#This isn’t what good old autobots looked like in tfp for example

[keferon]

Biblically accurate Blurr~

Blurr's Spotlight was actually the very first Transformers comic I ever read. I remember looking at the first pages and being like, holy shit, dude why are you so ugly?? Ahahjcmgmg

[earthstellar]

TFP Analysis - Timescale: How old is Cybertron and the oldest Cybertronians when compared to Earth and Humanity?

Unicron and Cybertronian Pre-History / Lore

So we know that in TFP the planet Earth itself was formed as space debris accumulated around the slumbering form of Unicron.

You can see the scene in which this is discussed here. 

As far as TFP goes, the timeline isn’t super clear on when Earth’s formation went down as far as Cybertron is concerned. We know the Thirteen were around, but most of what we know is in the scene linked above. 

The story of Unicron and Prima/Primus is treated similar to a creation myth, but one that is more or less factually accurate and did occur as the lore indicates. (This relates to my notes on Alpha Trion’s involvement, further below.)

But either way, we know a few key points are true: Invariably, Cybertron is older than Earth. Cybertronian individual lifespans can cover the equivalent of Earth centuries, covering many centuries. And while we have no specific dates, we do have an idea of Cybertronian eras of time and the events that occurred across each.

Cybertronian Eras and the Covenant of Primus 

We know that Alpha Trion was the scribe of the Primes. (Again, more on this in the Alpha Trion section below.) 

In the Covenant of Primus, we know that Ratchet and Soundwave were both around during the Age of Wrath, with the only earlier time period (on Cybertronian record) being the Great Cataclysm, which was essentially pre-history going into the modern age as this was the point at which Cybertronians began to expand and develop into their early civilisation.

What I’m getting at here, is that while we don’t have a perfect timeline that compares Cybertron and Earth side by side, there are Cybertronians in TFP who would have likely been alive when humanity was relatively young as a species. They would have had beta access to humanity, essentially, if they had made contact with us then. 

Old Bots: Ratchet and Soundwave

We know Ratchet more or less wandered the planet eventually seeking out Iacon as it began to develop as a hub of development, so we can assume that his spark came into existence roughly towards the middle or end of the Great Cataclysm era. This fits fairly well with the timeline of his involvement in other events mentioned in the Covenant, such as the Quintesson occupation. (The picture below is from the relevant Covenant recollection of Ratchet’s early days as a medic.) 

We know that Ratchet was there when medicine was essentially still being founded as a science/practice as it evolved with the development of civilisation in Iacon.

For a more human frame of time reference for relative age, we can compare Ratchet’s early work as a medic under his mentor Remedy to that of Galen, or Ali al-Ridha, who wrote one of the earliest medicinal collections on health and medicines. 

Soundwave’s spark came into existence around the early Age of Wrath, quite possibly a little before it, but I think early Age of Wrath fits best with Soundwave being described as “unique” compared to other Cybertronians, as it was at this point in time when the Quintessons interfered with the Well of All-Sparks, resulting in altered Cybertronians being produced from the Well. 

Alpha Trion: Recorder and Editor of History 

Now, Alpha Trion is the one to really look at to gauge the overall timeline, as in TFP he is himself a Prime and is the oldest possible Cybertronian to measure all this by, but we still have no specific dates. 

And that is significant for two reasons: 

1) We know Alpha Trion is described as a first-generation child of Primus and one of the original Thirteen. 

2) His Primal artefacts are the Quill and Covenant, which although he has perfect recall and is essentially a living memory repository, he has the ability to bend reality and oracular power to alter events-- At least to some degree. 

The Covenant is Alpha Trion’s record of events, and we know in the Exodus novel that it is at least hinted that Alpha Trion “curates” history. 

There may not be any 100% accurate, perfect record to base anything on, as the primary documentation available is all from Alpha Trion. This is partially because even though he does note in the Covenant that he is trying to record things as they were in reality, he alters reality. And when he does so, does that affect his recall? It’s unclear, and seems to possibly vary in places. But we don’t know. 

