#altmodes related to that

[zealfruity]

Trying to figure out what your favourite characters would be as vehicles & aircraft is really humbling when you know maybe 3 things about vehicles & aircraft

[telesodalite]

...thinking about the whole concept of transformers being an agender species, and how that implies they have pronouns in their language that we as humans could never comprehend

[dimorphodon-x]

Praxian metro raptor

The Praxian metro raptor is a mechanimal domesticated for law enforcement. They are social and intelligent but difficult to keep, demanding a lot of space, enrichment, and fuel.

Metro raptors are some of the few beasts that have vehicle alt modes, able to transform into an odd sort of motorcycle. Their altmodes make it easier for them to keep up with their handlers while on the road, and chase down fleeing suspects. Once they are tasked in tackling a suspect, metro raptors will pin mechs down and try to restrain them with their weight, arms and teeth.

In relation to their long extinct ancestors, metro raptors have soft mouths and blunt teeth that are better suited for gripping. While it their bite can still hurt and require medical repairs, it’s rare for them to be lethal.

—

Prowl had no intentions on working with Praxian metro raptors during his career as a detective, however when Red and Blue (pictured above) were specifically programmed/ trained for investigative work and imprinted to his spark signature, he was stuck with the two. Red and Blue were adept at sniffing out chemicals, spark signatures, spilled energon and so on, and were able to send the information directly to Prowl in real time.

When not working, both of Prowl’s raptors tended to be nuisances, laying in inconvenient places and sticking their noses in things they shouldn’t be touching. Green at least kept them a bit more in line as she made it very clear to them that she was in charge.

[in1-nutshell]

Can I request how a tfa thunderstreaker would be like with Team Prime and how they would bond with Sari?

Time for TFA Thunderstreaker to enter the stage!

Hope you enjoy!

TFA Thunderstreaker

SFW, Platonic, Slight Familial, Cybertronian reader

TFA

Thunderstreaker was one of the handful of airborne Autobots.

It was rumored that they had been abandoned by their con parents before they had been taken in by the bots.

It was the only explanation for their large size and sharper features.

It was quite a struggle for them to get adjusted to their new life.

They were constantly at the end of Con related taunting and accusations based on their size.

It took a lot of time and paperwork, but finally they had gotten a position in space repair crew.

It wasn’t the best job, but it would be a great change of scenery back on Cybertron.

Optimus is looking down at the list of team members on a data pad. Thunderstreaker is behind him and gently pokes his helm. TAP! TAP! Thunderstreaker: “Are you Optimus Prime?” Optimus starts turning around. Optimus: “Ye—OOF!” Optimus took some steps back and stares up at the tall bot. Thunderstreaker smiles and waves at him. Thunderstreaker: “I’m Thunderstreaker, the new recruit on the space bridge repair crew.” Optimus slowly looks down and sees Thunderstreaker's name and face match. Optimus: “Umm… Welcome to the crew… Thunderstreaker.” Thunderstreaker smiles a bit wider, and their wings perk as they shake his servo. Thunderstreaker: “It’s an honor sir!”

Thunderstreaker was happy that Optimus hadn’t screamed or pulled a blaster on them and accused them for looking like a Con.

They are used to many bots having that reaction.

Which happens with the others, thankfully Optimus explains they are their crewmate before someone can wedge a steel rod in their processor.

It’s on Earth where their bonds strengthen.

Optimus Prime

Optimus was first very wary of Thunderstreaker when they first came on the ship.

They were built just like the Con’s in his videos, so forgive him for being a bit wary.

They showed no sign of hostility or aggression whatsoever.

He calms down after they all arrive to Earth and things get settled.

But the Prime’s worries about them being a Con would soon be replaced with a new worry.

A worry for their safety as the YOUNGEST bot on the team.

Optimus: “When were you going to tell us you are the youngest bot here?” Thunderstreaker looks at him confused. Thunderstreaker: “Umm… it was on my profile? The better question is how did you not know? I didn’t hide it or anything.” Optimus: “But why?!” Thunderstreaker shrugs. Thunderstreaker: “Someone messed up on my clearance then. Doesn’t really matter right now—Prime? You okay?” Optimus looks like he is about to have a breakdown. Thunderstreaker carefully grabs their leader and carries him to the medbay. Thunderstreaker: “Ratchet! I think I broke Prime!”

Looks out for them because of their naivety on the world around them as they are too curious.

His anxiety rises up with his pressure once Thunderstreaker finds a suitable flying altmode.

The amount of times Optimus had to calm down Fanzone and the public that there were no Con attacks, it was just Thunderstreaker giving their altmode a test flight.

As much as the Prime does not like them fighting, he cannot deny how useful they are.

From flying after Cons to helping around in their strength.

Does not tolerate humans or Bots who accuse Thunderstreaker of being a Con spy.

The protectiveness goes up once the Con’s try to recruit Thunderstreaker to their side.

He is ready to swing in with his axe to get them away from them.

Thunderstreaker catching a falling Prime midair. Both land back down as Optimus puts away his axe. Thunderstreaker: “…You didn’t have to do that you know. I wouldn’t have gone with them.” Optimus: “I know.” Thunderstreaker: “Then why attack Starscream like that!? And in the air too!” Optimus gives them a kind smile. Optimus: “Just looking out for my family.” Thunderstreaker freezes as they look at Optimus with wide optics. They give him a water smile as they regroup with the others. Optimus doesn’t miss the fluttering in their wings as they walk by him.

Ratchet

Like the others, Ratchet was wary of Thunderstreaker.

He being in the war and all, the field tech is especially cautious around the bigger, sharper looking bot.

This, however, goes out the window the moment he takes a look into their medical records on Earth.

Nearly has a stroke in the process.

Ratchet: “Prime! Why do we have a literal SPARKLING as a team member!?” Thunderstreaker: “I’m not a sparkling!” Ratchet: “Don’t talk back to your elder’s youngling!” Thunderstreaker: “I’m not that young!”

Why is there a literal CHILD on this team?!

He does not care if they look like a Con or potential Con origin, this is a literal child on a planet with them!

A lot of tough love, but it’s a good thing Thunderstreaker is fluent in this.

