#Cybertronian disability

[knight-says-rollout]

“how would it work if Cybertronians had disabilities” “What if there were disabled Cybertronians”

THERE ARE

THERE ARE

loosing my mind at how some things that are So good can be So niche why can’t we just be a hivemind

Just one example, my favorite example, is:

Shattered Glass Soundwave!!!

He’s gone through Multiple reformats varying between with his consent and,,, not. The latest of which took place when they didn’t have many materials

So they used half earth metals half Cybertronian ones

As it turns out? Those two things don’t mix very well. His joints are Horrible. They lock up randomly, the worst of which being the door to his tape deck.

He physically isn’t able to dock his cassettes reliably because they might get stuck in there.

What does he do to fix this? So glad you asked!! He has his own assistive aids, in this case: a portable external carrying case

It was made and personalized to work specifically for him and his situation

I love him

[earthstellar]

A lot of mini-bots (and quite a few other bots) have what might be considered neurodivergent traits (or have been confirmed as such), and I wonder if certain frame types or classes --or Cybertronians in general-- might have physically type-specific processor structures which allow for greater diversity of thought, and if some frame types or spark types might be more or less likely to have or develop neurodivergent traits

We know the Quintessons fucked with the Well of All Sparks in the Aligned Continuity which had unknown effects, and in IDW 1 given the spark as the core of a person's individual spirit (for lack of any better phrasing), it would make sense for Cybertronian sparks to imbue individual personality etc. while the processors are physical hardware with software flexibility to permit and adapt to those unique aspects of self

For example, in the continuities where spark development influences protoform development and therefore what type of frame a bot might ultimately have, it is still simultaneously possible to alter a frame to some degree with armour changes, mass manipulation, etc. (and in most continuities, alt-modes can be altered as well, to at least some degree within the range of someone's core specs)

But the processor and spark are the two things that generally (although we have seen some exceptions to this) cannot be physically altered without incurring significant damage-- Making them some of the few constant components in a species designed to physically change

Sparks have significant individual variation in terms of the personality etc. that evolves from each unique spark, so perhaps processors have some physical elements designed to best accommodate a certain frame type, while also allowing for individual experiences and perception etc. to form unique thought pathways for each individual -- This would allow for any Quintesson or Functionism-related frame alterations or requirements, while also still enabling a spark to produce a unique person as it forms and as experiences accumulate

Sort of like genetics vs epigenetics in human beings; Some things are physical and structural, but some things are informed by environment, experience, etc.

It's interesting that we do seem to see a lot of mini-bots specifically who might fall into a neurodivergent category or exhibit behaviours or thought process that might reasonably fall under the category, but of course it's not universal so there is still greater variation

Although characterisation varies from series to series, here's a couple examples:

Cliffjumper tends to have impulse control problems that are sometimes similar to ADHD impulse control problems, and he sometimes has difficulty prioritising or hyperfixates on one aspect of a situation, leading him to reach the wrong conclusion or focusing on the slightly wrong thing; He also struggles to manage frustration. This could all be related to something similar to executive dysfunction, as it commonly manifests in humans with ADHD.

Bumblebee seems to be conflict-avoidant to some degree in most continuities, and aside from that being part of his friendly nature and kind disposition, it might also hint at something similar to rejection sensitive dysphoria, or a greater sensitivity and emotional response to perceived interpersonal conflict or perceived failure. Some versions of Bumblebee have particularly struggled when faced with high stakes/high risk of failure scenarios, and he has a tendency to internalise blame, directing it towards himself even when a failure is not necessarily his fault or even truly a failed mission. This is often comorbid with Autism and ADHD in humans, but it can also exist on its own.

It's not just mini-bots; Misfire canonically has ADHD in IDW 1, Geomotus in IDW 2 is Autistic and his neurodivergency is even highlighted by other characters, and so on.

So all of this (and how it might work) varies from continuity to continuity, but I just like thinking about how neurodivergent bots do exist, and how that happens and how it manifests and how it is perceived by others and by society at large is interesting

In IDW 2, neurodivergency seems to be viewed in a more understanding and positive light. But in IDW 1, neurodivergency may be viewed in a more ableist way under the Functionist system, and in the Aligned Continuity, perhaps neurodivergency is seen as a potential indication of Quintesson alteration of the Well or of the individual themselves (this would depend on a bot's age).

We don't have too many details on Cybertronian medicine in general, but it's interesting to think about!

It's 8 AM I'm gonna go have a tea now lol

[spiritgenie]

Ok so like

Something ive always wondered and such

Canonically

How do cybertronians….reproduce or something like

Are they made? Do they do it asexually

Are they born straight already fully formed and such or is there a cycle and aging proccess

Is it vector sigma, the all spark?

Do they have a concept of children and parents, i feel like i could go so deep into this question, like some stuff im already thinking of

In transformers animated they have protoforms and prowl puts yogatrons spark into one which seems to revive him for a but but it basically has him look the same age

The all spark created so many new cybertronins

WHAT WERE THOSE SMALL THINGS MEGATRON TOOK CARE OF IN DARK OF THE MOON

the terrens in general

I honestly coyld go on but it it late and i am tired

[redfire-dragon]

Guess what I am doooing Sooo it started back in november, I found the end of the Empurata Prowl stuff here and went back and read all of it and just HHHHNNNGGG And so I started writing. I have a buffer but I hope to put the first chapter up soon and just... hope people care enough to want to read it.

I have known this AU for 24 hours and I love it.

