#you thought me shipping minimus/ravage was rare?

[absoluteminimum]

i've hit upon my rarest pair yet: Minimus Ambus/Frenzy and Rumble

(Minimus is having a bad time. Rumble and Frenzy, unsure of how to comfort him, settle down on either side of him. The sun sets slowly on the horizon. The two Decepticons say nothing, but their shoulders press against Minimus's. As the minutes trickle past, Minimus relaxes in increments.)

[minimus-ambus]

A Small Moment

Here’s my fic for the Reruns Zine! I chose to write about Minimus Ambus and Ten–cause let’s be real, their friendship is the cutest. I really enjoyed writing this, and I hope y’all will like it too!

Ten looked up as small steps echoed out of the entrance vent to his room. After a few seconds, the diminutive form of Minimus Ambus emerged, muttering something about dust.

“Ten,” he said as he climbed down, “you really must clean that out. The amount of grime that’s accumulated…” His nose wrinkled.

“Ten.” Ten shrugged..

Minimus hummed as he strode over to one of the tables spread around the room. “Anyways, shall we begin?” Ten nodded excitedly. The legislator began arranging the figures, putting them in their usual displays, when a green hand on his arm stopped him. Ten turned to give Minimus a curious look, and Minimus withdrew his hand awkwardly, clearing his throat.

“I���ve prepared some new scenarios. That is, if you wish to use them.” He took a datapad out of his subspace, holding it out slightly.

Ten looked at it for a second, then nodded at Minimus. “Ten ten!”

“Alright then.” Some tension relaxed out of the minibot’s frame as he began to give Ten directions on how to arrange the figures.

“I believe that’s everything. Now, let’s begin: Anode has somehow obtained several hundred capybaras—an earth mammal—and released them into Swerve’s bar in a continuation of their juvenile ‘prank war.’” Minimus took one of the ‘capybaras’—in reality a generic animal figure for when they didn’t have one for the exact subject—and moved it to the center of the miniature bar.

“Now,” he picked up the figure of Ultra Magnus from its usual place in its office, “I would likely be contacted a short period after the incident started-” He paused. Ten had put his hand in front of Minimus’s, blocking him from setting down the Magnus figure outside of Swerve’s. “What? Would there be something keeping me from arriving there?”

“Ten.” Ten plucked the figure out of his hands, setting it back down in the office. He took the figure of the irreducible Minimus Ambus—Minimus idly wondered how Ten had managed to create an identical model of his rarely-seen smallest form—and placed it in Minimus’s palm. Minimus looked down at it, his brow furrowed.

“But- I wouldn’t be off shift. It’s most likely that Anode would act when I would be on shift, as to ensure I wasn’t at the scene.” He grabbed the Magnus figure once more, but again Ten took and replaced it with the Minimus model. Minimus’s facial insignia twitched as he glanced between it and Ten, who was giving him a somewhat sheepish look.

“I don’t- why exactly do you wish me to use this one?” A hint of disdain crept into his voice as he looked down at the figure in his palm. It had a small smile on its painted face. He couldn’t fathom why, but it made him feel… self-conscious. Ten offered no answer, only curling Minimus’s digits over the figure and giving him puppy-dog optics. How a sightless sentinel managed to pull that off, he hadn’t figured out—but damn if it wasn’t effective.

Minimus relented with a sigh. “Very well.” He placed the miniature figure in Swerve’s bar, then leaned back to consider the scene. Various other crew members were scattered about, and Ten put a few on the tables to signify the commotion that would no doubt occur once the capybaras had been released. Minimus put a hand to his chin, thinking over the situation.

“After arriving at the scene, I would go to you,” he nodded to Ten, “for assistance in keeping the bar-goers calm and preventing the animals from being hurt.” Slender fingers moved the Minimus figure to the center of the bar. “From there, I would organize several bots to round up the creatures.”

“Ten,” Ten said, and carefully picked up the ‘capybara’ figure in his large digits. With surprising grace, he put it up on the border of the model, balancing it on the top of the wall.

Minimus’s brow furrowed. “You’re saying that the capybaras may find their way into… the ventilation system?”

Ten nodded, and Minimus raised an eyebrow. “Hm. I suppose that is possible, considering there’s several points of entry within their reach. So, how do we get them out...?”

Minimus stared at the animal model, crossing his arms as he pressed a knuckle to his lips in silent ponderance—or, would it be pondering? ...No, no, it was ponderance, Minimus was sure of that. If Rodimus were here, he’d say “that’s not a word, Magnus!” Rodimus, however, had once argued that Pop-Tarts were Ravioli, so Minimus had learned by now not to trust Rodimus’s knowledge of what words meant.

