Pairing: Starscream x Human!Autistic!Reader
Continuity: Transformers Prime (AU)
Trigger Warnings: N/A
Age Rating: PG
Request: N/A
Notes:
-We're assuming the reader has a special interest in machines, mecha, or something involving robots.
-This obviously takes place right after Season 2, Episode 5 of TFP
Starscream walked alone through the brush and trees of some Earth forest; he lived any seeker's worst nightmare—being grounded—all alone. He was sure the Autobots were far enough away, and they thankfully hadn't seen him, but it stung his pride to think he couldn't access the sky.
Where had he gone wrong? He thought for sure that an alliance with humans would benefit him; it always works so well for the Autobots. Maybe he just hadn't picked the right breed? They're always so loyal to them; how would he have known MECH wouldn't be? Though, more so than he was upset at MECH, he was angry at himself for not realizing what would happen.
Starscream almost considered abandoning his rogue status; maybe if he grovelled enough, Megatron would pity him? Let him back with the Decepticons? ...No. Starscream wouldn't let himself be abused again, crawl back to Megatron, not unless it was his last resort.
As Starscream walked, heading toward the Harbinger—which would unfortunately be a long walk—he grumbled and complained to himself about his situation. "Of all the things that could've happened to me!" He growled to the sky, "I may as well be one of those-" He couldn't even finish that sentence, threw up his servos as he thought about how smug that 'Bumblebee' must've been.
Then Starscream heard a sound that pulled him from his thoughts. His optics snapped toward the sound, to see... a human. For Primus' sake, another one?! Starscream had half a mind to fire at it to scare it off. Though before Starscream could yell for it to leave him be, it spoke first; "Woah! Are y-you... a giant robot?!" Starscream raised a brow.
Before Starscream could think to respond, the human rushed from where they were at the treeline and up to him. Starscream raised his arms away from it, as he half-expected it to climb him or something. "What- What are you doing out here?!" He demanded, as the sheer audacity of the humans' actions made him stutter.
The human hesitated, eyes wide as it marvelled at him. It almost reminded Starscream of how he looked while conducting his experiments back on Cybertron; the amazement at a new discovery. "Oh, I'm just camping. I- I didn't think I'd s-see anything like you!"
Starscream frowned. "How convenient." The human spun around him, as if it hadn't noticed Starscream's sarcasm. His processor spun to match, as he noted a few minor details about this human that seemed... off. "You're alone out here?" He asked, as he realized he couldn't hear any other voices.
"Yeah!" The human replied, then made a small whistle noise that sounded like a human ringtone, before it flapped its hands like it were shaking off water. "I don't do it often. B-but it was really beautiful tonight." Before Starscream could comment further, the human added, "You're so cool! W-where did you- did you come from?!"
A single human, alone in the wilderness? It felt like a trap, but Starscream could tell something was off about this human, very similar in mannerisms to a Cybertronian processor disorder. Perhaps it was telling the truth? ...Could humans even have disorders like that? Starscream's scientific curiosity and inquisitive nature prodded at his processor. "...Do you want to see for yourself?" He asked after a moment with a smirk. Before he reached out and plucked the human from the forest floor, effortlessly.
The human let out a squeak, but smiled wide. As soon as Starscream began to walk, and his processor filled with tests to do on this human, a barrage of the human's questions filled his audials. Of course, Starscream didn't mind; he would simply toss the human away once he finished determining what made this human different from the others... or so he thought, anyway.
Look, I'm just saying, the father-son writing is on the wall here, imo-
I mean, look at this shit! They're both doing it!
And I know; 'the eye thing is an animation error, not a real character trait', but... come on, now. These two specifically just happened to be the only two characters that error happened to?
Megatron was 'born' during the Age of Wrath, which makes him canonically much older than Starscream, since Starscream was 'born' during the Golden Age. There's plenty of time for Megatron to end up accidentally creating a 'mini-me'.
