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fandomweekly2021-06-07 08:28 pm
autobotscoutriella) wrote in fandomweekly2021-06-07 08:28 pm
Entry tags:
[#096] Presentation (Transformers Animated)
Theme Prompt: 096 - Center of Attention
Title: Presentation
Fandom: Transformers Animated
Rating/Warnings: G / None
Bonus: No
Word Count: 791
Summary: It was no coincidence that Blackarachnia confronted Optimus Prime on Halloween.
Whatever Blackarachnia thought of Earth's changing seasons - and she had Thoughts on the topic, the majority of them negative and many of them profane - she had to admit that the one the local organics called autumn had a certain appeal. The nights grew longer and darker, forcing the organics indoors early and lengthening shadows across the city. The temperature cooled to something that resembled her home city in the northern reaches of Cybertron, without dipping low enough to be uncomfortable. And aside from all of the climate improvements, the organic seasonal decorations had a certain...ambiance.
From the shadows of a convenient rooftop, she studied one of the crude spider-shaped cutouts, lit only by a dim streetlight, that decorated the exterior of a battered warehouse. They bore very little resemblance to the spiders of Archa-7, or to Blackarachnia herself, but they were unmistakably giant spiders, and she had watched Optimus Prime flinch when walking past them earlier that day.
He clearly thought no one had noticed, judging by the quick recovery, but Blackarachnia had known him for far too long to miss it. So you do still remember me, she thought, bitterness and amused satisfaction mingling. Good. You deserve to.
She drew further into the shadows and dropped down the back of the warehouse to a hidden alley as a lone trashbot moved down the street. Sumdac's robots weren't bright enough to be dangerous, but there was always the chance that one of them would pick something up on a sensor or a camera, and she wasn't ready to reveal her presence to the world yet.
Yet being the operative word. Blackarachnia had never been good at hiding. Ironic, really, considering that spiders were better than most species at it - but even before her transformation, she had sought out the spotlight, and after it, she had aggressively refused to be ignored by anyone. She needed to see Optimus - or more accurately, she needed him to see her. Him, and every other Autobot who had contributed to abandoning her, once she had had a chance to purge her organic half. She needed them to look at her, to see what she had become - and what she had made of herself in spite of it.
But she needed it to play out just right. She needed Optimus to recognize her. She needed him on edge, unsettled, knowing Archa-7 had come back to haunt him (the way it haunted her, every day of her life - it might have sounded cruel, if she didn't have to live with worse memories than he could ever imagine). And the organic seasonal decorations would play into it all very nicely. Presentation had been everything back at the Academy, and the same surely held true now.
Fake spiderwebs laced the streetlights in delicate patterns, pointing the way toward the residential parts of the city. Blackarachnia flicked her shoulder fins, adding a few strands of her own purple-pink silk to the display. She couldn't be sure which warehouse the Autobots were using as their base, but they were active in this sector. Most of them would walk right past the spiderwebs - the alien ones blended in well with the organic decorations. But Optimus would notice.
He wouldn't know, not for sure. But he would wonder, and he would remember Archa-7 and Elita-1 every time he caught a glimpse of spider silk.
According to the brief fragments of overheard conversation she had picked up in the days she'd spent stalking Detroit, the human celebration associated with the spiderwebs was in one more local week. The decorations had grown more extravagant and detailed in just a few days, and would likely continue to expand. If the organic younglings were to be believed, "Halloween" was a holiday associated with ghosts, spiders, and dead things, the kind of day meant to set anyone just slightly off-center.
What better time to force Optimus to confront a ghost out of his past?
Blackarachnia bounded up the side of one of the tallest buildings and perched on the edge of the rooftop, where she could see the moon rising in the distance. It cast long, ominous shadows across the cityscape, turning the world to shades of blue and gray. In a week, it would be a full moon. The shadows would be at their most dramatic, and combined with the human decor, the entire city would become a haunted house.
Exactly the way she wanted.
In the distance, an owl called mournfully. Blackarachnia smiled, letting tiny fangs show, and leaned back on the rooftop to gaze up at the dark sky.