“Ten?” A golden hand waved in front of Minimus’s optics, and Minimus blinked. Oh dear—he had been staring into space without a word, leaving Ten quite confused. His faceplates blushed a purplish color and he un-crossed his arms, suddenly unsure what to do with them.

“I-I apologize, Ten. I did not realize I had, ah, drifted off,” Minimus said, twisting his hands idly.

Ten smiled. He laid a hand on Minimus’s shoulder, though it was so large his fingers stretched over the kibble on his back. “Ten ten ten ten.” Minimus froze at the sudden contact. It was rare he was ever touched in the Magnus Armor, but as Minimus? He couldn’t remember the last time someone had made casual, comforting contact with him—and that time Megatron held him up so he could set up that rather festive cloaking machine did not count, no matter what Rodimus commented about how “people would talk.” There was nothing to “talk” about! So what if Minimus appreciated Megatron’s respect for protocol? No one else on this ship ever bothered to read his memos! That didn’t mean he-

“Ten?” Ten said, interrupting his train of thought. Oh, dear. He had done it again. The blush on his face increased tenfold. Minimus buried his face in his hands and allowed himself an embarrassed groan.

He looked up at Ten. “I’m sorry, my friend. I seem to be… distracted, today.” He shook his head, then gestured to the neglected models. “Have you thought of a solution to the capybara issue?”

Ten seemed to light up, nodding with an excited “ten!” The legislator searched through the various figures in the bar before straightening up. “Ten,” he said triumphantly, holding up a miniature Skids. He placed the theoretician up next to the capybara, taking care to keep it balanced. He looked to Minimus, whose optics had widened in understanding.

“You’re right; Skids would be the most knowledgeable of the ventilation system, and therefore the individual most helpful in chasing down the creatures loose in it,” Minimus said with something almost like excitement in his voice. Though Minimus was often put off by how dusty Skids’ habits made him, in this case it would actually be useful.

“I suppose we could also employ Ravage to assist Skids; he also knows how to maneuver through the vents.” Minimus suggested.

Ten raised an eyebrow, his fanged mouth turning down. “Ten ten?” He paused, as if considering something. Then, he picked up the Minimus figure and the grumpy-looking Ravage figure, making them face each other. Ten made his tone higher—which with his natural voice was still pretty low—and said a few “ten”s while wiggling the Minimus model, making it ‘talk’ to Ravage. In a growly voice, Ravage replied, and turned away from Minimus with a huff. Ten lowered the figures to look at Minimus—the full-sized one—expectantly.

“I think-” Minimus drew out the space between his words, “-yes, I think I know what you mean. Ravage is quite, er, snippy, at times. But it’s likely that if I were to ask Megatron, he could assist in convincing Ravage to help us. With Ravage’s help, the rogue animals could be rounded up quickly, I’m sure.” He nodded, satisfied with their solution.

Ten watched with curiosity as a small, content smile formed on Minimus’s face, his red optics looking at the models with appreciation. The funny light thing in Ten’s chest gave a spin, and suddenly he felt a surge of thankfulness for Ultra Magnus—his friend. In one sudden movement, Ten scooped up Minimus in a bear hug.

Minimus squeaked, caught completely off-guard. If Ten had done something like this a few years ago, back before his identity had been revealed, he would’ve yelled at Ten to put him down immediately. But now…

Now, the stiffness in his struts began to fade in the embrace of the larger mech. Part of his processor was protesting the indignity of this, but as the seconds ticked by, that voice became quieter and quieter. The arms wrapped around him were gentle—almost too gentle, as Minimus briefly feared slipping out of Ten’s grip. It was only logical, he later reasoned to himself, that he put his own arms around Ten—only to secure himself, of course. Ten’s engine gave a happy rumble, and Minimus fought off a blush. It wasn’t like Ten would be able to tell anyone about this—even if he could, he wouldn’t. Ten was his friend, after all.

Minimus’s optics shone as he realized what he had just thought. Ten was his friend. His spark seemed to burn a little bit brighter at the thought. So, Minimus slowly let himself relax, laying his head against Ten’s shoulder with a sigh.

On the table, the irreducible Minimus Ambus figurine stood at the center of Swerve’s bar, surrounded by a tiny Ten, a miniature Megatron, a small Swerve, and the rest of the model crew. It was smiling.

