#sixshadow

It is important to note that I used Black Shadow for the theme of losing partners and struggling with grief, something not only Autobots experience. Black Shadow stands in as Decepticon Arcee, having the same powerful hatred and desire to kill for revenge. This idea of Decepticons losing partners is introduced before you meet Black Shadow:

Black Shadow and Sixshot did not know each other before the War. And in the War, they became two Decepticon generals with no close relationship. Each were assigned armies and a planet to fight on, and so they only interacted when Overlord individually pressured them to come to Elba. But before Black Shadow befriended Sixshot, Black Shadow was close to someone else named Bacchus (who was his partner in crime in Transformers Victory: Blue Bacchus)

Your introduction to Black Shadow is seeing videos of him:

Black Shadow and that unnamed copterbot are inseparable in the videos, but then the copterbot is completely missing on Elba. I don’t expect the reader to notice this until it is pointed out. Black Shadow and Bacchus grew up together and were famous martial artists. They taught Seeker kids how to defend themselves on the ground, and this explains why Black Shadow is super friendly with Predaking, who is like one year old in actuality! 

So the reader comes to Elba and Overlord assigns Black Shadow and Sixshot to keep an eye on Predaking. Both are big buff Decepticons who aren’t afraid of the Predacon; they just see him as a kid. Black Shadow is upbeat and casual, but he and Sixshot instantly try to help you stay on Overlord’s good side. They don’t want you to be hurt, so they give you the rules of Elba.

From the start, Predaking knows Sixshot and Black Shadow are his allies, and Predaking feels very comforted by them like they are his mentors/parental figures. When Overlord’s invincibility makes Predaking feel helpless, he really does feel like the kid he always was. When he’s worried, he stays with them, and they notice his fear and reassure him.

Sixshot and Black Shadow very clearly hate Overlord, so they are trustworthy. Their hatred of Overlord is actually what tied them together... 

But back to Bacchus. This is like the Tailgate to Arcee, but stronger because Black Shadow knew Bacchus for a very long time. Black Shadow loses Bacchus before they leave Cybertron, except he isn’t sure who exactly killed him. One of the possible culprits is Bumblebee. Given the opportunity, Black Shadow beats Bumblebee to near death, which is horrifying to Predaking because Bumblebee is special to him. Now Predaking and Black Shadow clash, and Black Shadow’s grief is revealed. We fans love Bumblebee, but did we ever consider other bots, Decepticons, might see Bumblebee as awful and evil?

Sixshot and Black Shadow are now as close as Black Shadow used to be to Bacchus. This slowly happened; Black Shadow and Sixshot bonded by talking behind Overlord’s back and spending their time together as Overlord’s heads of security. Every day for a century, they talked to each other and worked together. Black Shadow would have had a hard time loving someone again from fear of losing them, but he couldn’t resist getting so attached to Sixshot. They get along very well, have a lot of fun, and are affectionate to each other. I don’t point this out, but I weave this fluffy stuff into the text. 

Black Shadow and Sixshot are always together on Elba. Predaking calls out  Vehicons for lying when they try to claim Sixshot isn’t with Black Shadow:

When Overlord injures Black Shadow’s ankles, Sixshot carries him around or helps him walk for the rest of the story.

They don’t hide their affection. It’s there in the text, some hugging and touching, but I just continue the story without focusing on it. Predaking walks in them comforting each other after Overlord snaps and they are afraid of what he will do next. And whenever Black Shadow is distressed, I’ll throw in something like this:

Just quick, but some lines to reveal their closeness. This pairing is one of the more obvious ones, although it’s unusual for Decepticons to be so open about affection. Many want to look tough and wouldn’t hold each other in front of other people. 

There are gayer descriptions, but I’ll leave the reader to find them XD  I just enjoyed showing the actions to prove their caring instead of writing that they love each other. When you mess up in the game and get one of them killed, the other one just shuts down and winds up helplessly dying as well.

The romantic ideas just came naturally as I was making Black Shadow and Sixshot your allies on Elba. They were very friendly to you, someone they just met. I liked writing them playful with each other and being a tight force against Overlord who will be with you from the start. When I knew I wanted Black Shadow to lose Bacchus, I added the romantic vibes for Bacchus and Sixshot to deepen the tragedy. The Decepticons have feelings, and they’ll break down if they lose their friends. I made Krok and Obsidian introduce these concepts, then I had Black Shadow prove that they were true.

Arcee losing Cliffjumper is nothing compared to if Black Shadow lost Sixshot now.

Bonus: