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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

Italics are stuck on from this point.
If I fix it before you post, then it doesn't count.
I think that should say 'that'.
That counts.
Oh lord, is he going to die again?
No, he's just spending a few days dead for tax purposes.
Yes, it pass through the blood trail.
Paul once told me how important ritual funerals are.
So you can do that without a distraction. I'll handle the-.
Corrected.
The bolded part reads weird to me. Are you missing a "in" between rituals and funerals?

Or should it read as "ritual funerals"?
Just under the lline.
 
Just be careful, your hitbox is a lot larger than theirs, which means they can and will try to box you in...

It's definitely looking like a bullet hell minigame. Unfortunately graze dodging still hurts, rather than just being a score multiplier. Still useful for keeping aggro, even if it's painful.
 
Transformational (part 1)
5th February 2014
13:16 GMT +5:30


I bear with the indignity of Slipstream carrying me against her chest-

"Where else am I supposed to hold you?"

-while.. we-.

I look up towards her head, frowning. "You heard that?"

"No, but I felt the general direction you were thinking in. You know you can't go in my cockpit when I'm walking around."

"How about on your shoulder?"

"No hand-holds. And my armour would hit you in the face if I raised my arm above my head."

She demonstrates with her right arm, and… Yes, that would be a bad place to be a squishy human. I find myself reaching up with my own right arm in sympathy, right hand finding the protruding parts of my most recent implants. I laughed when Borx told me that it was called a 'mind impulse unit', but-.

But I can actually hear Slipstream's uncertainty about how appropriate what she just said was in my own mind, and-. I can feel that it's her thought and not mine. She thinks that she might have overstepped the line from 'banter' to 'insult' but isn't sure how to-.

"That was fine, Slipstream." I pat her chest plate. "If being carried around bothered me that much I should have spent more time on power armour research."

Nebulons do have a form of power armour. The issue is that it's bulky enough that I couldn't fit inside Slipstream while wearing it, and it can't fly particularly fast. So I'd be stuck either holding onto her from the outside when we travelled long distances or taking it off and stowing it… Somewhere. And I love Slipstream, but she doesn't have much stowage space.

Slipstream stops, and lifts me up and turns me around so that I'm facing her face. She's smiling a little awkwardly, her eyes switching between me and looking off to the side.

"That's-. That's how this is supposed to feel, you know? You felt-."

She's feeling-. Joy? Grief? Excitement? I can feel her feeling it but I'm struggling to actually parse it. In fact, from the way the skin at the corners of her eyes is twitching I think she's getting a little overwhelmed herself.

I lean closer, hug her chin and kiss a small part of her lower lip. She raises one of her fingers and gently presses it against the back of my head as she enjoys our closeness through me.

A few moments pass, and I feel her emotions calm a little.

Then a spike of mischievousness as she moves me away from her mouth and presses me against her cheek. All I can see is a soft silver wall.

"I didn't think I'd ever feel this again. This instinctual oneness we get from being bonded."

"I know exactly how you feel. But we're keeping Shockwave waiting."

"Yeah, well…" She lifts me away a little. "Some of us have emotions."

But she lowers me so that I'm against her chest again as she walks up to the door to his laboratory and raises her right hand to the sensor.

"Shockwave, you wanted to see us?"

A moment passes, then an image of Shockwave's face appears on the screen.

"Yes. Yes. With my services no longer required by the Provisional Council, I have been able to make progress on projects relating to all of us. Enter."

The door hums open, granting us access to Shockwave's laboratory. Once the Autobots were able to confirm his version of events, he was… Well, granted clemency, but they were clear that they didn't particularly want to have anything to do with him and that they'd be watching him. And that he wasn't to leave his laboratory, currently situated in Iacon because they didn't want him going back to his actual workshop because that would bring him into contact with isolationist Decepticon returnees who have taken up residence in Kaon. Since Cybertron was restored to near-full functionality and Ratchet and Shockwave sent out the Armistice Transmission, transformers have been returning to Cybertron in dribs and drabs. Relations between the Autobot and Decepticon are currently peaceful… Though that might be because the most senior Autobot leader so far returned -an ancient gold-coloured transformer named Emirate Xaaron- only extended The Last Autobot's services to fallen transformers who were likely to accept the armistice and as such Autobots on Cybertron outnumber the Decepticons by about a thousand to one.

I lean around Slipstream and wave at Prowl, who is keeping careful watch on the comings and goings from the opposite roof.

He glowers back.

Not that everyone on the Autobot side is happy about having a peace that isn't from total victory either. But they do accept the Autobot military hierarchy, and Xaaron told me that he was pretty sure that no one senior to him was still alive to contradict his orders.

Resurrecting Optimus Prime… Didn't happen. The Last Autobot needs a body to work with, and… Optimus threw himself bodily into the Well of Sparks. He might come back, but it's literally in the hands of Primus.

Slipstream pulls me back as she walks into the laboratory. "Stop taunting his parole officer. It's more fun when they don't see it coming."

I frown. "When did you have a parole officer?"

"I didn't." We look up a little and see Shockwave on a raised platform next to… Some sort of cylindrical machine. "But there were Autobots who supported the old Council and only changed over to Optimus's way of doing things because they were told to. Them, I've dealt with before."

She walks us across the workshop, careful to skirt anything that crackles or bubbles. Some sort of green… Stuff. Looks a little energon, but I don't think energon is supposed to fume like that.

Or… Melt through the workbench when it bubbles out of its container.

Shockwave actually turns his head towards us when we reach his level, Slipstream putting me down on top of the control panel where his hands rest.

