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Tf Mecha Universe - Blog Posts
Love the combaticons. So naturally I love this.
….Talking about Combaticons made want to draw Combaticons
I like the idea of Brawl and Onslaught being much bigger than average human while Swindle (especially young) is much smaller than average. Sp whenever stand stand next to each other they look so out of place haha
more texaid because I can't stop thinking about them!
they have taken over my brain once again so I decided two whole pages in my school notebook to them instead of doing my physics work :D anyways human designs, snowbots, and mecha AU belong to @keferon <3
mecha AU first aid
I uhhhhhhh I'm vary normal about him :D also I can't draw backgrounds pls don't make fun of me!
AU by @keferon <3
Mecha AU texaid because they have done something to my brain chemistry
They low key make me go so fucking feral and I don't know what to do about it
Thank you @keferon for making such a good fucking AU actually brings joy into my life
In the mecha au
I feel like Swerve will have to be this weird middleman, since he has knowledge of both cybertronian and human cultures (and sees himself as both human and cybertronian). That will lead to him having to mediate between the cybertronians and humans to help them understand each other better, since it's easy to see they are all moving toward a relationship, and understanding each other is important.
So with the cybertronians he's gonna have this conversation where he basically explain to them that the humans are very fragile and can't really survive outside of their planet without help (this is mostly for deadlock), and that humans live very short life, which means as much as they love them they would have to be aware of the fact that their time together will be short, and that would mean that they would have to bare the pain of loosing them. And they have to fully consider this fact before getting in any kind of relationship
Even though he himself, probably, haven't really grasped that fact, or knowledged it completely.
And then he has the conversation with the humans where he explains about mechanical lifeforms and their differences from organic lifeforms, and the fact that they technically don't really have gender or anything to tell them apart in that aspect (which is super important for their race) , or the most important fact that they are an acesexual species that reproduced completely differently and value close relationships and bonds... Which at the end will basically boil down to "I'm not saying you were planning to, but just in case, you can't fuck the giant alien robots, I'm sorry. "
Oh he absolutely would have these awkward little q&a sessions with everyone ahahah
Explaining humans to Cybertronians. And reverse.
He would also probably be the one to spill the lil fun secret about Cybertronians being able to read human EM fields. Deadlock would try to kill him for that~
Also kfsksikf
Swerve: Basically. You can't fuck a giant robot.
First Aid: A brave man looks for ways, a coward looks for excuses.
Everyone in the room:
Here's more incorrect qoutes for @keferon mecha Au to fuel everyone's angsty soul.
First Aid: Can you come out?
Blurr: Yeah sure, give me a sec..
Blurr: First Aid, I'm gay
First: *visible twitching* I already know that, come out to the car
Blurr: oh..ok
Blurr: Swerve I'm gay
Swerve who is currently on his alt mode: We are literally dating!
________________
Prowl; You really put aside everything and came all this way for me? How did you all even get here so fast?
Jazz: Several traffic lights
Swerve: Three counts of resisting arrest, one for each of us
Blurr: Roughly thirteen cans of energy drinks
Jazz: and that is not our car.
Deadlock who is the car: Hey Prowl
Prowl: what the frag?!
__________________
Rodimus: Isn't it weird that people kill mosquitoes just because they're annoying?
First Aid: Damn, if people did that to each other, Vortex would've killed everyone years ago.
__________________
Someone holding a gun to First Aid's head; what happens if I pull this trigger? Heaven?
First Aid: Bold of you to assume I'll go to heaven.
_________________
Jazz: you know, Prowl, when you generalize, you tell general...lies.
Prowl: ......
Prowl: Are you trying to teach me moral lesson through puns?
________________
Swerve to Blurr: Would you like to stay for dinner?
Jazz from the kitchen: would you like to stay forever!?!
_________________
Jazz: Wow, this parking is as straight as I am
Swerve first time driving an actual car: I know I should be more focus on the fact you just came out, but HOW FUCKING DARE YOU INSULT MY PARKING
_________________
Swerve: *Sneaking around the facility trying to get to Blurr*
First Aid from the distance who's high on the shit Pharma gaved him: *Watching Swerve phase through a wall* There goes my monthly does of Swerve
_______________
Prowl: Are you crying?
Jazz, try to cut onions: No, it's just the onion, they-
Prowl grabbing the Onion with force: What the frag did you say to Jazz?
I took a break from catching up all the plots wheeeeeeezeeee
The final design for Mecha Roddy is done hehe
Made the pilot suit for him + made the colors of his mecha a little bit more vibrant >:)
Also. Only now noticed the amount of gingers in this au ahahah. Jazz would walk to the big meetup for the first time and be like: WOW that’s a LOT of red hair for a single room.
(It would also be so fucking funny if Cybertronians (aka Prowl and Deadlock) struggle immensely trying to tell all the gingers apart from each other lmao.)
That thing when you need five business days just to get inside the mech..
(The size differences in this au are getting progressively more insane lmao)
So. How about we give Rodimus something to do eh? How about that something being the whole sapient spaceship? How about that? ‘,:)
"Awakening the Sleeping Giant" p2
people seemed to like the first post so have a little more :)
might put it on ao3 later or something
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The language barrier is a problem, Ulchtar finally decides once they touch down, and his new friend seems to agree.
He’d hit a snag in trying to describe where to go when he realized the Giant had been asleep for longer than English had existed as a language. Thankfully, gestures seemed to be more-or-less universal, so he was able to get across the idea of where to go eventually. They’re currently nestled in a cave somewhere in the Scandinavian mountains. It’s a remote place, especially after the alien attacks in the area a few years back. But he knows that this isn’t a permanent solution.
They need to learn to communicate before the inability to do so gets them both killed.
Which is why they’re now taking turns scratching out a massive diagram on the cave floor with sticks…Well, a stick and a small tree. They’d been trading words back and forth for a good two hours now. As best as he could tell, the Giant’s language was actually quite simple—consisting mainly of nouns, verbs, descriptors, and modifiers to those two things. It wasn’t particularly elegant, but it was versatile enough.
