Origin of Cyclonus! Since, you know, he doesn't exactly have a personality in the Movie.

I miss the days of having beta readers, since this one was hard to step back and look at objectively. Would very much appreciate constructive criticism... I feel confident in my take on Cyclonus finally, but not sure how he'll come across to readers. (And then there's Scourge who always feels so damned inconsistent in the cartoon.)

There's also Rodimus Prime and Ultra Magnus and Silverbolt and even a little bit of Marissa Faireborn.... Because Autobots always have masses of background stuff going on.

Link to what should be a nicely formatted reading experience: https://velvetfanfic.wordpress.com/2023/09/16/red-pain-blue-light/

And for easier discussion purposes, the fic is pasted below, probably with some manual italics omitted by mistake. (Why did I have so many radio conversations??)

------

Red Pain; Blue Light

The red pain of Unicron’s torture…

The blue light of hope in Galvatron’s hand…

“My Master, with this I shall make you my slave.”

Red pain… The Master, transforming from planet to Titan.

“It seems negotiations have failed,” Scourge observed.

Shockwave, over the radio: ::We’re under attack! Scramble!::

Blue light… The Master, screaming, tearing at himself.

Pain… Fear…

And nothing. For the first time in hours, Cyclonus realised he was aware and alive. He did not know how long and how far he had fled, but he was not alone. An entire fleet of familiar blue spacecraft was fleeing alongside him..

::Scourge?:: He called over the com-link to the leader of the Sweeps. ::Where are we? Where are we going?::

::Away!:: He could hear his own bewildered fear in Scourge’s voice.

::We will perish if we do not find fuel,:: he reminded his comrade, grounding himself in that mundane need.

Scourge slowed. ::Scan for signs of activity,:: he ordered. ::Where there is movement, we will find energy.::

It took them less than an hour to track down a luckless mining expedition an asteroid. In plundering the ship, they passed on their fate to its organic crew. Now they were the ones doomed to perish.

“What happened?” Scourge asked Cyclonus, now they had the luxury of time.

The memories threatened to drown Cyclonus again. Red pain. Blue light. He thrust it all away. “Unicron is dead.” There was a defiance in saying the words. “We are free.”

“But if Cybertron and Galvatron also perished…?”

Cyclonus stared out to the stars. “We did nothing to help them. Galvatron took the Matrix to Unicron, and we hung back. Unicron and the Decepticons fought over Cybertron, and we watched.”

Scourge refuted any idea of cowardice. “Unicron would only have tortured us if we had interfered. But now we are free of him. We are free of all of them!”

“By the grace of fortune, we are free,” Cyclonus agreed quietly. He glanced behind them to where the Sweeps silently watched the two stronger personalities, waiting for guidance. “Free and lost… Babes adrift in space with no understanding of our existence.”

Unlike Galvatron, Cyclonus and the others retained no memories of their bodies’ former lives. Whoever had previously inhabited their exo-structures had been overwritten when Unicron created minions for Galvatron. Up until this point, Cyclonus’ brief life had been filled by orders; failure to execute them had been met with agony.

Thinking for himself was a habit Cyclonus looked forward to acquiring.

“We know Earth,” Scourge said suddenly. “We have that data.”

It was true. They might not have the memories, but the Decepticon datatracks were still in their systems, and they had experienced Autobot City firsthand.

“We destroyed Autobot City.” Scourge was following the same train of thought. “Earth’s forces are no match for us.”

“The Dinobots were a match for us,” a Sweep murmured nervously. They had lost one of their number in the flames spewed by the Autobot beasts.

“The Dinobots left Earth to battle Unicron,” Scourge snapped. “Perhaps He avenged our comrade. In any case, we chased those fools from Autobot City when we had only four of you. Now you number seven!” Unicron had not granted them memories, but he had recycled the Insecticons’ cloning abilities into the Sweeps—and improved it. When they had lost one in their first battle, they had cloned four more fully independent (if weak-minded) soldiers.

Cyclonus had lost a doppelganger of his own in that first battle; however, he had deflected Galvatron’s suggestion of replacing it. Looking at the Sweeps now, seeking safety in their herd, he did not regret his decision.

“We had a ship when we attacked Earth,” another Sweep pointed out. They had left their mothership on Cybertron, and the Decepticons had taken it to destruction at the hands of Unicron. “We were more powerful then… We had power from Unicron.”