Timescale Relative to Earth 

Obviously, we have more clear estimate date ranges for Earth’s development in the real world, but whether or not TFP’s fictional Earth follows the same development isn’t verified. We can assume it roughly does. 

Early Modern Humans, let’s focus on Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals, were chillin’ on Earth roughly 40,000 to 48,000 years ago, estimate time frames. We know this irritated Unicron, as he sees humanity as essentially vermin or parasites. 

Without any dates or estimates to work with in regards to Cybertronian time scales, it’s hard to say for sure, but we can estimate based on the sheer number of events/developments in each noted Cybertronian era to get a sense of how long that era must have most likely lasted for relative to a human sense of time. 

Ratchet’s Relative Age for Comparison

Ratchet is a great example for relative time, as he is of course still alive during TFP: He was “born” from the Well only just after the Predacons went extinct on Cybertron during the Great Cataclysm. 

This is roughly equivalent to the Quaternary extinction event that ended most megafauna life on Earth. 

From a Cybertronian point of view, Ratchet is only slightly younger than the extinction of the dinosaurs. 

But their dinosaurs are more or less Predacons, and Predacon remains are on Earth.

Predacons on Earth 

Fossils! We love some good fossils. Shout-out to geology and archaeology. 

While the reasoning for Predacon remains being on Earth is briefly discussed on the show, it still hints that there is likely more significant examples of Cybertronian life being engaged with Earth on some level throughout history. 

If Cybertronians are here now, and Earth itself is a result of Cybertronian influence on a larger universal scale, then who’s to say there hasn’t been even more Cybertronian contact? 

The Autobots only know so much, as far as Earth is concerned. And as we’ve discussed, Alpha Trion seems to love editing as much as he loves writing. 

Conclusion! 

It is wild to think about the differences in relative time between Cybertron and Earth (and Cybertronians and humanity). 

We can’t say for sure, but it’s fair to think that there could absolutely have been further contact between humans and Cybertronians prior to the modern era and prior to the current Cybertronian factional conflict.

That contact could have been potentially very early in modern human development, or even prior to humanity’s evolution, although given that reaching Earth would have required space bridging, we can at least roughly estimate that contact between modern Cybertrontians and modern humanity may have been most likely during the early Golden Age.

Alpha Trion could have messed with Earth’s timescale at any point in-universe to allow for things to line up sufficiently for the sake of allowing for any Cybertronian involvement concerned, so that is also something to consider. 

[firebunnylover]

I thought I would take the time to discuss my VERY complicated feelings on the big ship of TFP: MegaOp.

Why?

Because it’s so far the only ship for me that is simultaneously an OTP and what I can only describe as NOTP… and even that word doesn’t feel right.

I apologize if this post causes massive discourse. This isn’t me telling other why or why they shouldn’t ship said thing. Just me getting my feelings out.

Note that this is for TFP the show by itself. From what I’ve seen, IDW comic’s Megatron is likeable and does poetry. And I read that there is some continuity with some games to TFP, but honestly it’s all still confusing to me as I’m still pretty new.

This ship is fully an OTP for me if it’s set in the days before the war - back when they were Orion Pax the Archivist and Megatronus the Gladiator. They had very different backgrounds, but still had a common interest for the greater good. They wanted to end the caste system. And they worked together. And that is my goddamn jam.

I love the idea of poetic Gladiator Megatronus cuddling his smol Librarian BF Orion as they make plans to change the system. 

And then… when the Council actually heard them out… that’s when things get out of hand, as Megatron’s worst character traits, him being power hungry, came out of the shadows, stayed and got worse.

As much as I’m down on a first hearing of Megatron’s plan to overthrow the system as a whole, along with the people he was currently talking to, I have to backpedal and re-evaluate the details of said plan when I recall that Revolutions without a clear plan on future governing systems or laws tend to lead to a power vacuum, which can lead to a system equally as bad or even worse than the current system in the long run.

