#I LIKE SKYFIRE A LOT OKAY

[epicfirestormer]

TRANSFORMERS ONE SPOILERS IN BOUND!!!

My current explanation as to why Skyfire/Jetfire isn't in Transformers One is because he died somewhere during Sentinel Prime's betrayal. Imagine he was a part of the High Guards, one of the scientists working alongside Shockwave and Starscream, before everything fell and he just happened to be one of the few to die first.

Or maybe, even, Skyfire/Jetfire went on a patrol, scouting out for research and resources while the fight between the Quintessons was still ongoing, and just got a bit too close between them and Sentinel had to take him down. Just to make sure he didn't spread the word, but didn't check to see if he was taken out. Instead, he just crashed, somewhere far off, forgotten and left to perish. Presumed dead by everyone else. Just like when he was frozen in ice.

[cosmics-beings]

You've mentioned Starscream as being abusive before and I was wondering if you had an examples of that?

Well, yes! and i warn this is gonna be heavy critique on starscream so if you like his character you might not want to read this. i say this with starscream being my favorite character T-T

I can list a few examples off of the top of my head - we have his relationship with Knockout, where he is physically abusive to Knockout multiple times, which is why Knockout betrays him. The sad thing is that Knockout himself was trying to be friendly and genuine to Knockout, and he was cruel to him.

I do offer some empathy to Starscream because at this time, he himself was dealing with his own abuse and his own situation of toxicity but that isn't an excuse to be abusive to another person.

Also, i think it's important to understand a lot of Starscream's abusive tendencies can't be tied solely to megatron.

Throughout various continuums we've seen Starscream being abusive to his trine - for instance IDW (and the reason Skywarp and Thundercracker are seekers in IDW is directly linked to Starscream's abuse and manipulation of them).

He is also, in some iterations, abusive to Skyfire (and no I'm not just talking about Skybound) whom is his friend and he has tried to kill and manipulate. This is especially a cycle of abuse because Skyfire trusts Starscream and they are friends, and some people see them closer than that. In many ways it means if Skyfire didn't break from the autobots, there could have very well been a stronger cycle of abuse that grew between the two of them as Starscream in a way began to descend into madness and more hunger. which is why i am kinda annoyed when people make skyfire's sole purpose to save and protect Starscream, when Starscream in many iterations is awful to him.

In Earthspark, it is heavily alluded that he was abusive to and treated his trine the same way Megatron treated him, which is why clearly, the trine isn't very empathetic toward him in regards to the whole megatron thing.

There are other examples; I'm not using him being aggressive toward autobots because those aren't people he is close to.

Also, this isn't a reason to excuse how Megatron treats him. However, I do firmly believe that he had issues way before Megatron, and especially in IDW we see he was also dealing with issues of abuse...

I think i prefer earthspark's characterization of him because it holds him accountable for his abusive actions while being empathetic toward him.

A lot of Starscream's abusive tendencies come from the origin of his creation, especially in IDW hew as created to serve others or created to have his use designated for him. So he does anything he can to not be that person, or to get power and to him, power means stepping over people.

Do I think in some instances, his toxic relationship with megatron can amp up his abuse - yes, absolutely. Whether or not he'd be as bad as he was without megatron in the picture --well i always go back and forth with that.

[some-pers0n]

Turtle's arc is so subtle yet so good and I love it a lot, which sucks since I've seen a number of people write him off as just "socially awkward kid who is boring", which?? No??? Gimme a second just to ramble, okay?

Turtle has terrible self-esteem issues and an inferiority complex. He puts himself down, calling himself boring, stupid, and generally useless constantly in his internal dialogue. He's kind and sweet and really well meaning, but he's socially awkward and shy and can't exactly strike up a conversation.

He's like this in due part of being one of Queen Coral's many...many sons. Christ alive this woman had thirty-two sons-- but that's besides the point. He's just another dragon. He's not old enough to be a leader, but not young enough to exactly be any special. He's a middle child. He's a nobody. Just another SeaWing prince who's destined to either run away or to become a military general.

The one time Turtle was ever truly acknowledged was when the night happened with his father, Gill. Gill needed Turtle to fetch one of the royal guards so that they could protect Queen Coral's eggs. But, Turtle couldn't find them. He failed. Gill lashes out, snapping back at Turtle for his inability to do such a simple task and killing the eggs in the process. Turtle internalized this moment. He was useless. He's a nobody, and when he's forced to be somebody, he'll just fail and let everyone down.

Thus, he doesn't see himself as anything special. A fuck up if anything; which makes it all the more ironic that he's an animus dragon. He's literally got the most powerful, special ability in the entire continent, and more than anything he's self-conscious and terrified of it as he would then be pushed into the limelight over it. Because of it, Turtle has made some...rather selfish choices every now and then. The incident with Anemone was created solely because he was petrified of being put on a pedestal. He doesn't want to be some grand dragon. So, he diverted attention away from him and enchanted Anemone to have magic.

Turtle doesn't want to make choices or do anything out of fear of failure and letting others down. Worse is if he's discovered to be an animus, where he's then elevated to such high expectations that he is convinced he will never be able to accomplish. He's held back by his own perceived inadequacy. He doesn't think highly of himself. He doesn't want the spotlight as he's both afraid of being seen and afraid of what those people will say when he lets them down.

He blended into the background in Moon Rising. Moon herself was confused by not being able to read his thoughts, which turned out to be because of the Magic Plot Rock we all know and love as skyfire. However, as the rest of the Jade Winglet ran off when Moon revealed to have been a mind reader, Turtle stuck around. He related to that. He felt pity and understood Moon the most. They are most like one another anyways, with the both of them being ashamed of their own powers and fearing being rejected by their loved ones the most.

He's a deeply kind and considerate soul who wants nothing more than to help people. He cares for Moon and wants to comfort her when she's at her lowest. He is so sweet, but he does it in a quiet, deeply personal way. He doesn't like big gestures or calling attention upon himself. He just likes being close to another. I feel he connected most with Moon because he found his own insecurities and fears in her and related to that. He found another person like him.

The Jade Winglet helps Turtle a lot with his own issues. Slowly throughout the series, he grows a little more confident of himself. His kindness is shown yet again with him becoming friends with Peril. Again, relating and sharing experiences of having powers and abilities that others want to take advantage of and unwillingly push them into roles they wouldn't want. He laughs, jokes, and playfully banters with her. He's getting better and better.

And then...Darkstalker.

Darkstalker throws a wrench into everything. Turtle reverts instantly back to his scared, cowardly ways. He enchants a stick to hide himself from Darkstalker, instantly sensing that Darkstalker hated him. He feels powerless to stop Darkstalker. What could he do?? Well, he could try to use his magic, but that would mean he steps out into the spotlight! He's seen! But this is serious. Darkstalker is massive, has animus magic, can read minds, and can see into the future. Turtle is just a kid. He's a nobody. He can't do anything.

He's scared. He feels useless and afraid. He's no hero. He doesn't want to be a hero. He's nothing like the heroes from legend. He's nobody.

Over the course of his book, we see Turtle quietly observe and stand by as Darkstalker takes over Jade Mountain Academy. He's plotting and planning, feigning his kindness and basking in the praise and worship others are giving him. Darkstalker is the antithesis to Turtle. He freely uses his magic without care and, more than anything, wants to be seen and witnessed by others. He loved the attention that his magic brings him. If somebody doesn't like him, then he either kills them off or brainwashes them into liking him. He's the polar opposite of Turtle in every way.

And you know who else is like that? Anemone.

Anemone is corrupted and warped even more by Darkstalker. Before hand, she was a kid who had just been released from the suffocating life as Queen Coral's only daughter. Darkstalker saw her as a pawn he could exploit. He encouraged her to be more risky and daring with her magic. He whispered into her ear and tells her that she's able to do anything. He's grooming a child he's grooming a child--

Regardless, Turtle feels guilty for everything Anemone has been put through. He doesn't fully understand the extent to which she had suffered as being physically tied to her mother at all times and being trained as a living weapon, but he feels so much guilt over it. Because of his inability to take accountability and risk being seen, he made a selfish, half-formed enchantment that was supposed to be a quick fix. He did not fully think of the consequences, and yet here they are before him.

As the book goes on, we see Turtle slowly but steadily try to form a resistance movement against Darkstalker. He had been watching and eventually found himself alone with Qibli and Winter. Winter, who was still heavily under the "Darkstalker is good :))))" spell, refused to listen as Turtle told them about it. Qibli, who wasn't affected, understood. For one of the first times ever, Turtle used his magic for another. Well, he also enchanted Kinkajou's skyfire so that she would be almost invisible to Darkstalker, but that would require me spending two seconds thinking about where that scene leads to (the love spell) and I'd rather not.

Anywho, Turtle is still insecure and afraid, but he's slowly becoming more sure of himself. He knows Darkstalker is evil and he wants to take him down. He's deeply afraid of him though, as he knows Darkstalker will kill him. He still feels useless and scared.

Until finally he has to act.

Anemone, coaxed by Darkstalker into doing this, goes off to kill Queen Coral and her entire family. Anemone is convinced this is what she deserves after being a terrible mother. Suddenly, Turtle realizes that his little mistake of giving Anemone god powers now has consequences and his family is going to die.

The guilt he feels is immense, but he needs to stand up. He can't sit idly anymore and let the world pass him by. He needs to stop her. He's the only one who can match her power. He has to fight her. He has to warn everyone. He has to do something heroic and terrifying.

He confronts Anemone on the beach. For the first time, he stands up for himself. He doesn't back down when she barks at him and demands he leaves. She tries to kill him, only for him to finally reveal himself. He's admitting to his mistakes. His guilt. He knows that she's not going to have a good reaction. Yeah so Anemone then tries to kill him via animus magic. The pair fight, with Turtle wining in the end.

Yada yada the book ends with Turtle having his magic taken away, but over the course of the book (as well as bleeding into DOD), Turtle has grown significantly in terms of his fears and anxieties. He's able to make a stand for himself and actively try to make things better. He's scared and still socially awkward, but he's, well, a hero in some semblance. Something he thought was the most terrifying thing possible for him he does.

Turtle is a naturally kind and considerate soul. He wants to help others, and when he does hurt them it eats away at his heart. He's afraid of conflict and prefers to be a doormat if it means he can slip through the cracks and come out unscathed.

Through the books however, he grows into a more upstanding and confident character. He's less prone to self-deprecation and letting others take advantage of him. He doesn't let things pass by and get himself into terrible situations through in-action. Through the support of his friends (and going through traumatizing scenario after traumatizing scenario) he is marginally better. Not fixed, but good enough to be happy and still the same, socially awkward but incredibly kind Turtle.

