#especially Shockwave. considering... idw Shockwave.

[transingthoseformers]

Shoots a cold constructed mech with the deaging gun, what happens? since they were never a baby?

Two options:

They revert back to what they were like at that age as a newbuild

This is their first time being a child/baby

[velvetwyrme]

This may be a stupid question but why do you like transformers? They look cool and I see people posting about them and get jealous but I don't know if I could really get into it myself... anything you would recommend starting with?

Not a stupid question! But certainly an interesting one!! Unsurprisingly, I ended up talking a lot.

I like Transformers for a lot of reasons! Partially because well... I like robots and mechanical things, and by association, mecha! But the reason I ended up getting sucked in past admiring the designs was because of the characters.

I'm a character and story driven person more than anything, so when I realised "oh my god Transformers is more than big robots battling it out" (still cool but not compelling to me) I knew I was doomed. Like yes, it IS about their 4 million year long war, but it's also about interpersonal relationships and revolution and morality (and the lack of), and also kind of going "what if this really fucked up thing happened? what then?" and a whole lot more.

I also really enjoy the way characters are portrayed differently across continuities, because sometimes you get really different interpretations of characters and I think it's fascinating and fun. (This should surprise no one, considering I also like UT AUs. like. Yeah. LOL. Of course.)

Honestly I was kinda feeling the same way you described up until... April? This year? (... Crazy. It has felt like WAY longer rhdjfhdjbfd) where TF kinda existed in my periphery but I was just like. Mild about it. I had some friends who liked it so it crossed my dash from time to time but I was kinda like. Meh??

But then I started reading a lot of Transformers fanfic because it had some specific tropes I wanted to read, and got sucked in because I was doing a lot of googling so that I knew what characters looked like. And then googling to find out what the fuck was up with characters (why does everyone write the weird blue helicopter like this? Oh... he's just... Like that. Okay. I love him.)

I also just... enjoy learning lore and worldbuilding facts and HO BOY. TRANSFORMERS HAS A LOT OF THAT. also fanon. I am learning new things constantly and its GREAT.

As for places to start...

=======

I mean, there's a pretty good movie that just came out ;]]!! TF One is genuinely a decent place to start imo. Other than that... I think I've actually answered this before actually ndhfjdhfkf but I'll answer again! I like talking. Evidently.

Depending on whether you like reading or watching stuff, you have a VARIETY of options:

Transformers IDW (2005)/IDW1 (Comic): LONG comic series. Really really really good though. IDW does... kind of require a reading guide though, and I have some linked in this post (under the cut!)

Some people recommend you start at the fan favorite series, More Than Meets The Eye (MTMTE), which follows a crew of mechs that is set after the end of the war. Fun adventures in space! Totally all fun and nothing bad happens ever. Personally I wanted to know about the war and so I read. everything else leading up to it first, but MTMTE is (somewhat) self contained especially for the earlier stuff, so I do think it's possible to start there if you want to!

Transformers Skybound (Comic): This is the current ongoing comic series, which probably makes it a good jumping on point, but it's also... very sad. And violent! With very little downtime. If you like that then bam go for it though. It's pretty good imo! It's a great intro to some of the characters. (Like Shockwave :])

Transformers Prime (TV Series): Fan favorite! I like it a lot and one day I'll get around to actually watching it I swear. I really love some of the characters in this... also I got really obsessed with Soundwave from this series and that's what spurred me to get into TF. Except I also NEEDED to find out what the fuck was up with MTMTE characters so I went and read IDW instead.

Transformers Earthspark, (but specifically the first season apparently): I don't... know what's going on with the second season and I've heard very mixed reviews of S3. Apparently S1 is good though! It's ALSO set after the war, which means you get Optimus and Megatron being besties which is fun whdjfbdjfbfk,, I haven't watched this one either but from what I do know of it, it's a decent jumping on point.

Transformers Cyberverse (TV Series): This one is aimed at a younger audience and so it has Short Episodes but it's still a pretty fun time! I'm... still only partway through season 2, and I've heard Seasons 3 and 4 are really good LMAO

Other notable options: The G1 Cartoon, Transformers IDW (2019)/IDW2 (reboot of IDW1, got cut short though :[...)

Alternatively you can also take the route I took and just read fanfic like a lunatic until you eventually cave and just go "FINE. I'LL GET INTO TRANSFORMERS." If that's the case, tell me so I can bumo up my schedule for making the fic rec list that I've been meaning to make anyway.

ALSO. Did I also mention that pretty much all the TV series can be found for free on Youtube? Because they are. Which is crazy to me but I'm certainly not complaining >:)!!

[star-critter]

In honor of A Few Bad Men turning 4 years old, let's put some Spotlight on Everhold Prison! Today, I'll be taking a moment to discuss the Security Staff of Everhold Prison, their Wispons and Wisps

But first, a quick exposition! Everhold Prison is a highly-secured prison that was introduced in issue one of the Sonic IDW Bad Guys Mini series, A Few Bad Men. This is the prison where Starline formed the Deadly Four with Zavok, Mimic, Rough & Tumble while causing a mass firery jailbreak in the process. We can basically compare it to a Maximum Security Prison without Deathrow.

Everhold Prison is run by The Warden. A fluffy dog man who would have his life screwed over by Starline (twice), but this post isn't about him. This post is about the guards, most of which seem to be some non-specified mammalian species.

All the guards share sevral things in common : Design, Purpose, Wisps, & Wispons

I am here to discuss their Wisps & Wispons. All the prison guards use Hover Wispons, which are powered by Green Hover Wisps. For a long time, I never questioned why they all used this particular weaponry until today, and I think I've figured out the background behind this little detail.

We know by default that the Hover Wispons can launch shockwaves of air when triggered. In Sonic Forces, our avatars used this to send badniks flying and knock them out. Knowing these devices can take down large tons of metal mass, the idea of what it can do to an organic being is intriguing to think about. If you triggered the Hover Wispon upon an organic being, it would send them launching back by an impressive distance. Especially considering that Mobians are (usually) smaller than Eggpawns.

