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in1-nutshell · 5 months

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Bot Buddy being Arcee's old partner who fell into the ice

The alternative title of this was Bot buddy being Arcee's old partner who pulled a Skyfire.

SFW, Platonic, Cybertronian reader

TFP

Buddy was Arcee’s last partner after Tailgate, but before Cliffjumper.

Buddy had already known Arcee from other missions and got along well with her.

Arcee was already considering Buddy as her new partner. She felt as if she was slowly letting go of the pain from Tailgate’s passing. A start of a new beginning.

“Another successful mission if I do say so myself.”--Buddy

“Don’t celebrate just yet Buddy, we still aren’t in the clear yet.”--Arcee

“Arcee, sometimes you gotta focus on the little wins in life.”--Buddy

“I’ll celebrate when we are safe.”--Arcee

“Not even a little bit?”--Buddy

“No.”--Arcee

“Love the optimism ‘Cee. Just a big ball of sunshine you are.”--Buddy

Until Buddy was sent on that solo mission.

They were supposed to look at a planet that could possibly contain some energon. It could prove to be a huge turning point in the war.

“I don’t like this.”--Arcee

“You don’t like it when Cliff’ makes jokes on missions.”--Buddy

“You know why.”--Arcee

“It’s just a recon mission ‘Cee. A quick in and out. We aren’t even going to land on the planet.”--Buddy

“Still…”--Arcee

“If I see a shard of energon on the planet I’ll save one for ya.”--Buddy

“Don’t do that.”--Arcee

“Too late, I’ve made up my mind.”--Buddy

“Never could change your mind anyways, huh.”--Arcee

“Don’t worry so much, I’ll be back before you know it!”--Buddy

“… Okay…”--Arcee

“See was that so hard? I gotta start heading out, you take care okay?”--Buddy

“You’re the one who needs to take care, I wont be there to catch your behind when you trip over your own pede.”--Arcee

“Ha! See ya on the flipside ‘Cee!”--Buddy

“See you soon Buddy!”--Arcee

Buddy wasn’t seen after they left on that shuttle.

Arcee was distraught hearing that they went MIA. She had tried to get information on what their mission was, maybe a way to reach them, but thanks to a Decepticon ambush the data was destroyed.

Arcee had to face it.

Buddy wasn’t coming back.

Time skip everyone is on Earth.

Arcee had gotten picked to go on another Antarctic mission.

She despised the place so much after nearly dying there.

But luckily, she was going with Bulkhead and Bumblebee, and they had triple checked that the comms and groundbridge were working before they left the base.

So, the three of them are scouting around after Ratchet found an energon signature after the last failed Decepticon mining incident.

Arcee just wants an in and out.

“I think that’s a wrap.”--Arcee

“Beep bep bop beep (Good, there some frost forming on my chassis.)”--Bumblebee

“Hang on my wrecking ball is a little bit stuck. Hang on a second.”--Bulkhead

RIP!

CRASH!

“BBEE— (AAAHH--)"--Bumblebee

Muffled beeping noises.

“Quiet!”--Bulkhead

Angry beeping noises.

Bulkhead accidentally caused some of the ice from a nearby iceberg to crumble and they notice a servo sticking out.

Arcee decided to be the brave one and went out to inspect their new findings.

At first, she thinks that it’s just someone’s cut off servo. But then they notice that there is a body attached to it.

She quickly comms in the base telling them what they had found. Optimus gives the clear to bring the bot to the base. After much effort, the three of them mange to cut out the block of ice that the body was held in and pushed it into the groundbridge.

Everyone, especially the kids, are a bit in awe at the body in ice.

Arcee is a bit weary in bringing the body in without knowing what or who it is.

It takes a long time for the ice to melt around the body.

“Why not cut the poor bot from the ice?”--Miko

“It could cause more damage if we do that!”--Ratchet

“So, we have to wait till it melts then?”--Miko

“Yes.”--Ratchet

“All right then, Raf!”--Miko

“What?”--Raf

“Grab the hair dryers.”--Miko

Arcee feels weird seeing some of the kibble beginning to show after a few days have passed. She feels like she has seen this bot before.

Arcee is out with Wheeljack when they get the news that the bot had come online and burst the ice they were in. The two immediately come back to the base and are ready for a fight.

“Freeze!”--Wheeljack

“Now’s not the time for puns—”--Arcee

Buddy kneeling on the ground poking Jack’s hair.

“I guess we didn’t have nothing to worry about, huh Arcee.”--Wheeljack

“…”--Arcee

“Hello there little one.”--Buddy

“Umm… hi?”--Jack

“What’s your name?”--Buddy

“Jack. And your name?”--Jack

“Oh! Its—”--Buddy

“Buddy?”--Arcee

“Yeah—wait who said that?”--Buddy

“Buddy!”--Arcee

“Arcee!?”--Buddy

A sudden wave of doubt came over her, what if this was a copy cat like Makeshift. She quickly raises the weapon again and aims it right at Buddy’s helm.

“Woah! Woah! Woah! Arcee!”--Buddy

“If you’re the real Buddy then how did we celebrate our last mission?”--Arcee

“Celebrate? Arcee we didn’t celebrate anything. You didn’t want to so we could go see—”--Buddy

“Oh, Primus it’s you! You’re okay!”--Arcee

“Of course? Why wouldn’t I be?”--Buddy

SLAM!

“Arcee? Are you—”--Buddy

Arcee holding Buddy in a tight hug.

“You know what, I’ll ask later.”--Buddy

Arcee finished the hug and turned to introduce the team to Buddy.

Arcee asks Buddy what happened to them. Buddy responded that their ship had gotten damaged on the way to the planet, and they fell off trying to repair it and was buried in ice.

Arcee brings it on herself to catch Buddy up with everything.

Buddy is mainly confused on the Earth stuff but promises to learn everything.

As they get adjusted to earth and the team, Arcee has made it clear that if you mess with Buddy you are messing with her.

Primus forbid that Arachnid finds out Buddy is alive.

Arcee will try and get Buddy house arrest.

“Arcee no--”--Buddy

“She is around here somewhere… I can feel it.”--Arcee

“So—”--Buddy

“Back to base.”--Arcee

“But—”--Buddy

“No.”--Arcee

“How—”--Buddy

“No.”--Arcee

Buddy is now the sub guardian of Jack if their altmode allows it.

Arcee gets antsy if Buddy is out for too long.

But together they become a deadly duo after all.

Secretly they make up battle moves during training.

#transformers #transformers x reader #maccadam #tfp #bot buddy #tfp x reader #tfp arcee

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bots-and-cons · 3 months

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Arcee, Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack being paired with a Bot who was a laidback and casual bodyguard before the war but is also an absolute stone wall in battle?

A/N: I took stonewall to mean something strong and something you can’t get past. Idk how you meant it but that’s what comes to mind first for me. All of my stuff lately feels like a stream of consciousness kind of thing, but I don’t really care. And I cut out Magnus, surprise, surprise

~Wheeljack~

•You’re definitely very chill and Jackie quite likes that, you don’t seem to get stressed about things, even when you maybe should

•You’re always chill and calm, and seems like you never really lose your cool

•Jackie is kind of similar, he’s really laid back, and calm in battle, but he can get really reckless and mad if someone he cares about is hurt

•Jackie knows you used to work as a bodyguard before the war, and even for a while after it started

•You’re a strong warrior, so your services were wanted by many

•Jackie never ran into you on cybertron, but he did encounter you after the planet went dark when you’d left the cybertron with your employer

•Your employer at the time becomes unable to pay you, so you left them to fend for themselves

•You didn’t have a ship, so when you met Jackie, you struck a deal with him for you to hitch a ride

•It ended up becoming more of a partnership, because you ended up adventuring in deep space together, before you came to earth

•Jackie and you are pretty close and you’ve talked quite extensively about your past jobs and all the scumbags who hired you

•There’s not much to do on long trips in space, all you could really do is talk about all kinds of things

•You’ve heard all of Jackie’s wrecker stories at least once, but you don’t mind hearing them over and over again

•Though you have taken note that the stories seem to change ever so slightly sometimes, they seem to get more and more heroic, if only slightly

~Arcee~

•Arcee doesn’t always appreciate your carefree and laid back attitude, because it sometimes feels like you don’t take things seriously

•She finds out pretty quickly that you take fighting very seriously and that you’re very good at it

•Of course this raises the question of “what did you do before the war?” because you seem to be suspiciously good at kicking aft

•You shrug and just tell her you were a bodyguard and that you had to fight a lot even before the war broke out

•She’s mildly interested in what kind of people you guarded, and you just straight up tell her: “Mostly some rich scumbags, but it paid well, so I didn’t care”

•Of course that money didn’t do much for you after cybertron went dark, so you had to take payment in other forms after that, physical currency instead of digital

•You sometimes infuriate Arcee with your laid back attitude, because she feels like you don’t take responsibility for things, nor do you take things seriously

•You have to/want to prove her wrong, but that takes some time

•You’ve saved Arcee a couple of times in a fight, but she has done so for you too

•Your relationship is a bit complicated, but you are quite close

#transformers #tfp #transformers prime #autobots #arcee #wheeljack #tfp headcanons #reader insert #platonic transformers x reader #transformers x reader #tfp x reader

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cloudraker · 2 years

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Hello :) I saw that requests are open so may I have romantic headcanons TFP Ratchet, Optimus prime, Arcee, Bumblebee, and Ultra Magnus with a female human s/o who is extremely intelligent, 'cause they work in the military as a mission coordinator who carefully plans ideas and strategies towards enemies, and sometimes when the kids have homework and they have a certain misunderstanding in a certain lesson, they ask s/o to help them with it and s/o is more than happy to help. (Hope this wasn't too detailed lol)

No worries, this isn't too detailed at all! The more the better tbh, gives me more to work with :D

Ratchet, Optimus, Arcee, Bumblebee, and Ultra Magnus with a military S/o

Under the cut :)

Ratchet

Swears up and down you're a gift from whatever god is out there listening

He admires your work ethic; while most of the bots (and humans) he works with are usually pretty good about doing what they need to do on time, it's always nice to have somebody on top of things around

Your personality was what drew him in. He's old and he's tired and having somebody that wasn't seconds away from Starting Yet Another Incident was honestly the best way to get in his good books

Though he spends most of his time at base, he's still got plenty to do and can't always help the kids with any homework they have. The first time he caught you helping them was after he had already shooed them off himself, having too much work to do to be of any actual use. Knowing that you were there when he couldn't be was a small comfort that he'd be a bit embarrassed to admit

Ever the hypocrite, he'll chastise you if he thinks you're overworking yourself. Take the opportunity to rope him into resting as well, he needs it more than he probably knows

Optimus

Like Ratchet, he thinks your work ethic is admirable. As a former archivist, he's picked up some of his own tips and habits for staying on task for longer period of time, and is happy to share them with you

