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Love their designs here

The beginning of the Great War

So I've finished Transformers: Exodus and, for God's sake, I adore this book. It was really interesting and surprisingly thoughtful, cuz it brought up a lot of hard and heavy themes.

And now I really want to share one of my personal favorite moments of all book and discuss its themes.

But, before I begin I am obligated to warn you about spoilers. If you want to read TF:Exodus absolutely don't read my post. Ok? Good. So, once again, brace yourself for a scene analysis! Also, this is all my opinion, I might be wrong.

Now, the scene I talk about is battle between Sentinel Prime and Megatron. I'll let you read it before I continue on what I love about it.

Now, remember me praising this book for bringing up heavy themes? Yeah, this is an apogee of that statement. Like this one scene makes us question so much and makes us wonder who is right. Yet the best part is that it's no one IMO.

So, the first big question, that came to my mind reading this was who should I root for?

Now, from watching TFP and other Transformers media we all expect Decepticons be bad and every Autobot/bot who supports their cause to be automatically a good character. Yet TF:Exodus absolutely changes the narrative. Sentinel Prime isn't in any capacity a good person. He is the one who proposed and made to life the caste system, the one who made millions upon millions bots suffer just because they could transform into certain thing, the one who gave D-16 the reason to became Megatronus. (Let me clarify something. D-16, Megatronus and Megatron are all the same person, yet I'm inclined using this separation for clearance of speech. D-16 is a slave, Megatronus is a gladiator/revolutioner and Megatron is a tyrant/dictator. Though it isn't really true, since Megatron quickly changed his name, but I feel it'll be easier to comprehend what point of character ideology I'm talking about). Thousands of bots were living their long life in the mines, in the pits of polluted cities just because they were born with a specific transformation. He reaped what all this unfortunate, unnamed bots sow. Sentinel Prime is the person who is responsible for deaths and, even more terrible, lifes millions of bots had. Honestly, I don't remember why he decided that caste system was a good idea, but in grand scheme of things it doesn't matter. Let's be frank, SP had time to change the system, yet never did. Why? Because it directly benefited him. Why change something if it makes your life better at the cost of unnamed, distant slaves that you can ignore?

Yet I can't find myself rooting for Megatron. And this is a question, that was brought up by the book and for which I have no answer.

When the reasonable sacrifice becomes unstoppable massacre?

Now, revolution isn't something that usually ends up with no victims. As Megatronus states nothing was changing while him and Orion discussed the problem. The higher class wouldn't do anything if they were asked nicely, which we can clearly see in the books. So to make themselves heard, gladiators decided to do terrorist attacks, which is while understandable, yet directly contradicting to their own ideology (we'll get to it later). But, when is this enough? This question is indirectly asked by Sentinel Prime. Are the deaths of Bumper and Fastback were necessary? Now, I'm not sure that I, at least for now, possess any means on discussing this kind of question. And this is what I like! It isn't just yes or no, good or bad. We want to hate Sentinel Prime and be on Megatronus' side, but it isn't that easy. Because it's not Megatronus anymore. It isn't this idealistic bot, who only wants freedom for himself and his people. No, Megatronus is long gone. And now there's someone new. Megatron. Now, while I can't discuss necessity of deaths of other persons, since I consider myself unprepared for this kind of talks, I can point out the moment when I think revolution became Megatron's secondary mission.

No, I'm not talking about scene where Orion became Prime, though it is really important. I'm talking about the brief moment when he torn out Bumblebee's voice box.

Was it necessary? Probably yes, since Bee was an enemy's spy. Yet what makes it a very important scene is that in this particular moment, Megatron forgets about his own cause. His ideology was about freedom of speech and choice for people like him. So wouldn't it mean that Decepticons should respect a someone's choice becoming an Autobot? But it never happens. I'm not saying that Megatron should've let BB go with praises and a smooch on the forehead. But when the ideology founder doesn't play by his own rules, why would people following him should? And this is why I love this book and this moment. Guys, I'm not saying I've read much and maybe I just have very low standards, yet this is such a good scene! I never thought I'd say it, but the story about space aliens who fight each other, while smoking intergalactic crack is one of the most realistic stuff I've ever seen! Megatron's idea was brilliant yet the execution and envy destroyed everything good. Megatron was right at first, but when he stopped caring for his own people that's when it all went downhill. And this scene just keeps getting better. Call me slowpoke (cuz this is what I am), but writing this made me realize about what delusion OP talked about in TFP and about what SP was talking about in this moment. Megatron is no revolutionary anymore. He is a tyrant. He long forgot about his cause, the only thing he cares about now is getting back at Optimus. His delusions make him think he's doing the right thing for a good cause, yet he never fully understands that he becomes something he has sworn to destroy. Now he is ignoring his people, sending them to endlessly and pointlessly die on the battlefield or by his own hands just for disobeying his orders. Megatron couldn't care less about the caste system he had already wiped out of existence. The envy, the pain and the "betrayal" got to his head, twisting his mind and even driving him crazy. And people tend to find an excuse for their own wrongdoings, so they can feel better about themselves. Megatronus' idea became Megatron's excuse.

And this is so deep and so realistic. I love how Alex Irvine approached Megatronus' fall and Megatron's rise, our necessity for choosing the lesser evil out of two morally questionable ideologies. And giving us the opportunity to decide for ourselves.

I hope you now understand why I adore this scene so much😉

Honestly, I can't stress enough how "They're only human" fits aligned! Shockwave and Alpha Trion.

Like, on one hand, the female part is made for AT, cuz it has a lot of mentions of "fate", "chances" and ect. He isn't a transformer as others are, he sees future, so he can easily play the role of the God who is very curious of this more grounded relationships. A-3 had those with others primes, but since they all left the planet (at least he thinks they did), he can't have even relations, cuz he's busy (decoding covenant) and the others would never be able to sympathize with his problems/duties. Yet he doesn't put himself on the pedestal, for he's already saw that primes are no saints in any way, shape or form. So while he's unable to connect with others, he doesn't make a king of himself, giving this role to others (Sentinel, Optimus). Sometimes Alpha Trion goes with the flow too much, not doing anything when it's needed.

On the other hand there's Shockwave. The 'human' in this situation, but who considers himself more than it. He is the scientist, ruled by his perception of logic and has no sympathy for others, if it gets results. And he is bored by classicist system and others, cuz they don't see what he sees. Shocky wants to know more and more, which makes him ruthless. Yet the lyric "..never knowing their truth is another man's lie" fits really well. Shockwave is one of the few, who knows AT's secret, so he may consider some historical facts as lies, and myths as truth (Alpha trion has a record of lying about existence of some prime relics)

I'll probably never get the chance to draw it, but it fits a little too much.

Cybertronian Civil Warfare

One wrong move. That was all it took to make Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, mad. Now Strongarm and Sideswipe have to deal with the unfortunate consequences of their actions by participating in Optimus's game.

(First chapter of a fic I am writing that will showcase some of the stuff being at war did to Bee and co :3)

━━━━━━ ⊙ ❖ ⊙ ━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⊙ ❖ ⊙

No one was entirely sure what thought process led to the current situation, but Strongarm could remember when it started. 

The team had gathered to celebrate what was quickly being dubbed the third liberation of Cybertron when it all began. Strongarm and her team, the Bee Team as they were called, were invited to celebrate with Team Prime in the newly constructed crystal gardens attached to the  restored Hall of Records. Optimus Prime himself had been the one to give out the invitations, and not a spark had refused. Sideswipe had of course made a fuss about having to go to what he assumed was a formal event, but Strongarm had shut him up well enough beforehand.

Meeting Team Prime in a more civil setting was exciting and she had no intention of missing it for the world. But of course, someone had to screw up. And that screw up in turn led to a series of unfortunate and poorly thought out words.

Primus, did they frag up.

“Look, all I am saying is that I don’t get why you all are so high strung all the time.” Sideswipe remarked as he sipped from his cup of high grade. His optics flared a pale blue, a sign of overcharge from too much to drink. A scowl marred his features and Strongarm suppressed the urge to march over and swat him.

“Why is that Sideswipe?” Optimus questioned patiently from where he sat at the head of the table. The others present had largely continued on with their activities, uncaring of the conversation, but Sideswipe could sense the way the others threw their fields wider, subconsciously keeping an optic on the situation.  

