#and the megatron of that continuity is a dinosaur

[just-absolutely-super]

Transorganics...half beast and half machine

...the beast bots?

[unlikelypandahologram]

Reasons to ship every single version of MegOP

since Very Dumb Discourse™ exists about whether or not certain versions of this ship are valid, this is going to be THE most positive post about all versions of MegOP. refer back to this post for reasons to ship your favorite version of MegOP if anyone gets weird about it with you. now let us begin!!

G1: goofy '80s faction dads fighting each other in a denny's parking lot every week LET'S GOOO, that shit is fun as fuck. orion pax also totally had a celeb crush on megatron before megatron ruined that and shot him and his pals 😔 and there's a lot of angst you can add with megatron becoming galvatron and optimus coming back to life to see how much he's changed!

BW: it's the sheer fucking comedy gold factor of a newly minted college graduate and a terrorist dinosaur IMMEDIATELY singling each other out on a prehistoric rock and deciding to call their daily gang slap-fights the BEAST WARS, what iconic drama queens LMAOOOO. also, megatron made his final body in BM look like optimal optimus SPECIFICALLY to fuck with him, and that's just...incredible

UT: the fact that megatron CANONICALLY acted like a grieving widower over optimus after he died in armada is. amazing. never forget their absolutely insane obsession with each other that they can never EVER give up on played a direct part in unicron nearly ending the world <3

Bayverse: this is the one continuity of all fucking things that gave us the lore about megatron being prime's lord high protector. absolute galaxy brain writing from the tie-in comics. also these two would ABSOLUTELY have the messiest, nastiest, most brutal hate sex imaginable, and that's beautiful. <3

Animated: optimus being a rookie washout underdog and megatron being a super scary much older warlord is a really interesting and underrated fresh take on their dynamic! lots of fun to be had with exploring what their relationship would be like after megatron finally acknowledged him as his archnemesis, lol. also...age AND size difference ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Prime: do i even need to say anything, i'm pretty sure that one flashback still of orion and megatronus being friends is responsible for birthing a million shippers for this pairing alone LMAOOOO. the bitter ex-boyfriends energy was TRULY off the charts in this show, it's a damn shame megatron never appeared in RID15

Cyberverse: same bitter ex-boyfriends energy but this time with dates at maccadams. megatron also dies encouraging optimus to beat the unhinged alternate dimension megs AAHH THE ANGST

IDW1: they're both depressed gay war criminals in this one who CONSTANTLY live in each other's heads rent-free and that's amazing, lmfao. also, megatron becoming an autobot means this is one of the VERY FEW continuities where it's not nigh impossible to figure out a way to give these two a happy ending together in fanon

IDW2: space date space date SPACE DATE. they were falling together and everything. megatron also LITERALLY tells optimus to open himself to him...to give him the matrix...yeah megs my dude i'm sure that's the ONLY thing you wanted from optimus "opening" himself. toootally positive, lol

G1 Marvel: megatron was SUPER fucking pissed and weird as shit about the time optimus died over a video game. it counts

Dreamwave: their first fight had megatron urging optimus to join him AND they disappeared together in a space bridge explosion once which is like, a fanfic-esque setup for them to be alone. also i'm pretty sure this is the continuity where optimus accidentally gave megatron a lobotomy, so...uh...potential for angst is to be had

SG: mirror universe!! evil crazy villain optimus with noble goody-goody hero megatron has so much potential for absolute chaos. bonus if you also bring in the normal versions somehow through multiverse shenanigans <3

KP: the only way this version of prime can redeem himself from the creepy underage human girl bullshit is if he gets a good hard dicking from megatron. next

Prime Wars: huge "ex-husbands go on a road trip with their disgruntled daughter" energy here. megatron also LITERALLY says "oh optimus, if only you could see me now" <3

Earthspark: again...need i say why? they're pals and working together from the get-go, what's not to ship??

Skybound: optimus literally wears megatron's arm. truly beautiful <3

TF One: it's not out yet but give it time. the entire movie is going to be about orion and d-16 being madly in love and tragically breaking up, baby!!

[tyrantisterror]

On the subject of Dinobot, do you have any personal theories on WHY he goes by, well, the name of arguably the single most famous Autobot sub group in history? He's explicitly well read and knows history that is NOT common in universe, and the Dinobots are well known, so why would a proud Predacon name himself after a team that infamously hates the Decepticons? I mean the real life reason is that Dinobot's character was not originally a Predacon prior to the show, but it does seem at least a BIT odd for him. (I suppose the most logical reason is that he is a proud warrior that respects foes, so he gives respect to the most fierce and ferocious foes of his ancestors.)

Ok, so, in the first episode of Beast Wars, we see all the Maximals give themselves new names to match their new beast modes. Whatever names they had before are not the ones they're going by now (which is a really interesting idea for transformers culture that I'm sad no other part of the franchise has played with - the idea that their identities, even their names, transform with them).

We then cut to the Predacons, where Dinobot, now sporting a dinosaur alt mode, is chewing out Megatron for fucking up royal before declaring his aim to take over the faction. My pet theory? He chose "Dinobot" as his new name to not only match his beast mode, but signal the fact that he was not a slavishly loyal minion, but a warrior who is not to be trifled with - because in most continuities, the dinobots are loose cannons who do listen to orders they think are stupid, and are more than willing to tell their bosses to fuck off. "Dinobot" because his name and his fucking threat to Megatron in the same moment.

[blighted-lights]

sorry i just. i just realized that deathsaurus has not one, but two potential combiners in his crew.

(liokaiser/the breastforce on top, dinoking/the dinoforce on bottom. )

he has liokaiser and dinoking. like he just has them on his team. and not only that, but there is the potential of both teams being able to double their numbers by splitting themselves as well. the breastforce could be headmasters with beastformer partners by idw lore, and the dinoforce are pretenders and can act independently of their dinosaur shells. (though given the instability of the pretender shells in idw, take the dinoforce having their shells in this continuity with a bit of salt)

neither combiner is used during the DOTL fight, but we know at least liokaiser is canon to idw- we see him later on in lost light. we don't see the dinoforce again in idw, but the possibility of having both combiner teams on the field during DOTL,,,

that means it's the rodisquad (minus megatron) going up against the djd, overlord, deathsaurus, deathsaurus' 200+ crew, and (potentially, if dinoking is real in idw) TWO COMBINERS.

oh, and greatsix- who might be a six changer.

im ngl if im one of the lost light crew having to go up against that mess and megatron decides to just opt out of fighting then he better hope i die in the battle ��. bc if i live im going after his ass next

(also leozack you bastard, where is your sister hm?? where is lyzack??)

[blueikeproductions]

They finally posted a trailer and poster for the next batch of EarthSpark. And it’s described as S3, though experience with Netflix makes me think this is just the remainder of S2… Still according to the marketing, fans finally got a third season, so that counts for something. It’s only roughly 7 episodes, but G1’s final fourth season was a three part finale, so a very short season isn’t unheard of.

This poster is a lot better than the past main posters they’ve used over and over.

These are better also, but they don’t get used much.