Your willingness to step in and help the children with their homework never fails to make him feel warm inside. To see such a simple act of kindness shouldn't make him so sentimental, but being at war for so long he's had to learn to enjoy the little things

Does his best to take any ideas you have regarding missions into consideration; he values your input greatly and makes it known as often as he can

Depending on if you do field work or not, he might offer (insist) on accompanying you to do your work. It’s a way for the two of you to spend time together as well as be productive

Arcee

Girlbosses at work

As somebody who’s dedicated to the cause, she absolutely understands where you’re coming from. She’s probably one of the most understanding when work things come up and you’re not able to spend as much time together as you’d like

Like Optimus, she might insist on joining you when you’re doing field work, or she might invite you along when she does patrols

You helping with the kids is something that she takes seriously. Jack is her partner, and she wants what’s best for him. Even when she can’t be there or she doesn’t know enough about a particular subject to be much help with school work, she’s relieved he has you to fall back on

As both a fighter and a scout, she picks up quite a bit of intel when she’s out and about. While she doesn’t report directly to you, she does end up giving you a secondary report if the one you get from your superiors doesn’t have all the information

Is adamant on teaching you some form of hand to hand combat; she knows you’re a military operative and you can handle yourself, but she still worries

Bumblebee

Honestly isn’t a huge fan of the amount of paperwork you have to do. He knows it’s necessary, but there’s just sooooo much

Like Arcee, he’s both a scout and a fighter and he also picks up a lot of intel. When making reports or filling in the others in what’s happened, he tries to wait until you’re in the room so you can hear it first hand as well

I feel like he didn’t have a lot of time to get a proper education back in Cybertron (or at least as much as he’d have liked), and isn’t the greatest help when it comes to homework. He really enjoys listening in when you’re helping the kids though! He’s curious and enjoys learning, and the fact that it’s you doing the teaching makes it all the better

Because of how much you know, it’s not uncommon for him to ask questions about seemingly random topics. It could be about something he saw on tv or something he heard somebody else talking about and he is absolutely not using it as an excuse to hear you talk, whatever do you mean?

Might try and recommend you some strategy games that the two of you can play together, seeing it as both a way for you to play together and stay sharp

Ultra Magnus

Power couple if there ever was one

Work ethic is something he views as incredibly important, and when you prove yourself over and over again by being punctual and doing good work, he might as well be head over heels

Admittedly, the idea of being in a relationship during wartime (with an organic, no less) isn’t an idea he ever entertained. However, sometimes exceptions can be made in the form of somebody who understand the importance of getting their reports in on time

As a commander, he’s almost always present when briefings and planning meetings are happening. He’s not afraid to point out any flaws he sees in your plans, and appreciates that you take the criticism in stride and into consideration for next time

Reports sometimes get sent to the both of you depending on the nature of them, and he’s not above reading them with you and considering it a date

The fact that you’re able to juggle your responsibilities as a coordinator and still have time to properly help others with their own work is just the cherry on top

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skelswritingcorner · 2 months

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Explaining an Organic Phenomena (TFP fic)

I bring forth ANOTHER reader character/Buddy who has endometriosis! This is closer to my own experiences with my still undiagnosed condition, though. I use Buddy in this story, but that's because I still need to finalize this Buddy's name.

Word Count: 2.9K

Warnings: Mentioned self harm, mentions of hospital visits, menstrual pain

Story below the cut!

You didn’t expect to end up being involved with an alien’s war, let alone that three of your classmates already knew about them, but you got involved anyway. While you rarely interact with them, preferring to hole yourself up in a small corner to work on assignments, they often pull you into shenanigans anyway. Especially Miko.

The Autobots, as they call themselves, don’t know much about you other than what Jack told them. And he doesn’t know much about you. Most he knows is that at least once a month you end up leaving class early, because it’s the class you have with him that you usually end up leaving for the day, and for the following three days you’re miserable. Jack doesn’t know why either, and you plan on keeping it that way. The only people who get to know about your endometriosis are your family and your doctors.

Well, you at least try. You’ve known them for about two months now, none of them raised an eye at the once-a-monthly absence. Yet. It’s either going to be Ratchet, Optimus, or Smokescreen who will voice any concerns if this happens long enough. Smokescreen, as he’s your Autobot companion assigned to you by Optimus Prime, and Ratchet as he’s a medic.

This is the second period you’ve had since you unwillingly joined them (you blame Miko for this, but also Jack since he’s your neighbor). It was your usual routine during the first day of your period: try to ignore the pain long enough in school, eventually go to the nurse after the pain gets too much for you to focus, then end up being picked up by your mom and brought home.

It was in your class with Miko when you ended up being picked up by your mom. You wrote down something on an index card, giving it to her as you left. She knew what was going on, Miko was the only person outside your immediate family who knew about your condition from you. As you shuffled through to the main entrance, you did see Jack, but ignored him. He was turned away anyway, and you weren’t in the mood to get his attention.

“Where is Buddy? I thought she usually comes with all of you.” Optimus asked. Miko scratched the back of her head before grabbing an index card and showing it to him.

His optics scanned the writing, “I have to leave early, my cramps are getting too much. Tell everyone not to worry about me (especially Ratchet and Smokescreen), I should be there tomorrow.” he read out loud.

“Oh, on the contrary!” Ratchet rebutted, “This happened last month too! And Jack said this happens every single month! Clearly, something’s wrong if this has been happening for years.”

“Well, the only way to confirm if anything’s wrong is to visit her. None of us know where she lives, though.” Raf stated.

“Actually,” Jack countered, “Buddy’s house is right next to mine. Our moms know each other quite well. I don’t think she wants visitors, though. Last time I visited while she was experiencing this she threw something at me, and it hurt.”

Smokescreen entered the room, tilting his head at the lack of his human companion. “Where’s Buddy? I thought she was going to be here.”

“Not here right now,” Miko replied, “she left school early too, needed her mom to pick her up. Girl stuff. I don’t have permission to tell you.”

Smokescreen tilted his head, then turned to Arcee. “Do you know what Miko’s talking about?”

“No, I do not.”

“Then I’m going to find her.” Smokescreen started to walk away, but was stopped by Optimus.

“Smokescreen,” Optimus explained, “I know that you’re concerned for Buddy. However, as Jack is her neighbor, it would draw less suspicion from the Decepticons if he goes to visit her. Jack, do you have Buddy’s contact information?”

“Even better,” Jack pulled out his phone, “I have her mom’s number. Well, I do have Buddy’s number too, but I don’t think she’s going to answer.”

“Excellent. Arcee, go with Jack. Smokescreen, please remain on base, but maintain communications with Arcee.” Optimus ordered. Arcee nodded, and Jack went to grab some of his things before leaving with Arcee.

“Actually, Jackie made a mass displacement machine in case we need to go somewhere that requires someone small.” Bulkhead said, “Arcee might be our smallest member aside from the humans, but I don’t think she can fit through the door of the garage.”

“Absolutely NOT! I believe that would be dangerous. Has Wheeljack even tested it?!” Ratchet turned to Bulkhead, gritting his teeth.

“I’m down to testing it.” Arcee walked to Bulkhead, “Do you know how to operate it?”

“Arcee!” Ratchet exclaimed, “If you really want to do this, I’m going to supervise this.”

♢♢♢

This was not a good day. The cramps were especially bad, so all you could do was writhe in pain on your bed, unable to get anything of substance done. Are the Autobots getting suspicious of this now? The Decepticons? Honestly, the thought of Knockout finding you in this state, hell, even Megatron, made shivers go down your spine. It’s a shame too, you wanted to work on that dress for your project. The one that transforms from a vague black silhouette to a bleeding crimson. Too bad that you’re in pain. Mom went out to do some errands, so she won’t be home for a while. And dad? He doesn’t tell you anything about his work, but you know that it has something to do with the alien robots. Why else would the Decepticons kidnap you the day you were released from the psych ward, before you could even cut off the hospital bracelet? Interrogating you about things you don’t know about?

Who’s texting you right now? Grabbing your phone, you checked to see who messaged you. It was Jack. Of course it would be him, he’s your neighbor! The message said something you wished you didn’t read: ‘Everyone’s worried about you, Arcee and I are coming to your house. Ratchet’s worried too. Don’t throw a textbook at me like last time.’

You wanted to punch Jack so hard right now. Also, it was not a textbook you threw, it was a book about the history of fashion. Get it right, Darby. Angrily typing on your phone, you sent out a message: ‘I’M FINE.’ You then put your phone on the nightstand, curling into the comfort of your blankets.

It should take Jack and Arcee half an hour to get to your house, if they’re coming from the Autobot base. Hopefully, you can just tell them not to worry and leave quickly. They shouldn’t worry about you. Well, June did warn them about your mental health not being the best given what happened over the summer, but the point stands. As long as you’re not alone with your thoughts for too long, you’ll be alright.

There’s a sound that you now know is the ground bridge, and another notification sounded on your phone. So they went the easy route. You grabbed your phone, seeing two dreaded words, ‘We’re here’. God dammit. A door opened, most likely the garage door.

It’s Jack’s voice that you first heard, “Buddy, where are you? Who am I kidding, you’re going to be in your room.” as he spoke, his voice got closer. “Coming in!” and he opened the door. Whoop-de-doo.

“Are you in there?” he asked. You popped your head out of your blanket pile, preparing a plushie to throw at him if he says anything stupid.

“Your room has a lot of… black.” Arcee said, peeking from the hallway. Honestly? She’s right. Nearly everything in your room is black and pastel purple.

Wait. How is she in your house? She’s three times Jack’s size, how did she get in through the door? Wait, she looks smaller than usual…

“Why is Arcee in here?” you asked, biting back a whimper.

“Oh. Wheeljack made some kind of mass displacement machine and needed someone to test it. Smokescreen tried to have himself test it to see you, but Optimus has him on base for now.”

Right. That totally makes sense. Not weird at all.

“He’s worried about you, you know? If it weren’t for Optimus telling him he couldn’t, Smokescreen would be speeding to get to you.”

That’s weird. You thought he hated you. Smokescreen was always belligerent and grumpy when with you, mostly because you insisted on being in control so he wouldn’t break the speed limit and possibly commit involuntary manslaughter. He despised your personality.

“I think he only does that because I was assigned his human partner. I doubt that he’s actually worried for me.” you grumbled, returning to your blanket burrito with the plushie ready to throw.

“Ratchet is also worried, you know? He is a doctor and a-”

You threw the plushie at Jack, full force. Arcee didn’t even try to catch it, leaning against the doorframe nonchalantly. Even when mass displaced, she’d have to crouch to get in.

“Hey! What was that for?” Jack caught the plushie in his hands.

“Well,” Arcee laughed, “Buddy’s up now.”

She’s being sarcastic. You’re still laying on your side, dammit!

Arcee walked into the room, speaking after she knelt in front of you, “Anyway, are you alright? I’m pretty sure Ratchet wants an explanation as to what’s going on, since this is the second time since you’ve joined us that this happened.”

