Fanfiction: The Test (Transformers Prime)

[nebroadwe]

Title: The Test (Part 2/2)
Fandom: Transformers Prime
Character(s): Bumblebee, Optimus Prime; mentions of Ratchet and Megatron
Pairing(s): None
Rating: PG-13 (this part; R overall)
Word Count: ~2700 (this part; ~8150 overall)
Warnings: Aftermath of torture (no sexual content), psychological distress.
A/N: I have freely interpreted various (and

Comments

[peacewish]

(sniffles and holds back tears) This was beautiful and eloquent as the last one one was dark and savage, fitting for a chapter from Optimus' perspective. He's a different person than Bumblebee, thinks in different ways and perceives different images. He was grand, soft, and wise where Bee was defiant and headstrong. But they really connected there at the end, right when Optimus realized Bee could see the exact same danger in Megatron that he saw. Bee's determination to take down Megatron isn't some kind of personal vendetta, it's the result of the show that he witnessed (just happened to witness firsthand, but would have been the same had he merely been standing on the sidelines). This isn't just a man that tortures, he's encouraging his entire army to enjoy the show, preaching to them that it's their right so long as they are strongest. Yes, Bee, he must be stopped, and what happened to you is only one example of why

[nebroadwe]

Thank you! You have no idea how relieved I am to discover that I didn't completely miss the mark here. Chapter one was all inspiration; chapter two was all technique and by the time I'd finished poking and tweaking and twiddling it, it didn't look like anything to me anymore. I am nowhere near as wise as Optimus Prime, so attempting his POV was a challenge of terrific proportions, but I had to try, because I wanted to draw out the contrast between his employment of power and Megatron's to clarify what it was that Bumblebee saw in the Autobot cause to make him hold to it, not just in the face of torment and possible death, but afterward. (And I wanted to do it all in words of one syllable -- okay, not more than two. Figuring out Bumblebee's "It was a show" dialogue was the first and most important breakthrough I had while drafting this part.) It was such a relief when Ratchet kept horning in and not just because his voice was easy to hear. I wanted it to be clear that he hadn't washed his hands of Bumblebee, even if he was

[missmaryr]

I like how that ended, with Bumblebee still in pain but able to get past it. Good story!

[nebroadwe]

Thanks! As above, I was really nervous about this chapter, more so than I was about the first one. One reason among several that I chose to tell chapter two from Optimus Prime's point of view rather than Bumblebee's was that I didn't think I could properly represent Bumblebee's post-traumatic state from the inside. He's recovering, but he's marked by a horrific experience that's still recent and raw; it was easier to suggest his pain than to describe it. I know my own limits. :-)