The funniest thing is that I also have known this au for only 24 hours. This thing has literally no preparation only the agony of me and anons throwing art an asks to each other

[dailymothanon]

(Shattered Glass) I read about how Soundwave’s joints would lock up sometimes because of him being a mix of cybertronian and earth metals and I couldn’t stop thinking about it 😌 I also thought about how Starscream tried to get him to stop working for once in the comics; he really doesn’t take care of himself does he 🙄

(This one I made much longer ago—) I also think this might’ve happened atleast once

Alas these are also from @knight-says-rollout! I really liked their analysis about Sg Soundwave 😛 disability in Transformers is really interesting! It also prompted me to think about how (atleast in IDW) Soundwave’s telepathy struggles— at the least to me, and my familiarity with mental disabilities, was reminiscent/like an allegory of a mental disability; ofc he grew to manage and even work with it but at base level he did often talk about how his ability stunted him (especially when he was younger) ; I have a lot more to say about this but that’s for another time, if anyone’s interested

[blade-liger-4ever]

Why Cody Burns succeeded where Rafael Esquivel failed

Honestly, Raf is one of those characters I never thought much of, in part because he was so forgettable. More often than not in Prime, Raf was just the sweet baby who everybody thought the world of and wanted to keep out of harm's way, even though the most he ever did in the show was provide technical help with Earth machinery or play the part of innocent child. This was not helped by the fact that he was buddy-ed up with the mute Bumblebee, who's sole contributions up until his two part arc and the series finale was additional man power and adorable mimic. While this was good for background humor, it ultimately did nothing to the overall storyline in the series, both for Raf and for Bee, and for the series itself.

By contrast, Cody Burns - the resident team baby, beloved by all and unwaveringly helpful in rescue missions - stood out far more than Raf. And what's more, is that he never had "his own" Autobot/Cybertronian partner, when literally his whole family had one of their own.

Allow me to delve into this, hopefully, final observatory post regarding the TFP kids.

Of all the humans, we quite frankly get the least out of Raf. We know he's a prodigy, given that he's twelve (and a quarter) and jumped straight into the same classes as Miko and Jack, the former of whom is no slouch as I've already covered. We're shown that his family allows him free reign of Jasper, as he's playing by himself near the road, although he's alone. That tells us that his family is either extremely lax in their attention for their youngest child, or that Jasper is an actually safe location for a kid who's barely filling out his shoes to be on his own. Whether or not either option is true, that's dangerous and shows that Raf goes unnoticed by his family. I'm not saying they're abusive or willfully neglectful of him, but this points us to the conclusion that Raf has a very lonely home life, and we already know that he's got zero friends until he meets the Autobots.

This could have been a great plot-point for the series: by giving Team Prime a small child with no one for company, the writers could have more clearly given the Autobots hope for the future of the War/after the War, while Raf could have gained confidence and security from having people who actually cared and listened to him. It could have been fun, having him be the human cycling through the Autobots for various needs. Imagine Raf going to Optimus for comfort after another day of feeling ignored, talking to Arcee for ideas on how to stand up to Vince (being the sole child in class makes you a target, after all), or coming to Bulkhead for how to struggle through the physical aspects of his school regimen (i.e. the time he brought up the rope climbing to Ratchet.) The possibilities were endless.

But instead, he's specifically handed over to Bee. Bee, who is the disabled child that is also largely forgotten, and who, while he does bond with Raf and provide him with much needed company, offers nothing else in the way of development or storylines. We got something marginally better when Raf started spending time with the grumpy grandpa that is Ratchet, which was great to highlight Ratchet's soft side that nurtures his own character progression, but it's not enough for Raf's development. I greatly prefer the company of the Autobots to the human characters in virtually every series, but there needs to be a noticable human presence to ground the Autobots' protective instincts toward Earth and to push along the story. Raf ended up being a token character not even halfway through the first season, which is a shame given his potential, especially since he and Bee ended up being background décor.

Now, as a counterpoint, we come to Cody Burns.

Like Raf, Cody is the youngest child of the Burns clan - and I say clan because his family has been the one providing Griffin Rock's safety and protection for about...roughly three hundred years? (Correct me if I'm wrong, but his family were the ones in-universe to discover the island. Thus, there's a large claim and respect to his family's name.) His father Charlie is the chief of police; his oldest brother Kade is the chief firefighter; his older sister Dani is the helicopter pilot and primary search and rescue operator; and his brother Graham, who's about eight years older than ten year old Cody, is already a chief engineer and inventor himself. Clearly, Cody has an impressive family. Clearly, they're the best of the best, and he couldn't be prouder of them.

And clearly, Cody feels the need to earn his stripes given their talents and the family's reputation.

A recurring subplot in Rescue Bots is how Cody is insecure about his role on the team, and that often leads him to attempt to provide help and find his place in life in the family. Sometimes, this works; although he's often left monitoring the situations across the island at home through the cameras, Cody finds ways of giving advice or pointing out a hazard that the others are oblivious to that would have likely killed them. And this is a noble occupation his fills, with his aid saving many lives and much trouble.

However, sitting around and merely being an observer wears on him. It makes him restless, and he often seeks aid from the 'Bots to figure out his problems before typical shenanigans ensue that rectify the current episode's dilemma.

This is an important part of Cody's characterization because while he does occasionally feel left out/ignored by his family, he understands it is because of their duties. Charlie has to daily wrangle different criminals and legal offenses while Graham is eagerly going to town on his latest project. Kade and Dani each have their own lives that are beginning and that they're pursuing, but additionally maintain an intense sibling rivalry due to them being not even three years apart. Thus, while they're seeing they're respective girlfriend and boyfriend, they're also competing in various childish ways that, sometimes, result in massive fights. It's no small wonder Cody rarely goes to them for advice.

For this, he's left with the 'Bots, and because they view him as their darling little brother who inspires them every day to give the humans of Griffin Rock and Earth a chance, they listen and advise him. Heatwave is the oldest of the 'Bots, and thus more experienced; additionally, Heatwave more than once nearly threw in the towel in the early days, but only relented due to Cody's convictions and virtues. Therefore, while they have a special bond without it being the sole focus, Cody tends to run to Heatwave the most when emotionally unwell and Charlie is unavailable. Heatwave in turn gives him comfort and advice, and backs him up in most situations. Chase is one he less often seeks help from, mostly due to Chase's nature of being a rigid rulebook. Most times Cody helps Chase understand human expressions and terms when Charlie is busy or otherwise engaged, with both their efforts helping the police 'Bot to loosen up. There are times when he needs Chase's input, as strange as that aid might be, and Cody doesn't hesitate to seek it.

