#Transformers all types of media

[hansa-lao]

Little Bumblebee doesn't stop talking when Ratchet examines him. He tells everything: what the Elite is doing, what Optimus is doing in the office, how long Prime was writing papers, how many of them there were, where they lie, where he and the Elite went

Ratchet: I don't think it's very good that he's spilling everything about you.

Optimus: We taught him not to lie. Apparently we overdid it

Ratchet: That's for sure. Bumblebee, do you know the password to the safe where Opi has the documents?

Bumblebee: Yes! 54..

They put their hand over Bumblebee's mouth

[luminiera-merge]

i think my tolerance for moe (ie the anime stuff) is in freefall rn

[emperorsfoot]

So, as people who've been following my blog may know, I've been rewatching Beast Wars (1997). Today my beloved wife comes into the room and is like "isn't it weird that they change their names to fit their new transformations?"

(some of you may recall I actually already made a post about this exact thing a few days ago)

Anyway, I tell her that "its a common practice in Cybertronian culture"

Of course, I'm not up-to-date on the franchise so I have no idea if this is true or not. In reality, the characters names were part of the design to be most marketable to sell toys. In-universe not much explanation is given other than "check it out I'm a cheetah! No, wait, I'M CHEETOR!"

So, my question for the people who are much more up-to-date on the franchise and lore,

is it actually common in Cybertronian culture to change your name to fit whatever new from/transformation you might adopt?

follow up question, if its not already should it be and why is the answer Yes?

[eemoo1o-tfrmoo]

Is it normal for me to want Ratchet to dress in drag

[lindwurmkai]

something about the conflation of "having a special interest" and "being in a fandom"

(having essentially picked up the word "fandom" through osmosis, i literally kind of thought that was what it meant at first)

the way people are always so quick to emphasise it's actually about community stings a little because i never managed to become part of that

i tried again and again but aside from that one time that felt more like being at war than being part of a community, i never got very far

this is also why we jokingly refer to "the knitting fandom" and such, right? because communities centered around a hobby are similar regardless of whether that hobby involves any fiction. (i never managed to become part of a community centered around any of my hobbies either)

there's some kind of observation brewing in the back of my mind that's about the broader topic rather than my own specific issues, but i can't quite put my finger on it yet. something is not matching up

[datauthorress]

Transformers: REDACTED [chapter 3: shelby - part 3]

pairing: optimus prime / original female character / megatron, ratchet / original female character, thundercracker / original male character / skywarp, cyclonus / original male character, sideswipe / original male character / sunstreaker, knockout / original female character / breakdown, ultra magnus / original genderfluid character

summary: megatron has been missing for one year. the autobots can’t find him, until a weak energon signal makes the autobots realize he’s in the care of a kind human who decided to take him in, but there’s more to the young human than it seems.

rating: e

a/n: original story with some bases from transformers: prime and a few other series. takes place in early 2023.

march 6th, 2023

         when shelby went outside the next morning to check on her property, she wasn’t surprised to see the minimal damage. to be honest, she had thought everything was just some wild dream, but the fractured ribs and the bandaged hand told her otherwise that everything that happened the last few days had not been some crazy dream.

         even sorrel pinched her a couple of times to make sure.

         “make sure you rest today, no heavy lifting,” sorrel had told her before he had left for work. “tripp will be your baby-sitter and if you disobey the rules, i’ll make sure you won’t get out of bed for a week,”

         “uh-huh, sure,” shelby had snorted.

         sorrel was not joking. and neither was tripp. tripp stayed close, but didn’t get too much into her space because he didn’t want to crowd her. with tripp’s help though, she fed all of her reptiles and made sure their cages were clean.

         “we’re getting a snake tomorrow,” shelby said.

         “what kind?” tripp asked, glancing at her with a grin. he adored snakes.

         “a mini albino ball python,” shelby replied, stroking the chin of abraxas, the large green iguana that was hers. the reptile closed his eyes into the chin rubs, enjoying the attention. “she was surrendered by a family, but wasn’t taken care of very well. so the humane society got in touch with me and asked if we could rescue and take care of her until she found her forever family,”

         “poor baby, i can’t understand why people get a reptile if they can’t take care of it,” tripp sighed, holding a crested gecko in his fingers.