Ough. Eugh. This is going to be difficult. How do you explain menstruation to a robot? They don’t have those parts, at least you think. “Uh,” you winced, not out of pain but out of awkwardness, “It’s very complicated and requires a lesson in human anatomy. June would probably explain it better than I can right now.”

“She’s at work right now, though.” Jack countered. Oh. Right. Hospital stuff.

“...I’ll grab my drawing pad. Just give me a moment to draw some stuff to help explain it.” you got out of your very comfortable blankets, going to your desk to grab your drawing pad, a pen, and a few markers. After finding a blank page, you got to work drawing a basic diagram.

Once you finished drawing, you turned the drawing pad to the two visitors. You pointed the pen to the first drawing; a very badly drawn uterus with a face, “This,” you tapped the drawing, “is the uterus. To the sides are the ovaries, which is where microscopic eggs are held. Every month, usually one egg is released. Before this, a lining grows inside the uterus to prepare for a human baby.”

“An… egg?” Arcee tilted her head.

“Not like the ones you see at the store, those are specifically evolved to grow a baby outside of the mother. These have no shell.”

You shifted your impromptu pointer. If you had your finger ring on, you would be using that to point, “The egg, however, needs to be fertilized in order for a baby to form. This is usually done through… certain acts of pleasure. However, there are treatments in case you can’t get pregnant that way.”

Jack nodded, nonverbally imploring you to continue.

“But this isn’t about how babies are made or grown, this is specifically about what happens when you don’t get pregnant.” You moved the pen to point to another crudely drawn uterus, now with an angry expression and blood coming out from the bottom. “When you don’t get pregnant, then the lining sheds, basically it’s like bleeding. You can’t hold it in, it’s gonna flow whether you want it to or not. This takes several days, and usually causes mild discomfort. This usually starts when reaching teenage years, but I was eleven years old when I first got mine.”

“Wait, you were eleven when that happened?!” Jack’s eyes widened. You just rolled your eyes to continue.

“Sometimes, though, the lining can grow on the outside of the uterus, and end up on other parts of the body,” you tapped the pen on another sketch, with a mess of lines representing the intestines with blobs of red on them, “most often the highest it goes is the intestines, but it can go all the way to the brain. This is called endometriosis, and it causes incredibly painful cramps. I had this confirmed over the summer, after that incident.” you chuckled, “Didn’t even have the chance to get lunch after being discharged before the Decepticons took me.”

“I’m… sorry.” Arcee frowned.

“There’s nothing to apologize for.” you replied.

“It’s not an apology, Buddy, it’s a show of sympathy. I can’t imagine how that feels.” Right. People say sorry sometimes to show sympathy. Something you never got the grasp of. Saying sorry is meant for apologies, is it not?

“Well, I did stab myself to distract from the pain my cramps caused.” you laughed.

Why are Jack and Arcee staring at you like that? They look like they saw a flayed corpse.

Oh. Right. They weren’t told why you were in the hospital. At least June is complying with HIPAA.

“That’s why you were in the hospital?! You stabbed yourself?!” Jack went closer to you, still shocked.

“In two places. And no, I’m not showing the scars. They still look nasty.” It is true though, the stitches might be gone but the scars are still healing. Besides, one of those scars is on your stomach. You’re not showing that to anyone except for medical professionals, or someone you trust enough. The only person that applies is mom.

“Well, at least we now know what’s going on. Is it alright if we tell the others?” Arcee asked.

“Go ahead. Miko already knows, by the way. She even taught me how to pronounce it in Japanese. While there is an actual Japanese word, they just use the loan word.” you answered, “Also, be careful when telling Raf. He’s the youngest of us, I’m sure he’ll be full of questions. I… don’t want him trying to learn more than he should at his age.”

You’ve always felt protective of Rafael. Maybe it’s because deep down you always wanted to feel like a big sister to someone. Another part of you thinks you’re trying to subconsciously manipulate him into your father’s cause. Regardless of why that is, the moment you ended up in cahoots with the Autobots you’ve taken up the role of an older sibling to him. You did your best to not be overbearing or authoritarian, but you tried to help explain certain things to him. He might be a genius, but he’s still the age of a middle schooler. As long as he doesn’t end up behaving like Jack or Miko, he should be okay.

“I assume that you want to stay here, and not go to base.” Jack scratched the back of his head.

You nodded, “I’ll see if I can go tomorrow, depending on how I feel. See y’all tomorrow. Also, don’t tell anyone else the fact that I stabbed myself being why I was in the hospital.”

“I promise. See you tomorrow, Buddy.” Arcee waved, and the both of them left.

After the ground bridge noise was made, you put the drawing stuff away and returned to your blanket burrito after taking some painkillers. Talking with both of them distracted you from the cramps for a good while, surprisingly enough. That’s an achievement.

♢♢♢

“Are you saying that this is caused by a regular human bodily function going wrong?!” Ratchet clenched his hands, eyes wide and jaw slack.

“As far as Buddy said, yes.” Arcee confirmed.

“Yikes,” Miko winced, “I thought my cramps were annoying at best. I can’t imagine what level of cramps she experiences every month.”

“That’s why Buddy’s not here right now?” Smokescreen asked Arcee, who nodded.

Smokescreen sulked in a corner, “Why didn’t she tell me? I’m her partner! And she never said anything about this to me!”

“Buddy might have decided not to tell you since it might make you worry. That, and it’s hard to find a comparison for a Cybertronian lifeform for what she experiences. Even I struggle to wrap my head around it.” Optimus said.

“This could be disastrous.” Arcee replied, “Combined with who her father likely is, we might need to keep a close eye on Buddy. Even more than before. Ratchet, have you ever scanned her?”

Ratchet nodded, “Back when we first found her, yes. Is there something you want me to check?”

Jack piped up, “She said she has two scars, they’re very recent. Did those come up on your scans?”

After some typing, a figure that looked like Buddy showed up on the screen. Two points of trauma, one on her right lower arm’s interior, and one on her midsection. Ratchet nodded, “I was wondering what those were. How did that happen?”

“Not allowed to tell you,” Jack said, “it’s a bit… personal to her. It’s probably best if she tells you herself. I’m not breaking her trust.”

“It’s that bad, huh?” Ratchet sighed, “Very well. I’ll ask Buddy when she’s no longer in pain.”

“Hopefully she’ll be okay tomorrow. She might not feel comfortable coming to base tomorrow. Besides,” Miko cradled her cheeks in her fists while leaning against the railing, “she told me that she’s working on that dress! You know, the one she’s making that has a lot of red… for her sewing class?” The looks of confusion from the others proved that they had no idea what Miko was talking about.

“Nevermind.” Miko grumbled, walking to the couch and sitting next to Rafael. Next time Buddy goes on base, she’s gonna have so much to explain.

#transformers x reader #transformers x platonic reader #menstruation cw #endometriosis cw #self harm tw #tfp optimus prime #tfp ratchet #tfp arcee #tfp smokescreen #tfp bulkhead #mentioned tfp wheeljack #jack darby #miko nakadai #rafael esquivel #mentioned june darby

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weenwrites · 2 months

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✎ A/N: @sochigonzo Hi! Writing for 9 characters goes way over my 3 character limit, so I'm cutting it down to 1. Please keep my limit in mind next time.

[ Please do not repost, plagiarize, or use my writing for AI! Translating my work with proper credit is acceptable, but please ask first! ]

Arcee

Yeah the first time round, she flat out told you that the dog wasn't coming with. She has nothing against them, it's just that her alt-mode can't accommodate a dog. She suggests leaving the dog back at your house temporarily, but when you refuse and explain that they're a service animal, she instead begins offering to have another member of her team escort you to base.

She's not much of an animal lover—not at first anyway—so she's the least likely to distract your dog while they work unless it's to move them out of danger. She does notice any differences in your dog when the harness is on or off, and if your dog's the affectionate type when they're off-duty, you might catch her giving them a few belly-rubs.

She does consider the possibility of using a side-car to make transportation easier, but there's always that lingering fear of being caught by decepticons outside the base. It's frightening enough to have to take care of a passenger while under attack. It can be restrictive, it significantly increases the chances that the two of you will get hurt, so you can see where it goes from here once a second passanger is involved. Still, if someone could get their hands on a side-car, she wouldn't be opposed to trying it out to help transport you and your dog much easier.

#tfp imagines #tfp headcanons #tfp x reader #tfp arcee #arcee x reader #x reader #reader insert #self insert #weenwrites #[ Oddly.. This was supposed to be published yesterday but it seems the queue is acting up or something... ]

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serialadoptersbracket · 2 months

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Round 2, Match 59: Fukuzawa Yukichi vs. Optimus Prime

Submitted kids:

Fukuzawa Yukichi: The entire detective agency (in order of acquisition— Ranpo, Yosano, Kunikida, Dazai, the Tanizaki siblings, Kenji, Atsushi, Kyoka)

Optimus Prime: Bumblebee, then depending on continuity, Cliffjumper, Smokescreen, Arcee, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, the Aerialbots, Sari Sumdac, Jack Darby, Miko Nakadai, Raf Esquivel, and possibly others

Propaganda under the cut!

Fukuzawa Yukichi:

1. “At about 32 he used to be an bodyguard for hire who only works alone then he met this 14 year old (Ranpo) who had no parents and was kicked out of the police academy. He ended up feeding him (I think Ranpo was homeless at this point not 100% sure tho. He is also a genius estimated iq as high as 200) and said he would help him free of charge (bodyguard) if he called. He ended up getting called and investigated something with him. Ranpo saw the world very plainly and cried to Fukuzawa about how scary it is. Fukuzawa helped Ranpo realize that not everyone is pretending not to know things they literally don't know what he does (big issue with Ranpo partly what he was crying about too i think. They have an entire episode (i think it's the first one in the 4th season) devoted to their backstory together which is black, white, and gray when it's from Ranpo's perspective until Fukuzawa helps him realize this and it turns colored. Fukuzawa ends up deciding he wants to create a detective agency (working with others!) with Ranpo not yet tho we still have one more kid first. Later when Fukuzawa's doing a bodyguard job he along with Ranpo end up rescuing a girl (Yosano!) from the man he was guarding (future mafia boss currently a doctor). Yosano ends up becoming a doctor for the detective agency when it's created. After it's created he ends up taking in another 14 year old (Kenji).

He also loves cats and has shoujo anime-esque cherry blossom flashbacks with his old childhood friend who asked him if he wanted to go to fight in war with him, Fukuzawa denied his request. They also have a like 15 min soft-lighting conversation while watching their memories of their childhood together in the latest ep.”