He's a character who I think a lot of people can see themselves in, and his arc in particular is one I feel many should aspire to. To stand up for themselves. To mend and fix the mistakes they've made and try to do better. Problems can't be fixed by some other hero. You have to take initiative. Stand up. Be the hero you need.

[valvedimension]

Flying bots getting too heavy to actually fly when pregnant, and getting very grumpy about it? Having a ton of energy they would normally get out with a quick fly? Needing to be dragged into overload after overload to get rid of it?

Oh HELL YES

Making this skystar because Star deserves a domestic life with his loving husband. And also backstory because the worm has taken over and demands it.

I DID NOT INTEND FOR THIS ASK TO GET SO LONG. OOPS??

It takes a little while for Starscream to open up to Skyfire when they become lovers, but Sky’s okay with that. He’s frustratingly patient and understanding and won’t stop showering Star with kisses and love (Starscream pretends to hate it, but he really does love it. Sometimes he drops it.). Eventually, they get to the interfacing part of the relationship, and it leads to even more body worship.

Starscream’s a kinky fragger and Skyfire is more than open to indulge in them. It comes to a head when Star asks Sky to breed him, which, to Starscream’s surprise, he’s insanely turned on by, and starts pounding him into the berth. Eventually, Starscream’s forge is stuffed full of transfluid and the two are tuckered out, cut to some very sweet aftercare and sleepy cuddling.

Well they end up getting the full “breeding” experience, because Starscream gets knocked up. He’s cranky and not very happy, being all “I can’t believe you did this to me” and “Primus, I feel gross” but Skyfire is a very good sire and dotes on him, so there’s very few issues. Starscream, despite his complaining, keeps the sparkling, and is seen cooing at his belly as if the sparkling can hear him, staring at the little spark orbiting his own - sending pings of “it’s ok”, “I’m here”, “I love you”. Skyfire is delighted with the changes to Starscream’s body - he’s a deep believer that a carrying frame is both beautiful and sexy - which he tells Starscream all the time. The seeker puts on some extra weight, too, which he isn’t thrilled about as a jet, but learns to be ok with it - even starting to like it (and Skyfire indulges him in his cravings, as long as he makes sure to consume healthy fuel as well).

But nearing the end of the first trimester is when he really starts to get cranky. He’s ansty, full of energy - a flier needs to, well, fly!! He can’t just sit around on his (now fatter) aft and do nothing, he needs to feel the air streaming against his wings as he blasts through the sky! But he can’t fly for very long, or do much of anything requiring a lot of energy, and opts for walking, public transit, or a slow flying pace to get where he needs to go. As he keeps growing, though, he can’t fly at all - he’s become much too heavy, between his weight gain and the sparkling. He gets grumpier, he’s so full of angry energy he could just burst! - but because he can’t, that energy mixes in with his ravenous interface drive. Before Skyfire knows it he and Starscream are interfacing every day - 2, maybe 3 times a solar cycle - it’s a good thing sire coding exists, or else poor Skyfire would be drained dry. It’s strangely sweet, fragging his mate like the night they accidentally ignited the sparkling. Skyfire praises him, “So beautiful”, “doing so well”, “such a perfect carrier”, “love you so much”, which almost brings Starscream to tears. After they’re done, Starscream opens his spark chamber so the two can admire their little light, and he gets spooned (because he deserves it).

When their sparkling arrives, and they’re officially creators, they’re just overjoyed. Who knew they’d make such good parents?

[destinationtoast]

Hi, I would like to know how to make a list of all the ships in a fandom on AO3. For example, I use the Tag Search on "Transformers - A Media Types", but it shows that Jetfire/Starscream is the most popular with 641, but it is actually only the 6th with 1074. Furthermore, it quickly drops to showing Relationship with a single digit when I know that there are dozens of Relationship with hundreds of Works! Why don't most Works appear? Do you know of a way to find All the ships of a fandom on AO3?

Hey! Sorry for the slow reply... I was traveling and then covid knocked me flat for several weeks. :P

So let's talk about AO3 Tag Search. In general, I'm very excited about recent improvements to this feature... There didn't used to be any way to find the top ships (or characters, or freeform/additional tags) across all of AO3. But now you can* by doing a tag search and sorting by uses (descending order):

*In practice, though you won't exactly get a trustworthy list of top tags (and, as you pointed out, in some cases tags may even be missing! we'll get to that later). You will get a list where the numbers are not correct, sometimes to a bizarre degree:

For example, when you click through on the Derek/Stiles tag, you find far fewer works using the tag (note that these are the public works -- if you're logged in, you see a somewhat higher number, but not as high as in the above screenshot):

I will be posting some stats soon that show different numbers (and a different order) for all of the above top ships. But why is there the discrepancy? Here are several guesses about why some works are wrong in Tag Search (and then I'll get to why some ships are missing and what to do about it):

TAG INFLATION #1: The above numbers probably include tags used in AO3 bookmarks, which increases some of the numbers quite a lot. [Evidence: if you search for top freeform tags, you get tags like "To Read" high on the list, and authors don't use those tags.]

TAG INFLATION #2: The above numbers seem to include draft works. [Evidence: I just tested this out by finding a rare tag with only one use... I created a draft of a new work using that same tag, and even though I didn't publish the work, Tag Search now showed 2 uses of the tag.]

