Resident Consulting Prankster

Designation Sideswipe. I'm the Ark's resident prankster, and this is my base of operations, so ta speak. Don't be fooled though, I know how to be serious. I'm a warrior first and foremost, so don't push your luck. (I am a little nicer than my twin though.) Sideswipe by Keyera Ronning on Grooveshark

[tfphotrod-deactivated20151022]

♣

Pirate AU

As a member of the Prime’s Navy Hot Rod was supposed to protect the ships that he sailed on. Unfortunately, the merchant they had been ordered to escort had cut costs and their numbers had been cut to a dozen mechs. Of them, Hot Rod was one of the few still alive.

And it was all this mech’s fault.  He was one half of an infamous duo, known for striking the richest merchant ships they could find. This ship did not fit that pattern. And there was only one of them. That meant he’d attacked just for the Pit of it.

Hot Rod glared and growled. There wasn’t much he could do bound and unable to move before the pirate captain. And even free without his sword in hand he was not a credible threat. “You’ll pay for this! The Prime will have you hanged, Pirate!”

[tfphotrod-deactivated20151022]

Springer just shrugged, an easy smile on his face. “The commander bought us a few more orns of life. Even if we die, it’s more than we had.” 

"Wouldn’t killing you kill him as well? I’d heard you were twins after all." He sounded only vaguely interested, after all, if he died first it wouldn’t matter that both of the captains had gone to the Pit as well.

"My thanks Captain. We’ll be sure to keep ours hands to ourselves from now on." If his crew did the same was the unspoken threat as Springer stepped into the cell. They may die in a few days, but they would not go down without a fight.

[rulebending-frontliner-blog]

Sideswipe hummed and closed the door behind Springer. "My crew have learned their lesson," he said simply, turning away. He got to the stairs before he turned back, optics dim. "Sunstreaker isn't the same as you or I or anyone else. In his processor, he would rather be dead than allow anyone else to touch anything that he views as belonging to him. Period." 

With that, he ascended the stairs, locking the doors behind him.

[rulebending-frontliner-blog]

sunstreakers-oblation started following you

Sideswipe only glanced up at first. The familiar paintjob was all he needed to see, at first. "Hey, 'Streaker, hang on a sec and I'll--"

He paused, poked at the bond. This wasn't Streaker.  He looked up and frowned, optics tracing the frame, picking out the differences. He hummed softly and straightened up.

"Uh, hi, random Sunstreaker that isn't mine. Can I help you?"

[rulebending-frontliner-blog]

The Sideswipe mun is off school for six weeks. That means I'll probably be here more often.

[rulebending-frontliner-blog]

Hurricane

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Not until alerts from pain were screaming at him as his horn was grabbed, twisted, abused, and he choked out a broken noise that wasn't quite a sob. He wasn't allowed to make noise yet, but he hadn't been able to help himself, and he trembled in Sunstreaker's grip, optics flickering back to life to stare up at his twin, fearful, pleading. 

His horns were precious to him, filled with far too many sensors and serving far too useful. It was only his station as a frontliner - unimportant in the optics of the enemy - that they hadn't already been stolen from him, destroyed in battle. He needed them, needed them almost as desperately as Seekers needed their wings.

Apology, desperate and begging filtered across the bond. He was sorry, so so sorry. He didn't mean it, he knew, he knew he was Sunstreaker's, regardless of his own desire. He didn't dare reach up to push Sunstreaker away, knew it would only anger his twin further. So he begged, groveled, with body language and bond. 

Please don't take his horns.

He struggled to follow Sunstreaker's lead as he was yanked up, dragged, pushed and pulled and manipulated. He followed desperately, anxious to protect himself.

He fell forward when Sunstreaker pulled him to his spike, and looked up, engine whining softly. His horn was throbbing with pain, but at least Sunstreaker had let it go. Obedient, wanting to earn forgiveness for his slip up, Sideswipe opened his mouth and relaxed his intake, despite its soreness.

He used his servos to support his own weight, putting a lot on them to keep them away from Sunstreaker's spike. Now was not a time to be breaking rules or disobeying commands. 

