In continuation of my last post, im gonna make it angsty sentoplita and you can't stop meeee
to recap in case u don wanna read last post, tfa bots have soul mates (referred to as spark pieces bc they share a spark) and their soulmark is a phrase their soulmate will tell them when they hate them the most.
these are gonna be mostly disconjointed rambles about each phrase (pls be nice i don have the energy to rewatch animated rn im imrpovinsing the scenes) ((also it's gonna be a looong post, have fun :D))
TW there is a small reference to self harm in Optimus and Blackarachnia's section, just skip the last paragraph
Elita always knew what her name was gonna be. After all, as soon as she came online, two lovely phrases etched themselves into her arm
At first she was curious on what was happening, but once it was explained to her, she didn't want to know. Didn't want to find out what she did, what happened to make her spark pieces curse her name like that.
Optimus, despite his studious nature, was never able to bring himself to question the phrases delicately etched on his wrist.
"I will never forgive you"
"You abandoned her, how could you"
He didn't need it explained to understand that something he did went horribly wrong. He left someone, or maybe he was the one who left, either way he would somebday hurt his spark pieces. But he would be damned if he didn't do everything he could to stop that from happening.
Sentinel wondered if he would get into an accident someday, or someone would cause an 'accident' that led to his demise.
"Fine, walk away, just remember it was also your fault"
"Don't you remember who I am?"
Those phrases, gently etched across his palm, didn't inspire much confidince, he wanted to know what would lead to such resentment between him and his spark pieces. Whatever it may be, he knows it won't break him.
The first phrase came and went.
Elita and Sentinel wanted to take the edge off before a big test the next day, and wanted Optimus, their third spark piece, to relax with them. Maybe they should have listened to him, maybe they should have taken it easy. But with the engex flowing, Elita didn't see anything wrong with refilling Optimus' glass, and forcing him to stay with them. And maybe she shouldn't have turned off Optimus' alarm first thing in the morning.
When they all woke up, suffering the world's worst hung over, they didn't get time to even wake up properly before Optimus had run off, late to his first class, and subsequently his first test of the day.
Elita hadn't known this wasn't just some test, it was a big qualifier for Optimus to graduate straight into being a Prime if he pulled it off. But she got to learn all about it when they returned to their dorm that same night.
"Damn you Elita, if it weren't for you giving me so much engex yesterday, I wouldn't have been so hungover or missed my first test! I told you I didn't want to 'relax' with you two. Now I have to retake all the advanced courses I just failed on top of the normal classes we're already taking,"
Optimus hadn't said anything else for the rest of the night, and had treated her, and Sentinel but mostly her, with the cold shoulder for the rest of the week.
Elita knew she was forgiven when Optimus sat next to her for morning energon. She didn't think it was such a big deal, if it only took her a week of groveling, so she didn't dwell on this moment.
After all, with her spark pieces resonating around her, why would she notice that Optimus, notorious for being Mr.I-can-work-with-this-We-can-fix-it, had cursed her name with such fervor it's etched into her forearm?
The next two phrases had been tossed at each other in a fit of rage, both bots been blinded by the overwhelming emotions, and yet their words had struck true.
Elita had died on that blasted organic planet, and they hadn't even been able to recover her frame to give her a proper funeral. Blame had been tossed one way, then another. After all somebot has to be responsible, and Ultra Magnus was intent on having one of them punished for her death.
Sentinel had pointed fingers at Optimus until the council caved. Optimus, owning up to his role in Elita's death, admitted fault and took the brunt of the punishment. They had been kept apart until the punishments were decided. They were allowed to see each other once Optimus was gonna leave.
Their emotions, bottled up until now, had exploded everywhere. Neither were pulling their punches, wanting to hurt the other just how they themselves were hurting.
"You abandoned her, how could you? You didn't save her, you pushed me away! Elita would be here right now if it wasn't for you, how dare you-"
"How dare I? How dare I! Sentinel, it was your idea to go their in the first place! What happened there was a perfectly preventable accident if you had just listened to me-"
"Just leave, I said what I wanted to say, see you never Optimus,"
"Fine, walk away, just remember it was also you fault,"
They had both flinched upon hearing their phrases thrown at them, cutting deeper than anything else they could have said, but both refused to back down, neither admitting defeat. convinced they were right and the other wrong.
As they walked away from each other, they did their best to ignore how their spark throbbed, resisting the urge to seek comfort in the other after the loss of their third spark piece.
Optimus hadn't expected to ever hear his second phrase, after all Elita had died. He figured she probably said his phrase at some point and he somehow missed it, pretending that a spark phrase can be so easily missed and not something that made his spark feel like it was being ripped out.
So when the unknown decepticon had revealed herself to him, and fought him, the last thing he expected was to hear his phrase fall from her lips before she left.
"I will never forgive you, not for abandoning me, not for making me this. Look at me, I want you to remember what you did, I want this to haunt you, to torment your every waking moment just how it torments me,"
Optimus had just wanted to save Sari, and now he had to deal with the fact that his spark piece wasn't dead, she was alive as some techno organic creature, alive and hates him down to the very spark they share.
If, later that night, Ratchet has to put Optimus in stasis cuffs and spend the night just to stop him from tearing into the tender protoform of his wrist to try and remove his phrases, the team never speaks of it. Or of any nights when they take turns patrolling Optimus' room when he's having a bad day, it's just the team taking care of their leader.
The last two phrases are said with the intention to hurt, to make the other bleed with the power of their words alone.
Sentinel had rejected the idea Elita was alive, he saw her die, he had felt her spark go out. And there was no way she was organic, the very thing she had despised more anything.
So when faced with Blackarachnia, Sentinel had lashed out, refusing to accept the organic decepticon in front of him was his beloved long-lost spark piece.
"Don't you remember who I am? You were there after all, when you made me this- this horrible organic monster,"
"As if. Elita died, by mine or Optimus' hand, but she's long gone. And she would never let herself become organic, she'd sooner die. You are not Elita, you are some organic freak who wears her face,"
Feeling those words find home in their spark, they both detested the way their sparks fought them to try and be one again, because they both knew right then, they would never be whole again. Their open hostility and despise towards each other ran deeper than the connection between their sparks.
As they say, once you hear your spark phrase, you've hit rock bottom with them, so the only place left to go is up.
Optimus never truly hated Blackarachnia, he would get mad at her and her actions yes, but never true hatred. Blackarachnia in turn felt her anger towards Optimus melt into indifference, she stopped wasting her energy on this grudge. She may never really care for him, but she doesn't hate him.
Sentinel knew he couldn't go back to how things were with Optimus, but he also didin't want it to. 'How it was' meant Elita was there, and she's not. But maybe he and Optimus could build something new together, although maybe he should, yknow, tell Optimus he planned on starting again. After all, just because Elita is dead doesn't mean he and Optimus stop being spark pieces.
Blackarachnia and Sentinel had reached rock botftom. Their resentment towards each other however didn't stop. Sentinel will never love or even care for Blackarachnia how he did Elita, and Blackarachnia, although getting over Optimus, will not forgive Sentinel so easily. They abhor each other in such a way it's almost strong enough to take over the need to reunite their spark again. Almost.
