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lets-try-some-writing · 2 years

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Hunger Pains AU

Canonically energon is produced by Cybertron itself. And because Cybertron is essentially dead before its restoration it must have not been producing any or very little energon. As such getting ahold of energon is shown to not exactly be an easy affair and in the long run the lack of it would have certainly led any surviving Cybertronians to die of starvation once all deposits were depleted (that is if synthetic energon failed to become a viable option). In the show the problem of energon is already a big issue, after all there is only so much energon on earth (discounting dark energon). And so my sick mind decided that it would be interesting if the problem was made 1000% worse.

Behavioral Changes

The Decepticons, while having access to more resources, would be far more calculating and conservative with their energon use. Their strike forces would be smaller and any actions taken would always be with an express purpose. No bot would leave the nemesis unless they had a specific task to accomplish, and when not working the Vehicons would be put into stasis so as to not waste energon on meaningless things.

As for high command, they would all be incredibly aware at all times, and due to running on near empty tanks constantly, their interactions with one another would be far more aggressive. Suddenly Starscream's attempted takeovers are far more serious, his waste of energon being more frowned upon than the attempt itself. Injuries are met with extreme anger from high command and any Vehicons unlucky enough to sustain any serious damage would be deactivated and drained of their energon to save resources.

Megatron is even more aggressive than in the show, his actions more calculated but infinitely more desperate. He would remain on the nemesis as often as possible, planning and scheming instead of fighting. His use of dark energon would be even more carefree than in the show (if that is even possible) and he would likely subsist off the stuff once he built up a good enough resistance. This in turn would drive his insanity up a few notches.

Starscream is far more cunning and hardly ever takes to the air because of fuel usage. His wings being little more than deadweight due to this, leading him to get a stockier frame and a ground based fighting style to make up for his lessened ability to fly. The only arguably good thing to come from his constant state of near starvation would be that he would not be nearly as cowardly. A mech who has next to nothing to loose and lives with death looming around his helm every single day would eventually grow apathetic.

Soundwave remains in recharge as long as possible when not working in order to keep his precious cassettes as healthy as they can be. His ability to monitor the nemesis and be deployed on missions subsequently being a lot less effective due to his near starved state. He also is a lot less caring about the orderliness of the ship as he cannot afford to intervene unless it benefits Megatron.

Shockwave's experiments are a lot more controlled, often he is unwilling to do anything that has a chance of failure above 20%. Due to the 50/50 nature of his work he walks a very fine line in Megatron's good books. He has nearly been deactivated more times than he can count because of a failed experiment wasting energon.

Knockout doesn't bother with his paint nearly as much and instead hyper fixates on keeping healthy as he has had one too many experiences with starvation. He is a lot less flamboyant, and while he still retains his vanity, he is a less vocal about it as he doesn't want to face the ire of the starved crew. He also is incredibly close to straight up deserting nearly all the time despite knowing the Autobots don't have it any better. He would just prefer to not live in constant fear of Megatron all the time.

Breakdown tends to follow Soundwave's example and remains idle if not in recharge when possible due to how much energon his frame requires. He is not nearly as cheerful as in the show and while still happy and optimistic, tends to be more of a realist. He hangs around in the medical bay most of the time because occasionally Knockout will slip him an extra ration.

Arachnid spends most of her time off the nemesis, taking her chances out in the wilds instead of risking her helm. She is far more cunning and willing to take risks if it means a meal. She hunts Vehicons when energon is scarce and is not afraid to grovel at Megatron's pedes when necessary.

Predaking remains in stasis most of the time due to his high energon consumption rate. Much like Optimus and Megatron he only makes a move when there is an immediate benefit. His pride, while still present would also be subdued as he is willing to do whatever it takes to stay alive, even if it means acting like a beast for longer than in the show.

Life is grim on the nemesis... not that the Autobots have it much better.

The Autobots would operate with similar restrictions, their scouting being rarer and only ever done when Decepticon activity is confirmed via satellite or government given data. Even then, only Arcee, Bumblebee, or Smokescreen would ever be deployed to scout in order to conserve energon. Bigger bots like Bulkhead, and later Ultra Magnus, would only be sent out when a named Decepticon is confirmed to be present. This in turn would mean that the individual Autobots would become far more effective at single combat and a lot more underhanded in combat to make up for lack of firepower.

