#cyberflora

[zoomzooml]

[Worldbuilding] Flora of Cybertron

With a word of introduction, it is worth mentioning what "cyberflora" is in general. Plants are primary producers in most terrestrial ecosystems and are the basic link in the food chain in that way or another. This is how things are on both Earth and Cybertron.

Transformers and mechanimals are derived from protoforms created directly by Vector Sigma, but plants are self-sustaining in this case. No life form reproduces sexually, and plants undergo a process that can be called self-fertilization. Some reproduce by pollenation. Pollen is nothing more than a naked or nearly naked, tiny protoform. Then it can rely on either pollinators or the wind. Once it lands in a suitable place, the pollen, like other organisms, will develop an armor, turning into a seed and burrow itself. Others have developed reproduction by dividing the shoot.

The environments on this globe are varied, conditioned by many types of plants, adapted to these conditions. However, there are a few that are at least recognizable almost everywhere.

One example is the Crested Sunflower. The largest and most recognizable part of it, to which it owes its name, is the solar panel which measures 4 to 8 meters in height. Thanks to a mechanized process similar in action to photosynthesis, from the light absorbed, the Sunflowers are able to produce energy that goes to Vector Sigma. The calyx contains energon - nectar - which the Sunflower shares with its pollinators, who, frequenting will spread the pollen so that it eventually lands on the right ground.

Another variety of sunflower is the Table Sunflower. The unusually large form is shaped like a tree, which measures from 30 to as much as 100 meters in height, sometimes even exceeding them. It is rarer and much more tenacious. The Table Sunflower has its solar panels always pointing parallel to the sky, and pollen develops under the plates to let the wind carry it away when its time comes. It performs a function similar to its smaller cousin, energy acquisition for Vector Sigma

According to the prevailing theory, the sunflower flora is one of Vector Sigma's main sources of the energy, which it is able to convert into energon, which then goes into the planet's circulation. For other Cybertronians, these plants are practically inedible and very unpalatable; it is possible to process them into energon essence, but this is controversial due to religious symbolism.

These are most likely the oldest plants created on Cybertron, but not the only ones.

Another example of flora, this time growing underwater, is Fuel Kelp, whose fruits - fuel bulbs - are a common energon. The plant's stem is a tangle of wires and tubes, and its fruits, stores of surplus absorbed nutrients. The fruits are soft and flexible. They reproduce by dividing the shoot, which makes them easy to reproduce artificially. This makes them a staple, fairly inexpensive food for Transformers.

Flower-like plants come in all sorts of shapes and forms, but most of them - at least terrestrial - can be structurally fitted into these types. Some trees will also fit.

The petals can be anther protection or solar panels. If they are armor solar panels usually develop as leaves. Pollen can be deposited on the anthers or directly on the edge of the pistil stigma (also called energon cup or nectar cup).

No ecosystem is free of parasites. Those affecting Cybertron's flora are usually invasive lichens that will digest host metal or virtually suck out energon. This can and will result in plants dying, crumbling and collapsing. Interestingly, some parasites haunting Cybertron will happily settle for the soil itself, which can lead to cracks in the ground, weakening the soil or chewing through root clusters, destroying entire habitats of flora or cocoons.

[thunderpounce-inc]

I want to eat these FrUiT...

they activate the foraging monkey brain

GUESS WHO’S BACK WITH CYBERTRONIAN FOOD IT’S ME BABY!! And all of them are fruits! You can find all the other food posts in this masterlist here

1) cherry bombs double as both hard candy and festive explosives. Sweet and spicy at the same time, they grow from areas with a lot of sulfur and carbon. They’re ready to be picked when the fuses of a cherry bunch unravel from each other to let each cherry swing freely. Sometimes the wind blowing through the branches will knock the cherries together hard enough to detonate one and strip the whole tree in a loud messy chain reaction. Certain mechanimal species like gryphraxi that require ammunition as part of their fuel eat cherry bombs often, otherwise it’s mostly Cybertronians who pick and eat them.

2) sticky little shells of congealed fuels, pistachioils are found exclusively underground, stretching downward like stalactites to collect trickles of oil. The talc shells are edible too, and lend a nice crunch to the sticky oil inside.