“It's pretty bad with Bee. He’s always whining about us using too much energon and he gets angry about us not being up all night long for our patrol despite the fact that we have cameras.” Sideswipe glared at their leader and Strongarm almost burst from the rage pooling in her spark. Did the little glitch have no respect? These were war veterans for Primus’s sake.

“Sideswipe, keep your grievances back at base. We are in a public area-” Bumblebee chimed in, chastation heavy in his tone.  The former scout’s optics cycled in on Sideswipe, a sign of agitation that Strongarm had long learned to notice serving under him. Only Windblade’s firm grasp on her arm kept her from getting up to teach the mech across from her a lesson.

“Bumblebee, let him speak. It is at times like these that such issues should be aired.” Optimus sat perfectly composed in his chair, his attention on the red speedster as Sideswipe grumbled and continued, his words somewhat slurred as he continued.

“You all constantly act like you are better than us. You treat us like newsparks. I’ve been functional for long enough! By old Cybertronian standards I am fully framed!” Sideswipe slammed his cup onto the table as if he were a sparkling and glared at the elder mecha present. Smokescreen stood up abruptly from where he was seated, anger etched onto his features. 

“You are a newspark Sideswipe. I am still considered young even though I was forged during the height of the war.” Smokescreen’s servos were planted firmly on the table, his doorwings twitching as he glared. The Wreckers at the table paused in their activities, their words quieting as they stopped to pay attention. Their stillness swiftly led to the remainder of the table falling silent to observe.

Strongarm couldn’t help the way her plating clamped down around her as the war veterans present seemed to make a shield around themselves with their fields. It was suffocating to endure. 

“That’s exactly my problem! You get treated so much better than us and you don’t act much different!” Sideswipe wasn’t making any sense. His logic wasn’t adding up, and yet his field screamed of outrage. Evidently he had a lot more going on than he could voice. But Strongarm didn’t care to hear it.

“Sideswipe! Don’t be so rude! We are among war veterans and heroes!” Strongarm stood up as well. Her field flared in anger and Smokescreen looked over at her so sharply that she almost felt the urge to sit down. Ratchet slowly began to rise, his servos up in a placating manner as he attempted to speak before being cut off.

“You all fought in a war. So what? I’ve fought Cons and they weren’t even all that bad!” Sideswipe stood proudly despite the fact that he obviously wasn’t thinking straight. Strongarm wished she could sink into the ground as the gazes of the elder mecha present all zoned in on Sideswipe as if he were fresh energon ready for the harvest. She couldn’t tell whose field was whose, but she didn’t need to. All of them were running with an undercurrent of rage, at least those amongst team Prime. Windblade, Drift and his minicons, and Grimlock quickly began to gather beside Strongarm, stepping back from the table as things became more heated.

“Sideswipe, I believe you are not thinking clearly. What you are saying is insinuating a great deal more than I think you intend to convey.” Optimus was still composed ever as the rest of Team Prime slowly began to get up and move. Sideswipe didn’t seem to notice as Bulkhead carefully, and with surprising stealth, pulled the table out of the way in time for the Prime to stand.

This felt practiced, rehearsed almost in a sick way. Strongarm wasn’t sure what to do, what to say even. But she wasn’t given the chance as Bumblebee stepped in front of her and the rest of their team, his gaze surprisingly steely as the situation continued to unfold. 

“Bee, what’s going on?” Grimlock asked hesitantly. The dinobot was not usually one to look so… concerned. It startled Strongarm in a way. He was usually always ready for a fight, even against one like Optimus. Here though? It looked like everyone, including the battle hardened Drift, wanted nothing to do with the situation. 

“Quiet. Optimus will handle this.” There was no room for disagreement in Bumblebee’s voice. He was surprisingly stern. Usually he was loose in his methods of leadership. However as Smokescreen came over and stood at attention right next to Strongarm’s leader, she felt fear begin to gather in her spark.

This was serious, and everyone seemed to know it.

“I mean it all! I don’t get why you all do all this stupid paranoid slag all the time! Always on our afts about our energon usage and lack of combat training or all that other scrap!” Sideswipe’s field was vicious and sharp, but untrained. His didn’t hurt. But those around them? By the Allspark, Strongarm could feel pinpricks running all along her plating from where Bumblebee and Smokescreen practically emanated outrage.