Doesn’t like that they get a flying altmode.

Mainly because there is no way he can reach them if they need help.

As much as there are advantages to being a flyer, there are also a plethora of disadvantages when you are fighting multiple enemies in the sky and your team can’t reach you.

Does not like the younger bots fighting, but they do give the team an edge they need.

Has to give a PSA to the rest of the team about their wing sensitivity and the best way to help them if they crash.

Like Prime, does not tolerate anyone, human or Bot, who accuses them of being a Con spy.

If Ratchet finds the Cons trying to recruit them, he is using his magnets to either throw Thunderstreaker out of the way or throwing something heavy at the offending Con.

Thunderstreaker is sitting on the medslab as Ratchet is working on their backs. They flinch a bit when he comes across some of the more sensitive wirings. Ratchet: “Sorry kid, but this is going to be a bit uncomfortable until Sari gets back with the Key.” Thunderstreaker forces a tight smile. Thunderstreaker: “Its fine! You do your thing Doc!” Ratchet: “Don’t call me that.” Ratchet passes them a stress toy. Ratchet: “Squeeze it when it get bad.” Thunderstreaker takes the toy and starts squeezing while Ratchet went through the wiring.

Prowl

Is guilty of throwing his ninja stars at them on first meeting.

In his defense, he thought a Con had found him and attack out of self-defense.

The ninja bot is highly suspicious of Thunderstreaker being a Con, which stretches on to the team being on Earth.

Is surprised to learn how young Thunderstreaker is.

It’s a bit unsettling…

Thunderstreaker pokes lightly on Prowl’s shoulder. Thunderstreaker: “What are you doing?” Prowl: “Watching a nature documentary.” Thunderstreaker: “What is it about.” Prowl: “Don’t you have some race to do with Bumblebee?” Thunderstreaker looks at Prowl before leaving. Ratchet: “You shouldn’t be so hard on the kid. Their just young and asking questions.” Prowl huffs. Ratchet: “You still don’t think they are a spy, do you?” Prowl: “There is still a possibility Ratchet, and I will not be surprised by it.” Ratchet: “You do realize that would imply Thunderstreaker ‘I tripped over my own two pedes’, a youngling, is a—” Prowl: “A youngling?” Ratchet: “Did you not know? They are one!” Prowl’s vizor widens a bit. Ratchet: “Congratulations. You’re officially the last one to know.”

Pretends not care for the giant bot, but they grow on him.

Has bonded with Thunderstreaker over patrolling around the city and watching ducks in the park.

The youngling has a flock of geese ready to defend them.

Don’t ask Prowl how it happened.

Doesn’t mind that they have a flying altmode, he finds many uses in it.

Also doesn’t mind them fighting alongside the team.

They have proven time and time again that they are quite capable of handling things by themselves.

Will run to Thunderstreaker’s defense if anyone, human or Con, accuses them of being a Spy.

Will also throw servos at any Con who tries to get Thunderstreaker to join their ranks.

Prowl on patrol with Optimus. PING! He got a com from Thunderstreaker. Prowl: “Yes?” Thunderstreaker: “The flock’s back.” Prowl groans. Prowl: “Did they see you?” Thunderstreaker: “Prowl, I’m a giant Autobot with wings in the middle of the park. Of course they saw me!” Prowl: “Did—” Thunderstreaker: “Yes Angus and Henrietta saw me. I can’t move. They’re everywhere.” Prowl: “We’ll come over there shortly.” Thunderstreaker: “Thanks Prowl.” Optimus: “What was that about?” Prowl: “The flock of geese saw Thunderstreaker and the two leaders, Agnus and Henrietta, think that Thunderstreaker is their gosling.” Optimus: “What?! How did that happen?” Prowl: “…I think its best that you don’t know…”

Bumblebee and Bulkhead

Both had screamed and threw a bunch of stuff at Thunderstreaker at the first meeting.

They fit the Con description, and it was on sight!

Bulkhead felt bad for hurting Thunderstreaker after things were cleared up by Optimus.

Bumblebee did not.

The little yellow bot was convinced that the bot was a Con spy.

And he was going to prove it!

He did it with Wasp and he can do it again!

At the Plant… Bumblebee was taking notes from the couch. Sari looked over his shoulder. Sari: “Umm… why are you taking notes on where Thunders goes at 4:13 on a Wednesday?” Bumblebee: “Evidence to catch them when they slip!” Sari scratches her head. Sari: “You know that Thunderstreaker isn’t a Con right?” Bumblebee: “That’s what they want you to think.”

Both are surprise to hear that the big bot is younger than them.

Bulkhead takes up the role as their new big brother almost immediately.

Both of them share the pain of being the biggest and ‘most likely to crush something’ feeling.

Good news, Thunderstreaker watches his back and wrecking ball while Bulkhead introduces them to some arts.

Bulkhead is holding a bucket of paint with a mop as the brush. Thunderstreaker is sitting down on the floor with their wings in full display. Bulkhead: “So what do you want me to draw?” Thunderstreaker: “Birds! I want as many birds as you can fit on these wings Bulk!” Bulkhead: “All right, just stay still.” Thunderstreaker: “I’m not Bee, I’ll sit extra still!”

Bumblebee is a bit conflicted with the new information.

It takes a couple of patrols and movie nights for him to finally start accepting them.

Like Bulkhead, the yellow bot decides to take up the older brother mantle.

The duo loves how Thunderstreaker can fly around.

These bots do not tolerate anyone, or bot, disrespecting their younger sibling.

Bulkhead is one insult away from pummeling someone.

Bee already has several attack pranks labeled and filed away, ready to be used.

They are double teaming any Con who tries to get Thunderstreaker to join their side.

Thunderstreaker is sitting in the corner facing the wall. Bulkhead has a disappointed look on his faceplate. Prowl walks over. Bumblebee has an angry look on his. Prowl: “Why is Thunderstreaker in the corner?” Bulkhead: “They decided to pull a prank on us. They didn’t transform while free falling and we thought they were going to crash, but they pulled up last second. This is their punishment for nearly scaring the oil out of us.” Prowl: “Okay? But who put them in the corner? Optimus? Ratchet?” Bulkhead: “It was Bumblebee.” Thunderstreaker: “When can I leave?” Bumblebee: “I will add another 20 minutes if you keep asking!”