"Using records provided by Borx and Arcana, I believe that I have a workable design for Slipstream's human-scale avatar. However, it will require multiple generations of prototyping and testing before I will have something that you could use outside of this laboratory."

"Oh." I feel Slipstream's surprise through our bond. "I thought it would take longer than that."

"The fundamental technologies were already known. Consciousness-splitting is hardly a new technology. Jhiaxus' development of spark-splitting technology-"

"Ah…"

"-was perhaps the most… Disturbing example, but less invasive forms of the same technology exist. Before he upgraded to his Prime form, Orion Pax used a cargo transport vehicle mode that involved splitting his consciousness in three. Creating a pseudo-organic form using synthesized protoplasm over a tiny robotic endoskeleton is only a challenge because of the small size, and my… Unfamiliarity with human physiology."

Slipstream nods, her fear abating. "That's exactly what we want. Thank you."

"However, a second option suggests itself."

I raise my eyebrows. "Oh?"

"I have the resources to implement Arcana's Headmaster system immediately. I am qualified to perform the chirurgery. Once complete, you would be able to interface with one another as a single being."

"Ah…" No no God no. I look up at Slipstream-.

"I kinda like this face. Can you make sure I keep it after the chirurgery?"



Because radical transformations are just part of life for a transformer. But she should be able to feel what I think-.

"I did not intend for him to become your Headmaster. You wished for him to be able to interact with our environment on our scale, and to become your conjunx endura in fact as well as… In your.. spark. That requires a spark, which nubulon technology cannot provide." Slipstream frowns. "I intended for him to replace my head."

"Ah…"

And I can certainly feel her disquiet. She doesn't want anyone closer to me than her, and becoming someone's head is pretty darn close.

Shockwave doesn't appear to understand. "My brain module was moved to my torso when I underwent empurata, and I have no face to lose. As a result the chirurgery would be far more simple."

I shake my head. "Shockwave, why would you want to interface with me like that?"

Slipstream looks decidedly unimpressed. "And what makes you think I'd let you?"

Shockwave lifts his hands off the console and holds them… Out. They're shaking. That's not a good sign.

"The Last Autobot could not undo my shadowplay, but… Something has happened to my thought processes. I am… My value-assignment processes are in constant flux, and the effects are growing more severe. If we wait until your synthetic body is ready I may be physically incapable of helping you. I believe that having a connection to an emotional creature would allow me to cope-." His whole body trembles for a moment, then stills. "Better than I am. In helping you, I would also help myself. Once my mind has settled, we could separate. Borx's work already allows the Headmaster process to be undone."

Slipstream looks unconvinced. "I don't know…"

"Wait, you just need a human to do this with?"

Shockwave looks down at me. "Yes. Or a member of another similar species."

Phew. For a moment there I was worried.

"That, we can cope with."
 
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Being the head of not only a huge robot but one that is also a genius scientist and inventor? Sign me up.

What's the nickname of this variant again? Anyway, seems like things are really working out for him here. But couldn't they build him a Transformer body with no consciousness (Transtector) like it's mentioned in the Headmaster page? Or do they not have the capabilities right now?

Not saying getting Slipstream a human-like body isn't a worthwhile endeavor, but I think I would be looking into upscaling myself as well rather than just downscaling her. They could even get him a Seeker-like body (weren't those a dime a dozen?) so they could fly together and stuff, you know.
 
I was thinking xenophiles and technophiles but yeah, moral people would probably work too…
Unfortunately, given what I know of Shockwave's need for a Jiminy Cricket...

It would probably turn out something like:


The bot even had a role causing their crossover with MLP, then did Mad Science to the data they got to cause the second.
 
5th February 2014
13:16 GMT +5:30


I bear with the indignity of Slipstream carrying me against her chest-

"Where else am I supposed to hold you?"
Oh, that's interesting. Either they've been working together so long that she can tell what he's thinking just from body language, or... It seems they're becoming far closer than they ever intended to.

-while.. we-.

I look up towards her head, frowning. "You heard that?"
Well, some forms of Binary-Bonding do result in near-telepathic connections. Or far more so. Looking at you, Marvel Comics Hi-Q.

"No, but I felt the general direction you were thinking in. You know you can't go in my cockpit when I'm walking around."

"How about on your shoulder?"
Far too many joints up there to risk it. Imagine how many crush injuries you could suffer.

"No hand-holds. And my armour would hit you in the face if I raised my arm above my head."

She demonstrates with her right arm, and… Yes, that would be a bad place to be a squishy human. I find myself reaching up with my own right arm in sympathy, right hand finding the protruding parts of my most recent implants. I laughed when Borx told me that it was called a 'mind impulse unit', but-.
Sure it's merely sympathy, Paul?

But I can actually hear Slipstreams uncertainty about how appropriate what she just said was in my own mind, and-. I can feel that it's her thought and not mine. She thinks that she might have overstepped the line from 'banter' to 'insult' but isn't sure how to-.

"That was fine, Slipstream." I pat her chest plate. "If being carried around bothered me that much I should have spent more time on power armour research."
Or investigated the possibility of upgrading to a Transtector system.

Nebulons do have a form of power armour. The issue is that it's bulky enough that I couldn't fit inside Slipstream while wearing it, and it can't fly particularly fast. So I'd be stuck either holding onto her from the outside when we travelled long distances or taking it off and stowing it… Somewhere. And I love Slipstream, but she doesn't have much stowage space.

