#COULD A NEUROTYPICAL PERSON DO THIS?? *writes an essay about a rescue bots character*

[sonicspacebar]

OK WE REPOSTING WITH THE HCS!! This post is a long one I apologize in advance

These are kind of a lot of me projecting but I also relate to him a lot and these have been bouncing in my head for the past year and a half. This silly recycling truck means so much to me y'all have no idea <3

First and foremost? no way that guy's neurotypical- I very much think he has combined ADHD/autism (or whatever the cybertonian equivalent would be). Either way, definitely think he is. Maybe not in the traditional sense for either, but because its combined a lot of the traits cancel eachother out or become confusing (I am speaking as someone with ADHD and very much likely the latter as well) . Examples of this include his abnormal but very passionate and focused interests, his quiet nature unless he's with someone who won't ridicule him (ex: when Cody takes him to the junkyard and he opens up a TON), his intense focus when it comes to tasks, his need to categorize and sort through the junkyard just to do it, and honestly the list could go on for a while. My main reasoning for this HC is, I related to the guy a lot from the very beginning. His way of interacting with the world feels a lot like my own and it feels very comforting to project. Also it made me feel for him so much every time he showed such a genuine passion for his interests and got weird looks and remarks from the other characters (except cody and boulder they're the best I love them). It felt way too much like things I've experienced in my own life as a ND person and it hit home a lot.

He's definitely an older bot, especially considering all the older bots in the show (op and high tide) are much taller than the rescue team, and salvage is much closer to their heights. I feel like he was around pre-war, and did construction or engineering work. Likely studied, or at least picked up on some of it on his own because he shows to be absolutely brilliant at what he does (great example is when he manages to build an electromagnet out of random parts to literally save someone's life within minutes). Also adding to this theory, he seems to have a deep respect for Optimus that none of the younger recruits seem to have. He seems genuinely baffled that he of all bots gets to meet a prime, and thay could also hint into his background. Maybe he was from a lower caste, and was simply just working hard and trying to get by as best he could. Since he has no backstory other than his ship crashing, there can be a lot to speculate on that im still trying to work on myself, but I really want to do some sort of rewrite project since his character is sadly a very blank slate and the show did him so dirty :(

I think he would LOVE fixing old cars and trucks. His whole thing with giving things a second chance or purpose makes me feel like he'd be right at home restoring classics. I feel like he'd love 50's trucks with their friendly shapes :] Also things like junk sculptures and more musical instruments like the harmonica he made in his intro episode. I really wish we could have seen more episodes featuring him that werent just one off "comedic" elements. The fact that he was shown to be incredibly competent and then having his different way of thinking and doing things be passed off as a subtle comedic element is really sad to me :( (also a terrible message too? cmon writers do better)

The ship he came in was actually his ship and HE was the pilot! Ik this seems like a stretch of a headcanon, esp with his counterpart seeming like more of the pilot type, but I really feel like Salvage is the type of character to be ridiculously good at something nobody expects out of him, especially considering how quiet and humble he is. He definitely wouldnt go bragging about it. The idea that maybe he fixed up an old ship to haul cargo in space (he was like a space trucker) and pulled some han solo type flying when things got hairy is such a neat idea to me! This hc is also solidified by the fact that blurr lied to everyone about saving the ship and the people near it. For all we know, he lied about being the pilot too.

Anyways, thanks for reading this far if you did! I know some of these might feel like a stretch, but I've spent a lot of time thinking about em :D

ngl I kinda "adopted" him the second I saw the lack of fan content for him bc I know its exactly what he would do :]

I rlly wish he was easier to draw bc I've spent ever since the day I first saw him in the show attempting to nail his design down :,)

and as always, if you have any questions i'd love to hear!!

anyone wanna hear my tfrb Salvage headcanons bc I have quite a few !!!! 👁️👁️