3) logginkey plants are one of the rare cyberflora species that don’t emerge from a flora hotspot, but instead emerge from one of the datapacket seeds transferred to another plant. Growing on other cyberflora, a logginkey takes energy from its host and in turn acts as a secondary immune system, running through system checks and setting up firewalls. They’re a general health station for mechanimals as well, with their flower plugs capable of interfacing with and debugging fauna visiting for a checkup. These mechanimals then take the fruits to eat, and a benign temporary script uploaded by the flower directs them to stick one or two seeds on a different plant somewhere. The seeds are electrified and very sour-sweet, and mecha often take them like supplements. (it was a bit hard to figure out a name for lilikoi, but I figured reversing the order of keylogging would work)

4) thank you to @dear-fellow-travelers for the suggestion! There’s a variety of oilmelon types, all derived from the same codeline but developing differently depending on the resources surrounding their hotspot. Cantalubricants are often underground, honeydetergents are common around acid swamps, and papoyleums mostly show up near wellsprings and geysers. They’re usually soft on the inside, sweet, and energizing

5) bombegranate trees are ecosystem architects. Their fruit grows up at the very top of the branches, and not long after ripening, explodes outward, sending hard crystal seeds scattering a good ways away and embedding them in the ground with sheer force. These crystal seeds start crystal prairies, and after awhile a single bombegranate can surround itself with a huge radius of wild-growing crystals. The fruits need to be harvested right when they ripen, unless the harvester wants to risk a bomb in the face, and the seeds can be chewed a long time before breaking down because of how hard they are.

[transingthoseformers]

Actually I am not imagining a post war au surrounding mecha who are trying to resurrect Cybertron's ecosystem

[iamthekaijuking]

Been getting back into Transformers and its lore as of late, and if I may ask, how do you picture Cybertron’s biosphere and wild clades?

For me anyway, I imagine it as composed of Mechanimals (Fauna), Cyberflora (Flora), and Cyberfungi (Fungi) as the larger-scale life present, while Nanites serve as the Protist and Bacteria equivalents instead. The basis of ecosystems here is founded upon the consumption of metals and Energon, the former for maintaining the body and the latter as fuel, and uniquely Cyberflora and Cyberfungi can metabolize their own Energon by absorbing sunlight and breaking down metals respectively.

As for how reproduction occurs here, I imagine it occurring in all these groups as first via consuming/absorbing large amounts of metals, then raising the present Spark’s energy to ignite a new Spark, after which said new Spark is implanted into the consumed metal and released to form a new member of that species. However, in the process of Spark-splicing, slight changes will be present within the child Spark that isn’t found in the parent Spark, allowing for mutations and thus evolution to occur. I might need to workshop this tho since it’d make identifying when new species emerge or split off hard

What’s your thoughts on this? I imagine Transformers themselves are a separate category from Mechanimals, ones that don’t consume other organisms to gain Energon, but instead extract raw deposits of Energon from the ground

I’ve never really thought about cybertron as a fully functioning biosphere before since I’ve only recently became a full fledged transformer fan and most continuities don’t have the transformers being naturally evolved beings but instead created by Primus himself.

But you do paint a good picture and after watching transformers one I did speculate about transformers biology with some of their weird ass lore being considered.

Apparently transformers have “CNA” which means they have a genetic code stored in cells, and cells have a liquid medium by necessity. So really if you wanted to detect if a transformer was nearby you wouldn’t need to spend so much money on an energon detector, just scratch a car and see if it bleeds.

I’m also going to assume that they have metal cell walls. Now since they theoretically have cell walls made of metal then they would be very inflexible and their mobility would be less than a plant and thus be nonexistent, but transformers are made of lots of independent moving parts. So it’s likely that in order to achieve mobility they’re actually made of zooids, meaning that they’re more similar to something like a Portuguese man o’ war in anatomy than to a human. Different zooids would form different structures like joints and hydraulics and support structures.

So tldr, transformers are aliens with a more metal heavy biochemistry who have cell walls like a plant and are composed of zooid colonies in order to be ambulatory. They also eat electricity and oil and look like dudes and tron bikes.

