thank you so much for the support over the last three days! i got over 10k hits on the website!!!
i wish i could upload faster/more often but i have been busy & tired. i did make a number of small updates today though! including links to VPN leak checks, where to find roms and emulators, more torrenting sites, and a small dictionary section that has VERY SIMPLE definitions of some words that i used.
CHAPTER 1: In Which there is an Announcement and an Offer Between Friends Ex-Enemies
FIC TAGS: Eventual Whirl/Cyclonus/Tailgate, Cyclonus/Tailgate, polyamory, slowburn romance, mutual pining, slice of life, fluff, comedy, eventual smut(planned for later chapters), sappy mushy lovey stuff, polycue, May eventually have illustrations
The Lost Light has a brand new universe to explore! But everyone's still tired from the old one! In the interim between wacky hijinks, a solution is offered to those bored to death by peacetime- Why form a club about it or renovate your hab suite of course!
Whirl doesn't know how he feels about all the pep. And even worse, he doesn't know how to feel about Cyclonus and Tailgate wanting him to join in on their clean slate.
Chapter 2 Here!
_________________________
Author's Notes: I think about Whirl Cyclonus and Tailgate EVERY DAY. They deserve the world, and so I'm going to give it to them.
âSo! As we enter our new universe, and plunge into a world of endless possibility, thereâs some important things weâd like to take the time to discuss!â
With a world of infinite possibility and endless promise stretching out before them, one would think- rather one would hope, pray even- that it would be impossible to be bored.Â
But apparently, once the lost light ripped a hole from one universe to the next, anything was possible. And Whirl was truly, deeply, madly bored. It had only been a deca-cycle and a half since the big jump, and for him, the promise and possibility was waning. It seemed like the crew was set on âtaking a beatâ(ugh) before jumping into anything too risky. Something about healing and resting up after such a climactic series of battles (snore) before running headfirst into more danger. In all honesty, during Rodimusâs disjointed address informing the crew of that matter, Whirl had found it more interesting to do literally anything else.Â
Like people watching. If there was anything good about the break, it at least gave him the time to take stock of the new energy in the place. There was a denta rotting saccharine cloud of hope and joy in the air. For the first few cycles Whirl had taken part in it as well, the partying, the smiling, the laughing, the dancing, et cetera. But now it was getting a bit old. A bit old was an understatement even.Â
It seemed like every other bot was hand in hand with someone, or standing a bit too close. Hell even the captainâs balcony reeked of love and joy. Whirl wasnât a stick in the mud, but it felt like the ~positive and loving vibes~ were pinging off his plating like a constant series of annoying flicks and pokes.Â
He shuffled a ways back deeper into the crowd, offlining his optic for a brief moment to let the mumbles of the crew wash over him. When he onlined it again, it was in response to a familiar voice-
âWhirl! Hey- Whirl!â Tailgate chirped, waving at the taller bot from his spot sitting next to Cyclonus. Theyâd been attached at the hip recently, disgustingly cute, a set of words Whirl never thought heâd use in reference to Cyclonus.Â
Whirl raised his servo, letting him know he was heard as he shuffled on over towards the loverbots. âWhatâs up?â He asked, cocking his helm and leaning against the wall next to them.Â
âIsnât that super exciting- what Rodimus said?â Tailgate whispered, craning up to him. Whirl leaned down a bit to close the distance. Frag it was kinda hard to have a politely hushed conversation with this height difference.
âHuh? The break? That's the opposite of exciting- sitting on our skidplates for ages? Gimme a break.â Whirl snorted, crossing his arms.Â
Tailgate gave him a confused look. âWhat- No! He said we could do renovations since there are some empty hab suites- were you paying attention?â
Whirl squinted at him.Â
Tailgate continued to look confused.
Cyclonus cycled his vocalizer. âI donât think anyone but you expects Whirl to listen to a speech longer than a klik.â He said quietly, placing a gentle servo on Tailgateâs shoulder pad.
âOH- yeah-â Tailgate nodded quickly, a bit embarrassed. âRight- So you know how thereâs less people onboard now than there were at the start-â
âThatâs an understatement.â Whirl muttered.
â-Thereâs like a ton of uninhabited hab suites now, so he said after the whole announcement meeting we could go claim some to make a whole hab UNIT out of if there are any empty ones around us!â He was giving Whirl a look like it was the most exciting thing in the whole universe. Tailgate was. Tailgate who had stuck his finger in the forehead of a tyrannical dictator. Whirl glanced at Cyclonus. Cyclonus gave whirl a meaningful look. The kind that said something like âHumour him?â
Whirl nodded slowly. â... And thats⌠Exciting.â He said.