He took Sunstreaker's spike into his mouth, sliding his lip plating all the way down to the spike's base immediately, swallowing and flexing his intake around the girth of his twin, knowing that Sunstreaker loved that. He let himself hum, sending vibrations through his mouth. He was desperate to please now, and if he had to he would let Sunstreaker destroy his intake. It could be repaired (though knowing Ratchet he might just let Sideswipe go around with the damage for a while).

[rulebending-frontliner-blog]

Hurricane

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He focused instead on the now, on the pistoning of Sunstreaker's spike, hard and painful in his valve, growing ever more sore by the minute. He gagged again on the digits in his mouth, his own servos flying up in an aborted protest against the scissoring. Intakes weren't made to be abused like that, and spikes Sideswipe could take but this was too much.

He flexed and swallowed around Sunstreaker's digits, hoping to appease him, earn a relief. When Sunstreaker put his helm against his shoulder, Sideswipe couldn't resist the need to touch, and gently pet his brother's helm, an almost concerning juxtaposition of the brutal way he was being used. If it was anyone but these two, it would have been completely out of place. But Sideswipe's need to pet and stroke his brother was just as strong as the other's need to brutalize him. If Sunstreaker didn't like it, he would stop him.

Sideswipe's frame crackled with charge when Sunstreaker spilled into him, hot and charged and-- he heard Sunstreaker's permission, his demand, and of he hadn't muted his vocalizer he would have screamed as he finally, finally let go. His hips bucked hard and his optics shorted out. He threw his helm back and his legs squeezed tight around Sunstreaker's middle. He couldn't count the length of his overload. It left him strutless, incoherent... The last remnants of charge crackled over his frame and dispersed, and he stared blindly up at Sunstreaker, waiting for systems to reset.

His mind latched onto Sunstreaker's thoughts, swam through them and found them vast, endless. The only coherent thing around, and he was drowning in them, though he didn't mind. He was Sunstreaker's. Brother, other half. Needed, desired. These things were spark deep. But the things in Sunstreaker's mind...

He could say no. He could refuse, demand equality. He was capable of taking equality, physically speaking. But he didn't want it. He didn't have Sunstreaker's vanity, sureness, drive. Sideswipe liked his place in their world of two. There was security in such complete sacrifice, in being owned so thoroughly. He was proud to belong to Sunstreaker. This toxic, deadly dance of theirs was not healthy, was not romantic. Sunstreaker didn't love Sideswipe and never could. But he wanted it this way. This was what made him feel truly alive, this was what he fought for. This clarity.

Yours. Always, forever. Your brother, yes. You can't escape that. But by choice, your servant, your doll, your toy, your slave. Use me up, Sunstreaker. I will serve you until my death.

[rulebending-frontliner-blog]

Hurricane

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His optics brightened in distress at Sunstreaker's threat, a threat he knew was one hundred percent serious. Sideswipe's overloads were a gift Sunstreaker gave him when it suited him, but they weren't vital to the gold warrior's own overload. He'd probably get off even harder if he knew that Sideswipe couldn't. He overrode the codes and commands demanding his overload, forcing it back again and again, refusing to disobey, even as he felt charge crackling over his plates, seeking release.

He clawed at the floor, digging furrows into the metal there that someone would probably eventually scold him over. He didn't care.

Sunstreaker's kiss, brutal, consuming, was actually a welcome relief. It gave Sideswipe something else to focus on, gave him a chance to redirect the building charge into lesser processes to further put off his overload. He could only pray that Sunstreaker gave him the chance to later.

Muted grunts of pain made themselves known as huffs of hot air rushing from Sideswipe's mouth to his twin's, and then thew pain was gone, and golden digits were being presented like an energon treat. Dazed blue optics met gold for a moment, as Sideswipe processed the order. He shuttered them once, then opened his mouth and curled his glossa around the digits, pulling them into his mouth to suck and lick clean. He'd made a mess of Sunstreaker's beautiful plates, and knew that he'd made an even worse mess on the floor. Distantly, he wondered if Sunstreaker would make him lick that clean too.

It was a thought that shattered as pain shot up his frame from his valve, and he choked on Sunstreaker's digits as the spike he so loved pounded into his valve. Vicious, ruthless, the sensitive nodes within firing off rapid and alternating signals. Pleasure pain pleasure pain scrambled his processor and he arched, making it that much easier for Sunstreaker to drag him into another position.