[strangeduckpaper]

Transformers Worldbuilding Misc. Part 1

(Taken from stuff I've posted on Discord before)

Cybertron

On the surface, Cybertron is the entirely mechanical landscape you'd expect.

But the deeper you dig, the closer to the core you get, the more...not necessarily organic, but organic adjacent you get. Cyberfauna, cyberflora, odd arrangements of servos and grey goo, Energon and Sentio Metallico.

But eventually, you get too close. Computer systems begin to fritz, metal begins to warp, Sentio Metallico twists into stranger and stranger shapes, energon itself seems to become caustic and deadly, and Cybertronian sparks are liable to simply...flicker out and die.

The Light of Primus is bright and hot, and to dwell too close to it's glory for too long is to invite death.

Primus

Primus is a Chthonic God, his power that of the planet itself.

Space, meanwhile, is viewed much less favourably, an empty void, the dwelling of Unicron the World-Eater.

The idea of lost Cybertonian colonies (like in the Cybertron or IDW 1 continuities) might be seen as acts of folly and hubris, rejection of Primus, and their loss a consequence of disobeying the "natural order of things".

Needless to say, it encourages an isolationist and close minded streak amongst the Cybertronians. Things not of Cybertron are to be mistrusted, dismissed, conquered and destroyed, stepping stones except for the ones powerful enough to be threats.

This viewpoint, of course, is a very significant piece of Decepticon dogma, as well as all the other imperialist and/or conservative factions that preceded them.

[ha-bakbuk]

uwhe-arts.tumblr.com

perry-rhodan.net/shop/item/9783845362342/perry-rhodan-3234-cyberflora-von-robert-corvus-e-book-epub

still closed . . . | uwhe-arts

[daryasizina]

@ksubi Leather Leggings and Jeans: A Bold Layering Trend🖤 I recently experimented with a unique fashion trend by layering leather leggings under a pair of Ksubi jeans, paired with a Transfer La Top Cyberflora. The leather leggings added a sleek and sexy touch to my outfit, while the Ksubi jeans provided a bit of texture and contrast. The Transfer La Top Cyberflora was the perfect finishing touch, with its vibrant colors and futuristic design. I received so many compliments on my outfit. I love taking risks with fashion and trying out new trends, and this look definitely paid off. If you're looking to add some edge to your wardrobe, I highly recommend trying out this unconventional layering technique. Don't be afraid to mix and match different pieces and textures – you never know what amazing combinations you might come up with! Photo by @shapovalov_m #ksubi #nyfw (at #NYFW) https://www.instagram.com/p/CqYulL7v5PK/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thenamesblurrito]

ask dump lucky number thirteen!

13 is actually my lucky number! it's been awhile since i wrote out any SNAP lore, let's hope i still got the touch

these asks include: Halloween, remote control bodies, mythic plants, minicon mass shifting, Sixshot's fluid transformations, Cheetor speaking with mechanimals, gambling, gravity-compressed food, sparks generating energy, and power up sounds

i don't think i have any expies of Halloween specifically. in the holiday list there's a few that would have spooky or dour undertones, like the Wake of Mortilus or the Tragedy. a lot of dwelling on the dead, the monstrous and such around then. it's plausible some cultures decide to make it a creepy costume festival

i absolutely do not remember that, all i remember about remote control bodies is the sturgeonoid thing. i don't think i do have a remote control body villain??

your version actually sounds more horrifying than anything, being able to rip someone from their body and put them into whatever you please. that's a puppetmaster setup right there. actually when i think about it that way i may have a villain who has done exactly that... hm

that's not a bad idea, i'd never thought about that before! there are old and extinct species of cyberflora, since Vector Sigma does occasionally stop producing certain types and they eventually all die off, so it's possible some of these got mythologized. even normal plants could be mythologized i suppose. maybe some city-states have legends about the bombegranate being used to trick wandering travelers to stay in the Well when they eat a few seeds or something like that

mischief

it's not infinite mass shifting, they have a lower range of approximately minibot sparkling sized and an upper range of about a size 3 youngling, which means they can vary by about 15'. mostly they use it to shrink down and squeeze into tight places or go unnoticed, and bulk up to intimidate or throw a heavier punch. they're very creative with it and quickly figure out how changing sizes affects their speed and handling in their alt modes when on the run. it's also a useful ability to distract and unnerve or even make someone completely not recognize them at a glance. i haven't drawn them yet, but Squawkbox mass shifts to more comfortably combine in root mode, as they're something of a mitotic spark when powered up instead of the separate twins they are as normal kids. it'll be better explained when i draw them