Slipstream stops, and lifts me up and turns me around so that I'm facing her face. She's smiling a little awkwardly, her eyes switching between me and looking off to the side.
And Nebulan power armour, with a little cybernetic modification of the wearer, can adopt all manner of alternate physical configurations...

"That's-. That's how this is supposed to feel, you know? You felt-."

She's feeling-. Joy? Grief? Excitement? I can feel her feeling it but I'm struggling the actually parse it. In fact, from the way the skin at the corners of her eyes is twitching I think she's getting a little overwhelmed herself.
'Skin' being a bit of a misnomer, but the various materials and mechanics of Transformer faces are a strange rabbit hole. :confused: Never mind why some have armoured faceplates and/or visors, retractable or not...

I lean closer, hug her chin and kiss a small part of her lower lip. She raises one of her fingers and gently presses it against the back of my head as she enjoys our closeness through me.

A few moments pass, and I feel her emotions calm a little.
Sometimes, being able to share thoughts and emotions can be an experience for Cybertronians...

Then a spike of mischievousness as she moves me away from her mouth and presses me against her cheek. All I can see is a soft silver wall.

"I didn't think I'd ever feel this again. This instinctual oneness we get from being bonded."
Ah, 'Bonding'. A concept played so much with by the fandom. x3 Often as 'spark-bonds' that work like telepathic romantic connections. And not always with someone you like.

"I know exactly how you feel. But we're keeping Shockwave waiting."

"Yeah, well…" She lifts me away a little. "Some of us have emotions."
Shockwave at this point has been pardoned, right? Wonder if he's remodelled his head or not...

But she lowers me so that I'm against her chest again as she walks up to the door to his laboratory and raises her right hand to the sensor.

"Shockwave, you wanted to see us?"
Because being all lovey-dovey is fine in private, but imagine the embarrassment of being caught at it...

A moment passes, then an image of Shockwave's face appears on the screen.

"Yes. Yes. With my services no longer required by the Provisional Council, I have been able to make progress on projects relating to all of us. Enter."
Heh. The true love of a scientist: His laboratory. :p

The door hums open, granting us access to Shockwave's laboratory. Once the Autobots were able to confirm his version of events, he was… Well, granted clemency, but they were clear that they didn't particularly want to have anything to do with him and that they'd be watching him. And that he wasn't to leave his laboratory, currently situated in Iacon because they didn't want him going back to his actual workshop because that would bring him into contact with isolationist Decepticon returnees who have taken up residence in Kaon. Since Cybertron was restored to near-full functionality and Ratchet and Shockwave sent out the Armistice Transmission, transformers have been returning to Cybertron in dribs and drabs. Relations between the Autobot and Decepticon are currently peaceful… Though that might be because the most senior Autobot leader so far returned -an ancient gold-coloured transformer named Emirate Xaaron- only extended The Last Autobot's services to fallen transformers who were likely to accept the armistice and as such Autobots on Cybertron outnumber the Decepticons by about a thousand to one.
Ooh, there's a classic figure from the early comics continuities. And it looks like the old factionalism is still going to affect things going forwards.

I lean around Slipstream and wave at Prowl, who is keeping careful watch on the comings and goings from the opposite roof.

He glowers back.
Ah, a rare absence from TF: Prime and its sequels. Closest he got to an appearance were toys that were repaints of Smokescreen. So going back to the G1 well works...

Not that everyone on the Autobot side is happy about having a peace that isn't from total victory either. But they do accept the Autobot military hierarchy, and Xaaron told me that he was pretty sure that no one senior to him was still alive to contradict his orders.

Resurrecting Optimus Prime… Didn't happen. The Last Autobot needs a body to work with, and… Optimus threw himself bodily into the Well of Sparks. He might come back, but it's literally in the hands of Primus.
Eh, good luck keeping big bot dead for long. He'll be back sooner or later. For good or ill...

Slipstream pulls me back as she walks into the laboratory. "Stop taunting his parole officer. It's more fun when they don't see it coming."

I frown. "When did you have a parole officer?"
I mean... Consider Shockwave's history, Paul. Amongst the Decepticons, he's basically a war criminal that other war criminals are envious of. I imagine the new leadership is just a bit nervous about him.

"I didn't." We look up a little and see Shockwave on a raised platform next to… Some sort of cylindrical machine. "But there were Autobots who supported the old Council and only changed over to Optimus's way of doing things because they were told to. Them, I've dealt with before."

She walks us across the workshop, careful to skirt anything that crackles or bubbles. Some sort of green… Stuff. Looks a little energon, but I don't think energon is supposed to fume like that.
Yes, having the old guard back in charge is not going to reassure some people at all...

Or… Melt through the workbench when it bubbles out of its container.

Shockwave actually turns his head towards us when we reach his level, Slipstream putting me down on top of the control panel where his hands rest.
And is that some Tox-En I see? Evidently he's still doing some unconventional research.

"Using records provided by Borx and Arcana, I believe that I have a workable design for Slipstream's human-scale avatar. However, it will require multiple generations of prototyping and testing before I will have something that you could use outside of this laboratory."

"Oh." I feel Slipstream's surprise through our bond. "I thought it would take longer than that."
So, a sort of miniature pretender? Though I doubt it'd be nearly as advanced as the Japanese g1 continuity version.

"The fundamental technologies were already known. Consciousness-splitting is hardly a new technology. Jhiaxus development of spark-splitting technology-"

"Ah…"
Oh, god no. :eek: No budding, please! Let's leave that in the 90's...