âSUPER exciting. Itâll be nice to stretch our legs, maybe do some decorating- OH! Hey, arenât you lonely?â Tailgate cut himself off.Â
Whirl, taken aback by such an abrupt observation, glanced around. Cyclonus, too, was blinking a bit incredulously at his conjunx. âE-Excuse me??â Whirl asked.
âNO- I mean- yâknow- because you donât have a suitemate-âÂ
âOH! I mean- I wouldnât put it that way, flying solo suits me just fine.â Whirl shrugged.
Tailgate cycled his optics.Â
âIâm fine with being on my own, Tailgate, I like having the space.â He said, turning his helm away to scan the crowd.Â
Out of the corner of his optic, Whirl could see Tailgate turning his gaze to Cyclonus, grabbing his hand. Cyclonus shook his head sagely. He could hear the near silent whirr of them conversing in their heads, trading thoughts so he wouldnât eavesdrop.Â
Whirl turned his attention back to the speech.Â
â-Next on the docket, we turn to Ultra Magnus with some important morale building updates!â Rodimus announced, sweeping a servo out to the larger mech. Whirl sunk back against the wall. Primus, just when I start pretending to care again.
Polite applause filled the room as Magnus took his place at the front of the group. He cycled his vocalizer, lifting up a datapad and beginning to read. âHello everyone. As you all are well aware, during the past deca-cycle we conducted a survey regarding your thoughts on the brief âadventuring hiatusâ as our co-captain has decided to call it.â He began, briefly glancing at Rodimus, who offered a prideful nod at his expert naming strategy. âThe results have been published, and your resounding, collective answer was, unsurprisingly, a pervasive feeling of boredom.âÂ
There was a rumble of agreement that rippled through the crowd.Â
Ultra Magnus nodded, not looking up from his datapad. âAs a means of quelling discontentment, we have come to a decision. In the halls and communal spaces within the ship you will now find holoboards which are available for advertisement as part of our newâŚâ He paused for effect. âCommunal Bonding and Engagement Initiative.â He paused again, looking out over the confused crowd for an excited reaction. Rodimus threw his servos in the air, giving a big enthusiastic double thumbs up to gesture for more of a response. After a few kliks of murmuring, Rodimus stepped forwards.
âWeâre now actively encouraging you to form clubs and/or recreational sports teams! With the new unused space from our uh⌠lessened crew, we encourage you to begin construction on whatever spaces you might need-â Rodimus explained over a growing, more enthusiastic din.Â
Whirl glanced around, noting the reaction. Bots glanced around at one another, growing smiles on their faceplates and loudening chatter filling the room as they traded excitement about the idea.
âWITH- Proper clearance and permits-!â Ultra Magnus thundered over the growing noise. Soon enough the room was filled with excitement and chatter.Â
Whirl rolled his optic. If this was their idea of fun he might just start making problems on purpose. He turned his gaze to the two bots beside him. He had no doubt that Tailgate would be pinging off the walls at this concept- and he was correct, what with the way he was vibrating violently and gripping Cyclonusâs hand so hard it might as well have crumpled like foil. What he wasnât expecting was the quiet, approving nod that Cyclonus was giving the idea. He wasnât even doing it for Tailgateâs benefit! Tailgate wasnât even looking at him for approval!
Magnus had resumed chattering, something about proper procedure for requesting space, and holding a workshop on how to properly take down walls for renovation purposes and Whirl was already bored of it. He was⌠preoccupied. It was hard to focus on most things for Whirl. But somehow, there was something about Cyclonus and Tailgateâs stupid relationship that held his attention. Maybe it helped that heâd kind of encouraged the two of them together, maybe it was all the gazing at Cyclonusâs constant pining that got him invested. But it was something he couldnât help but watch.Â
They were chatting with one another again, meaning Tailgate was babbling faster than Blurr and Cyclonus was gazing lovingly into his optics with an expression like normal energon, rather than the spoiled version he usually looked like.Â
Whirl vaguely heard the doors of the hall open, and Rodimus eke out another âTil all are one!â over Ultra Magnusâs continued reading of the CBEI rulebook that he had no doubt Ultra Magnus had relished in writing. The room was already starting to empty. It felt like Whirlâs audials were a million miles away, the whole room a little muffled.Â
Finally, as the room was almost completely empty, Tailgate popped back up onto his pedes, still chatting with Cyclonus.Â
â-ly if weâre going to grab the rooms around us before someone else gets their servos on them.â Tailgateâs voice came back into focus as he helped Cyclonus up off the bench. Cyclonus chuckled, which might have just sounded like an apathetic grunt to anyone else.Â
âAw, slag, everyoneâs already got a head start!!â Tailgate wailed, grabbing his own helm with both servos as his optics flashed with despair. He began to jog out the door, rolling into his alt mode clumsily and speeding off down the hall, swerving between botâs legs and around a corner.Â
Whirl laughed to himself as he watched Tailgateâs tiny frame disappear off into the ship. âHeâs a bit of a servo-full, huh?â He quipped, turning to face Cyclonus.Â
Cyclonus nodded with a quiet hum. âYouâd be too, in his place.â He said.Â
âWhat, like Iâm not a servo-full now?â Whirl grinned- in his own way. âI could be a bigger pain in your plate than he ever could.â He prodded a claw into Cyclonusâs chest.Â
Cyclonus raised a brow ridge, folding his arms and cocking his head. âI donât know, Whirl. Youâve mellowed out from my perspective.â He said in that infuriating tone, humor dry as a desert.Â
âMellow? Iâd better up my game then.â He sneered, leaning his optic right up to Cyclonusâs head to leer at him. As usual he gave little reaction, gazing off down the hallway Tailgate had escaped to.Â
âYou spend too much time in your hab suite.â Cyclonus didnât turn his optics to face him. âEven if you had upped your game Iâd never have noticed.âÂ
Whirl was quiet for a long moment, turning his helm back down the hall. â... I like the privacy, what can I say?âÂ
âTailgate was planning on asking you to join us in our âsoon to be luxury habitation unitâ.â Cyclonus stated bluntly. âHe said you seemed lonely.â
Whirlâs optic twitched.