2. “This man literally created a whole detective agency for this one really smart boy (Ranpo) and taught him that he wasn't the one in the wrong but everyone else when he couldn't understand people. Then, he saves Yosano from the trauma this other guy was inflicting on her and brings her to the Agency. The Agency basically becomes the place where all his kids are. His special ability lets those in the Agency control their abilities so Atsushi and Kyouka don't have to be afraid of their out of control abilities anymore. He cares so much for all of them and during the Cannibalism arc when his life is literally on the line, they do everything in their power to save him.”

3. “My guy just CANNOT stop adopting kids. He went from lone wolf assassin to Dad of Many. His first (adopted) child, Ranpo, basically forced him to adopt him (he was like “I’m a teenager with no family or home. You GOTTA adopt me. Because I say so.”) From there he kept accidentally adopting every orphan he came across. Honestly the detective agency is more like a glorified orphanage except they let their kids carry guns.”

4. “A former Goverment assassin who stopped once he realized he was starting to enjoy killing people, Fukuzawa is looking for a job when he bumps into Ranpo, a genius capable of figuring out any mystery, who can’t understand how the world works. Taking Ranpo under his wing Fukuzawa tries a white lie that Ranpo has a special ability and manages to let Ranpo interact with the world without fear for the first time in years since he can know understand the problem wasn’t everyone acting like they couldn’t figure out things but that no one was as smart as him. They found the Armed Detective Agency specifically to use Ranpo’s abilities to help people and to have jobs.

He then saves Yosano from Mori, his ex something who after using her special ability to heal any injury as long as the person is about to die during the War, wanted to use it take control of their local mafia. Instead Fukuzawa and Ranpo rescue her and let her recover from her trauma and come into herself.

He then goes on to provide a place for Kunikida to fulfill his ideals, Dazai a place to do good after his own past in the mafia, Kenji a place to help people, Tanizaki and Naomi (siblings that don’t seem to have any guardians) work to support them, and Atsushi a place to work on his own trauma by protecting people. Fukuzawa later let’s Kyouka, another defection from the mafia, stay and work at the agency so she can help people and not have to kill them anymore. The entire Armed Detective Agency live in dorms that Fukuzawa provided. He also is very protective, putting everything on the line to help members of the Agency escape any danger he knows of. Like when Atsushi is kidnapped he bribes Ranpo to find him and sends Kunikida to rescue him. He sees any danger to the agency and its members as something for him to stop.”

Optimus Prime:

“#VOTE OPTIMUS HE'S THE DAD OF ALL TIME AND HAS ISSUES”

#bungou sd #bungou stray dogs #bsd fukuzawa #fukuzawa yukichi #macadam #maccadam #optimus prime #transformers #serial adopters bracket #round 2 #tumblr tournament #tumblr polls

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sonicasura · 6 months

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Realizing this now but Poppy Playtime would fit in the Transformersverse creepily well once you think about it. Shockwave, Meltdown, Mandroid, Tarantulas... They have experimented and create terror for various purposes that left either disgust, horror, or both on viewers than just the opposition.

Poppy Playtime could fit right in even more so when you notice how the toys operate. All of them are taught to pretend to be normal children playthings. Still like statues until no one notices and the perfect time to strike. Ambush predators that need to eat as there is evidence like tailoring Boxy Boo's appetite to human flesh(to get rid of those who knew too much) in a recording found inside Project Playtime or the EXP.1006/The Prototype not needing to eat unlike the other experiments within a recording inside Poppy Playtime.

I can't forget the most darkest information. These living toys were once human and the Chapter 3 ARG has given more evidence children being potential subjects. In Chapter 2, there are documents that label a kid's name but also a toy in the Game Station.

Children were actively being tested by scientists before the conversion. However the final nail in the coffin is this official video from Mob Entertainment's YouTube page. A confirmed toy who was once a person.

youtube

It gets even worse. This shit is morbid enough so how bad can it become? The Bigger Bodies Initiative. A plan to make giant toys for the purpose of labor. Legitimate slave labor in order to cut costs as these human experiments will work to sustain the factory until they are killed. Toys meant to never age so they continue to live unless put out of their misery.

Now I know you're thinking they couldn't stand a chance against Cybertronians. A giant toy might be able to offline Minicons and damage regular bots to some degree unless trained to aim for weakspots. Like ambush predators tend to do. TFA Optimus and TFP Arcee wouldn't have fun with Mommy Long Legs due to personal trauma involving spiders.

No, the danger is directed to their human companions. Most Transformers series has at least one person becoming an important member of the team with the majority being teenagers and CHILDREN. Poppy Playtime's monstrous toys can easily kill humans as Boxy Boo is made to devour adults whole without a peep.

There's no way to discern or even expect a simple children's plaything could be a man eating monster. Optimus kills a toy that found its way into base and Ratchet does an autopsy. Imagine their horror upon discovering human organs being intertwined to make an actual alive creature.

The dread only deepens as realization dawns that these are from children. Someone is bound to feel ill especially when you consider Optimus fondness for humans and the iterations with young charges. Death seems natural to a species intertwined by war for over multiple millenia.

They stomach the grief as until the battle is truly won, they can't mourn fallen comrades for long without being in constant danger. What people like Shockwave does to others truly wrought terror. To know their own kind is subjected to experimentation so extreme, so vile, that you don't believe there's a line this person won't cross.

Real horror can come from those they cherish becoming targets to an unforeseen threat. Morbid realization that toys could kill and devour the humans who snared their sparks. The disgust since these monsters once being their charges' species even possibly their age. And it can be your fault as toys like plushies are common innocent gifts.

TFP Bulkhead getting Miko a little Catnap toy as a present for her birthday. Imagine his horror seeing the girl unconscious, pain etched on her face from vivid nightmares. The toy he gave to Miko ready to take a bite out of her neck until he crushes it. Bulkhead would be forever haunted by the incident.

Now there are two threats hiding in plain sight. The machinery used for everyday life can potentially be a war criminal with the only indicator of potential death being an emblem. Now simple children playthings are possibly a former human that feeds on others.

And this threat doesn't have a warning sign until it's too late.

For those who want to delve further then here are the recordings so far. Chapter 1 & 2, Ch 3, Project Playtime Phase 1+2. Chapter 3 ARG summarized can be found here. Finally the documents from Poppy Playtime right here.

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camp-mithril-lake · 2 months

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Oho? Another person with a fan continuity? I read up on your ideas and i love it i cant wait to see more of your au!!

I love seeing fan continuities! They are so fun!

I am more than happy to talk about it more! I'm still hammering out details so it is subject to change though. I have been fully convinced to include Strongarm though. I am just deciding if she is the Ultra Magnus kid or the JazzProwl kid. Leaning towards JP though, because it would be hilarious when she drops certain things her "mentor" taught her and everyone thinks it was Prowl.

I have done some more building on everyone! And have a few "episode" ideas. I'm going to frame it as Seasons and have smaller fics be episodes instead of one larger fic. I've always wanted to do a similar frame never found the perfect story for it.

The main things I've built up are Hot Rod, Thunderclash, and Ambulon/Bob/Sunstreaker's backstories. This will be long, so I'll put it under the cut.

HOT ROD & FLAMEWAR

Hot Rod is a war orphan who was taken in by Kup who found him alone and sick in a house. Hot Rod was too sick to tell anyone that his twin sister had left to find medicine/help and they'd been alone there for awhile with Hot Rod getting sicker. The medics in charge of taking care of him had trouble because they didn't know he was a split-spark twin and and couldn't figure out what kept causing his spark to go into distress. It is unhealthy for twins, especially closely bonded ones, to be separated until adulthood.

Sunstreaker was actually the one who noticed it as bond shock and fetched Ratchet. This saved Hot Rod's life and Autobots were immediately sent to check for his sister when he was coherent enough to offer a description and designation. She wasn't there though.

He bonded quickly with the rest of "Kup's orphans", especially Springer and Arcee. Hot Rod is trans and during his final upgrade adjusted his frame to suit his preferences. He is always on the look out for his sister who he knows is still alive because their bond is active. Though very weak and suppressed due to the medicine he has to take.

He grew up underfoot with Kup interacting with the Wreckers and other special groups, mostly moving from place to place in the training areas or staying on the ship, because Kup didn't bring kids into active war areas. When it was possible he sent them to stay on family housing where it was safe. Hot Rod still grew up learning how to make bombs and where the perfect place to stab someone was because the Wreckers were not the best babysitters. As the youngest he was incredibly spoiled and protected in their own strange way though, especially once Springer got into a position he could recommend his baby brother be sent to safer places and Arcee started working directly with Prowl and Elita-1.

Kup told them they had to let their brother live his life and was the one who arranged for Hot Rod to get the job and have a little breathing room.

Hot Rod's twin sister, Flamewar, actually ran into the Decepticons first and tried to rob them, biting and getting caught and grabbed by the Combaticons. By the time they could move out to investigate Hot Rod had already been found and the area they'd been hiding in was destroyed.

The Combaticons weren't free to go back to safely drop off an orphan so they just took her with them. When she started to grow ill, later than Hot Rod as she'd been mostly healthy, they kidnapped a medic and forced him to treat her. She stayed with them for months and they became her new family.

They kept her, registering her as part of their elective kin and she grew up a Decepticon but one who was less than enchanted by Megatron. She loved them and was happy and they supported her search for her twin, who they were incorrectly looking for under the name Flareup.

The Combaticons eventually rebelled though after careful cost-benefit scenario but made absolutely certain to not implicate her, going as far to leave her somewhere else and distance themselves so it wouldn't come back on her. She got to visit them during their trial and Onslaught told her to betray them so per her parents' orders she spoke against them on the stand. She was pardoned, and to repay an old favor, Soundwave made sure she was cared for. She had definitely inherited the Combaticons opinions and views though and kept getting in trouble.

She was eventually sent to Dreadwing and Krok.

SUNSTREAKER, BOB, and AMBULON

Bob (Bucket-of-Bolts), Sunstreaker's nickname for him that became his name, was an Insecticon in the same facility as Ambulon and Sunstreaker. All three of them were test subjects for the experiments going on there done by Scorponok and Flame (who betrayed the Autobots). Sunstreaker and Bob bonded and Ambulon eventually started working with them as well to escape. The facility was not approved by the Decepticons as Scorponok was plotting to overthrow Megatron, which lead to it being attacked once discovered.

They escaped but Sunstreaker and Bob were injured in the attack. Ambulon was planning to go neutral but seeing their injuries instead called the Autobots and turned himself in to assure they lived. Ambulon defected and joined the Autobots during this time. Bob was gravely injured and couldn't transform any longer and had some damage that he potential could never recover from. There was a possibility he could heal especially with care and steady spark energy transfusions to assist, but that was only a possibility.

Sunstreaker immediately devoted himself to Bob's care and is weaker and off the frontlines because he is doing transfusions daily to help in his recovery and vowed to stay with Bob no matter what his frame looks like or severe the injuries. Sunstreaker had also taken a very long time to recover due to the extent of the injuries.

Ambulon is trusted by them both and eventually was off parole and approved for service and got sent with them as a result.