Sari

Does not understand why the team is a bit uptight around them.

She figured it was because of their size.

Utterly surprised that the big bot is the youngest.

It doesn’t make sense!

…Sari loves them though.

Sari is on top of Thunderstreaker’s helm. Thunderstreaker: “You like being tall?” Sari: “Duh! This is cool!” Thunderstreaker carefully picks her up and places her on their shoulder. Sari: “Can we go out?” Thunderstreaker: “I don’t see why not.” Ratchet: “Don’t even think about it!” Thunderstreaker pauses before taking Sari in their servo and starts running. Ratchet: “Thunderstreaker! Get back here!” Sari: “Run faster!” Thunderstreaker: “I’m trying!”

Sari tries to establish herself as their older sister, but Thunderstreaker is not having it.

After a bit of arguing, the two agree on being twins.

It did suit them better… even though Thunderstreaker was way older than her.

Sari loves getting rides in their alt mode.

She loves how fast they can go.

Is shocked to hear them confess some of the things many bots think of them at first glance.

The girl gave the team each a kick to the pede as justice for Thunderstreaker.

Will bite anyone who makes assumptions about them being a Con.

Actively yells at the Cons who try and take her twin away from her.

Sari sitting on a park bench. Random adult comes up to her. Adult: “Are you lost?” Sari: “Nope! Just waiting for my twin to get here.” Adult: “And where is your twin?” Sari: “They should be arriving right about…” Thunderstreaker transforms and lands in front of the pair. The adult jumps away from the bot. Thunderstreaker: “Hey Sari! You ready to go see Bulkhead’s new art piece? I think he said something about it relating to a leaf or something.” Sari just nods as she hops onto Thunderstreaker’s servo and walks off. The adult blinks several times before deciding to go home and take a nap.

[rungapikattohikattara]

have been scared of opening social media recently since I'm not sure about posting while I'm panic-getting into Warhammer 40k lore before graduation. But I did exchange one or two thoughts with people during tfcon LA about prowl's character across different continuities...The following is me ranting about outrageously obvious or random things - out of the opposite of boredom.

Although writers often portray him distinctively different, I try to view idw prowl as a single, coherent character, and I also seek continuity among him and other prowls as a whole(Maybe not tfa prowl, yet.) Cus I know his characterization in idw (mostly nr's and jro's) was highly impacted by Marvel UK. It's also highly possible that there was a whole secret crucible of character-understanding on UK side of the fandom that we're soon bout to find out once jro's documentation of 80s UK tf fanfic comes out me thinks. Aside from that it's just interesting to imagine prowl in other continuity having some relation with idw him(well the most popular feature is praxian orphan me thinks.) There's one fragment of prowl from wings universe featuring a squad of prowl clones&drones whose altmode are formula-1 cars that look like McLaren in the 90s (!!) Haven't read but from what I saw, Wing universe aimed to unify all the timelines and works into one continuity.

Which makes me think. Cus I have a relatively narrower perspective. 1, I didn't become tf fan as a child, nor did I grow up with these toys; 2, I'm approaching the ip from a fan-artist type of POV, which means what I create tends to be more of a fanart, not transformers art(???)(but what exactly is transformers art? thats's the problem;) 3, not familiar with related cultural context. It's very time-consuming to dig into all the fun (publications, who made wings comics..nvm) things happened in the past, such as marvel UK. But somehow when looking at it, the vague line between fanart fanart and transformers fanart bugs me a little too much. Maybe it's just a matter of personal taste - funny enough, I find it strangely challenging to wrap my head around.

Now I only wish I had thought about these before tfcon. at least I would have the motivation to, idk, lead a life...

[ihatebrainstorm]

i never got very far into the comics because adhd is a harsh mistress, so i don't really know anything about brainstorm. what are your favorite things about him?

Aw man there's so many things I love about him, and I'll try to avoid spoilers but there is a certain in the story that really flipped the switch about how I thought of him kaksdf- Also this will get very long winded and incoherent very quickly bc uh I love this stupid asshole and he occupies 90% of my brain at all times: (i apologize in advance)

Surface level wise, I love his stupid arrogant humour and how seemingly absorbed with himself he is- I love how much of a ridiculous scheming little prick he can be gahgh, idk I think I just really like that character archetype?? At least going off of characters from other media I immediately get attached to lmao

He's just so sillyyyy and a menace and a prick and a stupid little annoying asshole but then he's actually really caring towards his friends and I want to shake him and rattle him and throw him out a windoww (He'll be fine, he can fly)

He's a trickster and he does science for the love of the game- Experiments with everything and everyone, builds whatever stupid idea just for the sake of building it, and idk I relate to that ig and I respect that

His stupid moldy egg colour scheme. (idk that's how I always see it) idk why,, I just like it. but also I don't like it. but also I do... but also I hate drawing with that colour scheme

HIS WINGSSS HIS STUPID WINGS AND HIS HEAD THAT ARE ALL PISS ANNOYING TO DRAW BUT I LOOK AT IT AND GO "yeeehaheehe he's so annoying i hate him i love him wow i love airplanes" I love airplanes so much, I love how he has a jetpack that he barely ever uses, and an airplane altmode that he also barely ever uses, and I love that he can fly, I love flying characters, I love flying animation, I just love anything that can fly, I like flight and flying

That stupid silly prick little annoying scrunkled lovable punchable face he always does:

like don't you see that and want to sock him directly in the face <33

Nerd. i like nerd characters. and he is quintessential nerd. loud mouth babbleton yapper info dumper extraordinaire and I wouldn't have it any other way

HE'S SO GIGGLY AND ADORABLE SOMETIMES. AND ANNOYING. AND A PRICK. AND GRGHRGHRHHHH WHY IS HE LIKE THAT I WANT HIM TO SHUT UP AND NOT SHUT UP.