They’d started with things that were easily drawn-out or mimed: things like “person,” “me,” “you.” There was sort of a pronoun system, and the Giant…seemed to be a “he,” or an equivalent. Then they’d tried to build from there—he’d figured out some of the verbs, and how to phrase things as a question, and from there the two of them had hit it off. Now he was trying to get the guy up to speed, because everything would be a whole lot easier if they knew what was going on.
“So…[me-category-] human.” He points to the crude little figure of a human he’s drawn, and the Giant nods along.
How to explain the war…? “Humans [-planet-creation-positive-] Earth.” He points to the rough map of the world they’ve drawn out, then to the Giant’s rather detailed drawing of a kaiju. “[Planet-creation-negative-] Earth.”
They lean down a little closer to the drawing. “Quintesson,” he says with what sounds like outright distaste. Ulchtar’s a little taken aback by that.
“[Question.] Quintesson [-them. Name?]”
“[Name-positive.] Quintessons [negative-negative-negative.]” They confirm. Okay, triple negatives, so this guy hated the damned things just as much as anyone else. Maybe it wasn’t just Earth under siege…?
“Quintessons [motion-inside] Earth…[creation-negative] humans.” He’s painfully aware of his limited vocabulary, hoping it’s enough to get the point across. The Giant seems to pick up on the intent, tensing up just a little.
He continues. “Humans…[Eyes-positive-you. Humans-creation-negative, desire-negative.] So... [negative-brain-do-positive-you. Creations-do-similar.]” We found you. We didn’t want to die. We studied you. Tried to make things like you.
The Giant whirls towards him at that, picking him up to hold him at eye level. The grip is just tight enough to hurt, just enough to feel like a threat. “[You…complete-negative-me?]”
Ulchtar waves his hands in front of his face frantically, mortified. Oh, he’s really fucked up this time. He didn’t realize the Giant remembered getting taken apart like that. “[M-me-do-negative! Complete-positive-repeat!]” He sputtered. I put you back together!
It wasn’t technically a lie. He hadn’t exactly done it out of the kindness of his heart, but it wasn’t a lie.
The glare softens just a bit, the grip relaxing. He's not in immediate risk of death anymore.
They keep talking for a few hours, until it gets too dark to really see what he's doing anymore.
He hmms, trying to think of the right words…
“Uh…” He points up at the sliver of sky above them. “[Sky. Light-negative. Me-vision-negative.]”
“[…Recharge-you? Eyes-positive-me.]” He was offering to keep watch while Ulchtar slept, he mentally translated.
He nodded, fumbling mentally to figure out how to respond to that. “[…Gratitude-positive.]”
Then, another thought occurred to him. “[You. Name. Question?]”
The Giant paused for a second at that, wings drooping just a little bit. “[…name-knowledge-negative. Memory-negative-negative.]”
…oh.
Ulchtar can’t help but feel a little bad for asking now. He tries to shift the topic a bit, pointing to himself. “[Me. Name.] Ulchtar.”
That gets a tilt of the head. “[You. Name. Sound-similar…Star-sound-positive-positive-pitch-positive?]” In this language, the name and the phrase do sound kind of alike, actually. He laughs at that.
“Star…scream? [Desire-name. Name-sound-positive-positive-positive.]” He adds three positives for emphasis, because it does sound way more badass than “Ulchtar.”
The ground shakes just slightly, and he realizes the Giant is laughing.
Don't get too attached, he reminds himself. They could betray you any second. He's just as dangerous as these Quintessons if he wants to be.
“Oh, knock it off…” He curls up on a relatively comfy-looking patch of cave moss, bundling himself up in some extra clothes in lieu of anything warmer. The cave’s warmer than outside, but still a bit chilly even with the ambient heat from the Giant’s engines heating it up.
It doesn’t stop him from eventually slipping into sleep.
-----------------------
The mech with no name shifts his weight just a little, trying to get comfortable in his hiding spot among the mountains. It’s not much—just a little nook in the rocks where it’s tough to spot him—but it’s better than being out in the open, as badly as he wants to stretch out his wings and fly again.
He doesn’t want to put the human—Starscream—Ulchtar—in danger.
Ulchtar’s the only companion he has in this world right now, after all.
So he’s probably going to stick with him for a bit—in no small part because he really doesn’t know where else he’d go. Most of his memory is long since corrupted, throwing him all kinds of errors whenever he tries to think back to before.
He knows, in broad strokes, what he is. He knows he’s a mechanical lifeform. He knows he’s a shapeshifter of some sort. He knows he can fly, and is probably designed to explore space. He knows what the parts inside of him are—what a spark is and that he needs to drink energon to survive. He knows the Quintessons want him dead.
But he doesn’t know who he is. His name. Where he came from. What his own species is called…
Does he have a species?
This whole world was filled with organic life, and nothing else—it was clear that the other machines he’d seen in that laboratory weren’t alive, but rather artificial constructs. They resembled him, but only superficially. He can’t feel their sparks, let alone any sort of EM field—something even the organics of this world have, albeit very faint ones.
Which leaves him with a very frightening question.
Am I alone?
His internal clock is telling him he’s been on this planet for six million years, trapped in stasis.
Surely someone must’ve looked for him, right? One of his kind, maybe? Surely six million years would’ve been long enough for a search party to find him.
If nobody had ever come looking for him, then…then either there was nobody left to send, or he’d mattered so little that nobody had ever bothered to remember him.
He wasn’t sure which hurt more: being alone, or being nobody.
Something wet drips onto his face.
Terrible time for rain, he thinks to himself.
But when he looks up, there’s not a cloud in the sky.
How odd…
He brushes it away, trying not to think about the question hanging over his head.
The night after that is largely uneventful, up until he notices a strange blue-green light on the horizon.
He pokes his head through the entrance. Was dawn supposed to come this early? Was it usually that color?
-----------------------
When he’s exhausted, Ulchtar is a pretty heavy sleeper.