But after RotB & TFONE, I think we can all agree decent advertising isn’t modern Hasbro & Paramount’s strong suit.

As for the trailer itself, it continues a trend I’ve noticed where most EarthSpark ancillary stuff tends to down play the Terrans. Twitch appears for a split second and Thrash appears in a gag where he gets shot… continuing his “just kinda there” vibe.

The trailer primarily focuses on the traditional Autobot & Decepticon conflict, with a big focus put on Prowl, the newest and seemingly only Transformer added to the cast so far.

A news article further describes Prowl as an “old world” Autobot detective who trusts the hard facts & always finds the truth. He is immediately distrustful of Optimus’ allies, so presumably that includes the Maltos, Terrans and naturally Megatron. It’s interesting how he’s specifically described as a detective, perhaps that’s to avoid ACAB allegations I could see the old writers attempt through him….

Prowl’s G1 profiles cast him as a by the books, semi prickly, military strategist. This doesn’t really get explored in the old cartoon, and while it was touched on briefly in Marvel, IDW went hog wild with it, casting its Prowl as a corrupt cop antagonist towards the end of the run. IDW2 cast him as more of a detective pre-war though, possibly where EarthSpark borrowed it from, and while he was still a hard-aft, he had a soft spot for his pet dinosaur-alien.

The main villains of the season, unsurprisingly, are the Quintessons. Their leader is a female Judge, who the blurb declares it “is her birthright to possess the power of the Emberstone. She’s wise, dangerous, and her ego is so large that it’s no wonder she has five heads”.

What exactly constitutes gender among the Quints has never really been defined before.

It might be safe to say as far as the G1 cartoon is concerned, they’re an all male race.

WFC & CV attempted to insert female gender among the Judges, having some of the masks speak in a female voice.

That adds another oddity to Judge biology, as the G1 cartoon or Marvel UK comics never stated the other faces being separate personalities, instead other media describes them as different emotional states.

Alpha Q in Superlink did have multiple personalities based on which mask was displayed, each one squabbling/talking amongst themselves.

Presumably WFC/CV borrowed from Alpha Q, but the ES Quintesson Judge might be operating on G1 logic, each mask being a single (female) gender, as she has a female voice actor only.

The other big G1 thing the trailer shows is the Hate Plague. The leaked synopsis already revealed it, but like G1, those infected with the plague glow an intense red.

Once infected, they turn incredibly violent and try to kill each other. Despite the G1 show’s violence, nobody actually died ironically, at least it was never confirmed. The synopsis implies the Quintessons unleashed the Hate Plague on the Transformers, and while the 80’s Quints were instead among the victims of the outbreak, they do have a vague connection to it.

The oldest known leader within the Matrix, only known as “It”, resembles a Quintesson, with Japanese media confirming that’s what they are. Optimus Prime asks this ancient Quintesson how to combat the Hate Plague, with It saying the Plague couldn’t be outright destroyed but contained, where a wise man trapped the spores in a star. The spores nevertheless has a weakness to pure wisdom, so Optimus unleashes the power of the Matrix and uses its eons long store of wisdom to eradicate the virus once and for all… Until it briefly returns in Beast Machines.

As mentioned before, the Hate Plague isn’t exactly a popular concept cartoons like to go back to. Comics don’t like using it typically either, so its inclusion here is both unique but also a little… peculiar. I’m leaning towards it being a vague, modern topical metaphor for something, as an infected Megatron is fighting Optimus in particular. Probably some hogwash about Megatron succumbing to his biases and own hatred, but we’ll see soon enough.

Perhaps the most utterly bizarre detail is the blurb seemingly confirming the return of Spitfire and Aftermath.

How…?

Starscream yanked out their Allspar-er-Emberstone Shards, and the rock itself is dust. You can’t get any deader than that.

The only thing I can guess, is similar to Sari’s key, the Sleeves are the repository of the Emberstone’s life giving energies (the sleeves do just about anything else now so why not), and the Malto kids are incentivized to revive the two Decepticon Terrans for some reason.

MetroTitans in IDW also can grant life and that was carried over to Prime Wars, so it’s possible Terratronus can grant life too, and she restores the Terracons.

Worst case scenario is the two hellions are back up and running like nothing happened, and their death is never addressed again.

Crap writing if so, but the previous two scenarios would be preferable.

Not much longer to wait now. This might be the final batch, as the Quintessons make sense as the final end goal in the struggle over the Emberstone. The show has never been super committed to showing what’s going on Cybertron that whatever Prowl and Cosmos have to add to the matter is probably the best we’ll get. Plus the Terrans don’t have much incentive or interest to even go to Cybertron anyway; Alex would get more out of going there than his kids. Only thing I could guess is the Quints took over Cybertron off screen and that loosely ties into the Judge’s role on Earth, but eh. We’ll see.

[cityzenshark]

Terran Mirage with Malto Terrans -- Jawbreaker

1 - Hashtag | 2 - Twitch | 3 - Jawbreaker | 4 - Nightshade | 5 - Thrash

(disclaimer: this is a fanfic, don't take it seriously with the canon)

[A.N: the full story is now fixed! Enjoy reading!]

Mom said hugs heal all hurts yet told Jawbreaker not to give Mirage a hug unless he asks, which didn't look like it'll happen anytime soon. So how can Jawbreaker help make the Diaz Terran get comfortable with the Maltos?

“Let him help you find an alt mode,” Hashtag suggested, “with the power of cinema!” she gestured at the video camera JB was holding.

The next thing Jawbreaker knew he was holding Dad’s tablet reading interview questions prepared by Hashtag while Mirage sat next to him, confused out of his mind.

Even though the whole take went awkwardly, Mirage shared that he simply wanted his alt mode to look pretty and that he did not think much of its function. Having a pretty alt mode sounds nice, thought JB, but he did not want it to be just pretty. He wanted his alt mode to be… He has no idea.

So Hashtag brought him and Mirage to see Megatron and Elita-One.

Though still feeling lost, JB took Elita’s advice to spark that his alt mode didn’t need to be a vehicle. He also noticed that she kept staring strangely at Mirage to which he asked her about it. The Autobot answered it was nothing.

After Nightshade chose an owl alt mode, it clicked to Jawbreaker that he could choose to have a beast form. However, every large animal photo he went through did not resonate his spark still. While his siblings stop pushing him to keep searching, Mirage kept suggesting whatever large animal that seemed most suitable for JB. He appreciated it a lot but his indulgence ran out of enthusiasm eventually.

On one late night Jawbreaker went to the cow paddock alone, his mind empty whilst his spark continued to long for an alt mode he has yet to have. He thought he’d be alone with the cows. To his surprise, Mirage was there as well, staring longingly at the night sky.

“What are you doing?” asked JB.

“Night sky-watching.” Mirage answered.

“You mean stargazing?” Twitch and Thrash said they’ve done it many times before knowing how to sleep.

“No. I’m looking at everything in the sky. The moon, the clouds and the stars, too.”

It made sense. “Can I join?”

Mirage appeared hesitant. “I don’t want to talk right now…”

“It’s okay. We can night sky-watching together.” Jawbreaker heard from Dad that if someone didn’t want to talk didn’t always mean they were refusing company. Maybe Mirage needed one now.