Okay, here's the headcanon:
Megatron is Starscream's father in some way, and Megatron abandoned Starscream very early on, focused on his own ambitions and not paying much mind to the idea of there being a son of his somewhere.
Starscream has his own life, a pretty normal and spoiled life, until Megatron strides up to offer that Starscream - greatest of all seekers - join the Decepticons. Starscream has no idea that Megatron is his father, but Megatron knows as soon as he sees Starscream the first time. Megatron never tells him, though, keeping that nugget of information in his back pocket just in case. But, much like a king and his crown prince, Megatron makes Starscream his second-in-command and heir to the Decepticons specifically because of their CNA-relation.
Among other things, this would explain why Megatron doesn't attempt to murder Starscream more often in TFP, and why he constantly gives Starscream second chances; it's not because he actually sees potential or loyalty, nor because he cares about him, it's because Megatron sees Starscream as an extension of himself. So, he tries to force Starscream to be like him, to stay in line, to act only on Megatron's will alone, because that's just what abusive parents do.
Helluva Boss feels like Viviziepop watched Bojack Horseman, and instead of coming away from it realizing Bojack was a shit person who needed to change and didn't 'deserve' to be forgiven by the people he hurt, she instead went: "Man, this show is so mean to the main character... I know! I'll make a show of my own with a Bojack, but he gets forgiven by everyone, never sees real consequences for his toxicity, and is in a grossly romanticized abusive gay relationship! :D"
The film critics don't know shit, I have ADHD and I was enthralled the entire time. How dare they say it was boring???
That ending, especially, like holy shit-! I am so lost about what's going on and only half-sure of anything lore-wise, but yeah! FUCK THAT ELDRITCH BITCH! GET HER SIMON!
I watched GOAT because people were talking about it, and wow... that movie is better than I thought it'd be.
I especially like that they gave the anthro animals FLAVOR in this; they occasionally walk on all fours, the hooved animals have three fingers, they have animal mannerisms (Jett sleeping in a tree, Will eating a can, the spray bottle, etc.) Like, seriously, I hate when anthro characters are characterized as just humans with weird anatomy.
Although I have to say: My favorite character is definitely Modo. Guy has a crazy-weird vibe, I like him.
Word Count: 1,458 words
Fandom: Transformers - Original Continuity (No name yet)
Genre: Whump, Hurt no comfort
Possible Triggers:
Coercion, Slavery, Minor body horror, Childbirth(?), Pregnancy(?), Kidnapping(?), and forceful Child/Parent separation.
Characters featured:
D-16/Megatron - Congratulations, it's a boy!
D-16's Sparkling/??? - Not an OC, try to guess who it is! :D
D-16's Master/The Quintesson - The shitlord
Sky Byte - Mr "I'm about to cause problems on purpose"
Synopsis:
Before D-16 met Orion, became Megatron, and rebelled against the enslavement of the Cybertronians, D-16 was manipulated by his master into creating a sparkling. Though hating it at first, D-16 couldn't help but get attached, only to have his sparkling ripped away from him.
Note:
This fic is kinda headcanon-heavy for how I headcanon sparklings to work. D-16's situation is pretty standard for how it goes, although he kept the baby in his chassis longer than most usually would. (Because if they kept them in too long, the baby might accidentally kill them.)
"You wanted to see me?" D-16 asked as he stepped into the room. The screens and blinking lights of his master's chambers filled each corner with darkness, which obscured detail and made monsters of shadows. There was a long pause of silence; the tendrils of D-16's master went still, and D-16 sighed as he realized why. "…You wanted to see me, Master?"
The Quintesson turned to look at him, eyes narrowed. "Come here." It said, a tendril curled to point at the spot beside its wriggling mass of a form. D-16 moved before he could think, stood tall and at attention beside his master like the loyal dog he was. "I have something I want to discuss with you."