Field and spark both flared with panic and distress as those digits were shoved hard down his intakes, and he choked and gagged, no longer focused enough to seduce, to please. His frame was being used, ravaged, and all he could do was take it, gasping and choking with every thrust in his mouth and valve.

Yours.

As if there was any doubt.

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Hurricane

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He was struggling, pumping his digits in and out and trying so, so damn hard not to overload. Don't you dare. He wanted to beg, to sob. But he kept his silence, knowing that the punishment for making a sound Sunstreaker hadn't approved of wouldn't be worth the relief.

His legs twitched, feet flexing and arms trembling. His core temperature was already much too high, and his cooling fans kicked on at the command of self-preservation coding that he couldn't resist. He hoped it didn't count.

And then Sunstreaker was between his legs, but not touching, and he bit his glossa to stop himself from whining desperately. Sunstreaker's demands, his sneering, didn't help, as the only mech that mattered spoke, and his voice cut through the growing haze of arousal like fire. He pushed his digits deeper, not caring that they were stinging, scraping the lining of his valve and shoving too hard against over sensitive nodes. He knew that Sunstreaker would appreciate his efforts all the more for the pain he was causing himself, and still it wasn't enough for him.

When Sunstreaker finally touch, only his face, Sideswipe leaned into it, too far gone to care when he was slapped. It was attention. It was touch. And Sideswipe was desperate for it, no matter if it brought him pain or pleasure. He bucked against his digits and turned his face into Sunstreaker's servo, face burning in need and shame. What was he, now? Just a pleasure drone?

But these nights always made him feel more alive, and he was sure Sunstreaker craved them too, needed them too. He had to tell himself that. Prayed it was true.

Sunstreaker nudged his servo out of the way and Sideswipe leaned against his berth more heavily, lifting and tilting his hips up for his brother, gasping as gold digits sank into his valve and took. It was nothing compared to a good spiking, but Sideswipe was Sunstreaker's interface doll today, and he would take what he got and enjpy every moment.

He couldn't make a sound, but he sent pulses of need across the bond, begging and trying hard to please Sunstreaker, to earn more.

[theredhellion]

"Hey, look at that handsome mech right over there. Oh look, its my alternate!" That wasn't vain at all, Sideswipe. Not at all. He grinned. "Hey there other me, how's it going?"

"Huh?" Sideswipe glanced up from the cube he had been nursing, blinking before guffawing. Oh he knew this one. "Goin’ good, mech. Come sit." He gestured to the seat opposite to his in the booth he was occupying. Might as well catch up with a familiar face, yeah? "Yaself?"

[theredhellion]

Sideswipe didn’t try to rush his alternate, watching and waiting as he slowly sipped from his cube. He hadn’t thought it was an easy questions, he didn’t mind giving the other all the time he needed to form the answer. Maybe, partially, decide on the answer. Who knew what went on in his helm exactly. Sideswipe didn’t know, that much was for sure. He could even really guess.

When he got an answer… It was his worst case scenario.

To be left. Condemned to a life without a twin.

That was just wrong. Even deactivation would’ve been preferable to that in his mind.

He could never, ever want a life without his brother. That would be a nightmare come true, torture in every pulse of his spark.

But, he knew, and he guessed his alternate felt somewhat the same… He could never kill himself. That would be the only way to find relief, but he could never do that if he thought Sunstreaker was happier without him. It would kill Sunstreaker too.

He couldn’t do that.

Of course, what he needed to keep in mind, it could never happen to him. Sunstreaker would leave him just as easy as he’d leave Sunstreaker. It wasn’t going to happen, simple as that.

But it seemed it very well could happen to his alternate, and Sideswipe was suddenly very afraid for him. He brushed that away though, deciding he shouldn’t spend time being worried over something he couldn’t affect. So he shook his helm and rolled his shoulders to ease the tension that had built there without his noticing.

Then shook his helm again. “He would… Would he really do that?” Just how sparkless could a mech be? And… Killing mechs just because they weren’t useful to him anymore? So okay, his own twin’s reasons weren’t always the greatest either, but… Still. It seemed cold in a whole new level. And Sideswipe didn’t completely manage to cover his shock and unease. He had seen a lot of things in his life, sure, most of them less than pleasant, but to think that one of Sunstreaker’s alternates could be like that?

It was a tough one.

