wada sez: Just three scripts today, shared by Zac DeBoard in 2010. Most of Zac's credits on Mosaic strips are actually for editing, on various Seeds of Deception or The Lost Seasons stories—but you may remember I already shared an unused script of his, which ultimately evolved into "Loyalty Rewarded". Here are the rest!
Zac sez: "Another TF story set post BW. Featuring Star Upper! [...] I always thought this would make a good Mosaic piece cuz he so obscure. Unfortunately the concensus among those who read it was that he was too obscure. Haha."
A cage fighting match is about to take place. The building is a seedy bar with a large cage in the middle with tables set around it on various levels with steps leading to the higher levels.
On one side of the ring is a four armed alien of indeterminate origin, entering the other, is a technorganic being wearing an Austrailian Bush Hat, this is STAR UPPER.
(Star Upper's monologue)
I am the Galactic Fighting Champion. My days are spent living a lavish lifestyle, and my nights are spent bustin heads.
(One panel could show Star Upper in a hot tob of sorts with 2 femmebots, wearing his hat and perhaps even a gold chain. think Bender from Futurama...and another panel would show him beating up on the four armed alien)
But I yearn for something more.
I was once a promising member of an elite team of Maximal Agents.
(Here maybe we could show Star Upper with members of the Pack)
Fate had other plans for me.
(We'd show an image of Star Upper arguing with Lio Convoy)
Star Upper finishes off the alien with a tremendous uppercut. He replaces his hat and walks away with a sad look on his face. He is bored and lonely. He recieves a communication.
"Agent Star Upper."
STAR UPPER: "Sir!"
"The Predacons have openly declared war on the Imperium. We need every available mech for the war effort, therefore we nare reactivating your commision effective immediately. Return to Cybertron ASAP! Your planet needs you!"
STAR UPPER (saluting): "On my way sir!"
(Monolugue resumes)
My name is Star Upper.
I am a fighter--
--a soldier
but most importantly--
--I am a Maximal!
"Renegades Rising" (Bug Bite) [2010-03-05]
Zac sez: "Another unused script…I think this one was deemed "Too convoluted" for a TF:M."
wada sez: Oh he ain't kidding. This strip is based entirely on the Timelines prose story "Withered Hope", which starred the e-HOBBY exclusive set of "G1 GoBots". Honestly, "Withered Hope" is a pretty good story by Fun Publications' standards, but it opened a Pandora's box of GoBots/Transformers crossover material from the club which caused a bunch of arguments on the TFWiki, so who's to say if it's good or bad. Bug Bite, Spoons, and Crasher all had pretty faithful updates from Fun Publications and Hasbro, as listed below, while Cop-Tur was kind of a nameslap on a Club-exclusive Mini-Con. Bad Boy and Treds are the exceptions as nonexistent toys; in the e-HOBBY set, they were redecos of G1 Powerglide and Warpath respectively, so the Universe updates of those toys are natural choices from a stylistic standpoint.
CAST
BUGBITE (Based on Games of Deception Bugbite)
BAD BOY (Based on Universe Powerglide in "Bad Boy" colors)
SPOONS (Based on ROTF Deadlift)
CRASHER/FRACTURE (Based on ROTF/Universe Fracture with a more "Crasher-like" head)
COP-TUR (Based on TF Club Cop-Tur)
TREADS (Based on Universe Legends Warpath)
(*If references are needed for the characters I can provide links)
In a run-down lab on Cybertron, the being known as Bugbite has finally reunited with his old allies.
(BUGBITE'S MONOLOGUE)
The so-called "Great War" between the Autobots and the Decepticons has more victims than anyone realizes.
The destruction and chaos that stemmed from the war and the Dark Sciences that emerged as a result began to affect other worlds and eventually entire dimensions.
(Maybe show an image of either Jhiaxus or Shockwave in a lab)
Our home-dimension is on the brink of total destruction thanks to these Cybertronians. A group of our race was sent to this other reality to research the chaos and hopefully save our world.