The quintesson's tendrils slithered over the keys of the computer, sharp digits tapped too fast for D-16 to track, until the computer's screen lit up with a pre-recorded video.
D-16 himself in the fighting pit, the head of his greatest gladiatorial rival in his servo, a scream bellowed from his throat into the sky as quintessons and cybertronians alike in the stands cheered for him.
"You have been far more successful in the pits than any slave I've owned before." D-16's master began, as a few more key clicks pulled more clips of D-16's triumphs. "You're superior to most, and I want more like you."
D-16's brow furrowed. "Sir?" His voice wavered as his optics turned to his master, who was now staring far too intently at him.
The quintesson's tendril raised, but stopped just shy of D-16's faceplate. "You have superior genes, son." His voice hissed despite the sickly sweet tone he used. "I want more of you, and you are going to help me achieve that."
"Y-you aren't suggesting cloning…" D-16 whispered as he took a step back.
"No," the quintesson rolled his eyes. "Of course not; clones are always sickly, weak, and useless things." Its voice hissed like spilt acid at the thought. "No, you're going to make another, with this."
D-16's master held out a tendril, the claw clutched a piece of metal that D-16 recognized. "A reproduction chip?" Then it clicked for him. "Sir, y-you can't-"
"I spent far too many credits on the chip of another powerful bot for you to say 'no'." His master shoved the chip into D-16's servos.
D-16 stared down at the chip in silence - a small piece of metal, waiting to be joined with another reproductive chip and incubated inside a spark chamber.
A small growl escaped the quintesson's throat, but a smile replaced its deep scowl. "How about this?" As the quintesson circled behind D-16 with curled and slithering tendrils, it leaned in and whispered, "I won't send you to the pit until the sparkling is grown, if you do this."
D-16's expression shifted, and his optics darted from the chip to the floor. "…Really?" No answer came, but would it matter if it had?
After a few moments, D-16's chassis clicked open wide for him to reach in. D-16 didn't need a guide or a glance, as his instincts already knew where to find it; a chunk of metal like a puzzle piece, which unlatched far too easily with a simple tug.
As D-16 pulled it out, his optics softened a little; two pieces, like a plug and a socket. Was it right to bring a sparkling into quintesson slavery?
"What are you waiting for?" His master whispered into his audio receptors. "Do you want to be sent into the pit tomorrow?"
D-16 let out a huff, gritted his denta, and after a moment of hesitation, pushed his servos together, plugged the two reproductive chips, and locked them together with a twist that let out a click like a cocking gun to his head. D-16 reached back into his chassis and set the active chip inside, and his chassis swung shut with the finality of a morgue door.
★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★
D-16 forced himself forward, his legs thundered with each step as he searched for an empty room. He could feel the little thing squirm in his chassis, ready to come out as it already scratched at his interior. Its little claws were more painful than D-16 thought they'd be, but he couldn't let that deter him from his task; if he had to deal with this, he wanted to do it somewhere safe.
Cameras were everywhere, sharkticons waddled down the halls, but after an hour of searching, D-16 finally found it. A storage room with nothing of note inside; no prying eyes, no guards, no master.
D-16 snuck inside as quietly as possible, his jaw clenched as he felt a sharp digit scrape against the metal dangerously close to his spark. He had to bite back the urge to yelp at the sensation as he sealed the door shut behind him, and nearly collapsed against a giant metal container full of energon. "Stop squirming!" D-16 barked, half-tempted to rip open his chassis and yank it out.
He took a deep breath, then let his chassis unlatch and open. The newly formed, thick membrane of sticky blue energon greeted him, already partially torn by the sparkling's incessant clawing.
The moment fresh air filled his chassis, a squeak escaped his interior, and the little beast's scratching and squirming grew more erratic. D-16 had to grab his own throat and squeeze just to keep from screaming out in pain as the claws ripped through the membrane and wire that had grown over his chassis interior. Wire and membrane ripped away and devoured by the little parasite that D-16 wanted to throw across the room for putting him in such pain. Energon dripped and spilled across his body and onto the floor; D-16 almost felt like he'd bleed out, and it just wouldn't end fast enough.