Sixshot could definitely do that, absolutely. it violates all known Cybertronian physicality and rules of biology, so it'd be just as horrifying as if you saw a human do that! but it's also exactly the kind of thing they'd do, tbh. they're kind of weird and sometimes lean into the unnerving vibe. i doubt Makeshift could do this when powered down (yet) but they definitely start getting a lil more fluid and flexible than normal even as a kid

oooo this was a cool short!

it's sort of possible. Cheetor can speak with mechanimals but that doesn't mean he can control them. a scene like this would require a LENGTHY conversation beforehand, convincing every insecticon or scraplet in the vicinity to help him out and either wasting time arguing with them or abandoning his efforts if they don't want to cooperate, and also going over a game plan for a specific strategy like forming bodies out of the swarm. most mechanimals don't even have complex thoughts like that either, so it would be an incredible challenge. he would have more success telling a mechanimal that an enemy is a good foodsource, or an interloper on their territory, or a threat to nests and dens, or something like that. simple things, not moral concepts, that align with what mechanimals actually experience and prioritize

this does of course mean sometimes he gets stuck negotiating or wheedling or out-stubborning a particularly unruly mechanimal, or trying to inventively communicate something that, say, a random songbird absolutely would not care about nor have any frame of reference for. a pigeonoid won't be able to repeat back vital information some Enforcers were talking about, only whether or not they dropped crumbs in their wake

it might be more effective asking scraplets to eat an enemy and work around what they do than tell them to swarm in a specific pattern

huh, i dunno! i don't know very much about gambling at all tbh

i imagine there's plenty of card games, betting on sports (especially on Velocitron), maybe even some gacha games or lotteries. i'm unfamiliar with a lot of slot machine or other gambling type of devices but i think there's probably some that work with object interfacing, and folks are more likely to think it's dependent on how your brain works or how efficient you are at interface when it's still up to chance

i'm not sure gambling would have as big a draw for mecha as it does for humans tbh. they can instinctively calculate probabilities more accurately than humans, and i don't think they'd get as big a dopamine hit on random chance success as we do. gambling games like cards or sports would be more attractive, where they can actually participate/predict and influence their chances

she definitely could, she does so with much larger chunks of matter all the time, but i'm not sure if it would be edible anymore. something that heavily compressed would be incredibly dense, so i'm not sure it would be chewable, and it may sit in a mech's tanks for way too long, or even be indigestible. she'd have to pick her materials and level of compression very carefully and experiment a bit with the assistance of someone who knows more about food. for junkers specifically, their more pressing need is fuel/energon over self-repair materials, and i don't think very many fuel sources could be so easily made into a lil food ball... energon would prolly just explode. Elita 2 might be able to help, but they'd need to be careful to not make it toxic. the idea has merit, but the execution isn't so simple

(the post this is referring to)

when they're alive, sparks sort of are self-generating. enough to perpetuate themselves, but not enough to power an entire frame without outside energy from fuel. but once they're gone, they're gone... with some recent notable exceptions. but a ghost isn't regenerative, it's just an imprint of energy that managed to stay roughly person-esque, which can happen with particularly powerful sparks like those of the supernatural Primes. but again, the way Vector died, he really shouldn't have had a ghost at all. i'm not telling you how bc i'd like to illustrate it someday but it was pretty final

oh that's an excellent question hmmmmmmmm

i want to say yes just for the anime of it all. the whole sequence with sparkles and effects and specific body parts changing and glowing and spinning and oo la la! i would guess to an outside observer it's like a flash and the usual transformation noise but Different somehow and a sudden rush of power like static electricity prickling across their sensors. and of course their catchphrases, like on the tech specs here. actually i think their powerup phrases would just be the faction "mottos" like this