It turned out he did. He thanked the bulky Malto and two watched the night sky for hours on end.

They did it again on the following night after Bumblebee’s ruined race (after Twitch hurt Mirage). And again to calm down after the not-so-peaceful lesson at the Spacebridge Memorial. And for the last time when Mom and JB’s sisters brought him back after the terrifying incident in the city, this time with Hashtag and Nightshade accompanying them both.

Jawbreaker couldn’t understand why Thrash did not like Mirage Diaz. The ‘envy’ in their link hurt. His triplets agreed. Hashtag was very upset at Thrash whereas Nightshade advised her and JB to not be harsh on their big brother even though Nightshade was upset at him, too.

On the day when Mirage was about to leave with his family for New York, Jawbreaker promised to inform him whenever he finally gets an alt mode. When they meet again weeks later, the now orange and spiky JB ran to him in excitement and transformed.

“My favorite dinosaur!” Mirage hugged stygi Jawbreaker by the neck and squealed in pure delight. Jawbreaker curled tighter to the embrace, feeling happy himself.

[paragonrobits]

so i've been annoyed now and again when i see big name v-tubers or whatever making fun on Transformers for being a toyetic series (which is deeply ironic when they're super into things like My Little Pony which is also a toyetic series) and get weirdly intense about saying its actually a garbage series for boring people that has no dimension outside of being a commercial, and they get super shocked when you tell them its one of the more convoluted series out there, with every single series almost invariably being a completely different setting and universe and timeline with no real connection to others, for the most part with a TON of lore and characterization and like

not a lot of people are into Transformers as intensely as, idk, people like me who get salty about Beast Wars not being respected

but i got to thinking and i realized something about Transformers that makes it stick out is, its basic premise is usually set around the point of no return, the complete cessation of hope for the protagonist's initial dreams:

their homeland is lost.

There's no going back to Cybertron; in most settings, Cybertron is not occupied territory, or a place they were driven away from. Sometimes that's the case, but not always. Its not a matter of beating the Decepticons and then you can finally go home and live in peace.

That's already gone. There is no hope for that, and there never was. Cybertron is dead. The planet is, more often than not, poisoned or drained of resources from the war, and can no longer support life. There's no going home because... that home is gone.

The war continues, but the Autobots generally have the motif of trying to restrain the Decepticon war machine from ravaging more worlds like they did to Cybertron. There's no real win condition besides a slim hope that MAYBE Megatron will see reason and just stop (which is unlikely) or that a marginally less deranged Decepticon will take office and be willing to accept peace talks even for a generation or two to just STOP killing everything for a while.

That's the best hope. Otherwise, it seems that the only peace is the peace of one side being wiped out, in a rather tragic sense rather than a 'we're the good guys so its okay if we wipe them all out' thing. Most series, when they acknowledge this, very strongly go with the Autobots don't want that. But it doesn't seem like there's a choice.

So this wraps around to the initial point here; people often don't respect this series because its goofy, and it is that. It's a series about transforming alien robots that turn into cars, military equipment and more silly, bizarre stuff; into airplane-dragons and scientifiaclly inaccurate robot dinosaurs and unusually large rats and whatever the heck the Transmetal 2 line and the Fuzors were. It's often bombastic, cheesy as hell, with a soundtrack codified by 80s glam rock and its perhaps best personified as 'GOD EXISTS, HE'S A GIANT ROBOT WHO TURNS INTO A ROBOT PLANET AND HE HAS AN EVIL SIBLING WHO IS BASICALLY ROBOT SATAN WHO TURNS INTO BIGGER EVIL PLANET'

But at the same time, even in the cheesiest series, when the war is still a thing, there's still a melancholy aspect to it. Robot God existed, and he was legitimately good and kind (if somewhat hands off), and he's probably dead. He was murdered by the ones he made; maybe bcause of the horrors of war draining resources until there's nothing left to keep anyone alive, or because the self centered despot in charge of the Bad Guy Team poisoned the planet with the hateful blood of the ungod of death and oblivion just for a tactical advantage, and now God's dead. The homeworld is dead with him.

The Autobots left home because there's nothing left to return to. And often, when there IS some hope of bringing life to Cybertron, the price is far too high for a mind to consider and still think you can be a hero of the story; it requires the mass death of an alien species, the subjugation of a planet, to let humanity die so the Transformers can prosper.

Optimus and the Autobots say no; no matter what. That is a price they can't even consider and still call themselves Autobots. If making a decision like that is the only way to save Primus, then Primus would rather them let him stay dead. And it goes on, in other ways; Optimus is often characterized as tremendously burned out of being the ultimate perfect heroic figure he's become to the fandom, carrying out through sheer grit and heroic spirit but keeping no hope for himself, and just coming off as so tired of the endless conflict, of seeing a former friend completely lost to his own ambition and becoming so much worse than everything he fought.

As a plot, it tends to be significantly broader in scope than the sort of stuff I see these v-tubers and reactors that I dislike really get into. I've seen people dismiss Transformers out of hand and just go 'lol how am I supposed to relate to robots even if they're gay' and its like, I see you relating to demons; that's not any more realistic than robots even if you gave them cutesy little horns or something. But that's still making it about YOU, about pretending they're actually you or something.

This isn't a series about projecting really hard onto a character and erasing their personalities so you can imagine you're the main character, this is a series ROOTED in character and bizarre tones and a surprisingly somber aspect at times. Even G1, the least serious of its interpretations, still had surprisingly brutal and gruesome deaths for a good portion of the cast, and did the unexpected; showing its robot characters as having been made by others and rose up to free themselves, and being treated as heroes for it. And then, those same creators show up later, prompting Rodimus to state: "We Transformers have seen the face of our creators... and it is the face of an enemy."

This is a series that REALLY goes all out on investment in characters, specifically. Makes me wonder if the people who dismiss it just aren't that invested in characters, or don't really get the concept of continuity specific stuff. Or that they dismiss it because they don't think sapient robots are relatable, which is a minor thing in the grand scheme of things. (Again, if you're constantly depicting your online persona as some kind of fictious creature, or a demon or something, mocking sapient robots as being worth having interest in is just splitting hairs.)

There's one episode in G1 that ends in a pyrric victory; a lake with a powerful resource is discovered, the Decepticons attack and the Autobots fight them off, but in the destruction, the entire natural area is completely obliterated, leaving a smoking ruin. The episode ends on a somber note, and nature-loving Beachcomber ends the episode looking at the ruin as he bitterly says "We won."

and in a lot of ways, that kind of feels like a summation of the series at its more somber.

[melishade]

How is the Dino Optimus Timeline changed now that Zeke is captured? Do Riener and Bertholdt even try to escape after witnessing Zeke's ass getting roasted and Megatron appearing out of nowhere?

What if Optimus was able to transform into a Dinobot

Honestly, this was also meant as one of the gag stories, but I can try to continue this.