And it didn’t even end there. Mech didn’t feel like… Well, a normal mech? Sideswipe had another moment of stunned silence. Though this one… Was maybe a little easier, ignoring the comment about logical thinking and exactly how the whole thing manifested in the other Sunstreaker. But his own twin had his fair share of issues in the area. He could partially understand that part. Though, “Don’t feel like most others? How’s he… Different? He always been like that?”

[rulebending-frontliner-blog]

He felt the way that his response affected his alternate - not clearly, or very blatantly, but he felt an impression of horror, and then concern, and he nodded, knowing that Sideswipe understood his own fear. He hummed, sipping his energon and settling his plating, not letting his fear at the possibility show. He didn't want to influence his alternate at all, didn't want or need his sympathy. He wanted to make sure, in the end, that no one would confront Sunstreaker about anything that was between them alone.

He watched Sideswipe sort through the information and his reactions, smiling to himself and keeping quiet as he seemed to become concerned for a moment, then shook it away. He had figured it would happen, with this alternate. He was glad too. He didn't want there to be any problems between the two sets of twins - or at least not anymore than usual - if there didn't have to be. He wanted a chance at making friends with Sides and Sunny, Cons or no Cons.

He nodded at the newest questiom, humming softly. "Yeah he's always been like that, since I can remember. He used to hide it more, but eventually he stopped trying because it wasn't worth the effort. But he's always needed me to explain. Why does that mech act dumb around that other one? Because he likes him." He shrugged. "Eventually the questions got harder. Why do they get angry when I say that? Why do they cry like that? Why do they care?" He shook his helm. "Sometimes I don't have an explanation."

He wished that he could explain things better, that Sunstreaker was more capable of understanding, even empathizing. But he had long accepted the way that things were, and he knew that he did the best he could with what he had.

" He learns quick. He knows the how's and the why's. But he doesn't understand."

[rulebending-frontliner-blog]

Sire, when is carrier gonna be done with his 'Prime stuff'? He promised to show me his flamethrowers.

"Technically he never finishes. But I think he'll be done in a little while." And then he hummed. "But no flamethrowers for you."

[rulebending-frontliner-blog]

Siiire, Carrier isn't paying attention to me. He said he was busy with his paint. *The little golden sparkling pouted up at Sideswipe*

Sideswipe laughed and scooped up his sparkling. "He always is little one." He tickled his belly, smiling. "I'll play with you."

[taffybuns]

these puppies believe in you, and you should too

[theredhellion]

"Hey, look at that handsome mech right over there. Oh look, its my alternate!" That wasn't vain at all, Sideswipe. Not at all. He grinned. "Hey there other me, how's it going?"

"Huh?" Sideswipe glanced up from the cube he had been nursing, blinking before guffawing. Oh he knew this one. "Goin’ good, mech. Come sit." He gestured to the seat opposite to his in the booth he was occupying. Might as well catch up with a familiar face, yeah? "Yaself?"

[theredhellion]

If he was honest with himself, Sideswipe didn’t know what to make of the way his alternate gathered himself together again. So quickly. The visored mech himself… He wasn’t the best judge of how upset his alternate had gotten in the first place, but in his place… He wasn’t sure. He didn’t like showing his real emotions much, but in the right company who could coax them out, he did that anyway.

But as much as he liked his alternate, like he liked most of them, he didn’t trust him. At all. And though Sideswipe was rare on his trust, there needed to be at least a bit of it before he could be tripped into reflecting anything but aggression when too much of his feelings were on the line.

Not that it often came down to that. In regular company like this he was quite masterful at steering clear from subjects he wasn’t comfortable with.

"Abandoned?" Sounded harsh, but Sideswipe wasn’t surprised. He and his brother seemed to be a rare find with their happy, carefree sparklinghood. Short as that had been.

It was interesting and to the young mech, quite fascinating to hear about the other Sunstreaker. He didn’t really know anyone but his own, definitely not to any overtly personal level. Sunstreakers as a general rule, were hard to get to know. And besides, he didn’t need them, he had his own. The rest didn’t hold all that much importance compared to that.

What he heard of this Sunstreaker now mostly only strengthened his previous views. Cold. Cruel. Both were words that also went to his twin, but only to an extent. The other Sunstreaker? He didn’t seem to be made of anything else.