His friendship with Nautica and Percy <33333 Their little science trio is so adorable and fun and the stupid silly science antics potential is through the roofff- Like look at Nautica and BS aghgghgh they're so adorablee <333

Simpatico. i. idk why but something about that ship makes me so damn happy- like somethign about Brainstorm being so goofy silly, constantly trying to prove his worth in contrast to Percy's super analytical no nonsense attitude, eventually drifting towards Percy mutually respecting the silly fella makes me so happyy.... It's a really funny dynamic to me, and there's that point in the story where I feel like you can see Percy start to really admire BS.. it really flipped a switch for me- Also that final simpatico panel in the last LL issue makes me so happy bc they both look so happy and I love seeing happy characters :D

Edit: Forgot to mention, but also something about post-war Percy finally returning to science work, after years of being a sniper? To me at least, it felt like Percy was relearning his love for science outside of his duties, and Brainstorm's little arc + Nautica's arrival helped him gain new equals to work alongside with- They bring a bit competitiveness and discovery to science that helps reinvigorate Percy's intrinsic love and interest after years of strict duty

Brainstorm's angstt.. his internal conflicts, lack of self-worth, being so absorbed with his work that it ends up harming him, and the way he cares about people he's close to which eventually all leads to his arc all are stuff I really relate to heavily so i chomp it down with salt and pepper

His weirdness,, like he's sorta funky weird and I appreciate that a lot, because it all makes sense or no sense to him and him alone, and yea that makes my brain happy :)

His own little hyperfixations/general fixations like researching time travel, the dead universe, sparkeater stuff, multiverse stuff etc. etc. (like who else goes: oh huh this creature almost killed me, lemme go make a gun that makes more of those things :D) he just like me fr fr

His deceptiveness, sneakiness, and doing shady things under the table (I can't get too into it bc it's pretty heavy spoiler stuff so yea) Also his weird moodiness sometimes

His friendship with Chromedome,, they seem to care a lot about each other, but are also in the midst of drifting apart??? Old acquaintances/ coworkers/ friends who've been working together for ages and know deeply about one another, including the crappy things they've done in the past, but are now kinda distant? Yet they have a certain flavour of sad care to their dynamic which feels real and melancholic,, also the way you can kinda feel how his experiences with Chromedome's past sorta influences how he sees Nautica's decisions later in the story gghhgughhh

This bozo idiot getting partially Mike Wazowski'd on the cover of MTMTE #28

His MTO backstory and theorizing about how he ended up doing science??? How'd he get there? Why is he so adverse to calling himself an MTO? What was the Operation he was born into about???

His strange spookiness- like he isn't scary per-say but sometimes he's just kind of a spooky menace creature and I love that :) It's like adding layers of mystery to his erratic goofy outer-personality and it's really intriguing (kinda like cuddling with a cat then watching it stare you down from the dark corner of a room an hour later)

In conclusion: I want to kick him into the stratosphere out of spite and love <3 thank you for coming to my incoherent, likely uninformative Ted Talk :)

[monocle-teacup]

I realized that we rarely got screen time of each Terran with some of the  other Terrans and their human families and what is their dynamic like.

What is Nightshade’s relationship like with Hashtag? Jawbreaker and Mo or Thrash? Alex and Hashtag? Twitch and JB? Nonexistent or hardly for all I remember!

I'm going to focus on the Terrans for this.

I made a post a while ago wondering the same thing. TBH, I find it highly unrealistic that there's no conflict among the Maltos with all the different personalities. IMO, if they weren't family, I don't think most of the Terrans would socialize with each other. Twitch is definitely the glue holding them together.

IIRC, the ES guidebook mentioned Nightshade and Hashtag bonding over a show called Changling. Other than that, I feel like the two would butt heads most of the time due to the whole introvert (Nightshade) vs extrovert(Hashtag) thing. It wouldn't surprise me if Hashtag altered one of Nightshade's inventions without permission because she had an idea.

I have no idea what Nightshade, JB, and Thrash could possibly talk about. I guess Nightshade and JB could talk about their journeys finding an altmode? Other than that, I think it's safe to assume that Nightshade has already told JB to stay out of their lab. Nightshade and Thrash interacting for long periods of time would probably just end with the crickets sound effect playing.

In the Production Bible, JB's bio mentions that he has tension with Nightshade and Hashtag due to them not caring about anything Cybertron related while he's very intense about it.

I can see Thrash and Hashtag getting along because they both want to have a good time.

[blueikeproductions]

Oh I'm so glad to see someone else who thinks that Hashtag should have had cassettes! For a new transformers race, I feel like the first ones should be different from each other, a group of unique individuals. They're kids for now, but one day they'll be known as the first Terrans, they should all be memorable.

Like if we threw in medic servos being a thing, we could have the first Terran medic. Actually we don't even need that, we just need any one of the Terran kids wanting to heal instead of fight. It would still be relatable to a lot of children since not everyone wants to get in on the action.

The only thing I can think of right now are Twitch and Thrash being the first two, then JB being the first dinobot and Nightshade having an animal for an altmode. (Ignoring the fact that he scanned a statue and not an actual organic. Actually, I guess he could be the first scientist)

Hashtag having cassettes would be the thing that makes her stand out from her siblings, especially if the quintessons invade and she becomes similar to Soundwave, hacking into their databases and spying on them. (Probably not the best comparison, she'd need some sort of character arc before I can actually see that happening. Which could be what the cassettes are for: learning the responsibility that comes with adopting pets. And just imagine the cute companions she could get! Or little sibling figures, if they're like Rumble.)

EarthSpark is a frustrating experience with interesting ideas but lack of interest to make them work as you’d think they should.

A medic seems like an obvious choice to better explain Terranit biology and how it differs from Cybertronian born Transformer biology. You could transplant Medix into a Terran, with his RBA personality but his G1/RB body type.

It would also be a better use of Ratchet, as he could bond with Medix and together with their applied knowledge better understand the Terrans and Cyber Sleeves.

In fairness to Nightshade, Scanning an object related to an animal or vehicle is something older stuff did before. Galaxy Force in particular shows Transformers can Scan pictures of cars or animal statues to gain the data necessary to Transform. Beast Wars era Transformers can Scan fossils and recreate the animal to Transform into it like Megatron, Terrorsaur, and Dinobot. Jawbreaker doing that is likely a reference to this.