For an example, a quickie on the French Revolution, in what is an attempt to keep it simple while outlining what went down and why it went sideways. It overthrew a very bad system. But there was no clear plan of government following which lead to a power vacuum, which ended up with Robspierre, one of the revolution’s most influential figures, using extreme means to control the political activity, bringing about the Reign of Terror, in which terror was used to maintain the current system, enforced by secret police. And unfortunately, innocent people, usually because small offences, DID get f*cked over by that. And after Rospierre was executed, the next form of government, the Directory, was corrupt. WHOOPS.

And then France had Napoleon put in charge, someone who fought for the revolution himself then ended up as Emperor of France, passed policies that would limit women’s rights, and reinstituted slavery in French colonies, NEITHER OF WHICH ARE GOOD THING. And let’s not forget how he f*cks Egypt over when it comes to Ancient artifacts in the long run.

I would go on to describe the Russian Revolution as another example, but I’m less familiar with that revolution than the French one. Probably because there are no over-the-top drama manga/anime set during that setting.

off topic real quick, if you like anime, history, and enjoy over the top drama and can tolerate shoujo sparkles gone unchecked, check out Rose of Versailles. Especially if you’re interested in a bisexual lead girl, and one of the best portrayals of Marie Antoinette. Who is GAY for the lead girl.

Honestly if it wasn’t the fact that unwitting consequences could equal the deaths or screwing over of thousands of innocent people I WOULD BE DOWN TO WRECK SHOP.

Orion’s proposal was favored by the council, and that didn’t sit well with Megatron’s ego, and the war is kicked off.

And regardless of what your feelings are on Orion getting accepted by the Council while Megatron was rejected (i feel this varies on what you think on the council and if they were truly convinced to make changes for the better), let’s make one thing clear.

YOU SHOULD NEVER RESORT TO DESTROYING A WHOLE PLANET.

To sum up the old days, they were the best young lovers.

Now with the main-timeline Optimus Prime and Megatron.

Well, they still have chemistry, which I love. And they both need therapy.

Optimus Prime knows that the relationship is no longer capable of truly going back to how they were long ago. He knows he has to move on. But… he can’t fully move on yet. He still has that small shred of hope that maybe Megatron will change and make amends, as unrealistic as it is, and he may never be able to fully throw that away. He still has those lingering feelings.

And then Megatron… HO BOY.

He absolutely is SET on being the one to destroy Optimus Prime - if him beating around Starscream for him trying to do so is any indicator. He has taken the “if I can’t have you no one can” route following a break up. He doesn’t want to move on with OP still alive. But he doesn’t want to do it in a flash and just get it over with. He wants fanfare for it. Because Optimus is worthy of his attention.

Oh and now he’s a crack-addict.

SPEAKING OF STARSCREAM! I see him as the rebound Megatron has picked following his break-up with OP. One who he abuses, physically and mentally. He picked Starscream to be the outlet of his aggression. Starscream is very much the polar opposite of what Orion was. Constantly sneaking behind Megatron’s back, self-serving, aims to take Megatron’s place (Orion accidentally stole the spotlight from him), and quick to run. It would make sense that he would pick someone so different from Orion because no one CAN replace Orion, so why try?

And then after years of fighting… Orion comes back.

No memories of the war, of the council, of the Decepticon Autobot split, nothing. The Orion who was with Megatronus and looked up to him.

What does Megatron do when presented with this old persona of OP, the one he loved and was unconditionally loved by?

Take advantage of him to get the Iacon Database decrypted.

At this point, despite his current relationship with Optimus, he loves his IDEA of Orion. This Orion, who existed years ago but has changed because he wanted to be better. This Orion, who Megatron had plenty of time to over-idealize - to remember slightly differently from what he was actually like. He wants Orion to stay like this - naive with no idea of what’s really happening, never questioning him.