Especially based on the fact he didn’t go easy even on his own brother, by the sound of it. Needed to work to stay on his nice list? “You…” Sideswipe fell quiet again, unsure how he should and could ask what he wanted to know. “…What happens if you… Don’t manage to stay on his nice list?”

He couldn’t even begin to imagine it. His twin would forgive him anything, just like Sideswipe would excuse him every time without a question. And the one time that had almost failed… Well, they didn’t talk about that. Ever.

Not that either of them ever abused that forgiveness. That was another idea they just couldn’t even see as an option. They didn’t take each other for granted, despite the fact they were granted to each other. Always would be, and that was certainty.

The last of what his alternate said had Sideswipe’s mind reeling with confusion. “Why’d you need to explain that to him?” He was a mech himself, wasn’t he? Wouldn’t he know how mecha thought from, you know, personal experience? Empathy?

[rulebending-frontliner-blog]

Streaker's nice list was short. As far as Sides knew, he was the only one on it at the moment, though he could have been wrong. It took a lot of work to stay there, and once your spot on it was lost, it was lost forever. Sides had never seen Sunstreaker take someone back once he decided he was well and truly done with them. But no one Sides had ever known was as dependent on Streaker as he was.

It took him a long time to answer, in part because he wasn't sure if it would be the same for him as for everyone else. It probably would, simply because Streaker would know just how devastated he would be.

"He'd leave," he said, tone clipped. "Whenever someone truly pisses him off enough to lose their place as 'useful', he cuts them out completely and moves on without them. He doesn't need them like they need him." He sipped his energon and looked up, thinking. "Sometimes I think he kills them, if he's angry enough. But if I fell off the list... He wouldn't kill me. That would kill him and he'd only do that if he was ready to die. Me he'd just leave."

He chuckled, thinking about it. No more merges, no more 'facing games. No late nights sneaking into Streaker's berth sand being permitted to stay. He would be alone, forced to live in silence and loss until Streaker decided it was their time to die. It wouldn't be until then that he was free.

Sunstreaker had no mercy for the mech he most expected understanding and obedience from.

He looked at his alternate again, yanked out of his musing. "Huh? Oh. He can't feel it. I have to explain the things they do in a way he can make logical sense out of, or he doesn't get it. He doesn't feel like the rest of us do." He smiled. "Most of the rest of us anyway."

[theredhellion]

"Hey, look at that handsome mech right over there. Oh look, its my alternate!" That wasn't vain at all, Sideswipe. Not at all. He grinned. "Hey there other me, how's it going?"

"Huh?" Sideswipe glanced up from the cube he had been nursing, blinking before guffawing. Oh he knew this one. "Goin’ good, mech. Come sit." He gestured to the seat opposite to his in the booth he was occupying. Might as well catch up with a familiar face, yeah? "Yaself?"

[theredhellion]

It was weird following his alternate’s reactions, and Sideswipe wondered what went on in his helm when he tensed. Sunstreaker would’ve known better, but even the red twin could guess for some sort of emotional conflict or… Something like that. Caused by something he said most likely.

But he could see, now even better, why his twin was so bothered by this Sideswipe and his brother. Because there was something that… Wasn’t right.

Maybe it was the way one twin was basically a servant to the other by what his alternate had told about how dominating and demanding his Sunstreaker was. Or then the clear violence their relationship held. Not that Sideswipe was unfamiliar to that either, but this… This was different. For those two, it was different. It sounded like more of a technique to control and conquer than a simple way to vent frustrations.

It was as if his alternate was trying to make them both believe what he said was true.

"We had a safe sparklinghood," he commented almost absently. "And even nowadays, since we can lock together like we can, it’s safe. Our sparks will be protected between our frames, and we can pull apart safely and quickly enough if need be." He shrugged. "We don’t really merge often anymore though. Lost the habit in the Pits when we couldn’t merge at all."

Sideswipe sent somewhat worried glances to the cube in his alternate’s grip, seeing the cracks forming to its surface. He couldn’t really comprehend the reasons behind the mech’s clear internal upset. He wasn’t sure where it was coming from, as many guesses as he had.