TAG DEFLATION: The above numbers do NOT seem to take tag wrangling into account. Some AO3 tags have a lot of synonyms or subtags, but I think only exact uses of the tag get counted in the above list. [Evidence: I found at a tag with only one use according to tag search, but two works when I clicked the tag (Peter Gabriel/Mike Rutherford). I found that one of the works contained a synonym of the main tag ("Mike Rutherford/Peter Gabriel (Imagined)"). That would match with Tag Search only listing one of work for "Peter Gabriel/Mike Rutherford." And when I created a new draft work that used the main tag, it increase the count in Tag Search for "Peter Gabriel/Mike Rutherford" -- but when I created a new draft work that used the synonym tag, it did not.]

There may also be other factors affecting the overall Tag Search numbers.

Okay, so I suspect #3, tag deflation due to no tag wrangling, is (helping to?) create the unexpectedly low numbers you are seeing for ships like Jetfire/Starscream. I suspect that many people do not use the full canonical tag "Jetfire | Skyfire/Starscream (Transformers)", and those other uses don't get counted in Tag Search. The only way to address this issue is to click through on a tag returned by Tag Search and find out how many works the tag has once you look at its list of works.

But why aren't some ships showing up at all? That's a different question. Here, I suspect the answer again is related to tag wrangling. Every (?) canonical ship tag has at least one parent tag that is a fandom tag (as well as the relevant character tags). You can see the parent tags for Jetfire/Starscream on its tag page:

Skyfire (Transformers), Starscream (Transformers), The Transformers (Cartoon Generation One), The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers (Bay Movies), Transformers (Dreamwave Generation One), Transformers (IDW 2019), Transformers (Marvel Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Animated (2007), Transformers: Armada, Transformers: Beast Wars (Cartoon), Transformers: Cybertron, Transformers: Cyberverse, Transformers: Energon, Transformers: Prime, Transformers: Shattered Glass, Transformers: The Headmasters, Transformers: War for Cybertron (Video Games)

Jetfire/Starscream has "Transformers - All Media Types" as a parent tag, and I suspect that is why it shows up in the Tag Search for that fandom. I would guess that some of the bigger Transformer ships do NOT have that broad fandom as a parent tag. Let's check the parent tags of Megatron/Optimus Prime:

Megatron (Transformers), Optimus Prime, The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers (Bay Movies), Transformers Animated (2007), Transformers: Armada, Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001), Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015)

Megatron/Optimus Prime does NOT have "Transformers - All Media Types" as a parent tag. I suspect that's why it didn't show up in your tag search.

So what can you do? Unfortunately, I think the only way to be sure to find all the Transformers ships is to do a Tag Search within each of the different Transformers subfandoms (and I know there are a lot) and then combine the lists of ships you find for each. And then be sure to visit the tag works page for each resulting tag to get the actual number of works, as discussed above. I also discussed other ways to get the find the top relationships here, but I think they're all either less reliable or more arduous than this method, at least for a big fandom like Transformers.

Best of luck!

[wings-of-fire-confessions]

I think people bash Moon and Qibli a bit too much for the vase seen aka the scenes where Winter gets mad at them for trying to defend Darkstalker. Now I want to make it clear that I am not saying what Moon or Qibli is wrong because it was but this scene basically put on full display both Moon and Qibli's character flaw. Moon is overly forgiving and doesn't like confrontation if she could stop an argument or something bad from happening she would. This is what makes her compelling and so different than so many other dragons is the fact that she is willing to try and stop an escalation without violence and forgives dragons the problem is that she takes it to far and Darkstalker knows this.

Darkstalker knew about Moon's non-confrontational and forgiving nature and took advantage of it. Darkstalker lied making himself seem like a good dragon downplaying his awful actions while telling Moon a rose tinted version of what he wants. Moon being trusting and socially stunted from being raised in a rainforest by herself wants to trust Darkstalker and give him a chance thinking he has changed. This is what Darkstalker counted on being nice and friendly to Moon while hiding all the bad things he's done, and because of this when Winter tells Moon the truth she can't believe it, she doesn't want to believe that the dragon she considers a friend is doing such horrible things. I really can't say this enough Darkstalker knows this about Moon and did this intentionally because it's similar to what he did to Clearsight and Fathom he's a manipulator and Moon not really having a lot of social experience/interaction is falling for this.

For Qibli it's the fact he wants to be liked by everyone. Qibli's need to be liked by everyone is why he sided with Moon when Winter confronted her about Darkstalker it's because he wants to be liked her. It's why he gets so sad when Winter says he can't be friends with Qibli if he thinks Darkstalker enchanting dragons to like him is good, it's because he realizes that he can't protect Moon's feelings and okay the both sides card and because a part of him think that an enchantment to make dragons like you isn't bad because of how badly he wants to be liked by everyone. Also I don't want to leave out the fact that Darkstalker got the make everyone like me enchantment idea from Qibli.

As for Winter I don't really have much to say besides he was angry but rightfully so. He left behind the Ice kingdom for the Jade Winglet now and now Moon is trying to avoid the conflict and say that Darkstalker wouldn't do that not knowing about the make everyone like me spell and Icewing plague until Winter reaches his limit and tells Moon and Qibli a hard truth they needed to hear.

I also feel like Darkstalker used the fact that Darkstalker was busing Qibli's people pleaser mentality, Moon's unawareness, non-confrontational, and forgiving nature against Winter's more confrontational nature to drive a wedge between the Jade Winglet. Cause remember when under the mountain he has been reading everyone's minds for a long time so he has a good understanding on how they work and combined with Darkstalker's manipulative personality he would use this information to his advantage to break apart the Jade Winglet and isolate them to he could manipulate or trick them more.

