Speedwriting Prompts 2
Author's Notes: Apparently, I will be doing more Speedwriting prompts. Please keep in mind that while I no longer doubt that I'll do more, I am not doing some every week. I actually meant to do the sixth this time, but I just realized that I didn't. Oops!
Once again, thank you to Exactlywhat for betaing. Enjoy!
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Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers
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Title: Allergy
Continuity: G1
Prompt: #1 Allergy
Strolling down the corridors of the Ark, Sideswipe smiled as he noticed the young human trotting in the opposite direction. "Hello, Spike."
Distracted from his thoughts, Spike glanced up and smiled back. "Hey, Sideswipe! I was just… just…" The human's face screwed up, and a thunderous sneeze exploded from him.
As the surprised Sideswipe watched, Spike shook his head lightly and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that. They're not usually so powerful."
"That's alright." Warily, the frontliner verified, "That behavior is normal for humans, right?"
"Sneezing? Yep. Usually, they're not too bad, but occasionally they can- Achoo!" A second sneeze interrupted the human. Then a third, and a fourth, and then more, and Sideswipe promptly began to panic.
"Don't worry, Spike! I'll get you to Ratchet! I think your dad's with him too." Gently, the red twin scooped up the helplessly sneezing, and now gasping, boy into his hands and bolted for the Med-bay.
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For once, Ratchet was having a peaceful week. No attacking Decepticons, no officers glitching, no young idiots getting themselves in interesting situations, no nefarious pranks pulled, and Optimus was even taking breaks. Which is how, after adding all of those circumstances together, Ratchet knew that the next problem would show up soon, and it would be a doozy. He puttered around, arranging things and answering Sparkplug's questions. Finally, the doors slammed open.
"Ratchet! Ratchet! There's something wrong with Spike! He won't stop sneezing! Not even to answer me properly!"
Of course it's Sideswipe, Ratchet though, resigned. "Alright, put him up here on the table."
Worriedly, Sideswipe immediately followed the medic's command and stepped back next to an equally worried Sparkplug.
Ignoring his two watchers, Ratchet started his scans on the boy, whose rate of sneezing slowly decreased. "So, Spike, you felt fine this morning?"
Spike sniffled. "Yup, perfect. Right up until I started talking with Sideswipe. I started sneezing right after I-"
WAH-tchooo!
Everyone in the room turned to stare at Sparkplug, who bore an astonished look upon his face.
Utterly confused, Ratchet tried to puzzle the situation out. Why would Sparkplug start sneezing too? He was fine a minute ago. Suddenly, a plot from a television show that had played a while ago flashed through his processor, and he turned towards the other Autobot. "Sideswipe, get out."
"What?" Sideswipe appeared astounded. "But I haven't done anything!"
Ratchet groaned. "I agree, but I want to test a hypothesis. Now scram!" After one glance at the casually held wrench, Sideswipe got, and the medic turned back to his patients. "I'll let him back in soon, but first, I want to just try something."
Sparkplug raised an eyebrow. "I don't suppose you'd tell us what you're testing?"
Shaking his helm, Ratchet answered, "No. I don't want to throw off any variables. Now, let's get started."
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Fifteen minutes and several essentially useless tests later, Ratchet called Sideswipe back in. "Okay, Sideswipe, I need you to stand next to them while I explain what went on." After the bane of Ratchet's existence obediently shuffled into place, Ratchet began his explanation. "Well, I tested them. The good news is that they are not sick in the slightest. Instead, I think it's an allergy. They're usually harmless, just irritating. The bad news is that we don't know exactly what the allergen is. However, I do have a few-"
Achoo!
Spike groaned as his father swiftly followed his example. "Darn it! I thought they'd gone away!"
Smiling grimly, Ratchet turned to look at the red frontliner. "Congratulations, Sideswipe. Unless I am utterly wrong, these two are allergic to you. Now let's figure out what changed to create this little problem."
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Much to Ratchet's dismay, nothing had changed. Sideswipe hadn't done anything new recently; he'd even been using the same material for pranking over and over again as a personal goal. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Carly had assisted in confirming Sideswipe as the allergy source, causing Optimus and Ratchet to ban fun-loving Sideswipe from any contact with humans outside of emergencies until further notice.
Two weeks later, the mystery remained, and the residents of the Ark were ready to lynch the red mech. A bored Sideswipe once again proved to be a nuisance to the whole crew, and mechs were escaping from their base's confines every way they could.