         “it’s the same as any pet,” shelby said, shaking her head.

         shelby heard a beep come from her phone and she pulled it out, noticing the notification that someone was coming up her driveway. she pulled the camera feed up and gave a soft smile when she saw the familiar red and blue peterbilt truck.

         “that must be optimus,” she said, giving abraxas one last stroke under the chin before she headed outside.

         the large semi pulled up in front of the house, parking. “good morning, shelby,” optimus spoke politely.

         “good morning to you too, optimus,” shelby said with a smile. “i’d invite you inside, but well, you won’t fit,”

         “i have a solution for that,”

         shelby was confused for a moment before she began to notice something happening in the air. they looked like particles, twinkling particles that began to clump together. her eyes widened slightly and she watched in awe as the particles began to take form, that of a tall human man.

         when it finally came together, the man in front of her appeared to be in his 40’s, and was tall (a complete foot taller than her) and he had blue-black hair that was short, with a few strands falling across his forehead, with neatly placed facial hair of the same color on his chin. his eyes were the same bright blue of his giant form. the human form had broad shoulders and was at least over twice her size. he was wearing a pair of silver-gray trousers with black boots, a skin tight black shirt and a red and blue jacket over it that had the symbol of the autobots on the bicep of the jacket on both sides.

         the man smiled at her kindly and shelby couldn’t help the soft flush that crossed her features. “w-wow, uh….very….very nice, is this a human form?” she asked, a stammer in her voice.

         “holoform,” the man replied, optimus’ deep voice coming from it. “similar to a hologram, but much more physical and we can interact with humans on a smaller level if need to,”

         “i see,” shelby said, quickly able to remove the blush from her features. “would you like to come inside?”

         he nodded and shelby invited him inside, to where they headed into the foyer first, which led out to a large hallway and an open room next door which was the dining room. shelby led optimus across the hallway into the biggest room of the house, the grand room. the ceiling was a two story, and had one large couch with two recliners, a glass coffee table and a large flat screen television on the wall. the room had a large area rug in the middle, as well as a grand piano in the corner and large, sliding glass doors that led out onto the deck.

         “your home is beautiful,” optimus commented, glancing over at her.

         “thank you,” shelby smiled softly. “it came like this, completely finished and i love this place. my bedroom is next door, due to having a bum leg, so stairs aren’t an issue for me in the house for the most part. tripp’s and sorrel’s bedrooms are upstairs and they each have their own bathroom, as well as i do. i even have my own office and everything,”

         tripp walked out of shelby’s office, cradling one of the crested geckos in his hand. he stroked the reptile’s head with his thumb and glanced over at optimus. “hello, optimus, was it?”

         “yes, and you’re tripp, correct?” the autobot asked.

         “that’s me,” tripp grinned slightly.

         “what do you have in your hands?” optimus asked, curious.

         “oh, this is zippy,” tripp said, introducing the crested gecko in his hands. “she’s a crested gecko,”

         “i run a reptile rescue,” shelby informed. “most of them have been with me a couple of years now, but some of them have gone to their forever homes,”

         optimus turned his attention to the ground near shelby’s feet and shelby glanced down to see abraxas’s front claws attached to the back of her pant leg. she chuckled softly as the iguana began climbing up her leg.

         “how fascinating,” optimus mused with a gentle smile. “what kind of reptile is that?”

         “this is abraxas, he’s a green iguana. i’ve had him for…three years now. he just had a birthday not too long ago,” shelby replied, reaching up to gently stroke underneath the iguana’s chin as he came to take his place on her shoulder. “ah, have a seat, optimus. i’d offer a drink, but i assume you don’t eat human food?”

         “no, i don’t,” he replied, taking a seat on the couch not too far from her. “we consume energon as our source of sustenance,”

         “ah, that kind of sucks. most human foods are amazing,” shelby replied, setting her cane beside the couch.

         tripp took a seat in one of the recliners, so he could pay attention to what was going on.

         “how is megatron doing?” shelby asked.