THUNDERCLASH

Thunderclash is the main Autobot Commander in the area nearest to them and will appear often as well. He was recently reassigned to the Safe Zone, which has caused a bit of a scandal. He is also Hot Rod's age and shouldn't be in command due to this.

Thunderclash was another orphan who Ratchet took in when his family, a relatively wealthy political family, was assassinated. Ratchet did not want him to join the war effort at all and did everything he could to discourage him. This lead to some fighting and eventually, Thunderclash running away. Ratchet was heartbroken. Thunderclash was already very large and lied about his age to join the Autobots in another region.

He was doing well and came under the wing of the base commander who was more than a little reckless. During a risky maneuver that failed, their command structure was devastated and Thunderclash, having been closely working with him had the clearest idea of what was going on and where everyone was, took over temporarily to get them through it and won the battle.

He continued to stay in command since there was no way to get out communication under siege and was in control for awhile keeping the region together and eventually being officially promoted to fill the role. He was rapidly promoted, caused at least partially by further deaths to a higher position much too quickly. When the area finally settled and connections were reestablished he was considered famous both militarily and politically.

When he was sent to meet High Command and give his report though, Ratchet recognized his kid through the final upgrade and new paintjob and the whole charade was revealed. It was a huge blowup and Thunderclash's age and inexperience coupled with his too rapid promotions being backfilled by more trusted officers lead to his "reassignment" to calmer climes with more experienced officers accompanying him to ease him into leadership since they now had the option.

This lead to rumors that someone had tried to suppress the "rising star" of Thunderclash, who was actually very relieved by his reassignment and flying by the seat of his pants.

He was deeply traumatized by the events that lead to his promotion and his "heroics" are nothing but terrible memories. His issues with his previous commanding officers recklessness leading to so much death causes tensions between himself and Hot Rod.

#answering asks #seeds of the past au #thunderclash #hot rod #sunstreaker #bob the insecticon #ambulon #so for all the light heartedness i am planning to coat it with this continuity is kind of dark

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isabellavolere · 5 months

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Transformers Prime—Part 9: The Imposter

Masterlist

<-Previous Part

“Miko, slow down, I can’t understand you when you don’t speak with spaces between your words like normal people,” you had said as you closed the book you had previously been reading.

After the day you had been through at school that morning, all you had wanted to do was sit against the secret alcove you had found while exploring the Autobot base, crack open your book, and escape reality. But when Miko had brought you crashing from the imaginary universe of your favorite book to the present, gushing about some sort of signal Ratchet had picked up from his scanner, you were less than thrilled with her enthusiasm.

You had also been mildly impressed by how quickly she was able to find the spot that had taken you an hour to discover, but your thoughts had been interrupted.

“But y/n, it’s an Autobot signal! Don’t you know what that could mean?” She has asked with wide eyes.

“That the Decepticons want to bait us into thinking there’s an Autobot out there somewhere so they can attack us when we least expect it?” you had asked flatly.

“Oh, you sound like Arcee!” She had wined, before turning around to go back to the rest of the bots.

An Autobot signal? Showing up on Earth of all places? Of all the Autobots that made it off of Cybertron, not including our Autobots, what are the chances that one could end up here? Next to none.

You couldn’t have helped the logical side of your brain as you’d mulled over what Miko had told you. You had just hoped, as you leaned back against the wall to continue reading, that you were wrong about the Autobot signal.

***

You lean over the railing of the balcony with Jack, Miko, and Raf, watching the swirling vortex of the groundbridge as you all wait for the Autobots to come back with Wheeljack. Instead of giving him the coordinates to the base, it was Optimus’ idea to give Wheeljack another set of coordinates so he could walk through the groundbridge instead. It seems you aren’t the only one who is cautious when it comes to new guests at the base. Suddenly five sets of footsteps reach your ears as the Autobots exit the groundbridge, and immediately your eyes lock onto the new bot.

His chasi is mainly white and gray, with red and green accents on his chest and lower legs. You notice wheels and doors on his back, and a small cylindrical device on his side. Your observations are interrupted however when the groundbridge sparks with purple bolts and shuts down.

Hmm, well that looks…less than ideal.

A groan from Ratchet catches your attention and while Bulkhead introduces Wheeljack to Miko, you go to investigate the source of Ratchet’s displeasure.

“Hey Doc, something wrong?” you ask as you walk over to the groundbridge lever.

Ratchet just turns to glance at you, a hint of irritation in his eyes, before frowning and returning back to his work. He mumbles something under his breath as he inspects the lever and you wonder if he’s purposefully ignoring you.

“Does it have to do with the purple sparks from the groundbridge?” you ask again.

“You saw it too?” he asks, stopping his work and staring at you for a long moment. “The groundbridge system hasn’t been the same since the Scraplet incident; I fear the system…”

Ratchet’s cut off by a loud crashing noise and you turn around to see Wheeljack and Bulkhead bump chests enthusiastically.

“Oh joy,” Ratchet deadpans before going back to his work.

“Right then,” you frown before walking over to the living area of the base.

You quickly locate the backpack you had set down by the tv and take it over to the faded yellow couch. Before sitting down you look for Cliffjumper, hoping that maybe you and him could go out for a drive, when you see that Cliffjumper is talking to Arcee. You watch as he says something that makes Arcee laugh and you quirk an eyebrow. The smirk on Cliffjumper’s face makes you smile slightly, and you wish that they were both a little bit closer so you could laugh at Cliffjumper’s jokes too. Shaking the thought from your mind, you sit down on the couch and open up a book, hoping it would distract you.

***

Miko’s electric guitar solo was bad enough for the ears alone, but Bulkhead’s game with the new Autobot, Wheeljack, was another; the combination of the two was enough to drive anyone crazy. Which is why after discovering that even the most avid readers wouldn’t have been able to concentrate through all the chaos, you find yourself sitting on the top of the messa that the Autobot base was hidden in, knees tucked up to your chest, staring out to the vast Nevada desert. The moon lights up the sand and a cool breeze blows your hair gently away from your face. Of all the places in the Autobot base, this one is your favorite by far. It was Optimus who had been the one to show you this place, and you would have assumed he’d be up here too if you hadn’t seen him drive off into the darkness a few minutes after you had come up.

None of the other Autobots normally came up to the top of the base, so when you hear the ding of the elevator at the entrance of the roof access cave, you instantly begin to wonder. As you turn around to see who is there, a familiar red hue and warm smile makes you relax and turn back to face the desert.

“Hey kid, I’ve been lookin’ for ya,” he says quietly as he lowers himself next to you.

“Ah well, you’ve found me,” you say with a grin, which earns a laugh from Cliffjumper. “What’s up?”

“You’re missing the party,” he nudges you gently with his side.

“I’m not sure I’d consider electric guitar solos and whatever game Bulkhead and Wheeljack are playing a party,” you reply.

“Not much of a party person, are ya,” Cliffjumper chuckles.

You smile slightly and lean back on the ground, your head lying on your arm and your legs swinging over the rocky edge of the towering messa. “Not so much.”

“Mmh,” he hums and is quiet for a moment.

A comfortable silence comes between you and Cliffjumper, filled only with the hum of his spark and the chirping of crickets. You gaze up to the sky above you, the twinkling of thousands of stars reflected in your eyes.

“Lobbing.”

“What?” you ask as you look over to Cliffjumper.

“The game that Bulkhead and Wheeljack are playing. It’s called Lobbing,” he explains.

“Oh yeah?” you question as you sit up.

“It was a popular game back on Cybertron for those of the Warrior class.”

“Were you in the Warrior class?”

“Was I in the Warrior class?” Cliffjumper asks incredulously. “Do Predacons fly?”

“I don’t know wha—”

“Of course I was in the Warrior class! One of Primes’ toughest bots back in the war,” Cliffjumper says, smashing his fists together proudly. “And I bet that if you were Cybertronian, you’d be in that class too.”

“Oh?” you raise an eyebrow and tilt your head slightly.

“You have that fire in your spark,” he says with a grin. “That’s how ya could take out that Con when we first met.”

“Eh, I was just fortunate,” you say with a shrug of your shoulder.

“You sound like Optimus,” Cliffjumper rolls his eyes. “Too humble. Ya gotta own your victories, especially when they have to do with taking down those Cons.”

“You really don’t like Decepticons, do you?” you ask with a chuckle.

“Not one bit.”

“You and me both.”

You look down to your right shoulder and push back the material of your tee shirt sleeve. The pale moon illuminates your skin to reveal the many burn scars that run from the top of your shoulder to just above your elbow. The memory of the day you got that scar flashes in your mind and you can’t help but relive the experience.

Running from the Decepticons, feeling the burn of your skin when the shot collides with your shoulder, the red visor of the Decepticon looming over you with its gun pointed right at you, waiting for the shot that would end everything.

It was the day your life had changed completely, when you had discovered an entire race of alien robots from a planet hundreds of light years away; when you discovered him, your guardian and protector.

“I thought you were scrapped for sure,” Cliffjumper says, breaking you from your thoughts. “It takes a certain kind of human to get shot in the shoulder and still pull through.”

“Don’t forget almost getting squished by Starscream and then kicking him in the face,” you add with a grin.

“Atagirl, y/n, own that victory,” he returns your grin, scanning your face for a moment with a proud look. “Only the fiercest of warriors could have survived that lousy Con.”

You are about to retort when Miko calls your name and you jump slightly. You hadn’t even heard her walk over to you and once your heartbeat returned to normal you turned around to give her a slightly irritated look.

“Miko, what are you doing up here?” you ask curiously.

“I was looking for you, Bulkhead’s going to tell some stories about him and Wheeljack! Do you want to come and hear them?” she asks excitedly.

You glance at Cliffjumper for a moment before turning back to Miko. “Yeah, I’ll be right there.”

“Great!” Miko says and grabs your arm, pulling you along with her as Cliffjumper’s laugh follows you from behind.

***

“So there we were, no communications, low on energon, surrounded by Cons, so what does Wheeljack do?” Bulkhead asks back in the main area of the base.

Miko, Raf, Jack, and you all sit next to each other on an energon crate with your eyes wide, leaning forward in anticipation.

“Tell ‘em Jackie!” Bulkhead laughs.

“Wha-what I do best,” Wheeljack says nonchalantly as all heads turn in his direction.

“He chucks his only grenade smack into the primary heat exchanger!” Bulkhead exclaims.

“Yeah, seemed like a good idea at the time,” Wheeljack says.

“The joint went supernova!” Bulkhead extends his arms wide.

”Awesome,” you and Miko say at the same time.

”Yeah, I’m still picking shrapnel out of my backside.”

“I’m not surprised, given the size of your backside,” Arcee comments, causing you to try to hide your snort in a sudden burst of coughing.

“There it is, Jackie’s signature; one grenade, one shot,” Bulkhead says with a grin. “Hey, you alright?”