Still this goes back to the medic idea, where Medix realizes Terrans might have a more advanced Scanning system that allows them to better adapt than regular Transformers.

Also I feel like Blaster and/or Jazz would be a much better fit as mentor to Hashtag. Both are already enamored by Earth culture and Jazz mentored Sideswipe in RiD15, so it’s not unheard of.

I don’t trust the old writers to make Decepticons into mentors because as we’ve seen they don’t seem interested in picking Decepticons better suited for that, vs forcing the popular ones in the role. It’d be much more fitting to have a well meaning Decepticon that isn’t Starscream or Soundwave give bad advice that the Terrans have to struggle to figure out with the Maltos and Bee. Like say IDW Flatline was another medic that Medix mentored under, but his advice and skills are considered ghoulish by Ratchet, but Medix is able to hybridize Flatline and Ratchet’s skills into something that helps the Terrans and Autobots.

The pet analogy fits pretty well as the cassettes I had in mind would be based on CatDog and Reptar.

[betterbemeta]

I understand that everything about scale in The Transformers (any series, comic, movie, etc.) is bad.

I do. I really understand. I accept it. I have no choice to.

But it drives me insane.

A consistent sense of scale is what helps us understand objects in space. Including objects that are characters. We can understand how heavy they are, how tall they are, what spaces they can move through and which ones they can't, what their perspective is, and what a typical human perspective is of them.

This is actually the thing that makes the live action Transformers movies 'work'-- they aren't always consistent but because human characters and environments keep the same scale and establishing shots of most of the characters include that scale, all of the explosions and fights and "wow!" is relative to actual live-action human beings.

But when that isn't the case, the scale in transformers is often relative. Robots that are 'large' (Bulkhead, Lugnut & many other Decepticons, etc.) are scaled bigger than robots that are 'small' (cassettes/minicons, robots that are motorcycles, Bumblebee, etc.) and some robots that are 'important' are given a relative size that has to do with conflict that they face. The most obvious examples of that last one are Optimus Prime and Megatron, who are both often Large but may have different relative sizes as the key trait here is actually 'important'-- Optimus Prime is usually Large in relation to his team but never Large enough to win against Megatron without a Struggle to His Limits (or more heroic means like the power of teamwork etc.)

Relative scaling also applies to human characters who tend to be 'as small as giant robots make you feel.' Especially if they're a child. Which is... okay, but the whole point of Robots Being in Disguise is that they sampled a human environment with scale and are taking it with them. We SHOULD be able to assume their altmode, if it's an effective disguise, can also be a way to measure scale. But this isn't the case; TFA has a lot of weirdly sized buildings and almost all of TFP takes place in barren environments, or in Ships and Bases where the scale changes around surreptitiously.

Space robots don't have to be exactly the weight of whatever earth thing they transform into and sometimes that's totally impossible but who-is-more-massive is kind of important when your show has so many physical smackdowns. Relative mass can take us pretty far, but it can't take us all the way. Sir Isaac Newton IS the deadliest son of a bitch in space! Much more exciting confrontations can happen when we have a better understanding of what physics are possible even if we don't adhere to realism perfectly. Sort of like how drawing from life can make fantasy illustration more effective and imaginative.

And even outside of confrontation, if any characters want to interact with each other or their environment, we as an audience get SO much information based on their scale and sense of mass. Optimus Prime Has You In His Hand is more powerful if your mutual points of view are consistent. We can tell which robots can easily shake hands or hug, who can use a shipping container as a convenient thing to lean on vs a dumpster, how 'far away' stuff is for different characters, how much energy they have to use to cross a distance, and more.

Even Weird Stuff is better if we care a little bit more. In TFA, Blitzwing drops directly out of the sky if he transforms from a plane into a tank midair. We assume this is just because tanks can't fly, which IS funny. But what size of tank does he become? Is it a realistic size for a main battle tank in the modern day? Does he put on 52 tons when he changes from something the size of a F-15 Eagle to something more like an Abrams tank?? Instead of that being some kind of oversight or mass displacement thing what if we leaned into it and used this thinking to make even funnier jokes?

Many MANY mecha shows are very detailed about the specifications of their robots, which lines up with how people who are in to real life vehicles (and military technology...) obsess about the numbers. We don't need to go that far, but Vehicles and Technology are one of THE autistic things to care about and yes, I know, most of this material is 'for kids.' But who do you think is memorizing all of the Facts about Trains or Planes or Trucks out there? Why do kids care about vehicle robots, is it really just haha hot wheels vroom vroom or are some of them actually interested in what there is to like about real, non-imaginary giant metal constructs?

It drives me bonkers that the 'toy' aspect of Transformers where 'who cares, its toys' overtakes a lot of the things that help imagination play with toys in the media that's kind of the starter-imagination-play-scenario WITH the toys. Just a littttle bit more effort into consistency and leaning into showing it off would absolutely blow people's minds with what's now possible for action figures beyond vaguely bonking against each other.

[withered-tears]

Ok imma just make a new post so i can keep my MD Transformers AU ideas all tidy in one place itdkskgz

J, N and V

Uzi

Tessa and Cyn

Cyntessa

Doll and Lizzy (plus flashback NJV)

Nori and Yeva

AU Lore under the cut!

OKAY SO, BASIC WORLDBUILDING:

Just like MD takes place way in the future, this AU takes place waaaay into cybertron's future.

The Optimus and Megatron are long gone history figureheads, most cybertronians never even heard about them. The primes are also long gone, Optimus was the last bearer of the matrix, so no chosen one either.

Cybertron is ruled by The Senate (*lmao its not. But more on that later ahuhuhu) and "Decepticon" is literally just the official designation for any and all cybetronian who goes against the senate in any way (basically the senate took a name and insignia from the history books that mean "the bad guys" and slapped it into anyone who causes them trouble)

Copper 9 is actually, just like in MD, a small exoplanet with a mining operation going on. The vast majority of the miners are disposables/monoformers minibots (AKA worker drones)

Now, SOMETHING (haven't actually. Figured out what yet) happens on Copper 9, that makes the bots there pretty much uhhh whats the english word for when a colony wants to separate from the country, liberate themselves?