"-was perhaps the most… Disturbing example, but less invasive forms of the same technology exist. Before he upgraded to his Prime form, Orion Pax used a cargo transport vehicle mode that involved splitting his consciousness in three. Creating a pseudo-organic form using synthesized protoplasm over a tiny robotic endoskeleton is only a challenge because of the small size, and my… Unfamiliarity with human physiology."

Slipstream nods, her fear abating. "That's exactly what we want. Thank you."
Heh. Nice callback to G1 Optimus Prime.

"However, a second option suggests itself."

I raise my eyebrows. "Oh?"
Remember what I said about transtectors? That could be workable with 'Prime's' modern human cutting edge tech.

"I have the resources to implement Arcana's Headmaster system immediately. I am qualified to perform the chirurgery. Once complete, you would be able to interface with one another as a single being."

"Ah…" No no God no. I look up at Slipstream-.
Let's go that route. I remember the first time a human paired with an opposite-gender transformer. It was... Squicky, to put it mildly.

"I kinda like this face. Can you make sure I keep it after the chirurgery?"

Now, in a human woman, that'd be sending all kinds of 'marriage' messages. I doubt Slipstream would be much of a bridezilla, though.

Because radical transformations are just part of life for a transformer. But she should be able to feel what I think-.

"I did not intend for him to become your Headmaster. You wished for him to be able to interact with our environment on our scale, and to become your conjunx endura in fact as well as… In your.. spark . That requires a spark, which nubulon technology cannot provide." Slipstream frowns. "I intended for him to replace my head."
Ooh, there's a term I'd not heard before, at least by that name. The fanfics that used it tended to call it a 'Sparkmate'... :oops: Though said fics usually had cybertronian sex in the forms of spark-deep 'interfacing'. ...The fandom is Diverse.
o_O "You mean 'fucking weird'."
It's a matter of perspective, really. :V

"Ah…"

And I can certainly feel her disquiet. She doesn't want anyone closer to me than her, and becoming someone's head is pretty darn close.
Especially since in most cases of bonding like that, each partner tends to take on traits of the other. And I don't she's ready to be with Shockwave-lite.

Shockwave doesn't appear to understand. "My brain module was moved to my torso when I underwent empurata, and I have no face to lose. As a result the chirurgery would be far more simple."

I shake my head. "Shockwave, why would you want to interface with me like that?"
Ah, Empurata. Possibly the most monstrous punishment applicable to a Cybertronian, even beyond simple termination.

Slipstream looks decidedly unimpressed. "And what makes you think I'd let you?"

Shockwave lifts his hands off the console and holds them… Out. They're shaking. That's not a good sign.
Ah. Looks like he's not in as good shape as was first thought, eh?

"The Last Autobot could not undo my shadowplay, but… Something has happened to my thought processes. I am… My value-assignment processes are in constant flux, and the effects are growing more severe. If we wait until your synthetic body is ready I am be physically incapable of helping you. I believe that having a connection to an emotional creature would allow me to cope-." His whole body trembles for a moment, then stills. "Better than I am. In helping you, I would also help myself. Once my mind has settled, we could separate. Borx's work already allows the Headmaster process to be undone."
So, basically installing a human as a conscience? Your very own Jiminy Cricketron?

Slipstream looks unconvinced. "I don't know…"

"Wait, you just need a human to do this with?"
Man, imagine the online response to an offer like that. Plenty of 'are you fucking joking?' responses, but you know there'd be takers.

Shockwave looks down at me. "Yes. Or a member of another similar species."

Phew. For a moment there I was worried.

"That, we can cope with."
I can't imagine there'd be a shortage of people eager to experience a form of transhumanism.

Ah, one of my favourite alternates returns. And with some super-serious matters under discussion. At least they have a way to undo the necessary modifications to the human form afterwards. And honestly, I'm surprised that no micromaster or minicon types have shown up yet. Japanese G1 had an entire planet of them out there, after all.
 
the -> to
I am be -> I may be
Thank you, corrected.
And is that some Tox-En I see? Evidently he's still doing some unconventional research.
Tox-en? You wish that was tox-en. That's greenergon.
Oh, god no. :eek: No budding, please! Let's leave that in the 90's...
No. It's a little irritating. I wanted to link to another Transformers fanfic there, one where the main character was one of Jhiaxus sexual experiments (not like that) and one of the others was a sort of spark-split mini-combiner who refused to transform because they became two separate people when they did. Alas, I couldn't find it.
 
Are there Battle beasts in that continuity? Some of them had powered armor and they are roughly humanoid. I know they had a tie crossover in with transformers headmasters series as beastformers from planet beast.
 
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Are there Battle beasts in that continuity? Some of them had powered armor and they are roughly humanoid. I know they had a tie crossover in with transformers headmasters series as beastformers from planet beast.
Huh. I think I used to own one of those.

I'm going to say 'yes, but they'll never appear in this story'.
 
Too Bad TF!Paul can't use/recharge the Forge of Solus prime to upgrade or make a techno organic body. The Emberstone would also work, but that's been lost for centuries. Also the Allspark probably won't help him, so he's out of luck with mystical Cybertronian artifacts.
 
Oh, god no. :eek: No budding, please! Let's leave that in the 90's...

Why couldn't they have made cybertronian reproduction the same as human? It wouldn't even be that far of a stretch. Just replace the ovum with a self-replicating nanobot, the semen with grey goo, the female gives birth to a blank protoform, then just stick it in a stasis pod until Vector Sigma gives it a spark (or have the spark bud off of the parents' sparks).

"No, baby cybertronians pop out of holes in the ground like dwarves!"

"No, they grow like tumors on another cybertronian's back until they pop off like mogwai!"
 