The mood around base would be somber near constantly, the arrival of the children being met with far more hatred than in the show due to the extra trouble they bring (they eventually warm up to them though). The Autobots cannot afford to take any action without purpose, and as such they would not participate in any activity for the sake of the children without good reason. This means that the human children would likely share one guardian if they were assigned one at all. And when at base they would mostly only receive interaction in the form of conversation as unnecessary movement is simply a waste of energon. This would likely cause some degree of strain in the relationship between the Autobots and the children. But as they spend more time together they would bond over the grim situation as the children do their best to help.

Due to situation, Optimus almost never leaves base, his frame far too large and high maintenance to be moved around carelessly. This would mean he would spend enormous amounts of time in recharge to conserve energy or fulfilling a role similar to Soundwave's when he is not issuing orders. He is only sent out when Megatron is confirmed to be present or when artifacts are involved. The lack of energon would also make him far more stoic and ruthless, his compassion while still present, would be more subdued in order to keep his team alive. His morals would also decay slightly, making him more willing to do underhanded or otherwise taboo things if it means his family will live one more day.

Ultra Magnus is in the same boat, confined to base unless firepower is specifically requested and acknowledged to be necessary by Optimus AND Ratchet. He follows Optimus's lead and spends more time idle than not, often maintaining the weaponry around base or standing guard near the relic/energon storage room just in case. He is just as strict as in the show and far quicker to anger when met with a failed mission or rebellious behavior. He refuses to allow Optimus to take upon himself the weight of any more unnecessary burdens.

Wheeljack purposefully leaves as soon as a mission is done and refuses to stay a moment longer despite Miko's pleading for one very specific reason. The team, while liking him as an individual, hate his presence because of the strain it puts on resources. Even Optimus not so subtly suggests that he leave the Autobot base as soon as possible after he does whatever he came to do. Wheeljack understands completely and so only comes to earth if he has an offering of energon or has been summoned by Optimus.

Bulkhead while stuck confined to base, is the assigned babysitter to the children and keeps them entertained as best he can while limiting his movement. He often tells the children stories to keep them out of trouble and lets them climb around on his frame. He might also be willing to help them reach or carry things but he would not do much else. He still would get along great with Miko though as she would still respect and adore his wrecker fighting style the few times he engages in combat. His disposition would mostly stay the same, although he would be far more tired and less emotive.

Arcee is by far the most active member of the team as her small size ensures that she is the easiest to keep up and running. She is one of the few members of the team who get full rations, something she never fails to feel guilty about. Arcee ends up doing a majority of the tasks that require significant effort and does almost all the scouting for the Autobots. She is run ragged constantly working, but she is the only bot who can fulfill the tasks without the energon cost outweighing the benefit. Due to the stress she would lose most of her snark and instead act like more of an overworked single mom than anything else.

Bumblebee is even more mature than in the show, even before getting his voice back. He would not have had much of an opportunity to have a sparklinghood and would have grown up feeling like a burden. Optimus would have made a great many sacrifices to ensure the Bumblebee did not grow up malnourished, something Bee always feels guilty about alongside gratitude. With the situation so dire he is always busy trying to make things easier for the team. When not on duty he does what he can to make the others smile, so that if only for a moment they can forget the slow march to extinction looming over them.

Smokescreen would be greeted with hatred because of resource strain, but also joy due to the implications of his arrival. The fact that he is alive and made it to earth proves that there are others out there and that there is some hope for the future with the omega keys. However he would likely make quite a few insensitive comments regarding rations before quickly learning just how bad the situation is. Afterwards he would work hard like Bumblebee to keep the team in reasonable spirits while taking up the burden of responsibility.

Lastly Ratchet is infinitely more pessimistic than in the show, his hope all but gone and what little remains residing in the wisdom of Optimus's leadership. He is more cold and gruff and a lot more picky when it comes to which injuries he decides to repair. He is forced to give the team values based on the benefits they bring, something that always brings him great shame. He would love to help everyone but the resources available don't allow it, often leading members of the team to go weeks if not months without repair for their smaller injuries. He hates the human children with a passion and only begins to tolerate them after they start helping in meaningful ways like collecting valuable information or assisting in stopping Decepticon plans. He is constantly tired and focuses most of his energy when off duty on keeping Optimus from starving himself to death.

The human government and children do what they can to help, but life is grim in the Autobot base.

Physical Changes

This would apply to all bots regardless of faction, but in essence they would all be painfully thin.

The younglings among the Autobots would be a little better off, having been fed enough during their sparkling years to reach their proper size but otherwise still appearing a little underfed and slightly discolored. However the older bots on both sides would end up looking progressively more sickly depending on size. The smaller bots like Arcee would only suffer from mild energon deficiency, armor weakening, and discoloration. Medium sized bots like Knockout and Starscream would have even thinner armor, washed out tones, weakened cables, lessened strength, and general tiredness.