[transingthoseformers]

oh it's so pretty like

It's so pretty goddamn pretty

[springingfromnothing]

" Glad you think so. Told you, make all this stuff myself. It's a pain in the aft to get the fruit sometimes." It often meant shady cybertronian dealers. Cybertron itself had a choke hold on what little cyberflora and fauna was going out into the galaxy now. Thankfully a few of the old colony worlds were less stingy. And he'd discovered some unique variants growing independently on other Cyberganic plants. " Here- candy limewire." He holds out the complicated looking crystalized twists," Very sour. But I like the chew and the way sour enhances somethings." Not that he's one to judge manners either. He only learned because of Kup, Impactor, and Prowl. He was expected to walk, talk, and act a certain way. Sure he had his fun, but once Impactor was gone... Well. Springer stepped up with Kup. Then Kup- Yea. Springer bites his own twists and takes a sip of his drink. Chewing with the liquid carefully to swallow both. Licking the crystals away after," But yea. I like to make my stuff because I can't fuel on just anything. So why not make it look good and taste good."

" Some yea. Some no." Springer does not elaborate. He does not care to. This time he puts a line of remaining cherry bombs into his drink. Its a lavender-blue hue that he pours from two seperate bottles to create a slowly sparkling drink. No rim this time though. A wedge of green twisted limewires and crystal rose petals on top. He sips this one, testing it. Before he uses a spare pick to stab three plumbobs from the jar. These go into a bowl and are slid to the edge of the bar. He can come and get them if he wants them so badly. " My energon needs are particular. So I make my own additives, blends, the whole like. A hobby of sorts, and I make some money on it on the side. A win win." Snorting as he presses the chilled energon glass to his cheek. Still watching the little mech fidget and squirm. " Some I know didn't have cards. Or their names aren't correct on the cards."

[strangeduckpaper]

In your TF universe, for each member of the Thirteen, what is their role, their Titan, their colony, and their Ore? Also I really like how you have Rung as the Thirteenth!

I've had so many conflicting thoughts about this I realized that I had comparative religion that ould vary throughout Cybertronian civilization and its offshoots, lol.

But in general, the Thirteen are teachers, saints of ideals and concepts. Prima is justice, Megatronus is passion, Solus is creativity, Maximo is cunning, Nexus and Micronus as in group and out group cooperation, etc.

Onyx Prime is responsible for cyberflora and cyberfauna, whose resemble to Earth fauna might be due to time travel shenanigans?

As for Titans and colonies, I don't think that they are dedicated to them, as the Titans themselves would be the 'children' of Micronus as explorers. The Titans could course be friendly with members of the Thirteen, and their crews/colonists might have had greater affiliation to one Prime compared to another. Caminus was populated by members of Solus' tribe and those dedicated to them, Devisiun's population would be descended from member's of Nexus Prime's tribe, etc. but other colonies, like Velocitron, Junkion, would be fairly 'generalist' populations.

As for the Ores, they would not be dedicated to the Primes either. If they aren't explicitly Shockwaves experiments, then they'd be relatively natural phenomena, the result of Energon, cybermatter, or sentio metallico being exposed to different environmental conditions, unusual substances, or odd phenomena.

[sheltiechicago]

The Cyberflora Kinetic Art Of Julia Nizamutdinova

Julia Nizamutdinova (Julia Cyberflora) — multidisciplinary artist, designer, inventor.

Her work is a continuous experiment with materials, technologies, and form. The study of the boundaries of art and design, real and virtual, living and nonliving, the structure of organisms and futuristic architectural objects. This process is like evolution. creatures and structures resulting from this evolution are called Cyberflora.

[gowithplana]

“ Cyberflora? Certainly.” Optimus smiles up at him, fins slanting forwards. His  own servos crossed over his chest. He thinks for a moment then brightens,” We do have some access to it. I can forward you some of those resources.” Optimus can think of a few business that have produced cyberflora arrangements for some events. Armor ruffling slightly as he taps a finger on his forearm. The doors swing open as Guardsmechs open them for the two with salutes. Optimus flicking his digits absently as they descend the stairs. Mechs and femmes pass them in all colors. Though few are as large as Grimlock, there are a handful of larger mechs in dark colors. Their helms bent as they walk. One even has wings. Optimus is thrilled that Grimlock arrived at...one of the better times possible. “ In the meantime. Should I notify maintenance to leave what’s already growing for you? We might have to adjust the wall and balcony if so. It gets cold in Iacon, especially the ammonia frost.” Picking their conversation back up, forcing himself to focus.