“Sideswipe.” The Prime’s tone had shifted. It was subtle, almost too soft for Strongarm to notice. But her training under Bumblebee had done her good. She wasn’t a spy by any means, or even a special agent. However the few weeks of interrogation training she underwent were having their influence.

Optimus wasn’t happy.

“I don’t want to hear whatever fragging excuses you have, you old bag of bolts! You wouldn’t be held in such high esteem if you just ended the war when it began!” Everyone froze, even Grimlock. Windblade seemed too shaken to speak, her wings dipping so low they almost touched the ground as she stared on in horror. Strongarm was sure she was making a similar expression as Optimus’s expression changed.

He always wore gentle expressions, or at least a soft firmness or strictness. Now though? His optics were startlingly wide, almost as though he were looking at Sideswipe as some sort of prey animal. Optimus’s posture dipped, becoming tenser and his digits twitching ever so slightly. A true predator. 

“Sideswipe, that is enough.” Arcee hissed through gritted denta. The elder femme seemed two kliks away from shredding Sideswipe and appeared to only be kept in place by Bulkhead who glanced down at her in warning. Grimlock was shaking like a leaf and Slipestream and Jetstorm weren’t much better off. They huddled around their carrier unit fearfully and Drift subtly drew his swords, the tension in the air setting him on edge.

Strongarm couldn’t blame him when she found herself palming her pistol on instinct. 

“The Cons we’ve fought have been smallfry. Sure Megaton might have been a piece of work, but you could have ended this easily! But NO, you dragged it all out! Our planet DIED because you and the rest of these plasma helmed glitches didn’t want to put aside your egos and end things!” Strongarm didn’t think things could get worse. Evidently she was wrong. Team Prime were all angry. Even Ratchet seemed to be on the cusp of letting loose what Strongarm could only imagine was a legendary string of curses.

Despite that, Sideswipe must have been absolutely sloshed since he just. Kept. going. 

“Great and mighty Optimus Prime my aft! All you did was make things worse! We wouldn’t have had to deal with all this Primus forsaken fallout if you had just done the right thing in the first place!” There it was. Strongarm could feel it. This was the pinnacle. One more word and things were going to explode.

“Sideswipe. This is the only warning I will give you. Be silent now, or I will need to take disciplinary action on account of you disturbing the peace.” It was a bit of a stretch legally. However it seemed Optimus, and the rest of team Prime for that matter, didn’t care all that much. The tension was heavy. It was too much. 

“Sir, that would be an abuse of power. Sideswipe has the right to free speech. He can technically say what he wants regardless-” Over a dozen optics fell on Strongarm like lasers. She wished she hadn’t spoken, but she couldn’t back down now. 

“What I mean to say is that, uh, Autobot law does not permit…” She trailed off, but the wrath of those present was already on her. Sideswipe didn’t even seem to be aware she was speaking on his behalf. A bitter part of her processors resented that. She was hurting her reputation with Optimus Prime and likely the rest of team Prime just to stick up for him.

“What are you insinuating Strongarm?” She didn’t need to look. Bumblebee’s optics were boring into her with such intensity that if he were to be granted the ability to kill on sight, Strongarm was sure she would be dead by now. Still, no one else spoke up. The team were silent save for their unspoken anger which hummed in the air like a dooming court sentence. 

She floundered, stress prompting her to rehearse what Sideswipe had said. He was saying things that no one was able to, words which should never be spoken aloud. However as she fidgeted with Optimus’s far too wide optics glued to her, she sputtered out a response.

“He makes valid points!” Oh if looks could kill, Strongarm was sure that she and Sideswipe would be dead a thousand times over.

“How so?” The Prime questioned, his tone too smooth and practiced. It was akin to how cashiers and those who worked in customer service would smile and wave even as they internally cursed to the stars and beyond. 

“It’s just… according to the records, the war started because you and Megatron had a disagreement and failed to work it out. Then as the war went on, neither of you were willing to compromise or kill the other…” Smokescreen stepped forward, she could feel his field pressing against her. He felt murderous, so much so she couldn’t bear to look as Optimus tilted his helm ever so slightly in what had to be faux curiosity. 