That said, the fact that the Giant doesn’t wake him up when he moves away is still damned impressive. No, he only wakes up when it starts getting cold again. Still groggy, it takes him a few seconds to realize his vanished from his spot—something that makes him snap awake instantly in a panic.
He looked up towards the surface. Had he been abandoned? Was the Giant going back to—
Oh.
He sees his companion’s winged silhouette just beyond the mouth of the cave, illuminated in blue and green and violet.
He’s staring at something.
Ulchtar creeps closer, and quickly understands why. There’s an aurora snaking across the sky in full force above the mountains, and the Giant watches in wonder.
His wings twitch when Ulchtar draws near, as if sensing him somehow. “Starscream [recharge-positive?]” He asks. It seems like the nickname is sticking.
“[Recharge-positive],” he agrees. It’s another half-truth; he was sleeping fine until he got cold.
The Giant points up at the aurora, looking very confused. “[Occurrence. Name. Question?]”
“Aurora borealis.”
“[Common-positive? Threat-positive? Question?]”
“[Common-negative. Threat-negative.]” Ulchtar assures him.
He seems to relax a bit at that. “[Eye-similar…sky-heat-positive-light-positive.]”
“Yeah, kinda…” He really does not have the vocabulary to explain how the hell an aurora works. "The sky set itself on fire" is as good an explanation as any.
They nod along. “[Vision…positive-positive-positive.]”
That’s a lot of words to say “it’s pretty,” Ulchtar thinks to himself with a little smile, but jolts when his friend’s wings suddenly flatten against his back, an expression of…something like recognition on his face.
“[Name. Me. Memory-negative-now-positive. Sky-heat-positive-light-positive!]” He puts his hands together and looks to Ulchtar almost expectantly, as if he wants him to try translating this name too.
"...Skyfire," he decides after a few seconds.
The look "Skyfire" gives him at that...He's trying his best not to get attached, to do his best impression of a chessmaster moving his pawns around, but by God, if push came to shove he would kill for that smile.
The Mech Pilot Au by @keferon has me on a chokehold, so, I'mma procrastinate from writing an actual fic by just writing down incorrect quotes instead-
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Swerve: We’ve found the person who stole your identity and was impersonating you.
Blur: Where were they?
Swerve: Eating cheetos and crying in their car.
Blur, impessed: Damn, they really went for it.
-----------------
Jazz: Helpful grammar tip: “farther” is for physical distance, “further” is for methaphorical distance, and “father” is for emotional distance!
-------------------
Prowl: I want to be with you for the rest of my life.
Jazz: Damn, that sounds like a marriage proposal.
Prowl, getting down on one knee: That's 'cause it is.
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Blur: Why cant trees give off something important like wifi??
First Aid: So fuck oxygen, I guess.
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Prowl: Vortex isn’t answering my messages.
First Aid: Allow me.
Prowl: I tried 6 times, what makes you thi-
Vortex: *replying to message* Hello.
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*First Aid and Jazz enter a dive bar*
First Aid: Look, I know you’re disappointed but could we at least have a drink.
Jazz, in a scuba diving suit: I would like leave, please.
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Blurr: Here is my wall of inspirational people. Swerve: Is that a picture of you? Blurr: Yes, I am big enough to admit that I am often inspired by myself.
----------------
First Aid: I don’t think we can mansplain, manipulate, or malewife our way out of it this time.
Vortex: *cracks knuckles* Manslaughter it is!
---------------
Vortex: I can’t do this, it’s against my moral compass.
First Aid: YOUR MORAL COMPASS IS A ROULETTE WHEEL!
Vortex: …Your point?
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Jazz: First Aid is restricted to decaf for the rest of this adventure.
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Jazz: I told Swerve to grab snacks for everyone.
Blurr, looking through the options: Why did you grab fruit snacks? Are you five? Who even likes Fruit Snacks?
*Jazz, First Aid, and Swerve raise their hands*
*Vortext from the distance,also raising his hand*
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Jazz: I think we should have glow stick juice injected in our bones when we're born, so if we break our bones, we get a fun little surprise.
Vortex: What's the surprise?
First Aid: Blood poisoning.
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Vortex: The only thing keeping me from running away and hiding from society for the rest of my life is spite. I could disappear forever, but there are some bitches whose downfalls I have yet to witness, and I wanna be around when that happens.
------------------
Swerve: Why would anyone want to harm Blurr?
Vortex: Maybe because they met him?
"Another one bites the dust"
Really like the concept of vortex's head being a sort of death maw, chewing up pilots one by one
Emptiness Machine
Starscream X Reader (Mech Pilot AU)
Author note: Hey everyone I’m so so sorry it’s been so long. This has been the worst three weeks of my life. Currently staying with my dad and having to see what exactly happens going forward. That aside please enjoy chapter 9 of emptiness machine! And thank you for your patience. ❤️
Chapter 9
The crushing hug the scout had you in nearly cracked the brand new welds that had been used to repair you. You chuckle as he finally lets go but keeps a servo wrapped around the arm of your mech. The other bot, Ironhide, waved at the two of you from the door.
“C’mon we ain’t got time for tearful hellos. The others are guarding the open spacebridge as we speak.”
He starts out the door and bee goes to pull you along with him. The restraints that Starscream had ordered the drones to place on you were still binding your wrists. You awkwardly stumble along letting him guide you through the smoke. He and Ironhide had done quite a number on the drones through this hallway. you smile a little knowing later you would congratulate them on their victory. After turning down a few more hallways, you join up with the lambo twins and Hound. They urge you forward and through the last set of blast doors. The scene that awaited you was straight out of a science fiction comic book. Optimus himself stood in front of the open space bridge locked in hand to hand combat with Megatron.
Optimus swung his axe missing Megatron’s helm by mere inches. The Decepticon leader taking the opportunity to drive his energy blade up just missing vital energon lines running through his opponent’s neck. The prime countered, his joints straining as he swung the heavy weapon down in a brutal arc. Megatron sidestepped just in time to watch the axe slamming into the ground with a deafening thud, sending up a spray of sparks.