         “i figured you were going to ask that,” optimus smiled. “he’s doing very well. ratchet said he’ll make a full recovery in a week’s time.”

         “that’s great!” shelby smiled. “i’m glad he’s going to be just fine,”

         “i cannot thank you enough for everything you’ve done for him, and us,” optimus said, reaching out to gently touch her hand with his gloved one. it wasn’t inappropriate, but merely a touch of thankfulness. “if it wasn’t for you, megatron would have never returned to me,”

         “i’m glad i found him,” shelby said, feeling her heart flutter a bit at the gentle touch. “he was pretty beat up and gave me the scare of my life when he woke up,”

         “i can imagine,” optimus chuckled softly.

         “megatron said you and he were….sparkmates?” she asked, trying to make sure she had the wording right.

         “yes, think of it as….a human marriage,” he replied, nodding. “when two cybertronians sparkmate, they are connected to each other for life. and when one sparkmate dies, the other’s spark is forever damaged, as in a permanent broken heart, per say. the one living would never be able to move on,”

         “that’s quite a commitment,” tripp commented.

         “it’s strange to think that humans aren’t like that,” shelby said. “well, most. i’d say about sixty percent of humans eventually get divorced, or the term of breaking a marriage. some fall out of love, some cheat on their partners, others just…leave and don’t ever come back,”

         “i cannot imagine my life without megatron,” optimus said softly. “we have always been close, even when the war drove us apart…but we came together to save our race and it brought us even closer together,”

         “how old are you…if you don’t mind me asking?” shelby questioned, raising an eyebrow.

         “not at all, let’s see….the last time i checked, in human years, over twenty-five million years old,”

         shelby gasped and tripp choked.

         “did i say something wrong?” optimus asked, confused by their reactions.

         “n-no, not at all,” shelby said, clearing her throat. “it’s just…we’ve never met someone with such age behind them…us humans have a life expectancy of about eighty to ninety years on average, while some have lived past one hundred,”

         “basically you blink and our lives are over just like that,” tripp said.

         “and practically anything can kill us,” shelby added. “even a small cut can turn into a fatal infection,”

         “how awful,” optimus said with a frown.

         “you get used to it after so many years. tripp and i are only about a quarter through our lives,” shelby said.

         optimus released a soft humming noise as he listened, nodding after a moment.

         “so, you said yesterday that you were appointing someone to watch over the property?” shelby asked, changing the subject.

         “yes,” he nodded. “during the day, i’ve appointed sideswipe and sunstreaker, who are brothers, to watch over the property during the day and cyclonus at night. sideswipe’s alt-mode is a smaller form, as well as sunstreaker’s. cyclonus kept his cybertronian alt-form, which is a jet. with that, a device will also be connected onto the highest point of the roof of your home. it will send out a protective force field around the house and the ten acre property. your property will not be detected by decepticon surveillance,”

         “so someone will be here 24/7?” tripp asked.

         “yes,” optimus nodded. “come outside,”

         the holoform dematerialized in front of them, and shelby let out a whistle before she and tripp went outside. optimus transformed and a small panel opened up on his chest, to which he pulled out a spherical device that had what looked like a rod on top. being careful, optimus set the device on the highest point of the house and it clicked, attaching itself to the roof. it glowed green and shelby watched with awe as a beam of light shot out from the rod. it went high up into the air and with a quiet boom, what looked like a transparent wall began to come down on all sides like a giant sphere. she could see it go down all the way to the ground and then it vanished, as if it was never there.

         “anyone but a decepticon will be able to see your property,” optimus informed her.

         “you didn’t have to do all of this, optimus,” shelby said with a soft smile, glancing up at him.

         the cybertronian got down onto one knee and reached out with a hand, curling his fingers until only his index finger was stretched out and the tip of it gently touched her chest. “we are in your debt, shelby. you risked your own life to help one of our own, out of the kindness of your own heart,”

         shelby’s body rocked back slightly when the massive finger touched her chest. “even if i knew what megatron was before i took him in…i still would have,”

         “you show bravery and compassion,” he said softly, his blue eyes glowing softly. “you are worthy of being an autobot, a dear friend,”

         shelby glanced over at tripp, who exchanged a glance with her. tripp grinned softly and nodded.

