#but Rattrap got the haha

[miradanii]

Beast Wars First Watch - Complete

I almost teared up at the end. 52 episodes of a old ass Transformers show. For a primitive CGI show about toys beating each other up from 1996 it holds up like REALLY. The issue is that we're in the year 2024 and it's very understandable that it wouldn't be easy to go and watch janky polygons for 52 episodes. So if anyone was interested in Beast Wars but couldn't go past the first episode because how weird everything looks, here's what helped me:

This is the second CGI tv show ever to air on TV, so give it a break.

1996...Beast Wars was animated by Mainframe. And their first CGI show in 1994 was called Reboot the first ever CGI show ever made. Sure when Toy Story came out and changed the game in 1995, they worked within their limitations. All the toys were plastic for a reason. They were very simple. Beast Wars said fuck that and in each 20 minute episodes contain characters with various textures, performing complex animations during whatever tv schedule they were on. If you ever spotted a character's face or body sliding when it's not supposed to, they were probably running out of time or there's an error that just couldn't be fixed as easily as it could now. I studied Maya in college years ago and I'm telling you rendering was a bitch if your sequence was long. Keeping in mind with what the team had to work with or possibly even invent on their own was just enough for me to be massively impressed. Our standards for CGI in TV have risen over the course of the years. We had Transformers Prime in 2010, 2015 Miraculous Ladybug premiered, CGI films became experimental such as Spiderverse and Puss in Boots. So think of Beast Wars as an early part of history in animation. It's nice to see how far we've come.

If you crave a silly time, this is for you. Whatever choices the animator's made were really funny (not the ones they had no control over), or just bizarre. When you get used to the style, over the course of the series the animation of the characters start becoming more expressive. Season 2 I think Megatron got increasingly expressive with his body movements. Whoever was animating him, they were having a lot of fun (at leas that's what it seems like). Inferno is a character to keep an eye on because he does a lot of fun motions with his body too. I kept losing my shit on the choices on how they animated in certain scenes. Kept me entertained until the very end.

2. Banger Voice Acting

The voice acting is one of the standouts from this show. Though the animation may not hold up well, the voice acting does. Garry Chalk is such a sassy young Optimus. A bit more fun than the young Optimus Prime that David Kaye (oh shit I just realized he's Megatron in Beast Wars...wow yeah this guy has range) plays in Transformers Animated if you were looking for anything similar like that. You'll still get some goofy 90's voice acting though like with Dinobot and Terrorsaur, even Rattrap but I think it's part of it's charm. I once again bring up Megatron as a reason to watch this show. The way this man delivers his lines is just *chef's kiss*

3. Fun and Weirdly Dark...

After finishing the series holy shit. I cannot fathom how you have a show with a rollerblading t-rex AND a decent onscreen death count. Hanna-Barbara cartoon noises alongside characters being constantly impaled and ripped apart (sometimes its for a teehee haha but then spin it around adding in some tension and that sweet composition and suddenly its not so funny anymore). Shakespeare. I don't know if it was just me but I couldn't predict most of what would happen next. Because being a high budget show to sell toys...knowing the 1986 movie...these characters aren't safe. I lost my shit, multiple times. More than I thought it would. Before finishing this show I did sneak a peek at what other people had said about Beast Wars and what was constantly being said was that nearly every episode was important to the over all plot of the series. And it's true! You miss an episode and you might be a little confused. I wanna know how kids who were first tuning into the show after a couple characters die and what their thoughts were...cause it's not like Batman Animated where you could watch the show in any order and be fine. Even before the box sets were released too.

Overall in the year 2024, I love Beast Wars. Obviously it's a product of it's time and no doubt has its flaws. But, that's what happens with a lot of beloved older series. Out of all the Transformers stories I've been watching/reading the past few months, Beast Wars got the biggest reactions out of me. It's also the one I had a lot of fun with because it's so unhinged and goofy/bizarre. I cannot stress that enough. Because Transformers is already bizarre enough and Beast Wars shot past it for me. How is Beast Machines gonna go after it???