Before the axe could be pulled back, Megatron darted in, his energy blade flashing in the dim light, a precise thrust aimed at his opponent’s chassis. Optimus twisted, deflecting the strike with a swift, brutal swipe of his axe. Megatron’s blade grazed his plating, but he barely flinched.
There were scowls on their faces as they circled each other, each waiting for an opening to strike. Optimus growled deep in his frame, lunging forward again, his weapon whistling through the air. His opponent narrowly avoiding the strike. The energy blade was raised just in time, blocking the blow but the sheer force of it drove him to his knees. With a growl of fury, Megatron pushed back, rolling aside, narrowly avoiding a second strike.
He sprang to his feet, his blade now a blur as he countered with a series of fast, slashing attacks.The two bots locked optics, and in a flash, they were upon each other again, weapons clashing in a deafening frenzy of power and precision, each driven by eons of war and the raw need to destroy one another.
This wasn’t a fight Optimus was trying to win. As you look closer, you see the Autobot leader carefully leading Megatron to the opposite side of the room from the portal. An effective strategy and flawless distraction. Using his own fury against him. You can’t help but smile a bit as Bee tugs on your arm, pulling you towards the portal. Ironhide and the twins had already gone through and Hound was right on their aft. No one wanted to stick around while the two big shots had it out. Letting the scout lead you forward you brace for the dizzying swirl of noise and light before disappearing behind the rest of the team.
As you come out on the other side, you see the familiar sight of the launch bay. Right behind you, a heavy ped step announces the arrival of Optimus. He’s clutching a fresh wound on his shoulder, but other than that he seems fine. Relief and exhaustion grip you and your knees buckle beneath you. Bumblebee luckily still has his digits locked around your wrist and catches you as you lean forward. His worried tone faded to a deafening ringing sound as your optics white out.
When you wake hours later, you expect to be disconnected from your mech. Instead, you are laid out still connected to your machine on one of the medical berths Ratchet uses to treat injured Autobot. Your chassis is open, exposing your real body. Tubes and energon lines are connected at various points around your frame. Blinding white light from above you makes you blink a few times, trying to adjust your optics to the harsh glow. From the cockpit of your mech, a familiar voice mumbles.
“She’s awake. Seraphim can you hear me?” Dr. Antonov’s voice was muffled by the layers of plating and wires he was behind.
You groan in response and he moves to be closer to your helm. You turn and train him with golden optics. “Dr. Antonov. It’s good to see you. Is…everything alright?”
The doctor stayed shut away in his lab most days. After years of working for the government, he had finally retired. He was promptly brought back for the express purpose of finishing his research on Cybertronian biology after first contact. He was a kind man, albeit a bit odd and antisocial. The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled up at you. His greying, dark hair a mess as it usually was.
“You’ve had quite an ordeal haven’t you Sera? Honestly I was surprised we got you back in one piece! Given how Prime had described the Decepticons.” He reached out and patted the side of your helm gently. You look back at your open chassis.
“Doctor, why haven’t I been disconnected?” as you asked this, his smile faded. He looked his age once again as he turned slowly to walk back to where he had been.
“Something is interfering with your ability to disconnect from the Seraphim frame. If we try to sever the connection in this state…your consciousness could be lost.”
Before you could process his words, you hear shouting outside the door. Muffled voices and sounds of a struggle could be heard. Two bots were arguing.
“You better let me in old timer before I let myself in.”
“She’s just waking up, we don’t want to overwhelm her with company. Besides, we don’t know if the doctor has broken the news to her—“
The bot guarding the door was cut off as the other shoved his was into the med-bay. The giant metal door slid open and quick ped steps announced the arrival of a very worried and fussy friend.
•••
“You absolute failure! I cannot believe you allowed Optimus Prime and his lackeys to bridge directly onto the flight deck of my ship!” Megatron sent a devastating kick into the side of the kneeling figure before him. It sent the bot jolting to the side, nearly purging his tanks from the force of the blow. Venting rapidly, Starscream tries to re-align his vocal apparatus to speak.
“Lord Megatron! Please I was interrogating the prisoner! Didn’t you want the valuable information she was carrying?” Another blow to the helm as he bowed low, trying to appease his leader’s anger. Dizzy and disoriented he tried to right himself, only to be grabbed by a wing and flung across the room. There was a sickening crunch as his wing dislocated and hung useless by a few cables. His body hit the opposite wall and he landed in a heap unmoving. The gathered Decepticons seemed to flinch in unison as the Warlord stalked towards the seeker.
“Starscream you imbecile. I told you to take care of it. Didn’t I? I wanted that thing offline! It had no such intel to give you. It was taking you for the fool you are! And now Optimus prime has ground bridge coordinates for the flight deck of the Nemesis!” He reached out a clawed servo and grabbed the seeker around the throat. Lifting him off of his peds. Starscream sputtered but couldn’t get the words out. Energon leaked from the split in the mesh of his lip where Megatron had landed a solid blow earlier. He bared his denta at his leader and scrabbled at the grip around his throat as Megatron squeezed. Starscream’s optics flickered as he was about to lose consciousness. A calm and steady voice interrupted the two.
“Lord Megatron if I may, the abomination did in fact possess coordinates for other energon mines. Isn’t that correct Soundwave?” Shockwave’s even tone despite the mauling of his second in command, made Megatron pause.
He growled and dropped the body of the seeker and he crumpled into a heap on the floor. Turning his attention to a very uncomfortable looking Soundwave, Megatron began to stalk over looking eerily calm. As he approached Soundwave produced a small disk. One he had hoped to keep hidden for his own research. But Shockwave had seen him downloading the information from the prisoner. He handed it over, there was no information on the location of the base of operations for their enemy, however, the location of half a dozen energon mines wasn’t bad intel at all.
