as often times the Golden Age in other continuities is far longer. 8000 years is a BLIP in history for many but I think it highlights just how much they not only rushed into this but a testament to how bad their decision was in choosing to keep things as they were , just shifting it for their own benefit as opposed to trying and deconstructing what was done from the jump.

The Quintus Prime involvement and how that gets treated is something I would like to see in Earthspark, and you make some really interesting points about that kickstarting what turns into a fundamental part of Cybertronian history and trying to grapple with that or even attempt to undo the harm. It will be interesting to see how thats handled, if its handled at all!

I was reading this post by @classychassiss and some good points are made– I almost never see anyone talk about the Quintessons in the Aligned Continuity, but they play a very important role!

Quintus Prime and the Quintessons: Quick Context  for the Aligned Continuity

Where do the Quintessons come from?

When the Age of Primes ended, Quintus Prime left and sought to use the Emberstone on other worlds to create more species which could potentially become allies of Cybertron.

He reached Quintessa, where he created the Quintessons himself– Who are believed to have then turned on him. It is implied that they may have killed Quintus Prime, but this is never outright stated.

Needless to say, this did not go well for anyone.

Why? Well…

Colonialism in Space: It Is Always a Bad Idea

So, of course, Quintessons are directly the result of more Primal hubris in this continuity.

But it’s interesting that we see colonialism and a sort of reverse-colonialism occur.

Quintus Prime went to a foreign planet as a being who is nearly outright a God himself, and in something resembling a “divine intervention”, created an entire species with the sole intent of making them to, in some capacity, serve a purpose for his own people.

This is a bad idea. The motivation behind creating an entire species of beings should not be “they can be useful for our own people”.

This is how you might approach making a toolset for a community workshop, not the way anyone should frame the creation of very much living, sentient life.

But this is also inherently a very coloniser mindset: “I will go to another place and massively, irrevocably change it in ways I feel will be good personally, in an attempt to benefit my own people. I see this place and its people as a potential tool.”

Did he consider what might be best for the planet Quintessa? How would introducing a new species affect the world itself? How would this impact any naturally developing life on this planet, even if he himself may not have immediately recognised it as “life”, as we know Cybertronians often struggle to value organic matter and lifeforms (and this attitude may well have extended to some of the Primes as well)?

Did he truly fully consider the implications of creating an entirely new race of beings? Did he have the means or ability with the Emberstone to inform their development beyond simply creating a lifeform that would then develop on its own, and if he did, to what degree did he manipulate the development of Quintessons (aside from bringing them into existence in the first place)?

Perhaps he believed that since he witnessed the creation of the Cybertronian people, that this could turn out the same way. But considering all the difficulty Cybertron had already been through by that time, was that ever a wise thing to believe? Was it ever sensible to think sentient life could be so easily made and worked out?

Throughout the Aligned timeline of Cybertron, we see that colonisation is a common element, and it leads to utter destruction EVERY SINGLE TIME.

Space Bridges and More Colonialism: Please Stop Colonising

As soon as Cybertronians developed the capability for interplanetary travel, they immediately started to explore.

Exploring is not inherently bad: It leads to further research and development of critical knowledge of the universe around you. It can inform everything from artistic creativity to scientific development. New discoveries could be genuinely revolutionary in many fields and with many potentially beneficial applications.

But we know that as soon as they learned enough to attempt colonising other worlds, they began to do so.

And in the process of fucking around and finding out, they discovered the Rust Plague.

The Rust Plague would have remained relatively isolated, had they not bridged bots from place to place (and planet to planet) with such aplomb that inevitably the plague spread as people attempted to flee afflicted colonies and abandon overwhelmed ships.

Their cavalier attitudes towards actively colonising every planet they could reasonably cyberform for their own use resulted in the ultimate destruction of their space bridges altogether in an attempt to spare Cybertron the same fate as countless others, thus cutting them off entirely from the stars they so fervently yearned for.

All that potential for valuable research and exploration lost, in the name of colonising.

By aiming at other worlds, they shot themselves.

Quintessons and Colonising: Nobody Learns Anything, Now Slavery Exists 

Naturally, as soon as they were capable of doing so, the Quintessons set out to colonise other worlds as well.

We can’t say that this wasn’t entirely predictable, as it seems most sentient lifeforms of all kinds in this universe have a desire to explore, even when they are not yet or no longer able to do so.

The thing about Quintessons, though, is that they don’t just love exploring.

They love slavery.

Quintus Prime created an entire species whose ultimate cultural export was the expansive development of an interplanetary slave network.