”What?” Wheeljack asks.

”You don’t seem like yourself.”

”Well what do you mean?” Wheeljack asks quickly.

”I don’t know, you seem quiet,” Bulkhead comments.

”Ah, I’ve been stuck in a can too long. I should go topside before I go stir crazy,” Wheeljack explains.

”I have patrol in the morning, you can come with!” Bulkhead offers.

”Let’s go now,” Wheeljack says, turning to face the exit tunnel.

”And break up the party?” Bulkhead questions. “Come on, the gang’s loving you. You gotta tell them about the battle of Darkmound pass!”

”You tell them. You’re better at it,” Wheeljack says, turning back around to face Bulkhead. “How about if Miko here shows me the rest of your base?”

”Uh, yeah sure, Jackie, go ahead,” Bulkhead says hesitantly.

“Tour starts now,” says Miko excitedly, hopping down from the energon crate.

“Oh boy,” you mutter, earning a snicker from Jack.

”Do you play any instruments? Can you fly? Have you thrashed more Decepticons than Bulkhead has?” Miko begins pelting Wheeljack with questions as you watch them walk to one of the base's many tunnels.

“You alright?” Arcee asks Bulkhead.

When you look over to Bulkhead you notice he’s acting strange. His eyes have a distant look to them and you think he’s almost…sad?

”Yeah just…out of sorts, I guess,” he replies with a frown.

”Don’t tell me you’re jealous,” Arcee says, putting her hands on her hips.

”That Miko’s making a new friend? Come on!”

You all remain silent, unconvinced of his response.

“Something…something’s just not right about Wheeljack,” Bulkhead says quietly.

Hmm, Bulkhead would know if something is off about his best friend…the question is what.

”Bulkhead, really?” Arcee questions. “He’s traveled galaxies, you haven’t seen him in centuries, he could just be rocket-lagged or…bots do change, you know?”

”Not Jackie,” Bulkhead counters.

***

“Look, I know Wheeljack better than anyone,” Bulkhead says, trying to convince the rest of us that something was not right.

After listening to almost five minutes of his rant, the base had mixed feelings about Bulkhead’s suspicions. Arcee still remained unconvinced while you were leaning towards Bulkhead’s side. Something just wasn’t adding up with Wheeljack, and you wanted to get to the bottom of it.

As if on cue, a voice calls out from the tunnel near the med bay.

“Hey. What are you guys talking about?”

”I was just telling the guys about you and me at the battle of Darkmound Pass,” Bulkhead says, turning to face Wheeljack.

”That’s a heck of a story,” he muses.

“Yep. Tell it,” Bulkhead commands.

”Talk talk talk,” Miko interjects. “How about after we go off-roading—“

“Miko, stay out of this!”

Your eyes widen at the stern tone to Bulkhead’s words. Not once had you ever heard Bulkhead talk to Miko like that. You lock eyes with Cliffjumper and frown, but he only shrugs.

“Bulkhead, easy,” Arcee says.

”I’m not sure I’d—“ begins Wheeljack, but he’s cut off by Bulkhead.

”Tell it!”

”Fine, you wanna live in the past, Bulkhead.”

You glance at the other kids with a wary expression before turning back to look at Wheeljack.

“The Wreckers were trapped between a Decepticon patrol and the smelting pit. The Cons were vicious, bearing down on us with everything they had. Me and Bulkhead engaged the enemy, left them for scrap, then I made us a way out using their backsides as stepping stones to cross the molten metal,” Wheeljack finishes, looking back at Bulkhead. “Isn’t that how it happened?”

”Yeah, that’s exactly how it happened. Except for one little thing. I wasn’t there.”

You look from Bulkhead to Wheeljack in confusion as you hear Ratchet emit a small gasp, stopping his work to look at the bot. You can even see it in Wheeljack’s eyes, the realization that he messed up.

Oh. Ooooh.

And then you understand; this bot is not Wheeljack.

“I’d already left the Wreckers to join up with Optimus, but you wouldn’t know that if all you did was access Wheeljack’s public service record,” Bulkhead says.

“Bulkhead, what does that have to do with—“ Miko begins, but suddenly the imposter Wheeljack grabs her.

”Miko!” Bulkhead yells.

Before you can even fully process what just happened, Cliffjumper jumps in front of you protectively and turns his hand into a blaster.

“Stay back…or I’ll squeeze her into pulp,” the bot says, dropping the laid back voice of Wheeljack for something deeper and raspier.

It sends a small shiver down your spine as you look around Cliffjumper’s legs, anxiously seeing what would happen to Miko.

“Wheeljack, what are you doing?” Miko asks quickly.

”Decepticon coward, let the girl go and face me!” Bulkhead challenges, eyes narrowed to slits at the intruder.

“Don’t fret, plenty of fighting to come,” the Con taunts.

“Is there a real Wheeljack?” asks Jack.

”Oh indeed, and I expect lord Starscream is making sport of him.”

At the name of Starscream your face hardens slightly and you catch a look of discontent across Cliffjumper’s face as well. The look only deepens as you watch the Decepticon type in coordinates to the groundbridge and power it up, all while everyone remains helpless to stop it.

”About time,” the Con mutters. “Now, let’s get this party started.”

As Miko struggles against the Con’s grasp, a figure from the groundbridge flies through the air and kicks the imposter in the back. This causes him to crash to the ground, flinging Miko into the air in the process, and you watch with panic and then relief as she lands in the outstretched hands of Bulkhead.

“Are you alright?” you ask quickly once Miko is placed back on the ground.

She nods and you all turn around to face the figure from the groundbridge; it was Wheeljack, the real one.

“I’d shut that hole before the stink comes through,” he says.

Just then the Decepticon gets up and pulls out his swords, and so does the new Wheeljack. They begin circling each other in the base, a perfect mirror image, like sharks in the water. Bulkhead smashes his fists together and steps forward to join the fight, but the real Wheeljack stops him with a hand.

“Ugly’s mine.”

In one sudden motion the two Wheeljack's collide their swords and the fight begins. They twist and turn and circle some more, and you have trouble identifying which Wheeljack is the real one, though it seems you're not the only one.

“Which one is the real Wheeljack?” Raf asks, adjusting his glasses.

“Uh, I lost track!” Miko exclaims.

In one quick motion one of the Wheeljack disarms the other one, kicks it to the ground, grabs the disarmed bots’ sword, and points it at the bot.

“That’s my Jackie,” Bulkhead exclaims proudly.

The real Wheeljack stands over the imposter and sheaths his swords before looking towards Ratchet. “You, open the hole. It’s time to take out the trash,” and then he turns towards Bulkhead. “All yours.”

Ratchet opens the groundbridge and Bulkhead grabs the imposter, spins him around in the air a few times, and then chucks him straight into the groundbridge.

“Nice lob,” Wheeljack comments as the groundbridge closes.

***

Later that day, once Optimus had come back from his drive and been given all the details of what he’d missed, the base was back to normal. And this time when Miko pulls out her electric guitar, you hesitate when you turn to seek the comforting silence of the base’s roof, your footsteps halting just before you get to the elevator door on the raised platform. As you linger, you hear the tread of steps you’d come to recognize anywhere.

“Leaving the party so soon?”

You turn around and smile slightly as Cliffjumper cocks his head slightly and raises an eyebrow.

“Well…” you drag out the word before letting it die out.

You look down at the other kids and their guardians who are dancing to Miko’s music and a faint smile tugs at the corner of your mouth.

“Come on, kid, live a little,” Cliffjumper says, and extends his hand to you.

“It’s like a recurring nightmare,” you catch Ratchet saying from near the groundbridge lever.

“At least don’t turn into a grouch like him,” Cliffjumper smirks.

You let out a snort and Cliffjumper’s grin widens at the sound. Having made up your mind, you climb into his outstretched hand and let him gently lower you next to Jack on the main floor.

“Hey, welcome to the club,” Jack says with a playful nudge to your shoulder.

You laugh and start to sway from side to side in time with Miko’s music, watching Raf and Bumblebee dance the robot.

Well, naturally.

”…that my ship’s repaired, I’m itching to know…what else I might find out there,” you catch Wheeljack saying to Bulkhead.

“Wait, you’re leaving?” Miko exclaims, putting her guitar down and rushing over to Wheeljack. “Why?”

You see a look of sadness flash across his face before Bulkhead says, “Well, because some bots never change.”

“Wheeljack, know that you will always have a haven here,” Optimus says.

“Jackie never stays, but he always comes back,” Bulkhead says as he gives Wheeljack a side hug and a fist bump.

And with that, Wheeljack’s ship is located and you walk through the groundbridge with the others to send Wheeljack off.

“There’s room for two, Bulk,” Wheeljack offers. “Even with a backside like yours. Who knows who we might find out there…some of the old crew.”

As Bulkhead turns around Miko looks down at her toes with a solemn expression, and you quickly wrap an arm around her shoulders.

“It sounds like fun, Jackie, but my ties are here now. With them. With her,” Bulkhead says warmly.

Miko’s face lights up and Wheeljack smiles at her.

“If anything happens to my favorite Wrecker, I’m coming after you.”

“I’ll take good care of him,” Miko says. “Now say cheese.”

Pulling out her bright pink flip phone, Miko snaps a picture of Bulkhead and Wheeljack. After one more hug from the Wreckers, Wheeljack steps into his ship and starts the engines. It slowly rises into the air before turning around and blasting off, heading towards the setting sun. You all wave until Wheeljack’s ship shrinks to a small spec on the horizon before disappearing from sight.

Masterlist

<- Previous Part

#Transformers prime #reader insert #tfp #cliffjumper x reader #cliffjumper reader insert #Y/n #optimus #bulkhead #ratchet #bumblebee #female reader #arcee #x reader

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melishade · 2 months

Text

Attack on Prime Chapter 82: Hope

Summary: Megatron discusses plans with his secondary team, leaving many to make difficult choices. Meanwhile, the Survey Corps are still trying to contemplate Eren's disappearance and their dwindling odds.

Sneak Peek:

Mikasa let out a battle cry as she charged at Arcee’s holoform, blades from her gear in hand. Arcee quickly ducked as Mikasa swiped for her head and kicked her in the gut. Mikasa coughed up spit as she was sent rolling across the ground. Levi immediately took over as he swung his blades upwards to try and damage the holoform. Arcee managed to bend backwards at the last second before kicking one of Levi’s blades out of his hands and up in the air. Arcee caught it before spinning and slashing at his torso twice. The first slash managed to cut through Levi shirt, but Levi managed to block the second one. Arcee was ready to thrust the blade forward, but stopped when she noticed movement behind her. She quickly flipped to her left and dodged a downward strike from Mikasa. Both blades ended up getting stuck in the ground, and Mikasa grunted in frustration as she tried to pull them out.