If you want to break from canon a bit you can have this play out exactly the same but have Moon go out and try to find Winter. Qibli would then follow to help and when they find him Winter would try to get them to go away but Moon would apologize for defending Darkstalker. Explaining how she didn't know about the Icewing plague and enchantment to get everyone to like him (which she was excluded from because of skyfire and because Darkstalker wanted to make a friend the real way with Moon) and explain how Darkstalker tricked her how he manipulated her into thinking he has changed and that he was her friend after and by saying of anyone found out about her powers they would hate her and how even still he's still hiding things from her after he got her to trust him in an emotional outburst (like mad at first that turns into crying) because she feels betrayed and tricked.

This would make Winter understand where Moon is coming from and clear up any confusion and misunderstanding on why Moon was defending Darkstalker. It would also make Qibli face more internal struggle about being a people pleaser and make him really think if he is bad or evil for thinking that a spell that would force dragons into liking you is good. He would probably think to himself that he wouldn't be good with animus magic and that this could be why dragons don't like him in a self hating spiral before Moon and Winter notice he's not acting right and snap him back to reality and he apologizes to Winter too.

This way they understand each other more and are now on the same page when it comes to Darkstalker.

Sorry if my ramblings are messy because I am writing this quickly but yeah those are my thoughts. Here is a cookie for those of you that actually read an essay for a confession 🍪🍪🍪

.

[beefscrap]

Ajdbsixs saw you were doing requests maybe possibly and I was like why don’t I submit my son Skyfire

uhh right his story

this is copied from another ask because I do not remember it but

If I remember his lore correctly (it’s been a while), he was kidnapped by the nightwings (when he was still in his egg?) and brought to the night kingdom (or brought by his dad) where he met his friend Firefly, who lived as a demon in his head for a while before getting his own body back. Uhh currently he lives in his kingdom(?) with his friends Firefly and Pitcherplant. He’s been through a lot idk haha. He’s grouchy and kind of a jerk.

Anyway I really like your ocs I think they’re very cool and would love to see them interact with Sky but if not, that’s okay! :D

(wasn’t sure quite how the whole gang request thing was going down so hopefully this makes sense)

Embarrassed whimsy. He’ll never be excited again after this experience

[geek-antic]

Soundwave is a powerhouse and an enigma and we don't talk about it enough so i'mma just gonna make a compilation of "how the hell did he do that" and "what the hell is he" moments that i've managed to find from across several transformers continuities

first off is from the first IDW comic continuity

this is never explained, so i can only assume its because soundwave is technically an outlier but i haven't seen a panel that shows other outliers having "off the scale" readings, whatever that means.

and then in the last moments of this continuity he sacrifices himself to save the universe/earth by using his outlier ability along with the enigma of combination to essentially connect the dead to the living in the entire galaxy for a hot minute . idk how the hell he did that or how he knew to do that, my money is on bad writing but i digress.

next up Transformers Prime

tfp fans: elaborate on that. tfp writers: no. transformers prime soundwave is definitely a powerhouse and an enigma for several reasons but number one is this god damn scene with ratchet exclaiming soundwave isn't your standard cybertronian and then to my frustration the show refuses to explain why.

also he can open portals. the only explanation for that is in the novels where he actually was part of the invention of spacebridge technology. i guess he could've incorporated that into himself, which frankly is kinda unheard of in of itself. but still I feel inclined to tell him that skywarp called and they want their powers back.

Next, we have the game Transformers: fall of cybertron. where he scavenges together all of megatrons parts and puts him back together which, yeah sure why not? it's essentially like putting a corpse back together but then he just REVIVES HIM??

with his mind completely intact despite having been decimated by Metroplex and being dead for several hours. excuse me sir but that shouldn't be possible. I guess I could just chop it up to the writers being a bit loosey goosey with their own rules for the world but it's still quite a feat. but thinking back to G1 where he did the same thing with skyfire I guess they assumed it's just something he can do?

although skyfire's revival was a bit more reasonable considering he was still in one piece and frozen solid which they explained to be the reason as to why he was kept intact. but I'm assuming that's why the writers were like "well let's just have him do the same thing for megatron" and everyone was like yeah okay why not. also like a lot of things in G1 this inbuilt high voltage canon/defibrillator is never brought up again which is hilarious and par for the course for G1.

there are several more moments throughout all the tf continuities where soundwave just does something inexplicable but these are a some of the moments that stuck out to me the most. I welcome others to add onto this post if they wish. because I'm sure I've missed some "how the hell did he do that" moments that would be a shame not to bring up.

[driftsart]

Ok soo whats the seeker trine backstory for ur au?

Sure! ⬇️

So what I'm brainstorming so far:

So their backstory is a bit different, and still a bit of a work in progress, but so far I have that they're brothers, they all have slightly different ages with Starscream being the oldest and Thundercracker being the youngest, as well as pieces of the story. The seeker trine is a bit different cause Skywarp and Thundercracker aren't really seekers, they both took on different roles.

•Before the war, Starscream was a scientist with Skyfire. He was around 35-ish (in human years)? When the war started.

•Skywarp was also assigned a job but he refused and decided to depend on other less legal ways of getting credits (money? Lmao). Skywarp found a sealed off dark energon mine not so far from his home and would sell bits of dark energon to others secretly, and they payed him a lot. Starscream was unaware of this, and he thought that Skywarp had a job. Skywarp was a smart bot, he just made bad decisions. Even though he's the middle brother, he acts more as an older brother because he's overprotective of them. He was around 25-ish (in human years) when the war started.