While Megatron was discussing the new intel with Shockwave, Starscream winced as he hauled himself up. This wasn’t the first time his leader had taken out a defeat on his frame. He gritted his denta against the pain and limped painfully out. He needed to be away from here. Anywhere but here before panic gripped him once again. He felt his spark start to spin faster as he hobbled to his habisuite to do his own repairs.
Emptiness Machine
Starscream X Reader (Mech Pilot AU)
Author note: Hey everyone just for this chapter I wanna explain that in this universe scanning a spark signature can reveal a designation. If you have any other questions send me an ask. Enjoy!
Chapter 8:
Your optics come online and you sit straight up at the sound of your designation. How did he get ahold of this information? The Autobots had been so careful not to let any information slip about the secret project Dr. Antonov had been working on. Humans weren’t even involved in the conflict until a cycle ago when they were called upon to deal with an actual Decepticon on the surface. You narrow your optics at him as he smiles at you in a sadistic way. Chuckling he turns and addresses the drones stationed outside the door.
“Restrain the prisoner I wish to speak to them unobstructed by this.”
He waves a servo at the humming energy wall that separates you. At that you sit up ready to fight, but your servo immediately goes to your forehelm as dizziness overcomes you. you had taken the Energon, so why were you still struggling? Sifting through the error messages you can’t make sense of the situation. You hadn’t been poisoned or drugged so what was the issue? One message though sends alarm jangling through you. ‘Unable to disconnect. Disconnection unavailable.’ What on earth could that mean? You hadn’t even noticed the approaching drones or heard the energy field disengage. They wrenched your servo from your helm and had you in cuffs before you could react. Something was off with your connection and you didn’t like it.
Looking back up at Starscream where he was stepping inside your cell, he looms over you. Wings flared out and bent over slightly to keep his helm from bumping against the ceiling. Clearly this cell was made for much smaller bots. You sit on the bench restrained at the wrists but nothing more. They were underestimating you again. That or they knew more about your current status than they were letting on. You vent and meet his optics. There was no choice but to talk to him. You let your helm lean back against the wall behind you but don’t break contact with his optics.
“Alright. I’ll speak with you. I cannot promise answers to everything and for that you might have to take me offline. But I will let you speak.”
He seems surprised for a moment, looking awkward in the cramped space. He shifts on his peds and produces the data pad and speaks once more.
“So it can speak in something other than obscenities. Very well. We were able to obtain very little information about you from our sweep of the digital network here.”
He pauses and his optics flick to your chassis and back up to your faceplate. So he was curious. He was speaking to you like an intelligent being and that was a start at least. Though the tone of his voice suggested he thought of himself as the higher life form here.
“Shockwave was the only mech Megatron wanted interacting with the native life. Unwise in my opinion.”
You raise an optic ridge at him. Why was he telling you all of this? Wasn’t he afraid you were going to use it against them? Of course he didn’t expect you to make it out of here still online. That was most likely the reason. You nod and respond.
“Whatever his reasoning for that is I’m sure it’s monstrous. Especially if it has to do with that mech.”
He looks at you and then back at the data pad.
“As second in command, it’s my job to be an advisor to Megatron in matters of great importance.”
He seems to preen before continuing.
“He however, believes I should have disposed of you. But how is it…that you look exactly like us. Down to our very biology. It’s…”
He doesn’t finish but instead he shakes his helm as if trying to get rid of a stray thought.
“Just what are you?”
His voice a dangerous growl that rumbles through his entire frame as he asks the question. So he thinks you are an abomination of some kind. You look him up and down.
“You are the alien here. You came to my world. So what exactly are you?”
Your tone accusing as you turn the question on him. Of course you knew Cybertronians well and why they were here. For a moment he looks affronted and his wings flick up, tapping the ceiling. You suppress a wave of amusement as he looks for a second like a bird whose feathers had fluffed out in indignation. He sputters for a before replying and regaining his composure.
“I suppose…but that’s beside the point. Here I am talking to what I thought was a very offline Cybertronian femme. Shockwave had torn out your spark. But here you are sitting in front of me as if none of that happened. And that-”
Emphasizing the word Cybertronian as he says it, he lays a digit on the seam that ran down your chest. The very same one that opened to reveal your true self.
“-that is in no way a Cybertronian spark. It’s something different altogether. An abomination.”
The scientist in him became morbidly fascinated with the new scans that had been taken of your form when Knockout and Hook had done the repairs on your frame. Where once a newspark had been detected, there was now a fully developed spark signature. It had a designation assigned to it and everything. An EM field, a scannable signature, it gave all appearance of a Cybertronian spark. But he wasn’t about to tell you that. Something had happened in the aftermath of that broken connection. Something that made his plating crawl in an unpleasant way. He continued to speak.
“Whatever those Autobots are doing is just as unethical as whatever morbid experiments Shockwave is conducting.”
He mumbled and that made you sit up straighter with a snarl as you reply to him.
“Never compare us to the likes of him! You are the bad guys here. You are the reason I was created in the first place. So that Earth had some defense against you. You are the reason Cybertron is ash and you had to come all the way here to find Energon!”
You had taken it too far. In a flash his servo was around your throat lifting you as Megatron had done. He was visibly shaking in anger. His red optics flashed and he bared his denta. Rage barely contained as his wings flicked fitfully behind him.
“You dare! You have no idea what happened on Cybertron! You insect! We tried to save Cybertron and your so called chosen leader doomed it!”
He seemed to take a moment to calm himself as he took a shaky vent and released you. Your optics were wide at his outburst. You swear you could have seen a hint of regret and pain behind his expression. It made you wonder what exactly he meant by what he said.
“What do you mean? Are you saying Optimus doomed Cybertron? That’s not right. He said you bombed it all to slag. Trying to get rid of everyone but those who aligned with your beliefs.”
Starscream looked as if he might have another outburst but instead he just spoke through gritted denta. Leaning forward so his face was barely an inch away from yours. Barely contained rage seeping out of his every word.
“Those deceivers would have you believe they were the spotless victims of this war? What if I told you there wasn’t a war before Optimus Prime became what he is?”