“Freedom is greater than power,” Cyclonus retorted. He knew the words were meaningless, yet they drew the nearest Sweep’s gaze towards him, hopeful optics drinking in the maxim.

Scourge also liked the phrase. “Then let us use our freedom well.”

“We would not have the element of surprise if we attacked again,” Cyclonus cautioned him. “Even if the Dinobots have not returned, Earth’s defences may have learned from our last encounter and prepared for a second attack.”

“We know Earth,” Scourge repeated stubbornly, and this time a Sweep repeated his words. Cyclonus finally nodded. They had to start somewhere, after all.

In their flight from Cybertron, they had gone further from Earth, and without the benefit of their mothership, it took them over a day to reach the solar system. Finally, the blue planet was in their sights and getting larger.. Cyclonus kept a wary scan for traffic, but only satellites and diminutive spacecraft were moving ahead of them.

Instead, the threat came from behind. They were close to Saturn when the ship first appeared on Cyclonus’ radar. It was large, faster than they were and heading in the same direction.

He notified Scourge, adding: ::Let’s find a place to observe.::

Scourge agreed. ::The nearest moon will do.::

They spread themselves across the far side of Hyperion, hiding their own mass while tracking the ship as it came into visual range.

::An Autobot shuttle! But we destroyed them!::

Scourge’s shock was ill-founded, Cyclonus thought. ::We destroyed the two that launched from Autobot City. This is another.::

::Perhaps it is carrying the Dinobots back to Earth.:: The nervous Sweep did not let go of his fears easily.

The idea made Cyclonus frown. The obvious theory was that it was from Cybertron, but that did not match his datatracks. No Autobot outposts survived that might have such a shuttle. Surely it could not have been built since the Fall of Unicron?

::Out here it is alone with only its own defences.:: Scourge was already increasing power to his engines. ::We can destroy this ship as we did the others.::

::If we destroy it, we will not know where it came from. Observing it would give us more information…:: Cyclonus weighed out their options. ::Yet if we allow it to approach Earth, destroying it will be a more difficult fight.::

He felt Scourge’s engines cool beside him. ::Information is what we are most lacking. Let us wait and observe, then. If it makes a return flight, we shall have another chance at destruction.::

::Agreed.::

However, by the time the ship had passed them, it had become apparent that it was heading not for Earth but for Mars. Cyclonus had no data for Autobot operations on Mars; as far as he knew, only the human Earth Defence Command had a base there. Scourge was as baffled as he, and after some deliberation they trailed the shuttle at a safe distance, setting their own course for the moon of Phobos. For now, they would continue to observe and learn.

Nod and smile.

“As you know, at the time of Optimus Prime’s death, the Autobots were going through an unprecedented military crisis. That was why Ultra Magnus was entrusted with command of the Autobots for the duration…”

“… I then conferred leadership to Rodimus Prime, whom Optimus Prime had named as his successor.”

Gloss over his claim he had heard a dead Autobot’s voice.

“His core is connected to the Autobot Matrix of Leadership which contains the knowledge accumulated by the previous Primes.”

”—Think of it as a kind of log-book.”

Don’t mention the prophecy.

“He has had centuries of inter-galactic experience, something few other Autobots possess.”

Never mind that he had rarely broken orbit of his home-moon before he went to Earth.

“Since coming to Earth four years ago, for his military service, he has been trained by Kup who also supervised the accession of the two previous Primes.”

Kup, at least, was tickled by the role of Prime-Groomer that coincidence had ascribed to him. While Spike and Ultra Magnus were diligent in keeping to what was *technically* true, Rodimus suspected Kup was pulling his descriptions of historical ‘tradition’ straight out of his exhaust port. Still, he had to hand it to his trio of advisors: they had somehow created a rationale for a rookie taking leadership over seasoned veterans with years of political experience.

“His success in leading the negotiations with our new allies, the Junkions, is a testament to his abilities. May I introduce you to their leader, Wreck-Gar?”

“Bah-weep-Graaaaagnah wheep ni ni bong!”

Rodimus Prime’s smile veered dangerously into smirk territory, and he dialled it back, nodding absently to the assembled EDC representatives. He had already given his speech, pledging his ongoing support for Earth’s Defence Command, and now the various nations’ representatives had the floor. Rodimus was all too happy to follow prior instructions and let his advisors handle their questions. In his younger days—a.k.a. last week—his dreams of glory had never included political meetings.