Having a device this powerful as a prison guard would be VERY beneficial. One trigger of the button, and you can break up fights, part crowds, and put rowdy troublemakers back in line. Now, the shockwave receivers may suffer some physical pain if they get sent into a wall or door so we can take this as a sign that the guards would ONLY use these wispons of absolutely necessary.

The fact that these guards even have weapons in pretty lucky. Some Max Security Prisons won't allow guards to carry weaponry because if a prisoner gets a hold of it, it's going to be a bad time for everyone involved. We actually witness an example of this when Mimic transforms into the Warden and "borrows" a guard's wispon. The wisp inside wasn't conscious/aware of who was welding them until it was too late.

So Everhold Prison must be holding some really dangerous nasties outside of our well-known villains to constantly be this on guard. Especially considering the risk that shines when these Wispons are stolen. Thankfully, once a Green Wisp leaves the wispon and gets a glance of who's welding it, they'll refuse to get back in. We saw something similar happen in issue 3 of Sonic IDW.

But being taken advantage of isn't the only risk with the Hover Wispons. Wispons are not EM-sheilded, meaning they can easily be manipulated by Zeti. We see this happen when Zavok manipulates a hall's worth of Hover Wispons, causing a mass bouncy-ball-esc panic for the guards.

What surprises me about this, is we witness two Green Wisps leave their wispons after Zavok takes control of them, and they're dizzy. And likely uneasy.

This could imply that being manipulated by Zeti not only affects the device but its power source, in this case, the wisps. This makes me wonder if the little animals inside of Eggman's Badniks also become dizzy from Zeti control.

But to conclude this analysis : Everhold Prison is full of horrible and dangerous mobians that perform as a constant threat to their guards, resulting in them being heavily armed with alien guns- I mean wispons. Also, the guards did NOT have a good time the day A Few Bad Men took place.

[novafire-is-thinking]

Writing advice from a non-writer ✨writer✨

Keeping a character, well, in character, can be a challenge, regardless of whether they’re well-established in canon (ex: Ratchet in most continuities) or not so much (ex: Prime Soundwave).

One thing that’s helped me is identifying which “negative” emotion(s) said character operates from and how they respond to those emotions:

Fear

Anger

Shame

I know there are more, but these three seem to be at the core of individuals’ negative experiences.

Now, of course everyone experiences all three at some point in their lives. However, when one looks closely, it’s usually possible to identify which one or two come most easily—the primary motivators.

Some examples from TFP:

Megatron: Anger + Fear

Starscream: Shame + Fear

Soundwave: Unknown, but I’ve chosen Anger + Shame

Optimus: Anger + Shame

Ratchet: Fear + Anger

Arcee: Fear + Anger

Some from IDW:

Rodimus: Fear + Shame

Ultra Magnus: Anger + Fear

Drift: Anger + Shame

Swerve: Shame + Fear

Shockwave (pre-shadowplay): Fear + Shame

Prowl: Fear + Anger

And so on.

With some characters, especially antagonists and “neutrals,” it can be hard to tell which ones are in the lead unless they state their motivations outright, but here are a few I’ve identified:

Overlord: Anger + Shame

Tarn: Fear + Anger

Tyrest: Anger + Shame

Froid: Fear + Shame

Some of these may look a bit off, but that’s to be expected since I don’t just look at the primary motivating emotions, but also how they are responding to the emotion(s):

Are they so aware of it that they do their best to consciously push back against it?

Do they vacillate between repressing/denying the emotion and exploding/over-expressing?

Do they consistently overindulge in it/over-express it?

I’ll use IDW Rodimus as an example:

Fear: He fears being limited in some way, either by circumstances, others, or himself, and succumbing to the emptiness of life. He actively runs away from his fear by jumping at each new fun thing to avoid uncomfortable, dark feelings. (Actively pushes back)

Shame: He struggles with issues of self esteem. He doesn’t know love apart from a sense of admiration, so he takes every opportunity to make himself look good/accomplished to earn love while denying it. (Vacillates)

Anger: This may be a bit surprising considering his hotheaded nature, but I see this one as being his weakest motivator, just barely. It doesn’t seem to be his first response to everything like it is for someone like TFP Megs. He doesn’t rely on it as much. Rodimus only really gets angry when someone is trying to (1) limit his fun or (2) steal the spotlight. However, when he does get angry, he doesn’t hold back. He’s perfectly comfortable with the emotion. (Over-expresses)

With some characters like Rodimus who seem to be pretty balanced with all three, the order doesn’t matter as much and is fluid/inconsistent.

But usually, I can pick out which one(s) do and don’t have as much of an influence on a character’s behavior and go from there, which is all that matters to me when writing:

IDW Prowl doesn’t deal with Shame as much as he deals with Fear and Anger.

Cyberverse Soundwave deals with Anger far more than Fear or Shame.

Blades from Rescue Bots doesn’t struggle with Anger as much as Fear and Shame.

And so on.

—

Final notes:

A lot of this is inspired by my knowledge of Enneagram theory, but I put my own twist on it.

Theoretically, with some modifications, this same process of identification can be applied to sadness, joy, and other emotions that exist.

It’s good to keep in mind that characters, just like real people, don’t react the same way every time to specific emotions.

The goal is to identify the overall pattern of motivation + reaction combinations for each character and use those as anchoring points.

[fictionkinfessions]

I. AM SO EXCITED. FOR THE MOVIE THAT'S COMING OUT THIS YEAR.

I WANNA SEE THE TRAILER SO BAD!!!! THE HYPERFIX AND KIN SOURCE COMBO IS REALLY GETTING ME FOR THIS MOVIE

LIKE. I WANT TO SEE IF THERE'S A VERSION OF ME (Shockwave, IDW specifically) IN IT. ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THAT IT'S ABOUT CYBERTRON BEFORE THE WAR AND FOCUSES ON THE PAST OF OPTIMUS AND MEGATRON. It might not be there, but I WANT TO SEE. It might break my spark to see the (my) backstory happen, but I STILL WANT TO SEE.

also its ALL ANIMATED. I WANNA SEE THE ARTSTYLE!!!! I WANNA SEE IT ALL IN A COOL TRAILER AND GO INSANEEE!!!!! I WANNA WATCH IT WITH MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY FROM THIS CURRENT TIME!!!!!! AAAAAHHH!!!!!!! I'll probably be watching the movie MULTIPLE TIMES, EVEN!!

guagh, I'm SO EXCITED FOR ITT!!!!!!! TRANSFORMERS ONE I'M COMING FOR YOU YOU BASTARD MOVIE

- #🃏💜💗🤡 (can't decide on a name to put lol)

x

[warriorsparked]

The end of the War

As I’ve said before, my Megatron does NOT follow MTMTE canon, or quite a lot of the IDW stuff. While he is absolutely inspired by IDW, most of my Megatron is G1 based, Megatron Origins based, and most of the influence and writing has been of my own accord since 2008 when I began writing Megatron’s story before the comics were even released. 

I will add this link into my rules for better clarity for those who wish to follow and interact with my version of Megatron as well :) 

Megatron was never sent to exile in my verse. After finally being able to return to Cybertron no thanks to Shockwave’s space bridge technology (G1), Megatron was able to see the damage that the war had done. After spending so much time on Earth, it was a stark slap to the face to see the chaos and desolate wasteland that had become his home. 

NOTE: it is important to know that my Megatron does suffer quite bad mental health (especially at this stage in his life), and a physical imperfection when it comes to his lymbic cortex in his processor (this part of the brain is in charge of emotions and impulse). This was a defect that went undetected when he was born, which was later made worse via abusive treatment, the abuse to his body during his work in the mines, as a gladiator, and as a warrior for the Decepticons. I might write a more in depth hc about that one day. 

For years, Megatron was in denial that he was destroying their home. He blamed the Autobots, he blamed the war on those that had oppressed him and his people. He blamed anyone but himself, because in his eyes, he was a the hero that they needed. He is a hero villain  that believes in his cause, and would do ANYTHING to continue fighting for that cause, even at the loss of his sanity (and of course, being in utter denial). 

However, denial can only go so far. Megatron’s optics were opened when he saw his home in complete ruins after thousands of years of war, while he was stuck on a planet that was rich and full of life. Naturally, he wished to harvest Earth’s powers to save Cybertron. Unfortunately, the Autobots or Earthlings always squandered his plans.

After a time, Megatron was pressed to exhaustion, fight after fight, physically and mentally strained (and his processor injury getting worse). But eventually, he needed to face the reality of the situation. They were stuck on Earth, Cybertron dead, unless they could do something to save their home. Megatron agreed to a truce between the Autobots and Decepticons--BUT only if his terms were met: 

No Decepticon would be punished for his actions. No war criminals would be take prisoner. ONLY if his people were set free, then he would put his weapons down, and if Optimus and his crew went back on their word, then the war would remain.

Optimus agreed (not everyone was happy of course, and no one has to be!), but these were the terms and conditions of the truce. His freedom, and his people’s freedoms, for them to stop their fighting. 

Megatron returned to Cybertron, and underwent a procedure to fix the damage done to processor. It was a long and tedious recovery for him, but it aided in helping that dangerous impulse and lack of control that he’d once suffered. Megatron will always have a short temper, though, and he is a fiercely passionate mech. His personality did not shift, he is just able to control those instabilities better now. 

When everyone began coming back to Cybertron, Megatron DOES have a trial, and he is considered on parole terms. He must work to fix with the reconstruction of their planet, and he has to behave himself as appropriate of anyone on parole terms (drug testing, no drinking, no violent behaviour etc). Megatron also undergoes therapy sessions with his psychiatrist Karmashock (written before Rung).

My Megatron also does NOT sport the Autobot badge and never will, and you can read a post on that HERE. 

Note: for those who do have MTMTE muses, this does not mean we can’t write together! I would still love to! Megatron simply is not a prisoner on the Lost Light. For those of you who write Rung and wish to have Megatron and Rung as patient/therapist, I will opt to have Rung replace Karmashock’s position, this is just my personal HC. :) 

[elfdragon12]

Actually it’s been theorized and implied in some media especially in the G1 cartoon that Dion like Orion pax and Ariel was was badly injured and may have been rebuilt into Ultra Magnus. And before 2007, Ultra magnus was considered Optimus brother or had a brother like relationship. Of course with prime, idw and various other media, they switched it up with megatron to make their relationship more interesting and dramatic. Meanwhile UM was kinda sidelined. But yes I agree Dion should have in this movie and I’m tired of seeing the same damn cons faces. I get it! They are iconic and bots are the underdogs but give us more bots and don’t kill them off within the first 5 minutes of their introductions ( Cliffjumper)

I believe I've heard of the theory, but it's also been theorized Dion is Ironhide which I personally think makes way more sense than Ultra Magnus. Other people may have forgotten Ironhide was one of Optimus's oldest and closest friends, but I haven't. It seems like Fun Publications is the only one to have implied Dion might be Ultra Magnus, but Hasbro is pretty firm that Dion is Dion and no one else.

I appreciate being excited for your favorite character, but how is anyone surprised when Starscream shows up? If Megatron is there, so is Starscream. Shockwave and Soundwave are also so prevalent that their absence is much more surprising than their presence. I see them and just say "of course". You want to take me by surprise? Show me Straxus or Jhiaxus. Straxus was the tyrant of Polyhex, a well-known Cybertronian city. It's reasonable for him to show up! You can introduce children to other characters!!!

Actually, Cliffjumper getting killed off like that has only happened twice. It's not a common fate for his character. But I get your point. People have spotted Wheeljack, Jazz, and Brawn in the background, but I would like them in the foreground. Especially Jazz and Brawn (I love Wheeljack, but he is also in everything like Starscream, Soundwave, Starscream Shockwave).

[darkstarofchaos]

I will never not be salty that TFP made Soundwave speak and fixed Bumblebee's voice. Especially since they had a different team working on Season 3, so I'm about 90% certain the vow of silence thing was a retcon for the sole purpose of a completely unnecessary G1 reference (Starscream is also the only character we ever see actually conversing with Soundwave, so it feels extremely weird that he's the one muttering about the vow of silence for the audience's benefit. But anyway).