Brush (tiny Optimus touch!)

"-!!"

Grimlock flinched, audials darting back as his arm yanked away from the smaller Prime. It had caught him off guard, and he was rather unhappy about it.

[transformers-extrication]

How did Cybertronians evolve? Did they evolve or were they originally created by something/someone? Same for the cyberfauna. Did those evolve? Are they still evolving?

Also, are there any cyberflora?

There IS Cyberflora! I just don't have much in the way of ideas for them and I'm also generally more interested in drawing critters and bots over plants myself. The Fauna errs more on the side of naturally evolving, they're just not organic lifeforms, it's also why they don't transform but I wont say they haven't had some... external help here or there to push them to certain avenues, such as the Lilleth, they're too fragile to exist as they do, so it's not wrong to believe they're that way because someone wanted a purely ornamental species. They're like Earths Peacocks but they're all multicoloured messes that wouldn't survive on their own.

Cybertronians did evolve! To a degree.

The Quintessons started it, similar to G1, however, over many billions of years the Cybertronians did swap/intermingle codes creating more and new various body shapes, frames and the like, so yes, they did start 'evolving' via the sharing and intermingling of different lines of code in new generations. So they 'evolved'. That being said they still have heavy influence from when they were Quintesson-made. Fun fact: Their teeth are an indication of their heritage. It's also of note that curiously you can likely tell which side a cybertronian is on (in the war) by how their teeth are structured.

[rxng]

"I throw away broken things, yes, but..."

"What if someone ever wanted an original copy of Charoii's Guide to Cyberflora? It'd be an incredible gift!"

[spymeister]

what process does your muse have for styling their hair finish/polish?

Jazz honestly doesn't style much, but when he does- he has a pretty thorough care routine. Mostly, you'll see this after a mission- when he has to return to his original layer when he's having to use kibble.

He'll slip into whatever washrack he's using- and lock it down. A basket slung over his arm filled with thinner, primer, base layer, sublayer, top coat- and then the resin waxes to seal it. He's gotten used to using organic products because they last longer.

He takes off his sensitive items, the visor and extra sensors he carries with him. Even his extra armor is removed- and the first thing he does is indulge in a good shower. After that, is an oil-soak to loosen up gunk in the gears and fine points. It also lets him doze in warmth and relaxation for a while.

Once he's good, loose, and relaxed- the first thing to do is to take his detailing kit and begin to dig at his joints and gears. This is a time-consuming process and usually takes the bulk of the time allotted for personal grooming. He has an entire assortment of brushes, scrapers, squeegees and long, thin metal rods to push and pull at stuck grit and grossness. Unfortunately, in his job profession- congealed and burned energon in his gears is common.

Once his gears and joints are cleaned- the old layer is stripped off first- putting him down to his base graymetal. His nanites are stripped away as well, leaving him sensitive and twitchy. His sensor net calms down once the first primer is laid down- that base gray close to his natural armor color. An air-sprayer is used for an even coat- with fine brushes to get at detailed and small places. He uses a mirror for this, and a hell of a steady hand.

After the primer- he steps over to the dryer to let the hot air seal it. The second is a sub-layer, this one is for insulation and to let his natural cyberflora return to balance with his natural nanites. The sealant is good for protecting it from open air and cyber-parthenogens.

Lastly, the resin-wax coat is applied after the sealing top layer. This is likewise time spent in the dryer- allowing the shell to harden so to speak. This allows his natural coloring to come back- the titanium whites mixed with the onyx blacks. The racing stripes are done last as a wrap, sealing down the thin layer with a heat gun.

His faceplates are waxed and buffed next, then his claws once they're sharpened to a fine point and repainted. Only then, will he observe himself in a mirror- and nod sharply. Later, when he's more comfortable- he'll get someone to help him with his doors- but until then, he'll put them behind the protective plate at his back.