And then his alternate shattered the cube, the shards scattering around. Some came to his direction, but if they hit, he didn’t notice, and so only shook his helm to the other’s worry. “Nah. Only sensitive’d be the optics anyway, but you know… Visor.” He shrugged with a smile, trying to bring the other Sideswipe back to ease of mind. He hadn’t set out to upset him. He was just curious.

He had more questions too.

"Your bro… What’s he like? I mean, the most I’ve seen of him he’s absolutely horrible, a complete afthelm. No offense or anything.

"Is he always like that? Or does he have a softer side too?

"And… If you wanted to do a long merge, assumin’ it was safe, couldn’t you just… Ask him? My Sunny wouldn’t ever say no to something like that."

[rulebending-frontliner-blog]

He finished sweeping up the mess, apologizing and thanking the server when he brought a towel to clean up the energon. It took him a few minutes to collect himself. He shifted and resettled his plates, slid back into his seat, and by the time he was presented with a new energon cube, he was all smiles and easy posture again.

"Glad I didn't get ya. Sometimes I get so use to the reinforced cubes on base that I forget they aren't actually mad that way." He brushed it all off, optics bright. It was a drastic change, but he's shunted all the negative feelings aside to be sorted and deleted later, so he was positive he'd be fine to stick around. It was, he'd long learned, best to handle revelations about his relationship with Sunstreaker in private and with several orns of free time to kill.

"That does explain it though. Streaker and I were abandoned by our creator." He shrugged. "Not even sure who it was, though Streaker might have a designation, for all the good its worth. He likes to remember who crosses him." He hummed, thinking, but staying carefully away from certain threads.

"He's... He's selective. Picky about who gets his company and what they get to see. I've seen everything, of course, but only because he can't hide from me. He's tried." He laughed. "I guess for the most part he's an aft, sure. He doesn't have a softer side or a hard side really, he just is. His default response to people is annoyance or anger, you have to be willing to work to stay on his nice list. Even I'm not guaranteed my spot." A fact that terrified him sometimes, because he couldn't bear the thought of being alone.

He tilted his helm at the last question, a little confused and more than a little indulgent. "He uh... We don't work that way. I mean, yes I can ask? But he'd be fine with refusing, and ask a million questions beside. Including the one I hate most: why?" He shook his helm. "Spent half my life explaining why bots think the way they do to that mech. "

[theredhellion]

"Hey, look at that handsome mech right over there. Oh look, its my alternate!" That wasn't vain at all, Sideswipe. Not at all. He grinned. "Hey there other me, how's it going?"

"Huh?" Sideswipe glanced up from the cube he had been nursing, blinking before guffawing. Oh he knew this one. "Goin’ good, mech. Come sit." He gestured to the seat opposite to his in the booth he was occupying. Might as well catch up with a familiar face, yeah? "Yaself?"

[theredhellion]

Sideswipe couldn’t help but blink at that a little. To go… Entire vorns before merging?

It… Well, they had never needed merging, and it didn’t sound like these two had either. But it was a comfort like no other, a chance to be whole like his alternate had said. He couldn’t imagine not having that when he was younger.

To move to interfacing from that, it… Didn’t sound like a logical step. But maybe it was just him and how he had always viewed merging, or a complete difference in what it was and what it meant. You never knew with the multiverse. Even technically same things could be completely different in practice.

"We merged for the first time joors after we had been called from the Well," Sideswipe told, giving a small smile at the memories. And he still remembered it. His memory wasn’t corrupted, especially since they went back for only a relatively short time. They hadn’t had time to degrade, and he hoped some never would. Others he could do without. "Creator had just brought us home, and… It just came so naturally. He was close, I could feel his spark, my spark, my other half so close, and… It just happened. We didn’t need to think about it, it was completely instinctive.” He shrugged a little helplessly. It sounded so different from how his alternate had done it. “We always recharged merged, too. We were almost in our first adult upgrades before we stopped doing that.” Sideswipe shook his helm, amused by those memories. Maybe it had come from there, why he still couldn’t recharge alone. He didn’t need his brother’s spark anyone, or even necessarily his brother as long as he knew the other was safe.

But recharging alone, that wasn’t an option.

"We can actually lock our chestplates together," Sideswipe added, running his servo along the side of his chassis where he knew the transformation mods were located. "Creator’s doing, made it easier for everyone. We’d always wake up and start fussin’ if he accidentally broke the merge while recharging." He couldn’t help but grin at that, remembering their creator’s exasperation with the whole deal. But the locking chestplates had fixed that, allowing them to move in recharge without risking splitting up again.