There is the withholding of information that immediately causes consent issues. And he wanted to keep it like that - hence threatening to kill anyone who destroys this little fantasy… and when he realized that the fantasy would have to end because Orion might ask the wrong questions, he decides that he would have to kill Orion when that happens. Because Orion would no longer be his fantasized version.

He doesn’t want to change, so why should Orion?

And who should start off the end of this fantasy other than the one Megatron chose as his rebound from OP?

Pretty poetic when you think about it.

I personally don’t like Optimus Prime or Megatron getting back together as they stand in the current time. I love what they were before, but they can’t just go back and act like nothing happened. But with that said, I absolutely LOVE their current dynamics as Ex-Lovers, and it hurts me to know they can’t be together happily as they once were before.

IS THERE A TERM TO DESCRIBE A RELATIONSHIP YOU DON’T WANT TOGETHER AT THE END BUT RATHER ADMIRE THEM AS EXES AND WHAT THEIR HISTORY TOGETHER MEANS FOR THEM AND HOW IT STILL AFFECTS THEM?! I DIDN’T SURVIVE THIS GODDAMN HELLSITE ONLY TO BE LEFT TERMLESS!!

If the show writers were to have actually consider having them together as end game, it would take a LOT of character development on Megatron’s part, because he's the type of person who’s willing to destroy a whole planet. Twice. And changing himself isn’t really something that interests him, as we saw with the Orion Pax arc.

Predacon’s Rising doesn’t count for me.

Metaphorically, their relationship is a well lit oil lamp. It was beautiful to look at when it was new and well managed. But it is in disrepair, started to leak out the oil, and the fire needs to be put out.

[earthstellar]

TFP Concept Essay: What if the bots had come to Earth and landed in Russia?

Almost a year ago, I posted about a jokey mental image of Ratchet having to wear a giant ushanka if they had landed in Russia because he’s an old bot and would be more prone to cold metal fatigue, but it got me thinking: 

What if the Cybertronians had made contact on Earth in Russia, and not the USA? 

Why Russia? 

Both continents would be appealing from a landing standpoint; The USA and Russia both cover a massive amount of land, so even without knowledge of human national borders, it’s safe to assume that the areas on the globe that would look the most appealing may very well be: 

-North American Continent

-Russia/Eastern Europe

-African Continent 

Now, without knowledge of human national borders, many other parts of Europe, South America, etc. may have also seemed like good options at first, Brazil and Mexico come to mind, but we need to establish what Cybertronians would be looking at in terms of terrain and population risk. 

We can assume that Cybertronians didn’t have prior information on the actual life, society, and general human construction on Earth because the bots (while they have been on Earth long enough to have at least cursory knowledge of humans) still act as though humanity is a bit novel to them.

 A lot of information would not have been available to them outside of Earth’s orbit or atmosphere, and by the time they were in atmosphere, a decision would have to be made quickly based on relative proximity and what data they could scan for within that possibly very limited amount of time.

Nevada, USA likely seemed appealing because it has mountainous and flat terrain in large swathes, with few largely inhabited areas especially near old nuclear testing sites (some radiation may have appeared on any scans they were capable of performing once in-atmosphere and that ambient radiation may have obscured the radiation that they themselves generate as we know sparks emit radioisotopes), making it a good option if they happened to wind up over North America and had to make a quick call. 

(All of this assumes that they had some control over where they landed; It may have been the situation that their ship was damaged enough that they just had to end up wherever they ended up, in which case, they just as easily could have wound up making contact in Russia anyway.) 

This isn’t to ignore the suggestion that Cybertronians had prior, ancient involvement with Earth in some capacity. In fact, that’s a big part of why I think Russia is a reasonable place for them to go. 

-We know Unicron’s energy was deposited into or directly forms the core of Earth. This is explained, albeit quickly, that at some point in Earth’s early history, when Unicron was expelled from Cybertron, his life force ended up on Earth. 

-Would Earth have still been Pangea at that time? What did the continental layout of Earth look like when Unicron’s energy nestled into the planet? 