Then it stopped.
D-16's breathing came ragged and labored as he felt the pain ebb and gradually subside. Burning hatred rumbled in his spark for the parasite that inflicted such pain on him. His helm snapped upward, ready to squeeze the life out of the little insect, but when his optics finally settled on it, he froze.
Round, small, made of soft living rubber and barely any hard metal. The little creature was so tiny and helpless; how could it possibly be responsible for all the pain he felt? As D-16's chassis shut, he barely felt the membrane and wire caught in the door, focused on the tiny piece of him that stared back.
His servos were already around it before he could think twice, and he held the beastie against his warm, rumbling chassis. The sparkling's mouth opened with a tiny yawn as it rubbed its head with a claw and curled against him.
D-16 stared, mouth agape as words failed to come. Its wide optics so perfectly mirrored D-16's, down to their rose-red color.
"I thought you'd be uglier." D-16 muttered with a chuckle, and his sparkling only blinked in reply. "But… I guess you are mine."
★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★
D-16 threw himself forward with a loud roar, the blade in one arm extended but barely missed the Quintesson. "Let him go!" The proud warrior bellowed as he dodged his master's initial strike. His instincts boiled the energon in his veins as his sparkling's squeals of fear filled him with white-hot rage.
"How long have you kept this from me?!" The quintesson's tendrils surged, one sliced in two by D-16's blade. His master winced, and like a predator scenting weakness, D-16 lunged.
Crash! Just as D-16 was about to make impact, there he was. "Stand down." D-16 struggled and writhed under the leg that held him down, his helm twisted aside to stare up at Sky Byte. "Dinner is right around the corner, you know, and I'd hate to spoil my appetite." The sharkticon's glossa licked over his sharp denta as a drip of lubricant-saliva spilled to land on D-16's face.
Before D-16 could speak, his Master's tendril grabbed his faceplate and yanked him to stare into his eyes. "Answer me, you ungrateful pile of scrap! How long has it been since your sparkling emerged?!" D-16 clenched his jaw, and with a growl, surged to bite down on his master's tendril.
Not a moment later, with a hard swing, his master launched D-16 across the room, and his body collided with the screen of his master's computer. In mere moments, he felt the pain of shattered glass, then wires as they fired electricity through his metal. D-16's screams joined those of his sparkling; squeaking and squealing as they ripped his child away from him.
When the loud pop of electricity that plunged the tower into darkness finally released D-16, he had only seconds before he hit the ground, unconscious.
Part of my Feralformers AU, Starscream wakes up alone in the forest somewhere right after the modified Sky Spy repairs and wakes him up. Whereas the others tend to wake after the Sky Spy already left. Starscream also happens to remember a bit more than most, though not by much.
!!Click the 'read more' cut to read it!!
Starscream's optics opened groggily; his processor felt like it was pounding, and his body wasn't better off.
"What happened…?" He mumbled, the ache momentarily distracting him from the circumstances.
"Explore! Explore!"
Starscream looked up as a Sky Spy twisted in mid-air, searching. It looked different, but he couldn't remember why; only a lingering sense that something was off.
"Explore! Explore!"
"Hey! Wait!" Starscream scrambled to his stabilizing servos, ignoring the throbbing, searing pain in his processor in favor of following the Sky Spy. "Don't leave me here!"
Starscream's instincts kicked in, but his jets wouldn't respond, so his leap after the Sky Spy barely missed and sent Starscream to crash into the ground. With a growl of annoyance and frustration, Starscream could only watch as the Sky Spy flew off without a care, abandoning him.
"Ugh… why didn't my…?" Starscream grumbled, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized he couldn't remember anything. At least, nothing beyond a few small things. Starscream rolled over onto his back, raised a leg to check for damage, but froze. "…What in Primus' name?" He curled his new talons, disbelief warring with the sobering reality.