And when the Quintessons did eventually reach Cybertron, something Quintus Prime had hoped would benefit at least Cybertronians if not the Quintessons themselves as well– We know how that turned out.

Cybertron and its population was enslaved.

And owing to the nature of the Cybertronian species, this slavery extended to extreme modifications of their bodies for uses as seen fit by the Quintessons.

The Quintessons explicitly wanted to diminish any sense of individuality that Cybertronians had– A motivating factor for establishing what would become a strict class/caste system, to group bots in together based on physical characteristics that they likely altered further for this purpose (among others).

The Well of All Sparks itself was tampered with, the source of all Cybertronian life, to degrees that are not entirely known.

Cybertronians stopped coming forth from the Well with designations and no sense of self-identity, making it easier to stratify, alienate, and wholly manipulate them as a people. You get a number, you go over here, and this is your life now.

The establishment of Quintesson influence on Cybertron irrevocably altered the development and progression of Cybertronian society in every aspect, down to the people themselves, on a fundamental and often personally physical and mental level.

Simply put, the Quintessons did what the British Empire did: They found other people, set themselves in so fundamentally deeply that the environment, culture, and population itself was warped to their liking under their direct control, and everything from individual people to systems of government to the more core levels of societal development were skewed and manipulated for the central purpose of serving them in one form or another.

The Legacy of Quintesson Interference on Cybertron

We will never know what Cybertron may have developed as naturally, left to their own devices as a species.

Cybertronians themselves may not be able to identify any permanent or lingering changes brought about by the Quintessons, as these changes include alterations to the Well, and therefore they are “born” already altered. To what degree may be impossible to determine.

What changes were made, how extensively, how far have things and people deviated, can they even identify certain changes?

Orion Pax actively suppressed his memories of the occupation, to the degree that despite working with archives day in and out, he essentially entirely forgot about the entire species-wide ordeal. (Which also hints at potential information suppression in the archives…)  

We do know that Quintessons are the ones that introduced the concepts that would become the class/caste system on Cybertron.

They created a system of government which benefitted them, and continues on in a slightly modified form throughout all subsequent eras of Cybertron.

What is interesting is that we know some still-living bots were alive prior to the Quintesson occupation– I cannot imagine the horror of watching this happen, seeing new bots created with no designations, no identity or sense of self, diminished to the point of being service machines.

We don’t have a lot of details on the broader implications and realities of what Quintesson occupation was like or how severe things truly became, because this is still a franchise intended for generally young audiences, and I’m not sure Hasbro is ready to discuss the evils of slavery with children– Even though this and similar themes are often critical to the actual story and characters throughout the franchise as a whole.

I do wonder if bots created prior to the Quintesson invasion and occupation of Cybertron were subsequently modified by the Quintessons as well– I would imagine this would be necessary for the Quintessons to achieve their goals, although the other alternative is that many bots were simply offlined if they were not compliant enough, or if any forcibly made alterations were deemed too complicated/difficult to carry out on any resistant bots.

This gets dark very quickly– Again, it doesn’t surprise me that Hasbro probably backs down from going into any detail for a lot of reasons.

We know that a lot of frame alterations occurred, including the specifically noted alteration of bots with flight frames– Which instantly adds another layer of body horror, as these modified flight capable bots would have had to carry Quintessons around inside of themselves, against their will.

Even on a basic level without any further information, that is some truly horrifying shit.

I find the alterations to the Well to be among the most disturbing; The very way they come alive has been fundamentally altered. Nobody knows the true extent of those modifications. The implications of this, both the ones we actually see and what we can infer, are completely terrifying– And will potentially continue to affect the entire species for the rest of time. 

What Happened With the Quintessons Afterwards? Spoiler: The Colonisers Find Another Colony

And I do mean “find”, not “make”.

After the resistance on Cybertron built up enough to run the Quintessons off world, the Quintessons ultimately found an abandoned Cybertronian colony – Aquatron – and started making techno-organic lifeforms to subjugate.

On the up side, this does mean that merformers are canonically real, in one form or another.

On the down side, obviously this is fucked and evil, and once again, another world is added to the Quintesson Imperium– Essentially, British Empire: Space Edition.

Was Quintus Prime Right? From D-16 to Megatron: Overcoming the Legacy of Oppression  

In the most obvious sense, no, Quintus Prime was not right.

The Quintessons did not “benefit” Cybertron– Or really, anyone or anything else in the universe, either.