I dunno. It's next on my list.

Even more thoughts and spoilers (end of the show spoilers) below:

I...yeah Beast Machines is next for me. I am gonna miss the silly polygons of the original Beast Wars crew. NGL I thought I had one more episode since the youtube playlist said 53. There must have been a double episode or something. I am aware that Beast Wars had complications later on in its run. Similar to TFP so it's obvious to say that I think they needed at least like two max three more episodes for certain plot points and just...character life span. No shit I would have wanted one more season. The lil ol 12 episodes and a 45 minute special at least. Dude...Dinobot 2...when that clone came back for a while, I really didn't think they were gonna do anything with him. There weren't any reactions to Dinobot coming back from the Maximals other than...a Pred...always a Pred...so I'm like okay Dinobot 2...different character...I don't need to think about it. Thanks for pulling my heartstrings show...really gotta push me off the ledge when I'm not looking huh? Man finds his honor, do his good deed after being released from the grasp of Megatron's control....looks at Optimus to fully remember himself and FUCKING DIES IN THE END...AGAIN???? That's so cruel. owie.

Tigerhawk after over 20 episodes an INSANE character reveal and clever way of bring back two characters for the price of one (because they can only afford so many voice actors and animate so many characters). This was a good concept. I would have loved to see it be explored...IF THEY DIDN'T DIE...AGAIN. Especially Airazor can't catch a break...this poor woman.

Okay bye Death Charge. You got what you wanted. At least he technically didn't die in vain? The shock that Rampage just let it happen...yeah those two are a character study.

dsafghjghtrjy yeah give Waspinator what he wants. The potentially immortal robot a good ending. At least he's not evil anymore????? Man does not care his former coworker's body parts are used as musical instruments and cooking ware.

This show has a higher onscreen character death than Transformers Prime (Vehicons don't count). Sheesh. Transformers die...a lot. However, Beast Wars surprised me the most with it. I noted from above that these characters get shot, torn apart, flattened?, and beaten senselessly throughout the show. So when a character dies for good its somewhat shocking in my opinion.

All the love for Blackarachnia. I was in constant fear about her character because I couldn't tell what was going to happen. There was a good chance she would either die or disappoint and become Megatron's goon again. The best version is her Transmetal upgrade and recognizing the design as inspiration for Blackarachnia in Transformers Animated. I screamed when I saw her design. I was so happy. I love her and Silverbolt. What a healthy relationship.

This is a show I do want to rewatch it at some point and even just...be one of those people that make a 45 minute video essay some day. I want physical copies but the site where they supposedly sold it is...not there last time I checked? Which is odd because I had a paper ad for it on the TFP blue-rays I got for my birthday.

Also...I do like this series better than Transformers Prime...not because it's better overall, like if you seen it, you know. Also just rewatching Prime simultaneously cemented my feelings about it. I still love both though. Prime is close to my heart since it's what I grew up with, but Beast Wars has a Dino on rollerskates and Optimus Prime as a blue gorilla riding a hoverboard...like...idk man. I just think it's neat.

[thatboxylady]

hi same anon that just sent the last ask but on an unrelated/non-spoilery thing related to the fic: the flashback with jetstorm and thrust in the hideout in the past being ~ * ~ * ~ * domestic * ~ * ~ * ~ made my heart hurt SO BAD for them. But your take on their relationship overall in this story is so good, too. It's very canony feeling? I dunnno how to describe it. Like even the dialogue feels really on point.

OK so for dialogue I actually have a trick for getting characters to sound as "accurate" to canon as possible. I got this from a Beast Wars writer and TF2 writer separately.

The Trick (c): put the show/fic-media on in the background and DO NOT watch it. Just listen to the audio. You can pick up on a lot when your brain isn't distracted by moving images.