         “thank you, optimus. i appreciate your words,” shelby smiled.

         “good,” he said, with a bit of mirth in his voice. “cyclonus will arrive here around 6 PM. there will be twelve hour shifts between watching the property and if anything happens, we will be alerted immediately,”

         “sounds like a plan,” shelby nodded. “can you do me a favor?”

         “of course, what is it?”

         “can you tell megatron to make sure he’s resting? or i’ll kick his ass,” she said.

         optimus chuckled. “i’ll let him know,”

         optimus transformed into his semi-mode and both tripp and shelby waved as he drove off down the driveway.

         “well,” tripp said.

         “yeah,” shelby nodded in agreement.

         later that day, shelby was starting noodles for dinner when she felt her ‘tingling senses’ go off. it was a thing that came with her mediumship abilities, able to detect other presences that come within vicinity of her.

         “tripp, can you watch the noodles?” shelby asked, calling for tripp in the living room.

         “yeah, what’s up?” he asked.

         “my tingling senses are going off,” shelby replied, grabbing her cane as she made her way to the front door.

         shelby made her way outside and glanced up, the wind running through her hair. she watched as a large purple and silver jet with unfamiliar symbols on the surface, lower itself down on a large clearing in the corner of her property that wasn’t too far from the house. this must have been cyclonus.

         shelby approached the jet cautiously as it turned off and then began to transform. the cybertronian, once fully transformed, was bigger than optimus and even bigger than megatron. he – well, she assumed it was a he – had large silver horns that protruded from his head and bright, red eyes that same color as megatron’s.

         “hello,” shelby said politely.

         “hello, you must be the human that optimus spoke of. shelby, was it?” the being asked.

         ��yes,” she replied. “cyclonus?”

         “yes,” he nodded. “i was assigned to watch over you and the property during the night,”

         “yes, thank you. we appreciate it,” shelby smiled.

         “and i thank you for finding megatron,” cyclonus said, putting a hand on his chest. “i have known megatron for many cycles and i was relieved to hear he was being cared for,”

         “it was the least i could do,” shelby said with a nod.

         cyclonus gave one more nod before he transformed back into his jet mode and went dark, staying on high alert from what shelby could tell. she made her way back into the house, where sorrel had just walked in, arriving home from work.

         “what’s the jet in the backyard?” sorrel asked, arching an eyebrow at her.

         “that’s cyclonus,” shelby replied. “he’s our night watch. you okay?”

         “yes, just a rough day at work,” he replied tiredly.

         “dinner’s just about done,” shelby said, leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek.

         sorrel made his way upstairs so he could shower, while shelby headed back into the kitchen to finish cooking up dinner. she felt her phone ping and she pulled it out of her pocket, opening up the notification to see a text message.

         [text to shelby]: hello. optimus relayed the information to me about you kicking my aft if i didn’t rest.

         shelby grinned softly and sent a message back.

         [text to megatron]: yes, i did. you better be resting.

         [text to shelby]: you are too small to be kicking my aft.

         [text to megatron]: get your holoform out and i will kick your ass.

         [text to shelby]: there she is.

[everwalldigan]

Bruce: *waking up in a hospital that he drove himself to after having a heart attack and telling absolutely nobody* hey…

The entirety of the batclan looking over him with Dick in the centre, an absolute terrifying grin on his face:

Dick: hello Bruce, nice evening isn’t it? Got something to share with us?

Edit: the fic is now out on ao3! https://archiveofourown.org/works/57780508

[pipermca]

New AO3 Tag Wrangling Policy and the Transformers Fandom

(This is a long one, folks, but I think it's important.)

A new tag-wrangling policy on AO3 has the potential to create some massive confusion and chaos in the Transformers fanfic community, with regards to fandom tags. There is a Reddit post about it here with a focus on anime fandoms, but I want to give some concrete examples for the Transformers fandom on why we DO NOT WANT this, and why I think it's a horrible idea.

