Mango

That being said 🙌 I write Megatron in the fic "Frame Doubling" to be a "vampire" and some of you will remember bits and pieces of this ramble from past comments I have made, but, to begin...

Many aspects of the vampire-ness associated with Megatron is characterization choices I make inspired by traditional Slavic vampires. Slavic vampires will do a lot more to disrupt life than drink blood, they'll spoil food supplies (which Megatron admits to doing before), they'll keep people from sleeping to cause stress (hey, Megatron did that one too ☝️), they'll induce fighting among others (pattern unfolding 🤔), and such and such.

Megatron's obsession with harming and controlling Starscream in particular all while claiming to love him as his friend is also meant to be reminiscent of Carmilla's obsession with Laura in the vampire novella "Carmilla".

His insatiable appetite for power on the other hand is more like Count Dracula and Count Orlok from the book Dracula and the silent film Nosferatu respectively.

There are small things in the fic that are vampire-esque that Megatron does too that are more stereotypical of vampires in popular media like his aversion to bright light, and, in a more metaphorical way, the hypocrisy in his words and actions is comparable to a vampire's inability to see their own reflection.

There is also the real life person, the Marquis de Sade (the father of sadism), whose writings on ethics of nature inspires some of how I write Megatron's worldview. The part that's important for my Megatron worldview stuff is that de Sade challenged the belief that nature is inherently good or neutral. He put forth the idea that nature is actually quite cruel and that the natural thing is for whatever (or whoever) is the strongest to dominate and harm if they please to do so. He posed the idea that ethics are a thing that doesn't exist in nature so there's no reason to abide by them. One can abuse others all they like if they're capable of doing it because that's the natural way and this is how Megatron sees things. He KNOWS what is widely considered ethical and moral behavior. He's also aware that he's stronger than others and WANTS to control them. Thus, he plays nice when it suits him and hurts others when he can get away with it (the interesting part here is that the Marquis de Sade has also been written to be a vampire character in a book series that I haven't read)

Eee that's so exciting!! I wish you much luck on your writing projects 🙂‍↕️🙏

I can totally tell you what works for me ☝️😁

1) embrace your phone

Pretty much whenever I'm idle I pull out my phone and work on the fic. I'll reread a bit of what I wrote before and it's usually pretty easy to think of another couple lines before needing to put my phone down again, but throughout the day it adds up. I really only use my computer for editing and posting because most of the fic ends up written on my phone

2) Dialogue first.

The thing that slows down my creative flow the most is having to stop and agonize over all the details of the scene or internal thoughts. So when I get stuck I often write a whole bunch of back and forth dialogue and then add the internal thoughts, actions, and scene-setting later.

This also forces you to consider the unique voices of your characters. Ask yourself if their dialogue is distinct enough that the reader would be able to tell who it is without being told.

3) Movement

I take a lot of walks. Either to refresh my brain or to daydream about scenes. But forcing myself to sit down in front of a computer and try to be creative doesn't work for me. I always end up generating ideas when I can move around and change my environment so I have different things to look at.

Walking isn't an option for everyone though so as an alternative I suggest listening to music that you can daydream to or just sitting in a different room than the one you were in before.

4) write scenes that you enjoy

Sometimes there's this impression that a boring scene NEEDS to be written in order to move the plot forward, so it feels like you gotta grind through it. That's not true 🙌.

Chances are if you're bored of the scene, then so will the readers be. If you don't want to write the scene and have no joy working on it then don't write it. There's definitely a different way to approach that plot point. I promise.

Are you itching to write a kissing scene? Can't get that beach episode chapter idea out of your head? Wanna write something whump-y? Write it!! If you're having fun writing the scene, you'll write more and more ideas will flow, then the story's pieces will fall into place.

THANK YOU!! 🤭🤭

I also cant wait for the elite trine to fully reunite even though I know its gonna be so angsty

I also love soundwave and starscream and their dynamics and miss them interacting

Dont trust megatron one bit 💔 starscream my boy, run, take ur little polycule and book it 💔

Aahhhh the reunions 🥺The cassettes and Soundwave miss each other so bad 😫 they're never gonna wanna leave Soundwave's tape deck once they're together again

And the TRINE'S reunion 🙏 those three need to be on their best behavior when they see each other again or they'll screw up all their progress (looking at you, Starscream)

I miss Starscream and Soundwave interacting too!! Their dialogue with each other is so fun to write. They need to accept that they're practically besties 🤭

I have a question about the pain patches!! They’ve been mentioned sooo many times throughout the fic (and again in the latest chapter) and I’m very curious as to how they’re administered. It seems like they can be placed anywhere? I’ve always imagined them to be adhesive stickers, but I’m not sure how that would actually work considering that they’re being placed on metal. So! How do these pain patches attach to the bots? How do they work to relieve pain in alien beings that are made of metal?

Thanks for your time and keep up the wonderful writing :))

Thank youuuuu!!! 🤭🤭

Great question!!

Pain patches is a concept that shows up in other fics a lot too so I'm not the inventor of the concept, however, generally when others are talking about pain patches, they're talking about a patch of code that is used to block pain signals. I use the patch as a physical item closer to what you are imagining.

Pain patches in this fic are like super thin data chips that attach magnetically when activated and interact with their frame for a set amount of time, sending that code to their processor and preventing pain. Kind of like how taking a pill works for humans, the chemical will eventually reach the brain and do their magic.

The metal that the Cybertronians are made of is a living metal that behaves differently than non-living metal (except for the combaticons and this DOES impact them). The metal is made up of nanites that are like human cells and have different functions. This is their immune system, and the system that takes the components of energon and distributes it across their frame so that they can grow (to a degree), it is also how their sensory nervous system works. Signals like sensation and touch are communicated with these nanites and the patch interacts with the nanites when it is applied, sending them false signals that override their own and make the pain stop. The patches can be placed anywhere that is flat and different sizes will have different strengths and durations in which they work and they look kinda like these PCB boards...

I'm just gonna put some random stuff here because if I don't get it out of my head I'll never be able to focus again

The basic plot:

Skywarp, Thundercracker, (our main characters) and whoever else are a part of a fresh batch of newly hired camp counselors. Starscream had worked there for a few summers and begged TC and Warp to work there just for one summer at least because Megatron (the camp owner) will fire him if he doesn't prove he can stop scaring off all the other employees with his Starscream-ness. Camp Decepticon has a strong rivalry with the camp across the lake; Camp Autobot.

Then, y'know, camp stuff happens.

Chapter 1: Introduction to the setting, characters, and basic idea of what they're all doing here

Chapter 2: first day actually trying to get along with everyone new and figuring out their jobs

Chapter 3: first time meeting characters from Camp Autobot

Chapter 4: campfire stories (+ Swindle side quest)

Chapter 5: a summer heatwave = lake day

Chapter 6: a camp mystery to solve

Chapter 7: Starscream actually gets fired and the camp falls apart without him (he's re-hired with renewed appreciation)

Chapter 8: a summer storm means everyone is stuck inside for the day.

Chapter 9: a competition with the rival camp gets out of hand. They're forced to work together to fix it and establish some good relationships as a result