Boulder he goes to almost as regularly as Heatwave, and the two get along fantastically. Boulder provides him with loving company he's hungry for, and sound advice without being overbearing. Blades sometimes needs more encouragement than anything, and thus Cody plays the rare part of helping guide someone through their numerous fears. Because of that, the 'copter 'Bot is extremely loyal and protective of Cody, and when Cody does ask for his help or companionship, Blades readily gives it. Sometimes, Blades will even go above and beyond what is asked, and never asks for anything in return.

These are healthy, constantly growing relationships that Cody develops with the 'Bots, as well as magnificent characterizations that are always expanding. While the focus tends to be shown through Cody's eyes or centered around him, it never fixates on him more than is necessary. Rather, by setting him up as the show's heart, the writing team is able to stretch out towards arcs related to other characters, both the 'Bots and their specific partners, and the other human cast members who interact with the 'Bots on a less frequent basis.

This is how Cody takes the potential of Raf from Prime and not only runs with it, but builds up countless heartwarming moments and strong characterizations over the course of Rescue Bots' run. Cody is positively and rightly shown as the glue of the family element of the show, and is given the autonomy to maintain his own personality and growth without being forgotten like Raf consistently was. That's why Cody stands out, and poor Raf is left hanging.

Well, that's my thoughts on the matter. I felt I should tackle Raf, given I covered his two peers, and Cody is a cute, fun, and constantly evolving counterpart to Raf that explains much of why I feel the poor baby of Team Prime was ultimately misused and unnecessary. I hope you enjoyed this, and that it got some gears turning in your heads.

I'll be seeing you guys!

"Rescue Bots, roll to the rescue!"

[michaela-o]

Hey ya all! Here's a thing i had in mind about how a tutorial written by decepticons on how to capture a human would look like :D

Enjoy!🧡✨️

Decepticon Recommendation: How to capture a human

Objective:

Humans are physically fragile but resourceful and quick to flee when threatened. A successful capture requires precision, intimidation, and a deep understanding of their weaknesses. The objective is to immobilize them efficiently while instilling fear, ensuring no damage that might render them unusable or dead unless necessary.

1. SCOUT AND ISOLATE THE TARGET

The first step in capturing a human is separating them from their support systems and escape routes.

• Identify solitude opportunities: Humans are most vulnerable when alone or in small groups. Wait until the target is isolated—walking in the dark, separated from a crowd or traveling in a vehicle through a remote area.

• Cut off communication: Humans rely heavily on their communication devices (phones, radios). Disable these devices first, either by emitting an electromagnetic pulse jamming their signal ir straight up crushing the device. With no way to call for help, their panic will increase.

• Block their escape routes: Humans are agile in confined spaces but slow in open terrain compared to a Cybertronian. Use the environment to your advantage by cornering them. Block off exits with your size, speed, or tools like energy barriers to force them into a limited area.

2. INSTILL FEAR AND CONFUSION

Humans respond predictably to fear. A frightened target is less coordinated and more likely to make mistakes.

• Make a show of power: Land heavily, crush nearby objects, or generate loud, reverberating sounds to assert your dominance. The more you appear as an unstoppable force, the quicker they will give up resistance.

• Use sudden movements: Humans are startled by abrupt changes in their environment. Appear out of nowhere, shift from stillness to speed instantly, or make sudden lunges to disorient them.

• Speak in a threatening manner: Use their language, but distort it to sound mechanical or predatory. Tell them what awaits if they resist, ensuring your tone conveys inevitability.

3. IMMOBILIZE THEM WITHOUT LETHALITY

Humans are painfully fragile. Overestimating their durability could render them unusable for sale or other purposes.

• Deploy restraints: Use non-lethal restraints like energy nets, magnetic tethers, or adhesive traps to immobilize them quickly. Avoid physical contact unless absolutely necessary, as their unpredictability can lead to unnecessary complications.

• Target mobility first: Humans heavily rely on their legs for escape. Immobilizing their lower body—through stunning their legs or pinning them to the ground—will neutralize their primary means of escape.

• Minimize struggle: If the human resists, use tools that apply pressure without causing harm. For instance, magnetic cuffs or a localized stasis field will incapacitate them without lasting damage.

5. ENSURE SECURE TRANSPORT

Once the human is captured, the transport phase is critical to ensure no escape attempts.

• Enclose the target: Humans are adept at exploiting even the smallest weaknesses in containment. Place them in an energy field, sealed pod, or reinforced cage to ensure they cannot interfere with your systems.

• Suppress movement: Even restrained humans can be disruptive. Induce a state of stasis by muzzling them, covering their helm or sedation to keep them docile during transport.

6. IF RESISTANCE PERSISTS

Should the human continue to resist, escalate your methods to assert dominance and ensure submission.

• Induce pain: Humans are highly sensitive to pain. A brief, non-lethal application of pressure or energy can quickly deter further resistance. For example, an electrical shock or tightening restraint will subdue most individuals.

• Make an example: If capturing multiple humans, ensure the others see the consequences of resistance. This will discourage further defiance.

• Break their will: Use psychological tactics such as threatening their loved ones or showing them the consequences of defiance through holographic projections or live displays of power.

KEY REMINDERS

• Avoid unnecessary damage: As stated above, dead or severely injured human is less useful for experimentation for they will last much less and are hard to sold on the black market for solid fortune.

• Control the narrative: Ensure the human understands their helplessness and that resistance will only lead to greater suffering.