“And it is also stated that the Decepticons weren’t really all that much of a threat beyond their numbers. The Autobots had superiority throughout a good portion of the war, but it was never used. The Decepticons could have been crushed easily if you look at the tactics and the resources available at the time.” Any other words died on her glossa as Smokescreen’s servo pressed heavily on her shoulder, his face so eerily composed that she genuinely feared for her life. Optimus didn’t so much as twitch as he hummed, his optics cycling ominously.

“So that is what you believe. Is that what the history books say?” Sideswipe had evidently finally begun to sober up a bit as he stepped back. Optimus’s field, which had up until that point been held totally at ease, finally spread out.

It was just a flare, but it dropped Strongarm to a knee as she looked up in horror. Optimus was mad. Her plating rattled and her hydraulics tensed as fear threatened to overwhelm her. Windblade, Drift, his minicons, and Sideswipe didn’t appear to be fending much better when she glanced over at them. 

“You believe our sacrifices were for nothing? That the countless dead were lost in a meaningless conflict? How very amusing.” Strongarm didn’t know Optimus, she didn’t even try to claim she was acquainted with him to any serious degree. But his voice… it wasn’t him. He wasn’t talking like the Prime she knew and served alongside back on Earth. 

However, just as quickly as it came, the tension dissipated like smoke as Optimus straightened his posture, composed himself and turned to exit the garden with only one final declaration. 

“It seems you have much to learn. Return to your base of operations until you receive further orders. I do not wish to see you at this moment or for the foreseeable future.” Then, just like that, Optimus left. Strongarm promptly hunched over and purged whatever she had consumed during the gathering. Sideswipe for his part immediately found himself smacked so hard upside the helm by Bumblebee that she was sure he was seeing stars. Those of team Prime were cold as they quietly gathered their things and left, not another word uttered between them.

Ratchet lingered just long enough to throw a hangover cure at Sideswipe’s face, but beyond that, only Smokescreen stuck around until Bumblebee waved him off. They were fragged. Strongarm could sense it as she was pulled to her pedes and put in with the rest of the Bee team in silence. Bumblebee said nothing as he dragged Sideswipe behind him by his right pede, uncaring of the pained groans of the speedster. 

Windblade and Drift offered their arms to keep Strongarm steady as her tanks churned in nausea and her vision swam. She accepted it without question, not even having the energy to yell at Grimlock as the dinobot all but threw himself through the space bridge back to Earth. 

They had messed up royally. 

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It was to be expected really. All sorts of double patrols, cleaning duty, and plenty of additional training sessions made perfect sense considering how badly both she and Sideswipe had messed up. However the predicted backlash from Optimus never arrived. Strongarm spent months dreading it, even waking up in terror a few times in fear of those far too wide optics zoning in on her. 

Yet, as the months passed, nothing happened. Bumblebee was cold for the first little while, but he settled back into his usual behaviors within a month. Grimlock seemed to forget all about the incident, Drift and Windblade put it behind them, and Sideswipe spent quite a few weeks in a similar state of alertness to Strongarm before he too calmed. Everything went back to normal without any word from Optimus, not even a transmission or a single set of orders. 

Everything… was normal. And somehow that scared Strongarm more than it comforted her. She had never seen Optimus so angry, and from the looks of it, neither had Team Prime, at least not in a very long time. 

Her anxiety grew each passing month, until at last, after around a whole year on Earth, a transmission arrived from Cybertron along with its messenger.

“Hey kiddos! I’ve got a message from Prime for you all! It's addressed to Sideswipe and Strongarm specifically, but I am pretty sure it was intended for your group as a whole.” Jazz, the special operations agent who Strongarm hadn’t seen since they took down the Council, stood before them. He was as cheerful as ever as he handed over a singular holographic disc. Bumblebee took it from him before Strongarm or Sideswipe could do so.

“Did he give any instructions?” Bumblebee questioned simply, suspicion lacing his tone. Jazz shrugged and smiled, his visor glinting in the light as he put his servos on his hips casually.

“Turn it on. Whatever he has to say will probably be on there.” An obvious assumption, but one Strongarm found herself somewhat concerned with as Bumblebee nodded and plugged the disk into the terminal. There was a long harrowing silence in the space as the rest of team Bee gathered around, watching with rapt attention as the screen flickered on.