-Assuming Unicron’s impact with Earth was not the meteor that killed the dinosaurs, which in the TFP universe it may well have been given the timeline of Cybertron relative to Earth, let’s instead assume continental drift had already occurred. 

-Russia is well known for perma-frost and preserved biological life in layers going back centuries. I have a great visual concept of Unicron’s dark energon appearing as purple or black layers of ice, settled unseen and unnoticed under the ground. 

-We also know energon is naturally occuring, in a crystalline, mineral like form. Just like Nevada, USA, many parts of Russia have a similar history of mineral mines and crystal mines, so the actual potential for energon crystals to grow is definitely equal if not arguably better in Russia as there is far more variety of geological conditions across Russia as a nation than there is across Nevada as a state. 

-To better explain the above idea, Czech could also be an energon deposit area, as we know Czech crystal and mineral mines are very successful which is why they are able to produce so much garnet, and even garnet of different varieties. Red garnet and the rarer black garnet. We can assume energon and dark energon would form crystals similar, but not exactly the same, and we know that Central and Eastern Europe have very good geological conditions for this already in real life! 

Compare red garnet with energon, and black garnet with dark energon; Similar structures but very different end results: 

Notice also how energon crystals seem to form in clusters like plain quartz, which is the second most abundant mineral in Earth’s crust: 

We can assume that because the crystal structures of quartz and energon are so similar, that energon may have the geological ability to thrive and be harvested from most areas on Earth in a similar fashion, so this doesn’t necessarily rule out other appealing continents/areas, either! 

But it’s not unreasonable to believe that when coming into atmosphere, the Cybertronian ship tech would likely pick up recognisable energy signatures before managing to process other purely Earth-native data. In doing so, they may notice concentrations of energon and dark energon in Central and Eastern Europe, or perhaps contaminated dark energon from Unicron’s initial contact with Earth within the terrain or perma-frost areas (where applicable), and decide to head towards those regions as fuel will be easier to find and closer to any base they might be able to establish. 

What if Decepticons land first? 

The above section also assumes the Autobots are the first to reach Earth; If the Decepticons were to arrive first, I have no doubt that they would head for any concentrations of dark energon as commanded by Megatron. Countries with larger land mass and older long-lived terrain may have a higher concentration than other areas.

For example, Florida would be a bad place for them to look for energon or dark energon deposits in the USA as the state isn’t that far above seawater and erosion is a huge problem, so there is likely very little dark energon concentrated in the actual land. No significant deposits would be found as there isn’t enough actual ground to contain all that much, compared to other places that may have mountains, hills, ice, valleys, etc. that may accumulate such materials over time significantly better and with higher concentration/overall quantity. This is why other peninsulas, islands, or coastal/water heavy areas like the Mediterranean or Holland may not be as appealing to the Decepticons.

Back to searching for the right spot...

Looking for a place to land, Central Europe, although with good crystal potential, may not look like as good of an option, due to population density that would become evident once better scans were available. Rural areas in a lot of Central European countries are still relatively small in comparison to slightly more north on the map, where rural Russian areas may afford larger spaces to work with, proximity to a wider range of supplies, afford a degree of secrecy, and there may be complexes or materials that could be easily stripped or repurposed that wouldn’t impact on native human life or communities/wouldn’t draw much attention. 

And remember what I said about radiated areas possibly affording cover for their own naturally emitted radioisotopes which may otherwise be detected by human instrumentation; Russia has a similar history of radiological site contamination to that in Nevada, USA-- And not just Chernobyl, which also irradiated Belarus as well as Ukraine, but there’s also Mayak/Kyshtym/Lake Karachay and the surrounding East Urals irradiation, among a few other sites. It might be an appealing factor for them to consider when choosing somewhere to land. 