Examples:

Thrust tends to alternate between fully pronouncing his "ing" words and leaving out his g's at the end. He'll use leaving and leavin' interchangeably, for example. His dialogue is almost always very stoic/flat delivery unless it's an extreme situation he's dealing with (or post-S1).

Jetstorm almost exclusively speaks in extremes. His tonality in any dialogue setting is 3/4 for being inappropriate for the situation (i.e. him sounding jovial in an instance that would normally call for the opposite). The other 1/4 is when he's genuinely angry or upset about something, then turn the dial up to nine and break it off for intensity. Unless he's in a situation where he's in danger specifically, he's prone to dropping gags/random refences outside of the scope of Transformers. He doesn't necessarily break the fourth wall but keeps pushing his luck.

Rattrap's dialogue follows a LOT of the same rules as Thrust, except Rattrap is much more expressive and prone to being pessimistic. Brings up the Beast Wars more than anyone else. Slipping in gun/fight performance anxiety dialogue in small doses is a must.

Blackarachnia 50/50 will mention Silverbolt in SOME shape or form, which is annoying. Basically whenever I write her I have to remember to mention the boy toy semi-regularly. I've been bending this one a little because always bringing up Silverbolt makes me want to throw up a little.

Nightscream makes a lot of music references that are pretty subtle. 90s teen speak.

Also, my go to rule for writing Thruststorm in These Forsaken Few is that any "major" leans into the ship have to be plot relevant (see: chapter six lmfao). The rest of the time it should be incidental squint-or-miss-it moments. The Blackarachnia/Thrust nods are more common so far because THAT relationship is over, and Blackarachnia's pursuit of Thrust in S1 to Beast Machines is canon.

Haha tho I had fun writing that scene you're talking about. Thrust and Jetstorm needed more one-on-one "real" moments outside the scope of being Megatron's attack dogs.

[prplpnk]

Summary: A rare moment of peace allows Dinobot to speak to someone he lost and the advice he is given is tested by Optimus.

Rated: T

Words: 3,354

If you like that one, please do follow up by reading the second part, Sentiment. It's linked as part of the Connections Series on Ao3. :) (Or Right Here, if you prefer.)

[why-its-kai]

quick collection of pics of all my Beast Wars and Beast Wars-adjacent transformers ! (i do not have good lighting in here lol). rambling about everyone under the cut:

first we have my Dinobots! he is my fav BW character so he gets to go first.

2009 Universe Dinobot was my first toy of him, got played with a Lot so his joints have gotten pretty loose. I love him a lot!! special little guy. I bought him new at the time.

the pride and joy of my Beast Wars collection is definitely the first wave on-card 1996 Dinobot, even tho the packaging is pretty damaged. that was a VERY lucky find at a flea market.

2 summers ago I found the loose 1996 Dinobot at a garage sale just a little ways down the street from the flea market where I found the on-card version. he is a little damaged and missing the mutant head and half the toes on one leg/arm, but it's easy to hide behind the "spinning cyber-slash weapon" haha. very happy to have a second i can display in robot mode!!

1999 Transmetal 2 Dinobot II was found at a different garage sale (maybe around 2012-2013?) where I found the rest of my original Beast Wars toys.he's in rough shape with loose joints and the metallic paint flaking off but i can tell he was played with a lot which makes me happy to think about. he's the tan color variant!

next up are the Cheetors! the Beast Wars ones were both found at the same garage sale as Dinobot II.

1999 Transmetal 2 Cheetor is missing his gun & missile and suffering from the same flaky metallic paint problem Dinobot II has.

1997 Cheetor is miraculously complete with both weapons and is in very nice shape?! he is the green-eyed variant!

2008 Universe Cheetor was my first of him, even though his robot mode has weird proportions I do like the design this toy has even tho it it strays quite a bit from the original. I bought him new probably around the same time as Universe Dinobot. it's been a while lol

then we have the 2014 Generations Rhinox & Rattrap! they both came with comic books which i know i have somewhere in the other room haha. i really like how close they got to the original cartoon designs with these guys. i know i bought these two new at Walmart most likely but i don't really have clear memories of that time haha

and then after that we have Optimus Primal & Airazor!