"A human’s strength lies in their fragile belief in survival. Crush that belief, and their submission will follow." - decepticons

( lemme know if you would like me to make an Autobot version aswell !! :DD )

[maplesamurai]

A good chunk of these would probably work for Transformers as well.

some disabilities that I think could exist in the Bionicle universe for character and world-building reasons:

under-active cooling systems that lead to fatigue and illness. these beings have to limit their physical activity or they will overheat and could cause serious damage to their other internal systems. some of them may go live in Ko-Matoran districts or other cold areas even if they wouldn't live there traditionally. Matoran with this condition may be more likely to use crabs or small personal vehicles to get around

since I headcanon that most beings are mass-printed or otherwise mass-produced, you can occasionally find someone who was simply printed wrong in some way, a production line error causing a deformity. some of these deformities would have been weeded out by quality control before everyone gained sentience, but not all

memory loss seems to be a built-in feature for many beings in the MU. some beings have this to an even greater degree than others, however, and they might lose their memories very frequently or even lack the ability to form memories

if a Toa is interrupted while in the middle of passing his power on to another Toa and becoming a Turaga, the new Toa can become trapped halfway between Matoran and Toa, sometimes not reaching the typical height or physical power of an average Toa, and possibly having limited control of their elemental powers

the different culture of the MU would create different possible mental illnesses. for instance, some Matoran could become overly-obsessed with the ideals of duty to the point that they almost seem at times to have lost their sentience again and only be capable of work. the existence of physic powers also means that there are a lot of ways in which someone's mind could be damaged by psionic powers like repeated hypnotism, confusion, or memory tampering

not to mention all the different ways mutation could cause disabilities and chronic pain

disabilities related to control over powers: these could be particularly common in Skakdi, who are given unprecedented and experimental powers by Spiriah. many Skakdi are permanently damaged by his experiments and may have extremely faulty control of their abilities

if the glass or plastic that makes up the eyepiece is damaged, that can be replaced, but if the wiring that connects the eyes to the brain is damaged, someone could have blindness or vision loss. the same goes for a lot of parts - maybe an audio receptor can be removed and replaced, but if the internal systems are damaged, it might not be possible to replace or repair those parts. it's similar to humans in that way

there could also be intellectual or cognitive disabilities similar to those of humans

damaged joints that have to be permanently locked or braced so they will not break... looking at you, lime-greens

I also think that there are already disabilities in the text! We know there's a concept of muteness because the Makuta wonder if Vamprah has mutism or if he chooses not to speak, there's the concept of being "cross-wired," and the Rahaga, Zaktan, and Nidhiki's mutations alter their powers and change their physical abilities in ways meant to be debilitating and horrifying. we have references to insanity, broken arms, amnesia, amputees, and more.

feel free to add on!

[tinydefector]

Hey Tiny!I dont know if youve been asked this before but how do you think cybertronians feel about humans,a fleshy organic species, on earth that is lightyears away from their home planet looking and acting suspiciosly(if i dont spell something right sorry) alot like them?

Since in some of the continuitys the allspark ends up on earth, do you thinks some transformers might think we were made by primus to?

Another thing im interested in, is that since we're so interested in technology, is that humans eventually become a techno-organic species then become a transformers like species from there.Like transformers can help out with that and eventually we all evolve into one metal transforming species?

Sorry it took me so long to get around to this one.

Personally I love the idea of both humans and Cybertronians getting the Uncanny valley reaction to each other, for Cybertronians its more of a 'why do I feel sudden dread near these little creatures, have my people done something to them, does it have something to do with the Quintasons.

For humans it's more of the freeze up, don't look don't acknowledge, treat it like your in the Appalachians reaction to them the first time they ever see a Cybertronian becuase the closest thing outmind and body can relate something so similar and different is fear.

____

Cybertronians are very fascinated by our body structure, like out of all the different species in space some little backwater planet has a species so similar to them. Some believe it Primus' doing others believe it's just the way the planet evolved over time.

I happen to very much like the earth is Unicron in some aspects and love the idea of Unicron being such a petty little bitch who made humans becuase he wanted to one up Primus with his creation. (Gets even funnier with human x Rung stuff) cause now Unicron has to suffer knowing that primus is interfacing a human or the fact that humans and Cybertronians are getting it on that much all becuase he was a petty bitch.

______

I don't think humans would ever become a fully techno organic race but I do very much love the idea of how our technology advances for those with disabilities, its much more small stuff then us having advances weapons under our skin. I happen to really love the idea of having cybernetic prosthetics, and other advanced technologies along that line. Cybertronians being a lead into helping humans develop was to help re make or structure joint with much safe surgery then the metal pins we use.

So I don't think it would go full cyberpunk style but I do like the idea of us going the more cyborg route than the techno organic.

___________

But also along that line there are always going to be those who fear things they don't understand both on the human and Cybertronian side. If you guys have ever played Detroit become human it's a great aspect of how I think people would very Cybertronians outside of the fact of the fear of them being aliens.

But i also love the idea of Cybertronians fearing the shit out of humans over the experience they have had with other organic races, (quintasons). Seeing what we do with old cars, how we pull them apart when somethings wrong, I feel like alot of bots would fear being undercover on earth due to just what humans can do to cars.

So honestly I think k the cybertronians fear us more than them due to just watching what we do with the stuff around us, while our fear of them stems from uncanny Valley and the fear of aliens. But once we get to know then it's all a down wards spiral to freak intercourse.

[witchofthesouls]

I love the "humans into Cybertronians" trope, so we should have more work about the weirdness that's humanity, especially as an animal, and how it translates into their Cybertronian frame.

I mean, Earth is very much a Death Planet/Space Australia goes really well with the "Unicron is Earth" subplot. Might as well lean really into it.