Personally, I feel like neurological stuff is an untapped market for physical disabilities. One of my first TF fic(let)s saw G1 Shockwave opting to amputate his left hand because his internal blueprints were still registering damage that wasn't there, and thus causing pain with no injury to fix.

Similar headcanon for IDW Prowl: IRL, his optic being repaired at the end of arcs and then missing again in his next appearance was probably a series of errors or miscommunications, but I go with, "They tried to fix it, but his internal blueprints had decided that the missing optic was normal now, so his repair systems kept rejecting replacements."

Also, disabilities caused by bad code could absolutely mess up a Cybertronian for life. Getting more into semi-canon territory now since no media has actually made use of G1 Prowl freezing/crashing when faced with the unexpected (honestly not sure I'm sorry about that, considering TFs has a history of ableism and he'd probably only crash when it's "funny"), but I handle that as an issue of his processor actually being very inefficient when it comes to accessing and writing data. So when faced with something new or unexpected, his processor either stalls out trying to find the correct response, or tries to access code that hasn't been written yet and crashes. Also, his working memory is constantly being used up trying to predict the world around him so he'll have the right responses ready to go, so sometimes he crashes just because his processor is overclocked. And none of that can be fixed because it would break a ton of other stuff that uses the bad code.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, there are ways for permanent disabilities to make sense for Cybertronians. It just requires more biological/neurological worldbuilding than most canon bothers with.

“how would it work if Cybertronians had disabilities” “What if there were disabled Cybertronians”

THERE ARE

THERE ARE

loosing my mind at how some things that are So good can be So niche why can’t we just be a hivemind

Just one example, my favorite example, is:

Shattered Glass Soundwave!!!

He’s gone through Multiple reformats varying between with his consent and,,, not. The latest of which took place when they didn’t have many materials

So they used half earth metals half Cybertronian ones

As it turns out? Those two things don’t mix very well. His joints are Horrible. They lock up randomly, the worst of which being the door to his tape deck.

He physically isn’t able to dock his cassettes reliably because they might get stuck in there.

What does he do to fix this? So glad you asked!! He has his own assistive aids, in this case: a portable external carrying case

It was made and personalized to work specifically for him and his situation

I love him

[loyal-logik]

Energon Consumption (AKA how does Shockwave eat?).

I’ve been writing Shockwave for a long time (10+ years *cough*), before we knew about IDW empurata and shadowplay, so some people may be familiar if they’ve followed my very old fic series or art.

(cw for injections/medical in case you need it!). 

Before we knew about empurata and how it was used as a means of shaming criminals, I simply thought it would be common practice to just have mechs like Shockwave walking around without it being uncommon or strange to look at. Cybertronians come in all different shapes and sizes, and some seem to have masks that don’t ever retract. Why should energon ONLY be consumed via mouth? Besides, they’re not organics, and they’re not humans, so I figured there’s got to be a simple way. 

Some people hc that Shockwave does have a mouth or an orifice that opens up when needed at his face, some also hc that he has a proboscis, which I LOVE that idea! For my Shockwave, though, I’ve simply always headcanoned that he consumes energon through intravenous (IV) injection with special ports in his body.  

This is a headcanon that I’ve been using for absolute yonks, so you can imagine just how excited I was when the 2019 TF comics proved that this was a legitimate technique of consuming energon: 

Even though the circumstances ARE different in this comic, this has always been the way I’ve seen Shockwave ‘eating’. Would this be something rare amongst their people? Not really. Perhaps not as common, but the way I see it is that there will always be different ways to do things for each ‘bot. It’s like having furniture in a bar that needs to suit all its patrons. Their species adapts to what is needed. This would be similar for Shockwave and other bots who don’t consume energon via mouth (Whirl, too, or anyone who doesn’t have the common humanoid face). 

This does mean a few things, though. For one, Shockwave can only inject liquid energon. He cannot experience solid foods. Can the energon be flavoured? Of course it can be. Can he taste it? Why not? Just because it’s going directly to his ‘bloodstream’ doesn’t mean he can’t have taste nodes or something inside. He’s not a human, he doesn’t have to fall to our biological standards, and I do hc that he absolutely can feel and taste textures and flavours. 

IV intake does come with more risks, however, but this isn’t something that is really new to Shockwave (unless it’s IDW ofc). Just like bots with mouths can choke on their food, Shockwave also has a risk of things getting stuck in his “oesophagus”, especially if something foreign or solid gets in the path. I assume his body has a means of flushing these things out or quickly breaking them down by pumping/squeezing, but much like us, it can get stuck in the pipe and can cause a sense of coughing/choking. For Shockwave, it might seem more like a hiccup from his body than a choke. 

I headcanon that he has specific entry ports for his intake as well. I guess, in a weird and slightly creepy way, Shockwave does have multiple “mouths”. These are simply injection sights. These are specifically MADE for energon intake, though, it’s not the same as just putting a needle anywhere in his arm. I imagine they’re also special kinds of needles, too, considering they would need to suit the intake ports. So, I hc that he at LEAST has one on each arm, between his armour where his more vulnerable wiring is. He may also have one on his neck, hidden beneath his armour, which connects with other systems and air cycles (while they don’t need oxygen, I do hc that they still sort of cycle air through their systems).  

These specific ports house specific wires, which he can actually also pull out if he needs to access energon from an open glass/cup/mug, which can be drawn down (like a straw, I guess, or a hose). This is particularly useful if he doesn’t have his kit with him. But using the kit would be a safer and better means thanks to simple hygiene and lack of foreign objects getting inside.  

Cybertron would have adapted to this, which means public restaurants or whatever else would supply energon specifically for these customers. It wouldn’t and shouldn’t be seen as anything strange to their people, it’s just another part of their culture and way of adapting to life around them.

At the end of the day, I hc that energon was once simply just energon. Over time, they have refined it, remade it, flavoured it, textured it, etc, so for Shockwave, it’s not something that he feels is important or he’s missing out on. His goal is to consume energon to keep going, not to taste and feel it. While he does enjoy certain flavours, yes, he does find eating with a mouth more messy, so he’s content with how he has to consume it. 