Finally, a clue presented itself. To everyone's surprise, a distraught Tracks urgently commed Ratchet with a situation. "Ratchet! Raoul won't stop sneezing!"
Twitching, Ratchet answered the oft-vain bot. "When did it start?"
"Just a couple of minutes ago."
"Does he have any allergies, or is he sick at all?"
"Hang on." Ratchet waited, processor whirling. "He says no to both question."
What in the seven rings of hell can be affecting these humans?! Distractedly, Ratchet asked the mech, "Tracks, have you been using anything different recently?"
"Just some scented wax. Sunstreaker is using it too."
"What?" Ratchet's flat tone obviously set off warning bells in the other's processor, because he remained silent. "You mean that the anti-social mech who shares Sideswipe's berth, therefore sharing wax and sometimes paint, is using scented wax? Don't you two morons know that humans are often allergic to scented materials?!"
"Ah, yes to the first, and I certainly did not to the second?"
Growling, the medic snapped out his orders. "Get away from Raoul. I'll comm. you back after I do some tests." With that, Ratchet abruptly cut off his line and stalked off to find a couple of Twins.
An hour later, the wax was gone, two helms were dented, three pairs of audios were metaphorically blistered, Sideswipe was freed from house arrest, and peace had once again fallen across the Ark.
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Title: Inappropriate Sympathy
Continuity: G1
Prompt: #4 Inappropriate sympathy
How dare they!
Starscream stalked down the hall, wings twitching with emotion and a scowl upon his face.
How dare they, how dare they, how dare they!
Only a short time ago, the Elite Trine had been renewing their bond after far, far too long. And much to his unhappiness, Starscream had discovered a bitter secret.
His trine mates pitied him.
They pitied him. They felt sorry for him because Megatron belittled him, because everyone else followed suit, and because every time one of his plans failed, Starscream lost a little more standing, and his trine mates could not do a thing about it.
I'll show them. Optics cold, Starscream ruthlessly formulated his next, and possibly final, plan. Playtime is over. Megatron is dead; he just needs me to convince him. At that thought, an eerie, almost lifeless smile spread across his face, and decks away, a shudder worked its way up Megatron's back strut.
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Title: Unusual Fear
Continuity: Bayverse/Movieverse
Prompt: #3 Scenario: Someone being scared of something others don't mind
Alright, I can do this. Bolstering her courage, Annabelle walked into the living room with a smile on her face and plopped into a chair. "Hey, Eemah!"
Raising her eyes from her book, Sarah Lennox returned her daughter's smile. "Hey, honey. Do you need something?"
Carefully hiding her true emotions, Annabelle casually inquired, "Hey, you know how we're supposed to go to the Secretary of State Office tomorrow? Well, I was looking at the movie listings tomorrow, and one of them that I really want to see is on at that time. Could we go and see it instead?"
Inwardly holding her breath, Annabelle felt her hopes sink as her mother placed her book to the side. "Annabelle, we've been planning to go tomorrow for months now. Is there something the matter that you're not telling me?"
Biting her lip, Annabelle locked gazes with the floor. "Duh… wah.. geh… …sns," she muttered.
Patiently, now reassured that something certainly was the matter, Sarah coaxed, "You're going to need to be a bit louder and clearer, sweetheart."
Tears stinging her eyes, Annabelle jerked her head up towards her mother. "I said I don't want to get my license!" she cried. "I don't like driving! It's scary, the morons on the roads are so confusing and have no idea what they're doing, and I still get the gas pedal mixed up! I've driven the bare minimum required, and I've somehow gotten into a fender-bender and been pulled over. For ruddy driving too carefully!" Finally finished with her rant, the teenager sat back and concentrated on trying not to cry.
Eyes widening with shock, Sarah quickly encircled her daughter in comforting arms. "Annabelle, if you don't want to drive or get your license, you certainly don't have to! I absolutely do not want you to drive until you feel comfortable, and it's not like we need you too. Your father, myself, and Ironhide will drive you around for as long as you need."
Leaning into her mother, the distraught young woman managed to ask, "Well, everyone I know is planning on getting their license as soon as legally possible, and no one said that I couldn't get it. So I had to get it."
Gently stroking her child's back, Sarah comfortingly reassured her, "No, I promise that you will not need to get it until you want to. And I'll talk to anyone who bothers you about not getting one, okay? Feel better?"