Basically Copper 9 tells cybertron to fuck off and wants to become its own government.

Senate is like uhhh no you fukin dont.

Marks the entire colony as Decepticons, and sents the DDD to wipe them out.

Now on to some more character concepts:

UZI: Uzi is a minibot (around rewind size or so, maybe sliiiightly bigger?) Shes an outcast for a number of reasons, but the main one if because she actually modded herself with an experimental T-cog she designed AND built herself out of trash.

Her altmode is the Railgun (her knockoff T-cog is the reason behind the 30 mins cool down, is she were to try and rapidfire, it would literally burnt out her spark)

Just like in cannon, she thinks that hiding from the DDD is dumb and they should fight them instead.

(Her altmode being a gun is also to emphasize her loneliness/solicitude from the rest of the colony. She has the means to fight but no one willing/she trusts to weild her)

I dont know what to do about khan tho, not huge into cybertronians having parents myself? so, dunno. I'll figure it out later.

NORI: i got two potential ideas for Nori, one, she was actually secretly a headmaster, and thats how she survived the DDD, by leaving her body behind.

Or two, (and the one il most likely go with) she, just like minimus and dominus, was secretly a loadbearing miniMINIbot, her irreducible form being a beastformer (an ant maybe? Some kind of bug most likely)

Dunno what to make of her relation with Uzi tho, maybe she was a beloved mentor/only friend who taught Uzi how to built stuff?

And Khan was her Conjux? And he took in Uzi cuz he promised Nori he would look after her if something happened to her?

Could be, could be.

Now, onto the JUICY stuff, ahuhuh.

The Senate, and the senate's public speaking figurehead, Senator Tessa (dunno if i should change her name to something more cybertronian sounding, Senator Tesseract maybe?)

Unknown to cybertron's population, and to N and V, the entire senate has been dead for millenia.

Senator Tessa's body has been hijacked and controlled by Cyn, who is pretty much the Anti-prime ouo

She was chosen and brought back to life by unicron himself, to spread chaos and gain control of cybertron, with the end goal of devouring primus himself.

Cyn was originally another disposable minibot, but she died with such contempt to the world around her that her spark called to Unicron himself, who saw great potential for chaos in her.

Unicron was right, too right in fact, because Cyn would eventually consume him ouo she eventually ate him.

Once her story is known, cybertron gives her the tittle Daughter of Unicron, God eater.

@inkyprince thats pretty much all i got so far?

Imma doodle Uzi, Cyn And Tessa (and cyntessa) later today uwu

[toxiccaves]

After a short break, SAMG's twitter dropped another update including the new logo for Metal Cardbot's next season: Metal Cardbots S!

We also got a look at the toy packaging for the new Blue Cop toy which reveals that Jun has a new outfit too!

On top of it all, we get another new character reveal, who seems to be the new main villain of this season; put below a cut incase you're looking to avoid spoilers!

Meet Gigantrex! He looks a bit similar to Heavy Iron, his altmode included. Perhaps they're related?

Still no exact release date for S2, but I'll be keeping my eyes glued to Twitter!

[sophiegoose]

Just saw someone on insta compare B-127/Badassatron's altmode in Transformers ONE to a Cybertruck and all I've got to say to that is I fucking dare them to compare that sweet little lad to anything Tesla-related again, I DARE them 🔪

[in1-nutshell]

Bot Buddy who is Bulkhead's older sibling, member of the Elite Guard, interacting with Team Prime

SFW, familial, platonic, Cybertronian/ Bot reader

Transformers Prime

Part 3 of 3

“… Bulkhead did you adopted this one or something?”—Buddy

The team is surprised to see Buddy get on their knees to pay more attention to the humans. Buddy later gets an altmode with them and gets to hang out with Bulkhead.

Speak of which has not left Buddy’s side since the tackling. He wants to catch up on everything with them. Bulkhead is a bit hesitant when they are put out on the field without him. It makes him antsy. Not because he thinks that they can’t handle themselves. Mainly because his deep fear is them disappearing like last time and it being permanent.

“Buddy just promise me to not take on anything you know you can’t handle, okay?”--Bulkhead

“Don’t worry Bulk. Anyways it’s my job to worry about you not the other way around.”--Buddy

“Can we both worry about the other?”--Bulkhead

“… Alright.”—Buddy

He nearly had a spark attack seeing Buddy launch themselves straight at Predaking.

“Get off of him!!!”--Bulkhead

They did well by themselves for a while too. Whenever both are paired together, it is the equivalent of several semitrucks ramming into one another.

They do have their little sibling spats, mainly over little things like where to play lob or if it is necessary to break some things.

“Why are Bulkhead and Buddy not speaking this time?”--Wheeljack

“Bulkhead accidentally knocked down Buddy’s Jenga game.”—Miko

Miko via osmosis was now Buddy’s other sibling/charge. If Miko isn’t with Bulkhead or Wheeljack she is most likely with Buddy. Miko likes doing trust fall from Buddy’s height. Buddy has expressed the displeasure of the action, but they are powerless against Miko’s puppy eyes. Absolutely loves her to death though.

“Am your new charge now?”--Miko

“Miko you aren’t my charge.”--Buddy

“…”--Miko

“You’re my child now.”—Buddy

Jack is a bit wary of Buddy due to their giant size but gets used to them after a bit. Doesn’t hang out with Buddy that often but knows that he can trust Buddy.

“So, how’s things at school working out?”--Buddy

“There okay. I got a B in today’s Math test.”--Jack

“That’s nice.”--Buddy

Raf loves telling Buddy stories about his day and what has happened before their arrival.

“Then what happened?”--Raf

“I got his shaft and rammed to the side of the build to stop the both of us from falling off of the exercise course!”--Buddy

“Cool!”--Raf

When June and Fowler see Buddy they think that maybe Buddy was a former Decepticon turned Autobot. They are a bit shocked to find out that they are related to Bulkhead. They don’t mind Buddy. Often if the three of them are alone they are often found talking about the stress of looking after others.

“So, I’m not the only one here that dies a little inside when Miko starts running to the ground bridge?”--Buddy

“That’s right.”--June

“Yes.”—Agent Fowler

Has told both June and Fowler that if any harm were to come towards the kids that they would do whatever it takes to get them to safety. It’s a bit of a reliever but they still worry.

“I would die for them.”--Buddy

“Well that’s nice for you to look after the kids.”--June

“I. Would. Die. For. Them.”--Buddy

“…”—June and Agent Fowler

Buddy has already told Arcee, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead that they could be a sub and would absolutely lay their life down to make sure the kids are okay.

Bumblebee doesn’t like the way they talk and later asks if they want to talk about it.

Bumblebee via osmosis is now small sibling.

“Mine now.”--Buddy

“Beep?(What?)”—Bumblebee

Arcee tries brushing it off, but deep down is a bit concerned and relieved knowing that Jack has another pair of optics on him.

“I would die for Jack.”--Buddy

“What?”--Arcee

Bulkhead understandably is the most upset of the three because he knows that Buddy is dead serious. Don’t get him wrong, having another pair of optics on Miko from going into the ground bridge is a huge relief but he also doesn’t want to lose them.

“I would die for you and Miko.”--Buddy

“…please don’t…”--Bulkhead

Buddy and Smokescreen surprisingly get along well. The team later finds out its because he was constantly following Buddy during their time in the Elite Guard.

“Remember when I put a bunch of bolts in some of the stun guns?”--Smokescreen

“Remember when I beat you in the shooting range on the bet of a couple of rust sticks?”--Buddy

Ratchet is a bit hesitant with Buddy. Mainly because he is worried, he has to deal with another Bulkhead that’s twice as destructive. But is surprised in how gentle they are and how they manage to keep others from bothering Ratchet for too long, has respect for Buddy.

“Miko how about we go on a ride together and not bother Ratchet.”--Buddy

“Thank you.”--Ratchet

Optimus is just glad that he has another member join their forces. And sometimes engage in some small talk.

“Did you ever sit on that one bench in Iacon that always seemed tittering whenever you’d put any weight on it?”--Buddy

“… yes, I remember that bench.”—Optimus

Wheeljack constantly tries to break Buddy out of their shell. He wants to see the bot that annihilated those cons constantly.

“C’mon just go berserker one more time.”--Wheeljack

“For the last time Wheeljack no.”--Buddy

“You’ll end up like Magnus if you keep having a stick up—”--Wheeljack

“If I do it one more time, will you stop it?”--Buddy

“Maybe.”—Wheeljack

Ultra Magnus to everyone he looks like he has a strict coworker relationship. But really, he has one of the closest relationships with Buddy. Absolutely has Buddy’s back on the battlefield and at the base. Has bend rules a bit if it’s for Buddy.

“Buddy.”--Magnus

“Ultra Magnus sir.”--Buddy

“How are this evening’s reports coming along?”--Magnus

“All written down, except the most recent one.”--Buddy

“That was our patrol, no?”--Magnus

“Yes, sir. It should get done as soon as I finish with Miko’s music practice.”--Buddy

“No need to do that report. I will handle it.”--Magnus

“Oh? Thank you, Ultra Magnus, sir.”--Buddy

“Please, Ultra Magnus is perfectly fine.”--Magnus

“Then, thank you Ultra Magnus.”—Buddy

“…What was that?!”--Miko

“…”--Bulkhead

“Miko?! What have I said about eavesdropping?”--Buddy

“…”--Bulkhead

Bulkhead doesn’t know what to think about it.

[sophianightdreamer]

Things that happened in the Official Transformers RPG's lore 2: Crossover Boogaloo

Since I've got both the crossover and BW books, and even finished them, and also the last post blew up for no reason, it's time for a sequel with some revisions.

Beast Wars book is more-or-less straightforward add-on for beast modes, Dinobots, and the crossover book is also a straightforward module focused on gameplay with the notable exception of the fact that Pretenders are here for some reason. Well, to the points!

Things that are kinda-sorta canon: Earthspark (Nightshade is an extant person), RID15 (Alchemor crash is an event, Simacore is a person), Animated (Sari also exists), ROTF (same with Alice) and Go-Bots (Zod is a Titan).

RPG lore treats Dark Energon and Angolmois as interchangeable, and therefore refers to all Angolmois items from Japanese Beast Wars as Dark Energon. This is odd, as the book later directly references the manga which established quite firmly that Angolmois is a separate thing.

Mindwipe is invited to scientific conferences.

Sky-Byte is a Maximal, or at least formally listed among them.

Thunderhowl is once again Captain America, hates swarming enemies, and he is either speaks to Onyx Prime in his diary, or Leo Prime (Lio Convoy), mentioned in the rulebook before, is a proper formal Prime who leads the Maximals.

No mention is made of Rattrap's Decepticon allegiance from the past books, but he is apparently a spy by speciality.

Botanica is a triffid.

Paddles, the dinobot, uses they/them pronouns. It's unclear if it's deliberate or not.

The notable odd Threat Level: Optimus Primal the average starship captain by himself is 22, which is more than Starscream's 21. Dinobot is 7, basic BW Megatron is 10, Botanica is 12. Abominus is 15, less then the previously the most weak combiner Ruination's 16, making Abominus a very lame combiner. But the crown is taken by basic Quickstrike, with 1. Yes, 1.

Everyone still have languages listed, and Cybertronix exist as apparently another Cybertronian language, but the only people who know it are the Vehicon generals, Silverbolt and Botanica. But this is not the most notable language-related thing, as Waspinator and Terrorsaur both know English for some reason.

Cube, apparently, is one of Cybertron's greatest exports, and there are alien adaptations of the sport around (presumably, for people who cannot become a car at command).

Decepticons are a legitimate monarchy, and the title of Emperor Of Destruction is a genuine title, because Duke Of Destruction is a Genuine Noble Title

It's more of an observable gameplay oddity, but "EMT Crash Course" perk is universal for humans and Cybertronians. It affects specifically organic medicine, Cybertronians are healed by mechanical aptitude, so you can trust (some) giant robots with your first aid kit!

The BW rulebook has a passing preoccupation with alternate realities - and Uprising even gets it's owl blurb - and therefore has a character sheet for a Intelligent Scientist Grimlock, among others.