He didn’t get to finish before several drones rush in and the main door to the circular room slides shut. There were distant klaxon to be heard before the noise was abruptly cut off. They hurriedly took defensive positions and Starscream looked around, more annoyed than alarmed.
“What the pit is it now?”
He places a digit on the side of his helm activating his communicator.
“Report. What’s going on out there.”
You couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation but he ducked quickly out of the cell. Throwing a brief ‘stay put.’ over his shoulder at you. The energy field hummed back to life caging you once more in the small room. Whatever it was must be big because there were now eight drones in the room with you.
Still reeling from the conversation you just had, you try to imagine what on earth he could have meant by that. There was no way Optimus Prime started the war on Cybertron. You couldn’t think about that right now. Whatever was happening most likely had to do with the Autobots and that made you smile. It was only a matter of time before they came for you. Their fierce protectiveness of the human race was one thing the Decepticons couldn’t flip around on them.
There was a thunderous crash and rubble bounced off of the energy field as the door to the cell block was blown open. Dust and smoke filled the air and there was shouting. Familiar voices made you stand, that hope filling your lines as you try to see through the smoke. Drones opened fire and were taken down with ease. Two familiar color schemes make their way towards the field. One pair of big worried blue optics stare through the field at you, making you almost sob with relief and recognition. The field drops and a flash of yellow was all you see before you are practically taken off your peds. The yellow mech clinging to you like you might just crumble in his servos. Of course you’d recognize him anywhere.
“Bee! Oh thank goodness!”
Emptiness Machine
Starscream X Mech Pilot Reader
Author note: here’s chapter 7! Sorry it took me a bit and today’s chapter is a bit longer to make up for it. Been going through some stuff. No warnings for this chapter!
Chapter 7
Coming online by degrees, you take in a shaky vent. Your optics flicker and warning messages blare, taking up all the space on your HUD. Internal damage, low energy, unable to disconnect, major mesh damage. You wince as you try to sit up and see where you are. A servo coming up reflexively to hold your chest plates together. Your digits find a fresh weld there as well as an Energon patch, someone had done minor repairs on your frame. You slowly move your optics over your plating. There were a few more fresh welds. Your optics flick over to find a faint purple glow, and sitting there against the wall you were leaned on, was a cube of Energon.
After looking around some more, you see that you had been taken to some sort of cell. An energy wall separated you from a larger circular room with more cells around the outside. In the center was a terminal and an empty, bot sized chair. Groaning, you try to get to your feet. If they thought you’d trust the Energon cube they left for you after all of what just happened, they were sorely mistaken. You pointedly ignore the persistent ping of the low fuel level warning as it invaded your vision. In your cell there was only a bench. Cybertronians didn’t need water for anything and it seems prisoners weren’t kept alive for very long here. You manage to drag yourself over to the bench and lean back. The patch on your chest still has some Energon infusion left but you need to take stock of the damage done to your actual body.
It takes you a moment to remove the patch but when you do, it’s easy to see the damage. There were long tears in the mesh beneath and the plating had been welded back in place properly. Luckily enough, they had the sense not to weld the seams of the cockpit closed. This gave you access to the gel capsule where your body rested. Engaging the springs manually since the connection was severed when Shockwave had torn into your chassis, you gingerly lift the plating away. It looks about as bad as you had expected. Your body had dried blood on its forehead, there was some bruising. But overall the damage wasn’t that severe. The scuffle with Megatron hadn’t affected the connection. You let out a relieved vent.
Just then, a door slid open with a mechanical swish and in walked the boxy blue bot who had carried you. Soundwave, Megatron had called him. When his visor dropped to your slumped form, you quickly close the plating around your body and glare defensively. He was carrying another Energon cube in one of his servos. The other servo raised in what was supposed to be a gesture of reassurance. He spoke in a quiet tonal voice.
“Little one. You must refuel.”
You glare at him. Little one? This was absolutely not the picture Optimus had painted of the Decepticons. Not getting up or making a move to retrieve the Energon cube he’s already placed inside the cell for you, your optics never leave him. He moves closer, activating a button on the panel outside that opens a small window in the energy field so he can place the second cube inside. He steps back but continues to watch you, his expression unreadable. You try to speak but your speech synthesizer crackles and glitches. The damage Megatron did wasn’t severe but it had wrecked your ability to speak clearly for now. Still you grate out the words through gritted denta.
“Gg-go fr-ag yourssss- tryiing-to poissss-on m-me“
The incomplete sentence hanging in the air a moment before the mech turns away as if to walk out. Before he reaches the door he turns and points to the cubes, speaking one last time over his shoulder.
“Fuel: acceptable. Not contaminated. Refuel.”
With that he leaves, the door sliding shut behind him. You extend your hand in a rude human gesture that would mean nothing to him, but it made you feel better anyway. You can’t help but feel the empty tank of your mech scraping the last bits of Energon from its walls. A little couldn’t hurt could it? Dr. Antonov and the Cybertronian scientists he worked with had made your mech as close to an actual Cybertronian as possible. The biology almost indistinguishable from the alien species except for the cockpit in its chest. This included the nanites that were found within the lines of a mech. The self repair system. He wasn’t sure of the effects nanites would have on the human body at first, but after he discovered the tiny organisms wanted nothing to do with organic matter, he implemented their use in all of his creations.
Taking the cube in your servo you lift it to your olfactory sensors, detecting no poison. You tentatively slide your glossa out to taste the Energon. It tasted just as staticky as it normally does. Hungrily you gulp down the first cube. Systems start to come back online and your vision clears slowly after a few hours. Forcing yourself to save the second cube until you need it again, you lie down on your side with your back to the wall. Your wing panels tuck against your frame and you wait for someone else to return. They had kept you alive for some reason. Perhaps for information or study. At least they knew to keep you out of Shockwave’s lab. Shivering when you think what he might have done with you if the other two hadn’t intervened.