Now, I will make a little mention to IDW post empurata, because of course Shockwave is aware that this technique was something they FORCED upon him, so yes, he may feel differently in that verse, and at times after war, he will likely miss all of those things he once could do.  

For TFA, Shockwave came before Longarm ever did. Longarm was created, and his body was altered to have a face, extra optics, a mouth, etc. These things operate fully while he is Longarm and tie into his systems when he reverts back to Shockwave. He still has energon ports (mouths) and still consumes energon via IV naturally. 

[transingthoseformers]

Nononono. I love SG!ConstructProwl. Because consider in IDW Baseline he never accepted them truly and they left him.

In SG they are successful at wooing him.

Oooooh.

Concept.

In SG it is the Constructicons are medics. In BL, they forcibly converted Prowl because of orders and feel in love with his brain. In there's during the SG!ProwlOP divorce, they find him beaten and broken left to die, and having seen what he went through feel sick at the idea of leaving him, and his Spark case is compromised. So they temporarily hook him into their Gestalt system since it is made to accept others, but Prowl latches on to them and is utter enraptured by their loyalty and love. He knows it exists but feeling that kind of loyalty and naivete about being goodness in the world after everything he sees is charming and what's more he wants it. So they've been chosen by a feral sleazy cat/mean girl who is very much now "Optimus who?" and eyeing them up while they squeak and push at him with a broom especially since he refuses to break the bond and gives them sad cat eyes that they know–they can feel his think which is beautifully sharp and horrifically clear and calculating–it is fake but the thought of hurting him and echoed memory of rejections and beatings and not being enough that radiates at the spark of him makes them unable to let go.

Even more Prowl is more than rwady to go full ride or die and has decided to be their murderous "he said no pickles" girlfriend and torment them into not overworking themselves and glare at the Decepticons who ask for assistance or projects and make sure they eat and are fed and have a schedule. The Constructicons overextend themselves to support everyone and have issues saying no.

Prowl does not.

The Decepticons are horrified at the implication of taking advantage and Megatron finds himself agreeing with Prowl about them taking care of themselves while they get upset at first but reluctantly admit he's right.

"Of course I am." Is Prowl’s only response as he shoves cube of Energon flavored to each of their exact tastes and locks down their work stations (Soundwave conveniently distracts Shockwave so he can't help them hack back in) and shuffles them to berth.

Hm, I have thoughts now about Workaholic!SG!Constructicons and their small bossy new self-assigned wife.

Exactlyyyyyyy

In SG, they said "we may or may not be able to fix him but we can try"

Also yes yes on SG medic!constructicons.

Exactly, SG ProwlOp is a toxic relationship I can absolutely see happening as an on/off thing that's been going on since before the war but of course this is the final off switch.

They just have to save him, they've gotta. And they do. Prowl happens to latch on very tightly and does not want to let go lol

It is such the opposite of canon and now he's the one who is sticking close by, because he has felt Positive Emotions that do not come from someone else's Negative Emotions for the first time and he's hooked.

"Would you like me to kill that guy???"

"... No thank you, but it's the thought that counts?"

Yes I'm fiddling around with the constructicon's colors and I am so tempted to keep the purple and not the green

Awww yes and he is making sure they don't implode by being selfish for them (oddly selfless of him, but he'd deny that)

Sdfg yep yep he is their evil bastard they have adopted and he's bullying them into self carem

[aktosage]

Ahh I’m happy you’re happy!! Sending virtual hugs :D

AND YOUR DOODLES ARE SUPER CUTE!! Your elita in the tfp style one was super pretty omg

Question! For your adding more characters to tfp au (does it count as an au?) where do you think characters like Pharma and First Aid would fit into this? I reckon the whole Delphi fiasco would be different in some ways, or maybe it didn’t happen at all!

I think that Pharma is a super interesting character, and there’s a lot of potential for world building centred around him, if that makes sense? Like he was able to make a plague that was originally transmitted via sound and only activated when the host transformed, and for a darker setting like the tfp continuity I think he would be able to fit right in!

I’m so sorry for rambling I just think he’s a really interesting character!! I hope you’re having a good day, and thank you for taking the time to read this :D

*hugs*

AAAA THANK YOU!!! She’s one of my fav characters omg it hurts how little there is of her in canon. And I’ll do more doodles in 2022! I’ll try to do more with this

Oooooh I’m two steps ahead of you, I have the Delphi, Red Rust, DJD and all that alll ready for you👀 I’ll first write briefly what I think happened, then I’ll throw in some headcanons about Pharma and FirstAid like I do for others :p

Pharma was one of the leading medic’s back on Cybertron and took many apprentices. Him and Ratchet were close like in the idw, they worked together, opened a clinic for the lower class as well (which wasn’t legal off course, but hey you can’t punish your greatest medics especially if they don’t drag attention to themselves and if their cause actually HELPS calm down the situation) and repaired what they could.

The difference between the two, is once again one follows the humane limits the other one does not. Eventually the two broke apart because of that with some hard feelings ofc but overall nothing serious. It still affected both mental and created rivalry —> the better medic would be better known —> if Pharma js better he will surely break the limits and harm someone.

Ratchet wasn’t as nearly as skilled at Pharma because Pharma had a lot of experience and a natural “thing” for being a medic. Ratchet was all brains, passion and a L O T hard work, nothing fell from the sky right into his palms. (This is important trust me)

So.

Pharma kept doing his experiments, Firstaid staying with him because it was a secret between the two. Ratchet did NOT want FirstAid to loose a chance of learning from the best, so he stayed quiet and said that he’s leaving for business. Eventually, Pharma mutated the old Cybertronian plague because his plan was to eradicate those who he considered harmful for the society👀 (Ratchet had a soft spot for ‘the harmful’ ones and for Pharma, Pharma did not. Thus in TFP Ratchet lost his soft spot in a way to not let a mistake happen again.)

^^adding the DJD. Pharma also did it to keep himself safe later in his research. He was found very quickly by one of Megatron’s men, and while his plan was to harm ONLY the ‘harmful’ ones he had to form an alliance. His virus was to be spread fast but it also ought to be fairly easy to stop or avoid for those who knew about it. He worked with Shockwave on a proper cure, and the files were transferred to Megatron (so Pharma only had a batch of it for himself and maybe FirstAid to stop him from overproducing it) Also the usual supplying the djd with parts and such.