âAnd sad.â
Whirlâs optic narrowed, flicking down to glance at Cyclonus. He was glancing back at him.
âAnd it was making him feel lonely and sad-â
âI get the picture, Cyclonus.â Whirl snapped.
The two held each otherâs sideways glance for another long beat.Â
âI donât need Tailgateâs pity, Iâm doing just fine. Cool as an ice crystal. Never been better.â Whirl added.
Cyclonus let out a quiet ex-vent, taking a step down the hall. âThink about it. The doorâs open to you. You know it is.â He tossed one last look over his shoulder. âAnd Iâm not only saying that on Tailgateâs behalf. I can feel it too.â He opened his intake to continue, but shut it, turning back down the hallway. âIt doesnât suit you.âÂ
Whirl watched the ex-con walk away. That quiet feeling washed in again- Envy? Annoyance?... Longing?- dulling the constant whirr of the ship. Whirl looked down at his servos, clicking his claws together for a moment before glancing around the room.
Yep. Alone again.Â
He waited until Cyclonus was out of sight before beginning to walk through the ship back towards his hab suite. He noted the new holoboards, currently empty save for the advertisement for Ultra Magnusâs upcoming CBEI workshop. He figured they wouldnât stay empty for long, there were far too many bots chomping at the bit in that room. They all loved that kind of community, leave it to a bunch of veterans to jump at the opportunity to get back on a team. Whirl liked it just fine on his side of the fence, thank you VERY much. Teams had a habit of⌠collapsing on him.Â
He tapped at the buttons of his hab suite, the door sliding open with a quiet whoosh. The lights flickered on over his usual mess. He swiped some junk off his slab and laid down.Â
After a while of relative stillness the lights flicked off, plunging him back into darkness. He tossed, shifting a bit in an attempt to get comfortable.Â
He waited.
And waited.
And waited.
It was always a struggle to recharge. His frame felt restless and wrong. He squished himself into a comfortable enough position and focused on trying to pass out. Counted backwards, counted forwards, replayed the most boring parts of Ultra Magnusâs speeches.
Finally, as he started to power down, he was snapped awake by a tiny bit of text appearing in his comms frequency channel.Â
A message from someone. Someone whoâd signed their words, even knowing that the receiver would know whoever sent it.
TG: Donât be a stranger! -Tailgate
⌠Maybe just visiting some time wouldnât hurt.
So now that we have all the pieces of Project Voltage art, which one is your favorite? They're all really good, but I'm partial to the Flygon one personally!
ÂĄComics/Drawings in chronological order! (most of themâŚthe most important)
Big boi
Big boi 2
Showing him around (Whoâs gonna tell him?)
I donât care, iâm just happy to see you.Â
A cute reunion between two boomers.
Star made a decision.
Theyâre still waiting.
They look just like him.
The day his heart broke.
Something he is not very proud of.
It wasnât my intention to become a liar.
Iâll make you forget about it.
Congrats, you have been adopted by a seeker.
Not ever, not again.
Feerse Sari.
Welcome to the mom club, Swindle.
A thing or two about organics. ( art by @ohnoohnohere-she-comes)
Old memories and reunion 01
Old memories and reunion 02
Old memories and reunion 03
Old memories and reunion 04
Old memories and reunion 05
Old memories and reunion 06
Old memories and reunion 07
Old memories and reunion 08
Old memories and reunion: Bonus chapter