"M'kay. And yeah, I feel better. Thanks, Eemah." Snuggling further into her mom's embrace, Annabelle sighed as the awful stress fled her.
"No problem, love. That's what moms are here for."
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Title: Attempted Dissection
Continuity: G1
Prompt: #5 Unappreciated physical contact
"Hey guys, I'm home!" The young woman pushed the door open with a grunt, slammed it shut, and was promptly dog-piled by a couple of little kids.
"Hi, Mama! Didja bring us anything fun?"
With a smile, she reached into her bag and pulled out a small, hand-held radio. "Yes, I did! Found it on the side of the road by a trash can, poor thing. You two can play with it, but don't forget to do it on the dining room floor and clean up afterwards, 'kay?"
"Okay, Mom. Thank you!"
"No problem, kiddos. I'm gonna make dinner and pay the 'sitter; you two go have fun." With those words, the children grabbed their prize and ran for the dining room.
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Soundwave was bemused. He had not imagined that a human would pick him up to be used as a toy, although he admitted to himself that his situation could certainly be worse. She had even cleaned him before leaving for her home. As the two younglings ran off to what he assumed was the designated area, he scanned the area as a matter of habit. Everything registered within normal parameters, but the room's clutter provoked some alarm: a broken television, an old typewriter, a couple of beaten-up radios, a torn-apart VCR and several computers in various stages of abuse.
Abruptly, Soundwave's attention was yanked towards the older child as he spoke.
"Hey, can you pass me that screwdriver?"
Dread coursed through Soundwave's lines; the children were going to dissect him. Or at least, they would try. As the screwdriver was passed from hand to hand, a voice spoke from the blue radio's speakers. "Frenzy: eject."
The cassette flew from the tape deck, and to the children's obvious shock and slight fear, a tall robot stood laughing right in front of them. Once he had finally tamped down on his laughter, the robot reached out and gently plucked the radio out of the elder's arms. "Trust me, kids, you're not gonna want to mess with this radio." Walking over to the window, he opened it and flung the radio out. Before the children's astonished eyes, the radio smaller than their heads had changed into a giant, humongous robot taller than their house.
Turning to face the two children, Soundwave allowed his disapproval to radiate from him. "Soundwave: not amused." When the now-panicked mother raced into the room to protect her offspring, he addressed her. "Command: next time, check lost device for faction symbol."
Shoving her children behind her and frightened out of her mind, the woman nevertheless managed to respond. "R-right. I don't think that will be a problem."
Satisfied with her answer, Soundwave called his still-smirking cassette. "Frenzy: return." Once he had obediently docked again, Soundwave engaged his thrusters and flew off into the night, already ignoring the family that had inadvertently plotted his demise.
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Title: Fish Don't Ride Bicycles
Continuity: AU
Prompt: #2 Choose a prompt of the Master List 2011 and write for it.
August 13, 2011 prompt: Task: AU! Write your favorite characters in an AU setting.
Starscream wore her customary smirk as she sauntered down the street, reveling in the appreciative glances passerby were bestowing. With her shoulder-length, brilliantly red hair, lush figure, and toned body, she could absolutely understand why people stared; in their place, she would too! Dragging her mind away from such pleasantries, she focused her attention on the road. After all, home was only minutes away, and most accidents occurred within ten minutes from home. Conveniently, she ignored the fact that she was walking as opposed to driving in the interest of humour.
Spotting her door, she sped up, trotting to the door, unlocking it and gently closing it behind her.
As the top-notch scientist gazed into her home, she sighed with contentment and felt stress literally spring from her shoulders. She wasn't entirely sure how her wife managed to make their house Feel so blasted wonderful, but the redhead certainly appreciated the fact.
While taking off her shoes, she noticed their wall of pictures, and meandered over to wallow in nostalgia for a moment. One of the pictures showed herself in the middle of two other women; her trine mates. Thundercracker, with her braided blonde hair and calm smile, towered over her depressingly petite trine leader and still stood taller than their third. By contrast, the black, almost purple, haired Skywarp wore an innocent, mischievous grin and had somehow draped herself over both of her trine mates. Starscream smirked before wandering towards the next picture; by Elath, they made a gorgeous trine!
The next picture actually showed her mate smiling in between two other women, who were deep friends since childhood. Starscream rather liked the two; after all, if they hadn't dragged her poor, protesting future wife out to that party, she and Starscream might never have met!