Like tolerance to toxins and disease, so it's not just a wider range of possible substances to consume but even capable of figuring out how to prepare toxic ingredients into edible dishes that won't kill other Cybertronians as well as greater resistance towards certain pathogens as infectious disease a massive driving force when it comes to evolution. I think it would be fascinating to explore the effects of the genetic mutations transferring over, like how the very genes that increased survival with bubonic plague (Black Death) is capable of withstanding of the Cybertronian-equivalent, Rust Plague or Cosmic Rust. Funny enough, those mutations that allow that resistance to plague are also associated with developing autoimmune diseases such as Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

So now, more potential storylines for disabilities and how they're perceived between humans and Cybertronians, especially how each side approaches it.

Transformation capabilities are incredibly important to them. It's deeply entwined in their cultural/societal framework, so a cyberformed!human with no T-cog is the disability to them.

Look at the massive difference between Ultra Magnus losing a hand versus Starscream and Bumblebee losing their T-cogs; physical disabilities have workarounds or even straight-up fixes as long there are enough resources (Breakdown's eyepatch and Ultra Magnus' claw).

It doesn't matter the training or capabilities. Agent Fowler's military record and June Darby's medical experience would be considered secondary as they're severely handicapped and more vulnerable compared to them. Then there are other angles to utilize of the biological and cultural differences, especially with the popular fandom idea of sparklings and canon Functionism, so would it really be a huge surprise if those cyberformed!humans were coddled or infantilized since humans barely last a single year in a Cybertronian lifetime? That has to be beyond frustrating on so many levels.

And vice versa, like imagine a humanized Megatron gets taken out by celiac disease or being severely lactose intolerant?

[lets-try-some-writing]

What would be TFP and TFA cybertronians both bots and cons reaction about thé paralympics. Because as you probably know CYBERTRONIAN'S.DON'T.HAVE.DISABILITIES💥💢. And dont forget tumor face(it's TFA sentinel BTW PS:I gave hum thé nickname tumor face because of his chin and his personnality),along with thé TFA elit guard and TFA blackaracnia.

I'm not going to answer this with writing because:

Cyberverse Perceptor, if I recall correctly, is blind.

Skybound Starscream is, as of the present moment, legless.

TFA Blitzwing quite clearly has a personality disorder of some flavor.

TFA Megatron was just a head for a while, and I am pretty sure that counts as being disabled.

And let's not forget Whirl and Shockwave from the comics, both of which went through empurata, which quite literally took their hands and heads away before replacing them with what essentially counts as a prosthetics.

Oh yes, and there's TFP Ultra Magnus who lost a hand and got a claw instead. Can't ignore him.

And then TFP Bumblebee is an example as well. I mean, he quite literally had his voice taken from him and uses alternative means of communication.

Of course I am not pointing this out to be rude or anything, I'm just offering up some examples. Also I don't know much of anything about the paralympics, so I don't feel like I can write about it.

[knight-says-rollout]

Would you mind telling us about more disabled Cybertronians?

Oh boy would I

For this list let’s focus on physical disabilities, both because they’re the most commonly dismissed by the fandom and bc if we try to cover everything we’d be here all day (that can be another list, maybe, if y’all want)

This isn’t going to be comprehensive bc I’m tired but!! I will aim for a broad variety of examples nonetheless

Bumblebee - You all know him, you all love him. He’s the most obvious and most well known example of a disabled Cybertronian character.

In many iterations he is mute

Not by choice but because he lacks a voice box. Bee physically isn’t capable of speech and depending on the version has different tools to work around that. Sometimes he uses his radio to repurpose song and radio dialogue into speech, in cyberverse he also makes use of the internet for clips. In the aligned continuity (tfp and connected media) he speaks in binary, a very simplified form of language using beeps and buzzes, but still lacks a real voice and can’t form words.

In IDW he has a cane

At one point in the comics Bumblebee was shot by a human protester and as a result used a cane for a good bit of time. I haven’t had the chance to read that far into IDW yet so I’m not sure how long he had the cane for but it was enough time that it’s a solidified part of the charcaters history. I’ve seen little models of the cane for sale, to be paired with bee figures.

TFP Ultra Magnus - everyone’s favorite awkward commander, despite his popularity he’s surprisingly overlooked when it comes to this discussion

An amputee, he lost his hand

During an energon raid with wheeljack, magnus’ hand was crushed. Ratchet couldn’t save it and had to amputate, replacing it with a hooked prosthetic. I call it a prosthetic rather than replacement part because despite him being able to move it, it’s not a hand. Not in the way he had previously, and he has to relearn how to use it at all.

I think that’s an important distinction to make when discussing disability and transformers. Some bots might have only ever had one hand, or no legs, or etc but that’s always been their level of ability and since they Are robotic. Yeah they might not have the same capabilities as another bot but that’s a hard metric to go by. Seekers can fly but a grounder isn’t disabled because they can’t fly too, it’s a different standard.

WFC Shamble - far lesser known than Magnus, and reasonably so, this background character is Also missing a limb

Amputee, leg edition

His prosthetic is a lot less fancy than magnus’s, it’s a simple peg leg. Put em together and you get a pirate. Not much to say about him since i don’t know how he lost the leg, just that he did.

Shadow Striker - Most awesome lady in cyberverse. Unlike the above two, she Was able to get actual replacement parts rather than prosthetics. Despite this, she is both shown throughout the show and implied to have

Impaired mobility

Chronic pain

She was able to get replacement parts yes but they were needed because she was blown up. The limbs she was given were kinda just what the others could Find and as such are mismatched and don’t fit her very well. Her motor skills took a blow especially when it comes to combat, something she used to excel in. Her new limbs are described as unstable and prone to malfunction. The loss of mobility and implied chronic pain that come along with her situation are rough, but she makes do.

SG Soundwave - my favorite little guy, he’s in a bit of a different situation than the previous.

Bad Joints ™

His body was entirely overhauled multiple times, successfully, but the latest frame change was done with conflicting metals. Earth and Cybertronian materials clash in his joints, making them prone to getting stopped up. The most affected hinge being the one on the door to his tape deck. It is so prone to getting stuck that his cassettes refuse to dock with him at risk of getting trapped. To work around this, Soundwave has the aid of a personalized case he carries around that they dock in instead.