Stuff I Loved:

- I’ve always been curious as to how upper management sold the idea of the rebel hothead as the replacement for the fabled Optimus Prime - talk about moving up to the big leagues. If I were a member of the rank and file, I could think of dozens more candidates suitable for the role, especially in peacetime: Magnus, Springer, Jazz, for starters, or any of the team leaders (Hot Spot, Silverbolt…maybe not Grimlock) who already have experience in management.
Of course, Ironhide or Prowl would have been superb candidates. Loved the way you handled it.

- The Rodimus/Silverbolt byplay. It makes sense, the way you describe it, that the two would share a bond of friendship and respect, and it goes a long way to explaining why the Aerialbots were some of the few Season 2 holdovers to play a huge role in Season 3 (as opposed to say, the Protectobots). Same with the Dinos and Grimlock, incidentally.

- “Freedom is greater than power.” Chilling and true.

- The fate of the Cycloni and the Sweeps. I do wonder why the Cons on Charr deferred to them - is it just because the Unicronian-created troopers had more energon?

Stuff I Didn’t Love:

- That the story ended…your loyal audience is thirsty for more!

The pandemic and the lockdown reignited my interest in Transformers, including the first figures I’d bought in decades. The end of the lockdown and the return to work has coincided with a notable decline in my interest - but stories like this rekindle the flame and remind me why the franchise remains important to me long after children’s cartoons and toys have lost their luster. Thanks for writing and keep them coming!

On Sunday, September 17, 2023 at 4:02:29 PM UTC-7, Codigo Postal wrote:
> Stuff I Loved:
>
> - I’ve always been curious as to how upper management sold the idea of the rebel hothead as the replacement for the fabled Optimus Prime - talk about moving up to the big leagues. If I were a member of the rank and file, I could think of dozens more candidates suitable for the role, especially in peacetime: Magnus, Springer, Jazz, for starters, or any of the team leaders (Hot Spot, Silverbolt…maybe not Grimlock) who already have experience in management.
> Of course, Ironhide or Prowl would have been superb candidates. Loved the way you handled it.
>
> - The Rodimus/Silverbolt byplay. It makes sense, the way you describe it, that the two would share a bond of friendship and respect, and it goes a long way to explaining why the Aerialbots were some of the few Season 2 holdovers to play a huge role in Season 3 (as opposed to say, the Protectobots).. Same with the Dinos and Grimlock, incidentally.
>
> - “Freedom is greater than power.” Chilling and true.
>
> - The fate of the Cycloni and the Sweeps. I do wonder why the Cons on Charr deferred to them - is it just because the Unicronian-created troopers had more energon?
>
> Stuff I Didn’t Love:
>
> - That the story ended…your loyal audience is thirsty for more!
>
> The pandemic and the lockdown reignited my interest in Transformers, including the first figures I’d bought in decades. The end of the lockdown and the return to work has coincided with a notable decline in my interest - but stories like this rekindle the flame and remind me why the franchise remains important to me long after children’s cartoons and toys have lost their luster. Thanks for writing and keep them coming!

This one was so powerful, VG. Thank you! A beautiful capture of Cyclonus - one of my favourite characters, and often - in my mind - among the most misunderstood of the post-Movie era Decepticons. You have a real ear and eye for language and dialogue, and you know these characters well. It is always a pleasure to read your creations here.

JB

On Saturday, September 16, 2023 at 5:05:36 AM UTC-6, Velvet Glove wrote:

> The Decepticons on the other hand have lost everything. The survivors can’t even take their lives for granted.

I really love that you took the time to think about what the Decepticons knew and didn't know. It never occured to me that the whole business with Ultra Magnus *not* carrying the Matrix after the events of the movie would look positively *weird* to the Decepticons. Optimus Prime *named* Ultra Magnus the leader and yet everybody sort of just ignored that. The *only* character who seems to still consider Magnus the leader is Galvatron, who frequently targets Magnus (in episodes like "Webworld") and doesn't even seem to be thinking about Rodimus Prime at all.

I also really liked the way Scourge and Cyclonus are still trying to figure out the proper hierarchy. It nicely leads into the line from "Five Faces of Darkness" in which Galvatron says, "Watch out for [Scourge], Cyclonus—one day, he might take your place."

> In Velvet-verse, Galvatron keeps Megatron’s personality, because that served Unicron’s Matrix-stealing purposes; Cyclonus et al just need to provide him with extra firepower.