(I don’t want to skim over the fact that people do live in the these affected areas; I highly suggest you research into this if you’re reading this and have never heard of those sites. There used to be a fundraiser for people living in and around Mayak as well as an awareness effort, but I’m unsure of where that link/website has gone. If I find it again, I will link it. For now, here is a documentary/interview series with local people; Please be aware it may be upsetting, but their voices deserve to be heard if you think you can handle it.) 

Once landed, they could also survey more, and consider their options. Russia has a lot of rural space in some areas, and plenty of very appealing abandoned sites that could possibly be converted into functional bases when supplemented with metal and other materials collected from other similar abandoned industry areas or factories etc., which would spare them the need to actually make their own; They could just re-use the raw material, whatever’s usable, and if necessary look for better cover. 

Russia has tons of biomes/terrain types: 

So they have options. We know in TFP that extreme cold does impact Cybertronians, so tundra and more northern arctic territory would be ruled out, but I can easily see them going for a rural abandoned industrial site in a forested area, which would provide significant visual cover, likely areas already cleared out by previous industry in a given area, and minimal chance of discovery by humans depending on specifically where they end up. 

How would Cybertronian-Human alliances go down? 

A big difference in approach to setting up a base would be the Russian government/forces, and the reaction to the Autobot arrival. 

In TFP, the bots work directly with the USA Air Force/Army, and the base seems to be primarily US Army operated. Their existence and the operations at their base may well be hidden from the wider USA Federal government for the most part at least, possibly using the already secretive clustered Nevada sites as a cover and making the Autobots something of an internal local operation or “quiet site”, which would fit what we see on screen generally speaking. We don’t really get a lot of clarification on this part of things.

But what would the reaction of the Russian government/Army be to discovering the Autobots? 

We know that Russian national forces are very, very capable of defending their air space. It’s unlikely if not impossible that a Cybertronian ship would go undetected or unnoticed, if not immediately then at least within. Seismic data is often monitored and reported as well, so the actual impact of landing may trigger an alert record to be sent to the relevant people, who can escalate those reports. 

Think about Japanese tsunami/earthquakes or West Coast USA earthquakes, and how quickly public alerts and operations are put underway, even before physical effects are felt. Most nations have at least some similar system in place, sometimes to detect earthquakes, others to detect suspected weapons impacts.

We can safely assume that even if they were remote and under as much cover as possible, it wouldn’t be long before Russian forces were involved, and therefore the Russian government. 

I won’t comment on the politics of other nations, although I am very open to hearing from Russian people about their take on this, but it is very possible that the initial engagement would go one of two ways: 

1) Defensive Conflict

2) Attempted Diplomatic Resolution 

I don’t believe conflict would be immediate, because of the sheer physical intimidation and surprise factors. Nobody expects to find giant robot aliens, and there may be immediate challenges surrounding basics like verbal communication (have the Autobots learned human language, in this case Russian, by the time of their discovery?) and so on. This may complicate first contact, as it would anywhere.  

I don’t know if resolution would be reached, as I think it’s likely that the Russian govt would like to weaponize or manipulate the Autobots, use them to intimidate other nations (”look, we have giant robot aliens”), or upon learning of the Russian government or after becoming more aware of the political/social mood amongst Russian citizens if they encounter any communities and perform low key intelligence gathering for a better idea of the local humans, seeing material conditions in some of these more rural areas, after obtaining historical or current socio-political data, etc., Optimus or others may simply decide they don’t wish to work with the government and attempt to peacefully decline, thus issuing diplomatic ultimatums (similar to the back and forth that occurs when trying to establish treaty agreements).

I’d like to note here that I think the Autobots likely had to have a similar discussion with the USA govt, as I think the US Army would have initially had a very similar thought process. I get the feeling Optimus made it clear he wouldn’t be manipulated and wouldn’t be caught up in other conflict(s)/fight human battles.

However, this would be their first experience with human government, as this would be their first contact. They may well assume that this is representative of how things work on Earth until they have the chance to learn otherwise, and in an attempt to be diplomatic, Optimus might cooperate until it becomes clear that it isn’t a good fit, and how the Russian government would handle the subsequent conversation would be anyone’s guess. (Again, Russian people, please tell me what you think!) 