Fear and threats got to Pharma and he eventually turned mad because he realized how bad it had gotten. He wanted to be a medic to save people and teach younger bots his work, the younger bots who were dying under his servos.

He was doing all this right when the war was about to start, around the time when Orion became Optimus. But it transmitted TOO well and too fast, but Pharma wasn’t scared because “less people, less problems, less mouth to feed, less poor, people would eventually start getting more careful and focus on finding a cure rather than startinfg a war”.

Pharma eventually fled the planet to ‘organize a refugee center’ on one of Cybertron’s abandoned colonies (cold weather like in Delphi, rather hard to reach…)

To the battle at Tyger Pax. We all know that Ratchet blames himself for Bumblebee’s loss of speech, or rather for not being able to FIX it. Pharma could’ve. Pharma could’ve.

So when Optimus got the plague back on earth from that ship, it hit Ratchet especially hard👀 It was yet another mistake he had to fix but couldn’t. And that’s why he INSTANTLY knew what it was back there, he knew everything about it but the cure.

I just realized how much I wrote oh god, so if you’d like headcanons on the three medics pls do say😭

I HOPE YOU LIKED THIS! I really try to intertwine canon from both to fit into TFP unuverse (which is very messy? The alligned is practically just flecks of content scattered around but there are multiple posibilities? Okay)

Anyone is welcome to ask more, seriously this is phenomenal for me I get so excited when I can share whatever this is :D

I have 3 (I think) more asks to do BUT.

I’m going on a trip tomorrow and will be traveling for a long time so I could use some asks👀 or even fanfic requests (I write this is my AO3 heh https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aktosage/pseuds/Aktosage ) I especially like my OpLita fic but it is kinda sad I think 💀

Oneshots are a-okay!

Fanfic promts as well

Nsfw ONLY. O N L Y 18+ and will be posted only there for now IF I do it :p

Any universe seriously

OCs are eeeeh okay? I just don’t know how well I’d be able to tackle a character I couldn’t research first hand :p

Headcanons are mwah perfect

Human x [insert fella] are also okay!

[swombwave]

aro/aspec tf headcanons that totally arent just me projecting shhhhhhhhh

So I know canonically they're an asexual species, however asexuality can also extend to other forms of intimidacy besides sex - like kissing and other forms of non-sexual affection. I, myself, a proud aromantic asexual, find mouth to mouth kissing to be an EXTREME NO NO for me. Let's not forget about the repulsive, enthusiastic, and neutral side of things. So... I'm like... considering what asexuality would look like in an already asexual species, because they CAN show intimate affection, I know what some of those comic artists post on their twitters i'VE SEEN THINGS-

It's like 50% what I described above and 50% the more widely known understanding of asexuality idk these dummies ace

Swindle? Demiromantic or greyromantic asexual, definitely. Reasoning? Vibes. I feel as though he wouldn't be big on things like kissing. Neutral or repulsed.

Soundwave is the most aroace robot to ever grace this planet. Every continuity just makes him more and more aroace. Prime gave us a Soundwave who probably thinks love is a neurological lie, and Cyberverse gave us a chaotic aroace who plays sad clown music to mock people. You ask him what his love language is and he starts speaking French.

TFA Blurr? Definitely aroace. I could sense it the very he transformed and said "the name's not Zippy" Glares into space as if he's on The Office whenever romance is brought up.

Rodimus is ace solely because I wish to spite the people fetishizing him in a fairly... bigoted manner. Grey or demi, maybe

IDW Blurr is also ace out of pure spite.

TFA Blitzwing is aroace too and honestly good for him. Love iconic representation.

Shockwave. Explanation unnecessary.

Prowl... haven't seen much of him in the comics yet and I'm still watching TFA and G1 but mmmm the ace vibes are there. TFA especially

The Jettwins from TFA probably don't know what kissing is but I've decided they're aroace

TFA Jazz also gives me aspec vibes.

ONLY THING STOPPING ME FROM MAKING THE ENTIRE CREW ASPEC IS THAT I HATE SENTINEL FAR TOO MUCH

Wheeljack gives me ace vibes in most continuities. Not always arospec but definitely ace.

Oh my god idea... BreakOut but one of them is way more ace than the other... still a couple obv but... 😳

Queerplatonic Coswave is also good

Whirl. Probably.

Half of this list was me projecting

If my friends send me asks about these I'll scream

[thanksjro]

All Hail Megatron #15: Dang Bro, That Sure is a Redeemable Dude Right There

So, before we get into Season 2 of MTMTE, I thought it would be prudent to take a gander at all the stuff Megatron’s gotten done in the IDW publications. Y’know, for plot reasons. And also because of this little nugget of info I found forever ago:

Of course, just jumping straight into the 15th issue of a run isn’t going to give me a proper understanding of what happens narratively, so here is a very brief rundown of the events of AHM #1-14.

First thing I see- cover with Megatron holding the American flag in one hand and Optimus Prime��s head on a fucking pike in the other.

Shane McCarthy wrote several issues of this run. So expect some Empire of Stone vibes.

2009 Josh Burcham appears to not know how to color black people’s skin. I have no idea if he’s improved on this deficiency in his skills, but a person can hope.

Megatron kills a literal skyscraper’s worth of people. (was that allowed in 2009? I thought we were still being weird about that sort of thing back then, with 9/11 and all.)

A fighter pilot looks at a photograph of his significant other. This is how you know he’s going to die.

Megatron slaps a plane so hard it explodes, and then laughs about it. While all this is happening, Optimus is fucking dying on Cybertron. This makes Jazz very upset.

What seems like the entire goddamn US military is called in to deal with this intergalactic terrorist attack.

The Decepticons destroy all the bridges and tunnels connected to NYC.

Los Angeles and San Diego are also under attack.

Estimated 200K people dead. This is issue #3.

Megatron holds all of NYC hostage.

The Decepticons annihilate a destroyer-class warship.

San Francisco and Washington D.C. are overtaken.