Of course, Reiner and Bertholdt are backed into a corner. First there was Optimus Prime, then it turns out that Optimus has some secret dinosaur form that is just full of rage and anger and can breathe fire! With nearly killed Zeke! Oh and to top it all off, Megatron is here! So that's just icing on the cake!

But based on Zeke's appearance and the amount of titan they saw in Wall Rose, they have to assume that Marley is here somehow. If they learn that Zeke is gone, they could start an invasion. The problem is, they don't know the location of the Jaws or even the Founding Titan.

The good news is that even though the Survey Corps have been suspicious of them for a while, they are completely distracted by the newcomer and Optimus' new titan form. However, Zeke is heavily guarded, and they can't pull him out. Zeke is still interrogated about his origins and how he brought titans within the walls. And he doesn't crack...until Megatron shows up and does his shit. Because he's angry Optimus isn't telling him anything about the whole Dinobot situation and RescueBots, so he needs to take it out on someone!

Megatron: The titans are humans.

The Survey Corps:....

Eren:....

Hanji: Well, I think I'm depressed.

Meanwhile, the Marleyans and Pieck are wondering what happened to Zeke. He hasn't met at the rendezvous. Pieck is ordered to investigate the situation, so she poses as someone who was scrambling to find a way to Wall Sina but couldn't reach it. Pieck is able to sneak in, and she learns that damning information that Reiner and Bertholdt are learning. She knew that she needed to find them and get them out. The mission was clearly lost, and if there were two new titans, one that was able to incapacitate Zeke, Marley needed to cut their losses.

Pieck is able to locate the titan shifters, and demands to know what's going on. They explain what happened, and Pieck is stunned. Three of the titans are either gone or captured?! She knew that this mission was bound to fail. It was a testament to Marley's foolishness, but Annie was captured and Marcel was gone! Pieck makes the decision for them: they needed to go now! Reiner and Bertholdt plead with Pieck to at least try to get Annie back, and there is an extreme amount of pushback, but Pieck says if they can do it without tipping anyone off, then fine.

However after some digging, they realize that Annie's been taken...by the ruler of the Walls. So has Eren. So now, it's a race against the clock between Survey Corps and Warriors to see who will get to Annie and/or Eren first.

(There are a few other notes that I want to develop for this Coup, so I need to wait a little bit before writing it down. Because I have a few interesting ideas.)

[istherewifiinhell]

grand finale baby okay. (what do u mean their are 80-300 more of these...)

[ID: Optimus looking up to a hole in the ceiling, a beam of light filtering through, rubble around him. He says "That was Megatron's way of letting us know he has come!" END]

badum tssk 🥁🔔

its marvel tf no 4! or 7-8 in uk reckoning, winter of 84, the cartoon is now on air!

okay lets hear it- Writer: Jim Salicrup, Pencils: Frank Springer, Inks: Ian Akin & Brain Garvey, Letters: John Workman Colour: Nelson Yomtov, Editor: Bob Buduansky, EiC: Jim Shooter Digital Re-master by Digikore Studios Limited. Collection Edits by Justin Eisinger and Alonzo Simon. Editorial notes and assistance by Mark. W. Bellomo

it wouldnt be some 80s comics without some pain so lets get hurting

[ID: Caption box: Meanwhile, at a ballet class attended by Buster's girlfriend Jesse… A gratuitous panel of four presumably teen girls in sleeveless leotards looking out the window. Jesse asks "What is it?" One answers "Looks like the Rolands are leaving town! They've packed everything --including the kitchen sink!" Close of three looking out the window, mild expressions of shock on their ingenue faces. The speaker continues "I really can't believe anyone would take this robot business seriously!" Jesse cries a single tear thinking "There's no escape from this Madness!" In the dance locker rooms, Jesse stands in elegant contrapposto of distress thinking "I thought coming here would take my mind off Buster--fora little while, at least. But knowing that he's risking his life to save his father is eating me up inside! Guess I was only fooling myself! I can't stop wondering if I'll ever see Buster again!" Caption Box: While back at the ark… Buster kneels over his father, fingers to his pulse. Optimus, looming in the fore asks "Is your father still functioning?" Buster pleads up at him "My father's not a machine! He's flesh and blood! And if we don't get him to a hospital fast--he'll die!" Ratchet in the back says "Perhaps I can help!" END]

sorry thats as long and as hateful as i ever intend to be here. boy i hate comics tho...

this episode of transformers is brought to you by: jarring cuts!

[ID: A military jeep driving, a human voice inside it says "I'd give anything to get a little sleep, but if you and this truck aren't delivered to the 4067th M.A.S.H unit in time, my goose'll be cooked! This is all your fault, old friend! If you weren't such a hotshot mechanic they wouldn't need you to repair their ambulances.' END]

[anime girl image] MASH REFERENCE 🎊🎉🥳 (yes sparkplug will be having war flashbacks the whole comic. technically. theres a point to it)

[ID: Two EMT's get into the front seats of Ratchet in alt mode. Passenger: This is the only ambulance available, and we need it. Ratchet: What? Driver: Did you hear that squeak? Passenger: We'll get it fixed after we bring back that heart attack victim! As they drive off Ratchet thinks: These men seem to mean well! I'll just keep quiet and help them! After all, it's the least I can do as a doctor-- even if an earthling is my patient--and it's better than waiting! END]

oh by the way ratchet is just parked outside the hospital cause he drove sparky there. what a nice fella. also im not showing any of it but actually the AUTOBOTS are the ones that hurt him... like. accidentally but they werent being.. VERY NICE either. bad vibes all around.

[ID: Various dinosaurs in a cretaceous vista. A character narrates. "In a volcano-ringed valley, inhabited by weird, alien creatures, some even larger than ourselves. The drone found its answer…" A single transformer walks fully over one of the dinosaurs in the clearing. The speaker continues "The cybertronic life form was none other than the Decepticon known as Shockwave!" Editors note: "Long-time marvel readers will recognize this place as the savage land, prehistoric domain of the present-day Ka-zar!" END]

(sees 5 specific kinds of dinosaurs) OH BOY OH BOY. shut the fuck up marvel editor. THATS DINOBOT ISLAND where my friends the DINOBOTS live. jeez... also shockwave bigfooting it up, as tfs are wont to do.

anyway get ready for the meg.op comedy hour

[ID: Ironhide shouting: What are we waiting for? Let's get him! Optimus: No! That's exactly what he wants!-- so he can pick us off easily! Let him come to us! END]

[ID: Caption box: One after another, the Decepticons enter Mount St. Hilary, pushing the attack… Megatron stands in the left fore, his troops in the mid, and Optimus high on distant hill on the right. He calls out: I'm coming for you, Optimus. Our war is nearly ended! He thinks: Too many of my men stand between me and Optimus! My fusion cannon would destroy them as well! Bah! A small price to pay to rid myself of my constant foe forever! END]

normal thinks to say and think megs. wow

[ID: Optimus large in fore, looking same direction the camera is focused. He and the other Autobots shaded in dark purple and black. The Decepticons, in full colour, seekers flying above, and the rest charging down the middle, all firing weapons. Megatron yells "Prepare to be DESTROYED!!!" END]

HEY. THATS NOT HALF BAD. a panel with dynamic composition and values that direct the eye??? I CANT BELIEVE IT. also i just noticed. lets all thank soundwave's head being obscured in this panel. THEY LEFT IN A PURPLEWAVE!!!! he endures... seek him out where the remaster dare not go.