Why couldn't they have made cybertronian reproduction the same as human? It wouldn't even be that far of a stretch. Just replace the ovum with a self-replicating nanobot, the semen with grey goo, the female gives birth to a blank protoform, then just stick it in a stasis pod until Vector Sigma gives it a spark (or have the spark bud off of the parents' sparks).

"No, baby cybertronians pop out of holes in the ground like dwarves!"

"No, they grow like tumors on another cybertronian's back until they pop off like mogwai!"
Bob Budiansky said:
Well, I remember bringing up that question early on with Hasbro, "are any of these female?" And then I think Hasbro's attitude was, 'this is a boy toy. We don't wanna have, you know, girl robots.' So, I said, "OK, just want to clarify that." Then of course, I think it was in 1986 they came out with the movie, and they had the token female character. Don't ask me to explain it. (laughs) I don't understand it. I think what I came up with was Creation Matrix, however that worked out explaining their existence, their 'livingness' was asexual. There was no female, there was no male, there was no need for them having different sexes.
 
Nice to see Transformers Paul, or rather Pull again. What have he and Slipstream been up to since they discovered the Last Autobot? Your take on post war Cybertron is very interesting and Shockwave having the beginnings of a redemption arc is very interesting and the way you handle it is rather realistic in my opinion. Wonder what Slipstream's human form will look like and as for Shockwave's head... I like to think that it's not just because Paul is a suitable candidate but also just a hint of gratitude that he was Shockwave's first choice.
Do you have any ideas for other Transformer universes with a version of Paul?
 
I don't know about Zoat, but I was always rather fond of Armada Starscream.
 
"Certainly." A hologram of the globe appears in the middle of the room, and the rest of us spread out around it. "Mannheim's operations to gather up city leaders appears to have halted. The intelligence you gathered and the behavior of the sheeda indicate his new focus. Justice League assets are focused on striking critical infrastructure while he is distracted while Task Force X units are killing the sheeda where they appear."
Oh. Ohhh… So Sportsmaster is… was? In Task Force X. Earth is safe, so I guess criminals habe been freed from that Hell-Soul contract.

Given how the Sheeda were connected to that god-ritual… I suspect the upcoming plot with Themyscira will trail off into a few new investigations. One of which will involve Sportsmaster, some scavenged Sheeda tech, and perhaps a few magicians if he believes magic is the best way to kill Paul. And magic would give him a chance to hide from Paul's allies afterwards.
 
Transformational (part 2)
5th February 2014
15:52 GMT +5:30


"…idea what time it is?"

I roll my eyes unsympathetically.

"Agent Fowler, if the US government thinks that they can have a single person as the point of contact of cybertronians, then the problem is on your end. We need something, and if you'd rather go back to sleep I can just send the request to the governments of every country on Earth."

I hear a rustle in the background, presumably him getting out of bed.

"What?"

"One terminally ill or mortally injured person with full security clearance, ready for immediate travel to Cybertron."

"What? Why?"

"Did Optimus Prime show you the files on Headmasters?"

"No?" A click of a light switch. "Let me get some coffee in me. What are they?"

"Short version? A cybertronian replaced their head with an organic."

"…" … "Let me get some coffee in me."

I lower my phone handset and look over to… Where Slipstream is lounging in her oil Jacuzzi, scrolling through holographic pictures… Of naked human women.

She notices me watching her. "What do you think about this one?"

"She's… Fine?"

Slipstream wrinkles up the left side of her face. "'Fine'?"

I close my eyes as I hear Agent Fowler's microwave whir, and try and pick up Slipstream's thoughts. It-.

"Are you constipated again? I thought you said that your intestine needed to transform-."

"No, I'm trying to consciously use our bond to work out why you're looking at pictures of naked women."

"I need to decide what I want my submodule to look like. Since the outer surface is.. basically for you, I want to pick something that you like."

"You know it doesn't need to look human, right?"

"Do you not want it to look human? I've seen a lot of websites with humans having sex with things that aren't human, but I got the impression that sort of thing wasn't encouraged."

"I was sort of hoping that you'd go for a scaled down version of your current body, maybe with the proportions made a bit more human-like? I know you're not overly attached to a particular physical form, but human brains aren't designed to cope with radical physical changes like that. I'm going to need to instinctively see this… Avatar as you, or I'll think that I'm cheating on you."

She does a sort of puzzled-frown. "Cccccheating…"

"Yes?"

She shuts down the screen. "This sounds like something we should have talked about."

"Okay. Fowler's still getting coffee, so..?"

"Transformers don't reproduce sexually."

"Yes, I.. know."

"So we don't have all the mate-exclusivity psychology that you do. We don't have 'families' like you do. We have teams, and transformer teams are usually three to eight transformers."



"Oh."

"So it doesn't really make any difference to me, but I guess you want to fill out the team with light frame transformers with high pitched voices and human-woman-looking avatars?"

"Ah-." I stare at her… A little blankly. "Have you been planning this for.. a long time? You didn't say anything."

"No, it-. It was a combination of things. I was talking to a few other transformers while we were on Cybertron, and… A lot of them are used to living on organic worlds now. And some just want to fight Unicron. And you said that was a good idea. And I'm in a better mental mode right now, so I think I'm ready to try teaming up with more people."

I nod, slowly walking up the ramp so that I'll be at head height while she lounges. "Yes, it is, and that's what I assumed-. What sort of..? Team composition were you thinking about?"

"Well, usually the thing to do is pick a thing the team is for, and then divide up the roles you need for that. Did you want to actually fight in Unicron ourselves, or just run the business?"