If we want to think about this in the sense of Quintus Prime being a Prime, and the fact that Primes seem to play a very, very long game (albeit with seemingly little understanding of how their ultimately desired goals might come about and how severely awful it might be/what the negative consequences of their actions could be)…

…It may be the case that if anything “good” came out of the Quintessons at all, it is that the Quintesson invasion of Cybertron was the catalyst for the development of a society so brutal and riddled with inequality that change was both necessary and inevitable. The world was forced to one day become what Quintus hoped it would be, due to the suffering which rained down upon it.

Which is completely and utterly fucked, and in fact, is not a “good” way to achieve this outcome to any degree.

Now, due to the obvious parallels to real life here, I want to make it very clear: There is no upside to oppression, occupation, colonialism, or slavery. Ever. I shouldn’t have to say this, but we live in hell, so I feel like I need to make this extremely, crystal clear. There is no “good” in this situation, either fictionally or in real life.

Quintus Prime was, in fact, wrong.

His intentions may have very well been “good” from his own relatively narrow point of view, but he completely and utterly failed to understand that his way of getting from Point A to Point B would result in the almost unbelievable suffering and destruction of not just the people he actually cared about– Cybertronians–but also countless other species throughout their galaxy.

We should still look at what happened as the outcome of Quintus Prime’s fuckery, and I think it hints at how deeply fucked up the Primes actually are.

Understanding this Primal “long game” approach to things requires looking at Megatron in this continuity:

Megatron came forth from the well as D-16.

Remember that it is the Quintessons who altered the Well to churn out bots without designations or a sense of identity. Megatron was a victim of classism which itself was the product of slavery. Megatron was born as close to being a tool, and not a person, as they could possibly have made him.

He became a fully realised individual despite the most adverse situation in life possible, became a revolutionary figure that was necessary to set off much needed change–

–And even if this spiralled into eventual war and the near-destruction of Cybertron itself, would meaningful change have been able to occur any other way?

Or would Cybertronians have continued indefinitely in the post-Golden Era haze of classist, caste-based oppression with nothing to spurn the population into action? Nothing that could overcome the fear and fatigue of a battered people and encourage them to actively work towards a better, more egalitarian future?  

Was revolution, war, struggle, all strictly necessary?

I would say that if that is the case, then it is almost certainly primarily because of the damage caused by the Quintessons. And the Quintessons are the fault of Quintus Prime’s meddling, regardless of his intentions.

So much suffering would not have happened, or at least would not have happened to this extent and would not have manifested in this way, had the Quintessons not laid the foundations for it and built upon it.

While the past of Cybertron is staggeringly bleak, and the present in this continuity is extremely dire, the future of Cybertron may well finally see the planet (and it’s people) achieving what the Primes had hoped for them in the first place.

That having been said, getting to this ultimate future outcome has been an utter fucking misery beyond all miseries for both the planet and it’s people.

And honestly, we don’t know how Cybertron would have developed socially, politically, culturally, or otherwise– The damage of the Quintesson oppression is so great that we can’t say if similar systems of oppression would have ultimately manifested on Cybertron in some form or another, even without Quintesson involvement.

But I think it’s very safe to say that it almost certainly would not have been to the extremes or in the exact forms that were forced upon people by the Quintessons.

Quintus Prime fucked up. Very, very badly. We can’t say what would have happened if he hadn’t created the Quintessons, but we do know what happened after he did in fact do so. And it was not good. 

The Fuckery of Primes: We Don’t Even Know How Bad It Is, Really

Primus, in theory, created the Primes to unify the various tribes of early Cybertronian peoples and to help cultivate the planet as a thriving entity for the sake of the then-developing species of Cybertronians.

Would Quintus Prime have had the forethought to imagine this potential path of events, would he have had the ability to understand what the outcomes of his actions would be? In and of himself, probably not.

But Alchemist Prime and Alpha Trion have, essentially, powers of future sight to some degree. We know that in at least two different continuities (Aligned and Cyberverse), these two Primes very much do play the “long game”.

We know that the Primes degraded over time, falling prey to their own biases and interpersonal issues. Unable to mediate amongst themselves any longer and unable to progress beyond severe trauma and loss born of their own infighting and lack of trust, they broke apart.

We don’t know what they may or may not have talked about with one another, or how they individually or collectively may have planned or attempted to plan for Cybertron’s further development in their absence.

We do know that there was some of this type of conversation happening, as most Primes are depicted as having influenced or had personal interest in at least their own respective tribes on Cybertron. They did, at one point, actually do their jobs and serve their intended purpose.

We also know that the Thirteenth Prime was notoriously the only one who would actively engage in a more consistently diplomatic way with the other Primes, and that he also engaged with the general Cybertronian population at the time in a more compassionate and direct capacity compared to the others– And this is part of what was considered to make him so particular and special.