[ID: Megatron firing his fusion canon, shouting "You're mine, Optimus!" Optimus yells in pain, his arm melting, and his gun dropping to the ground. END]

as im always saying...

anyway yeah the autobots win in the end cause sparkplug sabotaged the fuel he made for them, JUST LIKE HE DID WHEN HE WAS A POW IN THE KOREAN WAR... jesus. comic of people who like. have heard how drama is supposed to work, without perhaps. really getting why it works. at least it looked nice...

fucking hell. anyway and then shockwave shows up and tramples the autobots. THE END

[ID: Printed comic. Caption Box: --Into Shockwave! Shockwave stands in full view, light emanating behind him, rubble, and injured Autobot's at his feet. He speaks "After four million earth years I have accomplished my mission-- The Autobots are no more!" END]

(dont he look great in printed purples. mwah)

[elfdragon12]

So I firmly maintain that no one in the Transformers fandom is obligated to read or watch everything, especially if you're just not interested anything outside of your preferred continuity. However, I do think it's fandom healthy to have watched a few G1 episodes. I do not say this because I think G1 is the magical pinnacle of the franchise. It's a glorified 80s toy commercial and has highs and lows. However, I do think it's a good reminder of how much things get changed around in this franchise and helps avoid "but [insert thing] is canon!"-itis.

Pick any 5 G1 episodes, it doesn't have to be the first ones! Pick episodes about your favorite characters! Episode continuity isn't all that important so you can really watch most episodes in whatever order you like.

You want to see what G1 Prowl is like? Watch "Roll For It"!

You want to see what G1 Optimus Prime was like as Orion Pax and his history with Megatron? Watch the "War Dawn" episode!

Starscream heavy episodes? Have a dozen or so! "Fire in the Sky", "A Decepticon in King Arthur's Court", "The God Gambit", "Starscream's Brigade", "The Revenge of Bruticus", "Starscream's Ghost", and "Ghost in the Machine"! "The Core" and the "Dinobot Island" multiparter for 'you know, Starscream's right' moments.

Want to know why writers keep centering betrayal storylines on Mirage? Watch the episode aptly named "Traitor".

Only want Dinobots, especially Grimlock? You're in luck because fire-breathing robot dinosaurs are the epitome of cool and there are a bunch of episodes! "SOS Dinobots", "War of the Dinobots", the "Dinobot Island" multiparter, "The Desertion of the Dinobots" multiparter (also a good episode to show that humans are actually well-handled in G1 and awesome female character moments), "Madman's Paradise" (though only Grimlock, also, what the Grimlock miniseries was based on), "Grimlock's New Brain", and "Call of the Primitives".

You want history/lore? That "War Dawn" episode, "The Search for Alpha Trion", "The Key to Vector Sigma" multiparter,"Five Faces of Darkness" part 4, and "Forever Is a Long Time Coming" (especially if you want hints about the upcoming Transformers One movie) are solid choices!

Do you like Perceptor? Try "Microbots", "Cosmic Rust", and "The Face of Nijika"!

Do you want a poignant episode about the environmental casualties of war that ends in a grim Pyrrhic victory? Watch "Golden Lagoon"!

Want romance? "Sea Change" and "The Girl Who Loved Powerglide". I guess "Money Is Everything" if you want boring human-only romance with knock-off Han Solo.

If you like Mirage and Noah from Rise of the Beasts, watch "Make Tracks" and "Auto Bop"!

Black-coded character heavy episodes? For Jazz: "Attack of the Autobots", "The God Gambit". (He is present all throughout seasons 1 and 2, Scatman Crothers's death meant that he had almost no speaking parts in season 3 though). For Blaster: "Blaster Blues", "Auto Bop" (where we see him and Soundwave face off), kind of "Quest For Survival", "Kremzeek", "Carnage in C Minor", and "The Quintesson Journal".

Did you know that G1 has an episode that passes the Bechdel Test? Watch "the Search For Alpha Trion"!

Again, you don't have to nor are obligated to. I just think that G1 has a lot of variety to offer and is generally a fun time. Not to mention I think that folks not watching the G1 Sunbow leads to a lot of mistaken ideas about what the series was actually like, what character personalities were like, and how much Hasbro actually "panders" to geewunners.

[talesofsonicasura]

Transformers Meet One Piece: Devil Fruits

I got bored. This is basically a Transformers based Self Insert where our favorite robots in disguise learn about the peculiarities of the One Piece realm. For this reader will be a human from the OPverse who ends up stuck in Transformersverse.

Only detail I'll add description wise is that they're tall, like 10 ft since it's funnily considered a bit above average for humans in One Piece standards. *Looks at Charlotte Katakuri whose around 19 ft*

As for what Devil Fruits are, these are fruits enchanted by sea devils that grant incredible powers to those who eat them. Though the price for such abilities is never being able to swim again. Devil Fruits come in three main types.

Paramecia which can be anything from a rubber body or turning others into toys. Zoan, that allows the eater to become various animals, prehistoric/mythical creatures and even deities. Then finally Logia which are living elements such as fire or ice.

Gonna be three entries with one Devil Fruit Type per an entry. Also it won't be the same continuity every time! For this, I'll be using Cybertron, Prime, and Bayverse! This can be read gender neutral or preferred gender. Enjoy!

Cybertron: Dino-Dino Fruit Model Allosaurus

You have been stuck on this strange planet for quite some time. Honestly thought the place was an island at first but none were as massive as this. Plus good ol' steel rhino solidified it.

Backstomp of the Beast Planet was the only one who knew about your existence. A personal preference and the elder easily respected it. It wasn't for your safety but those of the foolish challengers. Picking a fight with this allosaurus was a death sentence.

To the inhabitants of Jungle Planet, you are just a new beast that calls the place home. It should've stayed this way as the days go by. That is until Megatron and his lackies threw the idea down the drain.

Whatever peace the place held had been thrown overboard in seconds. Black hole threatening to devour the entire universe? War between Autobots and Decepticons? Four Cyber Planet Keys being the way out? Yeah no.

Obviously kept out of it as it wasn't your war. Well that was the plan until Backstomp got dragged in and no one is gonna hurt old man rhino without getting bitten. Like mosquitos, the Decepticons decide to impede the Autobots once again on their way to see the planet's ruler.

You knew Scourge's honor bound temper and any tardiness will ignite his fury. What better way to slander 'Optimus Prime' then have him late from trying to save his team from an ambush. It was time to intervene. You let your body shift from human into the beast form granted by the Dino Dino Fruit Model Allosaurus.

The shifty looking bot, Starscream, didn't expect a massive clothed Allosaurus to leap on his back nor bite into his wings. He obviously screamed in pain as he tries to get you off but you were stubborn. The distraction allowed the Autobots to turn the tide and chase away the pests.