Ultimately, either USA or Russian governments would likely want to at least not ruin diplomatic relations with a space-faring, seemingly extremely powerful alien species. Sometimes that’s what it comes down to, and that would be enough, although conflict could arise here and there, like when we see Agent Fowler have to defend the Autobots to his superiors. 

Episode / Scene Concepts

I have an excellent image of further down the line, however, where things are smoothed over or at least tenuously managed with the Russian govt (perhaps an allotted small autonomous zone for the bots to create their base in with minimal interference, under certain conditions)... There could be so much potential for some great episodes with human interaction with the bots. 

-A great episode of just creating the base, figuring out what’s around, gives us a look at where they are in Russia and who’s nearby, we could see some pretty beautiful shots of abandoned Soviet tech and sites being repurposed and revitalised (with Russian designs remaining evident in the final base construction, just with Cybertronian flair). Maybe within the Autobot Autonomous Zone we would even see locals engaging with the process after the initial shock...

I have an image of Ratchet arguing with an old Russian engineer, and it goes on for a while until the engineer explains to Ratchet that working with scarce resources in less than ideal conditions isn’t exactly new to them, and they might have some valuable tips for working under such conditions. Ratchet comes to respect the engineer after they work together to create a functional power network made from old factory components, a few turbines from an old textile workshop, power generators from abandoned Soviet sites, and power poles made from disused radar systems. 

They relate to each other after they get to talking while cleaning up the rest of the work, and it turns out both of them have similar concerns about the futures of their respective peoples, and have some degree of depression over what they feel they may have lost forever to political games and wars beyond their control, sharing some memories with each other. The engineer is their first local human ally. 

-Russian kids stumbling upon the bots! I’d love to see parallels to the American TFP kids. Miko from Yakutia would be the best, and I believe I talked about that with someone on here months ago. I still love the idea.

-Who would the Agent Fowler character be? He’s listed as being a US Army Ranger, and I’m not sure what the equivalent rank would be in the Russian Army. Google tells me that the equivalent would be a Spetsnaz role, but I am unfamiliar with Russian Army structure, or how personnel might be allocated to the proposed Autobot Autonomous Zone or “secret city” realistically. 

It would be good to get an episode where the Agent or equivalent character first meets the Autobots, and how expectations differ from reality. Maybe over time we see a crisis of conscious with this character, where they initially start out as keeping an eye on things for the government, but slowly become friends with the Autobots and wish to engage more genuinely with them and the other humans who may be involved. 

-An episode where Optimus realises they need to learn more about these humans to work with them more effectively, and sets everyone on tasks related to cultural reconnaissance. 

Optimus studies the literature and history of Russia, and has perhaps some spicy takes. Arcee goes on a drive and has fun going up and down hills in Vladivostok, then races a Trans-Siberian Railway train back and takes note of what the people inside the train are doing. Bulkhead explores cultural identity with Yakutian!Miko. 

Ratchet looks into human medicine and is fascinated by Russian folk medicine and goes on a rant about Soviet spa/sanitorium treatment programs. Ultra Magnus delves into Russian law and almost burns out his processor. Wheeljack explores some industrial sites and studies the detonation techniques of Russian construction workers, comparing their casual conversations to those between him and fellow Wreckers. 

Bumblebee finds an old radio station and uncovers some extremely good bops. Smokescreen discovers Russian dash cam videos and gets pulled over for trying to recreate one. 

Phew! Initial post done! 

There might be more in the future as I love this idea, but I’d equally love to hear from Russian TFP fans: What do you think? What episodes or scenes do you think would be fun or interesting? Is there anything you’d like to add or change? 

Please add whatever you’d like, and if anything I said above comes across as uninformed, I encourage you to correct me or pitch other ideas if you would be so kind as to take the time to do so. :)