"But I’ve never… I never thought about ‘facing with him, even after we learned about it, after we lost our seals, after we both gained more experience. It never crossed our minds to do it with each other."

[rulebending-frontliner-blog]

Listening to Sideswipe, he felt longing building in his spark. To have felt that perfection earlier would have been so amazing. To have it constantly there through recharge? To know without doubt that his brother was right there, safe, alive, and to be whole all through the night? His plating began to rattle and he had to crush the longing down hard, before Streaker felt it through the bond and got curious.

"That's not safe," he said softly. "Not for us. Even if Streaker wanted something like that, between Pit fighting and war, we can't afford to expose ourselves so long." He stared down into his cube, focused hard on it and on not letting his emotions show. It was his biggest weakness, he knew. But he tried.

He took a drink, focused down again. "Maybe interfacing was just our... Well, my, replacement for long merges. For Streaker its. I'm pretty sure its just about power. He was gentle with me once," he laughed. "The whole time I let myself believe he'd found a way to love me. But he just wanted to prove he was better than Bluestreak." He hummed, tension pushing through his frame. "I like it our way," he said firmly, more like he was trying to convince himself than his alternate. He couldn't show weakness in front of a Deception, alternate or not. "I like it Streaker's way."

He wanted his alternates way though. It felt like treason in his mind. It felt like the first time he and Bluestreak interfaced and he found out that their way was only normal for them. That others made love, others could love, and interface didn't have to be just a tool or a power struggle.

He didn't notice how hard he was gripping his cunbe until it shattered, and he swore. "Frag it all! Sorry Sides, did I hit you?" He set to sweeping up the pieces, grateful for something new to focus on.

He loved his twin. Their way worked for them. He needed to stop worrying about what others did.

[theredhellion]

"Hey, look at that handsome mech right over there. Oh look, its my alternate!" That wasn't vain at all, Sideswipe. Not at all. He grinned. "Hey there other me, how's it going?"

"Huh?" Sideswipe glanced up from the cube he had been nursing, blinking before guffawing. Oh he knew this one. "Goin’ good, mech. Come sit." He gestured to the seat opposite to his in the booth he was occupying. Might as well catch up with a familiar face, yeah? "Yaself?"

[theredhellion]

Sideswipe didn’t have that sort of obedience in him. Yes, he could follow orders. He was of low rank, he had a lot of superiors he was supposed to listen to. He had to do at least some of the stuff he was told to.

As a general rule though, he only ever did anything when it suited him. And it didn’t matter who was telling him to do it, if it didn’t fit his own plans, he wasn’t going to do it. That fully went to anything Sunstreaker said, too.

The ‘Con tilted his helm as he listened to his alternate explain the relationship he had with his twin. It wasn’t much like what he had with his brother, but… He liked trying to understand, trying to emphasize. And though Sideswipe generally was bad at that, Sunstreaker being the empathetic twin, the fact it was a twin relationship made it easier. He could understand at least parts of it, see the reasoning behind it even if it wasn’t exactly how things worked for him.

"I wasn’t really… Made for Sunny, I don’t think. He’s me," Sideswipe took his turn trying to explain where they differed with the way their twin bonds operated. "He’s everything I’m missing, and we complement each other. But… Neither of us existed before the other so I coulda not been made for him, he coulda not been made for me. There was nothing to make either of us for." He frowned and spun his cube, watching the liquid in it swirl. "We fight too. Sometimes hard enough that we need to visit med bay. But it’s just how we work, and even when he snaps, it won’t kill me. ‘Cause that’d kill it.

"You and your bro ‘face, right? How’d… Like, how did you end up doing it, or why did you start doing it?"

[rulebending-frontliner-blog]

He hummed, nodding as he listened. The made for each other aspect of him and his own twin was never easy to explain, and he could see Sideswipe's point. Neither existed before the other, so how could they be made for line another? He hasn't yet mastered how to explain, and maybe never would, but he liked that this alternate of his tried to understand anyway. It was more than most Autobots did, and Sides had to steer away from that line of thought before he started remembering the brig, alone, separated--

He shook his helm firmly to shake away the memories and the creeping chill, and focused on the explanation of the alternate twins' relationship. He understood the concept of them completing one another, having what the other was missing. He and Streaker had that. And the surety that neither would kill the other, that he understood too. Even under Streaker's rage, being torn apart down to his protoform, Sideswipe's fears had never included deactivation.