"Do I..? Personally want to fight things a thousand times my size and with no capacity for reason?"

She shifts position, changing from sitting back to lying forward with her arms resting on the side of the Jacuzzi closest to me. If she were human, that would present her cleavage to its best advantage. As it is, it just lets me look into her cockpit at an odd angle.

But it brings her face closer, and that's pleasant enough.

"You don't need to. You could stay in my cockpit and have oversight of the mission."

"I don't mind having oversight in social situations, but I know I'm not going to measure up to million-year-old warriors in a combat situation. Even if Shockwave was able to build a transformer-scale body I could link-."

"Okay, I got some coffee in me. Why do you need a hospital patient?"

"-with, I wouldn't be able to keep up." I move the receiver back to my mouth. "Agent Fowler. Shockwave is having trouble adapting to having emotions again and thinks that plugging into a human will help him cope."

"Shockwave, the Decepticon mad scientist. Did I hear that right?"

"There's been an armistice, and he was a mad scientist because the Autobot Trepan fiddled around with his brain on the orders of Sentinel Prime. And even if he'd always been a mad scientist, I'm giving you a chance to pair him with someone he'll have to listen to, as well as giving them the cyber chirurgery that will save their life."

"Wait, is this-? Interspecies dating?"

"Do you need a second coffee? I-." Slipstream has the holoscreen active again and has painted a female outline in grey and purple. Then she pulls up an image of herself and alters the proportions of the human outline to match. "Yes, like that." She nods.

"Like what?"

"Sorry, something Slipstream was doing. No, it's not dating. It's last-resort cybernetic slash psychiatric medicine. After this long without it, Shockwave can barely comprehend emotion, let alone start a romantic relationship. And that's ignoring the fact that transformers don't reproduce like that, so don't have those impulses."

"It sounded to me like Slipstream does."

"Slipstream just told me that she wants to be part of a team of between three and eight individuals. Trust me, it's not the same."

"Thaaaat.. sounds like something I should warn June about."

"It sounds like something you should warn Jack about, but can you get someone?"

"I can't promise anything, but I'll call around. If only to save their life."

"Thank you, Agent Fowler. I look forwards to hearing from you."
 
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looking at picture of naked

"pictures"

"So we don't have all the mate-exclusivity psychology that you do. We don't have 'families' like you do. We have teams, and transformer teams are usually three to eight transformers

So Cybertronians would be fine with polygamous relationships?


Phrasing!


"chance"

Wait, is this-? Interspecies dating?"

"Do you need a second coffee?

That or some strong liquor.

let along start a romantic relationship. And that's ignoring the fact that

"let alone"

"It sounded to me like Slipstream does."

"Slipstream just told me that she wants to be part of a team of between three and eight individuals. Trust me, it's not the same

There are humans that are okay with polygamous relationships.

Fowler. I look forwards

"forward"
 
"There's been an armistice, and he was a mad scientist because the Autobot Trepan fiddled around with his brain on the orders of Sentinel Prime. And even if he'd always been a mad scientists, I'm giving you a change to pair him with someone he'll have to listen to, as well as giving them the cyber chirurgery that will save their life."
That should say 'scientist'.

"Wait, is this-? Interspecies dating?"

"Do you need a second coffee? I-." Slipstream has the holoscreen active again and has painted a female outline in grey and purple. Then she pulls up an image of herself and alters the proportions of the human outline to match. "Yes, like that." She nods.

"Like what?"

"Sorry, something Slipstream was doing. No, it's not dating. It's last-resort cybernetic slash psychiatric medicine. After this long without it, Shockwave can barely comprehend emotion, let along start a romantic relationship. And that's ignoring the fact that transformers don't reproduce like that, so don't have those impulses."

"It sounded to me like Slipstream does."

"Slipstream just told me that she wants to be part of a team of between three and eight individuals. Trust me, it's not the same."

"Thaaaat.. sounds like something I should warn June about."

"It sounds like something you should warn Jack about, but can you get someone?"
Now I hope we'll get to see June or Jack's POV when they have that awkward conversation.
 
5th February 2014
15:52 GMT +5:30


"…idea what time it is?"

I roll my eyes unsympathetically.

"Agent Fowler, if the US government thinks that they can have a single person as the point of contact of cybertronians, then the problem is on your end. We need something, and if you'd rather go back to sleep I can just send the request to the governments of every country on Earth."
I mean, he was working with a single team of 4-6 Autobots at the start. And they had human partners to coordinate with. I don't think it's really sunk in what being the effective ambassador to a whole planet of alien robots really entails.

I hear a rustle in the background, presumably him getting out of bed.

"What?"
Bet he was enjoying a night off. Hopefully he doesn't have company.

"One terminally ill or mortally injured person with full security clearance, ready for immediate travel to Cybertron."

"What? Why?"
Bit of a stretch, but I can see the logic. Someone who's basically dying, which Cybertronian tech could probably fix even without cybernetics, and thus isn't going to turn down something life-saving, even if it involves aliens.

"Did Optimus Prime show you the files on Headmasters?"

"No?" A click of a light switch. "Let me get some coffee in me. What are they?"
I suspect such things would be a bit esoteric in the late-war era anyway. Certainly, most kinds of combination tech like that would have fallen out of favour.

"Short version? A cybertronian replaced their head with an organic."

"…" … "Let me get some coffee in me."
True, not something you want to talk about without being fully awake. Although I suspect some mini-bots could also do the same job.