The Problem

Basically, AO3 is looking to get rid of the "All Media Types" fandom tag across the board, either by dismantling them or just not maintaining them. The Transformers - All Media Types tag has been an all-purpose tag that you could select when your story doesn't fall into any one specific continuity. Additionally, all most (see below) TF continuities on AO3 are considered a subtag of the Transformers - All Media Types tag. For example, if you look at the link above for all works in the All Media Types tag, you will see fics that are also tagged ONLY with Transformers: Animated, because it falls under the All Media Types tag.

One exception: With the upcoming Transformers: One movie coming out imminently, there will likely be a big influx of stories tagged with Transformers: One. In fact, there are several already. However, it hasn't been linked to the larger Transformers - All Media Types tag yet. I wasn't worrying about it though, because I know these things can take time.

With information about this new tagging policy, however, I'm now wondering whether it'll EVER get linked to the All Media Types tag. If that happens, and when more continuities are developed in the coming years (since you know Hasbro loves creating new universes) this has the potential to cause massive confusion when looking for stories to read.

Searching for Stories with the New Tagging System

So let's say the All Media Types fandom tag isn't accurate anymore, because it no longer includes ALL of the continuities (such as TF:One). You will need to include ALL the Transformers continuities when browsing for TF fics.

How many tags is that? Well, here are all of the tags currently listed under the Transformers - All Media Types tag:

Note that this doesn't include Transformers: One since it hasn't been categorized yet.

You will potentially have to have 40 or more different fandom tags in your search, just in case the author tagged their story with something you weren't expecting.

This massively decreases the findability of a story.

Tagging with the New System

The email response from the Tag Wrangling group (see the linked Reddit post above) seems to be a bit flip in the response to the user's concern. "...encourages creators to tag with the media they intend."

While I appreciate what they are attempting to do, this policy change feels like a solution in search of a problem, especially in larger fandoms with multiple continuities, versions, and media types that are all cross-pollinated in both canon and fanon. While I'm focusing on Transformers fandom, imagine a creator in the DC comic universe writing a story that incorporates bits and pieces from a dozen different reboots.

For example, let's say that I am writing a fic about Ratchet. I am using the setting of the original G1 episodes, but I also am using the characterization of him as a bit of an old man grump. That characterization originated in the Animated continuity, but I want to incorporate bits of pieces of his other characterizations as well (old friend of Optimus from TFP, Ratchet ran a faction-free clinic like he did in the War for Cybertron series, he's got a Decepticon boyfriend like in IDW1 - or maybe even Cyberverse, etc.)

With this new tagging structure, I might potentially have to tag the story with ALL of those continuities. So instead of just slapping down the "All Media Types" tag (and maybe one other fandom tag that matches the characters as best I can), I'll have to analyze my story and try to figure out how best to tag for the characters I used.

And what if you're doing a completely AU version of the story? For example, a humanformers story, or merformers? Using the All Media Types tag along with a Alternate Universe - Human or Alternate Universe - Mermaid tag worked perfectly, since you weren't writing the story to fit into one specific continuity. But now, that might not be an option.

What To Do??

The first thing I would suggest is to contact AO3 (using the Feedback and Support page) and let them know (nicely) that you think this is a horrible idea. Give them some examples on how you use the All Media Types tag to find stories to read, or to help you tag a story. People outside of the Transformers fandom don't always appreciate how absolutely tangled the continuities can be with each other, and providing examples might help them see why this would be a really messy change.

Readers: Be aware that when you are looking in the All Media Types tag, it will no longer show newer continuities. And if AO3 starts dismantling that tag like they suggested they are doing, be aware that some stories won't show up in that tag like they used to. You can also create and then bookmark a custom search page that includes all 40+ continuities. REALLY annoying, but it's a workaround.

Writers: Until they start dismantling the All Media Types tag, ALWAYS ALWAYS tag your stories using Transformers - All Media Types... Especially for newer continuities. This will be especially important if you are writing a Transformers: One story. Right now, anyone who is only browsing the All Media Types tag will not see a story tagged only with Transformers: One. Make sure you're aware of how tags work and how they can affect the visibility and findability of your story.