Air Force One has been destroyed.

Megatron acts like an asshole to Starscream.

The Decepticons attack all of the United States.

The President of the United States is dead.

Megatron ripped the Matrix out of Optimus’ chest.

The shit that’s happening to America is also happening at all the other Autobot outposts.

This is also about the time that Overlord starts his terrorizing of Garrus 9.

Megatron says that the destruction of those weaker than himself is a “reward”.

Megatron doesn’t believe in the sanctity of life.

Beijing and Israel are destroyed by the Decepticons.

Megatron commissioned the Insecticons as beings of pure torment, for reasons.

Megatron commissions Bombshell to do some really fucked up shit to Hunter O’Nion.

Megatron waits around for Starscream to Starscream it up, then beats the everloving shit out of his employees.

Megatron doesn’t believe in an academic approach to warfare, for some reason.

Megatron’s totally cool with NYC getting nuked.

Megatron was planning on reprogramming his troops into being nice fellas once he beat the Autobots.

Megatron believes in ownership in those beneath him. He’s completely convinced that anyone in the Decepticon forces is essentially his property.

Megatron knees Optimus below the belt. That’s just poor sportsmanship.

The only reason Megatron survives a gunshot to the face is that he messed with Starscream’s head earlier in the day.

Thundercracker caught a nuclear bomb, tossed it into the stratosphere, and shot it. I don’t think he realizes that the fallout is still going to spread across the globe.

The Matrix is still in Decepticon hands.

Starscream’s head is in a friggin’ dark-ass place.

Then there’s some stuff setting up Galvatron and Cyclonus’ whole deal, but who cares about that? On to issue #15!

Motherfucker, that’s a Radiohead song-

The proper story of AHM ended with issue #12, and the issues after were split into two separate stories, written by two separate teams, which detailed events taking place after the main story was resolved. A series of epilogue scenes, if you will. We’ll only be looking at the first story, because it’s the only one that’s relevant to what I’m doing here.

Our official writer for “Everything in it’s Right Place” is Nick Roche, who we’ve run into several times over our journey through IDW. A majority of the story beats will be attributed to him, of course, seeing as Roberts was, at the time, only mentioned as assisting, and also not employed by the publishing company.

Our story opens with Prowl getting socked in the face by Springer, because he’s upset that his grandpa has gone AWOL. Perceptor’s also missing, but this isn’t about him. Prowl, whose shins are looking especially shiny today, lets Springer know that they’ve “got Kup back.”

See, once upon a time, Kup was stuck on a little planet called Tsiehshi, where Shockwave was growing one of his ores. Kup became addicted to the… thrall, I guess, of the crystals, and it drove him mad, making him hallucinate that he was being attacked by ghosts. What was actually happening was he was violently murdering his rescuers with his bare hands. When the Autobots finally managed to get him off the planet, he got shipped to Kimia, where the smartest boy in all the galaxy, Brainstorm, could work his science on him.

Guess they don’t call him Brainstorm for noth-

I’m so sorry.

Springer very much dislikes the fact that some dweebs in a lab are poking around in his Pap-pap thinking meat. He’s even less thrilled when he finds out how exactly they fixed said thinking meat.

Kup’s now a Pretender. The Stormbringer miniseries covered this process, and let’s just say, Springer’s got every right to be concerned, considering that the last time someone tried something like this, Cybertron was made completely uninhabitable. They’ve made breakthroughs, however, as Prowl keeps saying. He says it a lot, actually.

This is because Prowl is a bastard, and is also using the Pretender tech to make Kup into something for his own agenda. Which, I hopefully shouldn’t have to tell you, is kind of a shitty thing to do.

Springer is shown footage of Kup kicking some ass, and notices that he’s got something in his mouth. This is his vape rig, full of medicinal marijuana.

Dammit, Prowl, let me make a weed joke! This is because you’re a cop, isn’t it?

Prowl continues to be a complete and utter fucker in his internal monologue until Springer asks to see Grandpa. They head to the lab to find Kup in pieces, though it’s completely medically sound in this case. Kup has a minor absolutely-horrific hallucination, but he’s okay once he gets his cy-gar back.

We get a flashback to Prowl making sure Perceptor put the nasty, nasty bad-time programming into Kup’s head, because he’s sick of losing the war, and a single old man will surely turn the tides. Or, at least, it will when he’s damn charismatic and folks listen to him way more than they do Prowl.

Back in the present, Springer asks that Kup not be told what happened on Tsiehshi, because it’s kind of a major bummer. Prowl reflects on how only the cool kids get paid attention to, and assumes that the Decepticons are a much more organized machine. Clearly he hasn’t heard about how Overlord lives his life.

Anyway, so Kup is now a mouthpiece for Prowl, and he doesn’t even know it. That’s pretty fucked.

So, what have we learned from this experience? Well, even though Roberts didn’t personally assist on the actual Megatron-related portions of AHM, we can see where the character was, and I think that’s far more important than deconstructing Prowl’s whole deal at the moment.

God, I don’t know that redeeming this bastard’s going to be possible, James, but somehow I think you already knew that, given how you’ve written the guy in the past.

Yeah, you fuckin’ thought I forgot about Literally Hitler Megatron, didn’t you?

Well I didn’t.

[artsy-hobbitses]

Considering how...IDW Coptimus prime somehow got some outliers to side with him, I like your Omar Parvez better, because I can see his being a second dad to the outlier students left behind after Shockwave's unfortunate event. That, and Omar Parvez's story and personality gives a reason why three out of four of Shockwave's students sided with the Autobots. I've been noticing how I tend to favor outliers in transformers lore.

That’s actually a lovely way of looking at it and I can definitely seeing Omar being a replacement dad for some of them especially when Shockwave comes back all different and cold after the Empurata/Shadowplay and they’re confused and lost as to what’s happening. Some of them loyal to Shockwave like Tarn will no doubt get into a fight with Omar and leave but others like Skids would understand that this isn’t the Shockwave they knew anymore and stick with Omar.

There’s a lot to love about Outliers for sure!

I have a very soft spot in my heart for Cold Constructs as is.