In The Transformers: the Movie, at least, Galvatron really is just a more powerful Megatron. I imagine Flint Dille came up with the idea of baking Galvatron's brain on Thraal and making him a bit crazy as a way of doing something different with the character, so he's not just Megatron again throughout season three. So, it makes sense for him to retain his personality.

> I should note that going by the Movie, Unicron does not torture Scourge and Cyclonus, but I assume he would have the ability to do so and that they probably had some experience of it.

Unicron likely would have, if either of them had spoken against him the way Galvatron did.

> Unexpectedly, I ended up doing more research on the Sweeps that anybody else, as I found it very awkward doing repeated dialogues between Cyclonus and Scourge with a canon but zero-dimensional audience. Never one to do things by halves, I created a database of every Sweep appearance in the cartoon in an attempt to curate some usable personalities. Yes, this was excessive..

Research is important!

> Still, he only told Silverbolt that it was to help him get past his fear of flying, and in the early Aerialbot episodes, the others don’t always accept his authority.

Even 20 years later, Air Raid is still ribbing Silverbolt about why he was made leader, as late as "Forever is a Long Time Coming." It wasn't a new conversation by this point, certainly, but I think there was always a degree of resentment about Silverbolt's authority.

> This is the first time Rodimus has led Autobots against Decepticons, and it’s a loss though not a major one. He fails in his attempted peace-talks with Cyclonus, since he defaults to a casual, candid approach; Cyclonus, who expects displays of strength in negotiations, perceives this as weakness and immediately turns the meeting into an interrogation, putting Rodimus in the position of trying to appease him.

It totally makes sense that Rodimus would try to make peace with Cyclonus, especially in Galvatron's absence. He probably knew it wouldn't work, but he had to give it a shot...

> Sidenote: I’ve done a fair bit of fudging on how much the different sides should know about each other. There’s no reason the Autobots would know their names, but I figure they may have heard them called in battle. For the Decepticons, I’ve made a distinction between memories and datatracks—along the same lines of how an amnesiac might still be able to read. It would make sense for Unicron to leave/import the Decepticon datatracks whereas memories are less important.

I mean, these are *robots* after all. It would make sense for their computer brains to have files on who's on their own team and who's on the opposing team, especially since you can't always follow the "Autobots = cars, Decepticons = planes" guidelines.

> The question then is how much is on those datatracks? An exhaustive list of Autobots seems unnecessary, but subteams would be on there. Ultra Magnus was the target of their previous attacks, so they would definitely know him, but while they might have recognised the Autobots they attacked on Junk, Cyclonus only saw Hot Rod at Autobot City (attacking him during the “Stay close to me!” banter) and probably saw even less of Kup. Everybody else would be totally new to them.

> Yeah, this is ‘note’ is way too long. Let’s leave it here.

I find your author's notes as equally interesting as the stories themselves.. It's interesting to get a peek inside your brain and see the gears turning!

Zob (should probably be writing fan ficiton, but that would require my kids to actually go to bed at a reasonable hour)

On Monday, September 18, 2023 at 12:02:29 AM UTC+1, Codigo Postal wrote:
>
> - The Rodimus/Silverbolt byplay. It makes sense, the way you describe it, that the two would share a bond of friendship and respect, and it goes a long way to explaining why the Aerialbots were some of the few Season 2 holdovers to play a huge role in Season 3 (as opposed to say, the Protectobots).. Same with the Dinos and Grimlock, incidentally.

You know, I hadn't thought about it, but the Protectobots really don't have a big presence in season 3. They still show up but they're usually extras, barely even supporting cast. Except for Ultimate Weapon and that's such a badly written clunky episode. I wonder how much they suffer from not having an origin episode--the Aerialbots got a lot of mileage out of their association with Alpha Trion. Or maybe it's because their alt modes aren't anything special--they don't really do anything another character can't do.

>
> - The fate of the Cycloni and the Sweeps. I do wonder why the Cons on Charr deferred to them - is it just because the Unicronian-created troopers had more energon?

I may or may not get round to introducing the Unicronians to the other Decepticons. The deeper I start digging into this, the further ahead I have to think, mapping out several stories ahead of where I'm writing. I'm tempted to dip into a different time period and let this one gestate for a bit. But I suppose the likely answer is that Cyclonus will be the most charismatic and competent of the surviving Decepticons, which are a very messy, bitter faction right now.