Soon, Optimus. You may think you've put me behind you, but soon I'll be the only thing on your mind.
Title: Presentation
Fandom: Transformers Animated
Rating/Warnings: G / None
Bonus: No
Word Count: 791
Summary: It was no coincidence that Blackarachnia confronted Optimus Prime on Halloween.
Whatever Blackarachnia thought of Earth's changing seasons - and she had Thoughts on the topic, the majority of them negative and many of them profane - she had to admit that the one the local organics called autumn had a certain appeal. The nights grew longer and darker, forcing the organics indoors early and lengthening shadows across the city. The temperature cooled to something that resembled her home city in the northern reaches of Cybertron, without dipping low enough to be uncomfortable. And aside from all of the climate improvements, the organic seasonal decorations had a certain...ambiance.
From the shadows of a convenient rooftop, she studied one of the crude spider-shaped cutouts, lit only by a dim streetlight, that decorated the exterior of a battered warehouse. They bore very little resemblance to the spiders of Archa-7, or to Blackarachnia herself, but they were unmistakably giant spiders, and she had watched Optimus Prime flinch when walking past them earlier that day.
He clearly thought no one had noticed, judging by the quick recovery, but Blackarachnia had known him for far too long to miss it. So you do still remember me, she thought, bitterness and amused satisfaction mingling. Good. You deserve to.
She drew further into the shadows and dropped down the back of the warehouse to a hidden alley as a lone trashbot moved down the street. Sumdac's robots weren't bright enough to be dangerous, but there was always the chance that one of them would pick something up on a sensor or a camera, and she wasn't ready to reveal her presence to the world yet.
Yet being the operative word. Blackarachnia had never been good at hiding. Ironic, really, considering that spiders were better than most species at it - but even before her transformation, she had sought out the spotlight, and after it, she had aggressively refused to be ignored by anyone. She needed to see Optimus - or more accurately, she needed him to see her. Him, and every other Autobot who had contributed to abandoning her, once she had had a chance to purge her organic half. She needed them to look at her, to see what she had become - and what she had made of herself in spite of it.
But she needed it to play out just right. She needed Optimus to recognize her. She needed him on edge, unsettled, knowing Archa-7 had come back to haunt him (the way it haunted her, every day of her life - it might have sounded cruel, if she didn't have to live with worse memories than he could ever imagine). And the organic seasonal decorations would play into it all very nicely. Presentation had been everything back at the Academy, and the same surely held true now.
Fake spiderwebs laced the streetlights in delicate patterns, pointing the way toward the residential parts of the city. Blackarachnia flicked her shoulder fins, adding a few strands of her own purple-pink silk to the display. She couldn't be sure which warehouse the Autobots were using as their base, but they were active in this sector. Most of them would walk right past the spiderwebs - the alien ones blended in well with the organic decorations. But Optimus would notice.
He wouldn't know, not for sure. But he would wonder, and he would remember Archa-7 and Elita-1 every time he caught a glimpse of spider silk.
According to the brief fragments of overheard conversation she had picked up in the days she'd spent stalking Detroit, the human celebration associated with the spiderwebs was in one more local week. The decorations had grown more extravagant and detailed in just a few days, and would likely continue to expand. If the organic younglings were to be believed, "Halloween" was a holiday associated with ghosts, spiders, and dead things, the kind of day meant to set anyone just slightly off-center.
What better time to force Optimus to confront a ghost out of his past?
Blackarachnia bounded up the side of one of the tallest buildings and perched on the edge of the rooftop, where she could see the moon rising in the distance. It cast long, ominous shadows across the cityscape, turning the world to shades of blue and gray. In a week, it would be a full moon. The shadows would be at their most dramatic, and combined with the human decor, the entire city would become a haunted house.
Exactly the way she wanted.
In the distance, an owl called mournfully. Blackarachnia smiled, letting tiny fangs show, and leaned back on the rooftop to gaze up at the dark sky.
Soon, Optimus. You may think you've put me behind you, but soon I'll be the only thing on your mind.