But the most noticeable effects of extended starvation only really show on the largest of the bots, namely bots like Optimus and Megatron.

Since Megatron is a bit of an outlier in that he consumes dark energon instead of normal energon he deserves his own little section. Despite his dark energon snorting he still suffers from several symptoms of extended starvation, albeit with effects of his dietary choices tossed on top. His frame is more deadly, but it looks almost decayed, no longer a vibrant silver and purple but instead appearing to be somewhat rusty and emaciated. Every movement would cause an ear rattling shriek, and his limbs would appear almost elongated and unnatural due to lack of armor. Essentially he is a monster from the deep.

As for Optimus, he is the living embodiment of trial and sacrifice. His everything is gaunt and painfully thin, so much so that his inner systems can be seen without much effort. His plating his nearly grey from lack of nutrients and frail enough to crack and break off from any significant damage. His limbs, optics, and helm appear disproportionate due to the metal covering them receding and thinning. He can't even be bothered to get an earth alt-form as it uses too much energy to maintain, much less transform into. And to top it all off his logical processors are only maintained by the Matrix, and on occasion he slips and becomes near feral until he gets energon. Where the energon comes from is not something he ever intends to tell his team. A Prime falling to maddened cannibalism in hunger induced desperation is not something he can ever allow to be known.

#Hunger Pains AU #transformers prime #team prime #autobots #decepticons #tfp au #why did I come up with this?#why did I spend so much time writing this?#i must really like hurting my fav characters #well...#enjoy I guess?

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thresholdbb · 28 days

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what's the threshold theory

There was a post about how Tom is the only crew member who isn't really affected by the Borg, and there's a theory that he has so much luck because he saw the past and the future when he crossed the transwarp threshold. He saw the past and the future, all of time and space. There's some subconscious part of him that remembers that experience. In fact, Tom refused to play a part in Chakotay indulging Annorax's temporal incursions, probably because a part of him knew nothing good could come of it.

If we extend that same theory to Janeway, some of her wild luck with time travel and other crack plans starts to make sense. She doesn't verbally hate time travel until after the events of Threshold, since it happens in Time and Again without complaint. Janeway has an uncanny knack for time travel, as evidenced every time she deals with it. She hates time travel, but it might be because part of her knows exactly how to manipulate the timeline. She manages to avoid the "inevitable" temporal explosion in Future's End, saving both Voyager and Braxton. She resets the entire timeline in Year of Hell, and no one else followed her reasoning. She pulled it off flawlessly. In Relativity, she senses the incidents are all related, despite it being just one reading that connects them. By the time she's involved, she has a temporal incursion factor of .0036 and a time travel protocol named after her, even if that may just be Braxton's personal grudge. Then there's Endgame, where she intentionally changes the timeline. Up until this point, she has been dragged into time travel, but for the first time, she jumps in on purpose. How does Admiral Janeway know how to get them home sooner in a way that completely avoids the Temporal Integrity Commission? It's because she has seen all of time, and part of her knows exactly what needs to happen so she can get Voyager home and do it in a way that becomes baked into the prime timeline. Maybe she doesn't consciously remember what happened during her transformation, but the experience lives in her mind somewhere, guiding her decisions.

#every day is threshold day #tldr threshold cemented the time travel shenanigans #we're not counting her disparagement of time travel in relativity i know it's technically before threshold #but they've messed with the timeline so much that her past timeline is also changed.#Time travel is funny because the past is the future the future is the past #so while relativity comes before threshold in the prime timeline her timeline has also been changed in a way that it wasn't before threshol #we could chalk it up to a writing oversight but this is more interesting #not to mention her uncanny luck with the Borg which I think ties in as well #it's part of why her instinct is so strong #also the bio neural gel packs but that's a different theory #listen she's amazing with or without having seen all of time and space but she has seen all of time and that must have affected her somehow #those little salamander babies also have all of the cosmos in their mind #tried to explain as concisely as possible but it is part of my overarching theory #she doesn't second guess herself nearly as much following their jaunt into transwarp #I have more but I'm trying to be brief cause it's written up partially in my drafts somewhere and i have some things i need to do today lol #meta #Star Trek voyager #Kathryn janeway #threshold day #did you expect me thresholdbb to not have a serious threshold theory?#listen I can make anything nonsense and turn anything into a serious theory I was known for this kinda bs in grad school #I wrote a 25 page paper on NOTHING once #I wrote a paper about how corn fields were super gay and it made my professor cry I can spin the bullshit it is one of my skills

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