You shift into your half beast form while allowing Backstomp to do introductions on the way to see Scourge. They obviously had questions especially upon hearing that this strange dinosaur is a human. Your response? "Gotta earn it first. A home cooked meal is a good way to start."

Prime: Calm-Calm Fruit

You had brought this particular encounter on yourself. Everyone craves some peace and quiet at some point. A task that can be easily done thanks to the abilities given by the Calm Calm Fruit.

You were listening to the radio while eating another stolen meal from KO Burger. A normal routine since landing in this strange place about 3 months back. The only source of easy entertainment other than reading or drawing was a dinky little radio you had also stolen.

It broadcasts a very odd telenova about a war between giant robots and that's it. Didn't know why but you always tuned in out of curiosity. That and this Ratchet character tossing wrenches at his companions is so funny.

It was currently on the Decepticons' side with Starscream being a whiny two faced bitch again. "For someone who wants to replace Megatron, he sure doesn't have any balls." "What did you just say Soundwave?!"

Oh. This wasn't a telenova. You might've been eavesdropping for three months on either crazy people or actual giant robots. Well fuck. The radio immediately got trashed upon hearing the word 'Investigate' and took off with weapons in tow.

You found it been the latter as you watched shit go down from the sniper's roost atop the cliff. First three robots, obviously Decepticons, shown up through a portal to snoop. Then other bots who must be the Autobot party, since they weren't primarily purple or grey in paint jobs, emerged to start the fight.

Alright, time to be a neutral terror with silent explosives. Watching giant robots scatter in a panic as a soundless rocket crashed down is hilarious. And it grew even funnier since no one could find out where the shots came from.

Thus the next 20 mins were spent unleashing utter hell as both sides scramble to survive. It sadly ended when a very large truck robot had snuck up(via groundbridge) and snatched you from behind. He definitely didn't expect an oddly tall human to cause his team trouble. Or for them to sheepishly smile. "Guess you caught me.😅"

Bayverse: Smoke-Smoke Fruit

You didn't know how a nap escalated to escorting a injured medic robot to his companions. It just happened as smoke tendrils from the Smoke Smoke Fruit help Ratchet walk to his berth/bed. The two of you been trying to find Optimus for the past two weeks.

Drift about whenever possible and keep off Cemetery Wind's radar. You had no experience in fixing machinery so Ratchet had to guide any repairs on him. Mainly cause his hands were still wonky and he rather not shoot himself in the foot.

Both of you were currently hiding out at an abandoned steel mill somewhere in Texas. A perfect place to find scrap metal for more repairs on the Autobot medic. Well it should've been until Ratchet picked up someone approaching your temporary hideout.

It was pretty obvious what needed to happen. Thus Ratchet sat in the basement as you handle the unwelcomed guests. It was go time when the first black car came into view.

"Whiteout!" You let smoke swallow the entire field and tear into the intruders. Cemetery Wind still hadn't learned that bullets were worthless here from how fast they began to drop like flies. Smoke choking each foolish soldier as it slowly snuffs their life out.

A loud truck horn had gotten your attention. It would've tasted a smoky fist if it weren't the blue and red firey decal on the front. This had to be Optimus Prime.

Whatever Cemetery Wind grunts were alive found their necks snapped in two. You kept your smoke tendrils out even when three people got out the truck and Optimus gone into robot mode. A surprise since it was humans who took out his team.

He obviously saw you as a threat until you took him to see Ratchet. Any distrust faded when the two Autobots were reunited and the medic got better repairs. They still had questions but only one got an answer from you. "Why did I help Ratchet? It wouldn't be right to leave him to die."

And that's it! Until next time folks, I'll see you back on the Grand Line. Now transform and roll out!

[cybertroniancoining]

Cybertronian Frametype Genders (part 2)

Note: I used toy pics since it was the easiest to quickly remove backgrounds from. I will eventually make alt versions with alt-modes seen in the comics/shows/movies if I have the energy to cut out the backgrounds from those.

Deepspacecraftgender : A gender connected to having the deep space shuttlecraft Cybertronian frametype, a frametype characterized by being intended mainly for deep space travel and of a distinctly different shape than standard shuttles. This can be used in addition to Shuttlegender if one considers themselves both. An example character that may fit this gender is: Cosmos (Any Continuity)

Dinobotgender : A gender connected to having the dinobot Cybertronian frametype, a frametype characterized by having some sort of dinosaur or prehistoric creature as an alt mode. Some example characters that may fit this gender include: Megatron (Beast Wars), Grimlock, and Swoop (Any Continuity).

Dualframegender: A gender connected to having two distinct frametypes that one transforms into simultaneously, as opposed to a triple-changer who can only change into one at a time. This gender can be used in tandem with genders for the two specific frametypes one holds. An example character that may fit this gender is: Overlord (G1, IDW).

Flightframegender : A gender connected to having the flightframe Cybertronian frametype, a frametype characterized by being flight-capable. This is considered an umbrella term and can be further dissected (Seekergender, Rotarygender, Medijetgender etc). Some example characters that may fit this gender include: Chief Justice Tyrest (IDW), Starscream (Any Continuity), Vortex (Any Continuity).

Generatorgender : A gender connected to having the generator or a generator-derived Cybertronian frametype, a frametype characterized by being able to generate one's own electricity. An example character that may fit this gender is: Kaon (IDW).

Part 1 // Part 3 // Part 4 // Part 5 // Part 6 // Part 7

[im-just-a-dumb-gay]

Bayverse timeline: Earth edition Part 1

Basically I summarize the wiki with some additions

4.54 billion years: Earth forms around Unicron

65 million years ago: Quintessa sent her people to activate a Seed leading to the extinction of dinosaurs

17,000 BC: The 7 Primes land on Earth. 6 of the 7 sacrifice themselves to protect Earth from The Fallen.

10,000 BC: Allspark crashes on Earth

2560 BC: Great Pyramid of Giza is built around the Star Harvester

1200 BC: El Deir in Petra built to hide Tomb of the Primes

After 1200 BC: Seekers sent to find the Tomb of Primes. Only a riddle is discovered. 

Before 1000 BC: Sentinel’s ship is shot down and is floatingly endlessly in space. Optimus becomes the new leader of the Autobots

1000 BC: Megatron crash lands on Earth when searching for the Allspark. As he didn’t inform anyone where he went, no one knew where to search for him. Starscream led with his absence. Megatron had left as he believed the war was won and thought it was time to search for the Allspark to help fix their planet. The war, however, continued as the Autobots were not going down. Some Decepticons became disillusioned with the Decepticons and became Autobots. This included Drift, Trench, and Crosshairs. This helped the Autobots get an advantage and this made the war last even longer. 

Before 484 AD: The war killed Cybertron. Near the end of the war, Bumblebee lost his voice to Shockwave.The Knights discovered that Quintessa did not care for them or Cybertron. They took her staff and decided to hide on Earth. They assumed Quintessa would believe they went as far away from Unicron to keep the staff away. They assumed right and Quintessa did not immediately find them. Quintessa sent Lockdown to find the Lower Knights. The Dinobots, who also left Cybertron after being convinced from the Knights, went to other planets. Merlin discovers The Knights. They tell him of their destroyed planet and tell him to keep them a secret.