“Greetings. It has been some time since our last communication.” Optimus’s voice rang out clearly in the space as his face pixelated into being on the screen. He seemed completely at ease as he sat in a chair, a series of datapads at his side.

“In light of your previous statements, I have taken the time to prepare an activity for all of you to participate in. All save for Strongarm and Sideswipe will not be forced to participate if they choose to not engage.” She was already being singled out. Beside her, Strongarm sensed Sideswipe stiffening. This was the other pede finally dropping. Their punishment for speaking out of line.

“Before you bring forward any legal concerns, let it be said before I begin that everything I have prepared is well within my rights. The provisionary council has given me the authority to move your team as I see fit, and all supplies and resources used in the upcoming activity have been funded through my personal efforts and connections.” Optimus sat smugly, or at least that is how it looked to Strongarm as he leaned forward, a little closer to the camera. Fear rattled down her spinal struts as she came to the dark conclusion that the whole year of silence hadn’t been because Optimus forgot. No, she had not been so lucky.

He had been preparing for whatever this was.

“Your involvement is compulsory.” Again, a warning. In the video, Optimus smiled, but it was a sickening thing that left Strongarm’s tanks churning. She reached out to hold Sideswipe’s arm instinctually, seeking the comfort of another as Windblade and Drift came nearer, doing their best to offer silent comradery as the words continued to relay through the audio systems of the terminal. 

“We will be engaging in a real time strategy game made as realistic as possible through my resources. This game will take place in the uninhabited city of Helex in exactly one Earth month. You will have the entirety of that time to prepare.” A grin grew on Optimus’s face, and Primus, Strongarm felt that same churning in her tanks all over again. She wanted to be sick as the Prime tilted his helm, an unnatural ease to his movements.

“You may recruit whoever you see fit. However you may have no more than a hundred units under your control.” Every word was punctuated, almost as if Optimus had long ago rehearsed the lines.

“Any Autobot you can convince to join you is within your rights to recruit. To make things fair, I will not call upon my team or any close allies amongst the Autobots to assist me.” Every movement was far too crisp, practiced even as Optimus held up a datapad showing a map of the city of Helex. 

“Are you putting it together now?” There was a degree of amusement in the Prime’s voice, and looking around, not a spark seemed to like it. Not even Bumblebee. 

“You will have three main objectives which will be given to you a day before the start of the game. I have not selected these objectives. All objectives have been chosen by Elita-One and other neutral parties.” This was real. 

“Complete all three of these objectives, and you will have victory. However in the event that neither faction involved in this conflict completes all of them, the one with the most completed objectives will be victorious.” Strongarm’s hydraulics threatened to falter as Optimus kept talking. Bumblebee held her up by the arm and captured Sideswipe by his neck guard. Their leader was deadly serious as he listened and forced them to endure. 

“Further details will be given to you upon your arrival at the site. In the meantime, prepare for any possibility. This is war, and I have no intention of going easy on you.” Why? Why did it have to be Optimus Prime who they angered?

“Designate a leader and begin recruiting. You will have no resources from the state, so all of your preparations must come from your own sources. My advice is simple. Recruit those with influence.” Optimus smiled again as he leaned forward in his chair, his optics too wide and too threatening.

“I do this not out of malice or bitterness, but instead to make a point.” Not out of malice her aft. There was no way there was not a personal grudge involved for Optimus to put so much effort into this. 

“It is my hope that our game will give you a taste of what our war was like. May you find victory, or failing that, learn a lesson amidst this trial to come. Till all are one.” The video shut down with a dooming whirl and Strongarm struggled to not purge right then and there. What had they gotten into?

“So we are playing that game…” Bumblebee murmured, his optics distant.

“You kiddos made him really mad. Well it wasn’t just you, but you certainly played a part! This will be interesting to watch play out.” Jazz commented with far too much cheer in his tone. Was all of this just a game? Even Bumblebee didn’t seem phased. 

“He can’t seriously be expecting us to do this- this bloodsport!” Sideswipe burst out, breaking the atmosphere.

“I agree. Isn’t this going too far?” Windblade commented carefully. 

“Nope! This is a common game amongst troops, at least during the war. Rion just seems to be taking it to the next level.” Frag it all.