Maximals tend to choose for their altmode mammals, birds and fish.

And now, the answers to a couple of questions, because I saw the tags, and some corrections.

@nanzyn & @shadowboxmind : Yeah, the threat level sometimes seem completely random (Stunticons look really lowballed). I think I'll write down all the tables together later for this bizarre power scale.

@theropodtheroblogs : No, Jazz is still also the head of Spec Ops. Prowl is a military strategist, and just a guy now, I guess.

@libermachinae : The original wording for the local Prowlastator seem to imply Prowl kind of happened upon Devastator? The exact words are "when needed" and "been able", so jury's out. He is apparently not a part of Devastator anymore at the time Termagax's lecture, which happens at Autobot City after the local analogue of Headmasters saga and may or may not bear relation to the local counterpart of Combiner Wars.

Now, the corrections: points 4 and 9 from the main post aren't exactly true. The who-is-who list features Alpha Trion, and while some people like Bulkhead are specifically are the Ark crewmember, there's also a mention of "Arcee's Resistance", but not what is it or where it's located, so do what you want. And Tracks while isn't strictly speaking a triple-changer, he is randomly mentioned in such a manner it could be inferred so (and this is his only mention in-text). Technically, the same is the case with Botanica's triffidness here - she has apparently interchangeable stats with Flytrap, whose most notable trait is that he's a triffid. I apologize for any confusion caused.

[nonsscrapheap]

Hello! Very random but I just want to tell you that you're a REALLY good writer-- just read your recent chapter of Twice The Primes AND IM HYPED UP!! I especially love Starscream's and Optimus Trion's interaction with the Primes, you wrote them so distinctively well! Goldbug's part also made me laugh XD, I literally had no faith in him when it comes to keeping Orion and Dion's designations a secret but then I was pleasantly surprised-- that was until he nearly blurted out Dion's name LMAOO.

And omgggg Pulsebeatttt! Shattered Glass! Soundwave!!! Any version of Soundwave is superior and I love love love that he's here! And he's attached to Artemis!!!! LETS GOOO. ALSO SPEAKING OF ARTEMIS-- THEIR PRIME DESIGNATIONS ARE SO GOOD!! THEY MATCH!! SUN AND MOON!! Im literally going feral about this chapter and cant stop re reading it (im not joking, this is my third read) Im so excited to see how Solaris is doing! And craving Solaris and General Megatron interactions, I can already imagine a scene where Solaris shyfully admits to not having an alt-mode and everyone is just: 🧍‍♂️

Anyways-- sorry for the long ask, I just needed you to know that I love love love your writing! (I've read almost all your Transformers fics, my personal fave is Twice The Primes and the reaction fic. They live rent free in my brain) I hope you have a GREAT day because you deserve it! That's all thanks!

- Taro 🍆

FPFPFPFT THANK YOU!!!! i WAS about to like, log off my computer, i'm still writing chapter 15, i'm at 1.8k words at the moment but yknow what? i can work a bit longer, get that past to like 2.5 or even 3k so i can finish writing it later

hehehe starscream and optimus trion's povs were fun to work with, especially optimus, i hope i'm conveying optimus' slow (slowish??) descent into falling in love with artemis. he already respects artemis so much and is awed by him.

golbug! the mischievous little insect (beloved) that is impulsive and selfish! yeah, he's attention seeking but he's smart enough to know that telling someone else about the primes' designation would be stupid and would reflect badly on him. even if it was his best friend, but he's still young and impulsive so he almost says dion's name anyway. still, he hast heart! he'll mellow out! eventually.

soundwave IS superior! any soundwave, we love him! i am especially attached to transformers: prime soundwave, he was the first soundwave i met AND the mech is purple, my favorite color :D i was tempted to make him the soundwave of the continuity but i decided to let PULSEBEAT have his design instead! i like green too, and sg!soundwave being attached to artemis, looking like tfp soundwave but acting different- i knew it'd be fun. especially with pax in nox's head!

hehehehe i've been waiting to reveal those names ever since i thought of them back in the single digit chapters. got inspired by solus just like in the story lmao, i went 'well, dee already has megatronus' frame, might as well have something related to solus be his designation' and from there it was the PERFECT opportunity to have nox be artemis.

SUN AND MOON DUO! MATCHING NAMES AGAIN!

*pointing at you with disbelief at the altmode bit*: YOU! HOW DID YOU PEEK INTO MY DRAFTS?! CAN YOU READ MINDS?!

lmao yeah

anyway! NO THANK YOU FOR THE LONG COMMENT! i dont get those often, its been way too long since i had one and i think this is the first long one for transformers! and aww thanks! i hope you stick around for MORE transformers fics! because i have no idea when ill be out of this pit that is the transformers fandom! it's been almost four?? five months??? and counting and i am still here. will be for a while i'm pretty sure!

question, i made a post about a fic of hot rod having tanjiro's memories and turning it into a hot rod harem fic, any thoughts?? (its not gonna happen for a while but its in my head persistently)

im glad youre enjoying Twice The Primes and my other fics! many apologies though because both other fics are p much on haitus since all my focus is on Twice The Primes, i haven't even touched my unfinished draft for the next part of Universal Observations in a while TuT

TTP is just too fun yknow??? and im at a really good bit too!!

i hope YOU have a great day because this question definitely made mine! don't apologize for the long question! i answered it in a long post lol

anyway back to writing TTP!

[presidentofthelipglossclub]

i might be stupid but i just had a realization.

triple changers tend to have two syllables in their names. each one tends to relate to each of their altmodes. like astrotrain: astro for the space shuttle and train for. well. the train.

i kinda already knew this so that isnt the realization. my realization is that heatwave’s name is fucking perfect.

like, heatwave as the name of just a firetruck makes sense. they deal with fire and heat (duh), and heatwave is an actual term. but its also a triple changer name. heat: firetruck and wave: fireboat. it was foreshadowing the ENTIRE TIME.

anyways idk if the writers had the triple changer boat thing planned from the beginning or if it just happened to be the best name. or maybe they chose to give him a boat altmode because of the name.