Optimus is 2020 War for Cybertron: Kingdom and I bought him off ebay on a whim recently when i saw a picture of the toy and was super impressed with the design. he looks so good!?!?!? got him loose but with his weapons & instruction sheet.

1997 Airazor is from the same garage sale as the aforementioned guys, she is incomplete and missing her weapon but otherwise in lovely shape and definitely one of my fav Beast Wars toys. i only recently discovered i had been missing a step in her transformation to robot despite it being a very simple toy.

next are some Predacons, finally! (sort of! tho the Dinobots sort of count too!)

2013 Generations Waspinator is the same story as Rhinox & Rattrap: has a comic, got him new but i don't really remember much of that general time. absolute stubborn bastard to transform bc he had a very stiff joint on the abdomen i was terrified of snapping so i actually took the screws out to move it safely haha

2012 United Beast Megatron is actually a Japanese import! he's not actually a Predacon either, he's got Decepticon emblems instead. not totally sure if he's meant to be Beast Wars Megatron or someone else but he is a purple dinosaur and that's good enough for me. bought him new online around 2012-2013.

and last are actually Transformers Animated but I count them as honorary Beast Wars collection members haha.

2008 Blackarachnia is another one of my oldest TFA toys, got her new at the store around the time. I do have her grappling hook thingy but i don't like how it looks on her so i've always displayed her without it. she's a really great toy overall, they really captured her cartoon look perfectly!!

2009 Waspinator I also bought new at the store around when he came out, I do remember like actively waiting for him to be released and checking the toy sections at Walmarts and Target whenever i was there with my parents haha. i love his little vestigal arms!! but his joints became loose very quickly and he does have trouble standing and holding a pose without flopping over and one of his insect legs loves to pop off for no reason. Wasp can't catch a break.

and that's all of em! hope to do another photo collection like this for my TFA toys soon!

[seehowsupplethespineis]

I'm, like, super new to this entire blog so please excuse my ignorance but what's the Wildbreak AU?????? I've seen it mentioned before and I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT IT IS????

Haha, oh my goodness, long story... IT ALL STARTED ON THAT FATEFUL DAY I SAW THAT ONE WIKI CAPTION... You know, the one on Wildbreak's page that sarcastically says he must be Knock Out and Breakdown's kid... Writing Entity and I started talking about the possibility hypothetically as an after-war truce AU for Prime...and soon it morphed into this crazy mishmash of random characters... *INHALE* Basically, KO is a single dad who takes care of Wildbreak, Scream is the crazy uncle who happens to be the president like in IDW (but is still the Prime one), with Rattrap and Windblade and everything. (For some reason, we've decided that he's also a lot less stressed, so we use it as a "fix Starscream" tool a lot.) A Prime version of G1 Skyfire is also there (not the Prime Jetfire from before the war in the books, but a completely different one for some strange reason) and he works with Scream who, of course, has a crush on him. Soundwave has adopted G1 Rumble, Frenzy, and Ravage, and they're basically Wildbreak's cousins. One of Wildbreak's friends from school is TFA Wreck-Gar because at this point, why not?! Prime Optimus Prime is also part of KO's weird family as Wildbreak's "grandpa". Arcee is friends with KO (even though the war ended before KO turned Autobot in this AU) but she avoids coming over because she knows she'll see Starscream. The other Prime Autobots can come up when the plot needs as well. Megatron is dead. Optimus is with Ratchet. Smokescreen is an online influencer. Wildbreak's partnership with Dragstrip is in the future, but we know that Scream will rise to the occasion and feel personally obligated to help end such an abusive relationship (from experience), and then KO will just go beserk on Dragstrip for hurting his child. And then Wildbreak hangs out with the President and the Prime all the time, so people know him more for that than himself. I've even got specific after-war outfits for some of them. This is the product of inside jokes with Writing Entity piling up into an entire continuity.