484 AD: Merlin asks The Knights of assistance against the Saxon hordes. Merlin is given The Staff.

After 484 AD: Merlin dies and most of the Knights protect his tomb. One decides to search for other Cybertronians to give refuge. The Cybertronians brought to Earth get in contact with the Order of the Witwiccans. Some of these Cybertronians include Bulldog, Hound, and Drift. Optimus and his main team, however, did not go to Earth due to them splitting up to try to find the Allspark. Bumblebee was the one who volunteered to go to Earth and search for the Allspark. After losing his voice, Bumblebee became withdrawn and way more violent, barely interacting with the humans on Earth and deciding not to interact with the Order of the Witwiccans unlike Hot Rod. (Hound came to earth around the 1700s. Bulldog and Drift came around the 1800s maybe? Hot Rod and Bumblebee came around the 1900s. Crosshairs might have come around the 1800s too?) 

1897: Captain Archibald Witwicky discovers Megatron

1910s: Bulldog takes part in World War 1

1913: First Seven discover Allspark. The Allspark was dormant at that time so the signature couldn’t be reached to Bumblebee. 

1927: Section Seven formed

1931: Hoover Dam bult around Allspark

After 1931: Megatron was brought over to Hoover Dam. Project Black Knife at some point is dismissed.

1940s: Bumblebee and Hot Rod fight with the Allies in the Devil’s Brigade. Bumblebee is still extremely violent at this time. He barely interacted with humans before this point in time. 

1945: Watch that Killed Hitler…well killed Hitler. 

After 1945: Hot Rod stays in Britain. Bumblebee continues his search for the Allspark. At some point Soundwave makes his way to earth as he learns that some Autobots were there and thought there might be something important there.

1960s: The Ark (Sentinel’s ship) lands on the moon. While this was no Allspark, Soundwave saw an opportunity with this discovery and sent some Decepticons there as well as informing Starscream of the situation. USSR finds Pillars being taken by Decepticons. The US has their astronauts investigate the ship. Starscream and some Decepticons start to make their way to Earth so see if the Pillars can be used to save Cybertron. They realize, however, that Sentinel is needed to make them work and that he was in stasis. They stay on earth to see if there is a way to use the Pillars without him and to make earth a somewhat base as well as kill any Autobots hiding on earth.

1970s: Soundwave and Laserbeak manipulate humans to stop further moon missions. 

1980s: Chernobyl disaster caused by fuel cell extracted from the Ark

2003: Beagle 2 Rover reveals alien activity on Mars. This was most likely a Decepticon.

Before 2007: Soundwave gets some information about Sector Seven(perhaps one of his human companions learned about Sector Seven and it’s potential knowledge)

[kryptonitecore]

Re-Read: Transformers: Primacy

Primacy is a bit of a disappointing way to end this trilogy, as I think it’s the weakest part - it continues some of the ideas of Autocracy and Monstrosity, but what really killed it for me was the characterisation. The challenges to Optimus’ character are rapidly eroded, but it’s Hot Rod/Rodimus and Megatron who are really in trouble.

Hot Rod shows up, having apparently completed Autobot training in the background, and is now completely and unambiguously in support of Optimus. Any skepticism regarding the Autobot cause and its connections to the old Senate have disappeared while he was off page, and his actively Decepticon-leaning sympathies have also disappeared right along with it. In fact, to prove that Hot Rod has moved on, there is a brief and mostly one-sided confrontation with Slinger, his friend and one of the few survivors of Nyon, who has recently joined the Decepticons. Rather than dig into this, the writer makes Slinger abruptly hostile and he disappears from the book until he can be brought back for a death scene where he confesses how wrong he was. (Slinger and Fasttrack can both join the ‘former friend to Decepticon to corpse’ club!). Facetiousness aside, I think the real issue was the feeling that this story wanted Hot Rod to be a different kind of character than Autocracy and Monstrosity had created - for example, pairing up Grimlock and Hot Rod as grizzled veteran and inexperienced, optimistic kid just does not work for me considering Hot Rod’s past as an insurgent, everything that happened to Nyon, etc. I just feel that once you’ve been forced to destroy an entire city, you may no longer qualify for ingenue roles.

Megatron is similarly a point of strange characterisation. Characters making mistakes is not necessarily a problem, but having a supposedly intelligent, strategic character who is intended to serve as a major villain repeatedly make daft choices? Less good, and it is especially not good when the behaviour of the character is described differently from what actually happens in the story. The writers continue to define Megatron’s version of villainy in terms of dominance and control, the implication (to me, at least) being that he is precise and focused in a way that other villains, like Scorponok, were not. However, Megatron’s actual behaviour and dialogue in the comic does not live up to that - he repeatedly takes massive risks or makes obvious tactical errors, relies on fear and blunt, brutal tactics, and can be quite self-indulgent. Although obviously mistakes and character flaws are fine, I think the writers settled for mistakes that were just too, too obvious in terms of tactics and created a bit of a clash between what they wanted Megatron to be and where the plot actually took the character.

First up, there is the decision to place Pentius’ spark inside of Trypticon. Megatron is aware that Pentius is actively malevolent, but seems to find no potential drawbacks to placing his spark inside the most powerful physical body available and only afterwards does he apparently think to ask ‘How am I to trust you?’. He is then shocked when the evil alien whom he had been able to control on Junkion because Pentius was literally a head on a chain, can suddenly be far more independent and dangerous when placed into a giant hell-dinosaur. Later things are smaller, but moments like Megatron only realising that acid rain would damage his air force as well as the Autobots’ halfway through a battle added to the impression that the writers were scrambling for a way to end the series quickly.

Optimus fares better. For example, his enjoyment of the mission to the pole has interesting implications for his tendency to isolate himself, but the flaws or challenges that gave him a lot of texture in Autocracy and Monstrosity have been shaved down - his main personal issue in this book seems to be a generalised sense of the pressure that comes with leadership. Compared to the Optimus of Monstrosity, this is a very smooth Optimus. Overall, the story seems more interested in propping up Optimus as the hero - Omega Supreme’s interactions with him spring to mind - but that comes at the cost of the specificity that previous books had given the character, which is a shame, as I think they helped me appreciate him more.

In fact, a lack of specificity is the cause of a lot of my problems with this book. The battles between Trypticon and Metroplex are so huge that it is difficult to really engage with them, they take place on a disaster movie scale, but named characters are in little danger and I wasn't attached enough to Iacon or Harmonex to really feel their destruction. Other threats are similarly poorly defined, like Pentius, and resolved through vague solutions, like Optimus showing Megatron the Matrix, which apparently removes or destroys Pentius' spark or its connection to Megatron for reasons that are sort of unclear.

There are still things to enjoy about this book and I fully intend to read it again at some point, but the plot holes and characterisation are glaring enough that it is definitely weaker than its predecessors.

Well, that was the last of the -acies series and I’m actually glad I read them, even if this last instalment didn’t do as much for me. Time to move on to Spotlight: Thundercracker!