>
> The pandemic and the lockdown reignited my interest in Transformers, including the first figures I’d bought in decades. The end of the lockdown and the return to work has coincided with a notable decline in my interest - but stories like this rekindle the flame and remind me why the franchise remains important to me long after children’s cartoons and toys have lost their luster. Thanks for writing and keep them coming!

It's always interesting to hear other people's reasons for returning to a bit of nostalgia! We all have times in our lives where something like this helps fill a gap. With TF, the worldbuilding is a big part of why it can do that, IMO. The writers and everybody else guiding / driving the story were so damn ambitious... and yes, the execution got messy, but there's so much in the timeline and the galaxy and the ridiculously massive cast of characters to play with. It's like a big box of LEGO and we now have free creative rein with the pieces.

Velvet Glove (who also has more LEGO lying around the house than she knows what to do with.)

On Monday, September 18, 2023 at 3:27:57 AM UTC+1, Joseph Bardsley wrote:
>
> This one was so powerful, VG. Thank you! A beautiful capture of Cyclonus - one of my favourite characters, and often - in my mind - among the most misunderstood of the post-Movie era Decepticons. You have a real ear and eye for language and dialogue, and you know these characters well. It is always a pleasure to read your creations here.

Thank you! I've always been fascinated by Cyclonus, and this ended up being a really good vehicle to poke around in his motivations. Glad you enjoyed it!

Velvet Glove (He's an intimidating character to write!)

On Monday, September 18, 2023 at 3:50:28 AM UTC+1, Zobovor wrote:
> I really love that you took the time to think about what the Decepticons knew and didn't know. It never occured to me that the whole business with Ultra Magnus *not* carrying the Matrix after the events of the movie would look positively *weird* to the Decepticons. Optimus Prime *named* Ultra Magnus the leader and yet everybody sort of just ignored that. The *only* character who seems to still consider Magnus the leader is Galvatron, who frequently targets Magnus (in episodes like "Webworld") and doesn't even seem to be thinking about Rodimus Prime at all.

It's part of why I kept running into writer's block when trying to think of a Decepticon story. What would the Decepticons be reacting to? It's like their whole world just ended, and they don't really know why or how. I didn't know where to begin.

I suppose for Megatron's Decepticons, it probably isn't too big a deal that Magnus isn't the leader anymore. That was a blink and you'll miss it bit of status quo. And by the time of FFoD, they've all had time to get used to the fact that Rodimus is leading the Autobots. I've not been thinking much about Galvatron for obvious reasons, but you make a good point that he tends to target Ultra Magnus. For him, it's a much more recent change.

>
> I also really liked the way Scourge and Cyclonus are still trying to figure out the proper hierarchy. It nicely leads into the line from "Five Faces of Darkness" in which Galvatron says, "Watch out for [Scourge], Cyclonus—one day, he might take your place."

And he ends up doing a bit more than that in Burden Hardest to Bear! I'm glad that worked for you... I was thinking about that line, but I wasn't sure if Cyclonus came off as too submissive in the early parts.

> Even 20 years later, Air Raid is still ribbing Silverbolt about why he was made leader, as late as "Forever is a Long Time Coming." It wasn't a new conversation by this point, certainly, but I think there was always a degree of resentment about Silverbolt's authority.

I didn't realise it comes up again in FiaLTC! (Haven't rewatched that one yet) I thought it was just season 2. Poor Silverbolt!

> I find your author's notes as equally interesting as the stories themselves. It's interesting to get a peek inside your brain and see the gears turning!

I always do enjoy hearing other people's explanations of their creative process, but I'm never sure how much other people want to read. If nothing else, the author's notes serve as a sort of diary for myself, so I can look back and remember what I was trying to achieve and struggling with at the time. (They were surprisingly useful on my return to TF fanfic, helping me get back into that way of thinking.) It's also a way of holding myself to account and making sure I'm thinking properly about multiple aspects of the story rather than the one character or scene that originally inspired me. Glad you get something out of them as well!

> Zob (should probably be writing fan ficiton, but that would require my kids to actually go to bed at a reasonable hour)

Yeah, that's a big part of why I had the thirteen year break. Now they're old enough they don't want my attention, I can pull out the laptop and write stuff while they occupy themselves.

Velvet Glove (who has reached the age where her kids go to bed later than she does at weekends. That's a lot more humbling than when they overtook me in height.)