I haven't organized any of it yet, so this was useful! If you or anyone else has more questions, go ahead and ask! It's a weird AU.

[geminiofpluto]

My own review on Transformers: Kingdom, but this time it's not me typing as I watch each episode.

This time, I do include many major spoilers because I absolutely have to share my thoughts and they're all out of order.

🚨Once again, MAJOR SPOILERS FOR TRANSFORMERS: KINGDOM🚨

I'll have you all know that I've cried at least three times because of this series. It first started with the mist in the Allspark's glitched forest. Sideswipe believed he saw Sunstreaker (this means he's dead and I'm extremely sad). The second time was Dinobot's death. I did indeed see it coming, but it didn't hurt any less. Once again, like in Code of Honor, our brave Predacon-turned-Maximal has died with his honor intact. The third time was Prime finding Elita's body in the last episode. He and I were both heartbroken to see what has become of her. And her telling him "Thank you" for doing what he had to do brought me to absolute tears.

The voice acting was absolutely wack, but it was bearable for some characters. Pred!Megatron sounds like a wannabe angsty teen, and I think the voice actors for Tigatron and Dinobot should've switched.

I still loved Rattrap giving us glimpses of his personality from Beast Wars(mention Beast Machines, it'll be ON SIGHT). Really wish the Autobots and Maximals had more interactions with eachother(But the Rhinox and Wheeljack friendship lives forever!)

Speaking of friendship, Airrazor and Dinobot would've been amazing friends in this continuity, and I am not afraid to admit I love the Starscream and Black Arachnia duo. (Let's not forget about those moments with Black Arachnia and Airrazor haha)

Ahhh so many thoughts I had, and yet I've already forgotten so many!

The Ark transforming into a big boy that's a Titan class? Best fucking idea ever! Props to you for that, Teletraan!

Black Arachnia being able to make cool weapons and items out of her webs is pretty cool too! Makes me doubt less about her charms.

And uh, real sad that we got only one big from Airrazor to Tigatron, but the chemistry is still there so it's a win!

And when Airrazor saves Black Arachnia from falling a tall height from the airborne Nemesis ship, Black Arachnia giving Airrazor a cheek kiss and saying "My hero!" just made me sad, knowing we could've had Silverbolt. But hey, it makes me laught to think Black Arachnia is friendly with anything that flies.

One last comment that I have in mind for this trilogy series: That ending sends the heart places. But I'm only hurting myself with the thought of "Oh hey, maybe this is hinting at a movie?"

Here's the actual last comment:

Dinobot, miss you already. R.I.P. that nice hip sway of your animated model....

This is all that my mind can think about as of now, but when I rewatch the series, I'll definitely be making more edits to this post.

[neveralarch]

Yuletide reveal 4!

Monitor Lizard (1906 words) for Rosencrantz Fandom: Transformers: Beast Wars Rating: Mature Relationships: Dinobot/Rattrap (Transformers) Summary: It's a long, boring shift on monitor duty. Fortunately, Rattrap's got some ideas for how to liven it up. We watched all of Beast Wars in the discord chat this year and oh MAN is it good. It's so good, and this is such a good ship. That's really all I can say, haha.

[millies-theme]

Cheetor is super simplified here, but 3d models can be more detailed than I can draw, haha :3

(previous)

“Sooo.... Do you think Cybertron has changed?” Cheetor pricked his ears up, sniffing something on the dashboard. It was old, old old, and smelled faintly of cybertronians. It mostly smelled like dust, though. He sneezed after taking another whiff. “I doubt Cybertron has changed much. It's only been five years, after all.” Primal told him, keeping his gaze on the space in front of him. “Yeah. It feels a lot longer than that.” Cheetor mumbled, turning around. He stretched, sneezing again before heading out of the cockpit of the ship. Primal could hear him talking quietly, likely towards the other occupants of the ship. Small shuffling accompanied quiet talk, the creak of a floor board as Cheetor jumped onto the seats of the craft. “Watch it, spots.” Rattrap snorted, ducking his head to avoid the kid's waving tail. Staring off in another direction, Cheetor wafted his tail back, catching Rattrap in the face. Primal stifled a snort as Cheetor whacked Rattrap a third time, causing the smaller bot to stand up and jump on the cheetah with a yell.