I lower my phone handset and look over to… Where Slipstream is lounging in her oil Jacuzzi, scrolling through holographic pictures… Of naked human women.

She notices me watching her. "What do you think about this one?"
Shopping for a physical configuration, eh? And checking that they're acceptable to her partner's tastes too? That's a good relationship.

"She's… Fine?"

Slipstream wrinkles up the left side of her face. "'Fine'?"
I mean, as long as it's a socially acceptable configuration... Anything's good?

I close my eyes as I hear Agent Fowler's microwave whir, and try and pick up Slipstream's thoughts. It-.

"Are you constipated again? I thought you said that your intestine needed to transform-."
Impressively sensitive phone mic on Fowler's end. (To be fair, I barely use mobile phones...) And I love the description of the typical 'attempting telepathy' face. :p

"No, I'm trying to consciously use our bond to work out why you're looking at picture of naked women."

"I need to decide what I want my submodule to look like. Since the outer surface is.. basically for you, I want to pick something that you like."
And I doubt they can afford to have multiple skins for it. Or that changing the 'finish' is like putting on a different jumpsuit.

"You know it doesn't need to look human, right?"

"Do you not want it to look human? I've seen a lot of websites with humans having sex with things that aren't human, but I got the impression that sort of thing wasn't encouraged."
Ah, yes. The joy of modern 'Transformers' stories: They learn about humans from the internet. I'm amazed they don't think humans spend 90% of their day engaged in mating. :V

"I was sort of hoping that you'd go for a scaled down version of your current body, maybe with the proportions made a bit more human-like? I know you're not overly attached to a particular physical form, but human brains aren't designed to cope with radical physical changes like that. I'm going to need to instinctively see this… Avatar as you, or I'll think that I'm cheating on you."
In other words, a Transformer gijinka? Honestly, the second the internet found out about Autobots, you know they'd have fanart... And shipping fics.

She does a sort of puzzled-frown. "Cccccheating…"

"Yes?"
Ah, yes, that thing humans call 'monogamy'.

She shuts down the screen. "This sounds like something we should have talked about."

"Okay. Fowler's still getting coffee, so..?"
Well, time for a chat about cybertronian sociology and relationship composition.

"Transformers don't reproduce sexually."

"Yes, I.. know."
Except in very interesting fan stories. or porn comics. (Fred Perry. Autobutts. Look it up. x3 )

"So we don't have all the mate-exclusivity psychology that you do. We don't have 'families' like you do. We have teams, and transformer teams are usually three to eight transformers."



"Oh."
Like Starscream and his two right-hand-guys, Thundercracker and Skywarp. What some fanfiction calls a Trine. Five to eight is more like a Combiner team...

"So it doesn't really make any difference to me, but I guess you want to fill out the team with light frame transformers with high pitched voices and human-woman-looking avatars?"

"Ah-." I stare at her… A little blankly. "Have you been planning this for.. a long time? You didn't say anything."
Actual female gender identity optional. Because there are plenty of twinky 'bots.

"No, it-. It was a combination of things. I was talking to a few other transformers while we were on Cybertron, and… A lot of them are used to living on organic worlds now. And some just want to fight Unicron. And you said that was a good idea. And I'm in a better mental mode right now, so I think I'm ready to try teaming up with more people."

I nod, slowly walking up the ramp so that I'll be at head height while she lounges. "Yes, it is, and that's what I assumed-. What sort of..? Team composition were you thinking about?"
So, opening up to being around other 'bots now. How far she's come...

"Well, usually the thing to do is pick a thing the team is for, and then divide up the roles you need for that. Did you want to actually fight in Unicron ourselves, or just run the business?"

"Do I..? Personally want to fight things a thousands times my size and with no capacity for reason?"
And that's lowballing it, given that some Unicorn incarnations are as large as Cybertron. Imagine a robot fifteen thousand kilometres tall!

She shifts position, changing from sitting back to lying forward with her arms resting on the side of the Jacuzzi closest to me. If she were human, that would present her cleavage to its best advantage. As it is, it just lets me look into her cockpit at an odd angle.

But it brings her face closer, and that's pleasant enough.
And given the nature of robot forms, that just means you're seeing a layer of armour over her torso's internal systems.

"You don't need to. You could stay in my cockpit and have oversight of the mission."

"I don't mind having oversight in social situations, but I know I'm not going to measure up to million-year-old warriors in a combat situation. Even if Shockwave was able to build a transformer-scale body I could link-."
It would also limit her to alt-mode only, unless she's learned how to triple-change into a Gerwalk form.

"Okay, I got some coffee in me. Why do you need a hospital patient?"

"-with, I wouldn't be able to keep up." I move the receiver back to my mouth. "Agent Fowler. Shockwave is having trouble adapting to having emotions again and thinks that plugging into a human will help him cope."
...Somehow, I don't think Fowler has enough coffee for that to make sense yet.

"Shockwave, the Decepticon mad scientist. Did I hear that right?"

"There's been an armistice, and he was a mad scientist because the Autobot Trepan fiddled around with his brain on the orders of Sentinel Prime. And even if he'd always been a mad scientists, I'm giving you a change to pair him with someone he'll have to listen to, as well as giving them the cyber chirurgery that will save their life."
Which does sweeten the idea just a little bit. But he's still gonna take some serious convincing.

"Wait, is this-? Interspecies dating?"

"Do you need a second coffee? I-." Slipstream has the holoscreen active again and has painted a female outline in grey and purple. Then she pulls up an image of herself and alters the proportions of the human outline to match. "Yes, like that." She nods.
Be sure to add some detail lines that resemble seam-line tattoos. :p For that little bit extra 'robot girl' aesthetics. And a faction badge somewhere like the junction of her collarbones. That glows.