Only loss.

The new question caught him off guard. He'd forgotten that sometimes twins didn't interface. He hummed softly, thinking back and pulling up the mempruy files with a smile.

"It started with merges," he said softly. "When we were still young, maybe only in our third or fourth born, we used to sneak away to be by ourselves. One day, Streaker worked out how to make my chassis open, and we got his open too, and we just touched for a while." He was grinning. "His spark is beautiful, you know? And then we merged one day after touching for hours, and then we couldn't give that up. A chance to be whole, to be perfect?" He shrugged. "Interface followed not long after that. He learned first, taught me. We expanded, and when we learned new things from new lovers, we brought new techniques home to perfect on one another."

[theredhellion]

"Hey, look at that handsome mech right over there. Oh look, its my alternate!" That wasn't vain at all, Sideswipe. Not at all. He grinned. "Hey there other me, how's it going?"

"Huh?" Sideswipe glanced up from the cube he had been nursing, blinking before guffawing. Oh he knew this one. "Goin’ good, mech. Come sit." He gestured to the seat opposite to his in the booth he was occupying. Might as well catch up with a familiar face, yeah? "Yaself?"

[theredhellion]

He couldn’t help but snicker lightly at that, partially hiding his smile behind his cube. “Well okay, gotta admit to that, ‘s long as he ain’t bossin’ me." Sunstreaker wasn’t particularly interested in commanding, but he could take charge when he needed to, and yes, he was pretty hot while issuing commands. Not that he ever wasn’t hot. But still, Sideswipe would’ve had a major problem with being on the receiving end of those orders. He just liked to watch others getting them.

"The sorta relationship ya have with your Sunny. I mean, I don’t know much about it but ain’t he kinda…" Sideswipe searched for a right word for a moment, pursing his mouth in thought. "Dominatin’?"

[rulebending-frontliner-blog]

He smiled as Sideswipe got what he was saying. It was interesting to him, really, how they could be so alike... Yet so different. He couldn't imagine not wanting Sunstreaker to boss him around - well, no. He could imagine it, particularly when he was annoyed with his brother or thought the was overdoing things. But he still usually did as told.

He hummed at the clarification, sipping his energon to buy time to formulate his answer. It wasn't something that was easy to explain, even at the best of times, and this alternate had such a different relationship with his own Sunstreaker that he wasn't sure he could explain it in a way he'd get. But he could try.

"He's very dominating," he said, nodding. "It's who he is. But I was made for him, just like he was made for me, so I don't mind submitting to him. I love it, if I'm being honest. And yeah, we play rough a lot, and there are days where I have to visit med bay or risk deactivating. But if he goes too far I can usually give just as good as I get, and he'd never kill me. He knows how far is too far, and he knows that if I go, he goes." He smiled. "Its a lot of fun."

[theredhellion]

"Hey, look at that handsome mech right over there. Oh look, its my alternate!" That wasn't vain at all, Sideswipe. Not at all. He grinned. "Hey there other me, how's it going?"

"Huh?" Sideswipe glanced up from the cube he had been nursing, blinking before guffawing. Oh he knew this one. "Goin’ good, mech. Come sit." He gestured to the seat opposite to his in the booth he was occupying. Might as well catch up with a familiar face, yeah? "Yaself?"

[theredhellion]

"More of a Sunbeam sorta event alright." Sideswipe snorted and shook his helm, taking a sip from the cube. "I dunno how you put up with him. Cranky and violent yeah, but bossy?" Again he gave his helm a shake, glancing at his alternate through his visor. "Just sounds wrong to me ‘cause that ain’t how we roll, you know?

"How does it work?"

[rulebending-frontliner-blog]

Sides hummed and graciously accepted his own cube as it arrived, winking playfully at the server before refocusing on his alternate. "Bossy is the best part though, mech. He's absolutely beautiful when he's taking charge." He hummed, sipping his energon and dimming his optics, pleased with the taste and quality.

"How does what work?"