[sepublic]

So I rambled in a previous post about how the KSI sentries turning on their creators is almost like the dead rising from the grave to take vengeance; After all, the KSI sentries are made from the harvested material of dead Cybertronians, many of them Decepticon. They're basically reanimated corpses, Frankenstein's monsters, and Galvatron is another example of a ghost possessing a new body.

With that in mind, I realized there's something that could be done with the Dinobots; Age of Extinction begins with dinosaurs specifically being turned into the metal that makes Transformers... We have Transformers who turn into Dinosaurs. And nothing is made from this connection, surprisingly.

I think there's a fun theme we could play with here; The Decepticons are not the only ones coming back from the dead, reborn as KSI sentries. There's also the dinosaurs themselves; All that's left of them are their fossils, transmuted into metal, which I like to think are scanned by/fused with the Dinobots to make them become Dinobots by granting them their famous alt-modes to begin with.

This would explain why they transform into prehistoric earth creatures, and the almost skeletal appearance of their beast bits; There's an almost demonic hellfire vibe to them, like demons coming from beneath the earth to punish sinners in retribution. They've burned and suffered and now they want to spread that searing pain to those responsible for landing them there.

In a way, it's the dinosaurs, the first inhabitants of Earth, who are coming back from the grave through the Dinobots to take their revenge upon the Decepticons; They were sacrificed for Cybertronian purposes, recycled to make new Cybertronians, just like the Decepticons who became KSI sentries. The Dinobots carry the spirit of the deceased and their anger upon those who wish to continue those same evils that contributed to their and others’ extinction.

The Decepticons are trying to prevent what they believe is an oncoming extinction of their race; Meanwhile, the remains of those who WERE rendered extinct by them are coming back to haunt them, just as the KSI sentries haunt their human/Autobot creators. It's ghosts fighting ghosts. It's the perfect thing to counter Galvatron's new army.

...There's just one problem; I mentioned in an even earlier post that I'm removing the constant retcons of Cybertronians having been on Earth since the beginning; Their first contact was the Allspark crash-landing on Earth, shortly followed by Megatron, and then other Cybertronians showing up later down the line to scout Earth for Energon.

This creates a dilemma for me, as there's no room for dinosaurs to have been transmuted into alien metal, if they were already long dead by this point. I did consider the idea of a seed detonating and transmuting some nearby fossils into metal, which provides the basis for Grimlock and co. to scan them and become Dinobots. But there isn't that same meaningful vengeance from beyond the grave if the dinosaurs weren't actually killed off by Cybertronians; I guess there's some anger about their graves being desecrated, but that's about it.

Maybe I'll roll with the idea; These fossils are underground. They're detected via sonar imaging, but somebody detonates the first seed in that area anyway, and sabotages an archaeological discovery of the past to pave the future. You could of course compare it to corporations destroying the environment and who knows how many fossils for the sake of industry.

And that also ties into the idea of Extinction in this arc, because the Decepticons are worrying so much about THEIR extinction... But can they keep up this current form of existence, without wiping out other species in the process? So who is going to become extinct here? Does anybody have to be? Two species, humans and Cybertronians, competing; One by arming themselves, the other by reformatting. What does it mean to be extinct if there are survivors? Some argue the dinosaurs didn't actually go extinct, they merely evolved to adapt and survive...

The same could be said for how Cybertronians are reformatting themselves with the Maximal program. They still live on, maybe it's the spirit that matters; You could even say the KSI sentries ironically embody that. Most of them are made from Decepticon metal, but there's plenty of Autobot in there too... Yet they nevertheless carry the Decepticon 'spirit' by being Galvatron's soldiers and serving his goals, and integrating with the remnants of previous generations.

The Dinobots carry the 'spirit' of their fossils, that animalistic will to survive that Earth's species have always had, and defend humanity after Optimus proves he’s the strongest; It’s Survival of the Fittest and these animalistic Dinobots have followed that rule since the beginning. They’ve got more in common with Earth’s creatures than they may initially realize or care.

By realizing that some things remain the same, people can accept what does change; Some, like Drift, have managed to find peace in this. Others are digging their feet in, trying to maintain the past. And now the past, another world's at least, is coming up to punish those people. Are we moving on too quickly from the past to embrace the future? Is it right to completely sacrifice the past, like the fossils, for the future of humanity's innovation through KSI?

Maybe when the Allspark landed on Earth, it did so during dinosaur times, and the fallout of its impact is what transmuted live dinosaurs into metallic fossils. I intended upon shortening the timeline quite a bit, but this might actually reconcile some things, and it does tie into how G1 began in dinosaur times, too. This does go a bit against the lore of the Chimera Cube containing power, but maybe the crash-landing jostled it a bit. I guess Sector 7 found the fossils near the Allspark, but didn't really do anything with them until by the time of Age of Extinction, and might not have intended to...

But because of somebody, possibly Shockwave (in reference to the Aligned continuity), the Knights of Kaon -led by the brutal Grimlock- ended up scanning and fusing with these metallic fossils, who are now compatible with their biology thanks to transmutation, causing them to be reborn as the Dinobots!

I suppose there are benefits to setting up the Dinobots as early as the first arc, with a brief mention of the surrounding environment, lifeforms included, being transmuted by the Allspark's crash landing. I'm not sure if I really want to stretch the time scale out that far though, but there's also the other suggestion I came up with; KSI does a test run with a seed and sacrifices a lush environment, and whatever's below, for their metal.

[bloodilymerry]

Bird of Prey: Dinobots and Predacons

The two military hardware groups were designed by competing Quintesson Scientists, demonstrating that the argument if dinosaurs are cooler than mammals is universal*. By the time both groups were constructed, the second rebellion was well on the way and so to minimize the risk of powerful warmachines deciding they want freedom, both groups had been programmed using a simple old OS, in the hopes that the low intelligence would make them more controllable. The Dinobots set out to prove their creator wrong quite quickly, deciding that joining the rebellion would be fun. The Predacons followed suit, not wanting to be outdone by their rivals. 

Until the rise of Megatron, both groups were mostly cheerfully uninvolved in the going-ons on Cybertron and instead continued their rivalry with single-minded determination. It wasn’t until Megatron set out to unify the Decepticons that things changed. 

Shockwave set out to modify both groups to be able to transform into a second–more humanoid–mode, which included adding the more sophisticated Decepticon OS, to which a Dinobot or Predacon will switch upon transforming. The end result was that the Dinobots realized they didn’t particularly care for the way they were being treated, not to mention some of them would really like to try out other things than just being a giant dumb-fire missile - such as writing poetry or building things. The subsequent disagreement led to Grimlock writing down his points of contention with Megatron (in the form of a lengthy insult poem, melted into the wall of a public building in Kaon) and the Dinobots switching allegiance to Autobots.

The Predacons decided they don’t mind Megatron’s leadership style, as long as they get to prove once and for all they are superior to the Dinobots. So far, each group maintains they’re winning.

* But Swoop is a pterosaur and they weren’t dinosaurs? Divebomb is a bird, and those are dinosaurs and not mammals? You mean a Quintesson is supposed to overlook the Rule of Cool that will undoubtedly boost their sales?