Epilogue

Ugh. That's a lot of words for a long-weekend Saturday. And maybe I'm overreacting a tiny bit. But my work involves information architecture, and this change just absolutely baffles me. It's almost as though they want to make it harder to find stories. Considering that AO3 won a Hugo partially because of its fantastic tagging system, this change seems like AO3 is doing its best to shoot itself in the foot.

When you have a square hole, a round hole, and a rectangular hole… Yeah, you DO want each peg to go in the "right" hole. But if all of the pegs fit in the square hole, who cares? You got the job done.

I love you @ao3org, but please reconsider this change... Especially for IPs that are as old and are as varied as Transformers.

[batsandbirdsandothers]

Anyone know a fic where Jason (utrd era) bullies the hell out of Dick by acting as a hallucination and eventually tells him to dig up his grave?

Dick actually does and Bruce is seriously concerned.

Ring a bell??

Update: we got the answer!

Part two

[meggahamicide]

I realized that I never posted all of these as a set, so here you go! I think they look so good together!

Edit: Link to the fic!

[bluelicorfino]

A fic so good it makes you dust off your blog you haven't used in three years.

This comic is based of a section of chapter 10 of Kein Weg Zurück, i thought the interactions were really cute, so i wanted to illustrate it!

Transformers is one of those things I migrate in and out of remembering when the hyperfiaxtion comes on, but my love for TFA never faultered, and so was it for this pairing. I guess @morethanmeetstheass RoE series also became one of the foudantions for this ship, which is deserved, these series are really, really good! Go read it! It's on Ao3!

[hansa-lao]

Bumblebee was a quiet child until he was about 6 years old. But after Jazz started learning how to be a scout, Bee turned into a little demon with an angelic face.

He didn't admit to his pranks until the end.

For example, he drowned (don't ask where) the nuts that the engineers used because they rudely kicked him out.

Or he made a simple virus that caused gadgets to glitch and change colors on the screen. And Bee uploaded it to the Prowl datapad just like that (he was too correct)

Bumblebee exhausted the nerves of almost everyone who was at the Iacon base.

[lilituism]

Every family finds its own perfect ratio over time.

Drawn for the 2023 Birdwatchers Discord Word challenge for the prompt 'ratio'

Cross-posted from AO3

[impyssadobsessions]

Scenes from my story Phoenix down! Actually not sure if im happy with these or not. Definitely didnt get the reflection how I wanted but figured I didn't need to make it perfect. =w=''' maybe I can try it again some other day XD Spent way too long on these.

Also Damian's aim is spot on.. even when target's invisible.

[elig1aq]

TOO SWEET 4 ME | park sunghoon

PAIRINGS, innocent!reader x fuckboy!park sunghoon

FEATURING, enhypen, and aespa

GENRE, social media au, collage au, crack, fluff, smut, angst

SUMMARY, new year, new me! tired of the way your friends treated you like a baby, you try to change your personality from a goody two-shoes to a more captivating one. you think that's a drastic transformation to meet someones standard type, but does your crush (park sunghoon) think the same way?

WARNINGS, vulgar language, mentions of explicit scenes, afab!reader, and all ages are modified to suite the theme

NOTE, this is very much fictional! please don't take it too seriously, all social media photos will be in light mode, and in this fanfic innocent = shy, confident only to friends, socialy awkward, virgin !

STARTED, 18/06/2024 (ongoing)

PROFILES: GIRLS ON TOP! | FUCKS OVER BUCKS

CHAPTERS:

001. NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION?

002. ATTRACTED THE WRONG SPECIMEN?

003. EXPRESS TO IMPRESS?

004. HE CALLLED ME SWEETS?

005. TOO MUCH SWEETS?

006. NOT WORTH IT?

007. START OVER, SWEETS?

008. FLOWER FIELD?

009. -

TAGLIST, open (ask, dm, or comment)

click here to see current taglist!

[nepetacataria-art]

Mid air recharge is something Starscream really doesn't want to try (or is the opposite?)👀

Inspired by the amazing fic "The Way to a Mech's Spark (Is Through His Fuel Tank)" by @trinarysuns on AO3! 💙💖🥰

(Also thx to @bairdcrevan for the reference photo!)