#sparkeaters

Twins at the carousel - Sparkeater Perceptor

Going back to my simpatico roots to bring you fresh angst. Lowkey I've always loved the concept/idea of Sparkeater Perceptor, of him retaining his consciousness but he has to constantly fight the instincts of a sparkeater inside him whenever he's with anyone else. And there's always a threat where he loses control and he fears that so much so he avoids anyone if he could.

Painting versions below:

Yippeeeee! ^_^ here's one of my two pieces for this year's @tf-bigbang! It was really great working with @anony-man the past few months, make sure to go check out his fic:>

I, Monster

because tumblr totally kills my scans, click for higher quality: [x] [x]

plus my other piece since tumblr won't let me upload it (evil): [x]

Actually scratch that, would Deltashock be unhinged enough to have a sparkeater as a partner? Imagine you're a friend gone missing and Delta suddenly sees you again reborn as a monster, a monster that's messing up her kitchen and digging into cabinets

-wife anon

I'm fairly certain sparkeaters are like.. zombie equivalent. Sentient sparkeaters don't really exist naturally, and I have unfortunately not read the comics recently enough to remember how they. Did all that 'turning them back' stuff.

Zombies Technically fall into the monster category, but they're also like. Corpses, to a Cybertronian. It's more necrophilia than monsterfucking at a certain point, I think. The sparkeaters Brainstorm accidentally made Do lean more monsterfucking once you get to the point of realizing they'll be (kind of) alright.

So I think it's more of a niche horror erotica. I don't necessarily think it'd be ethical to conjunx a naturally occurring sparkeater since they tend to want to eat people more than bond to them in holy matrimony.

MegaSound Week 2024 - 06: ALTERNATE UNIVERSE

I have an AU where Soundwave is a sparkeater.

I'm incredibly lost on how this is supposed to begin, and do not remember Percy being a spark eater, but hell yeah! Very hot, he's selecting his mate and making sure they stay together :)

I was able to work with two AMAZING artists this year! @artisfox, whose two delicious pieces you can find here and here (on ao3 due to issues with tumblr), and our pinch-hitter @999intestines, whose awesome piece you can find here!

It’s been crazy hard keeping all of this a surprise, so without further ado, I present:

TF Big Bang 2025 - I, Monster

Rating: E for Explicit

Pairing: First Aid/Vortex

Characters: First Aid, Vortex, Combaticons

Tags: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Gore, Cannibalism, Canon-Typical Violence, Horror, Body Horror, Robogore, Dubious Consent, Spark Play, Sticky Sexual Interfacing (Transformers), Sparkeaters (Transformers), Sparkeater AU, Ambiguous/Open Ending

Summary: First Aid, who has been Vortex’s on-again off-again fling for the past millennia, hasn’t been answering his comms for weeks now after suddenly going off the radar, and Vortex is starting to get a little worried. Despite the pushback from his team, he decides to investigate, undergoing a dangerous search that utilizes his desperate need for answers and a painful lack of situational awareness.

First Aid is out there, and Vortex knows it. He’s out there, somewhere, and Vortex intends on finding him. It’s what he’s does best after all. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?

READ THE FULL STORY HERE!

Time for an essay on why I think TFP Soundwave might have chosen his current cryptid form—electrical tentacles and all. There’s a TL;DR at the end, so feel free to scroll down first and then decide if you want to read the full thing.

This will involve cross-continuity speculation, centered around TFP / Aligned but with some IDW / MTMTE lore thrown in. This could also loosely apply to Bayverse Soundwave, but I won’t be focusing on him. I’m confident you all can infer the potential implications for that version of his character by the time you reach the end.

Okay, so I’ve seen several fellow TFP fans speculate about why Soundwave went from beefy gladiator to bonafide cryptid. Some say it could have been due to the loss of his horde of “minicons” (the term used in ‘Exodus’ by Alex Irvine). Others think it was just Soundwave’s way of adapting to the direction of the war by taking on a form that would give him the best strategic advantage in his position as Megatron’s communications officer. I agree with the latter, but I think there could be more to it than that.

As we see in the flashback for Ratchet’s story and the TFP Titan comics, Soundwave had his current frame type, armor, and alt mode back on Cybertron:

[Sarcastic Soundwave: Superior]

In the real world, Soundwave’s design is based on the MQ-9 Reaper military drone—an earth-based aircraft, but I’m not going to address that small discrepancy since it’s not relevant to this analysis. Skinny, cryptid drone Soundwave existing prior to his arrival on earth supports my theory anyway.

