daily koss #29: if we only have one shotā¦ better make it count, right?
Since I started on the 18th of February, today marks the one month anniversary of me drawing these wretched old men every day!!! I wanted to make something special for it, so I tried my hand at a comic (even though I am NOT good at comicsādear god, paneling is so unintuitive for me that I ended up wrangling this into a webtoon format just to avoid it).
Despite the increasing level of render and polish on my dailies over the past two weeks, this is the first time Iāve really, actually tried to flex my art muscles and apply my braincells to a piece š Hereās to hoping my work paid off! I have now, officially, moved from low-effort shitposts to real-effort seriousposts š
(Also, if youāve never read a webtoon before, hopefully the long-scroll format wasnāt too jarring! >_<)
A meta aspect I love about KOSS is that Transformers is a multi-timeline franchise: Knock Out and Starscream exist across multiple different continuities, sometimes alongside each other, sometimes not. But they only really āworkā in TFP, despite them both having other characters as constants (Breakdown, Megatron). If this were any other world, and they were any other versions of themselves, they might not even have been coworkersājust ships passing in the night.
And yet, the perfect storm of random events led to them being in one thing together, with a compelling dynamic at that (even an entire episode that puts it on blast!!!). Sometimes I think about how, according to the TFP artbook, Knock Out was originally conceived as something of a counterpart to Bumblebeeāanother fast, pretty car, except a villain this timeābut the writers ended up fleshing out his relationship with Starscream the most. I wonder what the thought process behind that wasādid the devs find their dynamic fun to play with as well?āand whether the two would get more moments together if Prime wasnāt cancelledā¦
But I digress! The fact I discovered TFP in the first place is the cherry on top of the serendipity-cake; I never imagined Iād ever get into Transformers, but one impulsive āhey, what if we watched the new Transformers movieā from Lacuna at 3AM in the dead of January changed the trajectory of my life.
Iāve always been really bad at committing to projects for over a month at a timeāI often find myself burnt out and restless after only a few days, even. So to still have so much drive and inspiration to create fanworksāfor KOSS, of course, but an assortment of other pairings and properties tooāis such a novel and exciting experience. My tune may change at a momentās notice (I can be very fickle), but for now Iām eager to keep scribbling on š„°I already have something planned for the next week of Daily KOSS hehehe~
And itās probably obvious from the art, but I love the juxtaposition of Starscream being tortured by god in every other universe while Knock Out is either happily married or doesnāt exist.
Ok, juicy angst for post-war Shockop feat Megatron and Starsceam.
Optimus to does not want to break the peace treaty, and he thinks himself as a master of self-control, but well, not going to get his servos on both Megatron and Starscream to take revenge is very, very difficult. Especially when his conjunx is plagued by nightmares of the atrocities he commited under the shadowplay. He will not forget nor forgive those who took advantage of Shockwave's altered mental state, especially a certain ex-warlord (who claimed to be a freedom fighter and wanted to overthrow the system) and his ex-SIC. A simple mention of one of them is enough to send the former scientist spiraling.
Rodimus and Minimus, Bumblebee and Windblade, the entire LL crew and even Starscream's trine know they changed, for the better, and while Shockwave is slowly healing, they also know an overprotective and stubborn Optimus will never let one of them near his conjunx again or evoke the subject.
Both brothers feel sometimes a pang of jealousy at their other brother, Cliffjumper, who is able to bring Mirage and Hound at home, but well, they are their Carrier's sons, and understand why the Prime is still so angry. Cliffjumper chose to stay on minimal speaking terms with his brothers. The Prime did not take well the news of his sons in a relationship with Megatron and Starscream, and made it very clear : they will never be welcomed.
Neither Minimus nor Windblade likes to see their mates so torn, and their other mates treated like this.
In the background, Dratchet and Jazzprowl feel sorry for everyone involved.
Oooooh this is some serious angst š
Nice & juicy š
But optimus you canāt forgot, even if it was Shadowplay Shockwave still committed terrible atrocities š you & your sparklings have a thing for mechs with scary pasts
Can I request some Bumblebee and Windblade trying to court Starscream? Any verse is fine
Starscream hid behind a rock as he watched Windbladeās ship fly low. The Autobots had been quiet for a good millennia, with a few skirmishes here and there. When Megatron had heard that Bumblebee and Windblade were back online, the winglord was the first to be sent to the mudball called earth. It was no secret that the two tried to court Starscream before the war, and the seeker hated the fact.Ā
With a sigh, Starscream sent out a comm,:: Windblade, Bumblebee, herd you were on earth. I missed you if you want to meet, me on the mountain called Saint Helen. ::Ā That should be enough for them to fall into a trap.Ā
:: Or we could meet you at the mountain you're leaning against, look up. ::Ā Starscreamās optics widened in shock as Windblade's ship hovered a few feet from his faceplates.Ā :: Iām glad you took us up on that offer to join the bots! We missed you!::Ā
:: Missed you too. ::Ā Starscream sighed, it was too late to call for an S.O.S. The seeker just hopped that his trine mate could feel his panic.Ā
Thinking of the posts where Optimus, Rodimus and Bumblebee are sparked in the same time (and hilarious implications). For once, both Megatron and Starscream get along, for the sake of their Conjuxes. Shockwave being so doting and those who didn't know him before the war wondering what happened (he is back to his self). Minimus very worried, Windblade trying to reassure Starcream. The family dinners (Cliffjumper asking himself why he agreed to come).
Later, the trio of inseparable little explorers is born. They spend a third of their free time in the Archives reading some lore or poetry, and two third of it to plan and go on little expeditions. Visiting local haunted castle ? Check. Going to explore the ruins of a forgotten fortress check ? New city, and local forest ? Check. Breaking in the archived by night to go in the Reserve and "borrow" some books ? Check (Optimus is secretly proud, and he isn't to completely hide it.). The trio takes of course their friends with them each time. Shockop and their sons find it adorable to see their bitties loving exploration and always willing to offer some advices. The other parents are worried sick and disapprove, but this trio of bitties are inherited some legendary stubborness from their Carriers' side, and they'll go and take their friends with them, whether the parents agree or not.