You think back on the times that Optimus Prime had discussed the Decepticons with the members of Project Archangel. There were five back then. Five working mecha and five pilots. He had called a meeting to inform all of you of the danger you were getting ourselves into. He told you everything. The 11 worlds already practically glassed by the Decepticons. How earth was the second to last world and they could have plans to terraform it into a new Cybertron. It seems their homeworld was now uninhabitable due to the chemical weapons utilized by the Decepticons. Optimus blames Megatron for the destruction of their world.
“It didn’t need to be this way. But Megatron had decided the only path to peace on Cybertron was to eliminate an entire generation of our people. He wanted no one left. Only those who were down with him in the pit. Only those who knew the same hardship he did.”
He went on to describe the war on Cybertron before they left. How entire cities were bombed to ash. Burning metal and ozone all that was left of beautiful architecture and culture. All the wealthy citizens didn’t last long under his reign. He took control of most of the planet and its resources before Orion Pax decided to lead a rebellion against his tyranny. The death told had climbed to heights he couldn’t have possibly imagined. Primus himself intervened and deemed the young mech worthy, awarding him with the matrix of leadership. A powerful weapon only wielded by someone who would use it for the right reasons. From then on, Orion became known as Optimus Prime. That is the short version. He talked for hours. You remember nearly falling asleep by the time he finished.
Though the thing that stuck with you the most was the fact that he and his followers had killed indiscriminately. Their rule, though short, was tyrannical. Just the kind of thing they were fighting against. You shook your helmet at the thought. Such blind rage was something you knew well though. There were wars on earth before the Cybertronians came. One of those wars left you without most of your family. Leading you to project archangel and Dr. Antonov.
Your thoughts were once again interrupted by the metallic swoosh of the door opening up and ped steps announced the arrival of a bot. You don’t lift your helm right away. Instead you leave your optics offline and listen. The bot uses a data pad to loudly bang on the outside of your cell making you startle. Your optics find a familiar smug looking face and a crooked smile. Starscream. He speaks, his voice a deep rumble in the circular room.
“I have some questions for you. Care to share some information with me? Seraphim?”
Emptiness Machine
Starscream X Reader (mech pilot au)
Author note: little tw for choking but that’s it! Sorry it’s a short chapter but I wanted to get it out.
Chapter 6
“Lazerbeak eject.” Soundwave sent his cassette after you with subdue only orders. No lethal force was to be used on the prisoner. The agile cassette kept up with ease as you darted around the hallways of the nemesis. You were expending Energon at a high rate using your jump jets like this, but you couldn’t think of anything else to do. You passed several stunned mechs who hollered after you or dropped what they were doing in pursuit. Klaxon rang in your auditory sensors and flashing red lights threatened to short out your visual circuits. Holding the pieces of your chest plate together with one hand, you stagger down a hallway and use one last boost.
No matter what you did you couldn’t shake that damn bird who was following just a bit behind you. No doubt reporting your position to the others. You turn to look at it as you activate your jets. You hear it squawk in alarm and see it dart in the opposite direction. Looking at it was a huge mistake it seemed as you slam straight into a clawed metallic hand. It closes around the throat of your mech, squeezing until you choke. A strangled sound coming from your intake as your optics flicker and malfunction. Trying your best to see your captor around the mess of warnings and error messages on your HUD, you stare completely dumbstruck. Your free hand scrabbles at the hand around your throat. This moment would surely be your last as your blue optics meet deep crimson ones.
The pounding of peds behind the two of you announces the arrival of several other Decepticons. You can’t turn your head but you remember the voice of the boxy blue mech that you pushed past earlier. Hearing his voice translated into your language once more as the Cybertronian translation program within your mech works its magic.
“Lord Megatron. Apologies. The prisoner is under control.”
A deep voice spoke. Commanding but calm. Deadly calm. It sent ice down your spinal strut as you struggled again. His grip was so tight you were sure if you tried to speak your vocal modulator would short out.
“Soundwave, old friend, what is this injured creature doing on my ship?”
He continued to hold you by your throat. Lifted about a ped length off the ground suspended by his one hand. He was powerful and that was enough to send panic through you. This was the mech that killed hundreds of thousands, the mech who incited a millennia long war, a monster who would rather see his own world burn than leave even one of his enemies alive. That was the only word you managed to grate out of your intake as he held you there.
“M…monster…”
He growled at you but didn’t respond as he was interrupted by the sound of calm ped steps arriving on scene. You recognize the voice of Shockwave immediately, a fresh wave of panic surging through you to make your chest ache. You were barely conscious as it was, but you were starting to see white at the edge of your vision.
“Lord Megatron that would be my doing. I have reason to believe that the humans have been able to create an artificial spark. I took this ‘thing’ to study it. See if perhaps it might prove useful.”
There was murmuring from the small gathered crowd of Decepticons as you felt many optics on your damaged form. One servo holding the plates of your chest together and the other digging into Megatron’s massive digits.
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t crush your little science project and be done with it. I told you the humans are of no consequence and to leave them be. We have no proof that they are even sentient creatures. The only thing we should be concerning ourselves with is mining Energon.”
He shakes your near limp form, a soft noise of pain escapes you and you feel his servo tighten. Your mech doesn’t need to breathe air, but he could easily crush your spinal strut and sever your head clean from your body. If you received a life threatening wound to your mech, your real body was adversely affected. If you didn’t die, you would be terribly close to it. Behind you, you hear Soundwave start to speak again but another familiar voice pipes up from the crowd. It was the winged mech from earlier who had spoken to you.
“My lord! Please let me take care of this horrible mess that Shockwave has created. I spoke with the creature and I believe it may have valuable information about the location of the Autobot base. Perhaps even the locations of their Energon mines. You needn’t bother yourself with such a pitiful excuse for a distraction.”
You scrunch your nose as you listen to him. Whoever this bot was, he was a suck up. Megatron visibly rolled his eyes and dropped your limp form to the floor. He growled in the direction of the mech.