IDW Sunstreaker - speaking of assistive devices, this guy was (for a time) a wheelchair user! Or,, hoverchair.

Temporary,,, paraplegic? Correct me if another term fits better

Taking this moment for an aside to say hey!! Lookit that, both canes and hoverchairs are things that canonically and casually exist on cybertron!! It’s not too wild to assume there are bots out there who use them long term!! Yes both characters on this list were repaired eventually but they’re also both very popular old characters from an action based franchise and hasbro doesn’t have the balls to make something like that permanent yet. We the fandom are not hasbro. We can do whatever we damn want with our OCs. It’s canon that ur little guy can use mobility aids.

Ok, PSA over, anyway yeah Sunny’s body was basically wrecked and alpha trion was able to repair all of him except his legs. This put him in a hoverchair for a good amount of time.

Finback - he’s a con, a pirate, who developed a “metal wasting disease”

He’s on permanent life support

The disease is going to kill him eventually, and it’s explicitly stated that he’s come to terms with the idea of his death. In the meantime he’s using pretender tech, kinda like fancy armor, to reinforce himself and boost his immune system

Perceptor - for a microscope, the fact he’s got vision issues in multiple continuities is kinda ironic

He’s fully blind in cyberverse

He lost an eye in IDW

Between the two we get to see both routes taken to work with this. Adaption and technological aid. In cyberverse he uses his scope to compensate for the loss of vision Toph-style. In IDW he built himself a monocle that basically replaces the pieces that are missing.

Now we get into the uniquely Cybertronian disabilities, one’s that don’t quite translate to human conditions

Transmutate - is a beloved bot from beast wars

They can’t transform, they don’t have an alt mode

I’m hazy on the details of their character but afaik they came from a damaged stasis pod. Described as deformed and handicapped for their both their lack of an alt mode and general appearance, they are probably the oldest explicitly disabled Cybertronian character

Xaaron - from G1 is in a similar situation

He can’t transform, it would kill him

Unlike transmutate he does have an alt mode, a tank, but after thousands of years without transforming he is no longer able to. The new stress it would cause on his body would kill him.

Broadside - continuing with the subject of alt modes, this clumsy boy is a boat! That’s not a good thing.

He’s very prone to motion sickness

As you can imagine, chronic sea sickness isn’t the most helpful thing when you are the boat. This brings in the entirely new element of mobility issues that are inherent to alt modes. A bot that functions fine in root form might not in alt mode and vice versa.

Trailbreaker - is another instance of this. He’s not a fast car by any means but that doesn’t stop the fact

His frame has a very high energon cost

Possibly the least fuel efficient autobot, he’s got an outlier ability on top of it all that only further increases his required energon intake. He needs to pay more attention to his energon levels and refuel more often overall.

G1 Knockout - yes that’s right the shiny medic himself is on this list, though not for the same reason as his tfp version, g1 knockout still lives up to his name

He’s prone to fainting

A knockout in the more literal sense, he faints when he gets too excited. Fully collapses and everything. Since he’s a fall risk, his teammates take care to keep an eye on him.

Annnnd Yknow he probably should’ve been earlier in the list along with the “human-ish” issues but I’m tired, it’s late, and I’m bringing this list to a close

Im sure there are more characters that I didn’t mention but I hope this helped! Thank you for the ask

[earthstellar]

Transformers Posts for Disability Pride Month 2023

Since I’m disabled and obviously love Transformers lmao, I’m probably going to be talking a lot about disabled bots and disability in various Transformers continuities etc. a bit more than usual this month! 

So, this is going to be my compilation post, to gather up everything in one spot. (Plus I’m linking some of my older posts which touch on the theme of Cybertronians and disability.) 

New Posts for 2023: 

TFP - Cane User Ratchet 

IDW 1 - Caminus: The Disabled Titan 

IDW 1 / Various - Headcanon: Hearing Disabled Megatron 

Old Posts: 

Various - Cybertonian Sign Language and Chirolinguistics 

TFP - Soundwave and Multimodal Communication (Including Non-Verbal)

More will almost certainly be added as the month goes on! 

[mechdyke-after-hours]

INSIDE THE TOWER OF GOLD

⚠️ WARNINGS!! ⚠️

mild transformers one spoilers, non-con, drugged sex, mild violence

THIS IS A NON-CON FIC. if you don't like any of the above tags PLEASE just scroll onwards.

once again another messy ficlet or whatever! but I want that mech's pussy destroyed... so... :)

Second part is here! heed the warnings!!

Sentinel Prime had all he ever wanted. Power. Money. Respect. Fame. Everything he ever dreamed was in the palm of his servo. And he LOVED it. He loved broadcasting himself in front of Iacon and letting all of the other, less important, Cybertronians see his glorious frame. He preened and polished himself constantly, making sure his plating was shiny enough that it was practically a mirror. He was the picture perfect heroic prime, as far as the citizens of Iacon were concerned.

But of course, it wasn't enough for Sentinel. It could never be enough. Which is exactly why he held the most luxurious parties he could. Free from anyone he felt too far beneath him. The best energon money could buy, triple filtered high grade and a pack of Syk. The little patches were arranged delicately on a platter, a warning card placed at the front explaining the effects, HEAVILY encouraging mechs to not take more than one and explaining how to properly use them. Avoid applying patches to the helm or chassis... the usual scrap that was only there to avoid possible lawsuits. Not like anyone would ever dare to try, but better safe than sorry.

The party was going perfectly, as it always did. He already knew he wasn't going to take anything or drink too much, since he was required at the surface tomorrow morning. He mostly just stood around, a small glass of high grade balanced between his digits that he sipped at between conversations with mechs he didn't care to learn the names of.