Which implies that at least past a certain point, the other Primes seemed to have withdrawn from the general population, while Thirteen did not.

As much as the Primes seem to have cared for Cybertronians, most of them don’t really seem to have engaged with the actual population very much– At least not beyond the very early years.

Quintus’ Call: You Can’t Fix a Mistake With Another Mistake

Perhaps Quintus Prime attempted to create the Quintessons out of a realisation that he failed his purposes as intended by Primus, that he let his population down, and wanted to rectify this so desperately that he did not consider the full implications of creating a species with another species’ needs in mind.

If this is the case, it may be understandable, but in no way excusable, that he proceeded as he did.

The Emberstone is his personal artefact, imbued with life-giving powers implied to have been gifted to him by Primus in order to help him serve his purpose as a Prime. He failed in this purpose, and may have felt that utilising the Emberstone was a critical part of his efforts to essentially repent for how the Primes had fallen apart and abandoned their people and their world.

Again, understandable, especially given the distress we know the Primes were all in at the time when they fell apart and away from each other. 

Understandable, not excusable.

People make bad decisions when under duress and emotionally fraught, and we know that the Primes are certainly not immune to this.

But Quintus Prime’s power to give life is extraordinarily powerful, and carries a significant burden of responsibility.

You do not create life on a whim– But that is what Quintus Prime did, in a moment riddled with grief, stress, fear for the future, and a sense of personal failure. 

The result of this, seemingly predictably, was horrendous. He may not have been able to see past his own turmoil by this point, or perhaps leaving Primes to their own devices is inherently not a good idea. 

Either way: His decision to create the Quintessons not only led him further into breathtaking failure to fulfil his intended duties as a Prime, but led to the destruction and loss of countless others. 

And this would have been impossible without the Emberstone. 

Primal Artefacts: The Emberstone

The ultimate outcome was such staggering destruction, loss, and suffering that I wonder if the Emberstone didn’t pick up on his feelings or state of mind during the creation of the Quintessons, and forged them from a place of inherent discontent.

We know Primal artefacts have the potential to react strangely and seemingly with some degree of awareness that operates beyond the Prime that wields them. 

Alpha Trion’s pen writes in languages nobody yet speaks, that he himself cannot yet read.

To what degree does the Emberstone potentially have something resembling sentience? 

What is the nature of the power gifted by Primus? It seems to vary from item to item and individual to individual, at least among the Primes. 

But we do not know how the Emberstone actually goes about producing life. We don’t know how it works, or what any implications of its function might be. 

Does Quintus himself know? Or it it an assumed, innate power to him? Something at least partially instinctive on some level, so familiar to him that perhaps such a casual use of it may not be so surprising? 

We don’t know. 

But I think the Emberstone itself is fascinating; It has some of the greatest power imaginable, to create living beings. To will a species into existence, to forge sentience. 

The only other things or beings we see actually produce complex, sentient life are Primus and the Well of All Sparks. 

We know that the Primes came about as unique individuals with unique abilities, intended to work together for the better of their world. 

Things did not work out as intended. Some events are unpredictable, and some outcomes are beyond anyone’s power. 

But we know very, very little about what power the Primes do actually have, really, in terms of their extent of application or how they work or why they work or anything else. 

The one we know the most about is Alpha Trion, and his Quill. 

But even then, things remain esoteric. Alpha Trion has foresight and the ability to alter events to some degree by literally editing and changing the narrative of life in real time and in future tense. 

Yet even Alpha Trion could not see the death of Solus Prime, and had withdrawn enough by that time to have no inkling of the real depth of Megatronus’ discontent. He did not expect the betrayal of Liege Maximo. 

There are clear limitations, when it comes to the Primes as people. 

The artefacts themselves, while connected to their respective Primes, seem to very well have their own thing going on at the same time– As independently operating esoteric items of power. 

All of this is to say, how much of the Quintessons are the fault of Quintus Prime’s personal hubris, and how much of it is the will of the Emberstone, if it does in fact have individual will? 

Can the Emberstone influence Quintus, in return? To what degree, if so? 

Something to think about. 

–

Phew, this was a long post– Thank you to anyone who’s bothered reading (or even skimming) all of this! :) <3 

I haven’t had much time to edit, so I apologise for any errors, repetition, etc. 

But I’ve wanted to talk about the Quintessons in the Aligned Continuity for some time, and I figured this was a good time to throw a bunch of my thoughts on it together– Especially as we know Quintus is involved in the Earthspark Continuity as well. 

(Also, I couldn’t find any Aligned Continuity illustrations of Quintessons, so I’ve used the classic G1 Quintesson Judge here.)