“Then I suppose there is nothing to be done. I shall join this game, if only to give my students additional training.” The minicons under Drift’s command look decidedly unhappy, but Strongarm could only feel a bitter sense of relief. This was really happening.

“We… better get to work.” Strongarm choked out, her vocalizer failing her as the image of Optimus’s grin burned itself into her mind.

What had she gotten herself into?

Just to be clear, we can all agree that Raf is absolutely going to go through Gifted Kid Burnout Syndrome in the next 2 years, right? Like- Potentially neurodivergent, super smart kid who wants attention from his family. PRIME (pun intended) EXAMPLE OF A KID WHO GOES THROUGHT GIFTED KID BURNOUT.

I'm going to hunt down fics of this

I know it's not entirely accurate, but...

Can we get Raf acting like demon spawn sometimes? The dude's twelve, he's probably not that mature, right? I imagine there are rare occasions where he will actively encourage Miko's less dangerous stunts (jumping from concerning high places, eating ungodly food combinations, etc.) simply because he can.

I mean really, he's Miko's second Voice of Reason™? Nuh uh. He will absolutely encourage her to try and bug out a brand new video game.

Usually he's chill, but sometimes.

Sometimes.

Not to mention, he's got a lot of siblings, and you know they absolutely do that to each other. If anything, Raf fueling the chaos should be seen as a sign of respect. He trusts you enough to act as a harbinger of chaos.

He's an almost teenage boy, he's allowed to be a chaos bringer every once and a while, no?

Maybe that's just me

okay okay okay

Writing idea

We all know that Bots live MUCH longer than humans, and we all know watching the Burnses die over the years would hit the Rescue Bots hard. They love there little pals, after all.

But do you know what would hurt more?

Watching them forget everything.

So, my idea: an angst fic of Chief Burns with dementia. He's forgetting everything. It hurts everybody because they all know he'll forget them too.

But it really hurts the Bots. Human lifespans are already so short, and watching the human they know slip away from them while still being there hurts. They knew they'd lose Chief eventually, but not this soon, not like this... They already have so little time together, and it feels like it's being cut short when the first human they met forgets their names, their faces, who they are...

Random TFP headcanons Part 1 (mostly humans)

Raf is deaf in one ear and has a cochlear implant

Jack is transmasc

Miko is ADHD

Raf is Autistic

Miko at one point tried to cut her own hair

Needless to say, it did not turn out well

Jack has a genetic mutation that causes naturally sharper canines

Yes, several vampire jokes were made about this

Raf has dirt on EVERYBODY at school, and is not afraid to use it

Along with the guitar, Miko is pretty good on a drum set

Jack is frequently called emo

Miko used to bite kids in kindergarten

Raf has skipped several grades and is currently a sophomore in duel enrollment

Jack's parents had split custody until Jack's dad just didn't come to pick him up and stopped paying child support

June tried to track down her ex-husband, but to no evail

The kids see Optimus as a father figure, and he is not going to tell them otherwise

Bumblebee is Ratchet and Optimus's unofficially adopted son

Raf will behave like a creature from the pits of the underworld if he feels safe

Starscream is just a walking reference

He's an airplane in the night sky

And he can be a shooting Star(scream) if you tick him off

Rescue Bots Academy headcanons (with a touch of angst)

Hotshot has a (rather poorly) hidden inferiority complex

Heatwave unintentionally adopted Hotshot

Neither has any idea how it happened, Hotshot just became Heatwave's son one day

Blurr has visited the Academy at some point, and he was both glad and upset at how Heatwave has changed

On the one hand, he's happy the recruits and especially Hotshot are getting a good mentor,

But on the other, he's upset that he never got that version of Heatwave, and sometimes he wonders if it's his own fault

Grimlock treats Dinomode Hoist like a dog treats its puppy

Hoist has been scruffed on several occasions

Medix loves bats

Even before the incident with Mr. Flappy, he collected books about bats and loved watching documentaries about them

Autistic Medix, Wedge, and Hoist

ADHD Whirl and Hotshot

None of the recruits have any idea their teachers (except Heatwave) have more than one alt mode

Whirl is a scraplet colony, specifically the one Whirl Sr. Adopted in MTMTE

Whirl Jr. aroace

Colonies of metal-eating pests don't have much interest in romance, as it turns out

Ratchet changed for the better when he found out about Medix

While he is no longer afraid of dinobots, Hoist still finds actual dinosaurs a bit unnerving

This probably has to do with them being organic

While training to use a hose, Hotshot nearly passed out. Several times.