•Thundercracker was also assigned a job and he was in training for the job. He was assigned the role of helping with technology at hospitals. He was often underestimated by others because he was much shorter than his brothers and because he was a bit nervous and jumpy. He was somewhere around 20 (in human years) when the war started.

•So they were basically in the war but not by choice, they were dragged into it. When the war started, they fled their home, but in a panic to get away, Starscream led his two brothers into an underground tunnel to get away from the war above. This was a big mistake because the tunnel was unstable and some parts collapsed. It miraculously didn't squash them, it just wounded them, especially Thundercracker which lost a leg because the roof of the tunnel collapsed onto his leg and squashed it flat. Starscream broke his arm during this incident and and Skywarp got hit in the head with some falling materials but he was okay. Megatron was actually closeby and heard Thundercracker's cries (cus he has a leg crushed, it hurts) and he rushed to help. He took the three brothers to his hideout where he was in the process of building a ship. It was unfinished but half of it was already done. Megatron took care of them and everything but they had to remove the crushed part of Thundercracker's leg which was basically half of it.

•The only reason why Thundercracker doesn't have a leg til this day is because the deceptions were low on materials and equipment since they were just trying to escape Cybertron because they weren't safe there anymore. So he walks with something similar to crutches. He helps Knockout and Breakdown with the technology though, since he knows how to do that. He does feel really useless though, he says he's never enough.

The whole seeker thing is actually kind of like a group where all the "baby" cybertronians rescued by the deceptions back on Cybertron in the war would be trained do things alongside Starscream. Starscream taught them.

Skywarp, Blitzwing, and Lockdown are in charge of keeping humans as well as autobots far away from where their ship is on Earth. Megatron did tell them not to fight if it isn't necessary but they sometimes do anyways.

So that's what I have so far Ik it's kind of all over the place but I'm still brainstorming on it :D

I think I wrote way more than I needed to lmao 💀

If there's any other questions I'll be happy to answer ;)

[transingthoseformers]

I feel like there's a few stages to the eggs being laid in vehicles thing which is really funny to me HAHA

Like imagine before the humans knew transformers existed, its like a weird cryptid type story that people don't quite believe... that one day some guy went to his car and found it dented, scratched, sticky... and he saw something move inside and like he just legged it. Never went back. No one ever confirmed if that was real. By the time some curious kids went looking, the car was gone.

Then, later, as humans start to realise there are these strange mechanical aliens on their planet, they also start to piece together that uhhhhhhh sometimes they do unspeakable things to human cars. There's a whole debate about whether it's car sex or not. A lot of people are trying to say its not what it looks like. The cool robots would never. That's eventually how they end up asking Optimus. That's also when the humans realise these robots can blush in shame and embarrassment.

At some point, when humans are so used to these cybertronians living on earth, getting your car get turned into a nest is kinda like getting infested with bees yknow. People don't hate the bees but also like gawsh dangit. Like couldn't you do this somewhere else.

Guys like skyfire trying to return planes/vehicles after that are so funny tho gdugwud this massive robot looking so sheepish and trying to return an aircraft that looks like it was put through a sandblaster and also eaten from the inside out.

Omggggg yes

It's absolutely a cryptid thing at first, and that was the intended vibes with my first post about eggs in cars

Love how it was a process

Someone: it's definitely not car sex, that's a myth

Them, when it happens to their car: ... Okay it might be car sex

Oh Optimus

Because it is

It is car sex

Hshdh yes. Like goddamn it they had places to go that day

Exactly, like Skyfire you still did it. You still fucked the plane. They still have to replace that.

[gl1tt3r-gutz-and-r0b0tz-sl]

Hello ^^ kind of new here saw a piece of your art in the Arcee tag and lost your art style is SO PRETTY and uhm I have like two questionsss

First question What do you think of the female autobots the ones led Elita I think there's Greenlight Moonracer Lancer Firestar and Chromia likely someone else I'm forgetting- tho if you don't know who I'm talking about pls just ignore this question :'D Second question what are the ships that you ship? I already saw your a Arcee x Hotrod/Rodimus shipper which I love :) but what other ships do you like/ship? This is way longer than it should have been I'm sorry TvT

Oh no! It's okay! Don't apologize, I love when people ask me things about Transformers ^^ and thank you so much for liking my art! I love drawing Arcee so much lol, I think I've done her over ten times on this blog so far.

So, to answer the first question, I've heard of some of the female autobots, Chromia and Elita 1, and a little of Moonracer. I like them a lot. I'm actually rewatching Transformers series and trying to delve into the comics so I can get some of their mannerisms and quirks to implement into my own AU. I love the different types of female bots, especially ones that lean into cultures like Windblade does.

Some of the ships I like are related to my AU and some aren't.

I like seeing Skystar or Jetstar, which is Skyfire/Jetfire x Starscream. But I also love a platonic fluff between them as well. Both are just adorable.

Like you've stated, I do ship Hot Rod/Rodimus x Arcee. I just thought they were adorable, especially since I grew up watching my father's copy of the Transformers: The Movie ever since I was 5.

Oplita, Optimus x Elita, is undeniably the cutest one I've shipped, and the most heartbreaking one at that too for reasons I won't disclose to not spoil my fic.

I like Megoplita, Megatron x Optimus x Elita too for the drama.

Starscream x Arcee is also a ship I've delved into here and I don't mind the dynamic, but it's situational to the continuity. I like tfp Starcee if I'm being honest.