“You spoke to it? Take care of it Starscream. Before I decide to let you take the blame for this inconvenience. As second in command you are responsible for the actions of those under you. Deal with it.”
With that, the crowd dispersed leaving the three of them with you. You don’t move, too exhausted and drained of Energon to muster any fight. Pain seared through every fiber of your being as you gaze blearily up at their frames. You hear Starscream mumble something about getting you to the brig before Megatron changed his mind. The boxy blue bot whom Megatron had called Soundwave, stepped forward and gently lifted you into his arms. He was warm just like the other one. Why did this surprise you? You had been held by most of the Autobots back at the base. Why would these Cybertronians be any different? Perhaps the image of the Decepticons that the autobots created? Like dark cryptids, or something altogether evil and sinister. You expected cold, calculating, monsters. But as you gaze up into the visor of the one carrying you, you swear you see pity in the optics you find there.
I work at a spa so between clients here I am writing chapter 6 of Emptiness Machine.
Alright here is readers mech as a Patlabor Ingram! Idea courtesy of my reader on AO3 DiscoInHell. Enjoy!
Progress pics because I never post those. How I see Reader’s mech from my fic Emptiness Machine after being inspired by a comment.
I can’t stop thinking about this comment I got on AO3. One of my readers told me they saw Reader’s mech, in my fanfic Emptiness Machine, as similar to an Ingram from Patlabor.
So yeah I’m drawing this now because I love Patlabor.
Emptiness Machine
Author note: Hey all! Thanks for sticking with this story! Little TW for this one. Talk of newsparks. Other than that enjoy!
Starscream X Mech Pilot Reader AU
Chapter 4
It spoke Cybertronian. Albeit rude Cybertronian but of course only the autobots would teach a pet like this something so vulgar. Starscream narrows his optics at the creature as it squirms in his servo. The feel of it soft and warm in his digits sending an uncomfortable shudder through his frame. It turns its gaze on him staring up at him with those uncannily Cybertronian features. Intelligence in its face he wants to forget. If it can speak, it can understand him surely. He records its speech as it chatters up at him, translating the files and creating a program so that he can communicate with it. It takes a moment but he clears his vocalizer before speaking.
“You are bold for such a little thing. You caught me off guard speaking intelligently like that. Here I thought your kind were just miserable little insects.”
•••
That deep voice rumbles through you as he speaks, finally a language you can understand. You can’t even be offended at the way he spoke about you, the shock of the interaction bleeding into fear as you feel the grip of his servos around your ribs. You remember the autobots describing the things that these bots had done during the war. As his crimson optics gaze down at you with contempt you can’t help but wonder why he hadn’t crushed you yet. When you speak, your voice comes out shakier than you’d hoped.
“What did you want with me.”
The mech ponders for a moment. Still studying you as if you were some sort of exotic animal. After what felt like an uncomfortably long pause, he turns his head towards the body of your mech. Now deactivated, her optics dim from the prematurely severed connection. He doesn’t directly answer your question.
“What were you doing with that femme? Were you like some weird pet to her?”
He sounded disgusted when he said the word pet. Raising a tiny hand, you point to the mech. Your voice still shaking a bit but filled with determination and a shocking courage.
“You think you’ve killed her but you haven’t.”
You take a moment to think. Maybe you could throw him off so much that you could escape. You remember the reaction of the autobots when you had first been scanned by Ratchet and Firstaid. It had been one of horror, comparing the way you scanned to that of a newspark. From what you understood, Cybertronians were born one of two ways. Through a spark bond or from a hot spot. The fragile things appearing as a newspark and transferred into a waiting protoform.
“You scanned a newspark signature didn’t you?”
He looked taken aback by that. Either your intelligence was scaring him or the way you knew exactly what had transpired despite not understanding him. You speak again trying to appeal to him. Though you had a feeling it was all for not.
“Did you give any thought to the fact that we might not be so different?”
You wave your hand towards your mech, back to yourself, and then to him in a sweeping gesture. Just then, the door burst open to reveal a new boxy looking blue mech. The red visor covering his optics practically glowing as he looked around. Despite having a mask covering his face, his frame was tense and he radiated an agitated energy. His voice tonal and growling as he spoke urgently in his own language to the mech holding you.
•••
Starscream stared down at you as you gestured to him. Not so different? You were nothing. An insect. The only reason Megatron hadn’t already glassed your planet was the fact that your species might be useful for the creation of synthetic energon. The energon unfit for consumption for anything with a spark. But very useful for powering drones and weapons. The distillation process recently discovered by Shockwave some cycles ago. He had discovered that the organic creatures could be drained of their life force and condensed into this synthetic monstrosity. Personally, Starscream found this absolutely abhorrent.
He didn’t get time to process his thoughts though as Soundwave came bursting through the door. Looking frantically about the room, his visor falling on the body of the mysterious femme on the table.
“Starscream, query, where is the newspark?”
Starscream rolled his optics, the communications officer had always been much too sentimental for his taste. Letting his emotions get the better of him when it came to the care of his cassettes. Worrying over them and keeping much too close an eye on the life down on the planet below.
“There is no newspark you fool. Only this organic creature. Did you know they were intelligent?”
None of this was sitting right with Starscream as he looked back down at your confused face. The communications officer only nods as he walks over to the scanner. Seeing the signature for himself. Turning the screen towards Starscream, he points to the outline of your body and the origin of the weak signature. His voice a deep tonal growl as he addresses the SIC.
“Not just an organic.”
Those words made the energon in his lines grow cold again. Turning slowly to see the look of almost triumph on your face as if you had won. He makes the connection.
“What the pit have those Autobot fools done?”
HAhahA! Who needs sleep when the tf mecha universe exists and I can live off art and adrenaline alone??
Ft: that scene in one of the Jazz chapters cause the little lads got some adorabable screentime and I loved it to death 🫶✨
Side note! When this au eventually becomes an official transformers spinoff series in some universe,, please accept this as my informal application for a mop in the chefs kitchen,, [the floors will be so clean I swear] <333✍️🥘