(Here we could show an image of the "Gobots" that arrived in Axiom Nexus...Pathfinder, Smallfoot, Road Ranger, and the afore mentioned Renegades)
We failed.
Most of us were killed but those that remained found a new cause.
(Here, we'd show the "Guardians" being killed...maybe by Megatron's crew)
Revenge.
Hidden among the cybertronians, we have taken new bodies, and, in some cases, new names.
Staying undercover, we gathered all the information we needed.
And finally, it is time to strike. The Transformers....this entire universe will remember us.
And the Renegades will reign supreme!
"Clarity" (Beast Wars Megatron) [2010-06-23]
Megatron is back on Cybertron. The Beast Wars are over, but thanks to the miracles of transwarp science, he had found his way home before the Maximals who had imprisoned him.
(MEGATRONS INTERNAL MONOLOGUE)
I had planned for nearly every occurance.
For every betrayal...
(here would be a scene from the early Beast Wars eps where Dynobot first joins the Maximals)
I had a new recruit
(here would maybe show Inferno bowing to "his queen" or maybe Rampage submitting to a gloating Megs)
I was able to turn my enemies schemes into personal victories (maybe a panel referencing Tarantulas' rebuilding and Megatrons discovery of the Nemesis)
But in the end, there were things even I could not predict (maybe Dynobot turning on Megs in Nemesis) and Rhinox crashing thru in the Autobot shuttle.
The Beast Wars, like the Great War before it was plagued with the chaos of organic life.
The chaos of individuality.
Organics born with no programming to guide them. They will destroy our world....
unless I destroy them first....
I made a deal with my old mentor. He would help purge my body of its organic contamination and he would gain the power inherant in its form.
(this panel would show Megs and Cryotek in his body from Theft of the Golden Disk.)
I quickly betrayed him and used his rescources to create my transformation virus.
(This panel would show the newly Transmetal Dragon Cryotek shorting out and going into stasis. Megatron would then have him taken away by drones...early versions of his Vehicons maybe?)
All too soon I have brought order to chaos.
All are one at last....there is nothing to stand in my way.
(Megatron is seen in his control cloak, with his Beast Machines style form. In the background, the Autobot shuttle containing the Maximals can be seen)
What I mean by independent, is someone living alone and not really needing/liking others to help.
Got it, thank you so much for specifying!
Bots!!;
Sentinel! He hates helping people, and aside from the constant yelling and crying, you barely know he’s there.
Sedan! He’s anti social as shit, and he respects you not wanting/needing him, as he’s essentially the exact same.
Yoketron! He doesn’t work well with you, but in a good way. He’s essentially the voice that MAKES you get help when you need it. Aside from that, he just meditates and hangs out, so you otherwise don’t notice him. He’s the roommate that's good for you, but you don’t like it at all.
Star Upper! Big, strong, with the self confidence of a wet paper towel. He’s the guy that’ll try to stay out of your way, and will only help if he feels like you’re going to hurt yourself. Make no mistake though, he doesn’t like to reach out to anyone.
Moscardo! Big boy who just does his own thing, and doesn’t pester you for too much. Like Star Upper, he just helps when he HAS to. Only difference is that he needs your help more often that not, given that he’s a bit accident prone.
Cons!!;
Oil Slick! Tbh, this guy gets along great with those who are on the mellow on. You wanna leave him alone? Great he’s got things to do. Need him? Sure, whatever. Honestly he’s the chillest dude who just needs a bit of space for his own. Perfect for low energy/aloof people.
Venom! A lot like Oil Slick, he doesn't like interacting with many. Only difference here, is in terms of space. He’s a big boy, so he gets in the way, and is harder to avoid because of this. Having said that, he keeps to himself, he’s just easy to notice.
Skipjack! Small, with a BIT of an attitude, he keeps to himself, and unless he needs something from you, he doesn’t bother you. Honestly he’s perfect for people who want to be left alone, but tbh he makes everyone uncomfortable.
ManBearPig! Perfect for independent people! You don’t even know he’s there! If he is there. You haven’t actually seen him. You just know he’s there, somehow.
Dead end! He’s more there for aesthetics. He’s pretty and will help with stuff like groceries, but he’s honestly there to sit around, be pretty, and write poetry.
blackarachnia anon here, hope i'm not annoying you. well, if you're not annoyed yet, you probably will be by the time you're done reading this ask, because it's time for (drumroll please)… the longest roster ask EVER! so, i'd like a roster for *inhales* Ratchet, flamewar, nova storm, predaking, darksteel and skylynx, victorion, slipstream, Scylla, skyquake and dreadwing, airazor, strongarm, the Megatronia crew (Megaempress, moonheart, lunaclub, flowspade, and trickdiamond), and the dinobots!
Roster: where is x character in this AU? Who are they, what are they doing?
Incredible, out of ALL 20-SOMETHING NAMES here, literally the only one I didn’t already have a plan for was Scylla. Since I’ve already got asks for some of these names, and some of them I’ll be posting anyway, I’ll leave them alone for now, but I found a spot to stick Scylla and threw in some other teachers for fun!
Scylla is, honestly, a bit of a nuisance. Sure, she’s good at her job under resource management and allocation of funds, and her extracurricular class isn’t difficult for students to pass, but she doesn’t exactly, er, behave in a manner befitting the faculty of such a prestigious school. Namely, she’s a notorious flirt and a gold-digger, and her usual victims are the most attractive members of Academy staff. Shockwave, Thunderclash, Override, Jazz, Lyzack, and that one therapist are her usual victims, but she’s been known to pursue school board members and benefactors too. Her alt mode is an amphibious crawling vehicle classified as an exploratory or deconstructive function, but as far as anyone knows she’s never worked those kinds of jobs, and how she lost her left optic is a mystery.
Star Upper has been on Cybertron a few times. His career as a boxing champion took him from fame on his home planet Carcer to touring the colonies and winning tournaments against all sorts of fighters. Now, he’s one of the overseers of the handful of Carcerian transfer students, as well as being an assistant coach, occasional extracurricular teacher, and frequent eye candy. Coming from a culture as rough-and-tumble and function-free as Carcer, he never grew up with the sort of stigma against his frametype that runs rampant on Cybertron. Toolformers like him don’t usually come in size 5, but he punches just as hard as his jackhammer alt mode. With a long career like his, he’s come into contact with enough cultures and stigma to be desensitized to it, which means he’s very good at helping the Carcerian students through the culture shock of Cybertron and heavy functionism.
Exhaust would like a few minutes to nap, please. They used to be able to maintain a facade of cool competence, but the sheer amount of work that the Academy’s PR team has to do now that the area has been plagued by disasters and supernatural vigilantes has been overwhelming. The workload is much greater than their previous job at Marlboor Dynamic. On top of that, their extracurricular class never sees many students and is always on the verge of being cancelled, but just enough keep signing up that they’re still obligated to teach. It’s not even exciting subject matter either, just some basic history and overview of the few alien cultures Cybertron has encountered. A good half of the material is xenophobic propaganda. Their students have learned, however, that if you ask them a genuine, interesting question, they will light up with a sudden surge of energy and proceed to go on a fanatic rant about xenoanthropology, often contradicting the very propaganda they were obligated to teach.
It's not canon to the AutoAca series yet, but I felt like playing around with the idea of the Maximals and Autobots being separate hero agencies with a friendly rivalry (Although the two organizations are similar enough that non-heroes regard the two as being one and the same on a functional level.)
In the UK, having an actual Transformer respond to readers’ letters is a grand old tradition! Soundwave, Ratchet, Grimlock, and Dreadwing all hosted the letters page of the original UK Marvel Comic, after which Blaster took up the job until the final issue of the comic - seen here, submitted to TFWiki by Dan49202! In the modern era, we’ve had Armada Hot Shot and Starscream, Animated Bumblebee, Prime Arcee and Megatron, and Movieverse Starscream, Ironhide, Barricade, Megatron, Sideswipe, Lockdown, and Crosshairs all take on the job!
So, “Kangabots,” eh? Do you reckon Star Upper would be part of that sub-group?