[justawayninja]

Predicting Skyfire/Starscream’s story in Netflix’s Transformers series

Aasdlklkj attention duelists! This might be the first time in decades that we see the Skyfire/Starscream plotline explored in mainstream Transformers media since G1!

So the new Transformers: War for Cybertron series is coming to Netflix July 30th. In the countdown to the new series, there’s only really one thing I’m interested in seeing: Starscream and Skyfire. 

These 2 posters were released together and it’s not a coincidence. 

It’s actually pretty shocking, if you really reflect on all the past Transformers series, just how little (read: basically zero) mainstream TF series ever acknowledge the original G1 Starscream/Skyfire origin story. Outside of the Dreamwave comics, a random Japanese manga, and the briefest of hints in the IDW ‘Til All Are One series, we have genuinely never seen this duo’s story explored in its original, G1 sense since G1. 

(And as soon as I say this someone will definitely point out something I’ve missed)

But the new Netflix series looks like it’s about to change all that and with the little information we have now, I’m going to make a few guesses regarding a possible Skyfire/Starscream subplot within the new series.

Reasons to believe there will be a Skyfire/Starscream storyline

Firstly, the posters themselves and the fact that they were released together already suggests that those two might have a significant role in the story, and with each other. The creators know. Green flags all the way! *woot woot!*

The first trailer released on 23rd February was also a preeeetty big tip-off, with Skyfire clearly shown standing with the Decepticons. Now, he’d already appeared as a Decepticon in IDW, but only as a grunt. Here, he’s alongside all the Decepticon bigshots - Megatron, Shockwave, Soundwave, Skywarp, and of course, Starscream. 

Ugh. Just imagine all the drama and conflict that’s about to happen! It’s the kind of confrontation fans of Skyfire/Starscream angst have been dreaming of for years. But canon!

That said, it is kind of a bummer to see that, even though old fans will already see Skyfire’s betrayal and turning into an Autobot ‘plot twist’ happening a mile away, Netflix still chose to spoil the surprise in their second trailer!

Skyfire standing with Optimus Prime

Skyfire trying to save a random (?) Autobot/Jazz (?)

On the Hasbro War for Cybertron: Siege toy site too, they make no secret of Skyfire’s true alliance:

This is pretty concerning for Starscream/Skyfire fans, with four possible implications

1) If a Skyfire/Starscream subplot exists, then it’s clearly not important enough to even bother hiding its ending 

2) Even if a potential Skyfire/Starscream subplot was important, the creators have assumed that old fans are familiar with the G1 story anyway. And that might mean they’ve revealed Skyfire’s allegiance swap because the subplot will essentially follow the same simple, black-and-white lines in the original G1 story. (Noooooo)

3) OR it’s a red herring and there is an excellent trove of story, conflict, drama, and angst for our two favourite fliers ;)

4) ORRRR there isn’t going to be a Skyfire/Starscream subplot in the first place and I’m an overthinking fangirl who hasn’t had a bone thrown at her OTP for actual decades. 

But based off all the evidence suggesting otherwise, I think it’s pretty safe to assume there will be a Starscream/Skyfire subplot. However, this is my prediction:

1) Although SS/SF will definitely play a role in the story, it’s unlikely to be a particularly significant subplot, judging by the rampant spoilers in the trailers. Most Transformers series have never really bothered to delve into or develop Starscream as a character, so I can’t imagine that changing and the creators deciding to invest much time in exploring this plotline. (Boooo! >:( )

2) In the same vein, considering how Autobot-oriented most Transformers media, especially the animated series are, even if there was a Starscream/Skyfire storyline, Starscream fans like myself are most likely to be disappointed once again at the lack of nuance in Starscream’s character. The story will most likely focus on Skyfire’s own internal conflict and his perspective as a Decepticon, rather than equally distributing the role between the two of them. 

3) In fact, I’m actually concerned as to how much screen time Starscream will get in this series, period. There is significantly less emphasis on his appearance throughout both trailers (which is actually contrasted pretty starkly with Skyfire, who gets quite a few appearances). Also, his rank is significantly lower than ‘usual’. Instead of being Second-In-Command, it is Soundwave and Shockwave who rank as Majors, while Starscream is one rank below, a Captain, according to US military ranks. 

Personally, I’m keeping my expectations low, just so I might be pleasantly surprised when the show does roll round. The series definitely looks promising, and suitably, IDW-esquely gritty and dark. Let’s hope that, if they do decide to tackle the oft-forgotten Skyfire/Starscream storyline, that they can do it justice. 

Fortunately, we’ve only got less than a week to go before we find out! 

[quetzalpapalotl]

N, R, B!

Thank you Tuli dear!! Sorry that this is all Transformers, they have taken over my brain u.u I’ll try to make this understandable N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice) 

-Feels ungrateful to wish for more megop given that is what? The second most popular ship in the Transformers fandom? But I don’t like many of the portrayals of it and specifically I wish there was more megop set in the IDW comics continuity that portrayed them with their comics personality, especially Optimus. -Generally, I just wish there was more acknowledgement that in IDW the point is that everyone has done awful things and no one was in the right. Not that everyone has to like everyone, but people can be very bias about who they forgive and who they don’t and take it very personal.

-I’d really like if when making the robots human they portrayed older, lol. So many twinks and people in their 20s. Give me my old men!!

R - A pairing you ship that you don’t think anyone else ships 

Orion Pax (Optimus Prime)/Zeta Prime in IDW. I don’t really ship them as in “I want them to be together”, but as part of Zeta’s manipulation of Orion. Orion wanted to believe in Zeta so badly and he ended up enforcing a corrupt goverment, it just adds more to the angst. Especially if you consider that Zeta came to replace Shockwave in Orion’s life (with whom he probably also had a thing). And then if you think. B - A pairing you initially didn’t consider but someone changed your mind Both my IDW polyships Brainstorm/Chromedome/Rewind and Cyclonus/Whirl/Tailgate are ships that include two people who already have a canon relationship, so I didn’t see why add a third party, But thanks to a friend’s fic I see now how those additions to each ship balance their messier aspects and bring even more harmony! Also Whirl and Brainstorm deserve love.