He'd be lying if he said he didn't jump when a servo suddenly pressed against his back. He bristled, but kept his cool, his derma curled as he forced a smile onto his face. He stayed polite, keeping up the conversation with the mech. Sentinel felt a familiar helmache coming on. His legs started to feel weak, his vision going slightly blurry. He kept up the conversation as well as he could, but his speech was starting to get slurred, his voicebox glitching. Next thing he knew, his vision was spinning and he was collapsing to the floor, the glass in his servo shattering against the floor.

Sentinel's optics slowly started to flicker online, a strange ache and pressure blooming from his crotch. He tried to move his arms, he was completely paralysed. His vision was blurred, his hearing muffled. He reset his optics, and his audials. Once. Twice. The world around him slowly started to gain some clarity. He glanced down between his legs, only to be slightly horrified at what he saw. His interface panel had been forcefully pried off. Small glowing blue droplets of energon stained his plating, mixing with splatters of pink. His array was aching and burning, feeling impossibly stretched and loose. Sentinel Prime was never a mech to pray. But in that moment, he prayed.

He glanced down at his frame. Syk patches littered his arms and his chassis. Enough to have him completely paralysed, but not enough to cause his frame to go into full system reset. His arms and legs were useless, unable to kick or push, he had to just lay there uselessly as his valve was used and abused. The swirling mix of pain and pleasure swam through his systems. His comms had been disabled, his HUD blinking a warning about needing repairs. Someone was moaning and whining, and he became aware that it was his own voice. Mechs were lined up, servos running over his once untarnished and shiny plating, now defiled and sticky. He tried to protest, but his voicebox failed him.

Sentinel sobbed, or at least he thought he did. He was vaguely aware of another round of transfluids filling his valve, dripping down onto the luxurious padded sofa beneath, now stained and torn. The mech pulled out, only to reach down and scoop up the spilling transfluids, shoving them back into his valve. He could barely make out the words being said to him, his processor taking twice as long to work. "Hah! C'mon, Prime! Keep that load in ya pretty lil' valve. Why don't you open that gestation chamber for us and we'll spark ya up, huh? Maybe then you'll actually be useful for something!" Came a sneering voice from above him. He bit his derma hard enough that he tasted energon.

Another fat spike pressed against him, the golden folds of his valve parting and wrapping around the thick metal rod. He held back a noise as thick ridges stretched his calipers to the limit, and then some. His spike twitched, before he overloaded with a loud cry, shooting transfluid up across the shiny dark blue of his chassis. The mech above him laughed cruelly, forcing Sentinel's intake open before spitting directly onto his glossa. "Dirty mech. Cumming while being passed around like shareware. If only Iacon could see their beloved prime now, with a nobody's spike shoved up his pretty cunt." Sentinel overloaded again.

The mechs manhandled him. Positioning him in whatever way they wanted. He was on all fours presenging himself like some sort of mechanimal in heat, and with the way he was panting he may as well have been. He didn't remember offlining his optics, but they shot open when a spike started to press against his intake. A rough hand squeezed at his cheek plates, forcing his mouth open. A mech of his status shouldn't be doing something as lowly as sucking spike... but it seemed he didn't have a choice. His intake hung open, the blunt tip of a spike pressing against his glossa. It slipped in further, until his nose was pressed against plating. His throat cabling felt tight, his glossa pressed flat against the floor of his intake as he drooled oral lubricants onto the floor beneath him. His tanks lurched as the mech started thrusting brutally, surely bruising the sensitive rubber of his throat. A servo wrapped around his neck and squeezed, causing him to gag even harder, an obscene bulge visible through the soft plating. His optics rolled back as tears of coolant spilled down his cheeks.

Sentinel didn't remember passing out again. But next thing he knew, he had woken up. A datastick was next to him as well as a single printed photo, his abused and whored out frame covered in Syk patches. A threat of blackmail if he'd ever seen one. He fumbled as he plugged the datastick into one of the ports on the inside of his arm, quickly uploading the footage to an encrypted folder deep in his memory banks. He groaned, as he checked his internal chronometer. He was going to be late. He couldn't be late. The quintessons would kill him if he didn't get them their energon on time, or worse, expose his treachery to all of Iacon. He gritted his denta, standing up and peeling the used Syk patches off of his plating as he trudged to the washracks with a groan, and a massive helmache.

Solvent washed over his frame, feeling like fire against his still exposed tender valve and spike housing. He scrubbed quickly, removing most of the evidence. Buffing off paint transfers and scrubbing away as much dried transfluid that he could. He rushed, turning off the shower and drying off, being careful around his exposed delicate areas. He picked up his discarded modesty panel from the floor of the main room, retrieving a welding kit from his emergency kit and getting to work. His welding job was shoddy, much more used to having people fix him up, but it'd have to do. He needed to address the people of Iacon, before heading to the surface. He just hoped quintessons didn't have the ability to smell transfluids.

[wiltyard]

mecha pilot au!reader x tranformers

PROMPT

masterlist 12/13/2024 inspired by: @/revelboo's idea of transporting humans wherever cybertronians are!!! @/keferon's mecha pilot au of mecha pilot!jazz x prowl!!

Can't help but think about an AU where a mecha pilot!Reader just suddenly gets transported to the Transformers Universe in the middle of a war?

They can't just stand still and ask the next guy they see about whats happening because they might get blown to bits. They have to make do with what their eyes can tell them, how to keep themselves safe and alive, and most importantly, who they can help.

By the time the battle’s over, they get taken aside, brought to Optimus. And he's thanking them, asking them their name, not yet aware that they are not Cybertronian at all.

The entire time, reader is just nodding along. Pretending to understand what he's saying but never actually,,,, replying, only gesturing.

Optimus just takes it that they're the silent type. 

They eventually find out the reader can only speak English and doesn't know Cybertronian.

They finally spoke. Introducing themselves, what squad they're from, their ID number, what organization they work for (they check, none of the mentioned organization or squad exists, and yet they do) telling them their name.