“Can’t we throw a tarp over him? He’s creepin’ me out.”

-Bulkhead in Minus One

On the surface, Bulkhead’s comment and Smokescreen’s subsequent response seem like an interaction between a couple of Autobots who are unnerved because they’re familiar with Soundwave’s reputation—Bulkhead more so than Smokescreen since the latter had probably not seen Soundwave up close in action before coming to earth. However, I think some of Bulkhead’s fear might have been due to an entirely different reason: Sparkeaters.

While reading MTMTE #3, my eyes were met with this lovely sight /s :

[Hey, wasn’t the energon eater in Rescue Bots called “Sparky” too? I guess it’s a cross-continuity tradition to call life-sucking parasites “Sparky” at least once.]

Terrifying? Yes. But I stared in horrified awe at this abomination and thought, “Wait. One. Fragging. Minute. I’m having a galaxy brain moment.”

Mind. Blown. Their overall sharp, jagged appearance, their thin, but formidable frames, their prehensile cables extending from somewhere inside (fuel lines for the sparkeater; multipurpose tentacles for Soundwave). I was—and still am—fascinated by the uncanny resemblance.

[Now who’s Sparky?]

It’s true that sparkeaters aren’t confirmed to be canon in the Aligned continuity, but their existence isn’t denied either. We got something similar with the zombie Terrorcons, but those were a new phenomenon produced either by Megatron’s blind ambition and stupidity or Knockout and Starscream’s lack of forethought and scientific restraint. For the sake of where I’m taking this, let’s assume that sparkeaters, as defined by IDW, do exist in the Aligned universe. What would this mean for Soundwave’s disturbing choice of frame/body type? Why choose a visual motif so strongly associated with death and disease?

One word: Mimicry

Mythologically, historically, and medically, sparkeaters are inseparable from death and disease. Their very existence instills fear in most Cybertronians. What better way for Soundwave to strike terror into the sparks of his enemies (and potential enemies) than to take on a physical form that resembles the sparkeater—something that has been known to kill normal Cybertronians using a deeply disturbing, painful, and even sacrilegious method? Even though the initial shock of seeing a “sparkeater” show up during or around a fight would have dissipated once the Autobots realized it was mostly cosmetic, an impression would have been left. Coupled with his spy capabilities and gladiator-style prowess in combat, a message would have been sent: Be afraid. Be VERY afraid.

And there you have it, folks! Another reason to love Soundwave’s design.

Bonus:

I could see Soundwave being called a few things by allies and enemies alike: “The Decepticon Sparkeater,” “Soundwave the Sparkeater,” or just “The Sparkeater.”

An interaction between two Autobot scouts:

Scout 1, over comms: “You there, kid? Who is it? Who did Megatron send this time?”

Scout 2: “It’s The Sparkeater! He’s here!”

1: “You mean Soundwave!? Do you have a visual?”

2: “How many ‘Cons do we see walkin’ around looking like sparkeaters??? Of course it’s Soundwave! And yeah, I’ve got a visual.”

1: “Aw, hell. Things just got a whole lot more complicated.”

Sparkeaters are most commonly found in the (majorly unexplored) mountainous jungles of Cybertron’s equator

Sparkeaters are almost indistinguishable from your average cybertronian aside from a few differences which are: Usually taller with thicker/stronger armor, data cables/tentacles that can be retracted into ports along their back and sides, claws and teeth meant to punch through thin joint armor, the ability to unhinge their jaw (which usually results in there being transformation seams on the face), an elusive EM field, and naturally cold armor

Sparkeaters are thought to be myths due to their elusive and skittish nature. They’re just as afraid of you as you are of them, if not more so

The original sparkeater myth originated from dumb explorers encountering one that attacked when they got cornered by said explorers

Sparkeaters typically live in packs, which usually consist of a conjunxed pair and their sparklings along with the occasional unrelated loner, like wolves

Family is very important to sparkeaters, as most sparkeaters will spend their life primarily around those they consider family

They natively speak Primal Vernacular

Sparkeaters need to consume energon that contains the energy of a spark in order to properly refuel, hence their predator nature