[scraplette]

Lost Light #3 Thoughts and Feels

It's time for another round of Lost Light thoughts and feels!

As always, under a readmore to protect you from MASSIVE SPOILERS

+Recap of Issue #2: MORE FUNCTIONISTS!

+And we start off in the pod room with Ten, Swerve and Whirl. I think it's super sweet that Cyclonus gave Swerve his number. I would bet good money on Swerve assigning a special ringtone just for him.

+I really like how Lawrence draws Whirl. He looks like a wet, angry crow. Love his little squinty eye.

+The Necrobot used to knock out difficult rescuees with his magic briefcase... I feel blessed by this knowledge. Blessed and fulfilled.

+The new bot is a giant unicorn? Yeah, I know it's Killmaster but that silhouette could've been a unicorn!

+According to TFWiki, all the names Nightbeat is reeling off are victims of Starscream. So, does that mean Nightbeat went looking for Starscream's statue in particular? Or did he just happen to grab a random flower. I was under the impression he'd grabbed these flowers when breaking through Necroplanet's surface, but they were by Ravage's grave(who had a fair amount of flowers around it) but I guess we'll never know for sure.

+Nightbeat and Brainstorm's banter here is so good. I wonder if being Amica will change them in anyway way. They snark because they care about each other so much XD

+Kaput is a spark specialist? Hmmm, I wonder if that will become relevant later on. He also has a nice wheel according to Brainstorm. I must say, it's rather rare for Brainstorm to give out a compliment.

+AWWW! Look at Brainstorm's worried face! BLESS!

+I always love it when someone calls Rodimus “Rodders”. Look out, Roberts, you Britishness is leaking through again.

+I loved the squealing panel in the early preview and I love it just as much here XD never change, Brainstorm.

+Nightbeat is considered sensible?! Oh dear, how low is the bar set exactly?

+I know a few folks who guessed that the Geobomb was the cause of the dimensional shift. Good job, you guys :)

+Brainstorm: ”Get back here, and whatever you do... DON'T get too involved”

Megatron: “I have already adopted twenty of these lost souls...”

 Yeesh, hitting a little close to home here. But seriously, all this sounds so similar to the how the Trump presidency operates and, given Roberts political leanings, this is a clear commentary on current events. A lot of these tactics have been used throughout history to subjugate many peoples and cultures. Not a real life example, but a lot of this is reminding me of the Handmaid's Tale.

+Oh! Hello there Adaptus! So if there are five sacred cities, each one sacred to a particular member of the Guiding Hand, does that mean there's a Mortilus city out there? I want to see what a city dedicated to a Death God looks like!

+Didn't recognise this chap at first- he's had a makeover since I last saw him – but this is Nine Of Twelve, the Inquisitor. I wonder if he modeled his helm after Adaptus' or if it's just a coincidence. And oooooooh, he is so minded? Is he? Maybe this is just a ploy to gather everyone in one place... I got my eyes on you, buster.

+So “AAAARRRGH!” means Killmaster?! Ah, thanks for the translation...

This panel. THIS BLOODY PANEL! TOO GOOD!

+Killmaster is looking pretty epic... even with a unicorn horn for a magic wand.

+I can totally accept that Whirl assumed Killmaster was dead.

+Whirl, when you same “nemesis”, do you actually mean “crush”?

TEN! NOOOOOOOOOOO!

+Look at little Swerve! Running in to avenge a fallen Ten. He's grown so much Q_Q

+”What Primus gives, only Primus can take away.” At what point did Primus decide to give you a city? Just curious.

Tiny drinks.

+I think Megatron is in his element. He's in world that is clearly in need of some revolutionary guidance.

+Oh! Hello Alternate!Anode.

+Ooooh, look at Minimus throwing some shade.

+So, something is approaching Cybertron from deep space? Oh dear, that can't be good...

+Nine of Twelve showed the AVL how to block the headsplosion signal. I guess that explains why there are still some Lunabots and Datasticks about.

Ha! Exactly what I was talking about last time.

+Rod's headdesk moment is quite cute.

+Okay, M'dears, time for a brief breakdown of how the Senate fell and the Functionists rose to power.

Vector Sigma, the source of all life, stopped working. Nova Prime started the Spark Splicing/Constructed Cold project(as he did in the original timeline) but the Council saw this, creating life without the input of Primus, as an act heresay. Since there was no Megatron to form it,there was no Decepticon movement so the Senate and Council were free to focus all their efforts on bringing the other down. The Senate broke into and seal off Vector Sigma and that seriously hacked off the Council. After raising an army of religious fanatics, the hacked off Council destroyed the unused spark crystals before putting the entire Senate to death.

BUT WAIT! There's more!

Nine of Twelve left the Council because he disagreed with their recent actions. Six of Twelve(the guy we saw with the Matrix face) believes the Matrix has been speaking to him, specifically it's been warning him to prepare for war. The Council has been recycling the  population(yikes) forcing them into military or  construction based alt-modes. Essentially body-gloving, which we all know does not end well for an incompatible spark.

+So the Council are a bunch of hypocrits. Good to know... ¬_¬

+Plus another mention of an incoming war...

+I'm not fully convinced Nine of Twelve is a “good guy”. He may be sympathetic to the AVL but only because he disagreed with the Council forcing bots to change forms. He's still a bit of a dickbag who believes that every bot was born to perform a very particular task based on their alt-mod.  

+What's a Blacksmith? Anode, what is a Blacksmith?

+Oh nooo. Please let Lug be okay Q_Q this evidence against her is piling up.

+And this Grief Shot is probably why Swerve was so tetchy in the last issue. While I'm glad Nautica brings up the problems of relying on mood suppressants, this whole scene REALLY makes me miss Rung. “Avoidance is addictive” honestly sounds like something Rung would advocate. Even though he isn't a practising psychiatrist any more, he would still be doing everything he can to help people work through their grief. We haven't seen him since issue #1, where he was with Skids' body and he had that odd episodes. I'm super worried about him.

Also, I'm a little shocked that Nightbeat needs a shot to deal with Skids' death. Swerve I understand, but even though Nightbeat and Skids were Amica(for all of a minute) they never struck me as particularly close. But they did have that little scene alllllll the way back in Slaughterhouse where they referred to themselves as Chromedome's friends. It really makes me wonder how much goes on off panel.

+So a Blacksmith is a baby maker! I've got this hilarious image of Anode using an actual hammer and anvil to make a baby. But it's really interesting there are bots out there who can shape and mold sentio metalico. I wonder what Anode's skills are.

+So the Snowflake is a sparkless protoform? It's so pretty! I wonder if all protoforms can take on shapes like that.

+I think the implication here is that Anode, either on purpose or by accident, was responsible for Lug's creation O_O

+I don't like seeing a sad Lug. It actually hurts to see her sad. wraps her in a blanket

+I know ship Whirl/Killmaster.

+Hi Cyclon- OH MY GOD! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE O_O

+Seriously! Why is he all busted up like that!

+”Oh man. You really shouldn't have bothered” Love you, Whirl~

+NO! NOT SWERVE TOO!

Meh, he and Ten and probably okay. Killmaster's wand has probably just teleported them to another universe. Worse case scenario, they're floating in space. I wouldn't be surprised if Killmaster is the key to returning the Rod Squad to their original universe.

+I'm saying it now. NEVER put Cyclonus in charge ever again. He's really bad at it.

+I love how disbelving Rodimus sounds. “Rung. Seriously? Rung? RUNG? Short guy with eyebrows? Likes model ships. He's your leader? Rung?”

But I think it's really interesting that Rung is not, strictly speaking, the Leader of the AVL. I wonder if he's had any contact with them at all. Does he even agree with what they're doing? I suspect this is something that will come up again.

+Yes, good. Mwah mwah. Love this sort of stuff. Rung's entire existence is one big middle finger to the Functionists.

+YES!

YES! It took five years but we finally, FINALLY, got the pun we've been waiting for!

+This is it O_O

Yaaaaaassssss.

...

Yeah, I can see straight through your propaganda BS ¬_¬

To be honest, I was actually expecting this outcome. Whatever Rung's alt-mode is, it was hinted to be the “last thing” the Functionists wanted. If it really was “the beginning of the end” there is no way they'd be stupid enough to parade it around to undermine their authority.

I have no doubt that we'll know Rung's purpose by the end of this arc eyes up the #6 solicit One way or another...

+Love how the Rod Squad members are all ????? even they can see through the BS.

+OhohohohOHOHOH! The Drill(thatwillpiercetheheavens) is going to open up Vector Sigma?! EEEEEEEEEE! Maybe there's something to the Rung=Key to Vector Sigma theory!

+EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! LUNA 2! Are we finally going to meet the Black Box Consortia(or at least, this universe's version of them)

+And now I wait for the next issue : /