Slowly, she perused one of her favorite pictures, which merely showed Starscream with her best-friend and other co-workers. Without a doubt, Skyfire was one of the tallest people on the continent, if not the planet. With her ceiling-high size and gentle demeanor, she managed to perfectly balance out Starscream's petite stature and caustic nature. Adding to the fact that both specialized in the same area and enjoyed flying, and theirs had been friendship at first debate. Genuinely smiling, Starscream's eyes moved on to their co-workers.
Red-haired Perceptor, with freckles and crooked glasses, a shy smile in place, and her wife's arm wrapped around her waist.
Shockwave, her chin resting on Perceptor's shoulder and an arm snuggly wrapped around her wife, with her dark-blonde hair tied in her customary tight bun and her one remaining eye, thanks to an accident, a vibrant hazel in colour.
Happily posing with a Victory sign, Wheeljack the pyromaniac stood proudly with her bubblegum-pink with lime-green streaks hair; she enjoyed eye-popping colours and changed her hair's regularly.
Last but not least, Mixmaster, who had managed to be there that day, stood sheepishly next to Wheeljack in her stained sweats, soft brown hair hiding her bright, seemingly-innocent mahogany eyes.
Finally, eyes moving towards the center of the wall, Starscream hungrily drank in the crown jewel of the pictures. It showed their wedding, with both of them wearing beautiful white gowns and beaming smiles, their arms tenderly wrapped around each other.
Rejuvenated from the trip down memory lane, Starscream sneaked down the hall to the bedroom, where she knew that her wife lay sleeping. Carefully opening the door, the pussy-footer positioned herself at the proper spot, and pounced on the sleeping lump that consisted of her wife. A shout heralded her awakening, and Starscream giggled as she retained her spot on top of said lump. "Hello, lover," she crooned. "I'm back; did you miss me?"
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Blinking sleep from her electric-blue eyes, Optimus stared at her wife with fond exasperation. "Of course I did, Starscream. But I do wish that you wouldn't wake me up like this."
Laughing, the redhead comfortably settled down further once Optimus had stopped wriggling. "I could, but this is fun! Besides, I don't do it that often."
Sighing, the buxom blonde privately acknowledged that she was waging a losing battle. In revenge, she shot an arm out and scooped her wife down next to her with a squawk. "The fact that you interrupted me notwithstanding, I would like some more sleep. Care to join me?"
Starscream huffed from where she lay trapped in deceptively powerful arms. "That's one of those commands disguised as a request again, isn't it?"
Smiling, Optimus pressed a kiss to her lovely wife's temple. "Yes, but you can wake me up however you want in an hour."
After Starscream mulled that idea over, she bowed to the inevitable and nodded decisively. "You have yourself a deal. Sleep tight, Optimus."
"Thank you, Starscream." Pulling the shorter woman close to herself, she murmured, "I love you."
A sigh answered her. "I love you too, you big softy."
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Author's Notes 2:Once again, here are some defining notes.
I got the allergy idea from the Gilligan's Island episode "Allergy Time." Sadly, I cannot find it on Youtube.
I call my mom all sorts of weird names. Unless my information was faulty, 'Eemah' is Hebrew for 'mom' or 'mommy.' Annabelle's experiences are based on my own. I severely dislike driving, and I blame it all on other people. And yes, I really did get pulled over for driving too carefully.
When our VCR finally broke down, my mother gave it to my two little siblings to dissect. It was actually rather interesting to see what was in there, but alas and alack, they forgot to throw everything away. I was stepping on screws for a month. As for Frenzy being described as tall, he's like, what, 6'1 to 6'8? (Umm, right about two meters.) From my perspective, that's pretty darn tall, and those kids would be way shorter than me.
For my AU, I chose to make everyone a human female; I do not care about the science. The title is based from a famous quote: "Women need men the way fish need bicycles." I do not agree with that quote, but I thought that the title reflects feminism/females. From what I've heard, most car accidents are either very close to home or caused by alcohol. Or both; I'm afraid that I don't know specifics. 'Elath' is a fake goddess mentioned in the Star Trek book Uhura's Song. If you like Star Trek, it's an absolutely fantastic book. Those two friends of Optimus' in the picture were Elita and Ultra Magnus. (Any idea why they named her Elita One? Because the 'One' part is kinda irritating.) And I am a huge Optimus Prime/Starscream fangirl. Unfortunately, I'm pretty lousy at alternate pairings for major characters in canon, so this was pretty fun!