Arcee and Springer in g1 was also cute.

Windblade and Starscream was also a dynamic I thought was interesting.

I've recently been seeing Jazz and Prowl everywhere and I think it's fucking hilarious so obviously I love that too.

When I first watched g1 when I was younger, I shipped Nightbird and Megatron together from g1. I still kind of do, but in a more.. toxic work boss and doll baby employee kind of thing. Like a more tame version of Megstar.

Wavewave or Shockwave and Soundwave interested me for a bit, but I doubt it would last much due to the lack of physical emotion from both of them. It would most likely be for strengthening power and transactional reasons.

I'll have to really watch more transformers media to look more into ships, really. But I'd love to hear your ships personally. I'm always open to learning what other people like.

[phoenixisobsessed]

If we could request everything; do you read fanfics or comics/canon only? Do you have a OTP? What is your least liked transformers show? Did you visit a tf convention at some point? Just asking what could be good, ya don't have to answer though! <:

HDUDKFKFBJSB I LOVE ANSWERING QUESTIONS.

Okay so, I am generally a canon reader. It’s mostly because I don’t seek out fanfics and don’t really use AO3 (I am a comic reader my ADHD needs pictures LFMAO) but I have read a few fanfics because some of them are so…oouhhrhrhd loves… So if I ever get recommended fanfics I’ll probably read them :3

I mean I ship a lot of characters. I don’t know if I have an OTP though. Also because most of my ships are just canon stuff like Drift x Ratchet, Chromedome x Rewind, Tailgate x Cyclonus, Knockout x Breakdown, stuff like that. (Can you tell that I’m a gay man?) BUT!! I am also an enjoyer of Megop/Oplita/Megoplita. Half canon implied but yk. Also enjoy a more Ace relationship Wavewave. AND HUUUGE enjoyer of Skystar oh my GOD my two little scientists. Swagnus also kinda funny BAHABH. So OTP may be Skyfire and Starscream ngl. (Then I also have one with my oc x Whirl but shhh…my oc isn’t really canon so I don’t count it HAHA)

The show that I LEAST liked is gonna be hard ngl. I am generally a very positive person and I like to see the good over the bad I guess xD. Like I could say I really do not like the Bayverse generally but that’s not really a show. So UUUGHH I’ll probably say Headmasters? Mostly because it was…uhm…a bit weird. BAHABAH. Like there’s a lot of weird shit in shows but honestly It just threw me off so bad. There was a bunch of toxic masculinity and stuff but oh well, I guess that’s the 80’s for you. At least the unofficial dub was funny as hell.

I have never been to a tfcon no. I suffer from Europeanism and brokeness.

But ig a bit extra, I have watched all (official) transformers media, plus going through all (official) transformers comics. Yippee!! That’s it, I love yapping, thanks for the questions. I’ll answer more of these kinds of asks once I finish the catformers x3 Just answering this one as an exception since you want it as a reference for future asks ;P

[asmoteeth]

Fandom ask game- GO! 5, 6, and 16 please!

OMG HAIIII CHICKEN :333

I'm gonna do this for Transformers in general xP

something you see in fics a lot and love.

something you see in art a lot and love.

a tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate.

1. Something I see in fics a lot is that the Cybertronian anatomy is different in a lot of fics! It's fanon so everyone has their own little version of the biology sorrounding these giant robots. My favorites are the ones that are inspired by animal responses to stimulus :3 one I see a lot is Cybertronians characters puffing out their plating to seem bigger when frightened or angry AND I LOVE THAT SM-- 10 meter kitties-- I have a lot of these hcs myself ^^. I also love when people make up family relations between different characters, no matter how distant they might be.

2. Something I see in art a lot is how artists give canon characters their little trademarks, an example of this would be making the character's faceplates darker (this one is popular in Skyfire fanart and I love it) ALSO LOVE LOVE LOVE when they add little modifications (I saw a Breakdown fanart the other day where they gave him a cap brim that shadowed his face and it was ADORABLE. I also saw someone give Skyfire a fur collar, which is ridiculously cool)

3. I would love for people to write more Autobots being totally okay with the human life span :3? I know some characters (cofcof Starscream in that one comic cofcof) see humans the way we see ants. But I feel like there's enough more than capable humans in different series to leave that thing behind; when I see my kitty I don't think about how short her life span is to mine, because we both experience time in a similar way and she's with me in the present :3 and I like to think Autobots would see it that way too.

Sorry if the last one is too general xP I'm a casual enjoyer after all :3 THANK YOU FOR THE ASK :DD

[some-pers0n]

You're really good at analyzing the dynamic between characters, so I was wondering if you understand the hype about Moonjou. I can't really see them as romantic. It's mostly platonic to me. So, if you do understand the hype surrounding the ship could you explain it to me? I wanna join the fun.

To be honest I'm not a Moonjou person either (I much prefer Turtle/Moon), but lemme try and give it a shot.

From a surface level understanding, I feel like Kinkajou and Moon help out each other a lot by having them open up more. Kinkajou's affect on Moon is most noticeable though, with Moon being a lot more eager and willing to talk and interact when she's got Kinkajou by her side. Kinkajou is down to do just about anything. Talk, paint, play music, anything. Kinkajou was one of Moon's first ever friends, someone who was a gateway into just how close and personal they could be with the Jade Winglet and each other.

