Dai-Desepuchikon-Dan will defeat Unicron with the power of optimism, skepticism, and protective love. All rolled into one. TRANS! FORM! FIGHT DA POWAH! (Libera Me Ex Unicron) If Gurren Lagann has taught me anything, it’s that believing in yourself and your friends gives you the power to DO ANYTHING, even if you’re a foppish trans-vehicle medic against a living machine god.
I have a confession to make about my ideas for Sierra’s friend:
Her name is Anne, sometimes with the nickname Annie, because I indulge in my love for crossover-fusion and still struck by idle visual similarity between Sierra’s blonde, green-eyed friend and also blonde, green-eyed Buffy Anne Summers, another character I love. That small amused smirk just kinda still screams Buffy Anne to me. So my WMG (thank you TVTropes.org) is that Sierra’s friend is an AU version of Buffy Anne Summers who never became a Slayer but still ends up a Weirdness Magnet when befriending a kid robot after her parents divorce and she and her mom still move to a small town, just not Sunnydale. And this version goes by ‘Anne’ mostly after getting paranoid about being the new kid in a new state being made fun of for her unusual name. And your idea about her being an avid caver/adventurer outside of school just seemed to fit even more in this version where she never becomes a Slayer, her adventuring still ends up developing in some way, along with her weirdness magnet. And, well, Gurren Lagann seems to be an inspiration now, or sorta getting crossed over/fused/referenced. And Anne’s larger identity never need go beyond a crossover easter egg—or, y’know, the character of blank slate Sierra’s friend is inspired by Buffy Anne. This version still finds a red head friend. And given that red head friend’s cheerleader captain status, I was thinking her friend would be a cheerleader too, and that made me think of Buffy Anne again. But the cheerleader thing I think just adds to her being quite a physical person, giving her caving/adventuring. And I need to do the research again, but I think cheerleading ends up being more dangerous since there’s not much safety equipment with all the stunts? And I felt the detention with Miko was another small connection. I just love finding these little connections between different fictional stories and seeing if they can be fused together/made to work in fanfction, since I do see fanfic as a big playground for free expression/experimentation. Or I could be nuts and seeing things, but it’s helped me figure out an interpretation of the blank slate that is Sierra’s Friend.
More pics of Buffy Anne Summers (some in a more cartoony style):
http://www.buffygalaxy.com/images/sarahm1.jpg
http://www.sideshowtoy.com/placed/040805buffy_04.jpg
http://www.postavy.cz/foto/buffy-anne-summers-foto.jpg
http://30.img.v4.skyrock.net/301/funkay/pics/1659497320.jpg
http://cdn.comicartfans.com/Images/Category_13175/subcat_25912/Matsuda-Buffy.jpg
http://images.comiccollectorlive.com/covers/9b2/9b24082d-4fe1-4285-a39c-ddd91c250f59.jpg
Back to what would be the leading fiction, Transformers Prime, I love how you touched upon something I was thinking of/implying, that Knock Out would have also show a maybe surprising amount of loyalty/devotion to his team (not just Breakdown, obviously) in the face of Unicron. Though I was still thinking Breakdown is in a dire situation along with Octane, and Knock Out snaps and YES a Decepticon just beat Unicron via the power of friendship/love (and SCIENCE). Because I like that complexity/contrast in characters. And ooh, nice detailing/inclusion of the Matrix as the key again. And that’s news to me, I didn’t know Orion still had the Matrix! I thought it was expelled along with his memories. Though maybe its energy/the memories were expelled from it, but the Matrix still remained in Orion, just empty now—and thus something for Knock Out and Starscream to tinker around with (I like scientist Starscream, thank you for remembering that). And nice further detail into reprogramming Unicron (I’m not the only one to think of that, YAY!) and using him as a new Primus/source of Energon and a new Cybertron (but that had not occurred to me about reprogramming Unicron!)—AWESOME. And the consequences of that and the continuing story, with Cons and Bots v. Zombies ( now of Unicron? Evil!Primus? one of those, or both basically?). I love the Cons and Bots teaming up against a 3rd party. And Cons and Bots at peace, hell yeah.
Ah, I want sparkling!KO, but more SBC yes please! :D
Thanks, glad you liked that analysis. :) I have so many thoughts on Unicron, I want to put them in fic/meta one day, whether they’re canon or not, since it’s fanon I like. I’ve been meaning to work in that particular fanon about Unicron’s blood making Megatron forget/care less for Starscream in a fic. Like, it’d be like “Three Times Starscream Was Missed on the Nemesis, One Time He Wasn’t”, and the fourth would be Megatron and just detailing how Unicron’s blood is slowly making him forget the mech that’s usually should be on his mind (his precious one—a sentiment Unicron’s chaotic blood cannot allow). I dunno, I find Unicron’s blood handy in filling in plot holes with Megatron, and that dark Energon doesn’t just fill in holes but adds a new level of creepiness IMO.
Oh now, I’m curious about your SBC Warp and TC. And SBC Sunstorm sounds neat, and does remind me of Octane (down to Beware the Nice Ones/don’t tick them off).
Ah yeah, Dark Energon would add another level of seriousness to their already serious talk. OMG, that’s one of the best ways to deal with that elephant in the room/the squick—funny character interaction sorta dancing around the topic, filled with implication. I think you need to post that one-shot part, because that dialogue is perfect. Co-write that in? Seriously, writing Starscream and Knock Out’s dialogue and their interaction still freaks me out—they’re so brilliant, but how to do it, in character? And that was perfect right there, you just nailed Knock Out’s particular way of flattering Starscream. And ah hah, (spark)bonding ceremonies/equivalent to marriage is at least something I’ve thought about but haven’t come up with anything specific, because the culture traditions of an alien race sound neat. But I love the idea that KO and BD were witnesses for Starscream’s and Megatron’s.~ (I need to properly comment on your KO backstory comics. Off the top of my head, I enjoyed that Bulk was a Con, KO was a flyer before, the characterization of their younger selves, KO seeming a bit unsure and newly in love, Starscream starting to become mildly worried about Megatron before full on developing backstabbing disorder, Starscream and KO being friends, etc.—though I need to reread to make sure I’m remembering correctly.)
Back to Sierra’s Spelunker Friend/Anne—yeah, she and Octane would so love sharing a flight together (I’m trying to decide if this inspires her to want to train to be a pilot). Ooh, and yes on her (along with Octane) showing more dimensions to the Nemesis crew, that it’s not chaotic evil all the time with them, that they have layers too. Developing her own character on my part had a lot to do with getting into the mindset of her as a Buffy Anne who never slayed, never got superpowers, but ended up meeting a kid robot instead and how she’d react to him. Or how anyone would really react to him. And from bouncing off ideas of her with you, refining her. Like how would they meet/ooh, she could be an avid caver & adventurer (such bouncing off ideas with you just seemed to connect further with crossover-fusion inspiration). Oh, Octane will give Starscream so many malfunctions, especially since I think he’ll just have no idea what to do with Octane’s…Octaness, really, it’ll all just exasperate him (and weird him out when, push comes to shove, he doesn’t really want that to grievously change).