"Like what?"

"Sorry, something Slipstream was doing. No, it's not dating. It's last-resort cybernetic slash psychiatric medicine. After this long without it, Shockwave can barely comprehend emotion, let along start a romantic relationship. And that's ignoring the fact that transformers don't reproduce like that, so don't have those impulses."
Unless they're very unusual sparks.

"It sounded to me like Slipstream does."

"Slipstream just told me that she wants to be part of a team of between three and eight individuals. Trust me, it's not the same."
Well, Paul counts for one, at least. So they only need to find someone acceptable to both of you...

"Thaaaat.. sounds like something I should warn June about."

"It sounds like something you should warn Jack about, but can you get someone?"
If Cliffjumper gets revived, you know they're going to end up in a love triangle. As for June, I like to imagine she's still pining for Optimus. x3 Would be interesting if she met Elita-One...

"I can't promise anything, but I'll call around. If only to save their life."

"Thank you, Agent Fowler. I look forwards to hearing from you."
Well, it's all in his hands now.

Let's hope whoever they find to serve as Shockwave's partner appreciates the sheer breadth of scientific knowledge they'll be getting to experience. Though... Talk about having to divide your attention. A perfectly serious chat with Agent Fowler about smoothing Cybertronian relations, mixed with the gorgeous fembot partner picking human body shapes like she's shopping online.
 
With Prowl getting name dropped as Shockwave's minder, and this whole connection with humans thing coming up, I'm reminded of the G1 stuff with Chip Chase.

In the old G1 cartoon there was an episode where Prowl was damaged in a brawl with the Starscream and company, having his 'battle computer' go down (what ever that means in the grand scheme of Transformers anatomy is left to nerds bigger then I). Anyway, Prowl pops some Antenna out and hooks into the fantastic world of the Internet...well the Proto-internet of the 80's cartoon world, and hooks up with a friend of Spike, Chip. He 'takes over' for Prowl's motor functions and beats the snot out of the evil jets, and they have a nice little heart to heart.

Chip comes up a few more times in the cartoon as another human buddy, usually used as part of the moral of the story moments. He gets some references in other G1 media along the way here and there. And that was about it.

Buuuuut fans being fans, and when they start running the show you get stuff like 'Prowl-2'. Long story short there was a new toy line with 'modern' vehicle modes base off licensed cars and trucks and such, with a story line mostly told in the boxes tech specs about how this was part of G1 (or a version of G1) where they were making updated bodies for everyone, but Prowl's Spark got lost in the process, and Chip, being part of the team developing the tech thought back to their first encounter, and decided to fill in again, putting his mind and soul into the waiting body, along with a backup of Prowl's memories.

No headmaster, targetmaster or powermaster stuff, just "Here's My Soul" and they put the meat suit on ice. I guess it's a bit like the Brain Upload thing they did for 'Autobot X' when they made Spike Robo-Frankenstein.

You know G1 gets more horrifying every time I go look back at it.
 
That should say 'scientist'.
"pictures"
"chance"
"let alone"
Thank you, corrected.
No, I think that's correct.
So Cybertronians would be fine with polygamous relationships?
Difficult to say. Conjunx endura is a one to one thing, but that's for a species that doesn't have a concept of sex within their own culture. It would be like your significant other complaining that you blinked at a cat for too long, or spent an inappropriate amount of time putting up a scratching post for a herd of cows.
Impressively sensitive phone mic on Fowler's end. (To be fair, I barely use mobile phones...) And I love the description of the typical 'attempting telepathy' face. :p
Fowler is slumped next to the microwave wondering how this became his life. The beeper is quite close to the handset.
In other words, a Transformer gijinka?
Basically, yes. I did not know that those had a specific name.
88dc9ad3d16bbfc433d6556e09b74f2d79a2ec82afb1d8971696c03f8a8312ad_1.webp

Except in very interesting fan stories. or porn comics. (Fred Perry. Autobutts. Look it up. x3 )
Yes. Because I have never tainted my innocent eyes with such things.
Actual female gender identity optional. Because there are plenty of twinky 'bots.
Transformers wouldn't make a distinction. You can actually use the word 'gender' because for them it is pure aesthetics.
Be sure to add some detail lines that resemble seam-line tattoos. :p For that little bit extra 'robot girl' aesthetics. And a faction badge somewhere like the junction of her collarbones. That glows.
"Most human females seem to have these at the base of their spinal linkage. Is that correct?"
If Cliffjumper gets revived, you know they're going to end up in a love triangle. As for June, I like to imagine she's still pining for Optimus. x3 Would be interesting if she met Elita-One...
If you remember Arcee's segment, she never went that far with anyone during the war, believing that the chance of either party dying was too high for it to be worth it.
 
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There isn't enough coffee in the world to help Fowler cope with this.
Anyway, I love the explorations of how cybertronian relationships work. Most others try and "humanize" them too much.

I might have mentioned this before, but in one transformers fanfic I read, they justified having the kids around as a gambit by the government to get the autobots personally invested in humanity by playing on the mentoring instincts of cybertronians to teach the younger bots. Cybertronians are basically "born" as teenagers so teaching and mentoring is the closest thing they have to parenthood. With the Well of Allsparks inactive during the series, none of them would have had anyone to mentor in a long time.
A bit of a dirty trick, but it was done to make sure the Autobots wouldn't be inclined to just bail if things on Earth became untenable.
 

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