Likewise, Moon helps Kinkajou slowly cope with her trauma. At first, Kinkajou was happy with Moon because she "wasn't like the others". Kinkajou is still deeply upset and traumatized by the NightWings. She's afraid. She saw Moon be quiet, shy, and non-assertive, and deduced that she wasn't like the rest of her tribe. She was safe. She could be around her and not have to worry.

And yet, Kinkajou slowly learns through Moon that she can talk about those issues. Even with the skyfire on, Moon can read Kinkajou well enough to notice when she's bothered or having those repressed memories resurface. Perhaps Moon tries teaching Kinkajou similar grounding techniques like the raindrops. Moon tells Kinkajou that she shouldn't have to repress her worries and anxieties all the time, never spending a second to process her deeply traumatic experience and mourn the friends that she lost. It's healthy to cry. It's okay to be not happy all the time.

[witchofthesouls]

Kiss players traumatised Hasbro and that’s why they won’t give us a Human/Cybertronian couple 🥲

Okay, I had to look it up, and yeah....

Why, Japan!? WHYYYYY?!?

All that aside, Hasbro needs to get over it and let their greedy hands into the xeno territory because, c'mon, there's already a portion of the population that's into that.

Mass Effect romance options? The Shape of Water film? People are down to fuck Mothman and the Predator.

Plus, it could open new storylines, like neutrals or refugees actually integrating into quiet, rural areas; utilize underused characters as they navigate their own way on a new world that's under Autobot protection; an actual collaboration between governments and the remaining Cybertronians because of space drama (idk, maybe the Galactic Alliance is super paranoid and terrfied on how the hell there's a thriving planet in the middle of a Dead Zone that's too similar to Cybertronians for their collective tastes); dealing with the aftermath of the civil war where some 'bots (and 'cons) find Earth far more freeing than Cybertron. It could definitely explore more aspects of their culture and differentiate the mentalities between those that remember Before and those who never knew anything else but the war. Look at G1 Skyfire vs. the Aerialbots. What about the Stunticons and the Dinobots that were "born" of Earth?

I honestly believe there's a lot that can still be done.

Shoot, imagine a Transformers x MIB fusion?!

[darkstarofchaos]

Thanks for your incredibly in-depth replies! Now I'm curious about your thoughts about Trine shipping, as well as TrineFire. (I have Complicated Feelings about both, so.) Also, for bonus points, a general question: do you think Trines are usually romantically involved with each other, or expected to be?

Glad you enjoyed them! (And sorry I'm a little late replying to these). I'm going to assume from the bonus question that these pairings are in the same vein as the others (that is, the ask game), so let's see...

Trine: Ship it

What made you ship it?

Okay, so this has the caveat that I don't ship it romantically, per se. More I ship Thundercracker and Skywarp, and Starscream is in there as a queerplatonic third. That counts, as far as I'm concerned.

Anyway, I pretty much ship it because of fanfiction. I think the Trine might have been the first poly ship I ever read, so it was kind of interesting seeing a standard romance dynamic spread across three characters. Of course, I started reading fic before I'd even finished the first season of G1, so seeing the '86 movie was... Interesting in a different way. Not sure if it was the movie or finding Starscream ships I liked better that cooled me on Starscream as a romantic third, but I don't read a lot of Trine fic anymore. Still like the triad, but I prefer the dynamic in my head to Starscream being romantically involved.

2. What are your favorite things about the ship?

I love the idea of Starscream being grumpy and bad at showing he cares, but protective and caring when the situation calls for it. Mostly we only get to see him in the position of being protected and cared for, but Trine fics have a decent chance of him fussing over one of his Trinemates. Probably the easiest place to find protective!Starscream, really.

3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Skywarp is the mediator of the Trine, not Thundercracker. Most of the time, TC gets the role of most level-headed and patient member of the Trine, which, fair. The other two are impulsive and immature, he is pretty level-headed compared to them. But he also really doesn't get along with Starscream, to the point where he considers getting him in trouble with Megatron in Fire on the Mountain. I do think they care about each other, but they need Skywarp to keep them from each other's throats. Which makes it fun to arrange situations where the two have to get along without Warp around.

-

TrineFire: Don't ship it.

Why don’t you ship it?

I spent a while going back and forth on my answer for this one, because I do like it. But it runs into the problem of me only shipping Skyfire with Starscream, and I only really ship Thundercracker and Skywarp with each other (you know, queerplatonic triad with Starscream aside). I can't really get into them as a romantic poly.

2. What would have made you like it?

That's easy: make them two separate couples who hook up occasionally rather than a romantic foursome. People usually talk about shipping in the sense of romantic attachment, but I think a ship can be purely sexual too. Or a mix of romantic and sexual, when you have that many people involved.

3. Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

Honestly, I don't have a problem with it as long as the above is satisfied. I enjoy seeing the Trine interact with Skyfire.

-

Bonus question about whether I think of Trines being romantically involved:

The short answer is yes.

The long answer is that when I think of ancient Cybertron, I imagine a lot of nomadic bots and small civilizations built near natural energon deposits, and lots of monsters a la Predacons in TFP. Traveling in groups was pretty much required for safety regardless of frametype, but since Seekers could just fly away from most threats, they got away with smaller groups. Three bots worked out pretty well because it let two of them rest while the third kept watch, and they could get more rest overall with three bots than with two. Obviously larger groups were safer, but even then, bots tended to stick with the people they liked and trusted more when they went out, and over time, Trines just became the social norm.

Romance just kinda happened from there, though I think Seekers probably have a cultural preference for Trine over romantic partners if they have to choose between the two.