Starscream couldn't remember a lot of things, but he knew for sure that this wasn't right; he could remember how he looked before, albeit vaguely. Now that he looked over himself more critically, other things felt off; black feathers clashed with white, red, and blue metal; clawed servos; and his back now adorned with large, feathery black wings.
His feathers fluffed up. "Something must've happened… that thing was looking for something." Starscream muttered as he carefully stood up. His optics searched the surrounding forest before his gaze settled on a massive Starscream-shaped impression where his body had sat for untold years, partially obscured by plant life and built-up minerals. Starscream's processor spun, but he ignored the ache to focus on examining his situation.
His digits traced the impression his body left in the earth, which proved Starscream's memory correct, as he could see the impression of his previous sleek jet wings. "I was here… for years, by the look of it. Maybe that thing did something to me, and it woke me up?" The evidence seemed to point in that direction, so what else could Starscream have believed? "If I'm here… that means there must be others, too." Starscream felt a pull, but he wasn't sure if it was loneliness or some flocking instinct.
Starscream hesitated, then glanced at the new feathered wings on his back. He sighed, unsure how he was supposed to fly with these things, especially without his jets, but he stopped when he noticed the feathered creatures in the surrounding trees. None of them resembled the new traits exactly, but his optics focused on their movements and watched as one of them leapt from a branch and took off.
"Well… flying would make exploring this place easier." Starscream mumbled, took a breath, and flapped his wings experimentally.
I know this sounds like a crack AU, but hear me out-
Starscream approaches the Autobots one day under the guise of 'leaving the Decepticons to join the Autobots'. ...None of the Autobots believe him, but Optimus convinces them to give Starscream a chance, under the idea that anyone can change if only given the opportunity.
To avoid as much potential sabotage as possible, though, Optimus tasks Starscream with the most benign thing he can think of: helping the humans at some zoo, and promising Starscream that if he proves trustworthy, he'll let him do more.
Starscream is upset, but not wanting to blow his cover, he agrees; though not without complaining the whole time about having to be around "such disgusting organic creatures".
Starscream does the bare minimum of effort, though forcing himself to be gentle with the animals so he doesn't hurt them and blow his cover. Until he meets 'Mr Hiss', the honey badger.
Starscream finds Mr Hiss after the tiny creature tried to attack him one day when he escaped his enclosure. Starscream is confused, seeing as most creatures of this size usually run away from him. He learns later from stories the zookeepers share that 'Mr Hiss' is infamous for escaping his enclosure and making trouble.
Starscream is intrigued, but in a detached way, like one would be intrigued about an ant. He returns to the zoo one day, though, only to find 'Mr Hiss' got into the lion enclosure and was beaten so badly that he almost died. Starscream is put in charge of taking care of the badger, and he does everything possible to help the badger heal.
...Not because he cares about Mr Hiss, obviously, but just to make sure the Autobots think he does.
Starscream's help pays off, but as soon as Starscream hears Mr Hiss escaped again, he finds Mr Hiss at the lion exhibit, trying to break in for revenge.
Starscream picks up the little troublemaker and chastises him as he walks him back to his enclosure. "Foolish organic! You already nearly died to those creatures! Why risk so much just to get revenge-..." Starscream pauses, and he has a moment of self-reflection.
After that, Starscream visits Mr Hiss's enclosure more often, and slowly begins visiting the others, too. Starscream actually helps with the animals. Soon, Starscream realizes he's getting attached. He tries to deny it, but he can't bring himself to say he hates these creatures.
Starscream reports back to the Decepticons less and less. Eventually, Starscream refers to himself as an 'Autobot' without hesitation.
Oh, sure, Starscream is still a bit... 'rough around the edges', but he doesn't want to hurt Earth or its creatures anymore... so that's an improvement, at least?