The Autobots register that the reader had not spoken Cybertronian, but an Earth language. One of which they thankfully have in their database.

The reader goes silent, before going; “Your stars are not my stars.” (does anyone get the reference, plsplsplss)

Reader’s mecha has a force shield that is constantly on, preventing anything from getting inside a specific perimeter around their mecha that spreads out 5-10 kilometers, specifically preventing projectiles, to other mechs, other humans, everything, from getting near them, you get the gist.

The first time someone tried to get close they hit the shield face-first, causing the reader to apologize and explain their EM field.

“I’ll have to register you manually into the system so you can get through the shield.”

From registering one person, to five, to seven, they eventually disable the shield altogether once they finally trust the Autobots.

Reader finds out that one of the bots was tinkering with something that brought them here to begin with.

Turns out it's been bringing other humans on the base too and never told them about it. To be fair, they didn't know it’d bring someone from a completely different universe here too.

And no one even thought of telling them, the reader left people behind in their universe, their duties, people might think they’re a deserter, that they abandoned them. All of those people who believed in them...the reader is enraged.

The first bot they let through the shield at the beginning is the one who first tried to talk to the reader and calm them down.

Reader doesn't reply back, the mecha they pilot silent, no sign of life, but they know the reader is in there.

Bot approaches them, sounding frustrated, whatever they were going to say gets cut off with an oof!, hitting the force field around the reader’s mech.

They watch as the hexagon shapes rippled then fade.

Reader had enabled the shield again. But this time, no one can get through them.

[in1-nutshell]

Hello! Can I make a request?

Like let's say a teacher called in sick and the students were allowed to leave early, but there is a problem…

Arcee, Optimus, bumblebee, and Bulkhead are away on a mission, everything was going fine until they got attacked by Decepticons.

Ratchet is at the base, but he can't leave because what if the others needed him to open a spacebridge and he wasn't there?

The only one available is Maxima, she had left the base early to go and strech her tires.

What if Team Prime had no choice but to let Maxima pick up the kids?

Just imagine faces of everyone upon seeing a freaking monster truck at school and not only that, but also seeing Miko, Jack, and Raf get into said truck!

HA! Love this concept!

Hope you enjoy!

Maxima picks up the kids from school

SFW, Platonic, Slight Familial, Cybertronian reader

TFP

There were times that Maxima hated having the alt mode she had.

One of the main things was that she could never go to town without raising too many questions.

This also limited her area in being a guardian or even a sub guardian!

She was given guardian duties only at the base.

Even Ratchet had sub guardian duties!

…But then again, he was an ambulance something less discrete than a monster truck.

So, forgive her for making a full stop when Ratchet told her that she needed to pick up the kids.

Maxima: “Ratchet, you do realize that my alt mode isn’t exactly… normal, right? Is there literally no one else?” Ratchet: “I know Maxima, but right now the rest of the team is out on a mission, and I cannot leave my post.” Maxima: “What if we traded places?” Ratchet: “Maxima this is not up for debate, besides your closer.” Maxima: “Then how am I—wait a minute, I got an idea! Just gotta make a quick stop…”

The kids had no idea what to expect today.

It was getting late and there was no side of their guardians anywhere.

Not even a single phone call!

A huge shadow suddenly engulfed the trio.

The trio were shocked to see Maxima’s alt mode in the drive.

The doors opened revealing Agent Fowler and Maxima’s holoform in the front. Fowler: “C’mon kids, it late.” The kids excitedly started climbing in when a shrill voice spoke. It was Sharon, one of the most annoying PTA parents to ever grace the schools’ halls. Infamously known for her calling… Sharon: “EXCUSE ME!” Sharon glared at the kids inside the truck. Sharon: “And wait do you kids think you’re doing?! Get down from there!” Maxima pokes her head out the window. Maxima: “Is there a problem ma’am?” Sharon glares at her: “Yes! This vehicle is not suitable for picking up children! I should report you for it!” Maxima: “I’m just picking the kids up ma’am. No harm done.” Sharon’s face turned red. Sharon: “My husband is a police officer! I can have you ARRESTED MISSY!” Agent Fowler’s head pokes out the window. Fowler: “Is there a problem ma’am.” Sharon: “There’s going to be a problem if you don’t pick these children in a suitable car!” Fowler: “Miss, this was the only vehicle avail—” Sharon: “I WILL HAVE YOU ARREST YOU BIG, FAT— ARGH!!!” Sharon pours her hot coffee on Maxima’s tires and spits on them. Maxima’s holoform winces a bit. That was going to be a pain to clean… Fowler shows her his badge: “Special Agent William Fowler to you.” Sharon quickly shuts up and quickly runs back to her car.

Maxima quickly got out of that town using every suitable backway she knew before speeding down the dusty road.

She had disabled her holoform once they all got to the base.

Thankfully the team had arrived a few minutes earlier

Maxima had opened the doors for the humans to get out.

Maxima is about to transform but Miko waves her arms. Miko: “Wait! Wait!” Maxima: “Huh? Miko?” Miko: “Just wait here! Boys cm’on!” The trio went off to one of the supply closets. Bulkhead: “What’s with that?” Maxima and Fowler: “Sharon.” Bulkhead and Arcee cringe at the name while Bumblebee whirled a bit angrily. Maxima: “Yeah… she spat and pour coffee on my rims.” Miko, Jack and Raf walk out with buckets of water, soap and drying rags. Maxima: “Umm, what’s all this for?” Raf: “Helping you clean the coffee, spit and dirty from your rims.” Maxima tries to ignore the swelling in her spark. Maxima: “Seriously its not—” Miko: “Shush! Play with the rubber duck while we clean.” Maxima chuckles a bit as Miko places the duck in her dashboard as the others got ready to clean her rims. Maybe today wasn’t such a bad day after all.

Visual representation of what Maxima wanted to do to Sharon when she saw muddy puddle near her the next day...