Levi rushed forward and attacked Arcee’s side, only for Arcee to quickly block his blade. The two soldiers continued to clash, their blades connecting and even creating sparks. Meanwhile, the rest of the Survey Corps continued to watch the battle, calmly eating their snacks with intrigue.

“Ackermans, am I right?” Sasha remarked.

“Seems like Levi is doing better than Mikasa though,” Jean commented, “Why is that?”

“I would have to assume battle experience,” Armin answered, “Levi is older than Mikasa and has been in the Survey Corps for longer.”

“Do you think Mikasa can catch up?” Jean asked him.

“I don’t know,” Armin admitted, “But this should help Mikasa improve in some way.”

Final call for the pilot poll!

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woodlandwildfolk · 2 years

Text

So like imagine if the trouble trio introduce the tfp 'bots to tiktok and ask them to participate in a challenge or something.

Ratchet

"absolutely not"

Miko won't stop nagging him and follows him around the base and won't let up

Wheeljack is having too much fun but tells Jack to intervene before ratchet blows a fuse

Raf instead finds some challenges that might interest ratchet, stuff that involves chemistry and that

Just like that time with the science project, he proceeds to point out all the things that people do wrong and Miko opposes him to rile him up

He takes the bait

Optimus has to stop them when wheeljack starts building a "harmless bomb that can't hurt anyone"

but in the end all who participated had fun- ratchet will offline before he admits it tho but he did

jack caught him smiling while organizing stuff in one of the storage units but he won't mention it for his sake

Arcee

A feral miko approached her followed by a panting jack

"why don't I like the sound of this?"

Miko had to assure her it's fine and that they won't post anything so the 'bots won't get exposed

She showed her some of the mobility challenges and stuff with.. Say parkour and flips and that

She was reluctant at first but gave in when Miko provoked her saying she couldn't do it anyway

And cee was feeling particularly competitive when smokescreen joined in halfway

Which made her do a flip with a bit too much strength and illicit an "I needed that!"

Regardless of the collateral damage Arcee felt refreshed from hanging out with the kids (smokescreen included in "the kids" he's my baby)

Bulkhead

He was off-roading with miko when she brought up the idea

"film a what??"

She explained and he agreed under the condition he won't do anything that requires grace

miko agreed but said they're gonna work on that self confidence when they get back to base

she decides on doing a strength based challenged and points to a group of boulders of different sizes

she starts the vid with only her in the frame and lifting a big rock with one hand then it cuts to her lifting a bigger one with Both her hands and then it cuts to her sitting a Boulder and it starts to rise from the ground and before it gets too high she jumps off and turns the camera around showing bulk lifting the Boulder above his head with one servo

hes very pleased with the results and shows it to the others when they get back

and they do have that talk about bulks view of himself

optimus

jack: hey optimus, wanna film a tiktok?

Optimus: ..no.

Ratchet: primes don't do that either

{I take requests if anyone wants, And remember reblogs help creators more than likes <3}

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decepti-thots · 1 year

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If it's not too much trouble, could you explain in simple terms what makes Spotlight: Arcee transmisogynistic? I feel like I must be missing something.

I get that it probably has to do with her being crazy violent and out for revenge because of a forced sex (and gender???) change and that she didn't ask for or agree with, but is that all there is to it?

This is an honest question and I am not trying to troll btw.

I'm happy to share my thoughts with you on it (below a cut, because the subject matter is less fun than I usually tackle on this blog), but with a couple caveats.

First off, I wouldn't answer this if I felt completely ill-equipped to give an answer, naturally. But I do want to stress that this is an answer, one particular perspective from one particular person, and not a claim to any kind of authority; for context, while this opinion is heavily informed by the opinions of trans women I have spoken to and read the thoughts of regarding this comic over the years, I'm not one myself. And more broadly, nobody's opinion is ever going to cover every possible angle on a serious topic, and I can only speak for my own opinion on the matter, informed by the opinion of a few more who I respect. I'm just some rando. You should only ascribe the below as much respect as you think Some Rando Online TM deserves; probably not all that much, hah. ;)

Now that context has been established, what I actually think is below the cut.

I think it can help to put the stuff you bring up in this ask into a broader perspective to explain why these elements are transmisogynistic, which is something we can look at on a couple of levels. One of these is in the sense of how these elements interact with a broader history of similar tropes in pop culture, and another is a discussion of the surrounding context of Arcee having this kind of story told about her given the history of her representations in prior incarnations of TF comics. So let's tackle the former first.

So there's the trope of a forced "sex change" invoked as horror you highlight in this ask, which works to present the concept of "changing sex" in a shocking, traumatic and frequently graphic light; this is something found in all manner of schlocky horror media, hence why I refer to it here as an established and recognizable trope. Spotlight: Arcee did not invent it; the comic is riffing on a stock concept it understands an audience will recognize. (For a recent and particularly blatant example, google the 2016 film 'The Assignment'.)

While an argument can be put forth (and often is) that this only presents involuntary "sex changes" as scary things, distinct from the concept of someone undergoing a voluntary gender transition, that... well let's put it this way: involuntary forced gender surgeries are not a real problem. But they are often invoked as though they are a real problem to cast doubt on the ethics of all transition in real-world transphobic rhetoric, and so the use of them as a horror trope is far from neutral. Simply by suggesting such a thing really is something to be feared, you're implicitly acknowledging the existence of, basically, a transphobic conspiracy theory.

(A similar argument is often had in relation to the famous 'is Silence Of The Lambs really transphobic if it has a passage about how the serial killer isn't a REAL trans woman', regarding the fact that positing that there might be violent men pretending to be trans women to do terrible things is in itself simply an invitation to scrutinize trans women for signs of that supposed dangerous "fakery".)

Spotlight: Arcee on a conceptual level relies upon the idea its audience can accept this invocation of the concept and revel in the horror it inspires in them. Some things in fiction we accept despite them being clearly bullshit, obviously, but we are motivated to suspend our disbelief, and that motivation is often telling. Zombies aren't real, but we pretend they are because of what they do for a zombie story. (Or, if the zombie story sucks, we don't, and we laugh at its failure to convince us.) In Spotlight: Arcee, the motivation to accept the deeply unrealistic concept underpinning it is one that is motivated primarily by a misogyny it assumes is present in the opinions of its audience. Put a pin in that; we'll come back to my arguing that case later when we discuss Furman's prior work. The main takeaway here is that the comic invokes a common transphobic trope that exists to associate transition with violation and threat.

There is also, as you mention, the fact that the comic makes Arcee a woman (by its own internal logic, where surgically altering someone's body non-consensually does that by default) and then has that as the direct cause of her going into a violent frenzy. Needless to say, 'once she was given some indefinable Woman-ness, she lost her shit and became unreasonable' is uh. Well nobody ever accused Furman of being good at writing women of any description, did they.

This isn't specifically a transmisogynistic issue as much as it is just. A generically misogynist one. The transmisogyny comes in basically because it exists in the same story as the above, and so can't be separated from the whole 'forced sex change' trope.

It's especially worth mentioning Arcee is given some innate, obvious "woman-ness" attribute in-text, like it's something that emanates out from her in a way other characters cannot help but notice despite not knowing what a woman is. Arcee is like 'you can't HELP calling me 'she', you just KNOW that something about me is NOT LIKE YOU' so the metaphor is uh. Not subtle. Women have a Thing and the Thing is Woman-ness and also if you have it you go nuts. (Sidenote: as well as being offensive, this comic is just... REALLY badly written. This part makes no fucking sense.)

So those are the two main reasons it gets called transmisogynistic. Not only because of the things that happen in the comic, but because of how they interact with pre-existing stereotypes in broader pop culture and media.

But there's another reason Transformers fans specifically will point to this comic as an issue, and it's that this whole thing is Furman doing a meta-commentary on why he thinks "woman in Transformers comic bad". Furman has made it clear many times since his original run with Marvel that he thinks Transformers "having gender" is stupid- specifically, he thinks Transformers being women is stupid, because only women have gender and the default is implicitly masculine to him. (Optimus Prime being a masculine looking guy embodying stereotypically masculine traits voiced by a man who is called 'he' is fine, but Arcee is a no-no.)

He wrote a comic for Marvel about how Arcee was created to appease angry stupid human feminists, like this is in-universe why Marvel Arcee is a girl there- it reads completely as some sort of commentary on what he sees as 'political correctness' being forced onto the franchise.

And he kept doing this. His never-realised plans for the female characters in Dreamwave included all the women being revealed as Quintesson sleeper agents. Then, Spotlight: Arcee, where her existence as a woman is an artificial, deeply wrong imposition into a universe that has no need of her or anyone like her, a corruption of what these characters are "supposed" to be.

That it leans specifically on transmisogynistic tropes is less because it's deliberately going for that I think, and more because pop culture often pulls out transmisogyny to communicate a lot of the ideas here about womanhood as artificial or bad or corrupted or whatever. So when you reach for tropes to communicate these concepts, the overlap with media more specifically evoking transmisogyny is pretty much inevitable past a certain point. I don't think Furman wrote Arcee in this comic intending her to be a trans woman, even a horrible stereotype of one. I think he wrote her to be a metaphor for how "forcing" women into things where they "aren't needed" is unnatural and bad, and the easiest tropes that communicated that idea were ones about trans women, and what this says about society's broader transphobia is telling.

This was a lot of words to say about a short, bad comic that almost nobody has read by a guy whose career mostly consists, these days, of comics almost nobody reads. I probably wouldn't have wasted so many words on this comic except that I think it is a useful case study in how to recognise these sorts of things in works that sometimes evade notice because they profess not to technically "be about" trans folks. The key is not in what the "identities" of the characters are (they're fictional; they don't "have identities") as some defenders of S:A have insisted, but in what the tropes they use communicate and reinforce in a broader context. S:A is a shite comic. Don't read it. But if you read it, that's probably the most valuable thing you'll get out of it.

#transphobia w

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littlemisstfc · 7 months

Text

Why TFP Doesn't Work For Me Anymore:

Hello, Hola, こんにちは。

Welcome back to this side of the Hundred Acre Woods. I do miss the feeling of writing on Tumblr here, so from here on and for a New Years resolution, I’ll try to write a new post every other week with thoughts I’ve had since December 2022. A lot has happened since I’ve started grad school and I have a part time job now, so there will be periods of inactivity. Hopefully, my writing can reflect my current opinions right to the best of my abilities, and I hope that you all enjoy them.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Alright, let’s cut to the chase: I kind of think Transformers Prime isn’t good, to me at least. Let me make it very clear: just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean you should stop loving it. After all, the world would be boring if we all shared the same opinion. I’m letting you all right now: I will be dropping a lot of bombshells that will rub off some of you the wrong way. For that, I advise skipping out on this one. Anyways…Transformers Prime is objectively a good show. The animation is the show’s biggest strengths, characters like Ratchet, Knockout, and Dreadwing are fun and interesting, the humor is good, I appreciate its commitment to darker subject matter, and several episodes such as, “Thirst” and “Stronger, Faster” are perhaps one of the best pieces of Transformers media in general. But…at the same time, it’s kind of messy.