While bats are his favorite, Medix loves most types of animals

The only exception to this is deep-sea creatures

He does not understand them and he does not want to understand them

Wedge has had a brother

The way Medix's family found out he could magnetize was by finding him on the ceiling

Whirl Jr, in her most basic state, looks like a bot-shaped scraplet, with a silver body, solid blue optics, and thin limbs

A lot of bots find this appearance unnerving

More Rescue Bots Academy headcanons (this time with extra angst)

Wedge has a twin/splitspark named Axle, who Wedge both misses and despises at the same time

When he was younger, Medix was considered a 'hard-to-handle' child

In reality, he had undiagnosed Autism and didn't do well with others

As of now, he is currently taking medication for it (rescue work gets overstimulating very fast), though it took several prescriptions to find one that didn't kill his personality

Hoist and Whirl are absolute besties

Hotshot was bullied as a kid, which gave him a major inferiority complex

He stopped getting bullied shortly after joining his Cube team, but any insult still hurts him

Whirl feels like an absolute fraud whenever somebody says she's a good rescue bot because she's a scraplet colony pretending to be a bot

She knows it's for her own safety, but she still feels terrible about it

There have been times where late at night, Hoist will get scared by his own reflection if he's in dinomode

He says he's not scared anymore, but he's a little jumpy

Hotshot and the rest of his Cube team have flame designs painted on their heels because they think they're cool

Medix has spent countless hours trying to understand why so many bots don't seem to like him - he does what he's supposed to, so why doesn't anybody want to be around him?

Whirl is almost always hungry because she won't eat metal

It isn't necessary for her to survive, so she refuses to indulge her scraplet mind, but Primus, does it leave her hungry

Wedge gets severe imposter syndrome sometimes

Hoist can be pretty anxious sometimes, especially when he feels like he's already inconveniencing people

Medix listens to hyperpop

Transformers: Prime headcanon

Spoilers ahead!

I headcanon that after that one episode where he almost dies from Energon poisoning, Raf is almost always exhausted. He also has a ton of health issues and an irregular heartbeat.

I never liked how he was just fine after getting poisoned and nearly dying. I feel like he would have some sort of problem after that, especially with how young he is.

How Bumblebee got recruited to the Autobots

Recently binge watched RID2015! It inspired me to do some editing since I feel some of the design changes were strange. I wanted to make them look more like their Tfp designs! What do you think?

Original. Ver.1. Ver.2.

Bumblebee

Optimus Prime

Bulkhead

Ratchet

Starscream

Transformers Art Dump!

Over the last 2 months or so, I binge watched all of the live action movies and the aligned continuity shows! Here’s what I’ve made while watching

TRANSFORMERS HYPERSPARK

This is Something I've been working on for a while now. So enjoy it

Google Docs

HyperSpark Autobots

Hot Rod, Leader of the Autobots on Earth. Hot Rod’s a Rookie commander that’s used to riding solo. This is his first time working with mult

The tags will be updated as more characters are added

Bumblebee Art - Synthesis Wars

So finally, here's my own design!

I really love the horns, but the antennas can be exploited for emotional responses, but I made them spiky like his previous horns.

Actually, in the fic, he explains that he used to have a pair of horns, however, upon arriving to Earth, one got damaged due to the landing, and a few years later the other broke. So he made himself a pair of antennas since he didn't remember exactly how the horns looked and one human that was his driver for a while called him Bumblebee due to a buzzing sound his motor made.

Here's the full version:

I'm still designing his full body, so that one will take a time for now. I'll be releasing more human characters (two to be exact) before his full design. Also here's the link of the fic if you want to read it!

I'm finally free! Now onwards designing Prowl's face! (No, I won't do a choose your Prowl image)

Optimus Prime was gifted with extraordinarily acute optics. . . (from ‘Exodus’ by Alex Irvine)

Anyone excited about the fact that the upcoming Transformers One movie took some inspiration from the Aligned Continuity Novels ???