The two rolled off the bench, Cheetor letting out little hissing chirps as he batted at his friend. Eventually the tussle ended, with Rattrap on top.

“That'll teach you to hit me.” He huffed, tugging on Cheetor's ear. “Puh-lease, we all know I could've thrashed you.” Cheetor rolled his eyes, laying his head on the ground. “Oh? In what world?” Primal shook his head, chuckling as he flipped a few switches to steady the ship. “Good to see someone having fun.” Rhynox said, leaning back in his chair with a creak. “Something normal for once. Hopefully this war won't follow us for too long.” He sighed. Primal nodded. “Hopefully.” <hr> Cheetor remained on the ground after Rattrap got off him. Most of the ship was cold – robots didn't need much heat, just enough to keep from freezing – but the animal part of him wanted warmth. There was a large light on the ceiling, which was making his spot a little warmer than the rest of the ship. He stretched out happily, taking up as much space as he could. Five years ago he never would've done something like this – it could have intruded on someone else's space, possibly someone higher ranked than him – but now he didn't care. If someone wanted the space, they could move him. And, as an added bonus, the spot was perfect for watching their prisoner. Megatron sat, stuffed at the back of the small cell. His hands were bound, and he stared out across the ship blankly. He was eerily quiet, and Cheetor's hackles rose. Megatron was never quiet. Not once had the dragon been quiet; In every battle, he had either shouted something about “Killing Optimus Primal, once and for all” or cackled wildly. But now he was sitting stock still, glaring out over the room. Cheetor considered cracking a joke at him, but quickly decided against it. Poking a caged bear, while you too were in a cage, was not a good idea. He settled for just keeping an eye on Megatron.

I’ve actually got half of the next part already typed up WHOOP

[thatboxylady]

#haha jetstorm got beat by a fruit punch drink hahaha (crying)

more like he had the fruit punched out of him, tbh

SCREAMING AT THIS

EDIT: BA mixing some organic compound for herself when Rattrap does the responsible thing and refuses to give her any

[thatboxylady]

for the shipping asks! 🌹💔💤👀 :]

SINCE WE ARE BOTH into BW/BM that's what I'm gonna do this for iausdohi.

Ship that you have as an OTP: 🌹

Haha Thrust/Jetstorm. There is something very tender about speed-running enemies-to-friends in the way that they did (i.e. attempting to violently murder each other). Their little moment in Fallout sealed the deal, as far as I was concerned. <3

Ship that makes you sad:💔

HAHA THRUST/JETSTORM... Jetstorm's reformatting scene is absolutely horrific, and Thrust spends the rest of the show thinking that Jetstorm left and betrayed him on purpose. When that was 100% not the case. At all. It's awful! It's awful. :)

Ship that is canon but you don’t ship: 💤

SEE THIS ONE IS HARD because there are only so many actual canon relationships in this show. Hhhhh...

I'm just gonna say Botanica/Rattrap for the sole purpose that it felt really shoehorned in at the last minute, I dunno? IT NEEDED MORE TIME? If their relationship spanned a few more episodes and dug more into the chemistry then I'd be 100% okay with it, I am very laid back when it comes to ships iyasdugh.

Ship you’re curious about: 👀

Each and every day that I am trapped on Earth I stray closer from God's light and consider Blackarachnia/Thrust/Jetstorm.

Love triangles that turn into poly ships are fun, yes, and I would love to explore it... but that girl's got more spice than Cameron's version of the Titanic packed full of Carolina Reapers, careening headlong towards an iceberg with a couple of nukes strapped onto it. I don't think I have the strength.