From a lack of commitment to storylines to characters that don't feel put together to having stuff that screams Unfortunate Implications to its ending, Transformers Prime is a show that I stray from the more I get older and I have exposure to more Transformers media. On one hand, I appreciate this show being the reason why I got back into Transformers and hell, it’s a part of my username after all aksksksksksjsjsjsjsjsjkakakasa. It also made an impact on Transformers through characters like Knockout appearing in other media. On the other hand, I felt like its godlike status doesn’t make it exempt from criticism. No media is truly perfect, and it’s about time I get into the nitty gritty of why I’m not fond of TFP. Even if you don’t agree with me, at least hear me out.

3, 2, 1, Pingu.

MY FINISH-

My main problem with Transformers Prime is the lack of commitment to furthering certain storylines as well as character growth. Sure, there is character growth from characters such as Arcee and storylines like Starscream trying to be the boss he wanted to be are quite entertaining. However, at the same time, its commitment to its own status quo made this show an entire chore to watch. It felt like a majority of characters are still the same ol by the end of the series, like it felt like what could’ve been sources of character growth are instead ignored in the next episode. The Bulkhead getting sick storyline is the best example of this issue. At one point in Season 2, Bulkhead got infected with toxic energon and it seemed like he would have to stay behind on base. On paper, it’s an interesting premise. It could give him a storyline of feeling insecure over no longer being the bruiser of the team, and learning to overcome these insecurities through ways such as recognizing his other strengths. At the same time, Miko deals with her anxiety over Bulkhead’s predicament and the episode, “Hurt” is the proof of the writing potential here. However, it ended up being resolved too quickly after Smokescreen entered the picture. Bulkhead ended up recovering from his illness rather quickly and his small feud with Smokescreen is over and the next episode, they’re kiking with each other.

Along with other storylines such as the Orion Pax arc, Starscream becoming a neutral at one point, and the Predacons arc, the entire show is like this. It also doesn’t help that characters like Breakdown and Airachnid are thrown to the side, mainly due to their voice actors being too expensive to hire. Meanwhile, other characters like Dreadwing were also killed off due to the show refusing to change the status quo for the sake of furthering the story. And why is this the problem? Well…this show is one of the most notorious examples of Troubled Production.

In shorter words, the show experienced a lot of production trouble in the writing and budget department, which is mostly John Hasbro’s doing. The company meddled one too many times throughout the show’s entire run, especially with the casting and writing. Originally, the third season was supposed to be about pirates, but a new director was then hired and they basically said, “nope, fuck that,” and made the entire team rewrite the story from scratch. It’s gotten so bad that an ex crew member created an entire ass binder of everything that went wrong. Just, my god...

The amount of production issues definitely reflected in the show itself. Its strict adherence to Status Quo Is God, having what seems to be a game changing storyline and doing nothing with it, is so frustrating, because the potential of the writing is there. It wants to say something, but couldn’t because the problem behind the curtain is too much to ignore.

"It's Knockout's fault." "Precisely, my-WHAT!?"

First things first, I hate Jack.

Next.

Most of the cast is fine. Ratchet and Knockout are the best characters of their respective character groups, Fowler is the best human character, Miko & Raf are precious, Bee, Arcee, Bulkhead, Wheeljack, and Smokescreen are enduring and likable, Shockwave, Starscream, Soundwave, and Breakdown are the scene stealers besides the best characters I mentioned. Unfortunately, due to the aforementioned production issues, these characters made me ask one question: who are they? Not only does the writing and story never commit to the biggest twists the shows set up, but it never explores any of the characters’ story arcs and motivations. We never learn anything about these people. True, characters like Miko and Ratchet do get character development. However, with characters like Arcee and Starscream, their pain are the only focus that is, “character growth.” Arcee is reduced to her trauma of losing her partners, and the show never allowed her time to grieve properly. In fact, it seems to condemn her for acting like any other person who has to deal with their loved ones’ killers. By the end, her grief and learning to cope with it is pushed aside and it feels like Cliffjumper and Tailgate’s deaths amount to nothing. To have the most prominent female Transformer reduced to her pain is no different from making a female character in TFA be tied to a man’s pain. It’s kind of disgusting of the show to be so dismissive of her storyline like that. Like…I’m sorry, but she deserves fucking better. And it’s no different with Starscream. Homeboy endured so much horrific shit for far longer than is comfortable, and for the show to just push his pain as, “karma” is fucking disgusting. True, he ain’t no saint and he only has himself to blame for his flaws and behavior. However, by having him be the countless target of abuse throughout the show, it only made me want to help him leave the Decepticons for good. He deserves better. It’s why I appreciate Earthspark existing, because it called out his Butt Monkey status and shows how it deeply affects him. And speaking of who is responsible for dishing out this abuse, it’s time to speak about the one half of two characters whom I don’t especially kiki with.

Megatron is just an irredeemable monster here. I love truly despicable and evil characters as much as the next guy, but with this guy, he just feels so off. The jarring disconnect between his backstory and how much of a despicable piece of shit he is results in a character that felt too evil, not to mention filled with the Unfortunate Implications of having a revolutionary with strokes of current social issues turn into a flat out bad guy turned up to 100. Before any of you say, “erm, actually IT HAPPENS IN REAL LIFE” to me, let me point this out: I’m approaching this as a person of color. The revolutionary Megatron characterization is a trope that is botched most of the time, because it doesn’t have the nuance and approach that is required to pull it off. If done well, we have Earthspark Megatron (so far). As a result, we have TFP Megatron.

He’s just that: evil. It also doesn’t help that he has a half assed redemption arc in Predacons Rising. “I now know the true meaning of oppression.” BITCH, YOU FUCKING KILLED PEOPLE. This entire storyline doesn't make up for the utterly despicable shit he did throughout the series. With him still alive, it felt like he faced no consequences for his actions. Him dying and with his body on Earth, with the last face he saw being the one he brutalized the most, is an appropriate punishment! Yes, him being alive and dealing with the consequences of his actions is also a good punishment. However, with the sudden rush from point A to B, his resolve to self exile himself doesn’t feel earned. To me, he doesn’t seem like he’s truly sorry for his actions. Like…EWWW. Fuck out of here, he’ll never be Earthspark Megatron.

Yes, it’s a joy to see Frank Welker back as Megatron. Yes, he has admittingly few moments of being a delicious evil bastard. Yes, I do understand why some would like the redemption arc. However, for me, he doesn’t work for me.

Now to the other half, we get to the other half of the characters I don’t kiki with. Good lord…this Optimus is just ehhh. Except for the few moments of the same warmth I associate with Optimus, he is just there. He doesn’t feel like a character; he feels like the start of the motivations of other characters. He’s the Deus Ex Machina when the situation gets too serious. We never got any moment to truly know about him as a person, his dynamic with the team feel like they’re more coworkers like a family, and the “Primes don’t party” logic only feels like an excuse to justify him being the Stoic and Serious Optimus characterization that plagues the 2010s. When you compare him to other Optimi, it feels like a jarring disconnect. TFA Optimus shows that you can have an Optimus with a personality and Bayverse Optimus shows that you can have a stoic Optimus with more to him than meets the eye. Plus, moments such as his conversation with Arcee after the entire fiasco with Starscream in Season 1 just feels like condescending compassion at best. Sure, he has well meaning intentions. However, as the bestie Tea-mew explains, it comes across as him invalidating Arcee’s trauma. Just because he is an older figure doesn’t make him correct all the time. She doesn’t owe anything to Starscream and Airachnid, she has every right to feel angry and disgusted at them both. Just god, it’s this moment that pretty much made me decide not to vibe with him anymore. Plus, with how Orion Pax is more interesting and had more development than Optimus ever did, that’s when the writers should’ve looked at the script twice.

Yes, it’s a joy to see Peter Cullen as Optimus again. Yes, he has his fair share of charming moments. Yes, I understood that he has his own fair share of tragedies that made him the way he is. However, like Megatron, for me, he doesn’t work for me. Notice how I used the same wording here. For me, they both don’t work for me. They’re perhaps one of my least favorite versions of the characters, especially since other Transformers media showed that you can make them both interesting characters. Stoicism doesn’t justify blandness, and evilness doesn’t justify blandness. If you like them, that’s okay. I rather not bother with them both.

Welp, there goes my Twitter follower count.

There are other issues plaguing the series. As much of a fun and interesting character he is, Knockout is also a gay stereotype. I’ll talk about it more sometime in the future, but in shorter terms: this bit from the TFWiki on Knockout’s page is all you need to know.

“When asked at BotCon 2011, the Prime writers said that there is no designation for gay, or straight, for that matter, on Cybertron, where Transformers are created by the AllSpark, not through sexual reproductions. They also said that Knock Out is a knock out, and that the Nemesis is a very "don't ask, don't tell" place. And then they jokingly deflected the matter, claiming that Knock Out's mannerisms are not caused by any particular orientation, but are simply eccentricities caused by "a glitch in the AllSpark" the day he was created... which is unintentionally so insulting to gay people that it could create an awkward silence in the Void."

Okay, WHAT THE ACTUAL F-

Season 2 feels like a mish mash of things the writers were throwing at the board that day. While Season 3 hit the highs of Season 1, it's also a mish mash that is poorly constructed. We never really got closure on characters like Airachnid and Shockwave. Predacons Rising represents everything that affects Prime in the long run, except for a few gems throughout. Like I said, Prime is objectively a good show. However, compared to other Transformers shows, it’s an aesthetic, no substance type of show. If you wanna watch a show filled with a small cast of characters, set on Earth, deal with heavier subject matter, and have exciting moments, just go watch Beast Wars. This show feels like Transformers if it was written by a 12 year old edgelord. The show has a dark and brooding aesthetic, but the story really isn’t. It doesn’t have a lot to say about the premise of Transformers, as well as confusing violence and edginess for complex stories and characters. In fact, let me say this: TFP is too afraid to commit to change and it greatly suffers for it.

Conclusion: Once again…

I wanna make it clear again that just because I don’t like Transformers Prime doesn’t mean you should stop loving it. Don’t let my opinions influence yours. If you like, that’s great.

I felt bad about my current opinions about Prime as a whole because it does deserves its flowers and fanbase for what it does for Transformers as a whole. However, it’s also not a flawless masterpiece like everyone says it is.

I’m most likely never gonna rewatch it again cause it’s not my thing, and that’s okay. In case I do, I just watch clips of my favorite moments. The ultimate irony is that I have the initials of the show I don’t Kiki with anymore. I could change it, but it’s like the annoying younger sibling to me. I can’t really get rid of it aksksksk.

While I appreciate this show for getting me back into Transformers and for bringing characters like Knockout into mainline Transformers, it’s just not for me.

Anyways, Pingu.

#tf discourse #val talks

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